- yesterday
President Trump meets with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office.
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00:30Okay, thank you very much.
00:40It's a honor, great honor, to have a friend of mine who's become very friendly over the last number of years.
00:47We knew each other before, but Mark is the head of NATO, Mark Ruta, Secretary General of NATO.
00:53I'm highly respected by everybody that knows him, but in particular, the European countries.
00:59They have great reliance on him, and he's done a fantastic job.
01:03And we had a tremendous meeting.
01:06I guess it's about a month now, a month ago.
01:09And I think Mark will tell you that it was really perhaps more important the date of November 5th.
01:16That was the election day.
01:17Maybe that was the most important, because we've made tremendous progress together.
01:20And one of the reasons that you're here today is to hear that we are very unhappy, I am, with Russia.
01:30But we'll discuss that maybe a different day.
01:33But we're very, very unhappy with them, and we're going to be doing very severe tariffs.
01:39If we don't have a deal in 50 days, tariffs at about 100 percent, you'd call them secondary tariffs.
01:45You know what that means.
01:48But today, we're going to talk about something else.
01:50And as you know, we've spent $350 billion, approximately, on this war with Russia and Ukraine.
01:59And we'd like to see it end.
02:01It wasn't my war.
02:01It was Biden's war.
02:03It's not my war.
02:04I'm trying to get you out of it.
02:06And we want to see it end.
02:09And I'm disappointed in President Putin, because I thought we would have had a deal two months ago.
02:14But it doesn't seem to get there.
02:16So, based on that, we're going to be doing secondary tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days.
02:21It's very simple.
02:22And they'll be at 100 percent.
02:25And that's the way it is.
02:26It can be more simple.
02:27It's just the way it is.
02:28I hope we don't have to do it.
02:30But, regardless, we are going to be — we make the greatest military equipment in the world, whether it's missiles.
02:39You saw that recently in Iran, the way those planes flew in.
02:42They had every single — 14 bombs hit every target.
02:46Then you had the helicopter shoot a total of 30 bombs, 30 missiles.
02:53And they hit every single — Marco, is that right?
02:55Every single piece?
02:56Sure.
02:56Every single target.
02:59And it was, I guess, on a scale of 0 to 10, they say it was about a 15.
03:05That's how successful it was.
03:07That's how lethal it was, a word they like to use nowadays.
03:10But it was an amazing, well-organized attack that people in this country wanted to do for 24 years.
03:20You know, when we had the pilots in last week, they were saying,
03:23sir, we've been practicing this for 24 years.
03:26Meaning people, not them, but other people that are a little older now.
03:30But they, too.
03:31And you were the one that let us do it.
03:34But we've been practicing it three to four times a year for 22, 24 years.
03:41Because they always knew they had stopped Iran from doing what they were doing,
03:46which is trying to come up with a nuclear weapon, a nuclear bomb.
03:51And we did it very successfully.
03:54And we make the best equipment, the best missiles, the best of everything.
04:00The European nations know that.
04:03And we've made a deal today, and I'm going to have Mark speak about it,
04:07but we've made a deal today where we are going to be sending them weapons,
04:11and they're going to be paying for them.
04:14We, the United States, will not be having any payment made.
04:18We're not buying it, but we will manufacture it,
04:22and they're going to be paying for it.
04:24Our last meeting of a month ago was very successful in that they agreed to 5%,
04:28which is more than a trillion dollars a year, so they have a lot of money.
04:31And they have, these are wealthy nations.
04:33They have a lot of money, and they want to do it.
04:35They feel very strongly about it, and we feel strongly about it, too.
04:39But we're in for a lot of money, and we just, we don't want to do it anymore.
04:43And we can't.
04:44But we make the best, and we're going to be sending the best to NATO,
04:47and in some cases to maybe, at Mark's suggestion,
04:51if we go to Germany, where they're going to send early-on missiles,
04:55and they'll be replaced, and NATO's going to take care of it.
04:59It's going to be coordinated by NATO,
05:02and they're going to work very much with Matt Whitaker,
05:04who's right here, who's a great ambassador,
05:06and Matt's going to be coordinating.
05:07You better do a good job, Matt.
05:09I will.
05:10But Matt's going to coordinate.
05:11He's a very talented guy.
05:12He's going to coordinate everything.
05:14So, in a nutshell, we're going to make top-of-the-line weapons,
05:19and they'll be sent to NATO.
05:21NATO may choose to have certain of them sent to other countries
05:24where we can get a little additional speed,
05:26where the country will release something,
05:28and it'll be mostly in the form of a replacement.
05:32And I'd like to have Mark, and again, just a highly respected,
05:36pretty young guy, pretty young guy,
05:39for having had the career that he's had.
05:41Because he had an amazing career,
05:43before going to NATO.
05:45So, we spent a lot of time together
05:48over the last couple of months.
05:50And if you could say a few words.
05:51Absolutely.
05:52No, no, Mr. President, dear Donald,
05:54this is really big.
05:55This is really big.
05:56You called me on Thursday
05:58that you had taken a decision.
06:01And the decision is that
06:02you want to bring what it needs to have
06:05to maintain,
06:07to be able to defend itself
06:09against Russia,
06:10but you don't want Europeans to pay for it,
06:12which is totally logical.
06:13And this is building on the tremendous success
06:17of the NATO summit.
06:18The 5%,
06:20but also the decision
06:21to keep Ukraine strong,
06:23and the decision to increase
06:25our defense industrial production.
