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Democrats Destabilizing US Economy by Continuing Shutdown - Karoline Leavitt, Press Secretary
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00:00At nearby William P. Hobby Airport in Texas, security wait times are routinely exceeding
00:06one hour.
00:07More than 13,000 air traffic controllers are continuing to work without pay.
00:12Because of the Democrats, these men and women who keep our airspace safe and moving will
00:16miss a second paycheck in a row this Friday if Democrats refuse to open the government.
00:23Let me be clear to our incredible air traffic controllers across the country.
00:28President Trump and Republicans want you to get your paychecks.
00:32They want you to be paid.
00:35Please call on your Democrat senators and tell them to side with President Trump and Republicans
00:40to vote to reopen the government.
00:43Our nation's four largest airlines, United, Delta, American and Southwest, have now all
00:49endorsed the Republican nonpartisan clean funding bill to end the government shutdown.
00:55Major unions, collectively representing tens of thousands of pilots, have also joined
01:00the airlines in calling on Democrats to pass the clean, nonpartisan CR.
01:05The travel industry is also imploring Democrats to end the shutdown and reopen the government.
01:10Nearly 500 companies and groups in the travel business, including casinos, hotels and convention
01:16bureaus, signed a public letter warning that America's travel economy has already lost four
01:21billion dollars due to this Democrat shutdown.
01:24And they have called for the Republican CR to be passed, saying Americans expect and deserve
01:31a fully functioning federal government during the peak holiday travel season.
01:37Never before have we seen private industry and union leadership so unified on the same issue,
01:43rallying behind Republicans in such a vocal way.
01:46The Democrats have completely lost the plot.
01:49They are endangering the safety, prosperity and livelihoods of millions of Americans.
01:55It's well past time Democrats do what they did 13 times under Joe Biden and pass the clean
02:01funding bill extension.
02:03All we need are five Democrat senators to put country over party and vote to end this reckless
02:09shutdown.
02:11In other news, tomorrow will mark the one year anniversary of President Trump's historic election
02:16victory, where he won nearly 80 million votes, the popular vote in all seven swing states.
02:22This was the ultimate poll on November 5th.
02:26The president secured a mandate to make America great again, and he has delivered in record time.
02:31Never before have we had a president who has kept their promises like President Trump has.
02:35I'd like to go over a few of those with you.
02:38In less than 10 short months, President Trump signed the largest middle class tax cut in
02:43history, including no tax on tips, overtime and Social Security to put more money back
02:49into the pockets of the American people.
02:51The president ended the southern border invasion of the Biden administration, made our border
02:57the most secure in history.
02:58And he is carrying out the largest mass deportation campaign of illegal aliens in our nation's history
03:05to protect our homeland, just as promised.
03:09President Trump has aggressively taken on drug cartels by declaring them as foreign terrorist
03:13organizations and even blowing up narco terrorists who have tried to poison the American people
03:19with fentanyl and other illegal narcotics.
03:22President Trump defeated the Biden inflation crisis, and he continues to implement a pro-growth,
03:28America first economic agenda to make America affordable again.
03:32And we are seeing the results of that every day.
03:35Inflation has remained low and steady, averaging just 2.5 percent compared to the painful average
03:42of five percent under Biden.
03:44And we know it was historically higher than that for most of President Biden's term.
03:48Meanwhile, real private sector wages are on track to rise by almost fifteen hundred dollars
03:54since President Trump took office, a significant change to the Biden years where private sector
03:59wages declined and were being wiped out by inflation.
04:03President Trump has ended the reckless war on American energy and unleashed energy dominance
04:08with gas prices now plummeting to their lowest average levels in more than four years.
04:14President Trump implemented powerful tariffs to rebalance America's trade deals, protect American
04:19workers and workers and returning our country to be a manufacturing superpower once again.
04:25As a result, the President has secured trillions and trillions of dollars in private and foreign
04:30investments into the United States, which are creating high paying jobs for the greatest
04:36workforce in the world.
04:38The President has restored America's place as the leader of the free world through his unwavering
04:42peace through strength foreign policy that has already ended eight wars and counting.
04:48And the President ended illegal DEI initiatives in our federal government and is returning
04:53our country to a merit-based society based on common sense.
04:58President Trump protected opportunities for women and girls to compete safely and fairly
05:03by continuing to keep men out of women's sports.
05:07Americans have a President who works tirelessly, literally 24-7, to improve their lives and make
05:13our country better than it has ever been before.
05:16So with that today, we will open it up to questions and we will start with our independent journalist
05:20in our new media seat, Julio Rozas.
05:22Julio, please start.
05:24Thanks, Caroline.
05:25So over the weekend in Mexico, a mayor in MichoacĂĄn, Carlos Manzo, he was assassinated
05:31while celebrating Dia de Muertos with his family.
