Extended Interview: President Trump on 60 Minutes

[0:00] Mr. President, thank you so much for doing this. [0:02] Thank you. [0:04] We're going to start with the midterms. [0:07] Two years ago, you won a big, some might say, historic victory. [0:13] Just now, the Republican Party in the midterms suffered a big, some might say, historic defeat. [0:18] Give me your political analysis of what just happened. [0:21] Well, number one, I was not on the ballot. [0:24] But I campaigned hard for some people. [0:27] And I think if I was on the ballot, it would have been a much different situation. [0:32] Because you saw the level of popularity and love. [0:35] There was love. [0:36] We had massive rallies. [0:37] Nobody's ever seen rallies like that for midterms. [0:40] And there wasn't one room that didn't have thousands of people outside, couldn't get in. [0:45] So you had to transfer those voters, however, to candidates that they didn't like. [0:53] But there's something beyond that. [0:54] They didn't like the war. [0:56] They didn't like the fact that gasoline went up. [0:59] Because I had it down at a low in Iowa. [1:02] It was $1.85 a gallon, $1.85 a gallon. [1:07] And when you look at $1.85 and you go up to $3.5, $4, still lower than Biden, lower than [1:14] Obama. [1:16] But the war was blamed for that. [1:19] And they didn't like the war. [1:20] I think mostly for that reason. [1:21] Because I think everyone agrees that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. [1:25] And they will never have a nuclear weapon. [1:27] They won't have that. [1:29] And there's a great dislike, incredibly, for Israel. [1:34] There seems to be a dislike for Israel. [1:36] So you have that. [1:38] You have the war itself. [1:39] You have the gas prices. [1:41] And I think those are the primary reasons. [1:43] And, you know, MAGA, and I always want to keep out of wars. [1:48] I've settled eight wars. [1:50] I settled eight wars. [1:51] I mean, India, Pakistan would have been a nuclear war. [1:54] I got it settled before it got going. [1:56] They had 11 planes shot down. [1:57] They were ready to go. [1:58] The prime minister of Pakistan said Trump saved 30 to 50 million lives. [2:04] I settled a lot of wars. [2:05] So let's. [2:06] Azerbaijan. [2:07] Let's go through, let's go through those, then, one by one. [2:09] Start, start with the candidates, right? [2:10] You said it was tough to transfer your own appeal to candidates. [2:15] But in a lot of cases, you picked the candidates. [2:18] You picked, you endorsed Ken Paxton. [2:20] Well, I. [2:20] In Texas, he had a tough time. [2:21] Sure. [2:22] You endorsed Darlene Graham in South Carolina. [2:24] But Conan would have lost, also. [2:26] Darlene, I did that in honor of a man named Lindsay, who was a friend of mine. [2:31] He was a good politician, good guy, a very good guy. [2:35] And she fought hard. [2:37] She fought hard. [2:37] She really did. [2:38] She. [2:39] She lost a very Republican state. [2:41] Oh. [2:42] To a very liberal. [2:43] I won. [2:44] I won South Carolina by the highest vote in history by far. [2:47] I won Texas by the highest vote in history by far. [2:51] I won Florida, who, by the way, I did endorse. [2:54] And he's going to be a great governor and a great senator. [2:57] I would endorse both of them. [2:59] And had I not endorsed him, they wouldn't have won because there was a wave. [3:03] You know, I also brought a lot of people to a lot closer to victory. [3:07] If you look at Ohio, he was, John Hustedt was a good guy, but he was 15 down. [3:13] He ended up losing by a point, maybe less than a point. [3:16] It was, he almost won. [3:18] But I don't make excuses for that. [3:21] I won Ohio by the most votes in history, too. [3:23] You're only talking about. [3:24] You didn't, I just, why can't it transfer? [3:26] You were out on the trail and you said, vote like I'm on the ballot. [3:30] Yeah, it didn't. [3:31] And people didn't? [3:32] Or did they? [3:33] Did they vote because they were mad at you about. [3:35] No, I think they didn't vote, really. [3:36] I think they didn't vote. [3:38] I think in some cases they didn't like the candidates. [3:41] And that's, you know, their prerogative. [3:44] Look, three times they've not necessarily listened to me. [3:48] Two other times, I didn't go as much out as I did this time. [3:53] I went all out. [3:54] I did, I think, 30 rallies in like 28 days or something. [3:57] And there were massive rallies and they were very good. [4:01] And they loved me. [4:02] I mean, you saw the, it was like unbelievable, but maybe they disagreed. [4:07] There's no question that part of the country loves you. [4:10] But as you said, there's another part of the country, I think, that just by your own description, [4:14] right, was unhappy with the war in Iran, unhappy with the economy. [4:19] Talk about the economy for a moment. [4:20] You handed me the jobs numbers that just came out a couple days after the election. [4:24] They're very good job numbers, low unemployment rate. [4:26] That's been true throughout your second term. [4:29] But in poll after poll, people say they're unhappy with this economy in a way they weren't [4:33] in the first term, cost of living, inflation, and so on. [4:37] Is that all just the Iran war or are there other things that haven't been fixed? [4:41] Well, it's not really the Iran war because the numbers are phenomenal. [4:46] The numbers that we have are historically good numbers. [4:50] I think it was bad messaging, maybe by me, but I would talk about it all the time. [4:53] So I don't know how much can I talk about it. [4:56] Look, the press doesn't cover positive news for Republicans. [5:03] They don't cover certainly positive news for me. [5:07] So I have to do it myself. [5:08] I have to get it out there. [5:09] One of the reasons I did rallies was to do that. [5:11] But I would talk about how good we have historically good numbers. [5:15] We have the highest stock market in history. [5:17] Now, we lost yesterday because of the election $3 trillion. [5:22] The market lost almost 2,000 points because of the Democrats. [5:27] They got in and the world said, I don't want to invest with these people because they look [5:32] what happened in France. [5:33] They look what happened in Italy and all over the world. [5:36] And they say, this is the same ideology, but we have had, let's go be the day before yesterday, [5:42] right? [5:43] Before where the election, you know, and we're talking about now a day before the election, [5:49] we picked up $25 trillion in worth, in the worth of our, in value. [5:57] Nobody's ever done that before. [5:58] But why don't Americans feel it? [6:00] They don't. [6:01] Why don't they? [6:02] Because obviously like you and the press, you and the media, you and our business. [6:06] have been in tension throughout your career. [6:08] Correct. [6:09] But you still won elections, right? [6:12] So why couldn't you win this stuff? [6:13] I think it was bad messaging. [6:15] What was the bad message? [6:16] We couldn't get the word across. [6:18] Look, you just seen job numbers that came out the day after the election, right? [6:22] Too bad they didn't come out the day before the election, but they came out. [6:25] And the numbers are way beyond anybody's expectations by, by over 125, 130,000, we had 165,000 jobs. [6:35] But shouldn't Americans notice this in, like, when you look at polls, they're upset about [6:41] their everyday life, right? [6:42] I think they're going to notice it in the next two, three, four months. [6:46] Okay. [6:47] Now tariffs, let me just, so we have trillions of dollars right now being built in factories [6:51] and everything else. [6:52] That's why these numbers, the construction numbers, the job numbers are through the roof. [6:57] If I, you know, I listen to these people, and I'm really good at money and finance. [7:01] It's probably maybe my best thing, although I was very good on the border, too. [7:05] I was good at a lot of things. [7:07] But in terms of that, you take a look at the kind of numbers that we're