Trump jokingly asks a group of women at the White House: “Have you heard of Susan B. Anthony? I’m shocked that you’ve heard.”
During a women’s empowerment event at the White House today, President Donald Trump jokingly asked those in attendance if they have heard of Susan B. Anthony.
The president in his speech named a number of important women who have shaped American history, one being Susan B. Anthony, who played a major role in the women’s suffrage movement.
He was not legitimately asking whether the crowd has heard of Susan B. Anthony, but instead suggesting that she is so significant that there is no way they could have not heard of her.
“We’ve had leaders like Susan B. Anthony,” Trump said. “Have you heard of Susan B. Anthony? I’m shocked that you’ve heard of her.”
This was an improvised moment in Trump’s address. The sentence that was written in the prepared remarks seems to have been, “We’ve had leaders like Susan B. Anthony, who dreamed of a much more equal and fair future, an America where women themselves, as she said, helped to make laws and elect the lawmakers.”
Trump’s Susan B. Anthony remark blew up on Twitter almost immediately, with it not being immediately clear in text form that the president was being sarcastic.
President Trump also in his speech highlighted the influence of Abigail Adams and Harriet Tubman.
“She was very, very courageous, believe me,” the president said of Harriet Tubman.