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[h=1]'A disgrace': President Trump blasts SNL writer for targeting his son Barron and calls Madonna 'disgusting' for talking about blowing up the White House in interview with Sean Hannity[/h]
- President Trump took part in an interview with Fox's Sean Hannity on Thursday
- He took aim at Saturday Night Live and its now suspended writer Katie Rich
- Rich tweeted that the president's son Barron would become 'the country's first homeschool shooter' and was universally criticized for it
- He labelled her 'a disgrace' and called the show and star Alex Baldwin 'terrible'
- He slammed Madonna for saying she'd considered blowing up the White House 'I think she hurt that whole cause', the president fumed of the 'disgusting' singer
- In the hour-long sit down interview, Trump also said Barack Obama 'liked him'
- He spoke of teaming up with Russia to 'knock the hell out' of ISIS whose terrorists he characterized as 'dirty, sneaky rats'
- Blasted Obamacare again, vowed to implement 'extreme' immigrant vetting laws and said of the Mexican border wall: 'It's necessary'
- The president added that he gets 'bored' on holiday and is a 'workaholic' - so is perfect for the job
Donald Trump has labeled Madonna 'disgusting' and called Saturday Night Live a 'disgrace' after one of its writers targeted his 10-year-old son Barron.
The president sat down with Fox's Sean Hannity on Thursday to appear on his namesake show, his second interview since taking office last Friday.
He blasted NBC's Saturday Night Live and a 'terrible' attack by one of its writers who said his 10-year-old son Barron would become the 'country's first homeschool shooter'.
Urged for his view by Hannity who commended Barron as a 'wonderful, smart, charming kid', President Trump said it was 'terrible' he'd been subject to attack.
'Saturday Night Live, a person from Saturday Night Live was terrible.
'I don't mind some humor but it's terrible. For them to attack, for NBC to attack my 10-year-old son...it's a disgrace. He’s a great boy. And it’s not an easy thing for him. Believe me.'
The president sat down with Fox's Sean Hannity on Thursday to appear on his namesake show, his second interview since taking office last Friday.
He blasted NBC's Saturday Night Live and a 'terrible' attack by one of its writers who said his 10-year-old son Barron would become the 'country's first homeschool shooter'.
Urged for his view by Hannity who commended Barron as a 'wonderful, smart, charming kid', President Trump said it was 'terrible' he'd been subject to attack.
'Saturday Night Live, a person from Saturday Night Live was terrible.
'I don't mind some humor but it's terrible. For them to attack, for NBC to attack my 10-year-old son...it's a disgrace. He’s a great boy. And it’s not an easy thing for him. Believe me.'
Writer Katie Rich was admonished for her tweet last week that Barron would become America's 'first homeschool shooter'.
She has since apologized and been suspended by the show. Neither NBC nor Saturday Night Live condoned her comments. Neither has given a public comment on them.
For months, Saturday Night Live has made President Trump the subject of its sketches starring Alec Baldwin who ridicules him mercilessly.
Giving his assessment of the actor, the president said he wasn't just unfunny but a 'disaster'. 'He's terrible on the show,' he said.
He also addressed Madonna and a spate of celebrities who took part in protests against him held across the country last weekend.
At a Washington DC march, Madonna told crowds she'd considered 'blowing up the White House'.
'Honestly, she's disgusting. I think she hurt herself very badly. I think she hurt that whole cause,' President Trump said of the singer's unhinged outburst.
'I thought her and a couple of others. But I thought she was in particular, I thought what she said was disgraceful to our country.'
Trump's wrath wasn't solely reserved for the stars.
'A disgrace': President Trump took aim at Saturday Night Live writer Katie Rich who tweeted that his 10-year-old son Barron would become the country's 'first homeschool shooter'
She has since apologized and been suspended by the show. Neither NBC nor Saturday Night Live condoned her comments. Neither has given a public comment on them.
For months, Saturday Night Live has made President Trump the subject of its sketches starring Alec Baldwin who ridicules him mercilessly.
Giving his assessment of the actor, the president said he wasn't just unfunny but a 'disaster'. 'He's terrible on the show,' he said.
He also addressed Madonna and a spate of celebrities who took part in protests against him held across the country last weekend.
At a Washington DC march, Madonna told crowds she'd considered 'blowing up the White House'.
'Honestly, she's disgusting. I think she hurt herself very badly. I think she hurt that whole cause,' President Trump said of the singer's unhinged outburst.
