The day after midterm elections, Trump took a victory lap at a raucous news conference. Here’s what he said.<\/b>
\nWASHINGTON \u2014 Suddenly facing life under divided government, President Donald Trump and congressional leaders talked bipartisanship Wednesday but then bluntly previewed the fault lines to come. Trump threatened to go after House Democrats who try to investigate him, while Rep. Nancy Pelosi said her party would be \u201ca check and balance\u201d against the White House.
The day after midterm elections reset Washington, Trump took a victory lap at a raucous news conference, celebrating Republican Senate wins but distancing himself from the GOP\u2019s loss of the House. He said he was interested in working with House Democrats but was ready to respond if he felt he was being ill-treated.
November 7,2018
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP
IN PRESS CONFERENCE AFTER MIDTERM ELECTIONS
East Room
11:57 A. M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you very much. Please, thank you.
It was a big day yesterday. An incredible day. And last night, the Republican Party defied history to expand our Senate Majority while significantly beating expectations in the House for the midtown and midterm year. We did this in spite of a very dramatic fundraising disadvantage driven by Democrats\u2019 wealthy donors and special interests, and very hostile media coverage, to put it mildly. The media coverage set a new record and a new standard.
We also had a staggering number of House retirements. So it\u2019s a little tough. These are seats that could\u2019ve been held pretty easily, and we had newcomers going in, and a lot of them worked very hard. But it\u2019s very difficult when you have that many retirements.
We held a large number of campaign rallies with large, large numbers of people going to every one \u2014 and to the best of my knowledge, we didn\u2019t have a vacant or an empty seat; I\u2019m sure you would have reported it if you spotted one \u2014 including 30 rallies in the last 60 days. And we saw the candidates that I supported achieve great success last night.
As an example, of the 11 candidates we campaigned with during the last week, 9 won last night. This vigorous campaigning stopped the blue wave that they talked about. I don\u2019t know if there ever was such a thing, but could\u2019ve been. If we didn\u2019t do the campaign, probably there could\u2019ve been. And the history really will see what a good job we did in the final couple of weeks in terms of getting some tremendous people over the finish line. They really are tremendous people, but many of them were not known. But they will be known.
This election marks the largest Senate gains for a President\u2019s party in a first midterm election since at least President Kennedy\u2019s in 1962.
There have been only four midterm elections since 1934 in which a President\u2019s party has gained even a single Senate seat. As of now, we picked up, it looks like, three. Could be four. Perhaps it could be two. But we picked up a lot. And most likely, that number will be three. You people probably know that better than I do at this point, because you\u2019ve looked at the more recent numbers.
Fifty-five is the largest number of Republican senators in the last 100 years. In the last 80 years, a sitting President\u2019s party has only gained a cumulative total of eight Senate seats, averaging one per decade. So, if we picked up two, three, or four, that\u2019s a big percentage of that number. So in the last 80 years \u2014 you think of that \u2014 only eight seats.
In President Obama\u2019s first midterm election, he lost six Senate seats, including in the deep-blue state of Massachusetts.
Republicans captured at least four Senate seats held by Democrat incumbents. And these are tremendously talented, hardworking people that did this \u2014 Indiana, North Dakota, Florida, Missouri. We also won two open Senate seats in Tennessee \u2014 I want to congratulate our great champion who did such a great job in Tennessee, Marsha \u2014 and in Utah. And Arizona is looking very good. Really, very good. She\u2019s done a terrific job. That was a tough race, and she\u2019s done a fantastic job.
\u2022 Trump blasts Roskam, other losing House Republicans, for not embracing him
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In each of these open seats, Democrats recruited very strong candidates with substantial fundraising and media support. We were getting bombarded with money on the other side.
In the House, Republicans dramatically outperformed historical precedents and overcame a historic number of retirements \u2014 the most House Republican retirements in 88 years; 43 House Republicans retired.
Now, I will say this \u2014 that, in many cases, they were chairman of committees, and they left because they weren\u2019t chairman, because the Republicans have a rule \u2014 for six years. And what that does is wonderful in one way; it lets people come through the system and become chairman. And, in another way, it drives people out. Because when they\u2019re a chairman, they don\u2019t want to go and not be a chairman. You\u2019re the chairman of a committee, and you\u2019re a big deal, and then all of a sudden you\u2019re not doing that anymore. So they leave. We had a lot of them leave. I guess you can flip a coin as to which system is better. The Democrats do the other. Some of their folks have been in these committees for a long time as chairman.
In 2010, President Obama\u2019s first midterm, he lost 63 seats. By contrast, as of the most current count, it looks like around 27 House seats or something. And we\u2019ll figure that out pretty soon.
We also had a slew of historic wins in the governors\u2019 races \u2014 the governors\u2019 races were incredible \u2014 against very well-funded, talented, and skilled Democrat candidates and people that worked very, very hard, respectfully, for those candidates, like Oprah Winfrey, who I like. I don\u2019t know if she likes me anymore, but that\u2019s okay. She used to. But she worked very hard in Georgia. Very, very hard.
And if you look at them, we won four governors\u2019 races crucial to 2020 and the presidential race: Florida, Iowa, Ohio, and Georgia. The big ones: Florida, Iowa, Ohio, and Georgia. Can\u2019t get much more important than that. They were incredible. They were actually incredible campaigns, too. Incredible.
As of right now, Republicans will control the majority of governorships across the country, including three great women who worked very hard: the governors of Alabama, South Dakota, and Iowa. They worked very, very hard. They\u2019re very talented.
By expanding our Senate majority, the voters have also clearly rebuked the Senate Democrats for their handling of the Kavanaugh hearings. That was a factor. I think maybe a very big factor. The way that was handled, I think, was \u2014 tremendous energy was given to the Republican Party by the way they treated then-Judge Kavanaugh, now Justice Kavanaugh. And expressed their support for confirming more great pro-Constitution judges.
Candidates who embraced our message of low taxes, low regulations, low crime, strong borders, and great judges excelled last night. They excelled. They really \u2014 I mean, we have a list of people that were fantastic, and I\u2019m just going to point them out: Mike Bost; Rodney Davis; Andy Barr was fantastic. I went to Kentucky \u2014 for the most part, I didn\u2019t campaign for the House, but I did actually make a special trip for Andy Barr because he was in a very tough race in Kentucky, and he won. That was a very tough race. The polls were all showing that he was down, and down substantially. And he won. And that one, I did do.
Pete Stauber, of Minnesota. Great guy. He\u2019s new and ran a fantastic race.
On the other hand, you had some that decided to \u201clet\u2019s stay away.\u201d \u201cLet\u2019s stay away.\u201d They did very poorly. I\u2019m not sure that I should be happy or sad, but I feel just fine about it.
Carlos Curbelo; Mike Coffman \u2014 too bad, Mike; Mia Love. I saw Mia Love. She\u2019d call me all the time to help her with a hostage situation. Being held hostage in Venezuela. But Mia Love gave me no love, and she lost. Too bad. Sorry about that, Mia.
And Barbara Comstock was another one. I mean, I think she could have run that race, but she didn\u2019t want to have any embrace. For that, I don\u2019t blame her. But she \u2014 she lost. Substantially lost.
Peter Roskam didn\u2019t want the embrace. Erik Paulsen didn\u2019t want the embrace. And in New Jersey, I think he could have done well, but didn\u2019t work out too good.
Bob Hugin, I feel badly because I think that\u2019s something that could have been won. That\u2019s a race that could have been won. That\u2019s a race that could have been won. John Faso.
Those are some of the people that, you know, decided for their own reason not to embrace, whether it\u2019s me or what we stand for. But what we stand for meant a lot to most people. And we\u2019ve had tremendous support, and tremendous support in the Republican Party. Among the biggest support in the history of the party. I\u2019ve actually heard, at 93 percent, it\u2019s a record. But I won\u2019t say that, because who knows. But we\u2019ve had tremendous support.
America is booming like never before. Doing fantastic. We have Larry Kudlow here, and he said the numbers are as good as he\u2019s ever seen \u2014 numbers \u2014 at any time for our country. But he\u2019s a young man, so he hasn\u2019t seen that many numbers. (Laughter.) Where\u2019s Larry? You\u2019re a young man. Right, Larry? And you haven\u2019t been doing this too long, but they\u2019re as good as you\u2019ve ever seen. And we may have \u2014 if you have a question for Larry, we\u2019ll do that.
But I want to send my warmest appreciation in regards to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. We really worked very well together. We have been working very well together. We actually have a great relationship. People just don\u2019t understand that, which is fine.
And also to, perhaps \u2014 it looks like, I would think \u2014 Speaker Nancy Pelosi. And I give her a lot of credit. She works very hard, and she\u2019s worked long and hard. I give her a great deal of credit for what she\u2019s done and what she\u2019s accomplished.
Hopefully, we can all work together next year to continue delivering for the American people, including on economic growth, infrastructure, trade, lowering the cost of prescription drugs. These are some of things that the Democrats do want to work on, and I really believe we\u2019ll be able to do that. I think we\u2019re going to have a lot of reason to do it.
And I will say, just as a matter of business, I was with some very successful people last night. We were watching the returns. So if the Republicans won \u2014 and let\u2019s say we held on by two, or one, or three \u2014 it would\u2019ve been very hard out of that many Republicans to ever even get support among Republicans, because there will always be one, or two, or three people that, for a good reason or for a bad reason, or for grandstanding \u2014 we have that too; you\u2019ve seen that. You\u2019ve seen that. Plenty of grandstanding. But for certain reasons that many people \u2014 you\u2019re always going to have a couple that won\u2019t do it. So that puts us in a very bad position.
President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the East Room at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 7,2018.| AP Photo\/Manuel Balce Ceneta
In other words, had we kept it, and this is no \u2014 I\u2019m saying this for very basic reasons, common sense \u2014 it puts us in a very tough position. We win by one, or two, or three, and you\u2019ll have one, or two, or three, or four or five even, come over and say, you know, \u201cLook, we\u2019re not going to along with this. We want this, this\u2026\u201d And all of a sudden, we can\u2019t even \u2014 we wouldn\u2019t even be able to get, in many cases, out of the Republicans\u2019 hands before we sent it on to the Senate.
And now we have a much easier path, because the Democrats will come to us with a plan for infrastructure, a plan for healthcare, a plan for whatever they are looking at, and we\u2019ll negotiate. And as you know, it\u2019s been very hard in the Senate because we need, essentially, 10 votes from Democrats, and we don\u2019t get those votes. Because the Democrats do really stick together well. I don\u2019t agree with them on a lot of policy, but I agree with them on sticking together. They stick together great.
So now we go into the Senate. We don\u2019t have the 10 votes. And what happens? It doesn\u2019t get passed. Even if it gets out of the House, it doesn\u2019t get passed. So under the new concept of what we\u2019re doing, I say, \u201cCome on. Let me see what you have.\u201d They want to do things. You know, I keep hearing about investigations fatigue. Like from the time \u2014 almost from the time I announced I was going to run, they\u2019ve been giving us this investigation fatigue. It\u2019s been a long time. They got nothing. Zero. You know why? Because there is nothing.
