WATCH: Will Donald Trump pardon himself? President-elect goes public
PALM BEACH, Florida – In the wake of Joe Biden’s presidential pardon of his son Hunter, President-elect Donald Trump was asked if he will pardon himself in connection with any legal cases remaining against him.
Trump answered the question from NBC’s Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press” Sunday morning.
“I didn’t do anything wrong,” Trump said.
“I was given the option, and the lawyers told me, very specific. I don’t have to go into who, but very high up in in the administration said, ‘Sir, if you pardon yourself, you’re going to look guilty and you did nothing wrong.’ Oh, I had that option.”
“I could have saved myself a lot of legal fees. But it turned out that I was right. Look at what’s gone on. Everything’s being dropped. I still have a Fani Willis, Fani, a total hoax. That’s a total hoax. It’s all being dropped.”
WATCH: Will Donald #Trump pardon himself? President-elect goes public
Also thrashes everybody on Jan. 6 Committee: ‘Honestly, they should go to jail’ #J6 #MeetthePress pic.twitter.com/g6vTzWiE0F
— WorldNetDaily (@worldnetdaily) December 8, 2024
Welker also asked the president-elect about reporting that Biden is considering “preemptive pardons for some of the people who have clashed with Mr. Trump, including senator-elect Adam Schiff, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and former congressman, Liz Cheney.”
Welker said: “As part of his response, Mr. Trump lashed out at the Jan. 6th Committee, accusing it of unfairly targeting him and even of destroying its records, which the committee denies.”
“And she [Cheney] was behind it. And so was Bennie Thompson and everybody on that committee,” Trump explained. “For what they did, honestly, they should go to jail.”
Welker asked: “So you think Liz Cheney should go to jail?”
“For what they did … I think that everybody, anybody that voted in favor,” Trump responded.
“Are you going to direct your FBI director and your attorney general to send them to jail?” Welker asked.
Trump replied: “No, not at all. I think that they’ll have to look at that, but I’m not going to, I’m gonna focus on drill, baby, drill.”
Trump was also asked if he would end birthright citizenship on Day One in office.
“Yeah, absolutely,” he said.
Welker mentioned the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution saying all persons born in the United States are citizens.
“Can you get around the 14th Amendment with an executive action?” she asked.
“We’ll have to get a change. Maybe have to go back to the people. But we have to end it. We’re the only country that has it,” Trump said.
“Someone sets a foot, one foot, on our land, congratulations, you are now a citizen of the United States of America! Yes, we’re going to end that, because it’s ridiculous.”
“Through executive action?” Welker asked.
“Well, if we can, through executive action, Trump said, then pointing to his first term in office.
“I was going to do it through executive action, but we had to fix COVID first, to be honest with you. We have to end it.”
Trump was also asked if he would he concede his loss in the 2020 presidential election.
“No. No. Why would I do that?” he responded.
The full broadcast of “Meet the Press” can be viewed here.
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