Meloni rejects Trump's photo claim, cancels Washington visit

„Bin ehrlich gesagt fassungslos: Meloni zeigt sich empört über mögliche Lüge von Trump Meloni habe ihn „angefleht, ein Foto mit ihr zu machen, behauptete Trump. Mit seiner Äußerung sorgt er nun für diplomatische Spannungen. Italiens Außenminister sagt seine geplante US-Reise ab.

tagesspiegel · about 3 hours ago

Trumps "Great Man" theory: "No limits" to his power President Trump declared on "The Axios Show" on Thursday that hes discovered "no limits" to his power since going to war with Iran.A forthcoming book reveals hes been entertaining an even grander idea: that he may be the most powerful man in history.Why it matters: Trump is no longer merely testing the limits of the presidency. Hes describing power in world-historical terms — placing himself in the lineage of conquerors, dictators and strongmen who bent nations to their will.In a wide-ranging, soon-to-be-released 45-minute interview with Axios Marc Caputo, Trump repeatedly measured power by submission: G7 leaders believed him when he joked "Im the boss," he said, while Israel has "a lot of respect for me" and will "do as I say."Zoom in: In "Regime Change," coming Tuesday from The New York Times Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, Trump proudly shows off a document arguing hes more powerful than Attila the Hun, Genghis Khan, Napoleon, Stalin, Mao and Hitler.Trump "began reading from it," the authors write, "reciting the names of some of historys most powerful figures" and explaining how each "fell short of his own power as U.S. president.""They didnt have airplanes, right? You couldnt travel around," Trump said of Alexander the Great, the Caesars and William the Conqueror. "Napoleon," he added "with relish," according to the authors.Haberman and Swan write that the revealing part was "the evident pleasure he took in the company of Mao, Hitler, and Stalin" — and "the untroubled ease with which he accepted a place among men who had reshaped the world through conquest and fear."Zoom out: Hints of that grandiose theory of power surfaced throughout Trumps interview with Axios, hours after returning from what he called a "very dominant" G7 summit in France.Trump named Chinas Xi Jinping and Indias Narendra Modi as the world leaders he most admires, praising Xi as "all business" and Modi as "a very tough cookie." He declined to identify the leaders he considers the weakest — then pivoted to lamenting Vladimir Putins absence from the G7, which was the G8 prior to Russias expulsion after its 2014 annexation of Crimea.Trump lingered on French President Emmanuel Macrons decision to honor him with a dinner at Versailles, the kind of imperial stage Trump called "my weakness."Between the lines: Allies, in Trumps telling, are only relevant when they recognize who holds the real power."If it werent for me, Israel would not exist today," Trump told Axios, adding that his relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "good, but we have to keep him a little bit sane." Trump struck a similar tone toward Republican hawks furious over his Iran deal: "Some guys that I used to respect, I dont respect anymore. Theyre hardliners," he said.Pressed on why the deal falls short of his original demands, a defiant Trump opted for his own reality — insisting the outcome does, in fact, amount to "unconditional surrender" by Iran as well as "regime change."Reality check: For all of Trumps claims of limitless power, he acknowledged one force still constrains him — the economy.He argued that extending the war to satisfy hawks could have triggered a "worldwide depression." He pointed to falling oil prices and a surging stock market as proof he made the right decision to back a deal that could end the Iran war."I have one primary wish as president ... I never want to be the late, great Herbert Hoover," Trump said, referring to the 31st president, whos forever associated with the Great Depression.The bottom line: Trump posted the "Great Men" document on Truth Social on Thursday, calling its author a "presidential historian." Haberman and Swan report that the author was actually the longtime caddy and personal confidant to golfer Gary Player.The documents conclusion: Trumps willingness to use his power on a global scale "makes him by far the most powerful person that has EVER walked this planet."Watch a clip from the interview.

axios · about 3 hours ago

Exclusive: President Trump talks Iran, Cuba, Israel, AI, and power on "The Axios Show" President Trump tells "The Axios Show" that his deal to end the war in Iran averted a global depression, that Cuba could get the same treatment as Venezuela, and that a leading AI lab looked in recent days like a national security threat.The big picture: In a sweeping 45-minute interview on Thursday with Axios White House correspondent Marc Caputo, Trump made clear his view of the extent of his post-war power: "There are no limits."What hes saying: The president touched on many of the worlds hot-button topics in a Roosevelt Room sitdown:🇮🇷 Ending the war in Iran: "This is the kind of thing that could cause a worldwide depression," Trump said, adding that his deal averted that fate.🇨🇺 On whether an action in Cuba would be as swift as the one in Venezuela: "Its possible," Trump said. "These places are close by. Whereas if you look at Iran, thats a very long trip. ... Venezuela is relatively close and Cubas a hopscotch."🇮🇱 On Israels fate: "If it werent for me, Israel would not exist today because I terminated the Barack Hussein Obama deal, the JCPOA, which was a road to a nuclear weapon."🤖 If Anthropics latest models pose a national security risk: "Well, not now, but a week ago maybe."💪 The limits of his power in the wake of the war: "There are no limits," Trump said. "I havent learned that lesson yet. I know there are, but there are no limits."Go deeper: Trumps all-powerful "Great Man" theoryThis episode has been edited for brevity .... Watch the extended interview.

