Donald Trump gave a long interview about the war in Ukraine, immigration, and the future of Europe and NATO.
December 9 in the publication Politico Donald Trump's long interview with journalist Dasha Burns was released. In it, the US President touched on a wide range of topics: the war in Ukraine, its prospects, European policy, the United States' relations with the EU, the US economy, migration policy, healthcare, and others.
The interview was published amid intense discussion of the new US foreign policy strategy, as well as following a series of statements by Trump and US officials related to the Ukraine peace plan. We present excerpts from the interview. The style of the responses has been preserved as much as possible.
War in Ukraine
"This is a war that should never have happened. Frankly, it wouldn't have happened if I were president, and it hasn't happened for four years. I watched it happen and said, 'Wow, they're going to cause trouble here.' And it started, and it could have escalated into World War III, frankly.
I don't think it's likely to happen now. I think if I weren't president, you might have World War III. (Perhaps by "you," Trump is referring to Dasha Burns's Ukrainian origins – Approx. Ed."I think you'd have a much bigger problem than you have now, but it's a big problem now. It's a big problem for Europe. And they're not coping with it."
On the subject: Trump's New National Security Strategy: 'America First,' and Russia No Longer the Aggressor
"He needs to read the proposal. (Zelensky needs to read the US peace plan. – Approx. Ed.) He hasn't really read it yet... ...Maybe he read it overnight. It would be good if he read it. You know, a lot of people are dying. So it would be really good if he read it. His people really liked the proposal."
“I think this is an important time for elections (in Ukraine. — Approx. Ed."They're using the war to avoid holding elections, but I think the Ukrainian people should have that choice. And maybe Zelensky will win. I don't know who will. But they haven't had elections in a long time. You know, they talk about democracy, but it's getting to the point where it's no longer democracy."
“Well, they lost territory long before I came along. They lost a whole swath of sea front, a big sea front. I mean, look at the maps. I’ve been here 10 months. But go back 10 months and look: they lost this whole swath. It’s a bigger swath now. A wider swath. But they lost a lot of land, and it was very good land that they lost. You certainly wouldn’t say that’s a victory. I can show you a chart. That’s a lot of land they lost.”
"This isn't my war. This is Joe Biden's war. It's a very sad thing. And the only reason I really care about this is because I can't stand to see young, beautiful people killed."
Relations with Russia
“It’s a much bigger country (than Ukraine. — Approx. Ed."Russia has the advantage. And always has. They're much bigger. They're much stronger in that sense. I give Ukraine a lot. I give the people of Ukraine and the Ukrainian army enormous credit for their bravery and their fighting and all that. But you know, at some point, size usually wins out. And it's huge when you look at the numbers. I mean, the numbers are just crazy."
"Putin didn't respect Biden, and he didn't respect Zelenskyy, he didn't like Zelenskyy. They truly hate each other. And part of the problem is that they hate each other very much. And it's very difficult for them to try to make a deal. I've settled eight wars. I'd say this is the ninth. One of the reasons is that the level of hatred between Putin and Zelenskyy is enormous."
"There was an understanding that Ukraine wouldn't join NATO. This was long before Putin, frankly."
“I think he (Putin. – Approx. Ed.) would like to see a weak Europe, and, you know, frankly, he gets it. It has nothing to do with me."
Relations with China
"I recovered trillions of dollars in one trip. I stopped in Japan. I stopped in South Korea. I met with President Xi and ended what could have been a big problem. I dealt with President Xi, and we have a good relationship. I dealt with President Xi in a way that was very favorable for the United States."
"When we had a problem with China just recently, I was able to figure it out. You don't figure it out without talking to people, without responding. With magnets, with rare earths, it was a big problem. We would have been cut off. China would have been cut off. The whole world would have been cut off."
Relations with the EU and NATO
"Europe isn't doing a good job in many ways. They talk too much. And they don't deliver. We're not just talking about Ukraine. They talk, but they don't deliver. And the war goes on and on."
"If it continues as it is, there will be no Europe. In my opinion, many of these countries will no longer be viable. Their immigration policies are a disaster."
"NATO calls me Daddy. Look, I raised the GDP from two percent to five percent; they didn't pay two percent, but they pay five percent. And they pay it because when we send things (apparently meaning weapons. – Approx. Ed.), NATO pays for it, and I assume they give it to Ukraine. But Europe is falling apart."
"I just want to see a strong Europe. When they allow millions of people to pour into their countries, many of those people commit massive amounts of crime. And again, look at Sweden. I'm not criticizing Sweden. I love Sweden. I love the people of Sweden. But they're going from a country with no crime to a country with high crime. Look at Germany. Germany was crime-free, and Angela made two big mistakes—immigration and energy."
"I don't have a vision for Europe. All I want to see is a strong Europe. Look, I have a vision for the United States of America first and foremost. This is Make America Great AgainI explain to Europe because I think: you know, I must be a very smart person, I can. I have eyes. I have ears. I have knowledge. I have extensive knowledge. I see what's going on. I get reports that you will never see. And I think it's terrible what's happening to Europe. I think it threatens Europe as we know it. Europe could be a completely different place."
Economy
"Because of tariffs, 18 trillion dollars are coming into our country. You know, we lost 58 percent of the auto business. We had a monopoly on the world. We had everything. And we had presidents who either weren't smart, didn't have business savvy, or their people didn't do a good job."
"You know what's happening is, because of the tariffs, all the car companies are going back... DI I already did that with coffee."
"We could have saved the chip market. We had 100 percent of the chip market, Intel, all those guys. They came to me, Intel. They needed to do something with the government. I said, 'I'll do it, but I think you should give us 10 percent of your company.' You know what happened? We made 40 billion on that deal. The price went through the roof. I made 40 billion in 10 minutes."
