Trump admits to exaggerating, says he is willing to go to war: Key statements

US President Donald Trump gave an interview to Time magazine. In the interview, which was conducted on April 22 and published today, the US President assessed the first 100 days of his presidency as "quite successful."

Stating that the US is currently in a transition period, Trump said, "You know, we are resetting the table. In trade, we were losing $2 trillion a year. This cannot be done. I mean, at some point, someone had to step up and put a stop to this. Because this is not sustainable. There were terrible figures in trade, and we changed that. We were carrying other countries on our backs."

Noting that the market is quite volatile, Trump said, "Today it went up a thousand or 1,200 points. It is making moves up and down, but it will stabilize. We are collecting a large amount of money. As you know, we are imposing a 25 percent tariff on cars and a 25 percent tariff on steel and aluminum."

"OUR COUNTRY WILL BE RICH IN A SHORT TIME"

Emphasizing that the US will be very rich in a short time, Trump said, "I have been doing this for 3 months, and look at the figures and jobs we have achieved, and more importantly, the companies. Chip companies, car companies, Apple. Apple is investing $500 billion to build factories. They had never invested in this country before."

"MANY COMPANIES HAVE STARTED MOVING THEIR PRODUCTION TO THE US"

Defending his tariff policy, Trump said, "Look at what China is doing to us. They are imposing 100 percent on us. If you look at India, India imposes 100 to 150 percent. Look at Brazil, look at many other countries. They survive by imposing this, they get rich. Zero tariffs would be easy. Zero would be very easy, but then no company would come to invest. Now they are coming because they do not want to pay tariffs. Remember, if they do the production here, there is no tariff."

Emphasizing that many companies have started moving their production to the US due to tariffs, Trump said, "They are starting to produce furniture again in North Carolina. They have even already started. Many vehicle factories that were in the installation phase in Mexico have stopped this process. All of them are coming here."

"I HAVE MADE 200 DEALS"

Responding to a journalist who noted that Peter Navarro, the U.S. President's senior advisor for trade and manufacturing, had announced that 90 deals could be made during the 90-day interim period, but that no deals had been made so far, Trump said, "No, there are many deals in question. I am talking to all companies and friendly nations. We are also talking to China. Things are good with everyone."

When asked why no deals have been announced so far and when they will be, Trump replied, "I have made 200 deals."

"I WILL SET TARIFF LEVELS"

Stating that he imposes tariffs on countries, Trump said, "Some have treated us very badly in the past. Some are doing okay. But no country's treatment of us is great. None. Everyone has taken advantage of us. In the not-too-distant future, I will set fair tariff levels for different countries. Some of these countries have made hundreds of billions of dollars from us."

Arguing that the U.S. has been disadvantaged in foreign trade by almost every country in the world, Trump said, "That is why I will set the price, and I will set it fairly based on statistics and other factors. For example, do they have VAT systems? Do they impose tariffs on us? How much tariff do they impose on us? How much tariff have they imposed on us in past years? There are many different factors involved. How is the country in question treating us? Then I will set a tariff. The fact that we are financing their military is also important. Take South Korea, for example. We are paying billions of dollars for the military. We are paying billions for Japan and others. But I will keep that, meaning military spending, as a separate item."

Trump announced that they would disclose the deals reached within 3 or 4 weeks.

"7 TRILLION DOLLARS IN INVESTMENT IS COMING"

Describing the US as a giant store and the greatest market in world history, Trump stated, "People are coming and investing at levels you have never seen before. There is $7 trillion in new facilities, factories, and other investments coming to the US. If you look at past presidents, you will see that no one has even come close to this. And this all happened in just 3 months."

In the interview, Trump also announced that Chinese President Xi Jinping had called him. "He called. And I don't think this should be interpreted as a sign of weakness on his part," Trump said.

When asked if there was a sense that things were moving in a more productive direction with China following the conversation with Xi, Trump replied, "There is a number they would feel comfortable with. But you cannot let them make a trillion dollars off our backs. You cannot let them make $750 billion. Look, that is essentially what is unsustainable."

"I WAS EXAGGERATING A LITTLE"

Reminded of his campaign promise that he would end the war in Ukraine on his first day in office if elected, Trump said, "I said that metaphorically, and with a bit of exaggeration."

"WE ARE VERY CLOSE TO A DEAL WITH RUSSIA"

When asked why it is taking so long to do this and when the war will end, Trump said, "If you ask me, it is not long. Look, I have been in office for 3 months. This war has been going on for 3 years. This is a war that would never have started if I were in the presidential seat. This is Biden's war. It is not my war. This war has nothing to do with me."

When asked if peace with Russian President Vladimir Putin is possible, Trump replied, "If you ask me, if it were up to Putin, he would have followed a very different path. I think he would have preferred to take all of Ukraine."

Stating that he believes he is the only person capable of negotiating with Putin, Trump said, "I think we have made a lot of progress. We have had very good talks and are very close to a deal. I do not believe anyone else could make such a deal."

