It’s been five years since President Trump appeared for an interview on 60 Minutes. A lot has happened since then, not least of which was his political comeback and triumphant return to the White House.
On Friday, hours after he touched down from his whirlwind trip to Asia, Mr. Trump agreed to sit down with us for a wide-ranging conversation. It was exactly one year to the day since he sued Paramount, the parent company of CBS, alleging that 60 Minutes had deceptively edited an interview with his opponent, Kamala Harris.
Paramount settled that lawsuit. The settlement did not include an apology or admission of wrongdoing.
In our nearly 90 minute conversation this past week, we spoke with Mr. Trump about the country and the world. We met with the president at Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Florida, on the 31st day of the government shutdown.
Norah O’Donnell: We are now approaching the longest shutdown in American history.
President Donald Trump: Democrats’ fault.
Norah O’Donnell: Under your presidency, we’re talking about more than a million federal workers who are not getting a paycheck, including our air traffic controllers. You see there’s traffic snarls out at the airports now. This weekend food aid for more than 42 million Americans is set to expire. What are you doing as president to end the shutdown?
President Trump: Well, what we’re doing is we keep voting. I mean, the Republicans are voting almost unanimously to end it, and the Democrats keep voting against ending it. You know, they’ve never had this. This has happened like 18 times before. The Democrats always voted for an extension, always saying, “Give us an extension, we’ll work it out.” They’ve lost their way. They’ve become crazed lunatics. And all they have to do, Norah, is say, “Let’s vote.”
Senate Democrats say they will vote to reopen the government if Republicans agree to extend subsidies for over 20 million Americans who use Obamacare for their health insurance.
President Trump: Obamacare is terrible. It’s bad health care at far too high a price. We should fix that. We should fix it. And we can fix it with the Democrats. All they have to do is let the country open and we’ll fix it.
Norah O’Donnell: But if ending the government shutdown—
President Trump: —they have to let the country open, and I’ll sit down with the Democrats, and we’ll fix it. But they have to let the country— and you know what they have to do—
Norah O’Donnell: So your plan—
President Trump: All they have to do is raise five hands. We don’t need all of ’em.
Norah O’Donnell: But so you’re saying your plan is to tell the Democrats to vote to end the shutdown.
President Trump: Correct, very simple.
Norah O’Donnell: And that you will put forward a health care plan?
President Trump: No. We will work on fixing the bad health care that we have. Right now, we have terrible health care and too expensive for the people, not for the government, for the people.
Norah O’Donnell: But Mr. President, with all due respect—
President Trump: The people are paying—
Norah O’Donnell: —you’ve been talking about fixing the health care since 2015—
President Trump: Sure. And you can’t do it because of the Democrats. That’s right.
Norah O’Donnell: Since 2015, you said you’d fix it.
President Trump: I’ve been talking about it for a long time. We almost did it. We were one vote short. We woulda had great health care.
That was in 2017, when Senate Republicans failed by one vote to partially repeal Obamacare.
President Trump: We can make it much less expensive for people and give them much better health care. And I’d be—
Norah O’Donnell: But where is that plan?
President Trump: —willing to work with the Democrats—
Norah O’Donnell: But where is that plan?
President Trump: —on it. The problem is, they want to give money to prisoners, to drug dealers, to all these millions of people that were allowed to come in with an open border from Biden. And nobody can do that. Not-
Norah O’Donnell: Can I just—
President Trump: —one Republican would ever do that.
Norah O’Donnell: My understanding is, if those health care subsidies are not extended, premiums will double for many of the people that are on it. And I was looking into it. Three quarters of these people will see their health care premiums double live in states where you won in the last election. I mean, even here in Florida has the highest number of residents on Obamacare in the country. If those—
President Trump: And I’m saying we can fix it, Norah.
Norah O’Donnell: You have helped end these government shutdowns in the past when it came about—
President Trump: I did.
Norah O’Donnell: And you did it by bringing back—
President Trump: I’m very good at it, but I’m not going to do it by—
Norah O’Donnell: You brought members of Congress to—
President Trump: —I’m not going to do it by extortion—
Norah O’Donnell: —to the White House.
President Trump: I’m not going to do it by being extorted by the Democrats who have lost their way. The – there’s something wrong with these people
Norah O’Donnell: So then what happens on November 15th—
President Trump: Schumer— Schumer is a basket case.
