President Trump and NBC Nightly News Anchor Tom Llamas - Exclusive

Summary

Podcast Summary: Here's the Scoop

Episode: President Trump and NBC Nightly News Anchor Tom Llamas – Exclusive
Release Date: February 5, 2026
Host: Yasmin Vossoughian (NBC News)
Primary Interviewer: Tom Llamas
Guest: President Donald Trump

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Overview

This special episode features Tom Llamas' exclusive, in-depth interview with President Donald Trump at a pivotal point during his second term. Topics range from the administration's immigration enforcement crackdown in Minneapolis, economic policies, the Federal Reserve drama, AI, foreign relations, and future Republican leadership, to personal health and presidential legacy. Notably, this is a rare, unscripted back-and-forth that grants listeners insight into Trump's current thinking, approaches, and style.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Immigration Enforcement & Minneapolis Operations

Timestamps: 02:21 – 09:05

• Minneapolis Withdrawal: President Trump confirms that pulling 700 federal officers from Minneapolis was his decision, tied to frustrations over cooperation with local officials on prisoner and criminal exchanges.

  • “We are waiting for them to release prisoners, give us the murderers that they're holding. And all of the bad people, drug dealers… we're getting them out…” (02:21)
  • Claims crime is down nationwide due to federal operations (03:02).

• Minneapolis Lessons: Admits a "softer touch" may be needed after controversial ICE incidents, but underscores his belief in being "tough" on crime (03:21).

  • "[W]e can use a little bit of a softer touch, but you still have to be tough. These are criminal. We’re dealing with really hard criminals." (03:21)

• ICE Incidents: Responds to recent fatal ICE encounters, maintaining those involved “were not angels” but expressing regret for the incidents. Insists the majority of ICE actions are successful and justified (04:37).

• Shift in Approach: Emphasizes working with local leaders, waiting for invitations before federal intervention in new cities—names Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco as priorities (06:42–09:05).

Notable Exchange

• Tom Llamas: “What should Americans expect going forward?”
• Trump: “We want to be invited. We will sometimes call the governors… we’ll be announcing [target cities] very quickly.” (07:39–08:13)

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2. Public Perception, Polls & Media

Timestamps: 09:05 – 15:10

• Poll Skepticism: Trump rejects unfavorable polls, asserts supportive numbers exist, and reiterates low crime and border security stats.

  • “The polls are almost dishonest. Almost as dishonest as some of the reporters themselves.” (10:13)

• Media/Public Relations: Claims his administration does a "phenomenal job" but fails at public relations.

  • “We don’t do a good public relations job. That’s why I’m doing the interview with you today.” (13:32)

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3. Economic Policy, Cost of Living & Tariffs

Timestamps: 15:10 – 22:14

• Economic Claims: Boasts historic levels of investment, downplays lingering high prices.

  • “I have $18 trillion being invested into the country. Biden had less than a trillion for four years.” (10:52)

• Gas & Inflation: Points to gas prices at $1.99/gallon as an accomplishment, but concedes costs remain high.

  • “You saw gasoline this last week at $1.99 a gallon. It used to be... four and a half five dollars a gallon.” (18:19)

• Rebate Checks: Considers $2,000 rebate checks from tariff revenues but stops short of a direct promise.

  • “I haven’t made the commitment yet, but I may make the commitment.” (19:52)

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4. Federal Reserve, Interest Rates & Powell Investigation

Timestamps: 20:29 – 24:09

• Interest Rates: Expresses confidence rates will be lowered and confirms the new Fed pick is aligned with administration priorities.

  • “We're way high in interest… the greatest way… is… get down the interest rates.” (20:45–22:14)

• Powell Investigation: Denies political retaliation against former Fed Chair Jerome Powell, says the DOJ's investigation will proceed independently.

  • "The investigation is being handled by Pam and Janine and the people. They'll make their own decision." (23:58)

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5. Technology: Artificial Intelligence & Industry

Timestamps: 24:23 – 27:07

• AI Leadership: Frames US as world leader in AI; says major investments are ongoing.

  • “AI is going to be maybe the biggest thing. Bigger than the Internet, bigger than anything else. We are leading China by a lot.” (24:27)

• Job Loss Fears: Dismisses worries about AI job loss, insists new jobs and industries will be created.

  • “Everything was going to do. Robots are going to kill jobs. Everything’s going to kill jobs. And you end up, if you’re smart, doing great.” (26:58)

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6. Justice Department, Elections, and Political Rivalry

Timestamps: 27:07 – 34:13

• Media & Mergers: Will not involve himself in Netflix–Warner Brothers Discovery merger dispute (27:18–27:47).

• Nationalizing Elections: Advocates for federal intervention in cases of “corrupt” local election systems, such as Detroit, Philadelphia, Atlanta.

  • “If they don't straighten it out... if they can't do it honestly... then something else has to happen.” (29:07)

• Midterm Trust: Vows to accept midterm results “if the elections are honest.” (29:11)

• IRS Lawsuit: Defends lawsuit for leaking tax documents, says any settlement would go to charity (31:36–32:07).

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7. Party Politics & 2028 Election

Timestamps: 34:13 – 36:33

• Endorsement Power: Suggests he may weigh in on the 2028 Republican primary, mentioning a hypothetical VP J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio ticket as formidable.

  • “The combination of JD and Marco would be very hard to be beaten, I think.” (34:39)

• Presidential Legacy: Downplays focus on legacy, claims all efforts are “to make America great again.” (35:47)

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8. Foreign Policy & National Security

Timestamps: 38:09 – 45:36

• Oval Office Tour: Trump discusses portraits of presidents and his influences.

  • “I'm walking down and everyone's screaming, goat, goat. I said, what are they talking about? I hope they're right. Not for me, but for the country.” (39:27)

• Infrastructure: Details grand projects for the U.S. 250th anniversary, including a triumphal arch in Washington, D.C.

  • “We're doing one that's going to top it [the Arc de Triomphe].” (40:36)

• Military Strength: Describes US intervention in Venezuela, references a "discombobulator" weapon.

  • “It discombobulated everything.” (41:25)

• Cuba & Iran:

  • On Cuba: Hints at backchannel communication and pending change in Cuban leadership (42:28–43:35).
  • On Iran: Issues direct warning to supreme leader regarding nuclear program, details U.S. military intervention.
    • “If they do, we're going to send them right back and do their job again.” (44:49)

• Security Upgrades: The new White House ballroom will feature bulletproof windows and drone-proof ceilings for safety.

  • “It's protection… It's going to be very heavy steel.” (45:36)

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9. Personal Health & Safety

Timestamps: 45:38 – 47:32

• Assassination Attempts: Acknowledges increased dangers post-attempts, notes the presidency is statistically “the most dangerous job there is” (46:12).
• Physical & Cognitive Fitness: Describes regular health and cognitive testing; claims to be as sharp as ever.
  • “I feel like I did 50 years ago. It's crazy.” (46:34)

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10. DOJ, Impeachment, and Subpoenas

Timestamps: 48:24 – 51:57

• Impeachment History: Reflects on impeachment(s) and indictments, expressing resolve and criticism of what he characterizes as “fake” processes (48:34).
• DOJ Use: Denies using DOJ as a tool of retribution, insists on personal moderation (49:18).
• Bill Clinton Relationship: Says he still likes Bill Clinton; appreciates political acumen.
  • "He got me, he understood me... He said very famously that you don’t want to run against Trump." (51:22)

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Notable Quotes

• “We have the safest country staff... best crime numbers since the year 1900.”
  — Donald Trump, on national crime data (13:39)

