US President-elect Donald Trump in an interview aired on Sunday vowed to make immediate and sweeping changes after he takes office on Jan 20, such as pardons for those convicted in the attack on the US Capitol, and said he wants to find a legislative solution to keep Dreamers in the country legally.
Mr Trump said he would “have to” deport all undocumented immigrants in the United States, as he doubled down on his hardline campaign pledges including ending birthright citizenship.
“You have to do it,” he said during an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” after being asked if he planned on deporting “everyone who is here illegally over the next four years” of his term.
He also used his first formal television interview after the November election to insist he would end birthright citizenship — enshrined in the US Constitution — “if we can, through executive action,” calling it “ridiculous”.
Mr Trump also said he’ll work to extend the tax cuts passed in his first term. He said he will not seek to impose restrictions on abortion pills. He plans to deport millions of undocumented immigrants and try to end birthright citizenship.
And he said the pardons for Jan 6 rioters will happen on day one, arguing many have endured overly harsh treatment in prison. “These people are living in hell,” he said.
Mr Trump did segue into familiar grievances. He would not concede that he lost the 2020 election. Asked how, in his view, Democrats stole that election but not this one even though they control the White House, Mr Trump said, “Because I think it was too big to rig.”
But he delivered something of a mixed message when it comes to political retribution. Mr Trump made clear he believes he’s been wronged, but he also sounded a conciliatory note, saying he will not appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Mr Biden. “I’m not looking to go back into the past,” he said. “Retribution will be through success.”
Members of the House committee that examined the Jan 6 attack on the US Capitol were “political thugs and, you know, creeps”.
Asked if he would direct the Justice Department and FBI to punish them, Mr Trump said, “No, not at all.”
Minimum wage, immigration and Obamacare
Mr Trump said he would consider raising the federal minimum wage, which has been $7.25 an hour since 2009, but would like to consult with the nation’s governors.
He said he’ll release his full medical records. Mr Trump will be 82 by the time his term ends in 2029 — the same age Mr Biden is now.
He said his children won’t join him as White House aides, a departure from his last term. He didn’t address a question about what role his wife, Melania Trump, will play in the new term.
On immigration, he said he will carry out mass deportation of those who are living in the country illegally, starting from convicted criminals.
An exception might be the “Dreamers” — people who were brought to the US illegally as children and have lived here for years. He voiced openness towards a legislative solution that would allow them to remain in the country.
He also said he intends to eliminate birthright citizenship, the protection enshrined in the 14th Amendment that guarantees citizenship to anyone born on US soil regardless of their parents.
He also said that “Obamacare stinks”, adding: “If we come up with a better answer, I would present that answer to Democrats and to everybody else and I’d do something about it.”
Foreign policy
Mr Trump said he is actively trying to end the Ukraine war, “if I can,” adding that Ukraine can “possibly” expect it won’t get as much military aid from the US when he’s back in office.
He would not commit to keeping the US in Nato. “If they pay their bills, absolutely,” he would preserve America’s role in the alliance, he said.
On another foreign policy front, Mr Trump expressed doubt that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will be able to remain in power.