Norah O’Donnell: —when the troops don’t get a paycheck?
President Trump: Schumer is a basket case. And he has nothing to lose. He’s become— I just left Japan. He’s become a kaz— kamikaze pilot.
Norah O’Donnell: Sounds like it’s not going to get solved, the shutdown.
President Trump: It’s going to get solved, yeah. Oh, it’s going to get solved.
Norah O’Donnell: How?
President Trump: We’ll get it solved. Eventually, they’re going to have to vote.
Norah O’Donnell: You’re saying the Democrats will capitulate?
President Trump: I think they have to. And if they don’t vote, that’s their problem. Now, I happen to agree to something else. I think we should do the nuclear option. This is a totally different nuclear, by the way. It’s called ending the filibuster.
But to do that, he’d need Senate Majority Leader John Thune to change Senate rules.
Norah O’Donnell: Did you see John Thune said today they’re not going to do that—
President Trump: I know John doesn’t— well, John and a few others. But, you know what? The Republicans have to get tougher. If we end the filibuster, we can do exactly what we want. We’re not going to lose power. The theory is, oh, then we’ll do it, but then when they get into power someday they’ll do it. That’s true. But you know what?
Norah O’Donnell: So you think John—
President Trump: We’re here right now. No, I like John Thune. I think he’s terrific, but I disagree with him on this point.
Norah O’Donnell: He j— he said today he wasn’t going to do it.
President Trump: Well, that’s too bad.
So far, the shutdown hasn’t spooked the stock market, which hit record highs this past week.
President Trump: Perfect timing for your show, just hit an all-time high. We’re doing really well
Norah O’Donnell: Uh-huh. Can I ask you, Mr. President—
President Trump: The smart people definitely—
Norah O’Donnell: —on that point, though?
President Trump: Yeah.
Norah O’Donnell: When the stock market is doing well, that doesn’t affect everybody. Not everybody’s invested in the stock market—
President Trump: It does. Oh, it does, it does.
Norah O’Donnell: But there have been— grocery prices are up—
President Trump: Look, 401(k)s. People have 401(k)s. Their 401(k)s are double what they were a year ago.
Norah O’Donnell: But for people that don’t have 401(k)s, who are not invested in the stock market—
President Trump: Sure. But— but—
Norah O’Donnell: —they’ve seen their grocery prices go up, inflation—
President Trump: No, you’re wrong. They went up under Biden. Right now they’re going down. Other than beef, which we’re working on, which we can solve very quickly.
Norah O’Donnell: On the economy, the signature part of your economic plan is tariffs. The Supreme Court is going to hear arguments this week on whether you have the authority to impose these sweeping tariffs without Congressional approval. The lower courts have ruled against you. That’s why it’s at—
President Trump: Well, no.
Norah O’Donnell: —the Supreme Court right now.
President Trump: Very close rulings, yeah.
Norah O’Donnell: What happens to your economic plan if the Supreme Court invalidates your tariffs?
President Trump: I think our country will be immeasurably hurt. I think our economy will go to hell. Look, because of tariffs, we have the highest stock market we’ve ever had. Because of tariffs, 401(k)s at the highest level that — and this is millions and millions of people — that we’ve ever had 401(k)s. I think it’s the most important subject discussed by the Supreme Court in 100 years.
Norah O’Donnell: I know your time is limited, so I do want to make sure I get through more of these topics.
President Trump: Sure.
Norah O’Donnell: Immigration. You campaigned on immigration. You largely won the election on a promise to close the border—
President Trump: Did a great job, don’t you think?
Norah O’Donnell: —and you succeeded on that. Illegal crossings at the Southern border are at a 55-year low. More recently, Americans have been watching videos of ICE tackling a young mother, tear gas being used in a Chicago residential neighborhood, and the smashing of car windows. Have some of these raids gone too far?
President Trump: No. I think they haven’t gone far enough because we’ve been held back by the— by the judges, by the liberal judges that were put in by Biden and by Obama.
Norah O’Donnell: You’re OK with those tactics?
President Trump: Yeah, because you have to get the people out. You know, you have to look at the people. Many of them are murderers. Many of them are people that were thrown outta their countries because they were, you know, criminals.
