Trump corrects 'dishonest' media during Dr. Phil interview
During an interview with Dr. Phil, former President Trump recalled multiple times the media mischaracterized his statements or took them out of context.
Donald Trump claimed in a recent interview that he would win the state of California if Jesus Christ was the electoral auditor.
The Republican presidential nominee made the comment during an interview with celebrity psychologist Dr. Phil on his television and streaming service, MeritTV.
"Democrats play a different game. And you have ballot harvesting, but you also have people getting ballots. I mean, in California, you have people getting seven ballots," Trump told the TV personality, whose full name is Phil McGraw.
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Former President Donald Trump speaks to celebrity psychologist and television host Dr. Phil about the 2024 election and his concerns over voting laws. (Merit Street Media)
"If Jesus Christ came down and was the vote counter, I would win California, okay?" Trump said. "In other words, if we had an honest vote counter — a really honest vote counter — I do great with Hispanics, great. I mean at a level no Republican has ever done. But if we had an honest vote counter, I would win California."
"You think so?" McGraw asked.
"I think so. I do. I see it. I go around California, they have Trump signs all over the place," Trump told McGraw. "It’s a very dishonest [state] — everything is mail-in. They send out 38 million ballots, I think it is."
President Biden beat Trump handily in California's 2020 presidential election 63% to 34% with a popular vote of 11,110,250 to 6,006,429.
Trump used the McGraw interview as a chance to speak out about what he says has been unfair and intentional misinterpretations of his statements on the campaign trail.
"They demonize you a lot," McGraw observed in the interview. "They make a big deal out of the fact that you said, ‘You’re only gonna have to vote one time, you elect me you’re only gonna have to vote one time.’"
Speaking at a Turning Point Action event in July, the former president said, "You won’t have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians," later adding, "You’ve got to get out and vote. In four years, you don’t have to vote again, we’ll have it fixed so good you’re not going to have to vote."
Former President Donald Trump criticized the media for fearmongering about his humorous rhetoric during the interview with Dr. Phil. (Merit Street Media)
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Some commentators portrayed this as a statement that if he is elected again there will be no more elections because he will never give up power, but Trump gave more context, arguing that this is completely inaccurate.
"I said to the Christians, we’ve gotta win this election. If we win this election, I’ll straighten everything out in less than 4 years by a lot," he said. "Then you don’t have to, it doesn’t matter. In other words, I’m saying you don’t have to vote - it doesn’t mean we’re not gonna have elections! You’re gonna have elections, but you have to vote this time, because we have to win. This is the most important election in the history of our country."
McGraw is set to interview Trump's former independent opponent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday.
Fox News Digital's Alexander Hall contributed to this report.
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