Trump Says He Won’t Have Time For ‘Retribution’

While two of his rivals in the GOP presidential race battled it out at a CNN debate, former President Donald Trump walked back his past comments about getting back at his political enemies in a Wednesday town hall event in Iowa.

Speaking with Fox News hosts Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, he was asked about the time he plans to spend on retribution and looking backwards if he wins his White House bid in November.

In response, he said that his initial plan is not so bad considering what Democratic politicians have done since President Joe Biden has held the presidency.

“Look, what they did: Russia, Russia, Russia hoax; the FBI/Twitter hoax; the 51 intelligence agents hoax – all of these different hoaxes that they did. You know, a lot of people would say that’s probably quite normal,” he stated.

However, he went on to say that he will not “have time for retribution,” as he will be busy working to get the country back on its feet.

“We’re going to make this country so successful again, I’m not going to have time for retribution. And remember this: our ultimate retribution is success,” he stated.

President Trump is ready to get to work:

"I’m not going to have time for retribution. We’re going to make this country so successful again, I’m not going to have time for it.” pic.twitter.com/Z3SqNLUaG8

— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) January 11, 2024

The former president’s comments appear to be a walk back from a promise he made on the campaign trail last year promising to be his supporters’ “retribution.”

“In 2016, I declared, ‘I am your voice.’ Today I add: I am your warrior, I am your justice, and for those that have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution. I am your retribution,” he said in March while speaking to a crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

He went on to promise to “totally obliterate the deep state” and “ the unelected bureaucrats and shadow forces who have weaponized our justice system like it has never been weaponized before.”

“I will put the people back in charge of this country again. The people will be back in charge of our country,” he pledged amid loud applause from the crowd.

https://www.c-span.org/video/?c5060238/pres-trump-i-justicei-retribution

Trump’s walk back comes after his political opponents have argued that his reelection bid is rooted in himself not what Americans need. During a speech last week, Biden cited Trump’s promise of retribution as backing for his claim that Trump’s presidential bid “is obsessed with the past, not the future.”

“He’s willing to sacrifice our democracy, put himself in power,” Biden argued.