Donald Trump responded to a number of speakers at the Democratic National Convention, praising some of their addresses — like that of first lady Michelle Obama — while hammering others.
In a lightning-round interview with New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, the Republican presidential nominee was also asked about remarks given by Muslim lawyer Khizr Kahn, whose son, Army Capt. Humayun Khan, was killed in Baghdad 12 years ago.
Kahn, as his wife stood next to him on stage in Philadelphia, delivered a much-discussed talk Thursday night in which he criticized Trump’s immigration proposals — specifically those aimed at barring Muslims — and said that the billionaire businessman has “sacrificed nothing and no one.”
“I’d like to hear his wife say something,” Trump said in the interview, published on Friday night.
Trump also opined on former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who threw his support behind Hillary Clinton and spoke to the Democratic convention. Trump called Bloomberg “a guy who didn’t have the guts to run for president.”
“He doesn’t know anything about me,” Trump said. “But he never had the guts to run. He probably wished he did but he didn’t. He spent millions of dollars on polling but he was missing one thing: guts.”
The two have been exchanging barbs this week after Bloomberg, who once considered entering the 2016 race as an independent, endorsed Clinton over Trump last weekend, then blasted Trump as a “dangerous demagogue” in Philadelphia.
As for President Barack Obama’s speech, which was laced with warnings about electing someone like Trump, the Republican nominee said it was “a good speech but not nearly as good as the press would have you believe.”
Still, in a rare moment of praise for the commander in chief — whom Trump has labeled “the most ignorant president” in history — Trump said that in “many ways,” he does “like” Obama.
“It’s hard to define. There’s something about him I do like. I’m embarrassed to admit it. I give him a lot of credit,” Trump said. “It’s very unique and very hard to do and I give him tremendous credit. He became a two-term president of the United States. He’s got some quality going.”
Trump also complimented the first lady’s convention remarks.
“She gave a very good speech,” Trump said.