Donald Trump says he 'outworked everybody who ever ran for office'


On the eve of his inauguration, President-elect Donald Trump gave a familiar speech at a dinner for his donors, in which he boasted of breaking records, made jabs at political opponents, and effusively praised his family, including son-in-law Jared Kushner, who Trump believes will solve all the problems in the Middle East.
Speaking at a candlelight dinner at Union Station in Washington, D.C., Trump called his win a "big victory," claiming "records were set that haven't been beaten since Ronald Reagan." Trump, who won the electoral vote but not the popular, said he believes he "outworked everybody who ever ran for office," and said he's already looking ahead to 2020, when he will "win the old-fashioned way, win because we did so well, because it was so overwhelming the thing that we did."
When discussing his Cabinet selections, Trump said he was a fan of all of them. "There's not a pick that I don't love," he added. "And if there was, I'd tell you right now." There's never been a Cabinet like his before, Trump said, and because of that, "the other side is going absolutely crazy." He singled out several people to thank, including campaign manager Kellyanne Conway — he told her "Thank you, baby, thank you," after calling her "my Kellyanne" — and Kushner, a senior adviser. "If you can't produce peace in the Middle East, nobody can," Trump said. His hair also received a shout out. "It may rain, it may not rain, I don't care, it doesn't matter," he said. "The truth is if it really pours it's okay, because people will realize it's my real hair and that's okay." Catherine Garcia
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Trump taps Fox News' Pirro for DC attorney post
speed read The president has named Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the top federal prosecutor for Washington, replacing acting US Attorney Ed Martin
-
Trump, UK's Starmer outline first post-tariff deal
speed read President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Kier Starmer struck a 'historic' agreement to eliminate some of the former's imposed tariffs
-
Fed leaves rates unchanged as Powell warns on tariffs
speed read The Federal Reserve says the risks of higher inflation and unemployment are increasing under Trump's tariffs
-
Denmark to grill US envoy on Greenland spying report
speed read The Trump administration ramped up spying on Greenland, says reporting by The Wall Street Journal
-
Supreme Court allows transgender troop ban
speed read The US Supreme Court will let the Trump administration begin executing its ban on transgender military service members
-
Hollywood confounded by Trump's film tariff idea
speed read President Trump proposed a '100% tariff' on movies 'produced in foreign lands'
-
Trump offers migrants $1,000 to 'self-deport'
speed read The Department of Homeland Security says undocumented immigrants can leave the US in a more 'dignified way'
-
Trump is not sure he must follow the Constitution
speed read When asked about due process for migrants in a TV interview, President Trump said he didn't know whether he had to uphold the Fifth Amendment