Donald Trump has reflected on his return to the White House in a recent interview with The Atlantic.

For the publication's June cover story, it leads with the quote from Trump declaring, "I run the country and the world" as the magazine covers his political comeback, which hasn't been without controversy.

Everything from the creation of DOGE, the Signal scandal, which saw The Atlantic’s editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, accidentally added to a group chat by a top administration official, where plans for US strikes in Yemen were discussed, to Trump's back-and-forth trade tariff policies causing chaos, his immigration crackdown, and whether he's actually considering running for a third term in office, were all brought up in the chat.

Before the interview last week, Trump repeated his scepticism around the media as he wrote on Truth Social: "I am doing this interview out of curiosity, and as a competition with myself, just to see if it's possible for The Atlantic to be 'truthful."

Here are the key takeaways from the interview:

On his second term as president

"The first time, I had two things to do — run the country and survive; I had all these crooked guys," Trump said, reflecting on his first term as US president from 2017 to 2020.

So what's the plan for his second term?

"And the second time, I run the country and the world," he remarked.

"I'm having a lot of fun, considering what I do ... You know, what I do is such serious stuff."

Will Trump run for a third term?

US President Donald Trump raises a fist as he steps off Air Force One upon arrival at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on April 27, 2025. Trump is returning to Washington after attending the funeral of Pope Francis and spending part of the weekend at his Bedminster resort. Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

Trump may only be just 100 days into his second term, but there are already reports that he hasn't ruled out running for a third term in the White House, which is prohibited by the Constitution under the 22nd Amendment.

In an exclusive interview with NBC News last month, Trump said he's "not joking" about seeking a third term, and claimed there are "a lot of people" who want him to.

"There are methods which you could do it, as you know," he added.

This, along with a new MAGA hat with “2028” on it for sale through his official store, signals his intention to run for another term.

So what did the commander-in-chief have to say?

In his latest interview, Trump told The Atlantic it "would be a big shattering".

"Well, maybe I'm just trying to shatter." But Trump added, "It's not something that I'm looking to do. And I think it would be a very hard thing to do."

Billionaires' respect for Trump

Billionaires have been rather friendly to Trump this time around, which the president was asked about.

"It’s just a higher level of respect. I don’t know,” Trump said. “Maybe they didn’t know me at the beginning, and they know me now.”

"Look who called in the past hour," he added as the publication reported how he scrolled through a list that included Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Tiger Woods.

He also had some positive words to say about two particular billionaires.

On Jeff Bezos, Trump said he's "100 percent. He's been great."

"Zuckerberg’s been great," he noted, referring to Meta founder.

Says Hegseth will "get it together" after Signal scandal

U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Following the Signal scandal, Trump still appears to have faith in defense secretary Pete Hegseth and believes "he's gonna get it together".

He added, "I had a talk with him, a positive talk, but I had a talk with him."

Trump admits possible US citizens could be mistakenly deported

The Trump administration has been widely criticised for the lack of due process when deporting immigrants, as the president continues to aggressively crack down on immigration.

“Let me tell you that nothing will ever be perfect in this world,” he said.

When questioned if he's concerned about incorrectly deporting innocent people, Trump replied: "You know, I’m not involved in that. I have many people, many layers of people that do that."

“I would say they are all extremely tough, dangerous people. I would say that. And, don’t forget, they came in the country illegally.”

Why he can't let go of 2020 election

U.S. President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe BidenJustin Sullivan/Getty Images

The 2020 election might be in the past, but it's an election defeat that Trump can't quite let go of, despite him later winning a second term in 2024.

Trump said it would "be easier" to accept this, but he simply can't.

“I’m a very honest person, and I believe it with all my heart,” he explained.. “And I believe it with fact—you know, more important than heart. I believe it with fact.”

“I’d like to say that that is reality,” the president said. “Probably I do create some things, but I didn’t create that.”

Read The Atlantic's full interview with Trump here.

Elsewhere, ‘Worst president ever’: Donald Trump’s first 100 days slammed online,and Trump is selling troubling merchandise - and we should all be worried.

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