Exclusive: Donald Trump's claims on abortions, Biden policies, China
SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (FOX 2) - American voters will return to the polls in six months to vote for President. The choices from Republicans and Democrats appear to be the same as it was four years ago: Donald Trump from the GOP or Joe Biden from the Democrats.
Trump continues to focus on the 2024 election – despite two unprecedented legal battles – as he campaigned in Michigan this week. He also answered several questions that are pressing to Michigan voters – from electric vehicles to abortion to the Israel-Hamas war.
These questions matter to the state of Michigan – but have massive ramifications across the country and worldwide.
In an effort of full transparency, we're posting the unedited interview on this story. We're also going to fully transcribe both the questions asked by FOX 2's Roop Raj and the answers given by Trump.
Raj: I want to talk to you a little bit about one of the most important things that so many people here are talking about, which is labor in the state of Michigan. The current president talked a lot about being the car guy. He marched side by side during the union strike, saying that he's the guy for union members and now we're seeing unionization down south at the Volkswagen plant and elsewhere. People are threatening interest in joining unions in the South. What's your message to the men and women of the UAW here in Michigan about the future of unions?
Trump: Well, the problem is you have a number of problems. They've allowed millions of people into our country, and you're going to have those people taking union jobs, and they're going to work for much less. And that's going to happen. And the unions all see it there, and they're going to be in big trouble. And I think of even greater importance is China is taking all our business. China is building plants now in Mexico, the biggest plants in the world -- auto plants. And they're doing it and they're doing it at will. Nobody's stopping them. Nobody's saying you're not going to do this. Nobody telling them they're going to put 100% tariff on the car, because you're not going to build and take it out of this country. What's happened with the United States since I left office -- this was it happening with me. It was impossible to happen. Just like Russia-Ukraine wouldn't have happened, just like Israel wouldn't have been attacked. This would never have happened. China is now building massive auto plants, and they think they're going to buy them and build them cheap and sell them into the United States. And that's not going to happen. That'll take away all our auto jobs, not just the union jobs. It'll take away all of our auto jobs, and we're not going to let that happen.
The other thing is the EV. People don't want it. I mean, there's a small segment that want it and they should be able to get it, but they have to go along gasoline, combustion cars have to be able to buy hybrids. They want to buy -- they should be able to buy whatever they want. This character that's destroyed our country, the worst president we've ever had, without question. He's destroying our country. What he's doing with cars, he's forcing the auto industry into China and other and other countries. And it's so sad. And by the way, Mexico is doing things that nobody can believe. They just started and they're doing them in conjunction with China. And it's got to be stopped. We can't let that happen.
Raj: But, Mr. President, your thoughts on the unionization that's happening down south? The interest that we're seeing in Tennessee with Volkswagen workers, it seems like it's catching on. It's not just the Detroit thing.
Trump: Well, it could be happening. I mean, it's going to be happening, but you got to be very careful about what's going to happen in two years from now when China wants to take all of the jobs because frankly, then union or nonunion, everybody is going to be hurt. Everybody.
Raj: I heard you talking about Israel, a thing that these things that are happening now wouldn't necessarily be happening if you were president, if you were president right now, what would you be doing differently, with the situation with Israel and Gaza?
Trump: Well, it wouldn't have happened. And, you know, it's such a big statement because Ukraine-Russia would have not happened. There was no way Putin was going in if I was president. And likewise, Iran would not have -- they had no money. Iran was broke, with me. I said, anybody buys from Iran, no oil from Iran. If you buy from Iran, you can't do business in the United States. They went flat out broke. They had no money. Now they have $250 billion. They're a rich country and they're in a much different position. We don't want them getting the nuclear weapons and we don't want them, and they're very close to getting it. That would have never happened.
Trump: Look, Iran has to be stopped. All of these things have to be stopped. Our economy is going to hell. You have to see what's going to happen with the outflow of jobs, with the dollar, the way it's situated. The dollar's situated, that businesses are going to flee our country. The dollar is set at a very a very bad mark in terms of jobs, very bad mark. And you see it now. People are complaining. Look at the numbers that just came out. the numbers. It just came out. What terrible. Everybody was shocked to see it -- except me. Because the dollar is set for China and Japan and other countries to do great.