• “That’s why I’m doing the interview with you today. We appreciate it.”
  — Trump, on his effort to improve public relations (13:56)

• “AI is going to be maybe the biggest thing. Bigger than the Internet, bigger than anything else. We are leading China by a lot.”
  — Trump (24:27)

• “On January 21, 2029, do you see any scenario where you are still president?”
  — Tom Llamas (35:39)
  “I don’t know. It would be interesting… I only do this for one reason. Make America great again.”
  — Trump (35:47)

• “Statistically, being president is the most dangerous job there is.”
  — Trump on his safety (46:12)

• “He [Bill Clinton] was the one that said… don’t run against Trump… And Hillary sort of laughed at him. It didn’t work out too well, did it?”
  — Trump on former President Clinton’s advice (51:21)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Immigration Crackdown & Minneapolis: 02:21 – 09:05
• Public Perception, Polls: 09:05 – 15:10
• Economy & Tariffs: 15:10 – 22:14
• Federal Reserve & Powell Investigation: 22:14 – 24:09
• AI & Technology: 24:23 – 27:07
• Elections & Justice Department: 27:07 – 34:13
• Republican Party & 2028 Election: 34:13 – 36:33
• Foreign Policy & National Security: 38:09 – 45:36
• Safety & Health: 45:38 – 47:32
• Impeachment & Political Cases: 48:24 – 51:57

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Memorable Moments

• Trump describing how he “saved Los Angeles,” allowing the city to host the Olympics and World Cup.
• Promise (but not commitment) of $2,000 rebate checks from tariffs.
• Explaining the “discombobulator” and its impact in Venezuela.
• Admitting personal worry post-assassination attempts, but downplaying its impact on leadership.
• Open praise for J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio as future Republican leaders.
• Disarmingly positive comments about Bill Clinton.

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This episode is rich in headline commentary and classic Trump bravado, but also reveals strategy, priorities, and anxieties. From shifts in immigration tactics to innovations in technology and infrastructure, and candid moments on his own vulnerabilities and legacy, this interview is a valuable historic document for anyone interested in the Trump era and American politics in 2026.

Transcript

[Yasmin Vesugian]

Hey, everybody, it's Yasmin Vesugian from here's the scoop for Men BC News. We are coming in your feed twice today because we want to share a special episode with you. My colleague and Nightly News anchor Tom Yamas sat down with President Trump for an exclusive interview covering immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis, the president's pick to lead the Federal Reserve and a lot more. Tom is going to join me on the show a little bit later on today where we are going to talk through key takeaways and what was happening in the room where it happens. So subscribe now. And that episode's going to be in your feed at 5pm when the next episode drops. But in the meantime, we are sharing that interview as it was broadcast on Top Story on NBC News now last night. See you this afternoon.

[Tom Yamas]

Good evening from our nation's capital, where today we sat down exclusively with President Trump at this extremely pivotal moment in his second term. The president making a number of headlines discussing everything from the midterm elections to the economy, the to his administration's handling of the immigration crackdown, telling me what he learned from Minneapolis and about where ICE officers could head next. And with the affordability crisis impacting so many Americans right now, you'll hear what he said about when to expect economic relief. I also asked him point blank about this moment with Fed Chair Jerome Powell and if his Justice Department would drop the investigation into Powell. And as the Republican Party faces growing pressure ahead of the midterms, what he said about the possibility of 2028 and the presidential ticket possibly featuring on the Republican side, Vice President J.D. vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Plus, we pressed him on what those FBI agents were looking for when they raided an election office in Georgia and his warning tonight to Iran's supreme leader after that country's deadly protest crackdown. Also, the surprising response when asked about his relationship with former President Bill Clinton. During our talk, the president pointed out ongoing construction on the White House ballroom was what he said about bulletproof windows and drone proof ceilings being installed and if he ever worries about his own safety, plus what he told me about his personal health. But we start with the major breaking news out of Minneapolis tonight. Tom Homan announcing he's pulling hundreds of federal officers out of Minnesota. And that's where our conversation begins. Okay, let's drill down into the news today. That big change on immigration, 700 officers leaving Minneapolis. Did that come from you?

[President Donald Trump]

Yes, it did, but it didn't come from me because I just wanted to do it. We have we are waiting for them to release prisoners, give us the murderers that they're holding. And all of the bad people, drug dealers, all of the bad people we allowed in our country, I say 25 million people with an open border policy for four years under Biden and that group, the auto pen group, I call them, we allowed to come into our country, people the likes of which no country would accept. And we're getting them out, but we've gotten a lot of them out. So crime now in Minnesota, crime now in Minneapolis is down. Crime in all cities is down.

[Tom Yamas]

Speaking of that.

[President Donald Trump]

And you know why it's down? It's down because of us. It's down in Chicago by 25%, despite the fact that we are always dealing with these people. And they happen to be Democrats. Right. Speaking of don't know anything about crime.

[Tom Yamas]

Prevention, Mr. President, speaking of Minneapolis, what did you learn?

[President Donald Trump]

I learned that maybe we can use a little bit of a softer touch, but you still have to be tough. These are criminal. We're dealing with really hard criminals. But look, I've called the people. I've called the governor, I've called the mayor, spoke to him, had great conversations with them. And then I see them ranting and raving out there, literally, as though a call wasn't made. We've done a great job everywhere. The only place there's been a little inflammation has been really. It's not Minnesota because we've done well.

[Tom Yamas]

With Los Angeles, too. There's been others.

[President Donald Trump]

Well, I saved Los Angeles. The top law enforcement officer right at the beginning of government when they were having riots before me and just. And it carried into me, if I didn't go in there with the National Guard, with troops, you wouldn't have the Olympics, which I got. I got the Olympics. You wouldn't have the Olympics in Los Angeles. And he said, without the president sending in the troops, we would have lost Los Angeles. And you know what? I saved Los Angeles. And we will do it again if we have to. And by the way, we're going to have a very safe Olympics and we're going to have a very safe World Cup.

[Tom Yamas]

Speaking of Minneapolis, after the shooting of Renee Goode, you said ICE made some mistakes. What were the mistakes?

[President Donald Trump]

Well, look, I'm not happy with the two incidents. It's not, you know, it's both of them, not one or the other. He was not an angel, and she was not an angel. You know, you look at some tapes from back, but still, I'm not happy with what happened there. Nobody could be happy. And ICE wasn't happy either. But I'm going to always be with our great people of law enforcement, ICE police. We have to back them. If we don't back them, we don't have a country. We don't back them, you're going to end up. Look, Washington, D.C. was a very unsafe place to be. You couldn't walk to the White House, you couldn't walk to a restaurant. Restaurants were closing. I inherited not only a mess with the country, I inherited a horrible, very dangerous capital. Do you know Washington, D.C. is now an extremely safe place? You see what happened? You're here a lot.

[Tom Yamas]

When you mentioned Reneezkato.

[President Donald Trump]

Yeah. Yeah. You're here a lot. Yeah. Would you have walked down the street a year and a half ago with your family? No. But today you can, and nothing's gonna happen.

[Tom Yamas]

You mentioned Renee Good and not out and Alex Peretti not being angels. Do you think any of that justified what happened to them, though?

[President Donald Trump]

No, I don't. It should have not happened. It was a very sad. To me, it was a very sad incident. Two incidents. And, you know, they mentioned the one, now they don't mention the other. Well, I think they were both sad. And you know who feels worse about it than anybody? The people of ice. They're strong, tough people. And they have to be tough because we're dealing with hardened criminals. We're dealing with people. You know, jails have been emptied into our country from all over the world. From Venezuela, where we had great success, you will admit, but from Venezuela, from the Congo in Africa, from all over the world, jails, the jail population was emptied into our country. If we don't have strong people, you're not getting them out. Yeah, we're getting them out. Remember this again, I say it again and again. We have record low crime in the United States. Nobody's been able to say that for 125 years.

