#if it was between him or trump I would have no choice but to get down with the worm
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hi hi hi!!! i know you’re working on the bau sleepover buttttt i was wondering if you could write a aaron hotchner x reader fic where like what happened to garcia, reader gets shot and she’s in hospital and they don’t know if she gonna be okay and stuff. her and hotch have this mutual pining for each other and when she gets shot he kinda spirals. after being released, hotch takes her to her apartment and stays with her until they catch him and stuff. i know this is really long, thank you!!!
Some Profiler You Are - A.H
a/n: hi hi hi thank you so so sooo much for requesting <3 i kind of took this a more fluffy route and focused more on the recovery so let me know if you like it :)
masterlist
‧₊˚ ✩°｡⋆♡ ⋆˙⟡♡ ⋆˙⟡♡⋆｡°✩˚₊‧
pairings: aaron hotchner x fem!reader
warnings: reader was shot, comfort, angst like a teensy bit, fluff, changing of bandages, kinda shitty ending per usual
wc: 2k
"Do you want to sit down?"
No, you really didn't. After spending the last six hours in a state of near-motionlessness, sprawled across various surfaces, the last thing you wanted was to do was sit down. Your legs had taken on the consistency of overcooked noodles, so you made the grave mistake of misreading the quiet of the house as Hotch's absence, a mistake punctuated by the garage door's sudden rumble.
You should have known better than to assume he would leave you alone for even a second. Now, you were face to face, his scrutinizing eyes boring into yours, arms crossed across his wide chest. He was in a casual zip-up--a rarity that you never imagined him wearing before practically moving in with him. But you really did enjoy this relaxed side of him, he wore it exceptionally well.
Taking work off was a concept you knew was foreign him, yet here he was, not at his desk, hovering over you like a concerned parent. The entire office, yourself included, gaped at him as if he had sprouted a different head when he told them. His next move was even crazier--he insisted you stay with him while you recovered.
You protested. A lot. Shocker. But he wouldn't take no for an answer. Again, Shocker.
You winced as you stepped forward, your hands automatically gravitating to the bandage that spanned around your thigh.
"You can't baby me forever, Hotch," you murmured, though your conviction wavered under the dull throb in your leg.
You braced yourself against the counter, trying to mask the discomfort you were sure was etched all over your face.
Filling the shoes of the communications liaison for the FBI post-JJ's shift to profiling, you signed up for a life of managing the media narrative, being the conduit between local and federal levels, and choosing the cases. You provided assistance in ways that aren't glaringly obvious.
What you didn't sign up for is getting shot.
The movies, the stories, even the firsthand accounts from coworkers--none of it could brace you for the raw, blistering pain of a gunshot wound. It fucking hurt. And the recovery? It was a different kind of torture, and you'd even argue that it was worse.
"It's not babying, it's common sense," Hotch countered.
He was frustrated. You had that effect. He stepped closer, his hand dragging down his face. "You took a bullet. It's still in your leg. It's perfectly rational for me to want to prevent any unnecessary strain on you."
"Feels dramatic," you shrugged, but he was right, like always.
Your grip on the counter tightened, knuckles growing white as you struggled to keep the pain under wraps. His brows lifted in response.
"I'm fine, really, Hotch. I hate this. You're probably dying to get back to work--don't let me be the reason you don't. Despite popular belief, I'm quite capable of fending for myself."
"I'm aware," he said, his attention briefly shifting to your bandaged leg. You were wearing shorts, a choice that felt less than appropriate, but practicality trumped formality under these circumstances. "Work will survive without me. I'm not sure I can say the same about you."
Your laughter was short-lived, swiftly turning into a stifled grimace as your footing slipped. Hotch's reflexes were quick, his hands steadying you--one against your ribs, the other just shy above the hem of your shorts.
"Point in case."
"Poking fun at a wounded woman? Shame on you, Hotch," you chided, your lower lip jutting out in a pout. His eyes darted to it momentarily.
He didn't move, his hands staying put, stirring a gentle, jelly-like feeling inside of you.
This was an odd sort of comfort, the kind you're not supposed to feel with your boss. You shouldn't be talking to him like this, shouldn't be in his kitchen, and certainly, his hands shouldn't be where they were. But the ache in your heart didn't seem to care about shoulds and shouldn'ts.
Hotch's presence was hard to ignore. He was reducing the space with every word.
"You're hardly acting like a wounded woman," he pointed out. "You should be in bed."
You tilted your head, sliding onto the barstool to carve some much-needed space between you. The scent of his cologne was intoxicating, and you needed distance to gather your wits before you did something that HR would definitely not look kindly upon.
The action was a mistake, a fact that became painfully clear as the feeling of something stabbing into your leg took hold. You tried to muster a smile, but you were sure it came across as a snarl. The last thing you wanted was to inflate Hotch's ego by showing that maybe, just maybe, he was right.
"Shit."
You followed his line of sight, landing on the fresh red seeping through the bandage and staining your shorts. Oh. That's not great. Don't think you can fool him with this one.
Hotch didn't hesitate, his response outpacing your own surge of panic, which was incredibly fast, because you were panicking and frankly not that great with blood. His hands were on your skin, easing the hem of your shorts upward to lay bare the wound you had stupidly underestimated.
You're never going on a date again.
I mean, the only reason you even went was to get your boss of your mind. Since the first day, you'd been hopelessly drawn to him--how could you not be?
But there are a couple factors to consider.
Firstly, he was your boss, and the whole notion of a coercive relationship dynamic seemed problematic.
Secondly, there's the age difference; it had never been an issue for you--perhaps a reflection of your daddy issues--but you knew it would raise some eyebrows.
And thirdly, he didn't even like you back. That was, of course, the biggest issue. If not for this, the other concerns could definitely be overlooked.
Before this whole incident, he barely acknowledged you beyond was professionally required of him. You knew you hadn't been part of the team long enough to bond--though you weren't sure Hotch did bond in the usual sense, but the point was made.
You were fairly sure you hadn't made much of an impression on him.
"Hold still." That was a tall order, considering it hurt more than a mother fucker.
You found yourself glaring at him--not that he was to blame, but you needed to anchor your frustration on something, or someone. Unknowingly, your grip had latched on the fabric of his zip-up, but he seemed unfazed. He grabbed a clean cloth from the drawer, pressing it against the wound, only furthering the colorful vocabulary going on in your head.
"Fuck, Hotch."
You didn't make a habit of cursing in front of your superior, but the sharp sting forced tears to the brink, your body going rigid as you snapped your eyes shut.
His other hand found its way to your uninjured thigh, giving it a firm squeeze--a clear attempt to divert your attention. It worked for a second. "I'm sorry, just keep this pressed here, okay?"
He motioned toward the cloth, and you complied, too drained to consider otherwise. Your brows knitted, and you bit into your lip until you tasted something metallicy, your mind desperately racing trying to think of anything other than the blood flowing freely from your thigh.
"Where are you going?" You knew how panicked you sounded as he turned away, stepping towards a cabinet.
He rummaged briefly before holding up a first aid kit. Catching the brief alarm in your face, he quickly returned to your side, his hand finding the crook of your neck as you instinctively clutched at his shirt once again.
"If you dare say I told you so, I swear, Hotch, fists will fly," you ground out through clenched teeth.
He laughed, and now that did distract you, your eyes zeroing in on his perfect teeth. It was a rare display, and it only served to aggravate you further. Of course he had perfect teeth.
"I didn't say anything."
"I could feel you thinking it," you said, your voice rough as you willed the moisture in your eyes not to fall. "Maybe I should be a profiler."
"Definitely."
"Sarcasm doesn't suit you." You were lying. Everything suited him. He stepped back, and you reluctantly peered at the wound, only to find a neatly sutured leg. "Where did you learn to do that?"
"In this job, you learn to be handy with more than just a gun.”
You’d love to know what else he’s handy with.
He pulled your leg up to rest on his as he took a seat on the opposite stool.
Your body was buzzing, from the closeness, from his hands on you, and also from the pain, but you were trying to ignore that. He grabs a new bandage from the counter, hands trailing up your thigh so slowly you thought you might pass out. He was so gentle. There was no other word for it.
"How's it feel?"
You paused. Eyes fully locked on his precise movements as he wrapped you up. You were closer than you realized, practically sharing the same breath.
"Fine."
"Yeah?"
You nodded, and he finished up his task, his hand lightly patting your thigh to show he was done. You didn't move your leg from his lap, and he didn't move his hand.
"I couldn't sleep for three days."
"What?" Your brows were furrowed, your focus sharpening on his face as the words left his lips.
"When I found out you had been shot." He cleared his throat, his thumb making gentle rotations on your calf. "I couldn't close my eyes without seeing red for days. I wanted to kill the son of a bitch who did that to you. I almost did."
You weren't sure how to process this information, or why he was telling you. "You and me both."
"I'm serious." And you could tell he was, his eyes narrowing slightly as his hand firmly encircled around your leg. You felt a lump in your throat form as heat rose from your neck to your ears. "Do you know what that was like? I felt like my heart stopped."
"Why?"
"Why?" It was more a scoff than a word. He blew out a breath, his fingers pinching into the space between his eyebrows. "Is it not obvious?"
Your heart was beating a lot faster. You wanted to say something, anything but your throat was dry and every time you opened your mouth you found it snapping shut.
Hotch's expression softened ever so slightly, his voice low and bouncing off the walls as he spoke. "Because I'm in love with you."
Your breath stalled, as if every ounce of oxygen had been vacuumed from your lungs. The air felt heavy, almost tangible.
You stared at him, heart skipping a beat.
"That's not funny," you said. It wasn't. You weren't in the mood for jokes, and your brain couldn't comprehend he might be telling the truth. "You...you don't even notice me."
He shook his head. "I notice everything about you." His thumb stilled on your calf. "I'm your boss," he said, as if that explained everything. "There are rules, protocols. I couldn't...I still shouldn't..."
The confession stripped the room of its warmth, leaving a raw aching silence in its wake. You searched his face.
"When you got shot," he continued, "I realized that if I lost you, I'd regret not telling you how I feel for the rest of my life."
"Hotch, I..."
He leaned closer, causing your words to catch in your throat. His hand moved from your leg to your face. You were speechless, the world narrowing down to the man in front of you, to his eyes, the warmth of his hands.
"Say something."
"Are you kidding me?" Your heart was pounding like it was trying to escape from your chest. "I've been in love with you since I started. How could you not see that?"
He looked taken aback, as if your words were the last thing he expected. "Well—,"
But you didn't let him finish. "Some profiler you are."
You were practically climbing into his lap, hands framing his face, pulling your lips to his.
He chuckled against your lips, the sound vibrating through you. "Easy," he murmured, "don't make me fix that bandage again."
You laugh, the sound muffled by his mouth. He tasted like cinnamon and coffee. "Shut up, Hotch."
taglist: @hotchhner @khxna
#aaron hotchner x reader#Aaron hotchner fluff#aaron hotchner x fem reader#Aaron hotchner#Hotch#criminal minds fic#Aaron hotchner fic#criminal minds#Thomas Gibson
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Politics: knight!price x princess!reader
You were unusually quiet today.
Price watched you carefully from where he stood just a couple paces from the river bank where you sat. He didn’t get too close to you as he studied you carefully.
You had run off again and unlike all the other times he hadn’t been able to catch you because he had been busy training the other knights.
“If you wanted to run away you should make it harder to find you.” Price had huffed at you as he approached you earlier.
You didn’t say anything for a moment snd that stopped him. You were always quick with your remarks, always quick with firing back something just a venomous but there was nothing.
Perhaps he had gone too far.
“I wanted to be alone.” You said without looking at him, your eyes glued to the water.
“A princess is never alone, your highness.”
“I suppose not.”
Since then neither of you said anything to each other. You sat on the river bank for a long time, your hands perfectly poised in your lap while you watch the current of the river run further down into the nearby forest and into the fields.
Price knew you like the river and the forest when you wanted time to be alone. He suspected you ran out here when you were overwhelmed or when you were upset, so as he watched you he wondered what brought this along.
Trouble with diplomacy? With your studies or with the court? Perhaps you were still mad at him for the joust a couple weeks ago or maybe something truly was going on between you and Lady Katherine.
He wondered and wondered, his eyes never leaving your elegant form. Even as they trailed over your hair and the way your dress hugged your body he wondered: could he fix whatever made you upset?
“The Queen has found me a suitor.” Your voice was somber and his face fell. “In a few months I’ll be wed and will leave for his kingdom.”
A king. You were going to marry a king.
Price gripped the hilt of his sword and his eyes narrowed. Why wasn’t he informed? The Queen’s judgment trumped all but she hadn’t asked him to visit the kingdom and its king first, to understand who the man was and if he was truly suited for you.
For all he knew, the king could be an incompetent leader who would be putting you in danger.
He should be happy. He would be rid of you, he wouldn’t have to constantly run after you while you made his job infinitely harder and he wouldn’t have to constantly be under your scrutiny.
But instead he felt a pit forming in his stomach. Some other knight would become your bodyguard because even as Queen consort you would find time to run off into places alone that you shouldn’t. He didn’t have any faith that they would be able to keep you safe if they needed to.
He’d have to say goodbye to you and though he supposedly hated you he didn’t want to.
Price was your knight and you were his princess. That was the way things were so supposed to be.
But what say did he have in it? He was a knight and though he owned land he was not a noble by birth. He may be the best in all the kingdom and be the most reliable but he was a soldier, not a diplomat.
He had no choice but to watch you be married off, just as you had no choice but to be married.
He couldn’t imagine what was going on in your head. He’s not sure he ever heard you being interested in any of the suitors the Queen had often mentioned, even if you called them handsome and even if they were nice.
He’s not sure why but he knew he would never found out.
Price cleared his throat and swayed on his feet.
“Would you like to stay out here all day then, your highness?” He asked softer, pushing away the mix of emotions inside him.
“I’ll return soon.” You said almost disconnected from the conversation. “I’d like to wait here for a moment longer.”
Price couldn’t stand the distant look in your eyes, the eyes that usually held some twinkle of life within them even when you often looked at him with distain, and hated that for weeks now you had been so upset.
He couldn’t fight your thoughts, he couldn’t strike them with his blade or shoot them with an arrow. He couldn’t intimidate them or command that they leave you alone. He couldn’t help you in any way that mattered, not that you would accept it from him of all people, even if he wanted to.
“Then I’ll stay with you.”
A/n: still trying to figure out who fell first and who fell harder (want it to be reader fell first and price fell harder but we’ll see. They don’t know what they’re feeling are yet still)
Tags. @deadbranch @makayla-666
#knight!price#captain john price x reader#captain john price x you#price x reader#price x you#john price x reader#john price x you#call of duty#captain john price#princess!reader
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There's something I absolutely love about the eggs' sibling dynamics is how they've changed.
Tallulah went from being the little girl that everyone had to look after and protect to one of the most emotionally strong and strong-willed eggs. I won't forget how after Creation showed up at Philza's house on Valentine's Day Chay became deeply upset, I don't have the clip but you can see it from Phil's POV
We can see how Tallulah is armed, with her shield raised, on the defensive and stands between Creation and Chayanne. protecting him.
Let's remember that although Tallulah is not considered one of the veteran eggs, she is undoubtedly one of the first. I consider that Tallulah is one of the best eggs, she has her own personality, she has her changes, her defects and her virtues
I still remember how I went from being the little girl who had to be protected, to being a truly emotionally complex post-purgatory one.
Tallulah is still the heart, don't get wrong, she's just grown up and matured (she had character development xd)
But my favorite case is without a doubt Ramon-Leo-Dapper. They are triplets, they were really united eggs, Ramon and Dapper were generally seen playing (hitting each other) constantly and Leo was seen with them. Leo found comfort in her brothers after the death of Trump.
But not everything can last forever.
They are still triplets and they still love each other.
But Leonarda has her nephew Pepito, and her brother Roier and her dad Foolish, maybe even Richas because he is also her nephew (And she is currently among them + Sunny and Tubbo in the city of Fobo) she is no longer the extremely rich and a bit lonely one, she is still iconic and happy but now things are different. She has a lot more people around their.
The same with Dapper, the most important thing for him now is his newly revived father (which is not shocking at all, nope) and his little sister Pomme whom he loves with all his heart. Dapper is one of the eggs that has gone through the most screwed things (this egg has a longer list of kidnappings than hats) and therefore one of the strongest but above all hopeful with the idea that it will have peace in this new beginning.
Ramon, oh Ramon, you could make a bible just about Ramon, the relationship he had with Spreen and the impact that had on his relationship with Fit. How now he is no longer alone; he has two little hermanitas whom he adores; Sunny and Empanada, a big brother figure in Tubbo and two loving parents who love each other.
He went from being locked up to having sleepovers every night with his dear little sisters, spending the mornings in Tubbo's factories, learning single words in Portuguese with his dad Pac and going on adventures with his dad Fit.
If Leo were to place Pepito over his brothers (because sometimes he feels that Pepito is very coded as a little boy) it would hurt her bad, but they would understand because Pepito is Leo's family.
When Ramon came between Leo and Sunny, he didn't do it out of choice, he did it to protect his little sister, Diamond Girl, because Sunny is Ramon's family.
If Dapper could have chosen an egg to be freed from purgatory, he would not have chosen himself, he would have chosen Pomme, because Pomme is Dapper's family.
and that doesn't stop them from being family to each other.
#qsmp#qsmp chayanne#qsmp tallulah#qsmp eggs#qsmp creation#qsmp sunny#qsmp sunnysideup#qsmp leonarda#qsmp dapper#qsmp pomme#qsmp ramón#qsmp ramon#qsmp pepito#qsmp richarlyson#qsmp foolish#qsmp tripletes#roses family#analisys
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Yandere omega x reader. Pt 2
TW: baby-trapping, non-con
Pt. 1
——————————————-
Yandere omega who freaks out at the news of your recent engagement. This wasn’t supposed to happen! The stress keeps him from sleeping at night and makes him unfocused at work, so much that the boss has no other choice but to send him home to rest. They can’t have their most valuable asset either away, can they?
