CNN anchor Jake Tapper got into an awkward argument with Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson about the odd comments that Donald Trump made about former professional golfer Arnold Palmer during a rally on Saturday.
With just days to go before the election on 7 November, Trump used a campaign rally in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, Palmer’s birthplace to speak for 12 minutes about Palmer’s manhood.
“This is a guy that was all man,” Trump said. “He took showers with the other pros, they came out of there, they said, ‘Oh my God, that’s unbelievable.’ I had to say it.”
“I had to tell you the shower part because it’s true,” he added.
Speaking to Johnson after the rally, Tapper questioned why Trump used a good chunk of his rally to talk about Palmer in such a manner, asking the Speaker of the House: “Is this really the closing message you want voters to hear from Donald Trump stories about Arnold Palmer’s penis?”
Johnson tried to ignore the question and attempted to pivot to a debate about Kamala Harris but Tapper refused to let the issue go.
“I’m sure that you think that a policy debate would be better than a personality debate, but if President Biden had gone on stage and spoke about the size of a pro golfer’s penis, I think you would be on this show right now saying you were shocked and appalled and you would suggest it was evidence of his cognitive decline,” Tapper propositioned Johnson, asking: “Why is he talking about Arnold Palmer’s penis in front of Pennsylvania voters?”
“Jake, you seem to like that line a lot,” retorted Johnson.
Tapper protested this, claiming that he didn’t like talking about Trump’s comments but that he had because “Donald Trump is out there saying it.”
Johnson did eventually address Trump’s comments about Palmer, saying: “ I get it. There are lines in a rally. When President Trump is at a rally, sometimes he’ll speak for two straight hours.”
Johnson then went on to attack Biden and Harris again and put forward why he believes Trump will win in November.
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The 52-year-old concluded by saying: “He says things that are off the cuff. But I’m telling you, I’ve been in those events. I’ve been in those arenas, and people have a great time at those arenas.”
Social media users were quick to mock Trump for his Palmer anecdote.
“According to the most recent NYT/Siena poll, the top three issues for swing voters include: 1. Inflation 2. abortion 3. The size of Arnold Palmer’s schlong,” podcast host Dan Pfeiffer wrote on X.
“But don’t call them weird,” author Jennifer Taub posted, alluding to Kamala Harris’s moniker for the former president and his running mate, JD Vance.