Donald Trump Says ‘I Don’t Know’ When Asked If It’s His Job to Uphold the Constitution as President

Donald Trump on the May 4 episode of ‘Meet the Press.’.Credit : 

NBC News/YouTube

• Donald Trump spoke about whether it is his job to uphold the U.S. Constitution as the president during a Meet the Press airing on May 4
• “I don’t know,” Trump responded when asked the question by NBC News’ Kristen Welker
• The sitdown took place amid Trump’s first 100 days in office for his second term

Donald Trump said “I don’t know” when he was asked if it is his job to uphold the U.S. Constitution as the president during a new interview, as he reflected on his first 100 days in office for his second term.

The president, 78, sat down with NBC News’ Kristen Welker for an exclusive interview that aired on the Sunday, May 4, episode of Meet the Press.

At one point, Welker, 48, and Trump discussed due process — the fairness in legal proceedings — with the journalist asking the politician if he agreed that “citizens and non-citizens” in the United States deserved such.

“I don’t know. I’m not, I’m not a lawyer. I don’t know,” responded Trump, prompting Welker to push back, “Well, the Fifth Amendment says as much.”

As Trump continued, “I don’t know. It seems – it might say that, but if you’re talking about that, then we’d have to have a million or 2 million or 3 million trials,” he then added, “We have thousands of people that are some murderers and some drug dealers and some of the worst people on Earth. Some of the worst, most dangerous people on Earth. And I was elected to get them the hell out of here, and the courts are holding me from doing it.”

When pressed further by Welker, who asked, “But even given those numbers that you’re talking about, don’t you need to uphold the Constitution of the United States as president?” Trump stated, “I don’t know.”

“I have to respond by saying, again, I have brilliant lawyers that work for me, and they are going to obviously follow what the Supreme Court said. What you said is not what I heard the Supreme Court said. They have a different interpretation,” he added.

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Elsewhere during his Meet the Press sit-down, Trump continued to make remarks tied to past comments he made about a third term as president.

As Welker asked him if he was “seriously considering a third term …  even though it’s prohibited by the Constitution,” Trump responded, “So many people want me to do it. I have never had requests so strong as that. But it’s something that, to the best of my knowledge, you’re not allowed to do.”

“I don’t know if that’s Constitutional that they’re not allowing you to do it or anything else. But, there are many people selling the 2028 hat,” he continued. “But this is not something I’m looking to do. I’m looking to have four great years and turn it over to somebody, ideally a great Republican, a great Republican to carry it forward. But I think we’re going to have four years, and I think four years is plenty of time to do something really spectacular.”

Welker, reiterating to Trump that “the Constitution does prohibit it,” told the politician that his “allies” are “pretty serious” about finding a way for him to run for a third term.

“That’s because they like the job I’m doing, and it’s a compliment. It’s really a great compliment,” he said in response.

As Welker further pushed to ask if “anyone in an official capacity presented” him with a plan for a third term, Trump said, “Well, in a capacity of being a big supporter, many people have said different things, but I’m not looking at that.”

The Meet the Press interview aired on the heels of Trump’s viral sitdown with ABC News’ Terry Moran. Multiple clips from that conversation made the rounds on the internet, including the president’s bizarre explanation of the Declaration of Independence.

Perhaps the most talked-about moment, however, was when Trump insisted that an edited image of Kilmar Abrego Garcia was the real thing.

When asked about Abrego Garcia — who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March — Trump referenced a photo of the Maryland father’s tattoos. Abrego Garcia’s left hand features four tattoos on his knuckles: a marijuana leaf, a smiley face, a cross and a skull.

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In a photo that Trump previously shared to his own social media pages, graphics were added to explain that the symbols were perceived by the White House as code for “MS-13,” the violent international gang.

The Trump administration has previously claimed that Abrego Garcia was a member of the gang, though he had no criminal record.

During the interview with Moran, Trump suggested that the characters “M,” “S,” “1” and “3” were part of Abrego Garcia’s real tattoo, and not typed onto the image after the fact to explain the alleged gang reference.

“He said he wasn’t a member of a gang, and then they looked and on his knuckles he had MS-13,” Trump told Moran, who replied that there was a “dispute” over the meaning of the symbols tattooed on Abrego Garcia.

“He had some tattoos that are interpreted that way, but let’s move on,” the anchor said. But the president was insistent. “Wait a minute. Hey, Terry. Terry. Terry. Don’t do that,” Trump replied. 

“He did not have the letter ‘MS-13,’ ” Moran reiterated. “That was Photoshopped.”

“That was Photoshopped?” Trump replied in disbelief. “Terry, you can’t do that. They’ve given you the big break of a lifetime. You know, you’re doing the interview.”

“I picked you because, frankly, I had never heard of you, but that’s okay,” the president continued. “But I picked you, Terry, but you’re not being very nice. He had ‘MS-13’ tattooed. Terry. Terry. Do you want me to show you the picture?”

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Moran, who served as ABC News’ chief White House correspondent from 1999 to 2005 and is currently the network’s senior national correspondent, replied to Trump that he had seen the photo of Abrego Garcia’s knuckles.

“He did have tattoos that can be interpreted that way,” the reporter said. “I’m not an expert on them.”

Trump, however, continued to insist. “No, no. He had ‘M-S,’ as clear as you can be. Not interpreted. This is why people no longer believe the news, because it’s fake news… You do such a disservice. Why don’t you just say, ‘Yes, he does,’ and you know, go on to something else?”