Norah O’Donnell: Well, you promised in your campaign that you were going to deport the worst of the worst, violent criminals—
President Trump: And I know we’re doin’ that—
Norah O’Donnell: —rapists.
President Trump: Well, that’s what we’re doing—
Norah O’Donnell: But a lot of the people that your administration has arrested and deported aren’t violent criminals. Landscapers, nannies, construction workers—
President Trump: Oh, no, no, landscapers who are criminals—
Norah O’Donnell: —farmworkers.
President Trump: Now, look, look.
Norah O’Donnell: The family of U.S. service members—
President Trump: I need landscapers and I need farmers more than anybody, OK.
Norah O’Donnell: Is it your intent to deport people who do not have a criminal record?
President Trump: We have to start off with a policy, and the policy has to be you came into the country illegally, you’re going to go out. However, you’ve also seen, you’re going to go out. We’re going to work with you, and you’re going to come back into our country legally.
Norah O’Donnell: When will you declare mission accomplished on immigration?
President Trump: Well, it takes a long time, because, you know, probably I say 25 million people were let into our country. A lotta people say it was 10 million people. But whether it was 10 or— I believe I’m much closer to the right number. Of the 25, many of them should not be here. But we’re— we’re cleaning up our cities. You know, I campaigned on crime, but I’ve done a much better job on crime than I thought. You know, the crime numbers are way down, even though we have a lot more people in our country that really shouldn’t be here. And many of them are stone-cold hard criminals.
The president has ordered the National Guard to five cities: Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Portland, Chicago and Memphis.
Norah O’Donnell: This past Tuesday, while speaking to American troops in Japan, you talked about U.S. cities that are having trouble with crime. And you said, “If we need more than the National Guard, we’ll send more than the National Guard.” What does that mean, send more than the National Guard?
President Trump: Well, if you had to send in the Army or if you had to send in the Marines, I’d do that in a heartbeat. You know, you have a thing called the Insurrection Act. You know that, right?
Norah O’Donnell: Uh-huh
President Trump: Do you know that I could use that immediately and no judge can even challenge you on that. But I haven’t chosen to do it because I haven’t felt we need it.
Norah O’Donnell: So you’re going to send the military into American cities?
President Trump: Well, if I wanted to I could, if I want to use the Insurrection Act. The Insurrection Act has been used routinely by presidents. And if I needed it, that would mean I could bring in the Army, the Marines, I could bring in whoever I want. But I haven’t chosen to use it. I hope you give me credit for that.
Norah O’Donnell: I want to ask you about— another matter. James Comey, John Bolton, Letitia James were all recently indicted. There is a pattern to these names. They’re all public figures who have publicly denounced you. Is it political retribution?
President Trump: You know what? You know who got indicted, the man you’re lookin’ at. I got indicted, and I was innocent. And here I am, because I was able to beat all of the nonsense that was thrown at me. And yet, when you go after a dirty cop like Comey or a guy like Bolton, who I hear has, I don’t know anything about it, I hear he took records all over the place, who knows. Letitia James is a terrible, dishonest person, in my opinion.
Norah O’Donnell: Did you instruct the Department of Justice to go after them?
President Trump: No, and not in any way, shape or form. No. You don’t have to instruct ’em because they were so dirty, they were so crooked, they were so corrupt that the honest people we have, Pam Bondi’s doing a very good job. Kash Patel’s doing a very good job. The honest people that we have go after ’em automatically
But in a Truth Social post from September addressed to Attorney General Pam Bondi, President Trump endorsed the idea that former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, were, quote, “guilty as hell,” and wrote, quote, ” justice must be served, now!!!.” Five days later, James Comey was indicted. He pled not guilty — and so did Letitia James and President Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton.
Norah O’Donnell: Is this retribution on your part?
President Trump: No, it’s the opposite. I think I’ve been very mild-mannered. You’re looking at a man who was indicted many times, and I had to beat the rap. Otherwise I couldn’t have run for president. They tried to get me not to run for president by going after me and by indicting me.
So far this year, the president has pardoned or shortened the sentences of more than 1,600 people. The latest pardon was for a cryptocurrency tycoon who is known as C.Z. The company C.Z. founded, Binance, helped boost the profile of the Trump family’s crypto firm World Liberty Financial.
