A statement by President Trump during an interview on “Fox and Friends” has been getting a lot of attention online.
Reporter: How do we fix this country? How do we come back together?
Trump: Well, I’ll tell you something that’s going to get me in trouble, but I couldn’t care less.
I shared this short clip on Facebook, and one comment was from someone in the family who I care a lot about. He said the statement, “I couldn’t care less,” was taken out of context, and therefore the video clip was misleading.
So I stopped to take a closer look.
Taken on its own, his criticism has some validity.
Here’s the issue: Does the statement, “I couldn’t care less,” refer to possibly getting in trouble for something he was going to say, or did it refer back to the reporter’s questions, “How do we fix this country? How do we come back together?”
Taken alone, the meaning of “I couldn’t care less” is ambiguous and the way it was presented could be seen as misleading.
But luckily a more complete version of the interview is available that includes the president’s extended answer.
Trump, using different words, leaves no doubt that he isn’t interested or concerned about bringing the country back together because, in his view, those on the left (whatever he means by that) are “vicious” and “horrible,” while those on the right are just trying to make things, well, right.
Whatever ambiguity there might be in Trump’s initial “I couldn’t care less” statement, he makes very clear he isn’t at all concerned about bridging the gap between Americans and restoring some sense of national unity, or at least tolerance because, in his view, one side is 100% right and the other 100% wrong. Period. End of story.
Sadly, he really couldn’t care less. Take his word for it.
So we fret about a country divided, and Trump just worries about winning.
You can view his full comments here.
*Note: The earlier version of this post included a bad link to the full Trump comments. The link has now been corrected.
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Trump has shown all a long that he couldn’t care less. He’s creating utter chaos for our country, destroying rights that it took along time to achieve. He’s a manipulative bully and must be removed along with his utterly manipulative, incompetent cabinet and other supporters. Thanks for your reporting, Ian.
Ian, thank you for highlighting this. Would you please check the link? In one browser it does nothing. In another it goes to a blocked page.
Thanks. Yes, bad link, now fixed. At least I believe it is fixed.
Good Morning Ian,
Trump is incapable of any subtlety in his discourse. I believe he doesn’t care about our country or our people. His only concern is power and money.
I saw a video of him this morning proudly proclaiming, “Smart people don’t like me.” To laughter from the audience. His followers have no idea it is their intelligence he is insulting with that statement, and the joke is on them. You gotta give it to him; the man is pathologically honest about his real intentions in the midst of all the lies. I think this will be known as the Age of Willful Ignorance and Amnesia because no one will remember their part in letting it happen.
I didn’t want to link to the video because it will probably get me moderated, but it’s on X, and several articles have been written about it elsewhere. Do a search for Trump says smart people don’t like me. Then come back here and tell us that’s not what he really meant.
Ian–please check your link to the full Trump statement. The link you provided doesn’t work. One message said it had been taken down, while another said the address was wrong.
Thanks. Turns out it was a bad link.
I believe it’s now been fixed and is working properly.
Ian, It’s pretty rich to make a post about Trump today for not caring about unity, right after that inuendo-filled Charlie Kirk post. If you’re going to posture about unity, start with your own rhetoric. You can’t condemn divisiveness one day and then practice it the next. That’s not consistency. It’s hypocrisy. I feel that this part of you undermines your fairness and rigor that has made your investigative journalism so amazing.
@Pauly. I could not agree with you more! Ian has great investigative talent, and I enjoy reading these articles, but his rhetoric on politics makes it quite obvious on which side he heavily leans toward. Using words spewed from AI that was quite harsh on the death of Charlie Kirk says it all. We as humans have lost the sacred value of life given to us by the Almighty Creator.
Melania and Donald the CARE LESS 1 FAMILY.
The irony is pretty thick in some of these comments, which can only mean one thing. Time for haiku!
You write what you want
On another man’s iLind
Then try to shush him
@Kalikala… No not really trying to shush him as it his website, but credibility is lost when your words don’t line up with what you post and share. It’s quite obvious what and who he supports.
Talking about being shushed, I have already had (2) two of my posts removed from @Ian’s website (he can do as he chooses) for reasons unknown just because I don’t agree with his view point? I prefer open dialogue as I try to be respectful and share accurate, truthful insights, but like I said it is his website so he can do whatever he wishes. LOL! — this posting might be my 3rd strike out. 🙂
I don’t know Ian in person but he has been so forthcoming with his life story over the many years I have followed his writing, that I am confident he is the same as he has always been. You don’t know him at all if you don’t know that.
What I see is a man of conscience who believes that facts matter, and a few persistent trolls who twist those facts, put words in his mouth, and then argue against them like they prevailed in some kind of “reasoned debate.” He doesn’t need me to defend him but I’m a logical being and it’s painful to watch.
Ian hasn’t been hiding his true nature in any shadows,. If you think his credibility is so lacking why do you come here?
@Kalikala As I mentioned earlier Ian has great investigative talent so I read his postings on these types of stories (e.g., Mike Miske). There were not many sources as in-depth and regular on this topic.
I then came across his other postings in the process and I just do not see eye-to-eye with him on these other types of postings. I know I am not trying to troll him or offend others as we can have opposite views on a topic and still respect each other while sharing our viewpoint.
Unity won’t happen unless we allow others to have opinions opposite ours on issues we care deeply about. One example is abortion, we will never have unity as a nation.on that issue. But we certainly can respect those that believe different than us and unify with them on other issues. The “I couldn’t care less statement” refers to caring about what the other side thinks. Trump believes the legal system was corrupted against him and further that opposition from the left is not grassroots but intentional, funded, and dirty. To put it simply, he doesn’t want to unify with “those people.” He clearly wants to push super hard on his agenda before the pendulum swings back.
@Bill I agree wholeheartedly with you. The environment in the United States has become very divisive, toxic, and more militant as time has gone on. Whatever happened to the approach of “for the good of the people, let’s get this done”? Singapore is a great example of this — moving from a third world country to a clean modern city (in a relatively short period of time — 30 to 40 years). It is a country that is safe, respectful, and very well educated. People made sacrifices because they could trust the government knowing that they had their best interest in mind.
On a separate note, I don’t believe government will solve all the problems of our society, but it can make things worse due to rhetoric and policies enacted or not enforced (e.g. overspending, corruption, unwillingness to work together, etc). We the people need to wake up and see that a great nation starts with healthy families which brings about healthy cities. Healthy cities, bring about great states which lead to a great nation. I truly fear for the direction this country is heading toward, and my heart breaks for the future of my children.
I remember reading one of Mr. Lind’s first articles when he was a student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He was talented then and he is talented now. He was as fearless then as he is fearless now. I am very grateful for his website and for his open forum. Keep up the awesome work, Sir.