Donald Trump just compared himself to the world’s most famous painting in a pretty strange turn of events.
In an interview with Carmarthen-based, Welsh-language TV channel S4C, Trump discussed the devoted fans who attend most of his rallies, following him around the country.
And then he did something particularly strange, and compared his followers to people who line up to see the most famous artwork of all time: the Mona Lisa.
He said: “You have people that go to the Mona Lisa – they love the Mona Lisa and they’ll see it hundreds and hundreds of times and it gets better each time.”
The Mona Lisa has been on display in the Paris museum the Louvre on and off since 1797 and is reportedly one of the most visited paintings in the world with 10 million people coming to look at it every year.
The presidential hopeful also compared his fans to roadies, saying:“You have people that follow the rock bands and they listen to the same songs over and over and over.”
Trump does have a reputation for repeating various catchphrases, including his 2016 slogan “Make America Great Again” and his persistent lashing out at “fake news” – as well as his regular use of hyperbole.
He also claimed his fanbase is similar to the theatre-enthusiasts who go to “a Broadway play where they will see it 20 times”, claiming he recognises the same attendees at each rally and that sometimes they even arrive “three, four days early” to the event.
And Trump did admit to the S4C that he tends to stick to the same 20 subjects in his speeches, claiming: “I can tell them in different ways and I do sometimes do that – a lot of times. But they just want to hear it again and again.”
As first reported by the Daily Mirror, the frontrunner in the race to be the Republican presidential nominee made the startling comparison when speaking to journalist Maxine Hughes.
The interview will form part of a documentary called, ‘Trump: Byd Eithafol’ (Trump: An Extreme World) which is all about the Trump fanbase.
The Mirror claimed the interview had to take place at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago golf resort in Florida, and that his team insisted he could only be asked about the rise of his MAGA “movement”.
Trump: Byd Eithafol is set to air on S4C on Sunday, 11 June at 9pm, and will be available on S4C Clic and BBC iPlayer.