doing. [7:12] We're doing numbers that have never been done before. [7:15] 401ks are at their all-time high by a lot. [7:20] Under other presidents, they were a disaster. [7:22] 401ks have made people rich, and for some reason, remember during rallies, I'd say please [7:29] look at your 401k before you go to vote. [7:31] I mean, not everyone has a big 401k, right? [7:34] But a lot of people do. [7:35] It's wages. [7:36] It's gas prices. [7:37] But you know what? [7:38] I'd say who has a 401k in almost half the room. [7:40] Lots of people have them. [7:42] On gas prices in Iran, a couple days ago, your vice president, J.D. Vance, wrote a social [7:48] media post where he says, the reason we lost is the war, meaning Iran. [7:52] And he said things in that post about Israel. [7:54] I don't disagree with it. [7:55] Yeah. [7:56] So do you agree with his analysis? [7:57] I don't disagree with it. [7:58] Other than one thing. [7:59] First, did you know he was going to write that post? [8:02] He asked me, what do I think? [8:04] I said, you write what you want. [8:06] I said, you write what you want. [8:07] Write what you feel? [8:08] By the way, what are you going to write? [8:10] Okay. [8:11] What's the one thing you disagreed with? [8:12] The one thing he left out is that I would say, and maybe he wouldn't say it. [8:17] You know, I never asked him really. [8:19] But if you had it to do again, would you do it? [8:24] And that's Iran. [8:26] Would you go and attack Iran and take away their, because we won that war. [8:30] That war has been won. [8:32] Now they're withering away as a country and they'll come and they'll make a deal. [8:36] They'll definitely, they want to make a deal. [8:38] By the way, just before we get, they want to make a deal just before the election. [8:42] And that gives them a little bit of a hope certificate now. [8:45] But we were close to making a deal. [8:47] If we didn't have this election, we might have even had, or within the next few days, [8:50] we would have had a deal. [8:51] But this gives them hope. [8:52] Let's go with that. [8:53] But I just... [8:54] So does that mean... [8:55] No, no. [8:57] Before... [8:58] Yeah. [8:59] The only thing I wish he would have said there, if he felt it, and you'd have to ask [9:01] him about that. [9:03] But if you had it to do again, would you do it? [9:05] You know he was part of a decision-making process. [9:08] And my answer is an emphatic yes, because you can't let Iran have a nuclear weapon. [9:11] I think, historically, this will be a very good decision. [9:14] Is it a good decision for today and tomorrow? [9:18] Maybe not. [9:19] But I would... [9:20] You know, I have to go with what's right for our country. [9:23] If they had a nuclear weapon, you and I would not be speaking the way, oh, then I'd really [9:28] be excoriated. [9:29] If they had a nuclear weapon during my term, I would be excoriated far worse than what's [9:35] happened. [9:36] So... [9:37] All right. [9:38] Let's... [9:39] That's a big thing. [9:40] Just stay... [9:41] And they were ready to make a deal with me. [9:42] We would have had a deal, except for this election. [9:45] And we'll make a deal anyway. [9:46] Because they'll get over the... [9:48] So you're not going to escalate the war now that the midterms are over? [9:51] Well, I'm not looking to. [9:52] I don't think there's any reason to. [9:53] I don't think there's any reason to. [9:55] Look... [9:56] They still have nuclear... [9:57] They still have nuclear material, right? [9:59] They have nothing. [10:00] It's buried under thousands of tons of rock. [10:04] And we have, through Space Force, which I created, we have telescopic lenses that are [10:12] unbelievable. [10:13] I can tell the color of the red dots on your tie. [10:17] And we watch every one of those sites, the three that we blew up, and also Pickaxe Mountain. [10:22] So there's still stuff in Pickaxe Mountain? [10:24] Well, we don't know that. [10:26] There wasn't. [10:27] There's been very little activity there. [10:30] They have other problems. [10:31] They're not looking at Pickaxe Mountain. [10:33] But if we needed to do Pickaxe... [10:35] So what does a deal look like? [10:36] If we needed to do Pickaxe, we'll watch it. [10:39] If we needed to do Pickaxe, which we don't at this moment, we would have that done in one [10:43] hour. [10:44] It would be taken care of. [10:45] So what's the deal, in the end, with that, that gets the strait open? [10:49] Because it's important to stress... [10:51] No, no. [10:52] The strait is open. [10:53] The strait has traffic moving through it. [10:54] No, no. [10:55] Because the U.S. military is sitting there. [10:56] It's sitting there. [10:57] No, no. [10:58] Your favorite newspaper, the Wall Street Journal, two days ago, had an article that said there [11:05] is more oil going through the Hormones strait than there was at the beginning of the war. [11:11] Think of that. [11:12] We have ships going through... [11:13] But the ships that are going through are being babysat by a large U.S. military presence. [11:18] So how do we make a deal that gets that presence out of there? [11:22] Not very expensive. [11:23] We can just leave them there indefinitely? [11:24] And at the end of this whole thing, those countries that we've protected are going [11:28] to pay us back any and all costs that we've had for the war. [11:31] We're going to get all that money back. [11:33] And I've told them, and they're going to do it 100 percent. [11:36] Because without us, they wouldn't exist. [11:38] Without us, Israel wouldn't exist. [11:39] Let me tell you. [11:40] Israel. [11:41] Tell me about... [11:42] Israel would not exist except for Donald Trump. [11:46] Because we went in with those beautiful B-2 bombers more than a year ago. [11:51] And we hit the three sites at the time. [11:53] You know, I call it nuclear dust. [11:54] They were loaded up with nuclear dust. [11:57] They were two weeks away from having a nuclear weapon. [12:01] And if I didn't hit them, and it was an incredible rate, and people said, oh, well, maybe they [12:05] hit. [12:06] It turned out to be when atomic energy went in, and they said it was the most accurate, imaginable. [12:13] I mean, they were totally destroyed. [12:15] You say you have no regrets about that decision. [12:17] Do you have any regrets? [12:18] If I didn't... [12:19] But on Israel, do you have regrets about the decision to help the Israelis do decapitation [12:25] strikes on a round? [12:26] Because that changed the Iranian regime, and it seems like it made them escalate. [12:31] You could have just kept hitting the nuclear facilities, right? [12:33] Yeah, you could have done that. [12:35] But we had people that would have gone further. [12:39] Look, this... [12:40] I want to have it for the long term, not for the short term. [12:43] We decapitated their nuclear arsenal. [12:46] If I didn't do that, there would be no Israel right now. [12:49] There would be gone. [12:50] In my... [12:51] Look, I deal with these people. [12:52] I deal with a lot of people. [12:53] And that's what I've done my whole life. [12:54] I make deals. [12:55] And obviously, I make good deals because I made a lot of money, and I became president. [12:59] You know, that's a deal, too. [13:01] I became president of the United States. [13:03] A lot of smart politicians thought, oh, gee, this should be easy, but it wasn't easy for [13:08] them. [13:09] I became president. [13:10] It wasn't easy. [13:11] I became president easily. [13:12] So that's what I do. [13:13] I deal with the Iranians. [13:15] They would use a nuclear weapon in 24 hours, just like the Democrats will terminate the [13:21] filibuster immediately. [13:23] And I'm trying to get that knowledge imparted into the Republican Senate. [13:28] But the Democrats will immediately, or as soon as they have the right opportunity, they [13:34] will terminate the filibuster and do things to our country that are very, very big. [13:38] I'm trying to weave with you through this. [13:41] Yeah, we're doing the weave. [13:42] So let's do the weave and talk