Former US President Donald Trump gave a wide-ranging sit-down interview late Tuesday, marking the first official media appearance the ex-commander-in-chief sat down for after he was formally arraigned earlier this month.
The interview, given to Fox News' Tucker Carlson, was held at the Mar-a-Lago estate, the former president's Florida residence. It began with the former president recalling his recent arraignment, detailing that New York courthouse employees were crying and hopeful for his 2024 White House bid.
"I've never seen anything like it," Trump told Carlson. "Many of them were in tears."
Conviction Won't Halt 2024 Bid
Jumping into his reelection bid, Trump remarked he would not drop out of the 2024 presidential election even if convicted on criminal charges filed against him in New York.
"No, I’d never drop out. It’s not my thing," Trump said on Tuesday, when asked if he would drop out even if convicted on criminal charges. "I wouldn’t do it."
Democrats are the party of "disinformation," Trump said, claiming they target potential electoral challengers.
Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury last month on charges related to alleged hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Trump has been arraigned and pleaded not guilty, characterizing the case as a "witch hunt" against him.
Trump also cast doubts on Biden’s ability to run against him in 2024, pointing toward Vice President Kamala Harris as a potential replacement nominee.
US Exit From Afghanistan Was 'Embarrassing'
Changing gears to the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, Trump claimed that he would have withdrawn from the landlocked country with more strength than President Joe Biden, calling the withdrawal one of the United States’ most embarrassing moments.
"Afghanistan, one of the worst things I’ve ever seen, I think the most embarrassing moment that this country has ever had, frankly, the way we got out," Trump said on Tuesday. "That was their plan, that had nothing to do with me… We would’ve gotten out with dignity and strength."
Last week, the Biden administration released an after action report on its withdrawal from Afghanistan, in which it blamed Trump for constraining the execution.
Trump criticized Biden in particular for pulling out large portions of the US military prior to executing the withdrawal.
During the withdrawal, which culminated in an airlift operation from Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, 13 US service members and 170 Afghans were killed in a suicide bombing attack. After the suicide bombing attack, the US military launched a drone strike in Kabul that killed 10 civilians.
Talks With Putin & 'Brilliant' Xi
Recalling his past conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump commented that he had nothing but positive experiences with the pair of world leaders.
"I talked to [Putin] about it often," Trump said on Tuesday when asked if he spoke with the leader about Ukraine. "I could see that he loved it. He considers it to be a part of Russia."
Trump, who has previously called for the conflict to end and claimed it never would have started with him in office, relayed that Ukraine is getting "obliterated." However, he also admitted that working with Putin was made more difficult by accusations of collusion with Russia - allegations which he denies.
But Putin wasn't the only world leader spoken about during the interview - Trump offered remarks on Xi and North Korean leader Kim Jon Un.
"Top of the line. They’re all top of the line," Trump said on Tuesday, when asked his opinion of Xi’s intelligence. "President Xi is a brilliant man."
Trump also praised Kim and Putin's intelligence, but was quick to criticize his successor's intelligence.
On Nord Stream Sabotage: It Wasn't Russia
The Tuesday interview was brought to a close as the US president briefly offered his opinion on the Nord Stream sabotage, telling Carlson that Russia was by no means involved in the destruction of the pipelines.
"I don’t want to get our country in trouble, so I won’t answer it," Trump said on Tuesday, when asked who blew up the Nord Stream pipelines. "But I can tell you who it wasn’t, was Russia."
The Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, which delivered energy to Germany from Russia, were hit by explosions in September 2022.
In February, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh alleged that the explosions were organized by the US with the support of Norway, earlier noting that explosives had been planted on the pipeline system under the cover of the NATO Baltops exercise.
To date, the US has denied any involvement in the incident despite repeat revelations made by Hersh offering a clearer picture into how the sabotage came about.
Probes conducted by Germany, Sweden and Denmark have not excluded the possibility of sabotage. Russia considers the incident an act of international terrorism.