President-elect Donald Trump told NBC News on Thursday that one of his top priorities after taking office in January will be to make the border “strong and strong.” Asked about his campaign promise of mass deportations, President Trump said his administration had “no choice” but to carry out that promise.
President Trump said he sees his landslide victory over Vice President Kamala Harris as a mission to “bring decency” to the country.
“Obviously we have to make our borders strong and strong, and we must do that, but at the same time we want people to come into our country,” he said. “And you know, I’m not the kind of person who says, ‘No, you can’t come in.’ We want people to come.”
As a candidate, Trump repeatedly vowed to carry out “the largest deportation operation in American history.” When asked about the cost of his plan, he said, “It’s not about the price tag. It’s not — we really don’t have a choice. destroyed their countries, and now they are being destroyed.”They are not staying here, so they are going back to those countries. There are no price tags. ”
It’s unclear how many illegal immigrants there are in the U.S., but ICE Acting Director Patrick J. Lechleitner told NBC News in July that mass deportation efforts would pose major logistical and financial challenges. spoke. Two former Trump administration officials who worked on immigration during his first term told NBC News that the effort will require cooperation from many federal agencies, including the Justice Department and the Defense Department.
Follow us for election 2024 updates
Trump’s victory was fueled by a record increase in Latino voters, whom Democrats had sought to rally support by pointing out Trump’s comments on immigrants and racist jokes by pro-Trump comedians about Puerto Rico. It was included.
In a phone interview Thursday, he said his message on immigration was part of the reason he won the race, saying, “They want a border, they want people coming in, but they don’t want people coming into the country. You have to come in with love, and that’s what they did.” Enter the country legally. ”
President Trump also cited the diverse coalition of voters he has drawn, pointing to gains he has made among Latino voters, young voters, women and Asian American voters since 2020.
“I started thinking that there could be a realignment because the Democratic Party is not aligned with the way the country thinks,” the president-elect said. “You can’t defund the police, they don’t want to give up, they don’t want to do their jobs, and the public understands that.”
President Trump also spoke about his post-election phone calls with Harris and President Joe Biden.
President Trump said the conversation was “a very good call, very respectful on both sides,” and that Harris “talked about the transition and said we want it to go as smoothly as possible. And of course, I too. I agree with that,” he added.
In her concession speech at Howard University on Wednesday, Harris said she told Trump: “We will support him and his team in the transition and we will work for a peaceful transfer of power.”
Biden addressed the nation from the White House on Thursday morning, urging voters to “accept the choice our country has made” in reelecting Trump.
Trump also said he and Biden agreed to have lunch together “soon.”
He also said he had met with “probably” 70 world leaders since Wednesday morning, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which the president-elect described as “very good talks.”
Trump also said he spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, but did not provide details of the meeting.
He added that he had not yet spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin, but “I think we will.”
During the campaign, Trump promised to end the war between Russia and Ukraine if elected, and in September said he would negotiate a deal that would be “good for both sides.”
Laura Strickler, Didi Martinez, Chloe Atkins, and Julia Ainslie contributed.
