6 months ago
73
ARTICLE AD BOX
US President Donald Trump appeared connected CBS’s 60 Minutes successful his archetypal interrogation with the web since settling a suit with CBS News earlier this year. Trump had famously walked retired of a 60 Minutes interrogation with Lesley Stahl earlier the 2020 election, accusing the amusement of bias. Trump aboriginal sued the institution implicit the newsmagazine’s interrogation with Kamala Harris, and Paramount reportedly paid $16 cardinal to settee the lawsuit this summeIn his latest appearance, Trump defended his administration’s handling of cardinal overseas and home challenges, from atomic tensions and Middle East diplomacy to immigration, healthcare, and the ongoing authorities shutdown.
President Donald Trump's extended 60 Minutes interview
The sit-down, recorded Friday astatine his Mar-a-Lago residence with writer Norah O’Donnell, aired Sunday night.
Here are 10 cardinal takeaways from the interview.
Claims that Russia and China are secretly conducting atomic tests
President Trump alleged that some Russia and China person been secretly investigating atomic weapons underground. “Russia’s testing, and China’s testing, but they don’t speech astir it,” helium said. Asked wherefore helium precocious ordered the United States to behaviour its ain atomic tests, Trump explained, “You don’t needfully cognize wherever they’re testing.
They trial mode underground wherever radical don’t cognize precisely what’s happening with the test.
”“Well, we person much atomic weapons than immoderate different country. Russia's second. China's a precise distant third, but they'll beryllium adjacent successful 5 years. You know, they're makin' 'em rapidly, and I deliberation we should bash thing astir denuclearization, which is gonna beryllium some-- and I did really sermon that with some President Putin and President Xi. Denuclearization's a precise large thing. We person capable atomic weapons to stroke up the satellite 150 times.
Russia has a batch of atomic weapons, and China volition person a lot,” helium siad.
The Iran cognition and atomic deterrence
Speaking astir Iran, Trump said that his medication had “blasted the hellhole retired of them” to forestall Tehran from becoming a atomic power. “You could’ve ne'er had immoderate benignant of a woody if you had a atomic Iran. And you fundamentally had a atomic Iran,” helium said.He described gathering the pilots who carried retired the onslaught and inviting them to the White House.
“They told maine thing I didn’t know. They said, ‘Sir, for 22 years we’ve been practising this way … and you were the lone president that fto america bash our job.’”Trump praised them arsenic “real American heroes,” adding, “When you tin deed astatine midnight with nary moon, with nary vision, each azygous aerial shaft, wherever that weaponry went heavy into that upland and exploded … they merit to travel to the White House.”
India-Pakistan tensions
During the interview, Trump acknowledged the precarious equilibrium successful South Asia, noting that the United States continues to show India and Pakistan closely.
Although helium avoided nonstop notation of existent subject developments, medication officials person said Washington remains wary of escalation successful the region, particularly fixed the ongoing atomic concerns.Trump erstwhile again claimed helium helped forestall a imaginable atomic struggle betwixt India and Pakistan. “I deliberation we're gonna get it done, yeah. I deliberation helium truly wants to bash concern with the US,” Trump said, adding, “If it wasn't for tariffs and commercialized I wouldn't person been capable to marque the deals...
They were going to war. They were gonna person a atomic warfare with Pakistan.”Trump cited comments by Pakistan’s premier minister, saying, “If Donald Trump didn't get involved, galore millions of radical would beryllium dormant close now.”In May, India launched Operation Sindoor, carrying retired precision strikes connected violent camps located crossed Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir successful effect to the Pahalgam panic attack, which had killed 26 civilians the erstwhile month.India has firmly denied immoderate US involvement, reiterating that de-escalation was achieved solely done nonstop subject connection betwixt the 2 nations.
Mamdani, welfare, and a swipe astatine Obama
Trump repeatedly attacked erstwhile President Barack Obama’s legacy, linking him to what helium called “a defective program enactment into enactment by Barack Hussein Obama, who was a lousy president.” He adjacent ridiculed the Obama Presidential Center task successful Chicago, saying, “He’s gathering a depository that’s, like, 4 times implicit fund … The neighbourhood doesn’t adjacent privation ‘em.”At 1 point, Trump deed retired astatine New York Mayoral contention front-runner Zohran Mamdani, invoking them successful the discourse of what helium sees arsenic elite detachment from “real American” priorities.“Communist, not Socialist. Communist. He's far--far worse than a Socialist. Oh, that's truthful crazy. Look. When I near New York, we were astatine the-- the epitome of it was a large city. It was doing great. It was a large city, but determination were immoderate atrocious sides, due to the fact that we had a feline named de Blasio, who was the worst mayor.
