The fake interview continues.
C: I was planning to ask you a series of questions about foreign policy, but I’m going to defer those and concentrate on some matters that have arisen since the convention.
V: OK.
C: First of all, of course, we have the childless cat ladies thing. Do you regret saying that? After all, it was a personal attack on a large percentage of the voting population.
V: It was sarcasm. It was meant as a statement about the Democratic Party and its policies, not as an attack on voters.
C: So you’re saying you should be taken seriously, but not literally?
V: Yes.
C: That works for Trump. What makes you think it will work for you? You have a long paper trail setting out your views–why shouldn’t people believe you mean what you say?
V: It’s a matter of context. Most of the time, I mean exactly what I say. Other times, I don’t. People need to be able to tell the difference.
C: Let’s take your book as an example. If you make a habit of saying things that you don’t really mean for dramatic effect, why should I believe anything in the book, particularly since you have completely changed your views since then?
V: Again, it’s a matter of context. I meant what I said then. I don’t mind if people take what I said literally. That doesn’t mean I believe it now.
C: I ran into a quote from you in which you discussed the rule of law and indicated that conservatives would have to go to some places that weren’t comfortable. I take that to mean you believe a Trump Administration will have to violate court orders to accomplish its objectives. Is that a fair reading of your words?
V: That’s hypothetical. We’ll just have to see how things turn out.
C: Do you think a right-wing government is entitled to violate the law in the pursuit of what it believes is a higher good?
V: Maybe. We’ll see. I hope we never have to find out.
C: I ask this because you insist that you and Trump are not authoritarians. If you claim to have the right to violate the law to save the country, why wouldn’t I believe you would put your political opponents in jail and stifle dissent in this country? Why wouldn’t that meet your standards for violating court orders?
V: We wouldn’t do that. You just have to trust us.
C: Why are you entitled to the benefit of the doubt?
V: Because Trump didn’t do it in his first term. He has a way of expressing himself that may sound authoritarian at times, but that’s just his way of communicating with the base. He isn’t an authoritarian at heart.
C: Are you familiar with a manifesto on national conservatism that was issued by a number of your ideological allies about a year ago?
V: Yes, but I didn’t sign it.
C: Among many other things, that document indicates that Christians have the right to control the public sphere when they are a majority. Is that your view?
V: There are statements in that manifesto that I agree with, and some that I don’t. The manifesto doesn’t speak for the Trump campaign.
C: But the people who signed it are your friends and allies. Why shouldn’t the public believe they speak for you, and that you are just keeping quiet today because you know it will cost you politically?
V: Again, you just have to trust us. Donald Trump was a great president in his first term. He didn’t shut down the New York Times or shoot protesters. He didn’t try to impose Christianity on pagans. It will be the same way this time around.
C: What about his statement that Christians only need to vote this year? It sounds like one man, one vote, one time.
V: I hate to sound like a broken record, but Trump has a special way of communicating with his followers that shouldn’t be taken literally. His actions speak louder than words. He’s not a dictator.
C: Thank you for your time. I will come back to foreign affairs later.