President Trump reflects on first year of second term

[0:00] Thank you, Mr. President, for having us here at the White House to mark the one-year anniversary [0:04] to your second term in the White House. Minnesota continues to be ground zero for the left's war [0:10] against your deportation efforts. Just today, you saw the Department of Justice issue a number of [0:15] subpoenas against Democratic officials there, Governor Tim Walz, the mayor of Minneapolis, [0:21] and the Attorney General Keith Ellison. What is the status of Minneapolis and what is your [0:26] administration doing to ensure that your deportation efforts can continue in that [0:30] city and around the country? I think you have two problems. Number one, you have $19 billion [0:34] worth of stolen money, at least. I think the number is going to be much higher. And you have [0:39] that in California. You have it in other states also, I believe, when you go through it. So that's [0:44] a big problem. And then you have the agitators, anarchists. You know, I watch sort of everything. [0:50] I see it all. And I see people screaming, shame, shame. You know, [0:56] this is not the end of the world. This is not the end of the world. This is not the end of the [0:56] world. This is not the end of the world. This is not the end of the world. This is not the end of the [0:56] world. This is not the end of the world. This is not the end of the world. This is not people that are [0:57] like living in Minnesota. These are professional, paid people. They're like actors. I mean, I [1:04] watched a guy last night in the church. He was, and not just Don Lemon. Don Lemon's a loser. But I [1:09] watched a guy last night in the church. This guy's a professional guy. And he actually admits to it. [1:14] He gets paid a lot of money to go and cause trouble. And you see that. What they don't see [1:20] is that ICE gets rid of murderers, drug dealers, Trend de Aragua. I mean, the worst gang in the [1:27] world, anywhere in the world, MS-13, . But these are the worst gangs, and they get [1:32] rid of them. They take them out. And I say, something's wrong when a place like Minnesota, [1:39] which is a good place. It's got a horrible governor. It's got horrible people. This Ilhan [1:45] Omar is horrible. I mean, she comes from a country that doesn't even have a government. They have [1:52] nothing. And she comes here and she lectures us on the Constitution. She's got constitutional rights. [1:57] She's just horrible. Somebody said she's worth $30 million. Well, therefore, she's obviously a very [2:05] dishonest person. And she should be looked at for that. So you have a couple of things. You have the [2:10] money thing. And then you have the, all of the fake nonsense going on and screaming. The people, [2:16] they're so professional. They hold their cameras up high. And it's a terrible thing going on in [2:21] Minnesota. [2:22] LISA DESJARDINS Well, you've threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act if the governor did not get [2:26] things under control. [2:27] They clearly don't have things under control and don't seem to want to get them under control yet. [2:31] These activists storming churches now. And also, they're still impeding these investigations of [2:36] child sex offenders, murderers. At a press conference today at the White House, [2:40] you held up a number of photos of the people that ICE has been deporting. [2:43] The Insurrection Act would allow you, requires essentially, that if federal law cannot be [2:49] enforced, that you can invoke it and it would allow it to be enforced. So where are you with [2:54] that threat? And do you still think it's necessary? [2:55] SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER I don't think it is yet. [2:57] It might be at some point. It is actually very common. With me, they will make it like a big [3:02] deal. But it's been used by over 40 percent of the presidents during their term. It's something I [3:09] would have no problem doing if I think we needed it. We have great people at ICE. They're strong [3:14] people. They're smart people. And I don't think it's necessary yet. But I see they're building up [3:20] like, oh, if he ever did that. Over 40 percent of the presidents used it. Some presidents used it [3:27] really many times. And it does make life a lot easier. You don't go through the court system. [3:32] You don't — you know, it's just a much easier thing to do. But I don't think we need it at this [3:38] point. And hopefully we won't need it. But I would not have any problem with invoking it if we needed [3:44] it. [3:44] LISA DESJARDINS Well, as you pointed out, [3:45] this is not just a problem in Minnesota. It's been a problem in Los Angeles and elsewhere. [3:49] There's a new governor across the river in Virginia, Democrat Abigail Spanberger. The [3:54] first thing she did when she came into office was repeal cooperation. [3:57] Between ICE agents and local law enforcement. So what is your message or response to governors [4:03] like her now deciding they're not going to work with ICE? [4:05] SEN. JOHN KERRY Well, I hope there are no problems, [4:07] because if there are, she's not going to get it corrected very easily. And that's a bad signal. [4:11] You know, that's not where the country is. The country doesn't want to see murderers and drug [4:15] dealers and gang members and all coming from other countries and just stay in their area. [4:21] Take a look at Washington, D.C. As you know better than anybody, it was very, very unsafe a year and [4:27] a half ago. SEN. JOHN KERRY Yeah. [4:27] SEN. JOHN KERRY Because now it's a year, so I have to go a little more than a year ago. But it was [4:31] a very, very unsafe place. And now it's totally safe. It's a beautiful — I mean, people are [4:37] walking with their kids to restaurants. They meet their husband at a restaurant. The restaurants [4:42] were all closing. Now the restaurants are all opening. The whole — the place is beautiful. [4:46] And you have good-looking, solid military people walking around. It's