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President Declares the Winner of the Democratic Debate: Donald Trump President Declares the Winner of the Democratic Debate: Donald Trump
(about 1 hour later)
LAS VEGAS — Flying to Las Vegas from Phoenix on Wednesday night on Air Force One, President Trump was glued to the Democratic presidential primary debate.LAS VEGAS — Flying to Las Vegas from Phoenix on Wednesday night on Air Force One, President Trump was glued to the Democratic presidential primary debate.
He liked what he saw, and on Thursday morning, as strategists and pundits sifted through the aftermath, the president tweeted out his conclusion. He liked what he saw, and all day Thursday, as strategists and pundits sifted through the aftermath, the president shared his own conclusions.
“‘The real winner last night was Donald Trump,’” Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter, quoting Michael R. Bloomberg’s remarks to a group of supporters. “Mini Mike Bloomberg. I agree!”“‘The real winner last night was Donald Trump,’” Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter, quoting Michael R. Bloomberg’s remarks to a group of supporters. “Mini Mike Bloomberg. I agree!”
Though a spate of recent polls show the president faring badly against possible Democratic opponents, including Mr. Bloomberg and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Mr. Trump and his advisers say the contentious debate left them feeling bullish about the president’s re-election prospects, especially with the impeachment phase of his presidency behind him. And by the time the president landed in Colorado Springs for a “Keep America Great” rally, on the third day of his trip out West, he seemed interested in taking a victory lap.
And at an event on Thursday morning, Mr. Trump seemed to marvel that impeachment had happened at all. “I don’t know if anybody watched last night’s debate,” Mr. Trump said shortly after he took the stage. “It got very big ratings, and you know what? Mini Mike didn’t do very well last night. I was going to send him a note saying, ‘It’s not easy doing what I do, is it?’”
“I didn’t do anything wrong and they impeached me a few weeks ago,” he told a group of people at a criminal justice overhaul event in Las Vegas. “I said: ‘What happened? What did I do?’ The good news, my numbers went through the roof.” Indeed, at times during the rally, it was difficult to follow exactly what it was he was doing during the 90-plus minutes he spent onstage.
As he continued his four-day West Coast swing, Mr. Trump was preparing for his second “Keep America Great” rally in two nights — this one in Colorado Springs, where he was expected to try to bolster the fortunes of Senator Cory Gardner, a vulnerable Republican up for re-election in a state that is trending increasingly liberal. During a free-associative speech, Mr. Trump directed an aide to bring him a sheaf of news clippings, reminisced at length about his 2016 victory, criticized windmills and provided xenophobic pop culture commentary. He criticized the movie “Parasite” for winning Best Picture at the Academy Awards — “The winner is a movie from South Korea? What the hell was that all about?” — before calling the actor Brad Pitt “a little wise guy.”
Eventually, the president found his way back to the slate of Democratic presidential candidates, saving special ire for Mr. Bloomberg and Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. He said that both of them had “choked” on the debate stage. And at one point, Mr. Trump put his hands to his throat and said, “I can’t breathe.”
Though a spate of recent polls show the president faring badly against possible Democratic opponents, including Mr. Bloomberg and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Mr. Trump and his advisers say the contentious debate left them feeling bullish about the president’s re-election prospects, especially with the impeachment phase of his presidency behind him. In Colorado, Mr. Trump instructed his supporters to ignore the polling.
“Don’t believe stories and don’t believe polls,” the president said, “because the polls are worse than the stories.”
Mr. Trump spent a substantial amount of time regaling the crowd with stories of his 2016 campaign, calling Dan Scavino — his social media manager and “the most powerful man in politics,” the president said — up to the stage to hand him a stack of news clippings. The president read aloud from them individually, insulting journalists who had declared he had done poorly on the debate stage against Hillary Clinton, his Democratic opponent that year, and attacking Fox News personalities he considers too critical of him.
“I did great in the debates,” Mr. Trump said. “I became president because of the debates.”
At the Colorado rally, he was expected to try to bolster the fortunes of Senator Cory Gardner, a vulnerable Republican up for re-election in a state that is trending increasingly liberal. “You’re going to help get Cory Gardner across that line because he’s been with us 100 percent,” he told the crowd.
Democrats have pointed out that the president’s track record on lending support to embattled candidates is mixed at best. But Mr. Trump is practiced at trying to turn any anti-Trump words spoken by Democrats against them, as he did when he paid particular attention to remarks that Mr. Bloomberg delivered to supporters on Thursday morning at an event in Salt Lake City.Democrats have pointed out that the president’s track record on lending support to embattled candidates is mixed at best. But Mr. Trump is practiced at trying to turn any anti-Trump words spoken by Democrats against them, as he did when he paid particular attention to remarks that Mr. Bloomberg delivered to supporters on Thursday morning at an event in Salt Lake City.
