Donald Trump says won't run again for president if he loses in November
Washington, Sep 24: Former US president Donald Trump has ruled out running for the White House in 2028 if he loses his presidential bid in November this year.
“No, I don’t. No, I don’t. I think that will be, that will be it. I don’t see that at all. I think that hopefully we’re gonna be successful,” Trump told host Sharyl Attkisson in an interview over the weekend.
Trump is running for presidential elections for the third consecutive term this time. He won the first time in 2016 and lost in his second attempt in 2020.
The 78-year-old former president is pitched in a tight race with Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump would be 82 by the time of the next elections in 2028.
The presidential elections in the US will take place on November 5.
When asked what keeps him healthy, Trump said he plays golf and tries to eat properly.
“Well, I used to play golf a little bit. That gave me, so I don’t know, but it seems to be quite a dangerous sport in retrospect. I try and eat properly. I try. I do the best,” the Republican presidential candidate said.
“I like perhaps all the wrong food. But then I say 'Does anybody know what the right food is?'" he asked. "I have people lecturing me for years, 'Oh don’t eat this, don’t eat that'. They’re gone, they have passed away long ago,” Trump said.
During the interview, Trump stressed that he does not get credit for the fight against COVID-19.
“I never got great credit on the fighting of the China virus, which is COVID. But we call it the China virus ’cause we like to be accurate. But if you think of what I’ve done, I took, I took a disaster that came into our shores. That dust flew in from China and we started making things like the ventilators. We were supplying the whole world with ventilators,” he said.
“Within a period of seven months, we took auto factories and started making ventilators and auto factories. We did the gowns, the cost, you know, all of the different things, all of the rubberised products, the masks, all, everything. And we also had to go, because our, you know, when I took over, the cupboards were bare. We had nothing,” Trump said.
“We had, we were supposed to have, but we had nothing. And in all fairness to previous presidents, the reason is that nobody really thought a pandemic in this world, in this age, was possible. You know, you remember 1917, we had the great pandemic that people talk about. A hundred million people they say died,” he said.
“And basically this would’ve happened here too. And it didn’t happen here. I think I did a great job. I think I will not be given credit for it. But there are a lot of people that think I did a really fantastic job on that. Nobody knew what it was. Nobody knew where it came from. And remember, we had far fewer deaths than (incumbent President Joe) Biden. And Biden just got the tail end. So we did a good job,” Trump claimed.
Biden dropped the White House bid in July after a disastrous presidential debate with Trump.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
