Last night, EWTN aired an extended interview with Donald Trump, his first with the Catholic television network. Trump and host Raymond Arroyo covered a number of important topics, including life, religious liberty, Obamacare, and the importance of the 2016 election.
You can watch the full interview below:
Here were Trump’s top three moments from the interview:
1.) “The person who was pro-choice is now pro-life…and that had a big effect on me.”
Trump discussed his change in view on the pro-life question, describing an event with a couple close to him, including the baby they eventually had, and the effect that experience had on him:
ARROYO: You’re very concerned about the late-term abortions. What was the moment that changed your thinking, your heart, on this?
TRUMP: Well, there are a number of moments, but one was a couple that I know very, very well — and you had a strong pro-life [person] and you had a strong pro-choice [person], and they argued over [the pregnancy]. … The mother was pregnant. They argued over the child. One, I won’t get into specifics.
But one wanted to abort. And the other said, “We can’t do that. We’re not going to do that.” Anyway, they had the baby. It was a long time ago. And the baby is such a magnificent person, who I know, a magnificent person. And the person that was actually pro-choice is now pro-life because of it, and it had a big effect on me. But I’ve seen other examples similar to that; but I’ve seen other examples, so …
ARROYO: So, it was a personal change for you?
TRUMP: It is a personal change. And, you know, Ronald Reagan made that personal change, too. Many people have made the personal change. I mean, some make the personal change the other way, also. But I made the personal change, and I’m very happy with it.
2.) “Once you create competition, those numbers will go so so low, but you have to repeal and replace Obamacare.”
Without getting into too much detail, Trump depicted the weaknesses of Obamacare and prescribed his solutions to improving healthcare in the United States:
ARROYO: And what about Obamacare? The administration admitted these premiums are going to go up 25% on average, could be 50% in some markets.
TRUMP: Right. Right.
ARROYO: Given that and this religious objection to the Obamacare mandate, what are you going to do as president?
TRUMP: Obamacare is killing our country. It’s killing our jobs. It’s a disaster. I’ve been saying it for a long time. I’ve been talking about it for a long time, before it was even approved.
ARROYO: What do you replace it with?
TRUMP: Whether it’s health care savings accounts — by the way, there are many things, but health care savings accounts are phenomenal. You have to break up the lines between the states so that we have competition. Once you create competition, those numbers will go so low, but you have to repeal and replace Obamacare. It’s a disaster. And the number of 25%: Washington came out?
Say, I’m sorry to say your numbers [have] gone up 25%. It’s wrong. It’s going up 50%, 60%, 70%, and next year it’s going to go up again. It’s going to get worse. And Hillary Clinton wants to keep Obamacare going. And people are going to be paying hundreds; I mean, when you really look at it, they’ll be paying 150%. It doesn’t work. It’s no good on its face. It doesn’t work. Never would have worked, should have never been approved. It was approved by a lie. I mean, let’s face it.
3.) “[Hillary Clinton] should apologize. I think she has to do more than apologize.”
Regarding the recent WikiLeaks email release which showed Clinton staffers mocking Catholics and evangelicals, Trump called on Clinton to apologize and take responsibility for the words and actions of her staff:
ARROYO: You mentioned emails. These WikiLeak revelations have offended a lot of evangelicals and Catholics.
TRUMP: Right.
ARROYO: Now, these were members of Hillary Clinton’s staff, John Podesta, her communications director, and they said things like this. They suggested that they needed to plant seeds of rebellion in the Catholic Church to somehow change the teaching to accommodate their political agenda.
TRUMP: Terrible. Sure.
ARROYO: They said it was a backward, Middle Aged dictatorship. Now, that’s her staff.
TRUMP: It’s her.
ARROYO: Is she guilty of that? Should she apologize?
TRUMP: It’s her. It’s her. She should apologize. I think she has to do more than apologize. You know, that’s her thinking. That’s her staff. Frankly, if any Catholic votes for Hillary Clinton, you know, I would say, if I were a Catholic, I wouldn’t be talking to them anymore. She’s been terrible in what she said and her thoughts towards Catholics and to evangelicals. She was mocking evangelicals, also. So, you’d say, why would an evangelical or a Catholic — and almost, you could say, anybody of faith, but in particular, because they were mentioned, evangelicals and Catholics — why would they vote for Hillary Clinton? And how could they vote for Hillary Clinton? But that’s her speaking, believe me.
ARROYO: Well, if it’s her staff. Do you think it reveals a mindset in the administration?
TRUMP: Well, it’s her staff, but I think it’s her.
ARROYO: Is that what you’re suggesting … or in her campaign, rather?
TRUMP: Yeah, sure; I mean, this is the top person in her campaign. I think it reveals her, yes.
Kevin Dawson is the Operations Manager at American Principles Project.
