Transcript - Interview: Jeanine Pirro with Donald Trump on Justice With Judge Jeanine on Fox - October 6, 2018 | Factba.se

Jeanine Pirro

00:00:00 - 00:00:05 (5 sec)

Mr. President, thanks for getting back to us. Hi.

Donald Trump

00:00:05 - 00:00:08 (4 sec)

How is... how is... how is your reception now, Jeanine?

Jeanine Pirro

00:00:08 - 00:00:09 (1 sec)

Yeah, it's great.

Donald Trump

00:00:09 - 00:00:15 (6 sec)

They had a security reception situation. But never sounds too good. Is it OK?

Jeanine Pirro

00:00:15 - 00:00:19 (5 sec)

Alright, you're on... it's OK, and you're on air right now Mr. President. So let's get to it.

Donald Trump

00:00:19 - 00:00:22 (3 sec)

Good, I like that. Good. With you being on the air with your beautiful ratings.

Jeanine Pirro

00:00:22 - 00:00:23 (1 sec)

Oh, thank you. I appreciate it.

Donald Trump

00:00:23 - 00:00:24 (1 sec)

Congratulations.

Jeanine Pirro

00:00:24 - 00:00:47 (23 sec)

Mr. President, even, you know, aside from the some of the protesters, in Washington, there is an excitement. We have a Supreme Court justice. It's one of the highlights of your... you administration so far. You have to be very, very excited about what you accomplish, and you accomplished it.

Donald Trump

00:00:47 - 00:01:03 (17 sec)

Well, I am very excited. And, you know, the protesters were a very small group, a tiny group of people. I just left and thousands of people in Kansas, and, you know it's amazing what's going in the country. And we have a great new Supreme Court justice, Jeanine, and as you know very well.

Jeanine Pirro

00:01:03 - 00:01:20 (17 sec)

I do. And Mr. President, you know, a lot of people, other presidents might have pulled the plug, and we were talking about this what we were trying to reconnect with you. There were a lot of other conservative justices that you could have said, OK, you know let's try somebody else. And it wouldn't have been the first time the president did that.

Jeanine Pirro

00:01:20 - 00:01:25 (5 sec)

But you stuck with Kavanaugh during his darkest moments. Why?

Donald Trump

00:01:25 - 00:01:48 (23 sec)

Well, for one thing it would have been very unfair to him. If you think about it, he's a highly respected man. What the Democrats did was disgraceful. These things happened that just came out of the wind. There was no corroboration. There was no anything, Jeanine. This is a high quality, brilliant man. He'll be a phenomenal Supreme Court justice.

Donald Trump

00:01:48 - 00:02:17 (29 sec)

And it was my honor to stick -- and I know that, a lot of people told me that. They said, well, we'll switch. You'll never get anybody like this. This is a very, very outstanding person, an individual, with an incredible family, and it would have been very unfair to him. What they did was disgraceful. What the Democrats did, and you saw that group, with Blumenthal who falsified his service in Vietnam, and a terrible mayor of Newark, New Jersey, Cory Booker.

Donald Trump

00:02:17 - 00:02:29 (12 sec)

And you know, the whole group. Dianne Feinstein, who in my opinion leaked the papers. It was terrible what was happening, and what was happening to him. Very unfair. So I did stick, Jeanine. And I'm very happy I did.

Jeanine Pirro

00:02:29 - 00:02:54 (25 sec)

And you know, Mr. President you have a very uncanny instinct. You have a gut sense of things, and you were very disciplined after Christine Ford came out, and the left was going wacky. But there was one point where you pivoted in a rally in Mississippi, just a few days ago. You went off script, and some people said that you were extremely unkind to Christine Ford.

Jeanine Pirro

00:02:54 - 00:03:04 (10 sec)

But what... what was that got you to pivot from your restraint about her, and to fight for Kavanaugh at that point?

Donald Trump

00:03:04 - 00:03:21 (17 sec)

Well there were a lot of things happening that weren't correct, they weren't true. There were a lot of things that were left unsaid. And I thought I had to even the playing field, because it was very unfair to judge -- now I can, you know, very nicely say Justice Kavanaugh.

Jeanine Pirro

00:03:21 - 00:03:21 (1 sec)

Donald Trump

00:03:21 - 00:03:32 (11 sec)

It was a very unfair situation. So I evened the playing field, and once I did that that, it started to sail through. He was treated very very unfairly Jeanine.

Jeanine Pirro

00:03:32 - 00:03:55 (23 sec)

And Mr. President, you know, when you say it started to sail through? Even the Washington Post -- I'm going to repeat that -- even The Washington Post, top of the fold today, talks about the fact that when you went off script, and you went after Christine Ford, saying nothing that wasn't already true, talking about her memory failures regarding the fundamentals of her assault.

Jeanine Pirro

00:03:55 - 00:04:16 (21 sec)

They said it was a turning point to victory, that when you did that, you turbocharged the momentum behind Kavanagh when his fate was most in doubt. I mean, there's no question that he has to turn around, and the country and recognize that what you did was instinctive, it was guttural, and you did it, and you won.

Donald Trump

00:04:16 - 00:04:39 (23 sec)

Well I think it was a very important moment. It was a very big turning point as The Washington Post was actually, shockingly, they said somethings that was very positive. And I'm very proud of it, because we have a very -- we're going to a great, great justice of the Supreme Court for many years, and I fought hard to make sure that he got on, and you're going to see what happens.

Donald Trump

00:04:39 - 00:04:44 (5 sec)

You're going to see how great he will be ,and will become. I have no doubt about it at all.

Jeanine Pirro

00:04:44 - 00:05:04 (19 sec)

All right, so coming out of this should there be consequences Mr. President, to those people who promoted falsehoods. When you look at someone like that lawyer, Avenatti, who, you know, the allegations that, that he was promoting when he brings out this alleged victim, were so preposterous that they dissipated on their own.

Jeanine Pirro

00:05:04 - 00:05:17 (13 sec)

Should this person be held for the falsehoods, not just in terms of grievances with the Bar Association, but even beyond that?

Donald Trump

00:05:17 - 00:05:31 (14 sec)

Well, he made false accusations about me, on another matter. Totally false, it's a joke, when, just a disgrace that they're able to do it. I'd love to see our libel laws get tough enough so you could take people and sue them.

Jeanine Pirro

00:05:31 - 00:05:33 (1 sec)

Donald Trump

00:05:33 - 00:05:50 (17 sec)

But, the same thing. Totally false statement. You look at what happened and yes, I think they should be held liable. I would say they should be held to the highest standard. You can't go around and whether it's making up stories, or making false statements about such an important position, you can't do that.

Donald Trump

00:05:50 - 00:06:14 (25 sec)

You destroy somebody's life. And there were many, many false things that were said about a very fine man, and would would have destroyed his family if this didn't happen. And it all came together at the end, and people realized it was false accusations, false statements. It was really something very interesting and actually very nice to see, because he suffered Jeanine.

Jeanine Pirro

00:06:14 - 00:06:15 (0 sec)

Donald Trump

00:06:15 - 00:06:24 (9 sec)

That was really unfair. I watched that very closely, and he suffered with false statements made about him. tTings that never happened.

Jeanine Pirro

00:06:24 - 00:06:51 (27 sec)

Did the Democrats make a tactical mistake that worked to Republicans advantage, unfortunately with Brett Kavanaugh as a sacrificial lamb, who I believe -- and I'm just going to say it again -- the turnaround was you in Mississippi. But, did they make a tactical mistake, and is their anger going to carry them to the midterms in a positive way?

Donald Trump

00:06:51 - 00:07:04 (12 sec)

Well I think they overplayed their hand. I think they were very dishonest with the leak and other things that they did. Even look at the lawyers representing certain people. They're right out of the Democrat playbook.

Jeanine Pirro

00:07:04 - 00:07:04 (0 sec)

Donald Trump

00:07:04 - 00:07:26 (22 sec)

They've represented others that are Democrats. That's what they do. How did they end up with all these lawyers that are always the same ones, and I won't even go into names. But I think they overplayed their hand, and I can tell you that the enthusiasm and the love the the the feeling in the Republican Party, right now, is higher than I've ever seen it.

Jeanine Pirro

00:07:26 - 00:07:26 (1 sec)

Donald Trump

00:07:26 - 00:07:50 (24 sec)

And you see polls that are going up like rocket ships, races that are going to be won by margins, on races, frankly, that the Republicans wouldn't have won, and now they're leading, and they're just better. We need more votes so that we could cut taxes even more, so that we can do things that they will never do. They get to open borders and crime is going to pour in. We want to have no crime.

Donald Trump

00:07:50 - 00:08:02 (12 sec)

We want to have borders where you come into the country legally. You come in through a legal process, and so many things. The enthusiasm for the Republican Party is the strongest I've ever seen it Jeanine.

Jeanine Pirro

00:08:02 - 00:08:03 (1 sec)

Donald Trump

00:08:03 - 00:08:06 (3 sec)

And it happened all over the last two to three weeks.

Jeanine Pirro

00:08:06 - 00:08:28 (22 sec)

All right, and, and if you're if you're joining us, I'm Judge Jeanine Pirro. You're joining Justice. We are having a conversation -- it is the top of the hour -- with the President of the United States. I'm going to continue that conversation. Mr. President, continuing with the discussion, you said that Murkowski will never recover from voting no on Kavanaugh.

Jeanine Pirro

00:08:28 - 00:08:41 (13 sec)

And then she kind of neutralized it, by saying she was neutralized with the Senator Daines, I believe. whose daughter was getting married. What's going to happen to her in 2022?

Donald Trump

00:08:41 - 00:09:06 (25 sec)

I don't know what's going to happen to her. I thought it was a very, very sad vote. I thought it was very, frankly, disgraceful. And I appreciate that a Democrat, Joe Manchin, came and he voted in favor of Justice Kavanaugh. And that was a good thing. But that was very disappointing. The people of Alaska, I had tremendous success in Alaska.

Donald Trump

00:09:06 - 00:09:08 (2 sec)

And what I've done for them with ANWR --

Jeanine Pirro

00:09:08 - 00:09:09 (0 sec)

Donald Trump

00:09:09 - 00:09:29 (20 sec)

-- which is one of the biggest drilling sites in the world. Ronald Reagan tried to get it approved. Bush tried to get it approved. Everybody tried to get it approved for close to 50 years. I got it approved. It means trillions of dollars, and I'm not equating one thing with the other at all. But I've done so much for Alaska.

Donald Trump

00:09:29 - 00:09:32 (3 sec)

I was shocked to see her vote. Absolutely shocked.

Jeanine Pirro

00:09:32 - 00:09:33 (1 sec)

Donald Trump

00:09:33 - 00:09:46 (13 sec)

And frankly, so were other Republicans. It was a very sad day, I think, for her. And I think it will go down as a sad day for her. because he's going to become a great Supreme Court justice.

Jeanine Pirro

00:09:46 - 00:10:09 (23 sec)

Yes. And with respect to Susan Collins, and the speech that she made on the Senate floor yesterday, which she's been receiving kudos from everyone -- they say that Senator Susan Collins is now receiving death threats. And, you know, I'm going to show some of the video of people who continue to disrupt outside the Senate floor as they voted today.

Jeanine Pirro

00:10:09 - 00:10:22 (13 sec)

What can we do about this? What kind of protection are United States Senators going to get in this rough and tumble left that seems to have lost all sense of law and order.

Donald Trump

00:10:22 - 00:10:47 (25 sec)

Well, you receive threats on both sides. But I will tell you Susan Collins was a star. What she did was incredible. I spoke to her yesterday. What she said and the way she said it was brilliant. And it really covered it. She has, from the beginning, really liked Brett Kavanaugh. She had respect for his incredible genius, him as a scholar, him as a great person of the law.

Donald Trump

00:10:47 - 00:11:12 (26 sec)

Nobody knows that better, and she respected that -- I know -- and she respected it from the beginning, and she wanted to make sure that she was right on every other subject, including outside influence that came in. And in the end she went through, probably as carefully as anybody, she went through every paper, every document, and I thought her statement yesterday was absolutely brilliant.

Donald Trump

00:11:12 - 00:11:23 (11 sec)

And we're very proud of her. And I'll tell you what: she's more popular now than she's ever been. And she's, she's always been good, but she is more popular now, Jeanine, than she's ever been.

Jeanine Pirro

00:11:23 - 00:11:36 (13 sec)

You know, one of the things that she referenced, Mr. President, was that there was dark money -- that a quote -- dark money opposing this Kavanaugh nomination. What do you think she meant by that?

Donald Trump

00:11:36 - 00:11:56 (20 sec)

Well, I think I'd rather let her explain it, but it's a very, very serious thing going on with respect to this nomination. And the Democrats know, he's so good, they just didn't want him there. And they would have fought others also, by the way, but they did not want him there. He is great in every way, and he's central casting.

Jeanine Pirro

00:11:56 - 00:11:57 (0 sec)

Donald Trump

00:11:57 - 00:12:15 (19 sec)

I mean, this is a man that was born for the position. I heard his name ten years ago. They used to talk about, he will someday be a Supreme Court justice. That was long before I thought of running for president, frankly. I used to hear his name as somebody that really should to be on the Supreme Court, and that's what I did.

Donald Trump

00:12:15 - 00:12:21 (6 sec)

I put him on the Supreme Court, and it's going to be -- I really think it's a great day for our country.

Jeanine Pirro

00:12:21 - 00:12:32 (11 sec)

Oh, a lot of people are sharing in this celebration, Mr. President. Do you think, though, when you spoke to him of course, do you think it was bittersweet for him?

Donald Trump

00:12:32 - 00:12:59 (28 sec)

Well I know this. It was going to be very easy. And I picked him also for that reason. I said, this man is so good in every way -- on a personal basis, on an intellectual basis, on a scholarly basis, and schools, the highest grade, the highest marks. First in his class. I said, this will be an easy one. And they fabricated stories about him to make him look as bad as possible.

Donald Trump

00:12:59 - 00:13:17 (18 sec)

They're fabrications, had no bearing in truth, and it was really very difficult. And I'm really happy that we all stuck it out. You know, you could say I stuck it out, but he stuck it out also, and that took courage. What they did to him and his family Jeanine was horrible.

Jeanine Pirro

00:13:17 - 00:13:35 (18 sec)

Yeah, you know it's a tough thing, especially when you have little girls. I want to move on to something that you talked about at the rally, Mr. President, and you talked about a sixth branch of the armed forces: the Space Force. What is the Space Force?

Donald Trump

00:13:35 - 00:13:57 (23 sec)

Well, Jeanine, as we advance space is becoming more and more important for defense, and that means defense and offense. And that means if it's going to be a part of the Air Force, or one of our other forces, frankly, it's never going to be out front. It needs its own identity. And we're doing space force, the generals agree with me 100 percent.

Donald Trump

00:13:57 - 00:14:09 (12 sec)

And so much of our defense and offense will be related to space. So, we're setting up a new branch of the armed forces that think is very rapidly. Everybody agrees with it.

Jeanine Pirro

00:14:09 - 00:14:15 (6 sec)

All right, and Melania, who was in Africa today, I think in Egypt --

Donald Trump

00:14:15 - 00:14:17 (1 sec)

Right, that's right.

Jeanine Pirro

00:14:17 - 00:14:20 (4 sec)

at the, in Giza at the pyramids. She looked so phenomenal.

Donald Trump

00:14:20 - 00:14:22 (2 sec)

I agree. I agree.

Jeanine Pirro

00:14:22 - 00:14:23 (1 sec)

Her visit there --

Donald Trump

00:14:23 - 00:14:31 (8 sec)

We're very proud of her. She was in four African countries. She went -- today, she was actually at the pyramids --

Jeanine Pirro

00:14:31 - 00:14:32 (1 sec)

Donald Trump

00:14:32 - 00:14:46 (14 sec)

-- and she's coming home. She'll be home very early tomorrow morning, and she did a fantastic job. She's a great first lady. She's representing our country so well, and people love Melania, and they're all very proud of her.

Jeanine Pirro

00:14:46 - 00:15:23 (37 sec)

Well but your numbers have certainly gone up. But I must tell you, her numbers are even higher, and she is such a classy First Lady. It's always great looking at her and listening to her. Mr. President, I am sure you have a lot of things to celebrate tonight. I'm hoping that as we go toward the midterms, that -- that we'll be able to to to get the results of this successful -- or feel that results of this successful momentum from your party, although I suspect the Democratic is going to be out there too.

Jeanine Pirro

00:15:23 - 00:15:27 (4 sec)

Last question: which one wins?

Donald Trump

00:15:27 - 00:15:49 (22 sec)

Well, I think the Republicans are going to do very well. We need some more -- you know we have these tiny majorities. Tiny. If somebody catches a cold, Jeanine, it's like we have to wait till they come back. We have -- we need more votes to get it all done. We're building the wall as we speak. But we need -- I want to get it all at one time, because we can have it done very quickly, and so many other things.

Donald Trump

00:15:49 - 00:16:10 (21 sec)

But, for the most part, we've done almost everything we -- we're building the military. We have all of the money we need. That was very tough. That was massively more than the wall. The wall is very small by comparison, but we've done so much and we're so happy about it. We're doing a great job for the American people, and it is my honor to do that.

Donald Trump

00:16:10 - 00:16:12 (2 sec)

I'm very happy about it.

Jeanine Pirro

00:16:12 - 00:16:23 (11 sec)

All right, Mr. President we thank you very much for joining Justice this evening. I think it's time you celebrated a little, although knowing you would probably just go back to work. Thank you very much.

Donald Trump

00:16:23 - 00:16:25 (2 sec)

Thank you very much. Jeanine. Thank you.

Jeanine Pirro

00:16:25 - 00:16:26 (1 sec)