Former President Donald Trump sat down for an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity at Mar-a-Lago on Monday but even his allies at the conservative network think it went poorly.
Trump during the interview recited the litany of complaints he has fired off for months on his Truth Social platform, depicting himself as a victim of biased prosecutors who he accused of interfering in the election by investigating his alleged crimes, including his refusal to turn over classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago. At one point in the conversation, Trump insisted that he had the "right to take stuff" from the White House to Mar-a-Lago after Hannity insisted he would never do such a thing.
"I've known you for decades," Hannity said. "I can't imagine you ever saying, 'Bring me some of the boxes that we brought back from the White House. I'd like to look at them.' Did you ever do that?"
"I would have the right to do that," Trump responded. "There's nothing wrong with it."
"But I know you," Hannity said. "I don't think you would do it."
"I don't have a lot of time, but I would have the right to do that," Trump retorted. "I would do that."
"All right, let me move on," Hannity said, attempting to pivot to a new topic.
"Remember this," Trump added. "This is the Presidential Records Act. I have the right to take stuff."
Trump also slammed the FBI for the manner in which they carried out the August raid.
"The way they treated people is terrible," he said. "They treat people like a foreign country enemy."
Trump says the Presidential Records Act gives him the right to "take stuff" as he sees fit. pic.twitter.com/4Tlro2lsHi
— nikki mccann ramírez (@NikkiMcR) March 28, 2023
Following the haphazard interview, "Fox & Friends" on Tuesday hosted a panel of prominent conservatives to analyze the conversation. Former Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, trashed Trump's responses.
"I thought Sean Hannity did a good job. But I watched that and I thought, where is Donald Trump? I voted for Donald Trump twice. I have defended him countless times. I thought he was horrific," Chaffetz said. "I think that was the worst interview I've seen the president do. He was whining. He was complaining. He played the victim card. Time and time again. And then after that, he complained that, you know, somebody he had endorsed was now running against him. And I — I thought he was absolutely horrific. He's the former president of the United States. Act like it. He didn't in that interview."
Fox contributor Jason Chaffetz on Trump's Hannity interview: "I thought he was horrific, I think that's the worst interview I've seen the president do ... I thought he was absolutely horrific"
— Lis Power (@LisPower1) March 28, 2023
h/t @tylermonroe7 pic.twitter.com/i6ssYAzIlm
Host Brian Kilmeade and Steve Doocy also reacted to a portion of Trump's interview in which he declared he "wouldn't have supported the bailout" of the failed Silicon Valley Bank.
Doocy called Trump's statement "disturbing," according to Mediaite.
"If you remember when Silicon Valley Bank was imploding, there was a run on the bank," Doocy said. "Had the [Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation] not stepped in to guarantee the loan — whatever the account was — there would have been a run on every bank in America. So, you know, for the former president to say I just would have let it spin, that is a problematic problem…"
"But for the former president to say he would not have stepped in to stop that, that's troubling," he continued.
"Well, it could be troubling, or it could be a good, solid policy," Kilmeade replied. "People look at the San Francisco Fed … They saw the CEO on the San Francisco Fed board at the same time ignore the problem, and then they see him cash in $3.4 million, and then they watched him go on vacation. And there is a lot of people who say maybe Trump is right."
"Remember, there was a run on the bank," Doocy responded. "40 percent of deposits were taken out in one day. Ultimately, what they did in stepping in probably saved all the banks."
