President-elect Donald Trump's Sunday morning appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" is, as expected, yielding copious amounts of sound bites and, more importantly, giving some coveted insight into what his priorities will be come January 20, 2025.
An overriding theme in Trump's interview with "Meet the Press" host Kristen Welker was whether or not he would be seeking retribution against his political opponents once he's back in the Oval Office. This led to what is arguably the sound bite of the entire interview: "Retribution will be through our success."
TRUMP: "I’m really looking to make our country successful; I’m not looking to go back into the past. I’m looking to make our country successful. Retribution will be through our success. If we can make this country successful, that would be such a great achievement." pic.twitter.com/2zzdPXIjVO
— Conservative War Machine (@WarMachineRR) December 8, 2024
Here's the text of Trump's comments:
I'm really looking to make our country successful; I'm not interested in going back into the past. I'm looking to make our country successful. Retribution will be through success. If we could make this country successful, that would be my greatest ... that would be such a great achievement. Bring it back.
We have a country now that is overridden with crime, that has millions of people that shouldn't be here, that should be in prisons in other countries, that should be in mental institutions. We have drug lords that are being dropped into our country and told never go back to their country.
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Trump made it clear to Welker that dealing with the border and the millions of illegals in the country would be a top priority for his new administration, and he voiced complete confidence in his border czar, Tom Homan. Please note that it is now acceptable to use the term "border czar" again, as Welker herself used it during her sit-down with Trump.
Here's some of the nitty-gritty of what Americans can expect to happen soon after Trump is sworn into office. When asked by Welker whether it was his plan to "deport everyone who is here illegally," Trump responded that "It's a very tough thing to do," but "you have to do it."
“Is it your plan to deport everyone who is here illegally over the next four years?”
— Conservative War Machine (@WarMachineRR) December 8, 2024
President-elect Trump: “I think you have to do it. It’s a very tough thing to do. But you have rules, regulations, laws — they came in illegally. The people who have been treated very unfairly… pic.twitter.com/THUzmNkRDR
TRUMP: You have rules, regulations, laws. They came in illegally. You know, the people that have been treated very unfairly have been the people who have been on line for ten years to come into the country. And we're going to make it very easy for people to come into the country in terms of ... they have to pass the test. They have to be able to tell you what the Statue of Liberty is. They have to tell you a little bit about our country. They have to love our country.
They can't come out of prisons. We don't want people that are in for murder.
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The conversation then turned to the difficult topic of families with "mixed immigration status" — AKA, parents who entered the country illegally in order to have their children on American soil and reap the benefits. This a topic Homan was grilled on during an October interview with "60 Minutes." When asked about the possible high price tag of mass deportations, Homan shot back, "What price do you put on national security? Is it worth it?" And when questioned whether it was possible to carry out mass deportations without separating families, Homan replied, "Of course there is. Families can be deported together."
President-elect Trump echoed Homan's sentiments to Welker:
WATCH: President-elect Trump backs his border czar Tom Homan’s plan to keep families together by deporting families with illegal aliens TOGETHER:
— Conservative War Machine (@WarMachineRR) December 8, 2024
“I don’t want to be breaking up families, so the only way you don’t break up the family is you keep them together and send them all… pic.twitter.com/Jp3HwMl8ea
This brings up some questions about the constitutionality of Trump's deportation plan, but it's clear from this interview that Trump knows exactly why he was returned to the White House. Mass deportations will be an important part of his second term and, ultimately, his presidential legacy. Americans are tired of having their generosity exploited, and it's nice to hear that something is going to be done about it.
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