In his first campaign rally since the presidential debate, Donald Trump went on a bizarre tangent that left critics disgusted and questioning his fitness for office.
Speaking at his Doral golf club in Florida, the former president was discussing his campaign pledge to tipped workers when he began sharing an anecdote about a waitress he said he met in Nevada.
“A waitress came over, beautiful waitress — and I never liked talking about physical — she’s beautiful inside, because you never talk about a person’s look. Ever,” said Trump, who has called women “fat,” “disgusting” and “unsexy,” among other misogynistic attacks, over the decades.
He then launched into a backhanded attack on former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a Trump ally turned critic who went up against the former president in the presidential primaries.
“The other day, I got very angry,” Trump continued. “Some man called Chris Christie fat. And I said, ‘Sir.’ And then he said he was a pig. I said, ‘Sir! Chris Christie is not a fat pig!’ Please remember he is not a fat pig. Please take it back.”
Trump in Doral: "A waitress came over, beautiful waitress, and I never like talking about physical. She's beautiful inside. Because you never talk about a person's look. Ever. You never mention it. The other day I got very angry. Some man called Chris Christie fat. And I said,… pic.twitter.com/l5TG6PcrBz
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 10, 2024
Trump has previously mocked Christie’s weight.
At a rally in New Hampshire in August, he said Christie was off “eating right now” before pointing into the crowd and saying, “Sir, please do not call him a fat pig.”
Christie, at the time, invited Trump to “say it to my face.”
Trump’s Doral rally contained multiple eyebrow-raising moments where he trailed off, rambled incoherently and blatantly lied.
The Biden campaign called the appearance “deranged.” President Joe Biden has consumed the spotlight since his fumbling debate performance and has faced calls to step aside.
“Imagine if Joe Biden said whatever tf Trump is saying here,” conservative attorney George Conway said on social media of the “fat pig” sidebar.
“Deranged. Utterly unfit for office,” the Republicans Against Trump group posted.
Virgin Islands Delegate Stacey Plaskettwrote, “Somebody anybody in the news!!! Are you going to report on this?!?! Does this sound normal? And this is EVERY TIME HE SPEAKS.”
See those reactions and more below.
Imagine if Joe Biden said whatever tf Trump is saying here https://t.co/9cUEdahRUi
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) July 10, 2024
Deranged. Utterly unfit for office
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) July 10, 2024
Yoohoo!! Oh @washingtonpost@CNN@CNNPolitics@MSNBC@nytimes
Somebody anybody in the news!!! Are you going to report on this?!?! Does this sound normal? And this is EVERY 👏🏾TIME 👏🏾 HE 👏🏾 SPEAKS 👏🏾 https://t.co/M5NcT6mQN5— Rep. Stacey Plaskett (@StaceyPlaskett) July 10, 2024
Word salads all around. 🙄
Is this the part where The NY Times calls on Donald Trump to resign?
— Jeffrey Ⓥ (@LiftForever67) July 10, 2024
Normal, folks. We’re behaving in the normal fashion. https://t.co/qLQXw7Zs3E
— Sharon Eliza Nichols (@SharonElizaDC) July 10, 2024
Everyone really does grade the candidates on two very different rubrics, don’t they? https://t.co/QzF3fe0tlE
— Zach Heltzel 🟪 (@zachheltzel) July 10, 2024
Ah the sharp, coherent statesman, Donald Trump! Who could possibly challenge his mental fitness for office? https://t.co/mOZzSSDgcw
— Amanda is Standing with Joe (@AmandaAnnKlein) July 10, 2024
fFnally opened his mouth after 11 days and what comes out is that Christie’s a fat pig. He’s a sociopath https://t.co/IaprPbWFwt
— Andy Ostroy (@AndyOstroy) July 10, 2024
Very stable genius we got here. https://t.co/i0EVMTJvgy
— Anthony Michael Kreis (@AnthonyMKreis) July 10, 2024
In what kind of brain does a story about a waitress switch abruptly into some guy calling Chris Christie fat? And on what planet does any of this have anything to do with being President of the United States? https://t.co/60DL9x7HGK
— AchtoonPJ ✡️ 🟧 🇺🇦 🌊 (@PJDeU2) July 10, 2024
Yeah, Biden is definitely the one with a screw loose. https://t.co/hgXrOyzTxY
— Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) July 10, 2024