Donald Trump joked Monday that women in the Islamic world might prefer to wear burkas because it lessens the need to apply make-up.
Trump, delivering a riff in New Hampshire about how American foreign policy had destabilized the Middle East, said that it was hard to square that interventionism with what the foreign people actually want. His case: The coverings worn by some Muslim women on their face — or, as he called them, the “you know what.”
“I saw a woman interviewed. They said ‘We want to wear them, we’ve worn them for a thousand years. Why would anybody tell us not?’ They want to!” Trump said. “What the hell are we getting involved for?”
Trump then offered a reason why those women might prefer them that went beyond their religious customs.
“Fact is, it’s easy. You don’t have to put on makeup, look how beautiful everyone looks,” he said, pointing to the laughing audience. “Wouldn’t it be easier? Right? Wouldn’t that be easy? I’ll tell ya, if I was a woman I don’t want to.”
He then pretended to brush his hand across his face and continued the impression: “I’m ready, darling, let’s go!”
