President Trump tore into Democrats over the ongoing government shutdown, justified his order to restart nuclear weapons testing in the US and defended his administration’s ICE raids in a sometimes-tense “60 Minutes” interview Sunday – his first with CBS News since suing the network’s parent company.
“You have helped these government shutdowns in the past,” interviewer Norah O’Donnell said at the beginning of the sit-down while questioning Trump’s handling of the situation, prompting a back-and-forth in which the two tried to talk over one another.
Trump shot back: “I’m not gonna do it by being extorted by the Democrats who have lost their way. There’s something wrong with these people.”
He then pinned the blame for the shutdown, the second-longest in US history at 33 days, on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, whom he called a “basket case.”
“He’s gonna be defeated in the next election by a vast number of people. And he has nothing to lose. He’s become a kamikaze pilot,” Trump railed.
Last week, Schumer proposed approving a food stamps-only bill to compensate for the SNAP benefits hanging in the balance instead of voting to reopen the government in full.
Schumer and his fellow Senate Democrats have voted over a dozen times to keep the government shut down from Oct. 1.
Trump later on in the “60 Minutes” interview doubled down on his intention to restart testing the US’ nuclear weaponry, which he boasted could “blow up the world 150 times.”
“Why do we need to test our nuclear weapons?” O’Donnell countered.
To which Trump replied: “We’re the only country that doesn’t test, and I don’t wanna be the only country that doesn’t test.”
The president then cited Russia and China – both of which he said are actively testing their nuclear weapons.
Last week, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin announced that his country’s military successfully tested a nuclear-powered torpedo.
Days earlier, Putin also celebrated Russia’s “invincible” nuclear-powered cruise missile nicknamed a “tiny flying Chernobyl” by experts.
Trump explained that, if there were a ranking, the US would have the best nuclear weapons, with Russia shortly behind and China in third.
The commander in chief defended his administration’s ICE raids and argued “they haven’t gone far enough” when O’Donnell cited concerns from critics.
The interview also waded into New York City’s mayor’s race, with Trump slamming “communist” frontrunner Zohran Mamdani.
Trump then again warned to withhold federal funds for the Big Apple if Mamdani is elected on Tuesday.
“And it’s gonna be hard for me as the president to give a lot of money to New York. Because if you have a Communist running New York, all you’re doing is wasting the money you’re sending there,” he said.
Trump previously suggested he would send troops to New York City if Mamdani wins and asserted that the democratic socialist’s victory would be “a fluke.”
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