Donald Trump in Interviews during 2017-2019


On Principles & Values: 2016: Sought to nullify election after losing Iowa primary

Excerpting the New York Times: "In the now-distant Republican presidential primaries of 2016, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas handily won the Iowa caucuses. This was determined by a method that has lately come under attack but at the time was considered standard: elementary math."

"One of the losers in Iowa, the developer and television personality Donald J. Trump, soon accused Mr. Cruz of electoral theft. He fired off several inflammatory tweets, including this foreshadowing of our current democracy-testing moment [where Trump calls to nullify state results where Biden won]: 'Based on the fraud committed by Senator Ted Cruz during the Iowa Caucus, either a new election should take place or Cruz results nullified'."

"The episode vanished in the tsunami of political vitriol to come during the Trump presidency. Still, it reflects what those who have worked with Mr. Trump say is his modus operandi when trying to slip the humiliating epithet he has so readily applied to others: Loser."

Source: PoliticalWire.com on 2020 presidential hopefuls Nov 26, 2020

On Civil Rights: Agrees vibrant economy key to addressing racial tensions

Q: You believe that the key to addressing racial tensions is to have a vibrant economy?

TRUMP: That's right. We had the best African American employment numbers in history by far, not even close. We had the best Hispanic American, the best Asian American, the best numbers in history. We had the greatest economy in the history of the world and we had to close it because of the China virus.

Source: AARP Survey on 2020 Presidential hopefuls Sep 28, 2020

On Health Care: Improve Medicare by looking for fraud, waste and abuse

Q: How could your administration provide more support for the nation's army of roughly 40 million unpaid family caregivers?

TRUMP: We're looking at that very seriously. These are incredible people. They have been unrecognized for the job they do, and if they didn't do that job, we'd be swamped; our hospitals and our health care system would be swamped.

Q: That would be through Medicare or Medicaid?

TRUMP: We think so, yes. We're looking at that as being probably the best alternative. Management can be improved. One of the biggest ways of doing that, as you know, is look at fraud, waste and abuse. By the way, [Medicare] Part D premiums are lower by around 12 percent. We've done a lot, but there is a big thing on fraud, waste and abuse, and we'll take care of that.

Source: AARP Survey on 2020 Presidential hopefuls Sep 28, 2020

On Social Security: Never cut Social Security; payroll tax cut won't affect it

Q: Would you allow cutting Social Security?

TRUMP: We'll never cut Social Security, and you can rely on that. We will guard it with everything we have.

Q: You have said you would like to "terminate the payroll tax" if you win reelection. Payroll taxes fund Social Security and Medicare. How would you finance these programs without payroll taxes?

TRUMP: Providing a payroll tax deferral poses no risk to the Social Security trust fund and puts more money in the pockets of hardworking Americans.

Source: AARP Survey on 2020 Presidential hopefuls Sep 28, 2020

On Education: We're not going to fund schools if they don't open

Schools have to open [despite the coronavirus pandemic]. Young people have to go to school, and there's problems when you don't go to school, too. And there's going to be a funding problem because we're not going to fund--when they don't open their schools. We're not going to fund them. We're not going to give them money if they're not going to school. If they don't open.
Source: Fox News Sunday interview of 2020 presidential hopefuls Jul 19, 2020

On Homeland Security: Fort renaming: I don't care what the military says

Q: The National Defense Authorization Act, you have threatened to veto it because it would rename bases named for Confederate generals. The military says they're for this.

TRUMP: I don't care what the military says. I'm supposed to make the decision. Fort Bragg is a big deal. What are we going to name it? We're going to name it after the Reverend Al Sharpton? We won two World Wars out of all of these forts that now they want to throw those names away.

Source: Fox News Sunday interview of 2020 presidential hopefuls Jul 19, 2020

On Principles & Values: I've been right probably more than anybody else

TRUMP: I think we're gonna be very good with the coronavirus. I think that at some point that's going to sort of just disappear. I hope. I'll be right eventually. I will be right eventually. You know I said, "It's going to disappear." I'll say it again.

