Donald Trump, the erstwhile Republican presidential nominee and now a top Romney surrogate, is slated to be awarded “Statesman of the Year” honors by the Republican Party of Sarasota, Florida at a fundraising event in August, the day before the Republican National Convention begins in nearby Tampa.

The local party doesn’t list its requirements for their “statesman” designation, but it’s clearly not the same definition that most Americans use. Since first injecting himself into presidential politics two years ago, Trump has been at the forefront of any number of far-right conspiracy theories, most notably his unwavering belief that President Obama was not born in the United States.

Here’s a look at some of the more notable remarks made by the RNC’s top “statesman:”

- Called President Obama’s birth certificate “one of the greatest scams in the history of politics and in the history, period.” Trump has been the chief water-carrier for the birther movement for over a year, continuing to question President Obama’s birth certificate to this day, even as he publicly represents Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign.

- Demanded beauty pageant contestants parade in front of him. Trump, co-owner of the Miss USA pageant, routinely instructs contestants to parade in front of him so “he could separate those he finds sexually appealing from those he does not.”

- Speculated that Gloria Allred would be “very very impressed” with the size of his genitals. After the famed lawyer remarked on Trump’s hypocrisy for initially barring a transgendered pageant contestant from the Miss Universe Canada competition, he responded via TMZ with a classless comment about the size of his penis.

- Compared gay marriage to his taste in golf putters. Trump’s past support for gay rights has recently given way to the far-right hard line approach, telling The Advocate that he is now opposed to extending rights of any kind to the LGBT community.

If the definition of “statesman” to the Romney campaign and the Republican Party in Sarasota really is “a homophobic, conspiracy-theory peddling, bankrupt-four-times-over misogynist,” then perhaps Trump really is the perfect choice.

Meanwhile the rest of the country will be left wondering how such a person wields so much influence in a major political party.

After saying his opponent was not a “true hero” at a town hall last week, Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) was the object of ire from veteran groups and voters alike. But Walsh stands by his statements, and at a town hall over the weekend he actually doubled down on his attacks of his double-amputee veteran opponent, Tammy Duckworth.

In a video taken at the town hall, Walsh acknowledged that members of the military are heroes, but said Duckworth “talks about her service too much”:

WALSH: I do believe as someone who respects what Tammy Duckworth did with her service, as someone who is thankful, and someone who is sorry for her injuries, I do believe she talks about her service too much. And as a voter in this district, I would want to know where she stands on issues.

Watch it:

In fact, Duckworth has proposed several initiatives to help veterans, but tried to take the focus off of her own service in a recent interview with MSNBC, saying “I dont think Mr. Walsh remembers how much others have sacrificed so that he can say whatever he wants to no matter how irresponsible it is.”

Veterans expressed outrage over Walsh’s comments last week with angry messages on the Congressman’s facebook page. One veterans’ group is even calling for Walsh to resign.