President Trump on Christine Blasey Ford, his relationships with Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un and more
Lesley Stahl speaks with President Trump about a wide range of topics in his first 60 Minutes interview since taking office
2018
Oct 15
CORRESPONDENT
Lesley Stahl
Lesley Stahl speaks with President Trump about a wide range of topics in his first 60 Minutes interview since taking office
2018
Oct 15
CORRESPONDENT
Lesley Stahl
President Trump explains his relationship with Kim Jong Un
Lesley Stahl: What about North Korea? Talking about accom--
President Donald Trump: Well, I consider it a, so far, great achievement. Look, we--
Lesley Stahl: You say "so far"?
President Donald Trump: It's always so far, til everything's done. I-- I-- you know, deals are deals, okay? Whether it's a real estate deal or a retail deal, it doesn't matter. But I will say this. The day before I came in, we were goin' to war with North Korea. I sat with President Obama--
Lesley Stahl: We were goin' to war?
President Donald Trump: --and-- we were gonna--I think it was going to end up in war. And my impression is-- and even in my first few months, I mean, that rhetoric was as tough as it could possibly get. Doesn't get any tougher than that. Nobody's ever heard rhetoric that tough. We were going to war with North Korea. Now, you don't hear that. You don't hear any talk of it. And he doesn't wanna go to war, and we don't wanna go to war, and he understands denuclearization and he's agreed to it. And you see that, he's agreed to it. No missiles.
Lesley Stahl: Do you trust him?
President Donald Trump: I do trust him, yeah, I trust him. That doesn't mean I can't be proven wrong --
Lesley Stahl: Why would--
President Donald Trump: about it?
Lesley Stahl: you trust him?
President Donald Trump: Well, first of all, if I didn't trust him, I wouldn't say that to you. Wouldn't I be foolish to tell you right here, on 60 Minutes--
Lesley Stahl: Well, remember what Reagan said. "Trust, but verify."
President Donald Trump: Sure. I know. It's-- it's very true. But the fact is, I do trust him. But we'll see what happens.
Lesley Stahl: But is it true that they haven't gotten rid of a single weapon, and they may actually be building more missiles-
President Donald Trump: They want to--
Lesley Stahl: With nuclear--
President Donald Trump: And I will tell you that they're closing up sites.
Lesley Stahl: But--
President Donald Trump: Setting it up.
Lesley Stahl: Is what I said true, that they haven't? Gotten--
President Donald Trump: Well, nobody really knows. I mean, people are saying that. I've actually said that.
Lesley Stahl: What? That they're still building missiles, more missiles?
President Donald Trump: We don't really know, Lesley. We really don't know. But I assume--
Lesley Stahl: Suspect that?
President Donald Trump: Let's say the answer is yes, okay? In the meantime, they haven't tested a missile. They haven't tested a rocket. They definitely haven't done a nuclear test because you know about them real fast. It sort of moves the earth. And we have a relationship now.
Trump, Kim -- U.S.-North Korea summit
In this handout photograph provided by The Strait Times, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un with President Trump during their historic U.S.-DPRK summit at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island on June 12, 2018 in Singapore. GETTY
Lesley Stahl: One of the things that Kim has asked for is for you to ease the sanctions.
President Donald Trump: We haven't done that.
Lesley Stahl: Are you prepared to do that? What-- what does he have to do--
President Donald Trump: No, No. I--
Lesley Stahl: Before you're--
President Donald Trump: No I'm not doing it. This isn't the Obama administration. I haven't eased the sanctions. I haven't done anything. I haven't done anything. We're meeting. I believe he likes me. I like him. We have a good relationship. It's very important.
President Trump at rally: "And then we fell in love, okay. No really. He wrote me beautiful letters. And they're great letters. We fell in love."
Lesley Stahl: I wanna read you his resume, okay? He presides over a cruel kingdom of repression, gulags, starvation-- reports that he had his half-brother assassinated, slave labor, public executions. This is a guy you love?
President Donald Trump: Sure. I know all these things. I mean-- I'm not a baby. I know these things.
Lesley Stahl: I know, but why do you love that guy?
President Donald Trump: Look, look. I-- I-- I like-- I get along with him, okay?
Lesley Stahl: But you love him.
President Donald Trump: Okay. That's just a figure of speech.
Lesley Stahl: No, it's like an embrace.
President Donald Trump: It well, let it be an embrace. Let it be whatever it is to get the job done.
Lesley Stahl: He's a bad guy.
President Donald Trump: Look. Let it be whatever it is. I get along with him really well. I have a good energy with him. I have a good chemistry with him. Look at the horrible threats that were made. No more threats. No more threats.