Yandere omega that believes that if he could rekindle your passion for him, maybe you’d break off the betrothal and come back to him. So he decides to rush to your home and ring the doorbell until you finally open.
Yandere omega who begs to let him in. It won’t be more than five minutes, he promises. He just needs to get some of his clothes that he forgot last time. Albeit reluctantly, you accept his excuse and allow him to wander inside, as you had done so many times before. But those were under different circumstances.
Previous to your arranged marriage, you were free to some degree. With a large amount of wealth and charm, you were able to get anyone you wanted. There were hardly someone who would pass the opportunity to spend some good time with you.
To maintain this life, the only thing you had to do was work and that you did. You had to say you did a great job in your family’s company, creating hit business deals and increasing the finances.
But it appeared your family would not be satisfied solely with that. That was why you have to marry some guy; to secure an heir to the corporation, as your parents would put it. Your mother was also rather intrigued by the idea of grandchildren as well.
Yandere omega sneaks into the bathroom to prepare by switching his casual outfit to a more eye-catching one. He even styled his hair slightly, hoping you’d pull on it like before.
Yandere omega who thought he could win back your affection, however, it appeared fate had other plans. The second you see him walking out the restroom wearing what he knew you’d have like him in had it been the past, you growled.
“Fuck, I should’ve known you’d pull shit like this.” You had to admit he did look very appetising. Though you were engaged now, which meant you couldn’t immerse in such activities anymore.
“Why the long face? You didn’t object before?” The beautiful omega whispered seductively.
“Yeah but- ugh- look, just go.” Pointing at the entrance, you ushered him to leave.
“I’d rather stay here though, with you.” He ignored your warning and continued advancing forwards into your arms, then he laid his head against your chest and dragged his nimble fingers across it.
“Milo, I said!-aah!” Quickly you slapped a hand over your mouth and nose, for something sickenly sweet and familiar filled your senses. “N-no stop…”
Milo smiled, showing delight at your troubled expression. “Ah, I knew you couldn’t resist me. No need to hold back.”
You wanted to push him back and create as much distance between you as possible, but it was getting hard when the young man in front of you looked so enticing. No, you must not give in.
“I- ahh~“you were forced to stop in your tracks because his hands had started wandering lower and lower, teasing you. “Shit…”
Yandere omega who had decided to use his trump card. No one could refuse his pheromones and that includes you. Milo hadn’t used that trick to intentionally seduce anyone before, so he wasn’t actually sure if it would work. Turns out luck was in his favour, even he was a bit surprised at how fast you yielded.
Yandere omega who is sooo happy he can be together with you again, and he is not meaning only for one last time until you finalise your vows or anything. Why is he so confident? Well, let’s just say he has a plan B to make you unable to leave.
Yandere omega that wonders how you would feel about having that son you always dreamed of.
#oc#obsessed#yandere#male yandere#possesive#yandere oc#toxic#bad relationships#short story#yandere boyfriend#omegaverse#yandere omega#yandere male omega#yandere omegaverse#obsessive omega#obsessive male#alpha reader#yandere omega x reader#tw babytrapping#Milo oc#misstycloud oc#misstycloud Milo#omega Milo#suggestive#arranged marriage
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Can you explain to me what 2/2 means to ShuAke and why the ShuAke shipdom celebrate on this day please, thank you very much !
2/2 is a special Shuake day for the shippers because of a new angsty scene that was added in Persona 5 Royal. This scene took place on February 2nd (2/2). On that night, Maruki made one last attempt to persuade Joker to stay in his dream world.
There are actually 2 versions of this scene. One without Akechi, and one with Akechi.
Now… if the player chose all of the right dialogue choices in some of the Akechi confidant ranks, Akechi will show up in Leblanc, after Maruki caught him eavesdropping.
It turned out that Maruki’s final trump card to persuade Joker is… Akechi.😳 It’s ambiguous on whether or not Akechi is dead in reality, so if Joker decided to leave the dream world, chances are that Akechi would go back to being dead.
Also in the dream world, all the other Phantom Thieves had their wish come true but what about Joker? What was his wish?
Right here. Goro Akechi. How gayer can you get to have your own therapist call you out that your biggest wish is to be with your rival?
So in 2/2, Joker ultimately had to make a very tough choice:
End Maruki’s reality and lose Akechi or
Stay in Maruki’s reality forever and be with Akechi
Regardless of how the player felt about the situation, Joker was DEVASTATED about this. You can tell from his thought bubbles and dialogue choices during this scene. It showed that he really cares about Akechi. 😭
This scene is also where Shuake ended up arguing about this tough choice like a bickering couple. Akechi wanted to leave the dream world while Joker is conflicted. It’s crazy that Joker actually considered dooming the world just to be with Akechi, to keep Akechi alive... 😳 When I first found out about all this back when P5 Royal first came out, I actually cried because holy shit, Shuake is real. 😭😭😭
This is why 2/2 is a special Shuake day for the shippers. Not only did it reveal Joker’s feelings for Akechi, it also is the most angst-inducing and heart-wrenching moment between these two. It brought out a lot of emotional damage in the Shuake fans. It’s Shuake at its PEAK! ❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥
This scene is also a perfect setting for Shuake fans to make content where Joker and Akechi spend one last night together. 🥹 It's so ripe with gay ideas and possibilities!
This totally happened in 2/2 what do you mean? 😃
#shuake#akeshu#2/2#persona 5#persona 5 royal#p5r#p5 royal#goro akechi#ren amamiya#takuto maruki#akira kurusu#joker#crow#ask
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I can't stop thinking about Khem and his relationship to sex as power and where it lies in relation to his own experience of sexuality. I also can't stop writing rambly, unstructured nonsense.
As we know, there's no explicit indication as to how Khem identifies sexuality-wise, other than subtle hints that Chatra's positive attention pleases him somehow (the repeating of 'you did a good job today', the very slight smile and perplexed pause at Chatra's admission that he just wanted to spend time with him, and finally, his frankly reckless trust in Chatra in the tree). And of course, 19th century understanding of 'sexual identity' as a character trait was different from the present.
I would have been interested in seeing more of Khem's perspective of his own sexual identity, considering that there was a scene that addressed homophobia directly. The fight that broke out was essentially used as a plot device to get him alone with Chatra, so I'm intrigued as to why they chose to emphasise homophobic rhetoric, when it seems that it isn't really presented as the issue. In Khem's case, class always trumps everything else.
All instances of Khem's sexuality we see are completely predicated on exploitation, with no suggestion at all as to what Khem's experience is beyond that. He has sympathy for the courtesans, because he understands what it is like to be reduced to the value of the pleasure to be derived from one's body. The first encounter with Phraya Wichiendej and the Inao performance, combined with the opening scene of the film, establish (to me at least) that he is practiced at recognising men's desire to 'have' him in a sexual sense, but perhaps more importantly, to exact class-facilitated power over him (he isn't really in a position to refuse). The way he smiles up at Wichiendej upon greeting him, the tone of voice he uses, come off as deliberately deferential in a way he has learned strokes the egos of men who see him as lesser. He recognises that it is the only tool for security or potential advancement he has in that particular kind of social situation. Tragically, the delivery of his lines during their meeting also holds a sliver of tenacious hope for the compliments to really only be for his efforts and not a veiled assertion of dominance ("you please me and I have all the power I need to make you do what I want"). And who knows, this may well have been the case, as we aren't shown Wichiendej pursuing Khem in any way after the Inao performance. We get the flashback montage of Khem's history of being sexually exploited by what appear to be men and a woman. So, again, the sex part of this exploitation is primarily about power, to reaally drive home that Khem has never had agency over his body or in his life. It is his base trauma.
The fight is Khem being slut shamed to compound on the humiliation he already feels from having received a thorough and public dressing down from Kru Phikun. And to add insult to injury, not only is he a slut, he's potentially 'a gay slut' (D.E.B.S? anyone?). He's understandably frustrated and angry, because he has had no choice in the matter, like, ever. What we don't know, is how he feels about the accusation regarding the gay part.
We don't get to see him as a sexual being on his own terms, he doesn't do any explicit desiring at any point in the narrative. So, the question is, how are we to interpret Khem's reaction to the disparaging of sexual conduct between men specifically? That's a big part of the argument, even to the point of surpassing the accusation that he is performing sexual favours in general. In fact, his assailant makes sure to let him know that he thinks performing gay sex acts for profit is worse than being a female sex worker in man suang, because gayness is particularly disgusting. Khem demands to know who presented the claim and whether they have proof, and he does it in a defensive, aggressive manner, and understandably so. Rather than commenting on the gay part of the accusation further than denying it, he chooses to openly defend the courtesans, effectively aligning himself with them, negating any discussion of the gender specificity of the accusation, but implicitly confirming the sexual favours part.
Does he recognise himself as experiencing desire for men? Or anyone, for that matter? Can he, when the primary association he is shown to have with sex is power-driven transactionality, instead of pleasure? Clearly this has been going on for a long time, but how long exactly? How has this impacted his perspective on sex and sexuality?
I was actually quite surprised how much time they devoted to establishing this part of Khem's character, without it playing a more pivotal role in the plot as the story advanced. I was sure at the Inao performance that Wichiendej would be built up as some kind of lech whose downfall would lie in his classist underestimation of Khem as a person, clouded as he would have been, with lust and a sense of superiority.
That leaves it to be simply a building block of Khem's character background, with the purpose to elicit sympathy in the viewer and contribute to world-building. But how does he feel? What does he think??
I know that Apo mentioned in an interview that Khem is some flavour of alphabet soup (not sure how specific he was tho), but within the narrative, they leave us guessing on multiple levels.
My fanfic fantasy for this whole thing is Khem finally being given a chance to get to know himself and have agency in choosing what he wants. Emancipate the lad!!!
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I’m going to vomit, the way liberals and Biden fanatics (including POC) are ruthlessly and violently harassing, mocking, and abusing Palestinians in their mentions on Twitter because they refuse to vote for the man genociding their epople, families, and friends... A true horror story. What is even the point they are trying to make by showing that they are as racist, nationalists and islamophobic as the MAGA ?
I hate Democrats. Nothing gets to them, not photos of dead babies, not videos of Palestinians carrying the pieces of a relative in a plastic bag. They are in an evil cult programmed to have their rapist win, no matter what he does, when none of them will NEVER experience a quarter of the pain and humiliation Palestinians experience right now.
What angers me the most is how EVERY SINGLE ONE of them is like “Trump is worst he will deport you”. They are so self centric that they think Palestinians as well as other people who actually care will stop caring because they could face deportation.
The narrative that Biden cannot do anything that his hands are tied is also something that angers me because they present Biden as some sort of innocent while Trump would be all powerful.
Personally I was told I wasn’t allowed to have an opinion on the subject because I’m not American. And I was like “Biden is supporting a genocide. Not only I’m allowed to care and should care because I’m a fucking human but given that Islamophobia is on the rise because of that genocide I’m also directly affected.”
I think I’ve said it in the past but if there’s one thing I learned about Western Politics in the last few months is that the whole “lesser of two evils” thing is about who will affect the least the comforts of white people and PoC bootlickers. The lesser of two evils is only less evil to the people advocating for him because it won’t affect them. I’m not even talking only about directly affecting them it’s also about their conscience. When Trump puts babies in cages they have to fight or they will look racist and they don’t want to look racist. When Biden does that they can sit comfortably on their couch and pretend it’s not happening because they actually don’t give a flying fuck. Their activism has always been about not LOOKING racist and about LOOKING good. It was never about action but always about appearance.
Regarding the Palestinian genocide specifically whenever they say Trump would be worst I’m like please enlighten me on what is worst than supporting genocide? What would change with Trump is that performative pieces of shit would fight back that’s the only thing.
“Trump would send the cops and even snipers against protesters” okay what is being done against students who are protesting? These cops are being sent there with the full blessing of Biden.
“Trump wouldn’t want a ceasefire” okay Biden doesn’t want a ceasefire either so what?
BOTH Biden and Trump are pieces of shit who deserve painful deaths. Expecting decent people to vote for any of them is fucked up. But expecting and pressuring Palestinians into voting for Biden the man who is currently supporting a genocide against them… that’s beyond fucked up.
When the choice you have to make is between 99.9% Hitler and 100% Hitler your moral duty is not to fight to get 99.9% Hitler to win your moral duty is to fight to put an end to the horrible system that made it so these two would be your only options.
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“Why would SJM make Elain and Lucien mates if they weren’t going to be together?”
Because she always knew she wanted to dive into either a 2 mate story or a rejected bond story.
Look at the characters chosen:
Lucien - loved Jesminda with everything he had. She had CHOSEN him, loved him for more than his title, made him feel like a real male. Then she was taken from him against his will. Killed in front of him, and he had to escape to not be killed as well. Can you imagine the pain of that?
Elain - all her life was told she was nothing but a beautiful face. Found love in Graysen, but had that ripped away from her like her mortality. Then was thrust upon some male that she had never met before, taking away another choice in her life.
Azriel - never received a mate, and loved Mor from afar for centuries. She had chosen his “brother” over him, but he still silently hoped something would happen. But again and again Mor chose others. Rhys saying that Azriel showed him it’s not the family you are born with but the family you CHOOSE that matters.
Is it a coincidence that the love triangle (ya, it’s literally a triangle. No more no less) all have experienced choices being taken from them? I think not.
SJM said she originally had Lucien and Nesta in her mind as mates, but then she changed it to Elain, and Cassian and Nesta became the couple. Why would she do that?
First, Nesta would have rejected the bond immediately. Like, literally right there in Hybern. She is not a polite character, and the story of the bond wouldn’t be able to be dragged on.
Second, in conjunction with the above, we needed the bond to still be in place for Lucien to come back with Feyre to Velaris. To give him a “role” in the court. To have HIM volunteer to find a firebird. It’s not a coincidence the spell cleavers son is the one to hunt for the cursed queen.
Third, Elain’s story (as well as Lucien’s as her mate) is about choice. Azriel’s part in the story is about being chosen. This is not a coincidence. If SJM wanted Elucien to happen, she wouldn’t have brought Azriel into their story. All of the build up romance moments would not have been between Azriel and Elain, rather than Elain and Lucien. Lucien isn’t even there for half the books?? Making an appearance which is uncomfortable and leaving.
The Elucien/Eriel story is one of choice. Will they chose to follow what the cauldron said? The cauldron that Azriel questioned for his feelings for Elain? The one we found out as readers is actually corrupt and was used to breed powerful offspring?
Think about it:
Rhys parents did not truly love each other - most powerful high lord born
Tamlins parents did not love each other - Tamlin is a powerful high lord
So the followed their bonds, were miserable, but at least made powerful offspring for the Asteri right?
What about mates who actually love each other?
Lucien’s parents might have been mates but they did love each other - he is powerful
Feyre and Rhys are mates but also love each other - Nyx is for sure powerful.
There is a very clear distinction between Elucien and Feysand and Nessian. Anyone who pretends there isn’t in failing to see the message.
THROUGH LOVE ALL IS POSSIBLE
THAT LOVE WOULD TRUMP A MATING BOND
WHAT IF THE CAULDRON WAS WRONG
THE POWER OF LOVE HELD TO PORTAL OPEN
THE ANSWER TO THE RIDDLE WAS LOVE
If Elucien was to be endgame, their would be moments and scenes in the books to show growth and love. There isn’t. Because they won’t be that story. They will be the story of the power of love conquering the mating bond. That they will decide TOGETHER to reject it. To find happiness where they want it. To care for each other enough to want that for each other.
THAT is the next story we will see.
The women who never got to chose, and the man never chosen.
And don’t worry about Lucien, he will get his happy ending. It’s an SJM book, everyone does.
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how can you reblog a Zionist post criticizing people who support Palestine for allowing themselves to be harmed in an effort to support Palestine (https://www.tumblr.com/reasonandempathy/743584944850354176/politics-is-fucking-soul-churning-it-really-is) while also seeming to respect Aaron Bushnell, who made the ultimate sacrifice in an effort to support Palestine? is it so unthinkable that people would be willing to act against their own interest to stop a genocide?
TLDR; that post isn't denying people can self-sacrifice to stop a genocide. That post is about taking the broader context into perspective, and remembering that Trump Is Still So Much Worse, so you should vote against him.
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Was thinking about this one, actually.
Didn't know the person's broader political views until checking them out, and while it's important context for that person individually, but the post at large still, broadly, stands.
There is, undoubtedly, an aspect of political discourse that promotes people who would vote for Biden to stay home or vote for someone not Biden and not Trump, rooted in (to a much lesser extent than Bushnell, who was being compelled to be an active participant) not wanting to be complicit in that genocide.
What I took to be the main thrust of that post was to point out the unfortunately very, very real dynamic of not helping Biden win would, objectively, be worse for everyone including Palestinians if Trump wins. And in a truly, honestly Binary choice between D or R, there is a correct choice to make. It's Biden.
The first few paragraphs of that post are basic "don't be selective with your care." Which is true.
The rape of Israeli women, the Jewish Diaspora, The various tortures and war crimes inflicted by Hamas and the Houthis are not things to be forgotten nor supported. The world is fucking complicated and "Good Guys" are in incredibly short supply, but "Hooray Huthis" is what I'd call an incredibly fraught tightrope to walk.
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The main thrust of that post, though, is referring to people who know Trump is worse and have done extensive work broadcasting that Trump is, objectively, Worse for Palestinians. Worse for Women. Worse for the LGBTQ community. Worse for Non-Christians. Worse for BIPOC. It's pretty simple and reasonable to think that if Trump was in the White House he would find some way to be even worse right now than Biden is being.
