Scorches his rivals

Trump scorches his rivals as he trots out new book

By Nick Gass

Donald Trump did not mince words in unveiling his new book, "Crippled America," at Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan.

The blustery billionaire, in his usual unscripted fashion, put on 35-plus-minute combination of rant and press conference in which he bemoaned the state of America, the president, and his 2016 rivals.

“America is crippled. ... We owe 17 and now 18 and now actually very soon it’s going to be $19 trillion in debt. We have a military that doesn’t have proper instruction from leadership. We’re losing all over the world in trade deals," Trump told a gathering of reporters ahead of a noon book signing, adding that it is "impossible to go on like this any longer.”

Trump also drew a stark comparison between his book and that of Ben Carson, remarking that their books are different because they are different people.

Responding to a question about his fellow candidates, Trump slammed Carson for wanting to get rid of Medicare and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for his stance on immigration.

"When a man is weak on immigration and wants to get rid of Medicare, I don't know how he stays there," Trump remarked, jabbing Rubio further for missed Senate votes and his past problems with personal finances.

Asked to give his impression of Jeb Bush, Trump demurred. "My Jeb impression?" he told a reporter. "No, I don't want to do that. I don't like showing a person sleeping at a podium."

Trump also knocked President Barack Obama for having "no energy," as well as Bush and Carson.

"You need a very strong person with tremendous energy. Thank you very much, folks. I’ll take the job," he said.

Going back to his book, a 193-page riffy take on his own success, the media, and what it would take to Make America Great Again, Trump said the writing is "very hard-hitting."

"It says it like it is, and based on what Simon and Schuster just told me, it's selling like hotcakes," Trump said, noting that some people have been "in line now for 12 and 14 hours."

"What this book is saying and what makes us proud to publish it is we can make America great again," said Louise Burke, publisher of Threshold Editions, an imprint of Simon and Schuster, in introducing the author and Republican presidential candidate.