Via/AP
In a bizarre and unexpected moment at a campaign rally in Ottumwa, Iowa, former President Donald Trump posed a peculiar hypothetical question: Would he prefer to be electrocuted to death or eaten by a shark? The former president’s rant went viral, drawing reactions ranging from amusement to bewilderment.
During his speech, Trump recounted a conversation and said, “It must be because of M.I.T., my relationship with M.I.T., very smart. I say, ‘What would happen if the boat sank from its weight and you’re in the boat and you have this tremendously powerful battery, and the battery is now underwater, and there’s a shark that’s approximately 10 yards over there? By the way, lot of shark attacks lately. Did you notice that?”
As reported by USA Today, the topic of electric vehicles, particularly electric-powered boats, led him to this dramatic scenario. He remarked, “If I’m sitting down and that boat is going down and I’m on top of a battery and the water starts flooding in, I’m getting concerned, but then I look 10 yards to my left and there’s a shark over there, so I have a choice of electrocution and a shark, you know what I’m going to take? Electrocution…I will take electrocution every single time, do we agree?… These people are crazy.”
This isn’t the first time Trump has shared his disdain for sharks. Previously, he affirmed, “They were saying the other night, the shark. They were saying, ‘Sharks, we have to protect them.’ I said, ‘Wait a minute, wait.’ They actually want to remove all the seals in order to save the shark. I said, ‘Wait, don’t you have it the other way around?…It’s true…I’m not a big fan of sharks either. I don’t know, how many votes am I going to lose?…I have people calling me up, ‘Sir, we want to have a fund to save the shark, it’s called Save the Shark.’ I say, ‘No thank you, I have other things I can contribute to.’”
According to The Guardian, Trump has never minced words regarding his views on sharks. In 2013, he tweeted, “Sorry folks, I’m just not a fan of sharks – and don’t worry, they will be around long after we are gone.” This was followed by a second tweet in which he said, “Sharks are last on my list – other than perhaps the losers and haters of the World!”
These sentiments were further solidified by Stormy Daniels in her autobiography, where she claimed, “…Terrified of sharks. He was like, ‘I donate to all these charities and I would never donate to any charity that helps sharks. I hope all the sharks die.’…He had a whole conversation about the race, repeatedly mentioning ‘our plan’…even while he was on the phone with Hillary, his attention kept going back to the sharks.”
Trump’s off-the-cuff remarks and longstanding aversion to sharks continue to capture public attention, adding another layer to his unique and often unpredictable public persona.
