During a rally in Virginia this morning, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump asked for a mother and her crying baby to be removed from the venue.
When a baby first began to cry during Trump’s speech in Virginia, the candidate remarked that he did not mind and that the mother should not worry about it.
“Don’t worry about that baby,” Trump said. “I love babies. I hear that baby crying, I like it. I like it. What a baby. What a beautiful baby. Don’t worry, don’t worry.”
Trump’s initial comments did not appear to be sarcastic at the time. But about a minute later, he asked that that the mother and baby leave the rally.
“Actually, I was only kidding. You can get the baby out of here,” Trump said. “That’s alright. Don’t worry. I think she really believed me that I love having a baby crying while I’m speaking. That’s okay. People don’t understand. That’s alright.”
Although it’s reasonable for Trump to not want a distraction like this at the rally, the situation as it unfolded was awkward and bizarre enough to earn Trump quite a bit of mockery on social media.
And at an event in Florida later in the day, Vice Presidential hopeful Tim Kaine made reference to the incident, saying, “I saw that Donald Trump kicked a crying baby out of an event earlier today…sometimes you wonder who the baby is.”