about the Democrats. [13:44] Go ahead. [13:45] Thank you. [13:46] You came out after the midterms. [13:47] You congratulated the Democrats. [13:48] Correct. [13:49] You said that you were open to working with them. [13:50] True. [13:51] What is one thing you would like to work with a Democratic majority on? [13:54] I'd love to do something on immigration. [13:56] What? [13:57] Because, well, so... [13:59] Do you think immigration hurt you in the midterms? [14:01] I think... [14:02] Do you think the crackdown hurt you? [14:03] I think it both helped and hurt. [14:05] I think I got an A-plus for closing up the border, because we had 25 million people come [14:10] in through Biden over a four-year period, and many of those people were, as you know, [14:15] they were from prisons, they were drug dealers, they were from mental institutions, they were [14:19] from all over the world, not just South America. [14:22] And some of them, as you once said, are good people. [14:25] No. [14:26] Right. [14:27] I said that, yeah, some are good and some are really bad. [14:29] Just clarify. [14:30] We had 11,888 murderers, most of whom, more than half of whom, committed more than one [14:37] murder. [14:38] They were allowed into our country. [14:39] We've gotten most of them out. [14:40] So closing the border helps you. [14:41] I think I get an A-plus, and I think you would agree that I get an A-plus for that. [14:46] I get an A-plus for closing. [14:48] Nobody. [14:49] In the last 17 months, just came out, zero people came in through our southern border, [14:54] as opposed to 25 million people, 25 million people. [14:58] They came in through caravans. [15:00] Nobody ever saw anything like it. [15:01] Okay. [15:02] For getting people out, I get very high marks for getting the bad ones out, but I get hurt [15:07] because we also took people that had good jobs, that created one violation for a break-in [15:15] of the law, and that was that they came into the country illegally. [15:18] Now there is a large part of the country that think that they should be put out, and there's [15:23] a large part of the country that think that they should be allowed to stay if they're [15:27] good people working in a landscaping company or working in a hotel or doing something, right? [15:33] And in some cases, paying taxes. [15:36] And there's a large group of people that think that they should be allowed to stay. [15:40] So you think your deportation policy went too far? [15:43] I think it was too tough. [15:44] I think it might be too tough, yeah. [15:46] And a lot of people would say that it's great, but a lot of people think it's too tough. [15:52] What would happen? [15:53] What does the deal look like with the Democrats? [15:54] I think ultimately that hurt me. [15:55] I think it, well, the deal would be we would work something out, and I think it's something, [16:00] I think that's something that's actually doable. [16:03] But a lot of people... [16:05] Doable to create some kind of legal status for the landscapers? [16:09] Yeah. [16:10] When you go into a hotel, and you say, let me see your pass, and you have a woman that's [16:16] worked there as a, you know, as a maid, as a cleaner, as a this, as a that, as a waitress, [16:22] a lot of good things, great jobs. [16:24] And all of a sudden, they're being taken out of the country. [16:27] It's tough. [16:28] It's a tough thing. [16:29] Also, 25 million people came in through Biden, and that's a lot of people to take out. [16:35] But there's a group of people that I would say on the sort of pretty far right that would [16:40] like everybody taken out. [16:41] Do some of them... [16:42] Then there's a group of people on the... [16:43] Do any of those people work in your administration? [16:45] Yes. [16:46] Are they in the building with us right now? [16:47] No, no. [16:48] Well, there are a lot of those people. [16:49] Yeah. [16:50] Then there's also people that are more modified on that. [16:52] In other words, get the killers out, get the rapists out, get all the rough ones out, [16:58] get the drug dealers out. [17:00] But let the people that are here, and in some cases here for 10 and 15 years, work a deal [17:06] for them. [17:07] Okay? [17:08] So that's another group. [17:09] And then you have a group that... [17:10] So you have the group that wants to get everybody out. [17:12] Then you have the group that wants to modify it. [17:14] And then you have a group that's a very dangerous group, the Sanctuary City group, that want [17:19] to let murderers stay. [17:22] They don't want to give us the criminals. [17:24] They have murderers that they know are murderers, and I don't understand that group. [17:28] They don't want them out of our country. [17:30] They want to protect them. [17:31] And they've literally murdered people. [17:34] They're drug dealers. [17:35] They're really bad people. [17:36] And... [17:37] But do you think the Democratic Party right now has people in it who would be interested [17:43] in this kind of deal? [17:44] I think so, yeah. [17:45] People have already called me. [17:46] Who's called you? [17:48] Who's called you? [17:49] I get along with a lot of the Democrats. [17:50] There are a lot of people here. [17:51] So I saw... [17:52] So I'll say I saw James Tallarico, the new Democratic Senator from Texas. [17:55] Said very nice things, yeah. [17:56] I saw him on Fox News. [17:57] And he said immigration was one of the things he wanted to work with you on. [18:00] Others do. [18:01] South Carolina said. [18:02] You did... [18:03] You did... [18:04] Numerous people at once said that. [18:05] You did... [18:06] In the course of the campaign, you did occasionally call him Tallarico. [18:08] Yeah, I did. [18:10] Do you think you could work with the Democrats without insulting them consistently? [18:12] Yeah, I did. [18:13] I could. [18:14] You think so? [18:15] I also call many of them Democrats. [18:18] You did that just the other day. [18:20] If it took six months of not insulting the Democrats to get a deal done, do you think [18:24] you could do it? [18:25] Very easily. [18:26] Okay. [18:27] That'll be interesting to watch. [18:28] I'm here to help the country. [18:29] Do you think you could do it if they're investigating you, if they're running investigations into your [18:33] administration? [18:34] Can you work with them? [18:35] I did it for four years. [18:39] You know, they... [18:40] What they did with me was... [18:41] There's never been weaponization. [18:43] They impeached me twice. [18:45] And there are those that say that worked out to my advantage. [18:48] I mean, you know, because... [18:49] Do you think they'll impeach you again? [18:50] I can't imagine it. [18:51] You know, they did... [18:52] Hey, look. [18:53] What have I done? [18:54] I've had the best two years in the history of the presidency. [18:58] You just read the numbers. [18:59] You just read... [19:00] In terms of the economy, in terms of everything, up until... [19:03] Except for public opinion, right? [19:06] Well, the only public opinion that's... [19:09] You also saw public opinion with the rallies. [19:12] I mean, I had the largest rallies in history. [19:15] I had the greatest amount of love, if you want to call it love. [19:18] Those people love what I'm doing. [19:22] They love what I've done. [19:23] But just so you understand... [19:24] Would you make a deal with... [19:25] In two years, think of it. [19:27] We have, for 91 days, the highest stock market in history. [19:31] We have more jobs created than ever before in history. [19:35] We have the highest amount of exporting. [19:38] We're exporting. [19:39] So a big part... [19:40] Let me ask you about that economy. [19:41] A big part of that economy has been the success of artificial intelligence. [19:46] I know we call it super intelligence in this house. [19:50] And you have said repeatedly, whoever wins super intelligence wins the future. [19:54] That's right. [19:55] When you go into polls, Americans, they don't love data centers. [19:59] They're pretty negative about AI, super intelligence. [20:02] What