President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday tried to defuse panicky liberal fearmongering over him and instead gin up excitement for his sweeping agenda for the country.
Throughout the 2024 campaign, liberal foes seized on Trump’s rhetoric to paint him as someone who intended to rip up institutional norms and was hellbent on vengeance.
But Trump, in a prerecorded chat with NBC’s “Meet the Press” — his first sit-down broadcast television interview since winning the election — the 78-year-old Republican confronted many of those concerns head-on and seemingly strived to portray himself as a pragmatist.
Here are some of the top takeaways from Trump’s interview:
Hands-off approach to DOJ and FBI
The incoming president signaled that he would largely be deferring to instead of directing Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and loyalist Kash Patel in their potential posts at the helm of the Justice Department and FBI, respectively.
Trump was asked if he wanted Bondi to investigate special counsel Smith and the team that had been prosecuting the president-elect for several alleged crimes.
“I think he’s very corrupt,” Trump said of Smith.
Still, “I want her to do what she wants to do,” Trump said of Bondi and any probes she may undertake.
Trump also was asked about the list of 60 so-called “Deep State” actors that Patel has reportedly compiled.
The president-elect was asked whether he wanted to see the people investigated.
“No,” Trump said — although he left the door open for Patel to do so.
“I think he’s going to do what he thinks is right,” Trump said. “If they think that someone was dishonest, or crooked or corrupt politicians, I think he probably has an obligation to do it.”
Asked to clarify if he would instruct such an investigation, Trump responded, “No, not at all.”
‘They should go to jail’
One moment from the wide-ranging interview that is sure to fire up critics came when the president-elect suggested that members of the since-defunct House Select Jan. 6 Committee should be jailed.
The panel had been probing Trump’s alleged role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riots on Capitol Hill.
“For what they did, honestly they should go to jail,” Trump vented about members of the committee.
But later, when asked if he would direct his US attorney general and FBI director to go after them,” Trump replied, “No, not at all.
“I think they’ll have to look at that. But I’m not going to [ask]. I’m going to focus on drill baby drill,” Trump said, referring to the push for more oil and gas production.
The Biden administration is mulling whether to issue blanket pardons for individuals whom Trump may target such as the committee’s members, including former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), according to multiple reports.
Dramatic cuts to Social Security are off the table
Ever since the GOP’s election victory, Republican lawmakers have expressed renewed energy in taking on the national debt and slashing the government.
Trump further fueled this excitement by naming entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy as co-heads of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an entity that is not actually a government department.
But he ruled out making dramatic cuts to at least one program, Social Security.
“We’re not touching Social Security other than we might make it more efficient, but the people are going to get what they get,” Trump said. “And we’re not raising [requirement] ages or any of that stuff.”
Won’t fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell early
In October, Trump drew unease from market analysts by contending that a president should have some sway over monetary policy and by being noncommittal about whether he’d remove Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell before his term expires.
“No, I don’t think so. I don’t see it,” Trump replied when asked about whether he’d boot Powell, whose term ends in May 2026.
Trump nominated Powell to helm the Fed in late 2017, and President Biden opted to retain him.
In other countries, central banks that aren’t sufficiently separated from the political process often become more susceptible to issues such as inflation.
Will stay in NATO if …
Trump also clarified that he intends to keep the US in NATO, provided that the powerful military alliance “pays its bills.
“They have to pay their bills. If they pay their bills, absolutely,” Trump replied when asked about remaining in the alliance.
“NATO’s taking advantage of us,” he said. “They take advantage of us on trade. … And on top of that, we defend them. So it’s a double whammy.”
NATO members are expected to pony up 2% of their nation’s gross domestic product on defense. In the wake of the Ukraine war, all but eight of the 32-nation bloc meet that obligation, according to data from the Atlantic Council.
Trump added that Ukraine “probably should” expect less military assistance from the US under his watch.
He revealed that he hasn’t spoken with Russian leader Vladimir Putin “recently.”
Backs off threat about prosecuting Biden
In August 2023, Trump suggested on Truth Social that he would name a special counsel or special prosecutor to go after President Biden, presumably over the commander-in-chief’s alleged dealings with son Hunter’s supposed influence-peddling.
“No, I’m not doing that unless I find something that is reasonable, but that’s not going to be my decision, that’s going to be Pam Bondi’s decision and to a different extent, Kash Patel,” Trump told NBC.
“I’m really looking to make our country successful. I’m not looking to go back into the past,” Trump explained. “Retribution will be through success.”
Doesn’t think he’ll change on abortion
Trump deviated from Republican orthodoxy on abortion in April when he declared that he would not pursue federal restrictions on the controversial procedure.
During the NBC interview, Trump suggested he would stick to that, although he gave himself some wiggle room.
“I’ll probably stay with exactly what I’ve been saying for the last two years. And the answer is no,” Trump said when asked about such restrictions, including access to abortion pills.
“Things change. I think they change. I hate to go on shows like Joe Biden, ‘I’m not going to give my son a pardon,’ ” Trump mused, referring to Biden’s reversal on pardoning his son. “I don’t like putting myself in a position like that.
“Things do change. But I don’t think it’s going to change at all.”
Protecting “Dreamers,” ending birthright citizenship
Trump repeated his call to end so-called birthright citizenship, in which illegal migrants can cross the border and have children on US soil who will automatically become citizens because of the 14th Amendment.
But as for “Dreamers,” individuals whose families already brought them illegally into the country at a young age and who have since grown up here, Trump suggested he would work with Democrats to figure it out.
“The Dreamers are going to come later, and we have to do something about the Dreamers, because these are people that have been brought here at a very young age, and many of these are middle-aged people now,” Trump said.
“I will work with the Democrats on a plan, and [see] if we can come up with a plan. But the Democrats have made it very, very difficult to do anything. Republicans are very open to the Dreamers.”
No family separation for migrants — although they could all get the boot together
The president-elect also underscored that he was keen on avoiding a repeat of the controversial family separation policy that stoked blowback during his first administration.
“I don’t want to be breaking up families,” Trump said. “So the only way you don’t break up the family is you keep them together and you have to send them all back.
“We don’t have to separate families,” Trump said. “We’ll send the whole family very humanely back to the country where they came.”
Moderator Kristen Welker pressed him about the implications for children who were in the US legally despite their parents being present illegally.
“Then the family has a choice: The person that came in illegally can go out or they can all go out together,” he said.
Trump said he would prioritize deporting violent illegal immigrants who have committed other crimes.
Day One
Trump teased that he would pursue a busy Day One agenda jammed-packed with executive orders on a range of issues such as the economy and the border.
“I won on groceries. Very simple word, groceries,” Trump reflected on his election victory, referring to the economy.
“When you buy apples, when you buy bacon, when you buy eggs, they would double and triple the price over a short period of time,” he said, referring to the previous administration.
The president-elect also indicated that he would mull pardons for Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol rioters when he assumes the Oval Office once again.
“I’m going to be acting very quickly,” Trump teased. “I’m going to look at everything. We’re going to look at individual cases.”