actually — I think it's [4:54] almost like an enhancement. Everybody feels safe. [4:57] Washington, D.C., is a different place. If you go to — well, it's happening in Louisiana, [5:04] where you have — you know, we put some of the security in Louisiana. Go to Memphis, [5:10] go to different places. I mean, wherever we put it, it's good. [5:13] Now, even in Chicago, we got the crime down a little bit. We did just a little minor version [5:18] of it. But we get no cooperation. If I were a Democrat governor, I would say, boy, [5:23] would I love to have Trump come in here, so I could show some good numbers. [5:27] But anywhere we go, everywhere we go, it's good. And by the way, [5:31] the numbers are way down in Minnesota. You know, if you go to Minnesota, [5:34] the numbers are down because of us. But it's like pulling teeth. [5:38] Well, one of the first things that you did when you came into the White House for the second time [5:42] is you signed the Lake and Riley Act, after Lake and Riley was murdered by a criminal illegal alien [5:47] here from Venezuela. Why do you think that Democrats are defending these types of people? [5:54] What's the reasoning behind that? Well, it's not only defending. It's [5:57] like Lake and Riley is — you mentioned the name, and they don't even want to talk about it. [6:01] You see it at State of the Union addresses. You introduce people there. You know, [6:06] their young child was killed by a horrible human being. And the Democrats sit there, [6:12] and they won't clap. They won't acknowledge. You know, the mother and father stand up. [6:16] They're devastated. And the Democrats are just sitting there. They won't smile. They won't clap. [6:23] There's something wrong with them. Maybe it's Trump derangement syndrome. [6:27] No, no, no. There's something wrong with them. You introduce a family whose child was just lost. [6:32] And they're sitting there, and they're just stone-faced. It's a meanness. They're a mean [6:39] group of people. You're on your way to Davos this week. There's a lot of talk about Greenland, [6:45] of course. European leaders are not so happy about your increased pressure to acquire Greenland. [6:51] For the average American who maybe doesn't understand why the United States is pursuing [6:57] this property, what do you say to them? Why do we need Greenland? [7:01] It's located in such a place that is literally so important for national security. When you come to [7:07] Russia, when you come to China, a lot of Chinese boats, a lot of Russian ships, military ships. [7:16] It's in a location that is very important for our national security and also for the [7:23] international security of the world, literally. It's a very big piece [7:27] of land. It's really cold. Got a lot of ice on it. So it's not like we're going to build a nice [7:33] real estate development or anything. No golf course on Greenland? [7:35] Why not see a golf course? You'd have to be very – you'd have to wear a lot of – very heavy [7:39] clothing. We're not going to set any records with golf. But I will tell you that it's very important [7:46] to the United States. And as an example, we're building the Golden Dome, which – we're going to [7:51] have a dome over the country. If somebody wants to shoot missiles, it'll knock them out of the air, [7:56] like matchsticks. It'll go crazy. It's going to go crazy. It's going to go crazy. It's going to go crazy. [7:57] It'll go very nicely. It's amazing. You know, Ronald Reagan wanted this many, many years ago. [8:02] He was ahead of his time. But the problem is, you didn't have equipment that worked. Today, [8:05] the equipment is unbelievable. You've seen it. I mean, we can knock a missile coming at [8:10] thousands of miles an hour. It's like – and you get literally 100 percent of them. The [8:16] technology is so good. So we're building a Golden Dome. And having Greenland makes [8:21] it a much more effective Golden Dome. So you're saying Greenland is essential [8:26] for the security of the world? Yeah. [8:27] Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. [8:27] So it's the security of the United States in the free Western world for the sake of missile defense. [8:31] That is correct. And that's why we need Greenland. [8:33] That is correct. And even beyond missile defense. But it is so important for the Golden Dome. It's [8:38] so important for just national and actually international security. [8:42] So the European Union has said that, in response to your pursuit of Greenland, [8:48] they will launch a, quote, trade bazooka at the United States. What do you think that means? And [8:53] what is your response to Europe threatening some kind of trade war with the United States? [8:56] I don't think they know what it means. [8:57] I don't think they know what it means, actually. But they already do trade bazookas. They [9:00] fine our companies billions of dollars, like Apple and Google and lots of them, [9:06] you know, 15, 16, 17 billion dollars. And you shouldn't be doing that. We just signed a deal [9:11] with them. And it's a good deal. It's a big deal. And had we not had tariffs, we wouldn't have been [9:16] able to sign anything like it. But they need that deal. So I don't think they really know what a [9:21] bazooka means. And, you know, see, anything they do with us, I'll just meet it. All I have to do is [9:27] trade it and it's going to go ricocheting backward. But we're not looking into that. [9:31] We'll probably be able to work something out possibly even during the next few days in Davos. [9:36] So looking back here at home domestically last year, [9:39] you worked with Congress very closely, Republicans in charge of both the House and the Senate. And, [9:44] of course, you're in the White House. And you worked with them on the big, [9:47] beautiful bill for twenty twenty six, especially in a midterm election year. What is your goal [9:52] for Congress in terms of getting your agenda through? What is on the agenda? What expectations [9:57] have for Congress? [9:58] SEN. [9:59] JOHN KERRY , Well, one of the things I'd like to do, you know, we passed so many [10:02] executive orders. [10:03] I have great executive orders that are really common-sense and good and have, I mean, like [10:08] water coming out of a sink. [10:10] The water wouldn't come out. [10:11] They had all sorts of ridiculous restrictions. [10:13] I took all of that off. [10:15] Coming out of the shower head, you would stand under a shower. [10:17] There's no water coming out. [10:19] So I passed so many things like that, straws. [10:22] They don't have to be paper anymore. [10:24] They don't have to melt in your mouth. [10:25] So I passed so many different things like that, and much more important things, but [10:29] like that. [10:30] They're important, the quality of life. [10:32] And I'd like to have all of that confirmed by Congress, if we can. [10:36] And we have done a lot of it. [10:38] We have done probably 35, 40 percent. [10:40] I would like to get them all confirmed, every one of them. [10:43] LISA DESJARDINS, So you want your executive orders codified in law, so to speak? [10:47] SEN. [10:48] JOHN KERRY , Ideally, we get them codified, and we get them codified soon, [10:51] yes. [10:52] LISA DESJARDINS, So the mortgage rates are down in terms of the economy. [10:54] Inflation has slowed. [10:55] Gas prices are down. [10:57] The budget deficit has been cut significantly by tariffs. [11:00] SEN. [11:01] JOHN KERRY , These are very good things, Katie. [11:02] LISA DESJARDINS, What do you think the economy is going to look like now that the [11:05] legislation from last year will be kicking in and the Biden agenda will be no longer [11:09] in place? [11:10] SEN. [11:11] JOHN KERRY , So we have thousands of businesses being built right now because [11:14] of tariffs. [11:15] We have taken in so much money. [11:16] And what's happened is, in order not to pay the tariff, they don't have to pay it. [11:20] All they have to do is build their business here. [11:21] So all over the world, they're coming in. [11:23] They're building car plants, AI plants. [11:24] SEN. [11:25] JOHN KERRY , Massive buildings and small buildings, but literally thousands [11:29] of them. [11:30] We have never had anything like it. [11:32] And you have seen that. [11:33] Eighteen trillion dollars is coming in. [11:34] No country has ever been even close to that. [11:37] And I think it's just going to be an explosion of success. [11:41] I would be very surprised if it wasn't. [11:43] There's never been anything like $18 trillion. [11:46] You go back, if you see $2 trillion or $3 trillion, that's a lot. [11:50] We're at 18. [11:51] And, by the way, that's through 11 months. [11:52] I assume I'm going to add something for the last 10 years. [11:53] SEN. [11:54] JOHN KERRY , Massive buildings and small buildings, but literally thousands [11:55] of them. [11:56] That's something for the last month, which was now we just finished our 12th month. [11:59] So we're going to be over $18 trillion. [12:02] There's never been anything like that in the history of our country. [12:05] LISA DESJARDINS , So, when you're talking to these companies who are investing [12:07] in the United States, saying they're going to build new plants, how do you ensure that [12:10] they continue that investment after you leave office, similar to your executive orders getting [12:16] codified by Congress? [12:17] How do you ensure that those deals actually come through and are not just... [12:19] SEN. [12:20] JOHN KERRY , Well, once they build the plant, they're sort of here. [12:22] You know, they're spending billions of dollars. [12:23] SEN. [12:24] JOHN KERRY , They're spending billions of dollars to build a plant. [12:25] They're going to be here. [12:26] That means they're not going anywhere. [12:28] They can't put it on their back and bring it over to another country. [12:31] So I think the big thing is to get it built now, during my administration. [12:36] And once they build, you know, they're building a building that costs $2 billion, $10 billion [12:40] in some cases, and, in some cases, $50 billion and $60 billion, you know, the AI. [12:46] And with AI, I'm letting them build their own electric plants, so they can build the [12:49] electric, because, you know, creating that kind of electricity for us. [12:54] For China? [12:54] SEN. [12:55] JOHN KERRY , Well, OK, but we're beating China badly on AI. [12:58] We're doing incredibly well. [13:01] The approval process is going so quickly. [13:03] You know, if you look at the approvals, it's such a big deal getting there. [13:07] We have Lee Zeldin, who's done a fantastic job. [13:09] But all of those houses in California that burned down, they had their approvals within [13:14] two weeks, federal approvals. [13:16] Federal approvals are tougher than the local approvals. [13:19] We had everybody done in two weeks. [13:21] The whole place is finished, ready to go. [13:23] That was a year ago. [13:24] More than a year ago. [13:26] They don't have their state or their local approvals. [13:29] The mayor has been unabashed. [13:30] I guess the governor. [13:31] I don't know if the governor is involved with it, but I think he is. [13:35] And they have not been able to build their houses. [13:39] It's a terrible thing. [13:40] LISA DESJARDINS- As Zivas moves into this AI race, and you pursue more AI at home, [13:45] you mentioned these electric plants. [13:47] Are you interested in more nuclear as well, given that it seems AI is going to surpass [13:52] the electricity production that the United States has? [13:53] LISA DESJARDINS- Well, AI is now going to make their own electricity, which [14:01] is a beauty. [14:02] I'm giving them a permit where they can make their own. [14:05] They're going to make their own. [14:06] They're going to become essentially a utility. [14:08] They're going to make their own electricity, which is pretty amazing. [14:13] And they're coming in with plants. [14:14] You wouldn't believe it. [14:15] They're building these massive buildings. [14:17] And the grid system can't handle