Donald Trump Says 'My Own Morality' Is 'the Only Thing That Can Stop Me' from World Dominance: 'I Don't Need International Law'

NEED TO KNOW

• President Donald Trump said that his only guardrail as he looks to obtain more global power is "my own morality"
• In a new interview with The New York Times, he said he doesn't "need international law" to dictate his approach to foreign policy
• Also in the interview, the president doubled down on his plans to take military action in Latin America, annex Greenland and more

President Donald Trump is making it clear that he won't be constrained by the law as he continues teasing a takeover of the Western Hemisphere.

“I don’t need international law,” Trump said in a new interview with The New York Times. “I’m not looking to hurt people.”

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When pressed further, the president said he understood that his administration would need to abide by international laws. However, he added, "It depends what your definition of international law is."

There is, Trump insisted, just "one thing" that can curtail his desire for global supremacy: "My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me."

The interview comes less than a week after U.S. forces, under Trump's direction, captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, first lady Cilia Flores, amid "large-scale strikes" on the capital city of Caracas, and brought them to the U.S. to stand trial on multiple charges related to narco terrorism.

Though Venezuela has installed an interim leader, Delcy Rodríguez, Trump has stated many times that the United States is now in charge of running the independent nation.

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"It's going to be run very judiciously, very fairly. And it's gonna make a lot of money," he previously said. "You know they stole our oil. We built that whole industry and they just took it over like we were nothing. So we did something about it. We're late, but we did something about it."

He later added, "We'll be selling large amounts of oil [from Venezuela] to other countries... We're going to get the oil flowing the way it should be."

"We're gonna make sure the people of Venezuela are taken care of... You're going to have peace, justice...you're going to have a real country."

He doesn't plan to stop there. The president is also fixated on his desire to annex Greenland, which is currently controlled by Denmark, a NATO ally of the U.S.

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Trump admitted that "it may be a choice" to preserve the country's relationship with NATO versus taking over Greenland, an important trade crossroads between the U.S., Europe, China and Russia.

“It’s so strategic right now. Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place,” he said to reporters aboard Air Force One on Jan. 4. “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it.”

To The New York Times, he insisted that it wasn't enough to have the country controlled by an ally — he wants exclusive, outright ownership.

“Because that’s what I feel is psychologically needed for success. I think that ownership gives you a thing that you can’t do with, you’re talking about a lease or a treaty. Ownership gives you things and elements that you can’t get from just signing a document," Trump said.

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Trump also has his sights set on Colombia, Cuba, Iran and Mexico.

"You have to do something with Mexico. Mexico has to get their act together because they're pouring through Mexico and we're going to have to do something," he previously told reporters, referring to drug cartels in the country.

"We'd love Mexico to do it. They're capable of doing it, but unfortunately, the cartels are very strong in Mexico," Trump added.

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Referring to Colombian President Gustavo Petro, Trump said his country is being "run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States, and he’s not going to be doing it very long."

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Petro spoke with the Times prior to calling Trump to discuss the threats, expressing his concern about the U.S. making a strike in Colombia, similar to the one in Venezuela.

“We are in danger,” the Colombian president said. “Because the threat is real. It was made by Trump.”

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