Interview: Greta Van Susteren Interviews Donald Trump on the Phone for Newsmax - April 30, 2026

Mr. President, very nice to talk to you, sir.

Thank you, Greta. Thank you.

Mr. President, you and I have gone, we've gone way back, about 24 years or so talking about the economy. And I remember very early on and consistently, you've always been disturbed that manufacturing has left the United States and hurting the workers. Well, we have a new disruptor, which is AI, which has been fabulously important to medicine, but we're losing a lot of jobs.

Even Meta's canceled or, or they're gonna lay off 8,000. Uh, have you given any thoughts about how AI can expand and help our workers rather than strip away all these jobs?

Well, you're really helping the workers because we're building plants all over the country. And when these plants open up, you're gonna see a big surge, but you're really helping, you're helping, and, and you're helping a lot of other things like cures dis- -- diseases that we're gonna find through AI, et cetera.

But we have plants right now, as an example, construction jobs are way up. Uh, the jobs after they open are gonna be way up and AI is gonna be a boon to the country. It's gonna be incredible, I think. And we're leading China. You know, China wants it badly. They wanna take the lead, but they won't be able to as long as we're smart.

And if we're nice and smart like we should be, uh, we will control that industry. That industry will lead to unbelievable things and will lead to tremendous numbers of jobs.

I guess I worry because when I go to the grocery store or the drugstore, I no longer see people. I just, you know, punch things in because, you know, technology has, has taken so many of those, those jobs away. Um, so I, I guess that I feel uneasy because of that.

Well, you, you might, but it's hard. As an example, we're doing tremendously well in the automobile manufacturing businesses. They're moving into the country. And you have a lot of people. You'll have more plants. You may have fewer people in the plants, but you'll have many more of them. And that's what's happening.

All over, that's what's happening.

All right. I know that, um, taxes --

Greta, just so you understand --

-- is not your --

To, to, really --

What?

-- to, to quench your appetite. Uh, there are more people working today in the United States than ever before, so you may not see a lot of people in the grocery store, but we have the highest number of people working today that we ever have before, by far.

All right. Let me turn to another branch of government, which seems to be a little, you know, it's, it's, which has got a big job and that's a legislative branch. It's their job to, uh, in, in the house to do the tax code. And our tax code is just so tangled up. It's such a mess. It's so many pages. Nobody understands it. Everybody has to pay to have his, his or her taxes done if you have any sort of income.

Is there anything you can do to put some fire under Congress to get that tax code simplified?

Well, we are doing that, and I agree with you, but I also agree that, uh, we are, we had the biggest tax cut in history, and people are getting 5, 6, 7, $8,000 back. We have no tax on tips, which made it much simpler. We have no tax on social security, which made it much simpler. We have no tax on overtime, which makes even the returns much simpler.

So, uh, what we've done is we've cut taxes so much, and some of those taxes are no longer even have to be reported, like no tax on tips. None of them do. So we are simplifying it, but we're, we're also going to mechanically simplify it, and that'll be easy. The big thing was getting the cuts. So people are ending up with 5 or $6,000 now more than they thought they would have.

And I think you see that people are saying, "Wow, this is great." That all because, that's all because of the Great, Big, Beautiful Bill.

All right. Well, you gotta have a job though in order to be able to pay taxes to even take advantage of the Big, Beautiful Bill.

Well, I just told you --

So I guess that's --

We have more people working in the United States today than we've ever had in the history of our country.

All right. Let me turn now to the Senate and the filibuster and which, uh, have, have, have you had any conversations with Senator Thune who, who ran on the pledge when he was named the leader that the filibuster would not go away? So the filibuster's been standing in the way of, of some of the legislation that you would like to see hit your desk.

I think it's very foolish for the Republicans not to immediately terminate the filibuster and get everything approved like the Great, Big, Beautiful Bill. And I think they're getting much closer to it. It's shocking that they, there are some, a couple of people that just don't want to do it. Now, why? Uh, you'll have to ask them, but if we did that, we could get things done at a record clip.

I, I deal with it all the time. I mean, I've, especially lately, I said, "How much can a Republican senator stand?" Because what they're doing with respect to defunding all of our law enforcement, frankly, which is really what they're doing. They're defunding ICE, they're defunding border patrol, they're defunding some of, of our greatest people, our greatest patriots.

And at some point, I think the senators have to get smart and they have to do it because the Democrats will do it in their first hour and they'll use it in their first day and they'll be adding, uh, additional states and they'll be adding additional Supreme Court justices. I hear up to 21 is the number they really want. 21, they want to dilute it and, uh, it would be terrible.

So I think the Republicans have to do the, they have to terminate the filibuster and approve all sorts of things like the Great Big, you know, I mean, Gret- -- we did the Great, Big, Beautiful Bill. We have the Save America Act, which will be such a great thing. It will, there will be very little voting cheating if we do the Save America Act.