06:27So, based on that,
06:28this is,
06:29that was Europe stepping up.
06:30This is, again,
06:31Europeans stepping up.
06:33So, I've been in contact
06:34with many countries.
06:35I can tell you that at this moment,
06:37Germany, massively,
06:38but also Finland,
06:39and Denmark,
06:40and Sweden,
06:41and Norway,
06:41and the Kingdom,
06:42and the Netherlands,
06:43Canada,
06:44they all want to be part of this.
06:45And this is only the first wave.
06:47There will be more.
06:48So, what we will do
06:48is work through the NATO systems
06:50to make sure
06:51that we know
06:51what Ukrainians need
06:53so that we can make packages.
06:55Of course,
06:55in a way,
06:56we discussed it this morning
06:57with Pete Hexat
06:58at the Pentagon,
07:00in a way that,
07:00of course,
07:00the U.S.
07:02will put on its stockpiles
07:03necessary to defend this country.
07:05That's absolutely clear.
07:06But it will mean
07:07that Ukraine can get its hands
07:09on really massive numbers
07:12of military equipment,
07:14both for air defense,
07:16but also missiles,
07:18ammunition,
07:18et cetera, et cetera.
07:19So, if I was Vladimir Putin today
07:21and hear you speaking
07:22about what you were planning
07:23to do in 50 days
07:24and this announcement,
07:26I would reconsider
07:27whether I should not
07:29take negotiations
07:30about Ukraine
07:31more seriously
07:32than I was doing at the moment,
07:33if I was Vladimir Putin.
07:34But when I'm in Ukraine,
07:35I think this is really great news
07:37for that.
07:37So, I really want to thank you
07:38for that.
07:39That means the Europeans
07:39paying for it.
07:41And again,
07:41I mentioned all these countries,
07:42we will deal with that.
07:43And exactly as you said,
07:45it might also mean
07:46that countries
07:47will move equipment
07:48fast into Ukraine
07:51and then the U.S.
07:52later backfilling it
07:53because speed is of the essence here.
07:56So, really, thank you.
07:58This is important.
07:58You did a great job.
08:00That's a really great job.
08:02We've been very successful
08:03in settling wars.
08:04You have India, Pakistan.
08:05You have Rwanda
08:07and the Congo.
08:08That was going on
08:09for 30 years.
08:10India, by the way,
08:11and Pakistan
08:12would have been a nuclear war
08:13within another week
08:14the way that was going.
08:15That was going very badly.
08:16And we did that through trade.
08:18I said,
08:19we're not going to talk
08:20to you about trade
08:20unless you get this thing settled.
08:21And they did.
08:22And they were both great.
08:23Great leaders.
08:24And they were great.
08:25But Rwanda
08:27and the Congo,
08:28that was going on
08:29for 30 years
08:30and at least
08:327 million people killed
08:34and killed
08:35with a lot of
08:36pretty rough weapons
08:38like machetes,
08:40heads chopped off,
08:42going on for many years.
08:43You couldn't even
08:44get near the countries.
08:45Nobody wanted to get near.
08:46It's so frightening.
08:47And we got that one solved.
08:50Serbia, Kosovo,
08:52got that solved.
08:53That was going to be
08:54one that was going to happen.
08:56And again,
08:57that was something I used.
08:58I used trade
08:58for a lot of things.
09:00But it's great
09:01for settling wars.
09:03That was really
09:04very important.
09:04We're working,
09:05Marca is working
09:06very hard
09:06with everybody here
09:07on the strip,
09:10the Gaza Strip.
09:12I call it
09:12the Gaza Strip,
09:13one of the worst
09:13real estate deals
09:14ever made.
09:15They gave up
09:15the oceanfront property.
09:18One of the worst deals
09:18ever made.
09:19But it was supposed
09:20to bring peace.
09:21And it didn't bring peace.
09:23It brought the opposite.
09:24But we're doing
09:25pretty well
09:25on Gaza.
09:26Steve Whitcoff is here.
09:27And I think
09:28we could have
09:29something fairly soon
09:30to talk about.
09:33And we solved
09:33another one.
09:35One that we just
09:37seem to have.
09:38Armenia and Azerbaijan.
09:41It looks like
09:42that's going to come
09:43to a conclusion,
09:44successful conclusion.
09:47We worked on Egypt
09:48with our next-door neighbor
09:50who is a good neighbor.
09:52They're friends of mine.
09:53But they happened
09:54to build a dam
09:54which closed up water
09:58going into a thing
09:58called the Nile.
10:00I think if I'm Egypt,
10:01I want to have water
10:02in the Nile.
10:03And we're working
10:05on that one problem.
10:07But it's going
10:08to get solved.
10:09They built one
10:10of the biggest dams
10:10in the world,
10:12a little bit outside
10:12of Egypt.
10:14You know about that?
10:15You've been hearing
10:15about that one.
10:17And that turned out
10:18to be a big problem.
10:19I don't know.
10:20I think the United States
10:21funded the dam.
10:22I don't know why
10:22they didn't solve
10:23the problem before
10:23they built the dam.
10:25But it's nice
10:26when the Nile River
10:26has water.
10:28It's a very important
10:29source of income
10:30in life.
10:31It's the life of Egypt.
10:33And to take that away
10:34is pretty incredible.
10:35But we think
10:37we're going to have
10:37that solved
10:38very quickly.
10:39So we do good.
10:40The only one
10:40we haven't been able
10:41to get to yet
10:42is Russia.
