Transcript - Interview: Roop Raj of Fox 2 Detroit Interviews Donald Trump at The White House - September 22, 2020 | Factba.se

Donald Trump

00:00:00 - 00:00:05 (5 sec)

-- [In Progress] Fireplace. I agree.

Roop Raj

00:00:05 - 00:00:15 (10 sec)

Uh, let, you want to tell you a little bit about what we're doing here. We're with News, uh, Now from Fox. Basically it's a streaming service. 17 stations across the country are watching this live right now.

Donald Trump

00:00:15 - 00:00:15 (0 sec)

Roop Raj

00:00:15 - 00:00:31 (16 sec)

I want to talk to you about a host of issues that are critical. Uh, let's begin with the Supreme Court. Uh, you've made it very clear that you would like a woman to fill that spot. We know that just moments ago Mitt Romney says he will support, uh, holding a vote this year. Uh, does that tip the scale for you to be a little more hopeful about this happening this year?

Donald Trump

00:00:31 - 00:00:49 (18 sec)

Well, I'm more than hopeful. I think it's, uh, going to happen. Uh, we have great people. Uh, we haven't made the final determination. I haven't, but I will be soon. But we have fantastic, very talented, very brilliant people. And, uh, we'll make a decision by Saturday. I'm going to announce it on Saturday.

Donald Trump

00:00:49 - 00:00:51 (2 sec)

And I think everybody's gonna be very happy.

Roop Raj

00:00:51 - 00:00:56 (5 sec)

You know, we have a couple names that have been spinning around this time for some time now.

Donald Trump

00:00:56 - 00:00:56 (0 sec)

Roop Raj

00:00:56 - 00:00:57 (0 sec)

Uh, Amy Coney Barrett.

Donald Trump

00:00:57 - 00:00:58 (1 sec)

Roop Raj

00:00:58 - 00:00:59 (2 sec)

Uh, you know, who is vetted, vetted by you years ago.

Donald Trump

00:00:59 - 00:01:00 (1 sec)

Roop Raj

00:01:00 - 00:01:02 (2 sec)

Then Barbara Lagoa seems an attractive choice.

Donald Trump

00:01:02 - 00:01:03 (0 sec)

Roop Raj

00:01:03 - 00:01:04 (2 sec)

Given the fact that she's a Latino.

Donald Trump

00:01:04 - 00:01:05 (0 sec)

Roop Raj

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From Florida, uh, doing her work there. And her personality is feisty like yours.

Donald Trump

00:01:08 - 00:01:27 (19 sec)

Yeah. Well, she's, uh, terrific. And you have Judge Larson, and you know Judge Larson who's very talented also. And a lot of great people. We have really have 45 great people if you look at it. But I thought a woman would be very important right now for the Supreme Court. So I'll be choosing a woman.

Roop Raj

00:01:27 - 00:01:40 (13 sec)

When we take a look at how quickly this can happen, we understand that this usually takes two to three months to happen. Uh, according to the Congressional Research Service, they say that 70 days is usually the par for the course. The clock is ticking.

Donald Trump

00:01:40 - 00:01:57 (16 sec)

Yeah, no, it's moving along. But we have a lot of time. We have nothing but time, especially since we have the support. You know, we have Senatorial support. People have come out and I guess we have all the votes we're going to need. And they're going to be very happy with the candidate. They know most of the candidates anyway.

Donald Trump

00:01:57 - 00:02:03 (6 sec)

I think they know, maybe, all of the candidates. And, uh, we have great support. Great support from the people also.

Roop Raj

00:02:03 - 00:02:06 (3 sec)

Have you made a decision and you're just going to reveal it on Saturday, or are you still deciding?

Donald Trump

00:02:06 - 00:02:23 (17 sec)

I would say that I'm very close to making a decision in my own mind. And I'm going to reveal it on Saturday. And I'm doing that out of respect for Justice Ginsberg. Uh, they're having a service, uh, on Thursday. So I didn't really want to do anything to cut into the service. And we have a lot of time.

Roop Raj

00:02:23 - 00:02:46 (23 sec)

You know one thing that, uh, time has a lot to do with is this Coronavirus and the response, of course. You've talked already a lot about what's happened in the past. Um, let's talk about the future. Dr. Peter Hotez is with Baylor College of Medicine. He says, "We may be in for a very apocalyptic fall." Uh, when you hear that -- He says also that we forced schools to go back into high risk areas and colleges to go back.

