First Donald Trump was caught on video by the Daily Beast sitting in a golf cart calling Kamala Harris “so fucking bad” and Joe Biden “old crap,” while handing over two crisp notes from a roll in his pants pocket.
Now he has turned the video into a campaign ad, pushing one of the policies he thinks will persuade voters: ending federal taxes on tipping.
The video was the nearest to a public statement Trump had made as the White House wrestled with mounting calls for Biden to quit in the wake of last Thursday’s disastrous debate.
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It was taken as he addressed a group of people about the debate. In the video, provided by a source to the Daily Beast, the former president asks the person holding the camera what they thought of his own debate performance. As he’s told he did “fantastic” and “amazing,” Trump blusters on flatly, “Look at that old, broken down pile of crap.
“It’s a bad guy,” he says, seemingly referring to Biden. After announcing that the president is quitting and handing the baton to Kamala Harris, Trump continues, “I think she’s gonna be better” as an opponent.
“She’s so bad. She’s so pathetic,” he adds, plucking at his gloves, then appears to say, “She’s so fucking bad.”
Trump then switches back to Biden, asking, “Can you imagine that guy dealing with Putin? And the president of China—who’s a fierce person. He’s a fierce man, very tough guy. And they see him.”
Before driving off, the former president reiterates, “But they just announced he’s probably quitting. Just keep knocking him out, huh?”
But on his social media platform Truth Social on Thursday Trump did not focus on what he said about the Democratic ticket for the 2024 election, but wrote on all capitals, “END TAX ON TIPS,” because much of the action in the video was him unrolling two notes from a roll and handing them off-camera to–presumably–his caddy.
Trump has been pushing the idea as an attempt to appeal to blue collar workers and particularly to Black and younger voters. His aides think that it could appeal to a group which polls suggest is less enthusiastic about the Democrats, and Biden in particular, than has historically been the case.
He was applauded at a rally of his supporters in Las Vegas, Nevada, last month when he mentioned it, although his rallies are not known to be places where he gets a poor reaction. The most recent time he gave it prominence, however, was at a summit of CEOs in Washington D.C., when it was reported that it caused laughter around the room.
His campaign has not spelled out exactly how it would work. Workers who earn tips, including those in restaurants and other parts of the service sector, are required to report them in their tax returns. Tax is then calculated in the same way as regular income taxes.
Trump’s retreat from the limelight during the Democratic crisis has been an unusual display of discipline for the former president. On Wednesday evening, his campaign spokesperson Stephen Cheung declined to issue a statement on the video and directed The Daily Beast to a statement issued earlier in the day on the “total collapse” of the Democratic Party which was attributed to campaign advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles.
Trump reserved his most significant invective for Vice President Kamala Harris calling her "so fucking bad" when he spoke. But none of that was the focus of his Truth Social post.
Rebecca Noble/ReutersThe lengthy statement included a claim about “Democrats, the mainstream media, and the swamp” alleging, “Every one of them has lied about Joe Biden’s cognitive state and supported his disastrous policies over the past four years, especially Cackling Copilot Kamala Harris.”
A White House spokesperson referred The Daily Beast to Biden’s campaign team, which issued a statement clapping back at Trump later on Wednesday night at similar length.
“No, Donald,” the campaign said. “What is bad is taking away women’s rights, what is bad is losing an election and encouraging a violent mob to attack the Capitol, what is bad is assaulting women, what is bad is not paying your taxes, what is bad is rooting for our economy to fail…”
The campaign went on to ding Trump for, among other things like his hair and golf game, “committing 34 felonies,” “wanting to make yourself a dictator on day one,” and “running on a platform of your revenge and retribution ahead of what is best for our country.
“Thanks for letting us clear that up for you,” it concluded.
