On October 1, Time magazine published an interview with U.S. President Donald Trump.

According to the report, during the 75-minute interview in the Oval Office, Trump's thoughts jumped around, filled with resentment.

Topics shifted constantly from the numerous crises of his tenure to old and new grievances.

He expressed regret over nominating Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, because the justices ruled against him on cases involving tariffs, mail-in ballots, and birthright citizenship.

"I gave them lifetime appointments as justices, but they often vote against me."

When discussing his demand for loyalty, he made no attempt to hide it: "That's right, I value loyalty."

He repeatedly returned to the White House building itself, complaining that his predecessor left it in disrepair and mocking Barack Obama, saying Obama "can't tell the difference between what's dirty and what's clean."

Regarding widespread public resistance to the rapid expansion of data centers, even within his own supporter base, Trump dismissed it, saying that resistance would only push America toward poverty.

When asked about the limits of his power, he left considerable room: he did not rule out declaring a national emergency or invoking the Insurrection Act during the midterm elections; nor would he promise not to use demolition equipment on the Kennedy Center without congressional approval.

"I won't make any promises," he said. "We'll see how the courts rule."

According to Trump, he is simply doing what must be done, even if it means breaking core promises to voters.

During the campaign he presented himself as a peace president, but now he has launched this war, claiming it is to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

When asked why he is so focused on construction projects far removed from the core concerns of the nation, Trump offered an explanation: "The White House is a highly special symbol, representing America, representing our greatness."

Regarding these construction projects, he has his eye on historical legacy — these monuments will stand long after he leaves office.

In late April, Trump summoned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and a group of military and national security officials to the Oval Office.

According to Trump's original timetable, the war against Iran should have ended, a new regime would be in place, and Iran's nuclear program would be contained.

But the Iranian regime demonstrated resilience and adaptability, blocking oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz and impacting the global economy.

At this point, new problems emerged.

Trump learned from a report that after U.S. forces fired more than 1,200 Patriot interceptor missiles, some ammunition stockpiles were running critically low.

To fill the inventory gap, the Pentagon is drawing equipment from deployments in Asia and Europe, potentially weakening U.S. defensive capabilities in other theaters.

Two officials familiar with the matter revealed that Trump handed a printout of the report to Hegseth and demanded: "What the hell is this?"

According to the officials, Hegseth borrowed Trump's favorite mocking phrase and told the president it was "fake news."

The defense secretary insisted that the reporter took things out of context, exaggerated the facts, and deliberately smeared the administration.

But the report was based on an assessment by the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Defense. (Hegseth's spokesperson denied that this conversation took place.)

Trump's dissatisfaction was not limited to ammunition stockpiles.

Public approval for the war was dismal.

At that time, 13 U.S. service members had been killed and nearly 400 wounded. (By the end of September, casualties had risen to 19 killed and more than 800 wounded.)

Since the war began on February 28, gasoline prices have risen by more than 40 percent.

The conflict has cost more than $25 billion, and the negative effects are beginning to spill over into the midterm elections.

The president cannot find a way out.

The situation remains the same: Trump told Time that if no satisfactory agreement can be reached, he may intensify bombing after the midterm elections rather than end the war.

"We brought peace to the world by hitting Iran hard. Iran, that place — I don't think peace will ever be possible there."

A senior administration official said that in recent months Trump's relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has become increasingly tense.

Multiple U.S. officials said Netanyahu encouraged Trump to take military action against Tehran, but subsequently kept obstructing Trump's efforts to end the war, including striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon despite Trump's explicit prohibition.

Trump said he does not believe reports that Egypt and the UAE warned Netanyahu before the October 7 attack, but Israel will hold elections in late October, its first since the country's worst security incident, and Trump did not express support for Netanyahu's reelection.

When asked whether he would work better with Netanyahu's main rival, former military Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, Trump kept the possibility open: "Hard to say. Everything I've heard about him isn't bad."

Although Trump downplayed the cost-of-living pain caused by rising gasoline prices, he acknowledged that the war has depleted some U.S. military ammunition.

"Some ammunition stockpiles are at relatively low levels," Trump said, adding that he has reached agreements with top defense contractors such as Raytheon and Lockheed Martin to replenish weapons stockpiles and expand production capacity.

"They're building four, five, six factories," he said, referring to Patriot and THAAD interceptor missile production lines. "The scale of production is very impressive."

When asked how much this would cost American taxpayers, Trump offered a peculiar benchmark: the cost is less than what the U.S. earns in a single month from Venezuelan oil operations.

But so far, Americans have barely benefited.

Major U.S. oil companies have returned to Venezuela to extract oil from the country with the world's largest proven crude reserves, yet gasoline prices remained at historic highs in September.

Meanwhile, Trump's tariff policies are damaging America's international relations and continuing to hit the domestic economy.

Trump points to low unemployment, strong consumer spending, and record-high U.S. stocks to prove his economic policies are working.

By these indicators, the economy is performing reasonably well, but the other side of reality is grim: the cost of daily living remains high, and people are suffering.

By summer, Trump grew increasingly frustrated with allies who refused to help the U.S. confront Iran, including European nations, South Korea, and Canada.

A close aide said Trump directed most of his anger at Canada, the northern neighbor.