does the average American get out of AI? [20:05] Yeah. [20:06] First, let me just tell you that. [20:08] When you say a big part... [20:09] Yes, it's a part. [20:10] But we're also building automobile... [20:12] Sure. [20:13] ...factories like we've never built before. [20:15] Audi just announced $4 billion. [20:16] But stay on super intelligence. [20:17] I know, but you have to... [20:18] Stay on super intelligence. [20:19] No, but you said a big part. [20:20] Automobiles. [20:21] A part. [20:22] How about pharmaceutical? [20:23] Eli Lilly, Merck, Pfizer. [20:25] They're building hundreds of billions of dollars. [20:26] There's a lot going on in the economy, but I want to know about super intelligence. [20:29] There has never been... [20:30] I know. [20:31] But there has never been a time where there is the activity. [20:34] Trillions and trillions of dollars right now, as we sit, is being built. [20:38] In a year from now, because they started a year ago, in a year from now, many of those [20:42] plants are going to be open, operating. [20:44] But I want... [20:45] I want... [20:46] What do Americans get? [20:47] You have... [20:48] I talk to people in Silicon Valley who say that the decisions you make around AI are the [20:53] most important things that you'll be remembered for. [20:56] That's what they think. [20:57] I don't know if that's true, but they're... [20:59] But at the same time, there is all of this anxiety and concern. [21:02] And I just want you to know, as someone, you are an AI bull. [21:06] I am. [21:07] What do... [21:08] What does the average American get out of that technology? [21:11] Excuse me before I answer that? [21:13] The reason I'm an AI bull... [21:15] Yes. [21:16] One of the reasons is because President Xi left here two weeks ago. [21:21] We had a great meeting. [21:22] He's all in to SI, as I call it. [21:26] Yep. [21:27] Because it really is super intelligence. [21:28] It's a... [21:29] It's a much better name, I think, because it's not artificial. [21:31] It's... [21:32] Well, that at least is what... [21:33] It's what they think they're racing towards, yes. [21:35] So China... [21:36] So we're in a race with China. [21:37] And if... [21:38] And I've said, whoever wins that race wins. [21:40] The level of power of winning that race is very important. [21:44] What is the power? [21:45] And China has no problem with data centers. [21:47] Right. [21:48] China has no problem with electricity. [21:50] And by the way, we don't either, because I'm letting... [21:52] I'm demanding that they build their own electric plant. [21:55] Every one of those centers that goes up now, under me, is building their own electric. [22:00] You had... [22:01] And they're giving the excess electric... [22:03] They're giving the excess electric right now. [22:05] They're giving it into the old grid that we had. [22:08] We have an old broken grid. [22:09] And that juice is pouring into the grid. [22:12] It's gonna lower... [22:13] You had all of the AI tycoons in here. [22:15] Yeah, I did. [22:16] And Elon Musk said then, as he's said often, the end game with AI, super intelligence, [22:23] is that we're incredibly rich, and nobody has to work, and everyone gets paid a universal [22:29] high income. [22:30] Yeah. [22:31] You like to work. [22:32] Yeah. [22:33] Does that sound like a good future to you? [22:34] What he meant, I think, is that when a data center, as an example, goes to a community... [22:40] Look at West Virginia. [22:41] They're going wild. [22:42] They love it. [22:43] They say, come on in. [22:44] And many countries, many places like it. [22:48] By the way, other countries like it. [22:49] They're building them in Finland all of a sudden. [22:52] Because if we lose that, we're losing a cash cow. [22:55] It's a cash cow. [22:56] But here's the thing. [22:57] I think you're saving... [22:58] So look, I think you are taking his very weird statement, and because you're a good politician, [23:03] making it sound normal. [23:04] But the people in the AI industry, I almost said the super intelligence industry, you're [23:09] working on me, are weird. [23:12] They're strange. [23:13] They do things like stand outside their company and say, hey, we're creating this amazing company, [23:18] and there's a 10% chance it kills humanity. [23:20] Oh, that's right. [23:21] Like you standing outside a hotel and saying, here's my new hotel, and it might collapse. [23:25] I know. [23:26] But you think that's fake. [23:28] Why are you not worried about the doom fears that the people building it have? [23:33] Because, first of all, because China's going to have it. [23:36] Okay? [23:37] So if we don't have it, China's going to have it. [23:38] That would put us at an unbelievable disadvantage. [23:41] It's all between us and China. [23:42] There's nobody else. [23:43] China's going to have it. [23:44] China is now one year behind us, which is amazing. [23:48] And President Xi said, you are really moved. [23:50] President Xi got off his plane. [23:52] He said, wow, have you done a great job. [23:54] And he means, he's not a guy that, you know... [23:56] He doesn't trade in casual flattery? [23:58] I don't think so, no. [23:59] Okay. [24:00] I know him better than probably almost anybody. [24:03] But so we're racing China, and that makes it worth the risk? [24:07] Or you just think the risk is not real? [24:09] I think that the risk is not nearly as real as they talk. [24:14] And I think the risk can be managed. [24:17] And it's managed, you know, by who? [24:19] By who? [24:20] The DOJ. [24:21] We had a situation where somebody was reported to us to be doing something bad with AI. [24:28] We called them very strongly and said, get ready to go to jail. [24:32] Please give your wife a kiss. [24:33] Good night. [24:34] Who was this person for this company? [24:35] I can't tell you. [24:36] I can't tell you. [24:37] But we said, do you like the color orange? [24:40] Because get rid, go home right now, see your wife and children, give them a kiss. [24:46] Good night. [24:47] And that's the story because tomorrow morning you're going to jail. [24:52] Let me tell you. [24:53] This person totally changed everything. [24:57] Totally. [24:59] Yes, sir. [25:00] Yes, sir. [25:01] Was it a leader of a major AI company? [25:03] One of the big ones, yeah. [25:04] Okay. [25:05] One of the big ones. [25:06] And I don't think... [25:07] If the Democrats said, we want to codify this into law, would you work with them? [25:10] I don't think it was done maliciously, but it could have been malicious. [25:13] Would you work with the Democrats? [25:14] You're saying the DOJ can handle this. [25:16] Absolutely. [25:17] I don't mind guardrails. [25:18] On AI safety. [25:19] I don't mind guardrails, but I don't want to put us in a deep second position. [25:23] We're leading number one. [25:24] And China has no guardrails, by the way. [25:26] So if AI is dangerous... [25:27] Well, they have the guardrails of being a totalitarian state, right? [25:31] They have the guardrails that whatever President Xi says goes. [25:34] Yeah. [25:35] With me, it's pretty strong, but it's not quite that strong. [25:40] By the way, you know we have very brilliant people watching every one of these companies. [25:44] Brilliant people. [25:45] I mean, I hope so. [25:46] People that... [25:47] Well, they're the smartest. [25:48] Yeah. [25:49] They're of hopefully equal... [25:50] Equal? [25:51] Equal intelligence. [25:52] Equal. [25:53] Which is not easy. [25:54] Equal intelligence, though, to the people running the company. [25:55] Which is not easy. [25:56] Or to super... [25:57] Are they super intelligent? [25:58] They're super intelligent. [25:59] Okay. [26:01] Good. [26:02] Equal intelligence, I'm weaving again. [26:03] In a previous lifetime, you were rather famous for saying you're fired quite often. [26:10] After a big midterm defeat like this, do you expect to fire anyone from your team? [26:13] I do, yeah. [26:14] You do? [26:15] A little bit. [26:16] A little bit? [26:17] I love my cabinet. [26:18] I think they're good. [26:19] But