6 Takeaways from Trump’s First Oval Office Interview
California fires, J6 pardons, TikTok, sanctuary cities, J13, and declassifying JFK records all came up during his conversation with Fox’s Sean Hannity.
California fires, J6 pardons, TikTok, sanctuary cities, J13, and declassifying JFK records all came up during his conversation with Fox’s Sean Hannity.
President Donald J. Trump granted Fox News host Sean Hannity the first Oval Office interview of his second presidency.
The historic conversation ranged widely, covering his pardons for Jan. 6 defendants, the wildfires burning through Los Angeles, his fast action on the border, and the declassification of records relating to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, among other topics.
While discussing former President Joe Biden’s preemptive pardons, granted to Dr. Anthony Fauci and many others, Trump noted they did not include Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), nor the former president himself.
Here are some takeaways from the first half of the interview, which aired on Jan. 22. The second half will be aired on Jan. 23. Trump Reiterates Pledge to Declassify JFK, RFK, and MLK Shooting Records Speaking just two days after his inauguration, Trump told Hannity he still plans to release classified government records concerning the assassinations of President Kennedy; his brother, Robert F. Kennedy; and civil rights leader the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
“We’re looking at it right now,” he said, adding, “We’re going to release them immediately.”
The three killings defined the consciousness of America’s tumultuous 1960s, sparking theories of involvement from the U.S. government, foreign governments, organized crime, and other actors. Proponents of declassification hope the new information may shed more light on what happened.
President Donald Trump, right, and Vice President Mike Pence, left, visit the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington on Jan. 21, 2019. AP Photo/ Evan Vucci
In August 2024, a month after an assassin nearly killed him in Butler, Pennsylvania, Trump said he would create a presidential commission to oversee the release of the JFK files.
He said that during his first term, government officials including then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo advised him not to release all of the JFK files.
Pompeo “felt it was just not a good time to release them. You might ask him why,” Trump told Hannity. Trump Says Funding for California Should Hinge on Water Management The president also addressed the recent devastating fires in Southern California.
“It’s like a nuclear weapon went off, what’s happened to Los Angeles,” he said. “A lot of money is going to be necessary for Los Angeles.”
The president suggested that the needs of deep-red western North Carolina, still recovering from Hurricane Helene, could be balanced with those of bright-blue Los Angeles in highly partisan congressional budget fights. Lawmakers have until March 14 to make a deal to continue funding the federal government.
Trump said California and its governor, Gavin Newsom, could manage its water resources more effectively, criticizing the impact of prioritizing certain environmental protection policies for endangered fish over ensuring enough water for state residents. A Jan. 20 White House memorandum calls on the secretary of the interior and other agencies to redirect water from Northern California to other parts of the state.
The Delta smelt, a threatened species, was once one of the most abundant fish in the San Francisco Estuary, but the number found in the wild has dropped drastically in recent years. Peter Johnsen/USFWS/Public Domain
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks with Fox News host Sean Hannity shortly after the GOP debates at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., on Sept. 27, 2023. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times
The president told Hannity that federal money for the state should hinge on changes to its water management practices. He added that the media does not like to highlight the outflow of significant volumes of water from the Rockies into the Pacific Ocean, a practice some environmental experts defend as necessary for the maintenance of the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta.
“The press never wants to put it on,” he said. Trump Talks Border and Sanctuary Cities Trump’s first days in office have been marked by rapid-fire changes on the border, including through day one executive orders. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids on his first full day in office led to the arrest of 308 illegal aliens, and on Jan. 22, the president ordered 1,500 troops to deploy to the southern border.
“This was a gross miscarriage of common sense, to allow people to come in,” Trump said of the volume of illegal border-crossings under Biden, who in 2020 ran against Trump’s policies that encourage legal immigration.
The president spoke about his border and immigration moves with Hannity, describing how his administration might tackle sanctuary jurisdictions, which do not fully cooperate with federal immigration authorities. One such jurisdiction is the entire state of California, where one community in Orange County, Huntington Beach, has just declared itself a “non-sanctuary city.”
U.S. Border Patrol agents monitor illegal border crossings in Jacumba, Calif., on Jan. 10, 2024. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times
“Would you cut off their money?” Hannity asked of sanctuary cities and states.
“I might have to do that. Sometimes that’s the only thing you can do,” Trump replied.
He also said it was easy to identify some illegal immigrants who “could be trouble.”
“There are people coming in with tattoos all over their face,” he said. “Typically, you know he’s not going to be the head of the local bank.” Trump Thinks TikTok Will Be Purchased The president also spoke about TikTok.
On his first day in office, Trump paused enforcement of a divest-or-ban law against the app via executive order, giving it roughly 2 1/2 months to separate from its China-based parent company, ByteDance, which can be compelled to cooperate with the Chinese communist regime.
“People want to buy it,” Trump told Hannity.
A young couple are absorbed in their mobile phones in Perth, Western Australia, on March 16, 2024. Susan Mortimer/The Epoch Times
He attributed his strong performance with many young voters to his presence on the app. He launched his TikTok profile in June 2024 despite concerns from many Republicans and Democrats over the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) influence over the app’s owners.
“Those who say they know say it’s a spying app for the Communist Chinese,” Hannity said.
“You can say that about everything made in China,” Trump responded. “Is it that important for China to be spying on young people, on young kids watching crazy videos?”
Meanwhile, American, Canadian, and Australian experts have warned that the CCP considers TikTok a tool to reach young people with its propaganda as part of a long-term strategy to shape future Western leaders.
In 2023, amid debates about the app’s risks, then-Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), who was chairman of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, warned that the CCP will likely use TikTok as a powerful tool in its effort to wage “cognitive warfare” against the United States. Trump Defends Large-Scale J6 Pardons Trump and Hannity also spoke about his roughly 1,500 pardons and 14 commutations for those convicted of offenses in connection with the U.S. Capitol breach on Jan. 6, 2021.
While discussing Biden’s preemptive pardons, Trump said he declined sweeping preemptive pardons at the time he left office.
“I said, ‘I’m not going to pardon anybody. We didn’t do anything wrong,’” Trump told the cable news host.
“We had people that suffered,” he continued, citing the imprisonment of Peter Navarro and Steve Bannon.
Steve Bannon speaks on night one of the America (AM) Fest hosted by Turning Point USA in Phoenix, Ariz., on Dec. 19, 2024. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times
Hannity questioned why Trump pardoned some of those who were convicted of violent offenses against law enforcement on Jan. 6, 2021. Before taking office, Trump and then-Vice President-elect JD Vance said that their focus would be on those facing jail time for nonviolent offenses.
Trump cited the jail and prison time that many J6ers convicted of violence have already served.
“They were treated like the worst criminals in history,” he said.
He also said many encounters that led to convictions for violent offenses were exaggerated, calling them “very minor incidents” amplified by unfriendly media. Trump Says Butler Assassination Attempt Strengthened His Faith in God In addition to Jan. 6, Trump and Hannity covered July 13—the summer day when an assassin’s bullet nearly ended Trump’s life during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
If his head had been tilted slightly differently, the bullet “would’ve whacked,” Trump said.
“I don’t think you can call it just luck,” he told Hannity.
A cameraman for NTD Television, a sister media of The Epoch Times, captured the moment former President Donald Trump was shot during a rally in Butler, Pa., on July 13, 2024. NTD Television
The president said he believed his unlikely survival left a mark on his sons, Don Jr. and Eric.
Trump agreed that it has strengthened his faith in God.
“I don’t think I’ve changed, but I think that has taken place,” he said.
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