Said he did not instruct the Justice Department “in any way, shape or form” to pursue his political enemies.<\/p>\n
Trump has publicly called on Justice Department officials to prosecute people he perceives as political enemies.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In a Sept. 20 Truth Social post<\/a>, he asked Pam Bondi, his attorney general, to take action against former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James and Democratic U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff.<\/p>\n “I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that, essentially, \u2018same old story as last time, all talk, no action. Nothing is being done. What about Comey, Adam \u2018Shifty\u2019 Schiff, Leticia??? They\u2019re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done,” Trump wrote. “We can\u2019t delay any longer, it\u2019s killing our reputation and credibility. They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”<\/p>\n The Wall Street Journal reported<\/a> the post was intended to be a private message to Bondi.<\/p>\n Trump doubled down<\/a> after he was asked about the post later that day.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The Justice Department indicted<\/a> Comey<\/a> on Sept. 25 on charges of making a false statement and obstruction related to 2020 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee; he has pleaded not guilty. The department indicted James<\/a> on Oct. 9 on one count of bank fraud and one count of making false statements to a financial institution; she has pleaded not guilty. And on Oct. 16, former Trump national security adviser John Bolton<\/a> was indicted on charges of unlawfully retaining and transmitting classified information, an investigation that was inherited from the Biden administration; Bolton has pleaded not guilty.<\/p>\n Mamdani is a “communist, not a socialist. Communist.”\u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s False<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mamdani describes himself as a democratic socialist, which in the U.S. generally refers to someone who believes in a political system with generous social insurance programs such as heavily subsidized child care and high tax rates to pay for education and health care.<\/p>\n Mamdani\u2019s mayoral platform proposes making New York City more affordable, including via free buses and child care, rent controlled apartments and city-owned grocery stores. That is not akin to communism, a system in which the government controls the means of production and takes over private businesses. Mamdani has not called for the elimination of private ownership in his mayoral campaign.<\/p>\n “Do you know that I could use (the Insurrection Act) immediately and no judge can even challenge you on that? \u2026 The Insurrection Act has been used routinely by presidents.”<\/p>\n This is exaggerated. Legal experts have previously told PolitiFact<\/a> courts can rule on the legality of invoking the Insurrection Act, although courts have historically deferred to presidents\u2019 use of the act. Invoking the Insurrection Act \u2014 a centuries-old set of laws<\/a> that allow the president to deploy federal military personnel domestically to suppress rebellion and enforce civilian law \u2014 isn\u2019t as commonplace as Trump made it out to be.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the full interview, Trump told O\u2019Donnell almost 50% of presidents have used the act and “some of the presidents, recent ones, have used it 28 times.”<\/p>\n The Insurrection Act has been used on 30 occasions<\/a> in U.S. history, most more than 100 years ago, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. Seventeen of the country\u2019s 45 presidents, about 37%, have officially invoked it.<\/p>\n No president has invoked the act 28 times. Former President Ulysses S. Grant invoked the law six times in the 1870s \u2014 the most of any president \u2014 as white supremacist groups violently revolted after the Civil War.<\/p>\n The most recent invocation came in 1992 after riots<\/a> broke out in Los Angeles following the acquittal of four white police officers in the beating of Black motorist Rodney King.<\/p>\n Asked about his campaign promise to deport the “worst of the worst,” Trump said, “That’s what we’re doing.”\u00a0<\/p>\n This needs context. More than 70% of immigrants detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement \u2014 nearly 60,000<\/a> \u2014 as of Sept. 21 had no criminal convictions, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a Syracuse University research organization.<\/p>\n The federal government doesn\u2019t specify what crimes the 28% of immigrants with criminal convictions committed. The list can include serious felonies, immigration violations such as illegal entry and minor traffic violations.<\/p>\n O\u2019Donnell pushed back, saying the Trump administration had deported landscapers, nannies, construction workers and farmers who aren\u2019t criminals.<\/p>\n “No, landscapers who are criminals,” Trump said.