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Donald Trump Defends Claims in ‘Time’ Interview: 5 Most Puzzling Statements

This one’s a head-scratcher. The transcript of President Donald Trump’s latest interview with Time magazine, published in full online on Thursday, March 23, featured a number of puzzling statements and claims as he was questioned about matters of “truth and falsehoods.”

The 70-year-old real estate mogul veered from one topic to the next as Time’s Washington bureau chief Michael Scherer tried to question him about some of the most recent headlines coming out of the White House. 

Related: Donald Trump’s Most Offensive and Outrageous Quotes Ranked

Below, Us Weekly has compiled the most bizarre statements that the former Apprentice host made in the interview, ranging from his insistence that former President Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Tower during the 2016 elections to his conviction that 3 million people voted illegally in the presidential election last fall.

Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus Executive Committee in the Cabinet Room at the White House March 22, 2017 in Washington, DC.
Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus Executive Committee in the Cabinet Room at the White House March 22, 2017, in Washington, D.C. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

1. On his Obama wiretapping accusations

“Now remember this. When I said wiretapping, it was in quotes. [in reference to his controversial tweet earlier this month]. Because a wiretapping is, you know today it is different than wiretapping. It is just a good description. But wiretapping was in quotes.” [When asked about whether he thought FBI Director James Comey’s testimony denying wiretapping took away from the credibility of Trump’s tweets]: “No, I have, look. I have articles saying it happened.”

Related: Celebrities’ Political Affiliations

2. On his unfounded claims that 3 million undocumented people voted in the 2016 election

“Well now if you take a look at the votes, when I say that, I mean mostly they register wrong, in other words, for the votes, they register incorrectly, and/or illegally. And they then vote. You have tremendous numbers of people. In fact, I’m forming a committee on it. … And we are going to do a study on it, a very serious problem.”

3. On his ability to “predict” his own win

“I’m a very instinctual person, but my instinct turns out to be right. When everyone said I wasn’t going to win the election, I said well I think I would. You know it is interesting, somebody came up to me and said the other day, gee whiz, The New York Times and other people, you know other groups, had you down at one percent, well, I said no I think I am going to win, and people smiled, George Stephanopoulos laughed, you remember. He thought it was very cute and very funny. … [But] there are people that know me, like Carl Icahn and many others, that didn’t laugh at all, they thought I was going to win, because they understand how I, they understand me. They get it.”

Related: 12 Times Donald Trump Has Body-Shamed Stars Over the Years

4. On his outrageous claim that Ted Cruz’s father was with JFK’s assassin

“Well that was in a newspaper. No, no, I like Ted Cruz, he’s a friend of mine. But that was in the newspaper. I wasn’t, I didn’t say that. I was referring to a newspaper. A Ted Cruz article referred to a newspaper story with, had a picture of Ted Cruz, his father, and Lee Harvey Oswald, having breakfast. … Why do you say that I have to apologize? I’m just quoting the newspaper …”

5. On the current state of the country under his presidency

“I inherited a mess, I inherited a mess in so many ways. I inherited a mess in the Middle East, and a mess with North Korea, I inherited a mess with jobs, despite the statistics, you know, my statistics are even better, but they are not the real statistics because you have millions of people that can’t get a job, OK. And I inherited a mess on trade. I mean we have many, you can go up and down the ladder. But that’s the story. Hey look, in the meantime, I guess, I can’t be doing so badly, because I’m president, and you’re not.”

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