{"id":79,"date":"2025-10-07T13:06:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T13:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chris-cillizza.ledewire.com\/?p=79"},"modified":"2025-10-18T15:01:57","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T15:01:57","slug":"the-41-most-absurd-lines-from-donald-trumps-monday-press-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chris-cillizza.ledewire.com\/?p=79","title":{"rendered":"The 41 most absurd lines from Donald Trump’s Monday press conference"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Thank you for your attention to this matter!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Chris Cillizza<\/a>. Oct 07, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"\"\/<\/a>
(Donald Trump, foreground, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright\/ Getty Images\/ Anna Moneymaker)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I flew west \u2014 California! \u2014 on Monday. It\u2019s a long<\/em> flight. But, United has Direct TV! So I got to watch President Donald Trump\u2019s press conference about his latest executive order: Approving a 200+ mile road in Alaska that should allow access to a copper and zinc mine<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because Trump is Trump, he spent very<\/em> little time talking about the Alaska road. And a whole lot of time opining about anything and everything else \u2014 not to mention fielding a bunch of questions from reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My pledge to you has always been that I will do my damndest to go through as many of Trump\u2019s speeches, interviews and the like as possible \u2014 since I believe what he says in them to be the best indicator of a) what he actually <\/em>thinks and b) what he will do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To that end, I went line-by-line through Trump\u2019s Monday press conference \u2014 and picked out the lines you really<\/em> need to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a paywalled post. I am the only political reporter forensically examining what Trump says \u2014 and it takes time!<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I hope that if you aren\u2019t a paid subscriber yet, you consider becoming one today. I am independent \u2014 of the two political parties and of the big billionaires and corporate conglomerates that own legacy media outlets these days. When you donate to me, it goes DIRECTLY to my efforts to build a career as an independent news creator. It\u2019s $6 a month or $60 for the whole year!<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

To the Lines!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. \u201cWe have a very big signing today having to do with Alaska, a place that I am very familiar with. And we\u2019re making it greater and bigger and more powerful and job-producing.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Trump is, I assume, referring to the summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this year in Alaska. He also held a rally in Anchorage in 2022<\/a> where he promised the defeat of Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Murkowski won. And away we go!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    1. \u201cSo, we created a great deal of wealth for that part of the world and that part of our country by doing this long, very difficult road to build.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cThat part of the world.\u201d He\u2019s talking about Alaska. Which is a state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      1. \u201cWe have just about every nation working on this deal and trying to get it done. Something that you could say 3,000 years, if you look at it in certain ways, or you could say centuries. But this is a deal that incredibly everyone just came together.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        Donald Trump on his quest for Middle East peace: \u201cSomething that you could say 3,000 years, if you look at it in certain ways, or you could say centuries.\u201d Yup, this checks out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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        1. \u201cSo, we have zero for four months in a row. Zero people coming into our country illegally. That\u2019s a pretty good number. I\u2019m not sure even I can believe that.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

          According to a late September press release <\/a>from the Department of Homeland Security \u201cUnited States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has released zero illegal aliens into the country.\u201d So, ok.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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          1. \u201cObamacare has been a wreck, as you know, and to do that we have to keep it propped up and keep, do the best you can with it. It\u2019s a mess.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

            I am not sure what he means by Obamacare being a \u201cmess.\u201d But, the Affordable Care Act has been consistently popular among the public for years now<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \"\"\/<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

            Want to see ALL of Trump\u2019s quotes \u2014 and my analysis of them? Become a paid subscriber today! It\u2019s just $6 a month!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\n
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            1. \u201cWe have a negotiation going on right now with the Democrats that could lead to very good things. And I\u2019m talking about good things with regard to healthcare.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

