In a wide-ranging Oval Office interview that lasted nearly an hour, Trump claimed credit for the state of the American economy \u2014 including the effects of the artificial intelligence revolution he has embraced \u2014 threatened that Iran\u2019s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, should be \u201cvery worried\u201d about possible U.S. attacks on his country and, with a knowing nod to the value of suspense, declined to rule out attempting to remain president beyond the end of his current term.<\/p>\n
Tune in for more of Tom Llamas’ interview with President Donald Trump on Super Bowl Sunday on NBC.<\/p>\n
The president also questioned the independence of the Federal Reserve, offered assessments of two of his potential Republican successors \u2014 Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio \u2014 and expounded on his plan to build an arch bigger than Napoleon\u2019s Arc de Triomphe.<\/p>\n
Trump appeared relaxed throughout the sit-down interview, leaning forward in conversation with Llamas and later showing off historical portraits he\u2019s hung in the Oval Office, along with a copy of the Declaration of Independence.<\/p>\n
Parts of the interview will air on NBC during its broadcast of the Super Bowl on Sunday, as Trump continues a tradition that was interrupted when President Joe Biden declined to participate in the final year of his lone term.<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s timely remarks about the lessons from Minneapolis, where he recently reshuffled his leadership team, were his most expansive and reflective to date about an issue that has dominated headlines, divided Americans and, as voters recoiled from the violence, distracted attention from his success in shutting down illegal immigration across the U.S.-Mexico border.<\/p>\n
\u201cI learned that maybe we can use a little bit of a softer touch, but you still have to be tough,\u201d Trump said. \u201cWe\u2019re dealing with really hard criminals.\u201d<\/p>\n
His fine-tuning reflects the underlying tension between a MAGA political base committed to the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants \u2014 regardless of whether they pose threats to the public \u2014 and more moderate Republicans, including some in his own administration, who prioritize apprehending violent criminals. <\/p>\n
As the White House pressured<\/a> the Department of Homeland Security to arrest more people over the first year of his term and DHS officials pushed their subordinates<\/a> to meet the targets, the share of the total number of detainees with criminal records \u2014 those who had been convicted of crimes or faced charges \u2014 slumped<\/a>.Major operations in big cities have led to a series of lawsuits<\/a> against the Trump administration for violating the rights of citizens and both legal and undocumented immigrants, as well as a spate of federal court rulings restricting federal agents\u2019 actions and reprimanding the administration<\/a> for its tactics.<\/p>\n Still, Trump insisted Wednesday that his operations are highly targeted at what administration officials routinely call the \u201cworst of the worst.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are totally focused on criminals, really bad criminals. Now you could say that people who came in illegally are criminals, but I\u2019m talking about murderers from different countries,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Trump said he was \u201cnot happy\u201d with \u201ctwo incidents\u201d: when federal agents shot and killed American citizens Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti on Jan. 7 and Jan. 24.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was not an angel and she was not an angel,\u201d he said of the deceased before he noted that the killings were \u201cvery sad to me\u201d and asserted that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents share those sentiments.<\/p>\n \u201cI think they were both sad,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd you know who feels worse about it than anybody? The people of ICE.\u201d<\/p>\n Here are some of the top moments from Trump\u2019s interview with NBC News.<\/p>\n The economy<\/p>\n Over the past year, Trump has been beset by the public perception that he has failed to fulfill his campaign promise to end inflation and turbocharge the economy. In November, high-profile Democratic candidates rode a message of \u201caffordability\u201d to victory in Virginia, New Jersey and New York City.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, he said again that he is still fixing what he describes as an economic mess Biden left, pointing to the revenue generated by tariffs and foreign investments that have been made and promised during his second term in office. He said he anticipates a slower rise in prices after costs spiked during the recovery from Covid.\u201cI don\u2019t expect them to be much higher,\u201d he said. \u201cNow there\u2019s a natural inflation. Remember this, Tom \u2014 I inherited the worst inflation in the history of our country. It was through the roof.\u201d<\/p>\n Rebate checks<\/p>\n Llamas asked Trump about relief for the American public in the form of $2,000 tariff rebate checks he has repeatedly floated \u2014 a plan that would require legislation from a politically divided Congress in an election year. Trump declined to promise that the checks would be coming. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m looking at it very seriously. I\u2019m the only one can do it,\u201d Trump said. \u201cI haven\u2019t made the commitment yet, but I may make the commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n The Fed More broadly, he has been deeply frustrated by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell\u2019s refusal to bend to his demands in lowering interest rates faster, a move Trump sees as a boon for the economy. He said he would not have tapped<\/a> Kevin Warsh as his nominee to succeed Powell if he did not believe Warsh would take his cue.\u201cIf he came in and said, \u2018I wanna raise \u2019em,\u2019\u201d Trump said of Warsh, \u201che would not have gotten the job.