<\/p>\n News organizations have reported numerous cases of immigrants with no criminal records who federal immigration agents have detained including landscapers<\/a>, the father of three U.S. Marines<\/a>, day laborers<\/a> and farmworkers<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Speaking about the government shutdown, “The problem is (Democrats) want to give money to prisoners, to drug dealers, to all these millions of people that were allowed to come in with an open border from Biden.”<\/p>\n That\u2019s False.<\/a><\/p>\n The Democrats\u2019 government funding proposal would not give federally funded health care to immigrants illegally in the U.S., who are already largely ineligible for programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.<\/p>\n The Democrats’ proposal would not change that. Instead, Democrats want to restore access to certain health care programs for legal immigrants, such as refugees and people granted asylum, who lost access under the Republican tax and spending law that was signed into law in July.<\/p>\n That law also reduced funding for a Medicaid program that reimburses hospitals for emergency care provided to immigrants who would be eligible for Medicaid if not for their immigration status. The Democrats want to revert to previous funding levels. The program represented less than 1% of total Medicaid spending in fiscal year 2023, according to KFF<\/a>, a health think tank.<\/p>\n In the full interview, Trump said, “I don’t want to give $1.5 trillion to prisoners and drug dealers and the people that came into our country from mental institutions.”<\/p>\n One group estimated<\/a> that the Democratic proposal would add $1.5 trillion to the national debt over the next decade; that doesn\u2019t mean Democrats are proposing to spend $1.5 trillion on any single program, especially not for immigrants illegally in the U.S.\u00a0<\/p>\n There is no evidence<\/a> other countries, including Venezuela, sent people from “mental institutions” to the U.S.\u00a0<\/p>\n “We have more nuclear weapons than any other country.”<\/p>\n By the numbers, Russia is ahead of the U.S. But countries keep exact numbers secret, and there are different ways to count weapons.<\/p>\n Counting nuclear weapons inventories, including active stockpiles and retired warheads, Russia has 5,459, ahead of the U.S. with 5,177, according to the Federation of American Scientists,<\/a> a group that tracks nuclear policy.<\/p>\n Hans M. Kristensen, who works for the organization, said Russia has a wider lead over the U.S. on its active stockpile. The U.S. has more retired warheads<\/a> than Russia.<\/p>\n Trump could be citing a separate metric \u2014 an estimate that the U.S. has 1,670 deployed strategic weapons and 100 nonstrategic weapons, for a total of 1,770. This outpaces Russia\u2019s estimated 1,718 deployed strategic weapons. Deployed strategic warheads are deployed on intercontinental missiles and at heavy bomber bases, while nonstrategic warheads are deployed with operational short-range delivery systems.\u00a0<\/p>\n A simple weapons count “is deeply ridiculous,” because the size of either the U.S. or the Russian arsenal would create massive devastation, said Richard Nephew, a Columbia University weapons expert.<\/p>\n “Right now, (grocery prices are) going down, other than beef.”<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s effort to fact-check O\u2019Donnell, who said grocery prices were up, is mostly inaccurate. A few major grocery items have had price decreases under Trump, but most have not.<\/p>\n Many grocery items have seen price increases between December 2024, the last full month of Joe Biden\u2019s presidency, and September 2025, the most recent month for which Bureau of Labor Statistics data is available.<\/p>\n Grocery prices overall<\/a> have increased by almost 2%. Trump correctly noted beef\u2019s price rise: Ground beef<\/a> prices are up almost 13%, and steaks<\/a> are up by more than 15%.<\/p>\n But the price increases go beyond that. Bacon<\/a> is up by more than 5%; the combined category of meats, poultry, fish and eggs<\/a> is up by 4%; fruits and vegetables<\/a> are up by almost 1%; coffee<\/a> is up by more than 15%; sugar and sweets<\/a> are up by more than 4%; and dairy products<\/a> are up by a fraction of a percent.<\/p>\n Two notable price declines have come from eggs<\/a> (down 16%, after the sector recovered from bird flu-related shortages<\/a>) and bread<\/a> (down about 2%).<\/p>\n In a portion of the interview not broadcast, Trump falsely said<\/a> the U.S. has “no inflation” and “we\u2019re down to 2%, even less than 2%.” In September, the year-over-year inflation rate was 3%, higher than it was during the final six months of Biden’s term.<\/p>\n “Before the ninth month (of my presidency) I stopped eight wars.”\u00a0<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AP25300658447601.jpg\"\/)
New York City mayoral candidate Mamdani talks to a pedestrian in New York, Oct. 27. (AP)<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AP828718046303.jpg\"\/)
Two National Guardsmen stand guard outside a burning donut shop in Los Angeles April 30, 1992. The National Guard was called in to aid police during the second day of rioting in the city. (AP)<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Trump_Netanyahu_at_Knesset_10-13-25_AP.jpg\"\/)
Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speak after Netanyahu addressed the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, Oct. 13 in Jerusalem. (AP)<\/p>\n