By Jackson Richman
Former President Donald Trump will opine on a list of acutely controversial topics in an interview with Tucker Carlson on Aug. 23, offering the American public a titillating counter-programming event that may divert many from the Republican presidential debate airing at the same time.
Mr. Carlson asked President Trump about the prospect of a civil war and whether his opponents may try to have him assassinated.
Whether the interview, which will be published on X, formerly known as Twitter, will outdo the Fox News debate, moderated by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, is to be determined. An intense preview posted on Mr. Carlson’s page showed that the former president would address several bombshell questions.
“Whatever Happened to Mike Pence?”
“He’s out there attacking you. What is that?” asked Mr. Carlson.
Mr. Pence served as President Trump’s vice president. The two were known to have a good working relationship until the events leading up to and on Jan. 6, 2021, when President Trump called for Mr. Pence to overturn the 2020 election in his role as the congressional certifier of the presidential election results. Mr. Pence refused President Trump’s demand and instead certified the election for President Joe Biden.
Mr. Pence has repeatedly said he had no right to overturn the 2020 election. He launched his presidential campaign in early June. He said that the Aug. 1 indictment of President Trump in Fulton County, Georgia, for allegedly trying to overturn the Peach State’s 2020 election results “serves as an important reminder: anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be President of the United States.”
He also said President Trump’s “candidacy means less attention paid to Joe Biden’s disastrous economic policies afflicting millions across the United States and to the pattern of corruption with Hunter.”
Mr. Pence said, “Our country is more important than one man. Our Constitution is more important than any one man’s career. On January 6th, former President Trump demanded that I choose between him and the Constitution. I chose the Constitution and I always will.”
President Trump responded to Mr. Carlson, “In my opinion, Mike Pence had the absolute right to send the votes back to the legislatures.”
“I think he got very bad advice,” he added.
Did Jeffrey Epstein Kill Himself?
Mr. Epstein, a convicted sex offender facing charges of child sex trafficking, died in his prison cell under questionable circumstances. Authorities have since concluded he committed suicide, but many Americans were split on their opinion of his actual cause of death. Long before entering the White House, President Trump had occasionally socialized with Mr. Epstein, but the pair’s encounters stopped more than a decade before Trump’s first presidential run.
President Trump replied: “I don’t know. I will say that you know, he was a fixture in Palm Beach.”
‘Do You Think We’re Moving Toward Civil War?’
It is no secret that the American people are ideologically and politically divided. Talk of another civil war has long been brewing. President Trump did not believe that conflict is imminent. “There’s tremendous passion and there’s tremendous love,” he said.
Democrats have long accused President Trump of inciting an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021. The accusations were part of the president’s second impeachment trial, which ended in an acquittal.
‘Are You Worried You’ll Be Killed?’
“It started with protests against you, then it moved to impeachment twice, now indictment,” said Mr. Carlson. “Are you worried that they are going to try and kill you? Why wouldn’t they try to kill you, honestly?”
“They’re savage animals,” former President Trump responded. “They are people that are sick.”
It is unclear if that was former President Trump’s entire answer.
‘Do You Think It’s Possible There’ll Be Open Conflict?’
This is Mr. Carlson’s follow-up to his question about whether the United States is “moving toward civil war.”
President Trump responds: “I don’t know. There’s a level of passion I’ve never seen. There’s a level of hatred I’ve never seen. And there’s probably a bad combination.”
Other questions Mr. Carlson asked former President Trump, according to the preview of the interview, which took place at former President Trump’s state in Bedminster, N.J., include why the former president decided to skip the debate, which is at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisc.; which candidates on the debate stage should not be running for the Oval Office; and why the 2024 election would not be stolen from President Trump given his position that the 2020 election was stolen from him.
