President Trump wants "all the sharks to die" according to an account by adult film star Stephanie Clifford, who claimed she had sex with the president in a hotel room in July 2006.
Clifford, who performs as Stormy Daniels, revealed the president's apparent obsession with sharks in a 2011 interview with InTouch Weekly, which the magazine published in full on Friday.
During a dinner with Trump at his private bungalow in the Beverly Hills Hotel, Clifford said he was watching Shark Week on television and was "terrified of sharks."
Here's the excerpt from the interview:
We had dinner once again in his room. I had swordfish that time. Once again, no alcohol. The strangest thing about that night — this was the best thing ever. You could see the television from the little dining room table and he was watching Shark Week and he was watching a special about the USS something and it sank and it was like the worst shark attack in history. He is obsessed with sharks. Terrified of sharks. He was like, “I donate to all these charities and I would never donate to any charity that helps sharks. I hope all the sharks die.” He was like, riveted. He was like, obsessed. It’s so strange, I know.
The "worst shark attack in history" is widely believed to be the gruesome ordeal that US sailors suffered in 1945 when the USS Indianapolis was sunk by a Japanese submarine and sharks devoured the survivors and victims. The shark-related casualties are estimated to range from a few dozen to nearly 150 of the original 1,196 men on board, the Smithsonian reported.
In fact, Trump did tweet twice in 2013 about his hatred for sharks.
holy shit holy shit holy shit
So after reading Stormy Daniels' quote, people's jaws dropped at the revelation.
Okay this is officially the best part of the Stormy Daniels interview
Left Shark GIFs and memories were revived.
Trump is scared of Sharks. 😂😂😂😂
Some really sank their teeth into this juicy detail.
Trump’s position on sharks is going to boost his approval rating into the 70s. https://t.co/ViGHgzSzAy
Others made biting remarks.
Apparently, Donald Trump hates sharks and hope all sharks "die". More specifically, he hates sharks from the shithole parts of the ocean.
There were a few killer comments.
Captain Hook had crocodiles. Trump has sharks. https://t.co/nWx2qzEVpw
Some went for the shark-chic look.
@davidmackau I think I just figured out what hat to wear to the Women’s March tomorrow 🦈
People noted that Trump was never pro-shark...
1. Me 2. People who like me 3. Winners ... 38892. Sharks 38893. Losers and haters of the World https://t.co/DLz6KTcY0y
Even though he almost played the president in Sharknado 3.
this just took on new significance >> Donald Trump Almost Played the President in Sharknado 3 https://t.co/JNLmCtPPk2
People suggested a snap election.
@owillis Left Shark/Jaws 2020
Sharks?
But marine biology conservationists and shark advocates were not laughing.
So what does it mean for ocean policy that the current president of the United States formed his opinions about sha… https://t.co/ZBSipUZg44
Dr. Andrew Thaler, a deep-sea ecologist and population geneticist from Maryland, tweeted his concerns about the impact on ocean protection and policy when the president was forming his opinions about sharks by "apparently obsessively watching Shark Week?"
Thaler said that while ocean policy and protections in the US has largely been a bipartisan issue, "this is the first administration in a long time that's been openly antagonistic to increasing ocean protections."
He declined to provide a comment to BuzzFeed News.
"If we have a president who's opinions are largely formed through cable programming, who was binge watching Shark Week and Discovery during peak Mermaids, that's a problem," Thaler tweeted.
@LetsFishSmarter @WhySharksMatter If we have a president who's opinions are largely formed through cable programmin… https://t.co/wv6EwXjxu6
Susan Perkins, a curator and professor of microbial genomics at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, said that it was "very disturbing ... how much the president hates sharks and admitted to never supporting any efforts to conserve or protect them."
What’s very disturbing about the new Stormy Daniels piece is how much the President hates sharks and admitted to ne… https://t.co/bK5nDSrRUA
In conclusion:
