Former President Donald Trump sounded a note of optimism following a U.S. Supreme Court hearing on Thursday, where the justices heard arguments supporting his claims of being immune from prosecution over actions following the 2020 election.
Trump faces four charges of alleged election interference, including a felony charge of obstructing an official proceeding, in a D.C. federal court in a case filed by special counsel Jack Smith, to which he has pleaded not guilty by way of presidential immunity.
Following the oral arguments, Trump told Newsmax TV he felt good about the outcome.
Joining “Greg Kelly Reports,” Trump said immunity is vital or else “you’re not going to have a presidency anymore.”
“Well, you have to have immunity as a president. You can’t do what you have to do,” Trump told Kelly. “You need presidential immunity to do the right thing. And sometimes you may do the wrong thing. I mean, that’s possible, too. But you have to have immunity. … You have to have presidential immunity, or you’re just not going to have presidency anymore. You’ll have a ceremonial president, not a real president.
“Ideally, you’re going to do all the right things, that includes going to war and ending wars and sometimes starting wars, and you know you have to make very tough decisions as president,” Trump added. “But you can’t be criminally tried if you make a mistake, or if you don’t make a mistake. You know they’ll try you if you don’t make a mistake. So it’s very important.
“And I heard the lawyers did a great job. I heard the justices were on their game, as the expression goes. It was a very good session,” he said.
Trump would have attended the SCOTUS hearing, but he is required to be present in a Manhattan courtroom for the hush money trial in which Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has alleged 34 felony counts of altering business records to hide a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels. But that said, he said there’s some good news — “we’re showing America how bad these people are,” he told Kelly.
