Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

It's official: Donald Trump hates cyclists

US Republican Presidential candidate takes umbrage at Secretary John Kelly cycling in his 70s

There's perhaps a new badge needed in this world, or a t-shirt, that says "Hated by Donald Trump". Well, t-shirt makers, Donald Trump officially hates cycling, and website Newsy has created an amusing video montage of him telling us all about it.

Trump's main bone of contention seems to be that US Secretary of State John Kerry rides a bike, and this year fell and broke his leg during Iran nuclear talks in Switzerland, a fact Trump is seen wheeling out during five different speeches, in which Kerry's age wavers between 72 and 74 (he's 71) and the ride becomes a bicycle race.

US Secretary of State John Kerry airlifted to hospital after French Alps cycling crash

The climate change denier has got himself into hot water for various gaffes during his presidential campaign, including insulting various female public figures. His love of the insult is so highly developed, the internet has made a Trump insult generator, so perhaps an outburst on cycling was inevitable. 

Trump says: "We won't be using a man like Secretary John Kerry, goes into a bicycle race at 72 years old and falls and breaks his leg. I won't be doing that."

In a second interview he's filmed saying of Kerry: "He's 73 years old and he goes into a bicycle race. He's got the helmet, the whole thing, he's negotiating a very important deal.

"You say John Kerry's a joke. No, he's a bicyclist, OK?"

"I don't want him on a bicycle during nuclear negotiations."

In one clip Trump puts his right hand up. "I swear to you I will never enter a bicycle race if I'm president," he says.

Add new comment

44 comments

Avatar
rplawrance | 8 years ago
1 like

This is like having a cycling event, where cycling as our common interest united us, then dividing us into groups before we kick off by saying  "ok, if you're gay go over there, straights go over there, pro guns here, whites over there" etc etc......"  or  "nice bike mate.... are you a Christian or something else?".... give it a rest guys, stick to cycling!  BTW, cycling is inherently dangerous or quite safe depending on how you look at it. "Are you going for a casual pedal in the park dear" or "lets go hammer out some miles amongst the traffic!"!    My Son died recently cycling on the road, two abreast in exactly the same road formation and a position as recently seen in a video posted elsewhere, apparently recommended by Chris Boardman and supposedly endorsed by British Cycling!!!  Yes cycling can be and most likely is very dangerous for most of us, but I'm still going to do it. I don't make international nuclear agreements as part of my job either though! All we have achieved here is dividing us by bringing politics into a subject that normally unites us. It's quite clear the political agenda that has successfully dumbed down what is normally a great read! Have a nice day all  1

Avatar
ch replied to rplawrance | 8 years ago
1 like

rplawrance wrote:

This is like having a cycling event, where cycling as our common interest united us, then dividing us into groups before we kick off by saying  "ok, if you're gay go over there, straights go over there, pro guns here, whites over there" etc etc......"  or  "nice bike mate.... are you a Christian or something else?".... give it a rest guys, stick to cycling!  BTW, cycling is inherently dangerous or quite safe depending on how you look at it. "Are you going for a casual pedal in the park dear" or "lets go hammer out some miles amongst the traffic!"!    My Son died recently cycling on the road, two abreast in exactly the same road formation and a position as recently seen in a video posted elsewhere, apparently recommended by Chris Boardman and supposedly endorsed by British Cycling!!!  Yes cycling can be and most likely is very dangerous for most of us, but I'm still going to do it. I don't make international nuclear agreements as part of my job either though! All we have achieved here is dividing us by bringing politics into a subject that normally unites us. It's quite clear the political agenda that has successfully dumbed down what is normally a great read! Have a nice day all  1

 

God that's awful - so sorry you lost your son.  

