How NY Radio Host Mark Simone Shills For Donald Trump

New York radio host Mark Simone, a longtime friend of GOP presidential front runner Donald Trump, has used his show to shill for Trump and defend him from criticism on his radio show and during guest appearances on television. Independent of his support for Trump, Simone has also attacked immigrants, minorities, and Fox News host Megyn Kelly.

Trump Appeared On Simone’s Show At Least Three Times Since July

Mark Simone Has Hosted Trump At Least Three Times Since The Beginning Of His Campaign. Conservative talk show host Mark Simone has hosted Donald Trump on at least three different occasions since Trump launched his presidential campaign last year. Simone and Trump discussed ISIS, Hillary Clinton, and immigration, among other topics. [The Mark Simone Show, 7/15/15; 12/1/15; 4/12/16]

Mark Simone Has Been A Long Time Trump Supporter

Simone: “I Love Donald Trump.On the October 1 edition of Fox Business Network's Lou Dobbs Tonight, Mark Simone expressed his support for Donald Trump’s candidacy saying “he’s a great executive, he gets things done”:

MARK SIMONE: I love Donald Trump. I have been around Donald Trump for about twenty years. He’s a great executive. He gets things done. When he tells you there’s going to be a one-hundred story building in Dubai, it’s there six months later. He’s a guy who can be brash, he can say all kinds of crazy things, but when he gets in the room, and I’ve seen it, he’s pragmatic, he negotiates, he gets the deal done, and he gets the job done every time. I think he’ll go all the way here. [Lou Dobbs Tonight, 10/1/15]

Simone: “What’s Wrong With” Trump Encouraging People To Punch Protesters? On the March 14 edition of WOR's The Mark Simone Show, Simone asked, “what’s wrong with” Trump encouraging his supporters to punch rally protestors:

JOE BARTLETT: When he talks about punching people, and you know, throw them out go ahead, I mean--

MARK SIMONE (HOST): Yeah what’s wrong with that?

BARTLETT: And, you know, I’ll defend this guy, or I’ll pay the legal fees if you punch somebody--

SIMONE: Yeah? Are you saying that Rudy Guiliani caused crime when he took office denouncing the criminals, talking about going after them, talking about getting them, talking about locking them up. You still gotta blame the perpetrators.

BARTLETT: Well I mean this is a guy who wants to be president of the United States. You should rise above that, not sort of foment it but try and tamp it down.

SIMONE: I don’t know. Let’s wait till tomorrow and see some results.

BARTLETT: Well, he’s probably going to win. I know it.

SIMONE: I think you guys got him an extra 10 points tomorrow. He was not really ahead in Ohio so this may put him over the top. He’s gonna do real well with this. [The Mark Simone Show, 3/14/16]

Simone Has Repeatedly Attacked Fox News Host Megyn Kelly. On his April 11 show, Simone criticized Kelly saying that “blind people that watch Fox can not figure out what the hell the fuss is about Megyn Kelly, they are listening and they don't hear anything interesting.” He followed up in an April 13 tweet, saying that Kelly has a personality “like an ex-wife in a courtroom.” He also criticized her appearance on the April 14 edition of his radio show, again comparing her to “an ex-wife” and asking if she “scared” his guest. [The Mark Simone Show, 4/11/16; Twitter.com, 4/13/16; The Mark Simone Show, 4/14/16; [space] The Mark Simone Show, 4/14/16]

Simone: Trump Looked “Tough” For Not Appearing In The Republican Debate. During an appearance on Lou Dobbs Tonight, when asked about Donald Trump’s decision to skip the January Republican debate, Simone praised the decision, saying, “Yeah, I think it was smart” and that the move made Trump “look tough”:

LOU DOBBS (HOST): What do you think Mark?

MARK SIMONE: Yeah, I think it was smart [for Trump to skip Fox News debate]. You know Reagan skipped the last debate before Iowa. And, with all these debates you think Bush is bad because he can't stand up to Trump, Rubio is bad because of Trump, Cruz can't fight Trump. Now you take Trump out of it and you realize, huh, these guys can be bad without Trump. I just thought they were all ineffective, Cruz didn't do enough, Jeb had the best debate of his life, and still nothing.

DOBBS: Well, it's going to be interesting in Iowa, and I think to that point, you know, not being in the debate, he wasn't attacked. Maybe that turns out to be a positive. But as you pointed out too Mark, I mean Reagan did it. Lost Iowa--

BOHANNON: He lost the caucuses too --

SIMONE: There’s an important thing besides all this policy stuff. You gotta look tough. You got to look like you could defend yourself, and he stood up to the biggest thing in the world. And, he looks tough and that people want -- people say if you can defend yourself, you can defend me.

