Trump threatens to annihilate Iran again and other takeaways from his TIME interview

Mark Schiefelbein/AP

President Donald Trump said this week that he doesn’t think there will be peace with Iran in a sit-down interview that comes a little over a month before Republicans face a key test on Americans’ faith in their leadership.

The interview with TIME Magazine, which was published on Thursday, delves into the president’s thoughts on the Iran war, his renovation work at the White House, the fight over the Kennedy Center, disappointment with his own Supreme Court justice picks and potential preemptive pardons of members of his administration.

Trump is in a different political landscape today than when he last down for an interview with TIME in April 2025 . He told TIME back then that he wasn’t worried about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dragging the US into a potential war with Iran, because he would go “willingly” if they couldn’t reach a nuclear deal with Iran.

Now, about seven months into a war with Iran, a recent CNN poll shows three quarters of US adults said the president lacks a clear plan for handling the situation and 78% said he’s not doing enough to end it.

Here are some of the highlights from the wide-ranging interview that was conducted Monday.

Most notably in the interview, Trump suggested that there could never be peace with Iran even as mediators try to bring both countries back to the negotiating table.

“By annihilating Iran, we’ve created peace in the world,” Trump said. “With Iran, I don’t think you could ever have peace.”

Asked about his repeated threats to “annihilate” Iran, Trump continued to leave the door open.

“Yeah, I would do that. It’s possible,” he said.

Just a day before the TIME interview, Trump told Axios that he expected more talks with the country.

Some of the focus of the interview was on Trump’s efforts to reshape the White House through a series of construction projects even as he cast the people’s house as a “disgraceful dump” and “disgusting mess” that he has fixed.

Those projects include gilding the Oval Office, a design choice that crept into other rooms. The Rose Garden has also been paved with stone and reconfigured in the image of his Mar-a-Lago patio; the tongue-in-cheek “ Presidential Walk of Fame ,” with biographies of his predecessors written in Trump’s voice, has been installed along the West Colonnade, plus new granite pavers; Giant new flagpoles and a helipad have been added to the lawn.

And the Palm Room flooring and storied Lincoln Bedroom bathroom have been redone in marble. He’s also overseeing construction of a sprawling, 90,000-square-foot ballroom addition, which he says will double as a military complex.

The president was pressed by TIME on why the projects should be important to voters who are struggling to pay bills.

The White House, he said, “is a very special symbol. It’s a symbol of America. It’s a symbol of our greatness. It’s, I think, maybe the most important symbol that we have.”

When he came into office, he said, “The White House was a dump. The moldings were falling off the outside of the building. It hadn’t been painted in … it was just a disgraceful dump. The doors were falling off. The locks were broken. And I said, I got to fix it. And I do that better than anybody else.”

He claimed that US Secret Service had recommended taking down and rebuilding the historic Oval Office, which he stopped. CNN has reached out to USSS for comment.

“This whole place was a disgusting mess, and now it’s perfect,” he said.

Trump again expressed disappointment in the judges he selected to serve lifetime appointments on the Supreme Court, arguing they voted against him “too often.”

“I gave them the position of a lifetime, and they vote against me often,” Trump told TIME Magazine in the interview, referring to justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.

The president pointed to high court’s decisions on birthright citizenship and tariffs . The Supreme Court ruled earlier this year — with Coney Barrett and Gorsuch in support — that Trump violated federal law when he imposed sweeping tariffs across the globe . Months later, the highest court upheld birthright citizenship, with Coney Barrett among the majority.

“The Democrats stick like glue — those three, they virtually never vary. You can come up with the worst thing in the world and they’ll vote as a group,” Trump said. “And while I don’t like it, there’s something I admire about it: there’s loyalty.”

Asked if he wants loyalty from his Supreme Court picks, Trump responded, “No, I don’t want loyalty. I want good decisions. The tariff decision was disastrous for the country. I want good decisions for the country.”

His comments come even though the Supreme Court, which has a conservative majority, has dealt some major wins for Trump since his return to office.

