President Donald Trump appeared more emboldened by his authority than ever in an interview with the New York Times Wednesday, claiming the only limits to his power is his own “morality” and “mind” and asserting that he did not feel held back by international laws.
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has successfully tested many of the constitutional and legal limits to his authority – firing the heads of independent agencies, attempting to rewrite the 14th Amendment and punishing federal judges who insist on giving immigrants due process.
But the president’s more recent decision to conduct aggressive military operations without congressional consent and threaten to take over allies’ territory has worried international leaders.
When asked by NYT reporters if there were limits to his power, Trump replied, “Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me.”
“I don’t need international law,” Trump told the newspaper in an exclusive Oval Office interview. “I’m not looking to hurt people.”
The president added that his administration did need to follow international law, but contended that following it “depends what your definition of international law is.”
Trump’s comments indicate that he believes his use of the U.S. military, economy and political authority to assert dominance over foreign countries could take precedence over following international law or treaties to maintain civility with allies and adversaries.
This past week, the administration appeared to veer from the status quo when it ramped up rhetoric about the U.S. using military forces to take over Greenland, a Danish territory.
“We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security,” Trump told reporters Sunday.
Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy, echoed the president’s remarks later on CNN, claiming the U.S. would use its military “unapologetically” and that “nobody is going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland.”
Other administration officials, such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, downplayed the reality of a military invasion.
The administration’s unabashed bid to take over the island has raised global concerns, especially after Trump directed the U.S. military to conduct strikes in Venezuela and capture the now-deposed President Nicolas Maduro.
When asked whether the U.S. allegiance to NATO outweighed the desire to take over Greenland, the president responded, “It may be a choice.”
“Because that’s what I feel is psychologically needed for success. I think that ownership gives you a thing that you can’t do with, you’re talking about a lease or a treaty. Ownership gives you things and elements that you can’t get from just signing a document,” Trump told NYT.
