Trump says he 'can't guarantee' tariffs won't raises prices, he won't restrict abortion pills: Top takeaways

President-elect Donald Trump said in a new interview he can't guarantee American families won't pay more because of tariffs implemented against some of the country's top trading partners, one of his signature campaign promises.

Trump said during an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press" that aired Sunday he disagrees with economists who say that ultimately consumers pay the price of tariffs. But when asked asked by host Kristen Welker to "guarantee American families won't pay more," the president-elect responded "I can't guarantee anything. I can't guarantee tomorrow."

"But I can say that if you looked at my – just pre-Covid, we had the greatest economy in the history of our country. And I had a lot of tariffs on a lot of different countries, but in particular China," he added.

A tariff is a tax on imported goods that is paid by a company or individual when they bring an item in from a foreign country. For example, a U.S. company that wants to sell an appliance made in Mexico would pay the tax. Trump has threatened to place tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico.

Trump's comments came during his first network news interview since winning the election in November. Here are the top takeaways from the wide-reaching conversation:

Trump says he will not restrict abortion pills

Trump said he will not restrict access to abortion pills at the federal level during the interview released Sunday.

"I’ll probably stay with exactly what I've been saying for the last two years. And the answer is no," he said. "...things do change. But I don't think it's going to change at all."

Abortion by pill is used in the majority of terminated pregnancies in the U.S., according to data from the Guttmacher Institute.

The president-elect said during his reelection campaign that abortion is a state issue, and he has backed exceptions for rape, incest and life-threatening medical emergences.

However, Trump has also often taken credit for appointing three of the Supreme Court justices who were pivotal in overturning Roe v. Wade's national abortion protections in 2022. Women across the country have said they are stock pilling emergency contraceptives and abortion pills just in case.

Trump vows to pardon Jan. 6 rioters on his 'first day'

Trump also said he is looking to begin pardoning rioters from the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol on his first day back in office.

"I'm going to look at everything. We're going to look at individual cases," Trump said. "I'm going to be acting very quickly... I'm looking first day."

Trump repeatedly said with few details during the campaign that he would pardon people charged in connection with the attack, whom he calls political prisoners.

According to the most recent numbers released by the Department of Justice, at least 1,572 defendants have been charged and more than 1,251 have been convicted or pleaded guilty in the attack. Most were ordered to pay a fine and received probation or a few months in prison. The longest sentence was 22 years for seditious conspiracy.

Plans to deport all people not legally in the country, ban birthright citizenship

Trump also said the mass deportation plans that became the centerpiece of his reelection campaign will not be limited to people in the country illegally who have committed a serious crime.

"Well, I think you have to do it, and it's a hard – it’s a very tough thing to do. But you have to have rules, regulations, laws. They came in illegally," he said.

Trump recently confirmed reports that he plans to declare a national emergency and use the U.S. military to conduct mass deportations.

Trump has said deportations will focus on criminals first, as immigration enforcement has since former President Barack Obama's presidency. However, he told Welker that the plan is to deport everyone in the country illegally over the next four years.

"We're starting with the criminals and we've got to do it. And then we're starting with others and we're going to see how it goes," he said.

More: Trump vows to declare national emergency, use military for mass deportations

Trump said that he hopes Democrats and Republicans can find a deal to allow the so-called Dreamers, people who were brought into the country illegally as children, to stay. He said deporting those people are not a priority in the short term.

Trump also reiterated his campaign promise to ban birthright citizenship through executive order on his first day in office "if we can," but acknowledged that it might not work. The 14th Amendment to the Constitution states that "All persons born in the United States are citizens," and any executive order contrary to the Constitution would likely be immediately challenged in court.

Amending the Constitution requires a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate as well as ratification by two-thirds of state legislatures.

"We're going to have to get it changed. We'll maybe have to go back to the people. But we have to end it. We're the only country that has it, you know," he said, though the U.S. is not the only country that grants citizenship to people born in its borders.

Will the U.S. leave NATO?

Trump said he will again use threats of pulling the United States out of NATO, an international alliance between dozens of countries in Europe and North America, as leverage to convince other member countries to spend more on defense.

"If they're paying their bills, and if I think they're treating us fairly, the answer is absolutely I'd stay with NATO," he said. If countries don't pay their share he would "absolutely" consider pulling the United States out of the coalition.

NATO members are committed to spending at least 2% of gross domestic product on defense. NATO chief Mark Rutte said in November while congratulating Trump on his win that two-thirds of member countries pay at least 2% of their GDP on defense.

Trump says he won't order investigations into opponents – but believes Jan. 6 committee members should 'go to jail'

Trump said he will leave it to the Department of Justice and FBI whether to investigate people who have opposed him. The president-elect said repeatedly on the campaign trail that members of the House select committee tasked with investigating Jan. 6 and others who oppose him should be punished.

But Trump said on Sunday's show that he will not instruct law enforcement agencies to pursue members of the committee.

"For what they did honestly, they should go to jail," he told Welker, but said he's going to leave the decision to his nominees to lead the agencies.

Trump's pick for FBI Director, Kash Patel, included a list in his 2023 book of about 60 people, including Obama, former and current federal officials and members of Congress, he says are part of the so-called Deep State and wronged him or Trump.

"He's going to do what he thinks is right," Trump said. "If they think that somebody was dishonest or crooked or a corrupt politician, I think he probably has an obligation to do it."

Will Pete Hegseth be confirmed?

Trump said he still has confidence in his pick to lead the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, who has faced a litany of allegations including sexual assault and excessive drinking on the job in recent weeks and has struggled to lock down support in the Senate.

"I really do. He's a very smart guy. I've known him through Fox, but I've known him for a long time. And he's basically a military guy. I mean any time I talk to him, all he wants to talk about is the military. He's a military guy," Trump said.

He said he has not gotten assurances from senators that Hegseth is going to be confirmed. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, which will cast the initial vote on Hegseth’s nomination, has signaled she does not yet support him.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump talks tariffs and prices, birthright citizenship: Takeaways