The president-elect and former president, in responses that garnered more attention during and after the wide-ranging interview, suggested once more that some political rivals and federal officials who pursued legal cases against him should be imprisoned. He would push for an immediate halt to Russia's war on Ukraine, potentially on terms that are far from punitive on Russia.
The interview also touched on monetary policy, immigration, abortion and health care, and U.S. engagement overseas.
"Things do change," Trump observed during the interview which aired Sunday.
Trump did not take off the table the notion that the U.S., during his second presidential administration, could abandon NATO and its mutual-defense guarantee. Throughout the interview, Trump mixed declarative statements with heavily caveated comments.
Trump has threatened broad trade penalties but said he didn't believe economists' predictions that added costs on those imported goods for American companies would lead to higher prices for U.S. consumers. He stopped short of a pledge that U.S. households won't be paying more as they shop.
"I can't guarantee anything. I can't guarantee tomorrow," Trump said.
That's a different approach from Trump's typical speeches throughout the presidential campaign when he framed his election as a sure way to curb inflation. In the interview, Trump defended tariffs generally, saying they are "going to make us rich."
"All I want to do is I want to have a level, fast, but fair playing field," Trump said.
He has pledged that on his first day in office in January he would impose 25% tariffs on all goods imported from Mexico and Canada unless those countries satisfactorily stop illegal immigration and the flow of illegal drugs such as fentanyl into the United States. He also has threatened additional tariffs on China to help force that country to crack down on fentanyl production.
"I think you have to do it," he said regarding deportations during his NBC interview.
Economists and others have argued that immigration has helped the U.S. quell inflation in recent years. Touching on other topics tied to the economy, Trump suggested in the NBC interview that he would not seek to force out Fed chief Jerome Powell immediately and mentioned no changes concerning Social Security efficiency efforts led by Elon Musk alongside Vivek Ramaswamy.
"We're not touching Social Security other than we make it more efficient," Trump stated.
"We're not raising ages or any of that stuff."
The president-elect said he has no intention of asking Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell to step down before Powell's term ends in 2028 despite earlier suggestions presidents should influence Fed policy more directly including interest rates decisions.