Trump was twice asked to commit to a “peaceful transfer of power” — and brushed the question aside
Donald Trump did not say how many times he spoke with the Russian President Vladimir Putin since leaving the White House nearly four years ago — and when asked directly twice, he would not commit to a peaceful transfer of power.
The former president’s remarks—made in a sometimes controversial interview with editor-in-chief Bloomberg John Micklethwait on Tuesday afternoon—also reiterated some of Trump’s favorite talking points on foreign trade, immigration and his opponents, Kamala Harris.
But Trump’s failure to answer two specific questions may have said more than anything he actually said during the hour-long exchange. On the subject of Putin, Trump declined to comment on whether he had spoken to the Russian president since leaving office — later adding that it would be “a smart thing” if he did.
“If I am friendly with people, if I can have relationships with people, that is a good thing, not a bad thing for a country,” he said.
Minutes later, Micklethwait asked the former president if he would commit to “respecting and encouraging the peaceful transfer of power” if he lost the November election, due to the events of January 6. Trump did not answer the question, instead emphasizing that there had been a peaceful transfer of power after the last election.
“Come on, President Trump,” Micklethwait responded to boos from the audience. “You had a peaceful transition of power compared to Venezuela, but this was by far the worst transition of power in a long time.” After a moment of hesitation, he tried to ask again.
“This is someone who hasn’t been a big Trump fan for many years,” Trump responded, addressing the crowd directly and ignoring Micklethwait’s question.
That question isn’t entirely hypothetical, however—and it’s becoming more important as Election Day approaches. Talk to Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo on Sunday, Trump suggested that the army or National Guard should be mobilized to fight “radical lunatics” on November 5—a comment his campaign now says was intended to implicate foreign terrorists.
But that was not at all clear in Trump’s phrasing at the time, repeatedly referring to “people from the inside.” In a statement earlier this week, a Harris campaign spokesperson said Trump “is implying that his fellow Americans are worse ‘enemies’ than foreign enemies and that he is said he would use the army against them.”
“We know who Donald Trump is,” Harris posted on Tuesday to X. “He will stop at nothing to gain power for himself.”
