Real estate magnate and reality TV star Donald Trump told Breitbart News that Americans feel “embarrassed” by the lack of leadership from President Barack Obama with the assortment of global and domestic crises dominating the news right now.
“They are so disappointed in their country,” Trump said in a phone interview when asked how Americans feel when they see the unsecured U.S. border with Mexico, the global threats from ISIS, and the way the president is handling these and other crises. “They’re disappointed in their leadership, and they’re very embarrassed.”
Trump said it “would be a terrible thing for the country” if President Obama proceeds with his stated intention to use an executive order to grant amnesty to what some suspect may be up to or more than 5 million illegal aliens.
“Our country has enough problems,” Trump said. “Many of the people coming in are not people that their countries wanted. We’re getting a lot of rough customers coming in and we’re getting a lot of criminal types coming in. I’m sure we’re getting some very good people coming in. But it’s very unfair to the millions of other people who want to come into the country who want to go through the legal system, and they’re never going to make it. It’s very unfair.”
Trump’s interview came on Thursday, shortly after he completed the “Ice Bucket Challenge” to raise money for ALS research. The phenomenon has swept popular culture and politics, seeing many lawmakers, celebrities and popular figures dump a bucket of ice water on their heads to raise awareness and money for ALS research. After completing the Ice Bucket Challenge, participants cut a $10 check to raise money for ALS research and nominate a few others to carry the challenge on next. If someone refuses to accept a challenge, or doesn’t want ice water dumped on them, they can cut a $100 check for ALS research. The fundraiser has gone absolutely viral due to its ease to participate in and fun nature of the action.
Those who nominated Trump include Vince McMahon of the WWE, Mike Tyson, and Homer Simpson of The Simpsons animated television show.
“I’ve been challenged by so many people–there were literally thousands of people who were tweeting,” Trump told Breitbart News on Thursday. “Vince McMahon’s a good friend of mine and he challenged me, Mike Tyson challenged, and even the great cartoon character Homer Simpson challenged me on air yesterday. Much more importantly than that, it’s a great cause. And at least I showed everybody it’s my real hair. I had a lot people who said ‘gee, I thought you wear a wig.’ I said, ‘no I don’t know where a wig.’ That was an unimportant side benefit. But it was great.”
Trump’s Ice Bucket Challenge came atop Trump Tower in New York City, where Miss United States and Miss Universe prepared the bucket of ice water to dump on Trump’s head. “That water was seriously cold, too–I can tell you,” Trump said. “But you know it [ALS] is a horrific problem and a complex one, but a lot of money is being raised. And I think number the cause is terrific. Number two, it’s unique and it’s different. How often do see something so different? Maybe that can lead to a cure.”
Trump said he had to send the suit he was wearing in the video out for dry cleaning. “I had to send it out–everybody felt like it would be better if I was in the suit than something else, so more appropriate for me. I don’t know that it [the suit] will ever be the same, but that’s okay,” he said, adding that even though he was atop one of New York’s tallest buildings the Big Apple’s summer was still hot and the ice water was refreshing. “It was 88 degrees out, so the ice actually cooled me down,” he said.
The three people Trump challenged to go next are his two sons, Donald and Eric, and President Obama. Obama has already chickened out of doing the challenge, cutting the $100 check for ALS research when he was challenged before.
“It’s timing, and right now the country is in so much trouble with complex issues that I could fully understand if he didn’t want to do it,” Trump said of Obama’s thus far unwillingness to do the Ice Bucket Challenge. “I could fully understand that.”
On the threat from radical Islamists at the helm of ISIS, Trump said the organization’s recent beheading of journalist James Foley was a “very big mistake” and that he expects the United States will soon “blow them into oblivion.”
“ISIS made a very big mistake when they so publicly beheaded Mr. Foley, the reporter,” Trump said. “I think that was a tremendous mistake, because more than any other act that got the anger of even people who were not hawkish–that got the anger up. I think that was a terrible mistake because I’d imagine at a certain point we’re going to blow them into oblivion. People who weren’t in favor of that all of a sudden are.”
Trump says the U.S. should let ISIS destroy Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s dictator who has been accused of using weapons of mass destruction on his own people, then go in and take down ISIS.
“Now some people think ISIS will destroy Syria–so by going in and knocking ISIS we’re saving Assad and Syria,” Trump said. “It’s very ironic–and I have a theory to let ISIS destroy Assad and then destroy ISIS. We could destroy ISIS very quickly. In my opinion, it’ll be quick–I disagree with a lot of other people. When you send bombers over there for three or four weeks, it’ll be over as we know it. If we put out ISIS out of business, who’s the beneficiary if we do that? Syria and Iran. Let ISIS do their number and then after they do their number we go get them. But we’re defending Syria and we’re defending Iran by knocking out ISIS.”
On “climate change,” Trump said the president’s plans to circumvent Congress and administratively enact a new United Nations treaty would, like amnesty via executive order, “be very bad for the country.” Trump challenged the leftists who claim science proves the existence of “climate change,” saying plainly instead: “It’s called weather.”
“Taxing everybody for climate change is absolutely ridiculous,” Trump said. “Many people don’t even there is such a thing as ‘climate change.’ It’s called weather.”
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