President Trump sat down with Fox News host and ally Sean Hannity on Wednesday for his first one-on-one interview since returning to the White House for a second term.
Trump has fielded questions from reporters every day of his first three days in office, including an interview with Hannity.
At the height of his meeting with Hannity, the president took questions from the Oval Office about winning the 2024 election, the natural disasters that hit North Carolina and California, and Biden's use of preemptive pardons in the final hours of his term. went.
Here are five points I learned from the interview.
President Trump: Biden received 'bad advice' not to pardon himself
President Trump told Hannity he was given the option of pardoning him upon leaving the White House in 2021, but despite the public's efforts to overturn his election loss, he said he did nothing wrong. He said he declined because he believed he was not doing the right thing.
Trump also suggested that former President Biden made a mistake in not using that power himself in the final hours of the election, which culminated at noon on Monday.
“This man went around giving pardons to everyone,” President Trump said. “And the funny thing, and probably the sad thing, is that he didn't pardon himself. And when you look at it, it was all about him.”
Trump later said Biden had received “very bad advice.”
“Joe Biden has some very bad advisers. Someone advised Joe Biden to pardon everyone but him,” President Trump said.
President Trump told Hannity that lawmakers would preemptively pardon Biden, his family and Trump critics, including retired Gen. Mark Milley, former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and members of a House committee. He said he would leave it to Congress to decide whether his decision should be investigated. This is an investigation into the attack on the Capitol on January 6th.
In announcing these pardons, Biden said he was concerned that these individuals would be subject to politically motivated investigations.
President Trump also revealed that he was given the option to pardon Hannity upon leaving the White House during his first term, but he declined.
“I was given a choice. They said, “Sir, could you forgive everyone, including you?'' I said, “I'm not going to forgive anyone.'' We did nothing wrong,” President Trump said.
Legal experts suggested at the end of President Trump's first term that: Untested legal basis The president is trying to take the initiative and pardon him.
President Trump slams FEMA, says disaster recovery should be left to states
The president has been harshly critical of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), at one point suggesting that states should be able to respond to natural disasters on their own, but still receive funding from the federal government.
“FEMA hasn't done its job for the last four years…but unless there's some kind of leadership, it's really a hindrance,” President Trump said. “And FEMA is going to be a big discussion soon, because I want states to deal with their own problems.”
President Trump continued, “I love Oklahoma.” “But if we get hit by a tornado or something, let Oklahoma fix it, and the federal government will help fund it.”
President Trump has repeatedly attacked the Biden administration and FEMA in the wake of Hurricane Helen, which devastated parts of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. FEMA employee was fired Criticism of the Republican response increased last year when aid workers were told not to go to a house with a sign in President Trump's yard.
President Trump previews trip to North Carolina and California
The president will leave Washington on Friday for his first domestic trip, visiting North Carolina and California to inspect disaster recovery efforts.
However, it is unclear whether Mr. Trump will meet with Democratic state leaders there. The president told Hannity that he didn't know whether he would meet with his bitter political opponent, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), or newly sworn in North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein (D).
The president reiterated claims he has made for days that California could more effectively combat the Los Angeles wildfires if it diverted water from the northern part of the state to the southern part of the state.
President Trump signed an executive order Monday directing agencies to “bring more water” from Northern California to Southern California. But Congressman John Garamendi (D-Calif.), who represents a Northern California district, said: said The president's executive order was “a blatant political ploy that does nothing to implement science-backed methods to enhance water supplies or support firefighting capabilities.”
President Trump ignores TikTok privacy concerns
President Trump dismissed national security concerns about the TikTok app. The TikTok app was at the center of bipartisan legislation that would ban the platform unless its China-based owners sell their ownership.
When Hannity raised concerns that the app could be used by the Chinese government to spy on users, Trump said, “You can say that about anything made in China.”
“There's so much stuff made in China, why don't they mention it?” Trump said. “But the interesting thing about TikTok is that it caters to a lot of young people. Is it really that important for China to spy on young people? Young people are watching crazy videos and all that.”
The president signed an executive order Monday giving him another 75 days before the law banning the popular video-sharing platform takes effect. The move has been met with skepticism from some Republicans.
During his first term in 2020, Trump signed an executive order effectively banning TikTok, citing data privacy concerns from parent company ByteDance. The order was never enacted after a legal challenge, but Trump has become an outspoken fan of TikTok over the past year, citing the app's popularity during the campaign.
President Trump calls January 6 assault on police a 'minor incident'
For the second day in a row, President Trump was asked about his decision to pardon defendants charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol and who committed violence against police.
On Wednesday, the president dismissed some of those clashes as “minor incidents.”
“They were there for three and a half years… They were treated like no one has ever been treated before. It's so bad. They were treated like the worst criminals in history,” Trump said. He spoke about his decision to pardon 1,500 people.
“The other thing is this: Some law enforcement officials say, “It's true, but they were very small incidents. They're built up by a few impostors who are always on CNN.'' President Trump said.
His comments may be a reference to people like former Washington, D.C., police officer Michael Fanone, who appeared on CNN to criticize President Trump's rhetoric and actions such as the mass pardons around January 6th. expensive.
President Trump on Monday night, in one of his first official acts as president, called out approximately 1,500 “fully, completely, granted an unconditional pardon. A total of 1,583 defendants were indicted.
In the Jan. 6 incident, nearly 600 defendants were charged with assaulting, resisting, or obstructing police, including those who assaulted police officers protecting the Capitol on Jan. 6 with flagpoles and pepper spray. was accused of. Ten defendants were convicted of sedition, the crown jewel of the Justice Department's vast swathes. Indictment.
