Donald Trump has defended his public speaking style, saying he enjoys being able to “show the world” what he believes is the truth.
The Republican presidential candidate was speaking to a crowd of around 10,000 supporters in Miami, Florida, as part of his Florida campaign swing through the state.
“People love me for what I can say, but people are going, ‘Why don’t you go for the truth?
Do you really think that?’ and I love it,” he said.
“People are going for it, and I’m not going to let them.
They love my speech.
I don’t think that’s a bad thing, either.”
Trump, a billionaire who has made millions of dollars in speaking engagements, has said his “truth is that you can do anything you want to do, and that it’s your choice.
It’s your freedom.”
In his first televised address as the Republican presidential nominee, Trump was asked about the violence at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that left one counter-protester dead and many others injured.
The New York Times reported that the counter-protests were the result of a planned white supremacist protest.
“If you want peace, if you want order, if your only goal is to protect your country, you’ve got to start with the facts, and you’ve gotta start with what happened,” Trump said.
The violence sparked calls for a more nuanced approach to racism and the media’s portrayal of him as a white nationalist, with many politicians, pundits and commentators accusing him of being a white racist.
The former reality television star has faced accusations of racial insensitivity after using the phrase “all lives matter” at the Republican National Convention.
Trump said he has not been a racist, despite his use of the phrase during his speech at the RNC, adding that he would not use it again.
“I’ll say it again, I’ve been criticized a lot.
I will never say it, I will say it to the press, and to the American people, that I’ve never been a person who was a racist.
And you know what?
It’s a great word,” he told the crowd.”
And that’s because, you know, it’s the truth,” he added.”
When you look at me, when you look in the mirror, you’re going to see that I’m a different person.
I’m someone who’s got a different view of the world than the majority of the people that are running the country.”
He continued: “And we can talk about it.
But when you go to the polls and people say, ‘Oh, my goodness, I hate this guy, he’s a racist,’ I’m going to say, you can take a look in your own life.
And look at your life.
It may be very different than I do.
I have a different perspective.
And people are not going for that.
They’re not going, you don’t want to listen to that.
And if they do, they’re going out the door.”
Trump has also faced criticism for his handling of his son, Barron, who has been diagnosed with a rare genetic condition.
The president has faced backlash for a tweet in July where he said Barron would have a “normal life” if he was raised in a good home.
“But he’s in a terrible situation right now,” he tweeted.
“He has a rare gene that causes severe brain damage.
The good news is he is doing very well.”
Trump said that the tweet was in response to a question from a reporter who asked if the president believed the boy’s condition.
“No, I don (not believe) Barron has a condition,” he responded.
“I believe he’s going to be fine, and the best thing that could happen is he’s not going any further.
And the best is that he’s never going to have to deal with it.”
Trump also responded to a tweet from former Republican congressman Pete King who questioned whether Trump should have been able to get a deferment from his military service, after a US judge found that Trump’s claim of a deferral was not true.
“He should have never been able, he should never have been allowed to get out of the military, because he didn’t pass the physical,” Trump told Fox News.
“So I have tremendous respect for Pete.
But I don.
And I think he’s probably the worst person to do that.
I think that he should have probably been thrown out of there.
He shouldn’t be allowed out of it.”
On Tuesday, Trump released a video in which he explained that he had been in the military for 30 years and had served with distinction.
“For the last three years, I have been a member of the United States military.
For many years, you have seen me speak,” Trump begins to tell the camera.”
Over those three years of service, I was called to service