And the way they're gonna do that is to terminate the filibuster.

But how do you get them actually to do that? Because as a practical matter is that your name isn't on the ballot come November, but you are the president and you've had enormous impact on all these races, is that if --

That's true.

-- these things don't get passed, um, your supporters are not gonna be happy and, and they're not gonna say that it's a filibuster in the Senate, they're probably gonna point their finger at you. So how do you get, how do you get this across the finish line to get rid of the filibuster so you can get that legislation passed?

What do you do with Thune?

Well, my supporters have a tendency to say when something like this happens that, that I'm not being properly served, because they know where I am. And I've had that before. And it is a problem, I'm not on the ballot. And I have to convince, everyone says if I was on the ballot, I would win in a landslide.

I have the best, I have some of the best poll numbers I've ever had. And, and the war is actually, Harvard Harris just came out with a poll, uh, stopping Iran from having a nuclear weapon is a positive thing, not a negative thing. Uh, and I always felt that, but e- -- whether I felt it or not, I have to do the right thing.

We can't let Iran have a nuclear weapon. But no, I, I just hope that, if we pass the filibuster, I think we win everything in a landslide, because we will have passed so much, forget about the filibuster, because we did, if we terminate the filibuster, we will pass so many things, not only the SAVE America Act, but every other thing that the Republicans have ever wanted.

And that will lead --

Well --

-- to a landslide election victory. If we don't pass it --

We --

-- and if we don't pass up, it's gonna be much tougher. There's no question about it, in my mind.

Well, there's certainly been a curse on any incumbent president. The only President served, uh, won in the midterms have been FDR back in the '30s. Bill Clinton and George Bush, 43. Every other time, every other president has had the misfortune when you're, when you're in the pres --

Yeah.

-- when you're in the oval office is losing the midterms. You're gonna change that this time?

Well, it doesn't make sense. I mean, we've had a great year. A lot of people say we had the greatest first year in the history of the presidency. And I think, you know, I, not only everything that we've done, we have the largest tax cuts, largest regulation cuts, best economy. Where do you see, when the war ends, even with the war, you know, we just hit a new high on the economy.

Think of it. We hit a new high. We have the best economy. The stock market just now hit a new high during the war or the military operation, whatever you'd like to call it. I mean, we are doing great. And yet, no pres- -- even, you know, you had basically two or three over a 50-year period. You know, when you think about it, it doesn't make sense.

Presidents that have done well, some have done well, still lose the midterms, so we have to change that. The way you change it is to terminate the filibuster. That would be the way that it's a guarantee. Otherwise, it's tougher, but we should be able to do it just based on my record. Based on my record, we should be able to do it.

I, I, I, I've been around Washington long enough to know that I never know what's going on in the inside. Media's always on the outside, but looking at the Iran war, haven't you already won? I mean, isn't it o- -- I mean --

We've already won --

-- what war --

We've already won, but I wanna win by a bigger margin, but we have. We already did. We have destroyed their Navy, destroyed their Air Force, destroyed all of their, uh, if you look at their anti-aircraft equipment, their radar equipment, uh, their leadership, their leadership is destroyed. Uh, we've destroyed everything.

If we leave right now, it would take them 20 years to rebuild if they ever could rebuild. And, but it's not, it's actually not good enough. We have to have guarantees they will never have a nuclear weapon.

Who is their leadership? I mean, at the --

Because just like the Democrats will use the filibuster, will terminate it. Just like they, I will tell you that Iran would use the nuclear weapon if they had it. I deal with these people. I know people, they will use the nuclear weapon, and we're not gonna give them a chance to do it. And I actually think it's very popular what I'm doing.

I can tell you worldwide, the world is thanking me, because I shouldn't be the one that's doing it. Other presidents should have done it long before me, and other countries should have done it. We were not helped by NATO at all. Other countries should have done it.

Well, you know, I, I think it's a fact that no country in the world wants Iran to have a nuclear weapon. Nobody does. I mean, I've never, I've never met --

But they don't wanna do anything about it. They don't wanna do anything about it.

Right. I mean, well, the --

They all say that.

Well, even some of, even so --

And then you have, then you have --

-- some of our better friends.

Then you have, uh, the German chancellor, whatever he is, uh, who says that, uh, "Well, uh" -- he disagrees with me on nuclear weapons for Iran. I said, "If you disagree with me on nuclear weapons for Iran, you're doing a great disservice to the people of Germany." And, you know, how is he done with Ukraine?

I mean, they've been fighting that war long before I got into office. How is, how is the German chancellor done in Ukraine? Not too well. Not too well. So, what they have to do is they have to focus on immigration and energy, not on me, because we have decimated Iran. And Iran is talking and they want something to happen, but they're not there yet.

And if they're not gonna be there, they will never have a nuclear weapon.