10:44And I'm not happy.
10:45And I will tell you
10:46that Ukraine wants
10:47to do something.
10:48Again, it's a war
10:49that should have
10:50never started.
10:51If I were president,
10:52it never would have
10:52happened.
10:53I used to speak
10:53to President Putin
10:54about it a lot.
10:55It was the apple
10:56of his eye.
10:58But once I saw
10:59what was going on,
11:00I said, you know,
11:00they didn't have
11:01a war here.
11:02I was outside.
11:04The election was rigged.
11:06And I was outside
11:06looking in.
11:07And I said, you know,
11:08that thing's going
11:09to be a war.
11:10Couldn't believe it.
11:10Because what Biden
11:11said was the exact
11:12opposite of what
11:13should have been said.
11:15And it started.
11:16And it's a real mess.
11:18We're losing,
11:19I guess they're losing
11:205,000 or 6,000 people
11:22a day.
11:22It's actually now more.
11:23I used to,
11:24I was saying 5,000 a day.
11:26It's actually more now.
11:27Mostly soldiers,
11:28but a lot of people
11:29in cities and towns
11:30that are getting blown up
11:31to a horrible war.
11:33And it should be stopped.
11:34And so if it's not done,
11:35if we don't have
11:36an agreement in 50 days,
11:37that's what we're doing.
11:38Secondary tariffs.
11:41And they're biting.
11:43And I hope we don't get
11:44to the point where we do.
11:45But I've been hearing
11:46so much talk.
11:48It's all talk.
11:48It's all talk.
11:50And then missiles go
11:51into Kiev and kill 60 people.
11:55It's got to stop.
11:57It's got to stop.
11:58But the purpose of this
12:00is to say that
12:01there's a very big deal
12:02we've made.
12:03This is billions of dollars
12:04worth of military equipment
12:06is going to be purchased
12:07from the United States,
12:09going to NATO, et cetera.
12:11And that's going to be
12:12quickly distributed
12:13into the battlefield.
12:16Ukraine will take it up.
12:18And, you know,
12:18say what you want
12:19about Ukraine.
12:20When the war started,
12:21they had no chance.
12:23And they still would have
12:25had no chance
12:26if the equipment,
12:27they had the best equipment.
12:28Because we do make
12:29the best planes
12:30and missiles.
12:31And we make the best military
12:33equipment in the world,
12:34the world by far.
12:36We have new things coming out
12:37that are beyond belief.
12:39And I'm very excited
12:40about the Golden Dome.
12:42It's going to give us
12:42very strong protection.
12:45We've already started that.
12:47But they had courage
12:50because somebody has
12:50to use that equipment.
12:52And they fought
12:53with tremendous courage.
12:54And they continue to fight
12:55with tremendous courage.
12:56But they don't have...
12:58They're losing on equipment.
13:00And Russia's really
13:01taken a very positive...
13:02Very, very strong...
13:06I mean,
13:06what they've done
13:06the last couple of weeks.
13:08Without military reasons.
13:09That's what they're doing.
13:10700 drones a day,
13:11missiles,
13:12bombing cities.
13:14This is not because
13:14of military goals.
13:16It is just creating panic.
13:19Hitting towns.
13:19Keeping people out of their sleeps.
13:20Hitting towns.
13:21It's really terrible.
13:23And it is meaning
13:23a lot of people
13:24lose their lives.
13:25But also the infrastructure.
13:27Whole cities being...
13:28Well, they're wiping out
13:29the electric.
13:30It's going to take years
13:30to rebuild it.
13:32That's going to be
13:33the next problem.
13:35But that's going to take
13:36a long time.
13:37Cities...
13:38Many of the cities
13:38are knocked down
13:39to the ground.
13:40Many of the people
13:41have left.
13:42But many have stayed.
13:43I don't know if they...
13:44They actually stay.
13:46Most have stayed, actually.
13:47It's incredible
13:48that they stay
13:49and knowing that a missile
13:50could be hitting
13:51your apartment house
13:52and your apartment house
13:54that you're sitting in
13:55could collapse
13:55on top of you.
13:56And they do
13:57very heavy construction.
13:58They don't use rebar.
13:59They do very thick
14:00concrete construction.
14:01Those are heavy buildings.
14:03Big buildings
14:03and heavy buildings.
14:05And they collapse
14:06like they're made
14:08out of paper.
14:09It's unbelievable
14:09to see this happening
14:11with people...
14:11So many people
14:12being killed.
14:12So we think
14:14we're going to make progress
14:15and we hope
14:16we're going to make progress.
14:17In the meantime,
14:17we're going to get you
14:18good service
14:19on what you need.
14:20And we really
14:21became friendly
14:22with NATO
14:23this last meeting.
14:23You know,
14:24we went from 2%
14:25to 5%,
14:25which everyone said
14:26was not even
14:28a possibility.
14:29They weren't paying 2%.
14:30Many of them
14:30were paying
14:31much less than 2%.
14:32But even those,
14:33since you became president,
14:34all committed
14:35to the 2%
14:35before the summit.
14:36And now, collectively,
14:37we committed
14:38to the 5%.
14:38That's right.
14:39They did.
14:39And they've been
14:40very good.
14:41And I think
14:41I made a lot
14:42of friends over there.
14:43We had a couple
14:44of days
14:44of very intensive talks.
14:46And they're great people.
14:47They're leaders
14:48of countries.
14:49Leaders of countries.
14:50Many of them
14:51great countries.
14:52Some of them
14:53smaller countries.
14:54But for the most part,
14:55that's some very solid,
14:56strong countries.
14:58And very successful.
15:00Some of them
15:00are among the most
15:01successful countries
15:02in the world.
15:03So that's the story.
15:05And we hope
15:05that's going to
15:06have an impact
15:07on Vladimir Putin.
15:09And we hope
15:10it's going to have
15:10an impact
15:11on Ukraine also.
15:13We want to make sure
15:13that Ukraine does
15:15what they have to do.
15:16All of a sudden,
15:16they may feel emboldened
15:18or maybe they don't want.
15:20You know,
15:20this is a very
15:21difficult situation.
15:23Ukraine wants
15:24a peace deal.
15:25I think so.
15:25And they will stay
15:26committed to that.
15:27There's no doubt.
15:27They want it.
15:28But the Russians
15:28have to be...
15:29They have to continue
15:30to want it, though.
15:31Yeah, I agree.
15:31You and I will make sure
15:33of that.
15:33All of a sudden,
15:34they get...
15:34You and I will make sure
15:35of that.
15:35We'll make sure.
15:36I feel confident
15:37that they will do
15:38what has to be done.
15:39Plus, we have certain
15:40parameters that both
15:41sides know.
15:43And we already know
15:44what should be done.
15:46So I think that's
15:46going to be...
15:47It's going to be
15:48very strong.
15:49We want everlasting peace.
15:51Any questions for us?
15:52Yes?
15:53Thank you, Mr. President.
15:53What was the tipping point
15:55for you in making
15:55this decision?
15:56Was it a conversation
15:57with President Putin?
15:58Was it a piece
15:58of intelligence?
15:59And why are you giving
16:0050 more days?
16:01I think that...
16:02Well, I think it's
16:03a very short period of time.
16:04I think, don't forget,
16:05I've just really been
16:06involved in this
16:07for not very long.
16:09And it wasn't
16:10initial focus.
16:11This is, again,
16:12this is a Biden war.
16:13This is a Democrat war,
16:15not a Republican
16:15or Trump war.
16:17This is a war
16:17that would have
16:18never happened.
16:18It shouldn't have happened.
16:20A lot of people
16:20being killed.
16:21When the final numbers
16:24come in,
16:24you're going to see
16:25a lot more people
16:26are being killed
16:27in this war
16:27than you think,
16:29than you've been
16:29writing about.
16:30It's a very deadly war.
16:32They're all bad,
16:33but this is a very deadly war.
16:34The numbers are going
16:36to be far greater.
16:36When an apartment house
16:38comes down
16:38and they say
16:40two people
16:40were slightly injured.
16:42No, many people
16:43were killed.
16:44And those numbers
16:45will be at some point
16:46accurately reported.
16:47So far, they're not.
16:48It's a deadly war.
16:50I think that
16:51you're just going to see...
16:53I think you're going
16:54to see strong movement.
16:55I hope so.
16:56I hope so.
16:56You know,
16:57the secondary tariffs
16:59are very, very powerful.
17:00What about the tariffs
17:02that the Republicans
17:03in the House
17:04and the Senate have ready?
17:05Those are 500%.
17:06Why are you doing 100%?
17:08Well, the Republicans
17:09are moving very strongly
17:11in the Senate,
17:12giving us total control of it.
17:14But I'm not sure we need it,
17:17but it's certainly good
17:19that they're doing it.
17:20And Lindsey Graham
17:21is working hard.
17:22The whole region,
17:23all of them,
17:24they're all working hard.
17:25And they're in coordination
17:27with Mike Johnson,
17:29the Speaker in the House.
17:31And I think they are...
17:32They've actually crafted
17:33a pretty good piece
17:35of legislation.
17:36It's probably going to pass
17:37very easily.
17:38And that includes Democrats.
17:40And there are some little tweaks.
17:42But I don't want to say
17:44I don't need it
17:45because I don't want them
17:45to waste their time.
17:46It could be very useful.
17:47We'll have to see.
17:48But we can do...
17:49We can do secondary.
17:51We're probably talking about
17:52100% or something like that.
17:54Can you clarify...
17:55We can do secondary.
17:56We can do secondary tariffs
17:57without the Senate,
17:59without the House.
18:01But what they're crafting
18:02also could be very good.
18:04So are you suggesting then
18:05that the Congress
18:06should move forward
18:07with those sanctions,
18:08the 500%,
18:09and that your 100%
18:10would be a separate,
18:11additional package?
18:12Yeah.
18:13I mean, the 500% is,
18:14you know,
18:15sort of meaningless
18:16after a while
18:17because at a certain point
18:18it doesn't matter.
18:19It's not going to be,
18:20you know,
18:20100% is going to serve
18:22the same function.
18:24But, yeah,
18:25I have it at 100%.
18:27They may have it.
18:28I don't know
18:28what they're going to end up with.
18:29They may have it at 102.
18:30They may have it at 500.
18:33But they're doing
18:33some good work in the House
18:34and I think
18:35in the House
18:36and the Senate.
18:37And as you know,
18:38they're coordinated.
18:40And they can have it done quickly.
18:41They said they'll have it
18:42as quickly as I need it.
18:44So we'll see.
18:45We're talking to them.
18:46In fact,
18:46John Thune's coming over
18:47later on to talk.
18:48He's going to come over.
18:51Thank you, Mr. President.
18:52Is it your view
18:53that Vladimir Putin
18:54mischaracterized
18:55his dedication?
