Donald Trump 126 That Would Disqualify a Nominee
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126 things Donald Trump has said and done that, in a normal election, would disqualify a nominee The saddest part is, we could keep going. September 15, 2016 Has any major party nominee for president in history been less qualified to be president of the United States than Donald Trump? We set out to answer that question, and after delving into 126 things Trump has done that would have disqualified any other candidate in history, we were—quite frankly—too sad to continue. Here’s our (incomplete, not-at-all-comprehensive-but-still-terrifying) list of 126 things Trump has said or done that prove just how unfit he is—and how important it is that we all register to vote. Donald Trump literally: 1. Said he “could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and … wouldn’t lose any voters.” 2. Suggested the mother of a fallen Muslim American soldier did not speak at the DNC because her husband wouldn’t let her: “Maybe she wasn’t allowed to have anything to say—you tell me.” (In reality, she has a hard time discussing her late son in public because she is still grieving the loss) 3. Still refuses to admit that President Obama was born in the U.S. 4. Said, “You know, it doesn’t really matter what [the media] write as long as you’ve got a young and beautiful piece of ass.” 5. Tried to reach out to Latino voters on Cinco de Mayo by tweeting a picture of a taco bowl, saying, “I love Hispanics.” 6. Said that wages in America are already “too high.” 7. Said John McCain was “not a war hero” because he “like[s] people who weren’t captured.” 8. Pointed at an African American supporter at his rally, and shouted, “Look at my African American over here!” 9. Encouraged a foreign country to commit espionage in the U.S., calling on Russia to hack Hillary Clinton’s emails. 10. Called for a ban on an entire group of people based on their religion, advocating for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.” 11. Defended this ban on Muslims by comparing it favorably to Japanese internment camps. 12. Refused to disavow white supremacist David Duke and the Ku Klux Klan four times in one interview. 13. Would not promise to support a Democrat over former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke, because his decision would “[depend] on who the Democrat [was].” 14. Repeatedly called the U.S. military a “disaster” and said “the military is in shambles.” 15. Suggested that African Americans need to be incentivized to work and need jobs “where they’re making more money than sitting back and doing nothing.” 16. Said he got his military advice from “the shows.” 17. Claimed that going to prep school at the New York Military Academy left him with “more training militarily than a lot of guys that go into the military,” even though he repeatedly dodged the Vietnam War draft. 18. Confused the Kurds, a crucial partner in the Middle East, with the Quds —Iranian Revolutionary Guards. 19. Said that Black Lives Matter “ignited” police killings, claiming that “a lot of people” believe the organization is “inherently racist.” 20. Didn’t know the difference between Hezbollah and Hamas. 21. Admitted he didn’t know who Hezbollah and ISIS leaders, like Hassan Nasrallah and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, were—one time stating that “we don’t even really know who the leader is” of ISIS. 22. Had no idea that Russia already invaded Ukraine in 2014, promising that Russia is “not going to go into Ukraine, all right? You can mark it down.” 23. Said his No. 1 source for foreign policy advice was himself, because “I have a very good brain, and I’ve said a lot of things.” 24. Claimed to know “more about ISIS than the generals do.” 25. Lied about having seen “thousands and thousands” of Muslims cheering the 9/11 attacks from New Jersey. 26. Took $150,000 from a program designed to help small businesses in the aftermath of 9/11. 27. Spent 15 years lying about both his personal attachment to 9/11, and his commitment to helping New York recover. 28. Bragged about his building becoming the tallest in Lower Manhattan after the collapse of the World Trade Center—on September 11th, 2001. 29. Repeatedly used his charity as a front to buy influence—once making an illegal contribution to Pam Bondi, the attorney general of Florida, just before she decided not to investigate allegations of fraud against Trump University. 30. Ran a massive scam in the form of Trump University—a “school” that promised to “teach you better than the best business school,” even though it did not confer credit. 