[Tom Yamas]

So I want to be clear, because it sounds like there is a shift in immigration enforcement here, that there's going to be a shift after Minneapolis. What should Americans expect going forward?

[President Donald Trump]

Well, one thing I say to my people, you know, we do a good job, we don't get credit for it. I say they have to ask and they have to say please. When a city is going, who has to ask and who has to say please? For the governor, I don't want to go and force ourselves into a city, even if their numbers are terrible. Like, for instance, I got a call from Jeff Landry, Governor of Louisiana. He said, we have a big problem. Could you go in and help us with. With. Well, let's see. Certain sections. I mean, to be honest with you, certain sections of the state, beyond their famous beautiful city. Certain sections of the state, we have done, not only in New Orleans, we've done a really great job in Louisiana. But I was called, I want to be called Chicago. We could solve the Chicago crime.

[Tom Yamas]

Well, on that question, which cities are you headed to next?

[President Donald Trump]

We have five cities that we're looking at very strongly, but we want to be invited. We will sometimes call the governors.

[Tom Yamas]

Are they cities like Chicago, Philadelphia?

[President Donald Trump]

Are these the states we could straighten out the crime in Chicago? We've already brought it down 25% just by being there. We could have Chicago be a safe city, just like DC Is a safe city, just like all of these places that we've gone to. And I look forward. You know, I didn't campaign on that. I campaigned on law and order. But I didn't think I'd be going into individual cities and making them safe.

[Tom Yamas]

Anything else you can tell us about the five cities? The five cities. Anything else? So Americans are ready.

[President Donald Trump]

I'll be announcing them very quickly, but we could do something. As an example, I was called by people San Francisco said, please, we have a Democrat mayor. He's trying very hard. Would you. Friends of mine that live there, it's got crime problems. Would you let him do the job and not come in? Let's see how it works. I said, look, I can do it much quicker, much faster. Don't forget, we remove criminals. We took over 2,000 hardcore criminals out of Washington, D.C. if we didn't do that, 2% of the people create 90% of the crime. Think of that. 2%. So you have a criminal. Because it's over and over again. 2% create 90% of the crime. We took out 2,000 people, more than 2,000 people out of Washington, D.C. and we now have a safe city.

[Tom Yamas]

As I mentioned, you've had success on immigration. Illegal border crossings are at historic lows. Right.

[President Donald Trump]

You know, it's so nice that you said. But if you look at Tom, what you just said, it's true. No, but it's so nice. I hope you air it. It's so nice what you said. Because that's called good reporting. That's called fair reporting. Now give me the second part of the question.

[Tom Yamas]

Now, let me give you the second part of the question.

[President Donald Trump]

I don't want to hear, but if.

[Tom Yamas]

You look at the polls, most Americans say they don't like how you've handled immigration. Right. Especially what's happened in Minneapolis. How do you change their minds?

[President Donald Trump]

Well, I don't believe the polls, for one thing, because how can you not have. I saw a poll in the border where I'm at 55%. Okay.

[Tom Yamas]

The polls show that Americans aren't against the deportations. It's the handling of immigration polls.

[President Donald Trump]

It depends on the way you ask the question. I saw a poll on the border. I'm at 55%. Well, how could I only be at 55% when everybody agrees that the border is totally, beautifully closed and nobody's coming in unless they come in legally, etc. It couldn't be better. I should be at 100%. I don't believe the polls. And some polls. I mean, I could show you polls where I'm polling at 69% popularity and some polls where I'm. I have one.

[Tom Yamas]

We'll ask the White House to share that with us.

[President Donald Trump]

Yeah, 71%. And then I have polls where I'm at 44% and 42%. The polls are almost dishonest. Almost as dishonest as some of the reporters themselves.

[Tom Yamas]

Yeah.

[President Donald Trump]

But I'm getting very good polls. I'm getting very good polls on crime prevention, on law and order and on the border. I have to. And I'm getting. Starting to get great polls on the.

[Tom Yamas]

Economy, which I think the polls on the economy aren't.

[President Donald Trump]

Aren't.

[Tom Yamas]

They're not great.

[President Donald Trump]

They should be great.

[Tom Yamas]

They should be. So why aren't they, if you believe that?

[President Donald Trump]

I don't know. I don't know. I mean, look, I've got Americans, tell.

[Tom Yamas]

Us, we hear this. I mean, we're going to get into the economy later, but I mean, tell.

[President Donald Trump]

Us they don't feel it. Yeah, I have $18 trillion being invested into the country. Biden had less than a trillion for four years. And the whole country was going to credit.

[Tom Yamas]

You know, what does America feel?

[President Donald Trump]

You know, that if they won that election and we won in a landslide, you know, if they won that election, this country was. I think it was finished. I actually think it was finished. You would have had people instead of 18 coming in, 18 trillion. You would have had $10 trillion leaving. I think our country. I think we would have been Venezuela on steroids.

[Tom Yamas]

I have a question about immigration. Still looking forward. Now, your goal during the election was to deport everyone who came here illegally under President Biden. And is your mission now to deport everyone who came in illegally or just people who have come in illegally who have also committed additional crimes?

[President Donald Trump]

We are totally focused on Criminals, really bad criminals. Now, you could say people that came in illegally are criminals, but I'm talking about murderers from different countries. We have 11,888 murderers that Biden and his group let into our country. We've captured a lot of them, we've brought some of them back. A lot of them we don't want to bring back because we don't trust the country that they're not sent back again, despite how strong the borders are. They'll figure a way to try and get in, and we don't want to, and we'll incarcerate them. But 11,888 murders. We are after those people. We're after the drug dealers. We're after the. We are, by the way, a big problem. They allowed to come into our country. People from their mental institutions, people from insane asylums. Yeah. That are mentally ill and very dangerous. We're getting them out.

[Tom Yamas]

Right, Joe. Joe Rogan was one of your biggest endorsers in 2024. He said he understands the Trump's, the president's sort of plan to deport people here who are here illegally. But he also understands why critics compare ICE officers to the Gestapo asking people for their papers. What's your response to him?

[President Donald Trump]

Look, first of all, he's a great guy. We had a tremendous success before the election. I think it was his biggest interview ever and over 300 million. It was very good. She. She didn't want to do it. You know, she decided not to do it because she's not capable. But I spoke to him three days ago. We had a great conversation, and all I'm doing, I have to keep.

[Tom Yamas]

Did he mention this to you? Did you guys talk about this? The ICE enforcement?

[President Donald Trump]

Yeah. Just had a good conversation. I think he's a great guy and I think he likes me, too. And, you know, liking me isn't important. What happens is that I think we do a phenomenal job, but I don't think we're good at public relations.

[Tom Yamas]

What does that mean? You've said that a couple times now. What do you mean by that?

[President Donald Trump]

We don't sell the great job that we're doing. Look, we have the safest country staff.

[Tom Yamas]

Or those, your staff.

[President Donald Trump]

Excuse me, people from your persuasion somewhat left to a job, a job on numbers. It just came out that in 125 years we have the safest country, the best crime numbers in since the year 1900. That's a stat.

[Tom Yamas]

Yeah, we know. It's true.

[President Donald Trump]

That was way before my father was born. Right. Think of that. And yet then you talk about crime, or you talk about this or you talk about that, and the poll numbers aren't that good. People. We don't do a good public relations job. That's why I'm doing the interview with you today. We appreciate it. I'm going to help my people, you know, pr, public relations.

