President Donald Trump sat down for an interview with TIME at the White House on April 22. During the interview, Trump discussed a wide range of issues, including his trade war and the economy, immigration, presidential power, and the situations in Ukraine and the Middle East.
“[Netanyahu] may go into a war. But we’re not getting dragged in. You asked if he’d drag me in, like I’d go in unwillingly. No, I may go in very willingly if we can’t get a deal. If we don’t make a deal, I’ll be leading the pack.”
Time’s lightly edited transcript:
Time: Are you worried Netanyahu will drag you into a war?
Trump: No.
Time: Let’s talk about some of the issues with universities—
Trump: By the way, he may go into a war. But we’re not getting dragged in.
Time: The U.S. will stay out of it if Israel goes into it?
Trump: No, I didn’t say that. You asked if he’d drag me in, like I’d go in unwillingly. No, I may go in very willingly if we can’t get a deal. If we don’t make a deal, I’ll be leading the pack.
Trump said he believes he will soon strike a deal with Iran without having to physically attack the country, adding he could meet with the country’s president or Supreme Leader to negotiate an end to its funding of anti-Israeli terror groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.
“When Biden came and he took off all the sanctions, he let China and everybody else buy all the oil, Iran developed $300 billion in cash over a four-year period,” Trump said. “They started funding terror again, including Hamas. Hamas was out of business. Hezbollah was out of business. Iran had no money under me. I blame the Biden administration because they allowed Iran to get back into the game without working a deal.”
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