Donald Trump says he’s still making people cry.
The former president resurrected one of his most persistent claims during an interview that aired over the weekend: the one about people reduced to tears when they see him.
“I have steel people, that every time they see me, they start to cry,” he told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo. “They hug me. They said, ‘You saved our industry.’”
If the story rings a bell, it’s because Trump has told plenty of variations of crying people over the years, often “tough guys” who had never cried before.
He did so in 2019 when he told of a man who wept as he begged Trump to cut regulations.
“I don’t think he cried in his life and I don’t think he cried when he was a baby,” Trump recalled. “He was crying. He said, ‘Sir, you give me back my life and my property.’”
He also spoke of others at the event as “tough people, strong, tough, men and women, half of them were crying.”
In 2018, he mentioned someone else also breaking down in front of him.
“He was a strong, tough guy, and he was crying. He said, ‘Mr. President, thank you for saving America,’” Trump claimed. “I’m telling you, that man, he was tough. I don’t think he cried when he was a baby.”
He also spoke of a 2017 event where farmers and ranchers were weeping behind him as he gave a speech ― although tootage from the event does not show any obvious tears.
More recently, he spoke several times of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) crying as he begged Trump for an endorsement.
Given that history, many of his critic on X were skeptical of his latest claim about people crying in his presence
Weird how all these weep-on-sight-of-Trump steelworkers, Marines, cops, and other tough guys are never captured on video openly crying “every time” they see Trump. https://t.co/WP1rj2Tgat
— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahDispatch) February 4, 2024
Trump carries in his brain a mental image of the United States that’s 50 years out of date. The largest steel company in the country, NuCor, employs about 31,000 people – fewer than Bed, Bath, and Beyond. https://t.co/jxqvTvTs6Q
— David Frum (@davidfrum) February 4, 2024
Here’s what I’d like to see in the next interview:
“Mr. President, people say you are the most photographed and videoed person on the planet.”
Trump: “That’s true.”
“That being the case, why is it there are no photos or videos of these crying men hugging you?”
Trump: “Derp” https://t.co/SoTzi2R3h0
— John Wright (@TheWrightJohn) February 4, 2024