[Tom Yamas]

Speaking of your people, you're never afraid to shake up your team. You've said that you're okay with shaking up your team. Do you still believe in Kristi Noem to deliver on your vision of immigration?

[President Donald Trump]

Look, she was in charge of the border. The border's closed. I mean, everybody gives me a plus on the border. The border was a disaster. People were pouring into our country.

[Tom Yamas]

But what about the Americans?

[President Donald Trump]

They don't even try and come up now. You know the beautiful thing? The caravans. I think I came up with that name. Thousands of people, 25, 30,000 people in a group. You know who sent them? Their countries. They sent the people that they didn't want. Not only criminals, people that didn't want to work hard, etc. They know who it is. They sent them into our country. We have nobody coming in anymore. We have. Very good. You just asked me, Christy. We have the best crime numbers that we've had in 125 years. I think she's doing a very good job, again, public relations. She's not getting credit for the job that she does.

[Tom Yamas]

Let's move to the economy now.

[President Donald Trump]

Excuse me. What is sad, though, and it is we had the two incidents, the two primary incidents in Minnesota, and you shook up leadership there.

[Tom Yamas]

You brought Tom Homan in.

[President Donald Trump]

Yeah, I did. And Tom is great. Tom is a superstar. But you do thousands of arrests. You arrest thousands of rapists, you arrest thousands of the worst people. You arrest the drug dealers. I mean, we had drug kingpins, we had murderers, thousands. No incident. We bring them back to their country. Two people. It's bad. I hate it. I hate even talking about it. Two people out of tens of thousands, okay? And you get bad publicity. Nobody talks about all of the murderers that were taken out of our country. They don't talk about.

[Tom Yamas]

But it was too American.

[President Donald Trump]

They don't talk about. We have the smallest trucks as an example. We've been very tough on the waters, and soon, you know, pretty much overall. But if you look at. If you look at the waters where we knock out boats, each boat that we knock out, we save 25,000American lives. We're doing a job like nobody's ever seen before. I just got off the phone with President Xi and he is amazed at how well the United States is doing because he said he's never seen anything like that.

[Tom Yamas]

You brought the conversation, Mr. President. So let me ask you, what did you talk about with the leader of China?

[President Donald Trump]

A lot of topics. We talked.

[Tom Yamas]

What's the most important topic? Is it. Is it chips? Is it the wars in Ukraine? What is going on?

[President Donald Trump]

I would say the economy, the relationship that we have with China. I'm going to be going there in April. Then he's coming here toward the end of the year.

[Tom Yamas]

Coming to the White House.

[President Donald Trump]

He's coming to the White House. Yeah, toward the end of the year. We have a very good relationship. And, you know, it's important that I have a good relationship and for him, that he has a good relationship with me. We have to have a good. These are the two most powerful countries in the world, and we have a very good relationship.

[Tom Yamas]

You talk about terrorists. Does he ask you about the tariffs? Is he saying this?

[President Donald Trump]

Well, he's paying a lot of. As you know, China's paying a lot of tariffs. In the past, they didn't. I'm the one that put tariffs on China. I put tariffs on a lot of tariffs. Or just so you understand, making our country rich. Our country has taken in hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs. Really? Trillions. Because the threat of tariffs is getting all of these countries to lose to us. Yeah. And by the way, they've been doing it to us for 40 years and now. But I'm doing it very judiciously, very fairly. But tariffs are bringing in tremendous amounts of money. I just gave $12 billion to our farmers because they were mistreated by certain countries. Yeah. Tariff money. We're taking in hundreds of billions of dollars.

[Tom Yamas]

No, and I want to ask you about that. I want to get into that. Talking about the economy. You've brought a lot of prices down. As we said, some are still stubborn.

[President Donald Trump]

Very few.

[Tom Yamas]

But when you. Yeah, very few.

[President Donald Trump]

I get it.

[Tom Yamas]

I get it. Yeah. When you talk to Americans, though, do you have to get them to understand that the prices are not going to come back down to your first term? Because we had a pandemic and we had record inflation. Are people's expectations too high or is it just too expensive to live in America?

[President Donald Trump]

I just, again, don't think we're selling it properly. We've done a great job, but it's expensive out there. You saw gasoline this last week at $1.99 a gallon. It used to be. It was four and a half five dollars a gallon, $1.99 a gallon, gasoline. I think we've really bring him. I mean, I don't expect them to be much higher. Now, there's a natural inflation, but they're.

[Tom Yamas]

Never going to go down to that first term.

[President Donald Trump]

I inherited the worst inflation in the history of our country. It was through the roof. Now, you will say it wasn't in history. It was 48 years. You know, there's a theory that was. I say it was the worst. But whether it's 48 years. I inherited the worst inflation in the history of our country, and now we have almost no inflation. Think of it, right? You know what it was for the last three months? 1.2%. You know what it was under Biden, you can't count that high. Yeah, I inherited the worst inflation. I inherited the worst crime. I inherited high prices. So when I inherited.

[Tom Yamas]

Inflation is down 2.7 right now, but it is down.

[President Donald Trump]

No, no, no. For the last three. Don't forget, I've inherited this mess.

[Tom Yamas]

Right, right.

[President Donald Trump]

For the last three months, it's at 1.2%. You know that.

[Tom Yamas]

Yeah, but the last. Okay, last three months you floated the idea of $2,000 rebate checks for Americans from tariff revenue. Who's going to get that and when is that going to happen?

[President Donald Trump]

We'd make it. I'm going to. I'm looking at it very seriously. I'm the only one could do it because I'm taking in hundreds of billions of dollars of.

[Tom Yamas]

But you can promise some Americans will get those checks.

[President Donald Trump]

Oh, yeah, sure. I can. I can do that. I haven't made the commitment yet, but I may make the commitment.

[Tom Yamas]

So it's not. It's not.

[President Donald Trump]

Well, I just gave 1776 right to the military. Right, $1776. But you said all, you know, 1775. They presented it to me because that's what we have in a budget that I created because I want to take care of our military. Nobody takes care of the military like I do. So 17 $75. I said, wait a minute. If you had $1, it's 1776. You know, that's quite a famous day. Yeah, of course, of course. Wait, So I gave 1776 to our military and they are very thankful.

[Tom Yamas]

Let's get to the Fed.

[President Donald Trump]

Now, I may be doing that with regard to the entire population.

[Tom Yamas]

Okay, let's get to the Fed. Is there any doubt in your mind that interest rates are going to be lowered?

[President Donald Trump]

Not much.

[Tom Yamas]

Why? How can you say that?

[President Donald Trump]

I just think they're going to be lowered. I mean, they should.

[Tom Yamas]

Your new Fed pick on board with that?

[President Donald Trump]

We're way high, okay? We're way high in interest. We have now with me and with all the money, I've always been good at money. And with all the money coming into our country, we're a rich country again, we have debt, but we also have growth. And the growth will soon make the debt look very small. Because the greatest way you have two ways you can cut, cut, cut. And we do that anyway. We did that, you know, we got rid of hundreds of thousands of federal workers. And those workers went out and got themselves jobs in the free enterprise system. And you know what that's called? Making America great again. We had 10 workers in the federal government for every single job. When the Democrats go in, they hire. I could right now give you the best employment numbers in history. You know what I do? Go out and hire 2 million people, put them in the federal government.

[Tom Yamas]

Does your new Fed pick.

[President Donald Trump]

I do the opposite.

[Tom Yamas]

Does your new Fed pick understand that you want him to lower interest rates?

[President Donald Trump]

Well, I think he does, but I think he wants to anyway. I mean, if he came in and said, I want to raise a price.

