NBC News " Meet The Press" - Transcript: Trump On 2016 Presidential Debates
Interview
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DONALD TRUMP:
But, you know, these guys debate every night of their life. That's all they do is debate.
CHUCK TODD:
As Donald Trump downplayed expectations--
DONALD TRUMP:
I've never debated before. I'm not a debater.
CHUCK TODD:
--the Republicans preparing to be on stage with him are grappling with how to handle the elephant in the room. This week, one of Marco Rubio's advisors called Trump a "rattlesnake with a toothache." John Kasich's political strategist tweeted, "Imagine a NASCAR driver mentally preparing for a race, knowing one of the drivers will be drunk."
DONALD TRUMP:
And he was, "Oh, hit Trump, and hit Tr--" I'm saying, "What is this?" For two hours, I'm going to be, like, in the lion's den, right?
CHUCK TODD:
The strategies vary. Ignore him?
SCOTT WALKER:
Donald Trump can speak just fine for Donald Trump. I'm not going to talk about Donald Trump or anybody else in this race.
CHUCK TODD:
But ignoring Trump might be hard. The rules favor his brand of "shoot from the lip" delivery. Candidates will have just 60 seconds to answer and only 30 for rebuttals. Challenge him? Rick Perry's tried.
DONALD TRUMP:
Rick Perry should have to have an IQ test before getting on the debate stage.
CHUCK TODD:
But Rick Perry may not even be on stage to take Trump on, so will anyone else?
CHRIS CHRISTIE:
If Donald tries to interrupt me, I can guarantee you that that's not something I take from a reporter in the gaggle, and it won't be anything I'll take from somebody who's standing on that stage.
CHUCK TODD:
With just nine debates officially sanctioned by the Republican National Committee, less than half the number in the last two contests, candidates will be desperately trying to stand out. I'm joined now on the phone from New York by the man that has shaken up the Republican race, Donald Trump himself. Mr. Trump, welcome back to Meet the Press.
DONALD TRUMP:
Good morning, Chuck.
CHUCK TODD:
So in June, right before you announced, you were at 1%. In July, after you've announced, in the last six weeks, you are in first place with 19%. Why do you think you're resonating so quickly in the Republican field?
DONALD TRUMP:
Well, I think a lot of people did not believe I was going to be running, Chuck. And, you know, they didn't want to waste poll votes so to speak. And they really felt that I wouldn't run. I mean, I have a wonderful life. I've built a tremendous company. And, you know, a lot of good things going on.
And they said, "Why would he give that up to go into this fray?" And once I announced, as you probably know better than anybody, my poll numbers started to shoot up like a rocket ship. And they continue to go up. And a couple of polls came out recently where I'm number one with Hispanics, as an example, in Nevada. North Carolina was very strong. Nevada was very strong overall, too. I was number one place in both cases. It's been, it's been terrific.
CHUCK TODD:
Now, look, with the good, there is bad. You also have the highest unfavorable rating of any of the candidates we tested. And a majority of folks we asked say you're doing more to hurt the Republican Party than help. Why do you believe there is this sort of polarizing view of you?
DONALD TRUMP:
Well, I don't think they understand my message. Or maybe they haven't heard my message yet. But I notice that in certain states like North Carolina we have a very strong favorability rating. And other places, including New Hampshire, including Iowa, there is a very strong favorability rating. And I notice that as I get to areas-- I've been in Iowa a lot. I've been in New Hampshire a lot. I've been in South Carolina a lot. And where I go and where I speak, they really change those numbers very quickly.
CHUCK TODD:
Let's talk about the debate. And let me ask you this way. I know one of the things you did that surprised me is you downplayed your expectations. Mr. Trump, with all due respect, you never downplay your ability on anything. Why did you downplay your expectations on debating?
DONALD TRUMP:
Well, I'm not a debater. I've never debated before. I've never been on a stage debating. I guess my whole life has been a debate in one way. But I've never been on a formal stage debating. So I really don't know. I understand you have nine other people that are going to be shooting at me. And that may be true. Maybe not.
But I really don't know. I don't have pollsters. I don't want to waste money on pollsters. I don't want to be unreal. I want to be me. I have to be me. You know, we have enough of that in Washington with pollsters telling everybody what to say and everybody being controlled by the special interests, and the lobbyists, et cetera, and the donors.
I see all the donors all over the place. I know them. And I know they don't give because they happen to be nice people. You know, who knows? I think I know most of the subjects very well. I've been through it. A lot of people have been asking me a lot of questions for three or four months. And we'll see what happens. But, again, I don't think you can artificially prepare for something like this.
CHUCK TODD:
You've been compared to a rattlesnake by Marco Rubio's campaign, a drunk NASCAR driver, I think, by the Kasich campaign. Let me ask you this. How would you advise a candidate to debate you onstage?
