In an interview with NBC News on Saturday, President Donald Trump said he would not fire anyone involved in signal group chats where the attack plan inadvertently leaked to journalists prior to the military strike, adding that he “can’t care much” if the automaker later raises prices due to new tariffs.
In a wide range of interviews, Trump also discussed his commitment to annexing Greenland, reiterating that military options are not off-table.
Following a week’s headline on signals, tariffs and Greenland, the president has piqued concerns that his agenda is causing volatility on Wall Street or reducing consumer confidence, indicating a record high in Americans who believe the country is on the right track.
“What I’m looking at is the right trajectory, the wrong trajectory, and the right trajectory was the first time I’d seen 40 years as the right trajectory,” the president also called out at one point, Finnish president Alexander Stubb. The two men were playing golf in Florida on Saturday.
More details from Trump’s interview with NBC News:
Don’t worry if the automaker will raise prices
The president said he “doesn’t really care” if the price increases after foreign automakers announced they would impose a 25% tariff on all foreign-made cars.
His latest message asked the CEO of the automotive industry what it was, and if he warned them against price hikes, Trump said:
If you tell the CEO not to raise prices, as reported in The Wall Street Journal, “No, I’ve never said that. If people start buying American-made cars, I wouldn’t mind that much if they raise prices.”
Trump continued. “I couldn’t care much. I hope they will raise prices. If so, people will buy American-made cars. We have a lot.”
When asked if he was worried about car prices going up, Trump said, “No, I couldn’t really care because when foreign cars go up, they’re going to buy American cars.”
Earlier this week, NBC News reported that even if foreign auto parts are assembled domestically, they will still be taxed at 25%. Companies importing vehicles under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will undergo special consideration until the government establishes a process to impose a 25% obligation, according to the White House.
Until then, USMCA compliant auto parts will remain free of tariffs.
The president also said the tariffs imposed were permanent.
“Absolutely, they are certainly permanent. The world has taken America for over 40 years, and what we’re doing is fair and frankly, I’m very generous,” Trump said.
Trump’s tariff announcement on Wednesday came weeks before the April 2nd “liberation day,” when tariffs on various consumer goods are expected to take effect. They elicited quick criticism from international leaders like Japanese Prime Minister Isba and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
In his remarks Thursday, Carney told reporters that tariffs were “unjust” and that “old relationships with the United States have ended based on our economy, strict security and military cooperation.”
Trump on Saturday claimed he had no plans to delay the tariff levies on April 2, saying, “We will only consider negotiations on that point if people are willing to give us something of great value.”
President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he was leviing a 25% tariff on all cars entering the US.
Signal Incident
Trump said he has no plans to fire anyone following news that national security adviser Michael Waltz added senior members of the Trump administration and journalists who were discussing plans to attack Hauch’s militants in Yemen earlier this month.
“I don’t fire people for fake news and witch hunts,” Trump said, calling the story “fake news” throughout the interview.
“I will,” the president said when asked by Waltz and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth if he was still confident.
“It’s just a witch hunt, and I think fake news like you are always talking about it, but it’s just a witch hunt and shouldn’t be talked about. [about]Trump added. “We had a very successful strike. We were very violent and very deadly. And no one wants to talk about it. All they want to talk about is nonsense. That’s fake news.”
Trump’s comments come in the face of calls from his allies.
In the chat, officials appeared to be discussing their plans to strike Hooty’s rebels, but they argued that the Trump administration has not been repeatedly classified.
“I don’t know what the signal is. I don’t care what the signal is,” Trump said Saturday. “All I can tell you is that it’s just a witch hunt and that’s nothing else for you to talk about, so that’s the only thing the press wants to talk about.
CIA director John Ratcliffe and national intelligence director Tarsi Gabbard were asked on Tuesday about group chats about military plans that had been inadvertently added by journalists.
To get Greenland, everything is on the table
The president on Saturday also said he was having a real conversation “absolutely” about Greenland’s annexation.
“I’ll get Greenland. Yeah, 100%,” Trump said.
He added that there is a “good possibility that we can do it without military force,” but “I won’t take anything off the table.”
This comes a day after Vice President J.D. Vance visited Greenland with his wife Usha and spoke with military personnel from the Pituffik Space Base, a US Space Force base on Greenland’s northwest coast.
While there, Vance said, “Our message to Denmark is very simple. We’re not doing a good job from the people of Greenland.”
Asked what messages to get Greenland send to Russia and the rest of the world, Trump said, “I don’t think much about it. I really don’t care. Greenland is a very different subject and is very different. It’s international peace. It’s international security and strength.”
“You have ships that sail from Russia, from China, and from many other places from China, and we are not going to allow anything to hurt the world or the United States,” he added.
Rob Weil contributed.
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