Meet the Press full episode – May 4

[0:01] This Sunday, my exclusive interview with President Trump [0:05] as he marks 100 days in office. [0:08] When does it become the Trump economy? [0:11] It partially is right now. [0:12] I think the good parts are the Trump economy [0:14] and the bad parts are the Biden economy. [0:17] On his handling of the economy [0:18] and what his tariffs will mean for consumers. [0:21] I'm just saying they don't need to have $30. [0:24] They can have three. [0:24] They don't need to have 250 pencils. [0:26] They can have five. [0:27] How his immigration policy plans are clashing with the courts. [0:32] Don't you need to uphold the Constitution of the United States as president? [0:35] I don't know. [0:36] And his vision to expand U.S. territory. [0:39] Would you rule out military force to take Canada? [0:42] Well, I think we're not going to ever get to that point. [0:45] It could happen. [0:46] Something could happen with Greenland, I'll be honest. [0:48] Plus, a behind-the-scenes look inside Mar-a-Lago [0:51] and how he wants to bring the feel of his private club to the White House. [0:56] It'll be a world-class, beautiful ballroom. [0:58] Joining me for insight and analysis are [1:01] NBC News Chief White House Correspondent Peter Alexander, [1:05] NBC News Chief International Correspondent Keir Simmons, [1:09] Simone Sanders Townsend, [1:11] former chief spokeswoman for Vice President Kamala Harris, [1:15] and Mark Short, [1:16] former director of legislative affairs for President Trump. [1:20] Welcome to Sunday and a special edition of Meet the Press. [1:24] From NBC News in Washington, [1:28] the longest-running show in television history, [1:31] this is a special edition of Meet the Press with Kristen Welker. [1:35] Good Sunday morning. [1:37] In his first 100 days in office, [1:40] President Trump has signed more than 140 executive orders [1:43] and has focused on everything from the border to tariffs to foreign policy. [1:48] He has pushed the limits of his executive power, [1:51] clashed with the courts, [1:53] and disrupted the global world order. [1:56] I sat down with President Trump on Friday at his private club in Florida, [2:00] Mar-a-Lago, [2:01] for a wide-ranging interview. [2:03] We started our conversation on one of the top issues on the minds of Americans. [2:08] I want to start on the economy, sir, [2:11] which is obviously the biggest issue for voters. [2:14] We got new numbers today, [2:16] better than expected job numbers. [2:17] Much better. [2:18] At the same time, the economy shrank in the first quarter. [2:22] You've been arguing all week that this is President Biden's economy. [2:26] Is this now your economy, sir? [2:28] Well, I think certain aspects of it are. [2:31] Costs are. [2:32] I was able to get down the cost. [2:33] But even that, it takes a while to get them down, [2:35] but we got them down good. [2:37] We lost $5 to $6 billion a day with Biden. [2:42] Five to $6 billion. [2:44] And I've got that down to a great number right now in a record time. [2:49] You know, we're talking about 100 days. [2:51] But just think of what that is. [2:53] $5 billion a day we're losing on trade. [2:55] And we were very tough with China, as you know. [2:59] We put 145% tariff on. [3:01] Nobody's ever heard of such a thing. [3:03] And we've essentially cut off trade relationships by putting that much of a tariff on. [3:10] And that's okay. [3:11] We've gone cold turkey. [3:12] That means that we're not losing. [3:14] You know, we lost a trillion dollars to China. [3:17] A trillion dollars. [3:18] That means we're not losing a trillion dollars when we go cold turkey [3:21] because we're not doing business with them right now. [3:24] And they want to make a deal. [3:26] They want to make a deal very badly. [3:27] We'll see how that all turns out. [3:29] But it's got to be a fair deal. [3:30] When does it become the Trump economy? [3:33] It partially is right now. [3:35] And I really mean this. [3:36] I think the good parts of the Trump economy and the bad parts of the Biden economy [3:40] because he's done a terrible job. [3:42] He did a terrible job on everything from his auto pen, [3:46] which I'm sure he knew nothing about some of the things he was supposedly signing. [3:50] But, sir, you acknowledge when you announced your tariffs, for example, [3:54] the stock market dropped. [3:56] It's been volatile. [3:56] It has since gone up. [3:58] It is. [3:58] Do you take responsibility for that? [4:01] Yeah. [4:01] Do you take responsibility when it drops? [4:03] Ultimately, I take responsibility for everything. [4:05] But I've only just been here for a little more than three months. [4:09] But the stock market, look at what's happened in the last short period of time. [4:14] It didn't have nine or 10 days in a row or 11 days where it's gone up. [4:18] And the tariffs have just started kicking in. [4:22] And we're doing really well psychologically. [4:28] I mean, the fake news was giving me such press on the tariffs. [4:31] The tariffs are going to make us rich. [4:33] We're going to be a very rich country. [4:34] So let's talk about the tariffs. [4:36] And I want to ask you about something you said this week. [4:38] Got a lot of attention. [4:40] You were at your cabinet meeting. [4:41] You said, quote, I'm going to quote what you said, [4:43] maybe the children will have two dollars instead of 30 dollars. [4:46] Yeah. [4:47] And maybe the two dollars will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally. [4:51] Are you saying that your tariffs will cause some prices to go up? [4:55] No, I think tariffs are going to be great for us because it's going to make us rich. [4:59] But you said some dollars are going to cost more. [5:00] Isn't that an acknowledgment that some prices will go up? [5:03] I don't think a beautiful baby girl needs, that's 11 years old, needs to have 30 dollars. [5:11] I think they can have three dollars or four dollars. [5:14] Because what we were doing with China was just unbelievable. [5:17] We had a trade deficit of hundreds of billions of dollars with China. [5:21] When you say they could have three dollars instead of 30 dollars, are you saying Americans could see empty store shelves? [5:29] No, I'm not saying that. [5:30] I'm just saying they don't need to have 30 dollars. [5:33] They can have three. [5:33] They don't need to have 250 pencils. [5:35] They can have five. [5:37] But you're basically saying there could be some supply shortages because of the tariffs. [5:42] We're going to waste money on a trade deficit with China for things we don't need, for junk that we don't need. [5:49] Well, prices are already going up on some popular items from tires, strollers. [5:54] This is such a dishonest interview already. [5:57] Prices are down on groceries. [5:59] Prices are down for oil. [6:01] Prices are down for oil energy. [6:03] Prices are down at tremendous numbers for gasoline. [6:07] And let me tell you, when you have the big thing, what he did, he spent like a stupid person, which he was. [6:14] But he spent like a very stupid person. [6:17] And that was bad for inflation. [6:18] But what really killed us with inflation was the price of energy. [6:21] It went up to three dollars and 90, even four dollars. [6:24] And in California, five and six dollars. [6:26] Right. [6:27] OK, I have it down to a dollar 98 in many states right now. [6:31] When you go that much lower on energy, which is ahead of my prediction, because I really thought I could get it down into the two fifties. [6:41] We have it down at a dollar 98 in numerous places. [6:45] But when you say costs are going up, even mortgage rates are going down. [6:50] Well, let me give you some examples. [6:52] These are I mean, these are actual examples. [6:54] They're so you're saying the prices that are going down, some prices are going up, tires, strollers, some clothing in the wake of your tariffs. [7:03] That's peanuts compared to energy. [7:06] Energy is 60 percent of the cost. [7:09] But, sir, you can't paint on a promise to bring prices down on day. [7:14] Well, I don't know when you say strollers are going up. [7:17] What kind of a thing? [7:18] I'm saying that gasoline is going down. [7:20] Gasoline is thousands of times more important than a stroller or some place. [7:24] But what do you say to Americans who say they voted for you because they want and they need relief right now? [7:30] And they're getting it. [7:31] Right now? [7:32] What about those? [7:32] Even mortgage rates. [7:34] Different items I just mentioned. [7:35] Mortgage rates are going down despite the fact that we have a stubborn Fed. [7:38] But you said dolls, even dolls could cost a couple bucks more. [7:41] Maybe they might, but you don't need to have, as I said, 35 dolls. [7:45] You can have two, three, four and save a lot of money. [7:48] We don't need to feed the beast. [7:51] I guess you're talking about this transition cost. [7:53] How long should people expect that transition to last, Mr. President? [7:57] I can't tell you that. [7:58] I can tell you that we're making a lot of money. [8:01] We're doing great. [8:02] Again, we're losing more than $5 billion a day. [8:09] $5 billion a day. [8:10] You don't talk about that. [8:12] And right now, we're going to be at a point very soon where we're making money every day. [8:17] Look. [8:18] How soon? [8:19] We were losing hundreds of billions of dollars with China. [8:24] Now, we're essentially not doing business with China. [8:27] Therefore, we're saving hundreds of billions of dollars. [8:30] Very simple. [8:30] You take me to my next question, which is about China. [8:34] They've been making a number of public statements. [8:37] Very positive statements the last 24 hours. [8:40] Well, and most recently, they said before talks could happen, the U.S. would need to remove unilateral tariffs. [8:47] Would you consider dropping the tariffs to get China to the negotiating team? [8:51] No. [8:52] First of all, you're giving me a statement that was said a week ago. [8:56] You're not giving the statement that was said today. [8:58] I have May 2nd Chinese Commerce Ministry. [9:01] Do you know what they said today? [9:02] The U.S. wants to negotiate. [9:04] It should show sincerity by preparing to take actions in correcting its mistakes and canceling the unilateral tariffs. [9:10] They made, first of all, they made numerous statements. [9:13] Yes, they've made numerous statements. [9:14] I can give you a statement for any occasion. [9:19] Yes, yes. [9:19] But they said today they want to talk. [9:22] Look, China, and I don't like this. [9:24] I'm not happy about this. [9:25] China is getting killed right now. [9:27] They're getting absolutely destroyed. [9:29] Their factories are closing. [9:31] Their unemployment is going through the roof. [9:33] I'm not looking to do that to China. [9:35] Now, at the same time, I'm not looking to have China make hundreds of billions of dollars [9:39] and build more ships and more army tanks and more airplanes. [9:43] So you're not, just to be very clear, you're not dropping the tariffs against China to get them to the negotiating table. [9:51] Those tariffs are staying on. [9:52] Why would I do that? [9:53] Would you lower them? [9:54] At some point I'm going to lower them because otherwise you could never do business with them. [9:58] And they want to do business very much. [10:01] Look, their economy is really doing badly. [10:04] Their economy is collapsing. [10:06] So small businesses say they are being hurt by the Chinese tariffs and some could be forced to shut down. [10:12] And many businesses are being helped. [10:14] Are you considering tariff relief for small businesses? [10:17] Why do you always mention that, you know, you pick up a couple of little businesses. [10:21] What about the car business? [10:22] They're going to make a fortune because of the tariffs. [10:25] Do you know that the union, the head of the union, who is no fan of mine, Fain, Sean Fain, I guess his name is, right? [10:31] He didn't endorse me. [10:32] The Teamsters did. [10:33] A lot of people did. [10:34] A lot of unions did. [10:36] But he didn't. [10:36] He couldn't stand me. [10:38] Now he's saying, wow, what Trump's done for the automobile. [10:42] I can't believe it. [10:43] I assume he's going to probably now say the next thing he can say is I endorse this guy. [10:48] He's the greatest I've ever seen. [10:49] He can't believe it's happened. [10:50] He said, we've been waiting 40 years for somebody to do what Trump is doing. [10:54] So why don't you mention the big car industry instead of mentioning somebody that's doing strollers? [11:01] Well, I'm just asking you about small businesses. [11:03] Are there any discussions about giving any relief to small businesses? [11:08] They're not going to need it. [11:09] OK. [11:10] They're going to make so much money. [11:11] Are these tariffs? [11:12] If you build your product here. [11:14] Remember, there are no tariffs if you build your product here. [11:19] It's very easy. [11:20] It's very simple. [11:21] Are these tariffs permanent, Mr. President? [11:23] It depends on what you're talking about. [11:27] One of the things that is going to bring and has brought. [11:30] So I think we probably have close to $9 trillion of investments coming into this country. [11:38] If you look at other presidents, there's never been anything like that. [11:41] This is over a period of two months. [11:43] You've got to give me a little break on the one month because we're three months. [11:46] But, you know, let's say we had to get started. [11:49] We had a lot of fake news at the beginning. [11:51] So we had to beat that down. [11:52] But so let's say in two months. [11:55] So in just a short period of time, a matter of a couple of months, we have the largest number ever in history invested in the United States and committed. [12:06] We have between guaranteed spoken for and people that are going to make a decision and announce it pretty soon, close to $9 trillion. [12:14] We've never had anything close. [12:17] Now, that's Apple building $500 billion worth of plants. [12:21] They always built their plants in China. [12:22] Now they're building their plants over here. [12:24] That's the biggest computer company, the biggest chip company in the world. [12:28] You know, the chip company from Taiwan, which is the biggest in the world, is committed for $500 billion. [12:33] Another one's committed for $300 billion. [12:35] We have companies, nobody's ever seen anything like it. [12:39] Let me tell you the other thing, very importantly, automobile companies, plant after plant after plant, Toyota, Honda, Ford, General Motors, Stellantis. [12:52] I mean, nobody's ever seen anything like it. [12:55] And I don't like this, but it happens to be they're stopping work in Mexico and they're stopping work in Canada and they're all moving here. [13:03] This is important, though. [13:05] You're not taking the possibility that these tariffs could be permanent off the table. [13:10] Some of them. [13:11] No, I wouldn't do that because if somebody thought they were going to come off the table, why would they build in the United States? [13:17] Let me ask you about some of what Wall Street has said. [13:20] Some people on Wall Street have expressed concerns that the possibility of a recession is increasing. [13:27] And I want to know what you think about that. [13:30] Are you comfortable with the country potentially dipping into a recession for a period of time if you are able to achieve your long-term goals? [13:38] Well, you know, you say some people on Wall Street say, well, I'd like to tell you something else. [13:42] Some people on Wall Street say that we're going to have the greatest economy in history. [13:47] Why don't you talk about them? [13:48] Because some people on Wall Street say this is the greatest thing that ever happened. [13:52] Well, that's what I'm getting at. That's what I'm getting at, though. [13:53] It's the same question. [13:54] There are many people on Wall Street say this is going to be the greatest windfall ever happened. [13:58] And that's my question. [13:59] Remember this? [14:00] The long term. [14:01] Is it OK in the short term to have a recession? [14:03] Remember this? [14:05] Look, yeah, everything's OK. [14:08] What we are, I said, this is a transition period. [14:11] I think we're going to do fantastically. [14:13] Are you worried about a recession? [14:16] No. [14:17] OK. [14:18] No. [14:18] No, I think we're going to have the greatest economic... [14:21] I mean, are you worried it could happen? [14:22] Do you think it could happen? [14:24] Anything can happen. [14:26] But I think we're going to have the greatest economy in the history of our country. [14:29] I think we're going to have the greatest economic boom in history. [14:31] Today's strong jobs report likely means, not clear, but likely means the Fed is less likely [14:39] to lower interest rates. [14:41] Well, he should lower them. [14:43] And at some point he will. [14:46] He'd rather not because he's not a fan of mine. [14:49] Not, you know, he just doesn't like me because I think he's a total stiff. [14:52] And, you know, it's just one of those things. [14:55] He should lower them. [14:56] And I wish the people that are on that board would get him to lower because we are at a [15:03] perfect time. [15:05] It's already late, but he should lower interest rates. [15:08] Do you rule out removing Fed Chair Jerome Powell? [15:12] I'm not. [15:12] You know, I get to change him very quickly anyway. [15:14] You know, it's in a very short period of time. [15:16] In 2026. [15:17] You're not going to remove... [15:18] You don't have plans to remove him before 2026 when his time's up? [15:22] That was a total... [15:23] Why would I do that? [15:24] I get to replace the person in another short period of time. [15:29] And when we come back, President Trump's deportation plans have him clashing with the courts. [15:34] Don't you need to uphold the Constitution of the United States as president? [15:38] I don't know. [15:46] Welcome back. [15:47] President Trump vowed during the campaign to carry out the largest deportation operation [15:52] in U.S. history. [15:53] But in his first few months in office, President Trump is clashing with the courts as he executes [15:58] his plans. [15:59] Let's talk about the border. [16:01] Let's talk about deportations. [16:04] Border crossings are at their lowest level ever recorded. [16:09] Is the border... [16:10] Is that good? [16:10] Is the border now secure? [16:12] Yeah, it's really secure. [16:13] It's absolutely secure. [16:15] When you say that, doesn't that just sound good? [16:17] After being abused for years by an incompetent president that allowed people to pour through [16:22] an open border, criminals from all over the world, murderers and insane people from mental [16:27] institutions and insane asylums, isn't it a beautiful thing when you say it's the most [16:34] secure it's ever been in the history of our country? [16:37] Isn't that a nice statement? [16:38] Well, I'm curious to know what it means. [16:41] You declared a national emergency on the southern border. [16:45] The order is still in place. [16:46] By the way, it means exactly what you said. [16:48] It means we have the most secure border we've ever had. [16:51] Well, and I guess the question becomes, when will you know that the emergency is over? [16:55] Are you planning to lift it at some point? [16:57] Is it necessary? [16:58] Because obviously the military is involved. [16:59] Will you lift that emergency? [17:01] Well, the biggest emergency is the courts aren't allowing us to take really- [17:05] We're going to talk about that, but talk to me first about this- [17:07] Well, that's to me the emergency. [17:09] Talk to me first about this- [17:10] The border now is not the emergency. [17:12] The border is all part of the same thing, though. [17:16] The big emergency right now is that we have thousands of people that we want to take out, [17:22] and we have some judges that want everybody to go to court. [17:24] Some of them you appointed, sir, including three on the Supreme Court. [17:28] They change. [17:29] I mean, it's unbelievable. [17:30] It's unbelievable how that happens, but they do change. [17:34] Just to button this up, though, are you planning to lift that emergency order anytime soon? [17:38] No. [17:38] Now that the border's secure? [17:39] No, we have an emergency. [17:40] We have a massive emergency overall. [17:43] It's an overall emergency on immigration, and if the courts don't allow us to take people out, [17:51] if we had to have a court case, every single- [17:53] Think of it. [17:54] Every single person. [17:55] We have millions of people. [17:57] We're going to have millions of court cases? [17:59] Figure two weeks of court case. [18:00] It would be 300 years. [18:02] So let's talk about this, because obviously you've had a back and forth with the Supreme [18:06] Court. [18:07] In a nine-to-zero decision, the Supreme Court directed your administration to facilitate [18:12] the return. [18:13] You've talked about this in the past, of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, from a president in El Salvador, [18:18] whose deportation your administration called an administrative error. [18:22] You said in a recent interview you could bring him back, but you won't. [18:26] Are you defying the Supreme Court? [18:27] No. [18:28] I'm relying on the attorney general of the United States, Pam Bond, who's very capable, [18:33] doing a great job, because I'm not involved in the legality or the illegality. [18:39] I have lawyers to do that, and that's why I have a great DOJ. [18:43] We have a great one. [18:44] We had a very corrupt one before. [18:46] Now we have a great one. [18:47] And they're not viewing the decision the way you said it. [18:51] They don't view it that way at all. [18:52] They think it's a totally different decision. [18:55] Well, you say you have the power to bring him back, though. [18:57] Your attorney general says, quote, that's up to El Salvador. [19:01] Just to put a fine point on this, do you have the power to bring Abrego Garcia back as the [19:06] Supreme Court? [19:07] Well, I have the power to ask for him to come back if I'm instructed by the attorney general [19:12] that it's legal to do so. [19:14] But the decision as to whether or not he should come back will be the head of El Salvador. [19:19] He's a very capable man. [19:20] Well, you know, and your attorney general has said the issue is with that word facilitate. [19:25] Will you seek clarification from the Supreme Court? [19:28] Do you need to go back to the Supreme Court? [19:29] We may do that. [19:30] I was asking about that. [19:31] We may do that. [19:32] Your secretary of state says everyone who's here, citizens and non-citizens, deserve due [19:37] process. [19:37] Do you agree, Mr. President? [19:39] I don't know. [19:39] I'm not a lawyer. [19:41] I don't know. [19:42] Well, the Fifth Amendment says this much. [19:43] I don't know. [19:44] It seems it might say that. [19:47] But if you're talking about that, then we'd have to have a million or two million or three [19:51] million trials. [19:52] We have thousands of people that are some murderers and some drug dealers and some of the worst [19:57] people on earth. [19:58] Some of the worst, most dangerous people on earth. [20:00] And I was elected to get him the hell out of here. [20:03] And the courts are holding me from doing it. [20:06] But even given those numbers that you're talking about, don't you need to uphold the [20:11] Constitution of the United States as president? [20:13] I don't know. [20:14] I have to respond by saying again, I have brilliant lawyers that work for me and they are going [20:22] to obviously follow what the Supreme Court said. [20:25] What you said is not what I heard the Supreme Court said. [20:28] They have a different interpretation. [20:29] Is anyone in your administration right now in contact with El Salvador about returning [20:36] Abrego Garcia to the United States? [20:38] I don't know. [20:39] You'd have to ask the attorney general that question. [20:41] Let's talk about some of the other actions you've taken over the past 100 days. [20:45] Last month, you directed your attorney general, Pam Bondi, to review two people who you perceive [20:51] to be your political adversaries. [20:52] And yet you told me in December that you would not direct the Justice Department to investigate [20:58] your political foes. [20:59] What changed? [21:00] Well, no, I just look at people and I'm not directing anybody. [21:04] They looked at these two people. [21:06] They might have known it or they might have heard it from two years ago. [21:09] So one person said he knew me so well. [21:13] He was, I think, on CNN or MSDNC. [21:15] But they're both failing networks. [21:17] You're happy to know, even though one of my guess is related to you in one form or another, [21:21] although they're trying to cut him loose as fast as possible. [21:24] But it was well known that this one person, it was almost like he was my brother. [21:32] I don't even know who he is. [21:34] Maybe he was there. [21:35] Maybe he was in the Oval Office a few times as a surrogate for, you know, somebody in some [21:42] form of government, along with 25 other people that sat in the back of the room or stood in [21:47] the back of a room. [21:48] I have no idea who this guy is. [21:50] And he's out there. [21:51] And then he did a book called Anonymous, did a book called Anonymous. [21:55] I think that's really subversion. [21:58] I think it's I think it's spying. [22:00] It's something. [22:01] It's something really bad. [22:02] But you pass an executive order calling for your attorney general to investigate that. [22:06] I think he's been looked at for a long time. [22:08] And the other one said that the election was so wonderful. [22:10] It was such a well, it turned out it wasn't a wonderful election. [22:13] It was a corrupt election. [22:14] You said you wanted to unify the country. [22:16] Does going after political foes undercut that goal? [22:20] No, not at all. [22:21] No, we want honest people. [22:23] OK, I think you have to do that. [22:25] We want honest people. [22:27] Let me ask you, big picture people who have lived in countries like the Philippines, Hungary, [22:31] Russia. [22:32] They look at some of your actions going after civil service, going after universities, [22:37] law firms, the media. [22:38] They say it's out of an authoritarian playbook. [22:41] What do you say to those who believe you are taking the country down an authoritarian path? [22:46] Well, there you go again. [22:48] Why don't you ask it a different way? [22:50] Many people wanted to come into our country. [22:52] Many people love Trump. [22:54] I won the election. [22:55] They didn't win the election. [22:56] I got a lot more votes than they did. [22:58] I got, I won the popular vote. [22:59] I won all seven swing states by a lot. [23:03] A lot of people were surprised. [23:04] I said, I think you could win four, maybe five. [23:07] No, I won all seven, and I won by a lot, and I won, actually, I think there was a lot of [23:13] hanky-panky going on, but it was too big to rig. [23:15] That's the good news. [23:16] It's too big to rig. [23:17] But let me just say, so when you make these statements about people say this, well, you [23:23] know, they had their chance at the election, and they lost big. [23:25] So you should ask the question differently. [23:28] You should say, what about the people that want to be in this country? [23:31] What about the people that love this country? [23:33] But what do you say? [23:34] I'm asking it on behalf of those people to give you a chance to respond to them. [23:39] What do you say to those people, sir? [23:41] Those people are going to be very happy. [23:43] They're going to have to see some results, and I think we had a great hundred days. [23:46] There are a lot of people that say it was unprecedented. [23:49] It was an absolutely unprecedented 100 days, and I hope