CNN
—
Former President Donald Trump did not rule out the possibility of political violence by his supporters if he is not elected in November, suggesting that it would depend on the outcome of the presidential election.
“I don’t think that’s going to happen,” the potential Republican nominee told Time magazine. “I think we’ll win. And if we don’t, it depends. It always comes down to the fairness of the election.”
The remarks were made in a wide-ranging interview in a magazine published Tuesday. The conversation, which took place over two sessions earlier this month, also touched on abortion and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial leadership, among other things.
Here are four takeaways from the interview:
President Trump’s baseless election conspiracy fuels future violence and refusal to dismiss January 6th pardon promise
Speaking to TIME from his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, President Trump initially downplayed the possibility of political violence similar to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“I think we can win big. And I don’t think there will be any violence,” Trump said. Trump rallied his supporters in Washington ahead of the attack after his 2020 defeat, but initially refused to call for them to leave the Capitol grounds.
However, when pressed by the magazine in a subsequent telephone interview, Mr. Trump did not say much about his future. Instead, he continued to promote a false 2020 election conspiracy, which he suggested inspired a violent mob.
“I don’t think they can do what they did last time,” Trump said.
Throughout his political career, Trump has regularly refused to accept election results or concede defeat. After finishing second in the 2016 Iowa caucuses, Trump accused Texas Sen. Ted Cruz of fraud and called for a new campaign. Later, while facing Democrat Hillary Clinton, Trump baselessly claimed that the election he ultimately won was “rigged” and repeatedly refused to say whether he would abide by the results. He once again sidestepped any promises for the 2024 election.
These repeated denials led Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to predict during the Republican primary that President Trump would not accept the results of the 2024 Iowa caucuses if he lost. (Trump ultimately won Iowa by a wide margin.)
In the interview, President Trump also doubled down on his promise to pardon hundreds of people sentenced for crimes committed after January 6. President Trump has referred to these people as “hostages,” but many have pleaded guilty or been convicted by a jury of violent crimes.
In an exchange on the issue, Time asked, “Would you consider pardoning them all?”
President Trump responded, “I will consider that.”
Time: “Do you want to do that?”
Trump: “Yes, of course.”
Trump’s comments about abortion in the interview illustrated the limits, and potential political pitfalls, of his stated desire to block future access to statehouses and voters.
Although he has previously said he would not sign a federal anti-abortion bill if re-elected, he declined to say whether he would veto a federal anti-abortion bill, saying he would not consider such a measure. argued that it was unlikely to materialize. Time magazine also asked if he would be “satisfied” with states penalizing women who obtain abortions in areas where abortion is prohibited, and Trump did not object.
“You don’t have to get comfortable, you don’t have to get uncomfortable,” Trump said. “Each state is going to make that decision. It’s up to the states to decide what’s comfortable or uncomfortable, not me.”
Earlier this month, President Trump similarly said he would let states decide whether to punish doctors who perform illegal abortions.
As a candidate in 2016, Trump said “there has to be some kind of punishment” for women who undergo illegal abortions, a position his campaign almost immediately reversed.
President Joe Biden’s campaign was quick to seize on President Trump’s latest remarks.
“Donald Trump’s latest comments leave little doubt. If elected, he will sign a national abortion ban, allow the prosecution and punishment of women who have abortions, and allow the government to monitor pregnancies. It would allow women’s privacy to be violated and introduce in vitro fertilization and contraception in order to do so.”The whole country is at risk,” Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said Tuesday. told. “If he wins, the horrifying and devastating story of extreme abortion bans sparked by President Trump’s overturning of Roe in states like Florida, Texas, and Arizona will only be the beginning.”
Trump also sidestepped states when asked whether the government should monitor pregnancies to track whether a woman has an abortion.
“They might,” Trump said. “Again, we need to talk to the states.”
But while President Trump prioritized each state’s decision, that didn’t stop him from criticizing Florida’s new six-week stay-at-home order as “too strict.” The law takes effect Wednesday, but voters in the Sunshine State, including Mr. Trump, will have a chance in November to decide whether to approve new protections that guarantee access to abortion until viability.
However, Trump did not say how he would vote.
“I’m not going to say what I’m going to vote for,” he said.
Following the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, President Trump slammed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, citing security shortcomings for his perceived failure to stop the deadly invasion. He blamed the Israeli prime minister. The remarks prompted widespread condemnation from Trump’s Republican primary rivals, as well as some supporters on Capitol Hill and advisers outraged by the timing of the accusations from allies.
President Trump remained clearly unwilling to support Israel’s military response, but refrained from further public attacks on Prime Minister Netanyahu. However, six months after the war between Israel and Hamas began, President Trump has once again stepped up his criticism of the prime minister as anger at home and abroad intensifies over Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.
Trump told Time magazine that Netanyahu “has been rightly criticized for what happened on October 7th,” and declined to support him when asked if he should be replaced as prime minister.
Instead, President Trump remains frustrated by Prime Minister Netanyahu’s alleged “withdrawal” from the U.S.-backed military operation that led to the killing of Iranian Gen. This happened on the Prime Minister’s watch.”
President Trump also said that a future two-state solution between Israel and Palestine “is going to be very tough,” but he did not specify his thoughts on the path forward.
“There were a lot of people who liked this idea four years ago,” Trump said. “Today, far fewer people like that idea.”
Despite some provocation, President Trump for the first time said that Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was held in Russia for a year, “should be released.”
Asked why he had not called for Gershkovic’s release before, President Trump replied, “I think it’s because I have a lot of other things I’m working on.”
The enthusiastic support for Gershkovic, an American journalist who is being held on charges of espionage that the newspaper and U.S. authorities say are unfounded, comes after President Trump has used force in the past for his treatment of foreign leaders he considers political opponents. Reminds me that I refused to criticize.
After Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died in a Russian prison earlier this year, President Trump remained silent for several days, even as other world leaders swiftly and forcefully condemned the Kremlin. When Trump finally spoke out publicly, he still did not condemn Russia or President Vladimir Putin, instead baselessly suggesting that he was being politically persecuted just like Navalny. President Trump later called Navalny “very brave” and said it was a “very sad situation.”
When journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in 2018, President Trump blamed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, even though the CIA concluded that he authorized the brutal murder. refused to do so. President Trump said he was “extremely angry and extremely dissatisfied” with Khashoggi’s killing, but said “no one has directly criticized” the crown prince. In addition to the CIA’s conclusions, a subsequent UN report also implicated bin Salman.
