6 highlights from Donald Trump's long, freewheeling talk with Bob Woodward
On Monday, The Washington Post posted the entire (annotated) transcript of Donald Trump's March 31 interview with Bob Woodward and reporter Robert Costa. Here are a few of the best quotes:
1. Trump started exploring his bid for president in 2011. "I had some difficulty because I was doing some big jobs that were finishing up, which I wanted to do.... And I also had a signed contract to do The Apprentice with NBC. Which in all fairness, you know, sounds like — when you're talking about 'president' it doesn't sound much, but when you have a two-hour show, prime time, every once a week on a major network...."
2. He knows he makes people angry: "I bring rage out. I do bring rage out. I always have. I think it was.... I don't know if that's an asset or a liability, but whatever it is, I do. I also bring great unity out, ultimately. I've had many occasions like this, where people have hated me more than any human being they've ever met. And after it's all over, they end up being my friends."
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3. He would like to require federal officials to sign nondisclosure agreements: "I think they should.... And I don't know, there could be some kind of a law that you can't do this. But when people are chosen by a man to go into government at high levels and then they leave government and they write a book about a man and say a lot of things that were really guarded and personal, I don't like that.... I will have to think about it. That's a different thing, that I'm running a private company and I'm paying people lots of money...."
4. Trump can be presidential: "My natural inclination is to win. And after I win, I will be so presidential that you won't even recognize me. You'll be falling asleep, you'll be so bored."
5. He has some names for a vice-presidential nominee: "It would be a political person. In other words, I don't need to have another great businessman come in and — I don't need that.... Somebody that can walk into the Senate and who's been friendly with these guys for 25 years, and people for 25 years. And can get things done. So I would 95 percent see myself picking a political person as opposed to somebody from the outside."
6. Trump says now is a bad time to invest: "I'm talking about a bubble where you go into a very massive recession. Hopefully not worse than that, but a very massive recession.... My stock tip is that the market — I believe we're sitting on a big bubble. So you take a look at what's going on."
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You can read the entire interview at The Washington Post.
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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
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