Trump: The People Protesting at Trump Tower Looked Like ‘Ants’
A source told The Daily Beast the real story behind a bizarre anecdote in The New York Times.
Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
According to a New York Times report published on Tuesday, President Donald Trump told a room full of pastors and Christian-right leaders at the White House on Monday evening that he first learned about the Johnson Amendment at a meeting in Trump Tower with dozens of ministers and pastors during the 2016 campaign.
In the Times article, Trump also went on a bizarre-sounding tangent about “ants”—one that goes unexplained in the story.
“We were in the 68th floor of Trump Tower and we looked down on the sidewalks and there were thousands and thousands of people,” the president said, according to provided audio of the private remarks. “They looked like ants, little people going all over—boom, boom, boom—so little, ’cause when you’re [up] 68 floors, they look really small. But there were a lot of them.”
A source who was at the gathering told The Daily Beast that Trump made clear that the “ants” he was referring to were protesters on the street and sidewalk near Trump Tower.
—Asawin Suebsaeng
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.