"Prices are falling significantly. Energy prices have fallen incredibly. It's been 10 months. A gallon of gasoline [under the Biden administration – Approx. Ed.") was $4,50, almost $5,00. In some states it was even $6,00. We checked three states two days ago – $1,99 per gallon. When that happens, everything goes down."
“$18 trillion is coming into our country. Biden had less than a trillion in four years. Our country was falling apart. $18 trillion in tariffs are coming into our country… Car companies that left us years ago are coming back. AI is coming in at levels never seen before. Factories are opening up all over the country; $18 trillion in investment in the United States. With Biden, we would have lost $10 trillion, okay? Eighteen is a record. China has two trillion. You know what it all boils down to? Jobs. You will have jobs—more than you’ve ever seen in the United States.”
Immigration policy
"Their (Biden administration. – Approx. Ed."The immigration policy is a disaster. We had a disaster on the horizon, but I was able to stop it. You know, we have zero people coming through our borders for seven months. We've gone from millions of people, in some cases millions of people a month, but we've reduced those millions of people to zero."
“They come to Europe from all parts of the world, and not just from the Middle East. They come from Congo, a huge number of people from Congo. And even worse – they come from prisons in Congo and other countries. And for some reason they (Europe. – Approx. Ed.) want to be politically correct, which is actually, I think, the opposite of political correctness."
"I want to see people who are making a contribution. I don't want to see Somalia. I don't want to see a woman who, you know, marries her brother to get (to the US. – Approx. Ed.), and then she becomes a congresswoman and does nothing but complain. All she does is complain, complain, complain, and yet her country is a mess. You know, it's one of the worst countries in the world. Let her go back and fix her own country." (A clarification is needed here. This is apparently a reference to Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota, the first Somali Muslim woman to serve in the U.S. Congress. Trump doesn't mention her by name, but the description matches: she is originally from Somalia (a country he calls "one of the worst in the world"), immigrated to the U.S. in 1995 as a refugee at age 12, became a naturalized citizen in 2000, and has represented Minnesota's 5th Congressional District since 2019. By referring to "marrying his brother," Trump is echoing a long-standing (and repeatedly debunked) conspiracy theory that emerged in 2016 on Somali-American forums and has been fueled by conservative media. – Approx. Ed.)
"I built a wall that stopped the flood. We... I didn't build a wall. I built a wall. Two years ago, a year ago under Biden, this country was out of control."
"Our country cannot afford to support tens of millions of people who came through birthright citizenship. When this happened (the law was passed. – Approx. Ed.), it was intended for the children of slaves, and if you look at the exact dates when it was introduced, it all had to do with the Civil War and the end of the Civil War. It's that small period of time, and people are now beginning to understand that."
Fighting crime
“We save 25,000 people every time we wreck a boat (referring to the so-called drug boats. — Approx. Ed."On average, they kill 25 Americans, so you know, I hate to do this, but drugs coming by sea are down 92 percent. And I'm trying to figure out the 000 percent, who are they? Nobody wants to take drug-laden boats to America anymore. And we're going to hit them on land, too, very soon."
"His days are numbered (of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. – Approx. Ed.) He sent us millions of people, many from prisons, many drug dealers, drug lords, people from mental institutions. He sent them to our country, where we had a very stupid president. You know that. Biden is a low IQ person, especially now. And what he did to our country is not good. Tren de Aragua, gangs, one of the most evil gangs in the world. He (Maduro. – Approx. Ed.) also sends a lot of drugs. So we'll see how things turn out."
“They’re sending a lot of drugs. These boats come from Venezuela mostly, so I would say it’s big there, and you can see a lot of drugs. You can see these bags all over the boat, I mean bags, bags, bags. But let me tell you what they’re doing. They’re sending really, really bad people into our country. They’ve emptied their prisons into our country, and these prisoners are violent criminals. All of their prisons have been emptied into the United States of America. Murderers, 11,888 murderers have been brought into our country, and Silly Joe took all of these people. And now we’re transporting them. We’re finding them. We’re transporting them or putting them in prison. Some are so dangerous and so bad that we don’t want to send them back to their country because they’ll find a way to come back. These are cold-blooded killers.”
Healthcare
"Obamacare was designed by Barack Hussein Obama, who knew nothing about healthcare. What I want in healthcare is very simple. Obamacare was set up for the insurance companies to get rich. Did you know that insurance company stocks have gone up 16, 17, 1800 percent in a short period of time? They've paid them trillions, not billions, trillions of dollars, and what I'm saying is very simple. I don't want to pay them anything. No money for the insurance companies. Sorry, folks. I want to pay money directly to the people and let the people get their own healthcare."
"The Democrats don't want that. They want the insurance companies to get those trillions of dollars. I want that money to go to the people and allow them to go out and buy their own healthcare. It works like magic. But you know who doesn't want that? The Democrats, because they're corrupt, because they're completely bought by the insurance companies."
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Election Fraud and the Future of the Republican Party
"The elections were rigged. Everyone knows it now. It will be announced in the next couple of months—loud and clear, because we have all the information."
"I looked at stupid people like Marjorie 'Traitor' Green, some people call her Taylor Green. Some people call her Taylor Brown because green sometimes turns brown, which is not good."
“Some people can swim, and some can’t. You never know. You have to see. We have a great Cabinet. I have a really great Cabinet—better than my first Cabinet. I had some very good people in my first Cabinet, but, you know, I have a lot more experience. When I first came to Washington, it was interesting. I didn’t know anything about any of the people. I was a very successful guy from New York—real estate, this and that.”
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