Following are key quotes from an interview that US President Donald Trump gave Time magazine on April 22, which was published on April 25:
On expanding the power of the US presidency
“Well, I don’t feel I’m expanding it. I think I’m using it as it was meant to be used. I feel that we’ve had a very successful presidency in 100 days.”
On inflation
“The prices of groceries have gone down. The only price that hasn’t gone down is the price of energy. The cost of energy, I’m sorry, well, energy has gone down, excuse me …
“And interest rates have essentially stayed the same. But almost every other thing.”
On US economic contraction
“If you look at all of the years that I’ve been doing this, I’ve been right on things. You’re gonna—you’re gonna have the wealthiest country we’ve ever had, and you’re gonna have an explosion upward in the not-too-distant future.”
Why are recent sizeable job losses acceptable?
“Because we have to have an efficient country. And when the country gets down to bare knuckles…you’re going to see something the likes of which this world has never seen before.”
How can US companies plan amid tariff uncertainty?
“I’ll turn it around. How can they make long-term investments if our country is losing US$2 trillion (S$2.63 trillion) a year on trade?
“I had the head of Walmart. I had the head of Home Depot and the head of Target in my office. And I’ll tell you what they think, they think what I’m doing is exactly right.”
On suspending tariffs after US bond prices fell
“I’m doing that until we come up with the numbers that I want to come up with…The bond market was getting the yips, but I wasn’t.”
On trade row with China, and President Xi Jinping
“He’s called. And I don’t think that’s a sign of weakness on his behalf…
“Oh, there’s a number at which they will feel comfortable. Yeah. But you can’t let them make a trillion dollars from us. You can’t let them make US$750 billion.”
What if tariffs are still 20-50 per cent in a year’s time?
“Total victory…Because the country will be making a fortune…
“I will set a price, and when I set the price, and I will set it fairly according to the statistics, and according to everything else…
“Over the next three to four weeks, and we’re finished.”
If republicans send Trump a budget bill that cuts social security, Medicare and Medicaid.
“If it cuts it, I would not approve…I would veto it, yeah. But they’re not going to do that.”
Why is Elon Musk’s Doge amassing sensitive personal information about everyday Americans?
“Because we want to find waste, fraud, and abuse, and want to cut our costs.”
On immigration
“People have been led into our country that are very dangerous. If you were walking down the street, and if you happen to be near one of these people, they could, they would kill you, and they wouldn’t even think about it.”
On not bringing deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia back from El Salvador, despite supreme court ruling.
“I leave that to my lawyers. I give them no instructions.”
Do you think peace is possible if Volodymyr Zelensky remains president of Ukraine?
“Yeah, I do. He is president now and I think we’re going to make a deal.”
On the terms of a deal for Ukraine
“Crimea will stay with Russia. And Zelensky understands that, and everybody understands that it’s been with them for a long time…
“I don’t think they’ll ever be able to join Nato…that’s I think what caused the war to start was when they started talking about joining Nato.”
On nuclear dispute with Iran
“I think we’re going to make a deal with Iran. Nobody else could do that.”
Did Trump prevent Israel attacking Iran’s nuclear sites?
“I didn’t stop them. But I didn’t make it comfortable for them, because I think we can make a deal without the attack.”
Would the US join an Israeli attack on Iran?
“If we don’t make a deal, I’ll be leading the pack.”
On relations with Canada
“We’re taking care of their military. We’re taking care of every aspect of their lives, and we don’t need them to make cars for us…We don’t need their lumber. We don’t need their energy. We don’t need anything from Canada. And I say the only way this thing really works is for Canada to become a state.”
Do you want to be remembered as a president who expanded American territory?
“Wouldn’t mind.”
On securing hundreds of millions of dollars in pro bono work pledges from major law firms.
“I think they felt that the election was rigged and stolen and they didn’t want to be a part of it… hey gave it to me because they knew what they did wrong and they didn’t want to get involved with it.”
On a potential third term as president
“I have more people begging me to run again, but I haven’t looked at even the possibility…there are some loopholes that have been discussed that are well known. But I don’t believe in loopholes. I don’t believe in using loopholes.” REUTERS
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