 

Avatar
rplawrance replied to ch | 8 years ago
1 like
ch wrote:

rplawrance wrote:

This is like having a cycling event, where cycling as our common interest united us, then dividing us into groups before we kick off by saying  "ok, if you're gay go over there, straights go over there, pro guns here, whites over there" etc etc......"  or  "nice bike mate.... are you a Christian or something else?".... give it a rest guys, stick to cycling!  BTW, cycling is inherently dangerous or quite safe depending on how you look at it. "Are you going for a casual pedal in the park dear" or "lets go hammer out some miles amongst the traffic!"!    My Son died recently cycling on the road, two abreast in exactly the same road formation and a position as recently seen in a video posted elsewhere, apparently recommended by Chris Boardman and supposedly endorsed by British Cycling!!!  Yes cycling can be and most likely is very dangerous for most of us, but I'm still going to do it. I don't make international nuclear agreements as part of my job either though! All we have achieved here is dividing us by bringing politics into a subject that normally unites us. It's quite clear the political agenda that has successfully dumbed down what is normally a great read! Have a nice day all  1

 

God that's awful - so sorry you lost your son.  

 

Yeah you're right CH, it is a tough act to swallow. My Son (an experienced cyclist) was killed because of something that probably 99% of us (including he and I ) naively overlook when considering our road safety and position. I tried to politely address it and draw attention to this common oversight for the benefit of other cyclists but received no reply to my emails. Thanks for your compassion CH.

Avatar
HarryCallahan | 8 years ago
4 likes

Not appreciating the obvious politics here. Can you stick to bikes in your promoted material?

Avatar
userfriendly replied to HarryCallahan | 8 years ago
0 likes

HarryCallahan wrote:

Not appreciating the obvious politics here. Can you stick to bikes in your promoted material?

Everything is political. Even, and especially, the so-called "non-political".

Avatar
tommytwoparrots | 8 years ago
0 likes

z

Avatar
tommytwoparrots | 8 years ago
0 likes

UH oh... well it just goes to show Trump is from another planet and that terrible fake wig and plastic face are not fooling anyone...as for the photo hes obviously planning to probe all the cyclists on the planet.....Clench those cheeks on your saddles boys and girls!!!

Avatar
21pavone | 8 years ago
0 likes

Well, one thing's for sure, that Shredded Wheat he wears every day won't protect his head. 

God help us all, never mind cyclists, if that man gets to be president.....

Avatar
Argos74 | 8 years ago
1 like

Excellent! The Trumpet hates me. That's another one off my bucket list. If Katie Hopkins comes out with an anti-cycling rant I'll be skipping down the street shouting "Bingo!".

Avatar
ibike | 8 years ago
0 likes

I can't be the only one who - for some strange reason - finds that deeply reassuring!

Avatar
mike_ibcyclist | 8 years ago
0 likes

Trump is as likely to become President about as much as Corbyn will be UK PM. 

 

Avatar
userfriendly replied to mike_ibcyclist | 8 years ago
1 like

mike_ibcyclist wrote:

Trump is as likely to become President about as much as Corbyn will be UK PM. 

If that's supposed to be reassuring ... it's really not!

Avatar
CumbrianDynamo | 8 years ago
4 likes

If he becomes president I think there's a much higher chance of him entering an arms race than a bicycle race

Avatar
velo-nh | 8 years ago
5 likes

None of the quotes used in the article say anything like the title of the article.  Instead of considering if it's responsible for an older diplomat to go cycling on the eve of important negotiations, you instead make jabs about climate change and sexism.  Is road.cc trying to become another trashy tabloid?

 

Avatar
Xwheels replied to velo-nh | 8 years ago
3 likes
velo-nh wrote:

None of the quotes used in the article say anything like the title of the article.  Instead of considering if it's responsible for an older diplomat to go cycling on the eve of important negotiations, you instead make jabs about climate change and sexism.  Is road.cc trying to become another trashy tabloid?

 

Well pointed out.

Avatar
Gus T replied to Xwheels | 8 years ago
0 likes

Xwheels wrote:
velo-nh wrote:

None of the quotes used in the article say anything like the title of the article.  Instead of considering if it's responsible for an older diplomat to go cycling on the eve of important negotiations, you instead make jabs about climate change and sexism.  Is road.cc trying to become another trashy tabloid?

 

Well pointed out.

