CNN
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President-elect Donald Trump said mass evictions would begin “very quickly” after he takes office, one of several plans he discussed in a phone interview with NBC News on Saturday.
As Trump prepares to be sworn in Monday, the president-elect also told “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker that he would “most likely” delay the United States’ impending ban on TikTok and he would “probably” go to Los Angeles next week. to tour the damage caused by the forest fires, and that he plans to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “fairly soon”.
The president-elect also pledged to sign a “record number” of executive actions on his first day in office. Asked if he would sign “more than 100” actions, Trump said the number would be “at least in that category.”
Trump said his administration plans to carry out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants “very quickly” after taking office, reiterating his desire to “get the criminals out of our country.”
“It will start very soon, very quickly,” he told NBC News. “I can’t say which cities because things are evolving.”
“We must drive criminals out of our country,” he added.
Trump has long considered mass expulsions of immigrants. CNN previously reported that the new Trump administration would initially focus on deporting undocumented immigrants with criminal histories in major metropolitan areas such as Chicago, Denver and Washington, DC.
Trump said he would “most likely” delay banning TikTok for 90 days after taking office, but noted he had not made a final decision.
Trump said it would be “appropriate” to approve an expansion of the Chinese-owned social media platform, which must sell to American buyers by Sunday or face a ban in the United States. The Supreme Court on Friday allowed the controversial ban to stand, and the popular video app said it would disable access to more than 170 million Americans on Sunday unless President Joe Biden intervenes.
“I think that would definitely be an option that we look at. The 90-day extension is something that will most likely be done, because it is appropriate,” Trump said in the interview.
“If I decide to do it, I will probably announce it on Monday,” he added.
The law passed last year allows the president to delay the ban for 90 days, but requires proof that parties working to arrange the sale of TikTok to a U.S. company have made significant progress.
TikTok CEO Shou Chew has met with the president-elect at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida in recent weeks and is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
The president-elect said he will “probably” travel to the Los Angeles area next week to assess the damage caused by the devastating wildfires that have ravaged the area.
Trump told NBC News he might go to California “at the end of the week,” saying he wanted to go Friday but decided to wait until his inauguration.
“Actually, I was going to go yesterday, but I thought it would be better if I went as president. It’s a little more appropriate, I guess,” he said during Saturday’s interview.
Trump said he has not spoken to California Governor Gavin Newsom since the wildfires broke out. The president-elect criticized the governor and other Democratic officials for their efforts to bring the fires under control, calling them “incompetent” witnesses to “one of the worst disasters in our nation’s history.”
Trump said he asked Netanyahu to “continue to do what needs to be done” while emphasizing his desire to see the war between Israel and Hamas end. He again warned that “all hell will break loose” if both sides fail to respect the recently negotiated ceasefire agreement, which is expected to come into force on Sunday.
Trump told NBC News he plans to meet with Netanyahu “fairly soon” but declined to share further details.
“Just keep doing what you have to do,” Trump recalled telling the Israeli leader. “This has to end. We want this to stop, but continue to do what needs to be done.
Trump added that the United States would demand “respect” to ensure the deal was upheld and warned of consequences if it did not stick.
“The United States must be respected again, and it must be respected quickly. But respect is the first word I use,” he said. “If they respect us, it will hold. If they don’t respect us, it’s hell.”
The Trump and Biden teams worked together on the deal, a rare intersection of interests between bitter rivals who both saw an opening after Trump’s election victory.
Brett McGurk, Biden’s longtime Middle East negotiator, had been ensconced in the Qatari capital for weeks hoping for a final deal. He was joined in Qatar in recent days by Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, for the final effort.
The president-elect spoke about his decision to move his Monday inauguration ceremony indoors amid projected dangerously cold temperatures in Washington. He said he thought he made “the right decision” and promised the ceremony “would be beautiful, actually.”
“The weather was looking really bad in terms of cold, and I think it would have been dangerous for a lot of people, the crowds and everything else. So I think we made the right decision. We will be very comfortable now,” he said.
“It will be an indoor parade, more or less indoor, and it will be magnificent,” he continued.
Monday’s ceremony is now scheduled to take place in the Capitol Rotunda, and Capitol One Arena will livestream the event.
“Unity and strength, and the word fairness,” Trump told NBC News would be the themes of his inauguration speech. “Because you have to treat people fairly. … You know, we went through hell for four years with these people. And so, you know, something has to be done about this.
