Former President Donald Trump said Sunday he does not believe the United States has much of a democracy, citing unfair treatment from the media his own indictments as the reason.
Speaking on NBC’s “Meet The Press”, Trump told moderator Kristen Welker that he believes democracy is the most effective form of government but added democracy needs to be fair.
This democracy is — I don’t consider us to have much of a democracy right now,” Trump said.
“They indict their political opponents. Free speech is shot, because the press is very dishonest, very dishonest. Even the way you fight me on simple questions like, you know, the border, and this. You fight me so much,” Trump said to Welker.
Critics have warned that another Trump term could threaten democracy after his time in office saw former administration officials come forward and slam the former president for disregarding democratic norms.
Trump also famously called the news media “fake news” and the enemy of the people.
“We need a media that’s free and fair. And frankly, if they don’t have that, it’s very, very hard to straighten out our country,” he added.
Trump was indicted on federal charges but despite four upcoming trials, he said he is not thinking about going to prison.
“I don’t even think about it,” Trump said. “I’m built a little differently I guess, because I have had people come up to me and say, ‘How do you do it, sir? How do you do it?’ I don’t even think about it.”
The former president is facing several charges, which include the retention of classified documents after leaving the White House and his alleged attempts to stay in power following his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden.
Despite that, Trump is still the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination in 2024, leading his rivals by double digits, according to polling data.
If Trump wins back the White House, he would be in a position to pardon himself on all of the federal charges. However, he said he would not consider it if he becomes president again.
“I think it’s very unlikely. What, what did I do wrong? I didn’t do anything wrong,” Trump said. “You mean because I challenge an election, they want to put me in jail?”
