15 key things we learned from Donald

Trump's first TV interview as

president-elect

SNAPPA News14 November 2016

Donald Trump gave his first televised interview since being elected the president
of the US.

The 70-year-old sat down with CBS’s Lesley Stahl for 60 Minutes, which was
filmed at his penthouse apartment inside Trump Tower, and touched on a range of
subjects that included his plans to build a wall on the Mexican border, Obamacare
and abortion.

Trump’s interview offers a glimpse into what his presidency might look like and
here are they key things you need to know:

1. On building a wall around Mexico

President-elect Donald Trump says the wall on the Mexican border may have fence
segments, tonight on #60Minutes: https://t.co/n4ZKu8f3mk
pic.twitter.com/bCmtXgcyFh

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) November 13, 2016

When asked about whether he would actually build a wall, Trump answered with a
definite “yes”.
When Stahl probed futher about the possibility of a “fence” instead of a wall,
Trump replied: “For certain areas I would. But for certain areas a wall is more
appropriate.”

He added: “I’m very good at this, it’s called construction.”

2. On immigration

View photos
(Richard Drew/AP)

The president-elect said the first move in his immigration policy would be to
deport or incarcerate undocumented immigrants who have criminal records.

“What we are going to do is get people that are criminals and have criminal
records – gang members, drug dealers,” Trump said. “We have a lot of these
people, probably two million, maybe three million. We will get them out of our
country or we are going to incarcerate.”

But he appeared undecided about his plans for undocumented immigrants who do
not have a criminal record.

“After the border is secure and after everything gets normalised, we’re going to
make a determination on the people that you’re talking about who are terrific
people,” he said.

3. On Obamacare
The president-elect says he'll keep parts of Obamacare, including coverage for
people with pre-existing conditions: https://t.co/SeZpwfZZXN
pic.twitter.com/GEcS7BG4eN

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) November 13, 2016

During his campaign, Trump was very vocal about scrapping Obamacare – a policy
that extended health insurance coverage to include those who received no
coverage from their employers and are not covered by US health programmes.

In his interview, Trump said he would keep some parts of Obamacare, such as the
measure that protects people with pre-existing conditions, which he described as
“one of the strongest assets” of the law.

Trump says he would "very much try to keep" pre-existing conditions protections,
"under 26" rule in Obamacare. #60minutes

— Allie Bidwell (@alliebidwell) November 14, 2016

“People with pre-existing conditions will still be covered,” Trump said. “Also
children living with parents for an extended period will get it.”

But he added that over time, Obamacare would be replaced, saying: “It’ll be just
fine. We are not going to have like a two-day period and we’re not going to have a
two-year period where there’s nothing.

“It will be repealed and replaced. And we’ll know. And it’ll be great healthcare for
much less money.”

4. On abortion

View photos
(Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)

When asked about whether he would overturn Roe v Wade – the 1973 Supreme
Court decision that made abortion legal across the US, overriding state laws
restricting access to the procedure – Trump said: “I am pro-life. The judges will
be pro-life.”

This means if the decision is ultimately overturned during the Trump presidency,
abortion rights issue would become subject to the laws of individual states.
Going to another state to get an abortion.. #Trump on #60minutes SMH

— Melissa K Barclay (@MelissaKBarclay) November 14, 2016

When Stahl asked whether this meant some women wouldn’t be able to have an
abortion in the future, Trump said: “They’ll perhaps have to go, they’ll have to go
to another state.”

When pressed further, he added: “Well, we’ll see what happens. It’s got a long
way to go, just so you understand. That has a long, long way to go.”

5. On people being “afraid” of him

View photos
(Nati Harnik/AP)

Trump says some people only fear him because they don’t know him.

When Stahl asked what he would say to those protesting against him, Trump
replied: “Don’t be afraid. We are going to bring our country back. But certainly,
don’t be afraid.

“You know, we just had an election and you have to be given a little time.

“If Hillary had won and if my people went out and protested, everybody would say,
‘Oh, that’s a terrible thing’. And it would have been a much different attitude.
There is a different attitude. You know, there is a double standard here.”

6. On Isis

View photos
(Paul Sancya/AP)
Trump refused to go into detail on how he will tackle Isis – the Islamic militant
group in Iraq and Syria that has become notorious for mass killings, abductions
and beheadings.

When asked about his plans, Trump said: “I don’t tell you that. I don’t tell you
that.”

He also claimed he knew more about the terror group than the generals in the US
military, saying: “I probably say I do because look at the job they have done. All I
can tell you is that we will get rid of Isis.”

7. On his presidential campaign and political rival

Hillary Clinton
“She couldn’t have been nicer,” Donald Trump says of his post-election call
w/Hillary Clinton. “She is very strong”

Stahl asked Trump about the “rhetoric” in his campaign where words such as
“nasty woman” and “crooked Hillary” were used to describe his Democrat rival.

Trump said he does not regret his choice of words but wishes the approach was
softer.

“It was a double-side nasty,” he said. “They were tough and I was tough. Do I
regret it? I mean I am sitting here with you and we are doing a great job. We are
going to do a great job for the country. We are going to make America great
again.