\u201d<\/p>\n Pressed by Llamas about whether the Fed was an \u201cindependent body,\u201d Trump replied, \u201cI mean, in theory, it\u2019s an independent body. But I think, you know, I\u2019m a smart guy. I know the economy better than almost everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe Rogan<\/p>\n Trump praised Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for helping him close off the border and gently brushed aside criticism from podcaster Joe Rogan, a Trump supporter who recently compared the tactics<\/a> of ICE agents to those of the Nazi Gestapo.<\/p>\n Trump called him a \u201cgreat guy\u201d and said the two had a \u201cgreat conversation\u201d three days ago. He told Llamas they talked \u201ca little bit\u201d about some of his criticisms. <\/p>\n \u201cI think he\u2019s a great guy, and I think he likes me, too,\u201d Trump said, adding, \u201cAnd, you know, liking me isn\u2019t important. What happens is that \u2014 I think we do a phenomenal job, but I don\u2019t think we\u2019re good at public relations,\u201d Trump said. He also argued that Noem is \u201cnot getting credit for the job that she does.\u201d<\/p>\n Netflix<\/p>\n Trump punted to Attorney General Pam Bondi on the proposed sale of Warner Bros. Discovery to Netflix, which would create a behemoth media company and has been the subject of lobbying so fierce by proponents and opponents that it has reached his desk \u2014 or at least his phone.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been called by both sides,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s the two sides, but I\u2019ve decided I shouldn\u2019t be involved. The Justice Department will handle it.\u201dHe simply noted that the two sides are \u201cbeating the hell out of each other\u201d and \u201cthere\u2019ll be a winner.\u201d<\/p>\n Artificial intelligence<\/p>\n Trump has been bullish about promoting AI, and he predicted its benefits will far outweigh drawbacks, even as many people worry that they will lose jobs and pay higher energy prices because of the proliferation of data centers. He said he takes responsibility for endorsing AI and the effects that will have on the American economy over time.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything\u2019s on me as president,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019ll be the greatest jobs producer, it\u2019ll be the greatest military producer, it\u2019ll be the greatest medical producer. There\u2019ll be tremendous good, and there\u2019ll be probably some bad, too.\u201d<\/p>\n While there are no clear partisan divides<\/a> over feelings about the future of AI, some Americans have started to push back on the development of power-hungry data centers in their backyards, while others fear the technology could soon make their jobs obsolete. In his interview with Trump, Llamas specifically cited job cuts Amazon announced last year. The company cited AI in an announcement<\/a> explaining the layoffs.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, no, it\u2019s not killing,\u201d Trump said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to make \u2014 it\u2019s going to create a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMr. President, there\u2019s widespread concern that AI is gonna wipe out a lotta jobs, manufacturing jobs,\u201d Llamas said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey said the internet\u2019s going to \u2014 robots are going to kill jobs, everything is going to kill jobs,\u201d Trump replied. \u201cAnd you end up, if you\u2019re smart, doing great.\u201d<\/p>\n The president acknowledged he hasn\u2019t used popular AI interfaces such as ChatGPT and Claude.\u201cI haven\u2019t really,\u201d he said, \u201cbut I know all about it.\u201d<\/p>\n Iran<\/p>\n Trump, who ordered airstrikes against nuclear sites in Iran in June, left the door open to more U.S. military action against Iran. <\/p>\n Asked whether Iran\u2019s supreme leader should be \u201cworried,\u201d the president said: \u201cI would say he should be very worried. Yeah, he should be. As you know, they\u2019re negotiating with us.\u201d<\/p>\n U.S. and Iranian officials said Wednesday that high-level talks with Iran would be held Friday in Oman, discussions that are expected to include the country\u2019s nuclear program and other issues.<\/p>\n Trump indicated the regime might be seeking to revive its nuclear project in the wake of U.S. and Israeli air raids last year. <\/p>\n When Llamas asked whether Iran was trying to restart the program, Trump said: \u201cWell, I heard that they are,\u201d without elaborating. He added that if Iran tried to renew its nuclear work, he would send U.S. bombers back to Iran to \u201cdo their job again.\u201d<\/p>\n Nationalizing elections<\/p>\n Against the backdrop of National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard\u2019s accompanying the FBI<\/a> on a raid of a Georgia voting center last week, Trump began to walk back his recent call to \u201cnationalize voting\u201d and have Republicans \u201ctake over<\/a>\u201d the elections process. Trump has been trying to prove for five years, against all available evidence, that he won the 2020 election.<\/p>\n But Wednesday, after Republican lawmakers tried to couch his comments as an endorsement of legislation requiring voter ID nationally, Trump disavowed his own remarks.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t say \u2018national,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cI said there are some areas in our country that are extremely corrupt.\u201d <\/p>\n More from NBC News’ interview with Trump<\/p>\n He pointed specifically to Atlanta, Philadelphia and Detroit, the biggest cities in the three states that were pivotal in his 2020 defeat. <\/p>\n He then accused Democratic officials of trying to cheat because they oppose the federal voter ID bill, known as the SAVE Act.\u201cIf they don\u2019t want voter ID, that means they want to cheat,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Before the next presidential election, voters will head to the polls in November for midterms, which will determine whether Republicans keep control of the House, the Senate or both for the final two years of Trump\u2019s term. He said Democrats should not impeach him if they gain control of the House and expressed his sympathy for former President Bill Clinton, who was impeached and who has been subpoenaed to testify before Congress in its investigation into the late sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein.<\/p>\n Llamas also asked Trump about election conspiracy theories he has promoted on social media, including a baseless claim about Italian military satellites<\/a> hacking into voting machines to help Biden. <\/p>\n \u201cDo you believe that stuff?\u201d Llamas asked. <\/p>\n \u201cNo, no. No. No. \u2026 I sometimes will\u2026 retruth\u201d those claims, Trump replied. <\/p>\n Trump\u2019s successor<\/p>\n Trump lit up when Llamas asked him to pick a favorite on the Republican side.<\/p>\n Trump, who has often promoted<\/a> Vance and Rubio as a potential 2028 ticket, said he would \u201cbe inclined\u201d to endorse a successor in the Republican presidential primaries. Llamas pressed Trump to clarify whom he would prefer at the top of the ticket.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I don\u2019t want to get into this. We have three years to go. I don\u2019t want to, you know, I have two people that are doing a great job. I don\u2019t want to have an argument with, or I don\u2019t want to use the word \u2018fight\u2019 \u2014 it wouldn\u2019t be a fight. But look, JD is fantastic, and Marco is fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n Vance has said<\/a> this year\u2019s midterm elections will help clarify his political future, while Rubio has said<\/a> he hopes Vance runs and believes he would be a great nominee. <\/p>\n Asked Wednesday to identify how Vance and Rubio differ, Trump wrestled with what he called Llamas\u2019 \u201cmost interesting question.\u201d He observed that both would be game to \u201cdo shows\u201d like those hosted by Rogan, with whom Trump sat in the weeks before the 2024 election.<\/p>\n \u201cI would say one is slightly more diplomatic than the other,\u201d Trump said, without specifying which one, though diplomacy is Rubio\u2019s job description. \u201cI think they\u2019re both of very high intelligence.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think there\u2019s a difference in style,\u201d he added. \u201cYou know, you can see the style yourself. But they\u2019re both very capable. I do think this: The combination of JD and Marco would be very hard to be beaten, I think. But you never know in politics, right?\u201d<\/p>\n Third term?<\/p>\n Llamas also pressed Trump \u2014 who has occasionally suggested an interest in serving an unconstitutional third term \u2014 about whether he sees \u201cany scenario\u201d in which he\u2019s still president on Jan. 21, 2029 \u2014 the day after a successor would be sworn into office. Trump\u2019s response indicated that he enjoys stirring drama around the subject.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know. It would be interesting,\u201d he said. \u201cBut wouldn\u2019t it be terrible if I agreed with you, if I gave you the answer that you\u2019re looking for? It would make life so much less exciting. It would be so much less exciting. But I only do this for one reason: Make America great again, and that\u2019s what we\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n Suing the IRS<\/p>\n In the interview, Trump said he would give any proceeds he receives from civil actions he has filed against the federal government to charity. Last month, in his capacity as a private citizen, Trump filed a $10 billion suit against the IRS and the Treasury Department over a former IRS employee who leaked his tax returns to news outlets.<\/p>\n Separately, in 2024, when he was out of office, he sought damages from the government over an FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida for classified documents that he kept after his first term, among other issues.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t leak documents,\u201d Trump said, referring to the IRS-Treasury suit. \u201cAny money that I win I\u2019ll give it to charity \u2014 100% to charity. Charities that will be approved by government, or whatever.\u201d<\/p>\n As president, Trump oversees the agencies from which he is seeking a payout.<\/p>\n Would Trump, as the boss, direct his administration officials to approve the payout? Llamas asked.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I would do, tell \u2018em to pay me, but I\u2019ll give 100% of the money to charity. I don\u2019t want any of that money,\u201d he replied. <\/p>\n Asked about taking as much as $10 billion in taxpayer money out of the system, Trump said: \u201cNo, no. I\u2019m putting it back into the system. If I give money to American Cancer Society \u2014 I will give 100% of the money to charity. I don\u2019t want any of it.\u201d<\/p>\n The legacy arch<\/p>\n Trump offered fresh insights into his thinking behind some of the construction projects he has launched since he returned to office.<\/p>\n Apart from building a new ballroom for the White House, Trump plans to erect an arch that would stand at the entryway to Washington, D.C., from the Virginia suburbs. <\/p>\n Asked whether such monuments are meant to ensure he\u2019s not forgotten, Trump said: \u201cNo, I think we need glamour brought back to our country. We need prestige. We need beauty.\u201d<\/p>\n The new arch, he said, would outshine France\u2019s famous Arc de Triomphe, which stands 164 feet tall.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re doing one that will be more magnificent and larger than the Arc de Triomphe in Paris,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he hopes to push his immigration crackdown into five more cities, previewing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":450908,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":{"0":"post-450907","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-united-states-of-america","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","14":"tag-us","15":"tag-usa"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=450907"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450907\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/450908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=450907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=450907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=450907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/tm-sot1-minn-yqpb2s.jpg\")
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