'I thought her and a couple of others. But I thought she was in particular, I thought what she said was disgraceful to our country.'
Trump's wrath wasn't solely reserved for the stars.
'A disgrace': President Trump took aim at Saturday Night Live writer Katie Rich who tweeted that his 10-year-old son Barron would become the country's 'first homeschool shooter'
'He's a great boy': President Trump said it 'wasn't easy' for his son to be in the spotlight. Writer Katie Rich (right) apologized for her remarks but was suspended from the show
He also blasted congressional 'obstructionists' who were blocking his cabinet confirmations and leaking details of meetings to the press, namely his comment on Monday during a 'confidential' get-together that he still believed illegal immigrants cost him the popular vote.
'I'll tell you what they're obstructionists. I go to a meeting with them that's supposed to be a very quiet meeting. Nobody talking outside of the meeting. They leave the meeting and they have a news conference about what I said.
'They're talking to the cameras about exactly what I said at the meeting, which is fine because I say things that I don't mind going out, because I assume they're going to do that. But the deal was, we wouldn't talk to the press. And they go out and they talk to the press.'
He also criticized slow confirmation hearings which are stalling the cabinet's formation, describing it as 'not fair' that the swearing-ins of his key staff are being delayed.
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The president described Madonna as 'disgusting' and said her appearance at a Women's March in Washington DC to protest against him had 'hurt the cause'
On matters of policy, President Trump said the military mattered more to him than a balanced budget and that he had already begun negotiating on behalf of the 'depleted' Armed Forces.
'I want a balanced budget eventually. But I want to have a strong military. To me that's much more important than anything.'
He is well-versed in knocking down the price of air fleets, he said, having purchased 'a lot of planes' himself.
'We have a military that's really depleted. And I'm negotiating the price of airplanes, can you believe this? But I understand airplanes. I've bought a lot of airplanes.'
Earlier in the week Press Secretary Sean Spicer appeared on the show where he complained that media coverage of President Trump had been unfairly negative.
President Trump carried on his crusade during his own interview, describing the media as 'very hostile' and 'very angry'.
'I want a balanced budget eventually. But I want to have a strong military. To me that's much more important than anything.'
He is well-versed in knocking down the price of air fleets, he said, having purchased 'a lot of planes' himself.
'We have a military that's really depleted. And I'm negotiating the price of airplanes, can you believe this? But I understand airplanes. I've bought a lot of airplanes.'
Earlier in the week Press Secretary Sean Spicer appeared on the show where he complained that media coverage of President Trump had been unfairly negative.
President Trump carried on his crusade during his own interview, describing the media as 'very hostile' and 'very angry'.
[h=3]What if David Muir's kids were kidnapped? Trump doubles down on his support for torture and praises waterboarding after grilling by ABC reporter[/h]Waterboarding, and the president's open-mindedness to it as a form of torture or interrogation, was also a topic in Thursday's interview.
It was introduced by Hannity who referenced an earlier line of questioning by ABC journalist David Muir who sat down with the president on Wednesday for his first White House interview.
Muir asked Trump: 'You're now the president. Do you want waterboarding?'
He responded that while it is in the hands of his generals, he is not opposed to the technique as a form of interrogation.
'So you'd be OK with it as president?' Muir pressed on.
'I will rely on General Mattis. And I'm gonna rely on those two people and others. And if they don't wanna do it, it's 100 percent okay with me. Do I think it works? Absolutely.'
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ABC's David Muir interviewed the president on Wednesday and probed him on whether he would be comfortable sanctioning waterboarding as an interrogation technique
On Thursday, Hannity framed his questioning to suggest Muir was against it. Wholeheartedly agreeing with the president that waterboarding 'works' as a means of extracting information, Hannity said: 'If I had an opportunity to speak with David Muir, I'd say, OK, two guys go into your house, they kidnap your child, one guy gets away with your child, you tackle the other guy, that guy knows where your child is, would you not waterboard that guy?'
Chiming in: Hannity agreed with Trump that waterboarding 'works'
The president spoke more generally about how waterboarding was 'a step slightly below torture' and how he believed it is effective.
Hannity, agreeing that it 'actually works' and declaring he has no doubt whatsoever about it, returned to Muir, who does not have any children, to illustrate his belief.
'I would ask David Muir, if they kidnapped your kid and you have one of the kidnappers, what would you do to get the location of your child?'
Trump, at this, joined in: 'Or would you want him to talk in 48 hours from now by being nice to him, OK?'