18:56What?
18:56Is it your view
18:57that Vladimir Putin
18:58misguided,
19:01did not clarify
19:04his intention
19:06to a peace deal?
19:08And what happens now
19:09in the next phase?
19:11Is there a...
19:11We're going to see.
19:12I mean,
19:12we're going to have to go
19:13for a period of time.
19:14Maybe he'll start negotiating.
19:16I think we felt,
19:18I felt,
19:19I don't know about you, Mark,
19:20but I felt that we had a deal
19:21about four times.
19:24And here we are,
19:25still talking about...
19:26And he didn't send
19:27serious people
19:28to the negotiations.
19:29So I remember
19:29that you were able
19:31with Marco Rubio
19:33and with Steve Vitkoff
19:34to get his talks going
19:35in Istanbul.
19:36I remember
19:37I was myself in Turkey
19:38for NATO business
19:39in May.
19:41And he put pressure
19:42on the Ukrainians
19:43to send a senior team
19:44into Istanbul.
19:45And they did.
19:46But then
19:47the Russians
19:48came up with this
19:49historian
19:49explaining the history
19:50of Russia
19:51since 1250.
19:53We thought,
19:55and I thought,
19:56we should have
19:57had a deal
19:57done
19:58a long time ago.
20:00But it just
20:00keeps going on
20:01and on
20:02and on
20:02and every night
20:04people are dying.
20:05A lot of people,
20:06a lot of Russian soldiers
20:07are dying,
20:08by the way.
20:09And a lot of
20:09Ukrainian soldiers too.
20:11But a lot of Russian
20:12soldiers are dying.
20:13A hundred thousand
20:13Russian soldiers
20:14since
20:14first of January.
20:15since January.
20:16A hundred thousand
20:17Russian soldiers
20:18dead since January.
20:19So if anybody
20:20in Moscow
20:21is listening to this,
20:23again,
20:23a hundred thousand
20:24dead Russians
20:25since January.
20:26This is what
20:26President Putin
20:27is doing at the moment.
20:28will these be
20:31Patriot missiles
20:32specifically
20:33or Patriot batteries
20:34that you're planning?
20:35And when do you,
20:35when do you,
20:35it's everything.
20:36It's Patriots.
20:37It's all of them.
20:38It's a full complement
20:39with the batteries.
20:40And when do you expect
20:41them to arrive
20:42in Ukraine?
20:43Well,
20:43we're going to have
20:44some come very soon,
20:45within days,
20:46actually.
20:47A couple of the
20:48countries that have
20:49Patriots
20:49are going to swap over
20:50and will replace
20:52the Patriots
20:53with the ones
20:53they have
20:54and Matt
20:55will coordinate
20:56with NATO.
20:58But so it's going to be,
20:59they're going to start
20:59arriving very soon.
21:00And this afternoon
21:01Boris Pistorius,
21:02the German defense minister,
21:03is visiting
21:04Pete Hexert,
21:06the Secretary of Defense,
21:07and we'll discuss
21:08also, I think,
21:08on this whole Patriot thing.
21:09Norway is involved,
21:10so that's on the Patriots,
21:12but this whole deal
21:13is also about
21:14missiles or ammunition,
21:15so it's a broader
21:16than the Patriots.
21:17We have one country
21:18that has 17 Patriots
21:20getting ready to be shipped.
21:22They're not going
21:22to need them for that.
21:23So we're going to work
21:24a deal where the 17
21:26will go,
21:26or a big portion
21:27of the 17
21:28will go to the
21:30Worsay.
21:30Mr. President,
21:32that could be done
21:33very quick.
21:33Mr. President,
21:35could this transaction
21:36with NATO
21:37be viewed
21:38as a step
21:39towards achieving peace,
21:41letting Putin know
21:42that now
21:43Zelensky has
21:44a little bit more
21:45powerful tools
21:45in his tool chest,
21:46and maybe that brings him
21:47to the table
21:48to achieve peace?
21:49I know that you
21:50wanted to do that.
21:51Brian, that's what
21:52we've been saying.
21:53I think you might have
21:53expressed it better
21:54if you wanted them to.
21:56That's exactly what
21:57it was.
21:57That was a summary.
21:58That was a nice summary.
21:59I think he's done
22:00better than us.
22:01He's a very good guy,
22:02I can tell you that.
22:03But, no,
22:05it's well said.
22:06Yeah, I think this is
22:08a chance
22:10at getting peace.
22:12Or it's just going
22:12to be the same thing.
22:13I have to tell you,
22:15Europe has a lot
22:16of spirit
22:16for this war.
22:18A lot of people,
22:18you know,
22:19when I first got involved,
22:20I really didn't think
22:22they did,
22:23but they do.
22:24And I saw that
22:25a month ago,
22:25and you were there,
22:26most of you,
22:27many of you were there.
22:27The level of
22:29esprit de corps,
22:31spirit that they have
22:33is amazing.
22:34They really think
22:36it's a very,
22:37very important
22:37thing to do,
22:39or they wouldn't
22:39be doing it.
22:40Look,
22:40they're agreeing to,
22:41just, you know,
22:42they're paying for everything.
22:43We're not paying anymore.
22:44We were,
22:45we have an ocean
22:46separating us.
22:47I said,
22:47we have a problem.
22:48We make the best stuff,
22:50but we can't keep doing this.
22:51And Biden should have
22:52done this years ago.
22:54He should have done it
22:54from the beginning,
22:55but he didn't.
