Exclusive: Trump is ready to ‘get in gear’

During a wide-ranging interview, Trump laid out what makes him a conservative, where he got his working-class appeal and how he feels about being called “racist.”

Washington Examiner: What is it you’re expecting to get out of the convention?

Trump: Well, we’ve got really good speakers. We have a lot of winners.

You know, when you have [Ultimate Fighting Championship President] Dana White and you have some of the people that we have on. [Famed evangelist] Franklin Graham is going to be speaking and so many different people. We have [retired Indiana college basketball coach] Bobby Knight, Coach Knight, who helped me so much in Indiana and elsewhere.

I don’t know, I think it’s a really great group of speakers. I think that in the end we want to get inspiration. We want people to be inspired. We want to make America great again. We want to make America first. And you know that’s largely what the theme is and largely what we’re going to be talking about.

Examiner: I noticed that former vice presidential nominee [and Trump supporter] Sarah Palin wasn’t on the list. Did she not ask for a speaking role?

Trump: No, she was asked. It’s a little bit difficult because of where she is. We love Sarah. Little bit difficult because of, you know, she’s got a — it’s a long ways away. But Sarah will always be with us and Sarah is involved and very much involved in the campaign.

“No, she was asked. It’s a little bit difficult because of where she is. We love Sarah. Little bit difficult because of, you know, she’s got a — it’s a long ways away,” Donald Trump said. (AP Photo)

Examiner: Talk to me about the overarching philosophy you have about government and what its role is in the country. Should it be more active in people’s lives or should it be more hands-off?

Trump: Much more hands-off, but much more active in terms of trade. Much more active in terms of making our military strong. You know, our military is very depleted. And it’s embarrassing what’s going on with our military in terms of its depletion. And we want to make it much more — we want to have a much more powerful military and ideally never have to lose it.

Examiner: You were born in New York. You spent your life there. You were born pretty comfortably, into money. What is it that inspires you and animates your views on trade, those views you’ve held for a long time? We’ve seen them over the decades. It’s very pro-worker, “don’t let other countries rip us off.” Where did that come from?

Trump: Well, I’ve always been pro-worker because I grew up with workers. Workers were my friends. Carpenters and plumbers and policemen and, you know, I’d be on a job site where my father would build houses and I’d be working there as a young boy and even when I got out of college or during different times, I’d always be working there.

I got to know the carpenters, the plumbers. I got to know the sheet rockers and they were my friends. And somehow I relate very well to them. I always have. And that’s what you’re seeing. Even the unions, you know, the big unions, the [International Brotherhood of] Teamsters are going to vote for Donald Trump.

Even if the bosses — the leaders of the union — don’t, you know, because they always go Democrat. But one of the top people in the Teamsters said, “Boy, if we endorse the Democrats it’s going to be tough because, like, all of our people want to vote for Trump.”

I’ve employed thousands and thousands of Teamsters over the years. It’s ridiculous to be, you know, supporting anybody else. But the leaders have always gone [Democratic] and you watch what happens with unions. We’re going to get the vote.

“I got to know the carpenters, the plumbers. I got to know the sheet rockers and they were my friends. And somehow I relate very well to them,” Donald Trump said. (AP Photo)

Examiner: You say that you identify as a conservative but you also say on the other hand that you don’t like labels. What is it that makes you conservative?

Trump: Well, I’ve never liked labels, but I’m a conservative person but I never like labels but I’m a Republican and a conservative. But I was never one for labels. I want great trade deals. Some people would say that my views on trade aren’t conservative. I would say they’re much more conservative than anybody else’s because they’re going to be phenomenal deals for our country.

And I do believe in free trade and I don’t believe in isolation. But we have to make great deals. We have horrible deals right now. Money is being drained out of our country and jobs are being drained out of our country and I’m going to stop that and I’m going to bring back jobs and good paying jobs.

Examiner: We know that your family plays a really big role in your private business right now. Would you consider putting family members in your White House?

Trump: Well, I’d think about it. I have some very capable people in my family. But really, that’s not where I’m at right now. What I want to do is — they’ll run my business. I built a great business over the years. It’s a phenomenal business and they’ll stay and run the business. And they’ll have 100 percent control. I’ll have nothing to do with the business.

Because I’ll be focused on one thing and that’s what I’ve already said. We’re going to be focused on making a great situation for this country. We’re going to make a great, great situation for this country. We’re going to bring our country back.

Examiner: National polls are a little bit mixed now, but a lot of times when Hillary Clinton was ahead, you would like to say you hadn’t even started on her yet. Have you started on her now?

