Donald Trump took time out of a campaign event in Wisconsin Saturday to lead young supporters in a pledge not to abuse drugs, alcohol or cigarettes.
During an early-evening campaign stop in the town of Wausau, the Republican presidential front-runner pivoted abruptedly from discussing his plans for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border to admonish teenagers in the audience not to do drugs.
“Our kids are being poisoned,” Trump said, segueing away from talking about the cross-border drug trade. “Don’t do drugs!”
He then turned to a group of boys directly behind him who were wearing shirts with a brick pattern and text reading “Trump’s Wall.”
After getting them to raise their right hands, he led them in a call-and-response.
“I promise Donald J. Trump,” Trump began.
“I promise Donald J. Trump,” the boys repeated.
“That I will never take drugs.”
“That I will never take drugs.”
“I don’t want to say no alcohol,” Trump continued, “but take it easy on the alcohol, right?”
“Take it easy on the alcohol,” the teenagers said.
“And you know what else? No cigarettes, right?”
“No cigarettes,” they said.
Trump, who has said he does not drink or smoke, had the experience of his older brother Fred suffer and eventually die from alcoholism, leading Donald to avoid ever taking up drinking or smoking. Trump’s son, Donald, Jr., has acknowledged struggles with excessive drinking in college, causing him to stop drinking.
“If you don’t ever take it, you’ll never get hooked,” Trump said at the rally Saturday.
“That may be the most important thing I did today,” Trump told the rest of the crowd after administering the anti-drug pledge.