axios · about 3 hours ago

Read the transcript of Trumps interview with "The Axios Show" Axios Marc Caputo:Mr. President, welcome to the Axios Show.President Trump:Thank you.Caputo:We wanted to make this more of a conversation than a typical interview where were just going to hop around from topics to topic, and we wanted to do, Axios likes to do "1 big thing." And so the one big thing we want to talk about is power, and how you think about it and how you wield it. And so a decade ago, you first became president, and youve had loads of experience since then. In that span of time, what is the one big thing youve learned about wielding power?Trump:Well, I think you have to do it judiciously. I think that experience is good. I always say that potential is far more important. In other words, having ability is far more important than experience. But having both is very good. And I learned a lot during the first administration. And I was told just the other day, because you know we had a tremendous G7 and very dominant G7. We got what I wanted. And somebody said the other day that this is a far more powerful administration or term than the first one. And we had a good first term. You know we had the best economy. We had a lot of good things happening. Rebuilt the military. We did a good job. But I feel its a more powerful term than the first one. Now that comes with experience. It also comes by having somebody precede you who was a disaster. The man was a disaster. And so when you compare to somebody like that, you look maybe better than you are. Thats possible, but I feel that its a very powerful administration right now.Caputo:But thats because youve applied lessons, youve done some things differently. What are some of those things you did differently, or better than you did before?Trump:Well, its a terrible answer actually, but I dont think about it. I just do what I have to do. I want to get something done. I dont say, oh, Im going to do it a little bit differently this time. I probably say that down deep, but I dont think about, like Gee, what can I do differently? I just want to get the job done, and Ive always gotten the job done. Thats how I got elected the first time, and thats how I got elected the second time. But the second Trump administration is a more powerful. And it feels more to me. I may not be wrong. You would know maybe better than I would cause I dont give it a lot of thought, but I think its a more powerful administration. And I think the first one was really good. You know, I rebuilt the military in the first one. I did Space Force. I did so many things. We had the best economy. We had a great economy. We had the best job numbers. We had everything. First administration was good. We got hit by COVID. Thats not my fault. But at the end. But we had a great administration. But this one is I think better.Caputo:Youve mentioned the G7. You saw a number of world leaders. You walked in and you said, Im the boss. How many of them believe that?Trump:All of them. But I was just being funny. What happened is theyre all sitting, and then I walked into the room and it was just sort of funny because theres a very long table, but theres only seven of them. The table was meant for like 30 people. So the whole end of the table looked like almost the perfect podium-type setup, right? And I saw them all sitting. Theyre all well-known figures. The heads of countries. We had a couple of others in there too, as you know. As an example, Modi of India, a great guy. A lot of people came. Theyre allowed to come if they want and sit. But I walked in there, these leaders, and I just looked at em. I said, Im the boss, and you remember. And you know that was done as a joke. This thing I carried all over the world. I cant believe it. I was just being cute. Funny. I wasnt trying to be the boss.Caputo:You have experience, obviously, with the world leaders from your two terms. Whats your definition of a great leader? How do you define?Trump:Well, you have so many different types of leaders. Yesterday as an example, Ill mention the name again because pretty great. You know, all my life Ive watched India. They just kept changing, changing, changing. Somebody would be there for six months and then a year. And then all of a sudden, Prime Minister Modi ends up there. Hes been there for more than 12 years, very solid. And he does it through, like, theres a great calmness, and yet hes not a calm person. Hes a very tough guy. I know him very well. And you have such different leaders. I watched Brazil, the leader who I know a little bit. We have some — hes a very volatile person.Caputo:Youre not a fan of Lula, if Im not mistaken.Trump:Im not a fan or not a fan. I dont think about him to be honest with you. I dont really think about him. I couldnt care less. But hes a different kind of a person now. Very volatile. I watched as he made a speech. It was a very volatile and its fine. Its all different types. So when you say about leaders, when you say about, you know, what do they all have in common? Look, theyre all smart. You cant get to that level without being smart. You know who is very smart — is President Xi of China. Hes a very smart man. You dont get to those levels where you are running a country, even if it was a small country, you have something special. Now, in some cases, it doesnt work out, but you need something special. Its not an easy thing to do.Caputo:What is it about Xi that you find most admirable?Trump:So we have a very good relationship, and you probably heard me say yesterday, I said, you know, I want to thank him because he didnt get involved with the whole thing with Iran. He could have gotten involved. He could have sent a nice oil ship surrounded by 12 destroyers and see if he could blast his way through the blockade, which was an unbelievable military. I think its going to go down as one of the great military maneuvers. It was every bit as important as all the bombing we did. It really, they were dying. They had no money, no nothing for months. But President Xi, I asked him, I said, Id really appreciate you not getting involved. And he was great. He didnt get involved. And I think if somebody else wouldve said that, I dont think somebody else wouldve even asked him that. But I did, I get along with him well. Hes a strong man. Hes no games. He wont sit down and say, oh, what a beautiful day. This is a wonderful day, Marc. Look how beautiful. Look at the sunshine. Theres none of that stuff. Its like all business, which I like. I think its great.Caputo:Is there something about the Chinese system that you think advantages him in his country that you wish you had here?Trump:Well, its actually supposed to be a disadvantage. You know, we have the entrepreneurship and all the things you read about, but theyre there just about as quick as we are. You go to somethings hot, and we get there and the Chinese are standing there before us, or we beat em by a little bit. But Ill tell you, were beating them on AI. We have the strongest military in the world. We have the most powerful military in the world. He admitted to me, you have the most powerful. I did a great job. I rebuilt our military in the first term and did it well. Look, take a look at Venezuela. 