31. Coerced the people who could least afford it into spending an obscene amount of money on the fraudulent Trump University 32. Said “you have to treat ‘em [women] like shit.” 33. Argued that hosting beauty pageants counted as foreign policy experience, saying: “I know Russia well—I had a major event in Russia two or three years ago. Miss Universe contest, which was a big, big incredible event—an incredible success.” 34. Mocked a reporter with a disability. 35. Claimed he had more foreign policy experience than “virtually anybody” because he had “made a fortune” in international business deals. 36. Essentially blamed students for the student debt crisis, saying “You’ve got to get jobs” 37. Claimed that he’s “really good at war” and declared, “I love war, in a certain way.” 38. Said he’d “always wanted to get a Purple Heart,” even though, once again, he received several draft deferments during the Vietnam War. 39. Argued that the reason he doesn’t know who Al-Baghdadi or other terrorist leaders is that he’s never met with them—but implied that if he were president, he certainly would. 40. Didn’t realize Belgium was a country, referring to it as a “beautiful city.” 41. Claimed the U.S. wouldn’t default on its debt because “you print the money.” 42. Said it would be totally fine if we defaulted because “if the economy crashed, you could make a deal.” 43. Said he doesn’t view transgender rights as “civil rights.” 44. Opposed exceptions for a woman’s health because he thought it would become an excuse to seek an abortion: “You have a cold, and you’re going to end up having an abortion.” 45. Regularly praises and defends Vladimir Putin as a “leader” who is “getting an ‘A’,” and has even described him more favorably than President Obama. 46. Bragged about Putin calling him a “genius” (actually, Putin simply referred to him as “colorful”). 47. Praised Putin—and lauded his approval rating—at the same forum where he insulted America’s generals and suggested he would fire them. Defended Russia and attacked U.S. foreign policy on Russia’s state-owned propaganda network. 49. Repeatedly lies about opposing the Iraq War (he supported it). In fact, the article he cites as proof of his disagreement with the decision to invade Iraq was written over a year after we deployed troops. 50. Referred to a paralyzed news commentator as “a guy that can’t buy a pair of pants.” 51. Hired Breitbart’s Steve Bannon as his campaign CEO to the delight of the white supremacist alt-right. 52. Tripled down on his support for an anti-semitic tweet (featuring Hillary Clinton, the Star of David, and a pile of money), saying his campaign “shouldn’t have taken it down.” 53. Wrote a tweet so offensive that the speaker of the House called it “anti- semitic” and said it had “no place in a presidential campaign.” 54. Blamed crime in major cities on Hispanics and African Americans, citing “statistics” that “According to Bill O’Reilly, 80 percent of all the shootings in New York City are blacks—if you add Hispanics, that figure goes to 98 percent.” 55. Kicked off his campaign by calling Mexican immigrants criminals and rapists. 56. Claimed that “half” of undocumented immigrants are criminals. (False.) 57. Insisted on using the offensive term “anchor baby,” dismissing critics as “politically correct.” 58. Launched a series of attacks on a federal judge that Paul Ryan referred to as “textbook” racism, saying it was “common sense” that the judge, who was born in Indiana, would be biased because of his “Mexican heritage.” 59. Regularly refers to U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren as “Pocahontas.” 60. Impersonated Asians at a rally using a stereotypical voice— saying things like, “We want deal.” 61. Compared his sacrifices—of working “very, very hard” and “buil[ding] great structures”—to the sacrifices of a Gold Star family. 62. Said a Muslim judge “absolutely” might treat him unfairly because of his proposed ban. 63. Repeatedly invoked stereotypes about Jewish people in a speech to Jewish leaders, saying that they were “not going to support [him] because [he doesn’t] want [their] money.” 64. Told a group of Jewish Republicans: “I’m a negotiator, like you folks.” 65. Attacked Ted Cruz’s wife, mocking her appearance and saying he’d “spill the beans” on her. 66. Repeatedly propagated a conspiracy theory linking Ted Cruz’s father to President Kennedy’s assassination. 67. Said that assaults on protesters at his rallies were “very, very appropriate.” 68. Defended the assault of a protester at his rally, saying, “Maybe he should have been roughed up” because he was “so obnoxious.” 69.