Trump when asked if he’d be kinder in his second term: ‘Yes, I think so’
President Trump was asked in a new interview whether he would be “kinder” and “gentler” if he is elected to serve a second term in the Oval Office.
The question was lobbed during a sit-down White House interview with Jason Whitlock, an outspoken Trump advocate with the newly formed outlet OutKick. The interview was released on Wednesday.
“When you go into a second term, if you go into a second term, might we see a different personality from President Trump?” Whitlock asked. “A kinder, gentler President Trump?”
Whitlock cited Trump’s reaction after appearing to learn of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death just after stepping off the stage at a campaign rally last month. He offered his condolences and hailed Ginsburg as “an amazing woman who led an amazing life.”
“I was like ‘Wow, I want — can we see more of that President Trump?’ ” Whitlock recalled, before asking if Trump will be “as much of a fighter as you are in your first term?”
“I think the answer is yes,” Trump responded. “I want the answer to be yes, but when I first came here, there was so much to do. I didn’t have time to be totally and politically correct.”
“People don’t like me. But, you know, the softer side is good,” he added.
The president then listed several accomplishments from his administration, citing his tax cuts and efforts to rebuild the military.
“The answer is yes, I think so,” he continued. “And I want to bring it all together. And what brings it together is success.”
He went on to say that his efforts were postponed by the coronavirus, suggesting the onset of the “China plague” sent him “back to the drawing board.”
“I hope the answer is yes,” Trump said. “But a lot of it is time … Being politically correct takes time. And sometimes we don’t have time. But the answer is yes, and I’d certainly like to.”
Whitlock is a controversial voice on sports and Black issues. The former Fox Sports personality left the outlet in June and formed OutKick.com with Clay Travis, host of Fox Sports radio, The newly launched website focuses on politics and sports.
During the interview, Whitlock called antifa “the modern day KKK.”
“They’re a terrorist, domestic organization,” the interviewer said.
He acknowledged that he would be “criticized by the media” for broaching the subject but said antifa is “hurting Black people.”
“People are, ‘Mr. Trump, denounce this, denounce that,’ ” Whitlock continued. “Can we get lawmakers to really go after this group? They’re tearing our country apart.”
Trump and members of his administration have sought to attribute violence and vandalism by protesters in Portland, Ore., as being part of it.
He publicly went after his FBI Director Christopher Wray for saying antifa is “more of an ideology or a movement than we do an organization” during congressional testimony.
Before the interview was released, Whitlock appeared on Fox News’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight” to discuss Trump’s “momentum” among Black male voters.
“I think we’ve been carrying on a facade for three and a half years as Black men that somehow we can’t relate to Donald Trump, that we didn’t celebrate him in hip hop music for decades, that he wasn’t friends with countless Black athletes, celebrities, entertainers,” Whitlock said.
He added that the “masculinity of Trump” represents the patriarchy.
“He is not politically correct. Those are things, I’m just, I’m sorry, a lot of Black men can relate to. It’s not really surprising to me he’s starting to make headway in that direction,” Whitlock said.
WATCH: @WhitlockJason says “it’s not really surprising” that President Trump is gaining the support of Black Americans.
“Look at his support of HBCUs, the First Step Act, the criminal justice reform he’s done, the opportunity zones…the record [low] unemployment for Black men” pic.twitter.com/nCiTI0tQLx
— Trump War Room – Text TRUMP to 88022 (@TrumpWarRoom) October 21, 2020
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