But they can play that game, but we can play it better. Because we have a thing called the United States Senate. And a lot of very questionable things were done between leaks of classified information, and many other elements that should not have taken place. And all you\u2019re going to do is end up in back and forth, and back and forth. And two years is going to go up, and we won\u2019t have done a thing.
I really think, and I really respected what Nancy said last night about bipartisanship and getting together and uniting. She used the word \u201cuniting\u201d and she used the word the bipartisanship statement, which is so important because that\u2019s what we should be doing. So we can look at us, they can look at us, and we can look at them, and it\u2019ll go back and forth. And it\u2019ll probably be very good for me politically. I could see it being extremely good politically, because I think I\u2019m better at that game than they are, actually.
But we\u2019ll find out. I mean, you know, we\u2019ll find out. Or we can work together. You can\u2019t do them simultaneously, by the way. Just think if somebody said, \u201cOh, you can do them both.\u201d No, you can\u2019t. Because if they\u2019re doing that, we\u2019re not doing the other, just so you understand. So we won\u2019t be doing that.
But now what happens is we send it to the Senate, and we\u2019ll get 100 percent Democrat support, and we\u2019ll get some Republican support. And if it\u2019s good, I really believe we have Republicans that will help with the approval process \u2014 and they will really help with the approval process.
So it really could be a beautiful bipartisan type of situation. If we won by one or two or three, or four or five, that wouldn\u2019t happen. And the closer it is, the worse it is. This way, they\u2019ll come to me, we\u2019ll negotiate. Maybe we\u2019ll make a deal, maybe we won\u2019t. That\u2019s possible. But we have a lot of things in common on infrastructure.
We want to do something on healthcare; they want to do something on healthcare. There are a lot of great things that we can do together. And now we\u2019ll send it up and we will really get \u2014 we\u2019ll get the Democrats and we\u2019ll get the Republicans, or some of the Republicans. And I\u2019ll make sure that we send something up that the Republicans can support, and they\u2019re going to want to make sure they send something up that the Democrats can support.
So our great country is booming like never before, and we\u2019re thriving on every single level, both in terms of economic and military strength; in terms of development. In terms of GDP, we\u2019re doing unbelievably.
I will tell you, our trade deals are coming along fantastically. The USMCA and South Korea is finished. USMCA has gotten rave reviews. Not going to lose companies anymore to other countries. They\u2019re not going to do that because they have a tremendous economic incentive, meaning it\u2019s prohibitive for them to do that.
So it\u2019s not going to be like NAFTA, which is one of the worst deals I\u2019ve ever seen \u2014 although we\u2019ve made some other pretty bad ones too.
Now is the time for members of both parties to join together, put partisanship aside, and keep the American economic miracle going strong. It is a miracle. We\u2019re doing so well. And I\u2019ve said it at a lot of rallies. Some of you have probably heard it so much you don\u2019t want to hear it again. But when people come to my office \u2014 presidents, prime ministers \u2014 they all congratulate me, almost the first thing, on what we\u2019ve done economically. Because it is really amazing.
And our steel industry is back. Our aluminum industry is starting to do really well. These are industries that were dead. Our miners are working again.
We must all work together to protect our military \u2014 I have to do that \u2014 to support out law enforcement, secure our borders, and advance really great policy, including environmental policy. We want crystal-clean water. We want beautiful, perfect air. Air and water, it has to be perfect.
At the same time, we don\u2019t want to put ourselves at a disadvantage to other countries who are very competitive with us and who don\u2019t abide by the rules at all. We don\u2019t want to hurt our jobs. We don\u2019t want to hurt our factories. We don\u2019t want companies leaving. We want to be totally competitive, and we are.
And right now we have just about the cleanest air, the cleanest water we\u2019ve ever had, and it\u2019s always going to be that way. We insist on it. So environmental is very important to me.
And with that, I\u2019ll take a few questions if you\u2019d like. Woah. (Laughter.) I didn\u2019t know what happened.
All right, go ahead, John.
That was a lot of hands shooting up so quickly.
Q There\u2019s a lot to talk about.
THE PRESIDENT: There\u2019s a lot to talk about.
Q Mr. President, you talked at length just now about bipartisanship. The presumed Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, talked about it last night. I\u2019m sure that\u2019s encouraging for the American people. But do you really believe, given what the relationship has been like between this White House and the Democratic Party, that will happen? Will \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: I think there\u2019s a good chance, John. I think there\u2019s a very good chance that \u2014
Q If I could just finish \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: \u2014 it will happen.
Q Wil you have to compromise on certain issues to the point where it could hurt you in 2020? And do you expect that when the Democrats take over the chairmanship of all these important committees, you\u2019re going to get hit with a blizzard of subpoenas on everything from the Russia investigation \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Well, then everything is going to come \u2014 okay.
Q \u2014 to your cellphone use, to your tax returns?
THE PRESIDENT: Ready? Then you\u2019re going to \u2014 if that happens, then we\u2019re going to do the same thing and government comes to a halt. And I would blame them because they now are going to be coming up with policy. They\u2019re the majority in the House.
I expect that they will come up with some fantastic ideas that I can support on the environment, on so many different things, including prescription drug prices \u2014 which we\u2019ve made a big dent in already, including some of the things that we\u2019re working on for the vets. We\u2019ve gotten choice approved. We\u2019ve gotten a lot of things approved. But they have some other elements that we want.
There are many things we can get along on without a lot of trouble \u2014 that we agree very much with them and they agree with us. I would like to see bipartisanship. I would like to see unity. And I think we have a very good chance of \u2014 and maybe not on everything \u2014 but I think we have a very good chance of seeing that.
Go ahead.
Q One question on the lame duck, sir, and one on your Cabinet. You toyed with the idea during the campaign of a shutdown before the midterms in order to secure border wall funding. Are you prepared to go on a shutdown strategy during a lame duck, since this might be your last, best chance \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Not necessarily my last chance.
Q \u2014 to secure that?
THE PRESIDENT: Look, I speak to Democrats all the time. They agree that a wall is necessary. Wall is necessary. And as you know, we\u2019re building the wall. We\u2019ve started. But we should build it at one time, not in chunks.
Q But you want much more money, and you want it much sooner.
THE PRESIDENT: No, we need the money to build the wall \u2014 the whole wall \u2014 not pieces of it all over. And we are doing it.
Now we have the military. Now we have other elements of wall that are pretty nasty, to be honest with you. But it\u2019s \u2014 nevertheless, it\u2019s pretty hard to get through it.
But no, I\u2019d like to see the wall. Many of the people that we\u2019ll be dealing with, you know, in 2006, they approved the wall, essentially. It was a very strong border fence, but it was the same thing. And they all approved it; they all agreed. I have statements from every one of them. We have them saying, \u201cWe need the wall.\u201d I mean, they sound like me.
But we do need it because we have people coming \u2014 and I\u2019m not just talking about the caravans. We have people coming through our border that you physically can\u2019t put that many people. It\u2019s a 2,000-mile stretch. You can\u2019t put that many people along that stretch to guard it. And even if you did, tremendous fighting would ensue.
So we need the wall. Many Democrats know we need the wall. And we\u2019re just going to have to see what happens. I mean, we\u2019ll be fighting for it. They have done everything in their power to make sure we\u2019re \u2014 I got the military $700 billion and $716 billion. The wall is a tiny, tiny fraction of the cost of that. But their whole agenda has been to try not giving me anything for the wall.
I really believe, politically, they\u2019re hurting themselves. I actually think, politically, that\u2019s a good thing for me. But I want to get the wall up because we need it for security.
Q So no shutdown scenario for the mid \u2014 for the lame duck?
THE PRESIDENT: I don\u2019t know. I can\u2019t tell you that. No, I can\u2019t commit to that, but it\u2019s possible.
Q And can you give us clarity, sir, on your thinking currently now, after the midterms, about your Attorney General and your Deputy Attorney General? Do they have long-term job security?
THE PRESIDENT: I\u2019d rather answer that at a little bit different time. We\u2019re looking at a lot of different things, including Cabinet. I\u2019m very happy with most of my Cabinet. We\u2019re looking at different people for different positions. You know, it\u2019s very common after the midterms. I didn\u2019t want to do anything before the midterms.
But I will tell you that, for the most part, I\u2019m extremely happy with my Cabinet. I think Mike Pompeo has fit in so beautifully. He\u2019s done an incredible job as \u2014
Q How about your Interior Secretary?
THE PRESIDENT: We\u2019re looking at that, and I want \u2014 I do want to study whatever is being said. I think he\u2019s doing \u2014
Q Is he in jeopardy?
THE PRESIDENT: I think he\u2019s doing an excellent job, but we will take a look at that in a very strong \u2014 and we\u2019ll probably have an idea about that in about a week.
Q Thank you, Mr. President.
THE PRESIDENT: Okay? Thank you.
Wow, this is \u2014
Go ahead, Jon. He gave me a fair interview the other day, so I might as well ask him a question.
Q All right, thank you, Mr. President. And picking up there, you told me the other day that you are an \u201copen book.\u201d So \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: I think I am an open book.
Q So point blank, if Democrats go after your tax returns, will you try to block that or will you allow them to have it?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, look, as I have told you, they\u2019re under audit. They have been for a long time. They\u2019re extremely complex. People wouldn\u2019t understand them. They\u2019re done by among the biggest and best law firms in the country. Same thing with the accounting firms. The accountants are \u2014 a very, very larger, powerful firm, from the standpoint of respect. Highly respected. Big firm. A great law firm. You know it very well. They do these things; they put them in. But people don\u2019t understand tax returns.
Now, I did do a filing of over 100 pages, I believe, which is in the offices. And when people went and saw that filing and they saw the magnitude of it, they were very disappointed. And they saw the \u2014 you know, the detail. You\u2019d get far more from that. And I guess we filed that now three times. But you get far more from that than you could ever get from a tax return.
But when you\u2019re under audit \u2014 and I\u2019m on under very continuous audit because there are so many companies, and it is a very big company \u2014 far bigger than you would even understand. But it\u2019s a great company, but it\u2019s big and it\u2019s complex. And it\u2019s probably feet high. It\u2019s a very complex instrument.
And I think that people wouldn\u2019t understand it. But if I were finished with the audit, I would have an open mind to it. I would say that. But I don\u2019t want to do it during the audit. And, really, no lawyer \u2014 even from the other side, they say often \u2014 not always \u2014 but when you\u2019re under audit, you don\u2019t have \u2014 you don\u2019t subject it to that. You get it done, and then you release it.
So when that happens, if that happens, I would certainly have an open mind to it.
Q So that means that if the audit is still on, you will not turn over the tax returns, or you\u2019ll fight to block it?
THE PRESIDENT: When it\u2019s under audit \u2014 no, nobody would. Nobody turns over a return when it\u2019s under audit, okay?
Yeah, go ahead. Please.
Q One, I was tempted to ask you why you like Oprah so much, but I think I\u2019ll go on to the question that \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Why do I like Oprah?
Q (Laughs.)
THE PRESIDENT: What kind of a question is that?
