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Donald Trump insisted that he is “not a threat to democracy” in an interview with TV personality Dr Phil on Tuesday night, during which he also suggested that he survived an assassination attempt last month because God wanted him to save the US - and possibly the world.
During the hour-long, sit-down in Las Vegas, the former president attempted to clarify previous remarks about wanting to be a “dictator for one day” and ensuring people would “not have to vote again” if he wins the White House in November.
Trump once again laid into Democratic rival Kamala Harris over her border policy; baselessly claimed that mail-in voter ballots would result in “massive fraud”; and pushed the Big Lie that he had won the 2020 election.
Discussing the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, last month, he was asked by Dr Phil McGraw why his life was spared.
“I mean, the only thing I can think is that God loves our country, and he thinks we're going to bring our country back. He wants to bring it back. It's so bad right now,” Trump replied.
“It has to be God. I mean, how can you say it's luck when it's, you know, 20 million to one? I mean, it's just not possible that I was in that position. It's the only position where that bullet could have missed.”
Asked by Dr Phil if he believed that “God’s hand” had played a part in his survival, the former president replied: “I do.”
He continued: “If I win that, that would really serve to say that if there's some incredible power up there that wanted me to be involved in saving [the US] – and maybe it's more than saving the nation. Maybe it's saving the world.”
Trump also said that being president was “much more dangerous than a race car driver,” or any other profession.
Elsewhere in the interview, Trump claimed that he has been “demonized” by “very dishonest media” and that previous remarks have been taken out of context.
At a conservative event last month, Trump said: "You’ve got to get out and vote. In four years, you don’t have to vote again, we’ll have it fixed so good you’re not going to have to vote."
But in his interview with Dr Phil on Tuesday, Trump hit back at suggestions that the remarks referred to ending democratic elections.
“I said to the Christians, we’ve got to win this election,” he said. “We win this election, I’ll straighten everything out in less than four years by a lot.
“Then you don’t have to. It doesn’t matter. In other words, I’m saying you don’t have to vote doesn’t mean we’re not going to have elections. You’re going to have elections, but you have to vote this time because we have to win.”
He added: “That’s what I meant, and I said it, and everybody knows I said it that way, and everybody agrees that I said it that way.”
Trump also claimed that his comments to Fox News’ host Sean Hannity in December about being “a dictator for one day” were in jest, and were really referring to his desire to get work quickly.
“It was said with a chuckle,” he said. “The audience laughed, I laughed, we all laughed, but they take it, and they cut it… and it says, ‘I want to be a dictator.’
“These are very dishonest people that we’re dealing with, very dishonest people – bad people.”
Trump’s interview with Dr Phil comes a day before former independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr will sit down with the TV host.
Kennedy dropped out of the race on Friday, and threw his support behind Trump.
Speaking about RFK Jr’s endorsement, Trump told Dr Phil: “I’m very honored. He’s a smart guy, a different kind of a guy, he loves our country. He has some very good views on a lot of things. I’ve known him for a long time, we’re somewhat friendly actually.
“I think he’s going to be a great asset. Will I have him in the administration? I don’t know. We haven’t discussed it. But he adds a lot to the election.”
Tuesday’s interview comes as the latest election polls indicate that Trump is beginning to lag behind Harris, as the vice president’s campaign sees a boom in fundraising. Harris has a 3.5-point lead over Trump in the latest average of national polls, collated by FiveThirtyEight.
On average, Harris has been marginally ahead of Trump in national polls, though the race remains tight in swing states.
A new poll from Fairleigh Dickinson University, released on Friday, also shows Harris beating Trump by seven points when race and gender are taken into account.