Norah O’Donnell: He pled guilty in 2023 to violating anti-money-laundering laws.
President Trump: Right.
Norah O’Donnell: The government at the time said that C.Z. had caused “significant harm to U.S. national security”, essentially by allowing terrorist groups like Hamas to move millions of dollars around. Why did you pardon him?
President Trump: OK, are you ready? I don’t know who he is. I know he got a four-month sentence or something like that. And I heard it was a Biden witch hunt.
Norah O’Donnell: In 2025 his crypto exchange, Binance, helped facilitate a $2 billion purchase of World Liberty Financial’s stablecoin. And then you pardoned C.Z. How do you address the appearance of pay for play?
President Trump: Well, here’s the thing, I know nothing about it because I’m too busy doing the other—
Norah O’Donnell: But he got a pardon—
President Trump: I can only tell you that—
Norah O’Donnell: He got a pardon—
President Trump: No, I can only tell you this. My sons are into it. I’m glad they are, because it’s probably a great industry, crypto. I think it’s good. You know, they’re running a business, they’re not in government.
World Liberty Financial has denied any involvement in the pardon.
With state and local elections coming up Tuesday, we asked the president about the highly anticipated mayoral race that includes former NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Zohran Mamdani.
Norah O’Donnell: Zohran Mamdani, 34-year-old democratic socialist. He’s the front runner—
President Trump: Communist, not socialist. Communist. He’s far…
Norah O’Donnell: Some…
President Trump: He’s far worse than a socialist.
Norah O’Donnell: Some people have compared him to a left-wing version of you, charismatic, breaking the old rules. What do you think about that?
President Trump: Well, I think I’m much better looking person than him, right?
Norah O’Donnell: What if Mamdani becomes mayor?
President Trump: It’s going to be hard for me as the president to give a lot of money to New York. Because if you have a communist running New York, all you’re doing is wasting the money you’re sending there. So I don’t know that he’s won, and I’m not a fan of Cuomo one way or another, but if it’s going to be between a bad Democrat and a communist, I’m going to pick the bad Democrat all the time, to be honest with you.
When we sat down with President Trump on Friday at Mar-a-Lago, he had just returned from a high-stakes meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping, which culminated with a temporary truce in the trade war between the two countries. But before the meeting even began, Mr. Trump made news — as he often does — with a social media post.
Norah O’Donnell: Less than an hour before your meeting with President Xi, you posted on social media that you instructed the, quote, “Department of War to start testing our nuclear weapons–
President Trump: That’s right.
Norah O’Donnell: —immediately.”
President Trump: Yeah—
Norah O’Donnell: What did you mean?
President Trump: Well, we have more nuclear weapons than any other country. And I think we should do something about denuclearization. And I did actually discuss that with both President Putin and President Xi. We have enough nuclear weapons to blow up the world 150 times. Russia has a lot of nuclear weapons, and China will have a lot. They have some. They have quite a bit, but—
Norah O’Donnell: So why do we need to test– our nuclear weapons?
President Trump: Well, because you have to see how they work. You know, you do have to— and the reason I’m saying— testing is because Russia announced that they were going to be doing a test. If you notice, North Korea’s testing constantly. Other countries are testing. We’re the only country that doesn’t test, and I want to be— I don’t want to be the only country that doesn’t test.
Norah O’Donnell: Are you saying that after more than 30 years, the United States is going to start detonating nuclear weapons for testing—
President Trump: I’m saying that we’re going to test nuclear weapons like other countries do, yes.
Norah O’Donnell: But the only country that’s testing nuclear weapons is North Korea. China and Russia are not—
President Trump: Well, Russia’s— no, no. Russia’s testing nuclear weapons—
Norah O’Donnell: So my understanding–
President Trump: And China’s testing ’em too. You just don’t know about it.
Norah O’Donnell: That would be certainly very newsworthy. My understanding is what Russia did recently was test essentially the— delivery systems for nuclear weapons, essentially missiles, which we can do that but w— not with nuclear warheads—
President Trump: Russia’s testing, and China’s testing, but they don’t talk about it. You know, we’re a open society. We’re different. We talk about it. We have to talk about it, because otherwise you people are going to report— they don’t have reporters that going to be writing about it. We do.