[Tom Yamas]

If he said that, he wouldn't have gotten the job.

[President Donald Trump]

He would not have gotten the job. No, no, he was a interest rate. Now, there'll be times if I see inflation on the horizon, but we don't have that. We have low, remember, 1.2% inflation in the last three months. We have low inflation and we have tremendous growth. You haven't had these numbers like this. We have. Think of it, low inflation, great growth. Now, all I have to do is one thing, easy, get down the interest rates.

[Tom Yamas]

Do you think the Fed chair answers to you or is an independent body?

[President Donald Trump]

Well, I mean, in theory it's an independent body, but I think, you know, I'm a smart guy. I know the economy better than almost everybody. You know, they did that prediction chart a year ago and they had 71 great economists and me making the predictions. And you know, only two people were right. Me and one other guy who has a very smart professor from a certain school that I went to. Yeah, very good school. And the two of us were right. Everybody else was wrong.

[Tom Yamas]

There's been bipartisan suggestions that the criminal investigation to the current Fed chair, Jerome Powell, is payback. Right. For not lowering interest rates, but also for when he was in that sort of news conference with you with the hard hats, and he was shaking his head and showing you the papers and disagreeing with you in Public. Is that why he's under criminal investigation?

[President Donald Trump]

He was very respectful to me. He wasn't dis. He was explaining to me. I'm asking him, why are you spending almost $4 billion on a very small little complex of buildings? It's the highest price per square foot. He's renovating buildings for three to four billion dollars. And you know, this Fed chair that I have is I think is going to be great. He might not have a home because this guy has spent so much money. And I looked. It's a see through. There's nothing inside they haven't done. They are spending money. He's in charge of the project. He's. This is the Federal Reserve building I'm talking about. It's a very small little. It's actually a couple of little bit. They're spending more money than any building ever built in history per square foot.

[Tom Yamas]

Some Republican senators say they're not going to approve him unless you drop that investigation.

[President Donald Trump]

A lot of people say a lot of things.

[Tom Yamas]

You don't think that's true? You think I don't know, is it worth it to drop the investigation to get your Fed chair through?

[President Donald Trump]

I think the investigation is. The investigation is being handled by Pam and Janine and the people. They'll make their own decision. Yeah.

[Tom Yamas]

Let's talk about I have you ever.

[President Donald Trump]

But I do say yes about. Yeah, you can't let a man spend billions of dollars doing a bill. I would have done that job for $25 million and it would have been done much better. They're spending billions of dollars on a renovation of a little complex.

[Tom Yamas]

Let's talk about I have you ever used chat cbt Claude?

[President Donald Trump]

I haven't really, but I know. Let me just talk about AI. Yeah, AI is a big deal. AI is going to be maybe the biggest thing. Bigger than the Internet, bigger than anything else. We are leading China by a lot. We are leading everybody by a lot. They're all building their factories here. And you know what I did for the electric because they need twice the electric as we currently produce for the whole country, which is crazy. Nobody can do that. But so what I did is I came up with a concept. Each building that is built is going to generate their own electricity. They're going to build their own electric plant. We are building numbers of AI and by the way, also auto plants, everything. We're building everything. But do you know, I just left Michigan. I was with Ford. They were going to close this building that was built in the early 1900s. One of the biggest factories they were going to close it. It was scheduled to close prior to my election. After I won the election, they said, let's try keeping it open. They just went to three shifts. It's 24 hours a day. And the head of Ford, Mr. Ford said, it's the most incredible auto comeback I've ever seen.

[Tom Yamas]

Mr. President, let me ask you. There's no doubt you are the president who's ushering in the AI revolution, but this is happening on your watch. If AI affects humanity in a negative way, is that on you? Because Some of these CEOs of AI companies say we need guardrails. This could get out of control. Does that worry you?

[President Donald Trump]

Everything's on me as president. Everything's on me. I can say this. It'll be the greatest jobs producer. It'll be the greatest military producer. It'll be the greatest medical producer. There'll be tremendous good, and there'll be probably some bad, too.

[Tom Yamas]

Well, it's killing a lot of jobs. And what do you say to Americans who are going to lose their jobs?

[President Donald Trump]

To act? It's going to create a lot of jobs.

[Tom Yamas]

But right now, it's taking jobs in a lot of ways. It's taking jobs. Companies like Amazon. What would you say to those Americans?

[President Donald Trump]

But it hasn't really started. You know, these major plants haven't even been built. What? You know.

[Tom Yamas]

But Mr. President, start. AI has already started to take jobs.

[President Donald Trump]

Because so we have, it was just announced, more jobs right now occupied in the United States of America than at any time during its existence, 250 years. There are more people working today than at any time in the history of our country. Pretty good stat.

[Tom Yamas]

You are.

[President Donald Trump]

Kills that question.

[Tom Yamas]

Yeah, look it up. You are.

[President Donald Trump]

Good answer. Kills that.

[Tom Yamas]

Mr. President, there's widespread concern that AI is going to wipe out a lot of jobs. Manufacturing jobs.

[President Donald Trump]

I mean, the Internet was going to do. Everything was going to do. Robots are going to kill jobs. Everything's going to kill jobs. And you end up, if you're smart, doing great.

[Tom Yamas]

Okay. You are close with the Ellisons, who are trying to stop a merger between Warner Brothers Discovery and Netflix. This deal could change the makeup of the media as we know it. Are you personally going to get involved in that deal?

[President Donald Trump]

I haven't been involved, I must say, I guess I'm considered to be a very strong president. I've been called by both sides. It's the two sides, but I've decided I shouldn't be involved. The Justice Department will handle it.

[Tom Yamas]

Okay, in what way? Just looking at it. See if it's regular.

[President Donald Trump]

Make a decision. I mean, there's a theory that one of the companies is too big and it shouldn't be allowed to do it. And the other company is saying something else about, you know, they're not going.

[Tom Yamas]

To, but you're not going to interfere, even though you're close with the else.

[President Donald Trump]

You're the hell out of each other and there'll be a winner.

[Tom Yamas]

Okay, let's talk about the midterms. You've recently suggested nationalizing elections. What do you mean by that?

[President Donald Trump]

When. And I didn't say national. I said there are some areas in our country that are extremely corrupt. They have very corrupt elections. Take a look at Detroit. Take a look at Philadelphia. Take a look at Atlanta. There are some areas that are unbelievably corrupt. I could give you plenty more, too. I say that we cannot have corrupt elections if we have to. If they don't straighten it out. As an example, voter id. Why don't the Democrats want voter id? You know who does want voter id? Democrat voters want it, but Democrat politicians don't. Why do they want it? Because they want to cheat on elections. Can you imagine if I were a politician and they asked me, do you want voter identification? And I said, no, there's no way you could win that debate. But even then, the Democrats don't want voter id. If they don't want voter id, that means they want to cheat. We can't allow cheating in elections. Now, if we need to put in federal controls as opposed to state controls, remember this. They're really an agent. They're really accumulating the votes for who wins an election. If they can't do it honestly and it can't be done properly and timely, then something else has to happen.

[Tom Yamas]

Will you trust the results of the midterms if Republicans lose control of Congress?

[President Donald Trump]

I will. If the elections are honest. Look, I want the last one that wants to complain. I just want. I just had a great election. They say one of the greatest elections, you will agree, ever won all seven swing states, won 84% of the counties in America. That's why the map is all red. We just had a great election. I believe there was cheating. I think. I think there was cheating.

[Tom Yamas]

Well, speaking of counties, what are you.

[President Donald Trump]

Doing in Fulton county?

[Tom Yamas]

Speaking of counties, what is happening in.

