Donald Trump used a portion of his remarks at a Mar-a-Lago fundraiser on Saturday to mock a Democratic senator’s weight, because (1) he’s the least self-aware person on the planet and (2) despite what he told attendees at the event, calling people fat is very much his thing.
Commenting on Montana senator Jon Tester’s reelection campaign, Trump reportedly told the crowd: “He’s now in a tough campaign, and he could very well lose. We ought to go up and campaign against him. In fact, I looked at him, and I said, ‘Oh, this finally works for a man or woman, because he looks pregnant to me.’” The crowd laughing, the ex-president added, “Have you seen this guy? He doesn’t look like a fat guy, except his stomach is out to here. Not that I talk about things like that. I don’t even notice them,” according to a recording of his remarks obtained by The Washington Post.
You might be wondering why the former president mocked Tester in the first place. Was the fundraiser in question for a candidate running against the Montana senator? Has Tester made being thin a cornerstone of his campaign? It may or may not surprise you to hear that the answers are no and no. Rather, the fundraiser was for Texas GOP representative Ronny Jackson, who the Post notes “has had a long-running feud with Tester,” and since Trump is a schoolyard bully, he decided to pile on. (The feud in question stems from Tester alleging misconduct on Jackson’s part while Jackson was serving as White House doctor; multiple allegations against Jackson, including inappropriate use of alcohol on presidential trips and bullying of subordinates, were later substantiated by an investigation by the Defense Department inspector general. Jackson claimed the report was politically motivated.)
The idea that Trump does not “talk about” people’s weight, as he reportedly claimed Saturday, is, of course, bullshit. For one thing, he was literally talking about—and mocking—Tester’s weight in that very moment. For another, a small sampling of other times he’s denigrated people’s bodies reportedly includes:
- Making fun of one of his own supporters—who he mistakenly thought was a protester—by publicly saying, “That guy’s got a serious weight problem”
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- Referring to former GOP presidential candidate Chris Christie as a “fat pig”
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According to a 2016 story in The Washington Post, Trump “kept a ‘fat photo’ of one employee whose weight fluctuated in a drawer and told an overweight executive, ‘you like your candy.’” For his part, the ex-president reportedly “considers exercise misguided, arguing that a person, like a battery, is born with a finite amount of energy,” and famously subsists on a diet of fast food.
In a statement, a Trump campaign adviser told the Post on Monday, of Trump’s comments about Tester: “Well, according to the left, men can [get pregnant]. So where is the controversy?”