‘Donald Trump not trigger-happy Republican of old’ – Ann Coulter

In the Republican debates this year, every Republican aside from Trump wanted to start wars in the Middle East, as well as Russia. Ann Coulter, conservative commentator and author of the new book “In Trump We Trust,” told RT America’s “News with Ed.”

US Republican Party Presidential candidate Donald Trump is planning to end defense spending cuts and allocate more resources to the $600 billion-plus Pentagon budget. He also wants to strengthen country’s military by increasing US Army personnel and a number of ships, planes and submarines. However, he didn’t explain how any of these would be paid for.

RT: Why do you think so many support Trump? 

Ann Coulter: These trade deals are killing American manufacturing. That is one of the things I love about Trump – he’s blown up my old Republican Party; I never realized how much I hated them. He comes out and says: “We have to do something for America’s working class.” I thought that is what my party stood for. I thought to some extent even the Democrats did, but they have sort of gone more of with the rich Hampton set over the last few decades and the feminists who want to make partner. 

What is my old party’s response to this: to come down with hellfire on Trump. He is the one who wants to stop the Trans-Pacific Partnership [TPP]; he is the one who wants to overturn NAFTA [North American Free Trade Agreement]… God bless him, he is not the trigger happy Republican of old. It was strange watching those Republican debates this year, where every single Republican not only wanted to start six dozen wars in the Middle East, but wow, they are all chomping at the bit to go to war with Russia. Could have used their help 50 years ago, but the Cold War is over. 

RT: How long did it take you to warm up to Donald Trump? He went through 17 other candidates; obviously he got more votes than George W. Bush did. He had mojo from the start. What brought you on board other than the trade agreements? Moreover, who is going to pay for military, when we have budget issues? 

AC: That is right, but this is very secondary to him. We do need a strong military – it does bring jobs. It was his opening speech; it is immigration. We’ve been again screwing over the middle class; screwing over the working class by dumping more and low-wage workers around the country. Well, that benefits the plutocrats. They get cheap nannies and cheap maids, and those maids and nannies don’t live in their neighborhoods. They aren’t overcrowding their schools and their emergency rooms. 

RT: Are you comfortable where Trump stands on immigration? Will he deport 11 million illegals in the US? 

AC: Well, there are a lot more than 11 million, as I explained more fully in my last book. There are probably at least 30, 40 or 50 million. They will be subject to deportation if they get arrested, if they go into collect government assistance. Obviously the criminals that aren’t being deported now will be deported. He’ll build the wall. Nobody has said it’s going to be done the first week, the first year, even the first term… Again, that is something for the working class, which both parties, both Republicans and Democrats, do not care about at all. It is all about Wall Street and the Chamber of Commerce. They almost toppled that system with Bernie Sanders. But we didn’t topple it in the old Republican Party. Trump not only beat Bush, he got more votes than any Republican in Republican primary history. 

RT: Should he release his tax returns, because the Clintons keep pounding on this? 

AC: No. He’s released his financial papers. He has a good reason. Yes, it is legal for him to produce them while he is being audited. But, I’ve never seen the media so hysterical, because it is the elites against the working class. 

RT: Why do you think Trump is leading by 20 per cent with independent voters? 

AC: I think it really is the people against all the pundits. Trump is not going to carry Washington DC; he is probably not going to carry the Upper East Side of Manhattan. But he’s popular with ordinary people, and ordinary people of all races. I really like that he is getting away from the ‘ethnic identity’ politics into more of the ‘economic identity’ politics.  He keeps saying, as he did in his immigration speech last week, which is the most important, and it is amazing that this is a stunning position to take. The loadstar of the immigration debate will be: “Is it good for Americans?” All of New York City went mental, but I think most voters are saying: “Yeah, why shouldn’t it be? It’s just government policy.”