Q I\u2019m just asking. Just curious. But the real question \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: He\u2019s a comedian here.
Q The real question is \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: I do like Oprah, by the way. I do. She was a person I knew well. Came to my place in Palm Beach often. And I have a lot of respect for her. Unfortunately, she didn\u2019t do the trick.
Q The real question is, you just said up here, and said from this podium, that it\u2019s \u2014 are you offering a my-way-or-highway scenario to the Democrats? You\u2019re saying \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: No. Negotiation. Not at all.
Q \u2014 that if \u2014 if they start investigating you, that you can play that game and investigate them.
THE PRESIDENT: Oh, yeah. Better than them.
Q Can you compartmentalize that \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: And I think I know more \u2014 and I think I know more than they know.
Q Can you compartmentalize that and still continue to work with them for the benefit of the rest of the country? Or are you \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: No.
Q Are all bets off?
THE PRESIDENT: No. If they do that, then it\u2019s just \u2014 all it is, is a warlike posture.
Yeah, go ahead.
Q And so then the \u2014 wait a minute, then the follow-up then \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: You heard my answer. Go ahead.
Q Well, since it\u2019s Jim, I\u2019ll let it go.
Q Okay. Thank you, Mr. President. I wanted to challenge you on one of the statements that you made in the tail end of the campaign in the midterms, that this \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Here we go.
Q Well, if you don\u2019t mind, Mr. President \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s go. Come on.
Q That this caravan was an \u201cinvasion.\u201d As you know, Mr. President \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: I consider it to be an invasion.
Q As you know, Mr. President, the caravan was not an invasion. It\u2019s a group of migrants moving up from Central America towards the border with the U. S.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you for telling me that. I appreciate it.
Q Why did you characterize it as such? And \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Because I consider it an invasion. You and I have a difference of opinion.
Q But do you think that you demonized immigrants in this election \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Not at all. No, not at all.
Q \u2014 to try to keep \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: I want them \u2014 I want them to come into the country, but they have to come in legally. You know, they have to come in, Jim, through a process. I want it to be a process.
And I want people to come in. And we need the people.
Q Right. But your campaign had \u2014 your campaign \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Wait. You know why we need the people, don\u2019t you? Because we have hundreds of companies moving in. We need the people.
Q Right. But your campaign had an ad showing migrants climbing over walls and so on.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, that\u2019s true. They weren\u2019t actors. They weren\u2019t actors.
Q They\u2019re not going to be doing that.
President Donald Trump in his free-wielding news conference in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Nov. 7,2018, in Washington.| AP Photo\/Evan Vucci
THE PRESIDENT: They weren\u2019t actors. Well, no, it was true. Do you think they were actors? They weren\u2019t actors. They didn\u2019t come from Hollywood. These were \u2014 these were people \u2014 this was an actual \u2014 you know, it happened a few days ago. And \u2014
Q They\u2019re hundreds of miles of way though. They\u2019re hundreds and hundreds of miles away.
THE PRESIDENT: You know what?
Q That\u2019s not an invasion.
THE PRESIDENT: I think you should \u2014 honestly, I think you should let me run the country, you run CNN \u2014
Q All right.
THE PRESIDENT: \u2014 and if you did it well, your ratings would be much better.
Q But let me ask, if I \u2014 if I may ask one other question \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Okay, that\u2019s enough.
Q Mr. President, if I may \u2014 if I may ask one other question.
THE PRESIDENT: Okay, Peter, go ahead.
Q Are you worried \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: That\u2019s enough. That\u2019s enough. That\u2019s enough.
Q Mr. President, I didn\u2019t \u2014 well, I was going to ask one other. The other folks that had \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: That\u2019s enough. That\u2019s enough.
Q Pardon me, ma\u2019am, I\u2019m \u2014 Mr. President \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Excuse me, that\u2019s enough.
Q Mr. President, I had one other question if \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Peter. Let\u2019s go.
Q \u2014 I may ask on the Russia investigation. Are you concerned that you may have indictments \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: I\u2019m not concerned about anything with the Russia investigation because it\u2019s a hoax.
Q \u2014 that you may indictments coming down? Are you \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: That\u2019s enough. Put down the mic.
Q Mr. President, are you worried about indictments coming down in this investigation?
Q Mr. President \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: I\u2019ll tell you what: CNN should be ashamed of itself having you working for them. You are a rude, terrible person. You shouldn\u2019t be working for CNN.
Go ahead.
Q I think that\u2019s unfair.
THE PRESIDENT: You\u2019re a very rude person. The way you treat Sarah Huckabee is horrible. And the way you treat other people are horrible. You shouldn\u2019t treat people that way.
Go ahead. Go ahead, Peter. Go ahead.
Q In Jim\u2019s defense, I\u2019ve traveled with him and watched him. He\u2019s a diligent reporter who busts his butt like the rest of us.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I\u2019m not a big fan of yours either. So, you know.
(Laughter.)
Q I understand.
THE PRESIDENT: To be honest with you.
Q So let me \u2014 so let me ask you a question if I can \u2014
Q (Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: You aren\u2019t \u2014 you aren\u2019t the best.
Q You repeatedly said \u2014 Mr. President, you repeatedly \u2014 over the course of the \u2014
Q (Off-mic.) (Inaudible) called the enemy of the people \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Okay, just sit down, please.
Q (Off-mic.) (Inaudible) campaign (inaudible) and sent pipe bombs. That\u2019s just (inaudible).
THE PRESIDENT: Well, when you report fake news \u2014
Q (Off-mic.) (Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: No. When you report fake news, which CNN does a lot, you are the enemy of the people.
Go ahead.
Q Mr. President, over the course \u2014 over the course of the last several days of the campaign, sir \u2014 sir, at the end of the campaign, you repeatedly said that Americans need to fear Democrats. You said Democrats would \u201cunleash a wave of violent crime that endangers families everywhere.\u201d Why are you pitting Americans \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Because they\u2019re very weak on crime.
Q \u2014 why are you pitting Americans against one another, sir?
THE PRESIDENT: Excuse me. Peter. Peter, what are you \u2014 trying to be him?
Q No, I\u2019m just asking a question.
THE PRESIDENT: Peter, just let me just \u2014 let me just tell you, very simple: Because they\u2019re very weak on crime. Because they have often suggested \u2014 members and people within the Democrat Party, at a high level, have suggested getting rid of ICE, getting rid of law enforcement. That\u2019s not going to happen, okay?
We want to be strong on the borders. We want to be strong on law enforcement. And I want to \u2014 I want to cherish ICE because ICE does a fantastic job. The \u2014 what they do for us is so \u2014 really, it\u2019s so unrecognized how good a job they do.
So we want to take care of them, and we want to hold them very close because they do a good job.
Q But the question, to be clear \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Okay, yeah, go ahead.
Q \u2014 to be clear, though, the question, sir, is, why are you \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Sit. Sit down, Peter.
Q \u2014 but the question \u2014 but you didn\u2019t answer my question. Just very simply, the question is, why are you pitting Americans against one another, sir?
THE PRESIDENT: I\u2019m not.
Q Is that how you view citizens of this country?
THE PRESIDENT: No, I\u2019m not. Well, look, I\u2019ll tell you what \u2014 we won a lot of elections last night. We did very well last night, and I think it\u2019s going to have \u2014
Q But in many ways, it divided the country.
THE PRESIDENT: \u2014 I think it\u2019s going to have a very positive impact. I watched NBC this morning; they didn\u2019t report it exactly correctly, but that\u2019s, you know, very, very \u2014 that\u2019s the fact with NBC. Nothing I can do about that.
But I want this country to have protection. We want security in our country. I want security, Peter. I mean, you maybe don\u2019t think it\u2019s so important. And I think when you don\u2019t have it, you are indeed unleashing crime. I feel that.
Go ahead. Go ahead.
Q You said you would sign an executive order on birthright citizenship. Are you still going to sign the executive order on birthright citizenship?
THE PRESIDENT: You will answer \u2014 you\u2019ll ask me that question a little bit later.
Go ahead.
Q Okay.
THE PRESIDENT: Go ahead. Sure.
Q Thank you, Mr. President. The investigation by the Special Counsel, Robert Mueller, has been going on since last spring. It\u2019s been over \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: It\u2019s been a long time.
Q Yeah, it\u2019s been over your head, over Republicans\u2019 head during the midterms as well. Is this an opportunity for you, Mr. President, to end that investigation? Would you consider removing Mr. Mueller from his position?
THE PRESIDENT: I could have ended it anytime I wanted. I didn\u2019t. And there was so collusion. There was no anything. I didn\u2019t.
They went after hackers in Moscow. I don\u2019t know about that. They went after people with tax problems, from years ago. They went after people with loans and other things. Had nothing to do with my campaign.
This is a investigation where many, many millions of dollars has been spent. And there\u2019s no collusion. It was supposed to be on collusion. There\u2019s no collusion. And I think it\u2019s \u2014 I think it\u2019s very bad for our country, I will tell you. I think it\u2019s a shame.
And a poll came out today \u2014 by the way, from NBC \u2014 or least I saw it on NBC \u2014 where a majority of the people do not agree with the Mueller investigation, or it wasn\u2019t approved. They have approval and disapproval, and it had a much higher disapproval.
It should end because it\u2019s very bad for our country. It\u2019s \u2014
Q So if it\u2019s bad \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: \u2014 and I\u2019m not just talking about the tremendous expense. And the other thing is, they should look at the other side also. They only look at one side. They\u2019re not looking at all of the things that came up during this investigation. They don\u2019t do that.
They should also get people that can be fair, not 13 or 14 or 17 \u2014 I call them the \u201cAngry Democrats.\u201d They are angry people. And it\u2019s a very unfair thing for this country. It\u2019s a very, very \u2014 forget about unfair to me; it\u2019s very bad for our country.
Q So, Mr. President, if it\u2019s un \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Go ahead. No, no, no. Please.
Q Mr. President, just to make the point \u2014 if it\u2019s unfair to the country and it\u2019s costing millions of dollars, why don\u2019t you just end it?
THE PRESIDENT: Give him the mic, please. I\u2019ve answered the question.
Q Okay.
THE PRESIDENT: Go ahead, take the \u2014 take the mic.
Q Voter suppression \u2014 Mr. President, voter suppression.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I\u2019ll give you voter \u2014 I will give you voter suppression. You just have to \u2014 sit down, please.
Q (Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: Sit down. I didn\u2019t call you. I didn\u2019t call you. I didn\u2019t call you.
I\u2019ll give you voter suppression: Take a look at the CNN polls, how inaccurate they were. That\u2019s called voter suppression.
Go ahead, please.
Q Thank you, Mr. President.
Q In Georgia, sir? In Georgia?
THE PRESIDENT: I\u2019m not \u2014 I\u2019m not responding. I\u2019m responding to \u2014
Q (Off-mic.) (Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: Excuse me, I\u2019m not responding to you. I\u2019m talking to this gentleman. Will you please sit down?
Q (Off-mic.) (Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: Would \u2014
Q (Inaudible) but you said (inaudible).
THE PRESIDENT: Excuse me. Excuse me. Would you please sit down?
