President-elect Donald Trump told NBC News anchor Kristen Welker that Liz Cheney and his other opponents on the January 6 committee should all “go to jail” — but claimed he won’t push for it in the same breath he was pushing for it.
As President Joe Biden and many others have noted, Trump also made “retribution” a central theme of his campaign — and unyielding loyalty the central theme of his transition.
Trump sat for an exclusive interview that aired on Sunday morning’s edition of NBC’s Meet the Press, during which Trump lashed out at the members of the committee that investigated the January 6 riot and the circumstances surrounding it. Trump has nominated staunch loyalists Pam Bondi and Kash Patel to lead the Department of Justice and the FBI, respectively.
After Trump repeatedly said they should “all go to jail,” Welker asked him “Are you going to direct” his Justice Department to move against his opponents, and even as he denied he would Trump said “they’ll have to” look into it:
KRISTEN WELKER: We’re going to —PRES.-ELECT DONALD TRUMP: For what they did –KRISTEN WELKER: Yeah –PRES.-ELECT DONALD TRUMP: – honestly, they should go to jail.KRISTEN WELKER: So you think Liz Cheney should go to jail?PRES.-ELECT DONALD TRUMP: For what they did –KRISTEN WELKER: Everyone on the committee you think –PRES.-ELECT DONALD TRUMP: I think everybody –KRISTEN WELKER: – should go
to jail?PRES.-ELECT DONALD TRUMP: – on the — anybody that voted in favor –KRISTEN WELKER: Are you going to direct your FBI director –PRES.-ELECT DONALD TRUMP: No.KRISTEN WELKER: – and your attorney general to send them to jail?PRES.-ELECT DONALD TRUMP: No, not at all. I think that they’ll have to look at that, but I’m not going to — I’m going to focus on drill, baby, drill.
Watch above via NBC’s Meet the Press.