Trump Says He's 'Entitled To A Revenge Tour' If Re-elected; Here's What He Told Nikki Haley About Challenging Him

Former President Donald Trump says that if he is re-elected for another term in office, he will not use the power of the presidency to punish critics, but adds that he's "entitled to a revenge tour."

In an interview on The Hugh Hewitt Show, Trump said, "I wouldn't do that because I want to bring our country forward."

"I would be entitled to a revenge tour if you want to know the truth, but I wouldn't do that. I would want to straighten out our border, I would want to get inflation down, build our economy up, which is actually doing very poorly," he added. 

Trump told Hewitt that journalists should be stripped of awards because he felt their coverage of the Russia investigation was unfair.

He was referring to The Washington Post and New York Times' coverage of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Both have received Pulitzer Prizes for their reporting on this. 

"The Pulitzer Prize is supposed to be for great reporting, for accurate reporting, congratulations," Trump said. "Well, they got it exactly wrong."

Also Read: Donald Trump Says He Trusts Putin More Than US Intelligence 'Lowlifes'

Last year, Axios reported that if re-elected, Trump planned to overhaul the government to oust disloyal career employees, whom he often refers to as the "deep state."

Last month, he kicked off his 2024 presidential campaign with two events in South Carolina and New Hampshire, which happen to be early-voting states. 

During the campaign, Trump said that had he been the president, there wouldn't have been a war between Russia and Ukraine.  

The former president has yet to be officially challenged for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Former Governor of South Carolina and the 29th Ambassador of the U.S. to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, is expected to announce that she will enter the Presidential race. Bloomberg reports that she will be making a formal announcement on Feb. 15.

Trump told Hewitt that he spoke to Haley about her planned campaign, adding that he advised her to "follow her heart."

"I said, 'you know what, if you want to run, you go ahead and run,'" Trump said in describing his conversation with Haley.

Other potential contenders for the Republican nomination include Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and former Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney. 

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