Donald Trump (00:00):
Hello.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello.
Donald Trump (00:02):
Hello, everybody. So you just saw this, this just came out and I'd say that's quite good, right? By any standard, that's quite good. We shouldn't leave USA, is anybody here from USA Today?
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Yesterday, we did.
Donald Trump (00:21):
Yesterday? Does everybody know Steven Cheung? He's a sweetheart. You wouldn't want to get in a fight with him, right? Anyway, what's up?
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Mr. President, TikTok deal, any developments?
Donald Trump (00:33):
No. There's a lot of people interested in TikTok and I think we have a chance of doing something good, and we'll be speaking to China about that also because they are a party to it obviously. But it would be great to keep TikTok alive, sell it to somebody that's going to do a great job with it.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Did you see the CEO today at the event, sir?
Donald Trump (00:51):
Did I what?
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Did you see the CEO today at the event?
Donald Trump (00:53):
No, I didn't. I didn't speak to him. Was he there?
Speaker 2 (00:55):
He was supposed to be there.
Donald Trump (00:56):
I think so, yeah, but I did not see him.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
Sir, Elon Musk is proposing potentially giving money to Americans based on what DOGE is finding. Do you have any thoughts on that?
Donald Trump (01:06):
I love it, a 20% dividend, so to speak, for the money that we're saving by going after the waste and fraud and abuse and all of the other things that are happening. I think it's a great idea.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
How much money do you think-
Donald Trump (01:20):
Could be a lot. I mean if it's 20%, we'd give back a lot of money to the taxpayer. And also would give an incentive for the taxpayer to go out and report things to us where we can save money.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
You signed an immigration-related executive order today. What do you think of ICE arrests right now? Do you think that they need to increase the number of people they're arresting-
Donald Trump (01:42):
Where?
Speaker 4 (01:43):
The pace of the ICE?
Donald Trump (01:45):
No, I think they're doing a great job. You have people that are hiding, we have professionals that are hiding. That's what they've done for a big part of their lives and they're criminals in many cases, very serious criminals including murderers. And obviously they're not easy to capture, but they're being captured in record numbers and they're being brought out of our country, being brought back to where they came from.
Speaker 5 (02:07):
Mr. President, on Boeing, you mentioned maybe taking a different route. What would a different route contain?
Donald Trump (02:12):
On what?
Speaker 5 (02:13):
On Boeing, on with the Air Force One plane.
Donald Trump (02:16):
No, I'm not happy with Boeing. It takes them a long time to do… Air Force One, we gave that contract out a long time ago. It was a fixed-price contract and I'm not happy with the fact that it's taken so long and we may do something else. We may go buy a plane or get a plane or something, but I'm not happy with the fact that it's taken Boeing so long. There's no excuse for it. They had a fixed-price contract. I made that deal and now supposedly they're losing a lot of money and they'd like to see if they can up the price, but I make fixed-price deals. I don't like timing and material deals.
Speaker 5 (02:51):
Sir, the only other commercial aircraft maker that could make a plane that big is Airbus. Would you consider buying from-
Donald Trump (02:58):
No, I would not consider Airbus over Boeing, no, but I could buy one that was used and convert it. I could buy one from another country perhaps, or get one from another country. So we're looking at other alternatives because it's taken Boeing too long. They were supposed to be finished years ago, years ago. Don't forget, I signed that contract during my term, it was a very good contract and I took like a billion-six off the price and it was supposed to be done quickly and it's a long time.
Speaker 5 (03:35):
Would you wish for your preferred color scheme for Air Force One?
Donald Trump (03:37):
Oh, no. It's going to be that color, yeah, no matter what, it's going to be for that color.
Speaker 6 (03:41):
Sir, on Gaza, do you find the Egyptian proposal to re-develop Gaza acceptable?
Donald Trump (03:45):
I haven't seen it. I haven't seen it. When I see it, I'll let you know.
Speaker 7 (03:51):
Sir, about Ukraine, you said today that you had a deal on critical minerals and Ukraine broke it.
Donald Trump (03:57):
Yeah, we had a deal where we were going to get… Look, you have to understand. Europe is being paid back the money that they put up and they're only putting up a fraction of what we're putting up. I think they're in for a $100 billion and we're in for $350 billion. There's no reason that should have happened. It's Biden's fault. He shouldn't have allowed that to happen. But on top of it all, they're getting their $100 billion back and we are not. And I've been talking about this for two years. I said you have to loan them the money so that if things work out, they're going to pay you back. And they didn't do that. So Biden didn't do it. It's his fault. Nobody's ever seen anything so stupid. So Europe gets their money back and they're only in for a small fraction. And obviously, everything's important, but it's more important for them because they're right next to Russia. So it's more important that we have an ocean in between us. So it's obviously more important than the European countries than it is to the US.