“Look, the real winner in the debate last night was Donald Trump because I worry that we may be on the way to nominating somebody who cannot win in November,” Mr. Bloomberg said. “If we choose a candidate who appeals to a small base, like Senator Sanders, it will be a fatal error.”“Look, the real winner in the debate last night was Donald Trump because I worry that we may be on the way to nominating somebody who cannot win in November,” Mr. Bloomberg said. “If we choose a candidate who appeals to a small base, like Senator Sanders, it will be a fatal error.”
Mr. Bloomberg’s somewhat chastened reaction was the cherry on top for the president, who will spend the rest of his time in the West making his case for re-election. Mr. Bloomberg’s somewhat chastened reaction was the cherry on top for the president, who has spent most of the week drawing energy — and money — from enthusiastic supporters. According to a Trump campaign official, Mr. Trump has raised $17 million for his re-election efforts since arriving on the West Coast.
“America likes winners, not whiners,” Kellyanne Conway, a counselor to the president and a former Trump campaign manager, said of his post-debate confidence. “President Trump has survived every petty, partisan, pathetic attempt to remove him from office and is well positioned to do it one more time: on Election Day.”“America likes winners, not whiners,” Kellyanne Conway, a counselor to the president and a former Trump campaign manager, said of his post-debate confidence. “President Trump has survived every petty, partisan, pathetic attempt to remove him from office and is well positioned to do it one more time: on Election Day.”
Donald Trump Jr., Mr. Trump’s eldest son and a campaign surrogate who watched the debate aboard Air Force One with his father, said that Mr. Bloomberg’s performance amounted to a “great night” for his father.Donald Trump Jr., Mr. Trump’s eldest son and a campaign surrogate who watched the debate aboard Air Force One with his father, said that Mr. Bloomberg’s performance amounted to a “great night” for his father.
“Bloomberg was the victim of a political homicide and was clearly not prepared for the onslaught coming his way at the debate,” Donald Trump Jr. said in remarks relayed through a spokesman. “If he can’t handle Grandpa Joe or Pocahontas on the debate stage, what makes anyone think he can handle Trump?”“Bloomberg was the victim of a political homicide and was clearly not prepared for the onslaught coming his way at the debate,” Donald Trump Jr. said in remarks relayed through a spokesman. “If he can’t handle Grandpa Joe or Pocahontas on the debate stage, what makes anyone think he can handle Trump?”
Before leaving Las Vegas, Mr. Trump traveled to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, where he delivered a commencement address for a program for former offenders — but not before turning the event into a mini-rally in which he attacked the F.B.I. and Hillary Clinton and commented about the sentencing of Roger J. Stone Jr., a onetime political adviser. Before he left Las Vegas for Colorado, Mr. Trump treated an official White House event as something of a mini campaign rally. He traveled to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, where he delivered a commencement address for a program for former offenders — but not before attacking the F.B.I. and Mrs. Clinton and commenting about the sentencing of Roger J. Stone Jr., a onetime political adviser.
Mr. Trump, who approved a slate of pardons and sentence commutations this week, told the crowd that he wanted to see the sentencing process play out but believed that Mr. Stone would be exonerated. Mr. Stone was sentenced to 40 months in prison for obstructing a congressional inquiry in a bid to protect the president.Mr. Trump, who approved a slate of pardons and sentence commutations this week, told the crowd that he wanted to see the sentencing process play out but believed that Mr. Stone would be exonerated. Mr. Stone was sentenced to 40 months in prison for obstructing a congressional inquiry in a bid to protect the president.
“At some point, I’ll make a determination,” Mr. Trump said. “But Roger Stone and everybody has to be treated fairly. And this has not been a fair process.”“At some point, I’ll make a determination,” Mr. Trump said. “But Roger Stone and everybody has to be treated fairly. And this has not been a fair process.”
The White House has sought to make an overhaul of the criminal justice system one of the central selling points to the president’s re-election, using it as proof that he is interested in issues that are important to both moderates and Democrats. At the event, Mr. Trump also seemed to marvel that impeachment had happened at all.
“I passed criminal justice reform, not the Democrats,” Mr. Trump told supporters on Wednesday evening at his rally in Phoenix. “I did it with the Republicans, and this could not have been done by anybody but me and the Republican Party. The Democrats did not do it. They could never have done it.” “I didn’t do anything wrong and they impeached me a few weeks ago,” he told the group. “I said: ‘What happened? What did I do?’ The good news, my numbers went through the roof.”