Roop Raj

00:02:46 - 00:02:49 (2 sec)

Was this too much, too soon?

Donald Trump

00:02:49 - 00:03:05 (16 sec)

Well, I don't know who he is, but I disagree with him. I think we've done an amazing job. Uh, they're having a spike in Europe now, as you know. And we're always compared to Europe. And we've done very well compared to Europe when you look at our numbers compared to Europe. But now they have a spike. And hopefully that'll go away soon.

Donald Trump

00:03:05 - 00:03:22 (17 sec)

We're all working together. It's a terrible thing. I made a very strong speech, uh, today, as you know, to the United Nations. And putting the blame on China, which everybody understands that's to blame. They could have stopped it. They could have stopped it from coming out of China. They stopped it from going in, further in to China.

Donald Trump

00:03:22 - 00:03:40 (18 sec)

But they didn't stop it from spreading all throughout the world, including us. And, uh, so I'm, you know, I'm very angry about that. But, uh, no, we're doing very well with it. We're doing extremely well, relatively speaking. If I wouldn't have closed down, we would have had, we could have had 2 million deaths right now, 2 and a half million.

Donald Trump

00:03:40 - 00:03:54 (14 sec)

We shouldn't have any because of what China did. But we would have had 2 million as opposed to, uh, 200,000. We would have had 2 million, 2 and a half million, 3 million. We could have had a tremendous, uh, tremendous number of deaths.

Roop Raj

00:03:54 - 00:04:04 (10 sec)

I talked to the CEO of Ford Motor Company in a sit down much like this. And he said that he wished that the country had shut down even two to three weeks beforehand. He thinks that would have made a huge difference.

Donald Trump

00:04:04 - 00:04:19 (15 sec)

Well nobody really thought to do that. Uh, you know, it's, uh, I could say to him, "I wish you'd designed a little bit of a different car. It could have made a big difference." Nobody told me to do that. In fact, when I shut down, if you remember, everybody said, "There's no reason to shut down," including Dr.

Donald Trump

00:04:19 - 00:04:36 (18 sec)

Fauci. And everybody said, "There's no reason to shut down. This is -- " When I shut down it was considered very early. So it's easy to look back now and say, "Gee I wish, uh, we would have shut down two weeks earlier." I wish China would have shut down two weeks earlier. I wish China wouldn't have let this virus come out.

Donald Trump

00:04:36 - 00:04:58 (21 sec)

They're the ones to blame. Um, we've done an incredible job between the ventilators, and now the vaccines, and everything else, and the therapeutics. And you look at our numbers, we've done a tremendous job. The only thing we've done a bad job in is, uh, public relations because we haven't been able to convince people, what, which is basically the fake news, what a great job we've done.

Donald Trump

00:04:58 - 00:05:14 (16 sec)

Other countries come to see me. The Presidents and Prime Ministers, they say, "You have done an incredible job." This is a big country, very big. And we report everything. Other countries, they don't report. They don't report their numbers, obviously. You know, you talk about China and various other countries.

Donald Trump

00:05:14 - 00:05:23 (9 sec)

But we have done an incredible job, and we're doing an incredible job. And, uh, we will be, uh, we're, in my opinion, we're rounding the turn.

Roop Raj

00:05:23 - 00:05:32 (9 sec)

You know, your opponent, uh, Joe Biden says that if he were President, he would have done one big thing differently, which was to enact the Defense Production Act almost immediately.

Donald Trump

00:05:32 - 00:05:49 (17 sec)

Joe Biden's incompetent. And Joe Biden, if you look at what he did with the Swine flu, it was a disaster. And his own people, his own person who was in charge of it, said, "No, we really made mistakes. It was a disaster. We handled it horribly." I don't even know. It's hard to believe that he actually said this.

Donald Trump

00:05:49 - 00:06:06 (17 sec)

But he said this two years ago. He said this. He made a, a statement that they handled it horribly. He said they didn't know what they were doing. They had no clue. And that was a much less lethal problem than this. This is lethal. Uh, that was a much less lethal problem. And Joe Biden would, wouldn't have done anything.

