Trump: 'Sad Thing' That Biden Didn't Pardon Himself

President sits down with Fox's Sean Hannity, with a slew of topics on the agenda
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 23, 2025 6:31 AM CST

President Trump sat down with Fox News' Sean Hannity on Wednesday night, his first sit-down interview since the inauguration, per the BBC. They covered a range of topics, from pardons and TikTok to FEMA and the JFK files. A quick recap of some standout quotes from their interview, per the BBC, the Hill, and CNN (which also offers a fact check):

  • TikTok: "I think TikTok's going to stay around," Trump said of the social media app whose existence in the US remains fragile. He also rebuffed concerns about China spying on US consumers via the app, asking, "Is it that important for China to be spying on young people? On young kids watching crazy videos?"

  • Pardons: "I said I was gonna release them, and probably very quickly. And they voted for me. I won in a landslide," Trump said in defense of his clemency for some 1,500 J6 prisoners. He added it was a "sad thing" that former President Biden hadn't issued a pardon for himself before leaving office, as well as hinted that he'd be open to an investigation on Biden, saying, "I think we'll let Congress decide."
  • J6: Speaking of the Capitol riots, Trump downplayed the Jan. 6 violence against law enforcement. "Some of those people with the police, true," he said. "But they were very minor incidents. They get built up by a couple of fake guys who are on CNN all the time." He said of those who'd served time for the insurrection: "They were ... treated like nobody's ever been treated. So badly. Treated like the worst criminals in history."
  • FEMA: Trump slammed the federal agency and said he'd rather each state handle its own disaster recovery. "I love Oklahoma," he said. "But you know what, If they get hit with a tornado or something, let Oklahoma fix it. And then the federal government can help them out with the money."
  • California wildfires: In short, Trump thinks the federal government should deprive the Golden State of assistance until the state changes its water policy. "I'm going to put a statement out today, I don't think we should give California anything until they let water flow down," he said, citing a debunked claim that Gov. Gavin Newsom had held water back in reservoirs to protect a fish called smelt.
  • JFK files: When asked why he never released all the files on the assassinated president as he'd vowed to do in his first term, Trump cryptically replied that he was "asked by some government officials not to—and you have to respect them."
Watch more here and here. (More President Trump stories.)

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