DOBBS: Well it’s gonna be interesting to see. [Lou Dobbs Tonight, 1/30/16]

Simone: Trump Is “The Fast Learner You’ve Ever Seen.” On the March 7 edition of Lou Dobbs Tonight, Simone lauded Trump for being a fast learner, saying, “He doesn’t make the same mistake twice. I’ve learned that from watching him for years”:

LOU DOBBS (HOST): Who wins tomorrow?

MARK SIMONE: Donald Trump. Do you even have to ask?

DOBBS: But well, that rather impersonal pronoun. What’s Mark saying here? Mark is a big Trump supporter. Let me ask you this, I call in my commentary tonight for him to reload, to refreshen, his rhetoric and to start talking in the plural. I even suggested, Mark forgive me for this, that he’s starting to sound vaguely Obamian in the use of the first person singular. “I, I, I, I.” I don't want to hear anymore “I.” I'm ready now for the we, because he's got to be representing the people. That's who he is, that's how he got here and we better, I think, he better focus on the we.

SIMONE: Yeah, these are all valid points. But listen, he's, you have got to admit he's the fastest learner you've ever seen. Just six months in politics and look where he is. He doesn't make the same mistake twice. I've learned that from watching him for years, so I think he'll be OK. [Lou Dobbs Tonight, 3/7/16]

Simone Echoed Trump's Claim That Colorado Delegates Were Stolen: “It’s A Disgrace That The RNC Would Do Something Like This.” On the April 13 edition of The Mark Simone Show, Simone argued with a caller about the results of the Colorado primary, saying delegates were wrongly taken from Trump and that “it’s a disgrace that the RNC would do something like this”:

CALLER: I totally agree with you about Di Blasio I mean what a--

MARK SIMONE (HOST): Now watch your language it’s a family show. Go ahead, second thing.

CALLER: Fraud. But the second thing is, you know, I know Donald and I know he’s upset about the Colorado thing but but in reality, you know what? He screwed up. The rules were set back in August he knew that. He just, he never went to the state to do anything and you know, that’s his fault.

SIMONE: Well ok that may be true but you gotta admit--

CALLER: Well it is true--

SIMONE: Ok, we’re done with that, that’s true. We got that part. Now the second part of his argument, that it’s a disgrace that the RNC would do something like this. Not allow people to vote. There was a vote scheduled and they canceled it and just have the delegates assigned by some back room guys. That’s terrible.

CALLER: Well you know that depends on you know, who’s. The rules were the rules he knew --

SIMONE: No we've already been through that part. I'm asking you about the second part, isn't that disgusting that the RNC would do anything that way?

CALLER: Well you know the RNC has got its own issues we can all agree on that.

SIMONE: But would you agree with Trump in that to cancel the vote and just have guys in the back room pick the delegates is disgusting.

CALLER: I’m not, I’m not sure. That’s what he says I’m not sure that that’s exactly what happened and I’m not sure that you’re sure. You can paint it with a --

SIMONE: And you’re a lawyer for a living? I think you're a lawyer for a living.

CALLER: Uh, no

SIMONE: That was very lawyerly crap you just gave me but anyway. [The Mark Simone Show, 4/13/16]

Simone Has A History Of Extreme Comments About Immigrants And Race

Simone: “There Are Statistics That Many Of The Mexicans Coming Here Are Going On To Welfare Or Committing Crimes.On the June 17 edition of the Mark Simone Show, Simone defended Trump’s comments about Mexican immigrants, saying, “There are statistics that many of the Mexicans coming here are going under welfare or committing crimes." Simone added that he wants to keep the “illegals” because he wants his car wash to remain cheap and because at restaurants “bus boys are all over the place” when “you need water”:

SIMONE: Did you watch that [Trump] speech yesterday ?

BARTLETT: Yeah

SIMONE: I mean when was the last time you saw a guy in a campaign just tell the truth about everything. Just blurt out whatever he’s thinking.

BARTLETT: Well you see that’s that’s the thing you can’t do that if you want to be president. I know it’s refreshing, doesn’t sound like, a hundred and eighty degrees from where Hillary was, you just don’t do that it’s irresponsible.

SIMONE: No. How is it irresponsible?

BARLETT: Because, you know, you say stupid things--

SIMONE: What’d he say that was stupid?

BARTLETT: Like all Mexicans except for a few are bad.

SIMONE: That’s not what he said.

BARTLETT: Yeah he did.

SIMONE: No, he said they’re sending us the worst of their people. Rapists, what else did he say, crooks. There’s a few good people.

BARTLETT: Well that’s not true.