Q: But does that discredit you?

TRUMP: It's going to disappear and I'll be right. I don't think so.

Q: WALLACE: Right.

TRUMP: I don't think so. I don't think so. You know why? Because I've been right probably more than anybody else.

Source: Fox News Sunday interview of 2020 presidential hopefuls Jul 19, 2020

On Principles & Values: My mother was like a saint, my father was most solid person

I have a mother who was like a saint. She was incredible. She was an incredible woman. My father was the most solid person I've ever met. He was a very good person. He was a very, very good person. He was strong but he was good. For [Mary Trump in her book] to say the kind of things, a psychopath, that he was a psychopath, anybody that knew Fred Trump would call him a psychopath? My father was tough on me, he was tough on all of the kids. But tough in a really good sense. That book is a lie.
Source: Fox News Sunday interview of 2020 presidential hopefuls Jul 19, 2020

On Budget & Economy: OpEd: Trump should take responsibility for corona panic

[One-minute TV ad, "Failed to Act," playing in PA/MI/WI; second half]:

Trump: "The country's in great shape; the market's in great shape"

Text: L.A. Times: Investors Panic Over Stock Market Free-Fall"; DJI -7.77%

NBC News headline: "Dr. Fauci on Virus Testing: 'It Is a Failing'."

Text: Mar.3: 359 cases; more than 20 deaths

Trump: "No, I don't take responsibility at all."

Text: Mar.16: 4,019 cases

Reporter: "On a scale of 1 to 10, how do you rate your response to this crisis?"

Trump: "I'd rate it a 10; I think we've done a great job."

Washington Post headline: Squandered Time: Trump Lost Control of Coronavirus

Text: Spinner exceeds 5,000 then 6,000 then 7,000 cases

CNN headline, Mar.14: "NIH's Dr. Fauci: It's Going to Get Worse; Possible Millions Could Die"

Voiceover: And now, here we are. Trump canot be trusted, with our economy, our health, and our future

Text: Paid for by AB PAC, www.AmericanBridgePAC.org

Source: American Bridge AdWatch on 2020 presidential hopefuls Mar 21, 2020

On Health Care: AdWatch: Trump called coronavirus "their hoax" & "fake news"

[TV ad, "Failed to Act"]

Voiceover: The warnings were there

Headline: Before Virus Outbreak, a Cascade of Warnings Went Unheeded

Voice: Millions of Americans at risk

Text: 10 million Americans were expected to become ill

Voice: But Donald Trump failed to act

Video: Donald Trump smiling for interview

Text: Jan.22: 6 cases

Reporter: "Are you worried about a pandemic at this point?"

Trump: "No, not at all; we have it under control; it's gonna be just fine."

CNN headline 2/25: Top officials are warning that the spread of the coronavirus in the US appears "inevitable."

Text: Feb.26: 257 cases

Reporter: "Do you agree with that assessment?"

Trump: "Well I don't think it's 'inevitable.'"

Politico headline 2/28: On coronavirus fears: President Trump blaming the "fake news"

Trump: "This is their new hoax."

Text: Mar.3: 359 cases; more than 20 deaths

[Note: Trump sued over the use of the word "hoax," noting that it referred to the Democratic response, not the virus]

Source: American Bridge AdWatch on 2020 presidential hopefuls Mar 21, 2020

On Health Care: Cut pandemic response team in 2018, denied knowing about it

A video has emerged of Trump talking about cutting the US pandemic response team in 2018. Trump said that "some of the people we've cut they haven't been used for many, many years and if we ever need them we can get them very quickly and rather than spending the money".

"I'm a businessperson, I don't like having thousands of people around when you don't need them," he added. In a press conference he denied knowing anything about the cuts in 2018 when questioned.