that. [14:19] We need double the electricity with all that's being built now. [14:23] We need more than double the electricity that we have in the country now for everything. [14:28] Think of that. [14:29] Now, you can't do that unless they want to build their own plants. [14:32] So we're giving approvals to build their own electric plants. [14:35] And they're coming in with unbelievable electric plants. [14:38] They're going to make their own electricity while they're building their plant. [14:41] They're building an electric plant. [14:44] That solves the problem. [14:45] LISA DESJARDINS- You have had a goal for a long time to use tariff revenue to [14:48] replace the income tax for Americans. [14:51] Where are you in fulfilling that goal? [14:53] Well, I think... [14:54] If we can win this case, I think, at some point in the not-too-distant future, it's [14:58] an option. [15:00] Or you can just make a lot of money and keep the money and spend it wisely and spend it [15:04] on building the country, rebuilding and building the country. [15:09] But, no, I think the revenue will be such that we could, if we wanted, replace the income [15:14] tax sometime in the not-very-distant future. [15:19] The income tax started in 1913. [15:23] Until then, we had tariffs. [15:25] Our country was the richest. [15:27] If you go back to 1887, that was probably the single richest point that our country was [15:32] ever in. [15:33] And it was all tariff income. [15:36] We didn't have an income tax. [15:37] In 1913, they started with the income tax. [15:40] And then you had a problem in 1929, a little thing called the Depression, which knocked [15:45] the hell out of everyone. [15:46] Then they tried bringing back tariffs a year later, two years later, to save it. [15:50] But that was gone. [15:51] You would say, this sucker's gone. [15:52] He's gone. [15:53] This sucker was gone. [15:54] And, you know, had I not been elected, you would have had, in my opinion, this would [15:59] have been Venezuela on steroids. [16:02] And by the way, Venezuela is an amazing thing that just took place a couple of weeks ago. [16:08] LISA DESJARDINS Speaking of Venezuela, there was a weapon used, a sonic weapon, that took [16:12] out many of the Cuban bodyguards that were used to defend Maduro. [16:18] Lots of people saw the details about that weapon and were concerned. [16:21] Is that something that Americans should be concerned about? [16:22] Is that something that Americans should be afraid of? [16:24] Something the United States is combating? [16:25] DONALD TRUMP Well, yeah, something I don't want to—nobody else has it. [16:29] We have weapons that nobody knows about. [16:32] And I say it's probably good not to talk about it, but we have some amazing weapons. [16:36] That was an amazing attack. [16:38] Don't forget, that house was in the middle of a fort, an Army base, a big one, a lot [16:42] of soldiers. [16:43] And they came in, and they did their job. [16:46] We lost nobody. [16:47] LISA DESJARDINS Do you feel like Maduro is going to make some kind of deal when it comes [16:52] to the charges he's up against, to give you intelligence about what the Russians and [16:55] Iranians have been doing in his country? [16:57] DONALD TRUMP Yeah, yeah. [16:58] Well, I'm leaving that up to the Department of Justice. [17:01] We'll see how it all goes. [17:03] But, look, he killed a lot of people when you look at what happened with the drugs. [17:07] And he also was responsible, more than any other country, for emptying his jails, his [17:11] mental institutions, just emptying them out and brought them into the United States. [17:16] And that's what we're talking about when we talk about Minnesota, when we talk about [17:19] all this crime stuff. [17:21] We're getting rid of—. [17:22] Biden left us a mess. [17:25] We're getting rid of the mess. [17:26] He had open borders. [17:27] He had an open-border policy. [17:28] So Maduro came in and let all of his criminals into the United States because of Biden's [17:33] open borders. [17:34] They didn't even question. [17:35] They'd look at some people. [17:36] They'd say, they're criminals. [17:37] I don't want to get into it. [17:39] They'd say, they're criminals. [17:40] And they'd say, come on in. [17:41] LISA DESJARDINS Yeah. [17:42] DONALD TRUMP And what we're doing is getting them out. [17:45] And believe me, it takes a big part of my time. [17:48] This was a self-imposed error. [17:51] This was just a terrible—. [17:52] DONALD TRUMP What they did to this country can never be [17:55] forgotten. [17:56] He was the worst president. [17:57] And what Biden did—and, you know, it's the people that use the auto pen. [18:02] You can quote a lot of different things. [18:05] But he was surrounded by people, the beautiful Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, which I'll [18:10] show you right after this. [18:12] But it's beautiful. [18:13] But it was surrounded by radical left lunatics. [18:16] And what they did to this country can never be forgotten. [18:20] They let in millions of criminals. [18:22] LISA DESJARDINS Yeah. [18:23] DONALD TRUMP You know, you have probably 25 million people [18:26] that were let into this country. [18:29] And no checking, no vetting, no anything. [18:31] They come—many of them came from prisons. [18:34] Many of them came from mental institutions, gang members, drug dealers. [18:39] They just let them into our country. [18:41] LISA DESJARDINS Yeah. [18:42] DONALD TRUMP And I have got to get them out. [18:44] LISA DESJARDINS Ron, you mentioned in the press conference [18:46] today that you did in the briefing room with reporters that they canceled or at least put [18:50] on hold hundreds of hangings that were scheduled. [18:52] DONALD TRUMP Yeah. [18:53] LISA DESJARDINS Yeah. [18:54] DONALD TRUMP They're still burning thousands of protesters [18:56] alive. [18:57] They also issued an assassination threat against you over the weekend. [19:01] I know that you can't talk about what's on the table, but what is your response to Iran's [19:06] leadership and