              Democrats on Capitol Hill quickly denied<\/a> that there were any<\/em> ongoing conversations about healthcare. Trump makes stuff up all the time \u2014 sort of a fake-it-until-you- make-it thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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              1. \u201cWell, I don\u2019t want to say that. I don\u2019t want to say that, but we are speaking with the Democrats and some very good things could happen with respect to healthcare\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                Again, Democrats deny this. But I also don\u2019t know who the \u201cwe\u201d is here. Trump? Someone in his administration? A Republican Senator?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  \n
                1. \u201cI mean you have right now subsidies, you have subsidies. That\u2019s the problem with Obamacare. The subsidies are so much, it\u2019s billions and billions of dollars is being wasted and we can have a much better healthcare than we have right now.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                  Here\u2019s the problem for Trump and Republicans: Almost 8 in 10 Americans want the enhanced tax credits under Obamacare to be extended<\/a>. Eight in 10!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  \"\"\/<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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                  1. \u201cI mean, I\u2019m not saying that\u2019s going to happen because this has also been going on not for 3,000 years, but it\u2019s been going on for a long time.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                    In which Trump compares negotiations over Obamacare to negotiations over Middle East peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                    1. \u201cYeah, I want to see great health.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                      Same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                      1. \u201cI will say this, just hang in there, because I think a lot of good things are going to happen. That\u2019s all I can say. I mean, I think a lot of good things could happen.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                        Trump to furloughed government workers: \u201cI mean, I think a lot of good things could happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                        1. \u201cAnd so many of the press have come to me, they\u2019ve said, I can\u2019t believe it. It\u2019s changed so much. We have a safe city in Washington.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                          The White House press corps is coming to Trump and saying they can\u2019t believe how safe he has made Washington? This feels\u2026.unlikely?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                          1. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be very safe, but Chicago is going to be very safe.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                            Ok, I just want to get one thing clear: Is Chicago going to be safe?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                            1. \u201cYou know, I told you, the head of the Union Pacific Railroad said, sir, save Chicago.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                              \u201cSir\u201d alert<\/a>! And Trump has told this story roughly one billion times in the last few weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                              1. \u201cAnd when judges give us rulings that, you know, you don\u2019t have to do it. Portland is on fire. Portland\u2019s been on fire for years.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                                Portland is not, currently, on fire. But Trump\u2019s focus on the city speaks to a long-running obsession <\/a>he has had with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                                1. \u201cSo, you have Black women with MAGA hats on in Chicago, all over the place\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                                  Hmmmmm. This appears to be the story<\/a> Trump is referring to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                                  1. \u201cThey come from Iowa, they come from Indiana. They want to see the Jefferson Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial. They want to see something and that get shot. And you\u2019d call their parents, I\u2019m sorry, but your son is dead. And they go, what do you mean he\u2019s dead? He came to Washington D.C. Not anymore. That\u2019s not happening anymore.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                                    \u201cI\u2019m sorry, your son is dead.\u201d Because he went to Washington. Makes sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                                    1. \u201cSo, we have to save Chicago.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                                      On a related note:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                      \"Distressed<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
                                        \n
                                      1. \u201cWell, I\u2019d do it if it was necessary. So far it hasn\u2019t been necessary, but we have an Insurrection Act for a reason. If I had to enact it, I\u2019d do that.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                                        The Insurrection Act<\/a> is an 1807 law that allows a president to deploy the military in a state \u2014 even if the courts say he can\u2019t do it. The last time the Insurrection Act was invoked was the 1992 Los Angeles riots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                          \n
                                        1. \u201cWell, I\u2019m the one that got the hostages back. Remember that.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                                          \u201cI\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                            \n
                                          1. \u201cJared, I have Jared. I took Jared out because Jared\u2019s a very — you know, find anybody more capable.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                                            \u201cKushner\u2019s Secret Saudi Talks Paved Way for $55 Billion EA Deal<\/em>\u201d \u2014 Bloomberg<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                            \u201cJared Kushner defends controversial $2bn Saudi investment<\/em>\u201d \u2014 BBC<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                                            1. \u201cWe\u2019ll — we\u2019re beating everybody with AI at levels that nobody ever thought even possible.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                                              How would one assess whether we are beating \u201ceverybody\u201d in AI \u201cat levels that nobody ever thought even possible\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                                              1. \u201cI mean, the older you are, the older the grid gets, right?\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                                                \u201cI get older, they keep staying the same age.\u201d \u2014 David Wooderson<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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