Trump has repeatedly accused Democrats of weaponizing the justice system, particularly in a politically motivated witch hunt against him to prevent re-election. If he were elected president again in November, how would Donald Trump deal with the justice system? Would he fire prosecutors who refuse his orders to prosecute anyone? “That would depend on the situation,” he responded in two newly published interviews with Time magazine, conducted in April at Mar-a-Lago and by telephone.
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Trump has vowed at campaign rallies to take revenge for the “witch hunt” after his re-election. But the prosecutors in cases against him, like Fani Willis or Alvin Bragg, continue, “no, I don’t want to do that.” “We will look at a lot of things. What they did is a terrible thing.” He has also vowed to appoint a “real special prosecutor” to go after Biden. But: “I wouldn’t want to harm Biden. I have too much respect for the office,” he said in the interview, before suggesting that it would depend on the Supreme Court’s ruling on immunity for him. “If they said a president doesn’t get immunity, then I’m sure Biden will be prosecuted for all his crimes because he’s committed a lot of crimes.”
He complained in the interview about the “Biden-inspired” lawsuits and suggested that “fascists” in the US government pose the biggest threat. “I think the enemy within is, in many cases, far more dangerous to our country than the enemies without of China, Russia and several others.”
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If Trump is elected, he would want to surround himself with people who believe his claim that victory in the 2016 presidential election was “stolen” from him. He would have a hard time hiring anyone who conceded that Biden won. “I wouldn’t feel good about it.”
Trump could not rule out whether there would be renewed political violence around the election, such as the storming of the Capitol in 2021. “If we don’t win, you know, it depends. It always depends on the fairness of the election.”
Dictator statement was a joke
In the extensive interview, Trump also said that his previous statement that he wants to be a dictator on day one after taking office to close the southern border, among other things, was a joke. “That was said sarcastically.” Does he not understand why many Americans are concerned about such statements? “I think a lot of people like it.”
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© REUTERS
Trump has promised to carry out the largest deportation of migrants in the country illegally. He would not rule out anything, including building new detention camps. “But there wouldn’t be much need for it. We don’t let them in the country, we take them out.”
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He would deploy National Guard troops for those deportations. “If they couldn’t do that, I would use the military.” Asked about an 1878 law banning the use of military personnel against civilians (non-military), Trump responded: “Well, these are not civilians. These are people who are not legally in our country. This is an invasion of our country.”
Abortion, Ukraine and Israel
While Democrats want to re-enshrine the right to abortion federally, Trump wants to continue to leave that to the states. Even if they decide to monitor women’s pregnancies in case they want to have an abortion in another state. “I think they may do that,” Trump said. Would he be comfortable with states prosecuting women for abortions after the legal term? “It’s irrelevant whether I’m comfortable or not. It is completely irrelevant, because the states are going to make those decisions.”
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Regarding his foreign policy, Trump said, among other things, that he will try to help Ukraine, but that he would not give money “unless Europe starts to level out.” “If Europe is not going to pay, why should we pay? It has a much bigger impact on them. We have an ocean between us, they don’t.”
In the Middle East, Trump would “be there” if Israel is attacked by Iran. Yet he is critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Hamas attack on October 7 “happened on his watch.” Trump has not ruled out withholding US military aid to Israel to force the country to end the war in the Gaza Strip. He no longer really believes in a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. “I now think two states will be very, very difficult.”
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