Former President Donald Trump has a simple answer for those who question whether he would peacefully surrender power after another four-year term if he returns to the White House: “Of course.”
He said the proof was his leaving the White House peacefully after the 2020 election.
“I did that this time. And I’ll tell you what, the election was rigged, and we have plenty of evidence of it. But I did it anyway,” Mr. Trump told radio host Hugh Hewitt on Friday.
The former president faces criminal cases in Georgia and Washington for his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Mr. Trump’s critics have warned that he may not allow a peaceful transfer should he win and serve a second four-year term.
Earlier this month, former Rep. Liz Cheney said Mr. Trump would never leave office on his own volition.
“There’s no question. Absolutely. He’s already done it once,” the Wyoming Republican said. “He’s already attempted to seize power, and he was stopped, thankfully, and for the good of the nation and the republic. But he said he will do it again. He’s expressed no remorse for what he did.”
The interview with Mr. Hewitt covered a plethora of topics. The former president also defended his recent comments that immigrants were “poisoning the blood of the country,” which his Democratic opponents said was what Hitler said about Jews.
In the radio interview, Mr. Trump said he was “not a student of Hitler.”
“When you look at it, and you look at what’s coming in, we have, from all over the world, not one group, they’re coming in from Asia, from Africa, from South America. They’re coming from all over the world,” Mr. Trump said. “They’re coming from prisons. They’re coming from mental institutions and insane asylums. They’re terrorists. Absolutely, that’s poisoning our country. That’s poisoning the blood of our country. And that’s what’s happening.”
Mr. Trump first made the anti-immigrant remarks at a recent campaign rally in New Hampshire while speaking about the record number of illegal U.S./Mexico crossings under President Biden.
• Alex Miller contributed to this report.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.