Trump tells Las Vegas crowd he’s beholden to no one
Real estate mogul Donald Trump told a Las Vegas audience Saturday that he would not be beholden to special interests and lobbyists seeking favors if elected president.
“I don’t need money,” the billionaire said. “I don’t want anybody’s money.”
Trump, seeking the Republican nomination, spoke for nearly an hour Saturday at FreedomFest, an annual nonpartisan event focused on principles such as free enterprise and personal freedoms.
More than 2,000 people packed a Planet Hollywood ballroom, just a short distance from his Trump Tower resort on the Strip, to hear him speak.
His visit came as he has surged in polls. A Reuters-Ipsos poll of GOP candidates released Saturday showed Trump and Jeb Bush at the top and in a virtual tie among self-identified Republican voters. Trump had support from 15.8 percent, and 16.1 percent backed Bush, the former Florida governor and the son and brother of the two former presidents.
Trump didn’t hold back in his wide-ranging speech, taking aim at other presidential candidates and the media, and calling U.S. leadership incompetent for not negotiating better trade agreements with other nations, including China and Mexico, to bring jobs to the United States.
“We have such power over China, but we have leaders that don’t know what they’re doing,” Trump said.
Trump said the country needs to end the federal Affordable Care Act, saying “Obamacare is a disaster.”
“We don’t have victories anymore,” Trump said. “We used to have victories. We used to be great.”
While unhappy with the current state of affairs, Trump said he believes the U.S. can be restored to greatness with competent leadership. His solution: Elect him, and provide the country with a tough business negotiator who could make deals that bring back jobs and improve the nation.
Trump launched a long-shot bid for the Republican nomination in mid-June and is in a crowded field of more than a dozen candidates. He has attracted a steady stream of national media coverage — and a bump in polls — after making widely criticized comments about immigrants from Mexico who are in the country illegally.
“They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with (them),” Trump said when announcing his bid for president on June 16. “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”
Trump said Saturday that he loves and admires the Mexican people, and declared he’ll win the Hispanic vote because he’s bringing jobs back to the United States.
He stressed he’s worried about crime from illegal immigration and introduced Jamiel Shaw Sr., the Southern California father of a teenage son who was murdered in 2008 by a perpetrator in the country illegally.
Shaw said his son was walking home when he was shot in the stomach and head while talking on the phone with him. Shaw said he heard two gunshots. He praised Trump for his willingness to focus on the issue.
Trump questioned the ability of Bush to negotiate and blasted Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton.
“Can you imagine Bush negotiating with China?” Trump said, drawing applause when he asked attendees who they would rather have negotiating.
Trump called Clinton the “worst secretary of state in the history of the country.”
He poked fun at speculation he wouldn’t want to disclose his finances as a candidate, saying “I want to show that I’m much richer than what they say.” He indicated he’ll be disclosing soon.
“I built a great company,” He said. “You’ll see it all next week.”
Trump lamented that reporters have used partial quotes, quoting him as saying the American dream is dead, without including his elaboration that he’ll make it bigger and better.
“The political press — the media — is very, very dishonest,” he said, getting a round of applause. “But we have to live with them.”
Taking questions from reporters afterward, Trump pointed to his business background, which includes leasing to a large Chinese bank, to show he can have positive relationships with other countries.
“They pay me rent,” Trump said. “They love me. I love China.”
Trump headed Saturday from Las Vegas to a campaign event in Phoenix.
Reuters contributed to this report. Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 702-405-9781. Find him on Twitter: @BenBotkin1.
