Trump: ‘I’m for traditional marriage’

GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump said in an interview broadcast Sunday that he opposes same-sex marriage and defended his own history of having been divorced twice.

On CNN’s “State of the Union,” host Jake Tapper asked Trump to follow up on his 2013 comment that his views on same-sex marriage are “evolving.”

{mosads}“I’m for traditional marriage,” Trump told Tapper, adding that the opinions surround the issue are “changing rapidly.”

Although Trump’s interview aired two days after the Supreme Court declared same-sex marriage is legal in every state, it was recorded before that decision.

He later said he disagreed with the court, adding that states should be allowed to decide whether same-sex marriage is legal.

Tapper pressed Trump on his own marital history, asking how he would respond if a gay or lesbian person asked, “What’s traditional about being married three times.”

“They have a very good point,” Trump responded. He went on to defend his behavior in his previous marriages with Ivana Trump and Marla Maples. “I blame myself because my business was so powerful to me,” he said.

He also defended his previous statements on issues, such as Mexican immigrants to the United States, healthcare and trade.

He was a focus of controversy this week, after he told CNN that some Mexicans crossing the border to the United States “are good, and some are rapists, and some are killers.”

The real estate magnate wasn’t only referring to Mexicans, he said, adding that the country should be suspicious of immigrants from around the world.

“We have people coming in, and I’m not just saying Mexicans, I’m talking about people that are from all over that are killers and rapists, and they’re coming into this country,” Trump told Tapper.

“I don’t think it’s a small percentage; it’s a lot,” he continued. “But it’s not Mexicans necessarily. They’re coming from all over.”

Trump has previously said he favored a universal healthcare system, but he said he has changed his view on that.

“I want everyone to have coverage,” he said, adding that the healthcare system is not a free market, nor was it before the Affordable Care Act.

He said various free trade deals the United States currently has, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which is under negotiation, are bad.

“The problem with free trade is you need smart people representing you,” he said. “We have the greatest negotiators in the world, but we don’t use them. We use political hacks and diplomats. We use the wrong people.”

China and Mexico, on the other hand, use much smarter negotiators and end up with much better deals, Trump said.