"UKRAINE WILL NEVER JOIN NATO"

In response to a question about Ukraine's hope of joining NATO, Trump said, "I think they will never be able to join NATO. That was the case from the very beginning. I think what caused the war to start was Ukraine bringing up the prospect of joining NATO. If this issue had not been raised, there would have been a much higher probability that the war would never have started."

"THE RUSSIANS HAVE ALREADY TAKEN CRIMEA"

When asked about Crimea being given to Russia, Trump said, "The Russians have already taken Crimea. Crimea was given to the Russians by Barack Obama. I am not the one who gave it."

Stating that the Russians have been in Crimea for many years and that the vast majority of the people in Crimea speak Russian, Trump said, "Crimea will remain under Russian control. And Zelensky understands this. Everyone understands that Crimea has been in Russian hands for a long time. This was the case long before Trump appeared on the scene."

HE SAID HE WAS NOT JOKING ABOUT GREENLAND AND CANADA

In response to the question, "You spoke about buying Greenland, taking control of the Panama Canal, and making Canada the 51st state of the US. I think you might be joking," Trump replied, "Actually, no, I am not joking."

Emphasizing that Greenland is very important for the U.S. in terms of both national and international security, Trump said, "Regarding Canada, you said, 'Maybe he's joking about that,' but I'm really not joking. Canada is an interesting case. We lose 200 to 250 billion dollars a year supporting Canada. And I asked Prime Minister Trudeau, whom I call Governor Trudeau, 'Why are we losing so much money while supporting you? Do you think this is right? Do you think it is appropriate for one country to make it possible for another country to survive?' Of course, he couldn't give me an answer."

Stating that looking after Canada costs the U.S. over 200 billion dollars a year, Trump said, "We support their military. We support every aspect of their lives. The only way this really works is if Canada becomes a state."

When asked if he would like to be remembered as the president who expanded U.S. territory, Trump replied, "I wouldn't object to that."

HE HELD PRESIDENT BIDEN RESPONSIBLE

Regarding the question of who is responsible for the deaths of more than 300 children since the ceasefire in Gaza was broken on March 18, Trump said, "I think the biggest person responsible is Biden. Because you know, Iran was bankrupt, and thanks to him, it became rich again."

Stating that former U.S. President Joe Biden lifted all sanctions when he took office, Trump said, "He allowed China and everyone else to buy oil from Iran, and Iran obtained 300 billion dollars in cash within four years. They started financing terrorism again."

MESSAGE ON MEETING WITH IRANIAN LEADERS

When asked whether the U.S. is holding direct talks with Iran and if he would be open to meeting with the Iranian President or the Supreme Leader, Trump replied, "Of course I am open to it."

Trump denied claims that he had prevented Israel from attacking Iran's nuclear facilities, stating, "No, that is not true. I did not stop them. But I also did not provide them with an environment where they could act comfortably. Because I believe we can reach an agreement without the need for an attack. Perhaps we will have to attack. Because Iran will not be allowed to possess nuclear weapons."

When asked if he was worried that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might drag the U.S. into a war, Trump replied, "No." Regarding the question of whether the U.S. would stay out of it if Israel were to attack, Trump said, "No, I did not say that. You asked me if Netanyahu was dragging me into a war. Meaning, whether I would go to war reluctantly. No. If we cannot reach a deal, I could quite willingly go to war. If we cannot reach an agreement, I will be the one leading the charge."

"SAUDI ARABIA HAS AGREED TO INVEST $1 TRILLION IN OUR ECONOMY"

When asked about his upcoming Middle East visit and the relations between Arab countries and Israel, Trump said, "I really love Saudi Arabia and its people. I love the Crown Prince and the King. They have agreed to invest $1 trillion in our economy. $1 trillion. After that, I will go to Qatar and then to the United Arab Emirates."

Emphasizing that the previous administration did nothing regarding the Abraham Accords on Arab-Israeli normalization, Trump said, "We had agreements with 4 countries. Everything was ready. It could have been completely finished. Now we will start over. The Abraham Accords were a great success, but Biden left it as it was."

When asked if it is possible to build a normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel, Trump said, "Let me say this, I think Saudi Arabia will join the Abraham Accords. This will be completed very quickly."

TRUMP ASKED ABOUT RÜMEYSA ÖZTÜRK

Responding to a question about the cancellation of visas for 300 students due to their participation in campus protests in the U.S., and whether this is seen as a suppression of freedom of speech, Trump replied, "There was a massive amount of anti-Semitism in every one of these demonstrations. A very large amount of anti-Semitism. I support freedom of speech, but I cannot support the riots breaking out at every university in the U.S."

Trump stated that students have the right to protest, but they cannot destroy schools as seen at Columbia and other locations.

During the interview, Trump was also asked about the situation of Rümeysa Öztürk, a PhD student at Tufts University who was detained for supporting Palestine. When asked whether the Department of Justice would share evidence regarding the U.S. government's claim that Öztürk has ties to Hamas, Trump replied, "I see no harm in that. I will look into this matter. I am not aware of the incident in question."