their regime continuing to taunt you, threaten you, especially given [19:11] over the weekend you said it's time for new leadership in Iran? [19:13] RONALD TRUMP Well, they shouldn't be doing it, but I have [19:15] left notification. [19:16] Anything that ever happens, we're going to blow the—the whole country is going to get [19:20] blown up. [19:21] So, we've—you know, originally, you know, we've been doing it. [19:22] DONALD TRUMP Yeah. [19:23] RONALD TRUMP Yeah. [19:24] DONALD TRUMP You know, originally, Biden should have said something. [19:27] You know, when they made a statement, we always said, why isn't Biden saying anything? [19:30] Because he didn't. [19:31] But a president has to defend a president. [19:35] Like if I were here and they were making that threat to somebody, even—not even a president, [19:40] but somebody like they did with me, I would absolutely hit them so hard. [19:46] But I have very firm instructions. [19:49] Anything happens, they're going to wipe them off the face of this earth. [19:51] LISA DESJARDINS This is day 365. [19:53] DONALD TRUMP Yeah. [19:54] LISA DESJARDINS It's day 365 of your first term back in office, but it's also been nine [19:56] years since the first time you came into the White House as the president. [19:59] DONALD TRUMP You knew me right at the beginning, too. [20:00] LISA DESJARDINS I did indeed. [20:02] It seems like your team is having some fun. [20:05] You're not only the commander in chief, but there's also some trolling in chief going [20:09] on with the internet wars. [20:10] Are you enjoying your time back on the internet and talking to your detractors, maybe some [20:17] people you're opposed to, through some humor, while also having rigorous debates? [20:20] DONALD TRUMP Well, it's really a way of communicating [20:23] today. [20:24] You didn't have in the past. [20:25] It's good. [20:26] I guess I have been pretty good at it. [20:28] But it's a way of defending yourself against the fake news. [20:30] You have such bad — I don't know why they're that way. [20:33] I don't know why. [20:34] Why would they want to have criminals in our country? [20:37] Why would they want to have men playing in women's sports or transgender for everybody, [20:41] as I say? [20:42] It's like, why would they do it? [20:43] But that's the media. [20:44] The media is very biased, very unfair. [20:48] We have a very unfair media in this country. [20:50] So with the internet, we can — I think, I guess. [20:53] DONALD TRUMP Yeah. [20:54] Look, I won. [20:55] We can more than make up for what they do. [20:57] LISA DESJARDINS So you — one of your legacy items has been [21:00] freeing hostages all over the world, Israeli hostages, American hostages. [21:05] American Dennis Coyle has been taken hostage by the Taliban for almost a year now. [21:11] His family has been speaking out. [21:13] Molly Long went on NewsNation last week to ask for some more public attention to this [21:18] case. [21:19] What is your administration doing to get him home and — [21:21] DONALD TRUMP Well, if you give me the name — [21:23] LISA DESJARDINS Dennis Coyle. [21:24] DONALD TRUMP OK. [21:25] Well, you give me some information. [21:26] I will take care of that. [21:27] LISA DESJARDINS I know that your administration is working on it. [21:29] DONALD TRUMP I know they are. [21:30] But I could do some things on the internet that are pretty — [21:32] LISA DESJARDINS Do you have any response or message to the [21:35] Taliban for — who continues to hold him for no crime, for simply being in Afghanistan? [21:39] DONALD TRUMP Well, I'm not happy about them holding anybody, and especially if he's [21:43] not guilty of anything. [21:44] And it sounds — I mean, from what I have heard — and, again, I'm not that familiar [21:48] with it, like you are — but I will certainly take a very strong position on it. [21:53] LISA DESJARDINS So you pointed out a ton of your accomplishments throughout the [21:56] last 365 days. [21:57] DONALD TRUMP Right. [21:58] LISA DESJARDINS You brought a much thicker book today to the briefing than this one. [22:01] What do you want your legacy to be, now that you have three years left in your term? [22:05] If you could pick one. [22:07] DONALD TRUMP I would love my legacy to be that I was a great president. [22:11] And a great president covers a lot of territory. [22:13] We were safe. [22:15] We were prosperous. [22:16] We were doing well. [22:17] We were happy as a country. [22:19] I'd like to be known as a great president. [22:21] A great president takes it all in. [22:23] LISA DESJARDINS. [22:24] Your cabinet structure this time around, the first term, you had a lot of turnover [22:28] in the Cabinet. [22:29] It caused a lot of political capital to be spent. [22:31] It was a distraction from the work that you're trying to do with your agenda. [22:34] This time around, you have lots of different people in your Cabinet from different kinds [22:38] of backgrounds, many of them from the private sector. [22:41] How do you manage keeping everybody on the same team? [22:44] It seems like everyone this time around is rowing in the same direction, a very different [22:48] attitude than last time around. [22:49] DONALD TRUMP We had a really successful first term. [22:52] I rebuilt the military. [22:53] We got the biggest tax cuts in history, biggest regulation cuts in history. [22:57] You know that. [22:58] I mean, we had one of the most, really the most successful economy in the history of [23:02] our country. [23:03] And the first term was great, but it was corrupted by fake, you know, the fake news, the fake [23:10] politicians, everything, Russia, Russia, Russia, the hoax, the hoax of the century, all of the [23:15] different things. [23:16] And, in a way, I was the hunted. [23:19] And now I'm more of the hunter, I must tell you. [23:23] And these are bad people. [23:24] These are sick people. [23:25] They got, I don't know, something wrong with them. [23:27] But this is more pleasurable. [23:31] There's no question about it. [23:32] But my first term was one of