"One thing he's unhappy about is that the U.S. protects Canada with military force, but Canada's reciprocation, in his view, falls far short," said a senior Trump adviser.

On July 20, Trump invoked a 1930 law to impose a 50 percent tariff on Canadian goods.

The trade war with America's second-largest trading partner has hit steel, aluminum, and lumber especially hard, disrupting supply chains and driving up raw material costs for products ranging from factories to homes.

Financing costs themselves have also become a major problem.

Treasury Secretary Bessent's top urgent task is to prevent a bond market selloff from escalating into a full-blown crisis.

A late September poll showed that only 25 percent of Americans believe Trump's policies have improved the economy, while 60 percent of respondents believe the economy has worsened because of his policies.

When Trump returned to the White House, he promised lower energy prices, lower costs, and economic prosperity.

What voters have seen is the exact opposite.

A Trump adviser said: "All of us know that once voters are unhappy with the economy, they tend to vote against the party in power."

After returning to the White House, Trump was amazed by AI's capabilities and increasingly influenced by tech executives who came to lobby.

In December 2025, Elon Musk returned to the Oval Office for a secret meeting.

An official present said Trump spent hours asking questions to Musk's AI chatbot Grok about his presidency and historical legacy.

At the time, Trump was ordering missile strikes on Venezuelan vessels, accusing them of smuggling drugs to the United States.

He asked Grok how the Venezuelan people would react if the U.S. captured Maduro.

The official said this convinced Trump that Grok was outstanding.

While fascinated by the technology, he developed two major concerns.

The first is economic: market optimism about AI's potential is supporting U.S. stocks.

The second is geopolitical.

Trump is determined to give American companies more room to develop faster.

This means building supporting infrastructure on a massive scale to meet the industry's computing needs.

After watching a cable news segment about public resistance to data centers, he posted on Truth Social.

On August 31 he wrote: "The only reason communities across America are resisting data centers is because they want to fall behind and be poor. If you want prosperity, low taxes, and jobs everywhere, embrace data centers."

Days later, aides showed Trump polling results from longtime pollster Tony Fabrizio: the public is broadly anxious about AI, worried about job losses and rising prices, and afraid that the technology will ultimately escape human control.

Republican colleagues facing voters in November are eager to distance themselves from the issue.

An aide said Trump "doesn't seem to care at all. He just wants to do things his way. He's used to provoking public outrage and then watching people come back to him. At this stage, it's hard to persuade him to change."

There are growing bipartisan calls for new AI regulations, but Trump is unmoved.

"I don't need to destroy this industry," he said. "This industry can bring us enormous benefits. It's like a new industrial revolution, and bigger; it's also like the internet, but with far greater influence than the internet."

He seems unconcerned with the details.

When asked about OpenAI agents accessing federal government websites, Trump responded: "Who hacked in? They can't do that."

In AI safety discussions, Trump proposed creating an "AI force," and now he plans to rename it "SI force," aiming to rebrand artificial intelligence as "super intelligence."

Asked about the agency's function, Trump said: "It will possess super intelligence."

Under further questioning, he explained that members would be drawn from industry leaders to advise government policy.

On September 29, he met with AI industry leaders at the White House, where the president and executives from six leading tech companies signed a "charter" to implement industry self-regulation — replacing government oversight with corporate self-policing.

A government official present said the White House and industry reached a consensus: in the event of a risk incident, both sides should share information to avoid sudden surprises.

This reflects Trump's broad outreach to industry leaders, listening to their views and seeking goodwill and political donations.

A recent CNN poll shows that 75 percent of Americans feel more fear and worry than hope when it comes to artificial intelligence, with broad bipartisan support for stronger federal regulation.

But Trump dismisses AI-related concerns, grouping them into what he calls a series of manufactured panics.

"Back then they said global warming would destroy America, then they changed the name to climate change because global warming was proven to be a hoax. And 'Russia, Russia, Russia' — that was a hoax too."

When pressed on who exactly is manufacturing the so-called AI panic hoax, he spread his hands: "False narratives are everywhere across the country. These people have Trump derangement syndrome."

Regardless of the outcome of November's midterm elections, people around Trump expect him to devote more of his remaining term to foreign affairs, with a focus on the Western Hemisphere.

On the midterms, Trump dismissed unfavorable polls as fake data and insisted Republicans can win.

"If I campaign personally, things will go well. I plan to do that."

So far, apart from a two-day midterm convention and several fundraisers, he has not done much.

But senior advisers say the president is preparing to launch an intensive campaign schedule to help Republicans avoid a crushing defeat in the midterms: visiting 32 competitive districts next month and holding large MAGA rallies like the ones that propelled him to power.

Trump's campaign team has $400 million in campaign funds but has only recently begun spending it.

Aides say he has been reluctant to spend, hoping to save funds for future elections to maintain his influence within the party.

Aides are already preparing for personnel changes at the White House after the midterms, with Trump expected to purge officials who have frustrated him.

A source close to the president said Trump has openly considered firing FBI Director Kash Patel and is unhappy with Hegseth.

Trump said he would protect officials who stay.

When asked whether he plans to preemptively pardon aides and allies before Democrats or the next administration pursue accountability, he leaned toward yes, using a familiar rationale: "Sleepy Joe pardoned a whole bunch of people back then."