Trump Blasts 'Dishonest' Media for Misrepresenting Comments in Dr. Phil Interview

Former President Trump slammed the "very dishonest" media for taking his statements out of context in an interview with Dr. Phil, where he corrected the record on two instances of alleged mischaracterizations. He also criticized fear-mongering tactics used to distort his humorous remarks.

In an interview with renowned television personality Dr. Phil McGraw, former President Donald Trump vehemently denounced the "very dishonest" media for persistently misrepresenting his statements and taking them out of context. During the interview, Trump provided clarifications to two specific instances where he alleged deliberate mischaracterizations by the media.

One of the comments that sparked controversy was Trump's statement at a Turning Point Action event in July, where he said, "You won’t have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians." This remark was interpreted by some commentators as a suggestion that if reelected, he would abolish future elections and remain in power indefinitely. However, Trump vehemently denied this interpretation and provided a more detailed explanation.

Trump Blasts 'Dishonest' Media for Misrepresenting Comments in Dr. Phil Interview

"I said to the Christians, we’ve gotta win this election. If we win this election, I’ll straighten everything out in less than 4 years by a lot," Trump said. "Then you don’t have to, it doesn’t matter. In other words, I’m saying you don’t have to vote- it doesn’t mean we’re not gonna have elections! You’re gonna have elections, but you have to vote this time, because we have to win. This is the most important election in the history of our country."

Trump asserted that his remark was solely intended to emphasize the critical nature of the upcoming election and not to imply that he intended to eliminate future elections.

Trump Blasts 'Dishonest' Media for Misrepresenting Comments in Dr. Phil Interview

Trump also addressed another quote that has been subject to media scrutiny, stemming from a town hall discussion on Fox News' "Hannity" last December. During the discussion, Trump quipped that he would be a "dictator" for a single day if reelected, stating, "I want to close the border and I want to drill, drill, drill." He added, "After that, I'm not a dictator."

Recounting the incident to Dr. Phil, Trump explained that his remark was purely a joke and was uttered with a chuckle. "I said jokingly on Sean Hannity, he’s a great guy, I said ‘No, Sean, I wanna be a dictator for one day because I’m gonna get going with Drill, Baby, Drill and I’m gonna strengthen the borders to a level like you’ve never seen, I only wanna-be, and after that, I’ll never be a dictator.’"

Trump Blasts 'Dishonest' Media for Misrepresenting Comments in Dr. Phil Interview

Trump emphasized that both the audience and himself understood the comment to be humorous, but the media intentionally manipulated it by cutting out the humorous context. "And I said ‘one day,’ because I wanna do the energy and I wanna strengthen the border, one day, and it was said with a chuckle, the audience laughed, I laughed, we all laughed," he said. "But they take it and they cut it, and then they cut it, and it says ‘I wanna be a dictator.’ These are very dishonest people that we’re dealing with. Very dishonest people. Bad people."

Trump maintained that these instances exemplify the media's relentless pursuit of misrepresenting his words and that his comments were intentionally manipulated to undermine his reputation. He urged the public to scrutinize the media's reporting and to seek out the truth from multiple sources.

Trump Blasts 'Dishonest' Media for Misrepresenting Comments in Dr. Phil Interview