the most successful presidencies. [23:35] But, literally, I was hunted by these horrible people. [23:40] JUDY WOODRUFF America has a very big birthday this year, 250 years. [23:43] DONALD TRUMP Right. [23:44] JUDY WOODRUFF Have you ever sat to, you know, thought about reflecting on the fact that [23:47] you're the president now, George Washington was the president many, many years ago, and [23:52] what that means for you as an American? [23:53] DONALD TRUMP Right. [23:54] Well, it's so interesting, because, so, I was the president, and, one, we had a great [24:00] election against Hillary Clinton. [24:01] Then the next election was rigged like nobody's ever seen. [24:04] And all the numbers are out, but they're getting more are coming out. [24:07] It was 100 percent, 100 percent rigged. [24:10] And the good part is, this is such an important presidency. [24:15] And I'm not sure I could have had the same impact if it were more normalized, because, [24:20] you know, the impact is big. [24:21] This has been a very important presidency. [24:24] It's a much stronger presidency than the first term. [24:28] And yet, the first term, we had, you know, I rebuilt the military. [24:30] I did things that were incredible in the first term. [24:33] But this, I think, is blowing it away. [24:35] It's going to blow it away. [24:37] You know, there is somebody that you are very familiar with that wrote something. [24:41] I won't mention names. [24:42] I don't want to get anybody in trouble. [24:44] But they said that — but not somebody that necessarily would write well about me. [24:48] He said, this is probably the best first year that a president has ever had. [24:53] And if you look at that list that you have there — and that's a small version of it [24:56] — but nobody has done more than we have done. [24:59] You know, when the biggest tax cuts in history, the biggest regulation cuts in history, all [25:05] of the military victories that we have had, I mean, we have really — and we are respected [25:10] all over the world again. [25:11] I mean, we were left at — think of it. [25:14] A year-and-a-half ago, we were a joke. [25:16] We were considered a joke as a nation. [25:18] A year-and-a-half ago, as the king of Saudi Arabia said, a year-and-a-half ago, you were [25:23] a dead nation. [25:24] Now you're the hottest. [25:25] We are the hottest nation anywhere in the world. [25:28] And I love saying it. [25:29] We are now the hottest nation anywhere in the world, and it's not even close. [25:33] JUDY WOODRUFF, The Cook Political Report, Is there something that you wanted to happen [25:35] last year that didn't? [25:36] Is there something that you think your administration could have done better? [25:39] MARK SHIELDS, The Cook Political Report, Well, last year — you mean last term? [25:41] JUDY WOODRUFF, The Cook Political Report, Last year, during your first year in your [25:44] second term or during your first term? [25:45] MARK SHIELDS, The Cook Political Report, So, during my first year. [25:46] So, I would say this. [25:48] I think we're clicking on all cylinders. [25:50] I don't want to get greedy and say, oh, gee, I wish I could have done this. [25:53] Because crime is at an all-time low, despite the fact that we inherited many criminals [25:58] from the Biden open border policy. [26:00] So, crime is at an all-time low. [26:04] Our military is doing unbelievable. [26:05] We have the most powerful military in the world. [26:07] We showed that with Iran. [26:10] If you look at the Iran nuclear attack, we knocked out their nuclear capability, which [26:13] was a big thing, which led to peace in the Middle East. [26:16] We actually had peace in the Middle East. [26:18] Nobody thought that was possible. [26:20] The recent Venezuela attack. [26:23] That attack was incredible, from a military standpoint, strategically. [26:28] People have never seen anything like it. [26:29] It's been amazing. [26:30] So, I don't think I can ask for the economy. [26:33] We have the number one economy. [26:34] We have the best economy we have ever had. [26:37] And by the way, prices are coming way down. [26:38] LISA DESJARDINS, The Cook Political Report, Last year, during your first year in your [26:39] second term in office, you said that you wanted to transfer the U.S. economy from one that's [26:43] based on federal government subsidies and employment to more of a private sector economy. [26:48] Where are you in that transition process? [26:50] MARK SHIELDS, The Cook Political Report, Last year, you said that you wanted to transfer [26:51] the U.S. economy from one that's based on federal government subsidies and employment to more [26:52] of a private sector economy. [26:53] What can you tell us about that? [26:54] MARK SHIELDS, The Cook Political Report, Last year, you said that you wanted to transfer [26:55] the U.S. economy from one that's based on federal government subsidies and employment [26:56] to more of a private sector economy. [26:57] Where are you in that transition process? [26:58] A. GARY TILLERSON, The Cook Political Report, Last year, you said that you wanted to transfer [26:59] the U.S. economy from one that's based on federal government subsidies and employment [27:00] to more of a private sector economy. [27:01] Where are you in that transition process? [27:02] Well, you know, we didn't hire people, but we fired hundreds of thousands of federal [27:03] employees, because we had 10 people to do one job. [27:04] And those people probably didn't like it very much, and now they're in the private sector [27:05] and they are getting two or three times more money and they are doing well. [27:09] And the only way a country can make it, you can't have too many government jobs, because [27:13] that's not a job that's going to, as we say, make America great again. [27:17] So those people have now transitioned into the private sector. [27:22] I could give you the greatest numbers ever. [27:24] I will just hire a million or two million federal workers tomorrow, and you will see [27:28] that we're going to be at 