Former President Donald Trump told Time magazine in an interview published Tuesday that if elected in November, he would deploy the U.S. military to detain and deport migrants, hedged on the possibility of political violence after the 2024 election and said he would permit states to decide whether to prosecute those who violate abortion bans.
He also did not express objections to the idea of states monitoring pregnancies.
“It’s irrelevant whether I’m comfortable or not,” he said. “It’s totally irrelevant, because the states are going to make those decisions.”
Trump has rarely given lengthy interviews with mainstream news outlets, particularly since leaving the White House.
His conversations with Time — a sit-down at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, and a follow-up phone call — offer a revealing glimpse of how he would wield presidential power, challenge democratic norms and reshape the country if he wins back the White House in November.
At one point, Trump told Time that he would be willing to deploy the military as part of an extreme deportation operation he has said he plans to conduct if elected, and that he would be willing to bypass a law that prohibits using U.S. troops against civilians.
“Well, these aren’t civilians,” Trump said. “These are people that aren’t legally in our country. This is an invasion of our country.”
Trump also brushed aside questions about political violence in November by suggesting that his victory was inevitable.
But when pressed about what might happen should he again lose the election, he did not dismiss the possibility outright and did not proactively say anything to deter supporters from again resorting to it.
“I think we’re going to win,” he said. “And if we don’t win, you know, it depends. It always depends on the fairness of an election.”
The former president did say he would “absolutely” consider pardoning every person who had been convicted on, or pleaded guilty to, charges related to the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
He noted that “if somebody was evil and bad, I would look at that differently,” but he did not say where he would draw the line.
Trump and his allies have already laid the groundwork to advance their ideological agenda, and insights into their preparations have been reported by The New York Times and other outlets.
Still the Time interview, which includes transcripts, offered a rare chance to hear Trump describe his policy views in his own words.