Donald Trump has found a farewell letter from Joe Biden in the Oval Office but only after a journalist reminded him to look for it.
While signing a series of executive orders, a reporter asked if Joe Biden had written to him, which prompted Mr Trump to check the desk drawers.
He found the letter and held it up, revealing it was addressed to “47”, denoting his position as the 47th president.
“Maybe we should all read it together,” he said before setting it aside. He added he would read it himself before sharing it publicly.
Latest on Trump’s new presidency
After being sworn in on Monday, Mr Trump held a candid and intimate exchange with reporters.
He discussed a wide variety of topics in the Oval Office – including pardons for 1,500 January 6 defendants, TikTok, tariffs, and whether he will be a dictator.
👉 Follow Trump 100 on your podcast app 👈
He threatened 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada beginning 1 February, accusing both countries of allowing “vast numbers of people to come in [to America]”.
He suggested he was imposing tariffs because of illegal immigrants and the drug fentanyl crossing into the US.
US should get half of TikTok
Mr Trump signed an executive order delaying implementation of a ban on TikTok for 75 days.
He said that TikTok will be “worthless” if he does not approve a deal for its sale on national security grounds. But if he does approve the deal, Mr Trump said “it’s worth maybe a trillion dollars, a trillion”.
He added: “If I do the deal… I think we should get half. In other words, I think the US should be entitled to get half of TikTok”.
‘Half a day left’ to end war
On the conflict in Ukraine, Mr Trump was asked about his pledge to end the war on his first day in office.
“Well, this only half a day. I have another half a day left. So I want to get it done.”
And he committed to meeting with Vladimir Putin adding Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy “wants to make a deal. I don’t know if Putin does… he should make a deal. I think he’s destroying Russia by not making a deal.”
Sceptical about Gaza ceasefire
On the Middle East, he said “some fantastic things could be done with Gaza. It’s a phenomenal location on the sea, best weather… some beautiful things could be done with it”.
But he was more pessimistic about whether the deal struck between Israel and Hamas would hold and end the conflict. “I’m not confident. That’s not our war. It’s their war. But I’m not confident,” he said.
The president was bullish on his relationship with North Korea and leader Kim Jong Un. “I was very friendly with him. We got along very well. I think he’ll be happy to see I’m coming back,” he said.
He suggested the country had untapped development opportunities: “I think he has tremendous condo capabilities. Got a lot of shoreline.”
Read more:
Sky experts on what’s coming next
Trump’s first acts as new president
Mr Trump was also very critical of the pre-emptive pardons Joe Biden issued before he left office, which included members of the outgoing president’s family. “I think it makes Biden look very bad, very weak and very guilty,” he said.
US Capitol rioters ‘have been destroyed’
The president pardoned, commuted the prison sentences, or vowed to dismiss the cases of all of the 1,500-plus people charged with crimes in the 6 January attack on the US Capitol. He has repeatedly described them as “hostages”.
“I see murderers in this country get two years, one year, and maybe no time. So they’ve already been in jail for a long time. These people have been destroyed. What they’ve done to these people is outrageous,” he said.
Trump: I’m no dictator
Asked about his campaign trail statement that he would be a dictator on day one, he said: “No. I can’t imagine even being called that no. I believe in the sanctity of the vote.”
“The Democrats didn’t because they cheated like dogs”, he said, after repeating the false claim that the 2020 election was “rigged” but said the 2024 election in contrast was “too big to rig”.