Former President Donald Trump prompted shock and confusion after opening his Pennsylvania rally on Saturday with a baffling 10-minute ramble about golf legend Arnold Palmer.
Trump took the stage in Latrobe, Pennsylvania shortly after 6 p.m. local time and spoke for around ninety minutes, but devoted an unusual amount of time to Palmer, who hailed from the Western Pennsylvania city and passed away in 2016.
The former president capped off a detailed biography of Palmer with a comment about how the late golfer was “all man” and “when he took showers with other pros, they came out of there and they said, ‘Oh my god, that’s unbelievable.'”
Trump stressed that he “had to say it,” but that he stopped short of saying anything more explicit out of respect for “highly sophisticated” women in the crowd.
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The attendees chuckled at the remarks, but the response on social media struck a more confused and critical tone both for the extent and quality of the comments.
Richard Hanania, founder and president of the thinktank Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology (CSPI), posted the video along with the comment, “Imagine stuff he’ll be saying when his brain is four years older than this.”
Communications strategist TJ Adams-Falconer, a senior media affairs manager at the White House during the Obama administration, noted that Trump had spoken for roughly 15 minutes and ended with “a story about the size” of Arnold Palmer’s genitals.
Sportswriter and television host Pablo Torre quipped, “A nonzero number of Americans are voting for Trump so they can call stuff ‘gay’ again and meanwhile their guy’s out here lost in a reverie about the late Arnold Palmer’s literal penis.”
Even news outlets couldn’t resist highlighting the comments, with NJ.com calling them “crude” and the Daily Mail labeling the moment “bizarre,” and Politico called the remarks merely “raunchy.”
Observers have taken a more critical eye to Trump’s rallies after a few unusual incidents, such as Trump going silent for over half an hour while various songs – ones not from his usual playlist – played as rally attendees exited.
Harris has recently pushed the idea that Trump is “exhausted” and that his rallies have grown increasingly “confused,” much to the strained patience of attendees. Trump has fired back, saying, “She doesn’t go to any events.”
Kamala HQ, the social media hub for Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign, called the comments a “long confused ramble.”
Newsweek contacted Trump’s campaign via email on Saturday for comment.