48 minutes. The whole thing was over. 48 minutes. And by the way, now we have a great relationship, and weve paid for that war with Venezuela many, many, many times. Were taking out millions of barrels of oil and were making them more money than theyve ever made before. All the big oil companies are moving in. Its amazing. Theres no place with that kind of oil. I guess us, maybe, we have the most, and theyre probably second or third.Caputo:Obviously, if I ask you who are the two greatest, or leaders you like the most on the world stage, Ill assume one of them is Xi.Trump:Yeah, I think in terms of leadership, I think thats true.Caputo:Whos the other? When you think of power and leverage and the ability to execute on that?Trump:Well, I think Modi is very good. Yeah, theyve had some very good numbers announced. He stays out of wars, which is smart. Hes 1.5 billion people. Hes actually the biggest. Indias actually the biggest. Modis a great leader, and we do a lot of business with them, but now we do fair business. They used to really rip us off. I dont blame them for that. We had stupid politicians, but, that allowed that to happen. But now we do a lot of business. Theyre not that happy about it because they used to do a lot better. But Modis great. President Xi is great. Classics, you know. I mean, if you were going to make a movie about either one of them, you wouldnt be able to find the man in Hollywood. Im telling you. As an example, the look of Xi, hes got a great look. Looks dont matter, right? We dont like to, they say dont talk about looks, but hes tall.Hes 6 foot 2. Hes got a great stature. Hes got great confidence, and he is smart. Modi in a very different way. Just highly respected. Ive seen, you know, I know the real Modi is a very tough cookie. Ill tell you, you have, I got to know some that I didnt know very well. In Pakistan, you have the field marshal, who is great. Munir, hes great. And you have the prime minister, and they just get along great. I figured, well, maybe the military guy would be, he totally respects the prime minister. Its a beautiful thing to see. But they really helped us with this deal. They knew the Iranians, they knew the people and they were good. You have leaders in, I mean, you have so many different types. For the most part, if youre a smart person, you can understand to be in these positions, you have to be smart. You have to be tough. Maybe smart even more so, but the combination is probably better. But we have, there are a lot of great leaders out there, and there are a lot of really bad ones.Caputo:Okay, lets talk about that.Trump:I know, whos the bad one?Caputo:Who are the two weakest?Trump:Well, I cant say that because…Caputo:Youre the president.Trump:I cant say. I will tell you, though, that this couple of days was interesting. It was held in France, and Emmanuel Macron of France, who wont be there that much longer, hes the president and he was, Ill tell you what, he did a great job of hosting the G7. Really good. No games, no nothing. And he invited me about a week before. He said, would you do me a favor? Would you come in to Paris? Wed like to honor you. I view it as honoring the nation. But he said, Id like to honor you. And he had the biggest people in Europe there and beyond. I mean some people in Versailles, and I was sort of not going to do it, but he knew my weakness because I like Versailles, its one of the great places. I figured...Caputo:Whats your weakness?Trump:Like, places like Versailles. But no, its incredible. And its not something they do. I understand. They dont do that. They dont do dinners at Versailles. And we had a fantastic dinner. I think he did a fantastic job. Ill tell you with the G7, Ive seen G7s. Ive been to a lot of G7s, and it used to be G8s. They should have kept the G8. You probably wouldnt have the war with Russia and Ukraine if they did, but Obama didnt want Putin there. I guess one or two others also. But they wanted Putin out. It used to be the G8. It wouldve been much better if they kept that that way.Caputo:Speaking of Putin, who do you admire more out of the two of them? Putin or Zelensky?Trump:Well, I think its amazing whats happened, actually. You have a war that should have been over very quickly. You know, I dont know if you know the story, but when that started, Putin had hundreds of tanks that were driving up a highway. Theres a highway, concrete, very good highway, solid as a rock, right into Kyiv. And about halfway there, he wouldve been there in three hours going at 51 miles an hour, which is about the max speed for a tank. And they had, you remember the big line of tanks? And they had some general, who probably is no longer with us. He decided rather than going right into Kyiv and ending the war on the first day. I dont think anyone even knows this story, that he would go through the farmland and through the dirt in the mud. And they had a record-setting rainstorm a couple of days before, and those tanks got stuck in that mud.And I gave them Javelins and they took out the tanks. I gave it before this happened. But you know theres an expression because they say, oh, youre so nice to Russia. Im not nice to Russia. Ive been very tough on Russia. Ive been very tough on China, tougher than anybody. Thats why they respect me. I have good relationships with these people, but I gave them Javelins. A javelin is an anti-tank weapon, and those tanks were obliterated. And everybody said, whats wrong? Because, you know, they have the satellites, right? The satellite photos and the tanks were lined up and they werent moving for days. And then they came to hit em with satellites. They were locked in quicksand, practically. It was mud like quicksand. They couldnt move. Had the general just, tells you. Thats why war is always risky. Had this general just gone right up the concrete highway, they wouldve been in Kyiv within four hours, and there wasnt a damn thing that Ukraine was going to do about it. That war wouldve been over in one day. That was four and a half years ago. So that was a terrible mistake. And heres a general, decides rather than going up the middle of a highway right into the town, they couldnt have done anything. They were totally unprepared. And not only that, when they wiped out all these tanks, it gave them confidence. You know, confidence is very important. But have you ever heard that story, by the way?Caputo:I havent heard that story. I know that you had armed Ukraine with Javelins in the prior administration.Trump:You know the expression: Trump gave him Javelins, Obama gave him sheets. Right? Thats true.Caputo:Lets shift a little, cause time is of the essence. Shift to Iran. Theres now light at the end of the tunnel for the conflict. What have you learned about not just the exercise of power, but the limits on your power as a result of the conflict?Trump:There are no limits.Caputo:No limits?Trump:No, none. I havent learned that lesson yet. I know there are, but there are no limits. We defeated them totally militarily. I was asked by Pakistan because theyre close to please not do anymore. I said, I like them a lot. You know, I stopped Pakistan from fighting India, two nuclear nations, and the prime minister of Pakistan said, President Trump saved 50 million lives. They were going to use nuclear weapons. 11 planes were shot down. They were at it. And I was hearing about it, then I saw some really terrible pictures. They were going at it, Pakistan and India. They have gone at it in the past, but this was, and theyre both nuclear-armed, heavily, and they were going to use those nuclear weapons. And the prime minister of Pakistan said Donald Trump saved 50 million lives. But its not 50. I think it was much more than that. 50 is nothing when you look at 1.5 billion people just in India alone. So I think that there are no limits. We have the most powerful military in the world by far. Who else could have done a blockade like that? I did a naval blockade where not one ship was able to get through. Some tried. They didnt, you know, it didnt last very long,Caputo:And it certainly brought Iran to the table more than before. However, beginning a conflict you had talked about you only wanted unconditional surrender. And...Trump:Well.Caputo:The MOU doesnt look like unconditional surrender.Trump:Well, it really probably is unconditional surrender. [Axios: It is?] I think so. Look, they have no military. Theyre all at the bottom of the sea. 159 ships. Thats what they had.Caputo:Sure, but they could still menace. They only had these small Gashti boats or go-fast boats. Trump:Look, you call it what you want. I hear the JCPOA, the Obama nuclear catastrophe, which was so bad. When Obama left, he didnt hit their military. He didnt damage their navy or destroy their air force. I destroyed the air force. I destroyed their anti-aircraft weapons. Thats why we were flying over there totally unimpeded. We turned off all the stealth. They couldnt do a damn thing. He didnt do any of that stuff. He didnt kill their leadership. I did, twice. Two and a half times to be exact. He didnt do anything to Soleimani. I killed Soleimani.Caputo:And you killed the ayatollah.Trump:And I killed the ayatollah.Caputo:And a number of IRGC officials.Trump:And I sadly hurt the other ayatollah, who I will tell you, I did not meet him. I did not speak to him, but people were speaking of. But hes got a certain braveness because he was, hes badly injured.Caputo:Oh, the second, the jr. Nevertheless, all of those things being true that the...Trump:Well, you cant just say, oh, forget about. Excuse me. I wiped out their military.Caputo:I dont dispute that.Trump:I destroyed their general. OK. Ready? Soleimani