Bobby Knight compares Donald Trump to Harry Truman, who had the 'guts to drop the bomb'
AP Photo/Darron Cummings
Bobby Knight on Thursday compared Donald Trump to former President Harry Truman, whom he praised for having the "guts to drop the bomb" on Japan.
The legendary former Indiana University men's basketball coach, who has endorsed Trump, was campaigning alongside him in Evansville, Indiana, on Thursday when he interrupted the Manhattan billionaire as he was discussing his capacity to be "presidential."
"We got to talk about this presidential crap just for a moment here," Knight said. "You know who they said wasn't presidential? I don't even know what the hell 'presidential' means, but they told him that he wasn't presidential ... that guy was Harry Truman."
He continued:
And Harry Truman, with what he did in dropping and having the guts to drop the bomb ... saved millions of American lives. ... He became one of the three great presidents of the United States. And here's a man who would do the same thing because he's going to become one of the four great presidents of the United States.
Truman authorized the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945 — the only nuclear weapons ever to be used in warfare. More than 120,000 people were killed between the two bombings during World War II.
"Such a great guy. Wow," Trump said after Knight's comments. "How do you top that? How do you top that? What a great guy."
"You should be very proud of him in Indiana," he continued. "That is a national treasure."