Excerpts from 60 Minutes Interview with President Trump
[IMRA: For possible context to "those countries that we've protected are
going to pay us back any and all costs that we've had for the war"
Follow the context:
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President Donald Trump: The strait is open. We have ships--
Ross Douthat: But--
President Donald Trump: Going--
Ross Douthat: But the ships--
President Donald Trump: Through--
Ross Douthat: That are going through are being babysat by a large U.S.
military presence. So how do we make a deal--
President Donald Trump: Not a very--
Ross Douthat: That gets that--
President Donald Trump: Not very expensive--
Ross Douthat: Presence out of there?
President Donald Trump: Not very expensive.
Ross Douthat: We can just leave--
President Donald Trump: And--
Ross Douthat: Them there--
President Donald Trump: At the end of--
Ross Douthat: Indefinitely?
President Donald Trump: This whole thing, those countries that we've
protected are going to pay us back any and all costs that we've had for the
war 'cause without us, they wouldn't exist. Without us, Israel would not
exist. Let me tell you
###
60 Minutes Transcript: Donald Trump, the 2026 post-midterm elections
interview
By Ross Douthat, Graham Messick, Andy Court
November 8, 2026 / 7:00 PM EST / CBS News
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-2026-post-midterm-elections-interv
iew-60-minutes-transcript/
...
Ross Douthat: Two years ago, you won a big, some might say historic,
victory. Just now, the Republican party in the midterms suffered a big, some
might say, historic defeat. Give me your political analysis of what just
happened.
President Donald Trump: Well, number one, I was not on the ballot. But I
campaigned hard for some people. And-- I think if I was on the ballot, it
would've been a much different situation because you saw the level of
popularity and love. There was love. We had massive rallies. You had to
transfer those voters, however, to candidates that they didn't like. But
there's something beyond that. They didn't like the war. They didn't like
the fact that gasoline went up, 'cause I had it down at a low, and there's--
a great dislike, incredibly, for Israel.
...
Ross Douthat: Couple days ago your vice president, JD Vance, wrote a social
media post where he says, "The reason we lost is the war," meaning Iran. And
he said things in that post--
President Donald Trump: I don't disagree--
Ross Douthat: About Israel. Yeah. So you agree with his analysis?
President Donald Trump: I don't disagree with it
Ross Douthat: Did you know he was gonna write that post?
President Donald Trump: He asked me what do I think. I said, "You write what
you're--" I said--
Ross Douthat: "Write what you--"
President Donald Trump: You write what you want--"
Ross Douthat: "Write what you feel"?
President Donald Trump: By the way, "What are you gonna write? "The only
thing I wish he would've said there, if he felt it, and you'd have to ask
him about that, but if you had to do it again, would you do it? You know,
he's part of a decision-making process. And my answer is an emphatic yes
because you can't let Iran have a nuclear weapon. I think, historically,
this will be a very good decision. Is it a good decision for today and
tomorrow? Maybe not. But you know, I have to go with what's right for our
country. If they had a nuclear weapon during my term, I would be excoriated
far worse than what's happened. So--
Ross Douthat: All right. Let's-- let's--
President Donald Trump: I've stopped--
Ross Douthat: Come--
President Donald Trump: But Ross, I've stopped them from having a nuclear
weapon. That's a big thing.
...
Ross Douthat: So you're not gonna escalate the war now that the midterms are
over
President Donald Trump: Well, I'm not looking to. I don't think there's any
reason to. I don't think there's any reason to. Look--
Ross Douthat: They still have nuclear material--
President Donald Trump: They have--
Ross Douthat: Right?
President Donald Trump: They have nothing. It's buried under thousands of
tons of rock.
Ross Douthat: So what's the deal in the end with them--
President Donald Trump: The deal--
Ross Douthat: That gets--
President Donald Trump: The--
Ross Douthat: That gets the Strait open--
President Donald Trump: The deal--
Ross Douthat: 'Cause it's important-- it's important to stress--
President Donald Trump: No, no, the d--
Ross Douthat: 'Cause--
President Donald Trump: The strait is open. We have ships--
Ross Douthat: But--
President Donald Trump: Going--
Ross Douthat: But the ships--
President Donald Trump: Through--
Ross Douthat: That are going through are being babysat by a large U.S.
military presence. So how do we make a deal--
President Donald Trump: Not a very--
Ross Douthat: That gets that--
President Donald Trump: Not very expensive--
Ross Douthat: Presence out of there?
President Donald Trump: Not very expensive.
Ross Douthat: We can just leave--
President Donald Trump: And--
Ross Douthat: Them there--
President Donald Trump: At the end of--
Ross Douthat: Indefinitely?
President Donald Trump: This whole thing, those countries that we've
protected are going to pay us back any and all costs that we've had for the
war 'cause without us, they wouldn't exist. Without us, Israel would not
exist. Let me tell you
Ross Douthat: Israel -
President Donald Trump: Israel--
Ross Douthat: Tell me-- tell me about--
President Donald Trump: Israel would not exist except for Donald Trump
because we went in with those beautiful B2 Bombers more than a year ago, and
we hit the three sites at-- at the time.
Ross Douthat: But on Israel, do you have regrets about the decision to help
the Israelis do decapitation strikes on Iran because that changed the
Iranian regime, and it seems like it made them escalate. You could've just
kept hitting the--
President Donald Trump: Well--
Ross Douthat: The nuclear facilities, right--
President Donald Trump: Yeah, you could've done that, but-- we had people
that w-- would have gone further. We decapitated their nuclear arsenal.
Look, I deal with these people. I deal with a lotta people, and that's what
I've done my whole life. I make deals. And obviously, I make good deals
'cause I beca-- I made a lotta money and I became president. But-- you know,
it's-- that's a deal too.
________________________________________
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Since 1992 providing news and analysis on the Middle East with a focus on
Arab-Israeli relations
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