22:56He didn't know
22:56he was there.
22:57This guy,
22:58what a horrible job
23:01they did for this country.
23:02And I just hope,
23:03between the border
23:04and this
23:04and so many other,
23:05inflation,
23:06what a horrible administration.
23:09The worst administration
23:10in history,
23:11in my opinion.
23:11It's not my opinion.
23:12I think it's everybody's opinion.
23:14But this is something
23:15that shouldn't have happened,
23:17and we're going to see
23:18if we can end it.
23:19If I can follow up.
23:20I do want to make
23:21one statement.
23:22Again,
23:22I said it before.
23:23This is not Trump's war.
23:26We're here to try
23:26and get it finished
23:28and settled
23:29and whatever.
23:30Because nobody wins
23:31with this.
23:32This is a loser
23:33from every standpoint.
23:34This was Biden
23:36and this was other people.
23:39And it's very sad.
23:41It's a very sad situation.
23:43This gentleman
23:44is doing a great job.
23:44He's going to,
23:45I think he's going to get it,
23:46and Matt
23:47and everybody else
23:48that's working on it.
23:49I think you'll get this thing.
23:50Over with all of us.
23:50Mr. President,
23:52you've praised European countries
23:54today as standing up
23:55for Ukraine,
23:56as being strong.
23:57Will you allow them
23:58to continue to negotiate
23:59tariffs lower than 30%
24:01before August 1st?
24:02Or is the deal set at this point?
24:03What does that mean?
24:04You mean you're talking
24:05about the tariffs?
24:06Oh, you're back on tariffs.
24:08They're on a more friendly tariff, right?
24:11A little bit more friendly tariff.
24:13No, we're going to be
24:14talking to people.
24:16We have, you know,
24:17I watched the show this morning.
24:19They were talking about,
24:19well, when's he going
24:20to make the deal?
24:20The deals are already made.
24:21The letters are the deals.
24:23The deals are made.
24:24There are no deals to make.
24:25They would like to do
24:27a different kind of a deal.
24:28And we're always open to talk.
24:30We are open to talk,
24:31including to Europe.
24:32In fact, they're coming over.
24:34They'd like to talk.
24:34Mr. President,
24:35is there any concern
24:36about the U.S. stockpiles?
24:39There was a pause
24:39in delivery of weaponry
24:42to Ukraine
24:42in order to evaluate,
24:45apparently, the U.S. stockpiles.
24:46What came out of that?
24:47The President's evaluation.
24:48I mean, this was a very big —
24:50what we're talking about today
24:52is a very, very big day.
24:55And what Pete was doing —
24:57and me, too.
24:58I knew what Pete was doing —
24:59was evaluation,
25:01because we knew
25:02this was going to happen.
25:03And now we actually announced it.
25:05They voted on it.
25:06It's all been done.
25:08So, obviously,
25:09that has a big impact on —
25:11you know, when you say pause.
25:13Obviously, you're not going
25:14to be doing things
25:15if you don't know
25:15what's going to happen here.
25:17But we were pretty sure
25:17this was going to happen,
25:19so we did a little bit of a pause.
25:21But this is a very big —
25:22this is a very big event today.
25:24This is something —
25:25Mr. President,
25:25the truth escalates further.
25:27How far are you willing
25:28to go in response?
25:29In what?
25:30In what?
25:30How far are you willing to go
25:32if Putin were to escalate,
25:33send more bombs
25:34in the coming days?
25:35Don't ask me a question like that.
25:36How far?
25:37I don't know.
25:37I want to get the war settled.
25:40There are not Americans
25:40that are dying in it.
25:41And, you know,
25:42I have a problem,
25:43and J.D. has a problem.
25:44It's a stance
25:45that he's had for a long time.
25:47They're not Americans dying,
25:48but there are a lot of people dying
25:50on something
25:51that should be able
25:52to be settled.
25:53And we all agree with that.
25:54This group of people,
25:56you know,
25:56we want to defend our country,
25:58but, you know,
26:00ultimately,
26:00having a strong Europe
26:02is a very good thing.
26:04It's a very good thing.
26:04So I'm okay with that.
26:06Yeah, please, in the back.
26:07Yeah, yeah.
26:07Is there a ceiling
26:08on what the Europeans
26:09are willing to pay for?
26:10And it sounds like,
26:10are you ruling out
26:11the U.S. paying for some,
26:13from additional weapons
26:14through a drawdown authority?
26:15Shall I answer that?
26:17Because, basically,
26:18what the president is saying,
26:20that he is willing,
26:21of course,
26:21taking consideration
26:22what the U.S. needs itself,
26:23so it's not that you can have
26:25a shopping list
26:26and you can order
26:26whatever you want,
26:27because the U.S. has to make sure
26:28that the U.S. keeps its hands
26:30on what the U.S. needs,
26:32also to keep the whole world safe,
26:33because in the end,
26:34you are the police agent
26:34of the whole world.
26:36You're the most powerful nation
26:37on earth,
26:37the most powerful military on earth.
26:39But given that,
26:40the U.S. has decided
26:41to, indeed,
26:42massively supply Ukraine
26:44with what is necessary
26:45through NATO.
26:46Europeans 100% paying for that.
26:49And what we have been doing
26:50over the last couple of days
26:51is talking with countries,
26:52and I just mentioned to once
26:53who in the first wave
26:55immediately said,
26:56we want to chip in.
26:57And then you are really
26:58talking about big numbers.
