President Donald Trump characteristically mocked his enemies on Thursday, during a closed-door reception with staff in New York City.
During his remarks, Trump took aim at the media, former Vice President Joe Biden, House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff, and the so-called “whistleblower” who set the stage for impeachment proceedings led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“We’re at war,” he said. “These people are sick, they’re sick and nobody’s called it out like I do, I don’t understand, people are afraid to call it out, they are afraid to say that the press is crooked, we have a crooked press, we have a dishonest media.”
When Trump mentioned “Liddle” Adam Schiff, a person in the audience shouted “pencil neck” prompting Trump to repeat the nickname that he coined on Twitter.
“That name stuck,” Trump grinned. “He’s got a neck, it’s about this big. He’s got shirts that are too big because you can’t buy shirts that are that small.”
Video of Trump’s fundraiser remarks was leaked to Bloomberg News and audio of the conversation was leaked to the New York Times.
He also mocked Biden, a potential 2020 rival for president.
“And then you have sleepy Joe Biden who is dumb as a rock, this guy was dumb on his best day, and he’s not having his best day right now,” Trump continued.
He appeared incredulous that Biden’s son Hunter Biden earned millions of dollars from Ukraine and China after getting discharged from the Navy for cocaine use.
He said:
His kid, who’s got a lot of problems, he got thrown out of the Navy. I mean look I’m not going to — it’s a problem, that’s a problem, so we won’t get into why and all that. But he got thrown out of the Navy, and now this kid goes into Ukraine, walks away with millions of dollars, and he becomes a consultant for $50,000 a month. And he doesn’t know anything compared to anybody in this room. He’s a stiff, he knows nothing.
Trump also pointed to Hunter Biden’s work in China, getting $1.5 billion in an investment fund after flying with his father to visit the country on Air Force Two.
“That’s probably not all they gave him, they gave him plenty more I’m sure,” he said. “We might never find out.”
He suggested that Hunter Biden’s activities overseas paled in comparison to his actions.
“And then they talk about me, and I didn’t do anything,” he said. “I don’t know if I’m the most innocent person in the world.”
Trump described the whistleblower as “fake,” and “highly partisan,” suggesting that he was a “spy.”
He said:
[B]asically that person never saw the report, never saw the call. Never saw the call. Heard something, and decided that he or she or whoever the hell it is — sort of like almost a spy. I want to know who’s the person that gave the whistle-blower the information because that’s close to a spy. You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart? Right? With spies and treason, right? We used to handle them a little differently than we do now.
Trump said his conversation with Urkaine President Volodymyr Zelensky was “perfect.”
He described Zelensky as a “really nice gentleman” during his meeting with him on Wednesday, noting he told the press he never felt pressured by Trump to investigate Biden.
“These animals in the press, they’re animals… they’re some of the worst people you will ever meet,” Trump said. “They’re scum, many of them are scum, and you have some good reporters but not many of them, but that’s one of the things that we battle.”
Trump highlighted Democrat senators that “strong-armed” Ukraine to participate in the Russia investigation, describing them as hypocrites.
Trump said that his chances for reelection were “looking good” and referred to a clip from HBO’s Bill Maher for telling a guest that Trump would win and “never leave” the presidency.
“I thought he was kidding, he was being serious,” Trump marveled.
He also cited a TIME magazine video featuring Trump 2020, Trump 2024, and Trump 2028 campaign signs that he repeatedly shared on Twitter.
“We do that to drive them fricken crazy,” he said.