Washington, Jan 9: US President Donald Trump has said that his personal morality, not international law, is the primary restraint on his global authority, asserting that his own judgement decides when such rules apply to the United States.
Speaking to The New York Times, Trump said, “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,” adding, “I’m not looking to hurt people.”
When asked whether his administration must comply with international law, Trump responded, “I do,” but quickly qualified the remark by suggesting flexibility in interpretation. “It depends what your definition of international law is,” he said, making clear that he would be the final arbiter on such constraints.
On China and Taiwan, Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping would avoid military action while he remained in office. Asked about Beijing’s view of Taiwan as a separatist threat, Trump said, “That’s up to him, what he’s going to be doing. But I’ve expressed to him that I would be very unhappy if he did that, and I don’t think he’ll do that.”
“He may do it after we have a different president, but I don’t think he’s going to do it with me as president,” Trump added.
The US President also spoke about NATO and Greenland, suggesting that territorial control carries strategic weight. When pressed on whether preserving NATO or acquiring Greenland was the higher priority, Trump declined a direct answer but admitted, “It may be a choice.”
“Ownership is very important,” he said, explaining, “I think that ownership gives you a thing that you can’t do with a lease or a treaty. Ownership gives you things and elements that you can’t get from just signing a document.”
On Europe, Trump said relations would continue but insisted allies must contribute more to their own security. “I want them to shape up. I’m the one that got them to spend more GDP on NATO,” he said, claiming Russia posed no comparable concern beyond the United States.
“If it weren’t for me, Russia would have taken all of Ukraine right now,” Trump asserted.
Earlier, US Vice President JD Vance urged European leaders to take Trump’s comments on Greenland seriously, citing growing interest from “hostile adversaries”. Calling the region critical for missile defence, Vance warned that if Europe failed to strengthen its security posture, the US would have to “do something about it”.