05:34His assassination has sparked a lot of outrage.
05:36A lot of Mexicans are very upset.
05:38They're blaming President Claudia Sheinbaum for not taking the cartel threat seriously enough.
05:44Yesterday, she said that, once again, she's not going to allow any foreign military intervention
05:49to take on the cartels on Mexican soil and that Mexico is not going to pursue a drug war
05:54similar to what they've done in the past.
05:56So my question is, is President Trump satisfied with Claudia Sheinbaum's approach to cartels?
06:02And if not, has Manzo's assassination kind of opened up some new options for the United States
06:09to pursue regarding cartels?
06:11Well, first of all, with respect to this specific news item and this alleged assassination attempt
06:16assassination that took place in Mexico, I know the Trump administration, we are aware of that.
06:20And, of course, we condemn all political violence anywhere in all forms.
06:25As for Claudia Sheinbaum and the President's relationship with her, I think he has a lot of respect for her
06:31as President of Mexico, and he also really appreciates the coordination that she has provided
06:36to the Trump administration.
06:37I can't speak for her and what she's doing internally in her country.
06:40I can speak for the President in saying we are continually pushing Mexico to do more
06:45to tackle the drug trafficking and the drug cartels within their country,
06:48and we are working with them in any way that we can.
06:51And the President has obviously used the full range of executive options
06:55and his authorities to crack down on drug trafficking at our southern border
06:59and to designate these cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and additional actions as well.
07:05And just one more question.
07:07Sure.
07:08So at the Antifa roundtable that we were at just last month, myself and the other panelists made the recommendation to the President
07:16for, you know, speaking of foreign terrorist organizations, to have Antifa not just be a domestic terrorist organization
07:22but be designated as a foreign terrorist organization since they have cells in other countries.
07:27He mentioned to Secretary Rubio, because he was in the room at the time, to look into that.
07:32So I just wanted to see if there's an update on that recommendation.
07:36Sure. That process is most definitely taking place.
07:39I don't have any announcements for you on that today, but I can certainly assure you the administration is working on it.
07:44And I'll check in on it and get back to you, Julio. It's a good question. Thank you very much. Jackie.
07:49Thank you, Caroline.
07:51Zoran Mamdani blamed the President for bomb threats and intimidation at polling locations.
07:58He said, quote, part of the general approach of the Trump administration has taken to intimidate voters
08:04with baseless allegations of voter fraud as a means of trying to repress the voice of Americans across this country.
08:09I want to give you a chance to respond to that.
08:11Yeah, I saw those comments from Mdami. I think they are completely irresponsible and they are based on zero evidence.
08:18And I think this is just another example of how the Democrat Party, unfortunately, stands for nothing.
08:24All they stand against is President Donald Trump.
08:26And I think it's quite sad to see that we have someone at the top of the ticket on an election day today
08:31saying such things about the President when he obviously had absolutely nothing to do with those threats.
08:35And on the shutdown, Democrats have been pretty quiet about the President's push for the nuclear option,
08:42terminating the filibuster. Is there any concern around here that Democrats might actually want Republicans
08:48to get rid of the filibuster so that one day, when they're in power again, the door's already open
08:53for them to pack the Supreme Court, give statehood to D.C. and Puerto Rico, make mail-in balloting permanent, those kinds of things?
09:00I think the President has been very realistic and strong in his position on the filibuster.
09:05He's been very vocal about it. I just spoke to him about it. He feels really strongly about this.
09:09Republicans need to play tough and they need to play smart. That's how the President feels.
09:13And we know that Democrats, if they are ever given a chance at power again in this city,
09:19they will absolutely take away the filibuster from the United States Senate.
09:23In fact, you had 49 Democrats who already voted to do this before.
09:27The only reason it did not move forward was because you had two Democrats who are no longer in office
09:33because they were run out of town by the far-left radical base of their party.
09:37And so President Trump is very quite clear on this. He wants to see Republicans move as many good pieces of legislation for our country forward
09:46in the next three years of his administration as they possibly can.
09:50And the filibuster is one means to doing that.
09:52Can you talk to Justin and Thune about it? I know that they have both voiced some opposition.
09:56Have there been any conversations with them?
09:58He's had, he has. He's made his position to them very clear, both publicly and privately.
10:02Ouija.
10:03Can you help clear up some confusion about SNAP benefits?
10:07Sure.
10:08The President just posted that they will only be given out when the radical left Democrats opened the government and not before.
10:15But just yesterday, the administration said it would comply with a court order to expend the full amount of SNAP contingency funds by end of business day yesterday.
10:25So, did the administration distribute that money or defy that court order?
10:30No. The administration is fully complying with the court order. I just spoke to the President about it.
10:35The recipients of these SNAP benefits need to understand it's going to take some time to receive this money
10:40because the Democrats have forced the administration into a very untenable position.
