Former President Donald Trump told an audience of Republican Party donors on Saturday that the COVID-19 vaccine should be named after him as he admonished them to call it 'the Trumpcine.'
He also called the November election in which Joe Biden won 'bulls**t,' according to the Washington Post, which cited an attendee, who also said he spoke for about an hour at his Florida Mar-a-Lago resort for a party fundraiser.
He said he wished former Vice President Mike Pence had possessed the 'courage' to send the certification of the Electoral College votes back to state legislatures.
'I like him so much. I was disappointed,' Trump said, according to the Post.
Most Democrats even think he won the election, Trump said, according to the Post, but they won't say it out loud.
He repeated a line from 2015 calling immigrants crossing the border illegally violent criminals, this time saying 'they're coming in from the Middle East.'
'They're not sending their best people. You have murderers, you have rapists, you have drug dealers,' Trump said, according to the Post.
The former president also hit out at Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the former Republican Senate Majority Leader who's since fallen out with Trump after pinning blame on him for the January Capitol riots.
McConnell is a 'dumb son of a bit*h,' Trump said in his Saturday remarks, according to a CNN reporter who was told by a person in the room.
A picture posted on social media shows former President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrive for dinner on Saturday at the Trump Mar-a-Lago Resort, where Republican National Committee donors gathered
Trump at the event boasted that he would help the GOP reclaim the House of Representatives
Trump is said to have called for the COVID-19 vaccine to be called 'Trumpcine,' according to a Twitter posting from a CNN reporter
During the Saturday talk, Trump said some have told them there were 'more than a million' people at the rally that preceded the riots, according to the Post.
Meanwhile, Trump said he will help the GOP win seats in 2022 congressional elections but shed no new light on whether he will seek a second term in 2024.
Trump played host to a dinner at his Mar-a-Lago Club for Republican National Committee donors who are spending the weekend charting the future course of the party in Palm Beach, Florida.
His comments on the vaccine come after polls showed Republicans are more reluctant to get the vaccine than Democrats and independents. Trump pushed vaccine development along with his Operation Warp Speed.
Trump in March recommended that his supporters get vaccinated against COVID-19. The former president, 74, was vaccinated before leaving the White House on January 20.
Trump is seen above mingling at the fundraiser (left). Melania is pictured at the event, right
The former president, 74, was vaccinated before leaving the White House on January 20. Trump is pictured above at Mar-A-Lago on Saturday
On Friday, he also held court at his resort, where he endorsed his former press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, for governor of Arkansas
As for politics, Trump said he would continue to be the leader of the party.
'We are gathered tonight to talk about the future of the Republican Party - and what we must do to set our candidates on a course to victory,' Trump said, according to a prepared text of his speech to the group seen by Reuters.
'I stand before you this evening filled with confidence that in 2022, we are going to take back the House (of Representatives) and we are going to reclaim the Senate. And then in 2024, a Republican candidate is going to win the White House,' he said.
Trump has spent the 2-1/2 months since his chaotic exit from the White House considering requests from 2022 candidates for his endorsement and has been giving them his blessing based on whether they support him and his agenda or not.
He has said any talk of his own plans - the Constitution gives him the right to seek another four-year term - should wait until after the November 2022 elections.
A variety of other Republicans are considering their own potential runs for the party's presidential nomination in 2024, such as Trump's former secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
While Democratic President Joe Biden defeated Trump by millions of votes, the Republican made inroads among traditional Democratic voters such as Hispanics and African Americans.
Trump, who sprinkled his remarks with attacks on Biden, said the key to victories in 2022 is to build on those gains, saying 'the Republican Party will succeed and grow in the future by embracing its destiny as the champion of working-class Americans.'
Trump's active role in Republican politics despite losing the 2020 election is unlike other former presidents who have tended to retreat from the limelight upon leaving the White House.
'Saturday´s speech will be welcomed words to the Republican donors visiting Mar-a-Lago to hear directly from President Trump. Palm Beach is the new political power center, and President Trump is the Republican Party´s best messenger,' said Trump adviser Jason Miller.
Mar-a-Lago was a busy place over the last couple days, as it played host to political events for Sarah Huckabee Sanders and for GOP donors; people gathered outside on Friday
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who is running for Arkansas governor, posted a picture to Instagram on Saturday thanking Trump for endorsing her at Mar-a-Lago on Friday
Security was tight outside the premises as the former president spoke
Trump endorsed Huckabee Sanders on Friday in front of a crowd at Mar-a-Lago
Meanwhile, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to address donors Saturday night as well.
Earlier in the weekend, a slew of candidates already positioning themselves for a 2024 presidential run made appearances.
Besides DeSantis, the potential White House contenders included South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio of Florida and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina also spoke.
On Friday, Trump held a campaign event for his old press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders at Mar-a-Lago to endorse her gubernatorial run in Arkansas.
The former president, who has been seldom seen since leaving office and being banned from social media, appeared before a cheering crowd to endorse Sanders.
After a game of golf on Saturday afternoon, before the speech, a woman who said she was Vietnamese and who was wearing wearing a '45 LOVE' dress explained to former President Donald Trump the meaning of the dress as he has lunch with his golf partners at Mar-A-Lago
He praised her and boasted about how he won Arkansas 'by so much' in 2016 and 2020.
'A special woman, this was so easy for me. This has to be the easiest endorsement that I made,' he said.
Sanders launched her campaign in January. She served with Trump from 2017 until 2019, replacing Sean Spicer as Trump's press secretary before becoming an adviser.
On Thursday, Trump emailed a statement to subscribers to endorse Sanders and trash the current governor of Arkansas.
He said Gov. Asa Hutchinson 'supported the chemical castration of children' because he vetoed a bill banning hormone treatment for transgender children.
'Asa Hutchinson, the lightweight RINO Governor of Arkansas, just vetoed a Bill that banned the CHEMICAL CASTRATION OF CHILDREN.
'Fortunately for the Great State of Arkansas, Sarah Huckabee Sanders will do a fantastic job as your next governor.
'Bye-bye Asa,' that's the end of him!' he added.
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