Trump Defends Focus On Foreign Policy, Says Those Complaining Probably Aren’t His Supporters

President Donald Trump defended his foreign policy focus while in office after an interviewer said some of his supporters have criticized him for spending too much time outside the U.S.

Trump sat down with Politico for a Dec. 8 interview released Dec. 9. Politico’s White House Bureau Chief Dash Burns told the president that some of his supporters feel he has been focusing too much on foreign policy as opposed to domestic policy. Trump told Burns that those complaining probably aren’t his supporters before defending the work he has done abroad. (RELATED: Rand Paul Says Trump Boat Strikes ‘Prelude To War’ With Venezuela)

“You … you made a statement, though, that I devote too much time to outside of the United States. Uh, I’ve made a fortune for the United States by focusing on things outside,” the transcript of the interview reads.

“And to be clear, that’s not my statement. That’s just what some … some of your supporters and some others have said,” Burns responds.

“Well, then, you know, I can’t imagine they’re supporters because, uh, I made a fortune and spend very little time … all of my time is spent here. Most of my time is spent here. But when I do go outside, it’s only going outside for here,” Trump responded.

“For instance, settling and solving the problem with China, that has a huge effect in the United States. Making deals with Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, all of these countries, you’re talking about trillions and trillions of dollars. So I could … I guess I could say let’s not deal with anybody. We wouldn’t have much of a country,” Trump continued.

The president then argued that America “wouldn’t have much of an economy” if it weren’t for his deals with other countries. Trump said many countries ripped America off during the administrations of former President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama.

“So … wait a minute. So some people would say don’t focus on anything outside of our border. I like that, too. But I’ve made trillions and trillions of dollars and solved problems and solved wars,” Trump said.

“Do you know most of the wars that I solved were solved sitting behind the Oval Office desk on a telephone? I think that those are worthy phone calls. Even if they didn’t impact us to save millions of lives from another country and if I can do that easily because I have that ability are pretty good,” he added.

Scrutiny of the president’s foreign policy has risen as the administration has continued its strikes on alleged drug traffickers. Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul warned the president against pursuing regime change in Venezuela on Dec. 2. Trump declared Venezuelan air space to be closed Nov. 29 as his administration continues to pressure dictator Nicolás Maduro.

The RealClear Politics average from Oct. 8 to Dec. 4 has Trump at a 43.5% approval rate of his foreign policy agenda.

“There’s not a domestic agenda and a foreign policy agenda that are separate,” Republican strategist Dave Carney told The New York Times in November about concerns the president wasn’t focused domestically. “They are all part of making America better and saving money.”