Trump Insists He’s ‘Presidential,’ Ranks Himself Right Behind Lincoln (VIDEO)

President Donald Trump pumps his fist and smiles as he speaks at the Covelli Centre, Tuesday, July 25, 2017, in Youngstown, Ohio. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
President Donald Trump pumps his fist and smiles as he speaks at the Covelli Centre, Tuesday, July 25, 2017, in Youngstown, Ohio. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

As his administration struggled to persuade Republican senators to fall in line behind a bill to repeal Obamacare, President Donald Trump on Tuesday night returned to the comfort of a campaign speech, promising a crowd in Youngstown, Ohio, that he would push forward with his agenda.

Trump responded to his critics, as he so often does, mentioning that pundits often lament that he is not “presidential.”

“It’s so easy to act presidential, but that’s not going to get it done,” Trump said. “It is much easier, by the way, to act presidential than what we are doing here tonight, believe me.”

He then ranked himself right behind Abraham Lincoln.

“With the exception of the late, great Abraham Lincoln, I can be more presidential than any president that’s ever held this office,” he said.

His comments at the rally come amid a public campaign by the President to tear down Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Still fuming over Sessions’ decision to recuse himself from the Russia probe, Trump has relentlessly, publicly attacked Sessions this week, calling him “beleaguered” and suggesting he could let the attorney general go.

Trump treated the rally like a campaign stump speech, hitting on his usual topics of immigration, job creation, and infrastructure. He also threw in a few lines pressuring Republican senators to vote for a bill to repeal Obamacare.

As the President made promises to bring back jobs in the United States, Republican senators were back in Washington struggling to move forward on a plan to repeal Obamacare. After squeaking through a motion to proceed to debate on repeal, nine Republicans voted down the Senate GOP’s replacement plan, defeating the comprehensive bill. Now senators are left to vote on on a straight repeal bill and a “skinny repeal” bill that would punt negotiations back to the House.

Watch clips from Trump’s Tuesday rally via CNN:

Latest DC

Notable Replies

  1. Ya you should have seen Ol’ Lincoln holding those campaign rallies after he got elected pushing the Emancipation Proclamation.
    The adoring crowds , the press coverage , the Make the Negros Free hats
    Very presidential

  2. I’m so proud of my nation.
    /s

  3. To make such a foolish statement makes him unPresidential in every way. What a dope!

  4. Words fail me.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

59 more replies

Participants

Avatar for codegen86 Avatar for beal Avatar for footballreddog Avatar for asanders91360 Avatar for blandsten Avatar for danf Avatar for dave_adams Avatar for mantan Avatar for sickneffintired Avatar for ralph_vonholst Avatar for tomanjeri Avatar for denisj Avatar for riverstreet Avatar for mrf Avatar for zlohcuc Avatar for clauscph Avatar for lizzymom Avatar for coimmigrant Avatar for katscherger Avatar for centralasiaexpat Avatar for natasbob Avatar for dannysgrandma Avatar for oldsailor4 Avatar for the_lemur

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