Most memorable lines from Trump's Columbia speech
President Donald Trump's rally in Columbia on Monday did not stay focused on the main reason the president came here in the first place.
Trump was in town to campaign for Gov. Henry McMaster in his GOP primary runoff for the nomination to be S.C.'s next governor. But Trump's focus shifted from the North Korea summit to tariffs to revisiting the 2016 election.
Some highlights of Trump's speech to the crowd at Airport High School:
▪ "We're praying for your very swift recovery," Trump said of state Rep. Katie Arrington, who was injured in a car wreck over the weekend. "She'll be back out there soon."
▪ "I don't like that guy. I don't care." Trump explaining his motivation for endorsing Arrington over U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford in the 1st District primary. He said of Sanford "I never really liked him."
▪ "Tallahassee Trail, it must be a very beautiful place. Unfortunately, he didn’t go there," Trump said in reference to Sanford's supposed hiking trip while governor, on the Appalachian Trail, when he actually was visiting his mistress.
▪ "A lowlife," Trump's assessment of "this guy on CBS," Charleston-born comedian Stephen Colbert, a frequent critic of Trump. "I mean, are these people funny? They're not funny," he said. "This guy on CBS has no talent."
▪ "So please, get your asses out tomorrow," Trump told S.C. voters ahead of Tuesday's primary.
▪ Trump dubbed his supporters "the super-elites." "Everybody here works harder, pays taxes ... you're smarter, you're more loyal. We have the greatest base in the history of politics."
▪ "You don't mind if I don't use these teleprompters," the president asked, rhetorically.
Gov. Henry McMaster had a good line of his own, too, referring to the hourlong wait for Air Force One to land, a landing delayed by a storm.
▪ "We were watching the wind and the storm and the rain," ahead of Trump's arrival, McMaster said, "and then the plane landed and the real force of nature stepped out."
This story was originally published June 25, 2018 at 10:03 PM with the headline "Most memorable lines from Trump's Columbia speech."