President Trump's Full, Unedited Interview With Meet The Press

[0:00] Mr. President, welcome back to Meet the Press. [0:01] Thank you. [0:02] Let me start right in. What happened last night? [0:06] Well, you had a situation that was very bad because the night before they shot down an unmanned drone. [0:13] And the unmanned is a very big factor, the fact that there was not a person on it, a U.S. person on it or anybody. [0:20] And that had an impact on me. I said, well, you know, we got a little problem. [0:24] And I think they did it on purpose because they understand that they will be hit very hard [0:27] if that were a plane with a person in it, and I think they knew that there was nobody there. [0:33] So we had a very, you know, modest but pretty heavy attack schedule. [0:41] And this was a pre-plan that you had something that if they did something, you had something. [0:46] These were sort of ready-made plans to use if necessary. [0:49] Well, I have so many targets you wouldn't believe. [0:51] Right. [0:52] We have targets all over. [0:53] So did you green light something or had you said, if we do it, I'll do this? [0:58] What was it? [0:58] What was the plan? [0:59] What was the order you gave? [0:59] Nothing is green-lighted until the very end because things change, right? [1:02] So you never gave a final order? [1:04] No, no, no, no. [1:04] But we had something ready to go subject to my approval. [1:08] And they came in, and they came in about a half an hour before. [1:11] They said, sir, we're about ready to go. [1:13] I said, I want a better definition. [1:15] Planes in the air? [1:16] We're planes in the air? [1:16] No, we're about ready to go. [1:18] No, but they would have been pretty soon. [1:21] And things would have happened to a point where you wouldn't turn back or couldn't turn back. [1:26] So they came and they said, sir, we're ready to go. [1:29] We'd like a decision. [1:29] I said, I want to know something before you go. [1:32] How many people will be killed, in this case, Iranians? [1:36] I said, how many people are going to be killed? [1:39] Sir, I'd like to get back to you on that. [1:41] Great people, these generals. [1:43] They said, came back, said, sir, approximately 150. [1:49] And I thought about it for a second. [1:51] I said, you know what? [1:51] They shot down an unmanned drone, plane, whatever you want to call it. [1:58] And here we are sitting with 150 dead people. [2:01] That would have taken place probably within a half an hour after I said, go ahead. [2:06] And I didn't like it. [2:08] I didn't think it was, I didn't think it was proportionate. [2:12] Now, that doesn't mean. [2:13] So what should the response be right now? [2:14] I think the response should be, well, first of all, as you know, we've done very massive sanctions. [2:20] We're increasing the sanctions now. [2:22] But the response is always going to be very strong. [2:25] I built up a lot of capital. [2:27] I've had a lot of people that aren't Trump fans saying, I can't believe. [2:30] You know, a lot of them said, we're going to be in World War. [2:33] Three, the first week didn't work out that way. [2:35] We're doing great in North Korea. [2:36] We're doing great in a lot of different places. [2:38] We knocked out the caliphate in Syria. [2:41] We knocked out 100 percent. [2:42] Remember, I was going to leave 100 percent. [2:44] No, no, no, no, no. [2:46] The caliphate, which is the land area is 100 percent. [2:49] You never knock these people out. [2:50] These people are stone cold crazy. [2:53] And they'll walk into a store and they'll be wired up for bombs and they'll blow. [2:56] It's a horrible thing. [2:57] So I never say that. [2:58] I don't want to do what other presidents have done or other people have done saying we won. [3:02] Because you don't win so conclusively. [3:05] I would love to have the day where we can win. [3:08] You know, I remember when I was young, I'd go on an airplane and I'd walk up. [3:11] I'd buy a ticket. [3:12] I'd go on a plane. [3:13] Nobody thought about bombs and nobody thought about security. [3:16] You'd walk in. [3:17] You'd give the ticket to the person at the gate and you'd walk into a plane. [3:21] Today, it's like a big deal. [3:24] So what happened is I said, I'm not going to do it. [3:28] I'll save it. [3:29] If they do something else, it'll be done. [3:31] They were trying to provoke you. [3:33] No, I don't think. [3:34] So and I think it was very important that they to them. [3:37] Don't forget their economy. [3:38] You don't think they intended to get you to respond militarily. [3:41] Their economy is shattered, shattered. [3:43] So what's the message? [3:44] Their inflation is through the roof. [3:45] They've never had the highest in the world right now. [3:47] Worse than any place. [3:49] They're living not well. [3:51] So put yourself in their shoes. [3:52] What do you think message they're trying to send you with this? [3:53] I think they want to negotiate and I think they want to make a deal. [3:57] And my deal is nuclear. [3:58] Look, they're not going to have a nuclear weapon. [4:00] This isn't about the straits. [4:02] Do you know that China gets 91 percent of its oil? [4:04] From the straits. [4:04] We don't even need the straits. [4:06] We have we are now because of since I came in with the number one energy producer in the world. [4:12] OK, actually, by far. [4:14] And if I get the pipelines approved through the environmental process, which I will in Texas, we'll go up by another 25 percent. [4:21] But we're way ahead of Russia. [4:22] We're way ahead of Saudi Arabia. [4:24] And I think that they want to negotiate. [4:28] I don't think they like the position they're in. [4:30] Their economy is is absolutely broken. [4:33] So you sent a letter. [4:34] To the Ayatollah via Prime Minister Abe. [4:38] And the Ayatollah seemed to say, I'm not talking to you. [4:41] I didn't send a letter. [4:42] What was the verbal message? [4:45] What did Prime Minister Abe carry? [4:46] Prime Minister Abe is a great guy. [4:47] He's a friend of mine. [4:48] And he