"That this country sits back and allows a country such as Iran to hold our hostages to my way of thinking is a horror."

"And I don't think they do it with other countries. I honestly don't think they do it with other countries.... I absolutely feel that [we should have gone in there]. Yes. I don't think there's any question. There's no question in my mind. I think it right now.... . I don't think that Iran would have our hostages for 10 minutes if they respected this country. I don't believe they would have our hostages for 10 minutes...."

That's Trump in 1980 — 46 years ago.A lot of people have been posting that clip this week. I'm seeing many comments about how consistent Trump has been about Iran. He was only 34 years old in that clip.

Context:

Well, I think that America is a country that has tremendous, tremendous potential. I think that much like the mind, I think that America is using very, very little of its potential. I feel that this country with the proper leadership can go on to become what it once was. And I hope and certainly hope that it does go on to be what it should be. 

What should it be? 

Well, it should really be a country that gets the respect of other countries today. 

Is respect the most important thing in your opinion? 

Well, respect can lead to other things. When you get the respect of other countries, then the other countries tend to do a little bit as you do and you can create the right attitudes. The Iranian situation is a case in point—that they hold our hostages is just absolutely and totally ridiculous. That this country sits back and allows a country such as Iran to hold our hostages, to my way of thinking, is a horror. And I don't think they do it with other countries. I honestly don't think they do it with other countries. 

Obviously, you're advocating that we should have gone in there with troops etc. and brought our boys out. 

I absolutely feel that. Yes. I don't think there's any question. There's no question in my mind. I think right now would be an oil-rich nation and I believe that we should have done it and I'm very disappointed that we didn't do it and I don't think anybody would have held us in abeyance. I don't think anybody would have been angry with us and we had every right to do it at the time. I think we've lost the opportunity. 

Donald, would you have wanted to be one of those men to have gone to Iran and taken those fellows out? 

No, I wouldn't have wanted to be, but I would have done it.Would you? Absolutely. If I were the age, if I were in the military—there were a lot of those fellas who went for that aborted rescue who were 34 years old and older. 

They were your age. 

That's right. 

If you were called upon, would you? 

I know it's easy to say, "Yes, of course I would go." But if the phone rang right now and there was someone from the Selective Service said, "Donald, we're taking every young man 34 years of age. We're sending him to war." 

Would you go to war? 

No, I don't see a war. You see, this is not a Vietnam situation, fortunately. The war, in fact, with Iran—there is a war waging here right now. Oh, yes, there is a war and it's a war where nobody has any tanks, has any guns. It's a war where everyone's standing around. That would have been the easiest victory we would have ever won in my opinion. 

When I look at television, I see men being shot up, legs being blown off. 

You're talking about two non-existent armies. I mean, Iran has an army composed of American equipment without parts and without anything else. And Iraq has a very weak army, and they're just really fighting each other. I mean, it's almost hand-to-hand combat if you've seen it now. It's a sad situation, Rona, but it's a situation which ultimately is going to get much worse. That little sparkle of war is going to lead, in my opinion, to a much greater conflict. And I think that's very unfortunate. And I think a lot of it has to do with this country and the fact that this country is not more involved in terms of setting policy in that area. 

Do you think perhaps that the oil industry is responsible for this as the late Shah once implied? 

Well, I wouldn't want to criticize the oil industry because I wouldn't know enough about it. But I can tell you that I think this country is responsible for that war by its own weaknesses. I don't think you'd have this war if we—if they, again using the other word—if we were respected properly, respected as a country and as a people and as a nation, I don't think that you would have the war going on right now between Iran and Iraq. I don't think that Iran would have our hostages for 10 minutes if they respected this country. I don't believe they would have our hostages for 10 minutes. 

For some people the ultimate goal in life has been becoming the president of the United States. Would you like to be the president of the United States? 

I really don't believe I would, Rona, but I would like to see somebody as the president who could do the job. And there are very capable people in this country. Most people who are capable are not running for office. Most men are frightened of politics today. 

It is a shame, isn't it? 

Yes, it is a shame. The most capable people are not necessarily running for political office. And that is a very sad commentary on the country. They head major corporations and they head this and that, but they are not running for political office. 

Why wouldn't someone like yourself run for political office? You have all the money that you possibly need. You've accomplished a great deal even though you are only 34. I know there's a lot of things that you possibly can do in the years ahead. Why wouldn't you dedicate yourself to public service? 

Because I think it's a very mean life. I would love and I would dedicate my life to this country, but I see it as being a mean life. And I also see it that somebody with strong views and somebody with the kind of views that are maybe a little bit unpopular—which may be right, but maybe unpopular—wouldn't necessarily have a chance of getting elected against somebody with no great brain, but a big smile. And that's a sad commentary for the political process.... 

But if all the men are like you, then when are we going to get somebody who might be good? 

I don't know. I hope it's around the corner, but I don't know. I really don't know.What I would like to be involved in is trying to help choose somebody or working with a group of people whereby they put up a candidate who would be acceptable to be the president. The country—if we had the one man, and it's really not that big a situation, you know, people say, well, what could anybody do as president? The one proper president could turn this country around. I firmly believe that. 

You think there is one man? 

There is one man....