We're now six long months away from a presidential election that will once again pit former president and current bible salesman Donald Trump against current President Joe Biden. Recently, Trump gave an extended interview to Time magazine where he discussed his plans for if he were elected in 2024, and unsurprisingly, he said some pretty alarming things. Here's some of what he discussed:
1. The interview began with a conversation about Trump's plans for immigration if elected. Trump has been campaigning on plans for mass deportations to curb what he calls "migrant crime" — despite the fact that research shows immigrants are no more likely than the general population to commit violent crimes.
He told Time that he would rely on local law enforcement and would also deploy the National Guard to round up undocumented people in "Democratic-run cities" like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago that he believes are "getting worse than in other places." He went on to say he might even go as far as deploying the US military in these cities. "If I thought things were getting out of control, I would have no problem using the military, per se. We have to have safety in our country."
When asked about the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits using the military as civilian law enforcement, Trump responded, "Well, these aren’t civilians. These are people that aren't legally in our country."
According to the fact-check, that's absolutely not true. A civilian is anyone who's not in military service, regardless of their immigration status. Any civilian in the US is entitled to due process and equal protection under the law.
2. Trump also made comments about protecting the police from prosecution. He said, "Police are being prosecuted all the time. And we want to give them immunity from prosecution if they're doing their job." When asked if he would try to pass a law protecting police officers, Trump said, "We’d have to take a look at that."
3. Trump also made a series of evasive responses to questions seeking to clarify his stance on abortion and how a second Trump term could impact women's already-imperiled access to healthcare. When asked if he would veto a federal ban on abortion, he said, "I won't have to commit to it because it’ll never — number one, it’ll never happen. Number two, it’s about states’ rights. You don't want to go back into the federal government. This was all about getting out of the federal government."
When asked if he thought people should be able to access mifepristone, a medication often (but not always) used for abortion, he said, "Well, I have an opinion on that, but I'm not going to explain. I'm not gonna say it yet. But I have pretty strong views on that. And I'll be releasing it probably over the next week." He made these comments on April 12, and as of this writing on May 1, he has yet to clarify his position on mifepristone.
Time also asked if he would be comfortable with states prosecuting people who seek abortions. He said, "I don't have to be comfortable or uncomfortable. The states are going to make that decision. The states are going to have to be comfortable or uncomfortable, not me."
On the question of states potentially monitoring women's pregnancies to determine if they accessed abortions, Trump said, "I think they might do that. Again, you'll have to speak to the individual states."
He was also asked about a referendum on the ballot in his home state of Florida that could repeal the state's six-week ban on abortions. He cagily replied, "I don't tell you what I'm gonna vote for. I only tell you the state's gonna make a determination."
A reminder that Trump has repeatedly bragged about being responsible for the fall of Roe v. Wade and has since made many false claims about the procedure, including his contention that Democrats endorse abortion even in the ninth month of pregnancy (which is just...not a thing). And based on the wildly incorrect things lawmakers have said about women's anatomy in the past, this writer is far more comfortable with actual medical professionals making determinations about my healthcare than any state, red or blue.
4. Trump discussed plans to add a 10% tariff to all imported goods, with a tariff of more than 60% imposed on imports from China, in particular. Experts say his plan could cost the average American household $1,500 a year, an added cost few would welcome after several years of inflation. When pressed on the economic impact of his plan, Trump said, "I don't believe it'll be inflation. I think it'll be lack of loss for our country."
5. Trump also discussed potential plans to prosecute President Biden, saying, "Look, we are going in another two weeks to the Supreme Court. And they're going to make a ruling on presidential immunity. If they said that a president doesn't get immunity, then Biden, I am sure, will be prosecuted for all of his crimes, because he's committed many crimes."
6. Trump was also asked if he would consider hiring civil servants who didn't accept his narrative that the 2020 election was "stolen" from him (which, in fact, it wasn't). He said, "I wouldn’t feel good about it, because I think anybody that doesn't see that that election was stolen... I could give you report after report on state after state of all of the fraud that was committed in the election, and if you had a really open mind, you would say I was right."
7. And finally, when asked about his infamous statement that if elected, he would act as a dictator on day one, Trump said, "That was said sarcastically. That was meant as a joke. Everybody knows that." When told that these comments scared people, Trump said, "I don't understand why it would. Everybody. Anybody that saw it would say I was laughing. He was laughing. The whole place was laughing."
