Donald J. Trump Quotes
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Donald John Trump is the 45th and current President of the United States, in office since January 20, 2017. Before entering politics, he was a businessman and television personality.

Trump was born in the New York City borough of Queens. He earned an economics degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. A third-generation businessman, Trump followed in the footsteps of his grandmother Elizabeth and father Fred in running the family real estate company. He served as chairman and president of The Trump Organization from 1971 until his inauguration as president in January 2017, when he delegated company management to his sons Donald Jr. and Eric. Trump's business career primarily focused on building or renovating office towers, hotels, casinos, and golf courses.

Trump also started several side ventures and branded various products with his name. He is credited as having written or co-written several books , and produced and hosted The Apprentice television series for 12 years. As of 2017, he was the 544th richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of $3.5 billion.

Trump had long expressed interest in politics. He entered the 2016 presidential race as a Republican and defeated sixteen opponents in the primaries. Commentators described his political positions as populist, protectionist, and nationalist. His campaign received extensive free media coverage; many of his public statements were controversial or false. Trump won the general election on November 8, 2016, in a surprise victory against Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. He became the oldest and wealthiest person ever to assume the presidency, the first without prior military or government service, and the fifth to have won the election despite losing the popular vote. His election and policies have sparked numerous protests.

In domestic policy, Trump has unsuccessfully attempted to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. He appointed Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. He ordered a travel ban on citizens from six Muslim-majority countries, citing security concerns; the ban was partially implemented after several legal challenges. In foreign policy, he withdrew the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Paris Climate Agreement, undid parts of the Cuban Thaw, and ordered missile strikes in Syria in response to the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack. After Trump dismissed FBI Director James Comey, the Justice Department appointed Comey's predecessor Robert Mueller as special counsel to investigate Russia's interference in the presidential election, potential links between Russia and Trump campaign associates, and any related matters.

✵ 14. June 1946
Donald J. Trump photo
Donald J. Trump: 904   quotes 24   likes

Donald J. Trump Quotes

“And by the way, the virus. They're working hard. Looks like by April, you know, in theory, when it gets a little warmer, it miraculously goes away. I hope that's true.”

Regarding coronavirus

Rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, , quoted in * 2020-02-26

Trump’s dangerous message on coronavirus

Doyle McManus

LA Times

https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-02-26/trumps-dangerous-message-on-coronavirus
2020s, 2020, February

“When someone is president of the United States the authority is total.”

Coronavirus task force press briefing, , quoted by * 2020-04-13

CNN reporter flat-out contradicts Trump to his face when he claims king-like authority

Cody Fenwick

RawStory

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/04/cnn-reporter-flat-out-contradicts-trump-to-his-face-when-he-claims-king-like-authority/
2020s, 2020, April

“We had a great event yesterday, an event that was so beautiful, young African American leaders. One of the things I asked them, and I’ve been thinking about this for a long time… And great people, great people. Some of them are here tonight. Do you like the name African American or Black? And they said, “Black!” all at the same time. No, true. I tell you. Because you say, “African American or Black?” And they said almost immediately, “Black.””

But we had an incredible group of people and what happened is NBC… It was such a love fest. It was so incredible. It went on for 45 minutes. It was a love fest. It was incredible. NBC turned down… There they are right there. They turned down… Comcast, which owns NBC… Actually NBC, I think, we call it MSDNC, right? MSDNC. But NBC I think is worse than CNN. I actually do. And Comcast, a company that spends millions and millions of dollars on their image… I’ll do everything possible to destroy their image because they are terrible. They are terrible. They’re a terrible group of people. And they paid me a fortune for years for the Apprentice. They paid me a fortune. And when I left the show, it was doing great. When I left the show, 14 seasons, think of that, they got a big movie star. I won’t tell you his name. Nobody would know. Actually nobody will know his name because he was on for such a short period of time. But the show went down the tubes very quickly after they had Trump. But the country in five years from now, of course you want to upset them, five years or nine years or 13 years. Or 18 years! 10 more years. Nah. Oh, they go crazy when you say it. When you say to them five more years, so it’s five, but you then say maybe nine, maybe 13, maybe 17, maybe 21, or not, maybe 21. Let’s do this. Let’s term limit ourselves at 25 years. No more than 25 years. No more. Okay. They’ll pass something in the Senate. Tim, pass it in the Senate with Lindsey, a 25 year term limit please.
2020s, 2020, February, Donald Trump Charleston, South Carolina Rally (February 28, 2020)

