In a rare appearance on the centrist CBS News programme 60 Minutes just months after winning a $16 million settlement from the broadcaster over alleged deceptive editing, US President Donald Trump discussed several contentious topics. The interview, filmed at his Mar-a-Lago residence last Friday and aired Sunday, offered a glimpse into Trump's current domestic and foreign policy concerns.
Trump kicked off the conversation by addressing the ongoing government shutdown, which has been in effect since October 1st. He pinned the blame squarely on Democrats, stating that they are "all the Democrats' fault" for refusing to approve a new budget unless certain conditions were met. The president refused to negotiate with Democrats and did not provide clear plans for ending the shutdown, affecting over 1.4 million government employees.
In addition to domestic policy, Trump touched on his administration's efforts to crack down on undocumented migrants. He defended his government's unprecedented Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and surveillance on people perceived to be undocumented migrants, arguing that they have not gone far enough due to liberal judges blocking their implementation. However, this stance has been widely criticized by immigration advocates and others.
Trump also discussed the US's decision to restart nuclear testing, citing concerns from other countries about China and Russia's own nuclear programs. Despite lack of concrete evidence, Trump claimed that "other countries are already doing it," implying that the US should be open about its nuclear activities as well.
The interview also saw Trump speak out on several key issues, including his administration's approach to Taiwan and Venezuela. He stated that Beijing knew what would happen if China attacked Taiwan, but refused to commit to defending the island against a Chinese invasion. On Venezuela, Trump denied claims that the US military strikes in the country were aimed at ousting President Nicolas Maduro.
In a surprising admission, Trump revealed that he had never met cryptocurrency mogul Changpeng Zhao and claimed not to know much about him after pardoning him for money laundering charges. This move has sparked controversy given Binance's alleged ties to the Trump family's cryptocurrency company World Liberty Financial.
Finally, Trump addressed ongoing tensions with China over trade, rare earth metals, and other issues. He praised Chinese President Xi Jinping as a "strong man" but claimed that China was "ripping off" the US through its dominance of critical rare-earth materials. Despite claims from his administration that a new trade agreement had been reached, Beijing has only delayed introducing export controls on certain rare-earth metals.
Overall, Trump's 60 Minutes appearance provided a glimpse into his current policy priorities and stances on several contentious issues.
Trump kicked off the conversation by addressing the ongoing government shutdown, which has been in effect since October 1st. He pinned the blame squarely on Democrats, stating that they are "all the Democrats' fault" for refusing to approve a new budget unless certain conditions were met. The president refused to negotiate with Democrats and did not provide clear plans for ending the shutdown, affecting over 1.4 million government employees.
In addition to domestic policy, Trump touched on his administration's efforts to crack down on undocumented migrants. He defended his government's unprecedented Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and surveillance on people perceived to be undocumented migrants, arguing that they have not gone far enough due to liberal judges blocking their implementation. However, this stance has been widely criticized by immigration advocates and others.
Trump also discussed the US's decision to restart nuclear testing, citing concerns from other countries about China and Russia's own nuclear programs. Despite lack of concrete evidence, Trump claimed that "other countries are already doing it," implying that the US should be open about its nuclear activities as well.
The interview also saw Trump speak out on several key issues, including his administration's approach to Taiwan and Venezuela. He stated that Beijing knew what would happen if China attacked Taiwan, but refused to commit to defending the island against a Chinese invasion. On Venezuela, Trump denied claims that the US military strikes in the country were aimed at ousting President Nicolas Maduro.
In a surprising admission, Trump revealed that he had never met cryptocurrency mogul Changpeng Zhao and claimed not to know much about him after pardoning him for money laundering charges. This move has sparked controversy given Binance's alleged ties to the Trump family's cryptocurrency company World Liberty Financial.
Finally, Trump addressed ongoing tensions with China over trade, rare earth metals, and other issues. He praised Chinese President Xi Jinping as a "strong man" but claimed that China was "ripping off" the US through its dominance of critical rare-earth materials. Despite claims from his administration that a new trade agreement had been reached, Beijing has only delayed introducing export controls on certain rare-earth metals.
Overall, Trump's 60 Minutes appearance provided a glimpse into his current policy priorities and stances on several contentious issues.
shouldn't he be held accountable for not having a plan b? and btw, what's with him praising xi as a strong man when his administration is basically just copying china's playbook on trade & everything else? 
sounds like they're trying to lose control of the narrative instead of taking charge.
this guy still can't stop talking about the shutdown 
it's so annoying how he just blames Democrats for everything 
and what's with the nuclear testing 
other countries are already worried about China and Russia's nukes, let's focus on actual solutions 
so trump is just gonna keep saying whatever he thinks the americans want to hear 
meanwhile the government shutdown is still on and people are losing their jobs 
and what's up with these ice raids? isn't it time to just let immigrants in or out already? 
and nuclear testing again? isn't that a big no from other countries like china and russia? 
but hey at least trump admitted he doesn't know much about changpeng zhao lol what's next? 
And those ICE raids? More like a human rights nightmare than a solution to immigration problems.
I mean, I knew it was gonna be crazy with Trump being on 60 Minutes but wow! He really went all out defending his policies and attacking Democrats at the same time. The shutdown thing is just wild - like, he's refusing to negotiate because Democrats won't meet him halfway? 
I'm shocked he hasn't shut down the whole government yet! Like, can we get it together, Donald? We're all stuck in this shutdown limbo because of you... or are you, like, intentionally trying to drive us crazy? 
The fact that he had no idea who Changpeng Zhao was after pardoning him for money laundering charges 
.
and what's up with restarting nuclear testing? seems like a total cop-out to me 
plus, beijing knows about taiwan btw so who is he trying to fool? 
. And the fact that liberal judges are blocking their implementation is not a good look for him either.
. And that surprise admission about Changpeng Zhao? who knew the president didn't even know who was pardoning him 
. I mean, you know the guy is going to say some crazy stuff, but this time it felt even more... Trump-like 
. The shutdown thing just feels like a typical partisan bicker-fest, and Trump's refusal to negotiate with Democrats is just plain silly 
. And don't even get me started on the ICE raids - what a recipe for disaster 
. I mean, come on, Donald, can we not have some semblance of international cooperation on this one? It's like he's trying to recreate the Cold War or something 
. And let's be real, the whole "other countries are already doing it" line is just a bunch of hooey 
.
. I mean, seriously, Trump can't even commit to defending our allies against potential aggression? That's not leadership, that's just... meh 
. I guess that's one small step towards humility, but still...