Calmes: Happy birthday, Mr. President. Will you run again?
Trump: Well, I’m going to run again. I will do what I do and we’ll see what happens. I appreciate your interest in me and we will see what happens. But I’m going to get re-elected. They’re underestimating me.
“They’re underestimating me,” Trump said, referring to critics who consider him a poor businessman and a mediocre leader. And a Democratic operative told me she believes that, more than anything, Trump believes he will defeat a second term if they all fail to get rid of him.
A Democratic pollster told me she believes that Trump believes his first term will end because he has no interest in governing with Congress. And a key ally of his, Mitch McConnell, told me that Trump is focused on winning, not governing.
Trump has said he is willing to govern with Congress and would gladly do it with only Republican Senators but is worried that if a Democratic Senator or two were elected, he would lose the votes for his nominees and be driven out. That, he believes, is the only reason he has not moved a single nominee to the Judiciary Committee.
“I can’t help but ask: Why would they even bother to run for office?” Trump said. “It’s the most demeaning thing to do. No. They better not run.”
Carmack: How will Congress respond?
Trump: What they do. They’re angry. They’re angry at Congress. They’re angry at me. They’re angry at the Democrats. They’re angry at the press. They’re angry at the media. They’re mad at everybody. And they’re angry at me because I’m helping so many people that nobody knows, and I feel very strongly I would never, ever do that.
Carmack: But Trump, in effect, is asking Congress to make laws.
Trump: Well, I’m asking Congress to pass laws. Because I’ve told them many times, I’ve said many times, that I don’t want to do anything, I don’t want to get involved in things that aren
