Trump’s interview with the NYT

I have copied and pasted for those that are interested.

Sitting behind his desk in the Oval Office, where he keeps a model of the B-2 bombers used in last year’s strike on Iran’s nuclear program, Trump told The New York Times that the United States would remain in charge of Venezuela for as long as he wanted — maybe for years. He said he wouldn’t be happy with anything short of “ownership” of Greenland. He said Europe had to “shape up” and that NATO was useless without the United States.

And he said that he did not feel constrained by any international laws, norms, checks or balances.

Asked by my colleagues if there were any limits on his ability to use American military might, he said: “Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me.”

“I don’t need international law,” he added. “I’m not looking to hurt people.”

It was the most blunt acknowledgment yet of Trump’s worldview: It is national strength alone that should be the deciding factor when nations’ interests collide. Past U.S. presidents, he believes, have been too cautious when it comes to exercising American power.

Trump sounded emboldened by his recent successful Venezuela operation. He was dismissive of the norms of the post-World War II order, which the United States helped establish, as an unnecessary burden.

Asked whether his actions might provide a precedent in Ukraine or Taiwan, he shrugged off the idea. President Xi Jinping of China, he said, wouldn’t dare attack Taiwan on his watch.

“He may do it after we have a different president, but I don’t think he’s going to do it with me as president,” he said.

We’ve rounded up some more highlights from the interview below. You can follow our coverage here.

Venezuela

Trump said he expected that the United States would run Venezuela and extract oil from its huge reserves for years, insisting that the interim government of the country — run by loyalists aligned with the now-imprisoned Nicolás Maduro — is “giving us everything that we feel is necessary.”

“We will rebuild it in a very profitable way,” Trump said. “We’re going to be using oil, and we’re going to be taking oil. We’re getting oil prices down, and we’re going to be giving money to Venezuela, which they desperately need.”

Yesterday, the Senate voted to take up a resolution that would rein in Trump’s power to use military force in Venezuela, a striking rebuke. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky said the president’s comments to The New York Times may have tipped the vote.

Greenland

Trump talked about his designs on Greenland, which is controlled by Denmark, a NATO ally.

It was not enough, in his view, to exercise the U.S. right, under a 1951 treaty, to reopen long-closed military bases on the huge landmass.

“Ownership is very important,” Trump said.“Because that’s what I feel is psychologically needed for success. I think that ownership gives you a thing that you can’t do with, you’re talking about a lease or a treaty. Ownership gives you things and elements that you can’t get from just signing a document.”

When asked which was his higher priority, obtaining Greenland or preserving NATO, Trump declined to answer directly, but acknowledged that “it may be a choice.”

Ukraine

Trump told my colleagues that he was ready to commit to the United States being involved in Ukraine’s future defense, but only because he was confident that Russia would not try to invade the country again. “I feel strongly they wouldn’t re-invade, or I wouldn’t agree to it,” Trump said.

Trump’s comments went further than he has before in signaling his openness to sign up for such a commitment, at least in a supporting role.

They also showed that Trump remained convinced of President Vladimir Putin’s professed desire for peace, despite Russia’s demonstrated unwillingness to end the war after nearly a year of negotiations with the United States. “I think he wants to make a deal,” he said.

In a departure from his practice last year, Trump declined to say how quickly he hoped to end the war. “We’re doing the best we can. I don’t have a timeline.”

Colombia

During the interview, Trump took a lengthy call from President Petro of Colombia, who was clearly concerned after repeated threats that Trump was considering an attack on the country similar to the one on Venezuela. Trump invited my colleagues to stay and listen, though what they heard was off the record.

“Well, we are in danger,” Petro told a separate set of my colleagues just before the Trump call. “Because the threat is real. It was made by Trump.”

The ICE shooting

On Wednesday, just hours before the interview, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis. Trump said she had been at fault because she had tried to “run over” the officer.

Trump stuck to his position even as my colleagues pointed out the inconsistencies in his account and the lack of clarity in videos circulating on social media. “She behaved horribly,” Trump said. “And then she ran him over. She didn’t try to run him over. She ran him over.”

After the interview, a Times analysis of footage from three camera angles showed the motorist had been driving away from — not toward — a federal officer when he opened fire. The Times analysis showed that the officer had not actually been run over.