that they're going to be right. [23:56] Do you see dissent as an essential part of democracy? [24:00] It's a part of democracy. [24:02] It is. [24:02] Is it an important part of democracy? [24:04] You're always going to have, Kristen, you're always going to have dissent. [24:08] There's nothing you're going to do about that. [24:09] Am I going to get 100% unified? [24:13] It would be a strange place. [24:14] I can't even imagine it where 100%... [24:17] Look, you have people that are good people. [24:21] They're very smart people, and they honestly believe we should have open borders, [24:26] and the entire world should be allowed to pour into our country. [24:30] I think it's a 95-5 issue, but they believe it. [24:34] They're not even bad people. [24:35] Some of them are bad. [24:37] You have people that honestly believe that men should be allowed [24:40] to play in women's sports. [24:41] Some of these people, I really... [24:43] Actually, I don't know any. [24:44] I haven't been able to find any, but they exist. [24:47] They say it's an 80-20 issue. [24:49] I don't believe that. [24:49] I think it's a 97-3 issue. [24:52] Do you think people should have the right to criticize you without fear of reprisal? [24:56] Absolutely. [24:57] Yeah, I do. [24:58] That I do. [24:58] And how do you square that... [24:59] And I think that happens. [25:00] How do you square that with the fact that you have passed these executive orders asking [25:05] the attorney general to look into some of the people who've criticized you, who've been [25:09] harshest against you? [25:10] I have been investigated more than any person in the history of the United States of America. [25:18] I've been investigated more than the late great, as I say at my rallies, Alphonse Capone. [25:24] Alphonse Capone was a nasty man. [25:27] He was the highest-level gangster. [25:31] And I have been investigated more than Al Capone, more than anybody. [25:36] These people are evil people, and I won. [25:40] And I'll tell you what, all I want to happen is for the Department of Justice and the FBI. [25:46] Pam is great and Cash is great. [25:48] I think they're two great people. [25:50] But they're their own people. [25:51] They want to do a fantastic job. [25:54] And all I want to do and all I want to ask for is that they be allowed to do their job. [26:00] I'm not telling them to do anything. [26:01] And I believe I have the right to do it. [26:03] I'm, in theory, the top law enforcement officer as the president. [26:07] We went over this once before, and it turned out I was right. [26:09] But I'm not looking to use that. [26:11] We have two great people, and we have many, many incredible people under them. [26:15] And I just want them to do their job and do it well. [26:18] When we come back, will President Trump step down at the end of his time in office? [26:25] The Trump Organization is selling hats that say Trump 2028. [26:30] Are you seriously considering a third term? [26:41] Welcome back. [26:42] On the world stage, President Trump is still working to achieve his promise to end the war [26:46] in Ukraine, while also doubling down on his plans to expand U.S. influence across the globe. [26:53] Let's talk about foreign policy, sir. [26:54] You just signed a minerals deal with Ukraine. [26:58] It's a sign, it seems, that the United States is invested in Ukraine's future. [27:03] The secretary of state told me this is a very critical week. [27:07] Are you any closer to reaching a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia? [27:12] I hope so. [27:13] How would you characterize it? [27:14] I do believe we're closer with one party and maybe not as close with the other. [27:19] But we'll have to say, I'd like to not say which one we're closer to, but we did do a [27:25] deal for the American people that was good. [27:27] We were able to get rare earth. [27:29] You know, the Europeans are getting paid back. [27:31] They have a loan. [27:32] We didn't, Biden just gave him $350 billion. [27:35] He has no idea where the money is, what happened. [27:37] And at least we'll, in one form or another, get our, I don't feel so foolish. [27:42] And remember this, this is Biden's war. [27:45] This was a war that was never going to happen if I were president. [27:47] This is a horrible, horrible war. [27:50] And I get to see shots of soldiers through, you know, satellite that are so, just so terrible. [27:58] 5,000 soldiers are being, look, 5,000 soldiers a week on average are dying. [28:04] They're not American soldiers, but I want to solve the problem. [28:07] They're Russian soldiers and they're Ukrainian soldiers. [28:10] And if I can save 5,000 souls, I just love doing it. [28:16] How long do you give both countries before you're going to walk away? [28:20] Well, there'll be a time when I will say, okay, keep going, keep being stupid. [28:25] When does that come? [28:26] Are you close to it? [28:30] Sometimes I get close to it and then positive things happen. [28:33] Okay. [28:33] What's the red line for you? [28:35] At what point do you say, that's it, we're walking away? [28:37] Well, you'll know. [28:38] I mean, there'll be a time when I may say that. [28:40] And if I do, there may be something I can't, maybe it's not possible to do. [28:45] There's tremendous hatred, just so you understand. [28:49] Kristen, we're talking tremendous hatred between these two men and between, you know, [28:54] some of the soldiers, frankly, between the generals. [28:57] They've been fighting hard for three years. [28:59] I think we have a very good chance of doing it. [29:02] And very quickly, if you do walk away, would that mean that you would pull military and [29:07] intelligence share? [29:08] I don't want to say that now. [29:09] It's too early to say that. [29:10] I don't want to get into that argument. [29:11] Let's move on to Canada. [29:13] You have long talked about making Canada the 51st state. [29:16] There's obviously a new prime minister of Canada, Mark Carney, who you spoke to after [29:20] his victory. [29:21] He says that you didn't talk to him in that call about making Canada a 51st state. [29:26] No, he called me. [29:27] He was very nice. [29:28] And I congratulated him. [29:29] He had a victory. [29:30] It's a very close victory. [29:32] You know, there's no majority or anything. [29:34] So that's going to make things a little bit difficult, I think, for him to run. [29:37] But he nevertheless had a victory. [29:40] And he's a very nice man, I think. [29:41] Do you plan to talk to him about making Canada a 51st state? [29:43] He wants to come and see me. [29:45] He's going to come this week or next week. [29:46] So will you talk to him about making Canada a 51st state, annexing Canada? [29:50] I'll always talk about that. [29:51] You know why? [29:52] We subsidize Canada to the tune of $200 billion a year. [29:58] We don't need their cars. [30:00] In fact, we don't want their cars. [30:01] We don't need their energy. [30:03] We don't even want their energy. [30:04] We have more than they do. [30:05] We