obviously is close to them. [4:50] I think he was their their largest buyer of oil from before. [4:53] Did he deliver a message from you to them? [4:55] No, he wanted to do something. [4:58] OK. [4:59] According to Prime Minister Abe, they went to him. [5:02] It's according to the prime minister. [5:04] And they said. [5:04] What do we do with Trump? [5:06] Can we make a deal? [5:07] Is there something that can be done? [5:09] So what Prime Minister Abe told me, I said, do you mind if I say that if I have to? [5:14] And he said, not particularly. [5:16] So they came to Prime Minister Abe. [5:18] He then called me. [5:19] I said, send the following message. [5:21] You can't have nuclear weapons. [5:23] And other than that, we can sit down and make a deal. [5:25] But you cannot have no other conditions other than that. [5:28] Cannot have nuclear weapons. [5:29] And they would have had him with President Obama. [5:31] He gave him one hundred and fifty billion dollars. [5:33] What is your deal? [5:34] I understand. [5:34] But what is your deal? [5:35] What is your deal going to look like with them? [5:36] Let me explain something. [5:38] Number one, you have to look at the sites. [5:41] Some of the most important sites we weren't even allowed to look at or inspect. [5:44] OK. [5:45] Number two, the term was not long enough. [5:48] OK. [5:48] There's like a short number of years left. [5:51] After a very small number of years, he's talking about a country. [5:54] After a very small number of years, they have a free pass to nuclear weapons. [5:57] You can't do that. [5:59] So I want to be able to inspect all sites. [6:00] They cannot have ballistic missiles, which under the agreement isn't even covered. [6:05] And as you know. [6:05] That agreement wasn't even approved by Congress. [6:07] A lot of people don't know that. [6:09] That was an agreement that he couldn't get through Congress. [6:11] He was not authorized really to do that deal. [6:14] Congress did give him some authorization. [6:16] It wasn't ratified by Congress. [6:18] It wasn't a treaty. [6:19] It was very, very short of what it should have been. [6:22] You know that. [6:22] Don't you think, though, does it at all tell you that the Iranians haven't violated the agreement yet? [6:28] That they are trying hard not to violate the agreement? [6:30] I think they have violated the agreement because I think in the areas that we're not allowed to inspect, they're doing things. [6:35] And I think they have. [6:35] They've been for years. [6:36] Europeans don't think they're violating the agreement. [6:37] Well, I don't care about the Europeans. [6:38] The Europeans are going out and making a lot of money. [6:40] The Europeans are fine, but they're going out and making a lot of money. [6:44] They're selling in France. [6:45] They're selling cars to Iran. [6:46] They're doing other things. [6:47] And let me tell you, we're very good to Europe. [6:52] We take care of them. [6:53] NATO, we spend a tremendous amount of disproportionate amount on trade. [6:58] The European Union's taking, really, they have really taken advantage of us for a long time. [7:05] Just to finish. [7:05] Yeah. [7:06] We have great relationships with Europe. [7:09] I don't mind Europe getting in the middle. [7:11] Europe wants to make a deal, too. [7:13] Europe would love to see a deal be made. [7:14] These are going to be separate deals? [7:15] Do you want to do a separate deal with Iran, or do you want to get everybody involved in the same deal? [7:20] Get the Russians, get the Chinese. [7:21] I don't care what kind of a deal. [7:23] It can be separate, or it can be total. [7:25] But it's one-on-one talks you in the Ayatollah? [7:27] Is it one-on-one talks you in the Ayatollah, or you in the President? [7:30] It doesn't matter to me. [7:30] Here's what I want. [7:32] Anything that gets you to the result, they cannot have a nuclear weapon. [7:35] It's not about the straits. [7:37] A lot of people covered it incorrectly. [7:38] They never mentioned. [7:39] They cannot have a nuclear weapon. [7:41] They'd use it, and they're not going to have a nuclear weapon. [7:44] Did you send a message last night? [7:46] You know, Reuters was reporting that you sent a message to the Iranians saying, [7:50] I don't want war. [7:51] I want to talk. [7:52] I did not send that message. [7:54] I did not send that message. [7:55] I don't know who would have sent that. [7:58] Send a message right now to the Ayatollah. [7:58] I mean, it's fake news. [8:00] Send a message right now to the Ayatollah. [8:01] It wouldn't be much different than that message. [8:03] Which is? [8:03] I'm not looking for war. [8:06] And if there is, it'll be obliteration. [8:08] It'll be obliteration like you've never seen before. [8:10] But I'm not looking to do that. [8:12] But you can't have a nuclear weapon. [8:13] You want to talk good. [8:14] Otherwise, you can have a bad economy for the next three years. [8:18] Not as far as I'm concerned. [8:19] No preconditions. [8:20] And you'll talk anyway? [8:21] Here it is. [8:21] Look. [8:22] You can't have nuclear weapons. [8:24] And if you want to talk about it, good. [8:26] Otherwise, you can live in a shattered economy for a long time to come. [8:30] Do you feel like you were being pushed into military action against Iran by any of your advisers? [8:36] I have two groups of people. [8:37] I have doves and I have hawks. [8:38] You have some. [8:39] I have some hawks. [8:41] John Bolton is absolutely a hawk. [8:43] It's up to him. [8:43] He'd take on the whole world at one time. [8:45] Okay? [8:45] But that doesn't matter. [8:47] Because I want both sides. [8:48] You know, some people said, why did you put... [8:49] You know, I was against going into Iraq for years and years. [8:52] And before it ever happened, I was against going into Iraq. [8:55] And some people said, oh, I don't know. [8:57] I was totally against. [8:58] I was a private citizen. [8:59] It never made sense to me. [9:00] I was against going into the Middle East. [9:03] Chuck, we've spent $7 trillion in the Middle East right