“I haven’t started. I really haven’t. I mean, she spent $100 million already on negative ads. Which are, by the way, totally false ads,” Donald Trump said. (AP Photo)

Trump: I haven’t started. I really haven’t. I mean, she spent $100 million already on negative ads. Which are, by the way, totally false ads. They are so false, these ads. They’re such lies. So horrible. Just like she lied with her emails, she’s lying on the ads. But, you know, what can you do? It’s the only chance she’s got. She’s got to spend a lot of money on ads because her career is a total sham.

What happened to her recently with the emails is a disgrace and why other people have to pay a price and she doesn’t is a horrible situation for this country, a horrible situation. And, you know, I’m doing very well in the polls, but I won’t be starting until right after the convention. I guess you could say we’ll start during the convention but we’re really going to get it in gear right after the convention.

We’re doing really well. As you know, Eddie, we got the highest number of votes, almost 14 million votes in the history of the Republican Party during the primaries by a lot and that’s with 17 candidates. You know, we won with 17 candidates. So it’s going to be — I think it’s really going to be an exciting election. I think it’s going to be a very special election.

I think it’s going to be a very important election. And the last thing we need is another four years of Barack Obama where [the Islamic State] is kicking us around, where healthcare is in terrible shape. It’s just been a disastrous period of time. People do not want four more years. And Hillary Clinton will be worse than him.

Examiner: How does it affect you when some in the media call you a racist or a sexist?

Trump: Well, I hate it but there’s nothing much you can do about it because the press is as dishonest a group of people — not everybody, not you, not everybody — but we have very dishonest people. And when you’re a Republican conservative, no matter what you’ve done — I mean, they’ve taken stories that I’ve done that should have been great stories and made them bad stories.

Things I’ve said that were perfectly stated — perfectly. I mean, I was a good student at top schools and you know, I know how to speak and I know what’s good and I know when I’ve made a mistake. They’ve taken things where — perfectly stated things and made them sound bad. These are very, very dishonest people and I let the public know it and I think it has an impact.

“They’ve taken things where — perfectly stated things and made them sound bad. These are very, very dishonest people and I let the public know it and I think it has an impact,” Donald Trump said. (AP Photo)

Examiner: You said after the Orlando, Fla., shooting that you would be a better friend of the gays than Clinton is. Do you have personally close gay friends and if you do, what is it they tell you about your campaign?

Trump: Well I thought the Orlando situation, the Orlando shootings were horrible. I thought it was a disgrace and thought was not only an attack on the country, it was really an attack on the LGBT community. It was an attack on, really, if you look, the LGBT community, if you really look at what’s going on there, that was an attack on the gay community, Eddie.

And it was so sad. It was so sad to see it. But that was, as much as it was an attack on the country, it was an attack on the gay community. And I thought it was just a horrible thing.

Examiner: Do you personally have close gay friends and what do they say to you about your campaign?

Trump: Yes, I do have gay friends. Yes.

Examiner: Do they say anything to you about your campaign and the way you’ve run it?

Trump: They actually support me. They actually support me. They know me. They know my heart. They know me and they actually support me.

Examiner: What’s been the biggest difference or challenge you’ve faced going from the primary to the general election?

Trump: Good question. I think the press is much more dishonest now. When I was running against other conservatives, the press disliked many of us, me more than most. It’s just everything is bigger. The amount of press, the calls, the interviews, the level of attention, the attention to detail. It’s all bigger. It’s just a bigger version. But I would say that the press is much more hostile now.

And that’s because of the fact that, you know, they want to see a liberal who has really become much more liberal. She’s really been dragged very, very far to the left. And they want to see that very much more so than they want to see a Republican and certainly a Republican conservative so I think that made a big difference.

“The amount of press, the calls, the interviews, the level of attention, the attention to detail. It’s all bigger. It’s just a bigger version. But I would say that the press is much more hostile now,” Donald Trump said. (AP Photo)

Examiner: A lot of people think that when running for president, you have to be able to take criticism and be thoughtful about it. Can you do that and do you agree with it?

Trump: Totally I can. I don’t mind criticism and when I do something wrong, I will — you know, I have no objection to people pointing it out and I can handle that well. But when you don’t do something wrong and they write false stories purposely knowing that they’re false stories, that’s something else. And what I do is I fight back.

In other words, instead of it just letting go — and everybody else says, “Oh well, just let it go.” I don’t believe in letting it go. I think we should have things corrected and have the record corrected. And the great thing about me is I have a voice where people are listening and I’m able to correct the record when they are dishonest.

But they’re dishonest much of the time, and I talk about the dishonesty of the media and I think it’s very important to do so.

Examiner: Do you happen to play the “Pokemon Go” game that so many people are playing on their phones?

Trump: I don’t but people are playing it, no question about it. I do not. I wish I had time.