But they still can't endorse or support Biden. Who is definitely horrible, but also objectively the better of the 2 options we have.
Which is why I said Politics is soul-churning. Because it is. Because, outside of any actual plan to get anyone else into the White House, it is objectively Better for the people I care about.
My fiance.
My friends.
My extended family.
My Neighbors.
My trade union (though I haven't been in it for a few years).
My city.
My values.
It is objectively Better for Biden to be in power than Trump, which, again, is the only realistic alternative to Trump. But it does mean voting for the guy. And, yeah, I'm in NY (not a secret). Maybe I could vote for the Justice Party or the Green Party or something else.
But I can't assume nobody else will do that, and ceding what small influence I have (.000008% of Biden's popular vote in 2020) to actually help people to instead assuage my personal beliefs is putting my comfort over that small, minuscule, but very Real influence in being able to help people.
I...have blood on my hands. (broadly) We all do. I just want to add less to it.
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I love your blog so much. There is so much Anakin worship in this fandom and your blog is a breath of fresh air.
Anyway, I have a question: Do you think that Anakin never wanted the twins in the first place? It seems that after he had first nightmare about Padme dying, all thoughts about the unborn baby went flying out the window.
Thank-you, sometimes venting is good for us!
So my personal headcanon is that Anakin never wanted kids in the first place, but I don't think that this is at all canon or necessarily what Lucas or Hayden Christensen intended to get across in ROTS.
I think Anakin is likely INTENDED to seem very overwhelmed by the prospect of having kids and definitely MORE focused on Padme simply because he's in the habit of focusing on her and it's easier maybe. It's possible that we're maybe intended to understand that Anakin hadn't really THOUGHT about wanting kids, but that it didn't mean he wasn't happy enough about having them once they were in the equation. He certainly never SAYS he doesn't want them or anything negative about them at all, obviously.
But my personal headcanon is that Anakin wants the people he's in relationships with to be completely committed to and focused on him. Anakin is selfish with people's time and attention and we see this over and over again.
So when Padme mentions that she's pregnant, it means that there's now a new person (obviously it would actually be two, but neither of them are aware of that throughout ROTS) in this relationship that are going to take Padme's time and attention away from him and I don't think Anakin likes the idea of sharing Padme, even with their children.
I also think that Anakin, like Padme, is fully aware that throwing kids in the mix is 100% going to fuck up the secret part of their secret marriage. When it was just the two of them, they could keep pretending that this would never ever have consequences and that they could have their cake and eat it, too. They can keep their respective careers and their relationship and just take what time they have with each other as a gift or whatever. But kids require a lot more care and time and effort, Padme wants to raise the baby on Naboo rather than on Coruscant, and if Anakin wants to be in this kid's life AS ITS FATHER, then he has to be WAY more open about this relationship than he's ever been before, something that could easily end up costing him his position within the Order (the Jedi likely won't kick him out, but I do think they'd ask him to make a CHOICE between being with Padme and being a Jedi and it seems a lot more in character that he'd choose Padme over the Order). The pregnancy spells the end of their relationship and lives as they know it and I don't think Anakin really relishes what their new lives are going to look like. The kids are consequences for their choices, not a gift.
But Padme clearly wants to SEE IT as a gift and keep pretending like everything's roses and Anakin can tell that she's looking for a positive reaction from him so he gives her one. Because he wants to keep up the fantasy, too, so he just... smiles and says the right words. He changes the subject to something he's more comfortable with whenever she tries to talk about their future with the baby. But I don't really ever think he means it. I believe he mentions protecting their baby all of once after he has the visions, but Palpatine doesn't use saving the babies as his trump card in his office, it's only Padme that he accuses Obi-Wan of trying to steal, and after he gets in the suit, it's only Padme he asks about. And this could easily just be glitches in the script-writing, we all know how many of those there are in the Prequels, but as a headcanon, I think it tells me that Anakin never REALLY cared about the baby, he wasn't doing this for the baby, and he's not honestly all that upset that they're dead along with her.
And of course the natural counter to this is "but look how obsessed he is with Luke and how much he wants Luke to join him and what a massive impact Luke ends up having on him by the end! Of COURSE he loved the kids and wanted a family!"
To which my argument is, "yes, but all of that happens AFTER PADME'S DEAD."
And not only that, but so is Obi-Wan, and at this point he probably assumes Ahsoka is, too (even if he questions her death, she's long disappeared and unavailable to him anymore). Even R2-D2 is working with the Rebels, as is C-3PO, Shmi is long dead, he clearly didn't care much about the Larses or consider them family but even if he did they're also dead, and the Order itself is long gone with most survivors killed off over the last 20 years. So Anakin's got NO ONE LEFT of the people he cared about.
And then Luke walks in and all of the sudden, he has a SON. This piece of Padme, this piece of HIM who is young and reckless and full of anger and fear of his own. Of COURSE he fixates on Luke now that there's NO ONE ELSE to obsess over. But how would he have treated Luke if Padme had lived? Would he have cared so much about Luke's approval if he resented Luke for taking Padme's attention, for being the reason he had to give up his career as a Jedi? They intentionally parallel the offer he makes to Padme with the offer he makes to Luke. He tries to get Padme to rule the Empire with him and that doesn't work, but 20 years later he makes the SAME offer to Luke. Luke is just a replacement for what he had with Padme the same way Padme was always just a replacement for what he had with Shmi. He can have with Luke what he lost with the others, if only he can succeed at convincing Luke to do what the others would not.
It's never really ABOUT Luke, any more than his relationship with Padme was really about Padme. Padme was convenient, he wanted her because he saw her the way he wanted to see her rather than as the person she actually was, and THAT'S what he loved. He sees Luke the same way.
Obviously some of this changes right at the end because he does decide to sacrifice his life to save Luke and all, but he's also been put in a lose-lose situation for the first time. Even with Padme, he always thinks he COULD save her. He has to sacrifice the Order to do it, but he'll have Padme at the end of it so he still wins. Saving Padme doesn't require dying or losing her some other way. But in ROTJ, his choices are now limited. Either he dies to save Luke, or Luke dies. There is no version of this scenario where he gets to keep Luke. He can't win. Which, arguably, makes choosing the selfless thing a lot easier than it was back in ROTS where the option to win was still available at the cost of the entire Jedi Order (and the entire clone army, and the Republic). He still DOES choose the selfless thing and that's important, but it is made WAY easier by making it a lose-lose situation to begin with. He's not sacrificing as much because he's never going to keep Luke now no matter what he does. Whereas if he'd made the choice to help the Jedi and kill Palpatine in ROTS, he would theoretically have been choosing to give up what he believed to be a guarantee that Padme would live. He's choosing to potentially sacrifice Padme's life in favor of protecting the Order and the Republic. Doing the right thing requires giving up something he wants. That's not... really true in ROTJ because Palpatine's made it so he'll never get what he wants anyway so what does he truly have to lose now?
I recognize that that's... an uncharitable take on the end of ROTJ and removes a LOT of the messages of that scene and that choice he makes and nobody's going to like that. Anakin chose to die to save his son and that feels very heroic, I get that. But whatever. Long story short, no, I don't think he wanted kids at all as per my personal headcanon and I think his reactions to Luke don't contradict that because he mostly just sees Luke as an extension of the relationships he's been trying to replicate his entire life and, in many ways, an extension of himself. And when that relationship is taken from him a THIRD time, but the option is open to save Luke anyway, he chooses to take it. Because what does he have left to lose when he's already lost?
#asks#star wars#anakin critical#anakin skywalker critical#anti anakin#anti anakin skywalker#anidala critical#anti anidala#luke skywalker
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in the ninth issue you have access to see..
itzy, health check: from what i can see, i pulled (unconsiously) 1 card for each member - i can feel that lia is definitely feeling the worst out of the rest (last card). i really don't want to burden my audience more or less, but it's certain that jype didn't lie how she's really feeling. i feel that the fourth card is possibly yuna; whoever that is, is feeling better rather than a while ago. the middle card imo is, i am assuming, yeji, and i am aware she's gemini sun. whether this is yeji or not, is also healing, possibly from practice or something, related to dancing/exercise(s), but overall, she's ok. the second card is chaeryeong, at least i believe that's her: she is also feeling great. if she had injury or was ill, she's feeling better. the first card is possibly ryujin, i see that she's training a lot more on herself, whether that's about her health or to gain some more muscles, or practicing. if her health was shaky, she's healthier now. i am certain where i saw chaeryeong and lia but i am unsure of the rest of them, but i don't think the difference is much - apart from lia, the rest are feeling great.
why the drama surrounding fifty fifty happened: basically someone got seriously greedy, and i don't think it's someone from the group at all but someone from one of these two companies, i personally believe they're from the givers. there's nothing much but the other side seems to have been through similar times and they're trying to not make the same mistake again. definitely behind the scenes issue.
how outsiders see selena's position surrounding the i-p* conflict: they don't care for some reason? i am not sure that i actually see mixed opinions. she got called out because of it, right? i do see that these opinions aren't actually the ones that are the main point of view from outsiders' side. i actually see that these people actually, idk, don't care. don't get me wrong, but the situation is incredibly complex, even more than the previous one between u-r^ in my opinion because it's more one-sided, like a lot more, and i thought that the first^ was one-sided, the current* is different breed where people are actually aware and when in the previous situation i could actually see the both sides, i cannot in the reoccuring conflict^. the outsiders simply don't care in which side selena is and even if part of them actually do, the rest of them are simply egoistic for not being aware of usa's doings. i do see their main opinion is quite ignorant about this situation and they love how selena says that she cannot change the world with a post. i would say that their opinion could be better but it's egoistical one, and for obvious reasons.
how m'bappe feels about messi winning his 8th ballon d'or: he was happy, to be honest. he isn't jelaous or envious, m'bappe seems to be happy to live in the same era with messi himself. kyllian is feeling that duty for what he's acomplished so far, and he is happy for messi. like, he's like a proud son/brother, similar feeling like that.
johnny nct, career until march 24': not as well as he might expect? he might prefer to renew with sme, and i see that some other people might want to leave.. that will lead his solo career to be stagnant, or even uncertain at some point. it will get better after everything is resolved. since they asked about acting career and overseas activities, the second one is more likely to happen as of now, tbh, but i don't think they'll be in his home country for now.
usa's elections for their next president and their influence after them: yet again, the americans seem to not have choice but "settle" for someone who's less bad. no, no, that's not how it works, americans, either vote for different person who isn't scandalous, or not vote at all and make the elections invalid. their next president might be someone who is still bad but not that bad, you know? i don't see biden, or feel him. i do feel trump and someone else who is way worse than trump. americans might be still dissatisfied that trump won again? i do see trump winning again as of now. i don't think there will be newbies, just familiar faces. the reason i think why trump will win as of now is that the people outside of usa will feel better and not as controlled as of now. unless if there will be a cataclysm where trump isn't candidates, i see trump winning. i don't see biden, but i do see trump. i also feel worse energy from democratic party's side.
blackpink, comeback in the end of 2024? or subunit of them?: since i asked before the group renewals, as of now, lisa seems to be strongly against it, like very strongly. there are unresolved issues between her and yge and unless yge give her these fucking money, she'll oppose. i do see travelling for the girls and important gigs which possibly are group ones but idk, up to that. i don't see subunit debut.
jaemin nct, 2024 career: he might leave sme atp, there's something going on behind the scenes. he'll be overwhelmed :(
what sme thinks of jaemin: very smart but also a person who knows their secrets. if jaemin told sme that he'll reveal everything, they might be afraid of him. also very hardworking person.
what type of scandal boynextdoor might have in the future?: i've heard about the drama about that security guard person. it's not about that. possibly difficulties between 2 of the members (water and fire sign?? big3 is possible too)' personalities. it can be made into bullying scandal, by the way, but it might turn into controversy too, i am not sure how it might turn out.
what red velvet think of "chill kill" era?: tbh they're satisfied, they like it.
what red velvet think of their disbandment rumors: very dissapointed atp, it won't happen!
katseye, overall success: seems to be guaranteed, can do very well for a western girl group with k-pop standarts. won't be very, very famous but it will be enough to be popular.
skz hyunjin, shinee taemin bond: VERY much work-related dynamics, and they match really well. outside of work though.. no. just no. not that they won't match, but it just doesn't exist.
i'll-it, success: not as what they've (belift, hybe) expected. small fanbase outside of south korea, local fandom might be a bit bigger, fans from r u next? are still MAD for how hybe rigged everything. i do see water energy girl standing out, possibly wonhee or youngseo, but it can be both girls tbh. just focus them on solo activities pls
i'll-it, concept: very similar to enhypen, seems to focus on empowerment. might be teen crush?
taylor swift, 2024 career: might be merging with her personal and love life. i do see viral moments, breaking record and similar things. i am unsure if she'll release something in 2024, but she has to be prepared as kelce might cheat on taylor. she might learn about the preparations on it in one way or another and she will try to stop him just for the sake of their popularity (individual, as couple, idqk). she might learn to be more aware of what she actually wants in 2024, she seems to be blind about that.
why treasure's hyunsuk is more scandalous these days: he seems to experiment with his vibe, aesthetics and style. he might've wanted to do it for a while. like, he's aware, but he isn't that sorry from what i see. he's just experimentinnnnng
will hyunsuk be more scandalous: i intepret it as no, he doesn't want to be more extreme.
*israel-palestine ^ukraine-russia
** there's no need to read this since this paragraph isn't related to my usual content. although i do not stand with israel's side, my content that's provided here is directed only to divination-related readings and it will stay this way. personally i agree with selena that a post, or even threads on social medias won't change anything and although taking a side might be nice if we are aware of the conflict in question (doesn't matter which), i personally believe only mass protests for indefinite time will make actual impact, unless if they're restricted by more influental people. (that's to sofia's ex-mayor btw :)) my country has problems that are in the dust for the most of its citizens and we don't look through them. how tf we have to be aware of other issues and conflicts when we aren't aware of our owns? that's issue between israel and palestine. my country and people have no place in this. i really try to support palestinians with what i can, but to take a side? i never chose ukraine or russia. i won't choose israel or palestine either. i do hate some of the countries' laws and so on, but i will stay as neutral as i can. these issues aren't bulgaria's. sorry for this ted talk but i felt it's needed. **
#outsidereveries#murmur journal#tarot reading#kpop tarot#itzy#health tarot#fifty fifty#controversies tarot#selena gomez#how someone sees a situation#kylian mbappe#how someone feels about situation#nct#neo culture technology#career tarot#politics tarot#blackpink tarot#sm entertainment#boynextdoor#red velvet#katseye#comeback tarot#stray kids#skz#shinee#bond tarot#i'll it#i'll-it#taylor swift#treasure
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As you said you're open to questions, and I've never seen a "needs space" leash before - is there like, an accepted universal response/behaviour around a dog with such a thing? Like, I know not to bother service dogs, and to respect a therapy dog needing personal space after they're done providing therapy, that sort of thing, and in like, a big park I'd just keep going on my path/sitting where I am/whatevs and trust them and their human to handle the situation as they see fit, because there is the space for them to do so, but what if, say, one is coming towards me on the sidewalk, and thus the space is limited? Should I still continue as normal, or try to provide more space on purpose, maybe by walking closer to the side the dog isn't so their human can be a barrier?
I love my boy, so I'm going to intersperse some of my favorite pictures of him throughout this.
The day he came home vs a year later.
So, Aengus is fear reactive and incredibly anxious around people and animals he doesn't know -- sort of an automatic "I think these people are a danger to me and my human" thought process that means he does great big boofs, and sometimes will lunge at anyone who gets too close.
He was, unfortunately, already traumatized by the time he came to me -- he'd been anemic, stung by wasps, his poor little paws were rubbed raw from walking on hot concrete, and he was terrified of people.
"Too close," for him, generally means within 10 feet, for people he doesn't know well.
I can usually keep him focused on our walks or a specific task ("sit" and "wait" are both ones he's gotten pretty good at) when just passing by people, provided that they ignore us (unless they also have a dog, and then it's, "okay, time to detour to get home faster and without an interaction").
In an ideal world, I would have the money to get him the behavioral training I know he needs, and the supervised socialization time with other dogs I wish he had. I want it for him so much, but... yeah. I lack the money for someone who knows what they're doing, and I'm too disabled to try and DIY it on a consistent enough basis to be beneficial to him. So we muddle through as best we can.
He's my baby, and I love him so so much
When I take him out, the ideal behavior from people in the distance who see the "Needs Space" tag on his leash is that they will simply ignore us. Feel free to privately coo over how adorable he is, and even a friendly wave is fine from a distance. I love seeing people see him and have the "!!!!! I saw a dog!!!!" moment. It makes me very happy!!!
But, in the situation of crossing paths, yes, making it so that the owner is between you and the dog is the best choice. Personally, as the person responsible for my dog, I will usually do that immediately when I see someone coming our direction, and keep the leash tight and him close to me for both their safety and his. But sometimes folks will just see DOG and their self-preservation instinct shuts down with a quickness.
I can't tell you the number of times I've had children old enough to have been taught better just run up to us, completely unbothered by the fact that he is trying to protect me with his big ol' boofs of "get the fuck away" because Oh Cute Dog Trumps Animal Safety. I have to be like, "He's not friendly, sorry sorry sorry" and cut short our morning walks a million times. Which isn't fair to either of us.
he loves rough-housing so much and he makes the best honking sounds
The handful of times I've taken him to one of the local walking paths, I have him sit on the side of the trail, holding him tight in a sit+wait, and having him wait until the other person has passed us. Sometimes, he's very good and not at all interested in the other person. Sometimes, it's more of a fight to keep him distracted.