[President Donald Trump]

I'm not doing anything. But the FBI went in because it's been under. Under, I guess, review for years. The cheating that took place in fall, what are they looking for in that particular.

[Tom Yamas]

Nobody knows what's in the Warrant.

[President Donald Trump]

What are they looking for? Let me find out. Look, why would anybody be upset that they went in and they got the ballots? I guess. Right again. They did this. That's been under review and under investigation for four years. And now they got a court order. You know, they got a court order signed by.

[Tom Yamas]

But nobody knows what the evidence is.

[President Donald Trump]

But liberal judge signed a court order allowing them to go in and pick them up. Well, you're going to know what the ballots say because they're right now inspecting the ballot. I'm not involved in it. But they are inspecting and checking the ballot.

[Tom Yamas]

Why is Tulsi Gabbard there?

[President Donald Trump]

I don't know. But, you know, a lot of the cheating comes from. It's international cheating. You have people, they say from China trying to.

[Tom Yamas]

You put this on. True.

[President Donald Trump]

Let me ask, do you think China tries to influence our election?

[Tom Yamas]

We know that foreign governments try to influence a lot of things.

[President Donald Trump]

Well, that's what she's. She's foreign government.

[Tom Yamas]

But you tweeted out some theories about Italians and satellites. I mean, do you believe that stuff?

[President Donald Trump]

No, no, I didn't cheat. I sometimes will retruth. But let me ask you this. If China or any of these countries are involved in our elections, that would bring her into it. And everybody knows that Russia, they talked about Russia turned out to be a hoax. It was Hunter Biden. It wasn't Russia. Look, we have to have honest elections. There should be nothing wrong with the fact that they went in, got ballots from a while ago, and they're going to look at them, and now they're going to find out the true winner of. And you know what? If there was cheating, which there was, but if there was cheating, it should be found because we can't let it happen again.

[Tom Yamas]

Mr. President, I have a few more important questions for you if that's okay with you.

[President Donald Trump]

Yeah, sure.

[Tom Yamas]

Okay.

[President Donald Trump]

I mean, they've all been important. Let's go.

[Tom Yamas]

There's a new lawsuit by you and your family that you're suing the IRS for $10.5 billion for leaking your tax documents. Is this a good use of taxpayer money?

[President Donald Trump]

You can't leak documents. And any money that I win, I'll give it to charity. 100% to charities. Charities that will be approved by government or whatever. I have another lawsuit with the United States. I sued because they broke into Mar a Lago.

[Tom Yamas]

But that's taxpayer money. It's gonna get taken out of the system. I know it's going to charity. You're gonna say if.

[President Donald Trump]

And I've won that case. I mean, I virtually. They broke in the FBI illegally. Biden and his group. It wasn't Biden. He didn't know what he was doing. It was a group of very smart, radical left people. They're very smart and they just. They've lost their way. Right. And they broke into Mar A Lago. They broke into my home. They went through, well, they had warrants, my wife draws. They went through, you know, just a double meaning. They went through Barons, my sons, everything. They went through the whole house, hundreds of people. They, they, they went in with guns. They went in guns. How would. This would have been a blazing.

[Tom Yamas]

How would this happen?

[President Donald Trump]

Wait, wait, wait. I brought a lawsuit. Essentially, the lawsuit's been won. I guess I won a lot of money.

[Tom Yamas]

So Scott Besant's the head of the irs. Campani's the head of the Justice Department. They're going to defend the IRS against you.

[President Donald Trump]

You're the boss. Well, there's never been anything like it, in all fairness.

[Tom Yamas]

So are you going to.

[President Donald Trump]

Are you going to tell the bay? Don't forget I sued as a private citizen because I sued between terms. I want to, but are you going to tell him to pay you? I won three times. But I didn't assume. Unfortunately for this country, I didn't assume office to secondary. But here's the story. I sued because they broke into Mar A Lago. That was before I became president. Now it goes along and it turned out that the suit is a very strong suit.

[Tom Yamas]

You're gonna tell them to pay you though. Cause you're the boss.

[President Donald Trump]

Well, what I would do, tell them to pay me. But I'll give 100% of the money to charity. I don't want any of that money.

[Tom Yamas]

You take it out of the system. A couple more questions here.

[President Donald Trump]

No, no, I'm putting it back into the system. Yeah. If I give money to American Cancer Society, I will give 100% of the money away. I don't want any of it.

[Tom Yamas]

$30 trillion debt and we're going to take 10 billion out of the system.

[President Donald Trump]

Well, I mean, you give it away anyway. They give away a lot of money.

[Tom Yamas]

Your endorsement is the money.

[President Donald Trump]

Speaking about that, Minnesota and these other states, we have massive investigations going into fraud. You know, if we captured 50% of the fraud of this country right now, we would have better than a balanced budget. And you got to mention that Minnesota, $19 billion in fraud that we know about.

[Tom Yamas]

Your endorsement is the most important thing in the Republican primary.

[President Donald Trump]

No, no, you in any primary.

[Tom Yamas]

Will you endorse in the 2028 presidential primary.

[President Donald Trump]

I hadn't even thought of it, but probably. Yeah. I mean, I'd be inclined to. I have great people. We have a great bench. We have a lot of people. But, yeah, I think so.

[Tom Yamas]

You suggested that J.D. vance, Vice President, J.D. vance, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio would be a tough ticket to beat. Who should be at the top of that ticket?

[President Donald Trump]

Well, I don't want to get into this. We have three years to go. I don't want to. You know, I have two people that are doing a great job. I don't want to have an argument with or. I don't want to use the word fight. It wouldn't be a fight. But look, JD Is fantastic and Marco is fantastic. How are they totally different? And I do think this. It's a great question. I think that's your most interesting question. I would say one is slightly more diplomatic than the other. I think they're both of very high intelligence. I mean, they will do shows. They will do Joe Rogan as opposed to the opponent not doing it because they couldn't handle it. They will be able to do whatever they have to do. I think there's a difference in style. You know, you can see the style yourself. But they're both very capable. I do think this, the combination of JD And Marco would be very hard to be beaten, I think. But you never know in politics, Right? They say in the age of Trump, you never know. Yeah.

[Tom Yamas]

On January 21, 2029, do you see any scenario where you were still president?

[President Donald Trump]

I don't know. It would be interesting. But wouldn't it be terrible if I agreed with you, if I gave you the answer that you're looking for? It would make life so much less exciting. Right? It would be so much less exciting. But I only do this for one reason. Make America great again. And that's what we're doing. We're making America great again. Greater than ever before. Our country is greater than ever before. We're a rich nation. We're taking in hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs from nations that took advantage of us. They thought we were stupid. They thought we were fools. They laughed at us. You know, people were laughing at us one and a half years ago. They laughed at this country. They're not laughing anymore. They respect us. And I get along with them. They respect us.

[Tom Yamas]

Mr. President, I have pages and pages of questions, but they're telling me my time is up. I thank you for your time.

[President Donald Trump]

We'll do it again. Thank you, Mr. President.

[Tom Yamas]

Thank you.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Commercial Insurance. Business owners meet Progressive Insurance. They make it easy to get discounts on commercial auto insurance and find coverages to grow with your business quote in as little as 8 [e-mail] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company coverage provided and serviced by affiliated and third party insurers. Discounts and coverage selections not available in all states or situations, day or night. VRBoCare is here 247 to help make every part of your stay seamless. If anything comes up or you see simply need a little guidance. Support is ready whenever you reach out. From the moment you book to the moment you head home. We're here to help things run smoothly because a great trip starts with the right support. And hey, a good playlist doesn't hurt either. I'm CNN tech reporter Claire Duffy.