SIMONE: He said there’s a few food people. No well actually there are statistics to back it up.

BARTLETT: No

SIMONE: Yeah there are statistics that many of the Mexicans coming here are immediately going on to welfare or committing crimes. There’s actual statistics.

BARTLETT: They’re taking care of your dishes at the restaurant.

SIMONE: Hey, you ever hear me and Ann Coulter? She rattles off those statistics I tell her, “Hey keep quiet we need this.” I like the car wash only being five dollars. In your restaurant you can never find the waiter. You want the check you can't find the waiter, but you need water, bus boys are all over the place. Thank god for these illegals. I’m for them. [The Mark Simone Show, 6/17/15]

Simone: “100 Percent” Of Immigrants “Are Total Criminals.” On a March 24 edition of Premiere Radio Networks’ The Sean Hannity Show, guest host Mark Simone claimed that all immigrants to the United States “got here by committing a crime. They made a criminal break-in to the United States, so 100 percent are total criminals”:

MARK SIMONE (GUEST HOST): This has been going on so long. This is the craziest system in the world, you know like 38 countries just built walls on their border. You know Saudi Arabia, it was never a problem. Who the hell's going to break into Saudi Arabia? But lately, it's been a problem, people are starting to come across the border into Saudi Arabia, and sometimes ISIS. You know, the Saudis, as we speak, are finishing up their wall. I forget -- I think it's 600 miles they had to do, they just built a beautiful, state-of-the-art, 600 mile wall. Why would we not have one? And how long has it been going on?" How many decades have we had millions and millions of illegals coming in? And it's been going on for so long, we're now at the point where if you say, “Let's have a proper border, and not let people come in illegally, and let's do it legally,” that people think you're a nut, you're a racist, you're a kook, you're a hate monger. Of course you have to have legal immigration, and listen to this Jorge keeps saying “immigrants, immigrants, immigrants,” -- when did illegals become immigrants? How long has this been going on, that we actually think an illegal is an immigrant? And when he says, “They're not all criminals,” of course they are. They got here by committing a crime. They made a criminal break-in into the United States, so 100 percent are total criminals. Hey, and a lot of them come for good reasons, and a lot of them work hard. And, to be honest with you, I don't want to get rid of all of them, I mean a car wash is only $5.99. Listen -- and you know, when you're in a restaurant, you know you can never find the waiter, but can always get the busboy. Thank god for some of these illegal immigrants -- well Lauren is laughing. No, no seriously, because I always want more water, I want more bread, and you can never find the waiter. But thank god for these bus boys, but, so, you'll keep a few. [The Sean Hannity Show, 3/24/16]

Simone: By Supporting Black Lives Matter, Obama Is “Saying It’s Not Safe In This Country For A Young Man To Rob A Convenience Store.” During a guest appearance on Lou Dobbs Tonight, Simone criticized President Obama’s statements in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, saying his views are “old ridiculous stereotypes that don’t apply to anything”:

LOU DOBBS (HOST): Mark, let me start with you. Black Lives Matter. By the way I was stunned at the president’s pause there in which he couldn’t figure out why we had to understand something or what it was we had to understand.

MARK SIMONE: Well, you have to understand, we have a mayor here in New York, Mayor de Blasio with a similar kind of thinking. They’re in these old ridiculous stereotypes that don’t apply to anything. You do have some bad cops out there. I think it’s a tiny fraction of one percent which is the, probably the best record of any occupation in the world including priests --

DOBBS: And certainly society broadly --

SIMONE: Yeah doing incredible work but I guess what the president’s saying is it’s not safe in this country for a young man to rob a convenience store or to try to wrestle the gun from a policeman as Michael Brown did. [Lous Dobbs Tonight, 10/23/15]

Simone: Obama’s State Of The Union Guests Are “Human Props.” On the January 12 edition of Lou Dobbs Tonight, Simone joked that President Obama’s guests to the State of the Union address, including “an illegal alien transgender,” were “human props”:

LOU DOBBS: Let's, let’s start tonight with the president's guest at the State of the Union. Mark what do you make of it? He's going to have, let's see, an illegal immigrant, a gay marriage activist, a Syrian refugee and one empty chair.

MARK SIMONE: Well, that's, you know, that’s customary to bring in these human props. I think he's got an illegal alien transgender, who is gonna be there. He's also bringing in Dannel Malloy he's the governor of Connecticut I guess because of the tragic Newtown shooting. But Malloy is also probably the worst governor in America. He's taxed everybody to death, GE fleeing Connecticut. I don't think they will be mentioning that during the speech though. [Lou Dobbs Tonight, 1/12/16]