Buffoon of the ages talks to TIME magazine, with the usual result.

TRUMP: Well, I think we ran a flawless campaign. It was, it was really quite something. I called it 72 Days of Fury. There were no days off. There were no timeouts. If you made a mistake, it would be magnified at levels that nobody’s ever seen before. So you couldn’t make a mistake. And I think we just really ran well. It was a drive to go through it. It started 72 days out. For some reason, it just seemed to be it. And I worked very hard. I’ve been, I’ve been given credit by, actually, the reporters that followed me, because it was, you know, just, it just was all the time, every day, and we said the right things. 

To pretend for a moment that he actually thought about what he was saying – I disagree that he won the election because he “said the right things.” I think it’s because he said the kind of things that many people like. It’s not his eloquence, or his style, or his perspicacity, or his insight, or his analytic skills. It’s more the opposite. He says dumb, vulgar, trashy things, and enough people like that about him that he got elected.

That has to be true at least to some extent, because it’s not as if anyone can ignore the way he talks. It’s not a hidden or subtle aspect of him. It’s front and center, and loud. I think he makes people feel good about being…no better than adequate.

Harsh thing to say, I know, but people who voted for Trump are people who voted for Trump, so I think some harsh is in order.

Will you commit to honoring the Senate’s authority to reject or confirm your nominees? 

Well, sure, I want them to do that. I think—I don’t think there are too many. I don’t think that— look, everybody has, that’s why they have menus in restaurants. You have different choices. Some people love certain candidates. I’ll tell you, I put up some that I thought would be a little more controversial, and they turned out not to be necessarily the ones that are controversial.

One of them who is controversial, who I just want to ask you a quick question about, is RFK Jr, who is a noted vaccine skeptic. If he moves to end childhood vaccination programs, would you sign off on that?

We’re going to have a big discussion. The autism rate is at a level that nobody ever believed possible. If you look at things that are happening, there’s something causing it.

Yes, and the something causing it is knowing more about what autism is and how to diagnose it. It’s not more autism but more diagnosis of autism.

Do you think it’s linked to vaccines? 

No, I’m going to be listening to Bobby, who I’ve really gotten along with great and I have a lot of respect for having to do with food, having to do with vaccinations. He does not disagree with vaccinations, all vaccinations. He disagrees probably with some. But we’ll have it. We’re going to do what’s good for the country. 

So that could include getting rid of some vaccinations? 

It could if I think it’s dangerous, if I think they are not beneficial, but I don’t think it’s going to be very controversial in the end. 

If he thinks they’re dangerous, if he thinks they’re not beneficial – what does he know about it? Nothing, just like most of us. His random opinion on the subject is not relevant, and neither is Kennedy’s.

Do you agree with him about the connection between vaccines and autism? 

I want to see the numbers. It’s going to be the numbers. We will be able to do—I think you’re going to feel very good about it at the end. We’re going to be able to do very serious testing, and we’ll see the numbers. A lot of people think a lot of different things. And at the end of the studies that we’re doing, and we’re going all out, we’re going to know what’s good and what’s not good. We will know for sure what’s good and what’s not good. 

Shorter: I know absolutely nothing about it.