 

And none of the quotes from Donald Trump bare any relation to the events that really happened.  When he resorts to using the truth I'll respond to that, if he chooses to lie, I'll respond to the lies and point out that he is sexist, mysogenistic and racist. Remeber this is the being who responded to difficult questioning that he couldn't answer by inferring that the questioner was menstratiing. 

As to the question, was it responsible for a senior politician to go cycle riding before a major conference, the answer is yes it was, cycling is not normally a dangerous occurance, had it been mountain climbing, bob sledding or bird hunting with Dick Cheney then I would have said no. Dies that answer your question.

Avatar
Xwheels replied to Gus T | 8 years ago
0 likes
Gus T wrote:

Xwheels wrote:
velo-nh wrote:

None of the quotes used in the article say anything like the title of the article.  Instead of considering if it's responsible for an older diplomat to go cycling on the eve of important negotiations, you instead make jabs about climate change and sexism.  Is road.cc trying to become another trashy tabloid?

 

Well pointed out.

 

And none of the quotes from Donald Trump bare any relation to the events that really happened.  When he resorts to using the truth I'll respond to that, if he chooses to lie, I'll respond to the lies and point out that he is sexist, mysogenistic and racist. Remeber this is the being who responded to difficult questioning that he couldn't answer by inferring that the questioner was menstratiing. 

As to the question, was it responsible for a senior politician to go cycle riding before a major conference, the answer is yes it was, cycling is not normally a dangerous occurance, had it been mountain climbing, bob sledding or bird hunting with Dick Cheney then I would have said no. Dies that answer your question.

The question was "Is road.cc trying to become another trashy tabloid?"

Avatar
Gus T replied to Xwheels | 8 years ago
0 likes

Xwheels wrote:
Gus T wrote:

Xwheels wrote:
velo-nh wrote:

None of the quotes used in the article say anything like the title of the article.  Instead of considering if it's responsible for an older diplomat to go cycling on the eve of important negotiations, you instead make jabs about climate change and sexism.  Is road.cc trying to become another trashy tabloid?

 

Well pointed out.

 

And none of the quotes from Donald Trump bare any relation to the events that really happened.  When he resorts to using the truth I'll respond to that, if he chooses to lie, I'll respond to the lies and point out that he is sexist, mysogenistic and racist. Remeber this is the being who responded to difficult questioning that he couldn't answer by inferring that the questioner was menstratiing. 

As to the question, was it responsible for a senior politician to go cycle riding before a major conference, the answer is yes it was, cycling is not normally a dangerous occurance, had it been mountain climbing, bob sledding or bird hunting with Dick Cheney then I would have said no. Dies that answer your question.

The question was "Is road.cc trying to become another trashy tabloid?"

 

Just because you don't like the answers doesn't mean that Road CC is becoming a trashy tabloid however if you were paying attention to Donald Trump's comments you would see that he is carrying out a tabloid campaign targeting minority groups to get himself noticed, the being is a walking tabloid, so the answer is no.

BTW are you a member of his campaign office?

 

Avatar
Xwheels replied to Gus T | 8 years ago
0 likes
Gus T wrote:

Xwheels wrote:
Gus T wrote:

Xwheels wrote:
velo-nh wrote:

None of the quotes used in the article say anything like the title of the article.  Instead of considering if it's responsible for an older diplomat to go cycling on the eve of important negotiations, you instead make jabs about climate change and sexism.  Is road.cc trying to become another trashy tabloid?

 

Well pointed out.

 

And none of the quotes from Donald Trump bare any relation to the events that really happened.  When he resorts to using the truth I'll respond to that, if he chooses to lie, I'll respond to the lies and point out that he is sexist, mysogenistic and racist. Remeber this is the being who responded to difficult questioning that he couldn't answer by inferring that the questioner was menstratiing. 

As to the question, was it responsible for a senior politician to go cycle riding before a major conference, the answer is yes it was, cycling is not normally a dangerous occurance, had it been mountain climbing, bob sledding or bird hunting with Dick Cheney then I would have said no. Dies that answer your question.

The question was "Is road.cc trying to become another trashy tabloid?"

