The podcast interview, which aired Tuesday afternoon, is the former president’s latest interview on this type of platform as he looks to convey his message to casual voters, independents, and young male voters ahead of the 2024 election.

Fridman spent much of the interview calling attention to the former president’s token abrasiveness and 2020 election fraud claims as reasons many voters could be put off by another Trump term, while Trump insisted that he is the only option to save the country from becoming a “communist” country.

1. Trump argues a Harris presidency would send US into communism

Trump spoke to his and Republicans’ recent claims that Harris is a communist and would put the United States on track to become a socialist country.

“If we don’t win this election, the election coming up on Nov. 5 is the most important election this country has ever had,” Trump told Fridman. “Cause if we don’t win it, I don’t know that there’ll be another election, and it’s going to be a communist country or close.”

Fridman said a lot of people, including himself, don’t think Harris is a communist.

“Well, she’s a Marxist,” Trump interjected.

He agreed with Fridman that several people call him a “fascist.”

“Yeah, they do, so I figure it’s all right to call them a communist,” the former president said. “Yeah, they call me a lot worse than what I call them … I believe you have to fight fire with fire. I believe they’re evil people. These are very evil people.”

“We have an enemy from the outside, and we have an enemy from within,” Trump continued. “And in my opinion, the enemy from within are radical left lunatics. And I think you have to fight back.” 

Fridman asked Trump earlier whether he could describe something he respected most about left-leaning individuals, to which the former president responded, “I respect the fact that everybody’s in there, and you know, to a certain extent, life is what you do while you’re waiting to die, so you might as well do a good job.” 

2. Trump reaffirms support for marijuana 

Trump reasserted his support for medical marijuana Tuesday, his latest step in his endorsement of the drug ahead of a Florida ballot measure that could make recreational-use marijuana legal.

“First of all, medical marijuana has been amazing,” Trump said. “I’ve had friends, and I’ve had others and doctors telling me that it’s been absolutely amazing. We put out a statement that we can live with the marijuana. It’s gotta be a certain age, it’s gotta be a certain age to buy it, it’s gotta be done in a very concerted, lawful way. 

“And the way they’re doing it in Florida, I think, is gonna be actually good,” Trump added.

The Florida measure in question, Amendment 3, is set to be on the ballot for the 2024 election and needs 60% of the vote to pass. Trump said in a statement on Aug. 31 that “whether people like it or not, this will happen through the approval of the Voters, so it should be done correctly.” 

The former president said marijuana should be prohibited in public spaces, but Floridians should not be considered criminals for using the drug when it is legal in other states. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) are opposed to the ballot measure. 

On a national scale, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s decision on whether to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug won’t come until after the November general election. A hearing is set for Dec. 2, and a decision could possibly come in the next administration, which could turn marijuana into a potentially strong political matter for Harris and Trump in the last few months before the race.

Trump said on the podcast his campaign will put out more statements on marijuana in the next week.

3. Trump admits he lost by a ‘whisker’ in 2020, but Democrats are now staging a ‘coup’

Fridman pointed out to the former president numerous times Tuesday that “middle America” may favor his policies and past work as a businessman, but they are not keen to vote for him in 2024 due to his perpetual claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him. 

Trump admitted he lost but said the election was a “fraud” and argued many people felt that way and wanted answers.

The former president will face Harris in their first presidential debate next week on Sept. 10, with the vice president coming off of a political high thanks to the recent Democratic National Convention and record-breaking fundraising numbers in the weeks since President Joe Biden stepped aside. Her recent sit-down interview with CNN’s Dana Bash last week has been praised by some and criticized by others, including Trump, as a “soft interview.”

Trump said he’s preparing for the debate and believes he will do well. He added that he doesn’t think this year’s presidential election will be close.

“I’ve done well with debates. I became president,” Trump said in reference to the 2016 presidential election. “Then, the second time, I got millions more votes than I got the first time. So I was told if I got 63 million, which is what I got the first time, you would win. You can’t not win. 

“And I got millions more votes than that and lost by a whisker,” Trump said of the 2020 outcome. 

Trump, as he typically does in interviews, took the opportunity to slam Biden as the “worst president” in U.S. history but argued that having Harris as his opponent now isn’t Biden’s fault.

“He’s sort of checked out,” Trump said. “Hey look, you can’t blame him. That was a coup. They took it over. They took over the presidential deal. The whole presidential thing was taken over in a coup. He had 14 million votes. She had no votes. Not one. And no one thought it’d be her. Nobody wanted it to be her.”

“She was a joke until six weeks when they said, we’re going to have to — politically, they felt they had to pick her. And if they didn’t pick her, they thought they’d be a problem,” the former president continued.

4. Trump open to releasing information on UFOs and Jeffrey Epstein’s client list

Trump said Tuesday he would be open to pushing the Pentagon to release footage of UFOs, a talking point that has cultivated increased interest after the Department of Defense released declassified documents on the subject this year. Trump had also discussed UFOs with other podcasters, such as Logan Paul.

“Oh yeah, sure, I’d do that. I’d love to do that. I have to do that,” Trump told Fridman.

The former president also said he would be open to releasing information on financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and clients who went to his island. Fridman said it was strange for a lot of people that the list of clients was not public after his 2019 death.

“Yeah, I’d certainly take a look at it … I’d be inclined to do the Epstein — I’d have no problem with it,” Trump said.

5. Trump eases up on Joe Rogan feud over RFK Jr.

Fridman asked Trump to discuss the recent “tension” between himself and podcaster Joe Rogan, who had featured Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on his show, the Joe Rogan Experience. Rogan, a UFC commentator, had previously said he would vote for Kennedy should he make it onto the ballot but stopped short of endorsing him.

In early August, Trump expressed dismay at Rogan’s preference for Kennedy in a post on Truth Social in which he said, “It will be interesting to see how loudly Joe Rogan gets BOOED the next time he enters the UFC Ring??? MAGA2024.” 

Fridman called Trump’s Truth Social post about Rogan “a bit unfair” and wants the former president to go on Rogan’s podcast. Trump admitted sometimes he regrets his posts on social media but “not often.”

“I don’t think there was any tension,” Trump argued regarding Rogan. “I think he’s good at what he does, but I don’t know about doing his podcast.”

Trump praised Kennedy on Tuesday, as well, after Kennedy suspended his campaign for president and endorsed Trump in Arizona.

“He’s sort of a liberal guy, I guess, from what I understand, but he likes Kennedy — this was before I found this out before Kennedy came in with us. He’s gonna be great. Bobby’s gonna be great. But I like that he likes Kennedy. I do, too. He’s a different kind of a guy, but he’s got some great things going,” Trump said.