Source: The Independent (UK) on 2020 Presidential hopefuls Mar 17, 2020

On Health Care: The coronavirus is very much under control in the USA

Twitter posting from @realDonaldTrump: "The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. We are in contact with everyone and all relevant countries. CDC & World Health have been working hard and very smart. Stock Market starting to look very good to me!"
Source: Twitter posting on 2020 Presidential hopefuls Feb 24, 2020

On Health Care: 2014: Criticized Ebola czar; 2019: put Pence in charge

President Trump announced that he'll be putting Vice President Mike Pence in charge of leading the administration's response to the coronavirus. The previous point person on the administration's coronavirus response was Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. Back in the Ebola crisis of 2014, Trump did the opposite. He criticized former President Obama for appointing an Ebola czar "with zero experience in the medical area and zero experience in infectious disease control."
Source: Axios e-zine on 2020 presidential hopefuls Dec 26, 2019

On Foreign Policy: Refuses to consider mass killings of Armenians as genocide

The Trump administration does not consider the mass killings of Armenians in 1915 to be genocide, rejecting votes in Congress. Mr. Trump said the US paid tribute to the victims of "one of the worst mass atrocities of the 20th century", but he did not use the word genocide. Instead he encouraged Armenians and Turks to "acknowledge and reckon with their painful history."
Source: BBC.com on 2020 presidential hopefuls Dec 17, 2019

On Civil Rights: Treat Judaism as nationality, not just religion

President Donald Trump will sign an executive order to interpret Judaism as a nationality and not just a religion, a move that the Trump administration believes will fight what they perceive as anti-Semitism on college campuses. It's an order that would allow Trump to take further steps to combat anti-Israel sentiments and divestment movements on college campuses by requiring colleges and universities to treat those movements as discriminatory in order to keep their funding.
Source: CNN.com on 2020 presidential hopefuls Dec 11, 2019

On War & Peace: Syria pullout: Let Turks & Kurds fight, then pull them apart

President Trump [at a Texas rally tried out a new response to] the backlash over his Syria decision. He justified the idea of removing American troops from Syria by saying he did not want to deplete the U.S. military anymore or continue to entangle the U.S. in what he called "the endless wars."

Trump said, "It was good to let Turkey attack the Kurds, longtime U.S. allies in the fight against ISIS, Trump said, because "sometimes you have to let them fight like two kids. Then you pull them apart."

Source: Nancy Cook on Politico.com on 2020 presidential hopefuls Oct 17, 2019

On Principles & Values: LameStream Media are the Enemy of the People

Tweet from President Trump: "The LameStream Media had a very bad week [reporting on President Trump's repeated requests to Ukraine to investigate the son of former Democratic Vice President Joe Biden, and the "whistleblower complaint" that sparked the reporting]. They pushed numerous phony stories and got caught, especially The Failing New York Times, which has lost more money over the last 10 years than any paper in history, and The Amazon Washington Post. They are The Enemy of the People!

The Fake News Media nowadays not only doesn't check for the accuracy of the facts, they knowingly make up the facts. They even make up sources in order to protect their partners, the Democrats. It is so wrong, but they don't even care anymore. They have gone totally CRAZY!!!!"

Source: Twitter postings by 2020 presidential hopefuls Sep 21, 2019

On Environment: Why not nuke hurricanes to stop them from hitting US?

President Trump has suggested multiple times using nuclear bombs to stop hurricanes from hitting the US, according to sources who have heard the president's private remarks and been briefed on an NSC memorandum that recorded those comments.

During one hurricane briefing at the White House, Trump said, "I got it. Why don't we nuke them?" according to one source who was there. "We drop a bomb inside the eye of the hurricane and it disrupts it. Why can't we do that?" the source added, paraphrasing the president's remarks.

The sources said that Trump's "bomb the hurricanes" idea--which he floated in the first year of his presidency--went nowhere and never entered a formal policy process.

Trump called this story "ridiculous" in a tweet. He added, "I never said this. Just more FAKE NEWS!"

Trump didn't invent this idea. Detonating a nuclear bomb over the eye of a hurricane dates to the Eisenhower era. The idea keeps resurfacing in the public even though scientists agree it won't work.

