WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump brushed off criticisms that he is too focused on foreign policy on Monday, arguing that the president of the United States has an obligation to “watch over the world” or risk being dragged into world wars.
“I have to view the presidency as a worldwide situation, not locally,” he explained. “We could have a world that’s on fire, where wars come to our shores very easily if you had a bad president. “When you’re president, you really have to watch over the world because you’re going to be dragged into it otherwise. You’re going to be dragged into a world war.”
Trump was responding to a question about Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a longtime ally of Trump, who argued in a Monday morning Truth Social post that Trump should focus on domestic policy, rather than foreign policy.
“I would really like to see nonstop meetings at the WH on domestic policy not foreign policy and foreign country’s leaders,” she said. “Start by hauling in the health insurance company’s executives and let’s start formulating our Republican plan to save America from Obamacare and ACA tax credits that have skyrocketed the cost of health insurance!”
The president paused a moment before addressing Greene’s criticisms, as he spoke to reporters in the Oval Office on Monday afternoon.
President Trump: “I have to view the presidency as a worldwide situation, not locally. We could have a world that’s on fire, where wars come to our shores very easily if you had a bad president…when you’re president, you really have to watch over the world because you’re going… pic.twitter.com/qDbqsFzSrC
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) November 10, 2025
“I don’t know what happened to Marjorie,” he said. “She’s a nice woman, but I don’t know what happened, she’s lost her way, I think.”
He pointed out that he passed the “Great Big Beautiful Bill” that includes the “biggest tax cuts in the history of our country.”
The president suggested that Greene is “catering to the other side” with such remarks, saying, “I’m surprised at her… when somebody like Marjorie goes over and starts making statements like that, it shows she doesn’t know.”
If China had refused to give magnets, the president explained, there would not be a “car made in the entire world,” because magnets are so important. He suggested that most people don’t understand the immense importance of magnets to the economy, and pointed out that he had warned China he would impose a 158% tariff if they did not cooperate with the U.S.
“China called up immediately and said we will make peace,” Trump said. “We made peace. We made a great deal…China is paying tariffs to the United States, not the United States paying tariffs to China, which has always been the way it was… so when somebody makes a statement about ‘he’s devoting time to the world,’ well, the world is the United States. Because if the world is in trouble, or if the world is ripping us off…our country is doing very poorly.”
“So you know, it’s easy to say don’t worry about the world, but the world is turning out to be our biggest customer,” Trump added. “The world was on fire. And we could have been in that fire very easily if you didn’t have a president that knew what he was doing.”
Trump also shared that his Monday meeting with Syria’s president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, which Greene specifically criticized, went well, calling the Syrian president a “very strong leader” who comes from a “very tough place.”
“Tough guy,” Trump said of al-Sharaa. “I like him… we’ll do everything we can to make Syria successful, because that’s part of the Middle East. We have peace now in the Middle East. First time that anyone can remember that ever… If you look back at Syria for years, they had the doctors, the lawyers, and they had so many of the great intellects, and it’s an amazing place with great people. And we want to see Syria be successful like the rest of the Middle East. So I have confidence that he’ll be able to do the job.”
He told reporters that they can expect to see an announcement on Syria.
“We want to see Syria become a country that’s very successful,” he added. “And I think this leader can do it. I really do. I think this leader can do it. And people said he’s had a rough past. We all have rough pasts, but he has had a rough past.”
“He gets along very well with Turkey, with President Erdogan he’s a great leader,” Trump added. “Erdogan is a great leader. And very much in favor of what’s happening in Syria. We have to make Syria work. Syria is a big part of the Middle East, and I will tell you, I think it is working really well. We’re working also with Israel on, you know, getting along with Syria, getting along with everybody, and that’s working amazingly.”
The White House didn’t immediately respond to the Daily Wire’s requests for comment on calls for Trump to pressure al-Sharaa to end the blockade on humanitarian aid to religious minorities in southern Syria. The Daily Wire first reported on Saturday that dozens of American faith leaders were calling on Trump to “address directly the massacre of Christians, Kurds, Druze, and Alawites in Syria, notably in the greater Suwayda area.”
“These religious minorities face ongoing violence, death, displacement, starvation, and water and medical deprivation, all while innocent women and children are held hostage by ISIS terrorists,” the faith leaders wrote.
Trump has been hailed for his successes in foreign policy, with many suggesting he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to negotiate peace deals around the world.