Trump reveals his 'day one goals'
President-elect Donald Trump is discussing his plans for the first day of his presidency, offering a glimpse into the sweeping changes he aims to make from the moment he takes office.
During an interview with NBC's Meet The Press, Trump spoke with moderator Kristen Welker for more than an hour on a range of topics, saying he plans on a series of executive actions designed to swiftly fulfill his campaign promises.
In one of the most revealing moments of the interview, Trump conceded what financial experts have been saying all along: His promised tariffs on imports may cause prices to rise.
Trump has promised to impose a 25% tariff on goods imported from Mexico and Canada unless those countries stop illegal immigration into the United States. Despite low inflation during his first term, experts warn that the proposal could lead to increased costs for American businesses and consumers, potentially reducing purchasing power by hundreds or even thousands of dollars annually.
Trump said he "can't guarantee" that Americans wouldn't pay higher prices as a result of his proposed tariffs. However, he defended tariffs as beneficial for the economy, saying they're "going to make us rich" and "help us pay off $35 trillion in debt." He also suggested they could prevent conflicts, calling them a "very powerful tool, not only economically, but also for getting other things outside of economics."
"We're subsidizing Canada to the tune over $100 billion a year. We're subsidizing Mexico for almost $300 billion. We shouldn't be — why are we subsidizing these countries? If we're going to subsidize them, let them become a state," he said. "All I want to do is I want to have a level, fast, but fair playing field."
Trump also discussed his plans for mass deportations, saying that deporting everyone who is in the country illegally is necessary.
"I think you have to do it, and it's a hard — it's a very tough thing to do. But you have to have, you know, you have rules, regulations, laws. They came in illegally," he said. "But we're starting with the criminals and we've got to do it. And then we're starting with others and we're going to see how it goes."
Though he won't revive a zero-tolerance policy separating children from their parents, Trump said families will have a choice to make.
"We don't have to separate families," he said. "We'll send the whole family, very humanely, back to the country where they came. That way the family's not separated."
"It's very simple," he added. "When they come here illegally, they're going out. Now if they come here illegally but their family is here legally, then the family has a choice. The person that came in illegally can go out, or they can all go out together."
Trump also said that he would look to end birthright citizenship as a means to stop children born in the U.S. to undocumented parents from automatically receiving citizenship.
"We have to end it," Trump said, adding that "we're the only country that has it," and "it's ridiculous."
Trump expressed willingness to work with Democrats on a plan to allow Dreamers -- undocumented immigrants who entered the country as children nearly 20 or more years ago and are covered under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program -- to stay in the U.S.
"They were brought into this country many years ago," he said. "Some of them are no longer young people, and in many cases, they've become successful. They have great jobs. In some cases, they have small businesses. Some cases, they might have large businesses, and we're going to have to do something with them."
Elsewhere in the interview, Trump reiterated his promise to pardon individuals jailed for their involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot on his first day in office. He criticized the justice system, claiming that those who pleaded guilty did so under duress, while calling for members of the House Select Committee investigating Jan. 6 to be jailed.
"I know the system. The system's a very corrupt system. They say to a guy, 'You're going to go to jail for two years or for 30 years.' And these guys are looking, their whole lives have been destroyed. For two years, they've been destroyed. But the system is a very nasty system," Trump said.
Over 1,500 people have been charged in relation to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
The President-elect also said he had no plans to impose federal restrictions on abortion pills or on raising requirements for Social Security and Medicare.
