In a new interview, Donald Trump said that he believes the right to privacy exists in the Constitution, and blasted Paul Ryan’s budget as too extreme.
Pair those comments with some newly-circulating quotes of his from recent years praising the stimulus and supporting President Obama, and it becomes clear that Trump’s political conversion may be more recent — and less complete — than commonly assumed.
After NBC’s Savannah Guthrie asked if there was a right to privacy in the Constitution, Trump replied “I guess there is. I guess there is,” adding that he was pro-life.
Trump said he was “concerned” about Ryan’s deficit plan, citing concerns that the plan would “tinker too much with Medicare” and harm senior citizens.
“I think Paul Ryan is too far out front with the issue,” Trump said. “He ought to sit back and relax.”
Asked how he planned to solve the deficit problem without tackling entitlements, Trump said he would do so “by stopping what’s going on in the world.”
“The world is destroying our country,” Trump said. “These other countries are sapping our strength. OPEC is sapping our strength. We can’t pay $108 a barrel oil. It’s sapping our country.”
In a 2009 CNN interview, Trump praised President Obama, saying “you do need stimulus.”
“I think he’s really trying,” Trump said about Obama. “He inherited a mess. Mr. Bush gave him a total mess. But he’s really trying hard. And I think he’s doing as well as can be expected thus far. And I think, ultimately, he will be successful.”