Five takeaways from Trump’s first sit-down interview as president with Sean Hannity Fox News

On January 23, 2025By Littum

2. He’s still obsessed with Joe Biden

A notable theme throughout Trump’s inauguration was his continued criticism of the Biden administration, despite the occasion usually being one for unity after divisive elections.

He threw muted barbs during his inaugural address, but then settled back into full blast Trumpism in later speeches and an evening Q&A with reporters in the Oval.

Hannity asked Trump about Biden pardoning members of his own family, sparking a long rant about how Biden had been ill-advised on every topic, from Ukraine to the Middle East to the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

When Hannity interrupted to ask about the economy, it caused a rare moment of tension. “I don’t care,” Trump said. “This (Biden) is more important because right now the economy is going to do well, I’m here so the economy is … But you have to understand that he had bad advisers on almost everything.”

3. He may try to get Biden investigated

Trump would not rule out trying to put the Justice Department on Biden, noting that Biden did not pardon himself in his flurry of last-minute pardons, and hinting that he might not be able to resist the temptation.

“I’ve always been against it … I could have gotten Hillary Clinton, a big number done on her,” Trump said. “I went through four years of hell with the scum that we had to deal with. I spent millions of dollars in legal fees and I won, but I did it the hard way. It’s really hard to say they shouldn’t have to go through that whole.”

Indeed, instead of winning the two federal cases—one involving election meddling, the other the mishandling of classified documents—the Justice Department shut down the cases when Trump won the 2024 election.

Trump made no secret of his desire to exact revenge on his perceived enemies. Pam Bondi, his pick for attorney general, faced several questions during her confirmation hearing about whether she would stand up to Trump if he sought investigations into his political rivals. She did not give a clear answer.

4. Trump has always wanted a second coming

Hannity shared an anecdote about a private conversation the two men apparently had not long after Trump lost the 2020 election — though, of course, Trump at the time denied he lost, falsely claiming it was rigged.

According to Hannity, Trump had wondered if “maybe in the end it would be better if I came back in four years”. They compared the situation to legendary British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who also served two separate terms. Hannity agreed that it would be better that way.

Trump now loves to talk about orchestrating what he calls “the greatest political comeback ever,” which is probably since he was impeached and faces multiple criminal charges just a few years ago.

5. His weirdness hasn’t weakened

Returning to high office hasn’t dulled Trump’s cat-ness or penchant for lashing out. In this case, he set his sights on a disheveled victim of the Los Angeles bushfires, whom he apparently recognized on television.

“I saw somebody on television, one of the richest people, one of the most powerful people in the country, being interviewed like he was a vagrant,” Trump said during a digression about California.

“And you have to know him, he is a vicious, horrible person. He’s a tough guy, a very tough guy, a terrible person. But he is very rich. You have rich people who are very nice, but this guy is a terrible person.

“I said to Melania, look, they interviewed him as a guy who lost his house. And he’s literally in his underwear and his T-shirt; he looked like he just came out of the bedroom.

“And I say ‘that’s one of the richest guys in (the country), look at this guy’. One day I’ll tell you the name … but you won’t even believe it. He complained that they wouldn’t let him go to his house which was on fire.”

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