On Saturday at the Iowa State Fair, one Democrat presidential challenger chose to spend a considerable amount of time in the pig pens. Or maybe he was just covered in filth from all the mud he was throwing around — either way, he looked bad.
While President Trump continues to fend off charges that he is a racist and a bigot from other candidates, Andrew Yang, who is referred to as an intellectual, attorney, entrepreneur, and a philanthropist, went to a different place on Saturday. Among other things, Yang called the president “fat.”
Considered a centrist, the 44-year-old Yang must be trying to distinguish himself from the myriad Democrat candidates by stooping to schoolyard taunts. While chatting about how much fried food he was ingesting at the fair, Yang tore into the president’s appearance and physical abilities.
“I can’t be eating crap on the trail too often because I need to stay in presidential form,” Yang told a group of reporters after he had participated in a gun forum on Saturday. “No one wants a president who doesn’t seem [like] he can run a mile. I think. I don’t know.”
At that point, Yang had made his point. President Trump doesn’t appear to be in very good shape. But instead of having a brief giggle and moving on, Yang decided to go on a riff about the president’s appearance and stamina.
“I don’t think Donald Trump can run a mile,” Yang continued. “Would you guys enjoy watching Donald Trump run a mile? That would be hysterical. What does that guy weigh? 280 or something?”
For the record, the 67-year-old Trump is 6’3” tall and, as of his physical in February, weighed 243 lbs.
Yang, who is currently polling at 1.3 percent according to the Real Clear Politics national average, has some work to do in order to breach the two-percent barrier candidates must reach in order to get on the stage for the next Democrat debate in September in Houston. To be on the debate stage, candidates must poll at at least two percent in four polls.
Campaign staff must have realized that Yang looked bad as they tried to usher him away from the microphones. Undeterred, Yang went on to challenge the president to tests of strength and endurance.
“Oh, yeah. I’d challenge Donald Trump to any physical or mental feat under the sun. Oh, God. What can that guy beat me at? Being a slob?” Yang said.
“I can do approximately infinitely more push-ups than Donald Trump,” Yang stated.
Yang is running on a platform that includes what he calls the Freedom Dividend, which is a universal basic income of $1,000 per month for every adult American. Yang is concerned that new technologies will destroy millions of American jobs in the coming years. He claims that jobs will be his focus should he make it to the White House. Yang would levy a new tax on businesses that rely on automation to pay for the Freedom Dividend.
As staffers continued to try and stop him, Yang kept on riffing. “I want to go through this intellectually, like what could Donald Trump possibly be better than me at? An eating contest? Like something that involves, keeping something on the ground and having really large body mass, like if there was a hot-air balloon rising, and you needed to try and keep it on the ground?”
Yang finally conceded that the president might be able to top him in golf, but not without more mockery: “He might be able to beat me at golf although I’m told he cheats a lot, so who knows what his true golf ability is.”
Yikes. Certainly, the president has made himself a target for such attacks because of his unconventional rhetoric and his habit of nicknaming opponents (Little Marco, Low-energy Jeb, Sleepy Joe, Crooked Hillary, etc.). But one thing Trump would definitely beat Yang at is speaking off the cuff. Some people, such as the president, have that ability. Yang clearly doesn’t.
Photo: AP Images
James Murphy is a freelance journalist who writes on a variety of subjects with a primary focus on the ongoing climate change hoax and cultural issues. He can be reached at [email protected].