DONALD TRUMP:
Well, I think I'm a nice person. I really do. And I think that's why my numbers always go up as they get to know me better. I think that frankly I'd like to discuss the issues. I'm not looking to take anybody out or be nasty to anybody. And as you know, Chuck, you know, when I made, you know, harsh statements about various people, that was always in response to their criticism of me. You know, Rick Perry, I always thought he was a nice guy. But he started hitting me hard. So I hit him harder. And I don't know what they're going to be doing. I'm reading so many, you know--
CHUCK TODD:
So if they don't attack you, you don't attack them.
DONALD TRUMP:
I think it's highly unlikely. I really do.
CHUCK TODD:
But if they attack you--
DONALD TRUMP:
I've always counterpunched. And you have to counterpunch. But I'm not looking to start anything. That's for sure. I'd rather discuss the issues. Our country's in serious trouble. And we have a lot of problems at every front. And I'd rather discuss that. But, you know, I read people. And I listen to you and others.
And a lot of people say, "Oh, they're getting ready," and, "They've got their little lines given to them by the pollsters." You know, everything's perfectly put down by a pollster, what to say and how to attack me. And, you know, if that comes, it comes. And I'll have to handle it at the time.
CHUCK TODD:
Now, I'm hoping that you and I are going to sit down face to face soon and go in detail on policy issues. But I want to ask you about a story in this morning's Washington Post. And it says, "Republican candidate Donald Trump's platform: 'Because I said so.'"
And there is some growing criticism that says, "When are we going to see the details? When are we going to see your policy proposals?" I know your campaign says you have them. "There's a tax plan on the shelf ready to roll out, an education plan on the shelf ready to roll out." When the public is going to see this, sir?
DONALD TRUMP:
Well, it's all true. And we do have a lot of different policy programs. And I think they're going to be, I don't know, popular. But they're going to be something that's going to set the country back right. I mean, one of the big things is we have to take back jobs from China.
We have to take back jobs from Japan, and Vietnam, and Mexico, and virtually everybody that's taking our jobs and ruining our manufacturing base. And we have to put people to work, Chuck. Because the real number is probably 21%. The real unemployment number is probably 21%. People give up looking for jobs. And they no longer become a statistic. And it's very unfair. So we have to put our country back to work. We have to get great jobs for people and good paying jobs for people. And we're going to be just fine.
CHUCK TODD:
All right. Very quickly, two more questions. 1) The news about Joe Biden thinking about challenging Hillary Clinton. Who would you rather face: Hillary Clinton or Joe Biden?
DONALD TRUMP:
Well, I don't have a choice. I would say this. I think with what she's doing and how she's coming out, you know, she's got a terrible record. She's probably the worst secretary of state in the history of this country. And, she's now, the email thing, I mean, what they did with Petraeus is they destroyed his life.
What she did is far greater and far worse than Petraeus did. So I would think that she at some point you're going to get a prosecutor who's going to be an honorable prosecutor. And there's going to be major problems for her. So I would think other people would be looking.
CHUCK TODD:
So you don't have much to say about Joe Biden it sounds like? You were a donor to, you've given him money in the past--
DONALD TRUMP:
I think he's fine. I mean, I think he's fine. If he runs, he runs. I like to do things nice and systematically. Right now, I have I guess you could say 16 because somebody else just joined. So I have 16 opponents. And I like to focus on them. And then I'll focus on Hillary. And I actually think Hillary will be easy if it's her. But I'm not so sure it's going to be her.
CHUCK TODD:
And, again, I know we're going to get into a lot more issues with you in a couple weeks. But I want to ask you about Black Lives Matter. The latest shooting of a white police officer shooting an unarmed black man. Do you see this as a crisis in America?
DONALD TRUMP:
It's a massive crisis. It's a double crisis. What's happening and people. You know, I look at things. And I see it on television. And some horrible mistakes are made. At the same time, we have to give power back to the police because crime is rampant. And I'm a big person that believes in very big-- you know, we need police.
And we need protection. Look, I look at some of the cities. You look at Baltimore. You look at so many different places in this country. Chicago. Certain areas of Chicago. They need strong police protection. And those police can do the job. But their jobs are being taken away from them. At the same time, you've got these other problems. And there's no question about it. They are problems. There is turmoil in our country.
CHUCK TODD:
Do you understand why African Americans don't trust the police right now?
DONALD TRUMP:
Well, I can certainly see it when I see what's going on. But at the same time, we have to give power back to the police because we have to have law and order. Hundreds of killings are in Baltimore. Hundreds of killings are in Chicago. And New York is not doing so great in terms of that front. And so many other cities.
We have to give strength and power back to the police. And you're always going to have mistakes made. And you're always going to have bad apples. But you can't let that stop the fact that police have to regain some control of this tremendous crime wave and killing wave that's happening in this country.
CHUCK TODD:
All right. Well, all eyes are going to be on you for the next four days and, of course, in primetime on Thursday night. Mr. Trump, I look forward to having a deep dive on policy issues with you in a couple weeks, I hope.
DONALD TRUMP:
Good. I do, too. Thank you very much, Chuck.
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