So, I guess my overall advice is:
"Be aware of the potentially dangerous animal in your immediate vicinity, maintain reasonable and available distance, and take your cues from the owner. Prioritize your own safety, and that of the animal."
Something I wish more people used to inform their behavior around strange dogs -- but admittedly, my dog in particular, is that if someone (or more likely, in my neighborhood, their unleashed and uncontrolled dog 😡) just runs up on Aengus, and he freaks out and bites them, he's the one that dies.
I ask him, "Where's your baby?" and he brings me his lamb-chop. (This toy has since disintegrated, and I haven't been able to replace it, unfortunately.)
So thank you so, so much for asking about this.
Don't get me wrong -- I don't want people to be afraid of my dog; he's a big ol doofus that trips over his own very long legs and sleeps with stuffies.
He learned how to throw his toys at me, and now he refuses to hand them to me when we play fetch -- he just lobs them at me from his mouth. He pounces on his toys like an arctic fox jumps into snow, and sometimes he sleeps like an AT-AT.
See?
But every dog has the capacity to be dangerous, and I wish people would spend more time asking these questions so I can give them the answers that keep them and reactive dogs safe.
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The standoff was tense. AVENGER's Lamenting Exterior snapped back on him in the flash. The staredown was marred in thick silence before CASTER finally spoke, smiling as casually as one would at a meeting between friends.
"Reminder that this is nothing personal. Just the throes of a Holy Grail War."
MOONCANCER was sending a Servant. He was headed there, but it was a matter of if he would be able to make it in time.
"Foreigner… how are you feeling?"
She scoffed, her hands gripping her paintbrush tighter.
"If you're askin' if I can fight, I'm fine. Code Casts aren't respondin', though. You should be worryin' about yourself, you were movin' slow during the confrontation with Alter-Ego and took a few nasty hits. Still, if we need an extra boost, I can always put Toto-sama in the driver's seat…"
AVENGER didn't totally understand what that meant, but she had a point. Without Masters, his movements and mana consumption had been sloppy, unfocused, and actively detrimental.
FOREIGNER's mana was actively rising. It was inky. Thick, pulpy, unnatural and disgusting. But necessary. This was the dilution of a power much, much more unseemly.
...RIDER was nowhere to be seen. There was a chance that he left- considering he was Masterless, a fight like this would be his one and final battle- if his enemies didn't kill him, he'd most likely run out of mana. That, or perhaps his reasons were more personal. Or he was flanking, and playing it safe. Lots of potential options on that front.
Music was a choice. But he'd need to play fast. Same with attacking. And while he was fast, there was no telling what kind of counterattacks these Servants had up their sleeves.
CASTER stared at the two Extra-classes, her eyes narrowing as her smile widened.
"Well, perhaps it's a little personal. Your Masters are quite unique, yes? They're a threat that I'd rather stamp out sooner than later. At least before Saber can get a bead on you. Perhaps you can hide in your second shell when we finish this one. Lancer, are you ready? Our victory here cements a step forward for the Blue Faction."
LANCER stepped forward, his mana swelling around him.
"I am Vlad Ţepeş! The Voivode of Wallachia! Infidels that stand before me, ready yourself for annihilation, and pray that our Lord is merciful to your souls in the afterlife!"
A True Name reveal. A spike in mana. That most likely meant that he was going to use his Noble Phantasm…
For most Servants, it would be a trump card. Holding one's True Name so close to their chest that even the slightest hints would be a tactical disadvantage. However, this was Vlad the Impaler. His name alone carried a level of fame, weight, and fear that allowed him to be more powerful than his time would allow. His maddened devotion rendering him immortal in the annals of history.
To him, in this form he held, hiding such a True Name would be ridiculous- because it would be alleviating his enemies from that fear.
And his enemies certainly felt fear. A chill ran down AVENGER's spine, his own True Name lost, but the sparking flames of the sins that held him down began burning and toiling within his stomach. Fear. Guilt. Anger. Agony. Facing the Son of the Dragon would mean death, his body nothing more than another corpse on a pike in the lands of Wallachia.
...Speaking of grudges. It'd be a risk, but there was always CONDUCTOR. Revealing the existence of AVENGER's source of hatred would be a massive boost in power… but at the same time, the drawbacks would be notable, no matter how successful the actual trigger was. Still, neither CASTER nor LANCER seemed as if they were willing to back down.
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During the broadcast of Sunday Evening With Vladimir Solovyov on Russian state TV, host Vladimir Solovyov proudly announced that he recently traveled to Damascus to interview President of Syria Bashar al-Assad to get his advice about how to interact with “crazed capitalist Western regimes” and “how to combat their lies.” After years of pleading for the attention of the fired Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Solovyov was able to snag the next best thing by interviewing Assad.
Unable to get his mind off Carlson’s ill-fated interview, Solovyov asked Assad for his prediction as to the outcome of the U.S. elections: “I’ll ask the same question that Tucker Carlson asked Putin: Biden or Trump?” Assad opined, “The analysis of the media and other information shows that Trump will win, but I always say that American presidents resemble one another.” He proceeded to assert that the unnamed figures behind the scenes—and not the U.S. presidents—determine the country’s politics.
During the interview, irony died a thousand painful deaths, as Russia’s most notorious propagandist, known for his hypocrisy, lies and nuclear threats, joined the butcher of Syria, known for committing war crimes and repeatedly lying about his actions. Disregarding Assad’s notorious use of chemical weapons against his own people, Solovyov claimed that the Syrian people “have freely made their choice.”
The Russian host alleged that the world is standing on the precipice of potential nuclear apocalypse, claiming that the United States and Israel are likely to be the first to use nuclear weapons against Iran.
Several times, Solovyov unsuccessfully attempted to extract the condemnation of the Oct. 7 terrorist attack against Israel. Taking a page out of Putin’s book, Assad insisted that it’s impossible to discuss that event without delving deep into the history of Israel and Palestine—the way Putin had to educate Carlson on Rurik’s exploits during their talk. The Syrian dictator made no secret of his inspiration for this approach. Assad asked, “Can you separate the war in Ukraine from a historical evolution? Can you describe Russia’s efforts of reunification with the Southern territories without delving into history? Can you separate these efforts from history? All the present is inextricably tied to the past.”
Quoting an unnamed commentator, Solovyov pondered why Russia, with a population of only 150 million, were not afraid to go against the entire NATO, but several billion Muslims can’t defend their Palestinian brothers. He asked, “Why won’t the Arab countries take the steps that would seem justified and necessary, in order to stop the bloody slaughter in Gaza?” Solovyov’s concern was most likely motivated by the well-known talking point among Russian experts, who believe that a wider escalation in the Middle East would distract the U.S. and allies from Ukraine. Assad disappointed him by bemoaning the lack of unity among Arab countries, coupled with strong Western influence in the region.
Solovyov asserted, “The West is constantly lying! This is why we see what is now happening in Ukraine not as our war against Ukraine. For us, this is a holy war and a religious war. We are confronted by Satanism, by the evil in its purest form. Everything that is rejected by our culture and our faith.”
Solovyov then made a comparison that was more damning than exculpatory, by aligning the global condemnation of Assad for his regime’s use of chemical weapons in 2017 with the Bucha massacre in Ukraine. The host stressed, “Our people don’t believe it. The Syrian people don’t believe it. They came out and supported you. Our people came out and supported our Supreme Commander.” In a truly grotesque moment, Solovyov asked Assad, “How do we fight against the lies that are so pervasive?” Assad proceeded to accuse the Western media of keeping everyday people in the dark. Gesturing towards himself and Solovyov, Assad asserted, “We are different. For us, the truth is above all! We are spreading the truth! Transparency is also crucial in politics and government.”
Solovyov brought up the upcoming presidential election in Russia, despite the fact that Putin has no real opponents and the main opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, conveniently perished in the run-up to the Kremlin-controlled election charade. He pompously asked, “How much does this election impact the future of the world and not just Russia?” Assad asserted in reply, “The fate of the world depends on Russia—for many reasons, not only because of the war in Ukraine.” He proceeded to explain why the change of leadership in Russia during its fateful war in Ukraine would be impossible to conjure up. Assad asserted that he doesn’t want to interfere in Russia’s internal affairs, but at the same time made it clear that Putin should remain in charge for the good of the country and the world.
Assad pondered out loud, “Does Russia have any other options that would guarantee the kind of policies that will return it to the position of global influence? Of course, not the same as the Soviet Union, but much stronger.” The Syrian dictator repeatedly reiterated that his vocal support for Putin’s continued presidency is merely “his personal opinion.” Solovyov chimed in to reply, “Your personal opinion is very important!”
After praising Putin’s leadership and asserting that it should not be subject to change, Solovyov and Assad awkwardly giggled together, as they jointly mocked and criticized the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky.
Solovyov asked, “Do you remember that you are a tyrant and a dictator, just like Vladimir Putin, just like Xi Jinping, just like the Iranian leadership, just like the leadership of [North] Korea? Meanwhile, in America and Europe, they are the democrats. You say that you should listen to the people, but they insist that everyone should listen to them. So who is the tyrant now?” Purporting to slam Western democracies, Assad sounded like he was describing Russia: “There is only one choice, there aren’t many options. The media and celebrities will make it seem that you elected the one you wanted.”
Solovyov repeatedly tried to draw the parallels between Russia and Syria, except for one glaring similarity. He failed to mention that both Assad and Putin are wanted for their war crimes.
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Just in case you want to be angry tonight! Transcript under the cut in case you hit a paywall.
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Reach Out
Updated: April 30, 2024 6:27 PM EDT | Originally published: April 30, 2024 7:00 AM EDT
Former President Donald Trump sat down for a wide-ranging interview with TIME at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla., on April 12, and a follow-up conversation by phone on April 27.
Over the course of the interviews, Trump discussed his agenda for a second term, which includes deporting millions of people, cutting the U.S. civil service, and intervening more directly in Justice Department prosecutions than his predecessors. He also discussed his thinking on other issues, including abortion, crime, trade, Ukraine, Israel, and the prospects for political violence in this election cycle.
Read More: How Far Trump Would Go
Below is a transcript, lightly edited for clarity, of the interviews between Trump and TIME National Politics Reporter Eric Cortellessa. Click here to read our fact-check.
Let’s start with Day One: January 20, 2025. You have said that you will take a suite of aggressive actions on the border and on immigration—
Donald Trump: Yes.
You have vowed to—
Trump: And on energy.
Yes, yes. And we'll come to that, certainly. You have vowed to launch the largest deportation operation in American history. Your advisors say that includes—
Trump: Because we have no choice. I don't believe this is sustainable for a country, what's happening to us, with probably 15 million and maybe as many as 20 million by the time Biden's out. Twenty million people, many of them from jails, many of them from prisons, many of them from mental institutions. I mean, you see what's going on in Venezuela and other countries. They're becoming a lot safer.
Well, let's just talk—so you have said you're gonna do this massive deportation operation. I want to know specifically how you plan to do that.
Trump: So if you look back into the 1950s, Dwight Eisenhower, he's not known for that, you know, you don't think of him that way. Because you see, Ike, but Dwight Eisenhower was very big on illegal immigration not coming into our country. And he did a massive deportation of people. He was doing it for a long time. He got very proficient at it. He was bringing them just to the other side of the border. And they would be back in the country within a matter of days. And then he started bringing them 3,000 miles away—
What’s your plan, sir?
Trump: We will be using local law enforcement. And we will absolutely start with the criminals that are coming in. And they're coming in in numbers that we've never seen before. And we do have a new category of crime. It's called migrant crime. It's, ugh, you see it all the time. You see it in New York City where they're having fistfights with police. And far worse than that. You see it all the time. And you're seeing it in all of the cities, especially the Democratic-run cities, which is a lot of the big ones, but you're seeing it in Chicago, you're seeing it in New York and L.A. and getting worse than in other places.
Does that include using the U.S. military?
Trump: It would. When we talk military, generally speaking, I talk National Guard. I've used the National Guard in Minneapolis. And if I didn't use it, I don't think you'd have Minneapolis standing right now, because it was really bad. But I think in terms of the National Guard. But if I thought things were getting out of control, I would have no problem using the military, per se. We have to have safety in our country. We have to have law and order in our country. And whichever gets us there, but I think the National Guard will do the job. You know, had Nancy Pelosi used the National Guard. You know, I offered them whatever they wanted, but I often—
You would use the military inland as well as at the border?
Trump: I don't think I'd have to do that. I think the National Guard would be able to do that. If they weren't able to, then I’d use the military. You know, we have a different situation. We have millions of people now that we didn't have two years ago.
Sir, the Posse Comitatus Act says that you can't deploy the U.S. military against civilians. Would you override that?
Trump: Well, these aren’t civilians. These are people that aren't legally in our country. This is an invasion of our country. An invasion like probably no country has ever seen before. They're coming in by the millions. I believe we have 15 million now. And I think you'll have 20 million by the time this ends. And that's bigger than almost every state.
So you can see yourself using the military to address this?
Trump: I can see myself using the National Guard and, if necessary, I'd have to go a step further. We have to do whatever we have to do to stop the problem we have. Again, we have a major force that’s forming in our country, when you see that over the last three weeks, 29,000 people came in from China, and they're all fighting age, and they're mostly males. Yeah, you have to do what you have to do to stop crime and to stop what's taking place at the border.
Would that include building new migrant detention camps?
Trump: We wouldn't have to do very much of that. Because we'll be bringing them out of the country. We're not leaving them in the country. We're bringing them out. It’s been done before.
Will you build new ones?
Trump: And it was done by Obama in a form of jails, you know, prisons. And I got blamed for that for four months. And then people realized that was done by him, not by me.
So are you ruling out that you would build new migrant detention camps?
Trump: No, I would not rule out anything. But there wouldn't be that much of a need for them, because of the fact that we're going to be moving them out. We're going to bring them back from where they came.
I ask because your close aide and adviser Stephen Miller said that part of what it would take to carry out this deportation operation would include new migrant detention camps.
Trump: It’s possible that we’ll do it to an extent but we shouldn't have to do very much of it, because we're going to be moving them out as soon as we get to it. And we'll be obviously starting with the criminal element. And we're going to be using local police because local police know them by name, by first name, second name, and third name. I mean, they know them very well.
How are you going to get state and local police departments to participate in this? Under what authority is the President able to do that?
Trump: Well, there's a possibility that some won't want to participate, and they won't partake in the riches, you know. We have to do this. This is not a sustainable problem for our country.
Does that mean you would create funding incentives from the federal government for state and local police departments?
Trump: It could very well be. I want to give police immunity from prosecution because the liberal groups or the progressive groups, depending on what they want to be called, somewhat liberal, somewhat progressive, but they are—they’re very strong on the fact that they want to leave everybody in, I guess, I don't know. You know, sanctuary cities are failing all over the place. And I really believe that there's a pent-up demand to end sanctuary cities by people that were in favor of sanctuary cities, because it's just not working out for the country.
So by your own telling, these are new, bold, and aggressive actions that you would take.
Trump: I don't think they're bold actions. I think they’re actions that are common sense. But I really believe, Eric, that they’re actions that—it's incredible that they've allowed so many people to come into our country, especially considering they were unchecked and unvetted, most of them. They're just pouring in. They're pouring in at levels that no country has ever seen before. It's an invasion of our country.
Well, let me put it this way: They’re new and they're certainly going to be tested in the courts. If the courts rule against you, do you commit to complying with all court orders upheld by the Supreme Court?
Trump: I will be complying with court orders. And I'll be doing everything on a very legal basis, just as I built the wall. You know, I built a tremendous wall, which gave us great numbers. I also was willing to do far more than I said I was going to do. I was also and am willing to—they should have completed the wall. I completed what I said I was going to do, much more than I said I was going to do. But as you do it, you realize you need more wall in different locations, locations that, at one point, people thought you wouldn't be able to—you wouldn't need.
But, and—the first glimpse I found that Biden, frankly, wanted open borders, because I never believed it. It just didn't make sense. The first time I really saw that was when he didn't want to install the wall that was already built and could have been thrown up, hundreds of miles of additional work could have been thrown up in a period of three weeks.
I want to talk about your plan to build the wall in just a second, but just to come back on that. So you commit to complying with all Supreme Court orders? All orders upheld by the Supreme Court?
Trump: Yeah, I would do that, sure. I have great respect for the Supreme Court.
So come back to the border wall for a second because in the last term, you tried to negotiate border funding with Democrats, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, and had an opportunity for $25 billion. Didn't work. Got the $1.4 billion—
Trump: But with the $25 billion things came that were unacceptable.
Codifying the DREAMER protections—
Trump: Well, a lot of other things besides that. There were a lot of bad things. Sure, they gave you money for the wall. I basically took the money from the military, as you know. I consider this an invasion of our country and I took the money from the—
So my question is, what do you plan to do in the second term? Are you going to move right away on day one to direct federal funds to continue building the wall? Are you going to aim for legislation? How do you plan to do?
Trump: I think what we will do is we will complete—and when you say and when I say complete the wall, I built much more wall than I ever thought necessary. But as you build it, you find out that you need it. And we built it, and there were certain areas then you find out that are leaking and they leak. Like a politician leaks, they leak. And we would get that and we would build that and then you build something else. And it was just a system, we had a great system going. And we could have added another 200 miles of wall and good territory for it. Because it really does work, you know, walls work. Walls and wheels. I would say, you know, a lot of, see what you have here, your tape recorder, everything else is going to be obsolete in about six months. You'll have something that's much better. But the two things that are never obsolete are walls and wheels.
Something you said a moment ago. You said, “We want to protect police from prosecution.” What do you mean by that?
