Nicolai Haugsted
Trump threatens to “annihilate” Iran before turning his anger toward the reporters interviewing him.
Presidential interviews rarely stay neatly inside the lines when Donald Trump has 75 minutes, a collection of grievances and some of the biggest issues facing his administration to discuss.
Time’s latest sit-down with the president certainly did not.
Trump spoke with senior correspondent Eric Cortellessa and editor-in-chief Sam Jacobs at the White House on September 28, covering the Iran war, artificial intelligence, the economy, the midterms, his battles with the press and even the renovations he has made to the White House.
Several exchanges stood out after the transcript was published — ranging from a stark threat against Iran to a four-letter complaint about the questions he was being asked.
Here are five of the more remarkable moments.
1. Trump talks about “annihilating Iran”
Trump campaigned heavily on his credentials as a peacemaker, but his description of the ongoing conflict with Iran sounded considerably less restrained.
Time challenged the president over the length of the war after Trump had previously suggested the conflict would be considerably shorter.
Trump argued that his original military objectives had been accomplished before he chose to continue.
“I took them out. I could have stopped then, but I wanted to go further,” Trump said.
Asked how his approach fitted with his description of himself as a president of peace, Trump offered perhaps the interview’s most severe line.
“Because by annihilating Iran, we’ve created peace in the world,” he said. “With Iran, I don’t think you could ever have peace.”
The war was already seven months old when Trump sat down with Time, far beyond the original timetable discussed by the administration. Trump told the magazine that further escalation remained possible if an acceptable agreement could not be reached.
2. Trump drops an F-bomb over the questions
Frustration with the interview itself eventually boiled over.
Time asked Trump whether he might issue preemptive pardons to members of his administration before leaving office.
Trump responded by invoking pardons issued by former President Joe Biden before turning his attention directly toward the journalists sitting opposite him.
“You haven’t asked me one f—-g positive question,” Trump complained.
“All of this. What about this? What about that? What about that? What about this? All negative.”
The remark came after a conversation that had ranged across subjects including Iran, the Supreme Court and Trump’s White House construction projects.
Trump apparently felt the balance sheet was missing something.
3. Apparently even curing cancer would not help
Media coverage supplied another source of irritation.
Trump defended his treatment of CNN and MS NOW while arguing that certain news organizations simply refuse to cover him fairly.
His hypothetical example set the bar about as high as possible.
“If I do the finest thing, if I found the cure to cancer, they would say, ‘Why didn’t he move quicker?’” Trump said.
“They are just horrible people, and they’re so bad.”
Trump’s argument was that negative coverage would follow regardless of his accomplishments.
The exchange came amid a broader dispute over White House press access. Trump has targeted CNN, MS NOW and Politico, while litigation has challenged restrictions placed on journalists from those organizations.
4. Kaitlan Collins gets an unsolicited mention
CNN correspondent Kaitlan Collins has repeatedly clashed with Trump, and she resurfaced during the Time conversation even though the discussion concerned his broader complaints about news coverage.
Trump argued that his administration had accumulated major accomplishments without receiving what he regarded as fair treatment.
“I can name 100 great things I’ve done. I never get good press. I never get fair press,” Trump said.
“Doesn’t have to be good. All it has to be is fair.”
He then turned specifically to Collins.
“So at a certain point, you say, ‘What’s the purpose of like this crazy Kaitlin Collins [sic]?’ She’s a very average person. She’s the most unhappy young person I’ve ever seen.”
The remarks represented Trump’s personal characterization of Collins, rather than an independently verifiable assessment.
His complaint nevertheless fitted neatly into one of the interview’s recurring themes: Trump believes much of the political press treats him unfairly, and he has shown increasing willingness to act on that belief.
5. Natalie Harp supplies four words Trump needed
Not every memorable moment involved war, media battles or presidential anger.
Trump’s discussion of artificial intelligence produced a considerably smaller correction.
The president praised technological advances while acknowledging potential risks and then turned toward longtime aide Natalie Harp to check the schedule for an upcoming meeting with AI executives.
“Tomorrow’s meeting. What time is that meeting tomorrow? Two?” Trump asked.
“Noon, in the East Room,” Harp replied.
Four words settled the matter.
Trump then asked Harp for information about who would attend the meeting before continuing his discussion of AI.
The brief intervention was notable partly because Harp otherwise remained silent throughout the interview despite being close at hand.
