Trump declared on Wednesday evening that his power as commander in chief is constrained only by his “own morality,” brushing aside international law and other checks on his ability to use military might to strike, invade or coerce nations around the world.
Asked in a wide-ranging interview with The New York Times if there were any limits on his global powers, Mr. Trump said: “Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me.”
“I don’t need international law,” he added. “I’m not looking to hurt people.”
When pressed further about whether his administration needed to abide by international law, Mr. Trump said, “I do.” But he made clear he would be the arbiter when such constraints applied to the United States.
Read the whole NYT article:
David E. Sanger, Tyler Pager, Katie Rogers, and Zolan Kanno-Youngs, NYT: Trump Lays Out a Vision of Power Restrained Only by ‘My Own Morality’ https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/08/us/politics/trump-interview-power-morality.html