Raj: But you say that this wouldn't have happened under your clock with Israel. And I understand what you're saying. But what if you were president right now, or if you get to become president again, what would you do to stop this conflict? And what would you tell Netanyahu?
Trump: You got to finish it off fast. You got to get it done, and then you got to have peace. And we'll make peace fast. But you got to get your work done and you got to have peace. You know that October 7th was terrible. Nobody's ever seen anything like it, actually. And you got to finish it.
Trump: We have another problem, too. I don't believe the hostages that they're talking about. That's why Hamas is so difficult in negotiations. I don't believe they're still around. I think they're probably gone, unfortunately. And I think the number of hostages is much smaller, because I saw the way they treated the Israelis when they captured them on that horrible day. And I have a feeling that the number of hostages and the reason that that they're being so tough, Hamas is being very unreasonable, right now. And the reason they're being unreasonable, they don't have the hostages. I think bad things happened to a lot of hostages that you think are living, and they might very well not be living.
Raj: So if you're president, what do you do today to stop the conflict from brewing and continue to escalate?
Trump: We get things finished and we get to the negotiating table immediately. Immediately
Raj: I'm gonna ask you about abortion. You know as well as I do that, one of the issues in here in Michigan, you better believe women have been a vote on this issue. You need suburban women to vote for you. I want ask you about abortion. It's clear that this issue is gonna drive people to the polls. You live in a state right now where this is a critical point. And really a turning point, in the state of Florida, you say the state should decide right now, Florida, the state in which you live in, is going to decide on one of the strictest abortion polices this country's ever seen. How do you go about this?
Trump: Well, it's going to a vote though with something that's not restrictive at all. So that's competing with it. And I say what the people decide, whatever it is, it's within a state and what the people decide, and it's working out.
Trump: For many, many years, people have said, we've got to bring this back to the States to decide. And that's now working. Ohio actually came out with a very liberal policy. You look at other states, very liberal policies. Some are tougher, some are not -- but all the states are deciding. And, you know, for 53 years people wanted to be able to get it out -- Roe v Wade -- get it out so the states can decide. Your state will decide, probably, a liberal policy if it hasn't already done it. I mean, basically it's going to be a liberal policy. It's really not that big of an issue.
Trump: Once I told people, you have to do this. And by the way, with fertilization, the same thing. We're like the party of fertilization because we are for the women. We want to help the women because then we're going to end fertilization, which is where when the the IVF, where women go to their clinics and they get help in having a baby. And that's a good thing, not a bad thing. And we're for it 100%. They tried to say that -- they weren't for it. They actually weren't for it and aren't for it as much as us. But women see that. The Republican Party has come a long way. I think the abortion issue should be largely taken off the table because the individual states are doing what they are doing, and so far the votes are tending to be somewhat on the Liberal side. As you've noticed.
Raj: In 2016, you really kind of ran your campaign talking about abortion in one way, in a more restrictive manner. In 1999, when you were a businessman, you said you were pro-choice and you think it's up to a woman. It changed in 2016. And then again, it seems again, flipping a little bit again, give people an idea as to what's going on. Are you following your convictions or following the polls?
Trump: No, I'm following my convictions. And what we're doing is with states' rights, I also follow the law. And when you got it into the states, it's states' rights. It's the state that will decide. Now the state is deciding through votes, and the votes are going to be, in some cases tougher and in some cases very loose. I think Michigan's going to actually be very loose. They're going to vote on it. And that's going to be the law. That's going to be where it is. And they've wanted to do this for many years. It's really, it's really the people will decide. And that's what's happening. And that's what's happening in Michigan too.
Trump: You may have some bill that's tough and some bill that's opposite. But the one thing I can say, nobody wants to see abortions in the ninth month, and the eighth month, and the seventh month, and nobody wants to see abortions or in this case, killing after the baby is born. Right now, that's what the Democrats can do. They can have it in the seventh, eighth, ninth month, and they can kill the baby in numerous states. They can kill the baby after the baby is born. And nobody wants that. Nobody.
Raj: But what about the six week ban? No one, no one seems to want that in the liberal circles. Or even the moderates here in Michigan.
Trump: That's right. They're going to vote against that. They will -- in my opinion -- that's what they'll do. They'll vote against that. If they have a very restricted ban, it's looking like in some states, Kansas, various states that are quite conservative, they're actually taking pretty liberal views on that. And they'll vote against that. That's going to be up and they'll vote against that. That's what's, very incredible about this.
