The 59 most eye-popping lines from Donald Trump's "Meet the Press" interview
Whoa boy.
To kick off her stewardship of the franchise, new “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker spent the better part of an hour interviewing former (and maybe future) president Donald Trump on Sunday.
Huge kudos for the “MTP” team for posting the transcript! I went through the whole thing — wowza — and came out with these lines that you will want to see.
“Well, it’s a very simple answer, and I can give it very easily. It’s called: ‘Make America Great Again.’”
This was Trump’s answer to why he is running again. Which isn’t a bad answer. But he then went on to offer 300 MORE words about it —ranging from “they come from mental institutions, insane asylums” to “we had death, so much death, and so much horrible destruction.” And away we go!
“He had a plea deal that was the deal of the century — the art of the deal. You could write a book on it. The art of the deal.”
Trump on Hunter Biden. You could write a book about it! He did!
“But, you know, if you think about it, I’ve been under investigation from the day I came down the escalator, and phony investigations, fake investigations, investigations that I beat every single time.”
He’s currently operating under FOUR indictments.
“He called in. I mean, he called in to all these meetings. He was calling in on the meetings.”
This is true! According to the testimony of former Hunter Biden business partner Devon Archer, Joe Biden did get on the phone with clients of his son. Archer also testified that Joe Biden never discussed business on these calls and often was unaware of who was on the calls.
“‘You don’t get rid of this prosecutor, we’re not giving you a billion dollars to Ukraine.’ He said that.”
That’s, um, not the whole story. Everyone should read this Washington Post fact check on it.
“I think retribution is talking in terms of I have to protect people.”
That is not what retribution means.
“What they’re doing to people is so horrible. They’re putting people in jail for long periods of time, firemen, policemen, accountants, even lawyers. They’re in prisons for years now and don’t even have trials in some cases.”
Trump is, again, defending those arrested for their actions on January 6. Also, lawyers can break the law too!
“They burned down Portland. They burned down Minneapolis. They took over Seattle.”
Trump’s claims about Antifa’s impact are, er, a little overblown. Portland and Minneapolis are still standing. And, in the case of the latter city, an examination of arrest records showed that it was mostly locals not outsiders who were detained by the police.
“When I talk about retribution, I’m talking about fairness.”
Again, that is not what retribution means.
“The election was rigged. There’s no question about that. There’s so much proof on it.”
[narrator voice] There isn’t.
“Hundreds — even thousands and thousands of people. You take a look. True the Vote. Take a look. It’s on camera.”
Trump is talking about allegations of ballot stuffing here. Which have been debunked.
“We have thousands of essentially motion pictures of people stuffing the ballot boxes. Tens of thousands.”
Again, no.
“But if this were ever before a court, we would win so easy. There is so much evidence that the election was rigged.”
It was before a court. More than 60 times. And Trump kept losing.
“You agree there were 51 intelligence agents that lied? You agree with that?”
Trump talks about this a lot so some context is helpful. What he’s referring to is a letter sent by 50+ former intelligence officials who said, prior to the 2020 election, that the emergence of Hunter Biden’s emails “has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.” Republicans have since seized on that claim as proof positive the intelligence officials were aiding and abetting Biden’s campaign.
“I mean, when I was impeached for a perfect phone call, and now it turned out to be perfect.”
I remain baffled by Trump’s obsession with casting his call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “perfect.” What does that even mean?!?!?
“My phone call was perfect. My phone call was saying, ‘Please investigate any crimes that you see.’ And by the way, I’m mandated to do that as the president of the United States.”
Just to note: Trump reminded Zelensky of how much the U.S. does for Ukraine. And how little we get in return. Then he asked him to see if he could find any dirt on Biden who, at the time, was the leading Democratic presidential candidate.
“I have no focus on the past except that you have to learn from history.”
[snort]
“I had the best economy in history, and I’m going to do it again.”
[narrator voice] He did not.
“I’d shut down the government if they can’t make an appropriate deal, absolutely.”
[Kevin McCarthy grimaces]
“I’m on the side of making our country great.”
Trump was asked whether he was on the side of the United Auto Workers or the car companies. Instead he is on the side of “making our country great” (eye roll).
“If somebody wants gasoline, if somebody wants all electric, they can do whatever they want.”
Tell me more…
“The electric cars, automatically, are going to be made in China.”
Wait, what? Why? How?
“Those jobs are all going to be gone, because all of those electric cars are going to be made in China.”
Yes, yes, you’ve said that.