The men agreed by that point it would be 'over'.
It was introduced by Hannity who referenced an earlier line of questioning by ABC journalist David Muir who sat down with the president on Wednesday for his first White House interview.
Muir asked Trump: 'You're now the president. Do you want waterboarding?'
He responded that while it is in the hands of his generals, he is not opposed to the technique as a form of interrogation.
'So you'd be OK with it as president?' Muir pressed on.
'I will rely on General Mattis. And I'm gonna rely on those two people and others. And if they don't wanna do it, it's 100 percent okay with me. Do I think it works? Absolutely.'
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ABC's David Muir interviewed the president on Wednesday and probed him on whether he would be comfortable sanctioning waterboarding as an interrogation technique
On Thursday, Hannity framed his questioning to suggest Muir was against it. Wholeheartedly agreeing with the president that waterboarding 'works' as a means of extracting information, Hannity said: 'If I had an opportunity to speak with David Muir, I'd say, OK, two guys go into your house, they kidnap your child, one guy gets away with your child, you tackle the other guy, that guy knows where your child is, would you not waterboard that guy?'
Chiming in: Hannity agreed with Trump that waterboarding 'works'
The president spoke more generally about how waterboarding was 'a step slightly below torture' and how he believed it is effective.
Hannity, agreeing that it 'actually works' and declaring he has no doubt whatsoever about it, returned to Muir, who does not have any children, to illustrate his belief.
'I would ask David Muir, if they kidnapped your kid and you have one of the kidnappers, what would you do to get the location of your child?'
Trump, at this, joined in: 'Or would you want him to talk in 48 hours from now by being nice to him, OK?'
The men agreed by that point it would be 'over'.
He said he was outraged by a false tweet published by a pool reporter that a Martin Luther King bust had been removed from the Oval Office and even interrogated his staff over who may have taken it out after seeing reports on the subject.
It turned out to be false. The bust was never removed and the reporter who claimed mistakenly that it had been apologized profusely and repeatedly to colleagues and to the White House after seeking to correct his error.
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'A racist charge': President Trump also said he was outraged that a reporter had mistakenly tweeted he removed a bust of Martin Luther King from the Oval Office
On Thursday the president, still enraged by the allegation that he would remove it, said the journalists' suggestion was that he was racist.
'That's a very serious charge. Because they're not saying the bust was taken out.
'What they're saying is that I'm a racist. That's what they're saying. That's a very serious charge. Then it turned out the bust, in fact I got very angry with my people. I said who took that bust out? Because I wasn't there.
'And they said it was never moved. It was in the same exact spot it was never moved. I said, how could they say it?'
Later, he said of journalists who reported it: 'These are lying people. These are bad people.'
TIME, the publication which the journalist works for, has insisted it was an unintentional mistake which it regrets but denies the reporter acted maliciously in his reporting.
During a tour of the Oval Office, he showed off paintings of George Washington, 'Honest Abe Lincoln' and Andrew Jackson who 'they say was the most like my campaign because his was a vicious campaign.'
President Trump also criticized coverage of his speech at the CIA which was deemed 'inappropriate' by former agents.
He gave himself full marks for the speech. 'I gave the speech that really was a 10 relatively speaking. I had a standing ovation like you wouldn't believe.'
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President Trump posed next to the bust to prove that it had not been removed. It remains in the Oval Office beneath a portrait of statesman Alexander Hamilton who founded the New York Post, Trump's favorite newspaper
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President Trump invited Fox's Sean Hannity into the White House for what was his second interview since taking office
It turned out to be false. The bust was never removed and the reporter who claimed mistakenly that it had been apologized profusely and repeatedly to colleagues and to the White House after seeking to correct his error.
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'A racist charge': President Trump also said he was outraged that a reporter had mistakenly tweeted he removed a bust of Martin Luther King from the Oval Office
On Thursday the president, still enraged by the allegation that he would remove it, said the journalists' suggestion was that he was racist.
'That's a very serious charge. Because they're not saying the bust was taken out.
'What they're saying is that I'm a racist. That's what they're saying. That's a very serious charge. Then it turned out the bust, in fact I got very angry with my people. I said who took that bust out? Because I wasn't there.
'And they said it was never moved. It was in the same exact spot it was never moved. I said, how could they say it?'
Later, he said of journalists who reported it: 'These are lying people. These are bad people.'
TIME, the publication which the journalist works for, has insisted it was an unintentional mistake which it regrets but denies the reporter acted maliciously in his reporting.
