film / tv / substack / social media / lists / web / celeb / pajiba love / misc / about / cbr
film / tv / substack / web / celeb

we-shall-overcome.jpg

The Biggest Takeaways from Donald Trump's '60 Minutes' Interview

By Dustin Rowles | Politics | November 14, 2016 |

By Dustin Rowles | Politics | November 14, 2016 |


— Trump asked his supporters to stop harassing minorities. “I am so saddened to hear that,” he said, in reference to Latinos and Muslims being harassed (and assaulted). “And I say, ‘Stop it.’ If it — if it helps, I will say this, and I will say right to the cameras: ‘Stop it.’”

Trump, however, also attempted to minimize the number of instances of harassment and violence, saying that it’s been very limited. However, there have been a large number of these incidents and they are growing, and if Trump wants to understand the gravity of this situation, he needs to follow Shaun King on Twitter.

— Trump reiterated that he would overturn Roe v. Wade, the effect of which would return the decision about whether to allow abortion to the states. “They’ll have to go to another state,” Trump said, when told overturning Roe v. Wade would mean some women wouldn’t be allowed to get abortions. For many in red state, this would be cost prohibitive. It will also mean more unwanted children and likely the need for more social services. It would also mean higher overall health care costs, as insurance companies will not only have to pick up the tab on pregnancies and delivery, but often life-threatening injuries to women who attempt abortions at home.

— Perplexingly, while he said he would overturn Roe v. Wade, he said he would leave gay marriage alone. Trump said the issue was “irrelevant” because it’s “already settled It’s law. It was settled in the Supreme Court. I mean, it’s done. And I’m fine with that.”

Roe vs. Wade was also already settled in the Supreme Court.

— He said that he would release his tax returns at the “appropriate time,” adding that the public didn’t care because he won “very easily.”

Trump will ultimately lose the popular vote by 2 full percentage votes, and the tiny margins of his electoral college wins in states like Michigan, Wisconsin, and North Carolina were likely the result of voter intimidation and voter suppression.

— Interestingly, he also added that he thinks winners should be decided by popular vote and not the electoral college.

“I’m not going to change my mind just because I won. 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,”

Is he delegitimizing his own presidency?

— Will he prosecute the Clintons? “I don’t want to hurt them. They’re good people… And I will give you a very, very good and definitive answer the next time we do ‘60 Minutes’ together,” he said.

— Trump used the harsh language of his campaign on immigration, but the policy outlined here is essentially the same as Obamas:

“What we are going to do is get the people that are criminal and have criminal records, gang members, drug dealers, where a lot of these people, probably two million, it could be even three million, we are getting them out of our country or we are going to incarcerate. But we’re getting them out of our country, they’re here illegally.”

It has also been a high priority under the Obama administration to deport illegal immigrants who commit felonies.

— As for that wall? He said he still plans to build it, but that “fencing” may be more appropriate in some areas. Fencing is what many Congressional Republicans have also proposed.

— After meeting with Obama last week, Trump suggested that he would somehow maintain the two most popular elements of Obamacare — ensure that those with pre-existing conditions can still be covered, and that those under the age of 26 could continue to be on their parents insurance — while “amending” or “repealing” Obamacare. On 60 Minutes, he said that decision had nothing to do with Obama’s influence.

Donald Trump is clearly going to be one of those Presidents who advisors will have to steer in the right direction and then make it seem like he made the decision on his own.

We will largely continue our policy of not including Donald Trump photos in Trump stories over the next four years. You can follow Dustin on Twitter.