Source: Axios.com reporting on 2020 presidential hopefuls Aug 25, 2019

On Foreign Policy: Postpone meeting with Denmark if no Greenland discussion

Months before President Donald Trump expressed an interest in buying Greenland, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) said he suggested the idea to the President and met with the Danish ambassador to propose the sale of the large land mass to the U.S.

Greenland, owned by the European nation of Denmark, has a population of just over 56,000 on the 836,300 square mile island. The primary U.S. military base on Greenland is Thule Air Base, home to the 21st Space Wing's global network of sensors providing missile warning to NORAD's Air Force Space Command.

However, the deal is not likely to soon happen. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called the idea "absurd." Trump responded by canceling a planned state visit to Denmark.

"Denmark is a very special country with incredible people, but based on Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's comments, that she would have no interest in discussing the purchase of Greenland, I will be postponing our meeting scheduled in two weeks for another time," Trump tweeted.

Source: TalkBusiness.net on 2020 presidential hopefuls Aug 21, 2019

On Foreign Policy: Buying Greenland is strategically interesting

Amid reported interest for buying Greenland, Trump said, "Denmark essentially owns it. We're very good allies with Denmark. We protect Denmark like we protect large portions of the world." Trump added, "Strategically, it's interesting, and we'd be interested, but we'll talk to them a little bit. It's not number one on the burner." Trump has reportedly mulled attempting to buy the largest island in the world that is home to more than 50,000 people from Denmark, though no official inquiries have been made yet.

Trump compared buying the territory from Denmark to a "large real estate deal." He said, "A lot of things could be done. It's hurting Denmark very badly because they're losing almost $700 million a year carrying it. So they carry it at a great loss. And strategically for the United States, it would be nice."

Greenland's foreign minister responded to the reports saying the territory is "open for business, but we're not for sale." The U.S. does currently have an airbase on the island.

Source: The Hill e-zine on 2020 presidential hopefuls Aug 18, 2019

On Crime: Central Park 5 admitted guilt; exoneration doesn't matter

Donald Trump has refused to apologise for saying the Central Park Five should be executed, 17 years after they were exonerated with DNA evidence.

The president was asked about the case in light of Ava DuVernay's four-part Netflix series about the 1989 case. "You have people on both sides of that. They admitted their guilt," Mr Trump said after a reporter asked him whether he would apologise to the five men.

Five black and Latino teenagers were convicted of attacking a 28-year-old white female jogger who was raped and beaten almost to death during a run in Central Park on 19 April, 1989. Authorities vacated their convictions in 2002, after [another] convicted murderer and serial rapist confessed to the attack and said he had committed it alone. DNA evidence backed up his confession. In 2014, the City of New York settled a wrongful conviction lawsuit with the five men for $41m.

Source: The Independent (UK) on 2020 presidential hopefuls Jun 18, 2019

On Drugs: Opposed allowing vets access to legal cannabis

The House Veterans' Affairs Committee held a hearing on three bills. One bill would allow VA healthcare providers to write state-legal medical cannabis recommendations for veterans who qualify. A separate bill would direct the VA to conduct a clinical study on the risks and benefits of medical marijuana. A third would prevent the VA from stripping veterans of their benefits because they consume state-legal cannabis.

The Trump administration opposed all three.

Not too long ago, veterans could lose their lifelong military benefits if a drug test turned up evidence of cannabis use, no matter how legal. The VA reformed that policy in late 2017--but it's a policy subject to easy change, not a protection codified by law. President Trump opposes codifying it into law.

Source: Bruce Barcott in Leafly.com on 2020 presidential hopefuls May 2, 2019

On Immigration: Refugees can't come in; sorry, we're full

With his recent speech before the Republican Jewish Coalition, Trump insinuated that American Jews have dual loyalties, specifically when he referred to Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu as "your prime minister." Yet even more offensive was Trump's xenophobic rhetoric on immigration, uttered before an audience of Jews, an ethnic group that was victimized by immigration xenophobia during the Holocaust.

Specifically, in referring to refugees seeking asylum in America from political persecution in their native lands, Trump stated, "You can't come in. Our country is full. What can we do? We can't handle any more. Our country's full. You can't come in, I'm sorry."

