Watch CBS News

Donald Trump: "I don't throw babies out"

Trump in Virginia
Full video: Trump given replica Purple Heart, calls out crying baby 01:04:15

Remember that baby Donald Trump might have kicked of a Virginia rally earlier this week? In case you've forgotten Tuesday's events, here's a recap.

Full video: Trump given replica Purple Heart, calls out crying baby 01:04:15

An infant was crying at a Trump campaign stop in Virginia, so the GOP nominee interrupted his address to the crowd and said, "Don't worry about that baby, I love babies. I love babies. I hear that baby crying. I like it. What a baby, what a beautiful baby. Don't worry, don't worry. The mom's running around, like don't worry about it, you know. It's young and beautiful and healthy and that's what we want."

Minutes later, Trump seemed to address the infant's mother: "Actually I was only kidding. You can get the baby out of here. That's all right. Don't worry."

Trump then spoke to the crowd: "I think she really believed me that I love having a baby crying while I'm speaking. That's okay. People don't understand. That's okay."

The Republican presidential nominee seemed to remember -- if not the baby (or the location) itself -- the media coverage surrounding his words.

At a rally in Des Moines, Iowa Friday afternoon, Trump retold the crying baby incident, which he incorrectly recalled as having occurred in Florida.

"I was in Florida, we had these massive crowds. And you saw that, in Jacksonville, in Daytona, massive crowds. Thousands of people had to be turned away, but massive crowds. In one of the events, a beautiful baby was crying," Trump said. "And I mean, crying like you would not believe. This baby could have been Pavarotti. In fact, I'm going to find out who that baby is, I'm going to make a deal with their parents because we can take that baby to training school and it will be the next great Pavarotti."

"This was a beautiful baby, and beautiful mother. And the baby was crying, and I jokingly said, 'You know what, that's okay. Let the baby cry. We love babies,'" he continued. "And then about two minutes later, it didn't stop. It just went on, and I'm trying to speak in front of thousands -- we had thousands of people in the room. And I said, 'All right.' I actually said the first time, 'Alright, keep the baby here, don't worry about it.'"

Then: "After about two minutes, I said, 'You know what? I'm going to counteract my order.' Beautiful baby. Eh? If you take her outside, that's not so bad."

Trump then blasted the press for their headlines, which he remembered as, "Trump throws baby out of arena."

"Such a lie. And they know it's a lie! And spread the word, folks, but they know it's a lie," the GOP nominee said. "I don't throw babies out, believe me. I love babies! I love my children, I love babies. I don't throw babies out, believe me."

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.