now. [9:06] Why is this our problem? [9:07] This is a proxy war. [9:08] Iran. [9:09] And Saudi Arabia are in a fight to the death out there. [9:12] You're right. [9:13] And that's another thing I've done. [9:14] Canada Trump, for years, would have said, not our fight. [9:18] Why are you involved? [9:18] Because of nuclear weapons. [9:20] It has nothing to do with oil. [9:21] So the minute you get them to do nuclear weapons, you want out of the Middle East? [9:23] I don't care about... [9:25] Well, we're going to protect Israel, but I have nothing to do, absolutely nothing. [9:29] And we're going to protect Saudi Arabia. [9:31] Look, Saudi Arabia is buying $400 billion worth of things for us. [9:35] That's a very good thing. [9:36] You used to say we don't get anything in return for protecting Saudi Arabia. [9:39] We are now. [9:39] You feel like they're now paying for the American protection? [9:42] This morning, I spoke to the Crown Prince, this morning. [9:45] And we had a great conversation. [9:47] I said, this is a very expensive operation. [9:49] You and the other nations that we're protecting have to pay. [9:52] And he said yes. [9:53] Did you talk to him about the UN report about Jamal Khashoggi? [9:55] I did not, because it really didn't come up in that discussion. [9:59] I called about one reason. [10:00] I understand. [10:01] I called about one reason. [10:01] I didn't call about that. [10:02] I called about one reason. [10:04] This is a very expensive operation, unlike President Obama and unlike everybody else. [10:09] I'll say others to it, not just President Obama. [10:12] You've got to pay for it. [10:14] We cannot, we just don't want to go and protect the Middle East and protect Saudi Arabia and everyone else and not get reimbursed. [10:22] So this is why you're overruling Congress and letting all these weapons sales happen in Saudi Arabia? [10:28] Economic development. [10:30] And that. [10:31] But economic development. [10:32] Never mind the humanitarian disaster that's taken place in Yemen? [10:35] A million jobs. [10:36] No, it's going to end. [10:37] It's going to end. [10:37] By the way, who's causing it, though? [10:39] If you look at it. [10:40] Iran goes into Yemen. [10:42] They start firing rockets at Saudi Arabia. [10:45] Saudi Arabia has to protect themselves, Chuck. [10:47] But it's a million jobs and probably more. [10:51] They buy massive amounts, $150 billion worth of military equipment that, by the way, we use. [10:56] We use their military equipment. [10:59] And unlike other countries that don't have money and we have to subsidize everything. [11:04] So Saudi Arabia is a big buyer of America product. [11:07] That means something to me. [11:08] It's a big producer of jobs. [11:10] It makes you over. [11:11] Look, some of their bad behavior. [11:12] No, I don't like I don't like anybody's bad behavior. [11:15] You know, the United Nations said they'd like the United States to order the FBI to investigate Jamal Khashoggi's death and possibly MBS. [11:24] I think involvement in it. [11:26] I think it will you allow the FBI to do that? [11:28] I think it's been heavily investigated by everybody. [11:32] I mean, I've seen so many different reports. [11:34] What about the FBI? [11:34] Here's where I am. [11:35] You're ready. [11:37] Iran's killed many, many people a day. [11:40] Other countries in the Middle East. [11:41] This is a. [11:42] Hostile place is a vicious, hostile place. [11:45] If you're going to look at Saudi Arabia, look at Iran, look at other countries. [11:48] I won't mention names and take a look at what's happening. [11:52] And then you were outside of the Middle East and you take a look at what's happening with countries. [11:55] Okay. [11:56] And I only say they spend four hundred to four hundred and fifty billion over a period of time. [12:03] All money, all jobs by the price. [12:06] As long as they keep on, you'll overlook some of this behavior. [12:08] But I'm not like a fool that says we don't want to do business with them. [12:12] And by the way. [12:12] If they don't do business with us, you know what they do? [12:15] They'll do business with the Russians or with the Chinese. [12:17] They will buy. [12:18] We make the best equipment in the world, but they will buy great equipment from Russia and from China. [12:23] Chuck. [12:24] Yeah. [12:25] Take their money. [12:26] Take their money. [12:27] Chuck. [12:27] What would a candidate Trump have said about a president who on his watch had Iran shooting down a drone, a Venezuelan dictator thumbing his nose at you, Obamacare still on the books and no results yet on the border? [12:41] The board getting. [12:41] Let's let's take a look. [12:42] I just said, what would candidate Trump have said? [12:44] Let's take a look. [12:44] The border is doing great. [12:45] Mexico has been fantastic. [12:46] They've been trying to get a deal with Mexico for 45 years. [12:49] Right. [12:50] So for 45 years, they couldn't get a deal. [12:51] I got one in one day. [12:52] I said, we're going to put tariffs on and we're going to either have a deal or not. [12:55] We agreed to one day. [12:57] Mexico just moved 6000 people to their southern border, 6000 troops to their southern border. [13:02] The border is working out well and the wall is being built. [13:04] I mean, a lot of people don't like to talk about it. [13:06] We're building or we will have 400 miles of wall built by the end of next year. [13:11] And that's hard because the Democrats don't want to approve it. [13:13] We just beat them in a big lawsuit. [13:15] As you know, in Washington and D.C., we just beat them in a very big lawsuit. [13:19] It doesn't frustrate you that your border numbers are worse than Obama's? [13:22] No, because the people are coming up because our economy is so good. [13:25] They're pouring up because the economy is so good. [13:27] Obama had a lousy economy. [13:29] It was a dead economy. [13:30] I asked you about that. [13:31] Our economy is great. [13:32] Let me show you this chart. [13:33] Do you see that chart? [13:34] No. [13:35] It's the