President Donald Trump arrives to give a commencement address at the University of Alabama, Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Tuscaloosa, Ala.(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)2025-05-04T13:08:45Z WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) President Donald Trump, in a new interview, was circumspect about his duties to uphold due process rights laid out in the Constitution.He also said he does not think military force will be needed to make Canada the 51st state and played down the possibility he would look to run for a third term in the White House.The comments in a wide-ranging, and at moments combative, interview with NBCs Meet the Press came as the Republican presidents efforts to quickly enact his agenda face sharper headwinds with Americans just as his second administration crossed the 100-day mark, according to a recent poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.Trump, however, made clear that he is not backing away from a to-do list that he insists the American electorate broadly supported when they elected him in November.Here are some of the highlights from the interview with NBCs Kristen Welker that was taped Friday at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and aired Sunday. Trump doesnt commit to due process Critics on the left have tried to make the case that Trump is chipping away at due process in the United States. Most notably, they cite the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man who was living in Maryland when he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador and imprisoned without communication. Trump says Abrego Garcia is part of a violent transnational gang. The Republican president has sought to turn deportation into a test case for his campaign against illegal immigration despite a Supreme Court order saying the administration must work to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S.Asked in the interview whether U.S. citizens and noncitizens alike deserve due process as laid out in the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution, Trump was noncommittal.I dont know. Im not, Im not a lawyer. I dont know, Trump said when pressed by Welker. The Fifth Amendment provides due process of law, meaning a person has certain rights when it comes to being prosecuted for a crime. Also, the 14th Amendment says no state can deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.Trump said he has brilliant lawyers ... and they are going to obviously follow what the Supreme Court said.He said he was pushing to deport some of the worst, most dangerous people on Earth, but that courts are getting in his way.I was elected to get them the hell out of here, and the courts are holding me from doing it, Trump said.Military action against Canada is highly unlikelyThe president has repeatedly threatened that he intends to make Canada the 51st state.Before his White House meeting on Tuesday with newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Trump is not backing away from the rhetoric that has angered Canadians. Trump, however, told NBC that it was highly unlikely that the U.S. would need to use military force to make Canada the 51st state. He offered less certainty about whether his repeated calls for the U.S. to take over Greenland from NATO-ally Denmark can be achieved without military action.Something could happen with Greenland, Trump said. Ill be honest, we need that for national and international security. ... I dont see it with Canada. I just dont see it, I have to be honest with you. President bristles at recession forecastsTrump said the U.S. economy is in a transition period but he expects it to do fantastically despite the economic turmoil sparked by his tariffs.He offered sharp pushback when Welker noted that some Wall Street analysts now say the chances of a recession are increasing.Well, you know, you say, some people on Wall Street say, Trump said. Well, I tell you something else. Some people on Wall Street say that were going to have the greatest economy in history.He also deflected blame for the 0.3% decline in the U.S. economy in the first quarter. He said he was not responsible for it. I think the good parts are the Trump economy and the bad parts are the Biden economy because hes done a terrible job, referring to his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden.Trump doubled down on his recent comments at a Cabinet meeting that children might have to have two dolls instead of 30, denying that is an acknowledgment his tariffs will lead to supply shortages.Im just saying they dont need to have 30 dolls. They can have three. They dont need to have 250 pencils. They can have five. Trump plays down third-term talkThe president has repeatedly suggested he could seek a third term in the White House even though the 22nd Amendment of the Constitution says that No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.Trump told NBC there is considerable support for him to run for a third term.But this is not something Im looking to do, Trump said. Im looking to have four great years and turn it over to somebody, ideally a great Republican, a great Republican to carry it forward. Trumps previous comments about a third term sometimes seem more about provoking outrage on the political left. The Trump Organization is even selling red caps with the words Trump 2028.But at moments, he has suggested he was seriously looking into a third term. In a late March phone interview with NBC, Trump said, Im not joking. There are methods which you could do it. So JD Vance in 2028? Marco Rubio? Not so fast.Trump said in the interview that Vice President JD Vance is doing a fantastic job and is brilliant. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whom Trump last week tasked to simultaneously serve as acting national security adviser, is great, the president said.But Trump said it is far too early to begin talking about his potential successor.He is confident that his Make America Great Again movement will flourish beyond his time in the White House.You look at Marco, you look at JD Vance, whos fantastic, Trump said. You look at I could name 10, 15, 20 people right now just sitting here. No, I think we have a tremendous party. And you know what I cant name? I cant name one Democrat. AAMER MADHANI Madhani covers the White House for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington. twitter mailto