Trump took office for his second term as president on January 20. He will complete his 100 days on April 29. In the about-an-hour TIME interview, President Trump termed the first three months of his term as ‘unbridled’ success.
“What I am doing is exactly what I have campaigned on,” Trump said when
Here are five bold claims from the Trump interview:
1- ‘200 deals’ with companies and countries
In the interview, Trump said he has ‘many deals’ since pausing the reciprocal tariffs.
“You have to understand, I’m dealing with all the companies, very friendly countries. We’re meeting with China. We’re doing fine with everybody. But ultimately, I’ve made all the deals,” he said.
On April 2, Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on trading partners, imposing nearly 50 per cent duties on some countries. However, he later declared a 90-day pause on duties for other trading partners while hiked tariffs on China to a whopping 125 per cent.
When prompted further, President Trump says, “I have made 200 deals.”
President Trump declined to give further details. The White House hasn’t yet announced any of these deals.
Trump claimed tariffs up to 50 per cent on foreign imports are beneficial for the United States and that the US will make a “fortune” with high tariffs on trading partners. He also highlighted how countries such as India and China became rich by charging duties up to 100-150 per cent.
“Because the country (US) will be making a fortune. Look, that’s what China did to us. They charge us 100 per cent. If you look at India, India charges 100-150 per cent. If you look at Brazil, if you look at many, many countries, they charge—that’s how they survive. That’s how they got rich,” Trump said.
2- Call with President Xi Jinping
President Trump said in the interview that the US was in talks with China on tariffs, which contradicts what Chinese officials have been saying.
President Trump even said that Chinese President Xi Jinping called him. “He has called. And I don’t think that’s a sign of weakness on his behalf.” Again, Trump did not give any further details.
“As far as I know, there has been no recent phone call between the two heads of state,” Guo Jiakun, the spokesperson for Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
“I want to reiterate that China and the United States are not engaged in consultations or negotiations on the tariff issue,” he added, as quoted by the CNN.
Trump, in his second term in office, has imposed 145 per cent reciprocal tariffs on Chinese goods while exempting the imports of electronics such as smartphones and computers.
China, in return, has raised tariffs on US imports to 125 per cent, but it has also rolled back the levies on some semiconductors made in the United States, according to reports.
3- Not Trolling Canada
President Trump said in the TIME interview that he was serious about making Canada the 51st state of the USA.
“You have talked about acquiring Greenland, taking control of the Panama Canal, and making Canada the 51st state. Maybe you’re trolling a little bit on that one. I don’t know,” Trump was asked in the interview with TIME Senior Political Correspondent Eric Cortellessa and Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs.
“But I’m really not trolling. Canada is an interesting case. We lose $200 to $250 billion a year supporting Canada,” he said.
President Trump said US was taking care of Canada’s military. “We’re taking care of every aspect of their lives, and we don’t need them to make cars for us. In fact, we don’t want them to make cars for us,” he said.
“We don’t need their lumber. We don’t need their energy. We don’t need anything from Canada. And I say the only way this thing really works is for Canada to become a state,” President Trump said asserting that ‘wouldn’t mind’ if his legacy as president included the expansion of territory.
4- Loopholes to run for a third term
Donald Trump said in March that he was ‘not joking’ about running for a third term and that there “are methods by which you could do it.” The Trump Store, which is run by the Trump Organisation, also started selling “Trump 2028,” a few days ago.
In his interview with Time magazine, however, Trump again indicated while there are ‘some loopholes that have been discussed’ to allow him to run again, he doesn’t “believe in using loopholes.”
“I have more people begging me to run again, but I haven’t looked at even the possibility,” Trump said.
The suggestion by 78-year-old Trump requires him to breach the two-term limit for American presidents, which the US Constitution has mandated for over 70 years.
The US Constitution in the 22nd Amendment puts a two-term limit on Presidents. “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice,” reads the 22nd Amendment of the US Constitution.
Trump was US president for the first term between 2017 and 2021. His second term, which started in January this year, will last till 2029.
5- Wars in Ukraine and Middle East
On Russia’s war with Ukraine, Trump said he doesn’t think Ukraine will ever be able to join NATO.
“I think that’s been from day one, I think that’s been, that’s I think what caused the war to start was when they started talking about joining NATO. If that weren’t brought up, there would have been a much better chance that it wouldn’t have started,” he said.
When asked should Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, go to the Russians? Trump responded by saying, “If Crimea will stay with Russia—we have to only talk about Crimea because that’s the one that always gets mentioned. Crimea will stay with Russia. And Zelensky understands that, and everybody understands that it’s been with them for a long time. It’s been with them long before Trump came along,”
The statement on Crimea is contradictory to the first Trump administration’s own statement reaffirming “as policy its refusal to recognise the Kremlin’s claims of sovereignty over territory seized by force in contravention of international law.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a temporary ceasefire on April 28 hours after President Donald Trump said he believed his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, was prepared to give up his claim to the Crimean Peninsula as part of a longer-term truce deal.
The Kremlin said in a note to the media that the ceasefire would begin at midnight local time May 8 and end at midnight May 11, coinciding with the 80th anniversary of “Victory Day,” when Russia celebrates its victory over the Nazis.
‘I may go in very willingly’
On Middle East, President Trump said he wasn’t worried about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dragging the US into a potential war with Iran.
When asked if the US will stay out of it if Israel goes into it? Trump responded by saying, “I may go in very willingly if we can’t get a deal. If we don’t make a deal, I’ll be leading the pack.”
We lose $200 to $250 billion a year supporting Canada.
Trump referred to the ongoing talks with Iran about a nuclear deal.
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