Trump Complained That the Emir of Kuwait’s Plane Was Longer Than His, Continuing Peculiar Obsession With Size

Donald Trump has an undeniable obsession with size—of everything from crowds to, well, body parts. It is perhaps no surprise, then, that the president reportedly couldn’t help but note with displeasure that a Kuwaiti leader’s plane was bigger than his.

Emir Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah was in Washington Thursday for talks with Trump over shared security interests and the ongoing fight against the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) in the region. According to Politico, Trump marveled at the jet the Kuwaiti ruler flew in on. During a later meeting with congressional delegations from New York and New Jersey, Trump is even said to have complained that the emir’s plane was longer than his own.

It is not clear whether Trump was referring to his personal private jet or Air Force One. However, as Air Force One is similar in length to the Boeing 747-400 that carries the emir, Trump likely was referring to his Boeing 757 personal plane, which is about 75 feet shorter than the Kuwaiti ruler’s.

Trump’s recent discussions of size have not been limited to aircraft. Addressing the back-to-back hurricanes Harvey and Irma, the president has almost seemed to be marveling at their size and scope.

“Hurricane looks like largest ever recorded in the Atlantic!” he tweeted, with an exclamation point for good measure, as Irma barreled through the Caribbean en route to Florida Wednesday.

Addressing Harvey, which caused devastating floods in Texas, Trump tweeted in block caps that the rainfall was “HISTORIC.”

The hurricanes inspired more size-based ponderings by the president. While in Texas during the aftermath of Harvey, Trump addressed a group of hurricane survivors gathered outside a firehouse with the comforting words “What a crowd, what a turnout.”

He also returned to a familiar object of his obsession with size: his hands. While serving food to victims of the hurricane in Houston, Trump joked that his hands were “too big” to fit in the plastic gloves he was given. The moment harked back to a famous dispute with Florida Senator Marco Rubio during last year’s Republican primary.

“He’s like 6’2″, which is why I don’t understand why his hands are the size of someone who is 5’2″,” Rubio said at a rally in response to being derided as “little Marco” by the eventual GOP nominee. “And you know what they say about men with small hands? You can’t trust them.”

Trump couldn’t help but take the bait.

“Look at those hands, are they small hands?” Trump said in response, holding his hands up for all to see. “And, he referred to my hands—‘if they’re small, something else must be small.’ I guarantee you there’s no problem. I guarantee.”

Could there be a link between Trump’s apparent need to defend the size of his manhood and his apparent insecurity about the length of his plane? We couldn’t possibly say.

[Newsweek]

Trump Pressured Kuwait Into Holding Event At His Washington D.C. Hotel

The Embassy of Kuwait reportedly switched the location of an event from a Four Seasons hotel to Donald Trump’s new hotel in Washington, D.C., citing pressure from members of Trump’s organization.

The report from Think Progress, a blog connected to the liberal-leaning Center for American Progress, says the ambassador of Kuwait abruptly canceled a reservation with the Four Seasons, where it has held its National Day event in the past, shortly after the election.

The embassy has now signed a contract with Trump International Hotel.

Think Progress said members of the Trump Organization pressured the ambassador to hold the event at the hotel owned by the president-elect, citing a source with direct knowledge of the arrangements between the hotels and the embassy. ThinkProgress said it also reviewed documentary evidence confirming the source’s report.

The switch was made just days after an event at Trump’s D.C. hotel where 100 foreign diplomats gathered to discuss “how are we going to build ties with the new administration,” according to a report by the Washington Post.

Foreign diplomats have openly admitted that some see staying at the Pennsylvania Avenue hotel owned by the president-elect as a chance to curry favor with Trump.

“Why wouldn’t I stay at his hotel blocks from the White House, so I can tell the new president, ‘I love your new hotel!’ Isn’t it rude to come to his city and say, ‘I am staying at your competitor?’ ” one Asian diplomat told the Washington Post last month.

Trump has been under scrutiny to explain how he will separate himself from his business interests when he takes office. He has said his adult children will run the Trump empire without his input, but no formal plans have been announced.

(h/t The Hill)