Interview with NBC News
Donald Trump doesn’t want to pardon himself – because he didn’t do anything wrong
Donald Trump at an appearance in Washington in mid-September
© Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP
Former US President Donald Trump answered questions from NBC for an hour. Although: He preferred to remain silent about some questions, such as what he did on the day of the Capitol storm. But he doesn’t want to pardon himself.
Donald Trump wants to talk “later”.
For example, when asked whether he followed the Capitol riot on television on January 6, 2021, and what exactly he did on that fateful day. According to the former head of state, he will tell people that “later in due course.” Trump must stand trial for his role that day. Thousands of his supporters came to Washington on the occasion of the election confirmation and invaded the headquarters of Parliament. Numerous people were injured and five people died as a result.
In the conversation with journalist Kristen Welker, Trump also left it open whether he would pardon himself if he were convicted and would return to the White House. “Oh, I think that’s very unlikely. What, what did I do wrong? I didn’t do anything wrong,” was his response. The likely Republican front-runner also pointed out that he did not preemptively pardon himself shortly before leaving the White House in January 2021 to protect himself from prosecution. Trump told his advisers at the time: “The last thing I would ever do is pardon myself.”
As president, he could pardon himself
A total of four criminal proceedings are ongoing against the 77-year-old. According to experts, if he wins the election after being convicted at the federal level, he could probably pardon himself. But that is likely to trigger major political upheavals. If convicted at the state level – such as in the Trump cases in New York and Georgia – he would not be able to pardon himself.
When NBC journalist Welker asked if there was a scenario in which Trump would seek a third term, Trump said “no.” In the United States, a person can serve as president for two four-year terms, whether consecutive or not.
In the more than hour-long interview, Trump repeatedly repeated the lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and that he was the actual winner – not Democrat Joe Biden.
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The Republican Trump usually gives interviews to conservative media such as Fox News. The most recent exception was a so-called town hall with CNN, for which the station, which was considered liberal, was criticized. NBC is also considered to be rather liberal.