At a $35,000-per-seat fundraiser, Republican donors likely expected a rousing speech from the 45th President of the United States, who was headlining the event for his victory fund and the Republican National Committee at his own Trump International Hotel on Wednesday evening. And two sources who attended the event told CNN that he lived up to expectations.
“It was well worth what everybody paid,” said a source. The President spoke for about 45 minutes without a teleprompter.
Cabinet members and administration officials alike attended: Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnunchin, chief of staff Reince Priebus, first lady Melania Trump and top aide and son-in-law Jared Kushner. Several senators attended, too, including Cory Gardner and David Perdue.
Another person who attended described it to CNN as a fun and freewheeling speech where the President called out folks in the crowd — from Priebus to co-chair of the RNC Bob Paduchik to House Speaker Paul Ryan — to lavish praise on them.
The President mostly focused on his accomplishments in office — like signing the Veteran’s Accountability Act and confirming Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch.
“He was telling the crowd, ‘This is what I’ve promised and this is what I’ve delivered,’ ” said this source.
The President talked about health care, but not in too much detail. Trump mocked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer as “cryin’ Chuck” and said he knew him before he was a crybaby, according to one source.
Trump also slammed House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi as someone who doesn’t know what’s going on, but he said the GOP has to keep her in power because she’s a great weapon to help energize Republicans.
He mentioned the campaign trail only once, talking about Hillary Clinton and called her a “formidable candidate.”
One source said that Trump was “very very energetic about tax reform.”
Bashing the media was one of Trump’s top points early in speech, asking the crowd if they though that CNN was getting hammered. This person said that the crowd, arguably not CNN fans, went wild.
Trump also name-dropped Jeff Zucker, the company’s president, and Van Jones, a visible contributor and critic of the President.
At one point, he compared the different pronunciations of Qatar. The crowd laughed about Trump’s riff and his conclusion that whatever you call it, you can’t fund or help terrorists.
A source said that it struck the right notes with what donors wanted to hear — it wasn’t like a typical campaign trail speech. He knew the crowd he was speaking to.