[Tom Yamas]

Claire Duffy was one of the best.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

I cover artificial intelligence and other new technologies for a living and even I sometimes get overwhelmed trying to keep up with it all. So I'm starting a new show where together we can explore how to experiment with these new tools without getting played by them. It's called Terms of Service. This technology is so crazy powerful. Follow CNN's Terms of Service wherever you get your podcasts.

[Tom Yamas]

We're back now with a special edition of Top Story. Following our exclusive sit down interview with President Trump, we immediately continue the conversation where he showed me some of the Oval Office, but we also discussed important topics like Iran, Cuba and his own health. Here's that conversation in its entirety.

[President Donald Trump]

This room had almost no pictures of it. Yeah. And these pictures all came from the vaults.

[Tom Yamas]

Yeah.

[President Donald Trump]

And they're magnificent. I mean, I think they're magnificent and all, you know, first run, top of the line stuff, but mostly a President's. We have a couple with Ben Franklin, but I think he qualifies. Right. Ben Franklin's pretty good.

[Tom Yamas]

Is there any one you ever kind of hone in on where you're thinking deeply about anything about an issue?

[President Donald Trump]

Is there one you look at maybe all of them. They're so different. George Washington. And you have Jefferson. And I took Ronald Reagan, gave me a place of honor. Also did a great job. But honest Abe Lincoln.

[Tom Yamas]

Who do you have up here? I mean, these are big ones here.

[President Donald Trump]

Ulysses S. Grant. George Washington.

[Tom Yamas]

Washington.

[President Donald Trump]

Here we have the famous. Come on over here. Yeah. Here we have Declaration of Independence. That's one of the three. This was in the vaults for many years and I said it's time to take it out of the vaults.

[Tom Yamas]

Do you think at one point People will talk about you. When they talk about presidents like Washington and Lincoln. Is that something you think is going to happen?

[President Donald Trump]

Oh, my God, it's such an honor. But all I know, I'm walking down and everyone's screaming, goat, goat. I said, what are they talking about? I hope they're right. Not for me, but for the country. Because if I do a great job, that means the country is doing well.

[Tom Yamas]

You're building the new ballroom. We hear about this new arch. You're building the Garden of Heroes as well. You're building a lot of things that are gonna cement your legacy. Are you also doing this so the country never forgets you?

[President Donald Trump]

No. I think we need glamor brought back to our country. We need prestige. We need beauty book. I mean, in addition to everything else, we need strength. We need all of those things. Like, I'm doing an arc, a triumphal. They call it a triumphal arc. 57 cities have arcs. We're the only major important city. Washington D.C. should have maybe the first arc. We're doing one that will be more magnificent and larger than the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. I would say the Paris Arc is probably the most stunning. It's incredible. We're going to do one that's going to top it.

[Tom Yamas]

Is it true? It's going to be 250ft to market.

[President Donald Trump]

It'll be a bow straight. Yeah. It'll be a little bit taller than the one in Paris. It'll be a little bit larger than the one in Paris.

[Tom Yamas]

You're doing a lot of things for the 250 anniversary. What do you want Americans to feel.

[President Donald Trump]

This July 4th strength, victory, security. You have a secure country. We've done so much militarily. We have a great military. I mean, you saw Venezuela. That was the people. The general that was in charge, he lived. He said he's never seen anything like it. They were already.

[Tom Yamas]

You talked about the weapon, the discombobulator.

[President Donald Trump]

Discombobulator. Well, I'm not allowed to talk about it.

[Tom Yamas]

What does that do?

[President Donald Trump]

Let me just tell you. You know what it does? None of their equipment works. That's what it does. Everything was. It was my name. I'm very proud of the name. Everything was discombobulated. It was, you know, practically a shot. Was, in fact, you know, they were ready, right? And when we came, I mean, we couldn't do it.

[Tom Yamas]

You saw this on the video. You could tell Tom.

[President Donald Trump]

It discombobulated everything.

[Tom Yamas]

Nothing worked, even including humans. Well, let's put it this way.

[President Donald Trump]

We lost no equipment. In a very strong. And they're good fighters, great fighters in a very bad environment. It was a military base, the biggest in South America in a very. Because the house was in a base in south. In a very, very tough environment. We lost no men and we lost no equipment.

[Tom Yamas]

The discombobulator just knocked everyone.

[President Donald Trump]

Well, it did something.

[Tom Yamas]

It did something. Did Delsey Rodriguez work with you guys before that raid?

[President Donald Trump]

I can't talk about that. I mean, I don't talk about.

[Tom Yamas]

Do you trust her?

[President Donald Trump]

Well, so far she's done a great job. I mean, so far, she and all of the people that are working with her. Remember, in Iraq, they got rid of everybody. They had no generals, they had no people. They had nobody to run the government. Turned out to be a mess. And that's where ISIS came from. You know, that's where ISIS came from. Came from the military and all the people. They formed isis. It was handled very badly, but this is handled very well.

[Tom Yamas]

Do you think the Cuban government will still be there, the current leadership will still be there by the end of your term?

[President Donald Trump]

Well, Cuban. Now you're asking a different question. Cuba's in big trouble. Humanitarian aid is going to have to be sent there. They're in big trouble.

[Tom Yamas]

It's a disaster.

[President Donald Trump]

They got their money from Venezuela, they got their oil from Venezuela. They turned the oil into money, et cetera, et cetera, and there's none of that happening anymore. They're in big trouble. We are talking.

[Tom Yamas]

Do you think that government is still there, though? Do you think that government lasts?

[President Donald Trump]

I don't want to say that, but we are talking to Cuba.

[Tom Yamas]

You're talking to Cuba.

[President Donald Trump]

You know what? Look, we have tens of thousands of people that were forced out there. Here. They voted for me. 94% Cuban population, previous Cuban population. Now they're Cuban Americans. Maybe they go back. Maybe they want to go back. They're going to have that choice. But for years, they've been talking about this happening. Now it's happening. We are talking to Cuba. We want to open it up to those people that want to visit. Even, you know, I think most people, when they're here, they want to stay here. I hope that's true. I hope we're not going to lose them, but they're going to have options. And they're going to be able to go back, Tom, and see their loved ones, see their family, their friends.

[Tom Yamas]

Should the Supreme Leader in Iran be worried right now?

[President Donald Trump]

I would say he should be very worried. Yeah, they should be. As you know, they're negotiating with us.

[Tom Yamas]

I know they are, but the protesters have said, you know, where are the Americans? You promised them we would have their back. Do we still have.

[President Donald Trump]

We've had their back. And look, that country's a mess right now because of us. We went in, we wiped out their nuclear. So I didn't take out, you know, we have peace in the Middle east if I didn't take out their nuclear. Think of it, if we didn't take out that nuclear, we wouldn't have peace in the Middle east because the Arab countries could have never done that. They were very, very afraid of Iran. Yeah, they're not afraid of Iran anymore. We wiped out those beautiful B2 bombers ones right over there, those beautiful little models. Those beautiful B2 bombers went in and they hit their target, every single bomb and obliterated it. And because of that, they were going to have a nuclear weapon within one month. Yeah, within one month they were going to have a nuclear weapon that was a big threat, that they're not going to have it anymore.

[Tom Yamas]

But if we, what's the deal about, I mean, if there's no more. Are they, are they trying to restart the nuclear planet?

[President Donald Trump]

Well, I heard that they are. And if they do, and I let them know if they do, we're going to send them right back and do their job again.

[Tom Yamas]

So your understanding is they tried to restart it and that's why you're threatening force.