don't want their lumber. [30:07] We have great lumber. [30:08] All I have to do is free it up from the environmental lunatics. [30:11] We don't need anything that they have. [30:14] We're giving them. [30:15] I asked Mr. Trudeau, who I call Governor Trudeau. [30:20] I said, you know, not Prime Minister Governor. [30:22] I said, Governor Trudeau, could I ask you one question? [30:25] Why are we giving you $200 billion? [30:27] Why are we subsidizing Canada? [30:30] If Canada was a state, it wouldn't cost us. [30:33] It would be great. [30:33] It would be such a great, it would be a cherished state. [30:37] And if you look at our map, if you look at the geography, I'm a real estate guy at heart. [30:42] When I look down at that, without that artificial line that was drawn with a ruler many years ago, [30:48] it was just an artificial line. [30:49] It goes straight across. [30:50] You don't even realize. [30:51] What a beautiful country it would be. [30:53] It would be great. [30:54] But I don't think the American public wants me to pay $200 billion a year to subsidize Canada. [31:03] Again, remember this. [31:04] We don't need their costs. [31:05] We don't need their labor. [31:06] We don't need their energy. [31:07] We don't need anything. [31:09] We do very little business with Canada. [31:11] They do all of their business practically with us. [31:14] They need us. [31:15] We don't need that. [31:16] You and I talked, and I asked you if you would rule out military force to take Greenland. [31:21] And you said, no, you don't rule out anything. [31:23] Would you rule out military force to take Canada? [31:26] Well, I think we're not going to ever get to that point. [31:29] It could happen. [31:30] Something could happen with Greenland. [31:31] I'll be honest. [31:32] We need that for national and international security. [31:35] But not with Canada? [31:36] I think it's highly unlikely. [31:38] I don't see it with Canada. [31:39] I just don't see it. [31:40] I have to be honest with you. [31:41] OK, but you don't rule it out for Greenland. [31:44] And by the way, Canada? [31:45] They spend less money on military than practically any nation in the world. [31:50] They pay NATO less than any nation. [31:53] They think we're subsidizing. [31:56] They think we are going to protect them. [31:59] And really, we are. [32:01] But the truth is, they don't carry their full share. [32:04] And it's unfair to the United States and our taxpayers. [32:07] But you are not ruling out military force to take Greenland. [32:11] I don't rule it out. [32:12] I don't say I'm going to do it. [32:13] But I don't rule out anything. [32:14] No, not there. [32:16] We need that. [32:17] We need Greenland very badly. [32:18] Greenland is a very small amount of people, which we'll take care of and we'll cherish [32:23] them and all of that. [32:25] But we need that for international security. [32:28] The Trump Organization is selling hats that say Trump 2028. [32:32] Yeah. [32:32] Are you seriously considering a third term, Mr. President, even though it's prohibited [32:38] by the Constitution? [32:39] Or is this about staying politically viable? [32:41] I will say this. [32:43] So many people want me to do it. [32:45] I have never had requests so strong as that. [32:49] But it's something that, to the best of my knowledge, you're not allowed to do. [32:53] I don't know if that's constitutional that they're not allowing you to do it or anything else. [32:57] But there are many people selling the 2028 hat. [33:01] But this is not something I'm looking to do. [33:03] I'm looking to have four great years and turn it over to somebody, ideally a great Republican, [33:11] a great Republican to carry it forward. [33:13] But I think we're going to have four years. [33:15] And I think four years is plenty of time to do something really spectacular. [33:18] The Constitution does prohibit it. [33:20] Have you some of your allies are pretty serious about this, though, Mr. President. [33:24] I've spoken to them. [33:26] They say they are coming up with potential ways. [33:29] Obviously, the biggest won't be a constitutional amendment. [33:31] That's because they like the job I'm doing. [33:33] And it's a compliment. [33:34] Has anyone in an official capacity presented you with, sir, here are some ideas by which you [33:41] could actually get a constitutional amendment? [33:43] The capacity of being a big supporter of many people have said different things. [33:48] But I'm not looking at that. [33:50] You have built a political movement that has transformed the Republican Party. [33:55] It's transformed the country, quite frankly. [33:58] The greatest political movement in history, MAGA. [34:00] When you... [34:01] Make America great again. [34:02] When you look to the future, Mr. President, do you think the MAGA movement can survive without [34:08] you as its leader? [34:09] Yes, I do. [34:10] What gives you... [34:11] I think it's so strong, and I think we have tremendous people. [34:14] I think we have a tremendous group of people. [34:17] We talked about a number of them. [34:19] You look at Marco. [34:20] You look at J.D. Vance, who's fantastic. [34:23] You look at... [34:23] I could name 10, 15, 20 people right now just sitting here. [34:27] No, I think we have a tremendous party. [34:29] And you know what I can't name? [34:30] I can't name one Democrat. [34:32] I mean, I look at the Democrats. [34:34] They're in total disarray. [34:35] They have a new person named Crockett. [34:38] I watched her speak the other day. [34:40] She's definitely a low IQ person. [34:43] And they said she's the future of the party. [34:45] I said, you have to be kidding. [34:47] I don't know what they're going to do. [34:49] And I really believe in a two-party system. [34:52] Because it's good to be challenged. [34:54] It's really good to have a two-party. [34:55] You know, it's good. [34:56] Being challenged is okay. [34:57] It keeps you sharp. [34:59] I don't know what they're going to do. [35:00] They have nobody. [35:01] Bernie's 87 years old or something. [35:04] And, you know, Biden is the worst thing that ever happened to old people. [35:09] Because he was grossly incompetent. [35:11] And I think maybe for artificial reasons. [35:13] You know, he had operations and things. [35:15] So maybe that's an artificial. [35:17] But I know people that are unbelievably sharp. [35:21] And they're older than 87. [35:23] But I watch Bernie Sanders. [35:24] He's a nut job. [35:25] But he's still sharp. [35:27] He's sharp as he's the same guy he was. [35:29] He hasn't gone down. [35:30] But Biden is really, he's the worst thing to happen to old people. [35:35] I know that you are only 100 days in. [35:38] But as we sit here today, who do you see as your successor, Mr. President? [35:42] Well, it's far too early to say that. [35:45] But, you know, I do have a vice president. [35:47] And typically it would be, and J.D.'s doing a fantastic job. [35:50] He would be at the top of the list? [35:51] It could very well be. [35:53] I don't want