A perspiring Donald Trump rambled about poisonous snakes and his daughter Ivanka at a White House Christmas reception after offering his condolences following deadly shootings in the U.S., Australia, and Syria.
Trump spoke for more than 40 minutes on Sunday in front of supporters, with First Lady Melania Trump standing beside him.
Highlights
- Donald Trump paid respects at a White House Christmas reception to victims of shootings in the U.S., Australia, and Syria.
- Trump spoke for over 40 minutes, shifting from condolences to a long ramble about venomous snakes and a snakebite story in Peru.
- He falsely claimed the 2020 election was rigged, asserting he would have won California without alleged Democratic interference.
- Trump complimented a woman in the audience for resembling Ivanka Trump, continuing a pattern of controversial remarks about his daughter.
“I just want to pay my respects, unfortunately,” Trump said. “Two who are no longer with us. Brown University, nine injured. Two are looking down on us from heaven.”
Donald Trump mentioned the Brown University shooting before rambling about snakes
Image credits: Alex Wong/Getty Images
A shooting on Saturday at Brown University’s campus in Providence, Rhode Island, left two people dead and nine others injured.
Authorities said a person of interest was taken into custody and released following a multi-agency search. No further arrests have been made, and a manhunt is ongoing.
Trump then referenced the Bondi Beach attack in Sydney on Sunday evening that left 16 people dead, including one of the gunmen, identified locally as Sajid Akram, 50.
Police said over 40 people, including the second suspected shooter, Naveed Akram, 24, were injured in the shooting at an event called Chanukah by the Sea, held to celebrate Hanukkah.
Image credits: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
“Likewise in Australia, as you know there was a terrible attack,” the president said. “That was an antisemitic attack, obviously. I just want to pay my respects to everybody.”
Trump also referenced an Islamic State (IS) ambush attack in Syria that occurred Saturday near the ancient city of Palmyra.
Two U.S. service members and an American interpreter were killed, and three others were wounded.
Trump vowed “a very serious retaliation” against the attack on Truth Social.
“I must say, in Syria, also, we had an attack in Syria,” Trump said at the Christmas reception. “We had three great patriots terminated by bad people ... But I just want to pay my respects to the families.”
Image credits: Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images
After mentioning the three incidents, Trump shifted into a wide-ranging, unscripted monologue that included a lengthy discussion about venomous snakes.
He recounted a story involving White House physician Dr. James Jones, who was bitten by a viper while hiking in Peru with the daughters of former President Barack Obama.
Jones reportedly lost consciousness multiple times and later recovered following months of rehabilitation.
“It’s known for being a rather rough place in terms of physical creatures crawling around,” the president said of Peru.
“It’s funny when you talk about snakes and things like that, people find it interesting,” Trump said. “Would anybody like to go to Peru and walk around the forest? No thank you, I’ll say no thank you.”
Trump brought up the 2020 election and his daughter, Ivanka
He described the anecdote as “a terrible Christmas story, but it’s a hell of story.”
“I’m fascinated by stories of wildlife because I have a theory: wildlife always wins,” Trump said. “The power is incredible of animals.”
Later, Trump returned to false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
“The election was rigged in 2020,” he said. “We have all the ammunition, all the stuff, and you’ll see it come out. It’s coming out in truckloads.”
Trump has repeatedly made the claim without evidence after losing the election to former President Joe Biden.
Image credits: Alex Wong/Getty Images
He then said he would have won California, a reliable blue seat, if not for what he described as Democratic interference.
“If the vote in California was legitimate, which it’s not … it’s a rigged election in California because we would win California by a lot,” Trump said.
California Governor Gavin Newsom responded on X, writing, “Hahahahahahahahaha ok.”
The president again became distracted after noticing a woman in the audience he said resembled his eldest daughter.
Image credits: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
“Boy do you look like Ivanka, has anyone ever told you that?” Trump said, asking the woman to turn toward the camera. “It’s the most unbelievable thing. You look just like Ivanka, which is a great compliment.”
Trump has previously come under scrutiny for his comments about his eldest daughter.
During a 2004 appearance on The Howard Stern Show, Trump agreed when Stern referred to his daughter Ivanka as “a piece of a**.”
Appearing on ABC’s The View in 2006 alongside his daughter, Trump said, “I’ve said that if Ivanka weren’t my daughter, perhaps I would be dating her.”