AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
President Trump gave an interview to NBC News' "Meet The Press." He spoke to Kristen Welker, and that interview is airing today. She asked about due process for the people he'd been deporting and asked about his duty to uphold the Constitution.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "MEET THE PRESS")
KRISTEN WELKER: Don't you need to uphold the Constitution of the United States as president?
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I don't know. I have to respond by saying, again, I have brilliant lawyers that work for me, and they are going to, obviously, follow what the Supreme Court said.
RASCOE: For more on this meeting and all things trade and politics, we're joined by NPR White House correspondent Asma Khalid. Good morning, Asma.
ASMA KHALID, BYLINE: Good morning, Ayesha.
RASCOE: So the president did qualify his answer, but this is an interesting take because part of his presidential oath is to uphold the Constitution, right?
KHALID: That's correct. And look; that clip you played, Ayesha - it's certainly the big headline coming out of NBC's "Meet The Press" interview. I will say it came sort of near the end of an extensive back-and-forth about due process for immigrants. The president has said repeatedly that he believes he has a mandate to deport people who are not in the country legally and that that is why he says many people voted for him.
And the context here was that he was being asked by the moderator, Kristen Welker, about the case, broadly, regarding this man who was sent to El Salvador despite a court order saying that he should not be deported there. Specifically, you know, he was asked about due process, and then, as you heard, he was asked about upholding the Constitution. And that's what he had to say.
RASCOE: The president also said he doesn't think he'll use a military option with Canada. This comes just a couple of days before Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he's coming to the U.S. to meet with Trump to discuss trade and other issues. What do you make of that? And what are you hearing from the White House on that meeting?
KHALID: Yeah. I mean, President Trump has made a point of referring to Mark Carney as a, quote, "very nice gentleman." That is certainly a nicer description than the one that he used for Carney's predecessor. But the key thing here to note, Ayesha, is that these talks are coming amidst the president's tariffs and his threats of annexing Canada. You know, in that interview on "Meet The Press," when he was asked about this upcoming meeting, the president said he's always bringing up this idea of making Canada the 51st state. Yes, he said he does not intend to use military action to make that happen, but this is something that does not sit well with Canadians. You know, he's also accused Canada of being a freeloader, said that the U.S. doesn't need Canada's lumber, cars, or energy, though I will note, in particular, I mean, energy is very vital for a number of states along the northern edge of the United States.
You know, I will say, you might recall, Ayesha, that shortly after he came into office, President Trump put a hefty 25% tariff on Canadian goods. He then granted relief on many products. But there's still really no clarification on how he wants to engage with America's neighbor to the north. This will be Carney's first trip here to the White House since he was elected as the Canadian prime minister, and he has been rather blunt about Trump.
RASCOE: So the tariffs and all the uncertainty that they've triggered are increasing worries about a recession. What does President Trump have to say about that?
KHALID: Yeah, I mean, this issue of a recession is also something that came up in that NBC "Meet The Press" conversation. I want you all to take a listen to this point when the moderator, Kristen Welker, asked the president about the worries that some on Wall Street have of a coming recession.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "MEET THE PRESS")
WELKER: Yeah.
TRUMP: Many people on Wall Street say this is going to be the greatest windfall ever happened.
WELKER: And that's my question - the long term.
TRUMP: Remember this. Yeah.
WELKER: Is it OK in the short term to have a recession?
TRUMP: Remember this. Look; yeah. It's - everything's OK.
KHALID: And, you know, he seemed to downplay concerns about a possible recession. He said the economy is in a transition period but that it would do, quote, "fantastically" in the long run. He also did say, though, that he has no intention of providing tariff relief to small businesses and that broadly, his tariff strategy could be permanent.
RASCOE: I mean, but a lot of polls and data show that a lot of Americans don't think that everything is OK, right?
KHALID: Yeah. I mean, certainly, we saw, you know, new figures from the Commerce Department last week that showed the U.S. economy shrank in the first three months of the year. Trump's belief broadly, though, is that economists were wrong about the negative consequences of tariffs in his first term. I will say, though, to be clear, Ayesha, the tariffs now in place are much, much steeper than what they were back in 2018.
RASCOE: That's NPR White House correspondent Asma Khalid. Thank you so much for speaking with us today.
KHALID: Always good to talk to you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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