Article by Dale M. King
Photo by Joe Skipper
BOCA RATON – Billionaire real estate mogul and TV star Donald Trump came to Boca this past Saturday, walking, talking and pontificating like a presidential candidate.
But he still hasn’t made it official – not in Boca, or during the several days since he delivered an often Obama-slashing speech from a podium at Sanborn Square.
Organizers of the rally said Trump was on hand as keynote speaker for a South Florida Tea Party Tax Day rally. But he spent much more time on his own agenda, and slamming the incumbent president.
“To address this group of hard-working people is a real honor,” Trump said from the podium where a stiff breeze ruffled his famed hairstyle. “At least this proves it’s my hair,” he quipped.
But his quipping often gave way to strong indictments. He said the United States has become “a laughing stock” and “a whipping post” for other nations. “The world is laughing at us and taking advantage of us and that’s a disgrace.”
He said world leaders have told him that “they can’t believe what they are getting away with.”
“We need people who win, not people who lose all the time,” the part time Palm Beacher told a crowd estimated between 2,500 and 3,000. “I have fairly earned billions of dollars. I built a great, great company.”
But he said successful people don’t want to be president because they would be “scrutinized and abused.”
When he mentioned President Obama, the crowd shouted out boo’s. Trump paused, then said, “You all want me to say, ‘You’re fired,”” his signature line from his “Apprentice” TV show.
“We’ve got a long way to go before we start using that. It’s too early, and to be honest, it’s too trivial,” he said. “But I have it in the back of my mind.”
Using strong words, Trump laid into the president. “He came out of nowhere with no track record. He didn’t do anything.” The might-be candidate said Obama “may go down in the history books as the worst president ever.”
Citing his possible presidential platform, Trump said he is pro-life, is against gun control and “will fight to get rid of Obamacare. It is a total disaster.” While he said he is a strong backer of the military, he wants to stop wasting lives and money in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He said he doesn’t want diplomats in his administration, he wants people “who can be tough. If I run and win, other countries will be dealt with differently.”
Trump also pledged that if he were to become president, he would not raise taxes, that he’d create new jobs and woo back those that have been outsourced overseas.