to get involved in that. [35:55] I think he's a fantastic, brilliant guy. [35:58] Marco is great. [35:59] There's a lot of them that are great. [36:01] I also see tremendous unity. [36:04] But certainly you would say that somebody's the VP. [36:07] If that person is outstanding, I guess that person would have an advantage. [36:11] But I think the other people would all stay in unbelievably high positions. [36:16] But, you know, it could be that he'd be challenged by somebody. [36:19] We have a lot of good people in this party. [36:21] And when we come back, President Trump talks about his legislative agenda, plans for a military parade, [36:28] and reveals how he wants to build a ballroom at the White House. [36:32] Welcome back. [36:40] After our interview, President Trump gave us a rare inside look into his ornate Florida home and private club, Mar-a-Lago. [36:48] He shared new details with us about his grand plans for the White House, his legislative agenda, and his vision for a military parade next month. [36:57] We will. [36:58] We will. [36:59] We will. [37:00] President Trump greeting supporters at an RNC fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago. [37:05] Showing us the main ballroom at his private club, and sharing new details about the one he plans to build at the White House. [37:14] We are going to make and build a ballroom, which they've wanted for probably a hundred years at the White House. [37:22] And it'll be a world-class, beautiful ballroom. [37:25] A ballroom that could cost millions of dollars. [37:28] He says he will pay for it himself. [37:30] You will fund it. [37:32] I'm not going to ask the government for money. [37:33] I'll fund it, and I'm sure we'll have some donations to it. [37:37] But it's not an inexpensive thing. [37:40] It'll cost a lot of money. [37:41] The president also told me that next month he's planning a military parade, celebrating the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army that also falls on his 79th birthday. [37:54] We're going to have a big, beautiful parade. [37:56] A military parade? [37:57] Yeah, sure. [37:57] We're going to celebrate our military. [37:59] We have the greatest military in the world. [38:01] What's the price tag? [38:01] People, peanuts compared to the value of doing it. [38:06] We have the greatest missiles in the world. [38:08] We have the greatest submarines in the world. [38:10] We have the greatest army tanks in the world. [38:12] We have the greatest weapons in the world. [38:15] And we're going to celebrate it. [38:16] As supporters snapped photos, we spoke about the future of TikTok, the president telling me he's willing to extend the deadline for the Chinese-owned app that was banned in the U.S. [38:27] Would you extend that deadline if there's still no deal? [38:34] You already would want to extend. [38:36] You would. [38:36] I would. [38:36] So you're going to, you want to see a deal. [38:38] I'd like to see it done. [38:40] I have a little sweet spot in my heart because, as you know, I won young people by 36 points. [38:47] That's a lot. [38:49] No Republican ever won young people, and I won it by 36 points. [38:52] And I focused on TikTok. [38:54] So perhaps I shouldn't say this, but I have a little warm spot in my heart for TikTok. [38:59] TikTok is, it's very interesting, but it'll be protected. [39:05] Finally, as we toured the club, I pressed the president on his tax cut package, making its way through Congress. [39:13] What happens if it comes to your desk, has the tax cuts, but also cuts to Medicaid? [39:20] Would you veto that? [39:20] No, we're not doing that. [39:21] Would you veto that? [39:23] I would if they were cutting it, but they're not cutting it. [39:26] They're looking at fraud, waste, and abuse. [39:28] And nobody minds that if illegal immigrants are in the mix, if people that aren't supposed to be there, [39:36] people that are non-citizens are in the mix. [39:38] Nobody minds that. [39:40] Waste, fraud, and abuse. [39:42] But we're not cutting Medicaid, we're not cutting Medicare, and we're not cutting Social Security. [39:47] And you can watch my full interview with President Trump at meetthepress.com. [39:52] When we come back, the panel is next. [39:55] Welcome back. [40:06] The panel is here. [40:07] NBC News Chief White House Correspondent Peter Alexander, NBC News Chief International Correspondent [40:12] Keir Simmons, Simone Sanders Townsend, former chief spokesperson for Vice President Harris [40:18] and co-host of The Weeknight on MSNBC, and Mark Short, former director of legislative affairs [40:25] for President Trump. [40:26] Thanks to all of you for being here. [40:28] Simone, congratulations on the news show. [40:30] Let's start with the chiefs. [40:31] Peter, let me start with you. [40:34] Peter, you are at the White House. [40:36] You're always questioning President Trump about the economy. [40:40] He yet again doubled down on this message. [40:43] It's okay if there's short-term pain, if there's long-term gain. [40:46] Going further, though, by saying, yeah, there might be a short recession. [40:50] What do you make of what we heard from him? [40:52] Just think about the fundamental promise of the Trump campaign. [40:54] I'm going to bring down, as you asked him, I'm going to bring down prices on day one. [40:58] And now consider the evolution since day one, where he said during his joint address, there's [41:02] going to be a little disturbance. [41:04] He then said, hang tough. [41:05] It may not be easy. [41:07] This week, he said, there's going to be a transition period. [41:09] He claims that he told Americans there would be a transition period. [41:12] We look back. [41:12] He never referred to a transition period during the course of his campaign. [41:16] In fact, he said, there is not going to be a cost to you. [41:18] And now he's saying, you may not be able to get all the dollars you want. [41:21] And if you do want some, they're going to cost you a little bit more. [41:24] So to be clear here, he was talking about pencils today. [41:26] He says he's even OK with the recession. [41:29] At the bottom of the line, it's going to be hard to sell to Americans what he promised [41:32] and what they're seeing right now. [41:33] And I heard it from Americans. [41:35] I was in Michigan this week from him where he spent his 100 days. [41:38] A first time voter voted for Donald Trump, said, I have some regrets about my vote. [41:41] He promised prices would come down. [41:43] And already I'm seeing it come up. [41:44] And even a Trump voter, lifelong Democrat, came around for Donald Trump. [41:48] An auto worker, union auto worker said, you know what? [41:51] For me, I'm worried about the short-term impact. [41:54] I know we need to do it in the end. [41:55] But in the short term, I am concerned about what its impact would be on car prices here. [41:59] Consumers saying they need relief right now, Kier, as Peter is saying. [42:03] And one of the biggest flashpoints in this is this trade standoff with