However, this week the president’s own nominee to lead STRATCOM — the admiral who would be in charge of nuclear weapons — was asked about this very issue on Capitol Hill. He said neither China nor Russia were conducting nuclear explosive tests.
Norah O’Donnell: One potential flash point with China, probably the potential flash point with China in the coming years, is over the issue of Taiwan. The Chinese military is encroaching on Taiwan’s sea lanes, its airspace, its cyberspace. I know you have said that Xi Jinping wouldn’t dare move militarily on Taiwan while you’re in office. But what if he does? Would you order U.S. forces to defend Taiwan?
President Trump: You’ll find out if it happens. And he understands the answer to that.
Norah O’Donnell: Why not say it—
President Trump: This never even came up yesterday, as a subject. He never brought it up. People were a little surprised at that. He never brought it up, because he understands it, and he understands it very well.
Norah O’Donnell: Do you mind if I ask, when you say, “He understands,” why not communicate that publicly to the rest of us? What does he understand that—
President Trump: Well—
President Trump: —I don’t want to give away— I can’t give away my secrets. I don’t want to be one of these guys that tells you exactly what’s going to happen if something happens. The other side knows, but— I’m not somebody that tells you everything because you’re askin’ me a question. But they understand what’s going to happen. And— he has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, “We would never do anything while President Trump is president,” because they know the consequences.
At the top of the agenda for President Trump and President Xi was a one-year trade deal that, for now, averts the escalating tension between the two economic superpowers.
Mr. Trump told us that in exchange for lower tariffs, China agreed to sell the U.S. its valuable rare earth minerals – and to resume buying American agricultural products.
Norah O’Donnell: This trade war, though, was hurting Americans. I mean, our soybean farmers. China had stopped buying the soybeans.
President Trump: Yeah.
Norah O’Donnell: China was withholding these rare earth materials that you need for everything from smartphones, to build submarines.
President Trump: Sure.
Norah O’Donnell: What was the crucial thing? I mean, how tough of a negotiator—
President Trump: Well, when you say hurting—
Norah O’Donnell: —is President Xi—
President Trump: —it was a temporary hurt. It was a hurt because— I was takin’ in a lot of money from China. We’re doing very well against China. And all of a sudden they said, “You know, we have to fight back.” And so they used their powers. The power they have is rare earth because of the fact that they’ve been accumulating it and— and really taking care of it for a period of 25, 30 years. Other countries haven’t. They use that against us, and we used other things against them. For instance, airplane parts. That’s a big deal. They have— hundreds of Boeing airplanes. We wouldn’t give them parts. We were both acting— maybe a little bit irrationally, but the big thing we had was tariffs ultimately. I said, “Look, if you don’t open up, then what we’re going to do is we’re going to impose a hundred percent tariff over and above what you’re already paying.”
Norah O’Donnell: Mr. President, you just negotiated this one-year trade deal with China—
President Trump: Yep.
Norah O’Donnell: But as you know, the Chinese, they think in a hundred years.
President Trump: Sure.
Norah O’Donnell: They play the long game, including on our own soil.
President Trump: We play the long game too.
Norah O’Donnell: Our own intelligence agencies say the Chinese have infiltrated parts of the American power grid and our water systems. They steal American intellectual property and Americans’ personal information. They bought American farmland. How big of a threat is China?
President Trump: It’s like everybody else. We’re a threat to them too. Many of the things that you say, we do to them. Look, this is a very competitive world, especially when it comes to China and the U.S. And— we’re always watching them, and they’re always watching us. In the meantime, I think we get along very well, and I think it’s— I think we can be bigger, better, and stronger by working with them as opposed to just— knocking them out–
Norah O’Donnell: Who’s tougher to deal with, Vladimir Putin or Xi Jinping?
President Trump: Both tough. Both smart. Both— look, they’re both very strong leaders. These are people not to be toyed with. These are people you have to take very serious. They’re not— they’re not walking in saying, “Oh, isn’t it a beautiful day? Look how beautiful. The sun is shining, it’s so nice.” These are serious people. These are people that are tough, smart leaders.
Norah O’Donnell: And on that note, you talk about Ukraine. In August, I mean, you rolled out the red carpet for Vladimir Putin in Alaska. But there’s been—
President Trump: Well, I roll out the red carpet for everybody.