“They would like to have the people come off. I'd rather have the people stay, but I'd go with them. I told them to make the final decision. I would rather — because I like the numbers being where they are. I don't need to have the numbers double because of one ship that wasn't our fault.”

regarding Grand Princess cruise ship with 21 diagnosed cases of coronavirus

during tour of Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, , quoted in * 2020-03-06

Trump Says ‘People Have to Remain Calm’ Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

Peter Baker

New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/06/us/politics/trump-coronavirus-cdc.html
2020s, 2020, March

“That’s why your ratings are so bad because you’re pathetic. Go ahead. Let’s go. Your ratings are terrible. You got to get back to real news. Go ahead.”

Trump interrupting a reporter who started a question with "The first of the month is next week ... " White House coronavirus task force briefing (April 19, 2020), Donald Trump Coronavirus Press Conference Transcript April 19 https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/donald-trump-coronavirus-press-conference-transcript-april-19
2020s, 2020, April

“Look, I could tell you about — and I’m not going to do it, because I didn’t want to bring it up — but I could tell you about events that took place. And I said things like, “You’ll never do that again” or “You’ll never do this again” or — I don’t even want to mention the events. I don’t want to mention what you’re supposed to be doing because — and you know one of them was so horrible.  I said, “A certain industry will be out of business — never happen again.””

Two weeks later, it was like nothing ever happened. Hopefully, we get rid of this. We have tremendous talent up here and all over, including governors, including local governments, state governments.

[https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-vice-president-pence-members-coronavirus-task-force-press-briefing-april-17-2020/ Remarks by President Trump, Vice President Pence, and Members of the Coronavirus Task Force in Press Briefing | April 17, 2020]
2020s, 2020, April

“I know you're not thinking. You never do.”

Donald Trump to a female reporter who was going to ask a question. * 2018-10-02

President Donald Trump To Reporter: ‘I Know You’re Not Thinking. You Never Do’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASOTct1woo8
2010s, 2018, October

“We’ve tested more than every other country in the world even put together.”

Quoted by * 2020-04-21

Trump just said the US has done more coronavirus testing than the rest of the world. Not even close.

Aaron Rupar

Vox

https://www.vox.com/2020/4/21/21230400/trump-coronavirus-briefing-testing-other-countries-combined

Note: At that time, the US had done just above 4 million tests, while worldwide more than 20 million tests had been done.
2020s, 2020, April

“I can't imagine why.”

Trump was answering a question from a journalist about rise in misuse of disinfectants the last few days, as quoted by * 2020-04-27

Trump Says He Takes No Responsibility For People Ingesting Disinfectant

Lydia O'Connor

Huffpost

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-no-responsibility-disinfectant-use_n_5ea75b7dc5b6a30004e6e509?fbclid=IwAR1YLsCN0wKRW6KhjvZVh6I_26leD6mQF3nrmcuXQzh0Zd2nCIZJQU-QOG8
2020s, 2020, April

“What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately. They get record ratings, & the American people get nothing but Fake News. Not worth the time & effort!”

Tweet, as quoted by * 2020-04-26

Trump says briefings 'not worth the effort' amid fallout from disinfectant comments

Lauren Aratani

The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/apr/25/donald-trump-stays-away-from-briefings-amid-fallout-from-disinfectant-comments
2020s, 2020, April

“I can't tell you that. I'm not allowed to tell you that.”

Trump was answering what his basis was for claiming that the coronavirus emerged from a virology lab in the Wuhan city of China, as quoted by * 2020-05-01

'It Came Out Of China, Could Have Been Stopped': Prez Donald Trump On Coronavirus

PTI

Outlook

https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/world-news-it-came-out-of-china-could-have-been-stopped-prez-donald-trump-on-coronavirus/351848
2020s, 2020, April

“These are very good people, but they are angry.”

Trump described armed demonstrators who stormed the state Capitol in Michigan, as quoted by * 2020-05-01

Trump urges Michigan governor to give in to ‘very good people’ who stormed statehouse with guns

Travis Gettys

Rawstory

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/05/trump-urges-michigan-governor-to-give-in-to-very-good-people-who-stormed-statehouse-with-guns/
2020s, 2020, April

“It's a very contagious virus. It's incredible. But it's something we have tremendous control of. I think very important the young people, people of good health and groups of people just are not strongly affected.”

