Trump Dubs Hawaii Senator Hirono ‘Not the Smartest’ in Speech

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump tried out a fresh line of rhetoric on Saturday when he dubbed Hawaii Senator Mazie Hirono “nasty, nasty, horrible” and “not the smartest person on the planet.”

Trump spoke of Hirono at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit in West Palm Beach, Florida, while critiquing Democratic environmental policies during a lengthy, grievance-filled speech. He didn’t mention the lawmaker by name -- but Hawaii’s other senator, Brian Schatz, is a man.

Hirono was in favor of the Democratic “Green New Deal” and then “they informed her that that doesn’t include airplanes” and she realized she could never get to Hawaii again, Trump said. The senator’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

End-of-Year Break

Trump arrived at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach late Friday night and is expected to stay in Florida until after the new year. He spent several hours on Saturday at the nearby Trump International Golf Club before heading to the conference.

The Democratic-led House on Wednesday voted on a nearly party-line basis to impeach him for allegedly abusing his power by withholding financial aid and a White House meeting as a way to pressure Ukraine to investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.

Republican Representative Dan Crenshaw of Texas was in the audience on Saturday. He came on stage at Trump’s direction brandishing a red “no” voting card from the impeachment ballot.

‘Crazed Person’

It’s not the first time Trump has taken on the Japanese-born Hirono. In March he referred to her as a “crazy female senator” and “like a crazed person.” Hirono at the time termed that “a badge of honor.”

Trump on Saturday spoke for over an hour to the meeting of conservative students. He ticked off many familiar themes including the dangers of the “radical left,” and the “fake news media,” his support within the Republican Party, the record high U.S. stock market, and his 2016 Electoral College win.

A day after Trump authored an end-of-year letter to “our incredible federal workforce,” the president excoriated “deep state allies” of the Democratic Party within the government, saying repeatedly that they had “spied on my campaign.” He also slammed so-called “Never Trump” Republicans as “the dumbest human beings on Earth.”

In a moment of levity Trump made in a rare self-deprecating crack to the high school and college students as he discussed windmills and wind power as a blight. “I’ve seen the most beautiful farms and fields, and then these things go up,” he said.

“You see one that’s like an orange-white...that’s my favorite color,” Trump said, to laughter, in an apparent reference to his skin tone.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jordan Fabian in West Palm Beach, Florida at jfabian6@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Ros Krasny, Matthew G. Miller

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