I'll be doing maybe a few changes. [26:21] I don't want to mention who, because I think... [26:22] Well, I will say that we passed, or we saw Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in the hall. [26:27] He was meeting with you just before now. [26:29] His name has come up a few times as someone people have called for his resignation. [26:34] They do. [26:35] Do you have confidence in him? [26:36] I do. [26:37] Look, we've won two wars. [26:42] We've won Venezuela and taken out billions and billions and billions of dollars already, [26:48] and we will be taking out many billions of dollars and get along very well. [26:52] And you could call it a territory, you could call it whatever you want. [26:55] We won that war in less than one hour. [26:58] And you credit Hegseth? [26:59] And nobody was killed. [27:00] You credit Pete Hegseth for that? [27:01] No, but he was a part of it. [27:02] Yeah, he was there. [27:03] He was a part. [27:04] I credit great soldiers, great generals, and great equipment. [27:07] We have the best equipment in the world. [27:09] We make... [27:10] Do you think Hegseth gave you good advice going into Iran? [27:13] Yeah. [27:14] Let's talk Venezuela first. [27:15] We did an attack that very few people would have done. [27:18] We went into a fort, a military base, with a very bad person who did very bad things to our country [27:25] and a lot of other countries, including drugs and including, you know, giving us his prison population. [27:31] Venezuela is... [27:32] That's where we got the trend to Aragua and everything else. [27:35] And we went into a fort with many, many people, and we had 201, and we flew in with fire and fury, as they said, [27:44] and we got him out of a steel cage. [27:47] He lived in a house that was a steel cage. [27:48] Is that... [27:49] Is that... [27:50] Is Venezuela the reason that you decided to do the decapitation strikes in Iran? [27:53] No. [27:54] No. [27:55] No? [27:56] It didn't factor into your... [27:57] Nothing? [27:58] Okay. [27:59] I just say, the Venezuela attack will go down in military histories as one of the... [28:02] People said, don't do it, you can't do it. [28:04] You know, they have... [28:05] They're a very military-type nation. [28:07] You know, you walk around, everybody's a soldier. [28:09] We went into that, and we took out their leader and his wife, who is also very powerful, [28:15] and they're right now awaiting trial, and they're guilty. [28:19] They're very... [28:20] I won't even say... [28:21] Let me not refer to it. [28:22] I won't talk about it, but they are... [28:23] You won't... [28:24] You wouldn't want to prejudge anyone, surely. [28:26] Well, I don't want to prejudge. [28:28] I'm not involved in the case. [28:29] Right. [28:30] But they were very bad people. [28:32] Back to your... [28:33] They were very bad people. [28:34] And it was one of the most incredible attacks anyone's ever seen. [28:38] They left the aircraft carriers at one o'clock in the morning, pitched back. [28:43] Everything went perfect. [28:44] This wasn't a Jimmy Carter deal. [28:46] This wasn't a... [28:47] You know, where the helicopters are crashing into each other. [28:50] This was a perfect thing. [28:51] Okay. [28:52] It was in the future. [28:53] So... [28:54] Okay. [28:55] That's number one. [28:56] So you have confidence in access. [28:57] People don't like talking about that. [28:58] No. [28:59] Then we have another one. [29:00] We have Iran. [29:01] Iran is decapitated. [29:02] Their Navy's gone. [29:04] Their Air Force's gone. [29:05] So these are all things... [29:06] Well, no. [29:07] Military, they're defeated. [29:08] I'm telling you this. [29:09] Let me just tell you. [29:10] We had... [29:11] Because I read the papers. [29:12] They want to impeach him. [29:13] Very unfair. [29:14] We had two wars. [29:15] We won both. [29:16] We won Venezuela. [29:17] We won Iran. [29:19] Now, Iran is simmering. [29:20] But it's just... [29:21] We are taking out more oil. [29:22] We own the Homo Strait. [29:23] Just so you understand. [29:24] Yep. [29:25] I do. [29:26] No, I do. [29:27] No, I do. [29:28] I do. [29:29] How about... [29:30] How about... [29:31] How about... [29:32] How about... [29:33] How about... [29:34] How about... [29:35] How about... [29:36] How about the succession? [29:37] How about the succession? [29:38] Speaking of personnel. [29:39] Yeah. [29:40] In two years, someone else is going to be the Republican nominee for president. [29:46] Correct. [29:47] I assume you're going to endorse someone for that. [29:49] Probably. [29:50] Not necessarily. [29:51] Not necessarily? [29:52] What would make you... [29:53] I've got so... [29:54] What are you thinking about when you decide whether or not to endorse someone? [29:56] I don't know. [29:57] We have a tremendous bench. [29:58] I mean, I have so many people that I have great relationships with. [30:03] And, you know, not necessarily... [30:04] Who do you... [30:05] Who would be on the list besides the vice president? [30:07] Well, I think Marco's great. [30:09] I think... [30:10] Is he staying, by the way, as Secretary of State? [30:12] I think so. [30:13] I mean, he certainly loves it. [30:14] And he's doing great. [30:15] He's doing a fantastic job. [30:17] The ones they think about, but there are many others. [30:19] And I'd rather not mention their names. [30:21] There's some senators that are excellent. [30:23] I know them all. [30:24] I like them a lot. [30:25] So I may or may not get involved. [30:27] I don't know. [30:28] Maybe I'm better off not getting involved. [30:29] I think it would play a big role if I did, because my endorsement capacity has been very [30:35] strong. [30:36] People I endorse get nominations. [30:37] Do you think you can have MAGA without you as the leader? [30:41] I think so. [30:42] Because MAGA is basically common sense. [30:44] You know? [30:45] MAGA's strong borders, good military. [30:47] I'd like to see the interest rates lower. [30:49] I mean, the problem with interest rates is we have a board. [30:51] That was largely composed of Obama and Biden people. [30:56] And they want to keep the interest rates as high as possible because that's bad for the [31:00] country, which is therefore bad for me. [31:02] Very unfair. [31:03] We should have much lower interest rates because, you know, in the old days when you had success, [31:08] the interest rates went down. [31:10] You just see numbers. [31:11] But those numbers are nothing. [31:12] We have created wealth at a level that our country has never seen before. [31:18] Including for yourself. [31:19] There's a Forbes story that said that your net worth, maybe it's changed with the stock [31:25] market recently, but your net worth went up by $3 billion. [31:29] Well, so did everyone. [31:30] Since you returned to... [31:31] Okay, you ready? [31:32] Sell his... [31:33] Everyone's... [31:34] My net worth did not go up by $3 billion. [31:35] Well, you should have had stock. [31:36] For the record. [31:37] I should have... [31:38] You should have had stock. [31:39] I should have had stock. [31:40] Excuse me. [31:41] So... [31:42] How did... [31:43] I devote... [31:44] How did it go up by $3 billion? [31:45] Well, let me explain. [31:46] I devote almost no time to my net worth. [31:48] I don't care. [31:49] I have a lot of money. [31:50] And far more than I ever thought I'd have. [31:53] And I guess it's gone up. [31:55] I don't even know. [31:56] But just so you know... [31:57] This is a really important question I have. [31:58] Well, let me explain it. [31:59] Let me explain it to you. [32:00] I have a son who's a very straight, good guy. [32:06] He watches over money. [32:08] I don't even talk to him about it. [32:09] He watches. [32:10] He gives... [32:11] They gave my money. [32:12] I have a lot of cash. [32:13] I've had a lot of cash long before I came in here. [32:15] I don't take a salary. [32:16] You know? [32:17] Two and a half million dollars. [32:18] I don't take a salary. [32:19] But you're doing okay. [32:20] I'm doing fine. [32:21] But I don't take a salary. [32:22] Do