Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump stated that Compromise is not a dirty word, but we have to get a much better part of the compromise” and that he’s “not a huge compromiser” during an interview broadcast on Thursday’s “AC360” on CNN.
Trump, in response to a question on whether he could deal with polarization in Washington and work with both parties pointed to his land dealings and zoning he was able to obtain. He added that he gets along with people.
Trump was later asked if he thought “compromise” was a dirty word. He answered, “Compromise is not a dirty word, but we have to get a much better part of the compromise. It’s not a dirty — I mean, we have people that will never be able to make deals. You know, somebody’s heard, ‘Oh, he’ll make deals.’ I’m going to make good deals.”
When asked about concerns that he’ll compromise too much, Trump said he’s “not a huge compromiser.”
Later, he was asked if getting a deal or standing on principle was more important. He stated, “You have to — both. Honestly, you have to [do] both. You’ve got to get the deal done, but only if it’s right. For instance, on the Iran deal, I would have never started negotiating that deal unless they let our prisoners go first. I would have gone in. I would have said, ‘Fellas, you’ve got let our prisoners go.’ They would have said no. I would have walked. I would have doubled up the sanctions, within 24 hours they would have let the prisoners go. Then I would have gone in, now I would have gone [in for] a second. I would have said, ‘Listen. We’re a busted country. We have no money. We owe $19 trillion.'”
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