was the father of the roadside bomb. When you see, which is a description of something that people understand. When you see soldiers walking around without legs, without arms, with an obliterated face, 96.2 that came from Iran. Came from Soleimani. It was his favorite weapon. And I killed him. And he killed thousands of soldiers and thousands of other people, tens of thousands of other people. And I told the story the other day for the first time, youre not supposed to do that with Israel. And Israel at the last moment backed out when I killed him, that was supposed to be done with Israel. It was a joint thing. We worked on it for 30 days. He only travels in commercial airliners with lots of people because he knows were not going to shoot him down. You know, a military plane is different.And he got into the plane. Everything was on schedule. But a day before, Israel told us theyre not going to do the attack. And I understood that, because it was not so good for them. But I went to certain generals, not the stupid ones like Milley and some of these guys that were very stupid people that decided to leave equipment behind. I dont leave equipment behind. But I went to some good guys. I said, what do you guys think? They said, well, we can do it without em, we dont need em, sir. I said, would it be as good? They said just as good or better. And it was a flawless attack. Now, that was one of the biggest moments in the history of the Middle East, because he was the most feared man in 100 years. Even Iran, even the Ayatollahs, even. They all feared Soleimani.Now ready? Did Obama do that? No. That was a big thing. If I didnt take him out. And they also, in doing it also took out the head of Iraqs ISIS. But if I didnt do that, we may not be talking today about, you know, this such a conclusive victory. Because he was a general, he was a very evil guy. He was a bad guy, but he was smart. He was a very tough general. You know what he was going to do? He was going to blow up five of our military bases. I got him one week ahead of that attack.Caputo:But that was in what? 2019?Trump:I dont care. It was part of the whole thing. I made that statement yesterday. I said, you know, for those people that say, oh, maybe I wasnt tough enough: Ive wiped out. I took out their biggest bridge because they showed up late at a meeting. They said that wasnt very nice. You know, that bridge, thats their George Washington Bridge. I wiped it out in three minutes. I took out Kharg Island, everything except one thing. I said, leave the pipes alone because Im not looking to damage the world economy. So I think we were very tough. Listen, the people that say, oh, he could been tougher. The entire military is gone. Ready? Air force is gone. Do you agree? Its gone.Caputo:Wiped out.Trump:Theres no airplane.Caputo:Yes.Trump:Theres no airplanes. They had a lot of em. There were 200 of them. Theyre all gone. Navy. 159 ships, right? All at the bottom of the sea. Leadership, their first stringers all gone, including Khomeini, the first one. They then put a new group in there. Very good, but very nasty. I dealt with em. Theyre gone. Theyre all gone. Then were dealing with the third group who I actually think is the smartest group. And I actually think its regime change. If you want to know the truth, it sees a different...Caputo:How was the regime change if you had...Trump:Because theyre different people.Caputo:But you have Khomeini Jr. You still have a lot of IRGC officials there.Trump:Theyre different people. All right, Khomeini Jr. is different from the father.Caputo:You have a number of...Trump:And we have people that are much less radicalized than the previous two groups, of which I knew em both. But think of it. Oh, why arent you tougher? The only way I can get tougher is if I go in there for another two or three weeks and continue to bomb the hell out of em. Right? But what does that get us? The Strait of Hormuz will not be open. Lets say I did that. Lets say I decided to do that. That it was a decision I had to make. So right now, our stock market is through the roof. The oil prices are tumbling. The oil prices are practically the same as they were before it started. The big difference is that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. Theyre never going to have a nuclear weapon. OK? Its very clear and very simple. But if I were hitting them right now, when you stopped, if were not going to put boots on the ground, OK. I mean you dont want boots on the ground, right?If were not going to put boots on the ground, probably the same people, you know, they go deep into the caves. Theyre called granite caves. Theyre very powerful. They go deep and then when we stop, theyll come up and theyll probably be the same leaders. So nothing, OK, ready? When I knocked them out, we knocked them out so powerfully, we would right now have the Hormuz Strait would be totally closed. It would have mines all over it and it would have missiles flying over billion-dollar ships. And those ships will never sail. We wouldnt have oil for months. As long as youre dropping bombs, that thing is automatically closed because those ships cost 500 to a billion dollars apiece. Theyre not going to be sailing with rockets. So just to finish, I just looked, oil is tumbling. The ships are roaring out of there. They want to go home, they want to drop. Theyre all full with oil. Theres a gusher. I mean, we have 7 or 800 ships are leaving, but if I attack them, none of those ships are leaving. The stock market is way up, way, way up. You know, the stock market is up over the last four or five days when it looks like were going to make a deal. Stock markets up thousands of points. Everybodys richer. Now, would you rather have that or be like some stupid people? Ill be honest with you, I lost respect for some people because...Caputo:Whod you lose respect for?Trump:I dont want to mention the names.Caputo:Oh you can,Trump:But you know, hardliners. Oh, you got to take em out yet. Well, what let me tell you. And plus, Im not looking to kill people.Caputo:Well, what are you going to do to the, in order for your plan to be fully executed as the MOU indicates, eventually its going to have to go through Congress. There are Republicans in Congress who dont like this.Trump:Well, so far, not too many, but I think itll get approved. And if its not approvedCaputo:What are you going to do?Trump:By the way, Obama never got his plan approved. You know that right? Now, Obama did something very different. He thought could buy...Caputo:I think he got it approved by the Senate, but it wasnt a treaty. I think...Trump:Got the treaty, which youre talking about.Caputo:No. Even the sanctions, for instance, some of the sanctionsTrump:No, look, I negotiated from total strength. The navy was gone, their air force was gone, their leaders were, everything. In fact, the hardest part is so many leaders were gone, it took us a while to figure out who is their leader. You do understand that.Caputo:I do. But the Republicans who oppose this, when votes come up in CongressTrump:Who are they?Caputo:There are a number of them.Trump:I mean, Lindsey Graham just came out with a very positive statement.Caputo:Is there going to be a price to pay for any of them if they oppose you on this?Trump:Oh, if they do, no. Yeah. Not from me.Caputo:Now, one of the things you had talked...Trump:Frankly, if they approve it or not, look, it is what it is. Weve got the greatest economy on Earth. Ive got the strongest military and I built it. Ive got destroyed. Obama, when I took over the military from Obama, he gave all our money away to people. He gave hundreds of billions of dollars away to Iran. And by the way, thats the other thing. Im not giving money to Iran. I dont give money to Iran. Whats going to happen is this. Obama took over. He didnt kill Soleimani. I did. He should have, by the way, because Soleimani was, he had some good plans. And Im watching the way, Ive known you, Marc, youre trying to act like, oh, you hate to hear, but you cant. You have no argument for me because you cant win. Heres what I was going to say. Some guys that I used to respect, I dont respect anymore. Theyre hardliners. But I have the argument with them. Theyre unable to win the argument with me. They cant win it. And so they go, heres the end to say, alright, I dont care. I still dont like it. OK, thats what you [garbled]. If I went further, the stock market would be much lower. Now, think of this.I