Former President Donald J. Trump, in an interview with Time magazine published Tuesday morning, said that if elected in November, he would likely send in the U.S. military to detain and deport immigrants and prosecute violators of abortion laws. He said he would leave the decision up to each state. the possibility of political violence after the 2024 elections;
Trump has rarely given extended interviews with mainstream news outlets, especially since leaving the White House. The sit-in at the former president's official residence in Palm Beach, Fla., and his subsequent phone conversation with Time magazine shed light on how President Trump might exercise presidential power, challenge democratic norms and reshape the country. It was a clear glimpse of what happened. He regained the White House in November.
At one point, Trump told Time that he was prepared to deploy the military as part of the radical deportation campaign he said he would carry out if elected, circumventing laws prohibiting the use of U.S. troops. he said. against civilians.
“Well, they're not civilians,” Trump said. “These are people who are not in our country legally. This is an invasion of our country.”
Trump also brushed aside questions about political violence by suggesting his victory was inevitable in November. However, when asked what would happen if he lost the election again, he did not completely rule out the possibility and said that he would not actively try to dissuade his supporters from resorting to another election. I didn't say anything.
“I think we'll win,” he said. “And if you don't win, it depends. It always comes down to the fairness of the election.”
Biden campaign spokesman James Singer called Trump's stated plan unconstitutional and anti-democratic. “Trump intends to abandon the very idea of America in order to bring himself to power,” Singer said in his statement.
Mr. Trump and his allies are already laying the groundwork to advance their ideological agenda, with much of their preparation being reported in the New York Times and other media outlets.
Still the Time's interview, which also included a transcript, provided a rare opportunity to hear Trump explain his policy views in his own words.
Trump, who entered a Manhattan courtroom with a fact check after Time's interview was published, called Time's cover story “very good” and “at least 60 percent correct. That's about all I can ask for.” said.
Here are five points.
He will use the military to deport immigrants.
Trump reaffirmed his goal to expand his first-term immigration crackdown efforts with a broader effort to detain and deport immigrants who cross the border illegally.
But he told TIME he was prepared to do so, involving both the National Guard and the U.S. military, both at the border and domestically, but offered the use of U.S. troops as a last resort.
“I think the National Guard can do it. If we can't do it, I'll use the military,” he said during campaign stops and interviews, after describing the surge in migrants crossing the border as an “invasion.” He said that this is a word he uses frequently.
Trump said he has not ruled out building new camps to hold illegal immigrants, which the Times reported last year. And he told Time that his efforts include granting immunity to police from prosecution, something he recently mentioned on his campaign trail.
“We have to restore the authority and respect that our police deserve,” said Trump, who faces dozens of felonies in four criminal cases. “Well, there will be mistakes, and there will be bad people, and that's awful.”
Once again, he avoided taking firm positions on abortion-related issues.
Although Trump has laid out many plans for a second term, abortion is a bitter and politically sensitive issue that has been at the center of the election since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in 2022. He declined to provide a specific opinion.
Mr. Trump paved the way for the court's decision by appointing three conservative justices and praised his role in the decision.
In an interview with Time, Trump reaffirmed his comments earlier this month that abortion should be left to individual states. But he did not commit to vetoing a bill with federal restrictions on abortion if it passed Congress, a goal of some of his Republican allies.
“We don't have to do anything about the veto, because the veto is now back in the states,” he said.
Trump did not respond to a question about how he would vote in Florida's referendum to overturn a six-week abortion ban that he has criticized.
Trump also did not express opposition to the idea of states monitoring pregnancies or prosecuting women who violate abortion bans. “It doesn’t matter if I’m comfortable or not,” he said. “That's completely irrelevant, because the state will be making the decision.”
Trump also will not take a position on whether women should have access to mifepristone, the widely used abortion drug that is at the center of the Supreme Court case.
He similarly deferred taking a position on whether the administration would implement the Comstock Act, which bans mail-in abortion pills.
In both cases, Trump promised to issue statements in the coming weeks.
He is considering a broad pardon surrounding January 6th.
Trump said he would “absolutely” consider pardoning anyone convicted or pleading guilty to crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
“If someone was evil and evil, I would look at it differently,” he said, but did not say where he would draw the line.
And while Trump says he doesn't expect political violence this year, the answer assumes he wins in November. Throughout his campaign, Trump has consistently falsely claimed that the 2020 election was stolen by Democrats, leading his supporters to believe that the only fair election is for him to win. This is something he repeated during the presidential election. interview.
“I don't think we can do what we did last time,” Trump said of Democrats. “I don't think they can get away with it.”
Although he criticized Prime Minister Netanyahu, he intended to help Israel fight Iran.
Trump renewed his criticism of the country's “public relations” failures during the seven-month war in Gaza, even as he promoted himself as the most pro-Israel president in history.
“I think Israel has done a very bad thing. It's a public relations stunt,” he said, pointing to the country's decision to share photos and videos of military operations.
And he said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, once a strong ally, also bears some responsibility for the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas that sparked the latest conflict.
“Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu has rightly been criticized for what happened on October 7,” Trump told Time magazine.
After Iran launched a direct attack on Israel, Trump also said the United States should get involved if war breaks out between Israel and Iran. “If they attack Israel, we will go there,” he said.
Trump did not say how he would end the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip, but said a two-state solution, in which Israelis and Palestinians coexist in separate countries, “would be very effective. He said that he believed that “It's true.” Very strict. ”
He won't rule out using the Justice Department as a political tool.
Trump had previously promised to appoint a special counsel to “go after” President Biden and his family, but told TIME he “doesn't want to hurt Biden.”
But he also suggested that any action could be conditional on an upcoming Supreme Court ruling on whether the president has immunity from criminal prosecution.
“If you say the president has no immunity, then Biden will be indicted for every crime,” Trump said. Biden has not been charged with any crime, and the impeachment inquiry by House Republicans has produced no hard evidence of wrongdoing by him.
“So when you asked me that question, it depends on what the Supreme Court does,” he said later.
Mr. Trump also said he was prepared to resign from firing federal prosecutors who refused his orders to prosecute someone, which would violate longstanding norms about the independence of the Justice Department.
“Honestly, it depends,” he said.