Trump: Police have been—their authority has been taken away. If something happens with them, even if they're doing a very good job, they take away their house, they take away their pension, they take away their, I mean, essentially, they end up losing their families over it. They take away everything. They prosecute people. And we have to give the police back the power and respect that they deserve. Now, there will be some mistakes, and there are certain bad people and that's a terrible thing. But there are far more problems with what's happened now, where police are standing outside of a department store as it’s being robbed and 500 mostly young people are walking out carrying air conditioners and televisions and everything else. And the police would like to do something about it. But they're told to stand down. They said don't do it. And if you do anything about it, if you stop crime, we're going to go after your pension, your home, your family, your wife or your husband. And you know, police are being prosecuted all the time. And we want to give them immunity from prosecution if they're doing their job.
Would you try to pass a law for that through Congress?
Trump: Excuse me.
Would you push a bill through Congress to do that?
Trump: We’d have to take a look at that.
Let’s shift to the economy, sir. You have floated a 10% tariff on all imports, and a more than 60% tariff on Chinese imports. Can I just ask you now: Is that your plan?
Trump: It may be more than that. It may be a derivative of that. A derivative of that. But it will be somebody—look when they come in and they steal our jobs, and they steal our wealth, they steal our country.
When you say more than that, though: You mean maybe more than 10% on all imports?
Trump: More than 10%, yeah. I call it a ring around the country. We have a ring around the country. A reciprocal tax also, in addition to what we said. And if we do that, the numbers are staggering. I don't believe it will have much of an effect because they're making so much money off of us. I also don't believe that the costs will go up that much. And a lot of people say, “Oh, that's gonna be a tax on us.” I don't believe that. I think it's a tax on the country that's doing it. And I know. Look, I took in billions of dollars from China. Nobody else ever did anything on China. I also let people know what the threat of China was. China was going along making $500 to $600 billion a year and nobody was ever even mentioning it until I came along. What's happening in Detroit is very sad because electric cars with this EV mandate, which is ridiculous, because they don't go far. They cost too much and they're going to be made in China. They're all going to be made in China.
Mr. President, most economists—and I know not all, there isn't unanimity on this—but most economists say that tariffs increase prices.
Trump: Yeah.
Are you comfortable with additional inflation?
Trump: No, I've seen. I've seen—I don't believe it'll be inflation. I think it'll be lack of loss for our country. Because what will happen and what other countries do very successfully, China being a leader of it. India is very difficult to deal with. India—I get along great with Modi, but they're very difficult to deal with on trade. France is frankly very difficult on trade. Brazil is very difficult on trade. What they do is they charge you so much to go in. They say, we don't want you to send cars into Brazil or we don't want you to send cars into China or India. But if you want to build a plant inside of our country, that's okay and employ our people. And that's basically what I'm doing. And that’s—I was doing and I was doing it strongly, but it was ready to really start and then we got hit with COVID. We had to fix that problem. And we ended up handing over a higher stock market substantially than when COVID first came in. But if you look at the first few years of what we did, the numbers we had were breathtaking. There's never been an economy—
Sir, the economy was certainly humming during your first term. There's no question about it. But, you know, Moody's did say that your trade war with China cost the U.S. economy $316 billion and 300,000 jobs. [Editor’s note: The estimate of $316 billion was made by Bloomberg Economics, not Moody’s.]
Trump: Yeah. Moody’s doesn’t know what they’re talking about. We had the greatest economy in history. And Moody's acknowledges that. So how did it cost us if we had such a good economy? Everybody admits it. If we didn't do that, we would have no steel industry right now. They were dumping steel all over this country. And I put a 50% tariff on steel. It was gonna go higher. And the people that love me most are businesses, but in particular, the steel industry. They love me because I saved their industry. I've had owners of steel companies and executives of steel companies come up and start crying when they see me. They say, nobody, nobody helped us until you came along. China was dumping massive amounts of steel into our country. And we saved the steel industry.
Do you think that businesses pass along the cost of a tax to the consumer?
Trump: No, I don’t believe so. I believe that it cost the country that—I think they make less. I actually think that the country that is being taxed makes less. I don't believe—
You don't believe that businesses pass on the cost?
Trump: No, I think what happens is you build. What happens to get out of the whole situation is you end up building, instead of having your product brought in from China, because of that additional cost, you end up making the product in the United States. And that's been traditionally what happened. If you look at what goes on. If you look at China, they don't want our cars. They charge them tremendous numbers. You look at India. India is a very good example. I get along very well with the people, representatives of India. Modi is a great guy, and he's doing what he has to do. But we had a case with Harley Davidson, I had Harley Davidson on the White House. I said, “How are you doing? How's business? Very good? Everything's good?” I said, “Just out of curiosity, how do you deal with India?” “Not Well.” Now you’ve got to remember, this is five years ago, four years ago, they said, “Not well. We can't do business with India, because they charged us such a big tariff, it was over 100%.” And at that price, you know, there's a point at which the consumer breaks and can't buy. They said, “But they will do anything for us to build a Harley Davidson plant in India. They don't want us to give motorcycles to India, but they do want us to build a plant.” I said, “Well, I'm not going to be very happy with that.” But that's ultimately what happened. They built a plant in India. And now there's no tax, and I'm saying we're doing the same thing. We're gonna build plants here. Now something that's taking place that nobody's talking about, maybe don’t know, but I have a friend who builds auto plants. That's what he does. If you ask him to build a simple apartment someplace, he wouldn't know how to do it. But he can build the plant, millions of feet, the biggest plants in the world. He's incredible. And I said to him, “I want to see one of your plants.” And he said to me, “Well, are you ready to go to Mexico? Are you ready to go to China?” I said, “No, I want to see it here.” He said, “We're not really building them here, not the big ones, the big ones are being built right now in Mexico or China.” China now is building plants in Mexico to make cars to sell into the United States. And these are the biggest plants anywhere in the world. And that's not going to happen when I'm President, because I will tariff them at 100%. Because I'm not going to allow them to steal the rest of our business. You know, Mexico has taken 31% of our auto manufacturing, auto business. And China has taken a much bigger piece than that. We have a very small percentage of that business left and then you have a poor fool like the gentleman is at the United Auto Workers who is okay with the fact that we're going to do all electric cars and it's so sad to see because the all electric cars are just not what the consumer wants.
Sir, I understand your position—
Trump: And by the way, I have no problem with all electric. I think it's great. And you can buy electric, I think it's fine. They don't go far. They have problems. They don't work in the cold. They don't work in the heat. There's a lot of problems. When I was in Iowa where they were all over. They were all over the streets. It was 40 degrees below zero the night of the Iowa caucuses.
I was there with you.
Trump: Right. That’s right. I’ve never heard of cold weather like that.
Just to clarify something you said a moment ago: You're considering a 100% tariff on Chinese and Mexican imports?
Trump: I didn't say that. They charge us 100%. But they charge us much more than that. India charges us more than that. Brazil charges us what—Brazil's a very big, very big tariff country. I ask people, Who are the worst to deal with? I'm not going to give that to you because I don't want to insult the countries because I actually get along with them. But you'd be surprised. The E.U. is very tough with us. They don't take our foreign products. They don't take our cars. We take Mercedes Benz and Volkswagen and BMW. They don't take our cars. If we want to sell a Chevrolet, even if we want to sell a Cadillac, a beautiful Cadillac Escalade, if we want to sell our cars into Germany, as an example, they won't take them.
Let's come back to Europe later.
Trump: I said to Angela Merkel, “Angela, how many Chevrolets are in the middle of Berlin?” She said none. I said, “You're right about that. But we take your cars, including cars that aren't that expensive, like Volkswagen, relatively speaking.” I said, “Do you think that's fair?” She said, “Probably not, but until you came along, nobody ever mentioned it.”
Sir, you've been critical of how Israel has prosecuted its war against Hamas. In a recent interview, you said that it needed to “get it over with” and “get back to normalcy.”
Trump: Yeah.
So as President, would you consider withholding American military assistance to Israel to push it to winding down its war?
Trump: Okay. So let me, I have to start just as I did inside. [Asks an aide to turn down the air conditioner.] I don't have to go through the whole thing. But as you know, Iran was broke. Iran is the purveyor of—
No, I know that but would you—
Trump: No, but think of the great job I did. It would have never happened. It would have never happened. You wouldn't have had—Hamas had no money. Do you know that?
I do understand that, sir, I just want to know—
Trump: No, but I hope it can be pointed out. During my term, there were stories that Iran didn't have the money to give to any—there was very little terrorism. We had none. I had four years of—we had no terrorism. We didn't have a World Trade Center knocked down. You know, Bush used to say, “Well, we’ve been a safe country.” I said they knocked down the World Trade Center in the middle of your term. Do you remember that one during the debate? That was a good one. But it was true, very true. But we had no terror during our—and we got rid of ISIS 100%. Now they're starting to come back.
I want to know—you said you want to get Israel to wind down the war. You said it needs to “get it over with.” How are you going to make that happen? Would you consider withholding aid?
Trump: I think that Israel has done one thing very badly: public relations. I don't think that the Israel Defense Fund or any other group should be sending out pictures every night of buildings falling down and being bombed with possibly people in those buildings every single night, which is what they do.
So you won’t rule out withholding or conditioning aid?
Trump: No, I—we have to be. Look, there's been no president that's done what I've done for Israel. When you look at all of the things that I've done, and it starts with the Iran nuclear deal. You know, Bibi Netanyahu begged Obama not to do that deal. I ended that deal. And if they were smart and energetic, other than trying to get Trump, they would have made a deal because they were in bad shape. They should have made a deal with Iran. They didn't prosecute that. They didn't make that deal. But I did Golan Heights.
You did.
Trump: Nobody even thought of Golan Heights. I gave them Golan Heights. I did the embassy and in Jerusalem. Jerusalem became the capital. I built the embassy. I even built the embassy.
Right.
Trump: And it's a beautiful embassy for a lot less money than anybody ever thought possible. And you've heard that. But there's been no president that's done what I've done in Israel. And it's interesting. The people of Israel appreciate it. I have like a 98%—I have the highest approval numbers.
Do you know who doesn’t have a high approval rating right now in Israel, though?
Trump: Bibi.
Yeah. Do you think it's time for him to go?
Trump: Well, I had a bad experience with Bibi. And it had to do with Soleimani, because as you probably know by now, he dropped out just before the attack. And I said, “What's that all about?” Because that was going to be a joint and all of a sudden, we were told that Israel was not doing it. And I was not happy about that. That was something I never forgot. And it showed me something. I would say that what happened on—the October 7 should have never happened.
It happened on his watch.
Trump: No, it happened on his watch. And I think it's had a profound impact on him, despite everything. Because people said that shouldn't have happened. They have the most sophisticated equipment. They had—everything was there to stop that. And a lot of people knew about it, you know, thousands and thousands of people knew about it, but Israel didn't know about it, and I think he's being blamed for that very strongly, being blamed. And now you have the hostage situation—
Has his time passed?
Trump: And I happen to think that on the hostages, knowing something about the enemy, and knowing something about people, I think you have very few hostages left. You know, they talk about all of these hostages. I don't believe these people are able or even wanting to take care of people as negotiations. I don't—I think the hostages are going to be far fewer than people think, which is a very sad thing.
You think you could work better with Benny Gantz than Netanyahu in a second term?
Trump: I think Benny Gantz is good, but I'm not prepared to say that. I haven't spoken to him about it. But you have some very good people that I've gotten to know in Israel that could do a good job.
Do you think—
Trump: And I will say this, Bibi Netanyahu rightfully has been criticized for what took place on October 7.
Do you think an outcome of that war between Israel and Hamas should be a two state solution between Israelis and Palestinians?
Trump: Most people thought it was going to be a two-state solution. I'm not sure a two-state solution anymore is gonna work. Everybody was talking about two states, even when I was there. I was saying, “What do you like here? Do you like two states?” Now people are going back to—it depends where you are. Every day it changes now. If Israel’s making progress, they don't want two states. They want everything. And if Israel's not making progress, sometimes they talk about two-state solution. Two-state solution seemed to be the idea that people liked most, the policy or the idea that people liked above.
Do you like it?
Trump: It depends when. There was a time when I thought two states could work. Now I think two states is going to be very, very tough. I think it's going to be much tougher to get. I also think you have fewer people that liked the idea. You had a lot of people that liked the idea four years ago. Today, you have far fewer people that like that idea.
You said–
Trump; There may not be another idea. You know, there are people that say that that situation is one of the toughest, the toughest to settle.
Yeah, absolutely.
Trump: Because children grow up and they're taught to hate Jewish people at a level that nobody thought was possible. And I had a friend, a very good friend, Sheldon Adelson, who felt that it was impossible to make a deal because the level of hatred was so great. And I think it was much more so on one side than the other, but the level of hatred of Jewish people was so great, and taught from the time they were in kindergarten and before. He felt that—and he was a great dealmaker. He was a very rich man. He was a rich man because of his ability to make deals. And he loved Israel more than anything else. He loved Israel, and he wanted to protect Israel. And he felt that it was impossible to make a deal because of the level of hatred.
Do you feel that way now?
Trump: I disagreed with it. But so far, he hasn’t been wrong.
You said you're proud to be one of the first presidents in generations to have not gotten the United States into a war. You addressed this a little bit in the press conference. But if Iran and Israel got into a war, will you join in Israel side?
Trump: I have been very loyal to Israel, more loyal than any other president. I've done more for Israel than any other president. Yeah, I will protect Israel.
You came out this week and said that abortion should be left to the states and you said you won't sign a federal ban. So just to be clear: Will you veto any bill that imposes any federal restrictions on abortions?
Trump: You don’t need a federal ban. We just got out of the federal. You know, if you go back on Roe v. Wade, Roe v. Wade was all about—it wasn't about abortion so much as bringing it back to the states. So the states would negotiate deals. Florida is going to be different from Georgia and Georgia is going to be different from other places. But that's what's happening now. It's very interesting. But remember this, every legal scholar for 53 years has said that issue is a state issue from a legal standpoint. And it's starting to work that way. And what's happened is people started getting into the 15 weeks and the five weeks or the six weeks and they started getting into, you know, time periods. And they started all of a sudden deciding what abortion was going to be.
People want to know whether you would veto a bill, if it came to your desk, that would impose any federal restrictions. This is really important to a lot of voters.
Trump: But you have to remember this: There will never be that chance because it won't happen. You're never going to have 60 votes. You're not going to have it for many, many years, whether it be Democrat or Republican. Right now, it’s essentially 50-50. I think we have a chance to pick up a couple, but a couple means we're at 51 or 52. We have a long way to go. So it's not gonna happen, because you won't have that. Okay. But with all of that being said, it's all about the states, it's about state rights. States’ rights. States are going to make their own determination.
Do you think that—
Trump: And you know what? That’s taken tremendous pressure off everybody. But we—it was ill-defined. And to be honest, the Republicans, a lot of Republicans, didn't know how to talk about the issue. That issue never affected me.
So just to be clear, then: You won't commit to vetoing the bill if there's federal restrictions—federal abortion restrictions?
Trump : I won't have to commit to it because it’ll never—number one, it’ll never happen. Number two, it’s about states’ rights. You don't want to go back into the federal government. This was all about getting out of the federal government. And this was done, Eric, because of—this was done, this issue, has been simplified greatly over the last one week. This is about and was originally about getting out of the federal government. The last thing you want to do is go back into the federal government. And the states are just working their way through it. Look at Ohio. Ohio passed something that people were a little surprised at. Kansas, I mean, places that are conservative and big Trump states, I mean, Ohio and way up Kansas, all these states, but they passed what they want to pass. It's about states rights.
I understand, sir. Your allies in the Republican Study Committee, which makes up about 80% of the GOP caucus, have included the Life at Conception Act in their 2025 budget proposal. The measure would grant full legal rights to embryos. Is that your position as well?
Trump: Say it again. What?
The Life at Conception Act would grant full legal rights to embryos, included in their 2025 budget proposal. Is that your position?
Trump: I'm leaving everything up to the states. The states are going to be different. Some will say yes. Some will say no. Texas is different than Ohio.
Would you veto that bill?
Trump: I don't have to do anything about vetoes, because we now have it back in the states.
Okay.
Trump: They’re gonna make those determinations.
Do you think women should be able to get the abortion pill mifepristone?
Trump: Well, I have an opinion on that, but I'm not going to explain. I'm not gonna say it yet. But I have pretty strong views on that. And I'll be releasing it probably over the next week.
Well, this is a big question, Mr. President, because your allies have called for enforcement of the Comstock Act, which prohibits the mailing of drugs used for abortions by mail. The Biden Department of Justice has not enforced it. Would your Department of Justice enforce it?
Trump: I will be making a statement on that over the next 14 days.
You will?
Trump: Yeah, I have a big statement on that. I feel very strongly about it. I actually think it’s a very important issue.
Got it. You think this issue should be left to the states. You've made that perfectly clear. Are you comfortable if states decide to punish women who access abortions after the procedure is banned?
Trump: Are you talking about number of weeks?
Yeah. Let’s say there’s a 15-week ban—
Trump: Again, that’s going to be—I don't have to be comfortable or uncomfortable. The states are going to make that decision. The states are going to have to be comfortable or uncomfortable, not me.
Do you think states should monitor women's pregnancies so they can know if they've gotten an abortion after the ban?
Trump: I think they might do that. Again, you'll have to speak to the individual states. Look, Roe v. Wade was all about bringing it back to the states. And that was a legal, as well as possibly in the hearts of some, in the minds of some, a moral decision. But it was largely a legal decision. Every legal scholar, Democrat, Republican, and other wanted that issue back at the states. You know, Roe v. Wade was always considered very bad law. Very bad. It was a very bad issue from a legal standpoint. People were amazed it lasted as long as it did. And what I was able to do is through the choice of some very good people who frankly were very courageous, the justices it turned out to be you know, the Republican—
States will decide if they're comfortable or not—
Trump: Yeah the states—
Prosecuting women for getting abortions after the ban. But are you comfortable with it?