During a tour of the Oval Office, he showed off paintings of George Washington, 'Honest Abe Lincoln' and Andrew Jackson who 'they say was the most like my campaign because his was a vicious campaign.'
President Trump also criticized coverage of his speech at the CIA which was deemed 'inappropriate' by former agents.
He gave himself full marks for the speech. 'I gave the speech that really was a 10 relatively speaking. I had a standing ovation like you wouldn't believe.'
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President Trump posed next to the bust to prove that it had not been removed. It remains in the Oval Office beneath a portrait of statesman Alexander Hamilton who founded the New York Post, Trump's favorite newspaper
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President Trump invited Fox's Sean Hannity into the White House for what was his second interview since taking office
[h=3]'THE WALL IS NECESSARY. A PROPER WALL, NOT THE LITTLE TOY WALL THEY HAVE NOW'[/h]During his interview on Thursday, President Trump stuck religiously to one of his most controversial campaign promises - building a wall on the Mexican border.
Construction appears to have already begun so much as the stroke of a pen by incoming Homeland Security secretary John Kelly.
The issue stalled a meeting with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto this week after Trump signed an executive order to push ahead with its construction.
He told Hannity on the issue he very much intended to continue building the wall which would be 'a proper' barrier unlike the current border.
'The wall is necessary. That's not just politics and yet it is good for the heart of the nation in a certain way because people want protection. And a wall protects.
'A proper wall, not a wall that's this high like they have now. They have little toy walls. I don't know why they even wasted their time. I'm talking about a real wall. I'm talking about a wall that's got to be like serious.
'And even that of course you'll have people violate it. But we'll have people waiting for them when they do.'
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'I'm talking about a real wall': President Trump is sticking to his promise to tighten up security on the border. Above, the border between Mexico and thr US in Ciudad Juarez on January 25
President Trump also described himself as an 'environmentalist' but said he would not allow the issue to get in the way of building.
'They use the environment to stop a lot of good things, not only energy, buildings and factories, plants,' he said of his predecessors.
Construction appears to have already begun so much as the stroke of a pen by incoming Homeland Security secretary John Kelly.
The issue stalled a meeting with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto this week after Trump signed an executive order to push ahead with its construction.
He told Hannity on the issue he very much intended to continue building the wall which would be 'a proper' barrier unlike the current border.
'The wall is necessary. That's not just politics and yet it is good for the heart of the nation in a certain way because people want protection. And a wall protects.
'A proper wall, not a wall that's this high like they have now. They have little toy walls. I don't know why they even wasted their time. I'm talking about a real wall. I'm talking about a wall that's got to be like serious.
'And even that of course you'll have people violate it. But we'll have people waiting for them when they do.'
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'I'm talking about a real wall': President Trump is sticking to his promise to tighten up security on the border. Above, the border between Mexico and thr US in Ciudad Juarez on January 25
President Trump also described himself as an 'environmentalist' but said he would not allow the issue to get in the way of building.
'They use the environment to stop a lot of good things, not only energy, buildings and factories, plants,' he said of his predecessors.
'They use it to stop things. It's like a roadblock, but that's not going to happen anymore.
'And the by the way, I'm an environmentalist, OK? I believe strongly in the environment and I'm going to protect the environment. But you don't have to have a man who wants to build a factory or a person or company wait ten years going through approvals, at the end of the tenth year, get rejected.'
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The president said he is considering freeing Kristian Saucier, a sailor who was jailed for taking photographs inside a nuclear submarine
On the subject of terror, he described America's enemies as 'sneaky dirty rats' who were more difficult to detect than the threat of foreign armies who wore uniforms.
'They're sneaky, dirty rats. And they blow people up in a shopping center. And they blow people up in a church.
'These are bad people. When you're fighting Germany, they had their uniforms; and Japan, and they had their uniforms and they had their flags on the plane and the whole thing. We are fighting sneaky rats right now that are sick and demented. And we're going to win.'
President Trump said it would be mutually beneficial for the US to have improved relations with Russia so that he and Vladimir Putin could 'knock the hell out of ISIS'.
'I don't know Putin, but if we can get along with Russia, that's a great thing. It's good for Russia, it's good for us. We go out together and knock the hell out of ISIS.
'Because that's the real sickness, you know the whole ISIS thing is the real sickness.'
He said he was open to bringing back waterboarding as an interrogation technique and said while it 'wasn't pleasant', the now illegal practice doesn't qualify as torture.