China. [42:09] Yeah, absolutely. [42:10] He did not seem like he was significantly backing down, or at least that he'd made any type of [42:15] decision in China saying, you've got to lower at least these tariffs if you want us to come [42:20] to the negotiating table. [42:21] It's crunch time. [42:22] It's crunch time in capitals around the world, not least in the battle with Beijing. [42:27] And I think to Peter's point, what the president is saying when he talks about dolls and pencils [42:31] is that this fight is America's fight. [42:36] Now, Beijing is betting that America will not be able to significantly reduce its dependence [42:42] on cheap goods from China. [42:44] And, you know, it's crunch time on that question of whether America has wasted its wealth on [42:49] war, because it's crunch time with President Putin. [42:52] President Trump, Susie Wiles, have a term sheet on their desk from the Europeans and the Ukrainians, [42:58] a 30-day ceasefire. [43:00] The question is whether Steve Wyckoff is going to be able to deliver President Putin with [43:04] all of his inexperience. [43:07] Here's the point. [43:08] You know, the president talks about doing deals. [43:10] Everybody else wants a deal, too. [43:12] They want their deal. [43:13] Yeah, it's such a great point here. [43:15] And, Mark, it is crunch time for all of these deals right now. [43:19] What was your takeaway from what we heard from President Trump on a range of different topics, [43:23] whether it's the economy or saying he's not sure that he has to follow the Constitution? [43:26] Well, look, Kristen, I think that Simone and I were talking backstage. [43:30] There was a sister interview at CNBC this week with the director of Los Angeles Port. [43:35] And he walks through the fact that this week is really the first thing you have a 35 percent [43:39] reduction in the amount of goods coming to the United States. [43:41] It's a matter of this week probably when you'll begin to see port workers laid off. [43:46] Truckers will be having about half a delivery load. [43:49] And in a couple of weeks, they'll have no delivery load. [43:51] So you'll have truckers laid off. [43:52] And it's probably about four to five weeks before shelves are beginning to get empty as retailers [43:55] have gone through their inventory. [43:57] That is a whole different sight. [43:59] And I think when you're beginning to tell Americans how many dolls they can have, [44:02] I don't know if there was a restriction on what, you know, Ivanka or Tiffany could have. [44:05] But I think that is sort of a let them eat cake moment. [44:10] And I think as well, as far as showing how, I think, misguided this trade policy is, [44:15] there's a part of your interview when you talked about Amazon and Jeff Bezos and the president's [44:19] calling and he's angry about that. [44:21] Wasn't that the point of the tariffs? [44:22] Wasn't the point to show that we want you to buy American? [44:26] And the fact is, there'd be an extra amount if you're actually buying foreign goods. [44:30] And so they want it both ways. [44:31] They want you to buy American. [44:32] But at the same time, they don't want you to think there's actually an increase in costs, [44:35] which, of course, there is. [44:37] Yeah. [44:37] Simone, how are Democrats going to hear this interview? [44:39] What are they going to take from it? [44:40] You know, first of all, I encourage Democrats to read your entire transcript. [44:44] I know you're going to post it online and see the whole interview because what Mark just [44:48] talked about the Amazon piece, that's not in what folks saw today, but it is a whole transcript [44:52] that we posted online. [44:53] My biggest takeaway from this is that the president did not box himself in, as he often doesn't [44:58] do. [44:58] He didn't give a lot of yes or no questions. [45:00] I mean, even on the Fifth Amendment, honey, he's like, well, you know, if you give everybody [45:05] due process, that's a lot of trials. [45:07] Well, so that's how it works. [45:09] But the fact that he is not, he wouldn't even say he wouldn't seek a third term. [45:12] He was definitive about this economy. [45:15] It's like, well, some goods, the good parts are mine. [45:17] The bad parts are Biden's. [45:18] He is giving himself a lot of wiggle room so he can say, well, I never said that. [45:22] I never did this. [45:23] So he can be very effervescent, if you will, with what he does believe. [45:26] I will note this, though. [45:27] You cannot out message what people are actually feeling and seeing in their everyday lives. [45:32] When people talk about the economy, they're talking about affordability. [45:35] That's what folks were going to the polls about. [45:37] Affordability is housing. [45:38] Affordability is gas. [45:39] And nowhere in this country is gas 198. [45:42] I would like to see it. [45:43] The lowest gas is 263 in Mississippi. [45:45] Mortgage rates are going down from 6.9% to maybe 6.5%. [45:49] That affordability, though, when the tariffs are still in place, you can't build housing. [45:54] That 198, that wholesale price that he's referencing. [45:57] Let's talk very quickly. [45:58] Rapid fire. [46:00] The politics of this. [46:01] I thought it was fascinating, Peter. [46:02] At the end, he talked about his legacy. [46:04] He talked about the future of the Republican Party. [46:07] He talked about J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio. [46:09] I was going to say, it's the Apprentice White House edition. [46:12] J.D. Vance versus Marco Rubio. [46:13] He brought up Marco's Rubio name at every opportunity. [46:16] That was striking to me. [46:17] Yeah. [46:17] What do you make of hearing Marco Rubio, Secretary of State, who's been so involved in those negotiations? [46:22] When you talk to diplomats around the world, they recognize that the Secretary of State, [46:26] the National Security Advisor, is President Trump in the end. [46:30] That is, they recognize, that is the person you have to persuade he can change his mind [46:34] at any moment. [46:35] I don't think there's anybody in modern American politics that can replicate the coalition [46:38] that Donald Trump's put together. [46:39] I think he's uniquely gifted in that, and I'm not sure that there's a successor for it. [46:44] But I think he's going to test this coalition with his trade agenda. [46:46] I agree with that. [46:47] I think it's very clear. [46:49] But also, I want people to really take a look at what he's saying about the laws. [46:53] The laws are the thing that hold our country together. [46:55] And when you have the president that doesn't necessarily think the Constitution, that thinks [46:58] the Constitution is up for debate, I think that that is something to take a look at. [47:01] All right, guys. [47:02] Great panel. [47:03] Thank you so much for being here. [47:04] That is all for today. [47:06] Thank you for watching this very special edition of Meet the Press. [47:09] We'll be back next week, because if it's Sunday, it's Meet the Press.