you know I'm the only... [32:23] Supposedly. [32:24] I don't know if that's right. [32:25] It's very generous of you to the American taxpayer. [32:26] I am the only... [32:27] I am the only president that didn't take... [32:30] Every other president took their salary. [32:31] I'm surprised. [32:32] But this is... [32:33] Here's what I want to understand, though. [32:34] This is something I've thought about for a while. [32:36] Right? [32:37] So your son manages or helps manage a cryptocurrency company called World Liberty Financial. [32:44] You are a co... [32:45] Which son are we talking about? [32:46] Which? [32:47] You are a co-owner of that company. [32:48] That's correct. [32:49] Right? [32:50] That's correct. [32:51] Right? [32:52] This company is also partially owned by investors connected to the government of the United Arab Emirates. [32:56] I think if I told you that story and it was about the Biden family, if I said, [33:00] Joe Biden is the part owner of a company and it has all of these investments from the Middle East, you would say that sounds corrupt. [33:08] Right? [33:09] Well, he did have a lot of different things. [33:11] Sure, but you... [33:12] But here's the difference. [33:13] But why is it different for you? [33:14] Well, here's... [33:15] I'll tell you why. [33:16] Because I know nothing about it. [33:17] But why do you need... [33:18] I made a lot of money before. [33:19] But then why do you need the money? [33:20] Why not just divest? [33:21] Walk away? [33:22] Well, I do. [33:23] Look, most of my money, most of my money is given to the biggest firms on Wall Street to invest. [33:30] I have... [33:31] Also true of me. [33:32] I have... [33:33] Through index funds. [33:34] I have... [33:35] So we have that in common. [33:36] And they're index funds. [33:37] Yeah. [33:38] So it came out that I traded like 40,000 stocks. [33:41] So among the stocks would be like, they'd have a tiny little amount. [33:46] It's billions of dollars. [33:47] It's billions. [33:48] I understand that. [33:49] I have no idea. [33:50] But companies that are invested in by people in foreign countries, it seems like you could [33:54] just walk away from that. [33:55] And then, you know, and then you would not be accused of corruption, right? [33:59] Well, I have. [34:00] But you have sons where they go around and they build buildings. [34:03] That's what they do. [34:04] That's what I did long before I became president. [34:06] I did it better than anybody. [34:08] Now I'm putting my expertise to use at the White House, fixing the White House and doing [34:12] things that should have been built long ago. [34:15] But I was very good at real estate. [34:17] I made a lot of money. [34:18] But I have a company. [34:19] My sons are in the company. [34:21] It's hard to say to them, don't do anything anymore for four years because I'm president. [34:26] No, but you could divest from the company yourself and let them do whatever they want. [34:32] That's all. [34:33] Well, but how are we... [34:34] You're not like sitting in the Oval Office thinking, thank God I have that 50 million [34:37] in world liberty financial, right? [34:38] You're right, but how do you divest from cash? [34:40] So, I took a lot of heat because I think they traded like 50,000 stock because that's [34:45] what they're doing. [34:46] It's all computer generated. [34:47] So, if they buy a little tiny piece of NVIDIA, oh, Trump is... [34:51] I have no idea what the hell they're buying. [34:54] I've never even heard of it before. [34:56] It's all computer generated. [34:57] It's done by the biggest companies in the world. [35:01] I've never even spoken to the company. [35:03] I don't care. [35:04] Honestly, I don't care. [35:05] What it is, is you take billions of dollars, you give it to these guys, good luck. [35:10] Right. [35:11] And then they start trading. [35:12] And they trade where they go up, they go down. [35:15] But do you think the people, the people who are investing in the company that you co-own [35:20] with your sons, who are coming from foreign countries, who want things from your government, [35:24] don't you think they think that they are buying influence? [35:27] I don't know, but that's true. [35:29] Look, every president has a problem. [35:32] You have people and they work for you. [35:34] And guys like you cover them and you do profiles on them and they become like everybody thinks [35:39] that Trump loves them and everything else, which in some cases is true and some cases... [35:43] Right. [35:44] This is true for every president. [35:45] True. [35:46] Going back to George Washington. [35:47] Yes. [35:48] Every president has not owned a cryptocurrency company, however. [35:50] And here's what happened. [35:51] But they owned something, whatever crypto was at the time. [35:53] Okay. [35:54] You know, there's crypto and before that there was oil. [35:56] Okay. [35:57] And every president has had this problem. [36:00] So you have a guy, a trusted aide, everything's good. [36:02] And then the trusted aide says, sir, I love you so much and I'll be leaving. [36:07] I said, well, good luck. [36:08] And he goes into a company that's a defense company or, I mean, defense more than crypto, [36:14] frankly. [36:15] They go into the defense. [36:16] They go into this. [36:17] They go into the financial market. [36:18] They go to Wall Street. [36:19] They go... [36:20] No matter what they do, there's a conflict because the president is all encompassing. [36:24] Right. [36:25] And this is not me. [36:28] Every president that there's ever been, they have people, many people. [36:32] I watch it all the time. [36:33] Every time you have a president, they're top people. [36:36] Sometimes they stay. [36:37] I mean, I have some that will stay right till the last day. [36:40] But after they leave, they go crazy. [36:42] They go crazy. [36:43] It's true for every president. [36:45] Sometimes they'll leave... [36:46] I feel like there have been more people doing things like that while serving in the administration. [36:51] But listen, I... [36:52] I'm a bigger name than other presidents, whether we like it or not. [36:54] I see. [36:55] Whether we like it or not. [36:56] I am a bigger name. [36:57] And people will leave office and then they'll go into the oil business. [37:00] And then immediately everyone says, oh, they have a conflict. [37:03] Look, every... [37:04] I watched Bush. [37:06] I watched... [37:07] Look at... [37:08] Look at... [37:09] Biden. [37:10] But look at Obama. [37:11] Obama got... [37:12] From Netflix. [37:13] I mean, Frank... [37:14] How much did Obama get... [37:15] What Obama... [37:16] What Obama did after this... [37:17] What Obama did after his... [37:18] What Obama did after his presidency was, again, different. [37:21] No, he didn't. [37:22] He made the deal during his presidency. [37:23] Different. [37:24] Obama got a hundred million dollars from Netflix. [37:27] During his presidency. [37:28] During his presidency. [37:29] I'll have to... [37:30] And he made a movie afterward. [37:31] I'll have to ask... [37:32] And the movie made about three cents. [37:33] I'll have to ask... [37:34] I'll have to ask chat GPT about that after this conversation. [37:37] Your administration, alone among modern administrations, has spent a lot of time releasing footage of UFOs. [37:46] Yeah. [37:47] Unidentified flying objects. [37:48] I think a lot of that footage for people who are interested in the topic has been interesting, [37:55] but fuzzy, you know, unclear, maybe a little disappointing. [38:00] Is there anything that you have seen, or heard about, or been told about, that would lead you to think that there's something more there than just, [38:09] we're having a good time looking at things in the sky? [38:11] It's so amazing that you asked this question, because it is one of the questions in private I get asked about. [38:19] More people ask me about UFOs than... [38:21] I mean... [38:22] I believe it. [38:23] People... [38:24] People that you wouldn't think. [38:25] So what's the answer? [38:26] People... [38:27] So