Trump suffers a teleprompter malfunction at wind-swept rally in Ohio
Former President Donald Trump struggled to read a teleprompter at a rally in Ohio on Saturday.
His freewheeling speech was sometimes difficult to follow.
Trump had been drumming up support for Bernie Moreno's run in Ohio's Senate primary on Tuesday.
On Saturday afternoon, Donald Trump experienced some sketchy moments with his teleprompter on a wind-swept airfield outside Dayton, Ohio.
Though meant to be drumming up support for Bernie Moreno's run in the state's quickly-approaching Senate primary on Tuesday, Trump spent much of his time criticizing President Joe Biden and the Democrats who defeated him in 2020.
As the teleprompters were seen visibly flapping around in the 35-mile-per-hour wind, Trump complained: "Don't pay these suckers!" referring to those who'd set them up.
When he struggled to make out his speech and adjusted the teleprompters, he joked: 'I think Joe Biden put them in!'
"Don't pay these suckers please ... I think Joe Biden put them in" -- Trump is riffing now since he apparently can't read the teleprompter pic.twitter.com/mX04D42xz3
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 16, 2024
Though he later remarked how brilliant it was "to have a president who doesn't need a teleprompter," his subsequent freewheeling speech was sometimes difficult to follow.
Trump has often made word gaffes involving former President Obama told the modestly-sized rally in Ohio, that Joe Biden had once successfully beaten Obama in an election. It was unclear what he meant.
Trump said: "You know what's interesting? Joe Biden beat Barack Hussein Obama, anybody ever heard of him? Every swing state, Biden beat Obama but in every other state, he got killed."
Trump: Joe Biden won against Barack Obama pic.twitter.com/OccSSTKmWi
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 16, 2024
Retelling his now well-known anti-immigration "The Snake" story, Trump struggled to pronounce the word "bite."
A 'bloodbath' for the United States if Trump loses
In another part of his speech, Trump said that if he didn't win in November, it would be a "bloodbath" for the United States,
"Now, if I don't get elected, it's gonna be a bloodbath. That's going to be the least of it," Trump said. "It's going to be a bloodbath for the country."
Though unclear precisely what the former president meant, the comments came as part of a complaint about the country's automotive industry. He then told the crowd that China could not sell any vehicles imported into the US if he won.
Moreno and Trump
Trump's latest rally comes three days before Tuesday's GOP Senate primary, when Moreno will face up against Sen. Matt Dolan and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose.
Once a strong Trump critic, Moreno, a wealthy businessman from Cleveland, backed Marco Rubio in the 2016 Republican primaries. In 2021, NBC reported that Moreno had previously referred to Trump as a "maniac" and a "lunatic invading the party" in leaked emails.
In Ohio this weekend, though, Moreno lauded Trump as a "great American" and slammed Republicans who had been critical of Trump.
'"I am so sick and tired of Republicans that say, 'I support President Trump's policies but I don't like the man,'" he said joining Trump on stage.
Trump similarly dismissed Democrat accusations against Moreno, saying "He's getting some very tough Democrat fake treatment right now. And we're not going to stand for it."
Read the original article on Business Insider