unemployment rate from the peak of the recession. [13:37] Right. [13:38] Your economy is great. [13:39] I'm not saying it's not great, but this recovery started. [13:42] And in the 28 months that you've been president and the last 28 months of [13:45] Obama's presidency, he averaged more new jobs than your first 28 months. [13:50] That's because he started off with such a bad base. [13:53] Okay. [13:54] I mean, he hits it off. [13:55] But is it not a continuation? [13:56] Yeah, but, Chuck, you have to understand, nobody was working. [13:58] The whole place was a disaster. [13:59] And I don't say, I'd never take that away. [14:01] Okay. [14:02] But it's very easy. [14:03] All right. [14:03] Because when that turned around, they pumped a tremendous amount of money into the economy. [14:07] He also had a Federal Reserve person who kept the interest rates low. [14:10] I don't. [14:11] I don't have that privilege. [14:11] Sounds like you do now. [14:12] Do you feel like you have? [14:13] Oh, no, no. [14:14] Do you feel like you have sent? [14:14] He raised them far too fast. [14:16] The threat? [14:16] He raised them far too fast. [14:17] Your threat to demote him, do you think that's had an impact? [14:19] I didn't ever threaten to demote him. [14:21] There's been some talk that you might demote him to the number two slot. [14:24] I'd be able to do that if I wanted, but I haven't suggested that. [14:26] That's not a threat. [14:27] That's just a reminder that you can. [14:28] No, I have the right to do that, but I haven't said that. [14:32] What he's done is $50 billion a month in quantitative tightening. [14:36] That's ridiculous. [14:37] What he's done is he raised interest rates too fast. [14:40] I've been proven wrong. [14:40] Do you worry he's going to hurt your reelection? [14:43] I think the economy is so strong, we're going to bowl through it. [14:45] But I'm not happy with his actions. [14:47] No, I don't think he's done a good job. [14:49] I think this, if he didn't raise rates, Obama had very low rates. [14:54] So Obama was playing with funny money. [14:55] I wasn't. [14:56] I'm playing with the real stuff. [14:57] Let me ask you this. [14:58] Wait, wait. [14:59] Obama had somebody that kept the rates very low. [15:04] I had somebody that raised the rates very rapidly, too much. [15:09] He made a mistake. [15:10] That's been proven. [15:13] And yet my economy is phenomenal. [15:15] We have now the best economy maybe in the history of our country. [15:18] One, just to finish off. [15:19] When I took over, this country, the economy, was ready to collapse. [15:24] You take a look at the numbers. [15:25] It was ready to collapse. [15:27] And if I didn't win. [15:27] I just showed you the numbers. [15:28] It was not ready to collapse. [15:29] You showed me unemployment numbers. [15:30] Yeah, it was unemployment. [15:31] It wasn't ready to collapse. [15:32] Excuse me. [15:32] Take a look at your GDP. [15:34] Take a look at your jobs. [15:35] Take a look at your optimism. [15:36] Take a look at all of the charts. [15:38] When I took over, from Election Day on, I mean, you show me one chart. [15:42] I did well in that, too. [15:44] But I'm not talking about that. [15:46] Take a look at some of the optimism charts and everything else. [15:48] It went from 57 to 92. [15:51] Nobody's ever said anything like that right after I won. [15:53] You're right, you're right, the optimism, you're right. [15:54] Well, optimism is a big part of success in business. [15:57] You were always hard on Obama. [15:59] You thought he wasn't enough of a cheerleader. [16:00] He was not a cheerleader. [16:03] If you could have one do-over as president, what would it be? [16:07] Well, it would be personnel. [16:08] I would say if I had one do-over, it would be I would not have appointed Jeff Sessions to be Attorney General. [16:14] That would be my one. [16:15] That's your, in your mind, that's your... [16:16] Yeah, that was the... [16:17] Was Bill Barr your Roy Cohn? [16:18] He should have never. [16:19] I think he's a very talented, very... [16:21] Do you know what I mean by that? [16:21] You've always said, I was my Roy Cohn. [16:23] Is he your Roy Cohn? [16:24] You have to say, Roy Cohn, but I had many, many lawyers. [16:26] I mean, a lot of lawyers. [16:27] Roy was one of them. [16:28] He was a tough guy. [16:29] Bill Barr is a, first of all... [16:31] Is he cut from the same cloth, you think? [16:32] Bill Barr is a very, he's equally tough. [16:35] He's a fine man. [16:36] He's a fine man. [16:37] The job he's done is incredible. [16:39] He's brought sanity back. [16:42] I think he's real. [16:43] I don't think, I know, he's respected. [16:45] You know, he loves the Department of Justice. [16:49] He saw... [16:49] He saw what was happening. [16:51] He has done a spectacular job. [16:54] Now he's in the process of doing something, [16:56] and I stay away from it. [16:57] I really, I stay away from it. [17:00] But I think he feels that what's happened in this country [17:02] was a very bad thing, and very bad for our country. [17:04] I want to ask what's going down with these, [17:06] the children in these migrant camps. [17:09] The stories are horrible, Mr. President. [17:11] You have children without their parents. [17:13] You have kids taking care of kids. [17:15] Yeah. [17:16] You've read these reports. [17:17] I know people are coming to you. [17:18] I know you think this is the Democrats' problem. [17:21] Forget it. [17:22] Why aren't you doing some of it? [17:23] Are you ready? [17:24] They are in terrible shape down there, Mr. President. [17:26] Down in Homestead, Florida, that's where I grew up, [17:28] it's, the conditions are terrible. [17:31] I agree. [17:32] And it's been that way for a long time. [17:33] Do something. [17:34] And President Obama built the cages. [17:36] Remember when they said that I built them, [17:38] and then it was 1914. [17:39] Do two lungs make a right? [17:40] It was 2014. [17:42] Chuck, just listen for one second. [17:44] Separation. [17:45] President Obama, I took over separation. [17:47] I'm the