// The White House, USA
Donald Trump, President of the United States, conducted an extensive interview with Politico.
- The situation in Ukraine and Vladimir Putin's position can be discussed here.
- Let's return to Europe. You mentioned that many actions of European countries are misguided. Recently…
- Yes, they cannot do everything right when you look at the current situation.
- Your administration recently presented a new national security strategy that shocked Europe. It states that the main direction of U.S. foreign policy should be "to form resistance to current trends in Europe." How do you think European leaders should react to this?
- Europe is a completely different reality.
- What do you mean?
- If the situation doesn’t change, Europe will become less viable. Their migration policy is a disaster. We faced a similar threat, but I managed to stop it. In the last seven months, not a single person has crossed our borders. Who would have believed that? We went from millions of immigrants to zero.
- Europe looks different.
- On the contrary, migrants continue to arrive in Europe from all over the world. They come not only from the Middle East but also from Congo, including from prisons. Countries try to be politically correct, but in my opinion, this contradicts political correctness itself, as they refuse to send them back home.
Paris is no longer what it used to be. I have always loved this city, but now it has changed. London too. Mayor Khan, in my opinion, is terrible. He is incompetent and does a bad job. London is a different city. It pains me to see this, as I have roots in Europe.
- Yes, I understand.
- I cannot watch this calmly. This is one of the greatest places in the world, and they allow people to enter without control and checks.
- How do you plan to influence this? Can we expect your intervention in European elections?
- I am focused on managing the United States, not Europe, but I am actively interested in European affairs.
- Would you support candidates?
- NATO calls me "Daddy." I have influence. I increased contributions from 2% to 5%. They started paying, and as I assume, this money goes to help Ukraine. But Europe is on the brink of destruction.
- Are you ready to intervene in elections to support the people you want?
- I have supported candidates, although not all of them are liked. I supported Viktor Orban. Speaking of South America, I supported Milei in Argentina, and he won the elections by a large margin.
- Regarding Orban, he mentioned that you promised him access to U.S. financial assistance of up to $20 billion. Is that true?
- I did not promise, but he did ask. But…
- Would you consider doing that?
- I believe he is doing well with migration. He has a unique situation—his country is landlocked, and he gets resources through a pipeline from Russia. He has a completely different context.
- So you would consider financial assistance…
- He is indeed doing very well with immigration, not letting anyone into the country. And Poland is also doing it successfully. But most European countries are collapsing. They are decaying.
- Some European leaders may be panicking due to your position, right?
- They should panic about what they are doing to their countries. They are destroying their states.
- And the President of the European Council…
- I am not against them; I like them, and we have good relations. But they cannot allow this to happen, and at some point, it will become irreversible. That moment is already close…
- What will that mean?
- They may cease to be strong states, or…
- Does that mean they will stop being allies?
- Perhaps they will change their ideology, as the newcomers have a completely different perspective. This will make them weaker and change them.
- How will this affect our relations with them?
- Look at your mayor of London. He is a disaster. His ideology does not meet the requirements at all. He is elected because many people have come to the city, and they vote for him. It pains me to see what is happening to London and Paris.
- It sounds like you want to see significant changes in Europe.
- I believe they need to deport those who entered the country illegally.
- I want to discuss NATO…
- Sweden was once considered one of the safest countries in Europe…
- True.
- … and now it is not at all. It is hard to believe, but it has changed.
- Sweden recently became part of NATO. The national security strategy states that the U.S. should work to stop the perception of NATO as an endlessly expanding alliance. Are there countries in NATO that you think should not be part of this alliance?
- Yes…
- For example, Sweden.
- There are some countries that NATO is having difficulties with. That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be there. It’s good that they are there. Turkey is a good example. Erdogan is my friend. When they have difficulties with him, they ask me for help because they cannot talk to him themselves. He is a complicated person. I like him. He built a strong state and army. But he is difficult, and they come to me for help. I call, and we quickly resolve issues. He released people who had been held for a long time. He is different from many other leaders, but he is difficult. Although it shouldn’t be that hard.
- I notice that your approach to Europe is very different from that of your predecessors.
- I want to see a strong Europe.
- Your national security strategy seems to reflect these changes.
- Understand, my approach to Europe is that I want to see it strong. When they allow millions of people to enter their countries, it leads to crime. And again, look at Sweden. I am not attacking it; I love the Swedes. But they are going from safety to danger. Germany too. Under Angela Merkel, it made two serious mistakes: in migration and energy.
- Russia, one of the countries pleased with the changes in U.S. strategy, characterized the document as a "positive step" and noted that the changes align with Moscow's views. Do you agree with this?
- Yes, he probably would like to see a weak Europe, and to be honest, that is exactly what he is seeing now. It has nothing to do with me.
- But he believes that your vision of Europe is what Moscow wants to see.
- I do not have a vision of Europe. I just want Europe to be strong. My priority is the United States. I can see what is happening; I have information that you do not see. I believe what is happening to Europe is terrible and threatens its future.
- Your influence extends far beyond Europe. Let's discuss Venezuela. You said that Nicolás Maduro's days are numbered and that the U.S. may take action against Venezuela. Can we expect American troops on Venezuelan soil?
- I do not comment on that. I can say that he has sent many people to us, including drug traffickers and criminals. He sent them during the presidency of someone who, as you know, was not the smartest. Biden is a low-IQ person.