have one primary wish as president, in terms of people, I never want to be the late great Herbert Hoover. So this is the kind of thing that could cause a worldwide depression. Do you know that for the last two months Ive been taking many ships out there and nobody knew it. You know why they didnt know it? Because we knocked out their radar. We knocked out all of their defensive stuff and they were unable to see. Last week we had one night, 25 ships. One night, 22. One night, 19. One night, 21. So every night all these ships out.Trump:Oh, people were saying, where is this oil coming from? Nobody knew. Wed leave at one oclock in the morning, all lights off, and wed have our Navy Destroyers going alongside and they had no equipment because we destroyed all of the equipment that would normally be used to detect this. And I went for a month and a half taking many ships out there every night at one oclock in the morning. And we were never detected until about a week ago. And then I announced that were doing it.Caputo:I think the New York Times had reported that you guys were engaged in that operation of 20 ships or whatever. I wanted to shift toTrump:They shouldnt have. If they did, they shouldnt have.Caputo:Well, they had good sources.Trump:I mean, thats very, not very patriotic If they did.Caputo:Well, I did want to talk about Cuba and AI.Trump:Well do it. And we have to do it fast because theyre waiting for me at a very important meeting.Caputo:So you had said if Cuba is, or better said, if Iran is finished, then its time for Cuba.Trump:Right.Caputo:Is there a clock, a countdown clock on Cuba?Trump:Its a flexible line, but Marco is involved very much. Marcos doing a great job, by the way. All my people are doing a very good job. But Marcos parents, its such a great story. His parents were from Cuba. So you do agree, I defeated Venezuela. Incredible.Caputo:Hundred percent. How do you make the operation of Cuba look more like the Venezuela operation?Trump:Well the difference is Venezuela has oil. Cuba doesnt. Cuba has a nice property and they have nice shoreline.Caputo:Right. How do you make it look more like the Venezuela operation than the Iran operation? Iran operation took longer. Venezuela was done quickly.Trump:I think the Iran operation, in a certain way, its much bigger, much more powerful from the standpoint of weaponry than Venezuela. But Venezuela is a very military state. You know, they have a lot of soldiers. We went into that fort and they had thousands of soldiers in, and we went in with 201 people. And that was, the pilot was very brave. He had his leg shot from underneath. The machine gunner who escaped a bad life, a bad debt. So no, I think that Venezuela, heres the thing. In Venezuela, it was so incredible.And we waited and waited and at the right time I said, lets go do it now. We waited for the weather. We had to wait six days. We had some really bad weather. You know, the pilot said, sir, we want to do it. We went in less than ideal. They didnt care. And it actually lasted 48 minutes. And this is an army. You know, they have a lot of soldiers, a lot of good soldiers. With, if you look at Iran, theyve been doing this stuff for 47 years. Theyve been taunting you and everybody else, all of the media, everything. Theyre very good with the press. They have a great fake media. And I put out a Truth a little while ago. I said, if I had the white flag of surrender raised, and if they said, "praise be to Allah, Trump is the greatest president, we hereby surrender," The New York Times would write that they won the war. Theyve lost so much credibility. So its a very different kind of a place than Venezuela. But Venezuela, you know, were running Venezuela with the people that weCaputo:Do you see the Cuba operation running similarly to the way?Trump:Possibly. Its possible. Well, theres another thing. These places are close by. Whereas if you look at Iran, thats a very long trip. You know, I flew to that area a few times and unrelated to this, but youre flying for 18 hours, youre flying for a long time. Venezuela is relatively close and Cuba is a hopscotch.Caputo:Well, I wanted to talk about.Trump:Were going to have Marco get involved with Cuba. Cuba wants to talk very badly. We have a lot of people that voted for me, like 95.Caputo:Some of your strong support is in the Cuban American community.Trump:Thats right. I love them.Caputo:So wanted to present this to you, just the map of the Western Hemisphere. When you look at, I mean, not as a gift, right? But when you look at this, do you see this as a fundamentally American hemisphere? Is this fundamentally more andTrump:More so. Yeah.Caputo:More and more.Trump:Were much more respected. So we had a man that couldnt walk up a flight of stairs, and I dont want to talk about this because if I have a trip a little bit, theyll say, oh, this is terrible. OK, it can happen. But you cant trip every time you go on a stage. We had a man that wasnt respected. He wasnt smart 40 years ago. He was the worst thing that ever happened to old people. Cause I have old people, friends of mine that are 93, 95 years old. Theyre a100. Gary Player, great golfer. I played golf. He shot 71. Hes 90 years old and hes mentally exactly the same as he was for the last 30 years. There are a lot of people. Biden was the worst thing that ever happened to old people because you guys were not honest with the public. The public saw it. He was a disaster. And, you know, the worst thing he did, inflation was really bad. But that wasnt the worst thing. The worst, because I inherited all this stuff. Look at whats happening with prices now. Theyre coming down and with the oil, theyre really coming down. I had to make an excursion to stop a very volatile group of people that are smart, very smart. You know, the Iranians, very smart people. Theyre sort of primitive genius, but theyre smart.I had to stop them because if they had a nuclear weapon, they would use it. And you want to see bedlam, let them blow up a couple of cities someplace, like they wouldve blown up Israel. If it werent for me, Israel would not exist today because I terminated the Barack Hussein Obama deal, the JCPOA, which was a road to a nuclear weapon. They wouldve had it five years ago. They wouldve used it within the first week, in my opinion. And Israel would no longer be with us. Israel wouldve been gone years ago had I not done that. Now, what surprised me most is they waited so long, they waited till I came back. They didnt do it intentionally. They didnt think Id be coming back. A lot of people didnt think so because of weaponization. They weaponized government. But I came back with a roar, but better than before, I think better than before.And think of it, Israel wouldve been gone if we didnt hit them with the B2 bombers. All that enriched material, they were one month away. It was right there. They could have walked down. They cant do that anymore. You know, the B2 bombers did their job with those great pilots. That ceiling, the mountain collapsed on top of it. It collapsed on top of it. Had we not hit them, they wouldve had a nuclear weapon. They wouldve used it on Israel. You wouldve used it also in Saudi Arabia. And you saw that on Qatar, on UAE, on Kuwait, Bahrain. Because when that war started, I guess my biggest surprise, almost immediately missiles were flying at these five other countries. I said, why is he doing it? And you know what that did? That brought those five countries right into my lap. They were great.Caputo:And last one, artificial intelligence.Trump:Excuse me just one second. If it werent for Donald Trump and Bibi Netanyahu, worked well with me, but he will tell you, were the ones with the guns. Were the ones with the whole deal. Were the ones with the B2 bombers, etc. If it werent for Donald Trump, Israel wouldve been eviscerated.Caputo:Your relationship with Netanyahus, itsTrump:Good, but we have to keep him a little bit sane.Caputo:Are you going to be able to control Israel from attacking Lebanon?Trump:Yeah, I will be. I wonder. They have a lot of respect for me, and they do as I say. Remember this. If I dont terminate the JCPOA, road to, remember that was a road to a nuclear weapon legally. It says right there. And Obama thought he could pay them off. He gave them billions and billions of dollars. 