--- title: Donald Trump Announcement: The 9 Strangest Things That Happened description: Businessman Donald Trump gave the strangest presidential campaign launch in recent memory. Here were nine moments. canonical: https://time.com/3923333/donald-trump-campaign-launch-strange/ author: Charlotte Alter article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-16T19:52:57.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:43:36.477Z article:section: Politics og:title: Here Are the 9 Strangest Parts of the Trump Campaign Launch og:description: Among many. og:url: https://time.com/3923333/donald-trump-campaign-launch-strange/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9a91d92c8618f26c/698854c906f2c1442533aab8/donald-trump-campaign-launch.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: Business mogul Donald Trump gives a speech as he announces his candidacy for the U.S. presidency at Trump Tower on June 16, 2015 in New York City. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here Are the 9 Strangest Parts of the Trump Campaign Launch twitter:description: Among many. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9a91d92c8618f26c/698854c906f2c1442533aab8/donald-trump-campaign-launch.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here Are the 9 Strangest Parts of the Trump Campaign Launch > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement.  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Jun 16, 2015 7:52 PM UTC  Business mogul Donald Trump gives a speech as he announces his candidacy for the U.S. presidency at Trump Tower on June 16, 2015 in New York City. Business mogul Donald Trump gives a speech as he announces his candidacy for the U.S. presidency at Trump Tower on June 16, 2015 in New York City. Christopher Gregory—Getty Images  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Jun 16, 2015 7:52 PM UTC When business mogul Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he’s running for President, he did it in the marble atrium of the Trump Tower, flanked by Trump shops selling Trump chocolates, Trump banana splits and Trump cologne named “Success.” But that’s just the beginning. Here are the nine weirdest things that happened at the Trump announcement. 1) When he gave the crowd a thumbs up and then rode the escalator down to the podium like a chocolate on an assembly line. 2) When he said there were “thousands” of people crammed into Trump Tower to see him, when the crowd was just a few hundred. 3) When he went completely off script and stopped giving the prepared remarks his staff had distributed, and when, as a result, the organizers turned the exit music on at the wrong time, briefly interrupting Trump. **MORE:** [_Here’s Donald Trump’s Presidential Announcement Speech_](http://time.com/3923128/donald-trump-announcement-speech/) 4) When he couldn’t decide whether he loved or hated various foreign countries, saying China is “killing us” but also that “I love China.” Or when he said that Mexican immigrants are “bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists” and said he’d ask Mexico to pay for a wall on our Southern border but also said Mexico is “the new China” and “has our jobs.” Or when he said “I love the Saudis” but said we shouldn’t protect them because they’ve got “nothing but money.” 5) When he invited Obama to play golf instead of being President: “I have the best courses in the world … I have one right next to the White House, right on the Potomac,” he said. “In fact, I’d love him to leave early and play, that would be a very good thing.” 6) When he bragged about his net worth to the audience, waving a piece of paper which claims he’s worth $8.7 billion, then followed up by saying “I’m not doing that to brag, because you know what? I don’t have to brag.” 7) When he argued that, contrary to what people think he’s actually a nice person, noting that people who know him like him and adding “Does my family like me? I think so, right.” 8) When he complained about U.S. airports. “You come into La Guardia Airport, it’s like we’re in a third world country,” he said. 9) When he ended by saying, “So, just to sum up, I would do various things very quickly.” ### See the 2016 Candidates' Campaign Launches  Sen. Ted Cruz kicked off his campaign for 2016 Republican presidential nomination at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. on March 23. Tom Williams—CQ-Roll Call/Getty Images  Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul launched his bid for the Republican nomination at the Galt House Hotel in Louisville on April 7\. Supporters held signs with the slogan "Defeat the Washington Machine / Unleash the American Dream." Amy Harris—Corbis  Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced her campaign in a YouTube video posted April 12 that has been seen nearly 4.5 million times. One boy featured in the video boasted about playing a fish in a school play. Hillary For America  Florida Sen. Marco Rubio announced his campaign for the Republican nomination during a rally at the Freedom Tower in Miami on April 13\. He took a drink of water during the speech, a callback to his State of the Union response in 2013. Wilfredo Lee—AP  Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders announced his bid for the Democratic nomination across the street from the U.S. Capitol on April 30, 2015\. The backdrop was unusual, since most candidates rail against Washington. Jonathan Ernst—Reuters  Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson announced his bid for the Republican nomination at the Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts May 4, 2015 in Detroit, Michigan. The launch featured a gospel choir covering Eminem's "Lose Yourself." Bill Pugliano—Getty Images  Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina announced her campaign for the Republican nomination in a conference call on May 4, then went on "Good Morning America" to talk to George Stephanopoulos. Lou Rocco—Getty Images  Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee announced his campaign at a community college in his hometown of Hope, Ark., on May 5\. Singer Tony Orlando (right) performed. Left: Danny Johnston; Right: Matt Sullivan—Getty Images  Republican presidential candidate and former New York Governor George Pataki (C) greets supporters after formally announcing his candidacy for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination in Exeter, N.H. on May 28, 2015. Dominick Reuter—Reuters  Former Rhode Island Sen. Lincoln Chafee announces his candidacy for the democratic presidential nomination at George Mason University in Arlington, Va. on June 3, 2015. Win McNamee—Getty Images  Republican Senator Lindsey Graham announces his 2016 presidential candidacy in Central, S.C. on June 1, 2015. Erik S. Lesser—EPA  Former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley is joined by his wife Katie O'Malley (R) as he announces his intention to seek the Democratic presidential nomination during a speech at Federal Hill Park in Baltimore on May 30, 2015. Jim Bourg—Reuters  Former Texas governor Rick Perry announces his candidacy for Republican presidential nominee at an event held at Addison Airport in Addison, Texas on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Louis DeLuca—Dallas Morning News/Corbis  Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush waves on stage as he announces his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination during an event at Miami-Dade College - Kendall Campus in Miami on June 15 , 2015. Joe Raedle—Getty Images  Donald Trump holds up his financial statement showing his net worth as he formally announces his campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination during an event at Trump Tower in New York City on June 16, 2015. Brendan McDermid—Reuters  Republican presidential candidate and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal formally announces his campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination in Kenner, La. on June 24, 2015. Jonathan Bachman—Reuters  Republican presidential candidate and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie formally announces his campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination during a kickoff rally at Livingston High School in Livingston, N.J. on June 30, 2015. Brendan McDermid—Reuters  Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker greets supporters after announcing that he will seek the Republican nomination for president in Waukesha, Wis. on July 13, 2015 . Scott Olson—Getty Images  Ohio Governor John Kasich arrives on stage to formally announce his campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination during a kickoff rally in Columbus, Ohio on July 21, 2015. Aaron P. 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