Transcript - Interview: Kelly Wright of Black News Channel Interviews Donald Trump - August 22, 2020 | Factba.se

Kelly Wright

00:00:00 - 00:00:23 (24 sec)

Mr. President, I want to thank you for being on the program tonight. And as you know, the United States has been hit very hard with this COVID-19 pandemic. It's disrupted our lives in so many different sectors, particularly our economy. Uh, as you move to re-open states, what's your focus on strengthening our economy so that all Americans can benefit from your plan?

Donald Trump

00:00:23 - 00:00:44 (21 sec)

Right. So most states are doing very well and now Florida's is heading really in a good direction, California likewise and Texas, those were the three, they got hit very hard, more recently. They were doing great and then they got hit, but the whole world has been hit very hard. I see what Germany now has got a big surge and, uh, France and Spain and everybody.

Donald Trump

00:00:44 - 00:01:02 (18 sec)

It's just a terrible, terrible thing all over the world, but we've done a very good job and we've got it I think in very good shape. And we have vaccines coming and therapeutics coming, and the economy is starting to open and it's opening up at a level that nobody thought possible. It's a definite V, meaning the best.

Donald Trump

00:01:02 - 00:01:15 (12 sec)

And we set a job record a jobs record for the last three months. Uh, and when you combine them, it's the most -- It's the most people ever hired during a period of a three month -- Like a quarterly period.

Donald Trump

00:01:15 - 00:01:36 (21 sec)

It's been incredible what's happening. The markets are high. NASDAQ is at the all time high, the rest -- In fact, the market's up a few hundred points today already. And, uh, that's only because these are smart people and you have the Biden overhang, by the way, the reason it would be up even more, except they have the Biden overhang. 'Cause if Biden ever got in, the markets would crash and they know that.

Donald Trump

00:01:36 - 00:01:50 (14 sec)

So that's where the risk is. That's where the primary risk is, because he'd raise everybody's taxes, which he intends to do fully. I mean, he intends to do, the radical left intends to do. He's just a puppet, but he'd raise everybody's taxes, and so many other bad things.

Donald Trump

00:01:50 - 00:02:10 (20 sec)

His green new deal is a disaster. It's a dis -- it's actually a cartoon joke, because it doesn't even come close to working. So destroy our economy. But between regulations and taxes, uh, he's gonna double, triple and quadruple people's taxes. He's going to drive companies out of this country. The whole thing is so preposterous.

Donald Trump

00:02:10 - 00:02:24 (14 sec)

So there go the jobs, there go the 401ks. And, uh, we, on the other hand, we're setting records right now. We're going to have an incredible third quarter. We're going to have an incredible next year. I think next year is going to be better than last year, and last year we broke every record.

Kelly Wright

00:02:24 - 00:02:41 (17 sec)

You, you know, that's, uh, something that a lot of people are talking about. What about your concerns for the underserved community, those communities that are marginalized like the African Americans and Hispanic and Native Americans, particularly the black community. What would you say to them about improving their economic --

Donald Trump

00:02:41 - 00:02:41 (1 sec)

Kelly Wright

00:02:41 - 00:02:44 (3 sec)

-- uh, their economy through opportunities, zones --

Donald Trump

00:02:44 - 00:02:44 (0 sec)

Kelly Wright

00:02:44 - 00:02:45 (1 sec)

-- and other programs?

Donald Trump

00:02:45 - 00:03:01 (16 sec)

Well that's a very good question, very important to me, you know, that. You've known me a long time. We've known each other a long time. Uh, we've done the opportunities zones. We've done criminal justice reform, which nobody could have done. I saved the historically black colleges and universities if you look at that.

Donald Trump

00:03:01 - 00:03:21 (20 sec)

We, we gave them long term as opposed to short term, and, uh, we gave them more money than they were even seeking. And done a lot, but most importantly, we're bringing them back to where we were just before the virus came in from China, uh, the black community had the best unemployment and employment numbers.