These were literally the exact words antisemitic public officials used to justify America denying entry to European Jews fleeing Nazi extermination during the Holocaust.

Source: InsiderNJ.com on 2020 presidential hopefuls Apr 9, 2019

On Foreign Policy: Support goals of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Source: PBS Newshour, "Jewish voters," on 2020 presidential hopefuls Apr 6, 2019

On Immigration: Use threat of tariffs to get Mexico's cooperation

Mexico has been absolutely terrific for the last four days. They're apprehending everybody. Yesterday, they apprehended 1,400 people. The day before, it was 1,000. If they continue that, everything will be fine. If they don't, we're going to tariff their cars at 25 percent.

The system is full. We can't take you anymore. Whether it's asylum, whether it's anything you want, it's illegal immigration, can't take you anymore.

Source: PBS Newshour "System is full," on 2020 presidential hopefuls Apr 5, 2019

On Immigration: Cut off aid $700M to Central American Northern Triangle

After months of threats, President Donald Trump has officially taken steps to cut off aid to Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador--the three countries in the "Northern Triangle" of Central America that are the origin point for the current unprecedented wave of family migration to the United States. The State Department acknowledged in a statement that it had notified Congress it was cutting off aid from past years (fiscal years 2017 and 2018) to the three countries. An estimated $700 million in aid will be affected by the cutoff.

It's still not clear exactly how the aid cutoff is going to work. According to the Washington Post, embassy officials didn't know whether the cutoff applied only to money that hadn't yet been designated for particular contracts with nongovernmental organizations or whether they were actually supposed to cancel existing contracts that had already been signed and implemented.

Source: Dara Lind, Vox.com, on 2020 presidential hopefuls Apr 1, 2019

On Energy & Oil: Establish panel devoted to challenging climate science

The environmental group 350 Action released a candidate scorecard known as the 2020 Climate Test to assess presidential hopefuls on three major metrics: support for a Green New Deal, opposition to new fossil fuel development and refusal to accept money from energy companies.

Trump is the only Republican listed; he failed all three tests. On the Democratic side, 2020 candidates have for the most part indicated support for environmental policies, though some appear more willing to acknowledge the seriousness of the situation than others.

Despite public sentiment [in favor of climate action], Trump and his administration have maintained a firm anti-environment agenda. The president regularly mocks the idea of climate change on Twitter, and the White House is planning to set up a panel devoted to challenging the science behind the phenomenon that includes an avowed climate skeptic.

Source: Mother Jones, "On Climate," on 2020 Presidential Hopefuls Mar 27, 2019

On Crime: Keep death penalty; don't forget the victims

President Trump blasted California Gov. Gavin Newsom for halting executions for the state's 737 death row inmates. "Defying voters, the Governor of California will halt all death penalty executions of 737 stone cold killers. Friends and families of the always forgotten VICTIMS are not thrilled, and neither am I!" Trump tweeted.

The tweet comes as Newsom signs an executive order that would halt all executions at San Quentin State Prison, closing a new execution chamber. Newsom's order will go against the wishes of California voters, who in 2016 backed a measure to speed up executions.

Meanwhile, Trump has been a supporter of the death penalty. In October, Trump called for the death penalty for those who kill police officers. "Reducing crime begins with respecting law enforcement," Trump said. "We believe that criminals who kill our police officers should immediately, with trial, but rapidly as possible, not 15 years later, 20 years later--get the death penalty."

Source: Fox News on 2020 Presidential hopefuls Mar 12, 2019

On War & Peace: Countries hosting US troops should pay for them

The administration is drawing up demands that Germany, Japan and any other country hosting U.S. troops pay the full price of American soldiers deployed on their soil--plus 50 percent or more for the privilege of hosting them. His insistence on it almost derailed recent talks with South Korea over the status of 28,000 U.S. troops in the country when he overruled his negotiators with a note to National Security Advisor John Bolton saying, "We want cost plus 50."
Source: Bloomberg News, "Huge Premium" on 2020 presidential hopefuls Mar 8, 2019

On Free Trade: Nominates opponent of World Bank to lead World Bank

President Donald Trump's pick to lead the World Bank described himself in 2011 remarks as a 25-year opponent to the institution & others like it, saying that they needed to be "thrown away" and started over from scratch. David Malpass made the comments while speaking to a local Republican gathering in Albertson, New York, in May 2011. CNN's KFile reviewed a recording of his remarks which were posted on YouTube at the time.

