Trump Declares Journalists’ Children Cute, but He’s Still Wary of Their Parents
WASHINGTON
— The guests, in their witches’ hats and Princess Leia buns, were not
too adorable to hear some difficult truths from their commander in
chief.
“I
cannot believe the media produced such beautiful children,” President
Trump marveled, surrounded in the Oval Office by the Halloween-costumed
offspring of White House reporters. “How the media did this, I don’t
know.”
The children stared vacantly. The candy had not yet arrived.
For
some 180 seconds on Friday, these visitors inspired a quintessential
Trump performance — part executive gripe session, part grandfatherly
charm, part open-mic night for the under-12 set.
But
one throughline was clear: Mr. Trump regretted to inform his new
friends that their parents, while surely nice enough at home, were not
to be trusted.
“These
are beautiful, wonderful children,” he began, pausing for a beat behind
his desk. “Ughhh. You going to grow up to be like your parents?”
He waved his hands horizontally.
“Mmm,
don’t answer,” he decided, as a Leia and a Batman looked on
quizzically. “That can only get me in trouble, that question. No. You
have wonderful parents, right?”
There
was more: “So, how does the press treat you? I’ll bet you get treated
better by the press than anybody in the world, right? Huh? I think so.
Hi, sweetheart.”
And
some for the parents: “Well, congratulations, folks,” he said, turning
to the journalists and gesturing toward the children. “You did a good
job. You did a good job. Here, you did a good job.”
He pointed to himself. “I wouldn’t say you did very well here. But really, beautiful children.”
The
group did not leave empty-handed. As Mr. Trump riffed, the White House
press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, delivered him a collection of
sweets to distribute.
“What
is this? Ooohhh,” Mr. Trump said. “Well, I don’t think they want any
gifts or candy, right? You ready? So this is from the White House, look.
See what that says?”
“Ooh, they’re Hershey’s Kisses,” a girl observed.
“Who likes this?” the president asked. “And you have no weight problems. That’s the good news, right?”
The joke did not kill in this room.
Other
efforts to connect were more successful. When a younger child, unnerved
by the cameras, appeared on the verge of tears, the president reached
over, hoping to console her.
“Are you crying? Come here, sweetheart,” he said.
“She’s Japanese,” another child said.
“She’s
Japanese!” Mr. Trump replied, flashing a quick smile. “Beautiful. She’s
Japanese. I’m going to be in Japan. In two weeks, I’ll be in Japan.”
“I know,” another girl said, nodding in a green-trimmed witch’s hat.
Some outfits seemed to pique the president’s interest more than others.
On a Darth Vader mask: “Scary outfit,” he said twice.
On the girl with purple hair: “What color is that? Purple?”
With this, Ms. Sanders indicated that it was time to wrap up. She and Mr. Trump thanked everyone.
“They can stay,” Mr. Trump said of the children, with a smirk and a sweep of his hand. “The parents, maybe not so much.”
A version of this article appears in print on October 28, 2017, on Page A12 of the New York edition with the headline: They Came For Candy, But Gripes Were First. Many ESC fans from all over the world are so very sad because we lost Joy Fleming - one of the best singers ever.
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