US President Donald Trump sat down for his first interview since returning to the White House on Wednesday and took aim at his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, for issuing multiple pardons for family members and officials on his last day in office. Mr Trump claimed he was given the option to pardon himself at the end of his first term, but did not do so.
“I was given the option, they said, ‘Sir, would you like to pardon everybody, including yourself?'” Mr Trump told Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity on Wednesday.
He said, “I said I will not forgive anyone, we have done nothing wrong. And we have people who have suffered, they are incredible patriots.”
When asked how he felt upon returning to the Oval Office, the President said, “Well, it was a lot of work and as you know, I felt like we shouldn’t necessarily have been here.”
Saying that if he had been re-elected in 2020, Mr Trump said, “It could have been done, a lot of work could have been done, it would have been over.”
Adding to his claim, the president said, “We would not have had inflation, we would not have had the Afghanistan disaster, we would not have had October 7 in Israel where so many people died and you would not have had the Ukraine war going on.” . But all that being said, I think it would have been even bigger if it had been more traditional.
President Trump spoke of the “very unified” Republican caucus in Congress and also said that all of America’s problems are “solvable.”
Trump insisted, “All of those problems are solvable… with time, effort, money – unfortunately – but they’re all solvable.”
He said, “We can get our country back…but if we had not won this race, I truly believe our country would have been lost forever.”
The President said he may have to cut federal funding for “sanctuary cities” – a term used for municipalities that limit or refuse their cooperation with the national government in enforcing immigration laws. .
“We’re trying to get rid of them. We’re trying to exterminate them. And a lot of people in those communities don’t want them,” Trump said.
Asked if he would cut off their money, the President said, “I might have to do that. Sometimes that’s the only thing you can do.”
The Republican also dismissed security concerns related to the TikTok app, saying, “You can say that about everything made in China.”
“We have a lot of things made in China. So why don’t they mention it? What’s interesting with TikTok though is that you’re dealing with a lot of young people. Is it too much for China to spy on young people? Important? Young people are watching crazy videos and stuff.”
