After taking office on January 20, President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to make immediate and sweeping reforms to keep Dreamers in the country, including pardons for those convicted of storming the U.S. Capitol. Legally stated that they would like to find a legislative solution.
In an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker, President Trump said he would work to extend tax cuts passed during his first term. He said he had no intention of imposing restrictions on abortion drugs. He plans to deport millions of illegal immigrants and end birthright citizenship. And he said an amnesty for the Jan. 6 rioters would take place on the first day, arguing that many had endured unduly harsh treatment in prison.
“These people are living in hell,” he said.
President Trump’s first post-election network television interview took place Friday at Trump Tower in Manhattan, where he spoke for more than an hour about the policy plans Americans can expect in his next term.
President Trump said he would fulfill a campaign promise to impose tariffs on imports from the United States’ largest trading partner. A notable moment was when Mr. Welker acknowledged uncertainty when asked if he could “guarantee that American families will not pay additional fees” as a result of his plan.
“I can’t guarantee anything,” President Trump said. “We can’t guarantee tomorrow.”
Trump also said he would not raise the age for government programs such as Social Security and Medicare, nor would he cut them as part of a spending-cutting effort led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. When asked if raising the age was “off the table,” Trump agreed: “I wouldn’t do it.”
Mr. Trump spoke in a calm, measured tone and occasionally sparred with Mr. Welker as he fact-checked him. He seemed encouraged by the extent of his victory on November 5th. “Everyone calls me that,” he proudly said after winning the popular vote and winning all seven key battleground states.
He said he heard from Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos that he was having dinner.
“People like me now, don’t they?” he said, adding: “It’s different than it was the first time. When I first won, I wasn’t this popular. And one of the things that’s very important is, when it comes to elections, I’m very happy that I won the popular vote by a landslide.”
“Maybe he should.”
Mr. Trump has certainly begun to have familiar grievances. He refused to admit he lost the 2020 election. Asked why he stole that election and not this one, even though Democrats control the White House, President Trump responded, “Because I think it was too big to cheat.” ” he answered.
He blamed President Joe Biden for the country’s political divisions and continued to insult his supposed opponents. Incoming Democratic U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff of California is “a real scumbag,” he says.
But when it comes to political retaliation, he delivered mixed messages. President Trump has made clear that he believes he has been treated unfairly, but he has also been conciliatory, saying he will not appoint a special counsel to investigate Biden. “I don’t want to go back in time,” he said. “Retribution will be earned through success.”
The fear among President Trump’s political opponents is that he will use the government’s formidable investigative mechanisms to exact revenge. He selected two allies for top law enforcement positions: Pam Bondi as attorney general and Kash Patel as FBI director. President Trump suggested that if approved, they would be given autonomy over how the law is enforced.
But he also named people he believed crossed the line in investigating his conduct and called Special Counsel Jack Smith “highly corrupt.”
He said members of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol were “political thugs and, you know, creepy people who committed criminal acts.”
“Honestly, they should go to prison for what they did,” Trump said.
Asked if he would direct the Justice Department and FBI to punish them, Trump said: “No, not at all. I think they need to look at it, but I’m not going to — I’m going to focus on drill, baby, drill — a reference to further leveraging the oil supply.
Trump said Biden could pardon committee members if he wanted to, and “probably should.”
minimum wage, immigration, and obamacare
The interview covered a variety of topics, but he continued to distance himself from the conservative Project 2025, which is intended to be a blueprint for the administration to implement new policies. . But although he once rejected the policy guidebook, he has embraced it more closely, agreeing that some of its drafters are now part of the incoming administration.
“Many of those things I happen to agree with,” Trump said.
He said he would consider raising the federal minimum wage, which has been $7.25 an hour since 2009, but would consult with governors across the country. “I agree. It’s a very low number,” he said.
He said he would release his full medical records. Trump will be 82 years old when his term ends in 2029, the same age as Biden. He said he has no intention of exiting Truth Social, the $1 billion platform he founded after leaving office. “I don’t know what to sell,” he said. “All I’m doing is getting a message out,” he said, adding that he has no intention of replacing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, whom he has criticized in the past.