 

Just because you don't like the answers doesn't mean that Road CC is becoming a trashy tabloid however if you were paying attention to Donald Trump's comments you would see that he is carrying out a tabloid campaign targeting minority groups to get himself noticed, the being is a walking tabloid, so the answer is no.

BTW are you a member of his campaign office?

 

Sounds like you are very passionate, which is a good quality. Its probably best to be more thoughtful and less presumptuous though. I agree with your sentiments.
What I was saying about the headline was that 'Donald Trump Hates Cyclists' 'Its official' are the type of innaccurate sensationalist headlines found in the tabloid press.
You have yourself worked up a bit, as designed by the road.cc policy of publishing articles a large amount of its readership will deem inflammatory. However, yes I agree with your views on Donald Trump.

Avatar
Gus T replied to Xwheels | 8 years ago
0 likes

Xwheels wrote:
Gus T wrote:

Xwheels wrote:
Gus T wrote:

Xwheels wrote:
velo-nh wrote:

None of the quotes used in the article say anything like the title of the article.  Instead of considering if it's responsible for an older diplomat to go cycling on the eve of important negotiations, you instead make jabs about climate change and sexism.  Is road.cc trying to become another trashy tabloid?

 

Well pointed out.

 

And none of the quotes from Donald Trump bare any relation to the events that really happened.  When he resorts to using the truth I'll respond to that, if he chooses to lie, I'll respond to the lies and point out that he is sexist, mysogenistic and racist. Remeber this is the being who responded to difficult questioning that he couldn't answer by inferring that the questioner was menstratiing. 

As to the question, was it responsible for a senior politician to go cycle riding before a major conference, the answer is yes it was, cycling is not normally a dangerous occurance, had it been mountain climbing, bob sledding or bird hunting with Dick Cheney then I would have said no. Dies that answer your question.

The question was "Is road.cc trying to become another trashy tabloid?"

 

Just because you don't like the answers doesn't mean that Road CC is becoming a trashy tabloid however if you were paying attention to Donald Trump's comments you would see that he is carrying out a tabloid campaign targeting minority groups to get himself noticed, the being is a walking tabloid, so the answer is no.

BTW are you a member of his campaign office?

 

Sounds like you are very passionate, which is a good quality. Its probably best to be more thoughtful and less presumptuous though. I agree with your sentiments. What I was saying about the headline was that 'Donald Trump Hates Cyclists' 'Its official' are the type of innaccurate sensationalist headlines found in the tabloid press. You have yourself worked up a bit, as designed by the road.cc policy of publishing articles a large amount of its readership will deem inflammatory. However, yes I agree with your views on Donald Trump.

 

No I'm not worked up, I actually wrote & re-wrote my comments several times to ensure I was not letting my emotions interfere with my comments, it's just that I don't like the kind of person Donald Trump is or the accusations that a cycling website reporting on cycling issues home and abroad is accused of trashy journalism because someone doesn't like their headlines. All headlines are deliberate hooks to get you to read the story but that does not make the story trashy.

Avatar
ch replied to velo-nh | 8 years ago
0 likes

velo-nh wrote:

None of the quotes used in the article say anything like the title of the article.  Instead of considering if it's responsible for an older diplomat to go cycling on the eve of important negotiations, you instead make jabs about climate change and sexism.  Is road.cc trying to become another trashy tabloid?

 

Read the article:  "I swear to you I will never enter a bicycle race if I'm president," and ""You say John Kerry's a joke. No, he's a bicyclist, OK?"

Trump is appealing to a public who doesn't like bicycles or bicyclists.  

This journal is not a tabloid, it is journal focused on the interests of cyclists.  That includes road safety for cyclists.  

From Trumps choice of derision butt here, we can extrapolate that if he becomes president, he will consider making a point of putting cyclists interests and safety last, all the while insulting and deriding cyclists, to gain a margin of popularity for himself.

 As for your minor points -

(1) you don't like the fourth paragraph - The fourth paragraph would never have appeared in this journal if it hadn't been for Trumps trying to harvest anti-cyclist feelings to up his poll ratings.  Pick on people and you make enemies.

