Donald Trump
Donald TrumpReuters

US President Donald Trump spoke with Boaz Bismuth, a journalist for the Israel Hayom newspaper, about his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital city.

At the beginning of the interview, Trump explained that prior to becoming President, he was a man of his word. Now, after his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, he has proof of that, and does not for one second regret his decision.

When asked which moment during his first year in office was most memorable, Trump didn't hesitate:"I think Jerusalem was a very big point. And I think it was a very important point. The capital, having Jerusalem be your great capital was a very important thing to a lot of people. I have been thanked and in some cases not thanked, to be 100% honest about it. But it was a very important pledge that I made and I fulfilled my pledge."

"Did you know ahead of time that you would recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital during your first year in office?"

"That's right. I said that I would like to be able to do it in the first year. I can understand why many other presidents bailed on their promise, because tremendous pressure was put on them not to do it. The other presidents, all of them have failed in the promise even though they made it as a campaign promise but I understand it because I will tell you, the lobbying against it was tremendous."

"What did you mean when you said that your recognition took Jerusalem off the table?"

"By taking Jerusalem off the table I wanted to make it clear that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and as for specific boundaries, I would support what both sides agreed to."

"Will Israel need to do anything in exchange for your recognition of Jerusalem?"

"I think both sides will have to make hard compromises to reach a peace agreement."

The full interview will be released on Sunday.