Trump: The states are going to say. It’s irrelevant whether I’m comfortable or not. It's totally irrelevant, because the states are going to make those decisions. And by the way, Texas is going to be different than Ohio. And Ohio is going to be different than Michigan. I see what's happening.
President Trump, we're here in Florida. You're a resident of Florida.
Trump: Yeah.
How do you plan to vote in the state’s abortion referendum this November that would overturn DeSantis’s six-week ban?
Trump: Well, I said I thought six weeks is too severe.
You did.
Trump: You know, I've said that previously.
Yes.
Trump: I think it was a semi-controversial statement when I made it, and it's become less and less controversial with time. I think Ron was hurt very badly when he did this because the people—even conservative women in Florida thought it was—
Well this referendum would undo that. Are you gonna vote for it in November?
Trump: Well, it'll give something else. I don't tell you what I'm gonna vote for. I only tell you the state's gonna make a determination.
Okay, sir. Violent crime is going down throughout the country. There was a 6% drop in—
Trump: I don't believe it.
You don’t believe that?
Trump: Yeah, they’re fake numbers.
You think so?
Trump: Well it came out last night. The FBI gave fake numbers.
I didn't see that, but the FBI said that there was a 13% drop in 2023. [Editor's note: This statistic refers specifically to homicides.]
Trump: I don’t believe it. No, it’s a lie. It’s fake news.
Sir, these numbers are collected by state and local police departments across the country. Most of them support you. Are they wrong?
Trump: Yeah. Last night. Well, maybe, maybe not. The FBI fudged the numbers and other people fudged numbers. There is no way that crime went down over the last year. There's no way because you have migrant crime. Are they adding migrant crime? Or do they consider that a different form of crime?
So these local police departments are wrong?
Trump: I don't believe it's from the local police. What I saw was the FBI was giving false numbers.
Okay. So if elected, going on to the Department of Justice. If elected, would you instruct your Attorney General to prosecute the state officials who are prosecuting you, like Alvin Bragg and Fani Willis?
Trump: Well, we're gonna look at a lot of things like they're looking. What they've done is a terrible thing. No, I don't want to do that. I was not happy looking at Clinton. I was not happy. I think it's a terrible thing. But unfortunately, what they've done is they've lifted up the lid and they've—what they've done to me is incredible. Over nothing.
Well you said Alvin Bragg should be prosecuted. Would you instruct your Attorney General to prosecute him?
Trump: When did I say Alvin Bragg should be prosecuted?
It was at a rally.
Trump: I don’t think I said that, no.
I can pull it up.
Trump: No.
So just to be clear: You wouldn’t instruct your Attorney General to prosecute Alvin Bragg?
Trump: We are going to have great retribution through success. We're going to make our country successful again. Our retribution is going to be through success of our country.
Would you fire a U.S. attorney who didn't prosecute someone you ordered him to? Him or her?
Trump: It depends on the situation, honestly.
So you might?
Trump: It would depend on the situation. Yeah.
Okay, so sir, you said that you would appoint a real special prosecutor to go after Biden and his family—
Trump: Well, it depends what happens with the Supreme Court. Look, a president should have immunity. That includes Biden. If they've ruled that they don't have immunity, Biden, probably nothing to do with me, he would be prosecuted for 20 different acts, because he's created such. You take a look at not only his criminal acts of taking a lot of money and being a Manchurian Candidate. Look at what happened in Afghanistan. Look at what happened throughout the world. Look at what happened with him allowing Russia to do that with Ukraine. That would have never happened with me, and it didn't happen. And I knew Putin very well.
President Trump, isn’t going after your political opponents what they do in a banana republic?
Trump: That’s what’s happening now. Yeah.
Well okay—
Trump: No, no, no, no. Eric, that’s what’s happening now. I’ve got to be on Monday—in fact, we’re doing this today because Monday was a little bit tougher, because I have to be in a criminal court on Monday.
That’s right.
Trump: Over a non-criminal case. It's not even a criminal case. And it's like I said, if you go to Andy McCarthy, or if you go to Jonathan Turley, two real experts, or if you go to all the legal scholars that wrote, they say, this isn't even a criminal case. And I have a judge who's more conflicted than any judge anyone's ever seen. And he's a mean guy who hates Trump. And you take a look at what's going on there. You just asked me, you know, you're talking about—you just asked me a question and they're doing that to me!
Well, sir, just to be clear—
Trump: Wait a minute, I haven't had a chance to do it to them. I would be inclined not to do it. I don't want to do it to them. But a lot of that's going to have to do with the Supreme Court. Look, we are going in another two weeks to the Supreme Court. And they're going to make a ruling on presidential immunity. If they said that a president doesn't get immunity, then Biden, I am sure, will be prosecuted for all of his crimes, because he's committed many crimes. If they say, on the other hand, that a president has immunity, and I happen to think a president has to have immunity, because otherwise it's going to be just a ceremonial position. But Biden has done so many things so badly. And I'm not even talking the overt crime. I'm talking about the border, allowing all of the death and destruction at the border—
Sir—
Trump: Allowing all of this stuff. If a president doesn't have immunity. So when you asked me that question, it depends on what the Supreme Court does.
Well on that question, your lawyer, John Sauer, argued in court recently that if you as President ordered a Navy SEAL team to assassinate a political rival, you shouldn’t be prosecuted. Do you agree with your lawyer?
Trump: Well, I understood it differently. I thought it was a political rival from another country. I think I understood it differently, and I'm not sure. And John Sauer also said that first you go through an impeachment and then you make that determination based on impeachment. But a president, if you don't don't have immunity from prosecution, fairly strong immunity from prosecution. Now, if you do something just overtly very bad and very stupid, that's a different situation. That may be one of those cases.
Gotcha. So just to come back to something you were saying a moment ago, I just want to say for the record, there's no evidence that President Biden directed this prosecution against you. But even if we—
Trump: Oh sure there is.
Well, even if we stipulated that—
Trump: I always hate the way a reporter will make those statements. They know it’s so wrong. It’s just sort of to protect yourself. But no, no. His head of the Justice Department, one of the top few people, was put into the DOJ. Fani, Mr. Wade, Fani’s lover, spent hours in Washington with the DOJ working on my case. The DOJ worked with Leticia James on my case. The DOJ worked with deranged Jack Smith. He's a deranged person on my case. No, no, this is all Biden—
But the question, though—
Trump: And by the way, let me go a step further.
Okay.
Trump: On my case with a woman that I never—that I have no idea who she is, until she made a phone call. “Do you know her?” And I said, “This is something that's a figment of her imagination.”
You’re talking about E. Jean Carroll?
Trump: Then I got sued. Until that, I had no idea who this woman was, I have no, I had nothing to do with this woman. That was done by a political lawyer in front of a highly, in my opinion, a totally inappropriate judge, who was conflicted for a lot of reasons, who wouldn't allow us to put in evidence, he was so bad, he was so evil. But I've had three of those judges in New York now, three of them. That's all I get. And it's a very unfair situation. They've gone after me, it's called election interference. But it's even beyond election interference, what they've done, and they've never seen, and I sort of, it's amazing when you say that Biden knew nothing. Biden knew everything. Just like, he knew nothing about Tucker's business and his business.
Even if we stipulate that, do two wrongs make a right?
Trump: No, I don't, I wouldn't want to, I wouldn't want to do anything having to do with. I wouldn't want to hurt Biden. I'm not looking to hurt Biden. I wouldn't want to hurt him. I have too much respect for the office. But he is willing to hurt a former President who is very popular, who got 75 million votes. I got more votes than any other sitting president in history. And I have probably eight cases right now that are all inspired by them, including my civil case.
Medicare—
Jason Miller: Eric, the President has his dinner in about 15 minutes. So he has a few more minutes here.
Trump: Are you staying? Are you going to have dinner with everybody?
Yeah, yeah. We only have 15 minutes left?
Trump: Yeah, his dinner is at 7:15.
In that case, let’s just do some rapid-fire questions.
Trump: All right. Do you think you could do this interview with Biden?
You know, he didn’t say yes. So I’m grateful that you’re giving me the opportunity.
Trump: He will never say yes, cause he’s off. He’s off, way off.
Let's take a second to talk about January 6. You have called the men and women who have been prosecuted for their actions on January 6 “hostages” and “political prisoners.” More than 800 of these people have been sentenced through our judicial system, most of whom pleaded guilty. Some of them have been convicted by juries. You've said you will pardon them. Are you calling into question the conclusions of the justice system in more than 800 cases?
Trump: It’s a two-tier system. Because when I look at Portland, when I look at Minneapolis, where they took over police precincts and everything else, and went after federal buildings, when I look at other situations that were violent, and where people were killed, nothing happened to them. Nothing happened to them. I think it's a two-tier system of justice. I think it's a very, very sad thing. And whether you like it or not, nobody died other than Ashli.
Will you consider pardoning every one of them?
Trump: I would consider that, yes.
You would?
Trump: Yes, absolutely.
All right, so—
Trump: If somebody was evil and bad, I would look at that differently. But many of those people went in, many of those people were ushered in. You see it on tape, the police are ushering them in. They’re walking with the police.
I want to ask you another question on this. There are some former allies and staff who don't support you in this election and have cited your attempts to overturn the 2020 election. What would you say to voters who like your policies, but who believe that someone who attacked a cornerstone of democracy—the peaceful transfer of power—cannot be entrusted to preserve it?
Trump: Well, actually, I did the opposite of attack. I'm the one that tried to stop it. I offered 10,000 soldiers and Nancy Pelosi turned me down. So did the mayor of Washington, she turned me down in writing.
What would you say to those voters, though?
Trump: That I offered. Number one, I made a speech that was peaceful and patriotic that nobody reports. Nobody talks about it: peacefully and patriotically. Nobody talks. You know, the committee never used those words. They refused to allow those words. Number two, I had like five tweets that were, go home, blah, blah. I got canceled because of those tweets.
No—
Trump: No, I got canceled because of those tweets. I didn't get canceled because of bad things I said. I got canceled because of good things I said. Because when you read my tweets, and when you see the speech that I made, and when you see the statement that I made in the Oval Office in the Rose Garden, during this very dramatic and horrible period, I'm a very innocent man. Nancy Pelosi is responsible, because she refused to take the 10,000 soldiers or National Guardsmen that I offered. She refused to take them. The mayor of Washington refused to take them too. And they're responsible, you know, for the Capital.
Speaking of this, looking forward—
Trump: One other thing they did that’s so horrible and the press refuses to talk about it. They destroyed all evidence.
Are you worried about political violence in connection with this November's election?
Trump: No. I don't think you’ll have political violence.
You don’t expect anything?
Trump: I think we're gonna have a big victory. And I think there will be no violence.
Mr. President, you've talked a lot about your plan to obliterate the deep state. What exactly does that mean?
Trump: It means we want to get rid of bad people, people that have not done a good job in government. And we look at people like a company would look at people. You know, when you buy a company, you go in and you look at, how do you like the job? Job performance. They have job performance standards. And yeah, we would like to get rid of people that haven't done a good job. And there are plenty of them.
How do you plan to do that? Your team is preparing to give you the power through Schedule F, which would allow you to fire civil servants.
Trump: We’re looking at a lot of different things. Civil service is both very good and very bad. You have some people that are protected that shouldn’t be protected. And you have some people you almost want to protect because they do such a good job. I know a lot of people that are in civil service and they’re outstanding people.
Would you hire anyone who believes Joe Biden won the 2020 election?
Trump: I have no doubt that what we said was fact. The press, the fake news media, doesn't want to talk about it. You know, I have a lawsuit against the Pulitzer Foundation over the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax, because they talked about it for two and a half years and it turned out to be a total scam. And then certain writers got Nobel Prizes—
The RNC is holding litmus tests on employees, asking if they believe the election was stolen or not. Would you do the same? [Editor's Note: While the RNC is reportedly asking job applicants this question, it has denied it is a litmus test for employment.]
Trump: I wouldn’t feel good about it, because I think anybody that doesn't see that that election was stolen. It just—you look at the proof. It's so vast, state legislatures where they didn't go through the legislature. They had to go through the legislature. You look at it, it’s so vast, all of the different things. I could give you report after report on state after state of all of the fraud that was committed in the election, and if you had a really open mind, you would say I was right.
I want to get to your policies on Russia and Ukraine in a second, but President Trump, we just passed the one year anniversary of Evan Gerskovich’s detainment in Russia. Why haven't you called for his release?
Trump: I guess because I have so many things I'm working on. I have hundreds of things. And I probably have said very good things about him. Maybe it wasn't reported. But I think he's a very brave young man.
Will you do it now?
Trump: You’re talking about Wall Street Journal?
Yeah.
Trump: Oh, I would certainly call. I’ll call for it right now in your story if you'd like.
Excellent.
Trump: But I do have. I do have many, many things. And here's a difference between me and Biden: I'll get him released. He'll be released. Putin is going to release him.
Can we talk about—
Trump: I think Biden has dealt with Putin very poorly. Putin should never have gone into Ukraine. And he didn't go in for four years with me. I get along very well with Putin, but the reporter should be released and he will be released. I don't know if he's going to be released under Biden.
But you would try to get him released as President?
Trump: Yeah, I would get him released. Yes.
You said that Russia—
Trump: I’m surprised that Biden. Well, I'm not surprised with anything with Biden. But I think it's a terrible precedent. And I'm very surprised that he hasn't been released, but I will get him released, if he's not released by the time we get to office.
Sir, you have said that you're willing to let Russia “do whatever the hell they want” to NATO countries that don't spend enough on their defense. If Putin attacked a NATO state that you believe was not spending enough on their defense, would the U.S. come to that country's assistance?
Trump: Yeah, when I said that, I said it with great meaning, because I want them to pay. I want them to pay up. That was said as a point of negotiation. I said, Look, if you're not going to pay, then you're on your own. And I mean that. And the question was asked to me: If we don't pay? It was asked to me long before this event. Do you know that, after I said that, do you know that billions of dollars poured into NATO? Do you know that?
I know that, sir. Secretary General Stoltenberg gave you credit for that. He said that your threat to pull out of NATO—
Trump: Correct.
Led to the allied countries giving $100 billion more on their defense.
Trump: Both then and three years before. Do you know that NATO—the cupboards were bare. They had no cash, they were dying, we were spending almost 100% of the money on NATO. We were protecting Europe. And they weren't even paying.
The question, though, is would you—
Trump: Eight. Only eight countries were paying. The rest of them were delinquent. And I said to them, if you don't pay, enjoy yourselves, but we're not going to protect you. I said it again a few weeks ago, two months ago, I said it again. And I said it, that if you don't pay. Look, that's the way you talk as a negotiator. I'm negotiating because I want them to pay. I want Europe to pay. I want nothing bad to happen to Europe, I love Europe, I love the people of Europe, I have a great relationship with Europe. But they've taken advantage of us, both on NATO and on Ukraine. We're in for billions of dollars more than they're in in Ukraine. It shouldn't be that way. It should be the opposite way. Because they're much more greatly affected. We have an ocean in between us. They don't. And when I say things like that, that’s said as a point of negotiation, and I did a very good job because billions of dollars came in recently.
You said in 2016 in an interview, you said “in order to get reform, you have to be willing to walk away.”
Trump: I said, for instance, the question was asked when we had a very big meeting, rather secret, but the press knew about it. We had 28 countries at that time. And a gentleman stood up who happened to be the head of a very important country. And he said, “Are you saying”— because I said to him, “You guys aren't paying your bills, we're paying your bills. It's not fair. You're hurting us on trade. And then on top of it, we're defending you. We're spending most of the money on NATO with the United States.” I said it's not fair. And the man stood up and said, “Are you saying that if we aren't paying our bills, if we don't pay our bills, and Russia attacks us, are you saying that you will not protect us?” I said that's exactly what I'm saying.
Now, after I said that, billions of dollars poured in. It was like magic. Obama never said that. Obama would go give a speech and he’d leave. Bush would go give his speech and he’d leave. I went, I looked at the numbers, and I said, wait a minute, the United States is paying for NATO. We're paying for close to 100% of NATO.
So the question, though, sir—
Trump: And not being treated right, because we're being treated very badly by most of the same countries on trade.
So you want to renegotiate the terms of the treaty, it sounds like. Do you want to—
Trump: No, I just want them to pay their bills. I don't have to renegotiate it. It's like Biden. Biden has the right to close up the border right now. He doesn't need anything from Congress. Same thing with NATO. I don't need to renegotiate the terms of the treaty. All I need to do is have them pay their bills. They don't pay their bills.
Do you want to maintain 80 years of American leadership in defending the West, especially Europe, or do you want to change the architecture of the post-war world that has kept us out of a World War for the last 80 years?
Trump: I want them to pay their bills. Very simple. NATO is fine. See, the problem I have with NATO is, I don't think that NATO would come to our defense if we had a problem.
You don't?
Trump: No, I don't believe that. I know them all. It's a one-way street, even if they paid. I want them to pay. But I believe if we were attacked, NATO wouldn't be there. Many of the countries in NATO would not be there.
Would you continue to provide military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine?
Trump: I’m going to try and help Ukraine but Europe has to get there also and do their job. They're not doing their job. Europe is not paying their fair share.
Orban says he came here and met with you, and said that you wouldn’t give a penny. Is he wrong?
Trump: No, I said I wouldn't give unless Europe starts equalizing. They have to come. Europe has to pay. We are in for so much more than the European nations. It's very unfair to us. And I said if Europe isn't going to pay, who are gravely more affected than we are. If Europe is not going to pay, why should we pay?
So you may not aid Ukraine?
