Rais Donald Trump ametumia wiki za mwisho kabla ya uchaguzi wa katikati ya muhula kufanya mikutano ya kampeni kote nchini, na baadhi ya matukio yake ya kukumbukwa zaidi hayakuwa na uhusiano wowote na sera. Siku ya Jumapili, aliongeza tukio jingine.
Wakati akizungumza kwenye mkutano wa kampeni huko Port Huron, Michigan, Trump alimtajia muimbaji wa rap Nicki Minaj, akisifu umbo lake la nyuma kuwa "zuri." Kauli hiyo ilikuja wakati Trump akiwa katikati ya kusimulia hadithi kuhusu Seneta wa Ohio, Jon Husted—aliyekuwa nyota wa mpira wa miguu wa vyuo vikuu ambaye umbo la mwili wake lilisifiwa sana na Trump mapema mwezi huu.
Maoni ya Trump Kuhusu Husted
Kabla ya kuingia kwenye siasa, Husted alikuwa mchezaji nyota wa safu ya ulinzi katika Chuo Kikuu cha Dayton, ambapo alikuwa sehemu ya timu ya Flyers iliyoshinda ubingwa wa kitaifa wa Division III mwaka 1989.Kwenye mkutano wa kampeni huko Youngstown, Ohio, mapema mwezi huu, Trump alisema kuwa hakujua Husted alikuwa mwanamichezo hodari hadi aliyekuwa kocha mkuu wa NFL, Jon Gruden, alipomweleza kuhusu kazi yake ya mpira wa miguu. Kisha Trump alisifu umbo la mwili la Husted.
"Sifanyi hivi na wanaume mara kwa mara," Trump alisema kwenye kipande cha video kilichosambazwa na Aaron Rupar. "Nilianza kuchunguza mwili wake kwa sababu sikujua alikuwa mwanamichezo hodari."
Husted anagombea dhidi ya aliyekuwa Seneta Sherrod Brown katika uchaguzi mdogo wa mwezi Novemba, ambao ni miongoni mwa kinyang'anyiro cha karibu zaidi cha Seneti nchini humo.
Siku ya Jumapili, Trump alikuwa akirejelea maoni hayo wakati fikra zake zilipotolewa nje ya mada na umbo jingine maarufu la nyuma.
'Ni Vigumu Kutoiona'
Minaj amekuwa mmoja wa wasanii maarufu wanaomuunga mkono Trump. Rapper huyo alijiita "shabiki namba moja" wa Trump kwenye tukio fulani mnamo mwezi Januari, na Rais amekuwa akisifu muonekano wake mara kwa mara.Wakati huu, alienda mbali zaidi.
"Wakati huohuo, nilitazama kalio moja zuri sana punde tu. Nicki Minaj. Hilo ni vigumu kulikosa," Trump alisema kwenye kipande cha video kilichosambazwa na Acyn.
Trump kisha alijaribu kurudi kwenye mada kuu, huku akiweka wazi kuwa hakukusudia kuleta kero au udhalilishaji.
"Haya, nitarudi kwenye hadithi yangu, Nicki. Natumai Nicki hakukwazika, lakini tunampenda Nicki. Amekuwa na sisi kwa muda mrefu," alisema Trump.
Tokea hapo, alirudi kwenye mada ya msingi ya kutoa maoni kuhusu mwili wa Husted.
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President Donald Trump has spent the final weeks before the midterm elections holding rallies across the country, and some of his most memorable moments have had nothing to do with policy. On Sunday, he added another one.
While speaking at a rally in Port Huron, Michigan, Trump called out rapper Nicki Minaj, praising her "beautiful" backside. The comment came while Trump was in the middle of telling a story about Ohio Sen. Jon Husted, a former college football star whose body Trump had raved about earlier this month.
Trump's Husted Comments
Before entering politics, Husted was an All-American defensive back at the University of Dayton, where he was part of the Flyers team that won the 1989 Division III national championship.
At a rally in Youngstown, Ohio, earlier this month, Trump said that he hadn't known Husted was a great athlete until former NFL head coach Jon Gruden told him about his football career. Trump then praised Husted's body.
"I don't do this with men very often," Trump said in a clip shared by Aaron Rupar. "I started examining his body because I didn't know he was a great athlete."
Husted is running against former Sen. Sherrod Brown in a special election in November, in one of the closest Senate races in the country.
On Sunday, Trump was revisiting those comments when he got sidetracked by another prominent backside.
'Hard To Miss'
Minaj has become one of Trump's most prominent celebrity supporters. The rapper called herself Trump's "number one fan" at an event back in January, and the president has gushed about her appearance before.
This time, he went a step further.
"By the way, I looked at one hell of a beautiful ass before. Nicki Minaj. That's hard to miss," Trump said in a clip shared by Acyn.
Trump then tried to get back on track, while making it clear that he didn't mean any offense.
"Okay, I'm going to get back to my story, Nicki. I hope Nicki wasn't insulted, but we love Nicki. She's been with us for a long time," Trump said.
From there, he returned to the original subject of commenting on Husted's body.