PrintPresident Trump wittily shuts down a snarky reporter
Whether he's studied them or not, President Trump is a master at cutting leftists down using the Rules for Radicals that Saul Alinsky drafted to help further a leftist agenda. At a press conference at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, Trump showed his mastery of Rule 4 ("Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules"), Rule 5 ("Ridicule is man's most potent weapon"), and Rule 6 ("A good tactic is one your people enjoy").
New Jersey has explicit rules about "in person" gatherings (emphasis added):
Indoor gatherings must be limited to 25 people or 25% of a room's capacity — whichever number is lower. All attendees at indoor gatherings must wear face coverings and stay six feet apart.
The indoor limit on gatherings for weddings, funerals, memorial services, and religious and political activities protected under the First Amendment is 100 people or 25% of a room's capacity — whichever number is lower.
When Trump was at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, he did what he so often does — he gave an impromptu press conference. Before it began, either Trump or his team told a crowd of people who were at the club that they were welcome to stick around to listen to him take the reporters' questions.
One of the reporters opened not with a question, but with an accusation. "You said that the pandemic is disappearing, but we lost 6,000 Americans this week. And just in this room, you have dozens of people that are not following guidelines in New Jersey, which say we should not have more than 25 people ..."
Trump answered, "No, they don't have to. It's a political activity ..."
At that point, the people assembled booed the reporter so loudly that the president fell silent. When the room was quiet again, he resumed.
"You're wrong about that, because it's a political activity. They have exceptions. Political activity. And it's also a peaceful protest."
The room exploded with laughter, as Trump continued, "And as you know, they asked if they could be here. And to me they look like they all have, they pretty much all have masks on. You have an exclusion in the law. It says peaceful protest or political activity, right? It says exactly, political activity or peaceful protests. And you can call it political activity, but I would call it peaceful protests because they heard you were coming up and they know the news is fake. They understand it better than anybody."
REPORTER: "Just in this room, you have dozens of people who are not following the guidelines..."
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 8, 2020
TRUMP: "It's a peaceful protest" pic.twitter.com/ApwteDYAlb
The Daily Caller noted that it was not clear whether people were wearing masks when Trump spoke. However, there's no doubt that, at some point, people did get masks. A White House correspondent's tweet shows almost everyone wearing a mask, which comports with Trump's statement to that effect:
Masks have now been handed out to visitors who are observing the president’s press conference. pic.twitter.com/dCFo5Z0744
— Jeff Mason (@jeffmason1) August 7, 2020
A president with that kind of quick wit — "I would call it peaceful protests" — is a strong president. Americans recognize that he has the mental acuity and toughness to take on whatever the world throws at him.
Trump provides a marked contrast to Joe Biden, whose mental acuity visibly deteriorates on a day-by-day basis. One candidate, funnily and quickly, puts his opponents in their place; the other candidate, when not drowning in word soup, makes racist statements and insults the voters. I know which one I'd rather have seated across the table from Presidents Xi and Putin.
