Five minutes ahead of the first GOP Presidential Debate on Fox News Wednesday evening, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson released a 46-minute interview with former president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Carlson and Trump touched on a number of topics, including very limited comments on a couple of his primary opponents, the 2020 Election, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, how foreign adversaries currently view the U.S. compared to how they felt while he was in office, the state of Democrat-run cities, the American people, the multiple indictments against him, foreign influence, the push for all-electric everything, Democrats who previously did what he's charged with now, what he would do on day one should he be re-elected and whether or not he believes there could be a civil war in this country.
Like I said, they covered a lot in short period of time.
Ep. 19 Debate Night with Donald J Trump pic.twitter.com/ayPfII48CO
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) August 24, 2023
Here are my notes on what was said during the interview:
Trump on former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson: "Weak and pathetic." "How does this guy get elected the governor of Arkansas?" "Nasty."
Trump on former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie: "The guy had an eight percent approval in New Jersey. Now, he's running for president." "...savage maniac. He's like a lunatic."
When asked whether he fears an attempt on his life, as it's the only step left besides putting him in jail for any of the indictments: "[The left] are savage animals. They are people that are sick, really sick."
On the 2020 Presidential Election, Trump said his opponents "used COVID to cheat."
Trump on Vice President Kamala Harris: "She speaks in rhyme. It's weird."
Trump said North Korea's Kim Jong-un and China's Xi Jinping had "great respect" for the U.S. when he was president.
When asked whether he thinks someone else is running the country: "Well, somebody else has to be. I don't think [Biden's] capable of doing anything."
Trump on former Fox News host and moderator Chris Wallace: "He wants to be Mike [Wallace], but doesn't have the talent."
Carlson on Chris Wallace: "He's a bitchy, little man."
Trump laments what has happened to many Democrat-run cities, like San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Trump on how he feels about the American people in the face of multiple indictments: "I think the people of our country don't get enough credit for how smart they are, and I'm not sure I would've said this 10 years ago, but they get it."
Trump on the indictments: "All trivia, nonsense, bullshit. It's all bullshit."
Trump on Biden: "I think he's the most corrupt president we've ever had, and he also has the distinction of being the most incompetent. I believe both. He's both incompetent and corrupt. I actually believe he's compromised, because China knows so much about him. They know where the money comes from, they know where it is, who paid it, and they probably paid it...He in many ways is a Manchurian candidate."
Trump on China's influence in the Western Hemisphere: He spoke on China building a base in Cuba, with even more influence in South America. And on the Panama Canal, Trump said, "China now controls it. They actually control the Panama Canal."
Trump on Voter ID: "There's only one reason [Democrats] don't want voter ID, because they want to cheat."
Trump said the push for all-electric everything inhibits consumer buying power by limiting choice. "Let people buy everything!"
Trump limited his view of former Vice President Mike Pence and simply conveyed that he's "very disappointed" in Pence.
Trump spoke on how Democrats that lost elections, like Stacey Abrams and Hillary Clinton never stopped complaining about their losses, but that they'll never be indicted because they're Democrats. "The Democrats don't get indicted for things like that."
Trump on Sen. Mitch McConnell: "He's a bad guy."
Trump on his number one priority on day one should he be re-elected: "Number one is the border and taking hundreds of thousands of criminals that have been allowed into our country and getting them out and bringing them back to their country."
Trump on whether civil war is a possibility: "I don't know. I can say this: There's a level of passion that I've never seen. There's a level of hatred that I've never seen, and that's probably a bad combination."
For the full interview, watch the X - formerly Twitter - video above.