Like I accidental Biden was the worst president, de Blasio was the worst politician successful history,” the 47th POTUS said.He went connected to add, “I deliberation he's astir apt gonna marque de Blasio look great. I deliberation helium volition marque de Blasio look similar 1 of our large mayors. De Blasio was the worst politician we've ever had. Now I saw that, you know, but I was benignant of leaving during that play of time.”
Immigration and the borderline crackdown
Trump utilized the level to assertion occurrence successful halting amerciable migration crossed the US-Mexico border.
“We person a closed borderline close now,” helium said. “For 5 months successful a row, they person zero — deliberation of this, zero radical coming into our state done our confederate border.”He accused Mexico of allowing “their prisons to beryllium emptied into our country,” calling it 1 of his administration’s top challenges. “Millions of radical a twelvemonth walked into our state wholly unchecked, unvetted. They were criminals, murderers, cause dealers, radical from jails and intelligence institutions,” helium said.
On Venezuela and Maduro’s future
When asked if Nicolás Maduro’s days arsenic Venezuela’s president were numbered, Trump said, “I would accidental yeah. I deliberation so, yeah.”Pressed by O’Donnell astir speculation that the United States mightiness beryllium preparing strikes successful Venezuela, Trump refused to corroborate oregon contradict it. “I’m not gonna archer you what I’m gonna bash with Venezuela, if I was gonna bash it oregon if I wasn’t going to bash it,” helium said, calling it a substance of nationalist security.He pointed to the emergence of convulsive transnational gangs specified arsenic Tren de Aragua, saying Venezuela had “been bad” successful exporting transgression networks.
Saudi Arabia, the Abraham Accords, and Israel
Asked astir Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s upcoming sojourn to the White House and his insistence that the kingdom would not articulation the Abraham Accords without a two-state solution, Trump replied, “No. I deliberation he’s gonna join.”He added, “We volition person a solution. I don’t cognize if it’s gonna beryllium two-state.
That’s gonna beryllium up to Israel and different people, and me.”Trump argued that bid successful the Middle East was lone imaginable due to the fact that his medication prevented Iran from becoming a atomic power.
Government shutdown: ‘Democrats’ fault’
The president squarely blamed Democrats for the ongoing authorities shutdown, present successful its sixth week. “Democrats’ fault,” helium said flatly, accusing them of refusing to ballot for an hold that would reopen national offices. “They don’t wanna springiness america an hold due to the fact that they utilized to deliberation it was bully for them, but the polls are turning around.”He said Democrats were suffering from “Trump derangement syndrome” and insisted, “All they person to do, Norah, is say, ‘Let’s vote.’ And you tin unfastened the system during our interview.”
On healthcare and the combat implicit Obamacare
Healthcare dominated overmuch of the home discussion. Trump said Democrats were blocking advancement connected reform. “We astir did it. We were 1 ballot short. John McCain made a mistake, frankly,” helium said.He repeated his long-standing disapproval of the Affordable Care Act, calling it “bad healthcare astatine acold excessively precocious a price.”
“It’s excessively costly for the people,” Trump said. “They’re gonna get a precise large summation this year.”Democrats person pushed to widen subsidies nether Obamacare to forestall premiums from doubling for millions of Americans. O’Donnell noted that “three quarters of these radical that volition spot their healthcare premiums treble unrecorded successful states wherever you won successful the past election.” Trump responded, “And I’m saying we tin hole it.”
‘I won’t beryllium extorted’: Trump refuses to negociate implicit govt shutdown
Trump rejected calls to compromise with Democrats to reopen the government. “I won’t beryllium extorted,” helium said, insisting that helium would not “give $1.5 trillion truthful that prisoners, cause dealers and radical from intelligence institutions” could person payment oregon healthcare.He besides pressed Republicans to extremity the Senate filibuster, telling 60 Minutes, “Republicans person to get tougher. If we extremity the filibuster, we tin bash precisely what we want.”
