President Trump told NBC News on Saturday that he would not fire anyone involved in the group chat, which inadvertently revealed plans for air strikes to Yemen.
In an extensive interview with NBC’s Kristen Welker, Mr. Trump delayed reports that some in his circle encouraged him to fire national security adviser Michael Waltz. Mr. Walz seems inadvertently adding Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg to a sensitive group chat, a commercial messaging app that went on strike on March 15 before a possible Iran-backed Houthi militia.
The New York Times reported on Saturday that Mr. Trump consulted with his aides for most of the week whether he should fire Mr. Walz, a growing impact on the plot.
But Mr. Trump told Ms. Welk that he remained confident in Mr. Waltz and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who continued to downplay the seriousness of the incident. “I don’t fire people for fake news and hunting witches,” he said.
Mr. Trump also discussed Greenland, the second day after Vice President JD Vance visited a U.S. military base on the island. Mr. Trump reiterated that he would not rule out the use of force to annex Greenland, the semi-autonomous territorial area of Denmark, but said he thinks he can make a deal to achieve that.
Asked about his opinion that such a acquisition would be communicated to the rest of the world, including Russia, Mr. Trump said: “I didn’t really think about it; I really don’t care.”
The president said he “doesn’t care” whether automakers raise prices due to the increased costs of importing cars and auto parts to the United States, as new automatic tariffs from the Trump administration will take effect within a few days. Mr Trump added that he believes the tariffs could lead to more people buying American-made cars.
Almost half of all vehicles sold in the United States are imported, and almost 60% are used in vehicles assembled in the country.
Mr. Trump denied a report saying he warned auto executives not to raise prices when discussing tariffs.
“I don’t care,” he said. “I hope they raise the price because if they do, people will buy American-made cars. We have a lot.”
