False statements and statements Donald Trump gave an interview to the "New York Times" - this is what happened
Donald Trump has given an interview to the "New York Times". An overview of the most important statements - and how Trump deals with his closest associates.
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- In the interview with the "New York Times", Donald Trump was provocative and self-confident - just as we know him.
- He announced that the USA would "lead Venezuela for more than a year", questioned the New START disarmament treaty with Russia and described NATO as "worthless without the USA".
- Several of his statements were wrong - for example on Obamacare, Paul Manafort and the Russia affair.
- His treatment of staff and advisors was also conspicuous in the interview, calling them "kids".
TheNew York Timesconducted a two-hour interview with US President Donald Trump. According to the newspaper, Trump presented himself in the way we have come to expect from him - provocative, self-confident and always factually off the mark. He made these statements - and they are wrong:
The 4 most important statements from the interview
USA will stay in Venezuela for "more than a year"
Shortly after the military operation in Venezuela, Donald Trump declared that the USA would now "lead" the South American country. While several members of the government tried to qualify this statement, Trump followed up in an interview with the New York Times (NYT): He would lead Venezuela for "much longer than a year", he said, emphasizing several times that he was "in charge".
Critics see the US operation as a breach of international law. Trump, however, rejected this accusation in an interview: "I don't need international law." When asked whether there are limits to his power on the world stage, he replied: "Yes, one - my own morals, my own mind."
He also explained that he gets on "very well" with interim president Delcy Rodríguez. The USA would take over Venezuela's oil and in return bring money into the country "that they desperately need", said Trump.
Nuclear weapons treaty with Russia to expire
Trump hinted at allowing the last remaining disarmament treaty with Russia to expire - the New START Treaty of 2010, which ends in February.
He did not respond to Putin's offer to voluntarily comply with the existing limitations on both sides. "When it expires, it expires. We'll just sign a better treaty," said Trump.
The treaty limits the number of strategic warheads to 1,550 and the number of delivery systems to 700. According to the agreement, a further extension is not planned - the last five-year extension was agreed in 2021. According to Trump, China - whose nuclear arsenal is growing rapidly - must also be included in the next agreement.
Is Greenland or Nato more important?
Since the attack on Venezuela, Donald Trump has been pressing ahead with his demand for a takeover of Greenland - using military force if necessary. To justify this, he referred to national security issues.
When asked why he did not simply want to use old treaties and reopen former US bases, Trump explained that he was concerned with actual "ownership". Only ownership provides the psychological basis for success.
The US President left open whether Greenland or Nato was more important to him, but admitted that it could be "a choice between the two". Greenland remains under the responsibility of Denmark in terms of foreign policy, and both countries are members of Nato. However, Trump described the alliance as "worthless without the USA".
With regard to Europe, he explained: "We will always get along with Europe somehow, but they have to get their act together. Russia is not interested in any other country - only us."
Taiwan will not be attacked "as long as I'm in office"
The NYT asked Trump whether his actions in Venezuela could serve as a model for China to attack Taiwan. According to the US president, the situations are not comparable. Venezuela is a "real threat", Taiwan is not.
There is currently speculation in both China and Europe that Trump's actions could encourage Beijing to take a more aggressive course. The latter was unconcerned about this. What China does with Taiwan is a matter for President Xi Jinping. However, Trump said he would be "very unhappy" if Beijing were to change the status quo. Xi will not intervene militarily in Taiwan during his term of office, Trump believes. "Maybe he'll do it when we have another president - but not while I'm in office," he said.
The 4 most important false statements from the interview
Senator's statement was misrepresented
Donald Trump claimed that former California Senator Dianne Feinstein stated on television that there was no collusion between his campaign team and Russia in the 2016 US presidential election. In fact, however, Feinstein said she had seen no evidence of such collusion so far - not that such evidence would rule out collusion.
As a reminder, the Russia affair in the 2016 US election campaign refers to the Russian influence proven by US intelligence services through cyber attacks, disinformation on social media and contacts with the Trump campaign team in order to manipulate the election in favor of Donald Trump and against Hillary Clinton.
In an interview with CBS in October, she explained: "It's an open question because there's no evidence yet that it happened. I assume that this evidence will come to light in the course of Special Counsel Mueller's investigation."
Democrats are said to have invented the Russia affair
The Russia affair continues immediately. In the interview, Trump described it as a Democratic "narrative trick, a hoax, an excuse for losing the election". However, US authorities had already sounded the alarm before his election. The Obama administration publicly accused Russia of influencing the election in October 2016, and Obama privately called on Putin to stop at the G20 summit in China in September. CIA Director John Brennan also issued an urgent warning to his Russian counterpart by telephone in August.
Trump is said to have "saved" the coal industry
During the interview with the NYT, Trump claimed to have "saved" the coal industry. However, the statement doesn't quite match the government's figures. The number of people employed in coal mining fell from around 90,000 in January 2012 to around 48,600 in September 2016. Under President Trump, the industry initially recovered slightly, reaching around 51,700 jobs in September - but since then employment has fallen again.
Coal production also initially increased in the first quarter of 2017, but fell again in the second quarter. In its latest industry report for 2018, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecast "lower exports and no growth in domestic coal consumption".
Trump is said to have "essentially repealed" Obamacare
In the interview, Trump claimed that he had scrapped Obamacare, the health insurance law introduced by Barack Obama. In fact, as part of the tax reform, the Republicans merely repealed the so-called insurance requirement of the Affordable Care Act - the provision that obliged most citizens to take out health insurance. However, this is not a complete repeal of the existing healthcare law.
While the insurance mandate was a central part of Obamacare, other key elements of the law remain: the expansion of eligibility for Medicaid, the basic benefit requirements that every insurance policy must cover, and new taxes to fund subsidized insurance.
What else Trump has said and done
"I don't need international law"
The US President also made it clear in the interview that he is hardly restricted by international norms or legal boundaries. When asked whether there are limits to the exercise of his global power, he said: "Yes, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. That's the only thing that can stop me."
In his own words, Trump thinks little of international law. "I don't need international law," he said on the record. Although he conceded that his government must follow it in principle, he added: "It depends on what you define as international law." The President obviously does not consider himself to be in the wrong: "I don't want to hurt anyone," he said placatingly.
He calls J.D. Vane and Marco Rubio "kids"
According to the four NYT reporters present, the interview also revealed how Trump treats his closest confidants. He repeatedly referred to advisors and staff as "kids", including his Vice President J. D.Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Vance and Rubio also said they had each been given four pairs of shoes by the president. Vance raised his leg in the air to show the president the pair he was wearing, according to the newspaper.
Trump calls his staffer "A.I."
During the conversation, his staffer Natalie Harp handed him a document titled "Trump on Tiktok," which included statistics on the president's popularity on the platform. Trump calls Harp "A. I.", short for "Artificial Intelligence", because she conducts research for him and brings in documents.
"She behaved terribly"
Trump also commented on the fatal shooting of an ICE agent in the US state of Minnesota, repeating what he has already said on social media. The victim, Renee Nicole Good, had "tried to run over the agent". "She behaved horribly," the president said. "And then she ran him over. She didn't try to run him over. She ran him over." None of the numerous video footage showing the fatal shooting shows the woman trying to run over anyone let alone running over a person.