one that put it together. [17:49] What's happened, though, are the cartels, [17:51] and all of these bad people, they're using the kids. [17:55] They're, they're, it's almost like slavery. [17:57] Let's not punish the kids no more. [17:59] This has been happening. [18:00] Aren't you, the kids are getting punished more. [18:01] You're right. [18:02] And this has been happening long before I got there. [18:04] What we've done is we've created, [18:06] we've ended separation. [18:08] You know, under President Obama, you had separation. [18:11] I was the one that ended it. [18:12] Now, I said one thing. [18:14] When I ended it, I said, here's what's going to happen. [18:16] More families are going to come up. [18:17] And that's what's happened. [18:19] But they're really coming up for the economics. [18:21] But once you get there, [18:21] you ended the separation. [18:23] But I ended separation. [18:24] I inherited separation from President Obama. [18:28] President Obama built, they call them jail cells. [18:31] They were built by the Obama... [18:32] Let's talk about what's happening now. [18:33] Your administration, you're not doing the recreation. [18:35] You're not even schooling these kids anymore. [18:37] You've gotten rid of all that stuff. [18:38] We're doing a fantastic job under the circumstances. [18:41] The Democrats aren't even approving giving us money. [18:44] Where is the money? [18:45] You know what? [18:45] The Democrats are holding up the humanitarian aid. [18:48] It looks like these kids are being used as, [18:51] as some, [18:51] some sort of, [18:52] is it hostage? [18:53] Well, they are being used. [18:54] They are being used by very bad people on the other side. [18:57] But now they're politically being used. [18:58] Where they actually get paid with that. [18:59] Money is being made using them because our laws are so bad. [19:03] Because if you have a child, you have an advantage. [19:05] You know that better than anybody. [19:06] And what should happen to... [19:07] But why let the political debate hurt these children? [19:09] They could be infected, impacted for years. [19:12] If the Democrats would change the asylum laws [19:15] and the loopholes, which they refuse to do [19:17] because they think it's good politics, [19:19] everything would be solved. [19:21] Immediately. [19:22] But they refuse to do it. [19:24] They refuse to do it. [19:25] You know what? [19:26] If they change, as I say, I used to say 45 minutes. [19:29] It's 15 minutes. [19:30] If they changed asylum and if they changed loopholes, [19:34] everything on the border would be perfect. [19:36] Let me ask you this. [19:37] Why do you think Nancy Pelosi has held off her impeachment caucus? [19:41] Because I think she feels that I will win much easier. [19:43] I mean, I've been told that by many people. [19:44] Do you think impeachment's good politics for you? [19:47] I think I win the election easier. [19:48] But, you know, I'm not sure that I like having it. [19:51] Look, I did nothing wrong. [19:53] I was spied on. [19:54] What they did to me was illegal. [19:55] It was illegal on the other side. [19:57] I did nothing wrong. [19:58] So impeachment's a very unfair thing [20:00] because nothing that I did was wrong. [20:02] And if you look at the Mueller report, [20:04] there was no collusion. [20:05] This was all about collusion. [20:07] Nowhere in the Mueller report, by the way, Mr. President, [20:08] you say no collusion. [20:09] There is not a single, I've read this Mueller report, [20:11] both parts of it. [20:12] Use the word collusion or use... [20:13] There's not one place that says nothing happened. [20:15] Use the word collusion. [20:17] Use the word conspiracy. [20:18] Never says no collusion. [20:19] I'll be honest with you. [20:20] Nobody even mentions Russia anymore [20:21] since the Mueller report. [20:22] They don't mention it. [20:23] In all fairness, nobody mentions Russia anymore. [20:26] And it was about Russia. [20:28] It was a hoax. [20:29] Let me ask you this, during the campaign... [20:30] Wait, wait, we'll give you the time you need. [20:32] What hoax it was? [20:33] It was a hoax, the Russian hoax with me. [20:35] You don't believe it happened? [20:35] I had nothing to do... [20:36] You don't believe the Russians [20:37] interfered in our election? [20:38] What they did with respect to the election is different. [20:40] We're not talking about that. [20:41] We're talking about my campaign working is a hoax. [20:45] Okay, good. [20:46] But going back on WikiLeaks, [20:48] knowing now that that was stolen foreign material, [20:52] do you regret using it? [20:53] Well, I wouldn't have, but this was well-known. [20:56] I think it was in papers. [20:58] And again, I'm going back now a long ways, but... [20:59] It was all rumored to be Russian stolen property, [21:02] so why'd you use it? [21:03] But how would I even know that? [21:04] I made a speech. [21:05] It was in there about WikiLeaks. [21:07] I'm not a WikiLeaks person. [21:08] Knowing now, knowing that they're a Russian intelligence asset, [21:10] do you regret it? [21:11] Let me tell you, WikiLeaks, et cetera, [21:13] that's not my deal in life. [21:14] You know, in other words, I don't know about WikiLeaks. [21:16] It was a strange name. [21:17] But there were stories about something, WikiLeaks, [21:19] that they had information. [21:21] And I say it in a joking manner, [21:23] at a speech, joking, everybody laughing, [21:26] everybody having a good... [21:27] And they made it like it was serious. [21:29] No, I don't want anything bad to happen to our country. [21:32] Anything bad happens to this country, [21:34] I will end it, and I'll end it fast. [21:36] I don't want any of that to happen. [21:39] There's one part in the Mueller report. [21:41] Your son, Donald Trump Jr., did cooperate [21:46] and appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee. [21:50] In the Mueller report, it says that he did not voluntarily [21:54] sit for an interview with the president. [21:55] That's right. [21:55] He sat with Mueller's team. [21:57] And