Trump: Court Staffers Were Crying at Indictment

Last month, former President Trump made clear he would not drop out of the 2024 race if he were indicted. On Tuesday, the newly indicted Trump went one better and told Tucker Carlson he would not drop out if he were convicted, reports Axios. "That's not my thing," he said on Fox News, his first interview since being indicted on charges related to hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels. "I wouldn't do it." Also:

• Court staffers: "They were incredible," Trump said of officers and employees at the Manhattan courtroom where he was indicted, per Fox News. "When I went to the courthouse, which is also a prison in a sense, they signed me in and I’ll tell you people were crying—people that … professionally work there that have no problems putting in murderers and they see everybody. ... They were actually crying. They said, 'I'm sorry.'"

• Conviction: When Carlson asked what would happen if Trump were convicted in the Manhattan case in the middle of the campaign, Trump responded: "It is so off. Statute of limitations are years off. It's hard to believe. ... They say there's no crime. There's no, there's no anything. Think of it. I've been through seven years of bulls--t investigations." (Trump faces two other investigations, over alleged election interference in Georgia and his handling of classified documents.)
• Biden: Trump suggested 80-year-old President Biden wasn't up to another campaign and a second term. "Look, I watch him just like you do. And I think it’s almost inappropriate for me to say it—I don’t see how it’s possible."
• Putin: Trump suggested he scared Vladimir Putin away from invading Ukraine on his watch by threatening to do something "really nasty" to Russia should that happen. “He considers it to be a part of Russia,” Trump added, per the New York Post. “I said, ‘Not when I’m president.’” In another world view, Trump said the US withdrawal from Afghanistan might be "the most embarrassing moment that this country has ever had." (The Biden White House blames Trump policies for that.)
• Bygones: Carlson famously blasted Trump privately in phone texts, but he called Trump "moderate, sensible, and wise" on his show Tuesday night, notes the Washington Post. That's in sync with the latest public comments from the pair. “He doesn’t feel that way now,” Trump said of Carlson last month when speaking with reporters. “If you ask Tucker now, he likes Trump. He gets it.”

(More Donald Trump stories.)