In a departure from his previous term, when his daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner served as senior advisers in his West Wing office, Trump said his children do not intend to join him as White House aides. He said no. “I’ll miss them when they’re gone,” he said. Trump did not address questions about what role his wife, Melania Trump, would play in his new term, but called the future first lady “very elegant” and “very popular.” Ta.
Immigration was a centerpiece of Mr. Trump’s campaign, and he was unflinching when it came to carrying out mass deportations of illegal aliens.
First, he is a convicted criminal. Asked whether the targets would go beyond that group, Trump added: “Well, I think we have to do it, but it’s difficult. It’s very difficult to do.” It is — but there have to be rules, regulations, laws. They entered the country illegally. ”
There is also the possibility that American citizens will be caught up in the raids and be deported along with their family members who entered the country illegally, or they may choose to leave the country.
Asked about families with mixed immigration status, some of whom are in the U.S. legally and others who are in the country illegally, President Trump said, “I don’t want to separate families, so I’m the only one who doesn’t separate families. The way is to maintain the family.” Please send it back together. ”
He was undeterred, he said, despite the cost and logistical complexities of deporting millions of people.
“We have no choice,” he said. “First of all, they are costing us a lot of money. But we are starting with the criminals, so we have to do it. And we start with the others and see what happens. I’m going to take a look.”
An exception may be “Dreamers,” people who were brought to the United States illegally as children and have lived here for years. He expressed openness to a legislative solution that would allow them to remain in the country.
“We’re going to work with Democrats to come up with a plan,” he said, praising the “Dreamers” who have landed good jobs, started businesses and become successful residents. “We’re going to have to do something about them,” he said.
He also said he would abolish birthright citizenship, enshrined in the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil, regardless of their parents. Asked about the possibility that doing so unilaterally would face legal opposition, Trump said he would consider amending the constitution.
“We’ll probably have to go back to the people,” Trump said. “But we have to end it.”
Trump was criticized for saying in a debate with Vice President Kamala Harris that he had a “vision for a plan” to replace the Affordable Care Act signed by President Barack Obama.
It’s not clear whether Mr. Trump’s ideas have evolved further.
“Obamacare stinks,” he said. “If I find a better answer, I’m going to present it to Democrats and everyone else and do something about it.”
When will he come up with a plan? President Trump said, “Well, I have no idea if you’re going to see it,” adding that medical experts are considering possible alternatives. .
foreign policy
Late Friday after the interview, President Trump flew to Paris for a ceremony marking the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral, which was destroyed by fire.
After arriving, he posted on social media that he met privately with French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and that the three discussed reaching a “just peace” in the war with Russia. Zelenskiy joined the meeting for about the last 10 minutes, a Trump transition official said.
President Trump said in an interview with “Meet the Press” that he is actively trying to end the war “if we can,” and that Ukraine won’t receive as much military aid from the U.S. if Trump returns. office, which he added he could “probably” expect not to be.
He would not commit to keeping the United States in NATO, the European military alliance that has been a bulwark against Russia since World War II. He said he would maintain the U.S. role in the alliance “if they pay their bills, absolutely.”
On other fronts of foreign policy, President Trump expressed doubts about Syrian President Bashar al-Assad remaining in power.
Trump said: “It’s amazing, because if he stayed under for years, you would expect a worse situation, but now all of a sudden the rebels are on the move, occupying vast amounts of territory.” ” he said. “People have been betting on him for a long time and so far it hasn’t worked out. But this looks different.”
“We cannot tolerate the genocide committed by America.”
The words that jumped out from President Trump’s first inaugural address in 2017 were “American genocide.” It reminded me of a country ravaged by crime and plagued by rusting factories.
This time, President Trump said the lessons from his inaugural address will be different.
“I’m going to give you a message,” he said. “It’s going to make you happy, it’s unity. It’s going to be a message of unity.”
“And no American genocide?” Welker asked.
“There was no American genocide, no,” said the 45th and soon-to-be 47th president.
Asked for a message to Americans who didn’t vote for him, Trump compared them to his most ardent supporters, a shift from his campaign rhetoric.
“I’m going to treat you guys,” he said, “and I’m going to treat you in every way the same way I treated the greatest MAGA supporter.”
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