Facing a long list of charges the liberal-left media and politicos are already throwing at him as he prepares for the general election, former President Donald Trump pushed back on Monday at one of the favorites of critics, a secret plan of revenge.
Hyped by cable hosts and donors such as former Home Depot executive Ken Langone, Trump has been accused of mapping a plan to get back at his foes.
But on CNBC’s Squawk Box, he dismissed those charges and turned to talk of “revenge” into MAGA-styled winning.
“The revenge is going to be ‘success,’” Trump said.
In a wide-ranging interview, the hosts played a quote from Langone, who said, “I worry if Trump wins that it’s going to be four years of getting even, and that’s scary because we’ve got serious issues coming up that need to be addressed.”
“I saw a very angry and confused man,” says @realDonaldTrump on President Biden at the State of the Union address. “It was a terrible performance but I think it was probably good enough to get him over the barrier as to whether or not he’s gonna be their nominee.” pic.twitter.com/LqIEi7eeRO
— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) March 11, 2024
Trump brushed the fear aside with a putdown of Langone and praise for the businessman’s former Home Depot partner Bernie Marcus.
“I’ve never been a fan. I’ve been a fan of Bernie Marcus, a big fan. Bernie Marcus is a big fan of mine, and that was the side that I chose, and, frankly, you know, 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,” said the former president, long a fan of Squawk Box.
“There’s not going to be revenge in a revenge stance. It’s really going to be ‘success.’ We’re going to turn our country around,” Trump said.
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He added that his working strategy will be “commonsense” answers to the problems facing the country, and not necessarily those driven by a conservative philosophy.
“We’re going to bring sense and common sense, you know. 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,” he said, citing his border policies dismantled by President Joe Biden.