Trump: Look, we get hurt on trade. We get hurt on trade. European Union is brutal to us on trade. We went over it, the cars, they don't want our agriculture. They don't want our cars. They don't want anything from us. It's like a one-way street. Well it’s the same thing with NATO. They treat us very badly. They don't pay their bills. Now, I came along and they start paying their bills. I'll tell you something, Secretary Stoltenberg said, and I hope he says it now, but he certainly said it then loud and clear, he has never seen any force like Trump. Because every president would come over, they'd make a speech and they'd leave. Trump came over and he got us billions and billions of dollars. I got them hundreds of billions of dollars from countries that were delinquent. And he was my biggest fan. I hope he still is, but I don't know that he is, you know, maybe he is, maybe he is. But even this recent go-round, right, because you're asking me a question. There are two parts of that question. One is, four years ago, and one is now. I did a hell of a job getting money for NATO because nobody else—NATO had no money. NATO couldn't have even prosecuted what they're doing right now. They had no money. All they were doing was building stupid office buildings. They built a $3 billion office building.
Taiwan—
Miller: Eric, Eric, I gotta wrap because his dinner is coming up.
Can we just do the rapid fire then, because—
Miller: Eric, I literally have three minutes until this dinner starts.
Okay, you said—
Trump: By the way, you understand what I just said?
Yeah, yeah.
Trump: He spent $3 billion by the same architect—
Let’s just go through this rapid fire because of the time.
Trump: But you understand?
I do. I do, Mr. President. You said you only want to be dictator for a day. What did you mean by that?
Trump: That was said sarcastically as a joke on Sean Hannity. He said, “Do you want to be a dictator?” I said, “Only for one day. I want to close up the border and I want to drill, baby, drill.” Then I said, “After that, then I never want to be a dictator.” That was done. That was said sarcastically. That was meant as a joke. Everybody knows that.
Do you see why—okay, you say you were joking, but do you see why—
Trump: No, no, wait. If you read it, it was a joke. I wanted to be for one day. You know why? Because we have an incompetent fool that’s allowing people to come into our country. We have an incompetent fool that drove energy prices so high over such a short period of time. And by the way, you know, he's gone to a lot of my policies now. But the day after the election, if they win, there won't be any more oil.
Do you see why so many Americans see language like that, you know, dictator for a day, suspending the Constitution—
Trump: I think a lot of people like it.
But you see why they see that as contrary to our most cherished democratic principles?
Trump: No. I think the press does. Not because they don’t understand it. They understand it as well as you do, as well as anybody does. That was said in fun, in jest, sarcastically.
Only four—
Trump: It’s like “Russia, if you’re listening.” Remember “Russia, if you’re listening”?
Yeah.
Trump: That was said in the exact same vein. “Russia, if you're listening.” Everybody knows that was said sarcastically. But they cut off the laughter. You know, they cut it off immediately. As soon as it was—immediately, it was cut off. But that was said, sarcastically, a joke, it was in jest. This is the same thing. I said, “I want to be dictator for one day, I want to close up the border. And I want to drill, baby, drill.” And then I said, “After that, I don't want to be a dictator.” Now—
You did.
Trump: I did. But nobody reports that.
Well, we have a chance to have a good conversation and get the full truth here, which is what I’m trying to do.
Trump: But you understand what I mean.
I know what you mean.
Trump: I hope you report it. Because that was said.
I’m giving you a chance to respond.
Trump: Good. That was also said, Eric, with a smile. I'm laughing. And Sean Hannity, it was a question that he asked me.
It scares people, though, sir. It scares people.
Trump: I don't understand why it would. Everybody. Anybody that saw it would say I was laughing. He was laughing. The whole place was laughing. You know, it was a town hall?
I saw it.
Trump: And the town hall, they were laughing like hell. That was said in jest.
Only four of the 44 people who served in your cabinet the last time are endorsing you in this election. [Editor’s note: Roughly half a dozen Trump cabinet members had endorsed him at the time of this interview.] A number, as you know, have come out and said they won't support you in this election.
Trump: I don’t know. Like who? I’ve gotten many. I got Mnuchin!
Your former chiefs of staff, your former secretary of defense—
Trump; Well, I don’t know. Look, I mean—
The question, though, is why should voters—
Trump: Well, wait. Even this week, Mnuchin endorsed me. Pompeo endorsed me. Who are the people that? I mean, some didn’t because I didn't think they were very good. Look, when people think you don't like them and you're not going to bring them back. I'm not going to bring many of those people back. I had some great people. I had some bad people. When they think they are not in favor and they're not coming back, they're not inclined to endorse.
Well, the question I have to ask you, sir, is why should voters trust you?
Trump: I’ve had a lot of people endorse me.
You’ve gotten a lot of—
Miller: I’ll send him the full list.
You’ve gotten a lot of endorsements. I don’t dispute that. But the question I have to ask—
Trump: No, I mean that. I’ve had a lot of people endorse me from cabinets. Now, I have to tell you this, I haven’t asked for a lot of endorsements.
They come to you know. I know, sir.
Trump: If I call up 95% of those people that you say, if I made one phone call, they’d be endorsing me in two minutes.
The question I have to ask you is: Why should voters trust you when so many of the people who watched you the most closely in the first term don't think you should serve a second?
Trump: Well, they don't because I didn't like them. Some of those people I fired. Bill Barr, I fired Bill Barr. I didn't want him. Other people. I thought he did a terrible job. As soon as he was going to be impeached, he was going to be impeached by the Democrats, he totally folded. Bolton was a fool. He was a stupid fool. But actually, he served a good purpose because he's a nutjob. And every time he walked into a room, people thought you were going to war. He's one of the people, one of the many people, that convinced Bush to go into the Middle East, blow the place up and end up with a whole destroyed world. And nothing. What did anybody get out of it? We blew up the Middle East. And nobody got anything out of it. That was one of the Bolton people. You could go past. You could give me every single person you're talking about. And I would tell you a reason why I wouldn't want their endorsement. Now I had great people like, you know, I rebuilt the military.
Miller: The president's late for his dinner.
Biden doesn’t have any cabinet members who have come out against him.
Trump: Because Biden’s a very different kind of a guy than me. He keeps bad people. For instance, when you had Afghanistan, he kept Milley. Milley should have been fired immediately. Milley should have been fired based on his statement to China. If he actually made those statements, that's a very serious thing. You know, the statement to China, if he actually made them, and I guess he did, because they're on tape. That is really a serious problem. But he should have been fired for that. Other people should have been. Many people should have been fired. I did fire people, I fired a lot of people. Now I let them quit because ,you know, I have a heart. I don't want to embarrass anybody. But almost every one of those people were fired by me.
You could look at the military people. I said, “Hand me a letter, general, hand me a letter,” every one of them. So they handed me a letter. I don't think I’ll do that again. I think, from now on, I’ll fire. You know why? Because they say that they quit. They didn't quit. I said, “Hand me a letter.” That's a gentleman's thing to do. “General, hand me a letter.” I took care of ISIS. I had people saying it would take five years. I did it in a very short period of time. We have a great military, if you look at our military, I have great support from our military, from the real people, from the real generals, not the television generals. But I could ask for endorsements from 90 to 95% of the people that you're telling me. Every one of them would give me an endorsement.
Would you—
Miller: Eric, Eric, I do have to get the president to his dinner. I’m sorry.
Both the Heritage Foundation's Project 25 and the American Conservative magazine, they're a big supporter of yours, have proposed abolishing the 22nd amendment that limits presidents to two terms. They say that, you know, if you come back into office, you will have served two non-consecutive terms, and that if the popular will is there for you, there's no reason you shouldn't be able to—[Editor's note: The proposal came from the American Conservative, not Project 25.]
Trump: I didn't know they did that.
Well, would you definitely retire after a second term, or would you consider challenging the 22nd amendment?
Trump: Well, I would, and I don't really have a choice, but I would.
You would consider it?
Trump: I’m at a point where I would, I think, you know, I would do that. Look, it’s two terms. I had two elections. I did much better on the second one than I did the first. I got millions more votes. I was treated very unfairly. They used COVID to cheat and lots of other things to cheat. But I was treated very unfairly. But no, I'm going to serve one term, I'm gonna do a great job. We're gonna have a very successful country again—
But you’d consider it?
Trump: And then I'm gonna leave.
You’d consider it, you said.
Trump: Consider what?
Challenging the 22nd amendment.
Trump: I don't know anything about it. I mean, you're telling me now that somebody's looking to terminate. I wouldn't be in favor of it. I wouldn't be in favor of a challenge. Not for me. I wouldn't be in favor of it at all. I intend to serve four years and do a great job. And I want to bring our country back. I want to put it back on the right track. Our country is going down. We're a failing nation right now. We're a nation in turmoil.
Miller: Eric, we’re way past—the President’s gotta get to his dinner. I’m sorry.
Is there anything we didn’t talk about that you wanna talk about before they—
Trump: No.
Any question that I didn’t ask you that I should have?
Trump: No, I thought it was a good interview, actually.
Well, I really appreciate—
Trump: I mean, if it’s written fairly, it’s a good interview.
I had so many more questions I’d love to ask you.
Trump: And I find them to be very interesting questions.
I just try to ask good, probing questions. I have a lot more I’d love to talk about.
Trump: All I ask is one thing: Treat it fairly.
I will, sir.
Trump: I will say this, let me just say this. Everybody wants to work for me. And a lot of people say, “Oh, would he work for me? Oh, would he be a Vice President? Would he accept?” Vice President? I’ve got everybody in the nation calling me begging me to be vice president. I have everybody calling me wanting to be in the cabinet. Everybody wants to work for me. Everybody. And the practice of saying, “General, give me a letter” or “somebody give me a letter,” that's a nice thing to do. I don't think I'll do it anymore. But that's a nice thing to do. But everybody wants to work for me. We're gonna have a very successful administration. And the advantage I have now is I know everybody. I know people. I know the good, the bad, the stupid, the smart. I know everybody. When I first got to Washington, I knew very few people. I had to rely on people. And some of those people gave me very good advice.
People close to you tell me you’re more skeptical now—
Trump: Of what?
Of people betraying you in Washington?
Trump: I'm not more skeptical. I know the way nature—that's the way nature works. And I run a tough operation and some people can't take it. You know, working for Biden is very easy. He never fires anybody. He should fire everybody having to do with Afghanistan. He should fire everybody having to do with the border. I would have fired everybody and it would have been a big story.
Miller: Eric, he’s 10 minutes late for his dinner.
All right, all right. I don’t mean to be rude.
Trump: No, I find it very interesting.
Thank you, sir.
Trump: Thank you very much.
Follow-up Phone Interview With Trump
Two weeks after the Mar-a-Lago interview, TIME conducted a 20-minute phone interview with Trump on April 27. Below is a lightly edited transcript of that conversation.
Last time we spoke, you said you had an announcement coming over the next two weeks regarding your policy on the abortion pill mifepristone. You haven't made an announcement yet. Would you like to do so now?
Trump: No, I haven’t. I’ll be doing it over the next week or two. But I don't think it will be shocking, frankly. But I'll be doing it over the next week or two. We’re for helping women, Eric. I am for helping women. You probably saw that the IVF came out very well. And, you know, I set a policy on it, and the Republicans immediately adopted the policy.
That’s true.
Trump: And that was a good policy for women. You know, it's about helping women, not hurting women. And so IVF is now, I think, really part of what we do. And that was important. I think that might have been right around the time of our interview. But in terms of the finalization—and you saw that Alabama and other states have now passed legislation to approve that.
Right, right. And of course there was the law in Arizona that was passed since then too.
Trump: Right.
Mr. President, for the first time ever, Iran recently launched a massive attack against Israel from its own territory.
Trump: Right.
If Israel and Iran get into a war, should the US support Israel in striking Iran militarily?
Trump: Yes, if a situation like occurred. A lot of people say it was a ceremonial, it was a ceremonial attack. Because they allowed everybody to know what happened, et cetera, et cetera. If that’s the case, it would be a good thing, not a bad thing. But a lot of people say that that attack was, you know, I mean, everybody knew about it. I heard about it long before the attack was made, and so did many others. So it would depend, obviously, but the answer is yes. If they attack Israel, yes, we would be there.
Gotcha. Well, on that front, right now there are campus protests across the country, as you know, against Israel and against Israel's war in Gaza and against the United States’ posture there.
Trump: Right.
Your former Secretary of Defense says you once suggested shooting protesters in the leg during the Black Lives Matter—
Trump: Yeah, which Secretary of Defense was that?
That was Esper.
Trump: Well, he was my worst Secretary of Defense. He was a weak, ineffective person. He was recommended by some RINOs that I don't have too much respect for. But I was, you know, I was not there very long. So I had to rely on people. No, he was a very ineffective Secretary of Defense. No, but I would, are you talking about in the case of colleges, or what are you talking about?
I was just going to ask, would you use the American military against protesters as President?
Trump: Well, I would use certainly the National Guard, if the police were unable to stop. I would absolutely use the National Guard. It would be something, I mean, if you look at what happened in Washington with monuments, I passed the law. I took an old law, brought it into effect that you get a minimum of 10 years without any adjustment if you do anything to desecrate a monument and everything was immediately set up. I didn’t have to use very much. That was having to do with the monuments. That was the monument period, where they liked to rip down monuments.
And I signed into effect a law that gives you 10 years, not one day less than 10 years of prison if you desecrate a monument. You know, that was very effective. I don’t know, I think you saw it, everything stopped after that.
I remember that period, sir. So you would rule out using the military on protesters?
Trump: Well, I would use the National Guard. I don't think you'd ever have to use much more than that.
So you have spoken a lot about “woke-ism” on college campuses. Polls show a majority of your supporters have expressed the belief that anti-white racism now represents a greater problem in the country than anti-Black racism. Do you agree?
Trump: Oh, I think that there is a lot to be said about that. If you look at the Biden Administration, they're sort of against anybody depending on certain views. They're against Catholics. They're against a lot of different people. They actually don't even know what they're against, but they're against a lot. But no, I think there is a definite anti-white feeling in this country and that can't be allowed either.
How would you address that as President?
Trump: I don't think it would be a very tough thing to address, frankly. But I think the laws are very unfair right now. And education is being very unfair, and it's being stifled. But I don't think it's going to be a big problem at all. But if you look right now, there's absolutely a bias against white and that's a problem.
I want to get to your thoughts on China. Do you think the U.S. should defend Taiwan if China invades?
Trump: Well, I’ve been asked this question many times and I always refuse to answer it because I don't want to reveal my cards to a wonderful reporter like you. But no. China knows my answer very well. But they have to understand that things like that can’t come easy. But I will say that I have never publicly stated although I want to, because I wouldn’t want to give away any negotiating abilities by giving information like that to any reporter.
I understand your position there—
Trump: It puts you in a very bad position if you actually come out and make a statement one way or the other.
I understand, sir. Taiwan's foreign minister said U.S. aid for Ukraine was critical for deterring China from attacking Taiwan. Do you agree with that?
Trump: Well, I think they think the concept, because they have the same concept. Are we going to be helping them the same as we helped Ukraine? So they would want to think that, they think if you’re not helping Ukraine, you’re most likely not going to be helping them. So I think it’s difficult from their standpoint in terms of the policy. That’s a policy of the United States. It’s to help various countries that are in trouble.
You said you would back Israel if it goes to war with Iran. Do you think the U.S. can keep troops in the Middle East and contain the expansionist goals of Russia and China at the same time, or would we need to withdraw troops to realistically manage our obligations overseas?
Trump: I think we have a lot of options. And I think we’re in a lot of places where we shouldn't be, and we probably aren't in some places where we should be. We have a lot of options as to troops. And one of the things we have, we can manage our expectations, troops can be put in certain locations very quickly.
Would you withdraw troops from South Korea?
Trump: Well, I want South Korea to treat us properly. As you know, I got them to—I had negotiations, because they were paying virtually nothing for 40,000 troops that we had there. We have 40,000 troops, and in a somewhat precarious position, to put it mildly, because right next door happens to be a man I got along with very well, but a man who nevertheless, he’s got visions of things.
And we have 40,000 troops that are in a precarious position. And I told South Korea that it's time that you step up and pay. They’ve become a very wealthy country. We've essentially paid for much of their military, free of charge. And they agreed to pay billions of dollars. And now probably now that I’m gone, they're paying very little. I don't know if you know that they renegotiated the deal I made. And they're paying very little. But they paid us billions, many billions of dollars, for us having troops there. From what I’m hearing, they were able to renegotiate with the Biden Administration and bring that number way, way down to what it was before, which was almost nothing.
Gotcha. President Trump, you have been—
Trump: Which doesn’t make any sense, Eric. Why would we defend somebody? And we’re talking about a very wealthy country. But they're a very wealthy country and why wouldn't they want to pay? They were actually, they were a pleasure to deal with. Not easy initially, but ultimately, they became a pleasure to deal with. And they agreed to pay billions dollars to the United States for our military being there. Billions, many billions.
President Trump, you have been the leader of the world's most powerful democracy and you have dealt with the leaders of authoritarian countries. Why is democracy better than dictatorship?
Trump: Well, it's because the word freedom. You have freedom. And you have all of the advantages with none of the disadvantages. You have freedom if you have a real democracy. I think we’re becoming less of a democracy when I look at the weaponization of the Justice Department, the FBI. When you look at what happened with FISA. When you look at all the things that have happened, we’re becoming less and less of a democracy. But with democracy, if it's a properly-run democracy, which it will be, if and when I get back into office, it’ll be a very proper democracy, not like what we have right now. I don't even think what we have right now is, where a presidential candidate has to spend eight hours a day in court instead of campaigning over nothing. Over zero. Over nonsense. And all speared and all spread out and—and really done by the Biden administration. And I think that's no longer democracy. I think that's third-world country stuff.
I want to get you to respond to one other thing you said that stirred some controversy. You once wrote on Truth Social that you might have to terminate parts of the Constitution. What did you mean by that?
