Donald Trump says he will testify: In a wide-ranging interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt, the former president says he is willing to take the stand, although that doesn’t mean he actually will.
Donald Trump…What Did He Say Now?
Donald Trump, over the years, has said a great deal of things in interviews that his lawyers would probably have preferred that he not say. After all, most people who are under indictment are advised by their attorneys not to speak to the press at all.
Trump, being a presidential candidate — and being Donald Trump — is highly unlikely to take that advice.
The former president did a wide-ranging interview with conservative talk show host Hugh Hewitt, and among other eye-opening statements — such as when he offered to debate Meghan Markle — Trump said he would be willing to take the stand in his own defense.
Hewitt, who is also a lawyer and law professor, had to ask the question a few times.
“Well, I have a lot of good lawyers, but I have different, you know how many cases they’re suing me on?” Trump answered the first time, per the transcript on Hewitt’s website. “This is election interference. They want to make it so busy, and they want to also cost me a lot of money so I can’t take it…Joe Biden is the most corrupt, most incompetent president in the history of the United States. They want me to give my money to lawyers. But I have many lawyers. They’re all doing a nice job, and we’ll see how it all turns out.”
When asked again if he would testify, Trump declared “Oh, yes, absolutely,” After a digression about “Russia Russia Russia” and the Steele dossier, he once again said “ I look forward, I look forward to testifying. At trial, I’ll testify.”
Also in the interview, Hewitt asked if “the Democratic prosecutors are [indicting] you again and again in order to nominate you as the Republican…or in order to beat you and keep you off the ticket?”
Trump answered, “Only to get me out. They don’t want me running. They, only fools say that you know what’s happened is because of the fact that the polls have gone the opposite way, the American public sees it’s a scam.”
Hewitt asked Trump how he plans to run for president while also facing multiple criminal cases.
“We’ll be asking for many dismissals of many of these fake cases. These are fake cases. These are cases that were brought by, look, these cases were brought by Biden. These are campaign cases. Nobody’s done it except in banana republics. These aren’t cases. These are cases that were brought by political opponents. Nobody’s ever seen anything like it,” the former president said.
The host also asked Trump if he would agree to a bargain in which all of the prosecutors drop the charges against him, in exchange for his agreement to drop out of the presidential race.
“I think they would do that. I think they’d do that right now. I have no interest. You know me well enough. No interest. Absolutely no interest. I think they’d make that deal right now,” Trump said. He went on to say of the prosecutors that “these are corrupt people. These are fascists. These are Marxists. These are communists. These are sick people that are destroying our country.”
When asked about the documents case, thought to be the strongest of the four cases against him, and whether he directed anyone to move boxes, Trump answered “I’m allowed to do whatever I want. I come under the Presidential Records Act. I’m not telling you. You know, every time I talk to you, oh, I have a breaking story. You don’t have any story. I come under the Presidential Records Act.”
Hewitt asked him what would happen if Biden is unable to run again, and the Democratic candidate ended up being “ Gavin Newsom or Kamala Harris or Jared Polis or Josh Shapiro.”
“I think I’d beat anybody. We had the greatest economy in history. We did a phenomenal job on everything,” he answered.
Author Expertise and Experience:
Stephen Silver is a Senior Editor for 19FortyFive. He is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Stephen has authored thousands of articles over the years that focus on politics, technology, and the economy for over a decade. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