Trump: You have to understand every legal scholar from all over the country, all over the world, they said, you have to get abortion out of the federal government. You have to take it away from the federal government, give it, give it to the states. And now that's what we've been able to do. We've given it to the states. And some states have already decided and people are satisfied with it. And many states are up for decision. And the kind of things you know from where you're coming from, they seem to be moving along pretty rapidly. And the people within the states are very - they seem to be very happy with the way it's working out. And it's now handled by states. It's not handled by the federal government.
Raj: Got to ask one last question about Detroit in Michigan right now, I know that you, last time you and I talked at the White House, And you talked about democratically-run cities. Just a few days ago, we had 700,000 plus people in the state of Michigan and in the city of Detroit, somebody in the NFL, Roger Goodell, who then, you know well, raving about Detroit now. Well, the police department in the city is run, a democratically run city hosting such an event, things such a comeback. Is that something that surprises you?
Trump: I was very happy with the NFL draft. The way it worked, it looked -- I was watching it very closely. It was beautiful. It was big, it was bold, it was beautiful. And they deserve it because their team became a great team, all of a sudden. The team, the coach, the quarterback -- they've done a great job. It with the NFL, Detroit has done a great job. I was very happy. I love Detroit, have a lot of friends in Detroit, and I've done well there because of the auto business.
Trump: They've -- I've been talking about Detroit for 15 years. You can't continue to lose your jobs. But that is what's happening now. China's taking the jobs now. China, Mexico. And they formed essentially a partnership. And you have to take a look at this. They're building some of the biggest auto plants in the world right across our border. And they think they're going to sell those cars into the United States and kill our United Auto Workers. It's not going to happen if I'm president. It's not going to happen if Biden is president, It's going to happen. He's led them this way and he can't talk to China. He gets money from China. They pay him a lot of money. He's a manchurian candidate. He can't do it. He cannot. He has no power over China. They get everything they want and they're ripping off our country tremendously.
Trump: You know, I took in hundreds of billions of dollars from China. No other president took in $0.10. China does not want to see me win this election, I can tell you, but Michigan does, because I'm going to save your auto industry. I'm going to have many, many cars extra made in Michigan. We're going to bring back auto manufacturing to Michigan. You're losing it step by step. You're losing it.
Trump: And now, with his new EV mandate, which I will end immediately, I will end it my first day. It'll be one of my first votes that, secure the wall. We have to stop people from flowing into our country, from prisons, from jails, terrorists. We're going to do all these things. We're going to get them done. But one of the first things is going to be the auto industry. It's going to be done on the first day. We're going to end the EV mandate, and we're going to go back to making cars, and we're not going to let foreign countries come in and rob our jobs and our manufacturing business. That's going to end on day one.
Raj: Mr. Trump, we only have literally we only have a few things left here. But I know that the people that competition is President Joe Biden. You challenged him to a debate on the courthouse steps out there. I want ask you if you love Michigan so much. If you love Detroit like when you come here, we have the president here. When you do a debate on a statewide television debate here in Michigan.
Trump: Sure. If you can get him, I'm there. I'll go anywhere he wants to go. I don't think he's going to be so easy to go. I watched him, he can't put two sentences together, this guy. What he's done to Michigan is so bad. What he's done to our country is so bad.
Trump: What other man, what are the person would allow 15, 16 million people right now in our country. They came from prisons and jails. They came from insane asylums and mental institutions, not from South America, from all over the world, all over the world. They're pouring into a country at levels that nobody's ever seen. Drug dealers. One stat before we go. Venezuela was very crime ridden. They announced the other day 72% reduction in crime in the last year. You know why? They moved all their criminals from Venezuela right into the good old USA. And Biden let them do it. It's a disgrace.
Raj: Sir, were those numbers coming from.
Trump: I guess I get them from the papers in this case, I think it's a federal statement or. Well, they're coming actually from Venezuela. They're coming from Venezuela. That's where they came from.
Raj: We'll have to check on that. Mr. President, I want to thank you so much for joining us here today. And we hope you'll come back and we'll do a debate with President Biden here in Michigan sometime soon.
Trump: I'll be there. I'll be there. Thank you very much.
Raj: Thank you.