1 / 9In a wide-ranging Oval Office interview with Reuters, President Donald Trump spoke on Federal Reserve independence, the Ukraine conflict, Iranian politics, Venezuela, the 2026 midterm elections, and Cuba. Let’s take a look.
2 / 9Fed independence: ”A president should have something to say” about Fed policy, Trump said. ”I made a lot of money with business, so I think I have a better understanding of it than Too Late Jerome Powell.” Asked if he will remove Powell, Trump said, ”I don’t have any plan to do that”. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura/File Photo/File Photo
3 / 9Pick for next Fed chair: On his pick for the next Fed chair, Trump said, ”The two Kevins are very good … You have some other good people too, but I’ll be announcing something over the next couple of weeks.” He was referring to White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett and former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo
4 / 9On Maria Corina Machado: Trump spoke about his planned meeting with Venezuelan opposition leader Machado, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and key critic of the Maduro regime. “…I haven’t met her. She’s a very nice woman. I think we’re just going to talk basics,” he said. Asked if he wanted Machado to give him her Nobel Peace Prize, Trump replied, ”No, I didn’t say that. She won the Nobel Peace Prize.” When asked what if she brings the prize, he said, ”Well, that’s what I’m hearing. I don’t know, but I shouldn’t be the one to say.”
5 / 9On Delcy Rodríguez, interim Venezuelan leader: Trump said he had “a very good talk” with Rodriguez. Trump suggested that Rodriguez may visit Washington and indicated plans for reciprocal travel: ”I think she’s going to come, you know, eventually she’s going to… not quite yet, but eventually she’ll come and I’ll go to their country too.”. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria
6 / 9On President Volodymyr Zelenskiy: “We have to get President Zelenskiy to go along with it,” Trump said about a deal with Russia to end its war in Ukraine. Asked if he supported US security guarantees to protect Ukraine through intelligence sharing, he said, ”If we can get something done, we’d help. They’re losing 30,000 soldiers a month between them and Russia. Now, Europe is going to help us with that.” REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
7 / 9On Vladimir Putin: Trump said he believes Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is ready for a peace deal, but Ukraine’s leadership is hesitant. “I think he’s ready to make a deal. I think Ukraine is less ready to make a deal,” Trump said. Asked what the holdup is, he responded, “Zelenskiy.” Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
8 / 9Cuba’s future: Asked if the Cuban regime is more likely to fall after the U.S. military actions in Venezuela, Trump said, ”Probably, yeah, I think so. Because they don’t get money anymore from Venezuela. They don’t get money, they don’t get oil, they don’t get gold from Venezuela. It’s cut off entirely. So you know it’s more likely it’s going to fall.”
(Photo Credit : REUTERS/J. Scott Applewhite/Pool)
9 / 9Midterms: Trump said Republicans should do well “but if you go by the past, only three presidents have won out of 65 years, or whatever the number is. What is that number? The crazy number almost doesn’t make sense, right? Even if they had a successful presidency, yeah, there’s almost like there’s a latch on it.”
