Description:
President Trump sits down with Axios’ Marc Caputo for a wide-ranging conversation about power, war and America’s role in the world.
In this episode of The Axios Show, Trump discusses what he has learned about wielding power, why he says there are “no limits” to presidential power, and how he views the leaders shaping global politics, including China’s Xi Jinping and India’s Narendra Modi.
The conversation centers on Iran, where Trump defends the military campaign, the deal that followed and his decision to stop short of further escalation. He also discusses the Strait of Hormuz, Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu, Cuba, Venezuela, artificial intelligence, Anthropic, China’s AI race and how he thinks about maintaining power in the final stretch of his presidency.
This episode has been edited for brevity. Watch the extended interview here: https://www.axios.com/2026/06/19/axios-show-trump-extended-interview
Timestamps:
0:00 - Welcome to The Axios Show
0:11 - The one big thing: power
1:37 - “I’m the boss” and the G7
3:36 - What Trump sees in world leaders
4:05 - Trump on Xi Jinping and China
6:11 - Venezuela, military power and oil
7:19 - Trump on Modi, Pakistan and global leadership
9:08 - Macron, the G7 and Trump’s “weakness”
11:18 - Trump on Iran and the limits of power
12:09 - Was the Iran deal “unconditional surrender”?
13:39 - Trump defends the Iran campaign
15:27 - The Strait of Hormuz and the risk to oil
17:44 - Secret ship movements out of the Gulf
19:05 - Cuba, Venezuela and the Western Hemisphere
22:29 - Trump on American influence in the hemisphere
23:35 - Iran, nuclear weapons and Israel
25:59 - Trump on Netanyahu and Lebanon
26:59 - Trump on artificial intelligence as a weapon
27:45 - Anthropic and national security
28:37 - Could Trump shut down an AI company?
28:45 - Trump on beating China in AI
29:45 - The Defense Production Act and AI regulation
30:35 - Trump on maintaining power
31:39 - Trump on fixing the White House
34:04 - Closing
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