President Donald Trump sat for a primetime interview with Fox News host and close ally Sean Hannity on Wednesday to discuss Trump’s thoughts on returning to the office for a second term.
The light interview aired Wednesday night on Hannity’s show, marking Trump’s first sit-down interview since being sworn in for another term Monday. Trump and Hannity spoke about several topics, including Trump’s feelings about walking back into the Oval Office and the executive orders he has signed on several critical issues.
“It showed us that the Radical Left, their philosophies and policies are horrible, they don’t work,” Trump said. “I think we got there just in the nick of time.”
Trump later marveled at his resounding electoral victory over former vice president Kamala Harris, especially the GOP’s gain with young voters and racial minorities.
Hannity asked Trump about the four criminal cases against him and whether Trump ever doubted that he would win the election.
“It’s something I don’t think about. I never really thought about it. I don’t think about ‘Oh, gee, will I be back?’ I just do it. I get it done. I’m good at getting things done.”
Trump told Hannity he does not care whether congressional Republicans pass one or two budget reconciliation bills to enact his legislative agenda. He suggested that the destructive California wildfires could influence Congress’s approach. If Democrats do not work with Republicans on extending the tax cuts from Trump’s first term, he said Democrats would be to blame for a trillion-dollar tax spike.
When Hannity brought up TikTok, Trump asserted that there were buyers ready to purchase it and downplayed national security concerns surrounding its Chinese parent company. Trump argued that more attention needs to be paid to other American goods and applications that are made in China.
Trump has gotten off to a fast start this time around with executive orders designed to facilitate mass deportations, significantly curtail illegal immigration, unleash American energy abundance, end diversity, equity, and inclusion programs across American institutions, and root gender ideology out of the federal government.
Hannity brought up the subject of violent crimes committed by illegal aliens, and Trump reiterated his concerns about gang members crossing the border under the Biden administration. Violent, illegal alien criminals are going to be the main focus of the Trump administration’s initial deportation efforts, border czar Tom Homan indicated on Wednesday.
Trump is also purging holdover Biden administration appointees and has named all of his top cabinet officials, hoping that the GOP-controlled Senate will quickly confirm them. Thus far, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is the only Trump appointee to be confirmed.
Trump is set to travel on Friday to parts of North Carolina devastated by Hurricane Helene and areas of California that were destroyed by horrific wildfires. On that note, Trump argued that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been politicized and actively hindered recovery efforts during the Biden administration.
Unlike his predecessor, Trump has frequently engaged with the press during his first week back in office. He answered numerous questions from reporters while signing executive orders Monday and held a press conference on Tuesday to announce a $500 billion artificial intelligence joint venture.