Interviews Offer Different Takes On Donald Trump

Dual interviews with Donald Trump published Saturday gave different perspectives of the GOP front-runner: The Washington Post exploring what Trump would do as president, and The New York Times’ Maureen Dowd pressing the mogul on some of the many controversies in his campaign.

In a 96-minute interview with the Post’s Robert Costa and legendary reporter Bob Woodward, Trump affirmed that his “Lone Ranger” style to governing is what a flagging America most needs. The Trump that has thrown the political system into turmoil and pushed partisan tension to a violent boil is the same one that would be leading the nation, he said.

Much like how he has upended the 2016 campaign, he would seek to shake up nearly every aspect of domestic and foreign policy: taxes, trade, military alliances, the economy, nuclear proliferation and foreign relations.

While the interview was extensive, Woodward and Costa didn’t press Trump on the violence at rallies, his campaign manager who was charged with battery for an alleged attack on a reporter, his plan to ban all Muslims from entering the country, his controversial stance on abortion, nor his advocacy of birtherism.

Speaking with Woodward and Costa, Trump sounded the alarm about the economy, saying that despite indicators of improvement, the U.S. is heading for a “very massive recession.” His administration would cut taxes, and Trump said that he would eliminate the $19 trillion national debt “over a period of eight years,” which economists say is impossible. “I’m renegotiating all of our deals, the big trade deals that we’re doing so badly on,” Trump said.

Trump also broke an unwritten rule of American political leadership in his interview with Costa and Woodward, saying “it’s a terrible time right now” to invest in the stock market. A comment like this reminds Wall Street, and Washington, of how inexperienced Trump is with presidential protocol. American presidents (and party leaders) are expected to be vocal, global cheerleaders for American markets, and to use their platform to encourage investors to buy into U.S. companies, stocks and products.

Trump went on to reveal that he would have high-level government employees to sign nondisclosure agreements, to keep a lid on what is said about his administration.

Without condemning the violence that has followed his campaign events, Trump said that he had been trying to tone it down: “We’ve purposefully kept the crowds down this past week.”

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-interviews-nyt-washington-post_us_57008bc6e4b083f5c607e703