then there's a redaction, a grand jury redaction. [22:00] Did he involuntarily sit? [22:02] I don't know. [22:03] I can only tell you this. [22:04] Is it possible he was subpoenaed by Mueller? [22:07] You don't know if he was subpoenaed? [22:07] But let me tell you what I do know. [22:09] So did you not read the Mueller report? [22:09] Let me tell you, I read much of it. [22:11] The unredacted version or no? [22:13] I read... [22:14] No, I didn't. [22:14] Okay. [22:15] I didn't. [22:16] But let me just tell you. [22:17] So if he was subpoenaed... [22:18] You know what I read? [22:18] I read the... [22:19] If he was subpoenaed, you wouldn't know? [22:20] I read the conclusion. [22:22] Well, he was subpoenaed. [22:22] Ultimately, he was subpoenaed to sit before the Senate Intel, and he did that. [22:27] Was he subpoenaed by Mr. Mueller? [22:28] I don't know, but I don't think so. [22:30] If he was subpoenaed, was he going to appear before the grand jury, or was he just going to plead the fifth? [22:34] I really don't know, but you can certainly ask him. [22:36] But you don't know. [22:38] It was... [22:40] He sat... [22:41] My son, he's been treated so unfairly. [22:43] He sat for many, many hours before these committees. [22:47] I think my impression is that Mueller took all of the information from the committees, and he used that information. [22:53] How much can you talk about? [22:54] I can talk about something. [22:55] Remember the phone calls, the three phone calls? [22:58] It was such a big deal, three phone calls that were made to a special type number, okay? [23:03] And everybody said, oh, he called his father, he called... [23:05] That went on for a year. [23:06] In other words, before this so-called meeting and after the meeting, he called his father, the biggest story, headlines all over the place. [23:13] And then it turned out, and I give Mueller credit, because Mueller was the one that found out through, I guess, the phone companies or whatever. [23:19] Somebody found out, maybe through the FBI. [23:22] Big investigation on who the calls were made. [23:25] If they were made to me, it would have sounded like you. [23:27] Wait a minute. [23:28] They turned out that it wasn't to me. [23:31] It was to a real estate person and a NASCAR person. [23:34] Two great people, have nothing to do with Russia, have nothing to do. [23:38] And you know what? [23:39] People hardly even put the story in. [23:41] My son was treated unfairly. [23:43] My son, he spent 20-some-odd hours, and then he went back again. [23:48] He is a very innocent young man, and he was treated very badly. [23:52] You're going to see Vladimir Putin in a week. [23:54] Yes. [23:56] You're going to address to him directly about interference in 2020. [23:59] Are you going to tell him not to do it? [24:01] I may, if you'd like me to do it, I'll do that. [24:03] Well, some people think that your answer last week invited him to do it again. [24:09] Oh, that's not true. [24:10] Are you going to tell him not to, and what are the consequences? [24:12] My answer last week was both. [24:13] I said both. [24:14] I'd do both, except they didn't put it on. [24:17] And when they did put it on, people understood. [24:19] But they didn't put it on, because they put a different segment on. [24:21] So they asked me a question. [24:23] But when I said, yeah, do both. [24:25] People saw that in the last version of it, because the thing played, like, all weekend and on Friday. [24:31] So it's just more fake news. [24:33] Chuck, there's so much fake news, it would be so good if... [24:36] That's why I'm interviewing on my own. [24:38] That's fine. [24:38] That's why I like... [24:39] Let me ask you this. [24:39] That's why I like... [24:40] You think you've been... [24:41] But I like live interviews better. [24:42] You know why? [24:43] Because you can't cut the answers. [24:44] Guess what? [24:45] You're going to enjoy the fact that I'm not going to over-edit this interview. [24:48] That, I promise you. [24:49] Do you think you've been more successful in business or the presidency? [24:52] I think... [24:53] Well, I can't be more successful in politics. [24:55] I mean, I ran once and I'm president, right? [24:57] So you have to say that's about... [24:58] There's nothing... [24:59] It's never happened before, right? [25:01] So I'm one for one. [25:03] And I hope to be two for two. [25:05] But my business has been a tremendous success. [25:09] I actually said to the lawyers, I'd like to show my financial statement. [25:12] My financial statement is great. [25:14] I built a great business. [25:14] You can release your tax returns any day you want. [25:16] You don't learn from tax returns. [25:17] And I'm under audit, Chuck. [25:19] I've been saying it, I'm under audit. [25:20] But you don't learn from tax returns. [25:22] I was under audit. [25:23] But you would learn from a financial statement. [25:26] And... [25:26] And I would like to release it. [25:28] I've built a great company. [25:30] They like to... [25:32] For instance, banks. [25:33] Banks. [25:34] I could have borrowed from banks, but I didn't need to because I had money. [25:38] I did things... [25:39] In fact, a lot of people over the last couple of years were really surprised. [25:42] He paid all cash. [25:43] He didn't use banks. [25:44] I think I've been tremendously successful in business. [25:47] I think I've been tremendously successful in show business with The Apprentice. [25:51] I mean, I did one show and it was a great hit, as you know, from NBC. [25:56] And I guess you have to say I've been... [25:58] Really successful in politics. [26:00] The Republican Party has changed in your image. [26:02] Do you think you caused that change or do you think the party was changing [26:07] and you were the leader they selected? [26:08] I think common sense caused it. [26:09] You know, I'm about common sense. [26:11] People say, are you conservative? [26:12] I guess I'm conservative, but I'm about common sense. [26:15] I'm about we need borders. [26:17] We're going to have borders and we have strong