President Trump on Wednesday gave his first Oval Office interview since returning to the White House, sitting down with Fox News host Sean Hannity for an hourlong discussion about his political comeback, his lingering grievances as well as the GOP agenda for the next four years.
Trump defended his pardons for more than 1,500 January 6, 2021, rioters and made headlines by insinuating that he might want to investigate former President Joe Biden. “This guy went around giving everybody pardons,” Trump said. “And you know, the funny thing, maybe the sad thing, is he didn’t give himself a pardon. And if you look at it, it all had to do with him.”
Asked if he wants Congress to investigate Biden, Trump said: “I think we’ll let Congress decide.”
No clear direction on reconciliation strategy: Trump again said he doesn’t care whether Republicans do one reconciliation bill or two. “I don't care as long as we get to the final answer. I like the concept of the one bill — I guess I said one big, beautiful,” Trump said, adding, “It could be something else. It could be a smaller bill and a big bill. But as long as we get to the right answer.”
He added that the California wildfires have “changed everything because a lot of money is going to be necessary for Los Angeles, and a lot of people on the other side want that to happen.”
Questioning the importance of FEMA: Trump criticized the Federal Emergency Management Agency, repeating previous complaints that the agency has been biased and overly bureaucratic in its disaster response. “All it does is complicate everything,” Trump said. “FEMA has not done their job for the last four years.”
He added: “FEMA is going to be a whole big discussion very shortly because I'd rather see the states take care of their own problems. … And then the federal government can help them out with the money.”
Threatening to withhold aid for California: Trump criticized California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s response to the wildfires, repeating false claims that state officials refused to allow water from the northern part of the state flow to the south. “I don’t think we should give California anything until they let water flow down,” Trump said.
The president is scheduled to visit hurricane-hit North Carolina and then fire-ravaged Southern California on Friday (before attending a campaign-style event in Nevada).
“Withholding aid, or making it conditional, would be a significant change in standard practice for how the government responds to natural disasters,” The Washington Post notes. “Recent hurricane funding for mostly GOP-led states passed Congress without conditions.”