The president, who is bad at talking, vows to protect our “local milk people”
Assuming we survive the Trump presidency, it will be a treasure trove for future historians, full of near-apocalyptic comic mishaps, racist blunders, and comedies of error with only slightly authoritarian undertones. To wit: A transcript of Trump’s early-presidency call with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto has been released by the Washington Post, and it is a doozy, rife with fabrications, miscommunications, racist provocations, and so on. Take, for example, this exchange, during which Trump and Nieto discussed the newly minted American president’s recent call with Australian Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull:
At one point, Trump expressed admiration for Australia’s refusal to allow refugees arriving on boats to reach its shores, saying it “is a good idea. We should do that too.” In a remark apparently meant as a compliment, Trump told Turnbull, “You are worse than I am.”
But the conversation rapidly deteriorated.
“I hate taking these people,” Trump said. “I guarantee you they are bad. That is why they are in prison right now. They are not going to be wonderful people who go on to work for the local milk people” — an apparent reference to U.S. dairy farms.
That final aside from Post reporter Greg Miller is quite an editorial imposition, as “local milk people” could mean almost anything! Let’s begin: