Transcript - Interview: David Brody and Jenna Browder from CBN Interview Donald Trump - October 31, 2018 | Factba.se

Jenna Browder

00:00:00 - 00:00:03 (4 sec)

Mr. President, thank you so much for having us on Air Force One.

Donald Trump

00:00:03 - 00:00:05 (1 sec)

Thank you both. Thank you both.

Jenna Browder

00:00:05 - 00:00:12 (7 sec)

First question: we're just a few days away from the midterms. How are you feeling and what do you think about this so-called Blue Wave?

Donald Trump

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

Well, I think the Blue Wave is dead, frankly, and I think we're doing very well. It looks like we're going to win the Senate, which is very important. That's why I'm here tonight, and we're going to Florida, where we have a great gubernatorial candidate, and a great Senate candidate and Rick Scott for the Senate.

Donald Trump

00:00:29 - 00:00:49 (20 sec)

Ron DeSantis for governor. And, I think we're doing very well. There's a lot of feeling about the horrors of the illegal immigration problem, where people think they're just going to come into our country and take over our country, and it's just not going to happen. We're not going to let that happen. But the Democrats want to let that happen.

Donald Trump

00:00:49 - 00:00:58 (9 sec)

It's crazy. So, we're doing very well, and the numbers reflected, as you know, and I think we can do -- I think we'll win the Senate. I think we're going to do well in the House.

David Brody

00:00:58 - 00:01:06 (9 sec)

Mr. President, what about Nancy Pelosi's comments? She's already kind of spiking the football with "we will win, we will win." What do you make of some of that?

Donald Trump

00:01:06 - 00:01:23 (17 sec)

Well, I haven't seen her comments. I know that -- look, she's been losing for a long time, so you know, she would like to win. If you go by history -- but nobody's ever had an economy like I produced. We have an economy that's the best it's ever been. We have probably the greatest economy we've ever had in this country, with jobs and everything else.

Donald Trump

00:01:23 - 00:01:30 (7 sec)

But she's been saying she's going to win for a long time. She hasn't been doing too well. We'll see what happens. I think we're going to do very well in the House also.

Jenna Browder

00:01:30 - 00:01:35 (5 sec)

Have you thought much about after the midterms? What's kind of top of your mind?

Donald Trump

00:01:35 - 00:01:48 (13 sec)

Well, it depends on what happens. If we win the midterms, we're going to go on to even greater things. And if for some reason we don't, if we, for instance, if we lose the House, it's going to be a different kind of a game. But it can be a very good game.

David Brody

00:01:48 - 00:02:03 (16 sec)

What about -- we've heard so much about hostility and incivility and the media has been on you as -- this just in: the media has been on you. What kind of role do you believe that you play? Do you feel that you have any responsibility in this whatsoever?

Donald Trump

00:02:03 - 00:02:23 (20 sec)

Well, I heard the media's extremely unfair. It has been from the time I announced. And a lot of that has to do with the fact that I'm Republican and I'm conservative, for many other reasons, and probably #metoo. But I will say, the media, if you look at yesterday, I went to Pittsburgh. I was treated so well with the first lady.

Donald Trump

00:02:23 - 00:02:46 (23 sec)

We were treated so well. It was sad, obviously a very solemn -but it was so instructive, so beautiful. The rabbi was great. We had such a great day. We met the first responders. The -- we met the SWAT team. We met some very brave people in the hospital. We went over to the temple, went into the temple. It was so beautiful.

Donald Trump

00:02:46 - 00:03:04 (18 sec)

And there was a small group of protesters, but they were very far away, so we didn't get to see them or hear them. They were very far away. It was a very small group. They tried to make it like it was a big group. It was, maybe a hundred people, maybe less. And we came home, and I thought it was actually a beautiful day.

Donald Trump

00:03:04 - 00:03:23 (19 sec)

And the media just absolutely, you know, went after me it was the most incredible thing. There was so violent and vicious. All of the news: ABC, CBS, NBC. CNN, I don't even watch, but I assume, you know, I know -- I'm sure, it's with CNN, but because, they're just, you know, automatically fake. But it was really fake news.

Donald Trump

00:03:23 - 00:03:43 (20 sec)

We had a great day. It was -- it was so respectful of the Office of President. And if you got home, and if you read The New York Times or The Washington Post, or if you saw any of the networks, you would say it was violence. It was -- it was riots. I mean, it was the most incredible thing I've ever seen.

Donald Trump

00:03:43 - 00:04:09 (25 sec)

And everybody that was on that trip agreed with us. It was so wrong what they did, it was so phony. And I think that phony news, fake news, when you see the kind of things happen, like happened yesterday where Pittsburgh was so beautiful. Went to the hospital, they didn't even cover it, and they didn't have to cover it. But it was -- it was a great thing to meet these warriors, they're really warriors who did a phenomenal job where it could have been even worse, could have been much worse.

Donald Trump

00:04:09 - 00:04:29 (20 sec)

They did such a great job. They don't even cover it. All they did were say protesters, protesters. And the protesters were blocks away and it was a very small group -- I know protests -- it was a very small group of protests. But if you read this morning's New York Times or Washington Post or saw the networks, you would say it was World War 3. It's really disgraceful.

Jenna Browder

00:04:29 - 00:04:41 (12 sec)

There -- there are people, kind of following up on that, who like to call you anti-Semitic, who like to call you a racist, Mr. President. What would you say to these people?

Donald Trump

00:04:41 - 00:05:02 (21 sec)

Well, you know the word racist is used about every Republican that's winning. Any time a Republican is leading, they take out the R word, the racist word, and I'm not anti-immigrant at all. I'm all for people coming into the country legally, and people based on merit. But when you see a caravan that's pouring up to our country with thousands of people, maybe 10,000 people now.

Donald Trump

00:05:02 - 00:05:24 (22 sec)

And then you see the violence that was caused by a second caravan that's forming on the northern Mexico side, where you look at what's going -- Guatemala and Honduras, and you look at the violence, and people being hurt. Mexican soldiers being hurt and police. They're throwing rocks in their face. Look, we're not going to let them come into our country.

Donald Trump

00:05:24 - 00:05:50 (26 sec)

We have 10, and we might even go up to 15,000 soldiers on our border. We are building a wall in its own way. We're putting up walls and barbed wire, and when you look at what we're doing, they're just not coming into our country. They might as well go back now. But take a look at the violence that they've created down there, the level of -- of I mean these are not -- these are not angels, as you would say. These are not angels.

David Brody

00:05:50 - 00:05:56 (6 sec)

You were -- you say you're not going to let him into the country. What is this about tent cities? And -- that could be a tricky situation.

Donald Trump

00:05:56 - 00:06:12 (16 sec)

Well, we're going to build housing -- obviously it has to be built very fast. And we're going to give them better housing than many of them have. We're going to hold them. We are not going to release them. We're going to hold them until their deportation hearing goes and their asylum hearings.

David Brody

00:06:12 - 00:06:13 (1 sec)

No catch and release?

Donald Trump

00:06:13 - 00:06:30 (17 sec)

No, we're not we're not going to do catch and release Catch and release is no good. Obama proved that. President Obama proved that. Catch and release is no good, and we've got it down to a very good system, and we're going to be very strong on it. We're not going to be releasing people into our country that never show up for their court case.

Jenna Browder

00:06:30 - 00:06:40 (10 sec)

I want to ask you about the African-American vote, Mr. President, and Kanye West coming out and saying that he's getting out of politics. What did you make of that?

Donald Trump

00:06:40 - 00:06:57 (17 sec)

Well, I think I've a very good relationship with Kanye. In fact, one of my people spoke of just a little while ago. Kanye is very happy with me, as he tells me, and I think we have a very good relationship. I think I'm doing great with the African-American vote, because we have the best unemployment numbers.

Donald Trump

00:06:57 - 00:07:14 (18 sec)

If you look at our unemployment numbers that just came out again, they're the best in the history of our country, for African-Americans and frankly, for Asians and for Hispanics. They're the best ever in our country. Best in 65 years for women. So, I think when people see that I think, I'm doing very well.

Donald Trump

00:07:14 - 00:07:24 (10 sec)

You've seen the African-American numbers. You've seen the Hispanic numbers. Look, I'm strong on the border, but you know who wants that more than anybody else? Hispanics that are living in our country.

David Brody

00:07:24 - 00:07:35 (11 sec)

Real quick, on immigration, one last question. What about the critics who say, look you're just doing all of this for political, you know, to gin up the base, and everything. What -- what's the answer to that?

Donald Trump

00:07:35 - 00:07:40 (5 sec)

Well, if I am, I've been doing it for a long time, because I've been on this issue for a long time. Ever since you've known me.

David Brody

00:07:40 - 00:07:41 (1 sec)

Donald Trump

00:07:41 - 00:07:59 (18 sec)

And now we have a chance to do something about it. The problem we have is we have no Democrat votes. We need Democrat votes in order to pass bills, and, you know, because we have a very tiny, little majority. We'll see what that is. But now we have another election coming up. We need Republicans, because the Democrats will give us no votes on anything.

Donald Trump

00:07:59 - 00:08:16 (18 sec)

They don't mind open borders. They don't mind crime, because open borders mean crime. They don't mind crime. They don't want to take care of our military. They don't want to take care of our vets. And that's where we are. But we have no votes on immigration for, you know, with the Democrats and we can't let that happen.

Donald Trump

00:08:16 - 00:08:22 (6 sec)

So, I've been very strong on immigration, David, as you know, right from the beginning. Right from the first time you saw me.

David Brody

00:08:22 - 00:08:37 (15 sec)

Okay, well I guess I wanted to ask you about the evangelicals. I know you love the evangelicals. We've talked about that. 2016, they showed up in spades for you. If they don't do it this time, then there could be a much different outcome. Are you in agreement with that?

Donald Trump

00:08:37 - 00:08:56 (19 sec)

Well, they're going to show up for me, because nobody has done more for Christians, or evangelicals, or frankly, religion than I have. You see all the things that we've passed, including the Johnson Amendment, and so many things that we've nullified. Nobody has done more than we have. Mexico City, take a look at that.

David Brody

00:08:56 - 00:08:57 (1 sec)

Donald Trump

00:08:57 - 00:09:15 (19 sec)

Things -- things that, frankly, until Ronald Reagan, I mean nobody -- nobody did anything. So, I know they're very happy with me. We've seen them very happy. The question is whether or not they're going to go out and vote when I'm not running. I have no doubt they're going to be there in '20. I hope they're going to be there now, because it'll be a lot easier if they are, a lot better.

Donald Trump

00:09:15 - 00:09:22 (7 sec)

You know, many of the things that we passed to make it good for Christians and Evangelicals and so many others.

Donald Trump

00:09:22 - 00:09:43 (21 sec)

You look at any religion you really talk about. So many of those things can be terminated. You know -- it's all fragile. You put the wrong people in office, and the evangelicals, all of a sudden, they're going to end up losing a lot of the things, maybe all of the things, that I gave them, and got for them and fought for them.

Donald Trump

00:09:43 - 00:09:52 (9 sec)

They've been tremendous supporters. I love 'em. I think they love me. I think they understand me. They've been great. We've had great support.

Jenna Browder

00:09:52 - 00:09:55 (3 sec)

Mr. President, thank you so much.

Donald Trump

00:09:55 - 00:09:56 (1 sec)

Thank you very much. Thank you, Jenna. Thank you.