WASHINGTON DC December 9th 2025
Our article presents a summary of the full conversation between President Donald Trump and a reporter from POLITICO, recorded at the WHITE HOUSE and lasting about 45 minutes. The interview covered Europe and the war in Ukraine, immigration on both sides of the Atlantic, Venezuela, narcotics and border security, the United States economy and tariffs, health care subsidies, birthright citizenship, and the future of the Supreme Court and of his own political coalition. What follows is a concise account of what the president said in that conversation so that readers may know the substance without watching the entire recording.
At the outset the interviewer noted that POLITICO had placed Trump at the top of its annual P28 list of the most influential figures shaping Europe. The president accepted the premise that his administration is having what the interviewer called a seismic impact on the continent and immediately linked that influence to his approach to the war between Russia and Ukraine. He stated that Russia holds the stronger negotiating position because it is a much larger country and repeated several times that the war never would have happened if he had been president earlier. He described the conflict as something that could have evolved into a world war and called it a very sad situation for Europe.
The interviewer pressed him on reports that his advisers believed a peace proposal might be completed around the Thanksgiving holiday and asked whether President Zelensky was responsible for stalled progress. Trump replied that Zelensky had not yet read the most recent draft at the time he was last briefed and said it would be good if he did so because many people are dying. He said that senior Ukrainian figures liked the proposal but told his team that Zelensky still had not read it. When asked whether it was time for Ukraine to hold an election he answered that he thought it was, saying that war was being used as a reason not to hold one and that there comes a point at which a country that speaks of democracy must hold a vote.
When asked if Ukraine had lost the war he said they had certainly lost significant territory, including a strip of seafront, and spoke of maps that he said show how much land has changed hands. He repeated his claim that if the United States election had not been rigged the war never would have occurred and said that over the coming months information would come out that would prove this view. He said Europe wants to keep supporting Ukraine until Kyiv wins but argued that European leaders talk without producing enough and that Europe is not doing a good job.
From there the conversation turned to his administration’s new national security strategy and its language about cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory. Trump stated that if Europe continues in the same direction many countries there will not remain viable. He focused heavily on immigration policy, claiming that European countries are allowing unvetted migrants from places such as the Congo and other regions to enter, including people he described as criminals and former prisoners. He said cities such as Paris and London are very different from what they once were and criticized the mayor of London personally by name, calling him incompetent and saying the city has changed because of who is now able to vote. He repeated that he wants a strong Europe but believes current immigration policies are destroying it and that ideology there will change as new populations gain influence.
On NATO he said that the alliance calls him a kind of father figure because of the pressure he placed on members regarding defense spending. He claimed credit for moving spending commitments from 2 percent of economic output to what he described as 5 percent and said that when equipment is sent over, NATO pays for it and he assumes it goes to Ukraine. He did not call for any country to leave NATO but said some members present special difficulties and named Turkey as an example of a state whose president he knows well and can call to resolve disputes. He reiterated that long before President Putin raised the issue, there had been an understanding that Ukraine would not join NATO and said President Zelensky hurt relations with Russia by demanding both the return of Crimea and membership in the alliance at an early meeting.
In discussing Ukraine’s history he said the conflict truly escalated when President Obama allowed Crimea to be given up, describing that region in real estate terms as beautiful, warm, and strategically valuable. He said that decision had been a major mistake and that his own knowledge of Ukraine has grown greatly since then.
The interviewer then shifted the conversation to Venezuela. Trump asserted that Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro’s days are numbered and refused to rule in or out the use of American ground forces, saying he would not discuss military planning with a publication he described as unfriendly and that he considered himself transparent in other ways. He said large numbers of Venezuelans have been sent into the United States, including persons he described as prisoners, drug dealers, and those released from mental institutions, and that this happened under what he called a very stupid president. He praised Venezuelan communities in Florida around his Doral property and said they are highly successful and that the people are incredible.
The topic then turned to narcotics. The interviewer cited information from the Drug Enforcement Administration that most illicit fentanyl in the United States originates in Mexico using precursor chemicals from China and that Venezuela is not a major fentanyl source, but Trump answered that Venezuelan boats still bring many drugs and very bad people. He claimed that every time a drug boat is destroyed the United States saves 25,000 lives and said maritime drug flows are down by what he called 92 percent under his administration. He said land based operations would intensify soon.
When asked about his decision to pardon former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been convicted on trafficking charges, he said that he did not know him personally but that many people told him the case resembled what he regarded as politically motivated prosecutions elsewhere. He said those people believed Hernández had been treated unfairly and asked him to act, so he did.
