Five Key Takeaways From Trump’s First Post-Election Interview
President-elect Donald Trump outlined his aggressive plan to make immediate and wide-ranging changes in his second term in his first sit-down broadcast interview since winning reelection.
Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Trump outlined major changes to the immigration system, pardons for Jan. 6 rioters, new tariffs and more. He doubled down on many of his campaign promises, like ending birthright citizenship and deporting migrants in the country illegally while pledging retribution for his political foes.
Overhaul of Immigration Is Coming
Trump echoed his campaign promises to overhaul the immigration system, starting with mass deportations.
He said his mass deportation program would begin with immigrants in the country illegally who have committed crimes and then expand to those “outside of criminals.” He did not offer specific details on which crimes will be prioritized.
“I think you have to do it,” Trump said. “It’s a very tough thing to do. It’s – but you have to have, you know, you have rules, regulations, laws. They came in illegally. You know, the people that have been treated very unfairly are the people that have been on line for 10 years to come into the country.”
Trump said he did not want to break up families with mixed status, insisting that the only way to avoid that is to keep them together and “send them all back.”
He then indicated that one group of migrants that might be omitted from the program are those brought to the country illegally as children who have lived here for years.
“I will work with the Democrats on a plan,” he said. “We’re going to have to do something with them.”
He also revisited his promise to end birthright citizenship, a protection in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution which states that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.”
“We’ll maybe have to go back to the people,” Trump said when asked if doing away with it would face legal opposition. “But we have to end it.”
Retribution for Political Foes
Trump reiterated past statements that members of the congressional committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol should go to jail. He then singled out former Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, calling her actions “inexcusable” and accusing her of being behind the committee’s operation.
When asked if he would direct his new attorney general or FBI director to send the lawmakers on the committee to jail, he said he would not but indicated that he expected his picks to do it independently.
“I think that they’ll have to look at that,” Trump said, “but I’m not going to” order them to.”
Trump also sought to downplay growing fears surrounding his FBI director pick Kash Patel and his list of 60 people he labeled as the “deep state.”
When asked if he would direct Patel to prosecute people on the list, he said no, adding, “If they think that somebody was dishonest or crooked or a corrupt politician, I think he probably has an obligation to do it.”
Turning his attention to Biden, Trump said he would not pick a “real special prosecutor” to go after the first family, saying the decision would be up to his attorney general pick, Pam Bondi.
“I’m not looking to go back into the past,” he said. “Retribution will be through success.”
Pardons for Jan. 6 Rioters on First Day
Trump indicated that on his first day in office, he will pardon the Jan. 6 rioters who stormed the Capitol, saying they have been put through a “very nasty system.”
“I’m going to be acting very quickly – first day,” Trump said, “They’ve been in there for years, and they’re in a filthy, disgusting place that shouldn’t even be allowed to be open.”
He said there may be some exceptions to his pardons “if somebody was radical, crazy.”
Only a handful of rioters remain in prison in Washington, D.C., and most of them are serving lengthy sentences due to violent crimes committed at the Capitol.
Tariffs on Imported Goods are Coming, But No Guarantee They Won’t Hurt Pocketbooks
Trump also renewed his campaign promise to impose tariffs on imports from America’s biggest trading partners, calling them “beautiful.”
He added that the tariffs will cost nothing to Americans and that he’s “stopped wars with tariffs.”
Trump said he would fulfill a campaign promise to levy tariffs on imports from America’s biggest trading partners. In a noteworthy moment, he conceded uncertainty when asked if he could “guarantee American families won’t pay more” as a result of his plan.
He disagreed with economists who have said his plan will make goods more expensive but when asked if he could guarantee this wouldn’t be the case, he said he couldn’t.
“I can’t guarantee anything. I can’t guarantee tomorrow.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr Will Investigate Debunked Link Between Autism and Vaccines
Trump then suggested Robert F. Kennedy Jr, his pick for head of the Health and Human Services Department, would investigate the discredited connection between autism and childhood vaccines.
“I think somebody has to find out,” Trump said. He added, “If you go back 25 years ago, you had very little autism. Now you have it.”
He noted that “something is going on,” adding, “I don’t know if it’s vaccines. Maybe it’s chlorine in the water, right? You know, people are looking at a lot of different things.”
Kennedy, the namesake of former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, has built up his reputation as a vaccine skeptic.
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