Trump says he doesn’t think there will be violence in November but ‘it depends’

Former President Trump in a new interview with Time magazine did not shut down the potential for political violence after November’s election if he doesn’t win, saying “it depends” on the fairness of the vote.

Trump spoke at length with Time magazine about his plans for a second term should he win November’s election. Asked if he was worried about the prospect of political violence in connection with the November election, Trump said he did not think there would be any.

“I think we’re gonna have a big victory. And I think there will be no violence,” Trump said.

But in a follow-up interview conducted several days later, the outlet asked Trump what would happen if he did not win November’s election, and the former president was less committal.

“Well, I do think we’re gonna win. We’re way ahead. I don’t think they’ll be able to do the things that they did the last time, which were horrible. Absolutely horrible,” Trump said, an allusion to his repeated claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election that have been debunked or thrown out by the courts.

“But I don’t think we’re going to have that. I think we’re going to win,” Trump continued. “And if we don’t win, you know, it depends. It always depends on the fairness of an election. I don’t believe they’ll be able to do the things that they did the last time. I don’t think they’ll be able to get away with it. And if that’s the case, we’re gonna win in record-setting fashion.”

Trump’s critics were quick to jump on the comments and frame them as the latest example of the former president raising the potential for violence if he does not win. President Biden and his allies similarly sounded the alarm after Trump in March warned there would be a “blood bath” if he lost, though Trump and numerous Republicans were adamant those comments were taken out of context and were about the fate of the American auto industry.

Still, Trump’s refusal to rule out violence depending on November’s outcome is of particular concern given the events that followed his 2020 defeat. After that election, Trump for weeks claimed the outcome was fraudulent and pressured then-Vice President Mike Pence to reject the electoral results on Jan. 6, 2021, culminating with a rally outside the White House that day.

Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, violently clashing with law enforcement and chanting for Pence to be hanged. Hundreds of people were charged in the aftermath of violence, and Trump himself is facing federal charges in Washington, D.C., over his attempts to subvert the election and remain in power.

Updated at 12:56 p.m.