Speaker 1 (00:00):
Mr. President.
President Trump (01:07):
Thank you very much. So we had a very busy weekend. We got the six hostages out of Venezuela, as you probably know. And they're very safe right now. They're home with their families and we appreciate the hard work of a lot of people, including Rick Grenell. We appreciate the cooperation from Venezuela and we have some very happy people right now. Nobody thought that was going to happen. So they are home, they're safe, and they're with their families. That was a big one.
(01:40)
Secretary of State Rubio is in Panama right now and we're talking about the Panama Canal. What they've done is terrible. They violated the agreement. They're not allowed to violate the agreement. China's running the Panama Canal. That was not given to China, that was given to Panama, foolishly, but they violated the agreement and we're going to take it back, or something very powerful is going to happen. And as far as other things are concerned, as you know, we had a very busy weekend. We're dealing with Israel, we're dealing with Ukraine and Russia. We have meetings and talks scheduled with various parties, including Ukraine and Russia. And I think those discussions are actually going pretty well. The discussions on the Middle East with Israel and various, and sundry other countries are progressing. Bibi Netanyahu is coming on Tuesday and I think we have some very big meetings scheduled.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
Do you feel that Elon Musk is delivering on his promises to you? Do you feel he's doing a good job right now with DOGE?
President Trump (02:48):
I do. I think Elon is doing a good job. He's a big cost cutter. Sometimes we won't agree with it and we'll not go where he wants to go, but I think he's doing a great job. He's a smart guy, very smart. And he's very much into cutting the budget of our federal government.
Speaker 4 (03:06):
Mr. President. Mr. President.
Speaker 5 (03:07):
Mr. President, can you talk of the retaliatory tariff from Canada.
President Trump (03:11):
Say it.
Speaker 5 (03:11):
There's also retaliatory tariffs from Canada. [inaudible 00:03:14] order, are you [inaudible 00:03:17] tariff against Canada?
President Trump (03:19):
Well, it could happen. If they do anything, we will. Canada's been very abusive of the United States for many years. They don't allow our banks and you know that Canada does not allow banks to go in. If you think about it, that's pretty amazing. If we have a US bank, they don't allow them to go in. Canada's been very tough on oil, on energy. They don't allow our farm products in essentially. They don't allow a lot of things in and we allow everything to come in. It's been a one-way street.
(03:48)
We subsidize Canada by the tune of about $200 billion a year. And for what? What do we get out of it? We don't get anything out of it. I love the people of Canada. I disagree with the leadership of Canada and something's going to happen there. But if they want to play the game, I don't mind. We can play the game all they want. Mexico, we've had very good talks with them. And this is retaliatory. This is retaliatory to a certain extent. Millions of people float into our country through Mexico and Canada, and we're not going to allow that. And by the way, we have among the lowest numbers we've ever had of people crossing our border, the lowest numbers since my administration.
Speaker 4 (04:33):
Mr. President. So on Truth Social, you said that you were going to cut aid from South Africa. Will you plan to cut aid across other African nations and why South Africa?
President Trump (04:42):
No, it's only South Africa. Terrible things are happening in South Africa. The leadership is doing some terrible things. Horrible things. So that's under investigation right now. We'll make a determination and until such time as we find out what South Africa is doing, they're taking away land, they're confiscating land and actually they're doing things that are perhaps far worse than that.
Speaker 4 (05:08):
And on the Fed, Fed chair Jerome Powell, he held rates. What's your reaction to him not changing the rates?
President Trump (05:16):
What did you say?
Speaker 4 (05:17):
Fed chair Jerome Powell, the Fed meeting was this weak, he held the rates. He didn't cut them-
President Trump (05:22):
No, I'm not surprised. I think holding the rates at this point was the right thing to do.
Speaker 6 (05:26):
Mr. President, which country will be next on Paris, would you consider taxing the UK for example?
President Trump (05:33):
Well, we're going to see what happens. It'll happen, but we're going to… Might, we'll see how things work out. It might happen with them, but it will definitely happen with the European Union. I can tell you that, because they've really taken advantage of us. I said we have over a $300 billion deficit. They don't take our cars, they don't take our farm products. They take almost nothing and we take everything from them. Millions of cars, tremendous amounts of food and farm products. So the UK is way out of line and we'll see the UK, but European Union is really out of line. UK is out of line, but I'm sure that one, I think that one can be worked out. But the European Union, it's an atrocity what they've done.
