TRUMP: WE’LL BE BACK
‘I think there’s a great optimism’ But ‘no bailout for New York’
President Trump invited The Post into the Oval Office on Monday for an hourlong interview during which he declared, “There’s a great optimism” in America, and predicted a strong economic rebound from the coronavirus crisis by the end of the year.
Trump also rejected the notion of bailing out Democratic-run states, including New York, that have been hit hard by the pandemic, and offered his opinions on Joe Biden’s best pick for a running mate and the sexual-assault allegations facing the former vice president.
Our reporters were tested for the virus prior to the meeting, and they and the president were separated by a safe social distance during the interview.
Seated behind the Resolute Desk used by presidents since 1880, Trump — wearing a navy-blue suit with an American-flag lapel pin, white shirt and blue-striped tie — sipped from a glass of his favorite beverage, Diet Coke on ice, as he described how much he missed his hometown of New York City and outlined his plan for a massive infrastructure program that would start with rebuilding the Big Apple.
Here are highlights from the interview:
OPTIMISM ABOUNDS
America has turned a corner on the coronavirus pandemic, an economic recovery is mere months away — and the country’s citizens know it, Trump said.
“I think they’re starting to feel good now. The country’s opening again. We saved millions of lives, I think,” Trump said.
The president also foresees a dramatic rise in economic indicators by the end of year.
“We’ll open it up, and I think your fourth quarter is going to be very good,” he said.
“We did the right thing, and now we’re bringing the country back. And I think there’s a great optimism. I don’t know if you see it, but I think there’s a great optimism now.”
Trump also said the pandemic might finally be under control.
“Hopefully, we can keep the plague, keep the virus at bay. If we have a flare-up, we can put it out. We’ve learned a lot.”
One silver lining, he added, is that Americans were now eager to rebuild manufacturing in the US so the country is no longer reliant on global supply chains for its vital products.
“Now, the one thing that the pandemic has taught us is that I was right,” he said.
“You know, I had people say, ‘No, no, it’s good, you keep — you do this and that.’ Now those people are really agreeing with me. And that includes medicine and other things, you know.”
Trump also rejected as “fake news” a New York Times report that said a leaked document showed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had projected that the daily COVID-19 death toll would nearly double, from about 1,750 to about 3,000, by June 1.
“Who signed the report?” he said.
“I know nothing about it. I don’t know anything. Nobody told me that. I think it’s — I think it’s false. I think it’s fake news.”
STATES ‘BLUE’ IT
Trump echoed recent remarks by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who declared opposition to bailing out “blue state” governments that have been hit hard by the pandemic.
“I think Congress is inclined to do a lot of things, but I don’t think they’re inclined to do bailouts. A bailout is different than, you know, reimbursing for the plague,” he said.
“It’s not fair to the Republicans because all the states that need help — they’re run by Democrats in every case. Florida is doing phenomenal, Texas is doing phenomenal, the Midwest is, you know, fantastic — very little debt.”
Trump added: “The ones that are in trouble are the Democratrun states. You look at Illinois, you look at New York, look at California, you know, those three, there’s tremendous debt there, and many others.
“I don’t think the Republicans want to be in a position where they bail out states that are, that have been mismanaged over a long period of time.”
Asked about Gov. Cuomo’s assertion that New York provides more federal revenue than any other state and gets less back in return, Trump said New York has gotten a lot in return and blasted the state’s “hostile” and “nasty” Democratic senators, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand.
“We give a lot to New York, you know, including great defense, defense to the whole country,” he said. “So much more could be done for New York, but the leadership is so hostile in the form of your two senators.
“You want to work for people, you want to work together with everyone, and then you have these people, hostile as can be, always nasty.
“Then they come in and want things. It’s not like a working environment that you want to be involved with. I never even had a phone call from Schumer or Kirsten,” he said
PICK ‘POCAHONTAS’
Biden “owes” it to Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren to choose her as his running mate — because the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee never would have gotten this far without her, Trump said.
