President Donald Trump told NBC News in an interview Saturday that he would not fire anyone involved in the Signal group chat in which military attack plans were inadvertently divulged to a journalist and added later that he “couldn’t care less” if automakers raised prices because of new tariffs.
In a phone interview that lasted more than 10 minutes, Trump also discussed his commitment to annexing Greenland and reiterated that a military option was not off the table.
Following a week of headlines about Signal, tariffs and Greenland, the president waved off concerns that his agenda is causing volatility on Wall Street or decreasing consumer confidence, pointing to polling that shows that the share of Americans who believe the country is on the right track is at record highs.
“What I see is right track, wrong track. And the right track was the first time in like 40 years where it was right track,” the president said, at one point putting Alexander Stubb, the president of Finland, on the phone as well. The two men were golfing in Florida on Saturday.
More from Trump’s interview with NBC News:
No concern if automakers raise their prices
The president said he “couldn’t care less” if automakers raised prices after he announced he would impose 25% tariffs on all foreign-made automobiles.
Asked what his recent message was to motor industry CEOs, and whether he had warned them against raising prices, Trump said, “The message is congratulations, if you make your car in the United States, you’re going to make a lot of money. If you don’t, you’re going to have to probably come to the United States, because if you make your car in the United States, there is no tariff.”
When pressed if he told CEOs not to raise prices, as reported in the The Wall Street Journal, Trump added, “No, I never said that. I couldn’t care less if they raise prices, because people are going to start buying American-made cars.”
Trump continued, “I couldn’t care less. I hope they raise their prices, because if they do, people are gonna buy American-made cars. We have plenty.”
Asked if he was concerned about car prices going up, Trump said, “No, I couldn’t care less, because if the prices on foreign cars go up, they’re going to buy American cars.”
After the interview, an aide followed up with NBC News to say Trump was referring specifically to foreign car prices.
NBC News reported this week that foreign auto parts would also be taxed at 25% even if the vehicles they go into are assembled domestically. Companies that import vehicles under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will get special consideration until the government establishes a process for levying the 25% duties, according to the White House.
Until that time, USMCA-compliant auto parts will remain tariff-free.
The president also said the tariffs would be permanent.
“Absolutely, they’re permanent, sure. The world has been ripping off the United States for the last 40 years and more. And all we’re doing is being fair, and frankly, I’m being very generous,” Trump said.
Trump’s tariff announcement on Wednesday came just weeks before his planned April 2 “Liberation Day,” when tariffs on a variety of consumer goods are set to take effect. They drew swift condemnation from international leaders like Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
In remarks on Thursday, Carney told reporters the tariffs were “unjustified” and that “the old relationship we had with the United States based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation is over.”
Trump on Saturday maintained that he does not plan to further delay the imposition of the April 2 tariffs, and he would consider negotiating on that point “only if people are willing to give us something of great value. Because countries have things of great value, otherwise, there’s no room for negotiation.”
Signal incident
Trump said he has no plans to fire anyone following news that national security adviser Michael Waltz added a journalist to a Signal app group chat with senior members of the Trump administration who were discussing plans to strike Houthi militants in Yemen earlier this month.
