- 4 months ago
- #trump
- #whitehouse
- #israel
- #palestine
- #breakingnews
In a shocking twist, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt hinted that the Trump administration could recognize a Palestinian state if Hamas agrees to hand over power to a transitional technocratic government. Calling the negotiations “extremely sensitive,” she said this could become “one of the greatest peace deals the world has ever seen.” The talks, involving Hamas, Israel, the U.S., and Qatar, are reportedly taking place in Sharm El-Sheikh under Trump’s 20-point peace framework. Could this secret diplomatic push reshape the future of the Middle East?
#Trump #WhiteHouse #Israel #Palestine #BreakingNews
#Trump #WhiteHouse #Israel #Palestine #BreakingNews
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00:00With that, I will take your questions here in our new media seat today.
00:03We have Elizabeth Mitchell from The Daily Signal.
00:05Elizabeth, thanks for being here and please kick us off.
00:08Thank you for having me. I have two questions.
00:10First, President Trump told reporters yesterday that firings of federal employees are taking place right now.
00:16In which departments have people already been fired from their federal jobs due to the shutdown?
00:21The president was referring to the hundreds of thousands of federal workers who have been furloughed
00:26as a result of this federal government shutdown, both here at the White House
00:29and across the entire federal government, at agencies across the board.
00:33There are federal workers who are staying home.
00:35Many of them work in the White House. You know them.
00:38Some of them sit just behind me at those desks.
00:40They are unable to show up to work right now because the Democrats chose to shut the government down.
00:45And so we're already, unfortunately, seeing the consequence of this.
00:48And then, of course, the Office of Management and Budget is continuing to work with agencies
00:53on who, unfortunately, is going to have to be laid off if this shutdown continues.
00:57And Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the FDA was required by federal law to approve the new abortion pill last week.
01:05Is the administration considering steps to undo this in lights of requests from pro-life Congress members and organizations?
01:11I think Secretary Kennedy and the Department of Health and Human Services, as I addressed in the briefing last week,
01:15were following the law and we will continue to do so.
01:18As I said last week as well, it's not an endorsement of this drug by any means.
01:21It's just a law that they were following.
01:24Jennifer.
01:25We heard you say that you want people to call their Democratic senators.
01:28Is the president calling Democratic senators himself?
01:31Can you say what he's doing today to resolve the shutdown?
01:35Yep. I was just in the Oval Office. He was on the phone with Speaker Johnson.
01:38He's also spoken with the Senate Majority Leader who are in touch with, of course,
01:42moderate Democrats and Democrats across the board who we understand hopefully want to do the right thing
01:47by their constituents to reopen the government.
01:49So the president is being kept very well apprised of the ongoing shutdown on Capitol Hill.
01:54And, of course, his position is very clear.
01:56There's nothing to negotiate. Just reopen the government.
01:59And then we can talk about all the important issues facing our country.
02:02So he hasn't called specific members of Congress?
02:04Not to my knowledge, no.
02:06And then on the Affordable Care Act, is he willing to give more,
02:11to share more on what he'd like to negotiate on the Affordable Care Act later?
02:16Is he willing to say specifically what he would like and what?
02:19Look, the president is definitely committed to fixing and improving our health care system.
02:25You saw it again last week when he had one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world
02:30coming into the Oval Office and promising to lower drug prices by 200, 300, 100 percent,
02:37in many cases for various types of drugs for American patients.
02:41That is a huge fix to a broken system that has been ripping off the American people for far too long.
02:46So the president is very committed to this.
02:48But right now, we need to reopen the federal government.
02:51And the president is remaining very firm in that position.
02:54Carolyn?
02:55Catherine?
02:55If the vote fails in the Senate today to reopen the government, would that trigger layoffs?
03:01Look, again, we hope that the vote will not fail because this administration wants to reopen the government.
03:07We don't want to see people laid off.
03:09But unfortunately, if this shutdown continues, layoffs are going to be an unfortunate consequence of that.
03:14Are there timing for when that would happen?
03:16Well, look, we'll see how the vote goes tonight.