Claimed by Trump in a White House briefing, as quoted in * 2020-03-15

Fact check: Trump falsely claims US has 'tremendous control' of the coronavirus

Daniel Dale

CNN

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/15/politics/fact-check-trump-control-coronavirus/index.html
2020s, 2020, March

“We are getting great marks for the handling of the CoronaVirus pandemic, especially the very early BAN of people from China, the infectious source, entering the USA. Compare that to the Obama/Sleepy Joe disaster known as H1N1 Swine Flu. Poor marks, bad polls - didn’t have a clue!”

As quoted by * 2020-05-10

Trump claims he is ‘getting great marks’ for coronavirus response as US death toll nears 80,000

Richard Hall

Independent

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/trump-coronavirus-us-response-barack-obama-joe-biden-a9507346.html
2020s, 2020, May

“You’re talking about Vietnam and at that time nobody had ever heard of the country.”

Trump was describing the US knowledge about Vietnam in 1968, when about one half million US troops were stationed in Vietnam, as quoted in [Trump says was 'never a fan' of Vietnam War, and that Americans hadn't heard of country in 1968, Japan Times, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/06/06/world/politics-diplomacy-world/trump-says-never-fan-vietnam-war-claims-americans-hadnt-heard-country-1968/#.XraZ4hMzbOQ]
2010s, 2019, June

“Asian Americans are VERY angry at what China has done to our Country, and the World. Chinese Americans are the most angry of all. I don’t blame them!”

Quoted in * 2020-05-12

Trump claims Asian Americans are angry at 'what China has done' to U.S.

Kimmy Yam

Yahoo News / NBC News

https://news.yahoo.com/trump-claims-asian-americans-angry-190959445.html
2020s, 2020, May

“Just finished a very good conversation with President Xi of China. Discussed in great detail the CoronaVirus that is ravaging large parts of our Planet. China has been through much & has developed a strong understanding of the Virus. We are working closely together. Much respect!”

Quoted in * 2020-03-27

Trump claims Asian Americans are angry at 'what China has done' to U.S.

Kimmy Yam

Yahoo News / NBC News

https://news.yahoo.com/trump-claims-asian-americans-angry-190959445.html
2020s, 2020, March

“I have a natural instinct for science.”

Quoted in * 2018-10-15

Trump: My ‘Natural Instinct for Science’ Tells Me Climate Science Is Wrong

Jonathan Chait

New York Intelligencer

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/10/trump-i-have-a-natural-instinct-for-science.html
2010s, 2018, October

“Coronavirus numbers are looking MUCH better, going down almost everywhere.”

Quoted in * 2020-05-11

Trump points to 'the numbers,' which don't say what he thinks they say

Steve Benen

MSNBC

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-points-numbers-which-don-t-say-what-he-thinks-n1205336
2020s, 2020, May

“I didn’t want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it.”

Trump commented on why he didn't wear a face mask as a protection against the coronavirus at a visit to a factory, as quoted in * 2020-05-21
Trump Goes Without Mask For Public Tour of Michigan Factory, Says He ‘Didn’t Want to Give the Press the Pleasure’ of Seeing Him Wearing One
Madeleine Carlisle, 2020, May
Source: https://time.com/5840833/trump-michigan-ford-plant-tour-mask/

“When we have a lot of cases, I don’t look at that as a bad thing — I look at that in a certain respect as being a good thing because it means our testing is much better. ... So I view it as a badge of honour, really,”

Trump talked about the 1.59 million confirmed cases of Covid-19, as quoted in * 2020-05-19
Coronavirus: Trump says it’s ‘badge of honour’ for US to lead world in Covid-19 cases
2020s, 2020, May
Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-coronavirus-cases-us-covid-death-toll-a9523166.html

“I would have told you that three or four days ago, but we never had a chance, because you never asked me the question.”

Trump, about taking the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine to prevent Covid-19 disease, as quoted in * 2020-05-18
FDA: This Drug Could Kill You. Trump: I’m Taking It!
Justin Paragona, Adam Rawnsley
The Daily Beast
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-reveals-hes-now-taking-unproven-anti-malarial-drug-fda-warned-against
2020s, 2020, May

“A lot of doctors take it. I take it.”

