Following his softball interview with Donald Trump, Dr. Phil McGraw suggested he got through to the former president in convincing him not to seek retribution against political enemies.
Speaking to CNN’s Abby Phillip on Thursday after the interview aired, the talk show host was asked if he believes Trump will follow through on his calls to punish his foes after his recent conviction on all counts in his hush money trial.
“I actually don’t think he will,” McGraw said. “This is something that I think he’s had in his mind that there’s only one way to go, and that’s to get even. And I think I really made some headway with him that that is not the way to go.”
“I think it’s a process,” he added. “I think he’ll turn this over and over in his mind, and I don’t think he will do that.”
At one point during the interview, McGraw told Trump — a man with a notorious aversion to advice from even the most respected experts — that retribution was not healthy for the nation and that he would likely be too busy trying to repair the country to have time to “get even” if he becomes president again.
Trump replied, “Revenge does take time, I will say that. And sometimes revenge can be justified, Phil. I have to be honest. Sometimes it can.”
The presumptive GOP nominee spoke at length with McGraw about his campaign and his legal entanglements. McGraw lamented that the legal proceedings against Trump seem to be “never-ending” and suggested that Joe Biden should stop them, insisting that the president has control over state-level prosecutions. (He does not.)
At one point, he even praised Trump as having “thick skin,” adding, “You’re not one of those people that’s afflicted with the need to be loved by strangers.”