03:18And can you confirm, is the White House floating a proposal to cap Obamacare subsidies by denying them to new enrollees?
03:25I have not seen a proposal like that.
03:27Emily?
03:28Thanks, Caroline.
03:29The president said yesterday he was considering a phase two approach to Venezuela.
03:35Is the president considering U.S. foods on the ground or any kind of support of overthrowing Maduro?
03:40I won't get into any specific proposals that are being considered by the president and his national security team.
03:45But I think we've been pretty transparent and clear in the administration's view of the illegitimate Maduro regime.
03:51And the president has taken very unprecedented, tough action to end the illegal trafficking of illicit drugs into our country from Maduro's illegitimate regime.
04:02Caroline.
04:04Danny, go ahead.
04:05Thanks, Caroline.
04:06The French government has collapsed again for the fourth time in a year.
04:10And I was just wondering if there's any concern in the White House about the kind of ongoing political crisis there.
04:16Any thought about whether the President Trump's good friend, President Macron, should either call elections or even resign over that?
04:23Well, I can tell you the White House and the National Security Council are very much aware of this situation.
04:28But I think it would be imprudent of me to weigh in on French internal politics from the podium.
04:34So I will reserve comment on that.
04:35Behind you, yes.
04:36What is President Trump's expectations for talks today and, I guess, this week in Egypt?
04:41And is there a new timeline that the president is giving all sides to reach an agreement?
04:46Yes.
04:47There are technical talks happening right now in Egypt amongst Special Envoy Whitcoff and Mr. Kushner,
04:54as well as their respective parties from all sides.
04:58What we saw take place on Friday, and I have not commented on that from the podium yet, is truly remarkable.
05:03You've seen all sides of this conflict agree that this war needs to end and agree to the 20-point framework that President Trump proposed.
05:12It's an incredible achievement, and the administration is working very hard to move the ball forward as quickly as we can.
05:19The president wants to see a ceasefire.
05:21He wants to see the hostages released.
05:23And the technical teams are discussing that as we speak to ensure that the environment is perfect to release those hostages.
05:31They're going over the lists of both the Israeli hostages and also the political prisoners who will be released.
05:36And those talks are underway.
05:38And the president is very much on the ball and is being apprised of this situation.
05:42The Press has been given a Sunday evening deadline.
05:45Obviously, the negotiations have extended that, I imagine.
05:48What is that new deadline?
05:49Does the president have a time frame in mind to see this phase implemented?
05:55Well, the Sunday evening deadline was to hear back from Hamas on the proposal one way or another.
05:59And, of course, on Friday, Hamas put out a very clear statement in the president's view that they accept the president's framework, and that's why those technical talks are now underway.
06:08But, again, we want to move very quickly on this, and the president wants to see the hostages released as soon as possible.
06:13Steve.
06:14How long do you expect those technical talks to last, Caroline?
06:17I don't want to draw a red line up here, Steve.
06:19Of course, it's very important, as I just mentioned, that we get this done quickly.
06:24That's how the president's team feels, so we can get some momentum, get the hostages out, and then move to the next part of this,
06:29which is really ensuring that we can create a lasting and durable peace in Gaza and ensure that Gaza is a place that no longer threatens the security of Israel or the United States.
06:40What do you expect to be on the agenda for the president's meeting with the prime minister of Canada tomorrow?
06:44I'm sure trade will be a topic of discussion tomorrow, and all of the other issues that are facing both Canada and the United States.
06:52I know the president looks forward to having that discussion with Carney in the Oval Office.
06:55Caitlin.
06:56Thanks, Caroline.
06:56I have two questions.
06:57On the layoff of federal workers, potentially, the president said yesterday that Democrats will be to blame if federal workers lose their jobs.
07:04Historically, though, in past shutdowns, workers have been furloughed, but they have not been laid off en masse.
07:09So wouldn't that be the president's call to lay people off?
07:12As I've said repeatedly, Caitlin, this conversation about layoffs would not be happening right now if the Democrats did not vote to shut the government down.
07:19And as I also said last briefing as well, we are $37 trillion in debt, and the government is not receiving any cash.