Donald Trump

00:03:21 - 00:03:44 (22 sec)

They vary the way you look at them, depending on which chart, but the black community had the best unemployment and employment numbers and the history of our country, Hispanic, likewise, Asian, likewise women, likewise, everybody, every group, every high school group, if you didn't graduate, if you did graduate, if you got a diploma, if you didn't get a diploma.

Donald Trump

00:03:44 - 00:03:56 (12 sec)

Every group, but the African American community had the best employment numbers in the history of our country. And I want to to bring it back there. And by the way, they had a tremendous month last month. You saw it went up a point.

Kelly Wright

00:03:56 - 00:03:57 (1 sec)

Donald Trump

00:03:57 - 00:04:11 (14 sec)

And it was up in a positive sense. Uh, and we will be back there very soon, 'cause they had the best numbers in the history of our country. And then we got hit with the China virus, but we'll be back very soon. The way we're going right now, we'll be back very, very soon.

Kelly Wright

00:04:11 - 00:04:26 (15 sec)

What are your concerns when it comes to COVID-19, and the fact that the pandemic has hurt us in terms of getting back to schools, a lot of States are still concerned or parents and teachers are concerned about what will happen to their students and going back to schools. You're pushing to reopen the schools.

Kelly Wright

00:04:26 - 00:04:29 (3 sec)

Is that going to be successful, or should we do it virtually?

Donald Trump

00:04:29 - 00:04:46 (17 sec)

No, I think we should reopen the schools. Uh, children, young children have a very strong immune system, even stronger than us I have to say. I have to admit it, but they have -- They do tremendously well and we have to open our schools. We have opened many of our businesses. That's why the numbers are so good.

Donald Trump

00:04:46 - 00:05:05 (20 sec)

The economic numbers are so good and, uh, people want our schools open. You have to do it at some point, you know, you have to do this. Uh, we're very close to the vaccine and we're very close therapeutically to having something that, to me is even more important than the vaccine, because it makes people well, but we have to get going and we have to open our schools.

Kelly Wright

00:05:05 - 00:05:19 (14 sec)

In, in doing that, the transmission rate, uh, as, as some students are now rising and the numbers of COVID cases, I think the last report was 100,000, a hundred thousand children. Are you at all concerned about that?

Donald Trump

00:05:19 - 00:05:38 (19 sec)

No, because they don't get sick. They don't get very sick. Uh, if you're elderly, if you have bad heart problems and diabetes problems, that's one thing, but children can get sniffles or they'll get something, but they don't get -- If you look at the mortality rate, the mortality rate is almost nonexistent for young people.

Donald Trump

00:05:38 - 00:05:59 (22 sec)

It's an amazing thing, but it's almost nonexistent in young people, which is again, uh, you know, having to do with a system that's a little bit different than people that are older. Uh, we want to be very careful with our nursing homes. Very careful with people over a certain age, we have to be very, very careful, especially if those people have heart problems or diabetes problems.

Kelly Wright

00:05:59 - 00:06:05 (6 sec)

A lot of Black Americans are concerned about school choice. Is that something you will continue to push so that people in Black --

Donald Trump

00:06:05 - 00:06:06 (1 sec)

Kelly Wright

00:06:06 - 00:06:07 (1 sec)

-- communities have choice?

Donald Trump

00:06:07 - 00:06:31 (24 sec)

School choice is one of my biggest issues and we've come a long way in it and we'll get it done this term when we, when we have it. And that gives independence and freedom that gives so many different things. It's such an advantage and more than anybody else, the black community wants that because they'll take their child out of a lousy school, a public school, that's doing a terrible job, and they can put the child into a, a good school and a good school system.

Donald Trump

00:06:31 - 00:06:54 (22 sec)

School choice, and yet Biden is totally against it. And his new person, Kamala Harris is totally against that because they are -- Just they'll do anything the teacher's union tells them, and you have such bad schools. And I think it's one of the biggest problems for the black community. They're forced -- Their kids are forced to go into bad schools and we're very close to getting school choice.

