Takeaways from Trump’s sit-down with Time magazine
President Donald Trump sat down with Time magazine to talk everything from Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s return to ending the Ukraine war.
President Donald Trump said he’s open to bringing a wrongly deported Maryland man back to the U.S. for a court hearing, despite his administration saying Kilmar Abrego Garcia will “never” return to the U.S from El Salvador.
Trump discussed Abrego Garcia’s case in an interview with Time Magazine to mark the second-term Republican president’s first 100 days in office.
“Bringing him back and retrying him wouldn’t bother me, but I leave that up to my lawyer,” Trump said. “You could bring him back and retry him.”
Trump added that his lawyers “just don’t want to do that,” even as his administration has argued the decision is now up to Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele. Trump said he hasn’t asked Bukele to return Abrego Garcia.
The president also said high tariffs a year from now would be a “total victory,” sending American criminals to foreign prisons is something he’d “love to” do and he’s “not trolling” when he says Canada should become a U.S. state.
Here are six takeaways from the interview.
Open to Abrego Garcia returning
The Trump administration has blamed Abrego Garcia’s deportation to a notorious Salvadoran prison on an “administrative error,” admitting in court documents it was a mistake. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the administration must “facilitate” his return.
Yet the administration has dug in, with White House officials rejecting the ruling that they must bring him back.
The White House X account said in a post that Abrego Garcia is “never coming back.”
Asked about the case by Time, Trump said his lawyers told him the Supreme Court case doesn’t require Abrego Garcia’s return, and he lashed out at the Maryland father, saying “he wasn’t a saint.”
But when pressed on whether he deserves a court hearing, Trump indicated he’s open to it.
“But I leave that decision to the lawyers,” he added. “At this moment, they just don’t want to do that. They say we’re in total compliance with the Supreme Court.”
Trump also said he hasn’t asked Bukele to return Abrego Garcia. Pressed on how he is facilitating his return if he hasn’t asked for his release, Trump said “because I haven’t been asked to ask him by my attorneys.”
Trump would “love to” send Americans to foreign prisons
Trump has mused about sending “homegrown” criminals to foreign prisons, an idea experts say is illegal and one that has drawn strong pushback.
The president defended his comments in the Time interview.
“I would love to do that if it were permissible by law. We’re looking into that,” Trump said.
Trump said he would do it in “extreme cases.”
“We’re talking about career criminals that are horrible people that we house and we have to take care of for 50 years while they suffer because they killed people,” he said.
Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy, a strong Trump ally, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on April 20 that he doesn’t believe sending Americans to foreign prisons is lawful.
“Nor should it be considered appropriate or moral,” Kennedy said. “We have our own laws, we have the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution. We shouldn’t send prisoners to foreign countries in my judgment.”
Not trolling on Greenland, Panama Canal or Canada
Some Republicans have suggested that not everything Trump says should be taken literally, and the president even made that point to Time about Ukraine, saying his comments on the campaign trail that he’d end the war in Ukraine on his first day in office were said “figuratively.”
“I said that as an exaggeration… to make a point,” Trump added on Ukraine.
But when it comes to his comments about wanting to acquire Greenland, the Panama Canal and Canada, Trump rejected the idea that he’s trolling.
“Actually, no, I’m not,” he said.
Trump went on to talk about Canada, saying again that “I’m really not trolling. Canada is an interesting case.” He complained about the U.S. trade deficit with Canada and said the U.S. doesn’t need Canadian products.
“And I say the only way this thing really works is for Canada to become a state,” he added.
Trump’s comments have provoked a strong reaction, including boycotts on U.S. goods and protests.
High tariffs in a year would be a “total victory”
Trump’s big reciprocal tariffs on goods from foreign countries, most of which he paused, shocked the U.S. and global economy. Stock markets plummeted and economic forecasts increased the chances of a recession.
Trump kept high tariffs on China. It remains to be seen if he’ll follow through with high tariffs on other countries, which currently face a 10% universal tariff.
But the president indicated he’s not averse to high tariffs for a prolonged period. Asked if he’d consider it a victory if tariffs are still high in a year, Trump said: “Total victory.”
Other Trump tariff comments to Time have echoes of government price setting, which conservatives have generally shunned.
“I am this giant store,” Trump said. “It’s a giant, beautiful store, and everybody wants to go shopping there. And on behalf of the American people, I own the store, and I set prices, and I’ll say, if you want to shop here, this is what you have to pay.”
Ukraine won’t get Crimea
As the U.S. works to get Ukraine and Russia to agree to a peace deal in their three-year war, where to draw territorial lines is a big sticking point.
Trump made it clear that Ukraine will not regain control over Crimea, which Russia seized in 2014.
“Crimea will stay with Russia. And Zelenskyy understands that, and everybody understands that it’s been with them for a long time,” Trump said, referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Trump also said Ukraine can’t join NATO.
“I don’t think they’ll ever be able to join NATO,” he said.
The Trump administration’s willingness to concede to Russian territorial demands has drawn strong criticism from supporters of Ukraine and those who believe it would reward the country for its unprovoked aggression.
Trump says he wouldn’t “mind having a tax increase”
Trump ally Steve Bannon has proposed raising taxes on the rich as part of the budget deal winding through Congress.
The president appeared to rule that out in comments he made in the Oval Office on April 23, saying “I think it would be very disruptive because a lot of millionaires would leave the country. You’ll lose a lot of money if you do that.”
But in the Time interview, Trump said he wouldn’t “mind having a tax increase” if it was politically palatable, saying “the only reason I wouldn’t support it” is the politics.
“I would be honored to pay more, but I don’t want to be in a position where we lose an election because I was generous,” he said.
“I don’t want it to be used against me politically, because I’ve seen people lose elections for less,” Trump added.
Trump is prohibited by the Constitution from seeking a third term, but has openly toyed with the idea.
(This story has been updated with more information.)