here's the story. [38:28] I'm not too much of a believer, but I sat in the Oval Office, first term and a little bit second term, [38:34] meeting with Air Force pilots that are really good, solid people. [38:39] These are not people that you would say are conspiracy theorists. [38:43] They don't even know what it means, but they're great, great pilots. [38:47] Young, handsome. [38:49] They have beautiful, nice flat tops. [38:52] I'd like to have a haircut just like them. [38:53] They look perfect. [38:54] Like Tom Cruise. [38:55] Mm-hmm. [38:56] He looked Tom Cruise. [38:57] Very, very... [38:58] In the posterior. [38:59] They're thin, very thin and very... [39:01] Yeah. [39:02] Everything. [39:03] And... [39:04] But they're real, they're the real deal. [39:05] And they've told me things that are very strange. [39:08] They said that, in certain cases, they said, yes, there's something going on out there, [39:14] because they're flying an F-22, which is the best there is, the fastest, the best plane [39:19] that anyone's ever seen, and something goes by them at three times their speed and it's round. [39:26] It's not aerodynamic, it's round. [39:28] And I said, well, maybe it was a comet. [39:30] So that's the mystery. [39:31] Yeah. [39:32] But then along with those pilots, there's a set of people who have styled themselves as [39:36] whistleblowers, who have come out and said, actually, there's also a secret program that [39:41] even presidents don't know about to study this stuff. [39:45] Have you seen any evidence that that is the case? [39:48] No. [39:49] And I haven't heard that. [39:50] But if there is, I'm going to find out about it right after this interview. [39:52] Okay. [39:53] It's an amazing thing, though. [39:54] I have more interest. [39:56] And you know, if you go to Nevada, where they have a very, very common chain link fence, [40:02] there's more tourists at that chain link fence, because that's where they say it all happens. [40:07] I don't know if that's true. [40:08] I don't think it's true. [40:10] But did you ever see the people, thousands and thousands of people looking over a piece [40:16] of land? [40:17] There is more interest in that subject than any of the questions. [40:21] But you're interested in it because people are interested in it. [40:23] I'm interested. [40:24] Not because you're on the way to discovering it. [40:26] I would like to find out whether or not it's true. [40:29] I will tell you, you have a lot of very solid people that believe it's true. [40:32] You came into office promising to make peace in Ukraine. [40:36] Yeah. [40:37] There is still a war going on. [40:38] What's the biggest obstacle to peace? [40:40] It was the hatred between Zelensky and Putin. [40:44] I believe that we're very close to making a deal. [40:47] And I think two things. [40:49] If I were president, because as you know, well, you're not going to admit it, it was rigged. [40:54] That's why I did it a third time, because it was rigged. [40:57] That was my ultimate ball. [40:58] If I had been president, that war would have never started. [41:01] Zero chance. [41:02] But it did start. [41:03] So I inherited that war. [41:05] I believe we're very close to making a deal. [41:07] Who do you trust more, President Putin or President Zelensky? [41:10] Well, I'd rather not say, but I get along with both. [41:13] And in fact, we have a meeting. [41:15] Why is it? [41:16] We have a meeting. [41:17] This show will air, and the meeting will have taken place. [41:20] It's going to be on Saturday, but it's going to extend to Sunday and to Monday and to Tuesday. [41:26] So you'll be seeing it. [41:28] There's a very important meeting taking place. [41:31] I believe that that war is going to end, and it's going to end soon. [41:34] And the only reason it's going to end is because of me. [41:36] There is tremendous hatred between President Putin and President Zelensky. [41:41] And, you know, I... [41:42] Isn't it more understandable coming from President Zelensky, given that his country was actually invaded? [41:47] Well, it is, but it was also very, very... [41:51] When they had their first meeting, there was great disrespect shown to Russia. [41:55] So I'm not going to say anything... [41:56] I mean, but balancing out. [41:57] Well... [41:58] Invading, disrespecting... [41:59] Well, let's put it this way. [42:00] The war never happened during my four years, and it was never going to happen, even though it was the apple of President Putin's eye. [42:06] Do you think that Putin is stringing you... [42:07] Well, just one thing. [42:08] You don't think he's... [42:09] Do you think he is stringing you along? [42:10] Oh, I don't think so. [42:11] Because you've been saying over and over you're going to make peace, and it just seems like he's the obstacle in the end. [42:17] Well, there's been nobody that's been tougher on Russia than me. [42:20] Look at our trade. [42:21] Look what I've done to them on trade with the sanctions and everything else. [42:24] Look what I did to them. [42:26] As an example, I gave them the anti-tankbusters, right? [42:30] I gave them... [42:31] Right. [42:32] I gave them... [42:33] Well, you've gone back and forth. [42:34] Wait a minute. [42:35] Wait a minute. [42:36] No. [42:37] You've gone back and forth. [42:38] At some point, you have done lots of things, big things in support of Ukraine, but just recently, you lifted diesel sanctions on Russia. [42:45] Like, you've done various things to take pressure off Russia. [42:47] I didn't lift diesel sanctions. [42:49] I made it possible for Russia to give, not us, but to the world, thousands and thousands of barrels of oil, of diesel, which it needed. [42:58] Didn't do any big favor, but look at what I've done. [43:03] I've given them... [43:04] In fact, there's an old statement that Obama gave them sheets, and I gave them anti-tankbusters, okay? [43:13] That's what I gave them. [43:14] And thousands of them... [43:15] But now it's Europe supplying them weapons, not us. [43:18] No, it's us. [43:19] We're supplying the weapons. [43:21] Well, Europe is... [43:22] Europe is buying... [43:23] Europe is buying... [43:24] Here's the difference. [43:25] Europe is buying the weapons. [43:26] Yeah. [43:27] Biden gave them $350 billion worth of cash and weapons. [43:30] I gave them nothing. [43:33] I give it to Europe, sell it at full price, and they pay us. [43:38] And not only that, the $350 billion, I felt so bad about it because I thought it was so stupid. [43:43] Europe has money. [43:45] Europe would have paid, but nobody asked. [43:47] So we just gave weapon after weapon after weapon, and we supplied the weapons. [43:53] And by the way, Ukraine had the courage to use them, because you still have to have courage to use them. [43:57] And they've been very formidable. [43:59] But they had the best weapons on earth. [44:02] And we got nothing for it. [44:03] I sell weapons. [44:04] Well, we got... [44:05] I sell... [44:06] We got Ukrainian independence for it, right? [44:08] Well, you haven't gotten it yet. [44:10] You haven't gotten anything yet. [44:11] Let's see how it all works out. [44:13] But I hope... [44:14] But you expect it to all work out with a free and independent Ukraine. [44:16] I think we're going to have it done, and I think it's going to happen. [44:19] And they're going to end up with a little bit different shape, Ukraine. [44:24] Look, this is a war that should have never happened. [44:26] If I were president, this war would have never happened. [44:29] Last Ukraine question on the aid and support we give them. [44:33] One form of support comes through Starlink, which is a satellite system owned by Elon Musk. [44:40] Right. [44:41] There is a version of it that's controlled by the U.S. government. [44:43] There was a recent case where Starlink speeds were slowed down a lot, which made it harder for the Ukrainians to use it. [44:50] Who is actually in charge of that system? [44:52] In the war zone, you or Musk? [44:54] Well, it wasn't me. [44:55] It wasn't me. [44:56] I don't know. [44:57] I would say