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Trump: 'I don't need any international law'
Published 9 January 2026 at 17.34

Foreign. Donald Trump now announces that his power is not constrained by international law but only by his own morals. In a recent interview with the New York Times, the US president describes how he is above such rules.
"I don't need any international law," Trump said.

The president is asked what really sets limits on his powers as the U.S. head of state.

The answer is clear.

My own morality, my own mind. That's the only thing that can stop me," he says, but adds:

I’m not looking to hurt people.

At the same time, Trump admits that his administration in some form must nevertheless relate to international law, but he relativizes the concept.

- I do. But it depends on what your definition of international law is, he says.

The statements come while the United States is investigating “a range of options” to take control of Greenland, something that has led to increased tensions with European allies. Trump emphasizes in this context the importance of ownership over agreements.

"Employment is very important," he said, continuing:

Because that’s what I think psychologically is needed for success. Ownership gives you things and elements that you cannot get through a lease or a treaty.

In the interview, Trump also dismisses criticism of the U.S. decision to kidnap Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. He believes that the measure does not create any precedent for, for example, China or Russia.

"This was a real threat," Trump said, reiterating his previous claims that Maduro should have sent gang criminals to the United States.

As for Taiwan, Trump says he doesn't believe China's leader Xi Jinping will take the island as long as Trump sits in the White House.

It’s up to him what he’s going to do. But I've expressed that I would be very unhappy if he did, and I don't think he's going to do it," Trump said.

The president also proves indifferent to the fact that the last remaining U.S.-Russia nuclear deal expires next month.

If it expires, it expires. Then we're just making a better deal," he said.

The interview is published in a situation of growing domestic unrest in the United States after a woman was shot dead by the migration agency ICE in Minneapolis, as well as increasing foreign policy contradictions around U.S. global actions.