Donald Trump

00:06:06 - 00:06:24 (18 sec)

He didn't want me to do the ban. He said, "Oh, don't ban. Don't ban." And then he apologized for it later on. And then he goes around and second guesses. All he can do is second guess. This is a terrible situation for the world. The world is suffering with it. UK just shut down again. They just announced that they're going to do a shut down.

Donald Trump

00:06:24 - 00:06:44 (20 sec)

And we're not going to be doing that. We understand the disease. We understand how to handle it. Uh, our hospitals are very low now, in terms of the number of patients, which is a great thing. We have tremendous capacity. And we are, we are making the turn. But Joe doesn't have a clue. And Joe would not have been able to do a good job.

Donald Trump

00:06:44 - 00:07:04 (21 sec)

Uh, you wouldn't have ventilators if Joe was there. There's no way he would have had ventilators or anything else. And when Joe makes these statements, just ask him to look at the Swine flu, which was a total disaster, according to his person that handled it. And everybody knew it at the time. Now all of the sudden he's supposed to be some smart guy that comes in and he would solve a much more difficult situation.

Donald Trump

00:07:04 - 00:07:07 (3 sec)

Wouldn't have happened. 47 years of failure.

Roop Raj

00:07:07 - 00:07:28 (20 sec)

One thing that we can do right now is mask up. Uh, you have said in the past that it's the patriotic duty to mask up when you can't maintain social distancing and it's not safe. Um, we've been to a few of the rallies, uh, I was in Freeland, Michigan, and also in Macomb County with, uh, your son. Uh, people were out there almost celebrating the fact that they didn't have to wear a mask.

Roop Raj

00:07:28 - 00:07:29 (1 sec)

That's not responsible.

Donald Trump

00:07:29 - 00:07:43 (15 sec)

Well, I didn't see that. Uh, you know, I didn't know they were celebrating. I come and I make a speech. And we had a great time there, actually, in Michigan. And we've done a great job in Michigan with all the factories, car factories, and plants that are opening and expanding. And we've done a great job for Michigan.

Donald Trump

00:07:43 - 00:08:02 (18 sec)

No, I didn't see that. No I think people should wear a mask if they can, if they feel they, they should. But I don't think it should be a mandatory policy. Actually, that would be really up to the Governors more so than the President. But I'm fine with masks. I've worn masks when I go into hospitals. When I go into certain areas, I wear a mask.

Donald Trump

00:08:02 - 00:08:03 (1 sec)

Uh, masks are fine with me.

Roop Raj

00:08:03 - 00:08:11 (7 sec)

But when you look out into the audience when you're doing these rallies, and you see the number of people who don't have masks, uh, does that concern you about the future and this fall?

Donald Trump

00:08:11 - 00:08:27 (16 sec)

Well, I s-, yeah, I, I'm just gonna be honest. I see a lot of people with masks. I also see a little bit of a spreading out. One of the reasons I do the rallies in outside settings is because it's much better. It's, you know, recommended. I don't know if they know what they're recommending, but they recommend being outside like we're outside right now.

Donald Trump

00:08:27 - 00:08:44 (17 sec)

They say be outside. So what we're doing is these rallies outside. You know, we're doing in airports, in hangers, and we're getting tremendous 25, 30,000 people in every rally. It's amazing. I'll tell you, we have more enthusiasm now than we had even four years ago. And that we broke the record for years ago.

Donald Trump

00:08:44 - 00:08:47 (3 sec)

But this is even more so. It's been quite amazing, actually.

Roop Raj

00:08:47 - 00:08:53 (6 sec)

Let's talk for a moment about the civil unrest. Uh, 17 stations in major cities watching this, uh, right now.

Donald Trump

00:08:53 - 00:08:53 (0 sec)

Roop Raj

00:08:53 - 00:09:12 (18 sec)

Reverend Charles Williams of Detroit asked a question to you, saying, "Mr. President, your slogan is to make America great again." He says, "Many black Americans are concerned that this country's ability to truly deal with racism has never been great." Um, do you recognize that systemic racism that occurs and, and exists in this country?

Donald Trump

00:09:12 - 00:09:30 (18 sec)

Well, there's something going on. But nobody has done more for the black community than me, since, at least, Abraham Lincoln. Uh, historically black colleges and universities, you know what happened there. They were not funded. They were not going to be funded. It was a disaster. I got them funded for a ten year period.