Norah O’Donnell: OK. But is— but there’s been no ceasefire—
President Trump: I think I made— yes, there isn’t—
Norah O’Donnell: What’s— is he ignoring you?
President Trump: —because he thinks— because I inherited a country where he thinks he’s winning. That was a war that would’ve never happened if I was president.
Norah O’Donnell: So why won’t Putin end this war?
President Trump: —that was— but— but Norah, that was Joe Biden’s war, not my war. I inherited that stupid war.
As the bloodiest land war in Europe since WWII continues…
President Trump: But I brought, just a little list of— look at this, wars.
President Trump wanted to make sure we saw the list of eight international conflicts he says he’s been able to end since returning to office.
Norah O’Donnell: I mean, you have branded yourself the peace president.
President Trump: Well, I think I did—
Norah O’Donnell: What—
President Trump: —pretty good. I— I solved— those are eight of the nine wars I solved. I—
Norah O’Donnell: When—
President Trump: —you know how I solved ’em? I said, in many cases, in 60% I said, “If you don’t stop fighting, I’m putting tariffs on both of your countries and you’re not going to be able to do business with the United—
Norah O’Donnell: So why isn’t that— why isn’t that working with Putin?
President Trump: Uhh, it is working with Putin, I think. I did different with him because we don’t do very much business with Russia, for one thing, you know? He’s not, like, somebody that buys a lot from us because of— foolishness. And I think he’d like to be. I think he wants to come in and he wants to trade with us, and he wants to make a lotta money for Russia, and I think that’s great.
The commander-in-chief has directed the U.S. military to destroy at least nine vessels in the waters off Venezuela, killing more than three dozen alleged drug smugglers. U.S. lawmakers, including at least four Republicans, have questioned the strikes’ legality.
In the meantime, F-35 fighter jets, roughly 10,000 U.S. servicemembers, and multiple warships are in the Caribbean.
Norah O’Donnell: And now the U.S.S. Gerald Ford, that is the world’s largest aircraft carrier, on the way to the Caribbean. Are we going to war against Venezuela?
President Trump: I doubt it. I don’t think so. But they’ve been treating us very badly, not only on drugs— they’ve dumped hundreds of thousands of people into our country that we didn’t want, people from prisons— they emptied their prisons into our company— country. They also— if you take a look, they emptied their mental institutions and their insane asylums— into the United States of America, ’cause Joe Biden was the worst president in the history of our country.
Norah O’Donnell: But I just want to talk about the scale of the military operation around Venezuela, because it has been described to “60 Minutes” as using a blowtorch to cook an egg. Is this about stopping—
President Trump: Well, I don’t think so. Look—
Norah O’Donnell: Is it about— let me ask you, though. Is it about stopping narcotics? Or is this about getting rid of President Maduro?
President Trump: No, this is about many things. This is a country that allowed their prisons to be emptied into our country. To me, that would be almost number one, because we have other countries—
Norah O’Donnell: We don’t need to blow up boats in order to deal—
President Trump: Look, Mexico has been very bad to us in terms of drugs, OK? Very bad. We have a closed border right now. You probably noticed that for five months in a row, they have zero— think of this, zero people coming into our country through our southern border.
Norah O’Donnell: On Venezuela in particular, are Maduro’s days as president numbered?
President Trump: I would say yeah. I think so, yeah.
Norah O’Donnell: And this issue of potential land strikes in Venezuela, is that true?
President Trump: I don’t tell you that. I mean— I’m not saying it’s true or untrue, but I— you know, I wouldn’t—
Norah O’Donnell: Why would we do it?
President Trump: —I wouldn’t be inclined to say that I would do that. But— because I don’t talk to a reporter about whether or not I’m going to strike.
Norah O’Donnell: Let’s talk about Israel — you got the remaining Israeli hostages out of Gaza.
President Trump: I did.
Norah O’Donnell: You arranged a ceasefire, however fragile that may be. Those are major—
President Trump: It’s not fragile. It’s a very solid— you know, I mean, you hear about Hamas, but Hamas could be taken out immediately if they don’t behave. They know that. If they don’t behave they’re going to be taken out immediately. They’re know that—
Norah O’Donnell: How do you get Hamas to disarm?