(04:54)
But here's the thing, we don't get our money back and we told them that the deal is we'll do something for the rare earth and some oil, et cetera, et cetera, and that'll be all right and they agreed to it more or less. And then Scott Bessent actually went there and was treated rather rudely because essentially they told him no and Zelensky was sleeping and unavailable to meet him. He traveled many hours on the train, which is a dangerous trip. And we're talking about the Secretary of the Treasury. He went there to get a document signed and when he got there, he came back empty. They wouldn't sign the document. But for Europe, they pay back their money. It's a loan. Think of that. And we should add a loan too, but we had an administration that was incompetent.
Speaker 7 (05:43):
Can you resurrect that deal? Is there anything that you can do?
Donald Trump (05:46):
Yeah, I think I'm going to resurrect it. We'll see what happens, but I'm going to resurrect it or things are not going to make him too happy. And look, it's time for elections. I haven't had an election in a long time. It's wonderful to say we can't have an election, but it's time for elections and it's also time to find out what happened with all the money because he made the statement that half of it, he doesn't know where it is or something like that. And I'd like to find out all the money that we've been sending to Ukraine, where is it? And I can tell you we're doing very well with Russia. We're going to do something with Russia that he was unable to do. We can make a deal with Russia to stop the killing of potentially additional millions of people.
(06:31)
The soldiers are being just wiped out on both sides, wiped out, it's so horrible. The weaponry today is so powerful, so strong that it's killing a lot of soldiers. And I don't want see… They are Russian and they are Ukrainian. I don't want to see those soldiers killed. They have mothers and fathers, they have sisters and brothers. I don't want to see them killed.
Speaker 7 (06:54):
Mr. President when he's here, has he mentioned lumber? That's something that I believe you've heard before.
Donald Trump (06:58):
Lumber, yeah, forest products, yeah.
Speaker 7 (07:01):
And do you have a rate in mind for that?
Donald Trump (07:03):
No, but we're thinking about maybe 25%.
Speaker 7 (07:05):
And would that also be April 2nd, before April 2nd?
Donald Trump (07:05):
In that vicinity yeah, a little bit later.
Speaker 7 (07:06):
And also, which car companies, you said that you spoke with some car companies.
Donald Trump (07:15):
I spoke to all car companies. Everybody's coming back into America.
Speaker 7 (07:19):
So these are foreign car companies.
Donald Trump (07:22):
Including foreign companies, yeah, they're going to be coming in 'cause they don't want to pay the tariffs.
Speaker 8 (07:26):
Sir, you said you'll be having lunch with some Democrats next week.
Donald Trump (07:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (07:29):
Can you elaborate on who that is and what y'all-
Donald Trump (07:31):
Well, you'll see when I do it. But some good ones, some biggies.
Speaker 8 (07:38):
Are you concerned about congressional funding?
Donald Trump (07:41):
No, I'm just… I think we're going to just talk. I think it would be great if Republicans and Democrats can get along. It's time, it's time. Makes sense.
Speaker 9 (07:50):
Sir, would you say you trust the Russians to negotiate in good faith going forward? Do you trust them?
Donald Trump (07:55):
I do. I think the Russians want to see the war end, and I do, I really do. But I think they have the cards a little bit because know they're, they've taken a lot of territory, so they have the cards.
Speaker 10 (08:09):
Mr. President, have you set a date for the British Prime Minister's visit to Washington?
Donald Trump (08:12):
No, he'll be coming soon though. He's asked to come and see me.
Speaker 10 (08:14):
What about Macron?
Donald Trump (08:17):
And President of France also, Macron will be coming.
Speaker 10 (08:19):
[inaudible 00:08:20].
Donald Trump (08:20):
Very soon, maybe Monday.
Speaker 11 (08:23):
Mr. President, on congestion pricing, they're going to be, it's supposed to have raised about $15 billion to help the MTA. Do you have an alternative way to fund the MTA system now that they're working-
Donald Trump (08:40):
No, that's up to New York, they have to do that. Look, New York's treated a lot of people very badly and it's hard to feel sorry for what's happened in New York. It's sad to see the way they've treated people and they continue to do do it and look at what's going on with the mayor. Look at what's going on with so many other things. So congestion pricing is not a good situation. They're treating the people of New York very badly. That's a… Supposing you worked in a shoe shop or you worked in a restaurant as a waiter and you have to come into Manhattan and they're taking many, many dollars out of your pocket. You can't afford to do it. And pricing, if you take a look, traffic will go down because people aren't going to come. If people don't come, that means the whole place is, it's going to be a disaster. So it could be, and it's probably going to show that, traffic will come down, but that means they're not going to spend their money in New York, they'll go someplace else.
