President Trump’s post-midterm press conference was one for the books. After delivering prepared remarks, he fielded questions from reporters for nearly 90 minutes on Wednesday, asserting the results marked a win for the GOP, defending his impact, and expressing eagerness to work on bipartisan legislation with House Democrats.
The presser was full of fantastic quotes and Trumpian moments. Things went off the rails, for example, when Jim Acosta of CNN refused to cede the microphone after Trump tried to toss it to NBC’s Peter Alexander. There was no turning back.
Here’s a rundown of Trump’s top quips from the presser.
1. ‘I don’t know who Little John is.’
Reporter: Michael Cohen recently said you called black voters stupid.
Trump: That’s false.R: Omarosa has accused you of using the N-word.
T: That’s false.R: The rapper Lil Jon has said you called him ‘Uncle Tom.”
T: I don’t know who Little John is. I really don’t. pic.twitter.com/LD6CpDTAjq— POLITICO (@politico) November 7, 2018
2. ‘We are a hot country. This is a hot White House.’
“We are a hot country. This is a hot White House. We are a White House that people want to work with,” President Trump says pic.twitter.com/atdCMmQZX7
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) November 7, 2018
3. ‘It’s called earned media. It’s worth billions.’
HOW TRUMP SEES PRESS CONFERENCES LIKE THIS ONE: When @HunterW encourages him to hold more press conferences because they lead to accountability, TRUMP corrects him: "It's called earned media. It's worth billions."
— Kenneth P. Vogel (@kenvogel) November 7, 2018
4. To Vice President Pence: ‘Mike, will you be my running mate?’
“Mike, will you be my running mate?” Trump asks from the podium at the White House, confirming Pence will be his VP pick in 2020 pic.twitter.com/UIQwDgpUl1
— Bloomberg Originals (@bbgoriginals) November 7, 2018
5. To a Japanese reporter: ‘Say hello to Shinzo. I’m sure he’s happy about tariffs on his cars.’
"Say hello to Shinzo," Pres. Trump tells Japanese reporter, referring to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. "I'm sure he's happy about tariffs on his cars." https://t.co/QF15MHrJt2 pic.twitter.com/aLjJkjZjfw
— ABC News (@ABC) November 7, 2018
6. On Oprah: ‘I don’t know if she likes me anymore, but that’s okay.’
President Trump on @Oprah: "I don't know if she likes me anymore, but that's ok. She used to." pic.twitter.com/SFYMTAWq0o
— CSPAN (@cspan) November 7, 2018
7. ‘Mia Love showed me no love. And she lost.’
President Trump lists Republicans who didn't embrace him and lost. "They did very poorly. I'm not sure that I should be happy or sad, but I feel just fine about it."
"Mia Love gave me no love and she lost. Too bad. Sorry about that Mia." pic.twitter.com/ZV7EKcWjLX
— CSPAN (@cspan) November 7, 2018
8. On GOP Rep. Mike Coffman’s loss: ‘Too bad, Mike!’
"Too bad, Mike…Sorry about that, Mia."
Pres. Trump calls out GOP candidates who distanced themselves from him and "did very poorly." https://t.co/K9o86hoOoH pic.twitter.com/MVahLFqs61
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) November 7, 2018
9. To April Ryan: ‘Sit down! I didn’t call you.’
Trump scolds April Ryan: "Sit down!" pic.twitter.com/WKjxWAFgYs
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) November 7, 2018
10. To Jim Acosta, as he tried to explain the migrant caravan to the president: ‘Thank you for telling me that, I appreciate it.’
11. To Jim Acosta: ‘I think you should let me run the country. You run CNN. And if you did it well, your ratings would be much better.’
12. To Jim Acosta: ‘Put down the mic.’
13. To Jim Acosta: ‘CNN should be ashamed of themselves having you working for them. You are a rude, terrible person.’
President Trump to Jim @Acosta: "Honestly, I think you should let me run the country and you run CNN" https://t.co/eeEAI1W9yh pic.twitter.com/RTGF0XdgvJ
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) November 7, 2018
14. To NBC’s Peter Alexander, who defended Jim Acosta: ‘Well, I’m not a big fan of yours either.’
"I'm not a big fan of yours, either," Trump tells NBC's Peter Alexander when the reporter tries to defend CNN's Jim Acosta https://t.co/RqaLXGd5Tw pic.twitter.com/TYFHOYt6H8
— Variety (@Variety) November 7, 2018