Speaker 6 (06:23):
Prime Minister Starmer wants a closer relationship with the EU.
President Trump (06:26):
Well, Prime Minister Starmer has been very nice. We've had a couple of meetings, we've had numerous phone calls. We're getting along very well. We'll see whether or not we can balance out our budget. With the European Union, it's a $350 billion deficit. So obviously something's going to take place there.
Speaker 6 (06:45):
[inaudible 00:06:45] what's the timeline?
President Trump (06:50):
Where?
Speaker 6 (06:50):
[inaudible 00:06:52]
President Trump (06:53):
With who, with who?
Speaker 6 (06:54):
EU. How much?
President Trump (06:58):
I wouldn't say there's a timeline, but it's going to be pretty soon.
Speaker 6 (07:00):
[inaudible 00:07:04].
President Trump (07:06):
No, no. I'm not concerned. We may have short-term, a little pain and people understand that, but long term, the United States has been ripped off by virtually every country in the world. We have deficits with almost every country. Not every country, but almost. And we're going to change it. It's been unfair. That's why we owe $36 trillion. We have deficits with everybody. We help everybody. We've been helping everybody for years. And to be honest, I don't think they appreciate it. So we're going to change that. We're going to change it fast. We're going to make America great again. We have to focus on our country. We have tremendous potential if properly used, and we have to focus on our country. Tremendous deficits with China, tremendous deficits with the European Union. Tremendous deficits with Mexico and Canada. And why? What's the purpose of that? Why would we have deficits? And yet, if you look at pharmaceuticals and drugs, if you look at various products, it's much cheaper in other countries. We're not going to allow that much longer. We're not going to take it.
Speaker 7 (08:16):
[inaudible 00:08:16] any idea of what's going on there?
President Trump (08:18):
Well, it's been run by a bunch of radical lunatics and we're getting them out. USAID, run by radical lunatics, and we are getting them out and then we'll make a decision.
Speaker 8 (08:35):
Mr. President, have spoken with anyone from Canada or from Mexico this week?
President Trump (08:36):
I've spoken with people from Canada. I've spoken with people from Mexico and I've spoken to a lot of other people too.
Speaker 8 (08:42):
Prime Minister Trudeau?
President Trump (08:46):
I'm speaking with Prime Minister Trudeau tomorrow morning, and I'm also speaking with Mexico tomorrow morning, and I don't expect anything very dramatic. We put tariffs on, they owe us a lot of money and I'm sure they're going to pay.
Speaker 9 (09:02):
Panama, sir, will you send troops to take the Canal of Panama?
President Trump (09:02):
About what?
Speaker 9 (09:13):
The Canal of Panama, will you send US troops to?
President Trump (09:13):
I don't think troops will be necessary in Panama. What Panama has done is terrible for national security for this part of the world. And 70% of the signage on the Panama Canal was written in Chinese. That's not right. It wasn't meant for China. It should have never been made. The deal was a ridiculous deal. We lost 38,000 people building the Panama Canal. One of the great wonders of the world. 38, think of it, 38. It was the most expensive project ever built by this country, if you take it forward, the most expensive project ever built. We lost 38,000. And what happens? China owns it all of a sudden? It's not going to happen. We're not going to let that happen. We have national security concerns and they wouldn't let it happen either.
Speaker 10 (10:01):
Mr. President, what does Canada and Mexico need to do for you to lift the tarrifs? What are specific things you want?
President Trump (10:12):
They'd have to balance out their trade, number one. They've got to stop people from pouring into our country. And we've stopped it. They haven't stopped it, we've stopped it. They have to stop people from pouring it. And we have to stop Fentanyl, and that includes China. Fentanyl has killed, this year, at least 200,000 people. It's pouring in from China through Mexico and Canada, and they've got to stop it. And if they don't stop it, the tariffs are going to get worse. A lot worse.
Speaker 4 (10:40):
Mr. President, enforce the border…