07:27So someone has to look at the balance sheet and be good stewards of the American taxpayer dollar.
07:32And layoffs are an unfortunate consequence of that.
07:35As I'm telling you now, this administration is focusing on checking the balance sheet and ensuring we're doing the right thing by the American taxpayer.
07:45And again, these conversations about layoffs would not be happening in the White House today if not for the Democrat shutdown.
07:50And they have a choice to change that.
07:52They have another opportunity tonight to do the right thing to reopen the government.
07:56And a federal judge over the weekend that the president had appointed to the bench in his first term in office basically argued that he could not deploy other states' national guards to Portland,
08:08basically said that it was untethered, his argument, to what is actually happening on the ground.
08:13Which local officials in Portland have said that the National Guard is needed there?
08:18With all due respect to that judge, I think her opinion is untethered in reality and in the law.
08:24The president is using his authority as commander-in-chief U.S. Code 12406,
08:29which clearly states that the president has the right to call up the National Guard in cases where he deems it's appropriate.
08:36And if you look at what has happened in Portland, Oregon, for more than 100 nights,
08:40I was talking to our law enforcement team about it this morning,
08:42For more than 100 days, night after night after night, the ICE facility has been really under siege by these anarchists outside.
08:52They have been disrespecting law enforcement.
08:55They've been inciting violence.
08:57We saw, again, a guillotine rolled out in front of this federal building.
09:01And so the president wants to ensure that our federal buildings and our assets are protected.
09:05And that's exactly what he's trying to do.
09:07And ultimately, in the case in Los Angeles, that judge ruled in the Ninth Circuit that that panel of judges ruled that those troops could remain
09:16and that the president was well within his authority to do so.
09:18So we are appealing that decision.
09:20As you know, we expect a hearing on it pretty quickly.
09:22And we're very confident in the president's legal authority to do this.
09:25And we're very confident we will win on the merits of the law.
09:27But no local officials that you can point to that have said we need the National Guard?
09:30Because I spoke to the police chief of Portland last week.
09:33He said that the president's claims just don't match up with what's happening on the ground.
09:36I would encourage you as a reporter to go on the ground and to take a look at it for yourself.
09:40Because there's been many members of the press, not press in this room, but independent journalists,
09:45some of whom we'll be inviting to the White House very soon to share their stories.
09:48Because they have been in the middle of these riots.
09:51And they have witnessed the anarchy that is taking place night after night.
09:54It's on video.
09:55You should play it on your show.
09:56You have a great opportunity in prime time on CNN to show your audience.
10:01Yeah, but you're probably talking to partisan Democrat officials who are opposed to everything this president does.
10:07You should also ask the people who live in Portland.
10:09We've actually heard from many members of the community who have said that this is complete civil disobedience.
10:16It's a mess.
10:17It's been loud.
10:18It's been troubling for neighbors in the community who are just trying to live peacefully.
10:23And these people are not there to peacefully protest.
10:27They are there to cause mayhem and havoc.
10:29Yeah, Caroline.
10:30Steven, go ahead.
10:31Thank you, Caroline.
10:32Two questions.
10:34First, do you have a reaction to reports that thousands of Cuban troops are deployed alongside Russia fighting in Ukraine?
10:41On a very different matter, the president last week floated in an interview with our colleague Daniel from One America
10:47a rebate for tariffs of up to $2,000 per person.
10:51Is that plan contingent on the Supreme Court's upcoming ruling on the legality of the tariffs?
10:56And is the White House preparing for legislation to make that happen?
11:00Sure.
11:00On the first point, I have not seen that report, Stephen, but I'll check in with our national security team after this and we'll get you an update.
11:07To your second point about the tariff rebates, I think it's an idea that the president has discussed and floated with his team of advisors,
11:14but no decision has been firmly made at this point in time.
11:17Why don't we go to the back?
11:19Owen.
11:19Good afternoon.
11:21Good afternoon.
11:22A few days ago, President Trump demanded Jay Jones in Virginia get out of the race for condoning political violence in a text message against a Republican politician a few years ago.
