President Donald Trump has expressed skepticism regarding concerns over the U.S. economy.

During a somewhat heated exchange on Fox News with host Laura Ingraham, which aired Monday night, Trump pushed back against any suggestion that the economy was not thriving.

Ingraham questioned Trump on various economic issues, including why some Americans feel uneasy about the current economic situation.

Trump responded, “I don’t know that they are saying that,” dismissing the concerns as a result of “fake” polls.

He went on to assert, “We have the greatest economy we’ve ever had.”

The conversation also touched on immigration policy, specifically regarding foreign students. Ingraham challenged Trump on how admitting 600,000 Chinese students aligns with his “pro-MAGA” stance.

‘You don’t want to cut half the people, half the students from all over the world that are coming into our country, destroy our entire university and college system,’ Trump said. ‘I don’t want to do that.’ 

He then added, ‘MAGA was my idea. I know what MAGA wants better than anybody else, and MAGA wants to see our country thrive.’

President Donald Trump sat down with Fox News Channel’s Laura ingraham for an interview that aired Monday night 

Trump also pushed back on Ingraham’s assertion that hosting Chinese students at U.S. universities was particularly problematic. 

The Fox host noted how they ‘spy on us, they steal our intellectual property,’ adding that they’re ‘not the French.’ 

‘You think the French are better?’ Trump asked about America’s first ally. ‘Really? I’ll tell you, I’m not so sure. We’ve had a lot of problems with the French, where we get taxed very unfairly on our technology.’ 

Trump defended China a second time when Ingraham brought up that a Chinese diplomat said Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi should be beheaded over comments she made about Japan potentially defending Taiwan.

‘Well, a lot of our allies aren’t our friends either,’ Trump said. ‘A lot of our allies took advantage of us on trade more than China did.’ 

Ingraham kicked off the interview by discussing the government shutdown, as the Senate nears a pivotal vote to conclude it after six weeks. 

Earlier Monday, Trump had threatened air traffic controllers who called off sick with docked pay and said he’d give $10,000 bonuses to those who stayed on the job through the ordeal. 

‘Look, life is not so easy for anybody,’ Trump said. ‘We should not have had people leaving their jobs.’

President Donald Trump (left) speaks with Fox News Channel’s Laura Ingraham (right) for an interview that aired Monday night on the Ingraham Angle 

Ingraham then asked where he’d get the money to pay out $10,000 bonuses. 

‘I don’t know,’ Trump answered. ‘I’ll get it from some place.’ 

The president also shrugged off MAGA criticism of Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte’s plan to have the government-owned Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac support 50-year mortgages. 

He pointed out that he ‘inherited’ the housing crisis.

‘It’s not even a big deal. I mean, you go from 40 to 50 years,’ Trump answered. 

‘Thirty,’ Ingraham interjected – as 30-year mortgages are standard. 

‘All it means is you pay less per month, you pay over a longer period of time. It’s not like a big factor. It might help a little bit,’ Trump said. 

He then blamed Biden for the interest rates being hiked during the pandemic years. 

Ingraham also pointed out Democratic wins last week in Virginia and New Jersey, where voters expressed that affordability was a key issue. 

She asked the president what needed to be done by Republicans in terms of policy for voters to feel better about the economy. 

‘More than anything else, it’s a con job by the Democrats,’ Trump said.