Please, go ahead.
Q Thank you, Mr. President, now that the \u2014 now that the House of Representatives has \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Very hostile \u2014 such a hostile media. It\u2019s so sad. You ask me about \u2014
Q (Off-mic.) (Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: No. You rudely interrupted him.
Q You responded (inaudible).
THE PRESIDENT: You rudely interrupted him.
Go ahead.
Q Thank you, Mr. President. Do your demands remain the same to the United States Congress on immigration in exchange for a DACA fix? In exchange for an amnesty for 1.7 million, are you willing to change any of those demands that you gave to Congress earlier?
THE PRESIDENT: I think we could really do something having to do with DACA. And what really happened with DACA \u2014 we could have done some pretty good work on DACA. But a judge ruled that DACA was okay. Had the judge not ruled that way, I think we would have made a deal. Once the judge ruled that way, the Democrats didn\u2019t want to talk anymore. So we\u2019ll see how it works out at the Supreme Court.
Go ahead.
Q Will you take questions from the international media \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: From where?
Q From the international media.
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah, go ahead. Go ahead.
Q Afghanistan, Mr. President. Afghanistan \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Go ahead. Which group? Where do you want me to take a question from? Go ahead, ma\u2019am. Go ahead. Take the \u2014
Either one. Either one.
Q Okay. (Laughs.)
THE PRESIDENT: Or both. Are you together? Go ahead.
Q We\u2019re not together. Mr. President, how do you respond to critics who say that your message on the campaign with minorities have been polarizing?
THE PRESIDENT: I don\u2019t think it has been at all.
Q But is the election of two Muslim women \u2014 one of them is veiled to the House, which is making history. Is this a rebuke of this message, do you think?
THE PRESIDENT: I don\u2019t understand what you\u2019re saying. What?
Q Is it a rebuke of this message? Do you think that this is more reflective of multiethnic and multicultural America?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, that question \u2014 I can only say this: If you look at the employment and unemployment numbers for African Americans, for Asian Americans, for Hispanic Americans, they\u2019re at a historic high. A poll came out recently where my numbers with Hispanics and with African Americans are the highest \u2014 the best they\u2019ve ever been. That had \u2014 that took place two or three days ago, the poll.
I have the best numbers with African American and Hispanic American that I\u2019ve ever had before. And you saw the same poll. So, I can\u2019t say that. I can say this: If you look at median income, you look at all of the employment and unemployment numbers, they\u2019re doing the best they\u2019ve ever done. And it reflects \u2014 it really is very reflective in the polls.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, go ahead.
Q Mr. President, I\u2019m from Brooklyn, so you\u2019ll understand me.
THE PRESIDENT: Good. I understand you very well.
Q My question is on healthcare. How is it possible to keep premiums down and cover preexisting conditions without the individual mandate to fund it?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, what we\u2019re doing \u2014 and we\u2019re \u2014 if you look at the Department of Labor also \u2014 Secretary separately \u2014 Secretary Azar, what they\u2019ve done. They\u2019ve come up with some incredible healthcare plans, which is causing great competition and driving the prices right down.
But we are getting rid of the individual mandate because it was very unfair to a lot of people. But at the same time, we\u2019re covering the people that need it. But the individual mandate was a disaster because people that couldn\u2019t necessarily afford it were having to pay for the privilege of not having to pay for healthcare. And it was bad healthcare, at that.
So we are working many plans for healthcare. We\u2019re creating tremendous competition. We had Obamacare repealed and replaced. Unfortunately, one person changed his mind at the last moment. And we had no Democrat support. I have to say that. We didn\u2019t have one vote. We would have repealed it, replaced it. We would have had a large-scale, very good healthcare plan. Now we\u2019re doing it a different way. We\u2019re doing it a different way.
But getting rid of the individual mandate is a very, very popular thing and a very important thing. And people very much appreciate it.
Go ahead.
Q (Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: No, no. That\u2019s enough.
Go ahead, please.
Q Thank you, sir. Two questions: One, I know you went through the results and you obviously studied them late last night. What lesson did you learn most from looking at those results? Was there one thing that, as you kind of reviewed them, that you\u2019ll change your strategy not just for Congress, but kind of going forward?
And then just a follow-up question.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think the results that I\u2019ve learned, and maybe confirm, I think people like me. I think people like the job I\u2019m doing, frankly. Because if you look at every place I went to do a rally, I couldn\u2019t do it with everybody. But \u2014 and it was very hard to do it with people in Congress because there are just too many \u2014 it will be too many stops.
But I did it with the Senate. I did it with Andy Barr, as you know. And \u2014 and he won. He won a very tough race against McGrath.
It was a very, very tough race in Kentucky, and he was down quite a bit. And I went there, and we had a tremendous, very successful \u2014 some of you were at that rally. And he won that race.
But I could only do that so much because there are just so many players involved. But I did focus on the Senate, and we had tremendous success with the Senate. Really tremendous success.
Q Can I ask you one more \u2014 one more question, sir. Mr. President, one more question, if you don\u2019t mind. I\u2019m so sorry, sir. It\u2019s a rare opportunity.
A lot of people are going to be rushing to Iowa, rushing to New Hampshire. You know that the Democrats are already looking ahead to 2020. Do you want to lock down your ticket right now, sir? Will the Vice President be your running mate in 2020?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I haven\u2019t asked him, but I hope so. Where are you? (Laughter.)
Mike, will you be my running mate? (Laughter.) Huh? Stand up, Mike, please. Raise your right hand. No, I\u2019m only kidding. (Laughter.) Will you? Thank you, okay good. (Applause.) The answer is \u201cyes.\u201d Okay?
Q Thank you, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: That was unexpected, but I feel very fine.
Yeah, please.
Q Thank you, Mr. President. Going back to the Russia investigation and the potential investigations from the now- Democratic majority in Congress, some say that you could stop all this by declassifying \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: I could. I could fire everybody right now. But I don\u2019t want to stop it, because politically, I don\u2019t like stopping it. It\u2019s a disgrace. It should have never been started because there was no crime. It is \u2014 everybody has conflicts. They all have conflicts over there that are beyond anything that anybody has ever seen in terms of conflicts \u2014 from the fact that people ask for jobs; from the fact that they have very good friends on the other side, like really good friends, like Comey \u2014 who, by the way, lied and leaked, and also leaked classified information. Nothing happened there. It might, perhaps. Maybe something is happening that I don\u2019t know about.
I stay away from it. But do you know what I do? I let it just go on. They\u2019re wasting a lot of money, but I let it go on because I don\u2019t want to do that. But you\u2019re right \u2014 I could end it right now. I could say that investigation is over.
But it\u2019s \u2014 it\u2019s really \u2014 it\u2019s a disgrace, frankly. And it\u2019s an embarrassment to our country. It\u2019s an embarrassment to the people of our country. And it\u2019s too bad.
Go ahead.
Q What about the declassification of the documents? Some say that would clear it all up.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, we\u2019re looking at that.
Q Are you still considering it?
THE PRESIDENT: No, no. We\u2019re looking at that very seriously. Declassification? We\u2019re looking at that very seriously.
Q Okay. Can I ask one more question?
THE PRESIDENT: It\u2019s amazing how people on the other side just don\u2019t want those documents declassified. But, no, we\u2019re looking at that very carefully. I certainly wanted to wait until after the midterms.
Q Can I ask you one more question, Mr. President? Okay, thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: Go ahead.
Q Thank you, Mr. President. You have campaigned as a pro-life President. You have defended the rights of unborn children. You now have a divided Congress. It\u2019s unlikely to pass \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: That\u2019s right. Tough.
Q \u2014 to pass any pro-life bills.
THE PRESIDENT: Very tough issue.
Q How are you going to push forward your pro-life agenda?
THE PRESIDENT: Just going to push. I\u2019ve been pushing. I\u2019ve done a very good job, too. Very happy with me. But it\u2019s a tough issue for the two sides. There\u2019s no question about it.
Q But what are you going to do to \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: There is great division \u2014 what am I going to do? I won\u2019t be able to explain that to you, because it is an issue that is a very divisive, polarizing issue. But there is a solution. I think I have that solution, and nobody else does.
We\u2019re going to be \u2014 we\u2019re going to be working on that.
Yes, go ahead, please. She took your place, but that\u2019s okay.
Q Mr. President, just a quick question on rural America. In states like Indiana and North Dakota, folks turned out for Republican candidates. Could you talk a little bit about what this means for your agenda in terms of trade and the farm bill?
THE PRESIDENT: The farm bill is working really well. I mean, we could have had it approved any time. But we\u2019re looking to get work rules approved. The farmers want it. I\u2019d like it. The problem is, the Democrats are not giving us the 10 votes that we need.
We are \u2014 everybody wants it. The farmers want it. But the Democrats are not approving the farm bill with work rules. We could have it very fast without the work rules, but we want the work rules in, and the Democrats just don\u2019t want to vote for that. So, at some point, they\u2019ll have to pay maybe a price.
Jeff, go ahead.
Q Thank you very much, Mr. President.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much.
Q Have you seen any evidence that Russia or China intervened in yesterday\u2019s election?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, we\u2019ve going \u2014 we\u2019re going to make a full report. And unlike the previous administration, we\u2019ve done a lot of work on that issue. And if you look \u2014 speak with the FBI, speak with the Department of Justice, speak to Homeland Security, we\u2019ve spent a lot of time. It gets very little coverage in the papers. I mean, you cover the nonsense part, but you don\u2019t cover the important. This is very important.
And we have been working very hard on China and Russia, and everybody else, looking into our elections or meddling with our elections. But people tend not to write about it. But we have worked very hard, as you probably heard.
Q What do you \u2014 what do you intend to say, sir, to President Xi and to President Putin when you meet with them later this month?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I have a good relationship with both. I know President Xi better. But I think I have a very good relationship with both. I actually had a very good meeting in Russia that you people didn\u2019t agree with, but that\u2019s okay. It doesn\u2019t much matter, obviously. Because here I am.
Q You mean Helsinki?
THE PRESIDENT: But the fact is that I had a very, very good meeting \u2014 a very, very good meeting with President Putin, and a lot was discussed about security, about Syria, about Ukraine, about the fact that President Obama allowed a very large part of Ukraine to be taken. Right now, you have submarines off that particular parcel that we\u2019re talking about. You know what I\u2019m talking about.
Q That was President Putin who annexed Crimea, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: That was President Obama\u2019s regime. That was during President Obama. Right? That was not during me. No, that was President Obama \u2014
Q But it was President Putin who did the annexation.
THE PRESIDENT: No, no. It was President Obama that allowed it to happen. It had nothing to do with me.
Yeah. Go ahead. Go ahead. Go ahead.
Q Thank you, Mr. President. Cordelia Lynch, Sky News. You\u2019re a man who likes to win, but last night was not an absolute victory for you.
THE PRESIDENT: I\u2019ll be honest: I thought it was a \u2014 I thought it was a very close to complete victory. When you look at it from the standpoint of negotiation, when you look at it from the standpoint of deal making \u2014 because it\u2019s all about deal making \u2014 again, if we had the majority, and we had one or two or three votes to play with, we would never \u2014 we would have been at a standstill.
