NEW YORK, Pa. — With only two weeks to go, Donald Trump’s team said he would start practicing his closing argument on Saturday night. But the former president started his speech by telling a long story about Arnold Palmer. At one point, he even said nice things about the late, great golfer’s private parts.
Trump was running in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, where Palmer was born in 1929. His father, who had polio and was the head pro and greenskeeper at the local country club, taught him how to play golf.
It’s not new for politicians to salute Palmer in his hometown. But Trump did it for 12 minutes straight at the beginning of his speech. He even said it would be more fun if Palmer, who died in 2016, could join him on stage.
Trump said, “Arnold Palmer was all man, and I say that with all due respect to women.” “This guy was all man.”
He then went even further.
“They came out of there when he took showers with other pros.” “Oh my God,” they said. “That’s crazy,” Trump said with a laugh. “I had to say it.” Some of the women here are very smart, but they used to think Arnold was a guy.
Aides to Trump told reporters before the speech that Trump was going to talk about his closing case against Vice President Kamala Harris and “start to get into that framing.” In the past, candidates have used their last few days on the campaign road to tell voters why they should be elected president.
In the end, Trump hit on many of his favorite campaign themes, but he didn’t say much new about the race or why he should win it. Instead, he talked about how strong his tax policies and military were during his first time in office.
He called Harris “crazy” and used a bad word.
To loud cheers from the crowd, Trump said, “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.” “The worst. You are not a good vice president. You’ve been fired, Kamala. Leave this place right away.
He also said Harris was wrong when she said she would support a ban on hydraulic fracking while she was running for president in 2020 but lost. This is important to Pennsylvania’s economy and Harris’s campaign says she no longer supports this stance.
Trump asked members of a local steelworkers union that backed him to come on stage. He put on a hard hat that said his name on it.
He also said that Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, called him while the war with Hamas in Gaza was still going on.
Trump talked about the Netanyahu call and said, “He said, ‘It’s incredible what’s happened.'” He then went on to criticize President Joe Biden, saying that the Israeli prime minister “wouldn’t listen to Biden.”
Trump praised the loud crowd, which was outside and at an airport. He also made a point of saying, “They give you a little extra security nowadays, you notice?” to imply that there was more noticeable security around him after two failed murder attempts.
He said about the guards, “I got more machine guns than I’ve ever seen. Look at these guys.” People in the crowd yelled “USA! USA!” and cut him off. He then said, “We’ve got more guys, and every one of them is like central casting too, holy s—.”
He then tied it back to Latrobe’s young son from the area and said, “They look like Arnold.” Arnold is the only one who looks better.
