After Hillary Clinton managed to skate past an indictment on mishandling of classified material Tuesday morning, she campaigned with the president in Charlotte, N.C., standing at a lectern emblazoned with the presidential seal. All in all in wasn’t a bad day for the Democratic nominee.
Donald Trump followed up Tuesday night with a campaign stop in Raleigh, where he had the perfect opportunity to hammer Crooked Hillary and the FBI and the Justice Department. He took it, but unfortunately, he also took a detour into some quicksand.
Looked at my feed and was like, 'Why the hell is Saddam Hussein trending!?' Then I saw Trump was having a rally… https://t.co/9w2pxlVlB5
— Dominic Mitchell (@DomMitchell) July 6, 2016
ICYMI: Donald Trump comments on Saddam Hussein. Full video here: https://t.co/QzTLDIsH8Ihttps://t.co/jBTqarWBo6
— CSPAN (@cspan) July 6, 2016
Fighting terrorism is a good thing, certainly, but did he have to list it as one of the things that “really bad guy” Saddam Hussein did well?
Hey guys remember I told you five hours ago Trump would screw up this day somehow? Praising Saddam Hussein. He did it.
— John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) July 6, 2016
aide: stay on script today
Trump: i will
aide: hammer Clinton w/ emails
Trump: i will
aide: promise?
Trump: after i praise Saddam Hussein— Eric Boehlert (@EricBoehlert) July 6, 2016
The FBI refuses to indict Hillary Clinton today and Trump goes on to praise Saddam Hussein. Again, thanks GOP.
— Demetrius Minor (@dminor85) July 6, 2016
https://twitter.com/amandacarpenter/status/750492198626402304
Congratulations, @realDonaldTrump! pic.twitter.com/zLA55b6nTx
— pourmecoffee (@pourmecoffee) July 6, 2016
Trump is taken out of context a lot by the media, no doubt. But he also has a terrible habit of handing them sound bites that are destined to bite him back in campaign ads.
Recommended
So when Trump took to the podium at a rally in Cincinnati, Ohio, Wednesday night, naturally he kicked things off by mentioning how he’d awakened Wednesday morning to — shocker! — headlines about his praise of dictator Saddam Hussein.
Donald Trump defends his comments about Saddam Hussein https://t.co/xw83q9cjoT https://t.co/wq1PbMBmKh
— CNN (@CNN) July 6, 2016
Rather than let the predictable press reaction slide, Trump again took the fight to the media and clarified that, no, he does not love Saddam Hussein.
"I hate Saddam Hussein, but I love Saddam Hussein according to the press because they’re dishonest," Trump says, reprising earlier topic.
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) July 6, 2016
Trump: "I don't love Saddam Hussein. I hate Saddam Hussein but he was good at killing terrorists."
— Ali Rogin (@AliRogin) July 6, 2016
https://twitter.com/SethAMandel/status/750825484871663616
Congratulations, Trump team. You got another day of Trump praising Saddam Hussein stories. Mazel tov!
— John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) July 6, 2016
He's now got the crowd vocally cheering Saddam Hussein's treatment of terrorists.
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) July 6, 2016
Trump has Republicans cheering for Saddam Hussein. what a time to be alive.
— Captain Acab (@sarahesoltan) July 6, 2016
https://twitter.com/ICantRunOutOfSp/status/750829693884993536
Breaking: Saddam Hussein hologram at Republican Convention ?
— Balham Boy #FBR (@LeftofLondon) July 6, 2016
Trump had one opportunity to go on offense against Grandma yesterday. He decided to talk about Saddam Hussein instead. November wipe out
— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) July 6, 2016
Is there an argument to be made that Saddam Hussein’s iron fist was a stabilizing factor in the Middle East? One thing’s certain: the media isn’t going to trip over itself rushing to help Trump make that case.
Donald Trump trips over assertion that Saddam Hussein was a killer of terrorists. https://t.co/6oXO0VSBlR. #APFactCheck
— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) July 6, 2016
Trump also explained that he was working without a prompter Tuesday night, and it would make things much easier if he did. Should he go for it?
On Trump's rally just now: Dear Trump, please TelePrompTer yourself stat!!! Stop the nonsense & get to real business issues please! ?
— Vivien (@VivienHomes) July 6, 2016
Join the conversation as a VIP Member