AIKEN, S.C. – As part of the Conservative Leadership Project’s seventh presidential forum, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Saturday gave an hour-long speech and then answered questions from South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson.
Surprisingly, he did not mention any of his Republican rivals, just a day after he attacked Sen. Ted Cruz about his Evangelical credentials in Iowa. Both protestors and supporters showed up at the event, including two men dressed up as Abraham Lincoln and Santa Claus. Another man wore a sombrero and was invited by Trump to stand up.
The business magnate and TV personality promised to reverse President Obama’s executive actions and attacked the Congress for having recently approved “the biggest budget ever”.
The leading Republican candidate remarked he would aim to promote firmly conservative justices and encourage scholars to admire and respect the U.S. Constitution, should he become president. When asked about who he would appoint to the Supreme Court, Trump said he would definitely nominate his favorite court member, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, and said he was “very strong and consistent”. He also mentioned Justice Samuel Alito and commented he was “terrific”.
On the other hand, he criticized Roberts by saying he disappointed American conservatives by voting in favor of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate. Trump assumed that Roberts’ move was an attempt to win popularity among Washington insiders.
The billionaire also accused the Environmental Protection Agency, by pointing out it was overregulating water. He even said EPA’s strict regulations prevented him from keeping his hair thoroughly clean.
“You know, I’ll give you one regulation, So I build, and I build a lot of stuff. And I go into areas where they have tremendous water, I won’t use names, but tremendous water,” Trump began his regulation example. “And you have sinks where the water doesn’t come out. Right? We all know, you go buy a new sink. And you turn it on, well, aw, I want to wash my hands. You have showers where I can’t wash my hair properly, it’s a disaster!” he added.
Regarding his polemic proposal to ban all foreign Muslims from entering the nation, he claimed that many people who were initially against it were changing their minds. Trump remarked the importance of keeping the country under control, demonstrating he is still up for the idea. He recently proposed to close the Internet up to keep an eye on terrorist propaganda and prevent people from becoming radicalized.
Some of the protestors present at the rally were Muslims, including Jibril Hough, spokesperson for the Islamic Center of Charlotte who was thrown out twice. A group was holding a sign that read “REFUGEES WELCOME”. As they were escorted out, Trump defended protestor’s rights to interrupt and said that conservatives should protest more.
Source: CBS News