Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Despite the Republican Party’s frequent mention of “American exceptionalism,” its presumptive presidential nominee says it’s an “insulting” term that could offend other countries. During an April 2015 conservative convention in Texas, Trump said: “I don’t like the term. I’ll be honest with you. People say, ‘Oh he’s not patriotic.’ Look, if I’m a Russian, or I’m a German, or I’m a person we do business with, why, you know, I don’t think it’s a very nice term. ‘We’re exceptional; you’re not.’” The real-estate mogul’s comments were revealed Tuesday by Mother Jones via newly unearthed footage. He continued: “I never liked the term. And perhaps that’s because I don’t have a very big ego and I don’t need terms like that. Honestly. When you’re doing business—I watch Obama every once in a while saying ‘American exceptionalism,’ I don’t like the term.... I think you’re insulting the world. And you, know, if you’re German, or you’re from Japan, or you’re from China, you don’t want to have people saying that. I never liked the expression.”