1.7 billion in cash. It was a well-known story. But it didnt work. You cant bribe your way out of it. You cant pay off your way. But if I didnt do that and if I didnt attack their nuclear supply 10 months ago with the B2 bombers, Israel would not exist today.Caputo:So artificial intelligence. Did not a very artful transition by me. Do you see artificial intelligence as a weapon?Trump:Well, improperly used it could be. If properly used. I will tell you one thing, its so big.It is big. Nobodys. I mean, bigger than the internet. Its bigger than any. Ive seen the different things come along. Its an age where people like you, if you are nice smart people like we are, we watch and we see whats happening. This AI is incredible. Now. Its unbelievable for good. Youre going to have medical cures coming up 25 years early because of it. Youre going to have other things happening, but you have to watch. You know, we have a situation with Anthropic and we didnt like what they were doing. And so far, I think they behaved very responsibly to our request.Caputo:Do you view Anthropic, and to a degree its CEO Dario Amodei, as a threat to national security?Trump:Well, not now, but a week ago, maybe. I was with him yesterday. He made a speech. I made a little speech. We were in the room in the G7 and seems like a nice guy, smart guy. But he responded to us very quickly, because you know its tremendous liability. People get put in prison immediately for that. You know, you cant play games with that. And he responded very responsibly, I thought. So far, I think he will.Caputo:Do you have the power and the inclination to shut them down or possibly take them?Trump:Well I dont want to do that because Im somebody that, you know, were beating China by a lot on AI. I was with President Xi. We talked about it. Were beating China by a lot. Everyone thought that we didnt have the electricity. I came up with an idea. I thought of it myself. I let them build their own electric plants when theyre building their factories. That way we dont have to use an old grid. And they actually sell back into the grid at a cheap price. Excess electricity. They need massive amounts. Its amazing, Marc. They need double the amount of electricity that this country produces for everything to run it. So I had the idea. I said, Im going to let them. I mean, we dont have that kind of electricity. Really. Nobody does. And theyre building their plants and theyre building the most incredible electric producing factories youve ever seen. So we are leading China by a lot. Its going to be for the good and were watching for the bad.Caputo:Is thereTrump:I think the good, let me put it a different way. The good far outweighs the bad. We are going to find the bad and were going to stop it.Caputo:You have the power to use the Defense Production Act potentially.Trump:I have the power to use a lot of things. Yeah.Caputo:Would you consider using the Defense Production Act to possibly regulate, control AI or AI?Trump:I would, but Im not sure I have to do that. I think so far its been very responsible. Actually, it was a competitor and a part owner that turned Anthropic in. They didnt like that what they were doing. They were very concerned. Think of it, its part owner, and I think it worked out very well, I think.Caputo:And France at the G7 had talked about having an international group that comes together. They want the United States to share more on AI is sinceTrump:Well, the problem we have is that we are leading everybody by a lot.Caputo:Right. Is power shared, power lost?Trump:Yeah but heres the problem. In Europe, I heard maybe its wrong, but we have many of the top, almost all between us and China, we have almost all, the first European company thats in AI is number 187. So thats not too good. Europe has to be very careful. Theyre losing their way. Theyre losing their way entrepreneurially. And I mean the big thing is energy was, look, the U.K. is sitting on the greatest oil find, one of them in the world, the North Sea, the great North Sea. They have one of the greatest, theyre not using it because of the environment. And if they did use it, their energy prices would be cut by 75. They dont want to use it. And yet they buy their energy from Norway, which uses the North Sea. And Norways got $3 trillion sitting in the bank. S, you know, its crazy. I have to go. Im so late. I did this out of respect for you, but I have to go. Do you want to just close it up?Caputo:Yeah, lets close it up. Where are you in, as you wind down your presidency? Youve got two more years.Trump:I dont call it a wind down. I think we got a lot of time. We have two and a half plus years.Caputo:Every presidency has a life cycle. And as a president comes to in a second term to his last midterm, his party usually loses control of the House. His poll numbers usually start to decline, and he starts to weaken. And thats happening to you.Trump:No, its not. Fake polls. I have great poll numbers.Caputo:How do you maintain?Trump:I would beat any candidate they have by 25 points.Caputo:How do you maintain your,Trump:I have great poll numbers.Caputo:How do you maintain your power going forward? You have the Senate thats republican.Trump:I dont think about it. No, I dont think about it. All I do is do my job. I have more than two and a half years. I have a lot of time. But all I do is think about doing my job. And we have other things, very big things that I want to do in the next two and a half years. Some very impactful things. Things are happening that arent good and Im going to straighten em out and some things are happening that should be better and Im going to make them better. This is a great presidency.Caputo: Are you going to miss being in this White House?Trump:Well, its so early. I dont like to talk about it because two and a half years is a pretty long time. In all fairness. I love the building. Im fixing the building. I do that in my little side hobby Ive, you see the granite, which was, they had stones thats broken. The marbles broken. The tile they have is garbage from a low-class place that sells garbage. This is the White House. You saw the white floor. I assume you saw the beautiful granite. I fix it. I pay for it myself. I dont want money. And the White House will soon be in better shape than it was. And most importantly, when it was built, most importantly, Im building what will be one of the greatest ballrooms and safety nets anywhere in the world. Its all bulletproof glass. Its all drone-proof roofs. Its actually a drone port on the top of the roof with views of everything. Its very high up.Caputo:And youre going to be able to get there through the Senate. I know the Senate has been, well,Trump:I dont it for the Senate. Im paying for myself. I dont know what theyre talking about, giving a billion. I dont need money from the Senate. Im putting up my own money and the money of very great patriots. Apple, Microsoft, you know all. We dont need money. We have a judge that said hed rather have it be put up by the government. Why? Were giving a gift of a tremendous military and also a very important ballroom for safety. You see how many, with all the whack jobs, all these crazy people, the bulletproof glass is this thick. Nothing gets through it. The drones wont hit it. Theyll bounce off the roof. Were actually putting a drone port up. Thats very important. But we have a judge that probably doesnt like Donald Trump. Fortunately, we have appellate judges that, you know, Ive done okay with the appellate judges, but I have not done so well with some of these judges that probably have Trump Derangement Syndrome. But I will say, just in finishing, weve taken Washington, D.C., from a death trap to one of the safest cities in America. We took crime down 94 in a period of a year. This place when I got here was a death trap, and now its one of the safest cities in America. I beautified it. New grass. Got rid of all of the graffiti. 48 fountains and monuments have been, not I mean, so bad graffiti all over. 50 years, they werent touched. And now theyre all beautiful.Caputo:And then theres going to be an arch.Trump:I think maybe the greatest of all will be whats called the Triumphal Arch. Yeah.Caputo:Mr. President, I appreciate your time. I know youve been rushed today. I dont think you had any sleep, did you?Trump:Not much.Caputo:So you flew across.Trump:I had two hours for you. Two hours. You need more than two hours for him, right? Anyway, thanks.Caputo:Well, I appreciate your time. Thank you very much, sir.Trump:I appreciate it. Thank you very much.Go deeper: Watch the extended interview.

