By BILL BARROW and WILL WEISSERT
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump said he can’t guarantee that his promised tariffs on key U.S. foreign trade partners won’t raise prices for American consumers and he suggested once more that some political rivals and federal officials who pursued legal cases against him should be imprisoned.
The president-elect, in a wide-ranging interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” that aired Sunday, also touched on monetary policy, immigration, abortion and health care, and U.S. involvement in Ukraine, Israel and elsewhere.
Trump often mixed declarative statements with caveats, at one point cautioning “things do change.”
A look at some of the issues covered:
Trump hems on whether trade penalties could raise prices
Trump has threatened broad trade penalties, but said he didn’t believe economists’ predictions that added costs on those imported goods for American companies would lead to higher domestic prices for consumers. He stopped short of a pledge that U.S. an households won’t be paying more as they shop.
“I can’t guarantee anything. I can’t guarantee tomorrow,” Trump said, seeming to open the door to accepting the reality of how import levies typically work as goods reach the retail market.
That’s a different approach from Trump’s typical speeches throughout the 2024 campaign, when he framed his election as a sure way to curb inflation.
In the interview, Trump defended tariffs generally, saying that tariffs are “going to make us rich.”
He has pledged that, on his first day in office in January, he would impose 25% tariffs on all goods imported from Mexico and Canada unless those countries satisfactorily stop illegal immigration and the flow of illegal drugs such as fentanyl into the United States. He also has threatened tariffs on China to help force that country to crack down on fentanyl production.
”All I want to do is I want to have a level, fast, but fair playing field,” Trump said.
Trump suggests retribution for his opponents while claiming no interest in vengeance
Swift action on immigration is coming
Trump commits to NATO, with conditions, and waffles on Putin and Ukraine
Pressed on whether he would withdraw if he were dissatisfied with allies’ commitments, Trump said he wants the U.S. treated “fairly” on trade and defense.
He waffled on a NATO priority of containing Russia and President Vladimir Putin.
Trump suggested Ukraine should prepare for less U.S. aid in its defense against Putin’s invasion. “Possibly. Yeah, probably. Sure,” Trump said of reducing Ukraine assistance from Washington. Separately, Trump has called for an immediate cease-fire.
Asked about Putin, Trump said initially that he has not talked to the Russian leader since Election Day last month, but then hedged: “I haven’t spoken to him recently.” Trump said when pressed, adding that he did not want to “impede the negotiation.”
Trump says Powell is safe at the Fed, but not Wray at the FBI
The president-elect said he has no intention, at least for now, of asking Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to step down before Powell’s term ends in 2028. Trump said during the campaign that presidents should have more say in Fed policy, including interest rates.
Trump did not offer any job assurances for FBI Director Christopher Wray, whose term is to end in 2027.
Asked about Wray, Trump said: “Well, I mean, it would sort of seem pretty obvious” that if the Senate confirms Kash Patel as Trump’s pick for FBI chief, then “he’s going to be taking somebody’s place, right? Somebody is the man that you’re talking about.”
Trump is absolute about Social Security, not so much on abortion and health insurance
Trump promised that the government efficiency effort led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will not threaten Social Security. “We’re not touching Social Security, other than we make it more efficient,” he said. He added that “we’re not raising ages or any of that stuff.”
He was not so specific about abortion or his long-promised overhaul of the Affordable Care Act.
On abortion, Trump continued his inconsistencies and said he would “probably” not move to restrict access to the abortion pills that now account for a majority of pregnancy terminations, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights. But pressed on whether he would commit to that position, Trump replied, “Well, I commit. I mean, are — things do — things change. I think they change.”
Reprising a line from his Sept. 10 debate against Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump again said he had “concepts” of a plan to substitute for the 2010 Affordable Care Act, which he called “lousy health care.”
He added a promise that any Trump version would maintain insurance protections for Americans with preexisting health conditions. He did not explain how such a design would be different from the status quo or how he could deliver on his desire for “better healthcare for less money.”
___
Barrow reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writers Adriana Gomez Licon in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Jill Colvin and Michelle L. Price in New York contributed to this report.
Get more Colorado news by signing up for our daily Your Morning Dozen email newsletter.
Originally Published:
