President-elect Donald Trump will not back away from his tough stance on trade — even if Republicans oppose him, incoming White House press secretary Sean Spicer says.
"He's not looking for permission," Spicer told David Axelrod's "The Axe Files" a podcast from the University of Chicago Institute of Politics. "He's going to do what he thinks the American people need to spur economic growth, to create jobs, to put the American worker first."
"This isn't a guy who has spent the last year and a half asking people for permission to do things. I think he wants input. He values ideas, opinions, analysis and facts — and then he makes a decision and he goes with it."
Despite losing the popular vote by about three million votes, Spicer said Trump will presume a mandate and carry through with the policies he proposed during the race for the White House.
"I think you gotta go forward with the things you campaigned on," Spicer said.
The Hill reports Axelrod asked Spicer during a panel discussion whether he feels "a certain sense of dread" about Trump posting on Twitter.
"No, but I do look there first," Spicer said.
In the podcast interview with Axelrod, Spicer refused to say what Trump, who has been skeptical of the conclusion the Russians were behind election hacking, would do after meeting with intelligence chiefs on Friday.
"I'm not going to prejudge the actions that he's going to take," Spicer said. "He's going to listen to them and then he will decide whether or not to make his opinion known."
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