Trump plays to domestic audience as foreign policy questions loompublished at 21:57 GMT 20 January
Gary O’Donoghue
Chief North America correspondent, at the White House
Image source, ReReporters arrived at today’s White House briefing with questions that spanned continents – Greenland, Venezuela, and Iran foremost among them – and our ears pricked when we heard that it would be Donald Trump himself, not his press secretary, taking the mic.
But the message the president was determined to deliver was squarely for his domestic audience.
Unlike all he’s been saying in recent weeks, and his posts on social media last night, Trump deflected lots of foreign policy questions.
On how far he’s willing to go on Greenland, “you’ll have to find out”.
On whether he’s prepared to break up Nato, “I think we’ll work something out”.
On Iran, “I can’t tell you what’s going to happen in the future”.
Trump said he was frustrated that his arguments on energy, gas prices, and the cost of living weren’t getting through, and he promised big new plans on housing. That’s all crucial as we head towards November’s mid-term elections.
Marking the anniversary of his second inauguration, Trump also used the press conference to show off what the administration is calling his “365 wins in 365 days” since returning to office.
At the top of that list was immigration – with the claim that the number of people in the United States has fallen because of Trump’s policies.
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