President Joe Biden’s campaign on Monday slammed former President Donald Trump for suggesting there may be a “breaking point” for his supporters in a recent Fox News interview, saying the public would “not be able to stand” if he were placed under house arrest as a result of his criminal conviction in New York.
While Trump said he would be “OK” with a sentence that could include house arrest or even prison, he added: “I don’t think the American people can stand that. I don’t think it’s going to be easy for the American people to accept… There has to be a limit.”
The Biden campaign called Trump’s comments a “vow of violence.”
“Fueled by his own anger and desire for revenge, Donald Trump, a convicted felon, is orchestrating political violence, threatening the Constitution and pitting Americans against each other,” Biden-Harris campaign spokesman James Singer said in a statement.
After the 2020 election, President Trump touted a rally in Washington on January 6, 2021, saying it was “going to be wild.” A House Select Committee concluded on January 6 that President Trump’s comments leading up to and on the day of the rally led to the attack on the Capitol that day.
The Trump campaign did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
The weekend Fox News interview was Trump’s first in-person interview since he was convicted of all 34 felony counts in the New York hush-money case last week. During the interview, Trump choked up when asked whether he would seek revenge against his political opponents if he were to begin a second term, repeatedly calling them “evil people” even as he said he wanted to unite the country.
“In some ways, that’s a really difficult question because these are bad people. They’re sick and they’re very destructive,” Trump said, before finishing by saying, “My revenge will be successful. I mean it.”
But he quickly added, “But when you look at what they’ve done, it’s very painful. They’re very evil. And at the same time, the country can come together.”
During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly touted the idea of ”retaliation,” suggesting he might go after political opponents if he recaptured the White House, raising fears among critics that a second term could usher in a wave of authoritarian retaliation. He has also backtracked on that idea, saying “the ultimate retaliation would be success” and that “there is no time for retaliation.”
Trump faced criticism earlier this year after he downplayed but did not rule out the possibility of political violence if he lost the November election.
“We’re going to win big and there’s going to be no violence,” Trump said in a Time magazine cover story in April. When asked by an interviewer, “What would you do if you didn’t win?” Trump replied, “If I don’t win, it depends. It always depends on the fairness of the election.”
In a recent interview with Fox News, Trump repeatedly denounced the conviction, complaining about the prosecutors, the judge, the venue and even the jury, saying some jurors held “certain beliefs” and that ” [win] Whatever happens.”
Trump was previously reprimanded by Judge Juan Marchand for making similar comments about jurors in the hush-money lawsuit, also potentially violating his gag order banning him from commenting about jurors.
Recalling the moment he heard the guilty verdict, Trump told Fox News that at one point he thought the trial would end with the jury disagreeing.
“For a while it looked like the jury was unanimous,” Trump said of the moment, calling it “the best you can hope for” while complaining that it was impossible to win “in this part of the country.”
Trump also complained that his sentencing date was set for July 11, just four days before the Republican National Convention. It was Trump’s lawyer, Todd Branche, who pushed for the sentencing date to be postponed until July, and despite the judge suggesting the date be brought forward, Trump maintained that the sentencing date was “part of the game.” Trump took to social media on Sunday to argue that the sentencing date was unfair and that the US Supreme Court should make a decision on the date.
Still, Trump touted his poll numbers and fundraising success since his conviction, saying he “broke all records” in fundraising. The Trump campaign said last week that it raised $53 million in the 24 hours after the verdict.