axios · about 3 hours ago

Watch the extended Trump interview on "The Axios Show" President Trump joins Axios Marc Caputo on the latest episode of "The Axios Show." Speaking from the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Trump sounds off on the Iran war, his views of world leaders, his plans for Cuba and what he thinks about AI.Go deeper: Read the interview transcriptSubscribe to our YouTube.

axios · about 3 hours ago

Exclusive: Trump tells "The Axios Show" that Anthropic was a national security threat President Trump reached the point last week of viewing Anthropic as a national security threat, he said in an exclusive interview for "The Axios Show," though he signaled that relations have improved since. Why it matters: National security concerns and personality clashes landed AI heavyweight Anthropic in the middle of a government crackdown with domestic and international repercussions. Between the Commerce Departments imposition of sweeping export controls and the Pentagons designating it a supply chain risk, the company has faced treatment typically reserved for foreign adversaries.What theyre saying: Axios Marc Caputo asked Trump in a wide-ranging White House interview if he viewed Anthropic, or CEO Dario Amodei, as a threat to national security."Well, not now, but a week ago, maybe," the president said. But he said he walked away from the G7 summit with the impression that Amodei was "nice" and "smart.""He responded to us very quickly because you know its a tremendous liability," Trump said. "People get put in prison immediately for that. You cant play games with that. And he responded very responsibly, I thought."Catch up quick: Last week the Trump administration restricted any country outside of the U.S., and foreign nationals within the U.S., from accessing Anthropics most advanced models. A report from Amazon detailing a vulnerability alarmed the administration, which took it to Anthropic leadership but felt dismissed.Technical discussions in Washington ensued. The two sides are now reportedly working on standards to evaluate AI jailbreaks. For Anthropic, its been a matter of learning how to communicate with the administration as much as reaching an understanding on how the technology works.Yes, but: Trump did not rule out leveraging emergency powers under the Defense Production Act if the AI lab did not get in line, as was previously threatened during a dispute with the Pentagon. "I have the power to use a lot of things," Trump said of the DPA. "But Im not sure I have to do that.""It was a competitor and a part owner that turned Anthropic in. They didnt like what they were doing. They were very concerned," Trump said of the concerns raised by Amazon. "I think so far its been very responsible."For the record: "We are grateful to the administration for their ongoing partnership in working to get this matter resolved as quickly as possible," Anthropic said in a statement."We remain committed to working alongside them towards our shared goals of protecting critical infrastructure and making sure the U.S. leads in AI."Between the lines: The race to beat China on AI still outweighs the political clashes with Anthropic or its peers, in Trumps view. Trump said he does not want to shut down Anthropic because the U.S. is beating China "by a lot.""I was with President Xi. We talked about it. Were beating China by a lot," Trump said. "The good far outweighs the bad. We are going to find the bad and were going to stop it." The bottom line: The relationship between the White House and Anthropic appears to be on the mend. But the technical work of setting AI safety standards and what international cooperation should look like is far less certain.