2.5 percent, as opposed to 3 percent or 3.5 percent. [27:34] You could do anything. [27:35] That's what the Democrats do. [27:37] They hire people to work in the federal government. [27:39] Then they say they have good unemployment numbers, OK? [27:43] I don't do that. [27:44] And it's easy to do, and it looks good, but, ultimately, you can't build a country that [27:49] way. [27:50] Our country is doing unbelievably well. [27:51] We have great unemployment numbers. [27:53] And we really – I mean, many of these people have transitioned already from the federal [27:57] government into private jobs. [27:59] JUDY WOODRUFF You expressed some frustration earlier that [28:01] your message of your accomplishments is not getting out. [28:05] Why do you think that is? [28:06] I mean, you're talking about all these lower prices. [28:07] Inflation has gone down. [28:09] Mortgage rates are below 6 percent for the first time in many years. [28:13] What do you attribute to you feeling like you can't get your accomplishments highlighted? [28:16] MARK SHIELDS Well, look at the job we've done. [28:17] Inflation is down to a very low number. [28:20] You want it to be at the number it is at now. [28:22] Last month, it was down to 1 percent. [28:26] And Biden had it. [28:27] It was the highest inflation in history. [28:29] And when I inherited this economy that he gave me, the prices were through the roof. [28:34] I got them down. [28:35] I mean, most prices are down now. [28:37] Look at gasoline at $1.99 a gallon, versus, I mean, we have many states where it's less [28:42] than $1.99. [28:44] It was $4.50, $5, $3.75, I guess, sometimes. [28:50] But basically, they were many times what it is right now. [28:54] Now, we have done a great job. [28:55] I think the economy is phenomenal. [28:57] We're rebuilding the military, continue to rebuild it. [29:00] And again, right now, we're recognized as having the strongest military in the world. [29:05] And I rebuilt the military in my first term. [29:06] How are you feeling about the midterm elections, the Republican Party? [29:11] Do you have contingency plans in place if Democrats were to take either the House or [29:16] the Senate, given that last time when Democrats were in charge of the House, they impeached [29:21] you? [29:22] Oh, and they will do it again. [29:23] They will find something. [29:24] They will impeach me for having a good economy or something. [29:28] Can you work with some of them, like Elizabeth Warren? [29:29] They impeached me twice. [29:30] They got nowhere. [29:31] They wasted a lot of time, a lot of energy, a lot of money. [29:34] It was a terrible time. [29:35] It was a terrible time. [29:36] It was a terrible thing. [29:37] They're just very dishonest people. [29:39] But they impeached me twice, once over a phone call that was absolutely perfect, the other [29:43] one over perfect. [29:45] And I will say the Republicans stuck with me 100 percent. [29:49] But probably they will try and — it's not — they won't even have to try and fight. [29:53] They'll take anything I do. [29:55] They'll say, listen, they'll impeach me because I did an interview with you. [29:58] They'll impeach me because I looked to that side of the room. [30:02] These are bad people. [30:03] And these are bad people. [30:04] You know, when Hillary Clinton did all of the bad stuff — [30:07] I didn't want to destroy her. [30:09] I said, look, I can't do it. [30:11] And not so much secretary of state. [30:15] It was that she's the wife of a president. [30:17] And I didn't want to do it. [30:19] And yet they tried to do it to me, which is pretty, pretty sad. [30:22] You're a builder. [30:23] And that hasn't stopped since you came into the White House, especially in your first [30:27] year. [30:28] What is the status of the Arc de Trump that you want to put on the Belize Memorial Bridge? [30:32] That's going to be so great. [30:33] And also, what is the status of the construction of the ballroom? [30:36] OK. [30:37] The ballroom's under budget. [30:38] It's ahead of schedule. [30:39] We're making it incredible. [30:40] We're going to have inaugurations there, high ceilings. [30:43] And big space can hold probably 5,000, 6,000 people, indoor, bulletproof glass, everything. [30:51] And for those who have been complaining about the ballroom, what is the purpose of the ballroom? [30:55] Why do we need a ballroom at the White House? [30:57] Because the White House was never built with a big room. [30:59] It's got — no, they have — when they have — when we have a big guest here, they build [31:04] a tent out on the lawn. [31:05] And if it rains, you're in deep trouble. [31:06] They have a big room. [31:07] They have a tent. [31:08] And it's the only place you can build it, sort of at a low spot. [31:11] If it rains, the water pours into the tent. [31:13] The whole thing is a disaster. [31:15] And I said, you know, after the first — I would have done it the first term, but I was [31:18] under such siege with all these crazy people that I really wanted to focus on that. [31:23] I thought it was — and when I came back, I said, you know, we're going to get this [31:27] White House a ballroom like they have never seen before. [31:29] And it is a beauty. [31:30] It's going to be one — it's going to be the most beautiful ballroom in the world. [31:34] But they need it. [31:35] They can't use tents. [31:36] Even from a safety standpoint, you can't use a tent. [31:39] This is all bulletproof glass, drone-proof ceilings. [31:43] And I think they're going to end up having all of their — because it's so cold on [31:47] January 20. [31:48] And I think they will end up having the inaugurations right in that ballroom. [31:53] Think of it. [31:54] You walk from the White House, just a short little walk through a very secure area. [32:00] But I think because it's — number one, it's too cold. [32:03] Number two, it gets unsafe out there. [32:05] SEN. [32:06] AMY KLOBUCHAR , It gets unsafe out there. [32:08] You have experienced some threats. [32:10] You have been attempted to be killed twice, an