5 key moments from Trump's "60 Minutes" interview
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President Trump gestures as he arrives at the White House on Nov. 2. Photo: Aaron Schwartz/Getty Images
President Trump on Sunday faced questions about his norm-shattering second term in a "60 Minutes" interview with CBS News' Norah O'Donnell.
Why it matters: The interview was Trump's first with the network since he sued CBS and its parent company over a "60 Minutes" interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 campaign.
- The sit-down offered insight into Trump's thinking on his aggressive immigration crackdown, the ongoing government shutdown and more.
Here are five key moments:
Nuclear weapons testing
Trump announced ahead of the interview that the U.S. will resume testing nuclear weapons for the first time in decades. He defended that decision and suggested that Russia and China are already testing their weapons.
- Trump said he doesn't want the U.S. "to be the only country that doesn't test."
- "That would certainly be very newsworthy," O'Donnell said, noting that Russia had tested its delivery systems but not the nuclear warheads.
- "Russia's testing, and China's testing, but they don't talk about it," Trump responded.
Zoom out: Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Fox News that U.S. testing of nuclear weapons would not include explosions.
Venezuela and Maduro
When asked, Trump wouldn't answer directly on 60 Minutes whether he'd conduct land strikes on Venezuela.
- "You're a wonderful reporter, you're very talented," Trump said to O'Donnell. "But I'm not gonna tell you what I'm gonna do with Venezuela, if I was gonna do it or if I wasn't going to do it."
- Trump did says that he believes Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's regime will end soon.
Catch up quick: The Trump administration has killed dozens of purported "narco-terrorists" in the Caribbean and East Pacific without telling Congress or Americans who the military targeted or on what evidence.
Immigration and mass deportations
Trump said Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids "haven't gone far enough."
- His assessment comes shortly after the The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it has deported more than half a million undocumented immigrants since Trump returned to office.
The latest: Trump complained that the courts have slowed his mass deportation efforts.
- He defended immigration officials' often-violent tactics, like deploying tear gas in Chicago.
- "You have to get the people out," he said.
Government shutdown
Days away from breaking the record for longest government shutdown, Trump, again, blamed Democrats for the standoff. He did not offer any new ideas on how to end it.
- "You're saying the Democrats will capitulate?" O'Donnell asked.
- "I think they have to," Trump responded.
Context: Democrats have held out for an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies set to expire at the end of the year.
- Trump, in the interview, said he'd "work on fixing the bad health care we have."
- Republicans have said they won't negotiate on health care until the government reopens.
Binance founder pardon
Trump denied knowing crypto exchange founder Changpang Zhao after the pardon he issued on his behalf drew bipartisan backlash.
- Asked why he pardoned Zhao, Trump replied, "OK, are you ready? I don't know who he is."
- He said the federal case and resulting prison sentence came after a "Biden witch hunt."
- Trump continued, "I said, 'Eh, it may look bad if I do it. I have to do the right thing.' I don't know the man at all. I don't think I ever met him. Maybe I did."
Flashback: Zhao, better known as CZ, was sentenced to four months in prison after pleading guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act for failing to implement anti-money laundering procedures.
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