Driving the news: Trump has not hesitated to prolong the war in Iran, resist AI regulation and threaten to “go after” Democrats if they win the House.
- The interview was also historic, as it was Trump’s 56th appearance on the cover of Time, “surpassing President Richard Nixon, who held the record for more than half a century,” the magazine said.
Here are five takeaways.
Trump on Iran:
Trump was provocative When asked why the war in Iran lasted longer than the original timeline, he told Time: “I could have stopped there, but I wanted to go further.”
- He said the press had “fed” the Americans with its initial forecast of attacks lasting about four to six weeks, a timetable he gave to several media outlets early in the war. He also repeatedly implied that the war was almost over.
He reiterated the threat he declared before the UN General Assembly that he could “annihilate” Iran.
- Pressed to reconcile this with the claim that he is the peace president, Trump responded: “by annihilating Iran, we have created peace in the world.”
- He also said it was “possible” he would step up its bombing after the midterms, disputing Pentagon reports of an ammunition deficit.
Trump on Netanyahu’s re-election:
Trump evaded questions on whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be re-elected in Israel, just weeks before the elections.
- He said he was “no longer involved in politics”, but touted his popularity in Israel.
- Pressed again, Trump applauded U.S. support for Israel, saying, “No, my priority: I want to help them defend Israel.”
On Netanyahu’s leadership Opposition candidate and former Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot said: “I don’t hear bad things about him.”
- But he added: “People have written off Bibi (Netanyahu) many, many times, just like they have written me off many, many times. I wouldn’t underestimate Bibi. »
Trump on the race for AI and superintelligence:
Trump continued to dismiss concerns about The threat that AI poses to humanity is referred to as “false threats”.
- Asked by Time who is behind this conspiracy, Trump responded: “The whole country is based on false things because these people are suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome.” »
He said he didn’t know if that included Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who had dinner with the president on Sunday.
- The president said his “guardrail” if major AI labs “do bad things” is federal law enforcement: “I have a DOJ, I have an FBI. »
Trump also defended the data centers fueling the AI boom, despite widespread opposition.
- “I would like to have data centers,” he said. “That doesn’t mean I want them right near my house, but I certainly like them in my county.”
- He acknowledged that “many politicians are against these projects,” but warned: “If we don’t build them, they will be built elsewhere.”
Trump insisted on media ban, cover:
After banning three White House media outlets — and having been ordered by a judge to reinstate them, Trump continued to call out “fake news” for what he called “bad story after bad story.”
- This comes as the White House once again excluded CNN from the press pool covering the president’s trip to Texas and Oklahoma on Thursday.
He also attacked to Time for the questions they asked him, saying in response to a health inquiry from Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), “You haven’t asked me a single damn positive question.”
- He ended the interview by saying, “Well, I hope I have a decent story. I don’t think, you know, it’s hard to have a good story. Every question is a hit. I don’t know what’s wrong.”
How Trump views Democrats
Trump told Time that he doesn’t think Democrats will take control of Congress after the midterm elections, especially if he campaigns.
- “I think I’ll be fine if I campaign, and I intend to. If I campaign…you don’t give me enough credit. When I campaign, I give people a lot of credit.”
If the Democrats win the House, Trump predicted: “They’ll probably sue me and I’ll sue them.”
- There was at least one Democrat Trump was willing to congratulate: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. “I say I like him, I think he’s great, but I think his politics are crazy.”
Go further: How Trump’s signature disappeared from voters’ radars
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