10:44We are digging into a contingency fund that is supposed to be for emergencies, catastrophes, for war.
10:51And the President does not want to have to tap into this fund in the future.
10:54And that's what he was referring to in his true social post.
10:57So, the Department of Agriculture, as for the latest SNAP payment in the judge's order,
11:02put out guidance to states today on how to get that money to the recipients of SNAP.
11:08But it's going to take some time.
11:11The best way to get the full amount of SNAP benefits to those beneficiaries is for Democrats to reopen the government.
11:18So, to anyone who is a SNAP beneficiary at home who needs that assistance,
11:23and the President was just saying this is for people who are truly needy, who need food,
11:28who need this assistance from the United States government.
11:30Democrats are holding it up and making it difficult for the administration to get those payments out the door.
11:36So, if you are at home and you want your SNAP benefits, call the Democrats and tell them to reopen the government.
11:41Is it blocking that contingency fund for the future if this shutdown lingers on?
11:46Look, the President does not want to have to continue to dip into a contingency fund
11:50that doesn't even have enough money, by the way, to fund the full program.
11:53It takes $9 billion to get the full scale of the benefits out the door.
11:57This contingency fund only has about $5 billion in it.
12:00So, again, Democrats need to reopen the government so we can get these benefits out the door for people who truly need them. Kate.
12:06The President suggested that if Mondani wins that he would cut federal funding to New York.
12:11How much funding would be impacted? What would be impacted there?
12:14Well, look, we won't get ahead of the election results, nor will I speak to what the President may do in the future.
12:20We'll see how tonight goes, and then I'll let him speak on it further.
12:23And why did the administration exclude Democratic lawmakers?
12:26Last week there was a briefing about U.S. strikes on alleged drug trafficking votes.
12:30Why were those Democrats excluded?
12:32The administration has briefed Congress on these matters eight separate times,
12:37and Democrats have been included in those briefings.
12:39In fact, I know that Secretary Rubio will be on Capitol Hill tomorrow to brief the Gang of Twelve,
12:45which includes Democrats as well.
12:46So the President's made it very clear if senators want to understand the administration's operations
12:52against narco-drug traffickers, we are very happy to speak with them about that, and we will continue to do so.
12:58But we've been incredibly transparent. As I said, there's been eight briefings on this topic, with the ninth coming tomorrow.
13:04Rachel.
13:05Thanks, Caroline.
13:06There's been some reporting out there about the possibility of furloughed workers not getting back pay.
13:11We know that the President signed that bill into law in his first term.
13:14Does the administration guarantee that all furloughed workers will get back pay?
13:18This is something we are very much open to discussing with Democrats as part of the discussions about the continuing resolution to keep the government open.
13:26And it's something that Republicans are talking with Democrats about right now.
13:29I won't get ahead of those negotiations or discussions.
13:31So open to discussion, that's a possibility that that may not happen even though it's law.
13:35I just said Republicans in the White House are very much open to discussing this with Democrats.
13:39And just one last question. As this government shutdown now drives on, about to make history as the longest government shutdown in American history, can you talk about what the President is personally doing to try to see an end to this?
13:51He's pushing Republicans to keep voting and to keep opening up the Senate floor to vote for the clean continuing resolution.
13:58He had the Senate Majority Leader and the House Caucus Leader, Hakeem Jeffries, here at the White House to talk about this in the very early stages to give them a chance to come to their senses and avoid this entire government shutdown at the very beginning.
14:11And they chose not to.
14:12And I think it's been very clear to everyone in this room and to everyone across the country that the Democrats are playing partisan politics
14:20with our United States federal government.
14:23And all Republicans have wanted to do for the last 35 days is reopen the government.
14:28That has been the President's position since day one.
14:30It is his position today on day 35.
14:33And all we need are five common sense Democrats who have a little bit of courage and come to the table and vote with Republicans.
14:39I saw Senator John Fetterman on television last night saying that he hopes more folks in his party will step up.
14:46And we certainly agree with him on that point.
14:48Sure.
14:49Caroline, the President posted on True Social that the voting underway in California is, quote, rigged.
14:55What evidence does he have of that?
14:56And what does it mean that mail-in ballots in that state are under legal and criminal review?
15:01By whom and why?
15:03And also, in this vein, does the White House still plan to issue an executive order banning mail-in voting?
15:08And what legal authority do you have to do that?
15:10The White House is working on an executive order to strengthen our elections in this country and to ensure that there cannot be blatant fraud, as we've seen in California with their universal mail-in voting system.
15:22It's absolutely true that there's fraud in California's elections.
15:27It's just a fact.
15:28What's the evidence about that?
15:29It is just a fact.
15:30They have a universal mail-in voting system, which we know is ripe for fraud.
15:34And if you want to deny that, I'm happy to provide you all of the evidence for it.