Trump repeatedly declined during the interview to rule out demolishing the Kennedy Center as the arts institution remains embroiled in a legal battle and employees have been notified of a review of the building’s safety.

Asked if he was willing to demolish the center, Trump said, “It’s in terrible shape. I’d be willing to save it, but it’s in terrible, terrible shape. Only I can save it.”

Pressed once more on whether he would commit to not bringing in wrecking balls to demolish the building, Trump said, “I’m not committing to anything. We’re going to see how it plays out in court.”

He was pictured earlier this month reviewing a poster that appeared to float the idea of demolishing the Kennedy Center. The situation remains mired in legal proceedings.

Late Wednesday evening, the center’s executive director, Matt Floca, sent the small group of remaining staff an email noting that the building itself “remains temporarily closed” after teams have assessed its condition.

Trump also said that he would consider issuing pardons to members of his administration toward the end of his term.

“Yeah, sure I’d do that,” Trump said, adding that former President Joe Biden “gave pardons to everyone.”

Before leaving office, Biden issued several preemptive pardons , including clemency for Gen. Mark Milley, Dr. Anthony Fauci and members of Congress on the January 6 investigative committee, as well as members of his family under the belief that the Trump administration would target them for prosecution.

The typical jockeying for pardons has ramped up significantly under the Trump administration. The president himself has taken an increasingly personal role in the government’s clemency process , wielding pardons with historic frequency to aid allies and advance his own political grievances.

In the TIME interview, Trump said that if Republicans lose the House of Representatives in November, Democrats will “probably go after me and I’ll go after them.”

马克·谢费尔贝因/美联社

本周，唐纳德·特朗普总统在一次专访中表示，他认为不会与伊朗实现和平。而就在一个月后，共和党人将面临美国民众对其领导层信任度的关键考验。

周四发表的《时代》杂志采访深入探讨了总统对伊朗战争的看法、他在白宫的翻修工作、肯尼迪中心的争夺、对他自己提名的最高法院大法官的失望以及可能提前赦免其政府成员等问题。

如今特朗普所处的政治环境与他上次接受《时代》杂志采访时（2025年4月）截然不同。当时他告诉《时代》杂志，他不担心以色列总理内塔尼亚胡会将美国拖入与伊朗的潜在战争，因为如果无法与伊朗达成核协议，他会“心甘情愿”参战。

如今，与伊朗的战争已经持续了大约七个月，CNN最近的一项民意调查显示，四分之三的美国成年人表示，总统缺乏处理局势的明确计划，78%的人表示，他没有采取足够的措施来结束这场战争。

以下是周一进行的这次内容广泛的采访的一些亮点。

在采访中，最引人注目的是，特朗普暗示，即使调解人试图让两国重返谈判桌，也永远不可能与伊朗实现和平。

特朗普说：“通过消灭伊朗，我们为世界带来了和平。我认为，只要有伊朗在，就永远不可能有和平。”

当被问及他一再威胁要“消灭”伊朗时，特朗普仍然没有给出明确答复。

“是的，我会这么做。这是有可能的。”他说。

就在接受《时代》杂志采访的前一天，特朗普告诉 Axios 新闻网，他希望与该国进行更多对话。

采访的重点之一是特朗普通过一系列建设项目来重塑白宫的努力，尽管他把这座人民的房子描述成一个“可耻的垃圾场”和“令人作呕的烂摊子”，而他已经将其整顿完毕。

这些项目包括为椭圆形办公室镀金，这种设计风格也蔓延到了其他房间。玫瑰园也铺上了石板，并按照他在海湖庄园的露台风格进行了重新布局；一条颇具讽刺意味的“总统名人堂”沿着西侧柱廊建成，上面用特朗普的口吻撰写了他前任总统的传记，此外还铺设了新的花岗岩路面；草坪上也竖起了巨大的新旗杆，并增设了一个直升机停机坪。

