Trump kicks off a Pennsylvania rally by talking about Arnold Palmer's
genitalia
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[October 21, 2024]
By MICHELLE L. PRICE and WILL WEISSERT
LATROBE, Pa. (AP) — Donald Trump's campaign suggested he would begin
previewing his closing argument Saturday night with Election Day barely
two weeks away. But the former president kicked off his rally with a
detailed story about Arnold Palmer, at one point even praising the late,
legendary golfer's genitalia.
Trump was campaigning in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, where Palmer was born in
1929 and learned to golf from his father, who suffered from polio and
was head pro and greenskeeper at the local country club.
Politicians saluting Palmer in his hometown is nothing new. But Trump
spent 12 full minutes doing so at the top of his speech and even
suggested how much more fun the night would be if Palmer, who died in
2016, could join him on stage.
“Arnold Palmer was all man, and I say that in all due respect to women,"
Trump said. "This is a guy that was all man.”
Then he went even further.
“When he took the showers with other pros, they came out of there. They
said, ‘Oh my God. That's unbelievable,'” Trump said with a laugh. “I had
to say. We have women that are highly sophisticated here, but they used
to look at Arnold as a man.”
Trump senior adviser Jason Miller told reporters before the speech that
Trump planned to preview his closing argument against Vice President
Kamala Harris and “start to get into that framing.” Candidates have
traditionally used their final days on the campaign trail to sum up for
the electorate why they deserve to win the White House.
Trump eventually hit many of his favorite campaign themes but didn't
offer much in the way of new framing of the race or why he should win
it. He instead boasted of creating strong tax policies and a strong
military during his first term in office.
He slammed Harris as “crazy" and added a profanity.
“You have to tell Kamala Harris that you’ve had enough, that you just
can’t take it anymore, we can’t stand you anymore, you’re a s— vice
president,” Trump said to roars of the crowd. "The worst. You’re the
worst vice president. Kamala, you’re fired. Get the hell out of here.”
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Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks
during a campaign rally at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, Saturday,
Oct. 19, 2024, in Latrobe, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
He also criticized Harris for suggesting during her unsuccessful run
for president in 2020 that she'd support a ban on hydraulic fracking,
which is important to Pennsylvania's economy and a position Harris'
campaign says she no longer supports.
Trump invited on stage members of a local steelworkers union that
endorsed him. He donned a construction hat with his name on it.
He also said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called him
amid Israeli's ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza.
“He said, ‘It’s incredible what’s happened,’” Trump said of the
Netanyahu call before moving to a criticism of President Joe Biden,
saying that the Israeli prime minister “wouldn’t listen to Biden."
Trump praised the raucous crowd, which was outside and at an
airport, but also made a point of suggesting that there was more
conspicuous security around him following two assassination
attempts, saying, “They give you a little extra security nowadays,
you notice?”
“I got more machine guns than I’ve ever seen -- look at these guys,”
he said referring to security. He was interrupted by cries from the
crowd of “USA! USA!” before continuing, “We’ve got more guys, and
every one of them is like central casting too, holy s—.”
Then he tied it back to Latrobe's native son, adding, "They look
like Arnold. Can’t look better than Arnold.”
___
Weissert reported from Washington.
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