President Trump sat down this week for a wide-ranging interview with Time Magazine, talking about the possibility of a third term, territorial expansion, a tax increase for millionaires and his past “exaggeration” about bringing a quick end to the Russia-Ukraine war.
The interview, conducted at the White House on Tuesday on published Thursday morning, comes as Trump nears the close of his first 100 days of his second tenure in the Oval Office, which have seen a blitz of executive action, intensifying constitutional fights, a roiled global economy and dizzying cuts to the federal workforce.
Here are five key takeaways from the sprawling Time interview:
Doesn’t ‘believe’ in using ‘loopholes’ for third term
Trump last month said he’s “not joking” about serving a possible third term, despite a constitutional restriction limiting presidents to two terms, and suggested “there are methods [with] which you could do it.”
But when Time asked about those comments, Trump told the outlet that he didn’t “believe in loopholes” and didn’t want to discuss what methods he may have been referring to.
“I’d rather not discuss that now, but as you know, there are some loopholes that have been discussed that are well known. But I don’t believe in loopholes. I don’t believe in using loopholes,” Trump said.
Time also asked about whether he might run as vice president to his current second-in-command, JD Vance, as a workaround for a third term.
“I don’t know anything about, what, look, all I can say is this, I am being inundated with requests. I’m doing a good job,” Trump said.
The president’s talk of a third term, which is barred by the 22nd Amendment, has alarmed some Democrats, while Republicans have largely downplayed the remarks as a joke.
Says he’s ‘really not trolling’ with talk of Canada as 51st state
Trump has dubbed former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “governor” and repeatedly floated the idea that America’s neighbor to the north should join the U.S. as its 51st state, despite sharp pushback from Trudeau and other Canadian officials.
When a Time reporter suggested the president was “trolling a little bit” with his Canada comments, Trump said he was serious.
“I think Canada, what you said that, ‘Well, that one, I might be trolling.’ But I’m really not trolling. Canada is an interesting case,” Trump said.
He repeated his claim that the U.S. is losing money to support Canada.
“We’re taking care of their military. We’re taking care of every aspect of their lives, and we don’t need them to make cars for us. In fact, we don’t want them to make cars for us. We want to make our own cars. We don’t need their lumber. We don’t need their energy. We don’t need anything from Canada,” he said.
“And I say the only way this thing really works is for Canada to become a state.”
Trump has also rattled world leaders with threats to take control of the Panama Canal and acquire Greenland, the self-governing Arctic territory under Denmark.
He told Time that he “wouldn’t mind” being remembered as a president who expanded American territory.
Would ‘absolutely’ sign ban on congressional stock trading
Trump said he would greenlight legislation to slap a ban on congressional stock trading if it reached his desk.
“Well, I watched Nancy Pelosi get rich through insider information, and I would be okay with it. If they send that to me, I would do it,” Trump said, adding that he’d “absolutely” sign such a bill.
Former Speaker Pelosi (D-Calif.), whose husband is a prolific trader, initially said she wouldn’t support a ban, but reversed that position in 2022 under pressure from others in the party.
The Hill reached out to Pelosi’s office for a response to Trump’s latest remarks.
A ban on congressional stock trading has seen support from both sides of the aisle over the years, but has yet to advance to the president’s desk for signature.
Republicans have come under scrutiny over stock market activity in the wake of Trump’s tariff moves.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) earlier this month asked the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to investigate whether Trump administration insiders and friends profited off insider knowledge about tariffs, which caused wild market swings.
Promise to end Ukraine war in 25 hours was ‘in jest’
After pledging throughout his 2024 campaign to end the Russia-Ukraine war before even taking office, or within 24 hours of starting his term, Trump is nearing the end of his first 100 days without a breakthrough.
He told Time that his prior promises to end the war immediately were “said in jest.”
“Well, I said that figuratively, and I said that as an exaggeration, because to make a point, and you know, it gets, of course, by the fake news,” Trump told the outlet. “Obviously, people know that when I said that, it was said in jest, but it was also said that it will be ended.”
Asked what’s taking so long, Trump pushed back.
“Well, I don’t think it’s long. I mean, look, I got here three months ago. This war has been going on for three years,” he said.
Trump on Wednesday lashed out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for drawing a red line on Crimea; on Thursday, he expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin for stikes against Kyiv.
“I believe I’m the only one that can get this thing negotiated. And I think we’re a long way. We’ve had very good talks, and we’re getting very close to a deal,” he told Time.
Warns of political consequences for millionaire tax hike
Trump told Time that he loves the “concept” of raising taxes on the wealthy, but raised concerns about the grave political risk.
“I’d be raising them on [the] wealthy to take care of [the] middle class. And that’s—I love, that. I actually love the concept, but I don’t want it to be used against me politically, because I’ve seen people lose elections for less, especially with the fake news,” Trump told the outlet.
Republicans in Congress are considering upping taxes on the rich, breaking with longstanding party stance.
Asked if a tax increase on the wealthy would help cover the cost of some of his campaign proposals, like eliminating taxes on tipped wages, Trump said that he “would not mind personally paying more” but cautioned that “the concept is something that may not be acceptable to the public.”
Trump said on Wednesday that a tax increase on millionaires “would be very disruptive, because a lot of the millionaires would leave the country.”