- May 21, 2015 -

In Sarasota, Donald Trump Says the World is Abusing the United States

Read more at Saint Peters Blog

Trump was in Sarasota on Thursday night, speaking before an estimated crowd of 1,500 at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Center, as he was honored as the Sarasota Republican Party’s “Statesman of the Year.”

“But I said, ‘I just got it,'” he said to laughs, recounting how Sarasota Republican Party Chairman Joe Gruters recently called him about making another appearance in Sarasota, three years after he was given the same honor. “I don’t mind coming because I love the people, so I don’t mind coming, but maybe we can change the name or something?”

“First of all, I have great polling numbers, and nobody thinks I’m running, which is interesting,” he said. He admits that most people don’t think he’s going to run. “They ask, why would you give up your life to do this? And I give up my life because I want to make this country great again. The reason is this room is packed tonight … because people want to hear it. They’re tired of politicians — other than the politicians in this room — I have to add that, I mean, I am their guest. But they’re tired of it. All talk, no action. But they’re tired of it. Bad deals with China. Bad deals with Mexico. Horrible deals with Saudi Arabia. You know Saudi Arabia makes a billion dollars a day. And they give us nothing. And we protect them.”

Trump said this with those VIPs listening in the background and frequently erupting in laughter. Trump used many of the same lines a little later in his speech, some of which generated as many laughs, some that didn’t.

In the press conference, this reporter asked Trump what he thought of the Trans-Pacific Partnership? “I think it stinks!,” he replied. “I think it’s terrible. Because they don’t cover currency manipulation. If you look at China, if you look at Japan, they beat us on currency manipulation. And we don’t even talk about it.”