6 Wild Things Said In The Secret Recording Of Trump's Dinner
A video that directly contradicts President Donald Trumpâs claim that heâs never spoken to indicted associates of his personal attorney surfaced on Saturday and with it came a whole barrage of wild statements.
The video, secretly filmed for 80 minutes in April 2018, shows a rare glimpse into a private conversation between Trump and a group of people over dinner at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., The Associated Press reported.
PBS NewsHour was the first to release the full-length footage.
Trump and his son Donald Trump Jr. can be seen clearly in the video. Lev Parnas, an indicted associate of Trumpâs personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, was also there, according to Parnasâ attorney.
While the most notable moments in the recording show Trump appearing to speak directly to Parnas and his urging to âget ridâ of then-U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, Trump also managed to cover other strange topics.
Here are six of the wildest things that happened in the recording of Trumpâs private dinner.
1. Trump said he could have beaten former President Barack Obama in 2012
As heâs known to do, Trump boasted about beating Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election but he added that he could have beaten former President Barack Obama in the 2012 race, too.
âObama would have been easier, second term,â Trump said of Obamaâs reelection campaign. âRomney should have never lost,â he added. âObama would have been much easier.â
2. Trump claimed the European Union formed to âscrewâ the U.S.
âThe European Union is a group of countries that got together to screw the United States,â Trump told the table. âItâs as simple as that.â
The European Union, which includes 28 countries, was officially formed in 1993, though it stems from an effort to bring Germany and France closer after World War II four decades earlier.
The union allows citizens of the countries to move freely between the countries, and allows for a single market for goods, capital and services, according to The Telegraph.
3. Trump floated plans for a âsee-throughâ border wall
Trump expressed the need for a âsee-throughâ border wall. The president noted that drug smugglers use catapults to hurl drugs across the border and claimed, without proof, that a 100-pound package of drugs struck a Border Patrol agent after being thrown over.
âThey actually said, that these drug dealers, itâs so dangerous now with a solid wall, because they take the drugs, it weighs 100 pounds approximately,â Trump said. âA bag, a satchel, they call it a satchel, they throw it out over the wall and it goes over the wall and it will land on a guyâs head and he kills him.â
The other guests laugh as Trump continues.
âYeah no, our border guys will be walking and they throw it,â he added. âSo if you canât see through the wall, they throw the drugs, they have a catapult, they throw it over the wall and it lands on the other side of the wall and it can hit people.â
While itâs true catapults have been used to get drugs across the border, thereâs no evidence that people have been hit by it, according to fact-checking site PolitiFact.
4. Trump bragged about insulting Rep. Maxine Watersâ IQ
He suggested that he was able to keep Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) quiet after he called her a âvery low IQ individualâ during a rally in March 2018.
âYou have this one woman, Maxine Waters, I say sheâs a very low IQ person,â he said. âYou donât hear from her anymore. Itâs the craziest thing â since Iâve said that, I donât hear from her anymore.â
5. Trump asked how long Ukraine would survive in a war against Russia; he withheld funds from them a year later
Trump appeared surprised when someone suggested that Ukraine produces oil, then asked how long Ukraine could last in a war with Russia.
âUkraine has oil,â he said. âUkraine? How come â they donât have any money? Why arenât companies going in, too risky?â
Then he complained about other European countriesâ lack of aid before asking how long Ukraine would âlast in a fight with Russia.â
A voice replied, âWithout us, not very long.â
Then someone said, â30 seconds.â
A year later, in the summer of 2019, the Trump administration withheld funds from Ukraine while Trump pressured the Ukrainian president to investigate his opponent â an issue that is now at the center of his ongoing impeachment trial.
6. A numerology calculation of Donald Trumpâs name adds up to the same number for the Messiah, according to Lev Parnas
Parnas and his indicted business colleague Igor Fruman told the president about a Jewish numerology calculation a rabbi in Ukraine conducted for Donald Trumpâs name. They informed Trump that the numbers that correspond to the letters in his name add up to 424, which they informed the president has the same values as the words âMessiah, Son of David.â
âItâs like a miracle,â said Fruman. âItâs exactly the number.â Parnas noted: âMessiah is the person that comes to save the whole world. Itâs like youâre the savior.â He added: âTalk to Jared; heâll explain.â
Trump seemed confused. âWhat is that?â he asked. âWhat other numbers you got?â
Sebastian Murdock and Mary Papenfuss contributed to this report.
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