Mnuchin: Trump 'Doesn't Want' a Nuclear War

President Donald Trump "doesn’t want to be in a nuclear war" with North Korea, but will "pursue all the options" amid escalating tensions with its leader, Kim Jong Un, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Sunday.

In an interview with ABC News’ "This Week," Mnuchin said "the president's number one priority is the safety of the American people and our allies."

"The president doesn't want to be in a nuclear war," he said. "And we will do everything we can to make sure that doesn't occur."

"On the other hand, the president will protect the American people and our allies," he continued. "And having a country like this have nuclear weapons, testing them, using them, sending rockets over our allies, that is unacceptable behavior."

Mnuchin added that Trump has already asserted "all the options are on the table," and "has lots of alternatives that have been presented to him, and he'll make the decisions at the time."

In a separate interview on CNN’s State of the Union," Mnuchin also denied he promised there’d be no absolute tax cut for the rich in the administration’s proposed tax plan.

"It was never a promise or it was never a pledge," he said. "What it was and it is still, it is what the president's objective was."

"I think what's important about this plan is it creates a middle-income tax cut, it makes businesses competitive, and it creates jobs," he added. "That's what this is all about. And as it relates to the high end, you know, there's lots of changes."

Referring to another Trump administration priority — the repeal of Obamacare — Mnuchin said should the GOP effort fail, Trump would support a bipartisan approach.

" I think, unfortunately, the Democrats on healthcare… don't want to change many aspects of Obamacare," he said. "but to the extent they're willing to come to the table and fix it, I think the president would always listen to. We're about fixing Obamacare. It's broken and it requires people to do lots of things that they just shouldn't be forced to do."

Mnuchin also defended the president in his rebuke of the NFL over players’ on-field protests of racial injustice during the playing of the National Anthem — saying there ought to be a "rule."

"What the president is saying, and I think the owners should meet, and they should vote on a rule," he said. "This is about respect for our military. This is about respect for our first responders. This is not about Republicans or Democrats."

"If people want to talk politics off the field, when they're not working for the NFL, they have the absolute right to do that," he added.

• Mnuchin on New Sanctions: Choose US or NKorea, 'But Not Both'
• Franklin Graham Calls for Prayers for Trump, Praises UN Speech