7 Ridiculous Quotes From Trump's CNN Phone Call

Donald Trump called into CNN's State of the Union on Sunday morning to discuss a myriad of issues with host Jake Tapper. The lengthy phone interview touched on the fact that Trump continues to lead in polling despite his recent disparaging remarks lobbed against Senator John McCain. The Donald was his usual verbose self and certainly had a whole lot to say on such hot-button issues as immigration and gun control. These ridiculous Trump quotes from State of the Union call are a slightly more condensed representation of Trump's politics. The candidate has a bad habit of being not only repetitive but also going off on rather aggressive tangents and attacking others while missing the point of deeper questions.

It's a tactic that Trump has employed for years and can be seen frequently on Twitter, where he's taken to feuding with everyone from Cher to Russell Brand. His phone interview on Sunday was fairly similar. Trump ranted against Hillary Clinton and Scott Walker while attacking The Des Moines Register and claiming that he left NBC rather than the network dropping him after a series of offensive statements on illegal immigrants. Despite his polarizing demeanor, rambling, and seemingly endless controversies, Trump continues to be at the top of Republican polls, leading in New Hampshire and polling a close second in Iowa. This is what the most popular GOP candidate had to say:

On Immigration

Trump has recently come under intense criticism over his statements about immigration in which he's stated that a majority of illegal Mexican immigrants are criminals or worse. Still, Trump said he has a plan to secure the border and stop illegal immigrants from entering the country. He plans to build a massive wall across the border as well as engage in rapid deportation:

I'm going to get rid of the bad ones fast. And I'm going to send them back. And we're not going to be putting them in prisons here, and pay for them for the next 40 years. We're going to send them back where they came from. ... We're going to take the high ground. We're going to do what's right. Some are going to have to go. And some, we're just going to see what happens. ... But the wall is going to be built for security. We're going to have a great border. People can come in to the country legally, but not illegally. And the people that come in are going to be good people. They're going to be great people. And I want that. It's very important to me.

On Hillary Clinton

What she has done is criminal. I don't see how she can run ... And, frankly, what she did is far worse than what General Petraeus did, and he's gone down in disgrace. I mean, what he did is not as bad as what Hillary Clinton did. And it's similar, but it's not as bad. I mean, she got rid of her server. He never did anything like that. And she did it after getting a subpoena from the United States Congress.

Trump initially said he wasn't even concerned with Hillary Clinton before launching into a lengthy rant against Clinton's ongoing email scandal in which she used a private server during her tenure as secretary of state. Despite the fact that Tapper reminded Trump that Clinton received a security referral from the inspector generals and not a criminal one, the GOP frontrunner continued to insinuate that Clinton's actions were criminal, going on about her for a good two and a half minutes.

On Running As A Republican

According to Trump, the presidential hopeful has gotten a lot closer with the Republican party based on his rising poll numbers. He said he was once viewed as an outsider but has now been embraced:

I think they have been really nice over the last few days. They're starting to see what's happening. ... There's a movement going on. This is more than me. This is a movement going on. People are tired of these incompetent politicians in Washington that can't get anything done. They can't make deals. They can't do anything.

On His Personal Wealth

I put in my financials. They're much better than anybody ever thought. People said, oh, well, maybe he's not as rich as everybody thinks. Well, it turned out I'm much richer.

According to Trump, his financial standings are better than ever despite being dropped by Macy's and NBC as well as filing a lawsuit against Univision. According to a previous report from Forbes, however, that high value is all in the Donald's head, as he regularly over-values his personal brand.

On His Fellow GOP Candidates

Trump was especially critical of two fellow Republican candidates, both of whom happen to be rounding out the top three, according to the latest CNN/ORC poll of GOP presidential hopefuls. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush trails behind Trump ever-so-slightly with 15 percent of support compared to Trump's 18 percent. Surprisingly, the Donald chose to attack Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, who is polling at 10 percent, going on yet another angry diatribe.

I'm thinking about a man who is in favor of Common Core, a man who is weak on immigration, Jeb Bush, and a guy like Walker, who, frankly, his state is having tremendous difficulty. I love Wisconsin. It's a great place. But, you know, he's putting debt up to the gills. The school system is a disaster because they don't have any money. I mean, you know, Walker's state, Wisconsin, is a - is a catastrophe from an economic and a financial standpoint. I think he's number 36 or 38 overall in terms of the country for economic growth. And the jobs, his jobs projection were way, way off, I mean, beyond.

On Gun Control

I'm a big Second Amendment person. I believe in it so strongly. You need protection. You need protection against the bad ones that have the guns. ... And you take the guns away from the good people, and the bad ones are going to have target practice.

Trump used a lot of topical stories to hammer home his points, though most references were vague at best. He mentioned the death of a woman at the hands of a man that had been deported multiple times in San Francisco with regards to gun control as well as a vague mention of the tragedy in Chattanooga, in which a gunman opened fire at a military recruitment office as well as a Navy support center.

On The Media

Trump was asked about his harsh treatment of reporters at the The Des Moines Register after an op-ed ran that was especially critical of the candidate prompted him to ban the paper from his Iowa rally on Saturday. Trump was immediately on the attack and, rather than heed Tapper's pleas to allow the paper credentials for subsequent Iowa events, instead called them liars:

This is a failing paper that's treated me extremely wrong. They have lied in many, many stories. ... It has very little power. It's failing badly. And, frankly, they're not good people. ... This was a paper that, you know, when they lie and lie and lie and knowingly lie, you say, well, let's just not [allow them credentials]. And they can go in. They just have to sit with everybody else. We just don't give them credentials.

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