axios · about 3 hours ago

Les propos acerbes de Trump sur Meloni tendent à nouveau la relation entre les États-Unis et lItalie Au lendemain du G7 dÉvian, organisé du 15 au 17 juin, et alors que Giorgia Meloni semblait satisfaite de ses retrouvailles avec Donald Trump, allant jusquà déclarer que leur relation était « inchangée », un nouvel échange acerbe entre les deux dirigeants a déclenché une vive polémique en Italie, vendredi 19 juin. Des propos du président américain concernant la Première ministre italienne ont déclenché un incident diplomatique.

rfi.fr · about 3 hours ago

Trump vs Melania: White House residence became redecorating contest between first couple, book says Donald Trump has been known to redecorate and move items around while his wife is away, according to the book

independent · about 3 hours ago

Wanted a picture with me so badly: Trump says Meloni begged for photo at G7; Italian PM fires back, I never beg

gdeltproject.org · about 3 hours ago

Italy slams Trump over claim Meloni begged for G7 photo

gdeltproject.org · about 3 hours ago

Meloni slams Trumps claim she begged for a photo with him as Italys top diplomat cancels US trip

gdeltproject.org · about 3 hours ago

Meloni Rejects Trumps Claim She Begged for G7 Photo

gdeltproject.org · about 3 hours ago

Meloni disputes Trumps claim she begged for a photo with him at G7 summit

gdeltproject.org · about 3 hours ago

Meloni rasar efter Trumps ord: Vi tigger aldrig Vid G7-mötet påstod Donald Trump att Giorgia Meloni så gärna ville ha en bild med honom.  En lögn, enligt den italienska premiärministern. – Varken jag eller Italien tigger någonsin, säger Meloni i en video. Nu ställer landets utrikesminister in ett besök i USA. 

expressen · about 3 hours ago

Italian PM denies Trumps claim she begged for photo Giorgia Meloni forcefully rejected Donald Trumps assertion that she pleaded for a photograph at the recent G7 summit, calling the remarks completely made up as diplomatic tensions prompted Romes foreign minister to cancel a planned visit to Washington.

yenisafak · about 3 hours ago

Italy slams Trump over claim prime minister begged for G7 photo

gdeltproject.org · about 3 hours ago

Italys Meloni says Trump made up story that she begged him for photo at G7 The highly public exchange is an indication that their earlier close ties have frayed since Trumps decision to go to war with Iran.

bbc · about 3 hours ago

„Er wollte sie sicherlich nicht beleidigen In einem Statement von Trump nach dem G-7-Gipfel erklärte er, dass Italiens Ministerpräsidentin Meloni nach einem Foto mit ihm „gebettelt habe. Meloni weist dies zurück und bezichtigt Trump der Lüge. „Das ist so ein typischer Trump-Spruch, sagt US-Journalist Erik Kirschbaum.

welt.de · about 3 hours ago

Meloni rasar mot Trump: Tigger inte Bad Giorgia Meloni om att få ta en bild med Donald Trump under G7-toppmötet? Påståendet har skapat ett nytt politiskt bråk, och försämrar den redan ansträngda relationen mellan USA och Italien.

svenska dagbladet · about 3 hours ago

Trump och Meloni i bråk om bild: Italien tigger inte Giorgia Meloni var den enda europeiska ledaren som bjöds in när Donald Trump installerades som president. Ett och ett halvt år senare har relationen surnat till rejält – nu senast över ett fototillfälle. Dispyten har fått Italiens utrikesminister att ställa in en inplanerad USA-resa.

dagens nyheter · about 3 hours ago

Trump frames Cuba intervention as easier than Iran President Trump said Thursday on "The Axios Show" that "its possible" a potential Cuba invasion would resemble the swift capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January.Why it matters: Trump wants to project U.S. military power across the Western Hemisphere, fitting a second term defined by blunt force and expansionist ambition.Trump also acknowledged the Iran conflict is taking longer to resolve because Iran has a "more powerful" military and and is far away. He suggested Cuba could be easier to overpower.What theyre saying: When Axios Marc Caputo asked whether a Cuba operation could unfold similarly to the Venezuela mission, Trump replied, "Possibly. Its possible.""These places are close by. Whereas if you look at Iran, thats a very long trip. You know, I flew to that area a few times and unrelated to this, but youre flying for 18 hours, youre flying for a long time. Venezuela is relatively close and Cuba is a hopscotch."Another key difference: resources. The president added: "Venezuela has oil. Cuba doesnt. Cuba has a nice property and they have nice shoreline."Zoom in: Trump also said the Iran operation is "in a certain way, its much bigger, much more powerful from the standpoint of weaponry than Venezuela.""But Venezuela is a very military state. You know, they have a lot of soldiers.""We went in less than ideal… And it actually lasted 48 minutes. And this is an army. You know, they have a lot of soldiers, a lot of good soldiers."The big picture: Trump has floated a "friendly takeover" of Cuba and prefers a peaceful transition to a free island. But his administration has war-gamed military response plans in case the countrys totalitarian regime collapses, potentially as early as this summer.Zoom out: Cubas military was once formidable, but it has declined substantially since losing Soviet support in the 1990s. Much of the force relies on Soviet-era hardware, munitions and armor.But U.S. intelligence has found the island acquired more than 300 military drones and discussed using them to attack the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, U.S. military vessels and possibly Key West, Fla. — which could become a pretext for U.S. military intervention.Whats next: Trump declined to offer a timeline for an operation in Cuba, saying it remains "flexible." But he said Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, is "involved very much."Go deeper: Trumps all-powerful "Great Man" theory

axios · about 3 hours ago

Italys Meloni says Trump totally invented story that she begged him for photo

news.yahoo.com · about 3 hours ago

Italys Meloni Hits Out at Trump as U.S.-Europe Truce Breaks Down Italys right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni blasted the president after he told Italian media that she had begged for a photo opportunity with him at the G-7 summit earlier this week.

wsj · about 3 hours ago

Italy slams Trump over claim prime minister begged for G7 photo

gdeltproject.org · about 4 hours ago

Italys top diplomat nixes US trip after Meloni says Trump fabricated story The Italian prime minister has accused Trump of making up a story that she begged him for a photo at G7 in France.

aljazeera · about 4 hours ago

Italy Doesnt Beg, Giorgia Meloni Tells Trump President Trump said the Italian leader had begged him to take a photo together at the Group of 7 summit in France. The remarks come as their once-friendly relationship has frayed.

new york times · about 4 hours ago