Trump mixes up words, swerves among subjects in off-topic speech

The Republican nominee appeared tired and complained about his heightened
campaign schedule.

https://archive.ph/4kcqk#selection-587.0-600.0

By Sabrina Rodriguez
and
Isaac Arnsdorf
October 1, 2024 at 9:02 p.m. EDT
MILWAUKEE � Republican nominee Donald Trump spoke for 33 minutes before his
first mention of the ostensible focus of his remarks.
Signs reading �SCHOOL CHOICE,� �EDUCATION FREEDOM NOW� and �LET PARENTS
DECIDE� decorated a small auditorium, and a panel of speakers preceding the
former president focused on using public funds to let families choose
between public and private, especially religious, schools. Trump read from
a binder containing a prepared speech on the subject, and he switched
abruptly between the text and a jumble of other topics.
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�We can be nice and we can be politically incorrect, but the only thing
they�re going to do there is cheat on elections, and we just can�t let this
happen,� he said at one point. Without warning, he continued: �The city of
Milwaukee is the home of first and oldest choice program.�
He spoke of �a million Rambos.� �Turnarounds� and �gotaways� and �dead-head
spending.� He mixed up Iran with North Korea and strained to pronounce
United Arab Emirates. He marveled at Hurricane Helene coming so late in the
storm season, which typically runs through November. He falsely claimed
government agencies can�t name the U.S. population, and he compared the
conflict between Israel and Iran to �two kids fighting in the schoolyard.�
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Trump, 78, often speaks in a digressive, extemporaneous style that thrills
his fans at large-scale rallies. But Tuesday�s event, in front of almost
entirely reporters, was especially scattered and hard to follow. Polls show
voters� concerns about Trump�s age and fitness have increased since
President Joe Biden, 81, withdrew and was replaced as the Democratic
nominee by Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump spoke slowly and appeared tired. It was his second stop of the day,
and he has picked up the pace of campaigning in recent weeks.
�I think I�m booked every single day for 33 days,� he said at the end of
the news conference, incorrectly citing the number of days until the
election, which is 35. �I�ve worked for 17 or 18 days when you say in a
row, and I�m working even when I�m not working.�
Trump was more energetic during a speech to supporters in Waunakee, Wis.,
earlier Tuesday. He went on an extended riff about the 1987 film �Full
Metal Jacket� and made up a false claim that Harris raised taxes as the San
Francisco district attorney, which is not a power of that office.
Trump avoided direct questions about how he would address the escalating
violence between Iran and Israel, by repeatedly insisting it never would
have happened if he were president. He claimed he could settle that war, as
well as Russia�s invasion of Ukraine, with a single phone call apiece, but
he declined to specify how.
�I don�t want to say what I�d use because I don�t want to give up
negotiating abilities,� he said. He even boasted that with a second term he
could have struck a peace deal between Iran and Israel.
He did not mention Tuesday�s vice-presidential debate or his running mate,
Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), at either event until an hour and 20 minutes into
the news conference when he was directly asked what advice he had given
Vance.
�Have fun,� Trump answered.
Trump's debate advice for Vance: 'Have fun'
0:42
Former president Donald Trump said his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-
Ohio), should "have fun" at the Oct. 1 vice-presidential debate in New
York. (Video: The Washington Post)
Much of what Trump said here he has said before. He repeated false claims
about a U.S. government app directing cartels where to drop off smuggled
migrants; in fact, the app lets migrants request appointments for legal
processing. He falsely accused the Biden administration of admitting 13,000
convicted murderers � a number that in fact reflects several decades of
migration and includes people in federal or state custody.
He also repeatedly praised predominantly White countries such as Denmark,
Norway and Sweden while emphatically warning against immigrants from Congo
in Africa. And he again said migrants crossing the U.S. southern border
were taking �Black and Hispanic jobs,� a characterization that many
Americans have found offensive and economists said was false.
�They come from, from the Congo in Africa,� Trump said at the event at
Discovery World, a science and technology museum a couple of miles from
where the Republican National Convention was held in July. �Many people
from the Congo. I don�t know what that is.�
Trump elaborated on his proposal to eliminate the Department of Education
by describing what he envisioned the agency would look like: �I think you
will have like one person plus a secretary. You�ll have a secretary. The
secretary will have one person plus a secretary. And all the person has to
do is: Are you teaching English? Are you teaching arithmetic? What are you
doing? Reading, writing and arithmetic. And are you not teaching woke? Not
teaching woke is a very big factor. But we�ll have a very small staff.�
Several times Trump mixed up his words or spoke in vague terms. He praised
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban as a �tough guy� when he appeared to
mean �strongman.� He complained that an interviewer with �60 Minutes�
�challenged me on the computer� � meaning the interviewer argued with him
in 2020 about the provenance of Hunter Biden�s laptop. He referred to
Afghan attacks on coalition forces, known in NATO as �green on blue,� as
�blue on brown and brown on blue.�
Asked whether as president he should have retaliated more forcefully
against Iran�s missile strikes on U.S. forces in Iraq in 2020, Trump
responded as he did at the time, by denying the severity of the more than
100 injuries, including traumatic brain injury. �They had a headache,� he
said.
Other comments were harder to parse.
�Kamala and the radical left Democratic Party want to keep Black and
Hispanic children trapped in family government,� he said.
�Every single thing that we�re doing is based on structure and common
sense. I was looking at the various states, and I think 35 states could be
the equivalent of Norway and Denmark.�
Overall, Trump�s speech was a far cry from the preview from former
Wisconsin governor Tommy Thompson (R), who introduced him at the lectern.
�It�s going to be a great day because Donald Trump is going to talk to you
about his beliefs, his opportunities, his views and vision for education,�
Thompson said.