Donald Trump seemed relatively unperturbed at the thought of losing the presidential election in a Thursday interview with CNBC, saying he’ll just take a “very nice, long vacation” if he does.
Asked how Trump’s new charge that President Barack Obama “founded ISIS” would go over with voters in battleground states, the Republican nominee said he had no intention of toning down his rhetoric to placate voters.
“Look, all I do is tell the truth. I’m a truth-teller,” he said. “All I do is tell the truth, and if at the end of 90 days I fall in short because I’m somewhat politically correct [sic] even though I’m supposed to be the smart one and even though I’m supposed to have a lot of good ideas, it’s okay.”
“I go back to a very good way of life,” Trump said. “It’s not what I’m looking to do. I think we’re going to have a victory. But we’ll see.”
Trump, asked if calling Pres. Obama the “founder of ISIS” is appropriate: “He is the founder of ISIS, absolutely.” pic.twitter.com/VrtkDhvIgz
— CNBC (@CNBC) August 11, 2016
Later in the interview, Trump again downplayed recent polls showing him trailing Hillary Clinton by significant margins in key battleground states such as Iowa, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
“How do you close that gap?” CNBC’s “Squawk Box” host asked.
“Just keep doing the same thing I’m doing right now,” Trump said. “And at the end, it’s either going to work or I’m going to, you know — I’m going to have a very, very nice, long vacation.”
Now several months into the general election race, Trump has repeatedly said he will not stop making the incendiary, off-the-cuff remarks that have defined his presidential campaign.
“I certainly don’t think it is appropriate to start changing all of a sudden when you have been winning,” Trump told Fox News on Tuesday.
Clinton is leading Trump in a slew of recent national and state polls, and many prominent Republicans have said they will not vote for him because of his loose way with words. Just this week, Trump ignited a new firestorm by suggesting that “Second Amendment people” could take action against Clinton if she had the opportunity to select liberal Supreme Court judges.