Kelly Wright

00:06:54 - 00:06:59 (5 sec)

In addition to that, there's, there's also crime that you've talked about. You've talked about sending federal troops into Chicago --

Donald Trump

00:06:59 - 00:06:59 (0 sec)

Kelly Wright

00:06:59 - 00:07:23 (24 sec)

-- and other places to quell the violence that goes on in the streets there. Having stated that, would it be possible to possibly talk to mentoring groups, and groups that are out there in front of trying to turn the curve around like cure violence, which sees violence as a public health epidemic. And they're sending violence interrupters into challenge that, and try to quell violence and bring peace.

Donald Trump

00:07:23 - 00:07:32 (10 sec)

Right. It's a good question. And I do meet with those groups, but you're also talking with some hardcore anarchists. Like if you look at Portland in particular and it really a different problem than Chicago.

Kelly Wright

00:07:32 - 00:07:33 (0 sec)

Donald Trump

00:07:33 - 00:07:50 (17 sec)

But if you look at Portland, that's anarchist agitators at the highest level, and we've handled that very tough. Now we'd like to go in and clean it out, but that's up to the state to ask us. But you know, it's interesting whether it's Chicago or New York, which has such horrible problems, they can actually do it themselves.

Donald Trump

00:07:50 - 00:08:05 (15 sec)

Chicago has 25,000 police officers and they're really good, but they're not allowed to do their job. New York has new York's finest. It's got thousands of incredible people, but they're not allowed to do their job. They're afraid to do anything.

Donald Trump

00:08:05 - 00:08:20 (15 sec)

They don't want to lose their job. They don't want to -- Well, although a lot of them are leaving. If you want to know the truth, it's terrible, but they don't want to lose their pensions. They don't want to lose everything they -- Because they spoke improperly to somebody. The police aren't allowed to do their jobs.

Donald Trump

00:08:20 - 00:08:34 (14 sec)

Now we'll go in and clean it up in 24 hours. We did it in Minneapolis. If you look at what happened there, after days and days of burning, we went in and cleaned it up, but the police have to be allowed to do their job. And they haven't been allowed to do their job.

Kelly Wright

00:08:34 - 00:08:38 (4 sec)

Mr. President, how do we heal our country, with the racial divide --

Donald Trump

00:08:38 - 00:08:39 (1 sec)

Kelly Wright

00:08:39 - 00:08:40 (1 sec)

What would be your word to heal?

Donald Trump

00:08:40 - 00:09:01 (22 sec)

Success heals our country, and we were there and then China blew it. China sent that virus, whether they sent it or it came by accident, or incompetence. Success cures our -- We were there. I was starting to get along with Democrats that nobody spoke to. I was starting to get along with people. We had the best employment numbers, the best, everything, the best stock markets.

Donald Trump

00:09:01 - 00:09:21 (20 sec)

We were there. Again, job numbers for every community, including minority communities, everybody else, everybody was doing great, and then the pandemic came to us. The plague came to us from China, and I'm telling you, we were there. Success will bring everybody together, that's jobs and everything else.

Kelly Wright

00:09:21 - 00:09:23 (2 sec)

Mr. President I want to thank you for being on the program.

Donald Trump

00:09:23 - 00:09:23 (1 sec)

Kelly Wright

00:09:23 - 00:09:27 (3 sec)

And for your maiden appearance on the Black News Channel. We welcome you --

Donald Trump

00:09:27 - 00:09:29 (2 sec)

It's -- I'm very greatly honored. I love it. We'll do it again.

Kelly Wright

00:09:29 - 00:09:30 (1 sec)

I look forward to it.

Donald Trump

00:09:30 - 00:09:31 (1 sec)

Thank you very much.

Kelly Wright

00:09:31 - 00:09:31 (0 sec)

Donald Trump

00:09:31 - 00:09:32 (0 sec)