Trump: I have completely destroyed all of Iran's military power
In a private interview with the Axios media organization, US President Trump made statements on many issues, from military operations in foreign policy to his relations with global leaders, from the artificial intelligence race to the renovation work he carried out in the White House. Stating that he established a much stronger administration compared to the first term of his term of office, Trump detailed the consequences of the military intervention against Iran and the technology competition with China.
In a special interview with the Axios media organization, US President Donald Trump detailed how he used power in his second term, bilateral relations with global leaders, the background of Iran and Venezuela operations, and national security strategies in the field of artificial intelligence.
Expressing that he has a much stronger administration compared to the first term of his term of office, Trump emphasized the importance of combining experience and talent.
Referring to his dominant position at the G7 Summit, which he recently attended, US President Trump said, “Our first term was also good; we had the best economy, we rebuilt the military and did a lot of good work. However, I feel that this period is much stronger than the first. This is due to both experience and the fact that the person who served before you is a disaster," he said.
“I said I'm the boss and it was a joke”
Clarifying a dialogue between other leaders at the G7 Summit, US President Donald Trump confirmed that world leaders entered while sitting in the hall and said, "I am the boss."
Stating that he was surprised that this statement resonated on a global scale, Trump said:
“Actually, I was just joking. Only seven leaders sat around a very long table, the table was normally for thirty people. I went in, looked at all the leaders and said, 'I'm the boss, don't forget that.' It was a cute joke made purely for humor. I wasn't trying to be the boss.”
Evaluating the leaders on the world stage, US President Trump praised Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Expressing that the leaders in India have constantly changed in the past, but Modi has been in office for more than twelve years, Trump said, "Modi is a very solid leader. He acts with great calmness, but in fact he is not a calm person at all, he is an extremely tough leader. I know him very well," he said.
In response, stating that he has no positive or negative opinion about Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Trump said, "Frankly, I don't think about him, I don't even care. However, I can say that he is a very variable character, I saw this variable structure in his speech," he said.
“We have a very good relationship with Xi Jinping”
US President Donald Trump, who described Chinese President Xi Jinping as a strong and extremely intelligent leader, drew attention to the agreement achieved in the relations between the two countries.
Touching on Xi Jinping's physical posture and charisma, Trump said, "If you were to make a movie about him, you would not find something like it in Hollywood. He is over ninety tall, has a great posture, great self-confidence and is extremely intelligent," he said.
Sharing a concrete example of his relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping, US President Trump used the following statements:
“We have a very good relationship with Xi Jinping. I thanked him yesterday for not interfering with the Iran issue. If he wanted, he could have sent an oil tanker surrounded by twelve warships and tried to pass through the blockaded area. I asked him not to interfere in this process, and he did not intervene, showing a great stance. I don't think anyone else but me can make such a request from him. Xi Jinping is a strong leader who works completely business-oriented and non-game games.”
Referring to the governance structure in Pakistan, US President Trump said that he was impressed by the harmony between the Commander of the Land Forces Asım Munir and the prime minister.
Trump said, “There is a great commander Munir and the prime minister in Pakistan. The relationship between them is perfect. It is very good to see that the military leader shows full respect to the prime minister. They helped us a lot in the agreement with Iran, they know the people of the region well," he said.
“We completely defeated Iran militarily”
Answering the question of whether there are limits to US power in the military tension with Iran, US President Donald Trump emphasized that he knows no limits in the use of force.
Defending that Iran's military presence has been completely eliminated, Trump said:
“We completely defeated Iran militarily. Pakistan asked us not to go any further, and I stopped because I loved them. However, there is no such thing as a limit. We have the strongest army in the world. Who else could make the sea blockade we applied? We didn't let a single ship pass. There were those who tried to pass, but these attempts were very short-lived. This pressure forced Iran to sit at the table.”
