In his first network television interview since his election victory, President Donald Trump made good on his campaign promises, including immigration, health care and his plans for the Justice Department in an interview with NBC News.
Trump doubled down on one of them, swearing excuse me people jailed for his role on January 6 on his first day in office.
“The first day. Yes, I’m looking for these apologies,” Trump told NBC’s Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press.”
Criticizing prison conditions, Trump argued that those who pleaded guilty did so because they had no other choice.
A screenshot of President-elect Donald Trump as he sits down with NBC’s ”Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker for his first online post-election interview on Dec. 8, 2024.
NBC News/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock
“Look. I know the system. The system is a very corrupt system. They tell a guy, “You’re going to jail for two years or 30 years.” And these guys are looking for it, they’ve destroyed their whole lives,” Trump said.
“Yes, I will examine everything. We will analyze individual cases.”
According to the Department of Justice, more than 1,500 people have been arrested or charged in connection with January 6, and almost 900 of them have been found guilty.
As one of the main themes of his campaign, Trump has long promised to “free” those imprisoned that day among his first acts as president, often honoring them at campaign rallies.
Trump’s promise of forgiveness comes as he offered volatile comments about the roles Pam Bondi and FBI director picks Kash Patel would play in his next administration.
On the issue of retribution, which was a hot topic during Trump’s 2024 campaign, the president-elect has repeatedly said he would not direct them to go after his political rivals, but that they could if they wanted to.
“He’s very experienced,” he said of Bondi. “I want him to do what he wants to do. I’m not going to instruct him” to go after Special Counsel Jack Smith, who he called a “very corrupt” person.
“If they think someone was a dishonest or crooked or corrupt politician, I think they probably have an obligation to do that,” President-elect Patel said of investigating Trump’s rivals.
Patel has long called for an investigation into members of the media, the Justice Department and Democrats, including the president Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton, calling for “house cleaning.” Although Trump argued that he would not directly tell Bondi and Patel to go after people, he made it clear that they would have free rein to do so.
In addition to attacking Biden and Smith, Trump harshly criticized the House Select Committee on Investigations on January 6, asking members. imprisoned.
“(Former Rep. Liz) Cheney was behind it. Benny Thompson and everyone on that committee should go to jail, frankly.”
Again, though, Trump sought to steer that decision away from him when asked if he would direct Bondi to be thrown in prison.
“I think they will have to look into that. But I won’t go. I will focus on ‘Drill, baby, drill’”.
Given that Trump has followed through on these threats during his campaign and now during the transition, Biden is considering pardoning some of those who have drawn Trump’s wrath, including Cheney and Democratic Senator Adam Schiff, who served in the House in January. 6 study, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has been under intense scrutiny of the government’s response. The COVID-19 pandemic.
When asked about the possible apologies Of Biden, Trump told NBC he “maybe should.”
“Biden can pardon them if he wants to. And maybe it should,” he said, continuing to attack their research.