I really believe that we have a chance to get along very well with the Democrats. And if that\u2019s the case, we can do a tremendous amount of legislation and get it approved by both parties.
So I consider it to be \u2014 hey, look, I won Georgia. President Obama campaigned very hard in Georgia. Oprah Winfrey campaigned very, very hard. All over the television. I said this is going to be tough. I only had me. I didn\u2019t have anybody else. And I went to Georgia, and we had one of the largest crowds that anybody here has seen, ever, at a political rally. And you know what? He won. And he won actually by, you know, pretty good margin. He won.
And then we went to Florida, and they had celebrities all over the place. And a man, who happens to be very smart person, was running \u2014 Ron DeSantis. And people didn\u2019t give him a chance. And I went and we had \u2014 we did some great work. And they\u2019re going to have a great governor of the state of Florida.
And then we talked about the Senate, and a lot of money was pouring in for the Democrat. This is a man who\u2019s been in office for like 44 years or something. This is man who was like a professional at getting elected and being in office. So he\u2019s not \u2014 Bill Nelson \u2014 not easy to beat. Okay? And \u2014 but they had a lot of celebrities coming out for Nelson. They had everybody coming out for Nelson. And Rick Scott won. And I helped him.
And I think we\u2019ve done an amazing job. And you could look at many other places \u2014 if you just take a look at some of the other places. And we just got the word that, in Iowa, you have a governor who just got extended, who\u2019s \u2014 Kim just got extended. And numerous other places.
I think it was a great victory. I\u2019ll be honest: I think it was a great victory. And actually, some of the news this morning was that it was, in fact, a great victory.
But if you look at it from the standpoint of gridlock, I really believe there\u2019s going to be much less gridlock because of the way this is going, than any other way.
Q Mr. President, a quick follow-up on that.
THE PRESIDENT: Sit down, please.
Go ahead.
Q Thank you, Mr. President. Let me ask you about one of the campaign promises you made down the stretch, which was a 10 percent tax cut for the middle class. You just talked about gridlock. Democrats, they now run the House Ways and Means Committee. If it means a tax cut of some kind for the middle class, but that means raising rates elsewhere \u2014 corporations, on the wealthiest \u2014 is that a trade-off that you would be willing to make, and able to enact a middle-class tax cut?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, it could be. You know that this will have to be now proposed. Because if we did it now, we don\u2019t have the votes in the Senate. You don\u2019t have \u2014 we need \u2014 we would need 10 Democrat vote; we probably couldn\u2019t get them. If we could, we could pass it very easily in the House. But there\u2019s no reason to waste time because you don\u2019t have the votes in the Senate.
But if the \u2014 as an example, if the Democrats come up with an idea for tax cuts, which I\u2019m a big believer in tax cuts, I would absolutely pursue something even if it means some adjustment.
Q Some adjustment on which side? The corporate? The individual?
THE PRESIDENT: Some adjustment. Yeah, to make it possible. But I would love to see a tax cut for the middle class. Now, that\u2019s going to be their decision. They\u2019re going to have to make that decision.
As you know, if we bring it up to the Senate, we\u2019d need Democrat votes \u2014 10 \u2014 and we don\u2019t have those 10 votes.
Q And just because the markets would \u2014 and just because the markets would want to know, sir \u2014 some adjustment, would that be one, two, three percent on either side?
THE PRESIDENT: Oh, I\u2019m not telling you that. I\u2019m just saying, I would be certainly willing to do a little bit of an adjustment.
Go ahead. Behind me. Go ahead, please.
Q Mr. President, thank you very much. Two questions. One is, you had talked about leaders who had called to congratulate you. Did President Putin call to congratulate you? And will you, in fact, meet with him at lunch this coming weekend?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, as I understand it, we\u2019re having \u2014 and I guess a lot of you are going over. We\u2019re having a lunch for numerous countries. I\u2019ll be there. I believe President Putin is going to be there. We don\u2019t have anything scheduled. I don\u2019t think we have anything scheduled in Paris. And I\u2019m coming back very quickly.
We\u2019re going over \u2014 there\u2019s a great event. This is an important \u2014 really, it\u2019s going to be very important and, I think, a very beautiful ceremony. I\u2019m looking forward to going. And we\u2019re representing the incredible heroes of the world, but the heroes of our country from World War I. And so I\u2019ll be going there, and I am very proud to go there.
Q And did he call you?
THE PRESIDENT: I don\u2019t think we have time set aside for that meeting.
Now, with that being said, we\u2019re very shortly meeting again at the G20, where he\u2019ll be there and I\u2019ll be there. And that\u2019s where we\u2019re actually looking forward to meeting.
We will be having \u2014 we will be having a lunch, but I think there are many people there.
Q And did he call you to congratulate you? And if I could also just invite you, since this is quite a gathering we\u2019ve got here, to go ahead and talk about the staff changes that you expect in the White House, while we\u2019re here. We\u2019re eager to hear about them. Is General Kelly going to stay on?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think what I\u2019ll do is \u2014 as we make changes, we\u2019ll sit down and talk to you about it. I mean, there\u2019s no great secret. A lot of administrations make changes after midterms. I will say that, for the most part, I\u2019m very, very happy with this Cabinet. We\u2019re doing a great job.
Q But what about in the White House? What about in the White House, sir? You\u2019ve got a lot White House staff. Some have been talking about leaving. General Kelly has been rumored to be leaving. Is he?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, that\u2019s okay. No, people leave. People leave.
Q And is that going to happen, sir?
THE PRESIDENT: People leave. I haven\u2019t heard about John Kelly. But, no, people \u2014 people leave. They come in, they\u2019re here. It\u2019s a very exhausting job. Although, I love doing it, I must tell you. But it\u2019s exhausting for a lot of people. I\u2019m surprised at a lot of people. They start off, they\u2019re young people, they\u2019re there for two years, and they\u2019re old by the time they leave. (Laughter.) It\u2019s quite exhausting. But I love doing it.
And I\u2019ll tell you, there will be changes. Nothing monumental from that standpoint. I don\u2019t think very much different than most administrations. But \u2014 and we have \u2014 I mean, we have many people lined up for every single position. Any position. Everybody wants to work in this White House. We are a hot country. This is a hot White House. We are a White House that people want to work with.
Okay. No, no. Please. Behind you. Behind you. Go ahead.
Q Mr. President, this has been a very challenging campaign. It is \u2014 this has been a very challenging campaign.
THE PRESIDENT: It\u2019s been a very challenging campaign. That\u2019s true.
Q It has involved quite of a lot of abuse and a lot of violence. People have died during the course of this campaign.
THE PRESIDENT: Right.
Q Is there any way in which you think the temperature could be lowered? Perhaps peace could break out with the media? Perhaps you bipartisan relationships across the House and the Senate may now produce some change. Or are we going to have more of the same?
THE PRESIDENT: It\u2019s a very fair question. Look, I would love to see unity and peace and love, and any other word you want to use. And obviously, I think we had to, especially at this particular juncture, we had to wait until after the midterms were over. Now they\u2019re over.
If they would cover me fairly \u2014 which they don\u2019t. Which they don\u2019t. I\u2019m not saying that in a hostile way. I get extremely inaccurate coverage. I can do something that\u2019s fantastic, and they\u2019ll make it look like not good. And I don\u2019t mind being \u2014 having bad stories. If I make a mistake, cover it. I would like you to cover it fairly, but cover it.
But when you do something terrific \u2014 look how little the economy is talked about. A poll came out this morning talking about how little the three networks \u2014 I don\u2019t think they included CNN \u2014 but how little the three networks talk about how good the economy is. How little. Almost not at all.
If President Obama had this economy \u2014 and, by the way, if that administration, through somebody else, kept going, you would have had negative 4.2 instead of positive 4.2 percent growth. You would have had negative. It was heading down.
But here \u2014 the point is this \u2014
Q (Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: Excuse me. I would love to see unity, including with the media. Because I think the media \u2014 I\u2019ll be honest: I think it\u2019s a very divisive thing for our country. And you would be amazed at how smart people are that are reading your stories and seeing your stories and watching. You would be amazed how perceptive and how smart they are. They get it. And it really does bring disunity.
Q (Off-mic.) (Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: Excuse me. You are not \u2014 you are not called on.
Q Mr. President \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Go ahead. Go ahead. Go ahead, please.
Q Thank you, President Trump. Shortly after your victory speech on the historic night of \u2014 back in November 2016, I asked you to what single factor you most attributed this victory to.
THE PRESIDENT: Say it? You have to speak up.
Q Sure. On the night of your victory, I asked you, right after your speech, to what you would attribute your victory. You pointed up to the ceiling, and you said that it was God. Based off of that, how would you say, over the last two years, God plays \u2014 what kind of a factor He plays in the day-to-day execution of the Office of the Presidency?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, God plays a big factor in my life, and God plays a factor in the lives of many people that I know very well in this room, like your Vice President. God plays a very big role in my life.
Q And one more \u2014 one more back to \u2014 a quick one. Quick follow-up. Which loss last night surprised you the most? And which of these unsuccessful candidates are you most likely to consider for a future administration?
THE PRESIDENT: Nothing surprises me in politics.
Q Would you consider any \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: But there were some losses last night. And there were some victories last night that have been incredible. I mean, there were victories last night that nobody would believe, especially based on the suppression polls. They had a lot of suppression polls.
Q Would you consider any \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: And there were some victories last night that were very surprising, but I\u2019m not going to pick out special \u2014 you know, special people.
Q Would you consider any for a post?
THE PRESIDENT: It\u2019s tough enough for those people to have a loss.
Q Would you consider any for an administration post, moving forward? As one of the very few of the 3.7 percent unemployed \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Would I what? What?
Q Would you consider any of the people who lost last night for a post in the administration in the near future?
THE PRESIDENT: I know a couple of very good ones. Yeah, I would, actually.
Go ahead, please.
Q Mr. President \u2014 Mr. President, I asked you on Monday if there was anything that you regret in your first two years. And you said that, at times, you could have and should have used a, quote, \u201csofter tone.\u201d Your critics, as you can imagine \u2014 your skeptics \u2014 they say they\u2019re not holding their breath on that happening. Will you indeed have to change your tone if you\u2019re to get things passed through Congress after losing the House?
And you also said you might extend an olive branch. What would that look like?
THE PRESIDENT: I would love to have \u2014 I would love to have \u2014 I\u2019d be very good at a low tone. But when things are done not correctly about you \u2014 written about you, said about you on television, on wherever it is \u2014 you have to defend yourself.
I would love to do a very \u2014 a very even tone. It\u2019s much easier than what I have to do. I have to go around. And going around is much easier than facing somebody and being treated fairly. But when you\u2019re not treated fairly, you really have no choice.
I would love to have a very even, modest, boring tone. I would be very honored by that. But you know what? When you have to fight \u2014 all the time fight \u2014 because you\u2019re being misrepresented by the media, you really can\u2019t do that.
Q But not about the media, sir. But, sir, real quickly \u2014 not about the media, but what about with Congress?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, please. Go ahead.
