In the oath of office, Trump says he has real concerns about being killed by a piece of fruit – newsdubai

Tomatoes. Pineapple. Bananas. For some, these are innocent pieces of fruit you can enjoy in caprese salad, a refreshing mixed drink or sliced ​​and spread on top of a bowl of cereal. You may have even done it today, without worry in the world. But did you ever stop to think about the darker, more sinister side of these fruits, which we have long eaten so casually, often in the presence of children? Donald Trump have. And he is here with a serious, urgent message.

Tomatoes, pineapples and bananas are dangerous weapons that can take a person’s life, the former president claimed in a deposition he sat for last October, and the transcripts of which were filed in court on Tuesday and seen by The Daily Beast. Moreover, if someone showed up at one of his rallies with such ammunition, it would justify beating them up, he argued. Trump was questioned under oath as part of a 2015 lawsuit brought by a group of activists who claimed the Trump organization’s security chief, Keith Schiller, hit one of them in the head as they protested outside the company’s headquarters in Manhattan. While the then presidential candidate was not present when the incident took place, the plaintiff’s lawyers wanted to speak to him to determine if he was responsible for the behavior of his employees.

That led to the lawyers bringing a campaign rally in 2016 where Trump told attendees, “If you see someone getting ready to throw a tomato, just knock the shit out of them, would you?” Asked why, Trump testified that his campaign that day had been told that someone “should bear fruit,” which put him on high alert. “You get hit by fruit, that is – no, it’s very violent things. We were aware of that, “Trump said.” It’s worse than tomato, it’s other things too. But tomato, when they start doing it, it is very dangerous. There was an alarm out there that day. “He added,” I wanted people ready because we were put on alert that they should make fruit. “And if you thought that was all he had to say about : The mortality of different pieces of fruit, you thought wrong!

“Some fruits are much worse … tomatoes are bad, by the way,” he continued. “But it’s very dangerous. No, I wanted them to see. They were on alert. I remember the specific event because everyone was on alert. They had to strike, they wanted to strike hard.” Asked to tell rally participants that he would cover the legal fees of anyone who “knocks on[ed] shit out of “a tomato-possessed protester, Trump doubled the idea that he was facing a” serious threat. “

One of the lawyers asked, “Is it your expectation that if your security guards see someone throwing a tomato, then they should knock the shit out of them?” To which Trump answered yes, but that they should not just limit themselves to protecting him from tomatoes. “A tomato, a pineapple, a lot of other things they throw away,” he said. “Yeah, if the security guard saw that, I’d say you have to – and it’s not just me, it’s other people in the audience who are badly hurt – yes, I think they should be aggressive too. “To prevent that from happening. Because if it happens, you could be killed if it happens.” Asked if he literally said that someone who settled a tomato justified the “use of physical force”, Trump agreed and added another fruit to the list. yes, “he replied.” These are dangerous things. “

Trump, of course, has a long history of inciting violence. In addition to telling rally guests to “knock the shit out” of all protesters carrying tomatoes, he has also previously instructed police officers in letting suspects’ heads knock against the side of their group cars; told supporters of a protester who had been thrown out of an event, “I want to hit him in the face”; openly fantasized about “Second Amendment people” who prevented the appointment of liberal judges; and supported attacking journalists. Plus, the entire January 6 rebellion business. So it is not surprising to hear him justify the use of force, though we must say that we did not expect him to do so through a long dissertation on fruit. In any case, it’s good to know when he’s preparing for a potential race in 2024 that he’ll literally use any excuse to hurt his critics.

A Trump spokesman did not respond to The Daily Beasts’ request for comment.