On the eve of Donald J. Trump’s ascension to the Oval Office (where he’s sure to spend a ton of time, believe me), the rapid fire of Trump transition insanity has yet to slow. In fact, in the past couple of weeks, it’s only gotten weirder. The petty attacks on Meryl Streep after she criticized him at the Golden Globes. The shutting down of media outlets. Trashing a civil rights leader on the eve of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. And, oh, Russia.
What Trump said about people who protested him at rallies: “So if you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of him, would you? Seriously, okay, just knock the hell. I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees; I promise, I promise.” —Trump at a Feb. 2016 rally in Iowa.
What Trump tweeted about the current state of political discourse on the eve of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day: “For many years, our country has been divided, angry and disgusting. Many say it will never change, the hatred is too deep. IT WILL CHANGE!!!!” —Twitter, Jan. 15
What Trump said about President Obama’s second inauguration after Obama won both the popular vote and the Electoral College over Mitt Romney: “We can’t let this happen. We should March on Washington and stop this travesty. Our nation is totally divided!” —Twitter, Nov. 6, 2012.
What Trump said about protesters who showed up outside one of his “victory rallies”: Someone ”should remind them that Clinton lost.” —Politico, Dec. 01, 2016.
What Trump’s son said about Russia: “And in terms of high-end product influx into the US, Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets; say in Dubai, and certainly with our project in SoHo and anywhere in New York. We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia. There’s indeed a lot of money coming for new-builds and resale reflecting a trend in the Russian economy and, of course, the weak dollar versus the ruble.” —Donald Trump, Jr., in 2008 at Cityscape USA’s Bridging US and the Emerging Real Estate Markets Conference in Manhattan.
What Trump said about purported business ties to Russia that might compromise him: “Russia has never tried to use leverage over me. I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH RUSSIA – NO DEALS, NO LOANS, NO NOTHING!” —A Jan. 11 tweet, ahead of the notorious Jan. 11 news conference.
What Trump said about Russia having nothing on him because he’s too careful: “Lemme just tell you what I do. When I leave our country, I’m a very high-profile person, would you say? I am extremely careful. I’m surrounded by bodyguards. I’m surrounded by people.
“And I always tell them — anywhere, but I always tell them if I’m leaving this country, ‘Be very careful, because in your hotel rooms and no matter where you go, you’re gonna probably have cameras.’ I’m not referring just to Russia, but I would certainly put them in that category.
“And number one, ‘I hope you’re gonna be good anyway. But in those rooms, you have cameras in the strangest places. Cameras that are so small with modern technology, you can’t see them and you won’t know. You better be careful, or you’ll be watching yourself on nightly television.’ I tell this to people all the time.” —Jan. 11.
What he said when he didn’t know he was being recorded: “I’m automatically attracted to beautiful women — I just start kissing them, it’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab ’em by the pussy.” —Trump’s infamous 2005 “hot mic” comments.
What the hot mic comments are (allegedly) inspiring in the wake of Trump’s win: “I love this new world. I no longer have to be politically correct.” —Greenwich, Conn. Representative Town Meeting Boardmember Christopher von Keyserling in Dec. 2016, allegedly, before (also allegedly) pinching the nether regions of a woman with whom he had previously been debating. (GreenwichTime, 01/12/17)
What he said about… um… dress shops? "We are going to have an unbelievable, perhaps record-setting turnout for the inauguration, and there will be plenty of movie and entertainment stars. All the dress shops are sold out in Washington. It's hard to find a great dress for this inauguration." —Phone intervew with the New York Times, Jan. 8.
What Ana Marie Cox (NY Times, Wonkette) said on Twitter the next day: “No one can find the right gloves and hats, either!”
This article appears in Jan 12-19, 2017.