that probably I have a lot of power over everything. [44:59] You know, you're the president. [45:00] You have a lot of power, so I'm not going to... [45:02] Right. [45:03] Shouldn't you have the power to control a system that's part of a war zone that we're involved in? [45:08] Probably. [45:09] And if it was necessary, probably. [45:10] That situation was fixed pretty quickly. [45:12] So did Elon turn it down? [45:14] I don't think he literally turned a dial. [45:16] Well, I know this. [45:17] I can't tell you who turned it down. [45:18] I can tell you ultimately he turned it back up. [45:20] And so they have it. [45:21] Why can't you tell me who turned it down? [45:23] I don't know. [45:24] Because I don't know. [45:25] It seems like a pretty important question. [45:26] I don't know. [45:27] I mean, the system is a very good system. [45:29] And it was perhaps turned down. [45:32] I mean, I don't even know. [45:33] I haven't been... [45:34] It hasn't been proven to me that it was turned down. [45:36] There's a lot of lies going on with that war. [45:38] But I know this, that when I heard about it, it went back up. [45:42] All right. [45:43] Let's finish up last legacy questions. [45:45] First, do you expect to issue a lot of pardons when you leave office? [45:51] Yes, I do. [45:52] Do you expect to pardon yourself? [45:54] I don't, but I certainly... [45:56] Do you think you have the power to pardon yourself? [45:58] I do. [45:59] But more importantly, I don't want to have good people that are serving this country and doing [46:06] a great job spending the rest of their life, like I had to do for four years defending myself, [46:12] by radical left lunatics, by people that were very nasty and mean. [46:18] I intend to issue tremendous numbers of pardons. [46:21] In fact, I say oftentimes, anybody that got within a thousand miles of the Oval Office, [46:27] because I don't want people spending the rest of their lives... [46:30] So will you pardon me? [46:31] I mean, we're very close to the Oval Office, right? [46:34] I think I might have to. [46:35] After this interview, I need it. [46:36] I think I might have to. [46:37] No. [46:38] I think it's very unfair. [46:39] I pardon the J6s. [46:41] I don't think any group's been treated more unfairly than them. [46:45] And to this day, when they see me, they cry. [46:47] They were... [46:48] Even the ones who attacked police officers were treated unfairly? [46:50] Well, there were some that got rough, but, you know, they were rough to them, too. [46:54] Don't cops have a right to use force against people? [46:57] Nobody better with police than I am. [47:00] I had 99.9%. [47:03] You know, every police, every group of police endorsed me, the Fraternal Order, every single... [47:08] Do the Capitol Police like you? [47:10] They love me. [47:11] And by the way, speaking of that, the crime rate in Washington, D.C. is down 89%. [47:17] It's the safest. [47:19] And when I was here, it was a killing field. [47:21] Three murders a week. [47:23] Now we haven't had a murder in a long time. [47:25] And by the way, nobody has died, you know, when you call it a war. [47:29] If you look at what's happened with Iran in the last six months, five months, six months, [47:35] we haven't lost one soldier. [47:38] You know, I wrote one thing down. [47:39] I think it's interesting. [47:40] I just wrote it. [47:41] I just looked at it this morning. [47:43] So we've been in Iran seven months, maybe eight months. [47:45] There have been 18 people. [47:47] And that includes Venezuela. [47:48] Two wars. [47:49] Venezuela, where by the way, we've taken out 50 times what the war has cost already to the [47:56] victim along this way. [47:57] But listen to just one second. [47:58] Yeah, I'm listening. [47:59] Afghanistan, 20 years, thousands of people killed. [48:03] Iraq War, nine years, 5,000 people killed. [48:07] Vietnam, 21 years, 60,000 people killed. [48:10] The Korean War, four years, 40,000 people killed. [48:14] This is a good segue. [48:15] Wait. [48:16] Yeah. [48:17] This war, seven months, 18 people killed. [48:21] That includes Venezuela, 18. [48:24] Now. [48:25] This is a good segue to my last question. [48:27] Okay. [48:28] But just 18 is too much. [48:29] I hear you. [48:30] But you're talking about 40,000, 50,000, 60,000. [48:33] I agree that the Iran War has had many fewer casualties than past American wars. [48:36] But what did we get? [48:37] What did we get? [48:38] No nuclear. [48:39] We won. [48:40] And there will be no nuclear. [48:42] And they didn't get anything. [48:44] Those wars were lost. [48:45] Death. [48:46] And they lost 60,000. [48:47] Let's talk about death. [48:48] Okay. [48:49] You have survived multiple assassination attacks. [48:50] I have. [48:51] One came very, very close to you. [48:52] I imagine that that had some kind of effect on how you think about mortality. [48:58] What do you think happens when you die? [49:01] Well, I hope I missed. [49:03] No, I mean to you. [49:04] No, but I really missed. [49:05] I hope I missed. [49:06] I understand. [49:07] I mean to you. [49:08] I think I've done a good job. [49:09] What do you think happens to Donald Trump when you die? [49:11] Well, again. [49:12] Not your memory. [49:13] Yourself. [49:14] You mean where I go? [49:16] Exactly. [49:17] Well, I'm a religious person. [49:18] So, in theory, I go to heaven. [49:19] Do you think you're going to heaven? [49:21] I hope so. [49:22] I don't want to go to hell. [49:24] So, I watched you at Charlie Kirk's memorial service. [49:27] Yes. [49:28] And Erica Kirk, his widow, got it. [49:29] Right. [49:30] And gave some very moving remarks about Christian forgiveness. [49:33] How you have to forgive your enemies. [49:35] That's right. [49:36] And you followed her. [49:39] And you said, and I know this was a little bit of a joke, but I think facts come through [49:44] jokes. [49:45] You said, quote, I hate my opponents and I don't want the best for them. [49:51] But let's say you pass away. [49:53] You're entering the next life. [49:55] And all you have to do to enter paradise is feel love and forgiveness for James Comey, [50:05] Nancy Pelosi, anyone who you have expressed hate for over the years. [50:10] Do you think you can do it? [50:11] Well, then I wouldn't be real, would I? [50:13] I said to you, sure, the easy answer to that, oh, yes, I could forgive. [50:16] No, I don't think it's an easy question at all. [50:18] I found them to be extremely dishonest people, very bad people, very bad for our country. [50:22] I love our country far more than I can love people and people like that. [50:26] Is the answer no? [50:27] The answer is no. [50:28] I want to be honest. [50:29] Before the judgment, throne of God. [50:30] Before the judgment. [50:31] No, I think there were very bad people. [50:33] And I dislike, I can use the word hate, I do hate some of my enemies. [50:37] I think they've been terrible. [50:38] Look what they put me through, the weaponization. [50:41] I got indicted, I got impeached. [50:43] Mr. President, Mr. President, you have had the most charmed and remarkable life of any American in my entire lifetime. [50:51] And you are telling me that before the judgment, throne of God, you couldn't find it in your heart to forgive some of your enemies? [50:58] After all that's been given to you? [51:01] Come on, help me out here. [51:02] I mean, it's such an easy answer. [51:04] All I have to do is say, yes, I can. [51:06] I, again, I don't think it's an easy answer. [51:08] That's why I asked you. [51:09] Can I be honest? [51:10] Yes. [51:11] I probably cannot do that now. [51:12] Because I do hate some of my enemies, and I always will. [51:16] Lots of presidents are remembered with a single line. [51:20] He freed the slaves. [51:21] He won the Cold War. [51:23] A hundred years from now, while you're working out your situation in purgatory, what is the line that your presidency is remembered with? [51:33] That I made America great again. [51:36] I guess I asked for that. [51:38] Thank you, Mr. President. [51:40] Thank you. [51:41] Thank you very much.