Donald Trump spoke with radio host Hugh Hewitt for a lengthy interview Thursday, discussing everything from the possibility of becoming Israel’s prime minister to his plans to “get Cuba” before his second term ends and his advice for Spencer Pratt following his unsuccessful bid for Los Angeles mayor.
The president’s conversation with Hewitt followed a significant loss for the GOP in the midterm elections, with Trump confessing that he didn’t “understand” how certain candidates, like Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed from Michigan, found success with Jewish voters.
“And I don’t understand a couple things. Like I wasn’t on the ballot, but still, if you look at El-Sayed in Michigan, he got more votes than the Republican candidate got by quite a bit from Jewish people,” he said. “I can’t, it’s not even understandable. It’s a tough group to get.”
As Trump went on, he claimed to have a 99% approval rating in Israel, reiterating a similar claim he made on Fox News on Election Day.
“Now I will say this. In Israel, I’m at 99%,” he continued. “Literally, I’m at 99%, the most popular person. You know, when this is over, I could go to Israel and be prime minister.”
He then described himself as “very much Israel inclined.”
While looking to the future, Trump also admitted that he’s considering utilizing military force to take over Cuba before the end of his second term.
“Well, I want to get Cuba done before I leave, yeah,” he noted. “And we have a very good, talented guy for Cuba named [Secretary of State] Marco [Rubio].”
He added: “Marco Rubio, his parents are from Cuba as you probably know. And he would love to do that. So we’re watching it very closely. It’s doing very poorly. It’s essentially a failed, you know, place, nation, whatever you want to call it. It’s failed. And we’re watching it. I would like to be able to do it.”
This is not the first time that Trump has hinted at a possible military operation to depose Cuba of its communist government. In March, following the operation in Venezuela, he told reporters that he might be “having the honor of taking Cuba.”
Trump also took a moment to reflect on the past during his interview with Hewitt. Namely, he opened up about the advice his gave failed L.A. mayoral candidate and reality star Spencer Pratt this summer.
The topic arose while Hewitt expressed concern about the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, noting that “the city is a mess.”
“We will do our best. L.A. is a mess, and I still don’t know what happened,” Trump responded, once more floating election rigging theories. “Because I watched that woman that ended up winning crying, because she was beaten out by a young man who was in there fighting hard, and he made, he made it, and she didn’t make it, and she was crying, devastated. And all of a sudden, now, she’s mayor, because five weeks later, they found more votes for her. Our election process is a disaster.”
Trump emphasized that Pratt “did a great job,” but declared the GOP candidate “made one mistake.”
“He didn’t protest. I have not seen him protest at all, and he should have protested,” he added. “And I told him. That was a rigged election. There’s no question about it.”
You can listen to Trump’s full interview here.
