Trump tries to comfort man who lost son to heroin

Donald Trump got personal on Friday in answering a father's question about stopping the rampant heroin epidemic.

"I lost my son two years ago to a heroin overdose," a man told Trump at a rally in Urbandale, Iowa, his first event after Thursday night's debate.


Trump asked whether the man was from Iowa; he responded that he was from Owego, New York, an upstate town in the center of the state that has been no stranger to the influx of heroin in recent years.

"Well, you know they have a tremendous problem in New Hampshire with the heroin. Unbelievable. It's always the first question I get, and they have a problem all over. And it comes through the border," the GOP presidential candidate said. He then repeated his most famous pledge: "We're going to build a wall, number one, we're going to build a wall, and it's going to be a real wall."

Heroin is "pouring across," Trump continued, vowing to "stop that drug traffic because heroin is really tough."

"Because they say once you get hooked, it's really tough. In all fairness to your son, it's a tough thing. Some very, very strong people have not been able to get off it," he riffed. "So we have to work with people to get off it, and the biggest thing we can do in honor of your son, actually, and the people that did have problems, big problems, we have to be able to stop it."

Trump then paused to comfort the man.

"You just relax, OK? Yeah, it's a tough deal. Come on. It's a tough deal. What we have to do is we have to make sure that they don't get hooked because it's a tough thing," he said. "And I know what you went through."

"And he's a great father, I can see it. And your son is proud of you. Your son is proud of you," he said. "It's tough stuff, it's tough stuff, and it could be stopped. And the best way, you know, the best way to stop it is up front before it happens, because once they start taking it, they say it's brutal."

Other Republicans vying for the party's nomination have addressed the drug epidemic, with some talking emotionally about how substance abuse affected their loved ones. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Ohio Gov. John Kasich all appeared at a New Hampshire forum on fighting the scourge earlier this month.

Just before departing the stage, Trump thanked his audience and pointed in the direction of the man who asked the question to thank him in particular.

"Take care of yourself, OK? It's very cool," he said, giving a thumbs-up. "I bet he was a great boy. Thank you, man."