Donald Trump Asks CNN’s Don Lemon: ‘Who is Doing the Raping?’

Donald Trump Asks CNN’s Don Lemon: ‘Who is Doing the Raping?’

Following a week of controversial firings by everyone from NBC and Universal to Macy’s, Donald Trump appeared on “CNN Tonight” Wednesday and defended the comments that sparked the current racial firestorm.

Host Don Lemon suggested that Trump had misunderstood some of the articles he read on Fusion or the Huffington Post about Mexican immigrants, telling the presidential candidate: “That is about women being raped, it is not about criminals coming across the border and entering the country.”

“Somebody is doing the raping, Don. Are you saying its women being raped. Who is doing the raping?” Trump bluntly asked, referring to a 2014 Fusion article reporting that 80 percent of Central American migrants passing through Mexico are raped. “You have to stop illegal immigration coming through the border. If you don’t, you don’t have a country.”

Also Read: Donald Trump's $50 Million Mexican Mess: What's the Cost of Calling an Entire Country 'Rapists'?

Earlier in the interview, the TV mogul declared his love for the Mexican people — despite his declaration speech last week that slammed the country and said they sent over rapists, drug-runners and criminals.

“I love the Mexican people. I’ve had a great relationship with Mexico,” Trump told Lemon.

“I am talking about illegal immigration, because it has to be stopped. It is killing our country. People are pouring over the borders. I guess some come from Mexico but they come from all over the world. They come from the Middle East, we don’t even know where they come from,” he marveled.

Looking dumbfounded, Lemon asked: “Why did you have to say they were rapists?”

Also Read: Donald Trump Slaps Univision With $500 Million Lawsuit for Dropping Miss USA Pageant (Updated)

“If you look at the statistics — I didn’t say that about Mexico — the illegal immigrants — on rape, on crime, on everything, coming into this country, they are mind boggling,” he rambled. “If you look on Fusion — and you know who owns Fusion, Univision (the network that pulled out of the Miss Universe pageant earlier this week) — about 80 percent of the women, I’ve heard some horrible things.”

Trump also addressed the issue of department store Macy’s cutting ties with him Wednesday, claiming they “folded under pressure, it’s not a big business for me, it’s very small,” he told Lemon. “[CEO] Terry Lundgren folded under pressure, he called me and said ‘Gee whiz, we’re under a lot of pressure.’

“That is the problem with our country. They all fold under pressure,” he added.

Also Read: Donald Trump Fired by Macy's: 'We Have No Tolerance for Discrimination in Any Form'

As for his biggest rival for the Republican presidential nomination, Jeb Bush, Trump is not happy that he is currently beating him in the polls.

“I have absolutely no idea, maybe it is the Bush name, but the last thing we need is another Bush. But I am right behind him, and I think we will do very well,” he said.

“We have to make our country rich again to make our country great again. He is not a guy who will be able to negotiate with China, make deals with Iran,” he continued. “He is just not somebody who will be able to take us to the promised land.”

The longtime “Celebrity Apprentice” host doesn’t think any more highly of his other running mates, telling Lemon: “I would fire a lot of them — there are a lot people who just don’t have a chance. I can give you a very big list.”

Related stories from TheWrap:

Donald Trump's $50 Million Mexican Mess: What's the Cost of Calling an Entire Country 'Rapists'?

Former Miss USA Defends Donald Trump's Mexico Comments: 'He Was Inclusive of Anyone' That Might Be a Rapist (Video)

Donald Trump Fired by Macy's: 'We Have No Tolerance for Discrimination in Any Form'