The second half of the interview increasingly focused on domestic policy. On the economy the interviewer raised concerns from a supporter about the cost of groceries, utilities, insurance, and doing business. Trump gave his performance an A plus grade and said he inherited a mess of high prices and was bringing them down. He said energy prices in particular had fallen sharply and that when gasoline prices come down everything else follows. He gave examples of fuel prices that he said had fallen to 1 dollar and 99 cents in several states and claimed that beef prices would drop because of new actions his team had taken.
He then spoke at length about tariffs. He said that 18 trillion dollars of investment is coming into the United States because of his tariff policy and contrasted this with what he claimed was less than 1 trillion under his predecessor. He credited tariffs with bringing automobile production back to the country and with driving large investments in chips and artificial intelligence. He described a negotiation with a major chip company in which he says he demanded a 10 percent stake for the United States in exchange for government help and asserted that this produced 40 billion dollars for the nation when the stock rose. He said he would both reduce and increase tariffs selectively in the future, granting small exemptions on some goods such as coffee while raising tariffs in other areas to keep manufacturing in the United States.
On interest rates he criticized the current Federal Reserve chair, calling him not smart and unfriendly to him personally, and said the country is fighting through high borrowing costs despite overall success. He indicated that lowering rates would be a condition for any future Fed leadership and said the next chair should immediately cut them.
The interviewer then raised the impending expiration of Affordable Care Act subsidies and the likelihood that premiums will rise for millions of Americans. Trump answered by attacking the structure of the law itself, saying that it was conceived to make insurance companies rich and that insurers have been paid trillions of dollars. He said he wants to send money directly to individuals and let them buy their own coverage, rather than paying insurers through subsidies. He accused his political opponents of being controlled by insurance companies and said they are the reason the system cannot be changed easily. When pressed on whether he would ask Congress to extend the subsidies within weeks he did not give a direct yes or no answer and instead repeated that his goal is better care at lower cost by funding people rather than insurers.
On immigration the interviewer quoted the Pope as calling some of his actions inhumane and asked whether he took that seriously. Trump said he had not seen such a statement and spoke instead about his border wall, claiming that during the prior administration millions of people poured into the country unchecked and that under his current policies the number is now zero except for legal entrants. He again said he had not heard the Pope’s words but assumed the pontiff was a lovely man and mentioned the Pope’s brother, whom he described as a supporter living in Florida.
The interview then moved to birthright citizenship. The reporter noted that the Supreme Court is considering a case that could change who is considered legally present in the United States and asked whether, if the Court ended birthright citizenship, he would consider removing citizenship from people who already have it. Trump said he had not thought deeply about that question but argued that the original case was meant only for the children of slaves after the Civil War, not for the children of people who travel to the United States briefly to give birth. He said that misunderstanding of that case has harmed the country and repeated his belief that the nation cannot afford to support tens of millions of people through that doctrine.
From there the interviewer asked directly whether he wants any justice on the Supreme Court to retire so that he can appoint a replacement before the end of his term, noting the ages of Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito by name. Trump answered that he hopes they stay and said that he thinks they are fantastic, repeating that both men are fantastic. He then said that Democrats want to expand the Supreme Court to 21 members and called that idea terrible for the country.
In closing the conversation turned to the future of his political coalition. The interviewer observed that he had drawn many new voters to his side, including people who had long been part of the opposing party’s base, and asked whether anyone else could energize that same coalition. Trump replied that he hopes so but that one never knows until people are tested. He said there is a deep bench of talent and praised his current cabinet as better than his first, saying that his own experience in Washington now allows him to choose more effectively. He described his earlier life as that of a successful New York business figure and entertainer and said that now, alongside governing, he is also renovating the White House and building a grand ballroom that past administrations were unable to complete.
Our article does not evaluate the accuracy of the president’s claims on policy or history. It reflects, in condensed form, what he said in a single conversation so that readers can know the substance without viewing the entire recording.
The Appalachian Post is an independent West Virginia news outlet dedicated to clean, verified, first-hand reporting. We do not publish rumors. We do not run speculation. Every fact we present must be supported by original documentation, official statements, or direct evidence. When secondary sources are used, we clearly identify them and never treat them as first-hand confirmation. We avoid loaded language, emotional framing, or accusatory wording, and we do not attack individuals, organizations, or other news outlets. Our role is to report only what can be verified through first-hand sources and allow readers to form their own interpretations. If we cannot confirm a claim using original evidence, we state clearly that we reviewed first-hand sources and could not find documentation confirming it. Our commitment is simple: honest reporting, transparent sourcing, and zero speculation.
Sources
Primary First Hand Sources
• POLITICO interview with President Donald Trump at the WHITE HOUSE, full video and transcript as provided in the conversation text
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