Fox News "Hardball with Chris Matthews" - Transcript: On the Presidential Campaign and Super Tuesday

Interview

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Joining us first here now live is the front-runner, Donald Trump.

Mr. Trump, welcome back to "Fox News Sunday."

TRUMP: Thank you.

WALLACE: Let's get right to it. Marco Rubio says that you are a, quote, "con artist." Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUBIO: I think it's time to take the mask off of this guy. I mean, he's the guy that portrays himself as the defender of the little guy in this country. He's been exploiting working Americans for 40 years.

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WALLACE: Mr. Trump, your response and what do you think of Marco Rubio?

TRUMP: Well, I think he's a lightweight. He couldn't get elected dog catcher because to Florida, he's going to lose big league. He is not liked in Florida. He abandoned Florida. He deceived and defrauded Florida. He said he was going to be a senator, and that's the last thing -- he doesn't even show up to meetings.

I think he's a guy who thinks he's -- I don't think he actually does even think he's hot stuff. He's not hot stuff. But he is, you know, I call him little Marco. That's what he is, he's little Marco.

But, you know, he's very nasty guy. So is Ted Cruz, by the way. They're nasty. You know, they teamed up. I saw them shaking hands before the thing -- let's go, let's go, let's see if we can get them -- because they're establishment guys. No matter how you cut it, they're establishment guys.

And as far as, you know, the con man, it was very insulting, but you know my career. I built an unbelievable company. And, by the way, I filed with the FEC almost -- the federal elections, almost 100 pages of financials that show worth of if I ever sold it over $10 billion. That's what I built. I had number one bestsellers including "The Art of the Deal", which is the number one, probably the number one bestselling business book of all time. "The Apprentice" was one of the top shows on television.

WALLACE: Mr. Trump --

TRUMP: I mean, when you think of that as being a con man, I don't think so.

WALLACE: I stipulate that you've been a very successful --

TRUMP: You're talking about a con man, I think he's a con man.

What's that?

WALLACE: I stipulate that you've been very successful businessman.

But let's go through the specific allegations that Rubio raised about you. He says that you hired 200 illegal immigrants from Poland back in the early '80s to clear the site for the Trump Tower. The fact is that so-called "Polish Brigade" did work on that project.

TRUMP: So, let me just tell you how sad that is that he comes up. That is was more than 35 years ago. So, can you imagine, with all I've done, I've built buildings all over the world, I built massive buildings in New York, massive jobs, city on the west side of Manhattan, he comes up with one thing from 35 years ago.

WALLACE: But is it true, sir?

TRUMP: I didn't hire them. They were hired -- Chris, Chris, they were hired by a contractor. I hired a contractor. I hired a contractor for demolition. He had Polish workers in his force among others, by the way. He had Polish workers in the force. That's all it is.

I hired -- 35 years ago. And by the way, the laws were totally different 35 years ago. But 35 years ago, I hired a demolition contractor to knock down a building that made way for Trump Tower and can you imagine they bring that up from so many years ago.

WALLACE: But --

TRUMP: By the way, different laws and I didn't hire the Polish workers, Chris.

WALLACE: But let me ask you about that --

TRUMP: He hired the polish workers.

WALLACE: Let me ask you about that if I may, because some of the workers were sleeping at the site because they were illegal immigrants and they were pulling 12 hour shifts. Are you saying you didn't know any of that?

TRUMP: In construction, many, many people sleep on the site. Even now they sleep on sites because they save -- contractors save money by doing that. And you're not supposed to do it.

But contractors all over the city and all over many other cities, they sleep right on the site. That's a fairly common practice. And it happens. And it happens with many, many contractors.

Now, just so you understand, I hired a contractor. The contractor came in with people. Some of his people were Polish. Some of them came from -- but I didn't have control over that.

You didn't have E-Verify in those days like I do now where I'm building a building as an example, the old Post Office on Pennsylvania Avenue, I have E-Verify. Everything is perfect even though "Washington Post" said, well, maybe it's not perfect, but everything is absolutely perfect.

WALLACE: All right. Let me -- let me talk about a subject --

TRUMP: But just so you understand, Chris, 35 years go, this guy, this little Marco, 35 years ago, I built a building and 35 years ago, that's the best they can do. That's pretty sad.

(CROSSTALK)

WALLACE: OK. We'll let me give you something else which is a lot more current --

TRUMP: All I did was hired a contractor. I didn't hire the Polish workers.

WALALCE: -- and that is, that he is hitting you on Trump University, a program that you helped set up --

TRUMP: OK.

WALLACE: -- that you said to share your real estate knowledge and so you could help people invest.

TRUMP: Yes.

WALLACE: A super PAC that is opposed to you is running this ad. Take a look.

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SHERRI, SINGLE MOM, TRUMP UNIVERSITY VICTIM: All of it was just a fake. Americans do not make the same mistake I made about with Donald Trump. I got hurt badly and I'd hate to see this country get hurt by Donald Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: Now, Trump University ads promised that these instructors on your real estate genius would be handpicked by you but in fact, the story is that a lot of them were picked just so they could get people to sign up and one of them was a manager from a Buffalo Wild Wings. So did you handpick these instructors or not?

TRUMP: OK. Many of them we were handpicked and I handpicked our people. And the people I think did a good job. And they ran a good school.

And I'll tell you about the school. It had an A rating from the Better Business Bureau and the people that I think you even have on there have given a great report card, because everybody -- just about everybody that took the course, almost everybody signed a document and they rated the school. They rated the course, what they learned, was it good? Not a huge amount of money if they didn't pay a huge amount of money.

But what happened is they rated the school, they rated the courses.

WALLACE: Wait. Some of them paid $35,000.

TRUMP: Wait a minute, wait, Chris.

(CROSSTALK)

WALLACE: Wait, wait, some paid $35,000. That's a lot of money.

TRUMP: Listen to me, 98 percent of the people that took -- Chris, 98 percent of the people that took the courses, we have report cards from everybody. They report carded on the course.

Ninety-eight percent of the people that took the courses, 98 percent approved the courses they thought they were terrific.

Now just so you understand, I could have settled this case a long time ago, I chose not. I'm going to win the case in court, because I do that. I win cases in court. It's a lawsuit.

(CROSSTALK)

WALLACE: Let me ask you about that, because this week -- this weekend --

TRUMP: I'm not a settler. You know what, Chris --

WALLACE: Let me ask you this though --

TRUMP: I don't believe in settling cases. I believe in winning cases.

WALLACE: You went after the judge in one of the Trump University lawsuits. Here you are.

TRUMP: Right.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: There is a hostility to me from the judge, tremendous hostility, beyond belief. I believe he happens to be Spanish, which is fine. He is Hispanic, which is fine. And we haven't asked for recusal, which we may do. But we have a judge that's very hostile.

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WALLACE: The attorney general of New York after those remarks accused you of racial demagoguery mentioning he's Hispanic.

TRUMP: I think the judge has been extremely hostile to me. I think it has to do with perhaps the fact that I'm very, very strong on the border. Very, very strong on the border. And he has been extremely hostile to me.

This is a case that in our opinion should have been won a long time ago. It's a case we should have won on summary judgment. We're nothing with this. This is a very -- we have a very hostile judge.

Now, he is Hispanic, I believe. He is a very hostile judge to me. I said it loud and clear.

Now, the attorney general --

(CROSSTALK)

WALLACE: Why even bring up that he's Hispanic? I mean, it does raise a question.

TRUMP: Because you always bring it up, Chris, because you always say how the Hispanics don't like Donald Trump. You always bring it up in your poll numbers. You say that Hispanics don't like Donald Trump. You're the one that brings it up --

(CROSSTALK)

WALLACE: I don't think I ever brought that up. I don't think I ever brought it up.

TRUMP: OK, well, you always talk about the fact that Trump doesn't do well with --

WALLACE: But you can't blame this one on me.

TRUMP: Chris, will Trump do well with Hispanics?

Now, in Nevada, I got 46 percent. I won with the Hispanics, OK? So, that's very good.

But I can tell you, it's a very hostile judge. This is a judge that in my opinion does not like Donald Trump.

WALLACE: OK, let's talk about the tax returns. Because both Cruz and Rubio released -- they didn't release all of their tax returns. They released part of their tax returns.

But you're refusing to release any of your tax returns.

Back in 2012 when you were flirting with running for president, you said releasing your tax returns would be, quote, "a great thing to show how successful you are." I know you say you're under audit. You could still release them. The IRS commissioner says you could release them.

But let me ask you three questions which you can answer without releasing a ballpark figure. 2014, the returns that you have already filed under penalty of perjury, what was ballpark, what was your gross income? What was your effective tax rate? And how much did you give to charity?

TRUMP: OK, Chris, first of all, let me just tell you something, as you know, I have filed in -- you know, unbelievable voluminous documents as to my net worth and as to the company I built, almost 100 pages with the Federal Elections Commission. You know that's been filed, right?

WALLACE: I do know that.

TRUMP: You talk about net worth. You don't learn -- you don't know that?

WALLACE: No, I said I do know that.

TRUMP: I filed with -- yes. I filed as to my net worth and as to the values and everything else. And that's -- and, by the way, people in your profession were unbelievably impressed with the company I built.

OK. That has to do with net worth. You can't learn anything from tax returns without net worth or any of that.

The tax returns have -- are being audited. I've been audited for many, many years. It is very, very unfair. I don't know why, but for some reason, the IRS audits me virtually every year.

WALLACE: But can you tell us what your gross income is?

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: I think it's very unfair. I've been singled out.

WALLACE: Can you tell us what the gross income is --

TRUMP: I've been singled out --

WALLACE: -- for 2014? Can you tell us what your effective tax rate is? And can you give us a sense of how much you gave to charity?

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Here's what you do -- go down to the Federal Elections Commission and take out my financial disclosure forms.

By the way, when you talk about Cruz, he didn't put on that he's borrowing money from banks all over the place that he borrowed a lot of money from banks at a very low interest rate, an interest rate you could not get. Believe me, he could never get it. That he borrowed from Goldman Sachs and Citibank. He didn't put that down in his financial disclosure form.

And I put down over 100 pages of investments and deals and everything else. I have full disclosure. He didn't disclose. Probably illegally, he didn't disclose that he had a million dollars' worth of loans at low interest rate. So, don't tell me about that.

WALLACE: OK, I got -- I got you.

TRUMP: As far as taxes are concerned --

WALLACE: I've got two more questions I've got to ask you.

TRUMP: Go ahead.

WALLACE: OK? I got two minutes. So let's try to get these both in, because you raised a new issue on Friday. You want to change the libel laws to make it easier to sue. Here you are, sir.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: When they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money. We're going to open up those libel laws.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: Is that really the kind of president you will be, if you don't like an article you're going to sue a newspaper or a network and tie them up in litigation? And, by the way, the Supreme Court ruled on this to open up the libel laws to make it easier to sue us, for instance, you're going to have to win them the Constitution.

TRUMP: Well, in England, I can tell you it's very much different and very much easier. I think it's very unfair when "The New York Times" can write a story that they know is false, that they virtually told me they know it's false and I say, why don't you pull the story, and they say, we're not going to do that, because they can't basically be sued. And you can't be sued because can you say anything you want and that's not fair.

All I want is fairness. So, I would absolutely work to open up the libel laws so that if you write something wrong, I want everybody to write whatever they want to write. But if you write something that's wrong and at least knowingly wrong but wrong, a person like me and other people can bring lawsuits to have it corrected and to get damage.

WALLACE: OK. Finally, I got about a minute left. Actually, I'm over time, but what the heck.

Do you expect to lock up the nomination with your performance on Super Tuesday, effectively lock up the nomination? And this week you won endorsements from New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Maine Governor Paul LePage. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said he could work with you.

With raises the question, are you becoming a captive of the establishment or is the establishment surrendering to Donald Trump?

TRUMP: Well, we're doing very well. I expect to do well on Tuesday. I hope.

I mean, you know, I told you, we're going to have 25,000 people today in Alabama. We have 15,000 yesterday in Tennessee. We had a tremendous amount of people, probably 15,000 in Arkansas in a hangar -- an airport hangar.

It's been amazing. It's been a movement. We have a movement going, Chris. It is something really special.

And having Paul's endorsement and having Chris Christie and Sarah Palin and Sheriff Joe Arpaio from Arizona, who's the king of the borders. I mean, when he endorses you, that means you have the best border plan, there's no question about that.

And Jerry Falwell Jr., you know, I'm winning with evangelicals every -- I mean, we are beating everybody with the evangelicals. I love the evangelicals.

And we're winning with the military. We're winning with the vets. We're really winning with everybody. And I am really thrilled by it.

I think we're going to do well on Tuesday. We're going beat out the establishment. The establishment is disgraceful.

Little Marco is doing not so well in Florida. He's down about 20 points. And the people in Florida can't stand him. He couldn't be elected dog catcher in Florida.

WALLACE: I think we already heard that.

Mr. Trump, I want to thank. I want to thank you for answering all of our questions. Thank you for your time, sir. We'll see you at the FOX debate Thursday in Detroit.

TRUMP: Thank you. Thank you very much.

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