Speaker 11 (09:37):
Sir, are you prepared to go to court and lawsuits ensue?
Donald Trump (09:41):
Well, we'll see what happens. You could give me the final 'cause I haven't seen it as of late today 'cause I was making a speech. Did I make a good speech? Yes. Okay, go ahead. What else?
Speaker 11 (09:52):
Can I ask you about the Chinese, Sir? Eventually you would like to meet with President Xi.
Donald Trump (09:58):
Yeah. I have a very good relationship with President Xi, I think a great relationship with President Xi. But remember, he loves China and I love the USA. So you know, right there, there's a little bit of competitiveness. But the relationship I have with President Xi is, I would say, a great one.
Speaker 11 (10:17):
We heard that-
Donald Trump (10:17):
It was obviously hurt by COVID coming in. It hurt them, hurt us, hurt everybody, hurt the whole world. But outside of that, I have a very, very good relationship with President Xi.
Speaker 11 (10:30):
Are you looking to make a-
Donald Trump (10:33):
I think he's a very unique person.
Speaker 11 (10:35):
Would you make a new trade deal with China? I mean, you know that-
Donald Trump (10:39):
It's possible.
Speaker 11 (10:40):
… One trade deal never really got-
Donald Trump (10:41):
It's possible. Well, we did a great trade deal with China. We did it, great for the farmers, great for manufacturers. They had to buy $50 billion worth of our product and we were making them buy it. The problem is that Biden didn't push them to adhere to it.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
Sir, do you think DC should govern itself or do you think that governing of District of Columbia should go back to Congress?
Donald Trump (11:03):
I think that we should govern District of Columbia. It's so important, the DC situation. I think that we should run it strong, run it with law and order, make it absolutely flawlessly beautiful. And I think we should take over Washington, DC, make it safe. People are getting killed, people are being hurt. We have a great police department there, but somehow they're not utilized properly. We should govern DC. I think the federal government should take over the governance of DC and run it really, really properly. And I like the mayor. I get along great with the mayor, but they're not doing the job. Too much crime, too much graffiti, too many tents on the lawns. There's magnificent lawns and there's tents. It's a sad thing, homeless people all over the place and we got to take care of the homeless. But you can't have that in Washington, DC.
(11:58)
When they come over to see me, like Macron is coming and the Prime Minister of UK is coming and all these people are coming over to see me, we'll have ultimately President Xi and we'll have everybody coming and you can't let that be. You just can't let that happen. You can't have tents all over your beautiful, your once magnificent plazas and lawns and all, you just can't do it.
Steven Cheung (12:23):
We'll do a couple more.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Sir, do you think you can still pay for extending your tax cuts without cutting both Medicaid and Medicare?
Donald Trump (12:31):
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
House of Republicans are planning to make cuts to-
Donald Trump (12:34):
Well, I think we're going to take in tremendous tariff money, number one. And number two, you take a look at DOGE and you see what's happening, we're saving billions of dollars.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
On DOGE, do you know what they're looking at specifically at the Department of Defense right now?
Donald Trump (12:47):
Yeah, they're looking at everything.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
You know they're going to cut more national security?
Donald Trump (12:50):
We're going to go into Fort Knox to make sure the gold is there.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
Are they going to cut-
Donald Trump (12:53):
You know that, we're going to go into Fort Knox. Do you know about that?
Speaker 1 (12:58):
Sir-
Donald Trump (12:58):
That was a bad bump.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
… are they going to eliminate more national security positions, civilians there [inaudible 00:13:05]?
Donald Trump (13:04):
We'll see what happens. One of the things we do want to look, I mean we hope everything's fine with Fort Knox, but we're going to go to Fort Knox, the fabled Fort Knox, and make sure the gold is there.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Where would the gold-
Speaker 12 (13:16):
Mr. President you haven't brought up-
Donald Trump (13:17):
If the gold isn't there, we're going to be very upset.
Speaker 12 (13:22):
… You haven't brought up Greenland in a while. Are you saying-
Donald Trump (13:22):
No, no, very, we need Greenland from the standpoint of national security and international security. We have to do something with Greenland. We have to protect Greenland, but we need it for national security and we need it maybe more importantly for international security.
Steven Cheung (13:39):
All right, we'll just do one more, one more.
Speaker 12 (13:39):
Can I just follow up? Are you seeing it as part of any of the discussions you're having with Europeans and Putin in some sort of phased deal?
Donald Trump (13:45):
No, no, we have to have Greenland because of the national security picture, even more so now than it would've been 20 years ago…