- President Donald Trump joked at a Tuesday Republican fundraiser that first lady Melania Trump wouldn't "cry her eyes out" if he were shot.
- Trump commended House Minority Whip Steve Scalise for his toughness after being shot and critically wounded at a congressional baseball practice in June 2017.
- The president recalled how Scalise's wife, Jennifer, "cried her eyes out when I met her at the hospital that fateful day … I mean not many wives would react that way to tragedy. I know mine wouldn't."
- Shortly after the shooting, The New York Times reported that Trump and the first lady visited Scalise at the hospital and brought a bouquet of flowers to Scalise and his wife.
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President Donald Trump let loose at a Tuesday Republican fundraiser with an impromptu roast of GOP lawmakers, which included him making a quip that his wife, first lady Melania Trump, wouldn't "cry her eyes out" if he were shot.
Politico's Melanie Zanona reported that at the event, which took place at Trump Hotel in Washington, DC, Trump commended House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, a representative from Louisiana, for his bravery and toughness a little over two years after he was shot.
Scalise, Capitol Police officers, a congressional aide, and a lobbyist, were wounded by a gunman who opened fire on them at a Republican congressional baseball-team practice in Alexandria, Virginia, in June 2017.
Because Scalise is a member of House leadership and has a Capitol Police detail with him at all times, two officers were able to quickly apprehend the shooter, who died exchanging gunfire with the police.
But Scalise was badly wounded, suffering multiple broken bones and internal damage. While he has since recovered, and went back to work on Capitol Hill a few months later, he still walks with a cane.
Politico said that after joking that he wouldn't suggest getting gravely shot as a strategy for losing weight, Trump recalled how Scalise's wife, Jennifer, "cried her eyes out when I met her at the hospital that fateful day … I mean not many wives would react that way to tragedy. I know mine wouldn't."
Shortly after the shooting, The New York Times reported that Trump and the first lady visited Scalise at the hospital and brought a bouquet of flowers to Scalise and his wife.
Politico reported that at the fundraiser, Trump also poked some friendly fun at other Republican lawmakers and pollsters in attendance.
"That lil' guy packs more punch than I thought," Trump said of Tennessee Rep. Chuck Fleischmann's fundraising performance. He also said that Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah — one of Trump's most prominent critics in the Senate's Republican caucus — was "the worst name in politics."
"I know a guy who looks like you," Trump also quipped at Rep. Greg Pence of Indiana, the brother of Vice President Mike Pence. "How did you get that good of a seat in here, ya cheap-o?"
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