26:59Take Germany visiting today.
27:02They are really talking
27:03about big numbers.
27:04Can we get some clarity?
27:06I will say,
27:07I spoke with Germany,
27:10spoke with most
27:11of the larger countries,
27:13and they are really
27:14enthusiastic about this.
27:16They want to,
27:16and, you know,
27:17they're willing to go very far.
27:18I will tell you,
27:19you know,
27:19as per your question,
27:20how far would I go?
27:22They want to go very far.
27:23They don't want this to happen.
27:25That's why I think
27:25from Putin's standpoint,
27:27it would really be good
27:27if he gets the country's economy
27:29is doing very poorly,
27:30and he's got to get
27:32his economy back.
27:33He's got to save his economy.
27:34He could save his country,
27:35in a sense.
27:36But the economy
27:37can destroy him.
27:39It's destroyed a lot
27:39of countries over the years.
27:40He wants to get
27:41that economy back.
27:42And, you know,
27:43he's got a great country
27:44for trading and other things.
27:45If they could use
27:45the assets instead of war,
27:47he's got some
27:48tremendous potential.
27:50That's what I would say.
27:51How did you deliver
27:51this news to Putin, sir?
27:53Say it?
27:53How did you tell Putin
27:54this was coming?
27:55I speak to him a lot
27:59about getting this thing done.
28:01And I always hang up and say,
28:03well, that was a nice phone call.
28:04And then missiles are launched
28:06into Kiev or some other city.
28:08And I said, strange.
28:09And after that happens,
28:11three or four times,
28:12you say,
28:13the talk doesn't mean anything.
28:15My conversations with them
28:17are always very pleasant.
28:18I say, isn't that a very lovely conversation?
28:21And then the missiles
28:22go off that night.
28:24I go home,
28:24I tell the First Lady,
28:25you know,
28:26I spoke to Vladimir today.
28:27We had a wonderful conversation.
28:29She said, oh, really?
28:31Another city was just hit.
28:34So it's like, look,
28:36he's a...
28:37I don't want to say
28:38he's an assassin,
28:39but he's a tough guy.
28:41It's been proven over the years.
28:42He's fooled a lot of people.
28:44He fooled Bush.
28:45He fooled a lot of people.
28:46He fooled Clinton, Bush,
28:48Obama, Biden.
28:49He didn't fool me.
28:50But what I do say
28:53is that at a certain point,
28:55you know,
28:56ultimately,
28:56talk doesn't talk.
28:57It's got to be action.
28:59It's got to be results.
29:00And I hope he does it.
29:03It's potentially
29:05such a great country
29:07to be wasting
29:08so many people on this
29:10and the money.
29:12And look at what's happened
29:13to his economy.
29:14Look at what's happened.
29:16And with the threat in 50 days,
29:17the economy will be hit very much.
29:20I mean, look,
29:21I hope he's going to do it.
29:23He knows the deal.
29:25He knows what a fair deal is.
29:28If there is such a thing
29:30as a fair deal,
29:31there's no winners here.
29:32This is a loser.
29:34This is a loser.
29:35And I dealt with him
29:36from the beginning.
29:37It wouldn't have happened,
29:38but I will say,
29:39Ukraine was the apple of his eye.
29:42We talk about it.
29:43It was the apple of his eye.
29:44But it wasn't going to happen.
29:46And he understood that.
29:47It wasn't going to happen.
29:48And then I noticed,
29:49after I was out,
29:50I noticed soldiers
29:52forming at the border.
29:53And then I heard
29:54horrible, stupid things
29:56being said
29:56from the other side.
29:59And I said,
30:00they're really
30:00handling it very,
30:02very wrong.
30:03It's a shame.
30:04One thing,
30:06and that is about
30:06President Trump,
30:07because you can offer
30:08in January,
30:09on the 12th of February,
30:10you had your first phone call
30:11with Putin.
30:12I think you did exactly
30:13what I hoped you would do,
30:14that is breaking the deadlock,
30:16starting the conversation,
30:17because you have to test him.
30:19I know Putin very well
30:20from the days
30:20when I was prime minister.
30:21And then once you have
30:22to test him,
30:23and you did this,
30:23and you really gave him
30:24a chance to be serious,
30:26to get to the table,
30:27to start negotiations.
30:28Steve Ritkoff,
30:28Marco Rubio,
30:29we all tried to help him.
30:31But you've now come to a point
30:32where you say,
30:33well, hey,
30:33we actually thought
30:34we had probably
30:35four times the deal.
30:37I mean,
30:37you would have called
30:38and said,
30:39this looks good.
30:40And then the deal
30:41wouldn't happen
30:42because bombs
30:42would be thrown out
30:43that night,
30:44and you'd say,
30:44we're not making any deals.
30:46It was like...
30:47But you were making
30:48the deadlock was crucial
30:49because you had to
30:50start that process,
30:51and you were the only one
30:52who was able to do that.
30:53I think we'll get it done.
30:54Do you think he's reasonable
30:55enough to negotiate
30:56an end to this?
30:57I think we're going
30:57to get it done.
30:58I think, look,
30:59he...
31:00this is a very powerful
31:02situation.
31:03You have very
31:04wealthy countries
31:05buying the best equipment
31:07in the world.
31:08And we have the best
31:09equipment in the world.
31:11We make equipment
31:12like no other.
31:13You know,
31:13our submarines,
31:14nuclear submarines,
31:15are so powerful.
