2010s, 2015, Presidential Bid Announcement (June 16, 2015)
Context: When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're not sending you. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people. But I speak to border guards and they tell us what we're getting. And it only makes common sense. It only makes common sense. They're sending us not the right people. It's coming from more than Mexico. It's coming from all over South and Latin America, and it's coming probably – probably – from the Middle East. But we don't know. Because we have no protection and we have no competence, we don't know what's happening. And it's got to stop and it's got to stop fast.
Donald J. Trump: Trending quotes (page 2)
Donald J. Trump trending quotes. Read the latest quotes in collection“I ran it past two or three people. [It's] so simple. It's like the paper clip.”
On his plan to defeat ISIS (May 2015)
2010s, 2015
Context: There is a way of beating ISIS so easily, so quickly, so effectively, and it would be so nice... I know a way that would absolutely give us guaranteed victory... the problem is then everybody will take the idea, run with it and then people will forget where it came from... I ran it past two or three people. [It's] so simple. It's like the paper clip.
Esquire magazine (August 2004); "Donald Trump: How I'd Run the Country (Better)" (18 August 2015) http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/interviews/a37230/donald-trump-esquire-cover-story-august-2004/
2000s
Context: My life is seeing everything in terms of "How would I handle that?" Look at the war in Iraq and the mess that we're in. I would never have handled it that way. Does anybody really believe that Iraq is going to be a wonderful democracy where people are going to run down to the voting box and gently put in their ballot and the winner is happily going to step up to lead the county? C'mon. Two minutes after we leave, there's going to be a revolution, and the meanest, toughest, smartest, most vicious guy will take over. And he'll have weapons of mass destruction, which Saddam didn't have. What was the purpose of this whole thing? Hundreds and hundreds of young people killed. And what about the people coming back with no arms and legs? Not to mention the other side. All those Iraqi kids who've been blown to pieces. And it turns out that all of the reasons for the war were blatantly wrong. All this for nothing!
2010s, 2016, September, First presidential debate (September 26, 2016)
Context: We have the worst revival of an economy since the Great Depression. And believe me: We're in a bubble right now. And the only thing that looks good is the stock market, but if you raise interest rates even a little bit, that's going to come crashing down.
“What separates the winners from the losers is how a person reacts to each new twist of fate.”
Trump: Surviving at the Top (1990), p. 3; https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/550046337547665409
“What's the point of having great knowledge and keeping them all to yourself?”
Source: Why We Want You To Be Rich: Two Men, One Message
“I know the Chinese. I've made a lot of money with the Chinese. I understand the Chinese mind.”
As quoted in "Donald Trump has read a lot of books on China: 'I understand the Chinese mind'" http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2011/05/donald-trump-i-understand-the-chinese-mind.html, Los Angeles Times (3 May 2011), and in Forbes http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnmauldin/2015/08/24/playing-the-chinese-trump-card/ (August 2015)
2010s, 2011
Source: The Art of the Deal
Trump: The Way to the Top: The Best Business Advice I Ever Received (2004), p. 20
2000s