(2) "if it's responsible for an older diplomat to go cycling on the eve of important negotiations", - That's a no brainer, staying fit is part of keeping your mind sharp, even more so  when one is older.  If you are active accidents can happen - but still bone breaking cycling accidents are pretty rare - most of the elder recreational cyclists I know have not broken bones, period.  Racers are different (why did Trump make that deliberate mistake? - dishonesty?).  

Are you a cyclist or did you just post here because Trump's name appeared?
 

Avatar
velo-nh replied to ch | 8 years ago
3 likes

ch wrote:

[..]we can extrapolate that if he becomes president, he will consider making a point of putting cyclists interests and safety last, all the while insulting and deriding cyclists, to gain a margin of popularity for himself.

There is no evidence to back up such a leap.  What was clear from Trump's comments is that he doesn't like John Kerry much, which is not surprising since Kerry is a democrat and Trump certainly is not.  I believe he would have said the same about skateboards if Kerry happened to have been riding on one instead of a bicycle.  Trump will deride people for publicity, but that's a weakness that many politicians and celebrities have. 

 

Quote:

(1) you don't like the fourth paragraph - The fourth paragraph would never have appeared in this journal if it hadn't been for Trumps trying to harvest anti-cyclist feelings to up his poll ratings.  Pick on people and you make enemies.

I'm a cyclist and a US citizen that votes, I don't believe he was insulting cyclists.  Like I said in my earlier comment, you can't get to the headline through the quotes they have in the article, which is why I made the tabloid comment.  That's what tabloids do, they run absurd headlines that can't be substantiated in order to get people to look.  This site caters to cycling enthusiasts, we don't need tabloid gimmicks to get our attention.

 

Quote:

(2) "if it's responsible for an older diplomat to go cycling on the eve of important negotiations", - That's a no brainer, staying fit is part of keeping your mind sharp, even more so  when one is older.

I would love to have seen a discussion on this point rather than this tactless article.  I don't disagree that it's a generally safe form of transport and exercise, but.. Kerry had some critically important negotiating to do.  I'd hate to think we missed an opportunity to prevent nuclear proliferation because of a bicycling accident.  I could argue either point of view, to be honest, which would have made for a better discussion. 

 

Gus T wrote:

BTW are you a member of his campaign office?

I doubt he even needs campaign offices.  It's not like he needs to solicit donations to fund his campaign.  No, I'm not campaigning for anyone.  If I was, I'd mention it.

Avatar
ch replied to velo-nh | 8 years ago
0 likes

velo-nh wrote:

ch wrote:

[..]we can extrapolate that if he becomes president, he will consider making a point of putting cyclists interests and safety last, all the while insulting and deriding cyclists, to gain a margin of popularity for himself.

There is no evidence to back up such a leap.  What was clear from Trump's comments is that he doesn't like John Kerry much, which is not surprising since Kerry is a democrat and Trump certainly is not.  I believe he would have said the same about skateboards if Kerry happened to have been riding on one instead of a bicycle.  Trump will deride people for publicity, but that's a weakness that many politicians and celebrities have. 

Trump wrote:

You say John Kerry's a joke. No, he's a bicyclist, OK?

 

And all the other quotes the author kindly included - all of them explicitly denigrates John Kerry for riding a bicycle.   Trump's objective is to denigrate Kerry, his method is to associate Kerry with cycling while sharing contemp of cyclists with his intended audience.

If Kerry had crashed while driving,  would that have worked?  
 

Trump wrote:

"We won't be using a man like Secretary John Kerry, goes into a bicycle race drives a car at 72 years old and falls crashes and breaks his leg. I won't be doing that."

Not really.  The majority drives and accidents can happen so it's not funny anymore.  

Trump is making an appeal for common cause with those who denigrate/dislike cyclists.  It is part of his political identity.   If he gets elected he owes those people his allegience.   That allegience would manifest itself in issues associated with cycling, except that cycling issues are largely governed at the state level.  Nevertheless, his presidential cyclist-as-joke-butt attitude will be popularized, just as jelly bean sales soared when Bush Jr became president.

