Of the many mind-numbingly insensitive things Donald Trump said and did during his short trip to Puerto Rico, tossing paper towels into a crowd of hurricane survivors ranks pretty high. Soon after, the president seemingly recovered by suggesting the U.S. territory’s debt be completely “wiped out,” but the White House budget director and other Trump administration staffers quickly walked these comments back. Per an otherwise unbelievable account of the visit published by the Washington Post, however, it seems Trump did and said plenty of other ill-advised things while he was in Puerto Rico.
For example, as Death and Taxes points out, the president contemplated tossing cans of chicken into the same crowd he would later give paper towels and flashlights to. What’s more, it seems Trump had never seen canned chicken before, and their very existence amazed him. “Whoa! I’ve never seen that before,” he said while holding one of the cans up. “That looks kind of good. Let’s start handing it out. Do you feel like this?”
Trump passed out yellow bags of rice and then started tossing rolls of towels into the crowd as if he were shooting free throws. The crowd laughed and cheered him on. When he contemplated doing the same with the cans of chicken, the crowd gently told him no.
Unsurprisingly, this isn’t the president’s first ludicrous experience with chicken-themed things. Back in August, an inflatable chicken made to look like Trump popped up within visual range of the White House, thereby causing a brief internet sensation. During the 2016 campaign, the Republican presidential candidate was dubbed a “chicken” numerous times by The Late Show host Stephen Colbert, Bernie Sanders supporters and many others. Trump has even tweeted about chickens before, albeit in the form of an insult directed at Modern Family‘s Danny Zuker, and a weird argument against windmills.
Come on @DannyZuker, take the bet, show your friends and family (& your bosses on Modern Family) that you're not "chicken shit"
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 25, 2013
@HelmJoshua Wind turbines will quadruple your electric bills and destroy the value of your home. Lot's of chicken soup however-bird kill.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 24, 2013
Yet nothing quite beats the same Washington Post account’s transcription of a conversation between the president and members of a church who were distributing water purification kits. A notorious germaphobe by all accounts, Trump wore his disgust on his sleeve when he realized Puerto Ricans were drinking filthy water that had been cleaned by the units:
“Wait,” Trump said, “you put it in dirty water?”
“And then you can drink it after 10 to 12 hours,” she explained.
“Would you do it? Would you drink it?” he asked.
“Sure,” she said.
“Really?” Trump said, a disgusted look coming across his face.
“Really,” she said.
(Via Washington Post and Death and Taxes)