31:17They're the most powerful
31:19weapon ever built.
31:21And we have the best
31:22in the world by...
31:24They're 20 years behind,
31:2525 years behind us.
31:27We have the greatest
31:28equipment anywhere
31:29in the world.
31:29I just hope
31:30we don't have to use it.
31:31Yeah, please.
31:32Thank you,
31:32Mr. President.
31:34On a separate topic here,
31:35President Biden,
31:36of all people,
31:37spoke to the New York Times
31:38over the weekend.
31:40He did not speak
31:41to them on the record
31:42during his time
31:43in office at all,
31:43but he spoke
31:43to them recently.
31:45And he defended
31:46his use of the autopen
31:47and said that he signed
31:49off on every decision.
31:51But at the same time,
31:52the Times reports
31:52that he did not
31:53individually approve
31:55each name
31:55for the categorical pardons
31:57that applied
31:57to large numbers
31:58of people.
31:59What is your take
32:00on that?
32:01Any new revelations
32:02from that?
32:02Well, I mean,
32:03you're talking
32:04about the autopen.
32:05Look, the autopen,
32:06I think,
32:06is maybe one
32:07of the biggest scandals
32:08that we've had
32:09in 50 to 100 years.
32:12This is a tremendous scandal.
32:15And I know the people
32:16on the other side
32:17of the...
32:18See that desk,
32:19that resolute desk?
32:20Unfortunately,
32:20he used it before me.
32:23But, you know,
32:23we have our choice
32:24of seven desks.
32:25They're all beautiful.
32:27But I chose the resolute
32:28and so did he,
32:30unfortunately.
32:31But the people
32:33on the other side
32:34of the resolute desk,
32:35I know them.
32:37Lisa,
32:38the whole group,
32:39and they're no good.
32:40They're sick people.
32:42And I guarantee you
32:44he knew nothing
32:45about what he was signing.
32:47I guarantee it.
32:48So they're going
32:49to figure it out
32:50and we'll see what happens.
32:51But to me,
32:52the autopen,
32:53you know,
32:53you're elected president.
32:55You know what
32:56the autopen is supposed
32:57to do?
32:57Sign thousands of letters
33:00from young people
33:01that write.
33:01I get...
33:02We get thousands
33:02of letters a week,
33:04Susie, right?
33:04Thousands.
33:06I mean,
33:06tens of thousands sometimes.
33:08I look at a room,
33:09there's a room
33:10where we have many,
33:10many people working,
33:12responding and sending
33:14letters back.
33:14That's what an autopen
33:15is supposed to be.
33:17To write to a young
33:18seven-year-old boy
33:19that writes to the president
33:21and he wants to be
33:22president someday.
33:23And he loves America.
33:25That's what the autopen
33:25is supposed to be.
33:26It's not supposed to be
33:28for signing major legislation
33:30and all the things.
33:32No,
33:32the autopen,
33:33and I doubt he knew.
33:34I doubt,
33:35I doubt they even spoke
33:36to him about it.
33:37I think they had,
33:38it's called the
33:39freewheeling autopen.
33:40Like, Biden was never
33:43for open borders.
33:44Biden was never
33:45for transgender
33:46for everyone.
33:48So, I don't think he,
33:50I think the radical
33:51left people that took,
33:52they took over
33:53the White House.
33:54And if I didn't win,
33:55our country was finished.
33:57You know,
33:57when I was in,
33:58and I said this
33:58a couple of times,
33:59I hope I don't bore you
34:00with it,
34:00but when I was in
34:01Saudi Arabia,
34:02I was in Qatar,
34:03I was in UAE,
34:05and then I met
34:06with all of your leaders.
34:07Yes, sir.
34:08Including you,
34:09a great leader.
34:10He's now the leader
34:11of many countries,
34:11not just me.
34:12No, no, no, no.
34:13But I met with
34:15a lot of leaders
34:16over the last two months
34:18in the Middle East
34:21and all of the NATO,
34:22all of the NATO countries.
34:24And I will tell you,
34:26they had one common phrase,
34:28they thought America
34:29was dead one year ago.
34:31And today they say,
34:33and they all say it,
34:33and I hope you'll
34:35back me up on this.
34:36But they say now
34:37it's the hottest country
34:38anywhere in the world.
34:39It is.
34:40Look at our numbers.
34:40Look at the numbers we made.
34:41You see,
34:42we made 25 billion last month.
34:44We didn't make that for years.
34:47The tariffs are kicking in.
34:49The economy is very strong.
34:51Even though we have
34:51a Fed person who's terrible,
34:53he doesn't know
34:53what the hell he's doing,
34:54but that's all right.
34:55We blow through interest rates.
34:57We're doing so well,
34:58we blow through it.
34:59It'd be nice because people
35:00would be able to buy
35:01housing a lot easier.
35:02But think of it.
35:04We thought your country
35:05was dead.
35:07And they were dealing
35:07with China because they really,
35:09they were really going to China.
35:11But not anymore.
35:12But we thought your country
35:14was dead and now you have
35:15the hottest country
35:16anywhere in the world.
35:17So we've done a really good job
35:19and it's an honor
35:21to have this man.
35:22This man is a star
35:23and he's going to be dealing
35:25with another one of my stars,
35:27Matt.
35:27And you're going to do
35:28a great job,
35:28Matt Whitaker.
35:29Okay?
35:29Thank you very much,
35:31everybody.
35:33Thank you guys.
35:37Thank you very much.
35:41Thank you very much.
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