President Trump, in an extensive interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity set to air Thursday night, said he’s mostly made up his mind on a Supreme Court nominee.
“I have made my decision pretty much in my mind, yes. That's subject to change at the last moment, but I think this will be a great choice,” Trump said.
The cable exclusive interview with Trump will air Thursday night at 10 p.m. ET on Fox News’ “Hannity.”
The president addressed his Supreme Court pick deliberations after announcing he plans to unveil his choice next Thursday.
Fox News previously reported that Trump, according to sources, has narrowed down his short list to a handful of names, with Judge Neil Gorsuch in Colorado and Judge Thomas Hardiman in Pennsylvania thought to be at the top of the list.
Sources said Trump met personally with those judges, as well as Judge William Pryor in Alabama.
Trump, in the interview with Fox News, also ripped Democrats threatening to hold up his eventual nominee – and said he would want Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to use the so-called “nuclear option” if they filibuster.
“I would. We have obstructionists,” Trump said, complaining about Democrats’ treatment of other nominees, including Attorney General pick Jeff Sessions. The “nuclear option,” if pursued, would in this case allow majority Republicans to seek approval of Trump’s Supreme Court nominee with just a simple majority, as opposed to a 60-vote threshold.
Trump covered a range of other topics in the interview, including his goal of repealing and replacing ObamaCare. He called the program a “horror show” and a “disaster.”
“You don't have your doctor, you don’t have your plan, you have a 116 percent increase, like in Arizona, it's a disaster. It's going to be worse this year than it was last year,” he said. “… It doesn't work. And President Obama told me something that was, I thought, terrific. And I believe he means it. He said, if you came up with a better plan, and you could get a better plan approved, he would support it. And I actually believe he means it. I do believe we're going to have a much better plan, we're going to have a cheaper plan, I think it's going to be a lot less expensive.”
Trump also vowed to take on terror groups in his role as commander-in-chief, speaking in blunt terms about the threat they pose.
“We have evil that lurks around the corner without the uniforms. Ours is harder because the people we're going against they don't wear uniforms. They're sneaky, dirty rats and they blow people up in a shopping center and they blow people up in a church. These are bad people,” he said.