7 highlights from Trump’s interview with CBS News: Iran, Renee Good, Jerome Powell and his own morality

In a interview with CBS NewsPresident Trump issued a warning to Iran, spoke out on the ICE shooting in Minneapolis — and reiterated that he believes his power as president is limited primarily by his own morality.

Here are the key takeaways from Mr. Trump’s interview at a Ford plant in Dearborn, Michigan, with “CBS Evening News” anchor Tony Dokoupil:

Trump’s goal in Iran: ‘The end game is to win’

At least 12,000 people have been killed in the suppression of a wave of nationwide protests in Iran, according to two sources. told CBS News Tuesday – a death toll far higher than that reported by activists outside the country.

Mr. Trump told CBS News “No one has been able to give us precise numbers,” but he said the death toll could be “pretty significant” and “it’s going to cause a lot of problems for them.”

He also pledged to intervene if Iran started hanging protesters, telling Dokoupil: “We will take very strong action if they do such a thing.” »

The president has repeatedly warned that he could intervene in Iran. He did not specify what steps he might take, but he and his administration have clearly not ruled out the use of military force. Mr. Trump was briefed on a wide range of military and covert tools that could be used against Iran, including conventional airstrikes as well as cyber operations and psychological campaigns. CBS News reported.

His ultimate objective in Iran?

“The end game is to win,” the president said. “I like to win.”

Asked how he defines “winning,” Mr. Trump rattled off a list of previous military operations he ordered, including the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro earlier this month, last summer’s strikes on Iranian nuclear sites and, during his first term, the assassinations of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

“We don’t want to see what’s happening in Iran happen,” Mr. Trump said. “And you know, if they want to protest, that’s one thing, when they start killing thousands of people, and now you’re talking to me about hanging – we’ll see how that works for them. It’s not going to work well.”

Trump’s message to voters who want him to focus on them, not foreign policy

Asked what he would say to Trump voters who prefer his attention to focus on domestic issues rather than abroad, Mr. Trump told Dokoupil: “We have the strongest economy, perhaps in the history of our country,” pointing to expanding auto plants and 24-hour production lines at Ford, Stellantis and GM.

“There is no inflation,” he said, referring to Tuesday’s Consumer Price Index report, which showed prices rose at an annual rate of 2.7% in December, in line with economists’ forecasts and unchanged from November. “Our growth numbers are exploding. Our employment numbers are huge.”

The president said he had focused primarily on domestic issues, but “couldn’t forget the bad threats,” citing the risk of a nuclear Iran.

“So my main focus is on this country,” he said, “but you can’t lose sight of the fact that we need peace all over the world.”

Trump predicts people will soon start feeling better about the economy

Mr. Trump has touted his economic record, but polls suggest most Americans don’t feel it. Last month, 63% of adults disapproved of the president’s handling of the economy, and 50% said his policies are making their financial situation worse, according to a study. CBS News/YouGov survey.

And even though headline inflation is well below 2022 levels and within reach of the Federal Reserve’s 2% per year target, there are some problems, with Ground beef prices jump 15.5% over the past year and coffee prices have risen 19.8%.

Mr. Trump said the inflation numbers are “overall very good. It’s good for us, it’s good for our country.”

Asked by Dokoupil why Americans say they don’t feel that way, Mr. Trump replied “maybe not, but they will now.”

“The first few months were really difficult if you look at it, because I inherited a mess,” he said. “…And now we have the hottest country in the world.”

Trump calls Jerome Powell “corrupt or incompetent”

Mr. Trump unleashed to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, just two days after the central bank chief revealed that the Fed received subpoenas of the Justice Department in what Powell called an act of political intimidation.

The subpoenas related to a costly renovation project at the Fed headquarters. But Mr. Trump has long criticized Powell for not cutting interest rates more quickly.

Mr. Trump called Powell a “bad Fed chairman.” He criticized former President Joe Biden for reappointing Powell for a second term as head of the Fed, after Mr. Trump initially chose Powell for the role during the first Trump administration.

And regarding the renovation project, Mr. Trump claimed that Powell was “either corrupt or incompetent.” (There is no evidence of corruption on Powell’s part in the renovation of the Fed offices.)

When pressed about the appearance that Powell was the victim of political retaliation, the president responded, “I can’t help what that looks like,” and touted his economic record.

Message from Trump to Renée Good’s father

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem accused Renee Good, who was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis last week, of committing domestic terrorism. cope with pressure to investigate the matter as an assault on a federal agent.

Dokoupil asked the president if he had a message for Good’s father, a Trump supporter who is heartbroken over his daughter’s labeling a domestic terrorist.

“I want to tell the father that I love all of our people,” Mr. Trump said, adding: “I would bet you that under normal circumstances she was a very strong, wonderful person, but her actions were pretty harsh.”

He said the job of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents was being “made very, very difficult” as they tried to remove what Mr. Trump claims are “hundreds of thousands of murderers” from the country.

He said that looking at the video footage of the shooting, “it can be viewed two ways, I guess,” but added, “there were a few versions of that tape that were very, very bad.”

Trump predicts robots will be ‘great’ for US workforce

Automotive manufacturing is being redesigned by advanced robotics – sparking excitement over increased productivity and fears that robots could make human assembly line workers obsolete.

The president addressed this issue with Dokoupil, predicting that robots will be “an important factor in the future,” helping to address the shortage of skilled workers.

Asked about the risk of job losses, the president replied: “a skilled worker, a talented person, educated in what they do… they’re going to make a lot of money.”

“I think robotics will be great because this country won’t have enough people if we don’t have it,” he said.

Trump: “I am a moral person”

The president raised eyebrows last week when he told the New York Times that he believed the only limit to his power was his “own morality.”

When asked how this applied to power at the national level, he told Dokoupil: “I am a moral person. I don’t like to see death. I don’t like to see our people hurt.”

“So, yes, it is limited by my morality. And I have a very high morality rating, so it is limited,” the president continued.

Mr. Trump was asked if he thought the courts and the Constitution also constrained him.

“Well, the Constitution, of course, that goes without saying,” he replied. “But you’re asking me what can really stop: We’ll never reach the courts, we’ll never reach the Constitution, because…I want to see what’s good for our country. And you know what? The courts want to see that too.”