After taking office on January 20, President-elect Donald Trump promised to implement swift and significant changes, including pardoning those convicted of the attack on the U.S. Capitol. He also stated that he intends to find a legislative solution that would allow Dreamers to remain in the nation lawfully.
Trump also stated that he would seek to extend the tax cuts that were implemented during his first term in an interview with Kristen Welker, anchor of NBC News Meet the Press. He declared that he would not try to restrict the use of abortion medicines. He intends to attempt to abolish birthright citizenship and deport millions of unauthorized immigrants. He said that the pardons for the rioters from January 6 would take place on the first day, claiming that many of them had suffered unduly severe punishment while incarcerated.
He claimed that these people were living in hell.
Trump spent more than an hour discussing the policy proposals that Americans might anticipate in his future term during his first postelection network television interview, which was held Friday at Trump Tower in Manhattan.
Trump declared that he would carry out his campaign pledge to impose tariffs on goods coming from the United States’ largest trading partners. When Welker questioned him if he could ensure that American families wouldn’t pay more as a result of his plan, he made a notable admission of uncertainty.
Trump stated, “I can’t guarantee anything.” Tomorrow is something I cannot promise.
As part of the spending reduction initiatives spearheaded by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, Trump also declared that he would not increase the eligibility age for government programs such as Social Security and Medicare or reduce their funding. When asked if raising ages or doing anything else was out of the question, Trump said, “I won’t do it.”
When Welker fact-checked Trump, he occasionally argued with her while speaking in a cool, collected manner. The magnitude of his triumph on Nov. 5 appeared to encourage him. He proudly declared, “I’m getting called by everybody,” following his victory in the popular vote and his conquest of all seven of the crucial battleground states.
He received a message from Jeff Bezos, the owner of The Washington Post and the founder of Amazon: “We’re having dinner,” he said.
You know, people like me now. It’s different from the first time, you know, since I wasn’t nearly as popular when I won the first time, he added. Another crucial aspect of the election is that I am proud to have won the popular vote by a significant margin.
Maybe he should
Trump did introduce well-known complaints. He refused to accept defeat in the 2020 election. Trump responded, “I think it was too big to rig,” when asked why he believed Democrats stole that election but not this one despite controlling the White House.
He insulted alleged enemies and accused President Joe Biden of causing the country’s political division. He claimed that Adam Schiff, the new Democratic senator from California, is a true outlaw.
However, his message regarding political retaliation was rather conflicting. Trump stated that he feels wronged, but he also sent a conciliation message by refusing to send a special prosecutor to look into Biden. “I don’t want to go back in time,” he declared. Success will be the means of retaliation.
Trump’s political rivals fear that he will seek revenge by using the government’s formidable investigative apparatus. Two of his allies, Kash Patel for FBI director and Pam Bondi for attorney general, have been selected for important law enforcement roles. According to Trump, if confirmed, they would be free to choose how to apply the legislation.
However, he also called special counsel Jack Smith extremely dishonest and singled out those he feels went too far in his investigation.
He claimed that members of the House committee that looked into the attack on the US Capitol on January 6 were political thugs and, you know, creeps who committed crimes while performing their duties.
Trump stated that they ought to be imprisoned for their actions.
“No, not at all,” Trump responded when asked if he would order the FBI and Justice Department to punish them. I’m going to concentrate on drill, baby, drill, a reference to tapping new oil supplies, but I think they’ll have to look at that.
Trump stated that Biden could pardon the committee members if he so chooses, and perhaps he ought to.
Minimum wage, immigration and Obamacare
He continued to maintain some distance from the conservative Project 2025, which was meant to serve as a guide for his administration’s new policy implementation, throughout the interview, which covered a variety of subjects. Although he initially rejected the policy guideline, he later came to appreciate it more and acknowledged that some of the drafters are now in his upcoming administration.
Trump stated, “I happen to agree with many of those things.”
He stated that he would prefer to confer with the governors of the country before considering raising the federal minimum wage, which has been $7.25 per hour since 2009. “I agree,” he added, “it’s a very low number.”
