Donald Trump on Wednesday said the charges against him were a sign that Joe Biden was concerned about his candidacy, saying Melania encouraged him to run because it was “sad” what happened to the United States.
The 77-year-old former president vented his frustrations with the state of the country and the allegations against him to Newsmax host Eric Bolling, speaking with such intensity that Bolling barely had room to ask questions.
Speaking at his golf course in Bedminster, Trump told Bolling he would announce next week whether he would attend the first Republican primary debate, to be held August 23 in Milwaukee.
Seven candidates have qualified for the debate phase, but all must pledge to support the eventual nominee: Trump, and several others, have already said they will not sign, and Trump said he was hesitant to attend.
“When you’re at 75 percent, 78 percent and others at zero, you say, what’s the advantage,” he told Bolling, pointing out that some of his opponents “are not stupid people.”
Donald Trump spoke to Newsmax on Wednesday evening about the 2024 campaign and how he would avoid World War III
Melania Trump is photographed at Trump Tower in Manhattan on June 14. Her husband insisted on Wednesday that she supported his campaign
He is not considered likely to attend, saying he was unenthusiastic about the idea that “someone like Chris Christie, polling at 1 percent, will ask me mean questions.”
He added, “Ronald Reagan didn’t do it, Richard Nixon didn’t do it.
“They want a smart president, someone who will be smart.”
When asked if he was prepared for his rivals’ taunts if he skips the debate, Trump replied that he was not concerned.
“They’ll say oh, he ain’t got the guts,” he said.
“I did a CNN town hall. That’s about as hostile as you can get. I hear I did well.
“I did so well they fired the head of CNN around it. It’s not a matter of guts, it’s a matter of intelligence.’
He added that he “would like to do it many ways, as I sort of enjoy it.”
But he reiterated his refusal to sign the Republican National Committee’s pledge that all candidates participating in the debate must agree to support the eventual winner.
“I wouldn’t sign the pledge,” he said. “I can name three or four people I wouldn’t support as president.”
He declined Bolling’s plea to name them, but they likely included Christie, his former president Mike Pence, and second-ranked Ron DeSantis.
Trump said DeSantis was “a failed candidate.”
The battle for the Republican nomination was meant to be a race between Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis. But a poll for the Trump campaign suggests the former president is well ahead
Trump has seen his lead over DeSantis slip in their head-to-head game, but still leads by 20 points – thanks in large part to the massive support he enjoys among Republican women
“I backed him and he went up and he was able to win — he went up big overnight,” Trump said, referring to DeSantis’s December 2017 endorsement as governor of Florida.
The Florida Times-Union wrote after DeSantis’ victory that Trump “helped lift DeSantis out of relative obscurity and propel him to the front-runner in the GOP race.”
Trump has long since turned on his protégé, who follows him by a huge margin.
A Morning Consult poll following Trump’s latest indictment has the former president at 59 percent of support, compared to 16 percent for DeSantis.
“He has no personality and nothing is wrong,” Trump said. “He fell like a brick.”
He said he thought Tim Scott could overtake DeSantis in the polls, adding that he thought DeSantis was stupid for ruining his 2028 chance.
“He’s ready for 2028,” Trump said
“He could have walked into 2028—” he began, adding, “Maybe.”
Bolling asked him about Barack Obama’s reported comments over lunch with Biden at the White House.
President Joe Biden seen in the Grand Canyon on Tuesday
Obama is said to have warned Biden that Trump is a formidable opponent who should not be underestimated or taken lightly.
“Well, he doesn’t take it lightly,” Trump said.
“He sued me three or four times. I didn’t check – if I walk out of here I’ll be charged again.’
He joked that he was “charged every time my plane flies over a blue state.”
Trump continued, “He doesn’t take it seriously — in fact, he takes it more seriously than any candidate in history because he has the Justice Department, which he said he was going to do.”
Trump said Biden “can’t put two sentences together” and called him “a totally incompetent man.”
He said Biden made the world more unsafe because Russia, China and Saudi Arabia sensed US weakness.
“We are on the brink of World War III,” Trump said.
“And these won’t be military tanks firing at each other. This is going to be nuclear.”
He again promised to end the war in Ukraine immediately and to rein in China.
“I think we have a Manchurian candidate,” Trump said.
“He is so completely compromised.
“I think it’s because China paid him so much money, and they don’t want people to find out.”
Migrants try to cross the border between Mexico and Eagle Pass, Texas on August 4
Migrants walk past large buoys used as a floating border barrier on the Rio Grande on August 1
The 53-year-old is pictured on June 8. Trump said on Wednesday she supported his 2024 bid because ‘she feels our country is being destroyed’
Trump concluded, saying his wife Melania is “100 percent” behind his campaign.
“She really is, she said the other day that it’s just so sad what’s happening to our country,” Trump said.
She said it so poignantly and sadly — but she expressed it.
“She watches the news and you see the line. For the most part, the fake news does not report it. Our country is being poisoned by people coming in who shouldn’t be here.
“She looked at it — that was it, interest rates, our limit.”
He added, “She feels very strongly about it. Not because she wants to. She used to have a very nice life, I tell you.
“But she feels our country is being destroyed.”
Bolling thanked Trump and said as he signed off, “Just a note to our viewers: Newsmax has accepted the election results as legal and final.”
Newsmax is being sued by Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic alleging voting fraud.
Fox News was sued by both companies and settled with Dominion for $787 million. The Smartmatic case is pending.