Friday night in Brentwood, California, Donald Trump spoke Friends of Abe (FOA) where he expressed love for NBC, a unit of Comcast Corp (NASDAQ:CMCSA)
Mr. Trump met and spoke with hundreds of members of FOA, a group founded by actor Gary Sinise, outside on a narrow strip of side walk were about 200 protesters upset that Mr.Trump made disparaging remarks about some illegal immigrants from Mexico and Latin America. Each and very car that arrived at the hotel was carefully checked to make sure its occupants had legitimate business at the Luxe Hotel where the non-fundraising event was held.
“Anderson Cooper called wanting another interview because his ratings went up,” Mr. Trump told attendees. “Every show is 100% me,” he joked.
“Charles Krauthammer, he hates me … George Will is a dolt,” he said.
He joked about Mr. Krauthammer, “he hates me, I don’t even know him,” and others who have complained about him “sucking the oxygen” out of the room and think they’re so clever with that particular turn of phrase. “Most of them are dopes,” he said of TV’s political pundits.
Addressing all the companies that have severed ties with him, Trump told stories about ESPN, the PGA and Macy’s. He woke up to headlines about ESPN dumping him. “It was for one round of golf at my course. I didn’t even know I had a deal with ESPN. I kept the deposit and rented it to someone else.”
Mr. Trump said that cutting ties with Macy’s (NYSE:M) hurt because he likes a top executive there. He called the company cowardly, but said it is getting its comeuppance because thousands of consumers are ripping up their Macy’s credit cards in solidarity with him and free speech.
Addressing his remarks about illegal immigrants from Mexico, he said he “loves” the Mexican people, but bemoaned the loss of American jobs. Along those lines, he told of Ford (NYSE:F) building a plant in Mexico. “Let the illegals drive the cars in,” he quipped.
“Mexico is the new China,” he continued. “We’re losing so much business to Mexico, it’s unbelievable. I respect Mexico.”
He took a few moments during his off-the-cuff presentation to praise Ann Coulter, sitting at a nearby table: “I love her. She’s so pretty. She lost Chris Christie when he gave Obama a French kiss.”
Donald Trump is a personable and funny guy. When he briefly lost audio, he took a swipe at unions. “We could have a strike. I just turned the mike back on,” he said.
He reminisced about the early days with Apprentice. “It was supposed to fail,” he said, pointing to one particular review that said women wouldn’t like him. “Am I that bad?” he asked. “The head of NBC called to congratulate me, I didn’t know who the hell he was.”
Mr. Trump told THR this, “Hollywood isn’t abandoning me. They have been really good. NBC abandoned me because I’m running for President and NBC was very angry with me. This has nothing to do with inclusion. This has to do with me not doing Apprentice. NBC was not loyal, but I’m running for President, and I can’t hold that against them. I think the liberals in Hollywood support me behind my back.”
Ann Coulter said, “I love Donald Trump. He’s bringing up an issue the rest of them are too chicken or too stupid to discuss.”
Last month when Donald Trump announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for President he said: “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”
Those remarks triggered a lot criticism, and several businesses severing ties with Trump.
Univision, dropped their coverage of the Miss USA pageant, owned by Trump, and he sued Univision for $500-M, claiming that the Spanish-language TV company breached its contract.
FOA (Friends of Abe) refers to Abraham Lincoln, the nation’s 1st Republican president. FOA is made up of 2,300 executives and below the line workers in the entertainment industry.
The group’s activities are private. “It’s unfortunate that someone leaked the invitation,” an official of the organization to a reporter.
Have a terrific weekend.
Paul Ebeling
HeffX-LTN