President Trump: If I want ’em to disarm, I’ll get ’em to disarm very quickly. They’ll be— they’ll be eliminated. They know that. Don’t forget, you said I got the remaining hostages. I got all the hostages out. But I always said the last 10 or 20 are going to be tough.
Norah O’Donnell: You pushed the Israeli Prime Minister to make this deal, to get a ceasefire, to apologize to Qatar. Can you push Bibi Netanyahu to recognize a Palestinian state?
President Trump: Yeah, he’s— he’s fine. He’s fine. Look, he’s a wartime prime minister. I worked very well with him. Yeah, I mean, I had to push him a little bit one way or the other. I think I— I did a great job in pushing— he’s a very talented guy. He’s a guy that— has never been pushed before, actually. That’s the kind of person you needed in Israel at the time. It was very important. I don’t think they treat him very well. He’s under trial for some things, and I don’t think they treat him very well. I think it should— you know, we’ll— we’ll be involved in that to help him out a little bit, because I think it’s very unfair. Um – I did, I pushed him. I didn’t like certain things that he did, and you saw what I did about that. I also stopped— you know, I— we knocked the hell out of Iran, and then it was time to stop, and we stopped.
President Trump told us he expects to expand the Abraham Accords, the historic agreement struck during Mr. Trump’s first term, that normalized relations between Israel and some Arab states.
Norah O’Donnell: I wanted to ask you about the crown prince of Saudi Arabia is coming to the White House—
President Trump: That’s right.
Norah O’Donnell: —this month. He has said they won’t join the Abraham Accords without a two-state solution. Do you believe that?
President Trump: No. I think he’s going to join. I— I think— we will have a solution. I don’t know if it’s going to be two-state. That’s going to be up to Israel and other people, and me. But— look, the main thing is you could’ve never had any kind of a deal if you had a nuclear Iran. And you essentially had a nuclear Iran. And I blasted the hell out of ’em, and no president is—
Norah O’Donnell: Are you convinced they have no nuclear capability right now in Iran—
President Trump: Do you want to know— do you want to know— they have no nuclear capability, no. Do you want to know that— the pilots, I invited them to the White House—
Norah O’Donnell: I saw that.
President Trump: —’cause they were very brave. I mean, I wouldn’t have wanted to do it you know, getting in a plane, and they know you’re coming, and you’re going right into Iran airspace. And, you know, they’re very experts, and you’re flying in with machines. Personally I can think of other things I’d rather do. These guys are very brave people. I mean, they’re real American heroes. And they told me something I didn’t know. They said, “Sir for 22 years we’ve been practicing this route… three times a year every year for 22 years, and you were the only president that let us do our job.”
As our time with the president was winding down, we asked him whether he’ll try to stay in his job beyond 2028.
Norah O’Donnell: There’s been a lotta talk about 2028 and who will be at the top of the—
President Trump: Yeah.
Norah O’Donnell: —Republican ticket. Can you set the record straight? You’re not going to try and run for a third term?
President Trump: Well I don’t even think about it. I will tell you, a lotta people want me to run. But the difference between us and the Democrats is we really do have a strong bench. I don’t want to use names, because it’s, you know, inappropriate. But it’s too early. 3 and ¼ years –
Norah O’Donnell: But people do like when you start talking about whether you like J.D. Vance or Secretary Rubio—
President Trump: I do like J.D. Vance. I like—
Norah O’Donnell: Or secretary—
President Trump: —Marco Rubio. I like— I like so many people. We have an unbelievable bench.
Norah O’Donnell: Mr. President, can I also ask you, we’re now at the end of your first year.
President Trump: Yeah.
Norah O’Donnell: Of this second term. What do you hope to accomplish in the next three years?
President Trump: I hope I can have the same year that we had. Look, we have been acknowledged to have the greatest nine months. You know, it’s nine months. The greatest nine months in the history of the presidency. So if I can keep that going I’ll be very happy.
Produced by Andy Court and Keith Sharman. Associate producers, Roxanne Feitel, Annabelle Hanflig, Jessica Kegu, Cassidy McDonald, Arman Badrei, Georgia Rosenberg and Julie Morse. Broadcast associates, Mariah Johnson, Callie Teitelbaum and Jane Greeley. Edited by Sean Kelly, Matthew Lev and Aisha Crespo.
