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Trump is doing a rally in El Paso. Tweets will be tweeted in this thread.
Trump calls the Rio Grande "legendary." He says they started wall construction there today. (Not sure, but I know they were planning to starting building their first new fencing of Trump's tenure, in the Rio Grande Valley, by this week.)
Trump usually says that the many cameras on him at rallies is like the Academy Awards. This time, he said it's like the Academy Awards "used to be."
Trump reading from his script: "Our agenda is not a partisan agenda." Trump ad-libbing: "Although some people say it is. Every once in a while it does become that way."
Trump complains that people complain about progress with North Korea even though he left the Singapore summit a mere "15 months ago." It was in June 2018.
Trump says he's "1 for 1" in elections, and now he's going to be "2 for 0."
Trump says Beto O'Rourke "has very little going for himself except he's got a great first name." He says there are 10,000 people at his rally in an arena that holds 8,000 people, but "tens of thousands of people are watching screens outside." (Anybody out there to check?)
Trump says he has 35,000 people at his rally and O'Rourke has 200 or 300. Those extremely do not seem like the correct numbers, but I will update you later.
Trump boasts of tariff money pouring in from China. The tariffs are paid by US importers, though some Chinese manufacturers eat some of the cost.
Trump lies that the Obama administration said manufacturing was dead. (Obama said some jobs weren't coming back, but boasted about how many were.)
Trump wildly exaggerates the military cost-sharing deal with South Korea, saying South Korea used to pay $500 million and now it's $900 million. It went from $830 million to $924 million, according to military.com: military.com/daily-news/201…
Trump keeps using outdated data for Hispanic and Asian unemployment. They hit record lows in 2018, but they've spiked back up to non-lows.
Trump again lies that, after "40 years" of failed efforts, he got Veterans Choice passed. The program was signed into law by Obama in 2014. Trump signed a law that significantly modifies the Choice program. That was the 57th time he said this.
There is a Build That Wall chant. Trump says it should be Finish That Wall, lying that "we've built a lot of it."
Trump adds some more to his usual line about a protester going home to mommy, this time saying the protester will be "punished" by mommy.
Trump: "Democrats have to stop being so angry."
(Really regretting my decision to watch this rather than the Raptors game)
"No president should have to go what we've gone through," Trump says, referring to the Russia investigation, which he calls "a hoax."
Trump lies that "the real collusion" was with Hillary Clinton. This is, as always, simple nonsense. There is a Lock Her Up chant. Trump adds that "there's also collusion between the Democrats and the fake news right here." There is a CNN Sucks chant.
Trump attacks the Green New Deal, saying it'd cause economic ruin, and that it is "crazy" for a Hawaii senator to support it, because you can't get to Hawaii on a train.
Trump: "Where are the fact-checkers? You know, some of the most dishonest people in media are the so-called fact-checkers."
Trump mocks Ralph Northam for thinking about moonwalking at his press conference, saying, accurately, "This would not have been a good scene. His wife saved him."
"That state's going to go Republican pretty soon," Trump says of Virginia.
Trump criticizes Democrats for supposedly proposing the complete elimination of private health care. Medicare for All would not do so, though some versions, like Sanders's, would eliminate most of today's private health insurance.
Trump's current campaign argument: the Democrats are radical, far out of the mainstream, and would cause economic, social and health disruption with their foolish left-wing schemes.
Trump says he could have stayed in Washington and learned about the progress in border negotiations, but he chose "my people from Texas" instead. He often says things like this at rallies - he could have not come see these people, but he chose them, consciously.
Trump pre-criticizes the media for not noting how much bigger his crowd is than O'Rourke's. He says, of the media's reaction to his own success (I think), "it's driving them crazy. It's driving them crazy."
Trump falsely: "Our unemployment rate: real unemployment, 3.6, 3.7, and going down." He then says, "It went up to 4...you know how low 4 is?...It went up from 3.7 to 4 just quickly." He says it's because of "a little blip" with the shutdown.
To rephrase, Trump said that the unemployment rate is 3.6% or 3.7% and going down, then said it's 4% and had just gone up.
Trump lying about human traffickers again: "Do you think they come in through the ports of entry?" Many of them do.
Ah, the "three women tied up in the backseat of a car" have returned. Trump this time says the traffickers "make a left" to get into the country with the gagged women, a departure from the frequent "make a right."
Trump: "How about the word caravan? CARAVAN? I think that was one of mine." He is saying various things.
Trump lies that only "2%" of people show up for their immigration court hearings. (Even anti-immigration groups say it's well over half; for asylum seekers, it's been near-90%.) Then he insults the people who do follow the law, saying, "Only the dumbest people show back up."
Trump dismisses people who note that the El Paso fencing didn't make a big difference on crime, saying, "I spoke to people who've been here a long time." He adds, "They're full of crap when they say it hasn't made a big difference."
The part of Trump's El Paso comments that has been most criticized is a part he didn't mention tonight: the claim that El Paso used to be very dangerous pre-fencing. That's flat false. The impact of the fencing is more debatable.
Trump mocks unnamed "rich liberals" who supposedly advocate "open borders" - congressional Dems do not - while living behind walls. Adds: "I'm guilty. I'm guilty. I also live behind walls...me too...because I want to be safe. And I want to make America safe, if you don't mind."
"Almost 40,000 people were murdered in Mexico," Trump says. He first tweeted the correct number, 33,341, then made it "38,000" in his remarks at the White House, then tonight made it "almost 40,000."
Trump: "By the way, there is nothing better than a good old-fashioned German shepherd. It's hard to believe. It's true."
!!! Trump: "Certain types of dogs. You do love your dogs, don't you? I wouldn't mind having one, honestly, but I don't have any time. How would I look walking a dog on the White House lawn?...Feels a little phony to me...That's not the relationship I have with my people."
Trump says he's been advised to get a dog because it's good politically, but "that's not the relationship I have with my people," his base.
Trump on getting a dog, in summary:
- I wouldn't mind one but I don't have any time
- It would look phony for me to walk a dog
- My base doesn't need to see me with a dog
- I wouldn't mind one but I don't have any time
- It would look phony for me to walk a dog
- My base doesn't need to see me with a dog
Trump on the House Dems on the new NAFTA deal: "They would rather have Trump have a loss than get something that's so good for our country."
We are at the Trump talks about the 1888 tariff debate part of the rally. He concludes, "Check it out, 1888. Have the press check it out. They'll say, 'Donald Trump said 1888.'"
Trump reads: "We're embarking on bold initiatives to defeat AIDS." He adds: "Who knew that?"
Sir Alert/Tears Alert! Trump says a crying guy so big "he's like a monster, like this monster football player, big strong guy," said to him, as he was coming out, "Thank you very much...you've saved our country."
I'm being kicked out of a building so I'm going to end on the crying monster. Good night everyone
For anyone confused, I did not get kicked out of the rally. I got kicked out of Toronto's Massey College by the nice man locking up the college.
As almost always, Trump was lying about his crowd size...
...Trump was also lying about the O'Rourke event, which he pegged at a maximum of 300 people...
...and Trump was lying about the number of people watching the rally on screens outside. That is a crowd size liefecta.
