Donald Trump insisted in a CNBC phone interview on Thursday that President Barack Obama “absolutely” founded ISIS, and that Senator Hillary Clinton was the terrorist group’s co-founder.
In a wide-ranging interview detailing his economic plans on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” the GOP presidential candidate also allowed for the possibility that he may not defeat Clinton in November.
Trump initially made the ISIS comments on Wednesday.
Asked about them on CNBC, he doubled down and said “[Obama] was the founder of ISIS absolutely, the way he removed our troops. ..I call them co-founders.”
This week, Trump has come under fire for remarks he made about the Second Amendment which had been interpreted by some as suggesting violence against Hillary Clinton.
“On the Second Amendment, everybody came to my defence because there was nothing said wrong, I’m talking about the power of the voter,” Trump said in a phone interview on “Squawk Box” Thursday. “Only the haters tried to grab on to that one.”
However, Trump allowed for the possibility that his uncensored views may not result in a win.
“I think we’re going to have victory but will see,” Trump said. “At the end, it’s either going to work or I’m going to have a very very nice long vacation.”
The GOP presidential nominee also addressed criticism that he had made a mistake when it came to comments about the Muslim parents of a deceased soldier, saying “its been put to bed for a longtime.” The controversy erupted after the Khans appeared at the Democratic Convention on July 28.
Trump also said Obamacare, high taxes, and regulation are stifling business in the United States.
He said regulations are “making it virtually impossible to start new businesses and a lot of old businesses are being hurt very badly.”
“Obamacare is devastating businesses, I get it all the time,” he said.
Trump’s comments came Thursday morning during a stretch in which he has sought to focus on his campaign’s economic message amid a series of controversies.
The Republican presidential nominee has spent much of this week fighting off criticism for comments he made about the Second Amendment interpreted by some as suggesting violence against Hillary Clinton. Clinton called him out on the remarks Wednesday, saying Trump’s “casual inciting of violence” shows he does not have the temperament to be president.
Late last week, Trump announced his team of economic policy advisers, which featured a number of high-profile financiers including hedge fund titan John Paulson. On Monday, Trump gave a speech in Detroit laying out his economic vision, which included a significant change to his tax plan.
*Culled from CNBC.
