Trump the Storyteller: The Donald Delivers Riveting Tale About Landing in Iraq on Darkened Air Force One

Former President Donald Trump took to the stage Saturday night in West Palm Beach, Florida, to close out day one of the Turning Point Action Conference, and those who came hoping to see vintage DJT were not disappointed. He stepped up to the podium, greeted by enthusiastic applause and accompanied by his usual song, Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.”

In a free-wheeling speech, he discussed a myriad of topics, from the cocaine found in the White House, to President Joe Biden’s disastrous policies on just about everything, to the tragic withdrawal from Afghanistan, our porous border, and more.

But one thing showed what makes Trump so different than most politicians: his storytelling ability. Biden likes to spin yarns, but they’re usually creepily dubious tales of his confrontations with “Corn Pop” or reminiscences about how little children used to like playing with the hair on his legs or how he’s been shot at.

Of course, who could forget one of his greatest hits—stealing an English politician’s biographical tale as his own?

Trump went on at length about heading to the Al Asad Air Base in Western Iraq on Christmas Day in 2018. He has talked about the trip before, but he went into greater detail Saturday. This captures the gaping divide in opinion of the former president: some will find his storytelling captivating, riveting, and funny as hell—others (especially those on the left) will wince at his every word, finding him pompous, boastful and “full of hate.”

He takes on multiple voices like a skilled comedian, fires off a shot at Rosie O’Donnell, and in general just seems to be having a great time.

Watch:

Full Iraq Plane Story.

Featuring;
Central Casting
Bing Boom Boom Boom
PDJT Hilarious delivery. @realDonaldTrump @DanScavino #Trump #TurningPointAction #RSBN pic.twitter.com/ZISt4qXld6

— QuickWitNitWit 🔍 (@Quickwitnitwit) July 16, 2023

Here is a very condensed transcription of the almost four-and-a-half-minute clip:

So I get on Air Force One. And we’re getting ready to land in Iraq. And they come, we’re about an hour and a half out—“Sir, we’d like to turn off all lights in the plane.”

Oh, why? Why do I have to turn off lights? “Sir, we want the plane to be totally dark. We’re gonna be landing in an enemy zone.” I said, “We’ve been fighting ’em for 21 years! We got the best weapons! What the hell is the enemy zone?”…

So they’re leading me along the hallways… There were a lot of people up [in the cockpit], all like central casting. You could make a movie with every one of them. Could be a star and make bigger stars than they have right now. Today, who the hell do we have? We don’t have stars today. We have Rosie, today we have Rosie.

You know, I say to the captain. I don’t see any lights. He said, “Sir, we don’t need them. We have the finest equipment in the world…”

400. 300. 200 feet off the ground…

Bing boom. Boom, boom, boom. [The plane lands safely.]

I found this story to be fascinating, especially because he ends with a bit of self-deprecation, which is unusual for Trump. (There were several such moments in his appearance.) But as I wrote Friday in a favorable review of Ron DeSantis’ interview which the Florida governor did with Tucker Carlson, this is not meant to be an endorsement or statement of preference for a GOP presidential candidate—this is just my takeaway from Trump’s performance at this event.

But this was our former president at his best.

That being said, if you put a gun to my head (which I would politely ask you not to do), I would say that I would fully support either of the two leading candidates over the bumbling disastrous nightmare who currently resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. And whether you love him or hate him, Trump dominates the stage.

Bonus clip for loyal RedStaters: Trump skewers Biden over the White House cocaine imbroglio:

Donald Trump talks about the White House Cocaine scandal “Oh we didn’t have any cameras — LIKE HELL THEY DIDN’T” pic.twitter.com/AsoukHprXj

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 16, 2023

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