assassination. [32:13] We saw our dear friend Charlie Kirk killed last year. [32:16] SEN. [32:17] CHARLIE KIRK , Dangerous stuff. [32:18] SEN. [32:19] AMY KLOBUCHAR , Do you — are you afraid for your safety? [32:20] Do you worry about that? [32:21] What about your family? [32:22] I know it was tough on them. [32:23] SEN. [32:24] CHARLIE KIRK , I don't worry about it. [32:25] And we have great people. [32:26] And I feel — I feel that we're in good shape. [32:29] AMY KLOBUCHAR , They're in good shape. [32:30] SEN. [32:31] CHARLIE KIRK , I think the Secret Service has done a great job. [32:33] The military has done a great job. [32:34] And — [32:37] SEN. [32:38] CHARLIE KIRK , One thing I know, if something happens, the person that did [32:41] it is going to be gone, because we are surrounded. [32:44] You know, even as we speak, we are surrounded. [32:47] But, no, I feel very good. [32:49] It's a job that has its dangers, if you think, right? [32:53] You look at the percentages, it's probably the most dangerous job in the world. [32:58] I was telling people, I guess it's 5.5 percent. [33:02] It's a bad number. [33:03] Five and a half percent, that's a lot. [33:04] You know what that means, right? [33:05] AMY KLOBUCHAR , Why don't you tell me what that means? [33:07] SEN. [33:08] CHARLIE KIRK , If you're a car driver, one-tenth of 1 percent die. [33:12] If you're a bull rider, one-tenth of 1 percent die. [33:16] If you're a president, it's 5.2 percent. [33:19] That's a lot of — that's a big difference. [33:22] Why didn't you tell me, Katie, that this would happen? [33:24] I could have done something else. [33:25] Maybe I could have done something else. [33:27] But — [33:28] AMY KLOBUCHAR , Well, you decided to do it again. [33:29] SEN. [33:30] CHARLIE KIRK , I'm having — look, I love doing it, because we're doing a [33:32] great job. [33:33] Nobody has ever seen anything like it. [33:35] Our country has turned around. [33:36] We have the greatest country in the world. [33:39] And, again, we came from such a low standard. [33:42] I believe that if Kamala won the election, this country would have been — even by now, [33:47] one year, it would have been finished. [33:48] We wouldn't be a country. [33:49] AMY KLOBUCHAR , Do you believe that there's a Republican presidential [33:52] candidate in the future who can continue to carry on your legacy and the work that [33:56] you will be doing over the next three years? [33:58] SEN. [33:59] CHARLIE KIRK , I hope so. [34:00] And we certainly have a good bench. [34:01] We have some very talented people. [34:02] AMY KLOBUCHAR , Do you have any favorites? [34:03] Or do you have any — [34:04] SEN. [34:05] CHARLIE KIRK , Well, I do, but it's so early. [34:06] AMY KLOBUCHAR , That could change, if you want to tell me what they [34:12] are now. [34:13] SEN. [34:14] CHARLIE KIRK , I know. [34:15] I know. [34:16] But we have — look, we have great people. [34:17] You see what's happening. [34:18] I mean, the people that we have in so many — I'm not just talking about one or two. [34:20] We have so many great people. [34:22] AMY KLOBUCHAR , Who is so many? [34:24] SEN. [34:26] CHARLIE KIRK , Well, J.D.'s been great. [34:27] Marco has been great. [34:31] Scott's been great. [34:32] Everybody's been great. [34:33] Look at Tom Holman and Christie, the job they have done with — don't forget, we had people [34:38] pouring by in the millions. [34:39] SEN. [34:40] CHARLIE KIRK , They were just walking right into our country, destroying [34:43] our country. [34:44] We stopped it. [34:45] We have just — I could name 20 people that are phenomenal. [34:51] AMY KLOBUCHAR , In terms of the White House and how you have changed things [34:55] around here, when you look at the Oval Office from your first term, it's very different [34:58] than the Oval Office now. [34:59] How do you decide which portraits you're putting in the Oval, what kind of decor you [35:03] have in there? [35:04] I know that you get a lot of gifts from foreign leaders when they come. [35:07] How do you make decisions about what you want to be surrounded by? [35:10] AMY KLOBUCHAR , Well, it's just taste, but, you know, the White House [35:14] and the Oval Office had very few paintings in it. [35:18] Biden had one. [35:20] Obama had, you know, the American flag, sort of a painting of the American flag. [35:25] But they had very few paintings. [35:28] And I spent a lot of time downstairs under — they have a vault where they have a thousand [35:34] paintings, beautiful paintings. [35:37] Some of them hadn't been shown in 150 years. [35:39] Think of it. [35:40] And they were incredible, of presidents, mostly of presidents, landscapes, other things, [35:45] but mostly of presidents. [35:47] And I spent a little time doing it. [35:49] I love doing it. [35:50] And I took out paintings of — I mean, there's a couple right here that are so unbelievable. [35:54] Look all over the room. [35:55] These are unbelievable art. [35:58] And I researched it, and I spent time doing it. [36:03] And I took paintings that have been sealed for over 100 years, more than that, much more [36:07] than that in some cases. [36:09] And found great paintings. [36:10] And we put them up for people to see. [36:14] And cost nothing. [36:15] You know, we have them. [36:16] We didn't have to go out and buy them. [36:18] They're there. [36:19] Yeah. [36:20] But they weren't used. [36:21] And it's honoring some of the great presidents. [36:23] Mr. President, thank you so much for taking the time today. [36:25] It was an honor to see you here at the White House. [36:27] Thank you very much. [36:28] Congratulations on one year. [36:29] And congratulations. [36:30] Of course, we'll be following, of course, everything that you're doing. [36:31] And safe travels to Davos. [36:32] And you're going to do a great job. [36:33] I have no doubt. [36:34] Thank you. [36:35] Thank you for watching. [36:42] Subscribe below and download our NewsNation app right now. [36:43] We'll see you next time. [36:44] Bye-bye. [36:46] We'll see you next time. [36:47] Bye-bye.