For anyone worried that Donald Trump will foment a wave of political violence following his increasingly probable loss this November, we’ve got good news and bad news.
The bad news is that Trump plans to continue to warn his supporters that the “co-founder of ISIS” he’s running against will probably rig the election and then try to take their guns. The good news is that, if he loses, he apparently doesn’t intend to continue stoking such fears after Election Day. Or, at the very least, he’s going to take a nice long vacation before returning to those old habits.
On Thursday morning, Trump repeated his claim that Barack Obama is both the “founder of ISIS” and the terrorist organization’s “Most Valuable Player” (although Obama shares that prestigious award with Hillary Clinton).
“Do you think it’s appropriate to call the sitting president of the United States the founder of a terrorist organization that wants to kill Americans?” Trump was asked on CNBC’s Squawk Box.
“He was the founder of ISIS. Absolutely,” Trump replied. “Why is there something wrong with saying that? Why, are people complaining that I said he was the founder of ISIS?”
Trump was then asked how he thought such rhetoric would play in battleground states.
“Whatever it is, it is,” Trump said. “I’m a truth teller. All I do is tell the truth. And if at the end of 90 days, I’ve fallen short … it’s OK. I go back to a very good way of life.”
Trump reiterated this sentiment later in the interview, when he was asked how he planned to catch up with Clinton in the polls.
“I just keep doing the same thing I’m doing right now,” Trump said. “And at the end, it’s either going to work or I’m going to have a very, very nice long vacation.”
The GOP nominee isn’t known for keeping his promises. But when Trump pledges to continue to say that the president is a terrorist, you can take him at his word.
