Trump Defends Tea Party, Cuts Off Woman Asking About His Record With Women

Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

After a relatively staid speech about some of Donald Trump’s favorite subjects — dissing President Obama, boycotting Oreos and building ice rinks — the GOP frontrunner’s appearance at the centrist No Labels convention went predictably off the rails when the floor was opened up for questions.

At “Problem Solvers” event in New Hampshire Monday sponsored by the group No Labels — which emphasizes compromise and bipartisan solutions — attendees grilled Trump about the Tea Party and on whether he was a friend to women. Trump also asked a questioner wearing a Harvard shirt who asked about South Korea if he was South Korean. The young man was born in Texas.

On the first matter, a woman asked Trump about the House Freedom Caucus, “or a.k.a. the Tea Party,” she said.

“I love the Tea Party, I do,” Trump said, before she could finish her question. “I’ll tell you about the Tea Party, these are people, in all fairness, these are people that love this country. They do love this country and they want the country to be great.”

She pressed Trump further, asking about Tea Party lawmakers’ effort to shutdown the government over Planned Parenthood funding.

“But that’s their point of view,” Trump said, as the woman continued to question him about it. “They don’t want Planned Parenthood funded. I think a lot of people understand that, including me.”

The audience began booing as Trump moved on to the next question.

Then another woman was handed the microphone, and she challenged Trump, “I don’t think you’re a friend to women.”

Before she finished her question, Trump cut the young woman off and said, “I knew I shouldn’t have picked her.”

“Let me give you that answer right now,” Trump continued. “I respect women incredibly.”

He went on to cite his employment of women, and relationship with his daughter, his wife and his mother.

“I respect women and I am going to take care women,” Trump said, as he pivoted toward former Gov. Jeb Bush’s comments suggesting too much federal money went to women’s health.

Before he could move on, the young woman asked a follow up: “I want to be paid the same as a man, and I think you understand that. So if you become president, will a woman make the same as a man and do I get to choose what I do with my body?”

“You’re going to make the same if you do as good a job and I happen to be pro-life,” Trump said.

A young man in a Harvard sweatshirt then asked Trump about comments he made about South Korea earlier this summer.

“Are you from South Korea?” Trump interjected.

“I was born in Texas and raised in Colorado,” the young man replied.

See the three back-to-back questions here.

Latest Livewire

Notable Replies

  1. “Are you from South Korea?” Trump interjected.

    Trump thought he was a Seoul brother.

  2. Trump also asked a questioner wearing a Harvard shirt who asked about
    South Korea if he was South Korean. The young man was born in Texas.

    Trump: “That doesn’t answer my question.”

  3. Trump fucked this up so bad he’ll go up 3 points in the polls.

  4. Trump’s new Cabinet departments:

    Department of My State
    Department of My Defense
    Department of My Treasure
    Department of Casinos, Trump Towers, and Urban Development
    Department of Me
    Department of Me, I and Mine

  5. Avatar for sjk sjk says:

    Never forget the average American is of average intelligence.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

30 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for bdtex Avatar for runfastandwin Avatar for mt_from_cc Avatar for afblac Avatar for humpback Avatar for enon Avatar for vonq Avatar for inlabsitrust Avatar for ralph_vonholst Avatar for jkrogman Avatar for astro_walker Avatar for candirue Avatar for serendipitoussomnambulist Avatar for dickweed Avatar for ronbyers Avatar for darrtown Avatar for kfraz43 Avatar for sjk Avatar for professorpoopypants Avatar for just_observing Avatar for mnwildfan Avatar for bplewis24 Avatar for s_man_48

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: