‘Meet the Press’: Donald Trump, Now and Then

TODD: “And we are back. To say the field for the GOP presidential nomination is a little crowded would be quite the understatement. But one candidate who is having no problem making himself heard is Donald Trump. And he’s focusing on one major issue: immigration. His hard line views on illegal immigrants, particularly those from Mexico, is creating a problem for the rest of the GOP field, with a party that needs to secure more of the Latino vote than Mitt Romney did if they want to win the White House. Party Chairman Reince Priebus did call Trump on Wednesday, asking him to tone down the rhetoric. Didn’t seem to work. But it does seem pretty clear, when it comes to immigration and the other Republicans in the race, Trump has no intention of pulling any punches. In fact, in a 70 minute monologue last night in Phoenix, Arizona, ground zero for the immigration debate, Trump took on Macy’s, NASCAR, NBC, Jeb Bush, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Caroline Kennedy! Yes, Caroline Kennedy! And the list goes on.”

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TRUMP: “So I had an idea. I think it’s good. Every time Mexico really intelligently sends people over, we charge Mexico $100,000 for every person they send over... I wonder if the Mexican government sent them over here. I think so… I’m tied with Jeb Bush. And I said, ‘Oh, that’s too bad. How can I be tied with this guy? He’s terrible. He’s terrible.’… I hire lobbyists. I have lobbyists all over the place. They’re great. I want something. Go do this. I know the system better than anybody. I’m a donor. Somebody said, “Oh, you gave to the Democrats?” Of course I give to -- I give to everybody. I want to get everything done. Everybody loves me.”

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TODD: “OK. One of the reasons Trump is breaking through this year, though, is people feel they know where he stands. But do they? We’ve been looking at his positions through the years. It would be fair to say he’s evolved, quite a few times, on some key issues. From healthcare to abortion, his feelings about the top Democrat in the 2016 field.”

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TRUMP: “I think Hillary would be a terrible president. She was the worst Secretary of State in the history of our nation. Why would she be a good president?… Hillary Clinton, I think, is a terrific woman. I mean I’m a little biased because I’ve known her for years.”

VAN SUSTEREN: “Do you support her?”

TRUMP: “I don’t want to get into this, because I get myself into trouble. But I like her.“

VAN SUSTEREN: “That’s why I asked you, to get you into trouble.”

TRUMP: “I know. I just like her. I like her and I like her husband… Some people would say he’s incompetent. I would not say that. Yes I would… I think Tim Geithner done a good job. I think that the whole group has really done a good job when you look at what’s happened. I mean at least we have an economy. You wouldn’t have had an economy had they not come up with some very drastic steps two years ago… I’m almost more disappointed with the Republicans… They have to toughen up on Obamacare, which is a total lie, and which is a total and complete disaster.”

PHILLIPS: “Health care?”

TRUMP: “A liberal on health care. We have to take care of people that are sick.”

PHILLIPS: “Universal health coverage?”

TRUMP: “I love universal. We have to take care, there’s nothing else. What’s the country all about if we’re not going to take care of our sick... Let me tell you, everybody wants to pay as little as possible, including Warren Buffett, by the way, despite what he says. And so he said what’s your tax rate? I don’t know. I pay as little as possible… I would tax people of wealth, of great wealth, people over $10 million, by 14.25 percent. This tax would raise approximately $5.7 trillion, which happens to be our national debt… Well, I’m very pro-life, and feel strongly about it… I’m very pro-choice. I hate the concept of abortion. I hate it. I hate everything it stands for. I cringe when I listen to people debating the subject. But you still, I just believe in choice.”