“I can’t regret, no. I wish it were softer, I wish it were nicer, I wish it were more
in policy or whatever you want to say.”

Trump also described Clinton as “very strong and very smart”.

8. On his soon-to-be predecessor Barack Obama

View photos
Both Trump and Obama launched heated attacks at each other during the election
campaign.

Stahl asked whether the meeting with Obama was awkward and Trump said that
they “never discussed what was said about each other” while adding there had
been “zero” awkwardness from his standpoint.

Their conversation was supposed to last only 15 minutes but the two men spoke
for an hour and a half.

Trump said: “I do not want to divulge but we talked about the Middle East, tough
situation. I got his full view. I liked having that because I am going to be
inheriting that in a short period of time.

Trump also described Obama as “terrific”, saying: “I found him to be very smart.
Very great sense of humour.”

9. On some supporters who may be involved in acts

of violence
"Stop it" Donald Trump says to any of his supporters who may be involved in
threatening behavior https://t.co/PGBVkXyvcE pic.twitter.com/MjFz4ntzk7

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) November 14, 2016

When asked about the spate of violence and abuse that has occurred in the wake
of his election victory, Trump said he was “very surprised” to find out about the
accusations and that he “hated” to hear them.

Stahl asked if he wanted to say anything to his supporters accused of violence

and Trump replied: “I would say don’t do it, that’s terrible, because I’m going to
bring this country together.”

Later Trump added: “I am so saddened to hear that. And I say, ‘Stop it’. If it – if
it helps. I will say this, and I will say right to the cameras: Stop it.”
10. On investigating Clinton
During his campaign, Trump pledged to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate
Clinton’s use of a private server. But in his interview, Trump didn’t answer the
question about whether this prosecutor would be put in place saying: “I’m going to
think about it.”

He added: “I don’t want to hurt them (the Clintons). They’re good people.

“I don’t want to hurt them. And I will give you a very, very good and definitive
answer the next time we do 60 Minutes together.”

11. On lobbyists and special interest groups

Trump also repeatedly pledged to drain the establishment’s swamp during his
campaign. But in his interview, he said lobbyists were the only people available for
hire when asked about their presence in this transition team.

He said: “Sure, everybody is a lobbyist down there. That’s the problem with the
system. We are going to clean it up.

Why does Donald Trump have lobbyists on his transition team? "They know the
system right now, but we're going to phase that out," he says

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) November 14, 2016

“But everybody that works for government, they then leave government and they
become a lobbyist, essentially. I mean, the whole place is one big lobbyist.

“I’m saying that they know the system right now, but we’re going to phase that
out. You have to phase it out.”

12. On LGBT issues

When asked about his stance on LGBTQ issues, Trump said he mentioned them at
the Republican National Convention.
He said he was “fine” with same-sex marriage as the law has already been settled
by the Supreme Court and it’s “irrelevant” to question his stand on the matter.

He said: “It’s done. These cases have gone to the Supreme Court. They’ve been
settled. And I’m fine with that.”

13. On his social media usage

What kind of tweets can we expect from President Trump? "I'm going to be very
restrained," he says. Watch tonight: https://t.co/KI0xWwZeJ9
pic.twitter.com/HEicbsmT4i

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) November 13, 2016

Trump said he will conduct himself “in a very good manner but it depends on what
the situation is”.

He added: “Sometimes you need a certain rhetoric to get people motivated.

Sometimes I want to be a little nice monotone character. Honestly, doing that is
easier.”

He also blamed the media for portraying a “wild” picture of him, saying: “I think I
am a very sober person. The press tries to make you something into a little bit
different. In my case a little bit of a wild man. Clearly not, I am not a very sober
person.”

Later he added: “I’m going to do very restrained, if I do it at all.”

14. On his White House salary and holiday

When asked if he’d accept the president’s salary (400,000 dollars), Trump said he
would stand by his claim that he would be forgoing the salary.

“I think I have to, by law, take one dollar, so I’ll take one dollar,” Trump said. He
also said he would, in “appropriate time”, release his tax returns, adding the
public “didn’t care” about it, because “I won the election very easily”.
He added that he wouldn’t be “very big on vacations” because there is “so much
work to be done”.

Trump said: “There’s so much work to be done. And I want to get it done for the
people. I want to get it done.”

15. On the Electoral College

Stahl pressed Trump on his views about whether the Electoral College is “rigged”,
given that the president-elect once described it as “a disaster for democracy”
and ironically, it was the Electoral College that helped him win.

Trump acknowledged he won with the Electoral College, while adding he still
believes “some of the election locations” are rigged.

Wait, Trump would rather get rid of electoral college and do popular vote wins? But
then he would have lost… #60Minutes

— Rachael Bade (@rachaelmbade) November 14, 2016

“But I would rather see it where you went with simple votes. You know, you get
100 million votes and somebody else gets 90 million votes and you win. There’s a
reason for doing this because it brings all the states into play.

“But I respect it. I do respect the system.”