President Trump said he “cannot” forgive some of his enemies and never expects to — even if that choice ultimately kept him out of Heaven.
In a Sunday interview with “60 Minutes” correspondent Ross Douthat, the president said he would rather remain in purgatory than forgive certain political adversaries.
Douthat raised the subject after first asking Trump whether he believed he would go to Heaven when he died.
“I hope so,” Trump replied solemnly. “I don’t want to go to hell.”
The interviewer then turned to remarks Trump made at the funeral of Charlie Kirk, the slain right-wing political activist.
Douthat referred to Trump’s half-joking comment at the memorial that he “hates” his opponents and does not want them to succeed — a view that contrasted sharply with widow Erika Kirk’s call for forgiveness.
He then presented Trump with a hypothetical about the afterlife.
“[A]ll you have to do to enter paradise is feel love and forgiveness for [former FBI director] James Comey, [former Speaker of the House] Nancy Pelosi, anyone who you have expressed hate for over the years. Do you think you can do it?” he asked.
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Trump described the people named as “extremely dishonest,” “very bad” and harmful to the country. When Douthat asked whether that meant the answer was “no,” the president responded directly.
“The answer is no,” Trump said. “I want to be honest.”
Douthat then increased the stakes, suggesting that Trump would be withholding forgiveness from those who had wronged him before “the judgment throne of God.” Trump nevertheless stood by his answer.
“Before the judgment, no. I think they were very bad people,” he said.
Trump cited what he called the “weaponization” of the justice system and political attacks against him, including his indictments and impeachments, as reasons for his anger.
Douthat later asked how someone with “the most charmed and remarkable life of any American in my lifetime” could still be unable to forgive his enemies.
Trump showed no sign of reconsidering.
“I probably cannot do that, no, because I do hate some of my enemies and I always will,” he said.