“I think Elizabeth Warren is responsible for Joe Biden’s win because she didn’t drop out and [Vermont Sen.] Bernie [Sanders] would have won every single state on Super Tuesday,” he said.
“So I think he should pick Elizabeth Warren because Elizabeth Warren, more than any other person, including [South Carolina Rep.] Jim Clyburn and including anybody you can name, is responsible for the win of Joe Biden.”
Trump also questioned whether the former vice president would actually wind up as the Democratic Party’s nominee.
“If he’s gonna win — and I don’t know that he makes it to the starting gate — but if he does make it to the starting gate, [Warren is] responsible,” he said.
The president also used his favorite taunt for Warren as he continued explaining his reasoning.
“She was responsible for his win so therefore I think he owes an obligation to pick Pocahontas,” he said.
Trump dismissed Stacey Abrams’ aggressive campaigning to be Biden’s running mate, saying that he himself was largely responsible for her defeat in the 2018 Georgia gubernatorial election.
“If you look at Stacey Abrams, I was the one that went to Georgia and fought Oprah Winfrey, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama. [Gov. Brian] Kemp wasn’t given a chance. Kemp wasn’t given a chance to win and he won,” he said.
“They were there all the time campaigning for Stacey Abrams, their new great star. That didn’t work out too well.”
WEAK DEFENSE, JOE
Trump ripped Biden’s denial of allegations he sexually assaulted a former Senate staffer, Tara Reade.
“Well, he’s going to have to fight his own battles. But I mean, his choice of words weren’t very good when he, you know, dismissed the allegation,” Trump said “But he’s got to fight his own battles, and we’ll see how he does.”
Biden flatly denied Reade’s claims during a Friday appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” saying the alleged assault “never happened” while refusing to open up his Senate records held by the University of Delaware for inspection.
Trump — who on the same day as Biden’s denial told conservative commentator and radio host Dan Bongino that he himself had been subjected to “false” sex-assault allegations — said during his Post interview that Republicans faced a double-standard when it came to accusations of sexual misconduct and cited the bruising confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
“I think that Justice Kavanaugh was treated more unfairly than any human being I’ve ever seen. I’ve never seen anything like. He’s a fine man with a fine family. And there’s never been a human being in the history of Congress that was treated worse than him,” Trump said.
“And now, in the meantime, three of the women have recanted. And the other one I don’t believe her for a moment, which is [Christine] Blasey Ford. Because the story doesn’t check out.”
Trump added: “Even her friends and her family didn’t check out. Everything didn’t check out, including the door. You know, the double door, right? You know what I mean.
“Nothing checked out. And there’s never been a human being who has been treated more unfairly [than] a very fine man named Justice Kavanaugh, nowJustice Kavanaugh,” he said.
I’LL ALWAYS ♥ NY
Despite changing his official address to his Mar-aLago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., Trump said he misses his hometown and has been devastated by the grim scenes of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I do love New York,” he said.
“It’s a special place to me. It always has been. It’s got that energy, that feeling.”
The Queens native said he had planned to visit the makeshift hospital set up in Manhattan’s Javits Center by the Federal Emergency Management Agency but had to cancel due to security concerns.
“I’ll be back soon. I’ll be going back at the earliest possible moment when things calm down a little bit,” he said.
“I wanted to go up and look at the Javits Center we built, with 2,500 beds, but the Secret Service was not allowing that.”
BIG APPLE REBUILD
Trump said America needs to be rebuilt — starting with the Big Apple.
After announcing a $2 trillion plan last month to fix America’s roads, bridges and dams, the president said he would like one of the first projects to be the proposed Gateway Tunnel, which he called “very important” to the region’s economy.
The former real-estate developer — who had pledged during his campaign to boost the nation’s infrastructure — also said he wanted to see the Second Avenue Subway line completed. (Right now, it goes only from 96th to 72nd streets. Plans call for it to extend from 125th Street to Hanover Square).
“I’ve been driving over those boards for many years, for decades,” he said of the temporary road coverings over the underground excavation and construction work.