Former President Donald Trump focused on foreign policy in a speech to major Republican donors Saturday night, drawing laughs with a suggestion for getting Russia and China to fight each other. But he took time to praise North Korea's dictator for his "total control" of the country and the fear he inspires, saying generals and aides "cowered" when Kim Jong Un spoke to them. "I looked at my people and said I want my people to act like that," Trump said to laughter at the Four Seasons hotel in New Orleans. The Washington Post reported on the speech after obtaining a recording of the 84-minute address. Trump talked about other matters, including:
- Vladimir Putin: Trump avoided repeating his assessment of the Russian president as smart and savvy. "I knew Putin very well," Trump said in arguing Russia would not have attacked Ukraine if he were still in office. He criticized President Biden's handling of the situation but wasn't specific about what he'd do differently. Trump did call the invasion a "massive crime against humanity," adding, "We can't let it continue to happen." He didn't mention that he'd held up military aid to Ukraine.
- A false flag attack: The US should mark F-22 fighter jets with China's flag and have them "bomb the s--t out of Russia," the former president said. "And then we say, China did it, we didn't do it, China did it, and then they start fighting with each other and we sit back and watch," Trump said.
- Global warming: Despite the scientific evidence, the former president called the concept of global warming a hoax that just never ends. Of the rise in sea levels, he said, "Great, we have more waterfront property."
- The last election: Trump said that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg slanted the election against him, and that he knew he'd won Georgia because he carried Alabama and South Carolina comfortably. He said the Republican Party needs to do more to support his claim that he lost the election because of fraud. Trump criticized Republicans who didn't try to keep him in office after the vote, calling Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell "stupid" and "corrupt."
- The next election: Trump sounded like he's running. "We have to do it," he said to "Trump!" chants.
Trump has lead the party in fundraising since he left office, but polls and interviews indicate his influence is fading, per the
Post. Former Vice President Mike Pence told the donors in his speech that it's time to move beyond "yesterday's battles." Former Ambassador Nikki Haley didn't mention Trump by name when she addressed the donors, but she criticized his administration's response when the coronavirus emerged in China. "We didn't even call one pitiful meeting at the United Nations," she said. (More
Donald Trump stories.)
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