'Waterboarding is, I'm sure it's not pleasant, but waterboarding was just short of torture.'
The topic was raised on Wednesday when Trump appeared on ABC for an interview with David Muir. Hannity said he would push Muir not to waterboard a terrorist who had 'kidnapped his daughter'.
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'I think he likes me': President Trump also paid tribute to his predecessor Barack Obama and said he was 'amazed' by the pair's friendliness to one another after a 'vicious' campaign
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He also said he'd decided on keeping the Resolute Desk because it was what Reagan, one of his favorite presidents, had used
President Trump also revealed that he is looking in to granting a presidential pardon to Kristian Saucier, a sailor who was jailed for photographing the inside of a nuclear submarine.
Saucier appealed to President Trump to free him, claiming his case was no worse than Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.
'I'm actually looking at it right now. How can you have somebody else get away with such a tremendous amount and then this person who takes a picture of his desk on an old submarine?' he said.
Giving Hannity a tour of the White House, he paid tribute to his predecessor Barack Obama and the graciousness with which he handed over the presidency.
'What amazed me is that I was vicious to him in statements, he was vicious to me in statements, and here we are getting along, we're riding up Pennsylvania Avenue talk, we don't even mention it.
'I guess that's the world of politics. But I was tough on him, he was tough on me and I like him, he likes me. I think he likes me. I mean, you're going to have to ask him but I think he likes me.'
Finishing his interview, he thanked Hannity and told him encouragingly: 'The ratings tonight are going to be through the roof.'
'And the by the way, I'm an environmentalist, OK? I believe strongly in the environment and I'm going to protect the environment. But you don't have to have a man who wants to build a factory or a person or company wait ten years going through approvals, at the end of the tenth year, get rejected.'
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The president said he is considering freeing Kristian Saucier, a sailor who was jailed for taking photographs inside a nuclear submarine
On the subject of terror, he described America's enemies as 'sneaky dirty rats' who were more difficult to detect than the threat of foreign armies who wore uniforms.
'They're sneaky, dirty rats. And they blow people up in a shopping center. And they blow people up in a church.
'These are bad people. When you're fighting Germany, they had their uniforms; and Japan, and they had their uniforms and they had their flags on the plane and the whole thing. We are fighting sneaky rats right now that are sick and demented. And we're going to win.'
President Trump said it would be mutually beneficial for the US to have improved relations with Russia so that he and Vladimir Putin could 'knock the hell out of ISIS'.
'I don't know Putin, but if we can get along with Russia, that's a great thing. It's good for Russia, it's good for us. We go out together and knock the hell out of ISIS.
'Because that's the real sickness, you know the whole ISIS thing is the real sickness.'
He said he was open to bringing back waterboarding as an interrogation technique and said while it 'wasn't pleasant', the now illegal practice doesn't qualify as torture.
'Waterboarding is, I'm sure it's not pleasant, but waterboarding was just short of torture.'
The topic was raised on Wednesday when Trump appeared on ABC for an interview with David Muir. Hannity said he would push Muir not to waterboard a terrorist who had 'kidnapped his daughter'.
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'I think he likes me': President Trump also paid tribute to his predecessor Barack Obama and said he was 'amazed' by the pair's friendliness to one another after a 'vicious' campaign
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He also said he'd decided on keeping the Resolute Desk because it was what Reagan, one of his favorite presidents, had used
President Trump also revealed that he is looking in to granting a presidential pardon to Kristian Saucier, a sailor who was jailed for photographing the inside of a nuclear submarine.
Saucier appealed to President Trump to free him, claiming his case was no worse than Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.
'I'm actually looking at it right now. How can you have somebody else get away with such a tremendous amount and then this person who takes a picture of his desk on an old submarine?' he said.
Giving Hannity a tour of the White House, he paid tribute to his predecessor Barack Obama and the graciousness with which he handed over the presidency.
'What amazed me is that I was vicious to him in statements, he was vicious to me in statements, and here we are getting along, we're riding up Pennsylvania Avenue talk, we don't even mention it.
'I guess that's the world of politics. But I was tough on him, he was tough on me and I like him, he likes me. I think he likes me. I mean, you're going to have to ask him but I think he likes me.'
Finishing his interview, he thanked Hannity and told him encouragingly: 'The ratings tonight are going to be through the roof.'
[h=1]President Donald Trump.....Hannity FULL Interview 1/26/17 [/h]
