Donald Trump visited the Capitol on Thursday in what was supposed to be a day of policy discussions and planning for a second Trump term. Instead, the former president reportedly spent a lot of time complaining about women.
Trump reportedly spent time complaining about superstar singer Taylor Swift not supporting him over President Joe Biden. “Why would she approve of this drug,” Trump request, according to CNN. “He doesn’t know how to get off a stage.”
Swift has not supported Biden, although she has criticized Trump in the past. The former president’s strange fixation on the singer has resurfaced several times in recent months. Earlier this week, excerpts from an upcoming book by Variety Co-editor Ramin Setoode revealed that Trump complained about Swift in an interview, calling her “beautiful” but “liberal.” “I think she’s beautiful – very beautiful!” I find her very beautiful. I think she’s liberal. She probably doesn’t like Trump. I heard she was very talented,” he said.
Trump also questioned in his conversation with Setoode whether Swift was “legitimately liberal” or if it was “just an act.” Trump apparently was under the impression that Swift was still primarily a country music artist.
As previously reported rolling stone, The former president’s close allies say Trump is planning a “holy war” against Swift if she supports his 2024 rivals, and privately boast that he was “more popular” than the artist. Given his legal troubles — including a recent felony conviction — and the tight campaign he’s currently running against Biden, you’d think other things would occupy his time besides Miss Americana’s political leanings.
Swift is not the only powerful woman Trump has elevated in front of Republicans gathered to hear his plans for a second term. Trump also claimed that “Nancy Pelosi’s daughter is crazy” and that the former House Speaker’s daughter told him that “if things were different, Nancy and I would be perfect together, but there is one age difference”.
Christine Pelosi responded on X: “Speaking on behalf of the 4 Pelosi daughters is a LIE.”
“His deceptive and deranged obsession with our mother is yet another reason why Donald Trump is sick, unhinged and unfit to set foot near her – or the White House,” she added.
In the days leading up to his series of meetings with Republican lawmakers, Trump had something on his mind besides Taylor Swift and Nancy Pelosi.
According to two sources familiar with the matter, in private conversations with his close aides, Trump recently mocked conservatives on Capitol Hill who criticized him for fomenting the deadly Jan. 6 riots — but who nevertheless agreed to meet with Trump this week or even support his candidacy in 2024 against President Joe Biden.
Trump values his ability to bend his critics within the party on the Hill, and in recent days he has reserved his harshest taunts on the issue for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Although McConnell has publicly denounced Trump as someone who should be held legally accountable for Trump’s storming of the Capitol, the senator has said for years that he would support Trump if he were the 2024 nominee, and has also recently told reporters he would meet with Trump. when he was in town.
Trump, one of the sources who speaks to the ex-president often says rolling stone“sees this as a humiliation” of McConnell after “Mitch spent so much time,” allegedly, “trying to force Republicans to get rid of…Trump.”
This person adds that McConnell “failed, and the (former) president likes to make fun of him, of course, especially now that he has no choice but to jump back on the Trump train.” This other source claims that Trump has privately vowed to play “nice” with McConnell, if the Senate minority leader continues to support him politically, although this source notes that Trump is, above all, transactional but also notoriously changeable.
McConnell and other Senate Republicans will have a harder time intimidating Trump than the House GOP did Thursday morning. Upon arriving at the meeting, Trump was greeted with a chorus of “Happy Birthday” from Republicans (Trump’s birthday is Friday). The former president received a baseball bat and ball at the Congressional Baseball Game, which took place on Wednesday. Trump reportedly referenced the 2017 mass shooting in which a gunman shot Republican House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and five others. “Steve shows great courage. I saw him in the hospital. I can tell your wife really loves you Steve because some women don’t care.” Trump said, according to CNN. What woman would be indifferent to the shooting and imminent death of her husband? The former president apparently has a few in mind.
When Trump wasn’t complaining about women, he ventured to discuss his policy proposals if he won in November. He once again brought up his recently reigned view on abortion access, saying it should be left to the discretion of individual states. “It became a complex issue 10 years ago, everyone wanted it back in the United States, and we got it back in the states, sometimes good, sometimes not good, some states went one way and others took a different path,” he said. “Republicans are so afraid of this issue that we would have had 40 seats,” Trump said.
Trump also proposed an “all-tariff policy” that he would use to get rid of the U.S. income tax, and reportedly qualified for Milwaukee, Wisconsin — where the RNC will crown him as its official 2024 candidate in just a few weeks – from “horrible city”. .”
Needless to say, some Republicans left their meeting with the former president feeling like it was a waste of time.
‘I lost interest after about 45 minutes,’ GOP rep told Fox News.