Donald Trump

00:09:30 - 00:09:45 (16 sec)

And more money than they were even asking for. Uh, if you look at opportunity zones, which have been tremendous for the black community and the Hispanic community. Unbelievable. And of course, the big one is I got j-, criminal justice reform, which President Obama tried to get. He couldn't get. Nobody could get it.

Donald Trump

00:09:45 - 00:10:08 (22 sec)

And I got it. Uh, what I've done is incredible. I also got prison reform. So nobody, and I say it. And I say it openly. And I'm not even criticized for it. Nobody has done more for the black community than any President, I would say, with the exception of Abraham Lincoln. And people sort of say, "I guess he's right about that."

Roop Raj

00:10:08 - 00:10:10 (3 sec)

And this Reverend actually recognized all those, uh, those things with the [Crosstalk]

Donald Trump

00:10:10 - 00:10:11 (1 sec)

Well that's nice.

Roop Raj

00:10:11 - 00:10:13 (2 sec)

And also with what you've done with criminal justice reform.

Donald Trump

00:10:13 - 00:10:14 (1 sec)

That's very nice.

Roop Raj

00:10:14 - 00:10:32 (18 sec)

The question that we have, though, uh, when you took a look at, uh, the, those people who are rioting out there. Y-, you've been very clear that we need law and order. And you've called out those rioters by name. Would you, right now, talk a little bit about those peaceful protesters who are out there? What is your message to them, the ones who are not breaking the law?

Donald Trump

00:10:32 - 00:10:32 (0 sec)

Roop Raj

00:10:32 - 00:10:34 (2 sec)

Who simply think there's a big problem out there.

Donald Trump

00:10:34 - 00:10:52 (19 sec)

Well, you do have peaceful, but a lot of times the peaceful ones get a little bit crazy, because they're led by Antifa and others that are professionals, that get paid a lot of money, that have money. And they're led. And then you'll have a Portland where you have anarchists. I mean, you have agitators, anarchists, and we could put that down very easily, and we do.

Donald Trump

00:10:52 - 00:10:59 (7 sec)

The Republican states and cities, look how well they're doing. The Republican cities and states are doing phenomenally right now.

Roop Raj

00:10:59 - 00:11:04 (4 sec)

De-, Detroit's doing quite well under a Democratic mayor with Chief James Craig, as you know.

Donald Trump

00:11:04 - 00:11:19 (15 sec)

Well, and you have a great police chief. I, I really, I watch him. I really like him a lot. Say hello to him. He, I think he's terrific. I think he's a, just an incredible representative too. He speaks so well about a very important subject, which is crime, and the rioting, and all the things that you see in certain cities.

Donald Trump

00:11:19 - 00:11:38 (19 sec)

Don't forget, you see these cities, and they're Democrat cities. They're usually run liberally, uh, liberal Democrats, or even further left than that. They call them radical left. But Portland could be, we could close down Portland, end the, the problem in Portland, in 30 minutes. But they don't want us to bring in the National Guard.

Donald Trump

00:11:38 - 00:11:41 (2 sec)

The governor doesn't want. We've offered it many times.

Roop Raj

00:11:41 - 00:11:41 (1 sec)

Donald Trump

00:11:41 - 00:11:55 (14 sec)

Chicago is a terrible situation, Democrat. Look what happened to New York with the crime bursting, Democrat. It's all Democrats. It's all Democrats that don't have any idea of law and order. And they never want to mention the words.

Roop Raj

00:11:55 - 00:12:02 (7 sec)

But your message to the peaceful protestors in those mixes, who think there's an institutional, racial issue in this country. What would you like them to hear from you.

Donald Trump

00:12:02 - 00:12:15 (13 sec)

Well, I don't know what they think. I know that if they're peaceful, let them be peaceful. And I'm all for protest, but it has to be peaceful protest. And once they start, uh, ripping down storefronts, and looting, and everything else, that's no longer a peaceful protest.

Roop Raj

00:12:15 - 00:12:17 (1 sec)

Mr. President, thank you for your time today.

Donald Trump

00:12:17 - 00:12:17 (1 sec)

Thank you very much.

Roop Raj

00:12:17 - 00:12:18 (1 sec)

We really appreciate it.

Donald Trump

00:12:18 - 00:12:19 (0 sec)

Roop Raj

00:12:19 - 00:12:19 (1 sec)

It was a pleasure.

Donald Trump

00:12:19 - 00:12:22 (2 sec)

Thank you very much.