Trump begins in Wisconsin by recounting his 2016 victory in Wisconsin. He boasts of his trade agreements in North America and Asia, then says, "You gotta love Trump. You gotta love Trump." He then mentions the Packers and calls Aaron Rodgers a "good guy."
Trump touts the economy, then the death of "the animal known as al-Baghdadi." He tells his Sir story about how he'd wanted to leave Syria when the caliphate was 98% destroyed, but people said, "oh no, sir, please finish it," so he did.
Trump touts the killing of Soleimani, saying he was "actively planning new attacks." He says, "And frankly, they already started the attack." (He's referring to the storming of the embassy in Baghdad. He's providing no new details.) He claims the embassy-stormers were "soldiers."
Trump says the soldiers who came to the aid of the embassy were "better than Tom Cruise, at his best."
A protester. Trump says his thing about how she is "going home to mom." He says her mom voted for Trump. He adds that, "in 10 years from now, when I run yet again, she'll be voting for Trump too." He then adds, "I'm only kidding, I'm only kidding. We drive them crazy."
Trump says the media will die if, in five years, he actually does leave office. Which, he adds, he will, "Because I believe in that stuff, right."
Trump says of Iran: "The protesters are on our side. First time ever." He points to this story about Iranians refusing to walk on an American flag. "They went arouuund the flag...that's called progress," Trump says. nbcnews.com/news/world/ira…
Trump says "great percentages" of American soldiers don't have legs or arms because of "this son of a bitch" Soleimani.
Trump falsely claims that "Mexico's paying for the wall." He says, without elaboration, "It'll come out."
Trump says Bernie Sanders is "a nasty guy" but that he doesn't believe Sanders said what Elizabeth Warren says Sanders said about a woman winning the presidency. He says it's not the kind of thing Sanders would say.
Trump mocks people who ask if Soleimani's supposed planned attack was "imminent" (pronouncing it more like "eminent"). (Trump himself had justified the strike by saying there was an imminent attack.) He mockingly says that there's going to be a new investigation about this.
Trump then immediately pivots to Bill Clinton's conversation with Loretta Lynch at an airport in 2016. He mentions Tiger Woods. He then starts talking about Iran again.
Trump is talking about how Iran was a problem for previous presidents, musing about how the hostage crisis hurt Carter. He again warns the regime not to harm protesters. He says he is watching closely.
Trump is doing a play-by-play of the exchange with Iran. He says of Iran's missiles, "They were big and they were fast and they were accurate." He says he asked, "How many killed" and was told, "Nobody, sir." "How many hurt?" They said, "Nobody, sir."
He says Iran saved itself "a trillion dollars" by (it seems) not killing any Americans. He says this was "smart." He says he's not looking for "regime change." He mocks Hillary Clinton for wanting to get rid of Gaddafi. There is a "lock her up" chant. Trump says she should be.
"It's been there for -- a thousand years," Trump says of the Turkey-Syria border that is less than 100 years old.
Trump is doing a lot of pointing at the media. He complains that the media reports "Trump stayed in Syria." He says what really happened is that "we kept the oil." (The media reports are accurate. He has kept soldiers in Syria to secure oil fields.)
Trump is telling the story about how everyone calls him "President" instead of "Donald," even his old buddies. "President, President."
Trump says his phone call with Ukraine was perfect. He says if you look back at Lyndon Johnson, who was "sort of a tough guy," you'd see way tougher phone calls. He suggests Johnson might be in hell, saying Johnson is either looking down on all this or maybe "looking up."
This is an important point -- Mexico has taken significant action at Trump's behest, deploying thousands of soldiers to keep migrants away from the US. But it hasn't funded the physical wall, as Trump continues to claim.
Trump calls up Wisconsin Republicans, touts Sean Duffy, criticizes CNN, points to the back of the room, and says, "That's how FAKE -- turn the camera off." (He usually falsely claims that CNN has actually turned its camera off, so this is progress.)
Trump makes fun of Biden for mixing up states. He says Biden is getting a media pass for these gaffes.
Trump touts the stock market, tells people that their MAGA hats are great, promises he'll never get rid of the slogan MAGA, then does the thing where he asks people if they prefer MAGA or KAG.
I am now bailing on this for the Democratic debate.
I am now bailing on this for the Democratic debate.
