'I don't know,' Trump says when asked if people deserve due process
Trump Administration plans military parade on June 14
President Donald Trump will host a military parade on June 14 marking the 250th birthday of the US Army, as well as his own 79th birthday.
President Donald Trump says he doesn’t know whether American citizens are entitled to due process rights as defined by the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution.
Trump made the comments in a wide-ranging, and at moments combative, interview with NBC’s "Meet the Press" that was taped at Mar-a-Lago and aired Sunday morning. He also discussed his desire for Canada to become the 51st state and didn’t rule out military action for taking over Greenland.
Big picture view:
The comments come as the Republican president's efforts to quickly enact his agenda face more criticism from Americans as his second administration crosses the 100-day mark, recent polls show. Trump, however, made clear that he is not backing away.
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What did Trump say about due process and the Constitution?
What they're saying:
Asked in the interview whether U.S. citizens and noncitizens alike deserve due process as laid out in the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution, Trump was noncommittal.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the Cross Hall of the White House during an event on "Investing in America" on April 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
"I don’t know. I’m not, I’m not a lawyer. I don’t know," Trump said when pressed by "Meet the Press" host Kristen Welker.
The backstory:
The Fifth Amendment provides "due process of law," meaning a person has certain rights when it comes to being prosecuted for a crime. Also, the 14th Amendment says no state can "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
The other side:
Critics have tried to make the case that Trump is chipping away at due process in the United States. Most notably, they cite the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man who was living in Maryland when he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador and imprisoned without communication.
Trump says Abrego Garcia is part of a violent transnational gang. The Republican president has sought to turn deportation into a test case for his campaign against illegal immigration despite a Supreme Court order saying the administration must work to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S.
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Trump said he has "brilliant lawyers ... and they are going to obviously follow what the Supreme Court said."
He said he was pushing to deport "some of the worst, most dangerous people on Earth," but that courts are getting in his way.
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"I was elected to get them the hell out of here, and the courts are holding me from doing it," Trump said.
What did Trump say about Canada and Greenland?
What they're saying:
Trump has not backed away from his rhetoric that he intends to make Canada the "51st state."
He has a White House meeting Tuesday with newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Canadian PM Carney to visit President Trump Tuesday
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney shared on "X" that he and President Trump will meet in Washington D.C. next Tuesday. "President Trump and I have agreed to meet next Tuesday in Washington. We’ll focus on addressing immediate trade pressures — and the future economic and security relationship between our two sovereign nations," said Carney.
Trump, however, told NBC that it was "highly unlikely" that the U.S. would need to use military force to make Canada the 51st state.
He offered less certainty about whether his repeated calls for the U.S. to take over Greenland from NATO-ally Denmark can be achieved without military action.
"Something could happen with Greenland," Trump said. "I’ll be honest, we need that for national and international security. ... I don’t see it with Canada. I just don’t see it, I have to be honest with you."
What did Trump say about the economy?
What they're saying:
Trump said the U.S. economy is in a "transition period" but he expects it to do "fantastically" despite the economic turmoil sparked by his tariffs.
He got defensive when Welker noted that some Wall Street analysts now say the chances of a recession are increasing.
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"Well, you know, you say, some people on Wall Street say," Trump said. "Well, I tell you something else. Some people on Wall Street say that we’re going to have the greatest economy in history."
He also deflected blame for the 0.3% decline in the U.S. economy in the first quarter to former President Joe Biden.
Markets react to Q1 U.S. economy dip
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Americans should be patient in the face of a first quarter economic contraction, arguing that his tariffs would eventually lead to a boom in the U.S. economy. The economy shrank in the first quarter, weighed down by a deluge of goods imported by businesses eager to avoid higher costs, underscoring the disruptive nature of Trump's often chaotic tariff policy.
"I think the good parts are the Trump economy and the bad parts are the Biden economy because he’s done a terrible job," he said.
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Trump doubled down on his recent comments at a Cabinet meeting that children might have to have two dolls instead of 30, denying that is an acknowledgment his tariffs will lead to supply shortages.
"I’m just saying they don’t need to have 30 dolls. They can have three. They don’t need to have 250 pencils. They can have five."
What did Trump say about a third term?
What they're saying:
The president has repeatedly suggested he could seek a third term in the White House. Trump told NBC there is considerable support for him to run for a third term.
"But this is not something I’m looking to do," Trump said. "I’m looking to have four great years and turn it over to somebody, ideally a great Republican, a great Republican to carry it forward."
Trump's previous comments about a third term sometimes seem more about provoking outrage on the political left. The Trump Organization is even selling red caps with the words "Trump 2028."
Dig deeper:
The 22nd Amendment of the Constitution says that "No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice."
The Source: This report includes information from The Associated Press and NBC's "Meet the Press."