Donald Trump Admits He's Not a Conservative

Former President Donald Trump admitted on Monday that he is not a conservative, saying instead that he's a "man of common sense."

"People say, 'you're conservative,' I'm not conservative, you know what I am, I'm a man of common sense and a lot of conservative policies are common sense," Trump said while appearing on CNBC's Squawk Box.

The former president went on to detail some of the policies he'd enact if reelected in 2024 saying, "we're not going to have open borders," and criticized President Joe Biden's handling of the U.S.-Mexico border.

The Context:

Trump's remarks on Monday came after the hosts of Squawk Box showed a clip of billionaire and Republican donor Ken Langone saying that if Trump wins in 2024, it will turn into four years of "getting even."

In response, the former president said that while he is not a fan of Langone, he noted that "he's right in one sense."

"People think that there's going to be revenge and I say, 'no the revenge is going to be success,'" Trump said. "We're gonna turn our country around, we're gonna bring sense and common sense."

What We Know:

Trump is the presumptive Republican opponent to Biden in this year's election following former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley's decision last week to withdraw from the race after Super Tuesday.

Last month, Trump delivered a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) and called himself a "proud political dissident."

During a town hall event hosted by Fox News host Sean Hannity in December, Hannity pressed Trump to pledge that he would never "abuse power as retribution against anybody," as had been suggested previously, if he's reelected. In response, Trump suggested that he would only behave in such a way on the first day of his hypothetical second term.

"Except for day one," the former president said. "No, no, no, other than day one. We're closing the border and we're drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I'm not a dictator." His drilling comment was a reference to his vow to expand oil drilling in the United States. He later said that the comments were in a "joking manner." Trump also said that "I'm not going to have time for retribution."

Newsweek reached out to Trump's spokesperson via email for comment.

Views:

In December, former Representative Liz Cheney, a Wyoming Republican who has been critical of Trump, spoke with ABC News' This Week about the former president and the future of the Republican Party and said, "There's a lot that has to be done to begin to rebuild the Republican Party, potentially to build a new conservative party."

She added: "But in my view, that has to wait until after the 2024 election because our focus has got to be on defeating Donald Trump."

Former House Speaker Paul Ryan also previously spoke about Trump and said that he is not "conservative" and instead "an authoritarian narcissist."

In May 2023, NBC News reviewed many of Trump's speeches and found that he rarely used the term Republican.

"Fox News and [Senate GOP leader] Mitch McConnell and the Republican donors have basically signed a pledge to stop Trump at any opportunity. So, why should he be touting the Republican Party?" Steve Bannon, a former Trump adviser, told NBC News last year.

What's Next?

Biden and Trump have been taking aiming at each other as the race for president heats up. Biden criticized Trump multiple times during his State of the Union (SOTU) address on Thursday night.

"As president, my predecessor, failed in the most basic presidential duty that he owes to American people: the duty to care," Biden said of Trump.

Meanwhile, at a rally in Georgia on Saturday night, the former president called Biden's SOTU address an "angry, dark, hate-filled rant."

Update, 3/11/24, 9:56 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with further information.

Update, 3/11/24, 10:38 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with further information.