President Donald Trump defended his foreign policy record and issued a stark warning to Iran during an exclusive interview Sunday morning on NBC’s Meet the Press. Speaking with moderator Kristen Welker, Trump pushed back against the notion that he broke a cornerstone campaign promise to avoid entering the United States into foreign conflicts, while simultaneously touting recent rapid military actions in both Iran and Venezuela.
When Welker questioned how his actions squared with his repeated first-term insistence on “no new wars,” Trump rejected the premise that a promise had been broken.
“I didn’t promise anything. I don’t like these endless wars. This is not an endless war,” Trump said. He questioned why he would have built up the military if he never intended to use it, claiming he inherited a “terrible military” with “no equipment” from the Biden administration before rebuilding it. “First of all, I didn’t guarantee no war. Why would I have built the strongest military in the world?” Trump added.
During the interview, Trump disclosed details regarding a major military strike against Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, which he said took place roughly nine to ten months ago. He stated that he called key officials into a room to address the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran after terminating the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)—the 2015 nuclear deal signed under President Barack Obama.
“I sent the B2 bombers in about nine, ten months ago. And they obliterated, totally obliterated, the site. And I saved it,” Trump said. He framed the strike as a necessary preventive measure, arguing that the alternative was allowing a hostile nation to secure a nuclear weapon. “Do I want to go along and have a country that’s doing really well, but somebody is going to try and kill us? Or do I want to put out that horrible threat? And I did. It put it out.”
Trump drew a sharp contrast between current operations and past protracted American conflicts like the wars in Vietnam and Iraq, noting that the current military campaign has only been active for three months, much of it under a ceasefire and naval blockade. He also pointed to swift military interventions under his watch as evidence of unparalleled American strength.
“We took over a very powerful country, Venezuela. Lot of soldiers. Big, strong military. We took over Venezuela in a matter of minutes. We destroyed the capability of Iran in a matter of days. Nobody’s ever seen anything like it,” Trump stated. He warned Welker that allowing Iran to finish a nuclear weapon would pose an existential threat to the nation, remarking, “There will be no Kristen. There will be no NBC. There will be no Meet the Press. You will end the Meet the Press string.”
Looking forward, Trump indicated that he is aiming for a permanent resolution to the Iranian nuclear issue, preferring a diplomatic outcome but remaining open to absolute military force. “Now, I’m going to put it out permanently. I’m going to do it either through negotiation, where we’re very close to a deal, or I’m going to blow the hell out of them, to be honest with you. And it’s going to be very easy for me to do that. That’s actually the easier path,” Trump said.
When pressed by Welker on what specific triggers or “red lines” would cause the U.S. to restart active military actions against Iran, Trump did not point directly to casualties, though he noted American deaths would be something he would “think about very seriously.” Instead, Trump defined his boundary by the speed and viability of diplomatic talks.
“My red line would be if I think I wasn’t going to make a deal, or if I wasn’t going to make a deal fast enough,” Trump explained. He noted that the U.S. is currently engaged in productive negotiations with a new leadership group in Iran, characterizing the shift as an effective regime change. “We’re having very good negotiations with the people that are leading the country now. It’s the third group that we’ve been dealing with. And they are different. And you could say it’s regime change actually because these are very different people. I find them to be more rational, very smart.”
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