Q Mr. President, can you tell us how you focus on the economic \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Where are you from, please?
Q Japan. Prime Minister Abe.
THE PRESIDENT: Okay. Say hello. Say hello to Shinzo.
Q Yes.
THE PRESIDENT: I\u2019m sure he\u2019s happy about tariffs on his cars. Go ahead.
Q That\u2019s my question, actually. So how you focus on the trade and economic issues with Japan? Will you ask Japan to do more? Will you change your tone?
THE PRESIDENT: I don\u2019t \u2014 I really don\u2019t understand you.
Q How would you focus on trade and economic \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Trade with Japan?
Q Yes.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, we\u2019re dealing with Japan right now on trade. Japan has \u2014 it\u2019s a great country. You have a great Prime Minister who just had a very successful election. He\u2019s a very good friend of mine. He\u2019s one of the people I\u2019m closest with.
And \u2014 but I tell him all the time that Japan does not treat the United States fairly on trade. They send in millions of cars at a very low tax. They don\u2019t take our cars. And if they do, they have a massive tax on their cars.
Japan \u2014 and I\u2019m not blaming Japan; I\u2019m blaming the people that were in charge of the United States for allowing that to happen.
But as you know, we have close to $100 billion trade deficit with Japan. And Japan has treated us very unfairly. But don\u2019t feel lonely because you weren\u2019t the only one.
Q How about North Korea? How about North Korea?
Q Thank you, Mr. President. Two international questions. The first one: Secretary Pompeo\u2019s talks with North Korea have been postponed. What is happening there?
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah, nothing \u2014
Q And will your meeting still happen with \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: No, we\u2019re going to change it because of trips that are being made. We\u2019re going to make it at another date. But we\u2019re very happy how it\u2019s going with North Korea. We think it\u2019s going fine. We\u2019re in no rush. We\u2019re in no hurry. The sanctions are on.
Q You still expect to meet Kim Jong Un?
THE PRESIDENT: No, no. Listen. Excuse me. Wait.
Q Sorry, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: The sanctions are on. The missiles have stopped. The rockets have stopped. The hostages are home. The great heroes have been coming home.
Mike Pence was in Hawaii, where the \u2014 one of the most beautiful ceremonies that anyone has ever seen for the fallen. These are great heroes. Very important. When I was running, a lot of people \u2014 as many years ago as it was \u2014 in many cases, grandchildren \u2014 but they were asking about that. They\u2019re coming home and they\u2019re being provided to us as we speak.
But I\u2019m in no rush. I\u2019m in no rush. The sanctions are on. I read a couple of times, and I\u2019ve seen a few times where they said, \u201cHe\u2019s done so much.\u201d What have I done? I met.
Now, I\u2019d love to take the sanctions off. But they have to be responsive, too. It\u2019s a two-way street.
But we\u2019re not in any rush at all. There\u2019s no rush whatsoever. You know, before I got here, they were dealing with this for over 70 years. And I guess, on a nuclear front, for 25 years. That\u2019s a long time.
I\u2019ve been there; I probably left Singapore four or five months ago. And we made more progress in that four or five months than they\u2019ve made in 70 years. And nobody else could have done what I\u2019ve done.
But I\u2019ll say this \u2014 I\u2019ll say this very simply: We\u2019re in no rush. The sanctions are on. And whenever it is \u2014 but that meeting is going to be rescheduled.
Q That meeting \u2014 but about your meeting with Kim Jong Un, sir, will it happen in the next months?
THE PRESIDENT: Sometime next year, I would say.
Q Sometime next year?
THE PRESIDENT: Sometime \u2014 sometime early next year. Yeah.
Q And a quick question on the USMCA. Now that it\u2019s been concluded, have you repaired your relationship with Prime Minister Trudeau?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I have. We have a very good relationship.
Q Thank you very much, Mr. President. We\u2019ve been talking a lot about division and the division that exists in this country right now.
THE PRESIDENT: True. That\u2019s true.
Q And some of the statistics are disturbing, I think, to just about everyone. Anti-Semitic incidents have increased by 57 percent since 2016. Hate crimes are on the rise. Why do you think that is? And what will you do about it as President?
THE PRESIDENT: It\u2019s very sad to see it. I hate to see it. And, as you know, I\u2019ve done more \u2014 in fact, if you were with us the last time we met, Prime Minister Netanyahu said that, \u201cThis President has done more for Israel than any other President.\u201d Those words. Those exact words.
Jerusalem, protection, working together \u2014 so many different things. But the big thing is Jerusalem. You know, many, many President have said they are going to build the embassy in Jerusalem. Never happened. Making it the capital of Israel \u2014 never happened. Never happened. But it happened with me, and quickly.
And not only did it happen, we built the embassy. That would have taken another 15 or 20 years and cost probably billions of dollars, and we did it for a tiny amount of money. It\u2019s already done. It\u2019s open.
Nobody has done more for Israel than Donald Trump. And the nice part is that\u2019s not me saying it; that\u2019s Prime Minister Netanyahu.
Q But what about the \u2014 Mr. President, what about the divides in this country? Mr. President, what about healing the divides in this country \u2014 addressing those issues, specifically?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, we want to see \u2014 we want to see it healed. And one of the things I think that can help heal is the success of our country. We are really successful now. We\u2019ve gone up $11.7 trillion in \u2014 in worth.
If you know, China has come down tremendously. Tremendously. China would have superseded us in two years as an economic power; now, they\u2019re not even close.
China got rid of their \u201cChina \u201925\u201d because I found it very insulting. I said that to them. I said, \u201cChina \u201925\u201d is very insulting, because \u201cChina \u201925\u201d means, in 2025, they\u2019re going to take over, economically, the world. I said, \u201cThat\u2019s not happening.\u201d
And we\u2019ve gone way up. They\u2019ve gone down. And I don\u2019t want them to go down. We\u2019ll have a good meeting and we\u2019re going to see what we can do.
But I have to say this: Billions of dollars will soon be pouring into our Treasury from taxes that China is paying for us. And if you speak to Mr. Pillsbury, who probably is the leading authority on China \u2014 he was on the other day saying he has never seen anything like it. And you know who else hasn\u2019t? China hasn\u2019t.
Q And Mr. President \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: But we\u2019re going to try and make a deal with China because I want to have great relationships with President Xi, as I do, and also with China.
Q \u2014 you\u2019re talking about the economic \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Okay.
Q How do you see your role \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: All right.
Q \u2014 as a moral leader?
THE PRESIDENT: Go ahead, please.
Q Mr. President, just how do you see \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Go ahead, please. Please, please.
Q \u2014 your role as a moral leader?
THE PRESIDENT: Please, please. Go ahead. There\u2019s so many people, I\u2019m sorry. Go ahead.
Q As a moral leader, though?
THE PRESIDENT: I think I am a great moral leader, and I love our country.
Go ahead, please.
Q Thank you, sir. You said earlier in this press conference that Democrats had a choice; that you would not work with them on legislation if they were investigating you. Do you not have a choice in the matter as well? Don\u2019t you have a responsibility \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think it\u2019s inappropriate \u2014 no, no. I think it\u2019s very inappropriate.
We should get along and get deals done. Now, we can investigate. They look at us. We look at them. It goes on for two years. Then, at the end of two years, nothing is done.
Now, what\u2019s bad for them is, being in the majority, I\u2019m just going to blame them. You understand. I\u2019m going to blame them. They\u2019re the majority.
Honestly, it makes it much simpler for me. I \u2014 they will be blamed. But I think Nancy Pelosi \u2014 and, you know, I put that statement out on social media today about Nancy Pelosi that, if she\u2019s short of votes \u2014 because frankly, I think she deserves \u2014 and a lot of people thought I was being sarcastic or I was kidding. I wasn\u2019t.
I think she deserves it. She\u2019s been fighting long for it. She\u2019s been fighting \u2014 I really mean this. This was \u2014 there was nothing sarcastic about it or \u2014 it was really meant in \u2014 with very good intentions. I think she deserves it. She\u2019s fought long and hard. She\u2019s a very capable person. And, you know, you have other people shooting at her, trying to take over the Speakership.
And I said, if \u2014 if it\u2019s appropriate \u2014 I said, if we can and if we will, if she has a problem, I think I would be able to very easily supply her the necessary votes.
That\u2019s not said in any way other than I really believe she deserves that position. I also believe that Nancy Pelosi and I can work together and get a lot of things done, along with Mitch and everybody else that we have to work with. I think we\u2019ll get a lot done.
Q Mr. President, why can\u2019t you \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Okay, go ahead.
Q Mr. President, why can\u2019t you \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Go ahead.
Q Mr. President, why can\u2019t you do that while subpoenas are coming through?
THE PRESIDENT: Excuse me?
Q Why can\u2019t you work together while there are subpoenas or while there are investigations in process?
THE PRESIDENT: I think we will. Look, now that the election is over \u2014 the election is over. Now everybody is in love. But then I see the hostility of questions in the room. I come in here as a nice person wanting to answer questions and I have people jumping out of their \u2014 their seats, screaming questions at me.
No, the election is over. And I\u2019m, you know, very \u2014 I am extraordinarily happy. I really am. And, by the way, I\u2019d tell you if I wasn\u2019t.
Look at what happened in Florida. Look at what happened in Georgia. Look at what happened in so many locations with governorships. Nobody talks about the governorships. Look at the amount of work that was given to these other candidates against my candidate.
And, I mean, I\u2019m extraordinarily happy. And if I wasn\u2019t, I\u2019d let you know. There\u2019s nothing wrong. I mean, look, you look at midterms and you look at elections \u2014 elections generally, you see it\u2019s very rare that a party who has the presidency does well. We did unbelievably well. To win Florida, both the Senate and the governorship against two very talented people.
I\u2019ll tell you what: We did incredibly. To win Georgia, where you had some of the biggest stars campaigning endlessly, including President Obama. You know, I\u2019ll tell you what: This was a great victory for us. And again, from a dealmaking standpoint, we are all much better off the way it turned out. Because I really believe, if the Democrats want to, we can do a tremendous amount of great legislation.
Yes, please. Go ahead.
Should we keep this going for a little while?
Q Yes!
Q Yes, I think you should keep this going.
THE PRESIDENT: When you get bored, would you please tell me? Seriously, tell me. I don\u2019t want to \u2014
Q We\u2019re never bored.
THE PRESIDENT: Oh, no. Hopefully not. I don\u2019t want to overstay. But, yes, please. Go ahead.
Q Hi, Mr. President. Yamiche Alcindor with PBS NewsHour. On the campaign trail, you called yourself a nationalist. Some people saw that as emboldening white nationalists. Now people are also saying \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: I don\u2019t know why you\u2019d say that. That\u2019s such a racist question.
Q There are some people that say that now the Republican Party is seen as supporting white nationalists because of your rhetoric. What do you make of that?
THE PRESIDENT: Oh, I don\u2019t believe that. I don\u2019t believe that.
I don\u2019t believe \u2014 well, I don\u2019t know. Why do I have my highest poll numbers ever with African Americans? Why do I have among the highest poll numbers with African Americans? I mean, why do I have my highest poll numbers? That\u2019s such a racist question.