2020s, 2020, May

“China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency.”

Cited by * 2020-01-24
Trump Is Inciting a Coronavirus Culture War to Save Himself
Adam Serwer
The Atlantic
2020s, 2020, January
Source: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/trump-is-the-chinese-governments-most-useful-idiot/608638/

“If we didn’t do any testing, we would have very few cases”

As quoted in * 2020-05-16
Trump seems to think there’d be no coronavirus if there was no testing. It doesn’t work like that.
Aaron Rupar
Source: https://www.vox.com/2020/5/15/21259888/trump-coronavirus-testing-very-few-cases

“Our army manned the air, it rammed the ramparts, it took over the airports, it did everything it had to do.”

2010s, 2019, July
Source: Trump was describing battles in 1775, as quoted in Trump blames 'airports' gaffe on teleprompter https://www.bbc.com/news/48885319

“I don't think science knows, actually.”

2020s, 2020, September

“I think there’s probably – possibly – drugs involved”

Claimed, without evidence, about President Candidate Joe Biden, as quoted in * 2020-09-10
Trump uses Fox News interview to accuse Biden of taking drugs
Martin Pengelly
The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/12/trump-biden-drugs-fox-news-interview
2020s, 2020, September

“It'll start getting cooler. You just watch.”

Trump described his stance on climate science and global warming, as quoted in * 2020-09-14
Trump baselessly questions climate science during California wildfire briefing
Maegan Vazquez
CNN
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/14/politics/donald-trump-wildfires-briefing-climate-change/index.html
2020s, 2020, September

“Tell your governor to open up your state.”

On September 14, 2020, in front of hundreds of supporters packed together, according to Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak says Trump took 'reckless and selfish actions' by holding indoor rally https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/09/13/donald-trump-latino-voters-las-vegas-ahead-rally/5784501002/
2020s, 2020, September

“We gave the greatest -- the biggest tax cut in history.”

Claimed, without evidence, as quoted by * 2020-10-20
Fact-checking Trump's dishonest weekend: The President made at least 66 false or misleading claims in three days
Daniel Dale
CNN
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/19/politics/fact-check-trump-dishonest-weekend-florida-michigan-georgia-wisconsin/index.html
2020s, 2020, October

“Mexico is paying for the wall.”

2020s, 2020, October

“Did you see they found 50,000 ballots in like a river?”

2020s, 2020, October

“I won the Election!”

again (this time not in ALL CAPS) via tweet https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1328334945148952576 November 16, 2020, with the all too-common warning by twitter : Multiple sources called this election differently
2020s, 2020, November

“We should have the small remaining number of our BRAVE Men and Women serving in Afghanistan home by Christmas!”

Via tweet https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1313984510749544450 October 7, 2020
2020s, 2020, October

“The U.S. Supreme Court has been totally incompetent and weak on the massive Election Fraud that took place in the 2020 Presidential Election. We have absolute PROOF, but they don't want to see it - No 'standing', they say. If we have corrupt elections, we have no country!”

Disputed tweet, quoted by * 2020-12-26
With less than a month left in office, Trump lashes out at 'totally incompetent' Supreme Court for refusing to overturn his election loss
Connor Perrett
Business Insider
2020s, 2020, December
Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-supreme-court-totally-incompetent-for-refusing-to-overturn-election-2020-12?r=US&IR=T

“If I lost, I’d be a very gracious loser.”

Quoted by * 2020-12-06
AP FACT CHECK: Trump floods rally with audacious falsehoods
Calvin Woodward
Source: https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-donald-trump-rally-falsehoods-424834660f894040b55b415aecb2a443

“So, look, all I wanna do, is I wanna find 11,780 votes.”

Spoken to Georgia election officials on January 2, pressuring Secretary of State Brian Kemp to recalculate the 2020 United States presidential election vote in his favor. * 2020-01-03
Audio: Trump berates Ga. secretary of state, urges him to ‘find’ votes
Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/audio-trump-berates-ga-secretary-of-state-urges-him-to-find-votes/2021/01/03/aba64f5f-8c3c-490f-af34-618ccea732d7_video.html