Paul Manafort, the former campaign manager for Donald Trump, spoke with Chris Cuomo on “The Chris Cuomo Project” about various topics, and we will give you a rundown of parts of their conversation.
When Cuomo asked Manafort whether he still believes that former President Donald Trump will run for President in 2024, Manafort said: “Absolutely. More so now than I did two weeks ago.”
Cuomo followed up, asking: “Is that because of what you know or because of how you feel?
Manafort responded in more detail, saying:
“It’s because of what I know about him. Has he told me that personally? No. But I know the man. I know that when he was elected president in 2016, people didn’t understand why he was elected, how he was elected, and they didn’t understand him as a person. They still don’t, and the raid on his home was not something that was going to discourage them. If anything, it was going to make him more steadfast in his thinking about running.”
Cuomo asked if he thought the FBI “exercising that search warrant was a tactic. Without hesitation, Manafort responded, “Yes.”
Cuomo asked Manafort if he thinks what the FBI did, was done to “chill Donald Trump and make him think twice.” Manafort responded:
“Well, I have a hard time thinking that because they should know that’s not the measure of the man … If you think about, when Trump was elected in 2016 … one of the key slogans at his rallies ‘Lock her up! Lock her up!’ He becomes President; what did he do? He didn’t lock her up. He didn’t go after her. He didn’t turn the scales of justice against her because he understood all the history of this country … You don’t go after your political opponents. Not only is he the past political opponent, he very likely could be the next political opponent … The threat to democracy is very grave, by doing something like this.”
On the topic of Trump’s choice for Vice President, Manafaort said that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) “doesn’t give Trump what he needs,” adding he needs “somebody like” Senator Tim Scott (R-SC). Manafort added that he does not think DeSantis will run for President in 2024 if Trump runs.
Cuomo followed up by asking if he thought Trump would ask DeSantis to join his ticket; Manafort responded: “I don’t think he gets asked.”
When asked by Cuomo if Manafort will be part of the 2024 campaign, he said:
“Am I willing to get back in again? I don’t think so. I mean I’ll help whoever the Republican nominee is. But now at this stage of my life, after what I’ve just gone through, my focus is my family.”
Of course, following the interview, some Twitter users tried discrediting and shaming Cuomo for interviewing Manafort.
This was a good interview; they spoke more about the FBI raid, the Ukraine-Russia war, the 2024 Presidential race, Manafort “getting his life back,” and many more topics. You can watch the full version here: