In 2016, for Donald Trump, it was “Russia, if you’re listening.…” In 2020, it’s “Anyone, if you’re listening….”

Speaking to ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Wednesday, the president was clear: Having gotten away with collusion during the 2016 election, he would happily do it again. “I think you might want to listen. I don’t—there’s nothing wrong with listening. If somebody called from a country—Norway—‘We have information on your opponent.’ Oh. I think I’d want to hear it,” Trump said. “It’s not interference. They have information. I think I’d take it. If I thought there was something wrong, I’d go maybe to the FBI, if I thought there was something wrong. But when somebody comes up with oppo research, right, they come up with oppo research.”

EXCLUSIVE: Pres. Trump tells @GStephanopoulos he wouldn't necessarily alert the FBI if approached by foreign figures with information on his 2020 opponent: "It’s not an interference. They have information. I think I’d take it." https://t.co/yWRxMOaFqW pic.twitter.com/qwLw53s5yc — ABC News (@ABC) June 12, 2019

In the same interview, pressed about his son Donald Trump Jr.’s failure to contact the FBI after being offered “dirt” on Hillary Clinton from Russians, the president was dismissive about the need to alert federal law enforcement. “I’ve seen a lot of things over my life. I don’t think in my whole life I’ve ever called the FBI. In my whole life. You don’t call the FBI. You throw somebody out of your office, you do whatever you do,” he said, echoing Cam’ron.



On Thursday, Trump doubled down, sort of. In a series of tweets—one initially referring to the Prince of Wales as the “Prince of Whales”—he defended the need to keep conversations with foreign leaders secret.

....call the FBI about these calls and meetings? How ridiculous! I would never be trusted again. With that being said, my full answer is rarely played by the Fake News Media. They purposely leave out the part that matters. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 13, 2019

It’s not entirely clear what the Queen of England would have on potential Democratic presidential candidates, but Trump’s defense is that, as president, he has to have privileged conversations with foreign dignitaries. But that’s not the issue here, and it certainly isn’t what Trump was talking about with Stephanopoulos. In no uncertain terms, the president was saying that, given the opportunity to again boost his political prospects with information provided by a foreign actor, he would accept the contribution with open arms.