Trump's decision to nominate Malpass was met with some pushback, with critics contending Malpass held views that are hostile to the bank's mission, which is to reduce poverty in developing nations through financial assistance.

The US president has chosen the leader of the World Bank since its founding in 1945, but the pick has to be confirmed by the organization's board of directors. If confirmed, Malpass would succeed Jim Yong Kim, who was chosen by President Barack Obama in 2012 to lead the organization and re-nominated in 2016.

Source: Andrew Kaczynski, CNN KFile, on 2020 Presidential hopefuls Feb 14, 2019

On Principles & Values: OpEd: Beat the mainstream media by reframing

Bernie Sanders faces a strong obstacle in the mainstream media [MSM, who favored Hillary Clinton in 2016]. Trump beat the mainstream media smear machine through radical lies. Sanders can do likewise but through radical honesty. Trust in the US media has been declining for decades. In 2016, a record low 1 in 3 Americans expressed trust in the media. Trump understood this reality and used it to frame himself as a hero fighting the corruption of the corporate media.
Source: International Policy Digest on 2020 presidential hopefuls Jan 23, 2019

On War & Peace: We've beaten ISIS in Syria; bring US troops home

Just two days after US Secretary of Defense James Mattis quit, the top US envoy fighting ISIS, Brett McGurk, also resigned as Washington reeled from US President Donald Trump's dramatic announcement that he planned to pull US troops out of Syria. McGurk, in his resignation letter, said that the militants were still on the run but not yet defeated, and that the early withdrawal of American troops from Syria would re-create the conditions that gave rise to ISIS.

Trump continued with his slew of tweets defending the Syria announcement. "We were originally going to be there for three months, and that was seven years ago--we never left. When I became President, ISIS was going wild. Now ISIS is largely defeated and other local countries, including Turkey, should be able to easily take care of whatever remains. We're coming home!" Trump wrote.

Trump's declaration of triumph has alarmed key NATO allies, who said such a change of course on Syria risks damaging the fight against Islamic State.

Source: Jerusalem Post on 2020 presidential hopefuls Dec 22, 2018

On War & Peace: To eradicate ISIS, we need action, not talk

Trump and Pope Francis have made no effort to hide their shared enmity over the past few years. During the presidential campaign, the Pope--who is revered for his deep humility and sincere affinity for the poor and downtrodden--was cutting about Trump's plan to build a border wall with Mexico. "A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not the gospel," Francis said in February 2016.

Trump fired back via Facebook: "If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS's ultimate trophy, I can promise you that the Pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been President because this would not have happened. ISIS would have been eradicated unlike what is happening now with our all talk, no action politicians."

Trump added, huffily, "No leader, especially a religious leader, should have the right to question another man's religion or faith."

Source: Vox.com on 2020 Presidential Hopefuls, "Trump-Pope Meeting" May 24, 2017

On Budget & Economy: Government must cut spending more

Speaking on Fox News in 2013, Donald Trump said that automatic budget cuts, or sequester, does not go far enough and Congress must reduce spending further to address impending increases in the deficit.
Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls Jun 16, 2015

On War & Peace: Walk away from Iranian nuclear talks; increase sanctions

Trump has said that the U.S. mishandled current Iran negotiations and should have walked away from the table once Tehran reportedly rejected the idea of sending enriched uranium to Russia. The real estate developer told Fox News that he would increase sanctions on the Persian state. Trump has been sharply critical of the Obama administration's handling of relations with Israel and has called for a closer alliance with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.
Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls Jun 16, 2015

The above quotations are from Interviews during 2017-2019, interviewing presidential hopefuls for 2020.
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