Trump's Husted rally remarks

News · Heat 5.0 / 10 · 3 shows · 12m airtime

At a North Carolina rally on October 20, in the final two weeks before the midterms, President Trump described studying the body and legs of Ohio Senator John Husted. The remarks were reportedly loaded into the teleprompter, and Trump repeated the riff at a South Carolina event, where he said he had examined Husted's ass and had never done that with a man before, and that he had fallen in love with Tim Scott as much as he can with a man. He later said he studied the senator's ass to see where the power came from. The discussion now centers on how the lines were written and approved, and whether the campaign will address them.

How 3 podcasts covered it

1. The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, 2026-10-22 (1:17 to 2:23)
   Plays the rally clip about Husted
   Plays the rally clip of Trump describing Ohio Senator John Husted's body and legs, and jokes that the lines were in the teleprompter. A late-night retelling of the rally moment, with no new reporting beyond the clip.
   New angle: Trump's remarks about Husted's body were in the teleprompter.
2. The Rest Is Politics: US, 2026-10-22 (24:05 to 27:04)
   Notes the riff repeated across states
   Plays the North Carolina clip and notes Trump has now made the same riff about Husted's body in multiple states, including South Carolina, drawing a New York Times front page and a CNN montage. Frames it as a question of whether he is off message and hurting Republicans.
   New angle: Trump repeated the Husted body riff in South Carolina and drew a New York Times front page and a CNN montage.
3. The Daily Show: Ears Edition, 2026-10-24 (23:23 to 26:44)
   Montages Trump rating male candidates' looks
   Kosta strings together rally clips of Trump rating the looks of male Republican candidates, with the running bit landing on Ohio Senator Jon Husted's rear. It is a montage of the president's rally remarks rather than a report on any one event.
   New angle: Trump said he examined Jon Husted's ass and had never done that with a man before.
4. The Daily Show: Ears Edition, 2026-10-24 (39:46 to 42:12)
   Plays the rally clip praising Tim Scott
   Plays a South Carolina rally clip where Trump muses about renaming a lake, the Hudson and the Mississippi, and says he has fallen in love with Tim Scott as much as he can fall in love with a man. Reads it as the same rally patter about male senators, now extended to Scott.
   New angle: At a South Carolina rally Trump said he has fallen in love with Tim Scott as much as he can with a man.
5. The Daily Show: Ears Edition, 2026-10-31 (29:27 to 31:32)
   Reads the walk-back of the Husted remark
   Plays the walk-back clip and reads the explanation straight: he studied the senator's ass to see where the power came from. Stays with the joke, then pivots to Ken Paxton's appearance.
   New angle: Trump said he studied the senator's ass to see where the power came from.