Trump’s Fiery “60 Minutes” Interview
During a heated “60 Minutes” interview on Sunday, President Trump criticized Democrats regarding the ongoing government shutdown, justified his decision to resume U.S. nuclear weapons testing, and defended his administration’s ICE raids. This marked his first interview since suing CBS News’ parent company.
The conversation started off intense, with anchor Norah O’Donnell questioning Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate about his stance on the 33-day government shutdown, which is the second longest in U.S. history.
O’Donnell pointedly remarked, “You’ve supported government shutdowns in the past,” which led to a back-and-forth as both tried to dominate the discussion.
Trump countered, stating, “I’m not going to do it because I’m being forced to do it by the Democrats who have lost their way. There’s something wrong with these people.”
He then redirected the blame toward Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, labeling him a “basket case.” Trump insisted that Schumer was likely to lose in the next election, saying, “He’s become a kamikaze pilot.”
On nuclear weapons, Trump reaffirmed his plans to restart testing, claiming he could “blow up the world 150 times.”
O’Donnell challenged him, “Why do we need to test nuclear weapons?”
In response, Trump declared, “We are the only country that doesn’t test, and I don’t want to be the only country that doesn’t test,” while also mentioning that China and Russia were actively conducting tests.
He claimed that if ranked, the U.S. would have the top nuclear arsenal, followed by Russia, with China in third. O’Donnell remarked that any evidence of Chinese nuclear testing would certainly be significant news.
After noting critics’ worries, Trump defended the ICE raids, asserting that “they don’t go far enough.”
The discussion also touched on the New York mayoral race, with Trump criticizing the leading candidate, Zoran Mamdani, referring to him as “communist.” Trump emphasized he would likely withhold government funding if Mamdani were to take office in 2020, expressing concern that money sent to New York would be wasted if it were run by communists.
