The President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, yesterday gave an interview broadcast on ABC, during the 100th day of his second term in the White House.
According to foreign media, the interview covered a number of other topics, with some key excerpts summarized here:
The president was asked about the unprecedented use of executive powers, which many critics have said are being used to circumvent democratic processes enshrined in the US constitution.
“What do you say to people who are worried that you are taking, you are grabbing too much power and becoming an authoritarian president like we have never had before?” asked interviewer Terry Moran.
"No, I would be sorry if they thought that," Trump replied, writes A2 CNN.
"I'm doing one thing: I'm making America great again. We have a country that was failing. We have a country that was being mocked all over the world. We had a leader who was deeply incompetent. He should never have been there," Trump continued.
Trump had said in a social media post over the weekend that he was unhappy with Russia's continued bombing of Ukraine, saying that "there was no reason for Putin to be firing missiles at civilian areas, cities and towns over the last few days" and that "it makes me think that maybe he doesn't want to stop the war, it just makes me think that Russia should be treated differently."
Asked about the idea that the Russian president was "eavesdropping" on him, Trump told Moran: "It's possible."
"Yes, it's possible. Of course. He might tease me a little bit. I would say he would like to stop the war," Trump said.
“Do you believe that?” Moran interjected.
"If... if it weren't for me, I think he would want to take control of the whole country, personally," Trump said, writes A2 CNN.
"I always felt... so when I left, there was no chance of that happening. When Biden got involved, I won't say whether he handled it properly or not, but it definitely wasn't good, because the war started."
Asked if he believed Putin wanted peace, Trump said: "I think so, yes."
The president continued: “I think Putin wanted all of Ukraine,” repeating his claim that Putin invaded the country because Biden was in office. He added, “I think if I hadn’t won the election, he would have taken all of Ukraine.”
"And because of me, I believe that... he is willing to stop the fighting," Trump added, writes A2 CNN.
Asked about Defense Secretary Peter Hegseth, who has faced criticism since his appointment, Trump said he was "a talented guy" who will be "a very good defense. Hopefully a great defense secretary."
But when asked if he had 100% confidence in Hegseth, the president said: "I don't have 100% confidence in anything, okay? Nothing. Do I have 100% confidence? It's a stupid question." (A2 Televizion)
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