Honestly, I mean, I know you have it written down, and you\u2019re going to tell me. Let me tell you: It\u2019s a racist question.
Q And Mr. President \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: I love \u2014 and you know what the word is? I love our country. I do. You call \u2014 you have nationalists. You have globalists. I also love the world and I don\u2019t mind helping the world, but we have to straighten out our country first. We have a lot of problems.
Q And \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Excuse me. But to say that \u2014 what you said is so insulting to me. It\u2019s a very terrible thing that you said.
Q And Mr. President \u2014 Mr. President, people have \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Okay. Please, go ahead. Go ahead.
Q You\u2019ve talked about \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Excuse me.
Q You talked about middle-class tax cuts on the campaign trail. How will you get Democrats to support that policy?
THE PRESIDENT: You have to ask them.
Q Well, what\u2019s your plan for working with Democrats \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Excuse me.
Q \u2014 on the middle-class tax plan?
THE PRESIDENT: You know what my plan is? You know what my plan is? I\u2019ll ask them. And if they say yes, I\u2019m all for it. And if they say no, there\u2019s nothing you can do because you need their votes.
Go ahead.
Q Yes. Thank you, Mr. President. Francesca Chambers, DailyMail.com. You said many times on the campaign trail that you didn\u2019t want Nancy Pelosi to be Speaker. At least you suggested that. You spent a lot of time talking about her and Chuck Schumer.
THE PRESIDENT: It\u2019s not a question of want. I would\u2019ve \u2014 so, let me answer it a little \u2014 would I have preferred winning by two or three or four? I would almost have to think about that. But certainly, I like to win. And if I win, she\u2019s not going to be Speaker.
Q What did she say to you though, yesterday, that made you give her your support?
THE PRESIDENT: Honestly, we had a very warm conversation. You know, she loves this country. And she\u2019s a very smart woman. She\u2019s done a very good job. She was really \u2014 I mean, she\u2019s had a very \u2014 she\u2019s had a very \u2014
Q Did she promise that they wouldn\u2019t seek to impeach you?
THE PRESIDENT: She\u2019s had a very, very \u2014 we didn\u2019t talk about impeaching. We didn\u2019t talk about \u2014 what do you do? Do you impeach somebody because he created the greatest economic success in the history of our country? \u201cLet\u2019s impeach him because the country is so successful. Let\u2019s impeach him.\u201d \u201cHas he done anything wrong?\u201d They asked somebody, \u201cHas he done anything wrong?\u201d \u201cNo, but let\u2019s impeach him anyway.\u201d
And they also said, \u201cLet\u2019s impeach Justice Kavanaugh. Let\u2019s impeach him.\u201d And now they have the second woman coming out that \u2014 the first or second. And I hate to say this, but it was public.
\u201cAnd, after him, we\u2019re going to impeach the Vice President. We\u2019re going to impeach Mike Pence.\u201d Mike Pence doesn\u2019t get impeached for anything. \u201cSo let\u2019s impeach the President, and then we\u2019ll impeach the Vice President.\u201d
These people are sick. And you know what? They have to get their bearing. Really, they have to get their bearing. And when you ask about division, they\u2019re the ones that caused the division. They caused tremendous division.
Q Okay. Regarding all the retirements in the House \u2014 regarding all the retirements in the House, Mr. President \u2014 really quickly \u2014 you suggested that \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Who is retiring?
Q You said that many of the retirements that happened in the House made it very difficult for \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Many retirements, yeah.
Q \u2014 that made it very difficult for you in this election cycle, and that it was because they were chairmans, there were chairmanships that were vacated. But Jeff Flake wasn\u2019t a chairman of a committee, and Paul Ryan also retired this cycle. So why do you think that is? Whose fault is it that there were so many retirements?
THE PRESIDENT: In Jeff Flake\u2019s case, it\u2019s me. Pure and simple. I retired him. I\u2019m very proud of it. I did the country a great service.
Go ahead. Give him a \u2014 (laughter). Give him a \u2014 he is retired. I\u2019d like to call it another word, but we\u2019re going to treat him with great respect.
Go ahead.
Q Thank you, Mr. President.
THE PRESIDENT: Jeff Flake. That\u2019s another beauty.
Go ahead.
Q Two questions, please.
THE PRESIDENT: No, one. One. Too many people. Sorry.
Q Well, all right. It\u2019s all right. You seem to enjoy this venue very much. Are you going to make the standard press conference a staple of the remaining two years?
THE PRESIDENT: No. No.
Q Or will you have more briefings with Sarah Sanders?
THE PRESIDENT: No. You know, when I don\u2019t do the \u2014 I think Sarah is fantastic. Where is Sarah? Where is Sarah? Sarah is so great. I think, Sarah, you\u2019ve represented me so well and been abused. She\u2019s been horribly treated by a lot of people.
Q So she\u2019s going to stay on as Press Secretary?
THE PRESIDENT: No, no. It\u2019s very interesting because Sarah was telling \u2014 we were talking about it the other day.
So I had a period where I figured, you know what I\u2019ll do? I won\u2019t do any real interviews. And then they start saying, \u201cWhy doesn\u2019t he do \u2014 why?\u201d And they\u2019re all coming up with all kinds \u2014
Then over the last couple of months I decided, I\u2019ll do a lot \u2014 we\u2019ll stop at the helicopter, we\u2019ll do this, we\u2019ll do a lot of \u2014 and then they say, \u201cWhy is he doing so many press conferences? What\u2019s wrong? What?\u201d
So when I don\u2019t do them, you say, \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d When I do them, you say, \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d And when I go in the middle, you say, \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d But in the media \u2014 you know that, Jon. Right?
Q (Off-mic.) (Inaudible) complained about access.
THE PRESIDENT: You\u2019re sort of right.
Q (Off-mic.) (Inaudible) complained about access.
THE PRESIDENT: Okay, good.
Q (Off-mic.) (Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: No, no. You did. Excuse me. Well, you complained about access when I purposely just stayed away from the press for a while because I wanted to see how it worked. And can I be honest with you? It didn\u2019t work well.
Q Mr. President, I did (inaudible) question. So Sarah will stay on as Press Secretary?
THE PRESIDENT: Okay, please. Go ahead. No. Go ahead.
Q Mr. President, first off, I personally think it\u2019s very good to have you here because a free press and this type of engagement \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: I do, too. Actually? I do, too.
Q Yes. It\u2019s vital to democracy.
THE PRESIDENT: It\u2019s called \u201cearned media.\u201d It\u2019s worth billions. Go ahead.
Q Um, so I have two questions for you, if that\u2019s all right? It\u2019s a rare opportunity. Um, first, just a point of clarification on the tax returns issue. You brought up the audit. That doesn\u2019t prevent you from releasing them.
THE PRESIDENT: I know. Sure. But I didn\u2019t say it prevented me, I said lawyers will tell you not to do it. Go ahead. What\u2019s your next question? Go ahead.
Q If, well, just on that \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Come on. Let\u2019s go. More exciting question than that, please.
Q Okay. The second one: Michael Cohen recently said you called black voters \u201cstupid.\u201d
THE PRESIDENT: That\u2019s false.
Q Omarosa has accused you of using the N-word.
THE PRESIDENT: That\u2019s false.
Q And the rapper, Lil Jon, has said you called him \u201cUncle Tom.\u201d What\u2019s your response?
THE PRESIDENT: I don\u2019t know who Lil Jon is. I don\u2019t \u2014 I really don\u2019t.
Q He was on \u201cThe Apprentice.\u201d
THE PRESIDENT: I don\u2019t know. Oh, he was? Okay. Oh, I see. I don\u2019t know.
Q Have you ever made racist remarks?
THE PRESIDENT: No. No, I would never do that and I don\u2019t use racist remarks. And you know what? If I did, you people would\u2019ve known about it. I\u2019ve been hearing there are tapes. For years and years, \u201cThere are tapes.\u201d
Number one, I never worried about it because I never did. I never used racist remarks. I have never used racist remarks.
Okay.
Q Well, one point of fact.
THE PRESIDENT: Go ahead.
Q You have been a \u2014 one point of fact, because you told her you have the highest approval \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Quiet. Quiet.
Q \u2014 amongst African Americans.
THE PRESIDENT: Quiet. Quiet.
Go ahead.
Q It\u2019s just 8 percent, sir. Single digits.
THE PRESIDENT: See, when you talk about division, it\u2019s people like this that cause division. Great division.
Q Point of fact, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: Great \u2014 no. No, point of fact is that I never used a racist remark. That\u2019s the point of fact.
Q (Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: Where \u2014 who are you from?
Q I\u2019m from Yahoo! News. (Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: Yahoo! \u2014 oh, Yahoo! \u2014 oh, good. Good, I hope they\u2019re doing well.
Q MTV Lebanon (inaudible). Sir, first question \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Where are you from?
Q MTV Lebanon. Lebanon.
THE PRESIDENT: Lebanon. Good.
Q Yes. Thank you, Mr. President. We\u2019re so happy to be \u2014 as well have this opportunity. Mr. \u2014 President Erdo\u011fan said he\u2019s not going to follow your sanctions and he\u2019s going to keep buying oil from \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Who said that?
Q President Erdo\u011fan. Turkey.
THE PRESIDENT: I know. I know.
Q And you\u2019re going to meet him soon \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: I just can\u2019t understand his speak \u2014
Q Okay. You\u2019re going to meet him soon. You\u2019re going to have this talk and some countries are going to take the same steps that President Erdo\u011fan is doing and \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: So let me just say about the oil, okay? So we\u2019re \u2014 we imposed, just recently, the strongest sanctions in the history of our country, just about. Although I guess North Korea is there, too. But I gave some countries a break on the oil. I did it a little bit because they really asked for some help. But I really did it because I don\u2019t want to drive oil prices up to $100 a barrel or $150 a barrel, because I\u2019m driving them down.
If you look at oil prices, they\u2019ve come down very substantially over the last couple of months. That\u2019s because of me. Because you have a monopoly called \u201cOPEC.\u201d And I don\u2019t like \u2014 wait.
Q (Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: And I don\u2019t like that monopoly. I don\u2019t like it. And oil prices are coming down.
So rather than deciding to be as tough as I am on most of the sanctions, what I\u2019ve done is I said, \u201cWe\u2019re not going to do it that way; we\u2019re going to let some of the oil go out to these countries that really do need it because I don\u2019t want to drive the oil prices up to $100 or $150 a barrel, which could happen very easily. It\u2019s a very fragile market. Very, very fragile. I know it very well. And it\u2019s the absolute right decision.
And they\u2019ll get tougher as time goes by, maybe, but I don\u2019t want to have any effect on the oil prices worldwide, where I drive them up. Because I consider that to be a tax, and I don\u2019t like taxes.
Go ahead.
Q What happened with the peace process between Israel and Palestine?
THE PRESIDENT: Go ahead. Please. Please.
Q The peace process is over?
THE PRESIDENT: Who?
