Former President Trump suggested there could be political violence over the 2024 election, depending on whether Americans felt it was fair.
“If we don’t win, you know, it depends,” Trump told TIME staff writer Eric Cortellessa.
The former president’s comments came in a wide-ranging interview with the outlet that was published Tuesday. Trump discussed his potential, ambitious second-term agenda if he’s elected again, and how he plans to govern given the lessons he learned from his first term.
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The outlet also did not shy away from asking Trump provocative questions about him and his supporters’ behavior in pursuit of his second presidential term, including the question of whether violence may occur.
Cortellessa said Trump had a “transformative” vision and quoted ex-White House strategist Stephen Bannon saying Trump has an “apocalyptic” sense of the country’s state at the moment.
“These obsessions could once again push the nation to the brink of crisis,” TIME wrote. “Trump does not dismiss the possibility of political violence around the election.”
“If we don’t win, you know, it depends,” Trump said. “It always depends on the fairness of the election.”
The shadow of the Capitol Riot on Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump supporters stormed the building to disrupt election certification proceedings, has hung over the former president since he left office. He was impeached on the charge of inciting an insurrection, although he was acquitted in the U.S. Senate.
He is currently facing federal charges related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and the subsequent Capitol riot.
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Reps from former President Trump’s 2024 campaign did not immediately reply to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
During the same interview, Trump made other notable claims about what he would do during a second term, like using the military to help remove millions of illegal immigrants living in the U.S.
He also claimed he would get Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich out of Russia, where he’s been imprisoned for more than a year on dubious spying charges, if President Biden couldn’t do it. The Biden White House replied that it welcomed Trump’s support for getting the journalist home.
“President Biden has worked ceaselessly for Evan’s freedom since he was unjustifiably imprisoned by Putin, as well as for the freedom of fellow American Paul Whelan, who has now spent 5 years in a Russia prison,” spokesman Andrew Bates told Fox News Digital. “Like the President said on Saturday when he repeated his call for Evan’s immediate release, journalism is not a crime and reporters are not enemies of the people, but, instead, critical to democracy. President Biden welcomes this new support for bringing Evan back from Russia, and he will continue to demand both Evan and Paul’s release.”
