After attempts to hype the Biden administration as anything other than a resounding failure have fallen flat, Democrats are pivoting to Fear of Trump as their campaign mainstay (paired with their all-abortion-all-the-time plank). To kick off the new campaign, the media arm of the DNC has released an extensive interview with frontrunner and former President Donald Trump.
Trump gave the interview at his Mar-a-Lago home and a follow-up phone call to TIME Magazine reporter Eric Cortellessa. The outlet ominously titled the piece, "How Far Trump Would Go." You know, if — God forbid! — he wins.
To its credit, TIME released the full transcript of the interview separately, no doubt secure in the knowledge that no one except maybe a couple of media types would ever take the time to read through it. Weighing in at over 16,000 words, it is rife with provocative pull quotes and bumper-sticker bites that, taken out of context, are sure to pierce quaking liberal hearts with terror. Online newser Axios picked up TIME's baton and ran hard with it.
The Axios column is titled "Behind the Curtain: Listen to Trump" — a revealing allusion to the old saying, "When your enemy tells you his plans, listen." From there, it's basically a top-ten list of scary (to liberals) out-of-context phrases authors and Axios founders Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen culled from the interview.
But before you can read the article, you have to get past this howler [emphasis added]:
Former President Trump has laid out, publicly and unambiguously, designs to stretch traditions, norms and accepted law in historic ways.
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! "Stretch traditions, norms and accepted law!" Ha ha ha ha ha! Said the Democrats! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! They said the norms and — ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha! (Wipes eyes, blows nose.) Ha ha ha — whew! Ha ha. Heh.
Anyway, let's proceed to the meat of the article. "You might like this or loathe it," the authors accurately observed. "But, based on two interviews with Time magazine totaling more than 80 minutes, you no longer can ignore Trump's intentions." They then launched into the scary things scary Orange Man said, beginning with — naturally — abortion.
On whether states should monitor women's pregnancies so they can know if they've gotten an abortion that violates a ban (say, after 15 weeks of pregnancy): "I think they might do that. Again, you'll have to speak to the individual states." (President Biden tweeted about that quote: "This is reprehensible.")
Or, as a sane person would read this, Trump thinks states get to figure out how to enforce the laws they pass. The horror! But remember, we're talking about people who literally believe "The Handmaid's Tale" will come to pass the instant Trump is sworn in.
To give a little more context, Trump's reply was, "I think they might do that. Again, you'll have to speak to the individual states. Look, Roe v. Wade was all about bringing it back to the states. …" When pressed about his own feelings on a hysterical Democrat fever dream of what enforcement might look like, Trump stuck to his guns, saying, "The states are going to say. It’s irrelevant whether I’m comfortable or not. It's totally irrelevant, because the states are going to make those decisions."
When asked if he would veto any federal-level abortion bills, Trump pointed out, "But you have to remember this: There will never be that chance because it won't happen. You're never going to have 60 votes. You're not going to have it for many, many years, whether it be Democrat or Republican. Right now, it’s essentially 50-50. I think we have a chance to pick up a couple, but a couple means we're at 51 or 52."
"And the states are just working their way through it," Trump also noted. "Look at Ohio. Ohio passed something that people were a little surprised at. Kansas, I mean, places that are conservative and big Trump states, I mean, Ohio and way up Kansas, all these states, but they passed what they want to pass. It's about states rights." To a Democrat, not being able to enforce your will on everyone in the entire country may be terrifying. But to liberty-minded Americans who like the idea of having a say over their state and regional laws, it's just the way it should be.
Exclusively for our VIPs: Democrats Overjoyed About Abortion on Arizona's Ballot in November Are Overlooking One Thing
Next, the Axios lads leaned into their favorite bogeyman, the so-called Insurrection!
On political violence in connection with the upcoming election: "I don't think we're going to have that. I think we're going to win. And if we don't win, you know, it depends. It always depends on the fairness of an election."
This answer was given in response to the TIME interviewer pressing Trump in a telephone follow-up after he didn't get what he wanted the first time. In the original interview, it went like this:
Are you worried about political violence in connection with this November's election?
Trump: No. I don't think you’ll have political violence.
You don’t expect anything?
Trump: I think we're gonna have a big victory. And I think there will be no violence.
In the follow-up, it went:
Mr. President, in our last conversation you said you weren't worried about political violence in connection with the November election. You said, “I think we're going to win and there won't be violence.” What if you don't win, sir?
Trump: Well, I do think we're gonna win. We're way ahead. I don't think they'll be able to do the things that they did the last time, which were horrible. Absolutely horrible. So many, so many different things they did, which were in total violation of what was supposed to be happening. And you know that and everybody knows that. We can recite them, go down a list that would be an arm’s long. But I don't think we're going to have that. I think we're going to win. And if we don't win, you know, it depends. It always depends on the fairness of an election. I don't believe they'll be able to do the things that they did the last time. I don't think they'll be able to get away with it. And if that's the case, we're gonna win in record-setting fashion.
Now, if you believe — as all good Democrats do — that Trump personally ordered and commanded an insurrection-y uprising, then you would likely hit the fainting couch after reading this. But if instead, you realize that Trump understands the 2020 election was extremely unconventional and rife with irregularities (at best), then you weren't surprised that some unarmed far-right people rioted. Trump knows he isn't personally responsible for other people's stupid behavior, and thus he isn't threatening to make it happen again since he didn't make it happen the first time. You also realized that, compared to the damaging, deadly political violence the left consistently wreaks in this country, the Capitol riot was a drop in the bucket. (It's worth noting, too, that Axios left out the context of the balloting irregularities Trump called out in his answer.)
The rest of the Axios cherry-pickery fell more into the "you love to see it" category — commonsense, law-and-order policies that are anathema to the hard left. Here are some of my favorites:
- On using the military to deport migrants who cross illegally: "Well, these aren't civilians. These are people that aren't legally in our country. This is an invasion of our country."
- On launching the largest deportation operation in American history: "Because we have no choice. I don't believe this is sustainable for a country, what's happening to us."
- On using the military against protesters: "I would use certainly the National Guard, if the police were unable to stop. I would absolutely use the National Guard." He then mentioned an executive order he signed to encourage prosecution of anyone who desecrates national monuments. […]
- On whether he might fire a U.S. attorney who didn't prosecute someone on his orders: "It would depend on the situation. Yeah."
- On "anti-white racism" protections: "I think there is a definite anti-white feeling in this country, and that can't be allowed."
- On disbanding the White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy, established under President Biden: "I think I would. ... I think it sounds good politically, but I think it's a very expensive solution."
Imagine being Axios and thinking those were wrong answers. Sad.
Nor is Axios alone in its alarmism. If you care to run "Trump Time interview" through your favorite search engine, you'll get results such as: MSNBC News, "Trump reveals terrifying plan for potential second term in Time magazine interview"; Slate, "Donald Trump Time interview: The most alarming answer he gave"; CNN, "Trump doesn’t rule out political violence if he loses, and other takeaways from his Time interview"; The Guardian, "Trump threatens to prosecute Bidens if he’s re-elected unless he gets immunity"; and the New York Times, "In a lengthy interview, Trump leaves open possibility of violence in election aftermath."
None of this is anything new from the left, of course. From their dogged refusal to admit that Trump's infamous "Grab 'em by the p***y" comment was a joke to taking every fanciful notion the CEO spitballs out as a literal dictate, Democrat narrative-mongers thrive on misrepresenting the once and (probably) future president. It's a shame they run so much of our media, entertainment, and academia.
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