Donald Trump is threatening to cry if he doesn’t get what he wants.
The 80-year-old president held a rally in Marietta, Georgia, where he ranted about the Senate blocking the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and ID to be shown at the polling booth.
The bill has already passed the House but Democrats have filibustered the bill in the Senate, meaning it needs a supermajority of 60 votes to pass. Republicans hold the Senate 53-47.
Republican senators were in Trump’s firing line at the rally, where he demanded the filibuster be abolished and warned that next time the Democrats seize power they would get rid of it anyway for their own ends.
“We’re not going to be able to take it much longer when they can’t get past voter ID, proof of citizenship, no mail-in ballots because they’re crooked as hell,” Trump ranted. “So right now, Congress is working to get as much of our plan as possible into the budget bill to identify and really terminate.
“Look, what they should do? Very simple. A lot of you don’t know about the filibuster. They should terminate the filibuster and approve everything. Because the Democrats are going to do it. The Democrats are going to terminate the filibuster as soon as they have a chance. And then they’re gonna approve Puerto Rico and D.C. as a state. They got four more senators. They’re gonna end up with 12 more congressmen. They’re going to get like 40 electoral votes.”
The president then conjured up a bizarre image, picturing himself sitting crying at home if the bill failed to get through, powerless to do anything about it.
“If they are allowed to do that, by that time I’ll be sitting home,” he said. “And I’m not a big crier. I don’t think you wanna see me cry, you know? There are some people they do very well when they cry, but you don’t wanna see me cry. But I may be crying when I’ll be sitting home, and I’ll say, I told them they got to really terminate the filibuster…”
He then spun off on a bizarre tangent about his political rivals, before refinding his thread.
“They should terminate the filibuster,” he continued. “Everybody call John Thune at the Senate—he’s the leader of the Republican Party—and tell them to get this stuff approved. So we’re fighting so that all voters must show voter ID. We’re fighting so that all voters must provide proof of citizenship, OK? And also the no mail-in ballots. Very important.”
Thune has previously rejected Trump’s demands, saying there aren’t enough votes to push the bill through.
Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer has positioned the Democrats as a major hurdle to Trump’s bill, telling The Hill: “Trump said Republicans have to terminate the filibuster, or we’ll have a shutdown in September. Mr. President, the SAVE Act ain’t passing. It ain’t passing in the Senate, it ain’t passing with Democrats, and it ain’t passing in the courts. It’s not happening, so give up on that.”
“Trump said the quiet part out loud. He’s willing to shut down the government to get his way,” he added.
