President Donald Trump defended his use of power that comes with the presidential office, denying that he is “expanding” while he is monumming that he is “using Pers you” in a interview In his first 100 days as the 47th President with Time.
Trump, who will have turned 100 days after his second term on April 30, cools the extensive bomb interview at the White House departure on Wednesday.
The interview began with a pointed question of Time Senior Eric Cortessa political correspondent and chief editor Sam Jacobs, who asked: “Why do you think you need more power?”
“Well, I don’t think it’s expanding it. I think I’m using it, since it was bad to be used,” Trump replied. “I feel that we have had a very successful presidency in 100 days. We had people who wrote that it was the best first month and the best second month, and really the best third months.
By mentioning their widely publicized actions to impact international trade with tariffs, the president said he has used his power to restore the “table”:
You know, we are restoring a table. We were losing $ 2 billion a year in commerce, and you can’t do that. I mean, at some point someone has to come and stop it, because it is not sustainable. We take other countries behind us, you know, with commercial numbers, with horrible numbers, and we have changed it. You see the market fluctuates a lot.
The journalists then asked him to respond directly on “Tak[ing] Congress Authority on Commerce and Assignments. “
“You enjoyed the bosses of the independent agencies. You are challenging the courts at this time, as you know. You are using the government’s levers to weaken private institutions such as law firms and universities,” the interviewers said. “Isn’t this taking over the power of institutions and concentrating them within the presidency?”
Trump replied: “No, I think what I am doing is exactly what I have campaigned.”
The president promoted his control over the immigration system that was broken by the previous Biden administration:
If you look what I campaigned, for example, you can talk about eliminating people from the country. We have to do it because it allowed people to enter through their crazy open border, madness. It allowed people to come to our country that we cannot have in our country. Many criminals: They emptied their prisons, many countries, almost all countries, but not a complete emptying, but some countries a complete emptying of its prison system. But you look throughout the world, and I’m not just talking about South America, we are talking about everyone. People have taken our country to the legs that are very dangerous. If you were walking down the street, and if you were near one of these people, they could kill you and would like to think about it. And we can have that in our country.
The interviewers asked: “So you are not concentrating more power in the presidency?”
“I don’t think so. I think I am using it Copy, and I’m also using it according to my choices,” Trump. “You know, everything I am doing, this is what I talked about doing. I said I am going to get the criminals.”
Referring to Trump recently order For investigation into the former director of the Security and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Christopher Krebs, whom he shot by launching a statement Claiming the presidential elections of 2020 “was the safest in American history” and denouncing “unfounded statements” that Joe Biden was not the true winner, the Time The journalists asked: “Isn’t that, thought, what accused Biden or did?”
Trump clearly replied: “I think Chris Krebs was a shame for our country … I think it was terrible.”
“By the way, I don’t know him. I am not, I don’t think there is with him. I probably saw him around,” he added.
Trump also called Krebs a “fraud” and “misfortune” when he ordered the investigation and eliminated the remaining security authorizations that the former CISA director could have had earlier this month.
“I think he said that this is the safest election we have had and, nevertheless, every day you read in the newspapers on more and more fraud that is discovered,” he said from the Oval office while signing the memorandum. “He is fraud. It is a misfortune. So we will discover that White or was not a safe choice and, if it was, it has a great price to pay, and it is a bad guy.”
He memorandum He described Krebs as a “significant actor of bad faith that armed and abused his government authority.”
Continuing the interview, Time He said: “You have used threats and demands, other forms of coercion” -“
“Well, I have to be doing something right, because I had many law firms that gave me a lot of money,” Trump replied.
The interviewers asked: “Why is it an appropriate use of presidential power?”
“Well, I think it’s because I think they felt that the choice was manipulated and stolen and they didn’t want to be part of that. Do you think they give me $ 100 million for nothing? Cetera, Cetera, and Cetera, and Cetera, and Cetera, and Cetera, and Cetera, and Cetera.
“I don’t believe it. They cool it to me because they do what they do nothing and do not want to get involved with him. And that’s fine. That is the way it works, unfortunately,” said the president.
The interviewers followed: “But that is an appropriate use of presidential power, do you think? … Threats and EOS against law firms.”
Trump shot up with “Pagan: they are the best companies in the world. These are the best, the best: Cravath, Milbank Tweed, Paul Weiss. These are the most difficult and intelligent firms. They don’t make a small problem.” “
Olivia Rondeau is a Breitbart News political reporter based in Washington, DC. Find it in X/Twitter and Instagram.