He promised to make his whole medical records available. By 2029, when his term finishes, Trump will be eighty-two, the same age as Biden. He stated that he had no intention of selling his stake in Truth Social, the multibillion-dollar company he founded after leaving politics. He said, “I’m not sure what to divest.” I just send out messages. Additionally, he stated that he will not attempt to succeed Jerome Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, whom he has previously criticized.
In contrast to his previous tenure, when both son-in-law Jared Kushner and daughter Ivanka Trump held senior adviser positions with West Wing offices, he declared that his children would be joining him as White House aides. He said, I’ll miss them. Although he called the prospective first lady “very elegant and very popular,” he did not respond to a question about the role his wife, Melania Trump, will play in the upcoming term.
Trump’s campaign was centered on immigration, and he made no qualms in declaring that he would deport large numbers of people who were unlawfully in the nation.
Convicted criminals will be the first, he claimed. Trump responded, “Well, I think you have to do it, and it’s a hard it’s a very tough thing to do,” when asked if the targets would extend beyond that group. That being said, you must have laws, rules, and regulations. They entered the country illegally.
American citizens may also be included in the sweep and deported along with family members who are either here illegally or may decide to leave.
Trump responded, “I don’t want to be breaking up families, so the only way you don’t break up the family is you keep them together and you have to send them all back,” when asked about mixed-immigration families, in which some members are in the country legally and some illegally.
He claimed that the cost and practical difficulties of deporting millions of people had not stopped him.
“There is nothing you can do,” he said. They’re costing us a fortune, to start. However, it is imperative that we begin with the criminals. We’ll start with the others after that and see how things work out.
The Dreamers, who were brought to the United States illegally as youngsters and have lived here for years, may be an exception. He expressed receptivity to a legislative solution that would permit them to stay in the nation.
He praised Dreamers who had found successful employment, launched businesses, and established themselves as great citizens, saying, “I will work with the Democrats on a plan.” He remarked, “We’re going to have to do something with them.”
Additionally, he declared his intention to abolish birthright citizenship, which is guaranteed by the 14th Amendment to all people born in the United States, regardless of their parents. When asked if there would be legal resistance to his unilateral action, Trump stated that he would think about changing the Constitution.
Trump stated that we might need to return to the people. But we must put an end to it.
During Trump s one debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, he was criticized for saying he had concepts of a plan to replace the Affordable Care Act, the health care law signed by President Barack Obama.
It s not clear Trump s ideas have evolved further.
He claimed that Obamacare was awful. If we come up with a better answer, I would present that answer to Democrats and to everybody else and I d do something about it.
When will he have a developed plan? Well, I don t know that you ll see it at all, Trump said, adding that health care experts are studying possible alternatives.
Foreign policy
Later Friday after the interview, Trump flew to Paris for a ceremony marking the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral, which had been devastated by a fire.
After arriving, he met privately with French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who posted on social media that the trio talked about reaching a just peace in his country s war with Russia. Zelenskyy joined for roughly the last 10 minutes of the meeting, a Trump transition official said.
In the interview with Meet the Press, Trump said he is actively trying to end the war, if I can, adding that Ukraine can possibly expect it won t get as much military aid from the U.S. when he s back in office.
He would not commit to keeping the U.S. in NATO, the European military alliance that has been a bulwark against Russia since World War II. If they pay their bills, absolutely, he would preserve America s role in the alliance, he said.
On another foreign policy front, Trump expressed doubt that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will be able to remain in power.
It s amazing, because he stayed for years under you would think much more adverse conditions, and all of the sudden, just rebels are going and they re taking over large pieces of territory, Trump said. People have bet against him for a long time, and so far that hasn t worked. But this seems to be different.
No American carnage
One phrase that leapt out of Trump s first inaugural address in 2017: American carnage. It evoked a nation ravaged by crime and saddled with rusting factories.
This time, Trump said the takeaway from his inaugural speech will be different.
We re going to have a message, he said. It will make you happy: unity. It s going to be a message of unity.
And no American carnage? Welker asked.
No American carnage, no, the 45th and soon-to-be 47th president said.
Asked for his message to the Americans who didn t vote for him, Trump compared them to his most strident supporters a shift from his campaign rhetoric.
I m going to treat you, he said, every bit as well as I have treated the greatest MAGA supporters.