Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin brushed off controversial comments made by President Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday evening, claiming Trump’s policies are more significant than his “vulgarities.”
“I think you should be focused on what the policies are. He’s using these vulgarities in the context of a campaign rally, and obviously, there were a lot of funny moments in that rally,” Mnuchin told NBC’s Chuck Todd during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
THIS MORNING: @stevenmnuchin1 tells @chucktodd that President Trump’s vulgarities and attacks on the press are less important than policy, and should be seen in the context of a “campaign rally” #MTP pic.twitter.com/Ih6OHlfz6u
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) March 11, 2018
Trump made a series of disparaging remarks on Saturday at a campaign rally for GOP candidate Rick Saccone, who is up against Democrat Conor Lamb in a special election for for Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District on Tuesday.
For example, Trump targeted Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., and accused her of being a “very low IQ individual.” He also mocked her IQ last weekend during the Gridiron dinner in his comedy routine.
In addition to attacking the press, Trump also singled out Todd on Saturday.
“A show now headed by ‘Sleepy eyes Chuck Todd,’” Trump said Saturday. “He’s a sleeping son of a bitch.”
In response, Todd told NBC News4 ahead of his Sunday morning show that he doesn’t permit his children to criticize the president, but Trump’s comments create challenges when it comes to parenting.
“I bring my kids up to respect the office of the presidency and the president,” Todd told Washington, D.C.’s NBC News4. “I don’t allow them to say anything negative, ever, about the president.”
“It creates a challenge to all parents when he uses vulgarities like that,” he added.
For Mnuchin’s children, the secretary said he devotes attention to “what the president is doing to protect the United States, its citizens and more importantly the economy.”
