I personally thought it was a very valid point that took guts to raise. He raised it inartfully, but it deserved discussion. Too bad more Republican didn't help him out when he did it.
The point was that we had almost half the population who are net recipients of government payments. Once you cross the 50% point as a nation, you're arguably toast, because the majority can then simply vote to enrich themselves at the expense of those who produce wealth.
It's not PC, and it wasn't calculated to appeal strongly to a set of potential voters. So, you're right. Trump never would have said it.
The misconception that everyone who collects benefits doesn’t want a job and doesn’t want to get ahead is elitist. What would the result have been if Romney had gotten just 10% of those votes that he didn’t campaign for?