Earlier this month, a TIME Magazine reporter interviewed Trump at his would-be palace. Today TIME published the story: How Far Trump Would Go. Here are some selected excerpts. He would, or he “would be willing” to:
- build migrant detention camps and deploy the U.S. military, both at the border and inland
- let red states monitor women’s pregnancies and prosecute those who violate abortion bans
- at his personal discretion, withhold funds appropriated by Congress
- fire a U.S. Attorney who doesn’t carry out his order to prosecute someone
- pardon[] every one of his supporters accused of attacking the U.S. Capitol
- gut the U.S. civil service
- deploy the National Guard to American cities
- [let our allies be attacked] if he felt that country wasn’t paying enough for its own defense
- close the White House pandemic-preparedness office
- staff his Administration with acolytes who back his false assertion that the 2020 election was stolen
(All of the above are direct quotes from the article, rearranged as bullet points for more emphasis.)
The TIME writer is hoping that various institutions will restrain him: courts, Congress, whistle-blowers, public opinion. He also seems to believe him when he says he wouldn’t seek a third term. (But of course he would. And if he didn’t, he would try to have one of his kids anointed as his replacement.) The writer somehow overlooked the way he has stacked the courts — particularly the Supreme Court, which is poised to assist him in his delaying tactics — cowed the Republicans in Congress, threatened in the past to prosecute whistle-blowers, and used his tame media and his shameless talent for lying to mold public opinion. (Plus Russian, Chinese, and possibly Iranian and Israeli disinformation.) Plus he is building his private armed force.
The article mention one thing that could hinder Trump:
The same deficiencies of temperament and judgment that hindered him in the past remain present.
And further down:
There’s no telling how his ego and self-destructive behavior might hinder his objectives.
but all that means is that he will make a bigger mess of things than a competent dictator might.
Still, the article is useful for the warnings it does talk about:
Such moves [eg, firing prosecutors] would be potentially catastrophic for the credibility of American law enforcement, scholars and former Justice Department leaders from both parties say.
Trump’s radical designs for presidential power would be felt throughout the country. A main focus is the southern border. . . . The capstone of this program, advisers say, would be a massive deportation operation that would target millions of people.
(See this WaPo story: Harsh deportation tools are just fine with many Americans.)
While Trump has dodged and weaved — and generally lied — over what he would do about abortion, others are openly making plans:
Trump’s allies don’t plan to be passive on abortion if he returns to power. The Heritage Foundation has called for enforcement of a 19th century statute that would outlaw the mailing of abortion pills.
The economy is also going to take it on the chin:
Trump is planning to intensify his protectionist agenda. . . . When I point out that independent analysts estimate Trump’s first term tariffs on thousands of products . . . may have cost the U.S. $316 billion and more than 300,000 jobs, by one account, he dismisses these experts out of hand.
because of course he knows more than the experts. Speaking of which, how well did that go down during the Covid pandemic? (And see Paul Krugman’s column in the NYT: Trump Is Flirting With Quack Economics.(
Trump’s intention to remake America’s relations abroad may be just as consequential. . . . America’s traditional allies were horrified when Trump recently said at a campaign rally that Russia could “do whatever the hell they want” to a NATO country he believes doesn’t spend enough on collective defense.
The article concludes with Trump’s retort to the response to his “joke” about being a dictator on day one; does he understand why this upsets so many people?
Trump says no. Quite the opposite, he insists. “I think a lot of people like it.”
Unfortunately, this is one thing Trump gets right.
[Update 30 Apr 12:00 noon]
The Biden campaign wasted no time at all seizing on the TIME story and running with it:
The New York Times then ran this story: Biden and Democrats Seize on Trump’s Striking Interview.
The Biden campaign is mounting a concerted push to attack former President Donald J. Trump over statements he made to Time magazine in a wide-ranging interview published Tuesday morning, particularly on abortion. . . .
“This is reprehensible,” President Biden wrote on X. “Donald Trump doesn’t trust women. I do.”
Other Democrats took on other parts of what Trump said:
“Donald Trump’s repeated threats of political violence are as horrifying and dangerous as they are un-American,” said Alex Floyd, a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee. “Trump is hellbent on threatening our democracy, win or lose.”
Pity the Times still cannot break its habit of bothsiderism, not to mention repeating their pique that Biden isn’t genuflecting in their direction:
Mr. Trump’s interview — in which he faced detailed and probing questions about his policy positions — reveals the pitfalls for candidates when they sit down with mainstream news organizations. Mr. Trump does so rarely. But Mr. Biden has been even more averse to being questioned by journalists, a traditional undertaking of those running for the White House.
Maybe because those “journalists” like to play “Gotcha!” instead of doing real journalism?