Donald Trump was interviewed by Time Magazine this week and questioned about “truth and falsehoods”.
Here are nine jaw-dropping highlights...
1) Claims he predicted riots in Sweden
“I talked about Sweden, and may have been somewhat different, but the following day, two days later, they had a massive riot in Sweden, exactly what I was talking about. I was right about that,” Trump said in the interview, brushing off the fact that he was claiming to have referred to something that had yet to actually transpire.
He added: “Sweden. I make the statement, everyone goes crazy. The next day they have a massive riot, and death, and problems.”
Aside from the fact he’s claiming to be a modern-day Nostradamus, there were no deaths during the “massive riot”.
2) Claims the media confirmed his claims Obama wiretapped him
Trump was asked about this now infamous tweet:
He responded: “No, I have, look. I have articles saying it happened.”
Only, all of the articles the White House has cited as backing up the claims merely reported on Trump’s assertions, none of them confirmed the allegations.
Trump added: “Look. I predicted a lot of things that took a little of bit of time.”
3) This line...
“Hey look, in the mean time, I guess, I can’t be doing so badly, because I’m president, and you’re not. You know. Say hello to everybody OK?”
4) He basically admitted spreading fake news
Trump has defended unsubstantiated claims he’s made by claiming he was only sharing news reports he often derides as “fake.”
Just as he said he shouldn’t be held accountable for “re-tweets” of other people’s comments, he blamed the press for the allegation that former rival Ted Cruz’s father was linked to President John F. Kennedy’s assassination and that Obama had directed British intelligence to spy on him.
“I’m just quoting the newspaper, just like I quoted the judge the other day, Judge Napolitano,” he said, referring to the National Enquirer, a supermarket tabloid, and a Fox News commentator.
In the Time interview, Trump dismissed the suggestion that he was damaging the credibility of his office by repeating unverified claims.
“I’m quoting highly respected people and sources from major television networks,” he said, pointing to the large crowds he’d drawn to recent rallies in Nashville, Tennessee, and Louisville, Kentucky, as evidence of his standing.
“The country believes me,” he said.
5) Still claims Muslims in New York cheered 9/11
During the election, Trump was described as running a “post-truth” campaign where details and sources didn’t matter. Back then, he drew outrage when he claimed at an Alabama rally that he’d seen 9/11 television footage and “watched in Jersey City, New Jersey, where thousands and thousands of people were cheering as that building was coming down.”
Asked about this he said: “Well if you look at the reporter, he wrote the story in the Washington Post.”
This refers to a report that law enforcement authorities had “detained and questioned a number of people who were allegedly seen celebrating the attacks and holding tailgate-style parties on rooftops while they watched the devastation on the other side of the river.”
There’s no evidence those allegations were ever proven. And no footage emerged of “thousands” cheering. But the story was enough for Trump and his supporters to claim he’d been right all along.
6) Claims the House Intelligence Committee confirmed Obama wiretapped him
The president claimed vindication from Nunes’ statement this week that U.S. surveillance of foreign entities might have picked up communications involving Trump aides or Trump himself through “incidental” collection. That was known to have happened earlier when Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, a target of U.S. surveillance, communicated with Michael Flynn, who was fired as national security adviser when that episode emerged.
But Nunes said Wednesday that Obama did not target Trump or Trump Tower with wiretaps. “That never happened,” he said. “That never happened.”
7) Claims he has already single-handedly fixed NATO
During the interview he said: “NATO, obsolete, because it doesn’t cover terrorism.
“They fixed that, and I said that the allies must pay. Nobody knew that they weren’t paying. I did. I figured it.”
NATO actually plays a hugely prominent role in fighting terrorism.
Ivo H. Daalder, president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, has said: “NATO invoked Article 5, its collective defense provision, the day after the 9/11 attacks and has focused on dealing with this threat ever since, including most importantly by deploying troops for the past 12 years in Afghanistan.”
8) On the reasoning behind his wild claims
“I’m a very instinctual person, but my instinct turns out to be right.”
9) He still believes three million undocumented people voted in the election.
He said: “Well I think I will be proved right about that too.”
No one, anywhere has found any evidence that three million people voted illegally in the election.
It should be noted this is the same number by which Trump lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton.