Top takeaways from Trump’s ‘60 Minutes’ interview

Quick recap of the headline highlights from Donald Trump’s latest ‘60 Minutes’ appearance: his economic priorities, immigration crackdown plans, stance on Ukraine, Israel, and China, views on abortion and health care, and promises for executive action on Day One. The interview also touched on legal battles, media bias claims, and how he’d staff a second administration. We distill the sharpest quotes, fact-checked assertions, and what these signals could mean for voters and markets in 2025.

The US president returned to the broadcast hot seat for the first time since 2020, the year he famously ended an interview by walking out. He reappeared on CBS’s flagship magazine show, 60 Minutes, only months after winning a $16 million settlement over what he called “deceptive editing.”

Sitting down with Norah O’Donnell at Mar-a-Lago in a conversation taped Friday and aired Sunday, he ranged across topics from the ongoing government shutdown and his administration’s hardline immigration actions to a reboot of nuclear testing and the trade clash with China. He’s a frequent presence on the right-leaning Fox News, but his relationship with centrist-leaning CBS has long been frosty. Back in October 2020, he exited a 60 Minutes interview during the final sprint of the race he ultimately lost, accusing anchor Lesley Stahl of bias.

The latest sit-down landed exactly a year after he took CBS to court. His attorneys sued CBS parent Paramount in October 2024, claiming “mental anguish” over a pre-election interview with rival Kamala Harris that, in their view, was edited to tilt toward Democrats and damage his campaign. CBS aired two cuts of a Harris answer on the Israel–Gaza war, one on 60 Minutes and another on Face the Nation. In the version that ran, Harris said, “We are not going to stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States – to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war to end.”

A different, longer cut appeared in early promos, sounding less crisp and more meandering. The network said each show made time-bound edits, while Trump’s team argued the changes “distorted” the exchange and advantaged Harris, initially seeking $10 billion in damages and later doubling that figure. Paramount opted in July 2025 to settle for $16 million, framed as a donation toward a planned Trump presidential library, sparking backlash from journalist groups who warned of a chilling effect on press freedom. Executives stood by their editorial choices but said settling would close a draining chapter.

At the time, Paramount was pursuing federal approval from Trump’s administration for a merger with Skydance, owned by Trump ally Larry Ellison; regulators have since green-lit the deal, handing Skydance control. On October 19, 60 Minutes also featured Jared Kushner and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff discussing the Israel–Gaza conflict. During the new interview, he claimed he’d neutralized China’s leverage over rare-earth supplies.

He described Chinese leader Xi Jinping, whom he met in South Korea on Thursday, as powerful yet pragmatic, and said their rapport was steady despite tariffs, while blaming Beijing for “ripping off” the US via control of critical minerals. He told 60 Minutes a favorable agreement removed America’s vulnerability to rare-earth export moves, calling the threat “completely gone.” In reality, Beijing signaled a delay to new export controls on five rare-earth metals announced in October, while separate restrictions from April still stand.

On Taiwan, he said Xi offered no hints about an attack, but pointed to earlier assurances. He asserted that Xi and his circle “would never do anything while President Trump is president,” because they understood the consequences.

Pressed on whether he’d order US forces into action if China moved on Taiwan, he kept it opaque, saying the answer would be clear “if it happens” and that he wouldn’t reveal his plans. Anxieties in Washington about a potential strike on Taiwan continue, complicated by America’s long-standing policy of strategic ambiguity and his past suggestion that Taiwan should “pay” for protection.

Asked about his pardon of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, he said he didn’t know Zhao personally. He maintained he’d been told Zhao was targeted by the previous administration’s “witch hunt,” despite never meeting him. Zhao admitted in 2023 to enabling money laundering tied to child sexual abuse and terrorism through Binance, served four months, and stepped down as CEO in 2024.

Questions linger because Binance intersects with the Trump family’s crypto venture, World Liberty Financial, raising conflict-of-interest concerns. In March 2025, World Liberty Financial launched the USD1 stablecoin on Binance’s chain and promoted it to a claimed audience of 275 million, with a UAE fund reportedly deploying $2 billion worth of the coin to take a stake in Binance. This exchange appeared in the written transcript of the 90-minute interview but not in the 28-minute TV cut or the 73-minute online edit; CBS noted the video versions were “condensed for clarity.” Defending a return to US nuclear testing, he argued other nations are already doing it.

He named Russia, China, and Pakistan as testers who “don’t talk about it,” contrasting that with America’s openness. Analysts say there’s no public evidence those countries have resumed testing in recent years. On Gaza, he insisted the US-brokered ceasefire and roadmap are “very solid,” even as Israeli strikes after the truce reportedly killed hundreds. He said he wasn’t concerned about whether Hamas would disarm, asserting the US could compel it if necessary and warning the group could be “taken out immediately” if it defied terms.

He rejected the idea that the US is heading to war with Venezuela, despite a military buildup offshore and deadly strikes on alleged smuggling vessels that the UN has criticized as unlawful. Asked if the pressure campaign’s real aim was to topple Nicolás Maduro, he said no, while adding that, in his view, Maduro’s time in office is “numbered.” He blamed Democrats for a near record-long government shutdown that began October 1. Senate Democrats have insisted on renewing ACA-related tax credits and reversing health-care cuts in his earlier tax-and-spend package before passing a budget. He signaled no interest in negotiating and offered no clear path to reopen agencies affecting 1.4 million federal workers.

He warned that striking down his tariff policies would doom the economy, citing a Supreme Court challenge from businesses who argue the duties are illegal and inflationary. He framed tariffs as essential to national security and international respect, predicting the US would become a “third-world nation” without them. He backed aggressive immigration enforcement and said even sweeping ICE operations and surveillance haven’t gone far enough. He blamed “liberal judges” appointed by former Presidents Biden and Obama for limiting what his administration can do. Discussing New York City politics, he dismissed democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani as a “communist” and said a Mamdani victory would make it difficult for him to direct significant funding to the city.

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Source: aljazeera‍