Donald Trump screwed this one up in a way that even we didn’t think was possible
Donald Trump just managed to make his pathetic body-shaming of a protestor at his New Hampshire rally Thursday night even worse. As Palmer Report told you yesterday, Trump could not keep his mouth shut after some protesting broke out in the arena. Instead, once Trump noticed that the protestor appeared to be very overweight, he made sure to point this out to the crowd, then order him to go home and start exercising. Trump then shamed the protestor even further by voicing his assumption that he still lives with his mother.
The thing is, there was an overweight person in Trump’s view Friday night, but it wasn’t the protestor. It turns out the man who was the object of Trump’s ridicule, Frank Dawson, is a loyal Trump supporter. He was in Trump’s sights because he was standing near the protestors (there were actually more than one) and cheered as security removed them. But a mix of three classic Trump traits—his love for bullying, his sloppy observational skills, and his lack of restraint—combined to trigger what amounted to a gratuitous insult against anyone who has ever faced mockery for the way they look.
Once Trump learned about his mix-up, he felt compelled to call Dawson the very next day. You would think Trump would have apologized for body-shaming him, since it was Dawson’s body inspired Trump to make such shameful comments. Instead, Trump called only to acknowledge having mistaken Dawson for a protestor. Trump could not care less that he body-shamed anyone, and he would no doubt gladly do it again. As it turns out, Dawson does not care either.
Trump left Dawson a message yesterday thanking him for his support and adding only that he did not mean to single Dawson out because he was not a protestor. Trump did not, however, apologize to Dawson for body-shaming him, according to The New York Times. After the call, Dawson told Fox News, “Everything’s good. I love the guy. He’s the best thing that ever happened to this country.” If you believe that the best way to deal with hurtful comments is to embrace the bully making them in the hope that he will leave you alone, then I suppose he’s right.
Ron Leshnower is a lawyer and the author of several books, including President Trump’s Month