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Donald Trump said he did not know if people in the US deserved due legal process, which is guaranteed by the American constitution, as he blasted the judiciary for thwarting his plans to deport undocumented immigrants.
Trump made the comments in a wide-ranging interview with NBC aired on Sunday, in which he renewed his push to make Canada the 51st US state and insisted that he would not fire Jay Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, before his term ends in 2026.
Trump’s remarks on the rule of law in America come as his push to deport millions of undocumented immigrants — a cornerstone of his 2024 election campaign — is facing roadblocks in the courts, as individuals challenge their detentions and expulsions on constitutional grounds.
When asked if he agreed that everyone in the US, including citizens and non-citizens, deserved due process, Trump said he was unsure.
“I don’t know, I’m not a lawyer,” Trump told NBC. “We have thousands of people that are . . . some of the worst people on Earth . . . and I was elected to get them the hell out of here and the courts are holding me from doing it.”
When pressed again if he would uphold the US constitution as president, Trump answered: “I don’t know. I have to respond by saying, again, I have brilliant lawyers that work for me, and they are going to obviously follow what the Supreme Court said”.
Trump was asked again whether he was considering seeking a third term in office, something he has frequently mused about but which would defy the constitution.
Trump said he was not “looking at” that possibility. “So many people want me to do it. I have never had requests so strong as that. But it’s something that, to the best of my knowledge, you’re not allowed to do,” he added.
Trump used the interview to defend his economic policies from criticism that sweeping US tariffs could reignite inflation and damage growth. He this week blamed a fall in GDP on predecessor Joe Biden.
“I think the good parts are the Trump economy and the bad parts are the Biden economy,” Trump said.
He also sought to stamp out fears that he would seek to remove Powell from his post as Fed chair ahead of the end of his term in 2026. Trump has been pushing for the central bank to lower interest rates, but the Fed has so far kept them steady.
“I get to change him very quickly anyway. You know, it’s in a very short period of time,” Trump said.
Trump also restated his desire to make Canada the 51st US state, even after Mark Carney, the country’s prime minister, won last week’s election largely by opposing the US president’s geopolitical and economic threats.
Trump’s comments, ahead of Carney’s expected visit to Washington this week, herald what could be a tumultuous relationship between the leaders of the neighbouring North American countries.
When asked if he would talk to Carney about annexing Canada when they meet, Trump responded that he would “always talk about that”.
“You know why? We subsidise Canada to the tune of $200bn a year. We don’t need anything that they have,” Trump said. “If Canada was a state it wouldn’t cost us. It would be great . . . it would be a cherished state,” he added.
Trump said it was “highly unlikely” that the US would use military force to take over Canada, but was more open to that possibility with Greenland, the Arctic island controlled by Denmark that has also been the subject of the US president’s goals in terms of territorial expansion.
“I don’t say I’m going to do it, but I don’t rule out anything. No, not there. We need Greenland very badly,” Trump said.
