Turning to security questions in Asia, where a United States Navy aircraft carrier strike group is headed toward the Korean Peninsula in a show of force intended to deter North Korea from testing a sixth nuclear weapon or launching missiles, Mr. Trump declined to discuss his strategy for reining in the North.

“You never know, do you?” he said. “We are sending an armada — very powerful, and we have submarines — very powerful, far more powerful than the aircraft carrier,” he added, apparently referring to American submarines carrying ballistic nuclear missiles.

“He is doing the wrong thing,” Mr. Trump said of Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader.

Mr. Trump also used the interview to defend his allegation that President Barack Obama tapped his phones, arguing that his unfounded accusation has been vindicated since it was discovered that Susan E. Rice, the former national security adviser, sought to learn the identities of Trump associates swept up in surveillance of foreign officials by United States spy agencies.

“When you look at Susan Rice and what’s going on, and so many people are coming up to me and apologizing now,” Mr. Trump said. “They say, ‘You know, you were right when you said that.’ Perhaps I didn’t know how right I was, because nobody knew the extent of it.”

Mr. Trump has said Ms. Rice’s actions may have been unlawful, an assertion his allies in the news media have frequently made but for which the president has provided no evidence. Current and former intelligence officials from both Republican and Democratic administrations have said they do not believe Ms. Rice’s actions were unusual or illegal.

In the interview, Mr. Trump also said James B. Comey, the F.B.I. director who is leading an investigation into his campaign’s potential ties with Russia, had helped Hillary Clinton, his 2016 Democratic presidential rival, avoid prosecution for her use of a private email server when she was secretary of state.

“When Jim Comey came out, he saved Hillary Clinton — he saved her life,” Mr. Trump said. “Director Comey was very, very good to Hillary Clinton. If he weren’t, she would be right now going to trial.”