11:33He hasn't left the race.
11:34He hasn't dropped out.
11:35What's the president's reaction?
11:37Well, as you know, I'm not at liberty to discuss political races from the podium.
11:41I think the president himself made his position very clear, and I think anyone could agree the messages that were sent by this Democrat nominee for attorney general in Virginia are really shocking, alarming, and completely unacceptable.
11:56He was threatening to kill his opponent and his opponent's children, and that type of rhetoric has zero place in our country, and the president was absolutely right to condemn that.
12:09One more, please.
12:10Sure.
12:10Go ahead.
12:11The Democrats have questioned and scrutinized the president's comments about using potentially the military American cities as training grounds for the military.
12:21And when you look at Portland and Chicago, local and state officials say that their local law enforcement is able to handle the situations, these protests on the ground.
12:29The president says that Portland is burning, using that as justification for the National Guard in Portland.
12:35But when you look here in Washington, D.C., the president just last week said it is now a completely safe city, and there are still National Guard members on the streets that are not involved in ICE activities.
12:46Can you provide the justification for the White House here in Washington, D.C., why the National Guard members continue to be out on the streets?
12:53Because Washington, D.C., has invited the National Guard here.
12:56Why?
12:57Because the mayor is doing the right thing, unlike mayors in other cities like Portland, as Caitlin and others have pointed out, who refuse to see that there are positive results from when local law enforcement works with federal law enforcement to do the right thing on behalf of their citizens.
13:14And Washington, D.C., is no doubt a safer city right now, today, than it was a few months ago when President Trump started this initiative to make D.C. safe again.
13:24And the National Guard is still here because the president and the mayor agree that it's a good thing for the city, just like you're seeing in Memphis, for instance.
13:32We'll have National Guard deployed to Memphis.
13:34We have federal agents who are on the ground working with state and local law enforcement.
13:38The state police in Tennessee are part of this effort.
13:41The local metropolitan police in Memphis are part of this effort.
13:44State and local law enforcement and federal law enforcement should be working together.
13:48And it's a shame that we see in some cities across the country that their mayors are just simply refusing to cooperate because they don't like Donald Trump.
13:57And that's what this boils down to.
13:58And I don't think any American would disagree that Chicago needs more law enforcement reinforcements, that they need more resources.
14:05Look at this headline from over the weekend, at least 30 people shot during the weekend in Democrat-run Chicago.
14:12Five of them were killed in one weekend.
14:14This is completely unacceptable, and the president wants to make American cities safer, and he's willing to work with anyone to do it.
14:20If the courts allow you to ultimately send in the National Guard into Chicago and Portland, do Democrats not have reason to be concerned that there are long-term plans by this administration to keep U.S. military or the National Guard in American cities, like what we're seeing here in Washington?
14:38Why should they be concerned about the federal government offering help to make their cities a safer place?
14:43They should be concerned about this.
14:45They should be concerned about the fact that people in their cities right now are being gunned down every single night, and the president, all he's trying to do is fix it.
14:54And there has been a complete smear campaign by the Democrats and the media, quite frankly.
14:59I was reading Political Playbook this morning, one of the most inside-the-beltway newsletters you can find, and you guys are framing this like the president wants to take over the American cities with the military.
15:11The president wants to help these local leaders who have been completely ineffective in securing their own cities.
15:18And we have already seen there's a positive formula for that.
15:22Look at Washington, D.C.
15:23The murder rate has declined significantly.
15:26Our streets are safer.
15:27People who live here feel safer.
15:29All of you in this room, I know you do.
15:31You just won't admit it.
15:32And it's a proven system that works, and the president wants to make America's cities safe again.
15:36And I don't think there's anything wrong with that.
15:38Michael.
15:39Thank you, Caroline.
15:40Two questions, if I may.
15:42Because the mayor wants them.
15:44Michael.
15:44These talks in Egypt.
15:46If Hamas does agree to relinquish power and give it up, c-power to this transitional technocratic government, if that does happen, would the Trump administration then recognize a Palestinian-based government?
15:57Look, I don't want to get ahead of the technical talks right now, Michael.