People across the political spectrum and of all ages can enjoy cycling.   For this reason I am especially sad to see Trump validating the "coal rollers" crowd viewpoint of cyclists as objects of derision. 

I would agree that fourth paragraph is superfluous.  It diverts attention from the central issue, which is a presidential candidate making dumb derogatory cyclist-joke-inusults, especially about breaking a leg.    

 

Avatar
velo-nh replied to ch | 8 years ago
1 like

ch wrote:

And all the other quotes the author kindly included - all of them explicitly denigrates John Kerry for riding a bicycle.  

"We won't be using a man like Secretary John Kerry, goes into a bicycle race at 72 years old and falls and breaks his leg. I won't be doing that."

Not denigrating.

"He's 73 years old and he goes into a bicycle race. He's got the helmet, the whole thing, he's negotiating a very important deal."

Not denigrating.

"You say John Kerry's a joke. No, he's a bicyclist, OK?"

Not denigrating.

"I don't want him on a bicycle during nuclear negotiations."

Not denigrating.

"I swear to you I will never enter a bicycle race if I'm president"

Not denigrating.
 

Quote:

Trump's objective is to denigrate Kerry, his method is to associate Kerry with cycling while sharing contemp of cyclists with his intended audience.

It's clear that he doesn't care much for Kerry, but other than saying he won't enter any bike races, he says nothing positive or negative about cycling.

Quote:

If he gets elected he owes those people his allegience.

Trump isn't the type to feel that he owes anything to anyone.

 

Quote:

I would agree that fourth paragraph is superfluous.  It diverts attention from the central issue, which is a presidential candidate making dumb derogatory cyclist-joke-inusults, especially about breaking a leg.    

He didn't joke about a broken leg.  His statements are about Kerry taking risks during negotiations.  Kerry did break a leg, it's a fact.  Trump says he won't do that.  Where's the joke?

 

Quote:

People across the political spectrum and of all ages can enjoy cycling.   For this reason I am especially sad to see Trump validating the "coal rollers" crowd viewpoint of cyclists as objects of derision. 

Those quotes are about Kerry specifically.

Look, Trump isn't a nice guy.. but that's no reason to claim he said things that he didn't actually say. 

Avatar
userfriendly replied to velo-nh | 8 years ago
1 like
velo-nh wrote:

Not denigrating.

On which bizarro planet do you live where saying that an entire group of people are a joke, or more accurately worse than a joke, is "not denigrating"?

Avatar
velo-nh replied to userfriendly | 8 years ago
2 likes

userfriendly wrote:
velo-nh wrote:

Not denigrating.

On which bizarro planet do you live where saying that an entire group of people are a joke, or more accurately worse than a joke, is "not denigrating"?

If Trump actually wanted to lambast cycling, he would do so directly.  "You know, those bicyclists riding around in skin tight suits, getting in the way of everything.. when they're not out destroying the roads, they're at home blood doping and shooting up steroids and shaving their legs."  That would be a Trump-esque attack on cyclists.  The man is not subtle.  If he wants to say something, he'll come right out with it.  You're reading something into his remarks that isn't there.

 

 

Avatar
ch replied to velo-nh | 8 years ago
2 likes

Quote:

Not denigrating.Not denigrating.Not denigrating.Not denigrating.Not denigrating.

 

 

 

Nothing left to say after this brilliant retort.

Avatar
Exup | 8 years ago
2 likes

Trump says: "We won't be using a man like Secretary John Kerry, goes into a bicycle race at 72 years old and falls and breaks his leg. I won't be doing that.

With that double chin, I'm not surprised 'you won't be doing that' !

Nice hair colouring (spelt correctly) too. 

Avatar
Malaconotus | 8 years ago
3 likes

http://deadspin.com/remembering-the-tour-de-trump-donald-trumps-failed-b... More on the Tour du Trump, a failure like its sponsor.

Avatar
brooksby | 8 years ago
5 likes

It's official: Pope is a catholic.

its official: bears do their business in the woods.

its official: fish don't ride bicycles.

its official: Donald Trump hates (everything!) sorry - cyclists.

Pages

Latest Comments