Trump Just Delivered a Rambling 80-Minute Speech And It Was a Doozy

Kill drug dealers! Fake news! And Oprah’s “weakness.”

Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press

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President Donald Trump flew to southwest Pennsylvania tonight for a rally intended to bolster Rick Saccone, the Republican candidate with a razor-thin lead in the special election to fill an open seat in the state’s 18th congressional district. (Trump won the district by 20 points in 2016.) The president began his remarks with a quick endorsement of Saccone—and then proceeded to spend the next 75 minutes riffing, ranting, griping, and gloating about pretty much everything. Everything but Saccone.

Here is an exhaustive, if somewhat incomplete, list of all the things Trump talked about that had nothing to do with his ostensible reason for coming to Pennsylvania.

Meet The Press host Chuck Todd:

The Olympics:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un:

CNN:

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.):

Oprah:

His 2020 reelection slogan:

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.):

Capital punishment for drug dealers:

The Electoral College:

The physical appearance of Saccone’s opponent, Democrat Conor Lamb:

Fire marshals:

The rough life of First Lady Melania Trump:

Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan:

https://twitter.com/aidnmclaughlin/status/972641544024051712

And finally, at the finish of his one hour and 20 minute ramble, Trump remembered—oh right!—Rick Saccone:

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We were built for times like these

Russian bots are impersonating us. Trump and his allies want to silence us. AI wants to (and does!) steal our content. The list goes on. But with 50 years of experience, we know we were built for this moment: We’re ready to keep diving deep and uncovering the truth, then getting that to you right here, completely accessible and never behind a paywall.

While our work is free to read, watch, and listen to online, it’s incredibly costly to make. Court documents, travel, research: It all adds up. Because we’re a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on reader support to fund our investigations. Will you stand with us in these extraordinary times, as headlines clamour for our attention and disinformation is rampant? We can’t get the truth out without you.

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