Donald Trump is quite a character. Notwithstanding the fact that he is running to secure a Republican nomination for the race to the White House, the business magnate from the Queens borough in New York City has repeatedly made headlines... for the wrong reasons.
We have compiled some of the gems from the billionaire's campaign trail. Once you are done going through the list, sit back and wonder whether he is the best suited to lead America in post-Obama days. So what if you are Indian and got nothing to do with what Trump has to say? Just imagine Prime Minister Narendra Modi hugging and clicking a selfie with a "carnival barker" with "fake hair" (that's how the White House described him a couple of days ago).
On Muslims:
Trump made an outrageous remark this week, calling for a "total and complete shutdown" of the country’s borders to Muslims in the wake of the San Bernardino terrorist attack.
He said there was such hatred among Muslims around the world towards Americans that it was necessary to rebuff them en masse, until the problem was better understood.
“Until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in Jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life,” the billionaire real estate developer said.
Trump has been facing flak from across the world for the remarks, but he has stood his ground.
On Mexican Immigrants:
Sample this: "When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They are sending people that have lots of problems and they are bringing those problems with us. They are bringing drugs, they are bringing crime, they are rapists, and some, I assume, are good people."
"I will build a great wall -- and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me -- and I will build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words."
Later, when he was taken to task for his remarks, this was his comeback: "It wasn't a pleasant period. I was getting inundated. And then it turned out that I was right because I was talking about illegal immigration."
On Women:
"I adore women. In a positive sense. I cherish women. Women are very important to me. I will take care of women and women's health issues if I get in... My mother was this incredible woman. I have known incredible women. I have many women executives... frankly, they are better than my men executives. I pay them the same or more."
Ironically, the same guy had this to say about his daughter: "I have said if Ivanka weren’t my daughter, perhaps I would be dating her."
And this about his rival Hillary Clinton: "If Hillary Clinton can't satisfy her husband what makes her think she can satisfy America?"
And this about the Huffington Post founder: "Ariana Huffington is unattractive, both inside and out. I fully understand why her former husband left her for a man -- he made a good decision."
The list just goes on.
On President Barack Obama:
"We have a president who just can't say a few words: 'Put the flags at half-mast for the five Marines that were just killed.' Why? Why? Why? ... It's almost like, does he read the papers? Does he watch television?"
"We're tired of being pushed around, kicked around ... and led by stupid people. They're stupid people!"
On US Foreign Policy:
CHINA: "You can win against China if you're smart. But our people don't have a clue. We give state dinners to the heads of China. I say 'Why are you doing state dinners for them? They're ripping us left and right. Just take them to McDonald's and go back to the negotiating table.' It's true!"
"When was the last time anybody saw us beating, let's say, China in a trade deal? They kill us. I beat China all the time. All the time."
ISIS: They [ISIS] just built a hotel in Syria. Can you believe this? They built a hotel. When I have to build a hotel, I pay interest. They don't have to pay interest, because they took the oil that, when we left Iraq, I said we should've taken."
MEXICO: "I really like Mexico. It's a great place. The problem we have is that their leaders are much smarter and sharper and cunning than our leaders... Is not anybody sharper and smarter and more cunning than our leaders?"
IRAN: "[Speaking to Iran's leaders] 'Fellas' -- and it is fellas, because they haven't figured out that the women are smarter than the men -- ... you've got to let our prisoners go."
On being politically correct:
"I can be a very elegant, highly refined person. I can be a very politically-correct person where I would never ever say anything that's even slightly over the edge, or I can be who I want to be. It's very time-consuming to be politically correct. And I don't have the time. It's also very boring to be politically correct. Right? You wouldn't be here if I was totally politically correct."
"We will have so much winning if I get elected you may get bored with winning. Believe me. We are going to start winning big league."
