News
Donald Trump Makes Crude Joke About Arnold Palmer At Pennsylvania Rally
Topline
Former President Donald Trump opened a rally in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, on Saturday by talking about late golfer Arnold Palmer—and sharing a story about Palmer’s genitalia—for more than 10 minutes, marking the latest bizarre move at a rally from Trump just weeks from Election Day.
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump dances at a campaign rally at Arnold … [+]
Key Facts
Within the first 12 minutes of his rally in Latrobe—which is Palmer’s hometown—Trump praised Palmer as “all man,” before he took it further, saying: “When he took the showers with other pros, they came out of there. They said, ‘Oh my God. That’s unbelievable … We have women that are highly sophisticated here, but they used to look at Arnold as a man.”
Trump also reminisced about golfing with Palmer and said the rally would be more fun if the golfer (who died in 2016) could join him, taking it further than what politicians typically say about the famous golfer when visiting his hometown, the Associated Press reported.
When Trump did turn to politics at the rally, he called his opponent Vice President Kamala Harris “a s*** vice president” and a “radical left Marxist,” and criticized her suggestion in the 2020 primaries that she would ban hydraulic fracking—though Harris has since said she does not want to ban fracking.
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Big Number
16. That’s how many days there are until Election Day, when Trump will face off against Harris in what is expected to be a highly contested race. FiveThirtyEight’s national average showed Harris with a 2-point advantage over Trump as of Sunday morning.
Key Background
Trump has been holding rallies across battleground states in recent weeks as Election Day nears, and he has continued to go off script and sometimes confuse viewers. Last Monday, Trump stopped a town hall-style event while attendees got medical help, and rather than resume it, he had his team play music for nearly a half hour as he danced on the stage. After the rally, Harris shared a clip on social media and said “Hope he’s okay.” Trump has become known for going on rants at his rallies in the past, referring to the fictional character “the late great Hannibal Lecter” when discussing immigration, talking about his indictments and having crowds chant attacks at Harris and Biden. Trump’s team had reportedly said his speech Saturday would be the start of his efforts to make closing arguments against Vice President Kamala Harris, though he mostly stuck to his regular talking points of criticizing the Biden administration’s handling of the border and personal attacks on Harris. Trump’s meandering speaking style has caused some critics to raise questions about the 78-year-old’s mental acuity, which he has typically deflected.
Chief Critic
Peg Palmer, the golfer’s daughter, said in 2018 “he was appalled by Trump’s lack of civility … and what he began to see as Trump’s lack of character,” according to Rolling Stone. “He didn’t like it when other people were nasty and rude.”
Further Reading