NEW YORK, Nov. 13 (UPI) — President-elect Donald Trump told his supporters in an interview to stop committing racist acts of vandalism and harassment and said people who fear his presidency should not, because “we are going to bring our country back.”
While he softened his stances on some of the more controversial proposals from his campaign for president, Trump made clear in an interview with 60 Minutes that he will pursue some portion of his most talked about topics on the campaign trail: Building the wall, reworking or repealing the Affordable Care Act and deporting between two million and three million undocumented immigrants as part of securing the border.
Trump has stuck to major themes throughout his campaign and in the interview said some type of wall would be erected, whether it is partially fencing and partially concrete will be worked out at some point. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said a deportation force would not be commissioned on behalf of President-elect Trump last week, but Trump said there are two million to three million people who need to be kicked out of the country or incarcerated.
On the Affordable Care Act, Trump also said there were parts he was considering keeping, such as making sure people with preexisting conditions can get coverage and children stay on their parents plans. Whether his administration’s fixes for health insurance include tweaking Obamacare or repealing and replacing it entirely, Trump said there would not be a gap to make sure people had coverage.
“We’re going to do it simultaneously,” he said. “There won’t be a two day or two year delay… It will be much better for much less money.”
Trump said if he has an opportunity to nominate justices to the Supreme Court, they “will be pro-life” and be pro-Second Amendment. Although he referred to gay marriage as “settled law,” the president-elect said if abortion cases made their way to the Supreme Court, he would hope abortion would “go back to the states… but it’s got a long way to go.”
Trump said he and his team could feel they were winning in waning weeks and days of the campaign, suggesting the media created the narrative that he could not win the presidency because of his demeanor — which he believes is the entire reason he won the race.
Trump said the things he and President Barack Obama have said about each other in the last year, and last decade, did not come up in their conversation on Nov. 10, as the conversation was focused on what he needs to know to take over from Obama. “They were tough. I was tough. Do I regret [anything I said]? I can’t regret. I wish it were softer or nicer, or that it was more on policy. But [this election] really is something I am proud of,” Trump said.
On a main source of controversial statements from Trump, he said he would continue to use Twitter as much as he feels it’s necessary. “It’s a modern form of communication. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s where it’s at.”
Claiming he had heard of one or two instances of violence, harassment or vandalism against minorities or protesters, Trump said he was surprised to hear that so many acts were being reported, calling it “terrible.”
“I am so saddened to hear that, and I say stop it,” Trump added. “If it helps, I’ll say this, and I’ll say it right to the camera: Stop it.”
The president-elect said he was unsure whether all the protesters in more than a dozen cities across the United States protesting his election were “professionals,” as he accused them of being on Twitter last week. He said, however, that people’s fears were unfounded, suggesting the protesters were getting extra credence because they support Hillary Clinton.
“I would tell them don’t be afraid. I’ve been saying it. I’m saying it. Don’t be afraid. We are going to bring our country back. Don’t be afraid,” Trump said.
The protesters are protesting, Trump later added, because “they don’t know me.”