borders. [26:19] And by the way, Mexico has done a great job. [26:21] It's slowed down so much. [26:23] But we have an amazing economy and people want to come up. [26:25] But it's slowed down so much. [26:26] But I'm about borders. [26:28] I'm about great health care. [26:30] Obamacare is a disaster. [26:32] I got rid of the individual mandate. [26:34] By the way, why is the economy doing so well if Obamacare is still law of the land? [26:36] You had said in 2011, Obamacare is going to destroy the economy. [26:40] Obamacare is still here. [26:41] Because I've managed it great. [26:43] I had a choice. [26:43] I could have let it implode and killed it. [26:46] Or I could have managed it. [26:47] You're still trying to kill it. [26:48] Why are you still trying to kill it with the getting rid of pre-existing... [26:50] If you, this lawsuit that the Department of Justice joined, [26:53] it could get rid of coverage of pre-existing conditions. [26:55] I am in favor of pre-existing conditions. [26:58] So get rid of it. [26:58] So drop the lawsuit. [26:59] So drop your aspect of the lawsuit. [27:01] It has nothing to do with it. [27:03] The lawsuit is one thing. [27:04] We are going to put in a bill total pre-existing conditions. [27:07] And the Republicans are in favor of pre-existing conditions. [27:10] You had full Republican control and they couldn't pass anything. [27:12] Chuck, are you ready? [27:13] What makes you think you're going to get it done this time? [27:14] We had a negative vote from John McCain. [27:16] It was a surprising vote. [27:18] But I got rid of the worst part of Obamacare, [27:20] which was the individual mandate. [27:22] We will always protect pre-existing conditions. [27:24] And the reason Obamacare continues is my decision. [27:27] Wait. [27:27] I made a big decision. [27:28] Okay. [27:29] We have a man named Azar, our secretary. [27:32] He's a fantastic man, Alex, a total pro. [27:36] I could have managed Obamacare so it would have failed. [27:39] Or I could have managed it the way we did, [27:42] so it's as good as it can be. [27:43] Not great, but it's too expensive. [27:45] The premiums are too high. [27:47] I had a decision to make. [27:49] I could have politically killed Obamacare. [27:51] I decided not to do it. [27:53] But still, it's not good. [27:55] We're going to come up with great health care [27:57] if we win the House, the Senate, and the President. [27:59] We're going to come up with great health care [28:00] if we win the House, the Senate, and the President. [28:02] We're going to come up with great health care [28:03] if we win the House, the Senate, and the President. [28:03] Are you prepared to lose? [28:05] No, probably not. [28:06] Probably not. [28:07] I mean, it would be much better if I said, yeah. [28:11] It would be much easier for me to say, well, yes. [28:13] No, I'm probably not too prepared to lose. [28:15] I don't like losing. [28:16] I haven't lost very much in my life. [28:17] You didn't like the fact that you lost the popular vote. [28:19] That bothered you, didn't it? [28:20] Well, I think it was a, you know, [28:22] I'll say something that, again, is controversial. [28:24] There were a lot of votes cast that I don't believe. [28:27] I look at California. [28:28] Mr. President. [28:29] Excuse me. [28:30] That's it. [28:31] Take a look at Judicial Watch. [28:32] Take a look at their settlement, [28:33] where California admitted to a million votes. [28:36] They admitted to a million votes. [28:37] A million votes of what? [28:38] Take a look at Judicial Watch. [28:39] What are you talking about? [28:40] Judicial Watch made a settlement. [28:42] There was much. [28:43] About what? [28:44] There was much illegal voting. [28:45] But let me tell you about popular vote. [28:46] Do you have a second? [28:47] Yes, because you were a big fan of it. [28:49] There are two. [28:50] Well, I like popular vote. [28:51] Yeah. [28:52] I think I'd do better with a popular vote. [28:53] But I didn't campaign for the popular vote. [28:55] You're right. [28:56] You didn't see me campaigning in California or New York. [28:59] If it was up to the popular vote, I would have done, I think, even better. [29:03] I won 306 to 223, which was a lot, in the electoral college. [29:08] But it's like you're training for the 100-yard dash versus the mile. [29:13] You're totally right. [29:14] It's totally different. [29:15] If it's a popular vote, you campaign differently. [29:16] I went to Wisconsin. [29:17] I don't disagree. [29:18] She forgot. [29:19] I went to Michigan. [29:20] She didn't go to Michigan enough. [29:21] I won Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania. [29:24] I won places that she didn't do a good job. [29:27] What can I tell you? [29:28] No. [29:29] Maybe I did a great job. [29:30] You know, I never get credit for that. [29:32] They always say she was a lousy candidate. [29:34] I actually think that Hillary Clinton was a great candidate. [29:37] She was very smart. [29:38] Yeah. [29:39] She was very tough. [29:40] She was ruthless and vicious. [29:41] You'd rather run against her again, wouldn't you? [29:43] No. [29:44] You only talked about her in your announcement speech. [29:45] No. [29:46] You spent a lot of time talking about her. [29:47] No. [29:48] I would actually rather run against Biden. [29:49] I think that would be my preference. [29:51] Why? [29:52] Sleepy Joe. [29:53] He's sleepy. [29:54] She was not sleepy. [29:55] Let me just tell you something. [29:56] The electoral college is tougher for Republican Democrats. [29:59] No. [30:00] I don't think I'd have a better chance to win than the popular vote, at least me. [30:03] I feel that I'd go to three places. [30:05] I went to 19 or 21 states. [30:08] I went to Maine four times because I wanted to get one, and I did get it. [30:12] And that's the beauty of the electoral college. [30:14] You know, I've been a proponent of the other sometimes, and I change. [30:17] But I will tell you, the electoral college brings you to many of the states in this country. [30:21] You have joked about a third term. [30:24] You've