棕榈厅的地板和著名的林肯卧室浴室都已用大理石重新铺设。他还负责监督建造一座占地9万平方英尺的大型宴会厅，他表示该宴会厅还将兼作军事设施。

《时代》周刊追问总统，为什么这些项目对那些正在为支付账单而苦苦挣扎的选民来说如此重要。

他说，白宫“是一个非常特殊的象征。它是美国的象征。它是我们伟大的象征。我认为，它或许是我们最重要的象征。”

他上任时说：“白宫简直就是个垃圾场。大楼外墙的装饰线条都脱落了，油漆也没刷……简直就是个丢人的垃圾场。门都快掉了，锁也坏了。我说，我得把它修好。而且我比任何人都做得更好。”

他声称美国特勤局曾建议拆除并重建具有历史意义的椭圆形办公室，但他阻止了这一计划。CNN已联系美国特勤局寻求置评。

“这里以前脏乱不堪，现在却完美无瑕，”他说。

特朗普再次对他挑选的终身制最高法院法官表示失望，认为他们“太频繁”投票反对他。

“我给了他们一生难得的职位，但他们却经常投票反对我，”特朗普在接受《时代》杂志采访时说道，他指的是大法官尼尔·戈萨奇、布雷特·卡瓦诺和艾米·科尼·巴雷特。

总统援引了最高法院关于出生公民权和关税的裁决。今年早些时候，最高法院裁定——科尼·巴雷特和戈萨奇大法官均支持该裁决——特朗普在全球范围内实施大范围关税违反了联邦法律。几个月后，最高法院再次裁定出生公民权合法，科尼·巴雷特大法官也加入了多数派的行列。

“民主党人就像胶水一样粘在一起——那三个人几乎从不改变立场。就算你提出世界上最糟糕的方案，他们也会集体投票，”特朗普说。“虽然我不喜欢这样，但我欣赏他们身上的一点：那就是忠诚。”

当被问及是否希望最高法院大法官人选对他忠诚时，特朗普回答说：“不，我不需要忠诚。我需要的是正确的决定。关税决定对国家来说是灾难性的。我希望做出对国家有利的决定。”

尽管最高法院（保守派占多数）自特朗普重返总统职位以来做出了一些重大胜利，但他仍然发表了上述评论。

在采访过程中，特朗普多次拒绝排除拆除肯尼迪中心的可能性，因为该艺术机构仍深陷法律纠纷，员工已被告知将对该建筑的安全状况进行审查。

当被问及是否愿意拆除该中心时，特朗普说：“它状况很糟糕。我愿意拯救它，但它的状况实在太糟糕了。只有我才能拯救它。”

当被再次追问是否会承诺不动用拆迁队拆除这座大楼时，特朗普说：“我不会做出任何承诺。我们拭目以待，看看法庭会如何判决。”

本月初，有人拍到他正在查看一张海报，海报似乎暗示要拆除肯尼迪中心。目前，此事仍深陷法律诉讼之中。

周三晚些时候，该中心执行主任马特·弗洛卡向剩余的一小群工作人员发送了一封电子邮件，指出在团队评估了建筑物的状况后，该建筑物本身“仍然暂时关闭”。

特朗普还表示，他会在任期即将结束时考虑赦免其政府成员。

“是啊，我当然会这么做，”特朗普说，并补充说前总统乔·拜登“赦免了所有人”。

在卸任前，拜登发布了多项先发制人的赦免令，包括赦免马克·米利将军、安东尼·福奇博士和1月6日调查委员会的国会议员，以及他的家人，因为他认为特朗普政府会将他们作为起诉的目标。

在特朗普政府时期，争夺赦免权的竞争显著加剧。总统本人在政府的赦免程序中扮演的角色也越来越重要，他以前所未有的频率行使赦免权，以帮助盟友并推进自己的政治诉求。

在接受《时代》杂志采访时，特朗普表示，如果共和党在11月失去众议院的控制权，民主党人“可能会攻击我，我也会攻击他们”。