Q It just came out that Jon Tester won \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Oh, congratulations to Jon Tester. Congratulations. I\u2019m sure you\u2019re very unhappy about that.
Go ahead.
Q Mr. President, can \u2014
MS. SANDERS: (Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. Please, go ahead.
Q Can you address the \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: We\u2019ll take a couple of more, and then we\u2019ll go.
Q Can you address concerns in places like Georgia where people waited in line to vote for hours, where voting machines weren\u2019t working in certain districts, and there hasn\u2019t \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Do you think that\u2019s the reason that the candidate lost?
Q Well, there are concerns being raised that it wasn\u2019t \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I mean, look, I wasn\u2019t involved in Georgia. I wasn\u2019t.
Q I know, but are \u2014 but, as President \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Other than I love the state. I do love the state.
Q Yes, but as President of the United States, are you concerned about the access that people are having to voting?
THE PRESIDENT: I heard it was very efficient in Georgia. I heard it was very efficient. But again, you\u2019d have to ask the state governments because \u2014 just one of those things you\u2019re going to have to ask them.
Yeah, go ahead. Please. Please, go ahead.
Q Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President. You expressed some concerns about social media companies unfairly censoring conservatives during the election. Do you anticipate working with Democrats to regulate these companies, or are you satisfied with the way things are?
THE PRESIDENT: I would \u2014 I would do that. Yeah. I would look at that very seriously. I think it\u2019s a serious problem. At the same time, you start getting into speech; that\u2019s a very dangerous problem. That could be the beginning. So it\u2019s very dangerous.
Believe it or not, I\u2019m one that really likes free speech. A lot of people don\u2019t understand that. But I am a big believer. And when you start regulating, a lot of bad things can happen.
But I would certainly talk to the Democrats if they want to do that. And I think they do want to do that.
Yes, sir. Go ahead.
Q Former President \u2014 former President Barack Obama famously said that he had \u201ca pen and a phone\u201d to use executive power on issues like immigration. Do you see yourself using executive power to get some of your immigration agenda done?
THE PRESIDENT: I do. I do. I think that some of it I can use executive power \u2014 on some. Not all. But I got \u2014 I mean, he certainly used it.
He used it on DACA. And when he did it, he said something to the effect that \u201cI\u2019m not allowed to do this, it will never hold up, but I\u2019m doing it anyway.\u201d And he did it and they found judges that approved it. We also found judges that didn\u2019t approve it, so it\u2019s obviously going to be determined in the Supreme Court.
And if the Supreme \u2014 if the court rules in favor of what President Obama thinks they should rule \u2014 which is what he said \u2014 then I will probably have a deal with the Democrats in a very short period of time. We were very close to having a deal until we got that very strange ruling.
Q Thank you, sir. You also made some promises about immigration during the campaign, and I want to know if you\u2019re going to follow through with them. Are you going to be aggressive \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: Which one are you talking about?
Q Birthright citizenship. Are you going to sign an executive order to ban \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: We are looking at it very seriously. Absolutely.
Q I mean, is it yes or no? Or are you \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: And I believe we have the absolute right. But that\u2019s another case that will be determined by the Supreme Court of the United States.
Q Are you going to send 15,000 troops to the border?
THE PRESIDENT: You\u2019ve been reading the same documents as I have; you know exactly what I\u2019m doing. You know exactly what I\u2019m doing.
So go ahead. What\u2019s your next question?
Q Also, on the Khashoggi matter, it\u2019s been more than a month since the death of Mr. Khashoggi, the journalist.
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah. Very sad thing. Very terrible thing.
Q Do you think Saudi Arabia is guilty of having him murdered? And if so, what kind of punishment would be involved?
THE PRESIDENT: I\u2019ll have a much stronger opinion on that subject over the next week, and I\u2019m working very closely with Congress. We\u2019re working together. Some very talented people. And we\u2019re working with Congress, we\u2019re working with Turkey, and we\u2019re working with Saudi Arabia. And I\u2019m forming a very strong opinion.
Go ahead, Jon. Go ahead, Jon.
Q Mr. President, just a quick follow up. You said something about Nancy Pelosi. You said that Nancy Pelosi, she loves our country. Do you regret some of the things you said during the campaign?
THE PRESIDENT: No.
Q I mean, at various times, you said Democrats \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: No.
Q \u2014 want to put a \u201cwrecking ball\u2026to our future\u201d; they want to \u201cdestroy our country.\u201d
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I believe that. I believe that. With their current policy, they are using a wrecking ball on our country. I believe that 100 percent. This would be a wrecking ball.
But I think there\u2019s a compromise somewhere, and I think that could be really good for our country.
Okay, how about one more?
Q Do you regret the ad? Do you regret the ad that you did that was branded as racist ad and even Fox News wouldn\u2019t air it?
THE PRESIDENT: No, I don\u2019t. No. No.
Q NBC wouldn\u2019t air it, and other networks.
THE PRESIDENT: Do I regret it?
Q Yeah.
THE PRESIDENT: Surprised you would ask me that question. I do not.
Go ahead, please.
Q Thank you, sir. And I think we\u2019d all love to have more of these, if you\u2019re willing.
In 2017, shortly after you took office, your Homeland Security Department shuttered a program to counter homegrown, right-wing extremism, white supremacism, and related terrorist groups \u2014 domestic terrorist groups; and redirected that funding towards fighting Islamic terrorism. Do you believe that white supremacists, terrorists, right-wing terrorists, these homegrown terrorists on that side of the spectrum are a problem, sir?
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah, I do. I do believe that\u2019s a problem.
Q And what is your administration going to do about it?
THE PRESIDENT: I believe all hate is a problem, but I do believe that is a problem.
Q What are you going to do about it, sir?
THE PRESIDENT: And it\u2019s a problem we want to solve.
Q How, sir? What are you going to do about it, sir?
THE PRESIDENT: Okay, go ahead.
Q Sir \u2014 sir, what are you going to do about it? You cut off the funding.
Q Mr. President, you\u2019ve said \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: No, we have given funding for that \u2014 a lot of funding. But I do believe it\u2019s a problem. And can I tell you what \u2014 it\u2019s a problem that I don\u2019t like even a little bit.
Go ahead.
Q Aixa Diaz with Hearst Television. You\u2019ve said, \u201cPretend I\u2019m on the ballot\u201d \u2014 yesterday. You called it a referendum on your presidency. Many local districts across the country rejected your midterm message, particularly suburban women. How do you bridge that divide now \u2014 also with the influx of women coming into Congress?
THE PRESIDENT: I think my message was very well received. I mean, just look at the results. Midterm elections are disasters for sitting Presidents and administrations. This has been a very successful \u2014 and, look, you can write it any way you want. And if you disagree with me \u2014 this has been incredibly success \u2014 when you look at the races. How about Ohio? I didn\u2019t even mention. I mentioned Florida; I mentioned Georgia. How about the governor of Ohio? A fantastic \u2014
Q But what\u2019s your message to suburban women voters?
THE PRESIDENT: Excuse me. Excuse me. Excuse me. A fantastic man, who was down on the polls. And everybody was talking about this person that was so great. And I went up there, and I did a rally, and they have now a great governor \u2014 you\u2019re going to have a great governor in Ohio for, hopefully, a long period of time. But for four years. And \u2014 Mike DeWine is a fantastic person.
And I went up there for two reasons: Because I felt that his opposition was not a good person \u2014 and we know a lot about him \u2014 and I felt that Mike was a fantastic person. And he won. And not only did he win, he won easily.
So add that to Florida, and add that to Georgia, and add that to all of the other races that we won \u2014 outside, even, of the Senate races, which were the biggest of all. Because these were races that \u2014 and Mike Pence can tell you, and some of the folks over here can tell you \u2014 these were races that were going to be unopposed. We were not going to oppose certain of the people running \u2014 certain senators. They said they couldn\u2019t be beaten. They said Heidi could not be beaten. \u201cPlease, don\u2019t do it.\u201d This was a year out.
Q What about in the suburban districts? How do you get those back?
THE PRESIDENT: Excuse me. You \u2014 no, but you\u2019re telling me about \u2014 you\u2019re telling me about popularity. They said many of these people \u2014 when I said 9 out of 11 \u2014 but I said \u2014 when many of these people \u2014 these weren\u2019t like easy races; they were tough races.
And so I think the level of popularity \u2014 the first question I was asked was about, \u201cWell, what have you learned? What about your own popularity?\u201d I think that\u2019s what I learned, is \u2014 I was very well received by this great country, by the people of our great country. And I\u2019m very proud of that, because I love the people of this country. These people \u2014 we are the greatest people. I love the people of our country.
Q So what do you say to women, Mr. President?
THE PRESIDENT: And I\u2019ll tell you something: When you look at the races that we won in Florida, which we weren\u2019t expected to win; and Georgia, which we weren\u2019t expected to win; and Ohio, which we weren\u2019t expected to win \u2014 and won; I mean, you look at some of them \u2014 the number of votes that we got is incredible.
So I\u2019m really happy with not only the way it came out, but the response to me as your President. And as your President, I made our country safe. I\u2019ve rebuilt and am in the process of rebuilding our military. And the jobs are here. Every one of them built here. We\u2019re going to have the strongest \u2014 very shortly, we\u2019re going to have the strongest military our country has ever had.
I\u2019ve done more for the vets than any President has done, certainly in many, many decades, with Choice and with other things, as you know. With other things.
But our vets are doing better than they\u2019ve ever done. But if you look at Choice \u2014 Choice alone \u2014 I mean, just take a look at what we\u2019ve done with Choice. But the people of our country are very happy with the job that I\u2019m doing. And you know, one of the things \u2014
Q But looking ahead to 2020 \u2014
THE PRESIDENT: One of the things \u2014 one of the things that they want so much is security. They want security, both at the border \u2014 they want it with our military; they want it with law enforcement; they want it with ICE.
You know, we\u2019ve taken out thousands of MS-13 gang members \u2014 thousands out of our \u2014 hard to believe \u2014 thousands \u2014 out of our country. Women of our country, who are incredible people, they want security; they want safety. They want financial security also. We\u2019ve done that. But they want physical security.
And we\u2019ve taken out thousands of people that shouldn\u2019t be in this country. But we have to get strong immigration laws so they don\u2019t come in. We want laws where they don\u2019t come in, where we don\u2019t have to take them out, per se.
And again, I\u2019m very honored to be with all of you. It was a great day yesterday. It was a great evening. I think we had a tremendous success. And hopefully the tone can get better. Hopefully \u2014
Q How will you change that?
THE PRESIDENT: Hopefully the tone can get a lot better. And I really believe it begins with the media. I really \u2014 we used to call it the \u201cpress.\u201d But I really \u2014
Q Does it begin with you, Mr. President?
THE PRESIDENT: But I really believe it begins with the media. If you would cover \u2014 and there was a very interesting story written in a very good paper recently that talked about the fact that it isn\u2019t good what the media is doing, and that I do have the right to fight back because I\u2019m treated very unfairly.
So I do fight back. And I\u2019m fighting back not for me; I\u2019m fighting back for the people of this country.
Thank you all very much. Thank you.<\/p>\n

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