CNN
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President Donald Trump sat for a wide-ranging interview with TIME on April 22, touching on tariffs, peace efforts between Ukraine and Russia, the Iran nuclear deal, wanting Canada to become a US state and more.
The sitdown included Trump saying he would sign a ban on members of Congress trading stocks, that he doesn’t want to use “loopholes” to run for a third term and that he has not asked El Salvador to return a mistakenly deported undocumented immigrant. He rejected the idea that he is expanding the powers of the presidency, saying he is using the office, “as it was meant to be used” in his second term.
“What I’m doing is exactly what I’ve campaigned on,” he said.
The president also trod on some familiar themes, including claiming, without evidence, that there was “cheating” in the 2020 and 2024 elections and that tariffs are good for the country.
Here are nine moments that stuck out from the transcript of TIME’s Trump interview:
Trump said in the interview that he’s made “200 deals” with companies and countries after pausing new tariffs on countries. But the White House hasn’t announced any of them, and Trump declined to detail any specific deals.
Additionally, Trump said if the US still had tariffs of 50% on foreign countries a year from now, he’d still consider that a “total victory” because “the country would be making a fortune.”
Asked why he hasn’t announced the deals that have been agreed to, Trump said trade negotiations would be wrapped up in the next few weeks. Trump initiated the 90-day pause on April 9.
“I would say, over the next three to four weeks, and we’re finished,” he said. “We’ll be finished.”
Still, Trump left himself room for flexibility, saying some negotiations may continue beyond that benchmark: “Some countries may come back and ask for an adjustment, and I’ll consider that.”
Trump maintained in the interview that talks are ongoing with China on tariffs, though Chinese officials are firmly stating the opposite.
Trump even said that Chinese President Xi Jinping has called him, saying: “He’s called. And I don’t think that’s a sign of weakness on his behalf.” Trump did not offer specifics on the call or when it took place.
However, when pressed by CNN Friday morning on if Trump has spoken to Xi since tariffs were implemented on Beijing, he declined to comment.
“I don’t want to comment on that, but I’ve spoken to him many times,” Trump said in response to CNN’s Alayna Treene when leaving the South Lawn.
Trump told TIME that he has not asked El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele to send back Kilmar Abrego Garcia — an undocumented immigrant that US officials mistakenly deported to El Salvador — despite a Supreme Court ruling that said the Trump administration had to “facilitate” his return.
“I haven’t,” Trump said. “He said he wouldn’t.”
Trump generally deferred to Justice Department lawyers on most of TIME’s questions regarding Abrego Garcia’s status, including saying it was up to the attorneys if they want to start facilitating any return of Abrego Garcia.
“At this moment, they just don’t want to do that. They say we’re in total compliance with the Supreme Court,” he said.
Trump indicated to TIME that he is serious about making Canada the 51st US state — a message the allied nation has repeatedly bristled at.
“I’m really not trolling,” Trump said.
“We’re taking care of their 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,” Trump 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.”
Trump added that he “wouldn’t mind” if his legacy as president included the expansion of territory.
The president has publicly flirted with running for president again in 2028, in violation of the 22nd Amendment that says presidents can only serve two terms. He indicated to TIME that 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 added.
Those statements run counter to comments Trump made at the end of March, when he said he was “not joking” about the possibility of running for a third term. The Trump Store, which is run by the Trump Organization, also started selling “Trump 2028” hats earlier this week.
If Republicans in Congress pass a party-line bill that involves large cuts to Medicaid, Trump vowed in the interview to veto it.
GOP congressional leaders have said the planned cuts would only be from waste, fraud and abuse in Medicaid, but experts have questioned if those reductions would really add up to the $800 billion price tag that GOP leaders are aiming for in their party-line bill.
Trump reiterated the goals to only cut “waste, fraud and abuse” in the interview, but said he would veto the bill if it involved other cuts to the program — likely welcome news to centrist Republican lawmakers who have said they would not back big cuts to Medicaid.
As part of the peace proposal to end the Russia-Ukraine war, Trump said “Crimea will stay with Russia” — which would breach international law that generally does not recognize forced territorial acquisitions. It would also contradict the first Trump administration’s own statement reaffirming “as policy its refusal to recognize the Kremlin’s claims of sovereignty over territory seized by force in contravention of international law.”
“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,” Trump said.
Publicly, Zelensky has indicated that recognizing the occupation of Crimea is a red line for him in negotiations. He told reporters earlier this week: “Ukraine will not legally recognize the occupation of Crimea. There is nothing to talk about. It is against our constitution.” Putin invaded Crimea in February 2014.
Trump also said Ukraine’s attempts to join NATO sparked Russia’s invasion — and the president said he doesn’t think Ukraine will “ever be able to join NATO.”
Trump told TIME he wasn’t worried about Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dragging the US into a potential future war with Iran, because he would go “willingly” if they couldn’t reach a nuclear deal with Iran.
“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,” Trump said, referring to the ongoing talks with Iran about a nuclear deal.
Trump also denied reporting from the New York Times that he waved Israel off from attacking Iran during nuclear talks.
“I didn’t stop them. But I didn’t make it comfortable for them, because I think we can make a deal without the attack,” Trump told TIME.
Trump also said that he believes that Saudi Arabia will join the Abraham Accords, an agreement from Trump’s first term aimed at promoting peace in the Middle East, which was initially signed by Israel and the UAE.
“I tell you what: I think Saudi Arabia will go into the Abraham Accords,” he said. Trump travels to Saudi Arabia next month on his second foreign trip.
“We had four countries in there, it was all set. We would have had it packed. Now we’re going to start it again,” Trump said.