Claiming that the agreement means unconditional surrender for Iran, US President Donald Trump shared the following information about the details of the operation:
“There are no military forces left at the moment. All of the one hundred and fifty-nine ships they own are at the bottom of the sea. I completely destroyed the air force, anti-aircraft weapons. Our planes fly in that region without any obstacles, we even turned off their privacy systems because there is nothing left to resist us. During the Barack Obama era, their military forces, navy or air forces were not touched. Moreover, I also targeted the leadership staff. I eliminated Kasım Süleymani and Ayatollah. The other Ayatullah was seriously injured. There was an air force of two hundred aircraft in the middle, now there is none. All of the first squad leaders are gone. The second group that came to their place was very bad, we took care of them too. The third group we face now is the smartest ones, and in my opinion, this is a regime change. Because the people in the administration have now completely changed and are much less radical than the previous ones.”
Responding to the criticism that the military intervention could be tougher, US President Trump said, "The only way to be tougher would be to continue bombing for another two or three weeks. However, it would not be of any use to us. The Strait of Hormuz was completely closed, everywhere was filled with mines and missiles would fly over billions of dollar ships. As long as you keep throwing bombs, that throat will be closed. Right now, our stock market is breaking records, oil prices are declining and ships are leaving the region safely. If I had listened to the demands of some hard-minded people to attack more, we could have caused an economic crisis around the world," he said.
'Cuba is dying to meet'
Stating that the military operation in Venezuela was successfully completed in a short period of forty-eight minutes, US President Donald Trump gave the following answer to the question of whether it was time for Cuba after this success:
“I defeated Venezuela one hundred percent. The main difference between Venezuela and Cuba operations is that Venezuela has oil, while Cuba does not have oil. However, Cuba has a very beautiful location and coastline. The Cuba operation can be carried out in a similar way to Venezuela. Venezuela was a militaryly powerful state, we entered the castle with only two hundred and one soldiers, where there were thousands of soldiers, and our pilot was very brave. Iran, on the other hand, has been doing these works for forty-seven years and uses the press very well.”
Stating that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio closely follows the Cuba issue, Trump said, "Since Marco's family is from Cuba, he attaches great importance to this issue. The Cuban administration is eager to meet with us. I got support from ninety-five percent of Cuban Americans and I love them very much.”
“Artificial intelligence will advance solutions in the field of medicine for twenty-five years”
Stating that he closely follows the developments in the field of technology and artificial intelligence, US President Donald Trump stated that artificial intelligence is a bigger revolution than the internet. Noting that artificial intelligence will provide great benefits to humanity if used correctly, Trump said, "Thanks to this technology, treatments and inventions in the field of medicine will take place twenty-five years earlier. Of course, we must also be extremely careful about abuse scenarios," he said.
Referring to the developments regarding the artificial intelligence company Anthropic and its founder Dario Amodei, US President Trump made the following statement:
“We were not satisfied with the activities of Anthropic and warned them. They responded to our requests very quickly and responsibly. Because such issues require very serious legal responsibilities and prison sentences. I met with the founder of the company, Dario Amodei, at the G7 Summit, he is an extremely intelligent person. They do not pose a threat to national security at the moment. Essentially, one of the partners of the company reported the situation to us due to his concern about the studies and the process was connected to the dessert."
Stating that the artificial intelligence sector has developed a unique idea to solve the high electrical energy problem it needs, Trump said, "Artificial intelligence centers need twice the total electricity produced by this country. I also allowed the companies that built artificial intelligence factories to establish their own electricity production facilities. Thus, they do not tire our old electricity grid and sell back the excess electricity they produce to the grid at a cheap price. In this way, we are far ahead of China in the artificial intelligence race," he said.
“I cover the renovation costs of the White House out of my own pocket”
Stating that there is more than two and a half years before the end of his term of office and that he will make the most of this period, US President Donald Trump talked about the restoration works he carried out in the White House building.
Expressing that he sees the maintenance of the historical building as a hobby, Trump concluded his words as follows:
“There were broken marbles and poor quality materials in the White House. I personally took care of it and laid very beautiful granite floors here. I pay all these expenses out of my own pocket, I do not demand a single penny from the state. I am also building one of the safest meeting rooms in the world in the White House. We make a roof that is completely bulletproof glass and protected against unmanned aerial vehicles. There will also be a runway of unmanned aerial vehicles on the roof. I finance this project with my own means of patriotic companies like Apple and Microsoft. Although some dissident judges do not like this situation, we have made Washington an unsafe place and one of the safest cities in America.”