In the conversation with the US magazine “Time” published on Tuesday, Trump also raised the prospect of legal prosecution of current President Joe Biden. Trump faces four criminal charges himself.
Trump will most likely be nominated again by the US Republicans as a candidate against the Democrat Biden. When asked in the “Time” interview whether he would be willing to suspend parts of the US Constitution to deal with his political opponent, Trump replied that in his opinion “the enemy from within is often more dangerous to our country than external enemies such as China, Russia or many others”.
Trump on Biden: “He has committed many crimes”
The 77-year-old right-wing populist said of Biden: “I’m sure he will be prosecuted for all his crimes, because he has committed many crimes.” Trump did not specify what these “crimes” consist of.
Trump has repeatedly denounced the proceedings against him as a “witch hunt”. He is currently on trial in New York – in the first criminal trial in history against a former US president – for covering up a hush money payment. He is also criminally charged in three other cases, including his attempts to retroactively overturn his 2020 election defeat against Biden.
In the interview, Trump named mass deportations of immigrants as one of his central plans for a possible second term in office. To do this, he wants to use the National Guard, but if necessary also other parts of the US Army. In response to the objection that laws prohibit the use of the army against civilians on US territory, Trump replied that migrants who had entered the country illegally were “not civilians” but “an invasion.”
Abortion issue
On the issue of abortion, which was also hotly debated during the election campaign, Trump reiterated his position that the legal regulations on abortion should be made by the individual US states. However, Trump called the rigorous ban on abortion from the sixth week of pregnancy, which came into force in Florida on Wednesday, “too strict”. When asked whether US states should monitor pregnancies to control possible violations of abortion bans, the ex-president replied: “I think they can do that.” He also announced that he would not stand in the way of introducing a US-wide abortion ban.
Regarding foreign policy, Trump reiterated, among other things, his earlier statements that he did not want to support NATO partners who do not spend enough on their defense in the event of Russian aggression: “(…) if you don’t pay, then you’re on your own And I mean it.” His previous comments had caused great concern among allies.
Trump also qualified these statements again by pointing out that it was a “negotiating position” – which he characterized as a negotiating strategy to obtain higher defense spending from other NATO states.
Trump did not rule out violence
In the event of his defeat in the November election, the right-wing populist did not rule out a renewed outbreak of violence. “I believe we will have a great election victory and I believe there will be no violence,” he said. But he immediately caveats: “If we don’t win – you know, it depends.”
Biden’s campaign spokesman James Singer said in response to the “Time” interview that Trump wanted to “punish those who oppose him and condone violence committed in his name.” The ex-president is a “danger to the constitution and a threat to our democracy.” An indictment brought before a federal court concerns, among other things, the role that Trump played in the storming of the US Congress seat – the Capitol in Washington – by fanatical supporters in January 2021.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden’s poll lead over Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has narrowed. According to a Reuters/IPSOS survey published on Tuesday, 40 percent of respondents would vote for Democrat Biden and 39 percent for former President Trump. The one percentage point lead compares to the four point lead in the survey at the beginning of April. In general, a close outcome is expected, not least because of the comparatively complicated election process in the USA.
