President Donald Trump made a rare appearance at the White House press briefing Tuesday afternoon to mark the one-year anniversary of his inauguration.
Trump stood at the podium holding a book of what he referred to as pages of “accomplishments we’ve produced,” quickly flipping through them.
“We’ve done more than any other administration has done by far, in terms of military, in terms of ending wars, in terms of completing wars — nobody’s really seen very much like it,” he said.
During the nearly two hour news conference, Trump shared his opinions on a range of subjects from his mass deportation efforts, to U.S. military action in Venezuela and threatened action in Greenland to the role of the United Nations in combating world conflicts. He also addressed concerns he isn’t focused enough on the economy, denying claims that inflation continues to be a problem.
Trump opened by focusing on a stack of papers he claimed contained names of undocumented migrants who had been convicted of crimes. The president held up mugshots of the alleged perpetrators, calling some “vicious” and “murderers,” before emphasizing the need for strong U.S. border control.
“That’s why, one of the reasons I’ve felt so strongly against Venezuela, now I’m loving Venezuela. They’ve been working with us so well,” Trump said about the weeks after the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by force.
Trump called Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who gave Trump her Nobel Peace Prize, an “unbelievably nice woman,” adding she “did a very incredible thing.”
Though he did not elaborate, Trump floated the idea that “maybe we can get her involved in some way” with governing the country. Despite having lunch with Machado last week, Trump has vocally shown support for interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez.
The news conference marking Trump’s first anniversary of his second term comes against a backdrop of international consternation over the administration’s threats to seize Greenland. Trump on Tuesday plans to travel to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he will encounter confused and upset leaders from Europe whom he has threatened with punishing tariffs for refusing to support his territorial ambitions. Trump ultimately expressed optimism on Tuesday that NATO will be “happy” with the deal he is able to work out with the world’s largest island.
Asked how far he is willing to go to acquire Greenland, Trump offered a brief response: “You’ll find out.”
Trump emphasized he would consider alternatives if the Supreme Court rules against his tariff threats against European allies if a deal is not reached about Greenland.
“I mean, we have other alternatives, but what we’re doing now is the best, the strongest, the fastest, the easiest, the least complicated,” Trump said.
The president also questioned whether NATO, which has kept the post-war peace, would come to the “rescue” of the U.S. if it were threatened, repeating his claims that he has done “more” for the alliance than “anybody.”
“The big fear I have with NATO is we spend tremendous amounts of money when they don’t,” he said. “And I know we’ll come to their rescue, but I just really do question whether or not they’ll come to ours.” Trump also criticized the United Nations and suggested his newly formed Board of Peace “might” replace it. The board is being created to help manage post-war governance, reconstruction and stability in areas affected by conflict, starting with Gaza after the Israel-Hamas ceasefire. “Well, it might. I mean, the U.N. just hasn’t been very helpful. I’m a big fan of the U.N. potential, but it has never lived up to its potential. The U.N. should have settled every one of the wars that I settled,” Trump said. “They should be able to settle those wars — they don’t.” While Trump focused on world affairs, even members of his own party worry Trump isn’t paying enough attention to the No. 1 issue that typically drives voters to the polls in elections: the economy. Asked how far he is willing to go to acquire Greenland, Trump offered a brief response: “You’ll find out.” At the anniversary news conference, Trump slammed the economy under his predecessor and again blamed Joe Biden for high prices before falsely claiming that there is no inflation under the Trump administration. “We have no inflation. We have no inflation. We have very little inflation,” Trump told reporters. The latest U.S. inflation report shows the consumer price index, or CPI, rose 2.7% in December. He notably tried to blame “bad public relations people” for not getting his economic message across. During the first year of his second term, Trump has often brushed aside public concerns about the economy. At times he has dismissed warnings about inflation, slowing growth or recession risks as a “hoax” pushed by political opponents and the media, even as polls show many Americans remain worried about their finances.
Ebony Davis is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. Recommended