Well, here's what I don't understand is, um, n- -- number one is I don't know who you're dealing with because that the leadership seems to have been decimated and seems --

Yeah.

-- I don't know how you negotiate with someone who doesn't have a leader. That's the first thing. The second thing is that Steve Witkoff told me on, on this show is that the United States offered Iran to give them enriched uranium so that for medical and powerful, w- -- uh, purposes free. If they would give up their nuclear program, wouldn't cost them a dime.

And they declined that, which to, you know, which to me suggested that they really didn't want a deal.

Well, and maybe it wasn't a very, uh, serious offer because I wouldn't have approved that and I wouldn't have, I'm not giving them anything. I wouldn't have approved that. They're gonna either have --

Well may --

-- a nuclear weapon or they're not. And if they're not, they're in, they're in big trouble. Big.

Oh --

Even bigger than they are right now. And right now, their economy's collapsing. Inflation's at close to 100%. They're, they're e- equivalent of our dollar is n- -- non-existent. I mean, it's literally non-existent. And they can't do any oil because we have a blockade that's 100% effective. So, they can't sell, oh, that's 500 million a day. $500 million a day.

Let me bring you back to domestic issues. Senator John Fetterman, a Democrat from Pennsylvania says it's Trump derangement syndrome for Democrats to oppose, uh, the new ballroom. Um, I take it, uh, you agree with the Senator.

I do. I agree with a lot of things he says. I think he's terrific, actually. He's a man of common sense. It's not politics, it's common sense. I am too. I'm a common sense person. Uh, the ballroom is beautiful. It's going ahead of schedule. Many people want it. Many Democrats, all Democrats know it's needed, but, you know, if it was anybody else building it but me, they'd say, but it's going along beautifully.

It's ahead of schedule. It's right on budget, unlike, uh, other things built in our country, like the Federal Reserve Building, which is slightly over budget by billions of dollars, you know? Crazy. That's a cra --

Uh, I --

I could've done that job for 25 million dollars. They're gonna spend maybe four billion dollars and it might not be open for Kevin, which is terrible. Terrible.

Um, turning to Jimmy Kimmel he --

When you look at the railroad, take a look at the railroad, the Gavin Newscombe Railroad. It's, uh, I think 28 times over budget, meaning 28 times higher than original projection. There's, there's something --

Well, you do like to build.

-- wrong.

[Laughs] You do like, you do like to build. That has, I mean --

Well, I know how to build.

-- you've had many years of success with that.

I build under budget.

I know.

And I build ahead of schedule and, and I build the most beautiful project. You know, I built, I always built the best project for less money than other people could do it for.

Well, I remember --

And a lot of money.

-- years ago walking th- -- eh -- I remember years ago walking through the old post office here in DC with you where there were all these rats and, uh, and you decided to take that over and you made it into a beautiful hotel.

I know.

[Laughs] Um --

Right. I, I did a great job. And by the way, I built that for $201 million and it's bigger than the Federal Reserve Building. 201 million.

One la- -- one last question. Jimmy Kimmel has apologized. Is it a good apology? Do you accept the apology?

I haven't heard him apologize, but he's a low life. Whether he apologized or not, he's a low life. He always has been. He shouldn't be on television. Uh, I don't know how a guy can be on television where the network gets free airwaves from the United States government and spend 100% of his time knocking Republicans and conservatives and Trump, uh, 100% of his time.

It doesn't, it's not supposed to work that way, you know, equal time, provisions, et cetera, et cetera. Not supposed to work that way. Uh, but he's, he's not a funny guy. He's got no ratings. And I don't understand how, uh, he can be on air. I think ABC is putting themselves in great jeopardy, actually. You know, they've already paid me $16 million.

George Slopadopoulos said things that were untrue and, uh, they had to pay me $16 million. So, m- -- uh, this is, uh, this is very serious what, what's going on there.

Mr. President, thank you. And, uh, have a safe trip to China later, uh, u- -- later in May. Thank you, sir.

Thank you very much. And you have a great husband who's a great lawyer. Thank you very much.

Well, you, you kept him, you know, you kept him, uh, you sent him to Poland. You promised --

I know.

-- The President --

To get hostages.

-- of Poland.

He's the only one --

You, you, you, but, you --

-- I send to get hostages because he's the best at it.

I, I know, but you, you promised the President of Poland last, uh, last September to get that Polish journalist out of prison? Well, he just did it two days ago.

He's amazing --

He just got back last night. So --

And nobody wants to write --

-- so he can, is it --

-- about the job. The great John Cole, he's, uh --

[Laughs]

-- he's a great lawyer. He's a great guy. And it's true. He's gotten hundreds of people out, not only from this country, by the way, from other countries, too, that were unfairly kept in different locations in different countries. Your husband's done a fantastic job, and he loves doing it. He's a great guy, actually --

Yeah.

-- and so are you. Thanks a lot, Greta.

Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you.

Thank you.