16:01They're extremely sensitive.
16:02They're taking place, again, as we speak.
16:05And there's a lot of – there's many things to discuss, of course.
16:09This is – hopefully, we expect and we hope going to be one of the greatest peace deals this world has ever seen.
16:16And the Trump administration is working diligently and working very hard to get there.
16:20And as I said, Friday, all terms agreed.
16:23We have the Arab countries who are working with us.
16:25Of course, Israel has been incredible in cooperating with the president's plan and agreeing to it.
16:30And we're very hopeful, and we expect that to continue.
16:33You tweeted about this over the weekend.
16:34I was going to you in the blue shirt and tie.
16:40Thank you, Caroline.
16:41I'm going to go to the Daily Mail.
16:42Today, the Supreme Court declined to hear Jillian Maxwell's appeal.
16:46Will Trump rule out granting her clemency?
16:48Is that something the White House is considering?
16:50It's not something I've heard discussed.
16:52And we don't comment on clemency requests that may or may not have been made,
16:57but I'm certainly not tracking that one at this point in time.
16:59Caroline.
17:01Thank you, Caroline.
17:02So we're talking about these radical groups in Portland and Chicago.
17:07I know the president has spoken about potentially going after George Soros with RICO charges
17:12and for funding all of this violence.
17:15Has there been any update on that?
17:17And also, is the administration looking into the other nonprofits,
17:21maybe taking away their 501c3 status for funding this violence?
17:26And I have one more question.
17:28Sure. The financial backing of these groups, particularly Antifa,
17:33is certainly something the administration is looking into aggressively.
17:37And the federal government has never really been mobilized or tasked with doing that.
17:41So we're kind of kick-starting that into gear.
17:43The FBI is working on it alongside the White House's Homeland Security Task Force.
17:47We have our intelligence community looking into this as well.
17:50And even the Secretary of Treasury is involved with these matters since they are financial in nature.
17:55And we will continue to get to the bottom of who is funding these organizations
18:00in this organized anarchy against our country and our government.
18:03It's a question the American people have been begging the answer for for many years.
18:08And we're committed to uncovering it.
18:10And when we do, I'm sure you'll be one of the first people to know.
18:13And then separately, Caroline Power.
18:14Thank you. Thank you.
18:15So Gaza, under the president's plan, is going to be governed by a transitional governance
18:20of a technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee,
18:23committee made up of qualified Palestinian international experts.
18:27Now, given how radicalized the Palestinian population is in Gaza and in the West Bank,
18:32can you offer some insight or guidance into who are some of these Palestinians
18:36that are going to be considered for leadership roles in Gaza
18:38and where are you going to be finding them?
18:40And do you have any names?
18:41We're not quite there yet, Jonathan.
18:43The president believes peace is possible in Gaza.
18:46And that's why he presented this detailed and comprehensive plan.
18:50The first step of that is securing a ceasefire and releasing the hostages.
18:55And then those conversations about ensuring a durable and lasting peace can continue.
18:59But what do you need to have peace in a region like Gaza that's been war-torn for far too long?
19:05You need security guarantees and you need good governance.
19:09And so those will be two of the priorities that this administration is focused on.
19:12The Press. And if I may, the president has said he wants the government to reopen this week in a deal.
19:16What is, what's going to happen by the end of the week if there's no deal?
19:20What's the lineup prepared to do?
19:21With, no deal with what?
19:22To reopen the government.
19:23Look, as I said, unfortunately, there's going to be a lot of pain inflicted.
19:27There already is on the American public, on our troops who are not being paid,
19:30again, on women and young children who depend on critical food assistance.
19:35We hate to see this.
19:36And, in fact, the Office of Management and Budget is trying to do everything they can
19:40to find funds to get out the door for these vulnerable populations in our country.
19:44Again, we shouldn't be having to do that.
19:46The Democrats have a chance to change course tonight.
19:48I believe the vote is taking place at 6.30, and we urge Democrat senators to vote,
19:53to reopen the government, and to do the right thing.
19:55Thanks, guys.
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