President Donald Trump, in a pre-Super Bowl interview on Fox on Sunday, again criticized the impeachment inquiry against him, saying it’s “very unfair to [his] family” and the families of his associates.
“It’s been a very, very unfair process,” Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity, saying that the effort to oust him from office “probably” started when he made his announcement to run for president in 2015.
Trump then touted some of his campaign accomplishments, including that unemployment levels among certain demographics, such as African-Americans, are at record low levels. Trump said that media reports haven’t highlighted his accomplishments regarding the economy and have sought to focus on more divisive issues like impeachment.
Trump last week signed the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a trade deal that is to replace the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which he will likely highlight in his upcoming State of the Union Address and in reelection campaign stops.
The Senate is slated to acquit Trump sometime in the next week, and Trump is also expected to deliver his State of the Union address. Last Friday, the Senate voted down a resolution to call impeachment witnesses, setting up an up-or-down vote that will likely acquit him.
House Democrats impeached the president for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, saying he violated his oath of office by holding up millions of dollars in security assistance allegedly in exchange for investigations of a Ukraine company connected to Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden. Trump and Ukrainian officials have denied the claims.
In the Senate trial, Democratic managers led by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) claimed that if Trump is acquitted, he will likely engage in impeachable offenses.
When asked about whether he could work with Congressional Democrats such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) following the inquiry, Trump said he “would like to” but added that it’s going to be “hard.” “I’m not sure they will be able to” work with his administration, the president remarked.
Hannity then asked Trump about potential 2020 Democratic presidential nominees, and he listed off a number of nicknames he’s created for them. “They’re very accurate,” the president told the Fox pundit.
Trump was also asked about who he would prefer to run against in 2020.
“But I would love to run against Bloomberg. I would love it,” Trump told Hannity. “[Democratic senator from New Jersey] Cory Booker and all these people couldn’t get any of the things that Bloomberg is getting now,” he continued. “I think it’s very unfair for the Democrats.”
Trump was then asked about the coronavirus outbreak, which spread from the Chinese city of Wuhan and has prompted lockdowns and quarantines in several other Chinese cities. The White House has reached out to help China, and Trump touted the current U.S.-China relationship in the interview.
However, “We can’t have thousands of people coming in who have this problem, the coronavirus,” Trump said in the interview, referring to U.S. travel restrictions on people who recently traveled to China.
In the interview, Trump did not make a prediction on who will win the Super Bowl. The Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers are slated to play starting at around 6:15 p.m. ET.
