Immigration enforcement and comments on Fox News host Pete Hegseth feature in Trump's Atlantic interview, where he shares his stance, "Nothing will ever be perfect."
Revamped Article:
In a surprising turn of events, Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg found himself at the center of a turbulent episode during President Trump's second term. This storm arose after Goldberg was accidentally included in a confidential Signal chat, where top Cabinet officials discussed potential military actions in Yemen.
This predicament left Trump somewhat irritated, as just a week prior, he had cancelled a scheduled interview with the magazine's reporters. Trump, ever the showman, hinted at the looming interview, stating on Truth Social that he was "curious" and pondering if the Atlantic could "be 'truthful.'"
As planned, Trump engaged in discussions with the Atlantic reporters Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer, along with Goldberg. Here's a glimpse of what transpired during those discussions:
Trump Gives a Thumbs Up to Hegseth
Trump expressed his belief that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would straighten out his affairs, despite recent reports of turmoil at the Pentagon. Allegations of unauthorized disclosures and military plans being shared in a second Signal group chat involving Hegseth's family members have been making waves.
During the interview, the reporters brought up the CBS report about Hegseth installing a costly makeup studio at the Pentagon. Hegseth has disputed the claims, maintaining his leadership at the Pentagon. Trump, in response, couldn't help but chuckle when asked about the story.
"I think he's gonna get it together," Trump stated casually. "I had a chat with him, a positive one, but I had a chat with him."
Prior to this, CNN had reported that Trump had conversed with Hegseth on two occasions after the second Signal chat controversy emerged. Trump has sought feedback regarding Hegseth's performance, but he seems reluctant to dismiss any Cabinet official.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt was later questioned about Trump's implication that Hegseth may not be functioning optimally.
"Look, the president has made his stance on Secretary Hegseth crystal clear. He has full confidence in the secretary's ability to lead the Pentagon," Leavitt responded.
Trump also assured that Waltz was "just fine" after receiving some criticism.
When asked about his message to the staff in the aftermath of the chaos, Trump quipped, "Maybe don't use Signal, okay?"
Cracking Down on Immigration with Imperfect Results
Parker and Scherer inquired about the potential consequences if Trump's administration mistakenly deported legal residents or American citizens.
"Let me tell you that nothing will ever be perfect in this world," Trump answered.
This comment comes on the heels of reports that three US citizen children, including a 4-year-old battling metastatic cancer, were deported with their undocumented mothers to Honduras by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Trump emphasized that he's not directly involved in individual deportations and maintained that his team is "extremely tough" and "dangerous." He also asserted that the majority of those who cross the border illegally can be defined as "tough."
Public opinion towards Trump's immigration policies has dwindled in recent weeks. According to a new CNN poll, around 45% of Americans approve of his approach, which represents a decrease of six points from March.
A Reimagined Role in the World
Trump has spent the initial 100 days of his second term pushing the boundaries of his executive authority, redefining the United States' role on the global stage, drastically reducing the federal government, and aiming to overhaul the US and global economic systems. In the interview, he characterized his second term as drastically different from the first.
"The first time, I had two things to do: run the country and survive; I had all these crooks," the president said, referring to the article with the title "Donald Trump is enjoying this."
"And the second time," the president continued, "I run the country and the world."
Trump has expressed remorse over certain decisions made during his first administration and has highlighted installing loyalists as a priority during his second term. According to the Atlantic, personnel both within and outside the White House believe that Trump is having more fun than he did during his first term. The president agreed with this sentiment.
"I'm having a lot of fun, considering what I do," the president said. "You know, what I do is such serious stuff."
A Controversial Cancellation and a Follow-up Call
The Atlantic reporters revealed that, during the week of their scheduled interview, which was "tentatively promised," Trump attacked them by name on Truth Social.
"Ashley Parker is not capable of doing a fair and unbiased interview. She is a Radical Left Lunatic, and has been as terrible as is possible for as long as I have known her," Trump said, labeling the Atlantic a "third rate magazine."
"Likewise, Michael Scherer has never written a fair story about me, only negative, and virtually always LIES," he continued.
The interview was subsequently cancelled, compelling the reporters to reach out to Trump directly in late March.
"Don't ask how we got his number," they wrote.
Trump picked up the call, seemingly setting aside his grievances with the reporters, as he was eager to discuss his accomplishments. When they called a few weeks later to pose some follow-up questions, the call went to voicemail. The president apparently called them back after 1 a.m. as he was returning from a UFC fight in Miami.
"Had he been calling to ask if we'd seen what had transpired-the display of obeisance from these gladiators, and from his base? Or was this merely a late-night pocket dial? His team declined to clarify," they wrote.
Ultimately, Trump agreed to the subsequent meeting in the Oval Office alongside Goldberg last week.
- Trump expressed his support for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth amidst allegations, stating he believes Hegseth will rectify the issues at the Pentagon, including the controversy over an expensive makeup studio and unauthorized disclosures.
- Reporters were questioning whether Trump would consider the potential consequences of deporting legal residents or American citizens and Trump responded, "Nothing will ever be perfect in this world."
- Trump's second term policy changes include redefining the United States' role on the global stage, drastically reducing the federal government, and overhauling the economic systems, according to the interview with Atlantic reporters Ashley Parker, Michael Scherer, and Jeffrey Goldberg.
- In a surprising turn of events, Trump called off the scheduled interview with Atlantic's reporters but later picked up their call when they reached out to him directly, discussing his accomplishments and apparently enjoying the exchange.
- Besides discussions on politics, reporters also covered war-and-conflicts, policy-and-legislation, general-news, and crime-and-justice in their Revamped Article featuring the interviews with Trump, Hegseth, and other Cabinet officials.
