In his first public appearance outside the White House since the NATO summit amid threats to his life by Iran, President Donald Trump said Wednesday he doesn't "think about it," and that his focus is on taking out the Iranian regime's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which he said has lost roughly 90% of its weapons capabilities thanks to continued strikes.
Trump made the remarks Tuesday during an exclusive interview with FOX Business ahead of the annual Defense and Innovation Summit in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he also highlighted gains in U.S. defense and the economy, and announced $10 billion in private investments for the defense industry.
The president said he was not concerned about threats from Iran, revealing that the U.S. carried out another strike on the country within the past 24 hours. He also suggested he could eliminate the IRGC the same way he defeated ISIS during his first administration.
"Well, we're going to be in good shape," Trump told FOX Business correspondent Edward Lawrence. "They've been depleted. Their weapons are down 91%. The drone capacity is way down. They still have, but not a lot. Their manufacturing capacity is down. Their rocket launchers and their missile launchers are way down. Their missiles are way down."
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Meantime, Trump said, the U.S. is "building up" its military with the Defense Production Act and companies working to refill supplies and re-arm American forces.
"We have to watch ourselves. You know, it's called America First. And we're building up our reserves very rapidly. And as you probably also know, the great companies that we have are now building plants, although not just taking one plant that they've used for a long time and doing overtime," he said. "We have four or five, six plants by each of the major companies being built, brand-new plants in different areas to make, as an example, you could say the Patriot [missile], which is so heavily sought, or the Tomahawk missile.
"So we want to have it now. We have to wait a year to get something or a year-and-a-half or two years. We want to have it where you wait a week or maybe less, and we're going to have that very soon."
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The president also reiterated his call for lower interest rates, saying the U.S. "should have the lowest interest rate anywhere in the world by far."
He said he supports Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh to help achieve that goal, while predicting resistance from what he described as a "hostile" Federal Reserve Board.
Trump also touted what he described as a surge in U.S. manufacturing investment, claiming more than $19.2 trillion is flowing into the country from allies and foreign investors, including Saudi Arabia, as defense companies ramp up construction of new manufacturing facilities and stockpile equipment.
The president further asserted that the U.S. trade deficit has fallen 68% over the past year, crediting his tariff policies despite legal challenges.
"Our trade deficit is down 68% in one year," Trump said. "That's because of the use of tariffs, and I wish I could use them faster. The Supreme Court said you can't use them as fast as I was using them, but I can use them actually more effectively by the method we're doing."
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Looking ahead, Trump said he expects inflation to continue easing through the end of 2026, arguing that oil prices will ultimately move lower after a period of volatility.
"I think what's happening is oil is going to be a little bit of a yo-yo for a while," he said. "It goes up a little bit, goes down a little bit. And when this [conflict with Iran] is over, oil is going to drop like a rock."