Donald Trump isn’t worried that persistent low approval polling or the ongoing special counsel investigation headed up by Robert Mueller will hurt his chances of winning re-election in 2020. In fact, he’s confident he’ll get a second term because he thinks that American media outlets will make sure it happens.
In an on-the-record interview with the New York Times Thursday, Trump said that the press will “let me win” in 2020 because, he believes, it is completely dependent on him for traffic, circulation, ratings, and so on.
“Another reason that I’m going to win another four years is because newspapers, television, all forms of media will tank if I’m not there because without me, their ratings are going down the tubes,” Trump said.
“Without me, The New York Times will indeed be not the failing New York Times, but the failed New York Times. So they basically have to let me win,” he continued, adding that “eventually, probably six months before the election, they’ll be loving me because they’re saying, ‘Please, please, don’t lose Donald Trump.’ O.K.”
The interview touched on multiple topics, including the Mueller investigation into possible Russian connections to the Trump campaign during the 2016 election. As he has maintained since he was sworn in, Trump said that there was no collusion between his campaign and Russia. But he added a new layer: that practically the entire Democratic party agrees with him.
“I think it’s all worked out because frankly there is absolutely no collusion, that’s been proven by every Democrat is saying it,” Trump said at the beginning of the interview.
This statement prompted New York Times reporter Michael S. Schmidt, conducting the interview, to ask “You’re O.K. with me recording, right?”
“Yeah,” Trump continued. “Virtually every Democrat has said there is no collusion. There is no collusion. And even these committees that have been set up. If you look at what’s going on — and in fact, what it’s done is, it’s really angered the base and made the base stronger. My base is stronger than it’s ever been. Great congressmen, in particular, some of the congressmen have been unbelievable in pointing out what a witch hunt the whole thing is. So, I think it’s been proven that there is no collusion.”
Other topics touched on include the Hillary Clinton campaign, unsuccessful Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, Paul Manafort, and Trump’s claim that “there is tremendous collusion with the Russians and with the Democratic Party.” Read a partial transcript of the NYT interview with Trump here.