Pres. Trump spoke for nearly 90 minutes this morning at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
Trump touted his accomplishments, including removal of regulations and tax breaks, he talked about strengthening the military, allowing teachers who were in the military and are adept at using guns to have concealed weapons in the school. He also praised the late Rev. Billy Graham, bashed the Democratic party (“the Democrats are always fighting for the criminal”), said that the Republican party “can’t become complacent” in the 2018 midterm elections, and occasionally tweaked the media.
Early on, he stuck to the teleprompter. But that lasted about maybe 10 minutes, before he remarked, “Do you people mind if I go off the script? Because this can be a little boring.” This elicited cheers from the audience.
And off the script he went.
At one point, he joked about his bald spot, patting his hair and turning around. “I try like hell to hide that bald spot, folks. I work hard it,” which, of course, elicited laughter from the room.
.@POTUS: "I try like hell to hide that bald spot, folks, I work hard at it." #CPAC2018 pic.twitter.com/GHR4ySTayv
— Fox News (@FoxNews) February 23, 2018
At one point during the speech, a man entered the room to protest. The person was greeted with intense boos and apparently kicked out. None of the cameras showed the person entering and leaving the room.
“I’ll tell the fake news media what happened: One guy came in, protested, and we kicked him out. He was very obnoxious,” Trump said.
Pres. Trump spoke at length about the school shooting in Florida, saying it “has broken our hearts.” He said he wants to hear people with all different types of ideas, and talked about how he doesn’t want schools to be gun-free zones. “This would put our schools in far more danger.”
Then, there was this about CNN’s coverage: “CNN said: ‘Donald Trump wants all teachers to carry guns.’ That’s fake news,” he remarked. “I don’t want people who don’t know how to handle guns, to have guns. I want the 10 percent, 20 percent of the teachers who I think are military people who are adept at handling guns, to have guns…but the guns would be concealed.”
Trump’s comments come a day after NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch spoke to the CPAC crowd telling them, “many in legacy media love mass shootings… You guys love it,” Loesch claimed. “Now, I’m not saying that you love the tragedy. But I am saying that you love the ratings. Crying white mothers are ratings gold to you.”
This morning on CNN, New Day anchor Alisyn Camerota pressed Loesch on those comments: