One Of Donald Trump's Digs At Hillary Clinton Came Back To Bite Him

Back in 2016, Donald Trump had a lot to say about Hillary Clinton's email server and even played into his supporters' calls for her arrest. However, in the wake of his guilty verdict in the hush money trial, he sang a very different tune on Fox News. Granted, it'll be a little difficult for him to call "Fake news" this time. To borrow from Lisa Barlow, "Roll footage."

In his interview with Fox News' "Will Cain Show," Trump tried to backtrack on his previous calls for Clinton's arrest. "I didn't say lock her up, but the people would all say, 'Lock her up, lock her up,'" he explained. Now, it is worth noting that at first, Trump did try to dissuade his supporters from using it. However, for the former president to claim he never had anything to do with it. Well, to use yet another "Real Housewives" moment, it's bordering a little on pretend amnesia. 

For starters, there was Trump's 2016 speech in San Jose, where he clapped back at Clinton's accusations of fraud with a very unambiguous, "Hillary Clinton has to go to jail, okay? She has to go to jail." Then, there was his Colorado rally in July 2016, where he made it clear he was done with trying to stop his supporters from using the chant. "I've been saying, 'Let's just beat her on November 8,' but you know what? I'm starting to agree with you." That was just the start, though.

In addition to Donald Trump ultimately jumping on the "Lock her up" bandwagon (that, again, he had a hand in starting, even if he didn't use those exact words at first), he also made a very bold claim closer to the election. As part of his contributions to his second presidential debate against Clinton, he didn't mince his words. "If I win, I am going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into your situation," he threatened. Sounds a little like advocating for his opposition to go to jail — but maybe we're just missing something. 

Notably, Trump didn't end up going after Clinton after he won the election. In fact, speaking to The New York Times, he actually seemed a little contrite over the situation. "I don't want to hurt the Clintons, I really don't ... The campaign was vicious," he said. That was something he seemed to double down on in his Fox News interview. "I could have done it, but I felt it would have been a terrible thing," he claimed. 

That's a pretty clear admission of making a promise to supporters he never intended to keep, but we digress. 

In his Fox News interview, Donald Trump compared his softening in stance to that of a UFC fighter who embraced his opponent despite months of animosity leading up to a fight. He also admitted that walking away from the situation had been a lot easier for him to do because he'd emerged the victor. However, now that the roles are reversed, we wouldn't bank on him taking his own court defeat on the chin. 

We aren't exactly going out on a limb in saying that. Au contraire, in another interview post-guilty-verdict, the former president seemingly hinted that he wasn't opposed to retaliating by launching criminal investigations against his opponents going forward. Speaking of prosecuting future presidents, Trump told Newsmax, "It's very possible that it's gonna have to happen to them."

Of course, he could have been referring to the possibility of presidents being prosecuted in general. However, given that Trump already said in 2023 that if he wins the 2024 election, he has every intention of taking Joe Biden to court, that seems unlikely. As he said in an address to supporters, "I will appoint a real special prosecutor to go after the most corrupt president in the history of America, Joe Biden, and go after the Biden crime family" (via AP). Time will tell if that was merely another empty threat.