Donald Trump said in an exclusive Axios interview that his role in securing a ceasefire with Iran helped avert a “worldwide depression,” while also declaring that presidential power has “no limits.” The 45-minute interview, conducted in the White House Roosevelt Room, covered Iran, Israel, Cuba and artificial intelligence national security concerns.
Trump links Iran ceasefire to global economic stability
Speaking about the recent U.S.-Iran conflict, Trump gave his own mediation effort high marks. He said that without his intervention to reach an agreement ending the war with Iran, the confrontation could have triggered a “worldwide depression.” In his telling, an expanding conflict in the Middle East would have hit global energy supply chains and disrupted the broader economic order.
Trump also made a sweeping claim about Israel. He said, “If it weren’t for me, Israel wouldn’t exist right now,” tying that view to his decision to end the Obama-era Iran nuclear deal, the JCPOA, which he described as a dangerous path toward an Iranian nuclear weapon.
Cuba and Anthropic both came up in the interview
Trump’s comments were not limited to the Middle East. Asked whether the United States could move quickly against Cuba in the way it handled the Venezuela crisis, he answered, “It’s possible.” He said Cuba and Venezuela are geographically much closer to the United States than Iran, placing them in a more immediate strategic zone.
On AI, Axios asked whether Anthropic’s latest model posed a national security threat to the United States. Trump replied, “Well, not now, but a week ago maybe.” The answer offered no fixed benchmark, but it suggested a shifting view of how his administration would assess advanced AI systems.
"No limits" remark becomes the interview’s focal point
The most striking part of the interview came when Trump was asked whether recent wartime decisions had shown him any limits to presidential authority. His answer was direct: “There are no limits.” He then added that he knows there are limits, but in practice there are not.
Axios said the exchange reflected a “Great Man theory” style of confidence. Across the interview, Trump placed himself at the center of several major issues, from the Iran ceasefire and Israel to Cuba and AI security, with each answer framed in highly personal terms.