Trump: I never said that at all. I never said that at all. When I talk about certain things, we are, there is nothing more important than our Constitution. But the Democrats have violated our Constitution with crooked elections and many other things. They violated it by using the FBI and the DOJ to go after people very unfairly, very unconstitutionally. I have a judge that gave me a gag order, where I'm the leading candidate, I'm leading Biden. I'm the Republican candidate who's substantially leading Biden. I don't know if you've seen the recent polls, Eric. But in fact, if you would, we will send them to you. Jason, if you could send them to Eric, it would be great.
Jason Miller: Yes, sir.
Trump: But we're substantially leading in all of the swing states and overall, and you know, I’m in a court case. A Biden-inspired court case, where the judge has put a gag order on me where I'm not allowed to answer many very important questions. And so that's a violation of our Constitution. And I would end those violations of Constitution. So that's what I was referring to. They have broken the Constitution. They have gotten very far astray from our Constitution. I'm talking about the fascists and the people in our government right now, because I consider them, you know, we talk about the enemy from within. I think the enemy from within, in many cases, is much more dangerous for our country than the outside enemies of China, Russia, and various others that would be called enemies depending on who the president is, frankly.
President Trump—
Trump: Because if you have the proper president, you'll be able to handle them very smartly, and everybody will be very satisfied. But if you don't have the proper president, I agree they would be strong enemies. But the enemy from within is a bigger danger to this country than the outside enemy, on the basis of having a president that knows what he's doing. Because if a President is good, solid, the proper person, and you're not gonna have a big problem with China, Russia or others, but you still have a problem from the sick people inside our country.
Mr. President, in our last conversation you said you weren't worried about political violence in connection with the November election. You said, “I think we're going to win and there won't be violence.” What if you don't win, sir?
Trump: Well, I do think we're gonna win. We're way ahead. I don't think they'll be able to do the things that they did the last time, which were horrible. Absolutely horrible. So many, so many different things they did, which were in total violation of what was supposed to be happening. And you know that and everybody knows that. We can recite them, go down a list that would be an arm’s long. But I don't think we're going to have that. I think we're going to win. And if we don't win, you know, it depends. It always depends on the fairness of an election. I don't believe they'll be able to do the things that they did the last time. I don't think they'll be able to get away with it. And if that's the case, we're gonna win in record-setting fashion.
One last question, Mr. President, because I know that your time is limited, and I appreciate your generosity. We have just reached the four-year anniversary of the COVID pandemic. One of your historic accomplishments was Operation Warp Speed. If we were to have another pandemic, would you take the same actions to manufacture and distribute a vaccine and get it in the arms of Americans as quickly as possible?
Trump: I did a phenomenal job. I appreciate the way you worded that question. So I have a very important Democrat friend, who probably votes for me, but I'm not 100% sure, because he's a serious Democrat, and he asked me about it. He said Operation Warp Speed was one of the greatest achievements in the history of government. What you did was incredible, the speed of it, and the, you know, it was supposed to take anywhere from five to 12 years, the whole thing. Not only that: the ventilators, the therapeutics, Regeneron and other things. I mean Regeneron was incredible. But therapeutics—everything. The overall—Operation Warp Speed, and you never talk about it. Democrats talk about it as if it’s the greatest achievement. So I don’t talk about it. I let others talk about it.
You know, you have strong opinions both ways on the vaccines. It's interesting. The Democrats love the vaccine. The Democrats. Only reason I don’t take credit for it. The Republicans, in many cases, don’t, although many of them got it, I can tell you. It’s very interesting. Some of the ones who talk the most. I said, “Well, you didn’t have it did you?” Well, actually he did, but you know, et cetera.
But Democrats think it’s an incredible, incredible achievement, and they wish they could take credit for it, and Republicans don’t. I don't bring it up. All I do is just, I do the right thing. And we've gotten actually a lot of credit for Operation Warp Speed. And the power and the speed was incredible. And don’t forget, when I said, nobody had any idea what this was. You know, we’re two and a half years, almost three years, nobody ever. Everybody thought of a pandemic as an ancient problem. No longer a modern problem, right? You know, you don't think of that? You hear about 1917 in Europe and all. You didn’t think that could happen. You learned if you could. But nobody saw that coming and we took over, and I’m not blaming the past administrations at all, because again, nobody saw it coming. But the cupboards were bare.
We had no gowns, we had no masks. We had no goggles, we had no medicines. We had no ventilators. We had nothing. The cupboards were totally bare. And I energized the country like nobody’s ever energized our country. A lot of people give us credit for that. Unfortunately, they’re mostly Democrats that give me the credit.
Well, sir, would you do the same thing again to get vaccines in the arms of Americans as quickly as possible, if it happened again in the next four years?
Trump: Well, there are the variations of it. I mean, you know, we also learned when that first came out, nobody had any idea what this was, this was something that nobody heard of. At that time, they didn’t call it Covid. They called it various names. Somehow they settled on Covid. It was the China virus, various other names.
But when this came along, nobody had any idea. All they knew was dust coming in from China. And there were bad things happening in China around Wuhan. You know, I predicted. I think you'd know this, but I was very strong on saying that this came from Wuhan. And it came from the Wuhan labs. And I said that from day one. Because I saw things that led me to believe that, very strongly led me to believe that. But I was right on that. A lot of people say that now that Trump really did get it right. A lot of people said, “Oh, it came from caves, or it came from other countries.” China was trying to convince people that it came from Italy and France, you know, first Italy, then France. I said, “No, it came from China, and it came from the Wuhan labs.” And that's where it ended up coming from. So you know, and I said that very early. I never said anything else actually. But I've been given a lot of credit for Operation Warp Speed. But most of that credit has come from Democrats. And I think a big portion of Republicans agree with it, too. But a lot of them don't want to say it. They don't want to talk about it.
So last follow-up: The Biden Administration created the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy, a permanent office in the executive branch tasked with preparing for epidemics that have not yet emerged. You disbanded a similar office in 2018 that Obama had created. Would you disband Biden's office, too?
Trump: Well, he wants to spend a lot of money on something that you don't know if it's gonna be 100 years or 50 years or 25 years. And it's just a way of giving out pork. And, yeah, I probably would, because I think we've learned a lot and we can mobilize, you know, we can mobilize. A lot of the things that you do and a lot of the equipment that you buy is obsolete when you get hit with something. And as far as medicines, you know, these medicines are very different depending on what strains, depending on what type of flu or virus it may be. You know, things change so much. So, yeah, I think I would. It doesn't mean that we're not watching out for it all the time. But it's very hard to predict what's coming because there are a lot of variations of these pandemics. I mean, the variations are incredible, if you look at it. But we did a great job with the therapeutics. And, again, these therapeutics were specific to this, not for something else. So, no, I think it's just another—I think it sounds good politically, but I think it's a very expensive solution to something that won't work. You have to move quickly when you see it happening.
Well, Mr. President, you've been extremely generous with your time, both in Mar-a-Lago and today, so thank you. I appreciate the opportunity to ask you these questions.
Trump: Thank you, Eric. And it’s an honor getting to know you. And call me anytime you want, okay?
All right, I will, sir. Thank you.
Trump: Okay. Thank you very much.
Correction, April 30: The original version of this transcript mis-attributed a proposal to abolish the 22nd amendment. It was proposed by the American Conservative magazine, but not by the Heritage Foundation's Project 25.
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Ending H (Fear & Hunger) Ch.7- 'Til Death Do We Part
It was a matter of survival in both of your eyes yet it was he that gained everything while you lost it all... It would have been kinder to have died a swift death but still... you fear the dark and the quiet as much as despise the man.
Warnings: Rape/Noncon, Necrophilia, Voyeurism, Enki is a Prick, Anal, Threesome, Magical Sex, Body Horror
His face did not waver as he spoke. Like he didn’t just tell you something so objectively horrifying, so utterly despicable and disgusting. Your mouth was like cotton and black specks began to invade your vision. The ringing in your ears was nearly deafening but his words were still clear in your mind:
“It’s rather simple: perform a marriage with my servant and I. Isn’t it you that said there was safety in numbers?”
It wasn’t what you meant and he knows this! But… What other choice did you have? You will die here, you just know it. There is no safety, there is no salvation…. The non choice before you made you ill but the thought of dying to something else here trumped the visceral revulsion you felt in the moment.
It… will be over soon, won’t it…?
You hang your head as you begin to remove your armour. The dark priest seemed unbothered, perhaps even bored, as you undressed with trembling fingers and uneven breaths. His undead ghoul stood at his side, its glassy eyes staring not at you but somewhere to your left. It unnerved you greatly, even more when you watched it so shamelessly scratch at itself for the umpteenth time as its master leaned against a nearby wall.
“Only you are making this difficult.” You grit your teeth at how amused he sounded.
“...shut up.” It came out far more loud than you intended but the dark priest did nothing other than smirk as you removed your trousers. You hated how he leered at you, with his darken, deep set eyes that seemed to pierce straight through you… Somehow, he made you feel more vulnerable than you previously believed yourself to be. When your hands reached your shirt, you began to hesitate.
“Oh? Having second thoughts, are we?” His tone was of mock concern. Silver white locks pool over one of his shoulders as he cocks his head to the side. His ghoul mimics its master’s movements. Your face is somehow both draining of colour yet also incredibly flush. You feel faint-
“N-No- I- I don’t-” You ball your fists into your shirt. He sighs, feigning exasperation.
“Here, allow me-” You furrow your brows.
“W-Wha- W-WAIT-!”
Your voice catches in your throat as the ghoul grabs you by your collar. Panic was already setting in and you fight instead of taking flight.
“S-STOP-! I- I’M NOT-!” You didn’t even know what you were trying to say. The strength of this undead creature was uncanny and supernatural. It threw you to the floor with ease, swiftly falling after you so that you hadn’t the opportunity to rise to your feet.
A flowing black robe invaded your peripheral as the priest moved to get a better view of the scene before him. The ghoul straddled your hips and had you pinned down by the back of your neck. The cool, slightly moist floor of the dungeon had your skin crawling and your body involuntarily reeling from its touch.
“L-Liste- L-LISTEN! I’ll- I’ll do it! I’LL FUCKING DO IT! J-Just don’t-!” The hairs on the back of your neck began to rise as a hardness began to press into the small of your back. The dark priest clicked his tongue and sighed softly.
“A little late for that, don’t you think? I believe it easier this way… It is difficult to have second thoughts halfway through if you are no longer under the illusion of having control.” Your blood ran cold.
“W-What…?” He didn’t answer you. Perhaps he shrugged, as you heard him shift in place, but it mattered not the moment the ghoul began to clumsily feel around your behind.
“N-NO! WAI-! EEEH?!” An undignified squeak leaves your lips as the undead creature’s fingers slipped between the cleft of your ass. For a brief moment, you stiffened, unable to act in any way whatsoever. But your struggle quickly renewed and you kicked your legs out and tried to push up from the floor with your arms.
“T-That’s-! N-NOT THERE-!!” You become unstable as filthy fingers and broken nails prod and rake against your puckered hole. The ghoul wasn’t perturbed by your screaming and flailing in the slightest. It groaned and drooled against you as its forefinger firmly pressed against your asshole, penetrating it in spite of your best efforts to clench your muscles in a vain attempt to keep it from sodomizing you.
Tears welled in your eyes as the true reality of your circumstances began to sink in. This really is about to happen, isn’t it? You really will be raped by a dead man, and its master will watch this torture unfold. You felt sick as the ghoul’s hard cock rubbed into your back. It didn’t seem to be moving its hips- at least, not intentionally. With every harsh, uncoordinated jab of its finger, it slipped farther and farther into you with more and more ease. The dark priest, while bemused at your cries and the way you struggled under his thrall, began to grow bored with each passing second. He began to remove his gloves, unbeknownst to you.
“Let’s get this over with, shall we? I already grow bored of this affair.” Huh? No- No, no-!
Your breath catches in your throat as the ghoul pulls its finger out of your ass suddenly. You thrash and cry out but it's all for naught. The undead being groans and snarls above you as it frees its hard cock from the scraps of cloth that provided it with the barest amount of modesty and jerkily bumped its hips against the softness of your ass. Your voice hits a new pitch as you scream at the top of your lungs.
“J-JUST STOOOOP!! STOP IT!! P-PLEASE STOP-!!!” Your cries for mercy fall on deaf ears. The dead will not heed you and its master is just as cold and uncaring. No, maybe not as uncaring as the dead, but perhaps worse in that he found your struggling to be a rather enjoyable sight to behold.
“The more you struggle the more unsightly this scene becomes…” He drawls as the ghoul comes close to actually penetrating you. It doesn’t have the motor skills to handle so many tasks at once and alongside your struggling it left it with an impossible task. The Dark Priest knew this and sighed to himself.
“I suppose it can’t be helped…” What-?! You can’t rise off the floor- not with this damned creature keeping you down!! But the moment you free yourself, you will fucking kill-!
“H-Huh-?! HUH?! D-DON’T-!!” The priest actually knelt beside you and took its undead creation into his hand and guided it to your puckered entrance! You kept struggling, kept your muscles stiff! But in the end you couldn’t stop the dead man from ramming his cock balls deep into your tight and mostly dry asshole.
A scream you didn’t recognize as your own left your mouth, surely deafening to any around but you couldn’t stop the panic and revulsion that surged up from your guts and ejected from your mouth with a ferocity that threatened to drown you as the back of your neck was held firmly down by cold and stiff fingers.
No discernible pace was set as the ghoul clumsily humped into your prone body. It hurt-! It fucking hurts! Physically, emotionally, spiritually- Never. You never thought something like this possible. Not in your wildest nightmares, even after delving too deep into the dungeon of Fear & Hunger, was this a possibility in your mind. But here you were, sobbing and pulling away in vain as a corpse raped you while its master just stood by and fucking watched. The Dark Priest pulled your sweat and saliva and vomit and tear stained hair away from your face, tucking it behind your ear so he could see how your face twisted in anguish at every thrust of his ghoul’s hips. But it wasn’t enough for him or for the goddess. They needed more.
Under his direction, the ghoul began to pick up its pace. Your eyes go wide and your hands search for something in the dark. Maybe your weapon, maybe an object of comfort. You find nothing but the unforgiving stone floor and you rake your nails against it as the burning, splitting pain begins to subtly shift into something that makes your loins ache and your face twist in shock.
“Ah. Now you are feeling it. Good.” You couldn’t hear the priest’s words over the sound of both your moaning and the ghoul’s snarls and grunts of effort. The flat of your palm finds the bony protrusion of the ghoul’s hip but any amount of pushing did absolutely nothing to either slow its speed or ferocity.
Your screams of pain began to morph into keens of pleasure. You hate it. You hate how it feels, how cold the ghoul’s body is in comparison to yours. You hate the feeling of being pinned in place. You hate how easy its cock slipped in and out of your stretched asshole and the wet sound that accompanied the crashing of its balls against your ass-
“NNNGGGH-!! N-NOOO…!!” Its thrust went deeper. The ghoul was now rocking into your body, flush against the curve of your ass, and ramming its cockhead into something that had your body jerking and your voice rising in pitch. Your head hits the floor over and over again as you struggle to keep up whatever fight was in you.
“AH-! A-AHH-! N-NNGHH! MMMM-!!!” A thin, black robe falls somewhere and the ghoul is suddenly pushed flat against your back. The ghoul’s pace becomes far more erratic as the Dark Priest breathes sharply out of his nose.
From behind, the priest had pinned the ghoul in a similar manner to how it pinned you down. It was easy to slip into the dead being’s soft, rotted flesh, and it wasn’t wholly unpleasant in spite of the cold in the ghoul’s bodily cavity. He kept it focused on fucking you as he fucked it from behind. It shouldn’t take much more… Perhaps he was lucky in finding you as a ‘willing’ participant in this little experiment of his. Who knows what would be gained from such a union…
The slapping of flesh and moans and snarls of pleasure and effort echoed deep within the bowels of the dungeon. Soon enough, you could no longer deny the pleasure that the ghoul brought you with each time its cock rammed against your insides, much as the Dark Priest couldn’t deny that he found great pleasure in both witnessing and participating in your rape. The ghoul was undead but still willing… It didn’t react as he slammed his cock harder and faster inside of its now ruined and gaping asshole but the priest found this pleasant nonetheless.
Almost- A-Almost…!
Just as you hit your breaking point the Dark Priest did too. The ghoul released its emissions on command, just as its master filled its insides were filled with hot seed did it release its colder and thicker cum that had the last thin cord in your core snapping in half as a rushing torrent seeped inside of your asshole. Your own release was imminent and you cried out as the more intense and wonderful sensation washed over you as all three of you cummed at the same time.
Your cries, the ghoul’s growls and the Dark Priest’s grunts all blended into one sound of wanton pleasure. For a brief moment, just for a fraction of one, did the warm and soft sensation of pure, unabashed love blanket you. It wrapped you in its embrace, pulling you back and settling you into something that made you feel whole. You didn’t feel fear, you didn’t feel pain, you just felt… right. For the first time in your life, you felt like you were right…
It wasn’t so bad… The embrace was warm and the dark of the dungeon wasn’t so scary now that you will never be alone ever again. You were never acknowledged but you didn’t need to be. After all, you didn’t need his love when Sylvian gave you everything you would ever need…
Ending H- ‘Till Death Do We Part
@prettycutebunny, @infinitewhore, @kennbb, @slutwithadegree, @dead-bxxxtch-walking, @space-arsonist, @pink-soft-shadow, @sinlessdesire, @hoemine
#fear & hunger#fear and hunger#fear & hunger ending h#fear & hunger x reader#enki ankarian#enki#fear and hunger enki#enki x reader#ghouls#fear & hunger sylvian (mentioned)#tw noncon#tw necrophillia#tw body horror#tw dead dove
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