“The banks — by the way, Chase Manhattan Bank, Bank of America, they discriminate against conservatives.”
It will surprise you to learn Trump offered no explanation or proof for this claim.
“You know, we were ready to go dominant within a matter of months.”
“Go dominant.”
“And I predicted a lot of markets. I predicted a lot of things, frankly, you know?”
I do not know.
“They say, ‘Trump was right about everything.’”
They say that, do they?
“We had the greatest economy in history, and then we got hit with Covid.”
[narrator voice] We did not.
“Somebody said, ‘It’s dust coming in from China.’ It came from China.”
Somebody said Covid-19 was “dust coming in from China”? Really?
“Look, the Democrats are able to kill the baby after birth.”
Just a stunning — and utterly fact free — claim.
“I think what he did is a terrible thing and a terrible mistake.”
In which Trump condemns Ron DeSantis for signing a 6 week abortion ban. This is a BIG deal for the pro life community who was none too happy about Trump’s statement here.
“We will agree to a number of weeks, which will be where both sides will be happy. We have to bring the country together on this issue.”
Trump is clearly trying to hew a middle road on abortion here. I think he is vastly overestimating his ability to bring people together on the issue — and WAY oversimplifying the politics at work.
“Everybody, including the great legal scholars, love the idea of Roe v. Wade terminated so it can be brought back to the states.”
“The great legal scholars.”
“I’m beating all the Republicans by a lot, and I’m beating him by a lot.”
Trump is beating his Republican opponents soundly. He and Joe Biden are running neck and neck.
“I’m built a little differently I guess, because I have had people come up to me and say, ‘How do you do it, sir? How do you do it?’”
“When I was coming down the escalator with Melania, I was already under investigation, because they saw how well I was doing in the polls.”
This is not true.
“We said, ‘They were spying on our campaign.’ It turned out to be true.”
“When you say, ‘Do I sleep?’ I sleep, I sleep.”
Same.
“You know, they illegally tape me, because they tape me in Florida. It’s a two-party state. You know that, right? So they illegally taped the call, but forget about that for a second.”
Whaaaaat?
“I have all the facts. Look, I have all the facts.”
Um….
“When I spoke in front of Brad Raffensperger, who again last week said I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I happen to be a really smart person.”
Offered without comment.
“But if it was bad, why didn’t they say, ‘Sir, that was very inappropriate of you to say?’ Nobody said that. Nobody said, ‘Sir.’”
“I happen to, I happen to know that the election was rigged.”
He KNOWS it.
“Yeah. If you divide it among the states, it was 22,000 votes, something to that effect.”
In which Trump admits he lost the election. Yes, really.
“You know who I listen to? Myself.
Fact Check: True!
“The January 6th un-Select Committee of thugs and horrible people, the un-Select Committee destroyed all the evidence.”
“I have all the time in the world.”
Remarkable.
“I said, ‘The last thing I’d ever do is give myself a pardon.’ I could’ve given myself a pardon. Don’t ask me about what I would do. I could’ve.”
The restraint!
“Ukraine would have never happened if I were president.”
He's said this many times before. I guess he would keep Russia’s territorial ambitions at bay by sheer force of personality?
“I got along great with Kim Jong Un after the first month or two when we were sparring.”
"Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!" — Donald Trump
“Well, I can’t tell you exactly. Because if I did — People understand, if I tell you exactly, I lose all my bargaining chips.”
So, Trump has a definitive plan to end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. But he can’t tell anyone about it because that would cost him the strategic advantage. Riiiiight. This reminds me of junior high school when I had a very beautiful girlfriend but no one could meet her because she lived in Montana.
“What happened with Covid. And it just shouldn’t have happened. It shouldn’t have happened.”
What shouldn’t have happened? Covid?
“Well, I built — I built five hundred miles of border wall.”
“This democracy is — I don’t consider us to have much of a democracy right now.”
A jaw dropping statement from a former president of the United States. Stunning.
“In six months to a year, many of the problems, almost all of the problems that you and I have just spoken about, will be solved.”
In six months, every problem the U.S. faces will be solved!
“A lot of people say they love my policy but they don’t necessarily like me. I think they do like me.”
Is that what you think?
“I’m not anywhere very near 80, by the way.”
Donald Trump is 77. Yeah, this feels like a good place to end.
This makes me want to laugh hysterically, then sob.
Brilliant once again, but can’t help but think of the famous quote in ‘Billy Madison’ whenever TFG is interviewed, “...what you’ve just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone is now dumber for having listened to it.”