joked about these things. [30:26] I only joke. [30:27] I joke, and I say, watch, I will drive Chuck Todd— [30:29] You will drive Chuck Todd crazy. [30:31] Yes, there will be a third term. [30:32] You will accept the result, and you will accept whatever happens in 2020. [30:35] You lose, you'll be like, you're not going to like it, but you walk out. [30:38] In fact, I said in a speech recently, I said, watch, we'll drive the media crazy. [30:43] Let's go for a third term and then a fourth. [30:46] And some of the media said, he is going to do it. [30:50] Speaking of driving people crazy, when you were asked about Mike Pence in 2024, [30:54] and you paused a minute about endorsing him as your successor, [30:58] that got a lot of attention. [30:59] That got a lot of people going, is Mike Pence 100 percent on your ticket in 2020? [31:05] Well, look, 100 percent, yes. [31:07] 100 percent. [31:08] Oh, yeah. [31:09] There is no wiggle room. [31:10] He's been a terrific vice president. [31:11] He's my friend in a lot of things. [31:12] No, zero. [31:13] Zero. [31:14] So why did you hesitate in endorsing him? [31:15] Because it was a surprise question. [31:17] I mean, I'm not even thinking of it. [31:19] It's so far out. [31:20] I mean, it's so far out. [31:21] That would be the only reason. [31:24] Now, what happens in 2024? [31:25] I don't know that Mike is going to run. [31:26] I don't know who's running or anything else. [31:28] I will say this. [31:29] I think it's a tricky question. [31:30] I think it's a tremendous embarrassment to Joe Biden that Obama has not – that President Obama. [31:37] I'd like to say that because it's respect for the office and respect for him. [31:40] Do you speak to any of the former presidents? [31:42] Yes. [31:43] Who's the last one you did? [31:44] Well, I speak to Bush. [31:45] I speak to Jimmy Carter. [31:47] You do? [31:48] What about President Obama? [31:49] I have not spoken to him pretty much from the beginning. [31:51] But George W. Bush you do and Jimmy Carter? [31:53] I have spoken to Bush. [31:54] I have spoken to Jimmy Carter, yes. [31:56] Do you get – why? [31:57] I like Jimmy Carter. [31:58] You know, Jimmy Carter has oftentimes come to my defense. [32:00] Yeah. [32:01] I don't necessarily agree with the way he ran things and that's okay and he understands that and so do I. [32:05] But he came to my defense on numerous occasions and he thinks that I was treated to the worst of anybody he's ever seen by the press. [32:11] During every new season of The Apprentice, you had something new to roll out. [32:16] What's your big new idea for your reelection? [32:19] I think that the economy has tremendous upward potential despite the fact that we're doing really well. [32:25] I think when we really unleash some of the things that we're going to do – [32:27] What's your new idea? [32:28] What is the new big idea? [32:29] I also think that health care is going to be very important. [32:31] Yeah. [32:32] Health care is important for me. [32:33] I will tell you. [32:34] If we win the House, the Senate, and the presidency, I will get tremendous health care because Obamacare is a disaster. [32:40] Do you think Democrats won the House because of health care? [32:42] I think they won because of preexisting condition. [32:45] Nothing to do with me because if you know, almost every race that I campaign for somebody, they won. [32:50] But I couldn't devote too much time to the House. [32:52] There's too many people. [32:53] But if you look at some of the congressmen that I did go for and went for, they won, like in Kentucky, et cetera, et cetera. [32:59] So your one new idea is going to be health care. [33:02] The Ohio governor, he was behind. [33:04] Great guy. [33:05] Mike won. [33:07] Georgia, President Obama was there. [33:09] Oprah was there. [33:10] Michelle Obama was there. [33:11] It was going to be a big celebration. [33:13] She was the star of the party. [33:15] I went there for Brian, Brian Kemp. [33:18] Brian Kemp won. [33:20] Florida, Ron DeSantis was going to lose. [33:24] He was low in the polls. [33:26] I endorsed him. [33:27] He went up 60 points after I endorsed him. [33:29] Ron won. [33:30] And he's been a great governor of Florida. [33:32] You know, I've always heard that an endorsement is nice to have, but it doesn't mean anything. [33:38] I'm driving people up 30, 40, 50, 60 percent. [33:41] Well, when you show up, you bring a lot of people. [33:43] We bring something very good. [33:45] I'm curious. [33:46] Did you see Jon Stewart's pretty passionate plea on behalf of 9-11 response? [33:50] I was very impressed, yes. [33:52] He's frustrated with Mitch McConnell. [33:54] He feels like Mitch McConnell's the guy standing in the way of this bill. [33:57] You're a New Yorker first. [33:58] I know that in you. [33:59] I've got to think Jon Stewart got to you. [34:02] Are you going to tell Mitch McConnell to... [34:03] I liked what Jon Stewart did. [34:05] I actually did. [34:06] And I actually have a meeting on that subject next week. [34:09] So we'll see what happens. [34:11] You know it's a very complicated subject. [34:13] I understand that it is. [34:14] But I have a meeting... [34:15] Do you think that Jon Stewart had a point that Congress hadn't done enough? [34:18] I have a meeting on that subject with... [34:21] Well, when you say Congress, billions of dollars has been paid. [34:24] I understand that. [34:25] Billions. [34:26] Right. [34:27] But the fund was about to run out. [34:28] Memorials have been built. [34:29] Tremendous amounts of money. [34:31] But there are still people that are sick. [34:33] I have a meeting on it next week. [34:34] All right, Mr. President. [34:35] Thank you. [34:36] I appreciate the time. [34:37] Thank you very much. [34:38] Thank you, sir. [34:45] Hey, NBC News fans. [34:46] Thanks for checking out our YouTube channel. [34:47] Subscribe by clicking on that button down here. [34:50] And then click on any of the videos over here to watch the latest interviews, show highlights, and digital exclusives. [34:57] Thanks for watching.