The former American president, who is a candidate for the November presidential election, spoke candidly in two exclusive interviews with the magazine.
Time magazine devotes most of its latest issue to former US President Donald Trump. The title is sober: “If he wins”. Behind an elegant black and white cover, where a calm-looking Donald Trump poses, the words of the Republican candidate for the presidential election next November are no less explosive. The real estate tycoon has indeed granted two exclusive interviews to journalists from Timein which he delivers bluntly what a second Trump term would be: what the magazine describes as “imperial presidency that would reshape America and its role in the world”.
The newspaper summarizes in one paragraph what a Trump 2 administration would be: “To carry out a deportation operation designed to remove more than 11 million people from the country, Trump told me he would be willing to build migrant detention camps and deploy the U.S. military, both at the border and inside the country. It would let conservative states monitor women’s pregnancies and prosecute those who violate the abortion ban. He would withhold, at his personal discretion, funds allocated by Congress, according to top advisers. He would be willing to fire a U.S. Attorney who fails to carry out his order to prosecute someone, breaking with a tradition of independent law enforcement that dates back to America’s founding. He plans to pardon each of his supporters accused of attacking the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, more than 800 of whom have pleaded guilty or been found guilty by a jury. He might not come to the aid of an ally under attack in Europe or Asia if he felt that country was not paying enough for its own defense. He would gut the American civil service, deploy the National Guard to American cities as he sees fit, close the White House pandemic preparedness office, and staff his administration with acolytes who support his false claim that the elections 2020 were stolen.”
While more than 20 American states have completely or partially banned abortion since the Supreme Court repealed the “Roe v. Wade” ruling, which established the constitutional right to abortion, Trump says these policies should be left to the only states to do what they want, including monitoring women’s pregnancies. “I think they could do it”, he said. When the reporter asked him if he would be comfortable with states prosecuting women who have had abortions beyond the legal time limit, he replied: “It doesn’t matter if I’m comfortable or not. This is absolutely irrelevant, because it is the States that will make these decisions.
They are not civilians. These are people who are not legally in our country. This is an invasion of our country. »
Donald Trump
On immigration, Donald Trump does not hide his objective: to implement the mass expulsion of more than 11 million undocumented people. To achieve this unprecedented goal, he would be prepared to deploy the U.S. Army and National Guard to secure the border and conduct massive sweeps. When the journalist points out that the American army cannot be deployed against civilians, Trump retorts: “Well, they’re not civilians. These are people who are not legally in our country. This is an invasion of our country. An invasion like no country has probably ever seen before.”
When the journalist from Time asks him if he intends to “to attack” to Biden if he is re-elected, Trump replied: “It depends on what happens with the Supreme Court.” If the nine judges of the highest court – three of whom were appointed by Trump – do not grant him immunity, he believes, “then Biden, I am sure, will be prosecuted for all his crimes, because he has committed many crimes.” Remarks which make the newspaper fear that Trump is using justice for the purposes of personal revenge.
When finally the journalist from Time ask him “Don’t you see why many Americans view this talk of dictatorship as contrary to our most cherished principles?” Donald Trump dismisses the remark out of hand: “I think a lot of people like it”he insists.
