The president self-soothed after the Supreme Court’s rebuke by gloating about the other affection he’s received.
President Donald Trump made a bizarre claim Friday that a “very powerful” man wanted to kiss him, in between calling Supreme Court justices a “disgrace to our nation” and “lap dogs.”
During an unhinged press conference where Trump railed against the Supreme Court for striking down his tariff policies, Trump pivoted to an unrelated anecdote in which he claimed Andrew Seville, president of Kusa Steel in Rome, Georgia, wanted to give him a smooch.
“We were in Georgia, and I said to the owner—I made a speech at a factory that makes steel products—and I said, ‘How are you, nice to meet you, how’s business?’” Trump recalled.
Trump then claimed Seville said, “President, I’d love to kiss you.”
“This is a very powerful man. I don’t want to be kissed by that man,” Trump said, to which some of the White House press corps laughed.
“But [he’s] a very powerful, strong man. He’s been in the steel business for many years,” he said.
Trump continued that Seville apparently said, “Sir, I want to kiss you so badly.’ And I said, ‘No thank you.’”
The president claimed Seville sought to kiss him because Trump had made their factory increase its production from just one hour a day to nearly 24 hours a day.
When asked by the Daily Beast for clarification on the strange comments, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said, “It’s no secret that President Trump is the most loved and admired figure in American politics, and it should not come as a surprise that people want to show their appreciation for him. The humorless bores at the Daily Beast need to get a grip.”
Trump told the same story of Seville’s apparent wish for a kiss before a crowd at the Georgia factory on Thursday.
“I’m telling you, I met this guy, and he said something that his wife is going to be extremely upset,” Trump said.
“I said, ‘How are you doing?’ He said, ‘President, if I didn’t have all these cameras running, I would grab you and start kissing you violently.’”
During Friday’s press conference, he referenced the kissing story multiple times as he explained his plan to defy the Supreme Court’s ruling with additional tariffs. Six justices, including three conservatives, ruled on Friday that he overstepped his authority to impose sweeping tariffs.
Earlier in the day on Thursday, Trump paused his so-called “Board of Peace” meeting to talk about “young, handsome men.”
As he welcomed Paraguayan President Santiago Peña to the meeting, Trump made a comment about 47-year-old Peña’s appearance, while confirming he only had interest in women.
“It’s always nice to be young and handsome,” Trump told him. “It doesn’t mean we have to like you. I don’t like young, handsome men. Women—I like. Men, I don’t have any interest.”