[President Donald Trump]

They tried to go back to the site. They weren't even able to get near it. There was total obliteration. But they were thinking about starting a new site in a different part of the country. We found out about it. I said, you do that, we're going to do very bad things to you.

[Tom Yamas]

Yeah. Mr. President, the ballroom over here. I want you to show it to me because the thing you said that stood out to me, it's going to be massive. But is it. It's got a drone proof ceiling and it's got bulletproof windows. What does that mean?

[President Donald Trump]

It's got bulletproof windows because. Well, we're in a different time. You know, if somebody's up making a speech, we're going to have the inauguration there. We're going to probably have. I would say definitely it's going to be large enough, but we have drone proof ceilings.

[Tom Yamas]

What does that mean? What does that mean?

[President Donald Trump]

That means if a drone hits the ceiling, it bounces off. It doesn't blow up a building.

[Tom Yamas]

It's a fortress.

[President Donald Trump]

It's protection.

[Tom Yamas]

It's going to be a fortress.

[President Donald Trump]

Well, it's going to be Very heavy steel. Okay. It's very simple. It's heavy steel.

[Tom Yamas]

Because of that, do you.

[President Donald Trump]

And by the way, the ballroom is so beautiful. It'll be the most beautiful ballroom of its kind. And it's very much in keeping with the White House.

[Tom Yamas]

You survived that assassination attempt that we all covered. It was terrible. Two of them. Do you worry about your safety? I mean, you think about the ball. You do.

[President Donald Trump]

I worry about it. But you have to put it out of your mind. Otherwise you wouldn't be able to do your job.

[Tom Yamas]

You didn't think about it as much before. Now you think about it a lot.

[President Donald Trump]

Maybe it could be. I mean, you look, statistically, I'm in a very dangerous job.

[Tom Yamas]

Yeah.

[President Donald Trump]

I mean, if you take a look at the walls. If you take a look. You know, statistically, this is a much more dangerous job than being a race car driver or riding those Broncos. You know, those bulls are tough. Right. But I wouldn't want to do that. But statistically, being president is the most dangerous job there is.

[Tom Yamas]

We first met 10 years ago when you were running the first time. How do you feel now as you approach 80?

[President Donald Trump]

I feel great. I mean, physically and mentally, I feel like I did 50 years ago. It's crazy. Now. There'll be a time when I won't be able to give you that answer, but that time has income, you know, I do. I think it's very important. I've done more physicals. I take physicals just to give the report out. Yeah. I take cognitive physicals, so I do a cognitive mind test. Okay. And a lot of people wouldn't be able to do very well. Not easy. You know, you get to those last questions I've aced. I've done three of them. No other president has agreed to do them. I do them because I have no problem with it because I'm 100% now. They're still taking the aspirin.

[Tom Yamas]

Still taking the aspirin.

[President Donald Trump]

I take aspirin. And I don't want to change. You know, I don't want to.

[Tom Yamas]

So you go against your doctor's orders. You do what you kind of feel.

[President Donald Trump]

You know, I've been taking aspirin for 30 years, and I don't. I don't want to change it. So, you know, they say, take the smaller one. I say, well, I want that blood to be nice and thin running through my heart.

[Tom Yamas]

If at any point your age impacts your job, who's gonna tell you that? Or do you think you'll know yourself?

[President Donald Trump]

I think I'll know Myself? Yeah, I think I'll know myself. I wouldn't do an interview with you as an example. Did Biden do an interview before Super Bowl? I'm not sure. Maybe he did.

[Tom Yamas]

Last one, he didn't.

[President Donald Trump]

I mean, he wasn't capable of doing an interview, and that was things. Look, you know, I know people that are 95 years old that are sharp as a tackle. Biden was a bad thing for old people. He's the worst thing that ever happened to old people because he obviously didn't have it. And one of the things that's so depressing about the press is the press refused to report the obvious. And he did have very smart people around him, but they had a radical left culture, and they were very bad for this country. This country would not have survived two more years if one of them got elected.

[Tom Yamas]

We didn't get a chance to speak about the doj. I appreciate all your time and of your staff's time. They've been very, very kind. Should anybody else expect the DOJ to kind of come after them like you've come over after some of your political enemies?

[President Donald Trump]

Remember this time I was impeached twice. Two fake impeachments won both of them easily. Republicans stood by me 100%, but I won both of them. I was indicted 87 different times. And then you ask me that question.

[Tom Yamas]

Yeah.

[President Donald Trump]

So I think I'm extremely moderate, especially for what they did to me. They wanted to take me down. I had. I said to somebody, do me a favor, add up the counts. If I lost, you know, I won. But if I lost these cases, add up the counts and tell me, how long would I have to serve in prison? You know what they came up with? 287 years. I said, I better win.

[Tom Yamas]

In your mind, that calculation means it's okay for the DOJ to go after political enemies.

[President Donald Trump]

No, it isn't. And I could be involved. You know, I'm the chief law enforcement officer of the United States. I could be involved, but I'm not. I don't choose to. But when they say to me, oh, you're going after people. I got indicted all of those times. It's 287 years in jail. They were willing to put. You know, they asked me a question yesterday at the press conference about Clinton because of the testimony, the Epstein thing, which turned out that I have nothing to do. And they did about Epstein, and they said, do you think it's terrible what. You know, with the subpoenas and everything, and they're disobeying the subpoenas. And I actually said it's a shame. You have an ex president and you have, you know, the president's wife and secretary of state. And I said it's a shame. It is a shame.

[Tom Yamas]

NBC News broke the story today. I don't know if you saw it, that the Democrats are already saying, if you bring President Bill Clinton and he has to testify, we're bringing President Trump. What do you say to that?

[President Donald Trump]

Well, I think they might say that, you know, but they've already brought me, see, I've been brought. They had me indicted many, many times. Many, many times. They didn't do that.

[Tom Yamas]

Do you think if the Democrats win in the midterms, at least one house of Congress, they're going to try to impeach you?

[President Donald Trump]

Well, you know, I've done a great job as president. They say I've had the best first year of any president in history. And I think I have. If you look, I said late wars, biggest tax cuts ever. Right now we have more under construction with the factories, the car plant. You know, they're all moving back into the country. They were stolen from us over a 40 year period. They're all coming back from Germany, from Canada, from Mexico, from Japan. I think I had the greatest first year that we've had.

[Tom Yamas]

But you think they may come after you again.

[President Donald Trump]

Well, they'll find something like I did an interview with you and because I did the interview, let's impeach him or.

[Tom Yamas]

Something, anything out there that Americans are going to be surprised about it, I'll.

[President Donald Trump]

Do it, they shouldn't do it. And that's one of the things. I didn't do it for that reason. But it bothers me that somebody's going after Bill Clinton. See, I like Bill Clinton. I still like Bill Clinton.

[Tom Yamas]

What do you like about him?

[President Donald Trump]

I like, well, I liked his behavior toward me. I thought he got me, he understood me. You know, he was the one that said very famously that you don't want to run against Trump. When there were 18 people. It was 18 people including me total. And he kept telling them, you don't want to run against Trump. Run against anyone, don't run against Trump. And Hillary sort of laughed at him. He said, hillary, you know it. And I know don't run against Trump. Yeah, and they ran against Trump. It didn't work out too well, did it? Thank you very much.

[Tom Yamas]

Thank you, Mr. President. We thank you for your time. Thank you.

[President Donald Trump]

Thank you.

[Tom Yamas]

Appreciate it.

[President Donald Trump]

Have a good time.

[Tom Yamas]

And we'll have even more of the interview coming up. On Sunday during the super bowl pregame show on NBC. This extended interview and transcript are [e-mail] right now.

[Yasmin Vesugian]

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