US President Donald Trump said in an interview with the "New York Times" that his power as commander in chief is limited only by "his own morality", ignoring international law and other restrictions on his ability to use military force to attack, invade or force certain actions around the world, the newspaper said, BTA reported.
In the wide-ranging interview, when asked if there were any limits to his global powers, Trump replied: "Yes, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. That's the only thing that can stop me."
"I don't need international law", he added. "I don't want to hurt people."
When asked whether his administration must abide by international law, Trump said: "Yes." But he made it clear that he would be the arbiter when restrictions applied to the United States.
"It depends on how you define international law," he said.
Mr. Trump's assessment of his own freedom to use any instrument of military, economic or political power to assert American supremacy was the most candid admission yet of his worldview. At its core is the concept that national strength, not laws, treaties, and conventions, should be the deciding factor in a clash of forces.
He acknowledged some limitations at home, even as he pursued a maximalist strategy of punishing institutions he dislikes, retaliating against his political opponents, and deploying the National Guard to cities despite objections from state and local governments.
During the interview, Trump sounded more emboldened than ever, the "New York Times" noted. He cited the success of the strike on Iran's nuclear program - Trump keeps a model of the B-2 bombers used in the mission on his desk; the speed with which he beheaded the Venezuelan government last weekend; and his plans for Greenland, which is controlled by NATO ally Denmark, the newspaper said.
When asked which was his higher priority - getting Greenland or keeping NATO, Trump refused to answer directly, but acknowledged that "it could be a matter of choice". He made it clear that the transatlantic alliance is essentially useless without the United States at its core.
When asked why the United States should own Greenland, Trump replied: "Because that's what I think is psychologically necessary for success... Ownership gives you things and elements that you can't get just by signing a document."
Trump emphasized in the interview that only he - and not his two predecessors, whom he has criticized, Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Barack Obama - has proven his ability to convince NATO countries to spend 5% of their gross domestic product on defense.
The president adds: "I was very loyal to Europe. I did a good job. If it weren't for me, Russia would have all of Ukraine right now."
When Trump was asked if he didn't think the U.S. operation in Venezuela would be used as a precedent and justification for action by Russia or China, since Xi Jinping considers Taiwan a separatist threat, the U.S. president said of the Chinese president: "That's up to him, what he does. But, you know, I told him I would be very unhappy if he did it, and I don't think he will. I hope he doesn't."
Then, asked if Xi Jinping might take advantage of recent events to attack or stifle Taiwan, Trump suggested that the Chinese leader would not dare take such a step while he was in power in Washington. "He might do it after we have another president, but I don't think he will do it while I'm president," he said.