- But you closed the border.
- Yes, he sent people, and also a lot of drugs. Let's see how everything develops, but I cannot…
- You want to…
- … discuss strategy.
- How far are you willing to go to remove Maduro from office?
- I do not want to discuss that. But…
- You want him gone?
- His days are numbered.
- Can you rule out the possibility of a U.S. ground invasion of Venezuela…
- I do not want to confirm or deny that. I am not going to discuss that with you because you are an unfriendly publication.
- I… I ask…
- … it’s a relevant gesture.
- … for transparency for…
- … I am the most transparent politician, perhaps in the world.
- Many are interested in the U.S. goals in Venezuela.
- Yes, it is a large territory, and I know Venezuelans. They are amazing people, and Maduro treats them poorly.
- Are these the immigrants you want to see in America?
- Yes, I want to see people who contribute. I do not want to see those who break the laws and those who behave improperly. For example, I do not want to see women marrying brothers to enter the country.
- … yes.
Trump: Yes, I was right about Somalia, and it shows. The Democrats are doing a bad job in Minnesota.
- Speaking of boats, do you think the Secretary of Defense should testify about the second strike on a drug boat on September 2?
- I don’t care whether he does it or not. If he wants to, let him do it. I do not interfere.
- Do you think he should?
- I don’t care. I will say, "Do it if you want, Pete."
- You watched the video…
- … I see everything. We save 25,000 people every time we sink a boat. Drugs coming by sea have dropped by 92%. I am trying to understand who these remaining 8% are. No one wants to bring drug boats to America.
- … almost all illegal fentanyl in the U.S. is produced in Mexico using precursors from China, according to DEA data. Venezuela is not a significant source of fentanyl.
- Yes, but they send a lot of drugs. These boats are mostly from Venezuela, so that is important. You see how they are loaded with bags of drugs.
- When it comes to drugs, would you consider…
- They also send violent criminals to our country. They have emptied their prisons. About 11,888 murderers have been sent here, and Biden accepted them.
- So it’s about bringing Maduro to justice…
- Wait a minute.
- … right?
- Eleven thousand eight hundred eighty-eight murderers have come to us, and now we are finding them and deporting or imprisoning them. Some are so dangerous that we cannot send them back because they will find a way to return. Every time we sink a boat, we save 25,000 lives.
- So would you consider taking action against both Mexico and Colombia, which are responsible for supplying fentanyl to the U.S.?
- Yes, I would consider it. Of course. I would consider it.
- You pardoned former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez despite his conviction for drug trafficking. How does that align with your zero-tolerance policy on drug trafficking?
- I do not know him. I heard he was set up. He was president, and the country deals with drugs—that applies to almost every country. He got 45 years in prison, and many good people are fighting for him. They asked me for help, and I agreed.
- Don’t you think that could send the wrong signal to drug traffickers?
- No, I don’t think so.
- … right?
- I am one of those who survived. They turned the state into a weapon. I have dealt with this. I was impeached twice. But I am still here, in the White House. Everything is fine. They were cruel.
- We have discussed many foreign policy issues. You focused on conflicts in different countries. Some of your supporters have expressed concerns that internal issues are not receiving enough attention. This week you are going on a trip again to talk about the economy. How do you assess the economy now?
Trump: Before answering, let me say that I have seen foolish people say that I spend too much time on foreign policy. But it doesn’t take much time. I made one trip and brought back trillions of dollars. I was in Japan, South Korea, the Middle East. I brought back $3 trillion from the Middle East. That’s all I focus on—on U.S. interests. People with low IQ criticize me, but I have made a lot of money for the country.
- You want to return to the economy in the U.S.
- Wait a minute. I made trillions by solving problems abroad.
- That’s not my assertion. That’s what some of your supporters say.
- I don’t believe they are supporters. I made a fortune and spend little time on foreign affairs. Most of my time I spend here. I deal with issues with China, and that has a huge effect for the U.S.
- And you want that to impact the domestic economy?
- Yes. These issues could close us down. China could close us down. The whole world could close down.
- So, sir…
- I made trillions of dollars and solved problems, stopped wars. Most wars were settled in the Oval Office over the phone. I believe that is important.
- But I want to talk about the economy in the U.S. How would you rate your economy?
- A-plus.
- A-plus?
- Yes, A-plus-plus-plus.
- That’s interesting because one of your supporters, Melania, said that basic expenses are rising faster than wages. She also says not enough is being done.
- I love her. She gave me an A-plus; that’s wonderful. But remember, I inherited chaos. Prices reached historic highs when I came in. Now prices are falling. Energy has dropped, and as soon as energy drops, everything gets cheaper. I just opened the market, and beef prices will soon drop.
- Would you consider exceptions for goods that Americans find expensive?
- Some exceptions? Yes, we are considering.
- For example, coffee, bananas.
- Yes, I have already done that with coffee. These are minor exceptions. But the real economy is this: $18 trillion is invested in our country. Biden had less than a trillion in four years, and we are growing. Thanks to tariffs, we are bringing back companies. We lost 58% of the auto industry.
- So you rule out lowering tariffs for other goods?
- For some—yes. And for some, I will raise tariffs.
Read the full interview here.
