Former President Donald Trump said he doesn’t think he will run for office again in four years if he loses the November election.
“No, I think it will be, that’s it. I don’t see it at all,” Trump told interviewer Sharyl Attkisson on her show “Full Measure” when asked if he saw himself running again in four years if his presidential bid failed.
“I hope we succeed,” Trump added in the interview aired Sunday.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The former president was also asked about the possibility that former Hawaiian Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, tech billionaire Elon Musk or former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could be nominated for cabinet positions if he wins a second term. Trump did not rule out the possibility.
Trump suggested that Kennedy, who suspended his presidential bid and endorsed the former president last month, would be “great on health care and the environment.” Asked whether that means he will lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Trump said “that doesn’t mean anything” and said he had not made any agreements with anyone about possible Cabinet appointments.
“It’s too early, but the time has come, don’t you think?” he said.
The former president said Gabbard, who ran in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary but has since left the party and supported the former president, “has always been good from a common sense standpoint.”
“She’s a no-nonsense person. I’ve seen her on shows for a long time. I know her a little bit and it was a great honor to have her,” he said. “She is, you’re right, she was a Democrat and popular in Hawaii too. And she will be, she will be great.”
Trump noted that Musk had supported him “very strongly” and agreed that the tech billionaire could help combat “government waste” when Attkisson suggested the possibility.
“He believes this is the most important election we’ve ever had. And as you know, he probably has other things to do. But he’s indicating that he might be willing to do it,” Trump said.
“What we talk about most is costs,” he said. “He’s a great cost-cutter. He’s always been very good at it, and I am, too.”
After Elon Musk announced his support for Trump in July, Trump said in an August interview with former Navy SEAL Shawn Ryan that he wouldn’t expect the tech billionaire to serve in his cabinet if he won because Musk has professional commitments as the head of various companies, but floated the idea that he could “consult the country and give you some really good ideas.”
Earlier this month, Trump said he would embrace Musk’s plan for a government efficiency commission to cut federal spending, adding that Musk had agreed to lead the commission “if he had the time.”
