Trump Pledges More Lawsuits, Will Review Eric Adams Pardon And Won’t Go To Bedminster Amid Drone Sightings

President-elect Donald Trump on Monday promised to continue his siege against the media, pledging to move forward with more litigation after winning a $15 million settlement in a defamation suit against ABC.

He alleged that the Des Moines Register had committed “fraud” with its pre-election release of a poll by longtime Iowa pollster Ann Selzer that incorrectly predicted a 3-point lead for Vice President Kamala Harris over Trump. He also reiterated frustrations against “60 Minutes” for its handling of an interview with Harris, which he is suing CBS over.

He also referenced ongoing lawsuits against publisher Simon & Schuster over the rights to recorded interviews he gave to journalist Bob Woodward, and the Pulitzer Prize board for reaffirming awards it gave to the New York Times and Washington Post for their reporting on ties between his 2016 campaign and Russia.

His comments came in his first press conference since winning the presidency, in which he covered a wide range of topics from vaccine mandates to relationships with foreign countries and a possible pardon of New York Mayor Eric Adams.

“You need a fair press,” Trump said, referencing the lawsuits. “I’m doing this not because I want to. I’m doing this because I feel I have an obligation to.”

Trump’s press conference, a rare time he has engaged with the media in an open setting since winning election, coincided with an event outgoing President Joe Biden was attending at the Labor Department’s headquarters to promote plans to establish a national monument honoring Frances Perkins — the country’s first female Cabinet secretary.

Some of the other topics Trump weighed in on:

The polio vaccine and vaccine mandates

Trump said he was a “big believer” in the polio vaccine and promised that “you’re not going to lose” it, noting that he “saw what happened with polio” and has “friends that were very much affected by that.”

“They’re still not in such good shape because of it,” Trump said. “Jonas Salk did a great job, so I don’t anticipate [getting rid of the polio vaccine] at all.”

But he also said he wasn’t “a big mandate person,” when asked whether schools should mandate vaccines and dodged a question about whether he believes vaccines cause autism, a claim research has repeatedly debunked.

“We’re looking to find out,” he said, later suggesting pesticides, also a target for Kennedy, could be causing rising autism diagnoses. “Something bad’s happening.”

Eric Adams pardon

When asked if he would consider pardoning Adams, Trump said he “would certainly look at it” and implied that the mayor’s indictment was a reaction to his stance on migrants in New York City.

“He essentially went against what was happening with the migrants coming in,” Trump said of Adams. “He made some pretty strong statements like, 'This is not sustainable.' I said you know what? He will be indicted soon. And I said it not as a prediction, a little bit light heartedly but I said it. I said he's going to be indicted. And a few months later he got indicted.”

Adams has faced criticism for how he handled the city’s migrant crisis, sharing last week that he would use executive orders to loosen sanctuary laws that prohibit the release of migrants into federal custody.

New Jersey drone sightings

Trump said he will avoid going to his Bedminister property this weekend, amidst reports of drones hovering over New Jersey.

“Something strange is going on — for some reason, [the government] don't wanna tell the people. And they should,” Trump said. “I mean they happen to be over Bedminster.”

Trump said that the drones are “very close to Bedminister.” He did not comment when asked if he had received an intelligence briefing on the drone activity.

“I think maybe I won't spend the weekend in Bedminster,” Trump added. “I decided to cancel my trip.”

Greta Reich, Daniel Payne and Mia McCarthy contributed to this report.