15:38I'd be glad to send that to you after this briefing.
15:40We know that there are fraudulent ballots that are being mailed in in the names of other people, in the names of illegal aliens who shouldn't be voting in American elections.
15:48There's countless examples, and we'd be happy to provide them.
15:51As for executive action the White House is taking, yes, we are looking into that.
15:55And like any executive order, of course, any executive order the President signs is within his full executive authority and within the confines of the law.
16:03Steven.
16:04Thank you, Caroline.
16:05I've got two questions I'd like to ask you about New York.
16:07But first, I'd like to ask you about breaking news from the Attorney General.
16:11She revealed just about an hour ago that the Justice, the Biden Justice Department, seized President Trump's official first-term phone and subpoenaed his private phone records.
16:23Do you have a reaction to that?
16:24And also, do we know if they actually got those private call records?
16:28I saw the Attorney General's post on that.
16:30For additional questions, I would refer you to the Department of Justice.
16:33But I think this is just further evidence of the egregious overreach and weaponization of government that took place under the previous White House against then-former President and now President Donald J. Trump.
16:45It was a clear effort by the Biden White House and the Biden DOJ to go after the President, and this is just further evidence of that.
16:52On New York, we've seen the President's messages that he's put out, but could you describe how he's feeling as a New Yorker watching this election?
17:01Well, the President is a New Yorker, and he loves New York.
17:04It is his home.
17:05He talks about that all of the time, and he's made his thoughts on this election quite clear, I think, himself.
17:11In the back, yes, go ahead.
17:13Yes, go ahead.
17:15Over the weekend, there were reports â
17:16I was going to you in the green, but go ahead, and then you can have your questions.
17:20Over the weekend, there were reports that President Trump was due to host President of Syria, Ahmadinejad, on Monday.
17:25Do you have any preview for that meeting?
17:27Is he expected to invite him to join the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition?
17:32I can confirm that that meeting will be taking place here at the White House on Monday, and this is part of the President's efforts in diplomacy to meet with anyone around the world in the pursuit of peace.
17:44And as you know, when the President was in the Middle East, he made the historic decision to lift sanctions on Syria to give them a real chance at peace.
17:51And I think the administration, we've seen good progress on that front under their new leadership.
17:57And so he will be here at the White House on Monday, and I'll let the President speak further on it on Monday.
18:01Yes, go ahead.
18:02Thank you, Caroline.
18:03I was just curious â you had mentioned there that President Trump, as we know, has been speaking with Republican leaders in Congress about reopening the government.
18:11Is he involved in any other negotiations?
18:13Is he prepared to sign something if a deal does come out by the end of this week?
18:18On top of that, with SNAP benefits, does he have any authorities or considering any authority there to release more funds to help people who are desperately needing these benefits?
18:28So, look, I think I've already answered the question on SNAP.
18:31We're complying with the court's order, and we're getting that partial payment out the door as much as we can and as quickly as we can.
18:37But it's going to take some time because, again, we're â this is a prorated payment that we're tapping into a contingency fund for.
18:43The best way to get those payments out the door is for Democrats to reopen the government.
18:48But, yes, the President is in constant communication with his friends on Capitol Hill.
18:52They know.
18:53They call.
18:54He answers.
18:55He picks up the phone.
18:56He's a very transparent President in that way.
18:58And as soon as the Democrats pass the clean, continuing resolution, President Trump will be here to sign it.
19:05Michael.
19:06Thank you, Caroline.
19:07President Trump has threatened to go into Nigeria, guns a-blazing, if Nigeria's government does not stop the killing of Christians in that country.
19:15Has the White House heard back from Nigeria's government on this threat?
19:19As the President stated, Michael, if the Nigerian government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the United States will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria
19:30and may take action to wipe out the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities, especially against innocent women and children.
19:39I don't have any further announcements on that for you today, but I can assure you the President of the United States is watching this situation unfold very closely,
19:47as is our Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
19:50One follow-up question, Caroline.
19:51President Trump has endorsed Andrew Cuomo in New York City's mayoral race.
19:55He has not by name endorsed Winsome Sears in Virginia's gubernatorial race.
20:00Why is that?
20:01Look, as you know from this podium, I'm quite limited in what I can say with regards to ongoing political elections.
20:08I think the President has spoken for himself and what he wants to see take place in these elections today.
20:17I would like to ask you about India-U.S. citizenship.
20:20What is President's thoughts on the future of India-U.S. citizenship?
20:23I'm sorry, Lalit, can you repeat that?
20:25What is President's thoughts on the future of India-U.S. citizenship?
20:29I think he feels very positive and strongly about it.
20:32As you know, he recently, a few weeks back, spoke to Prime Minister directly when he celebrated in the Oval Office Diwali,
20:40with many high-ranking Indian American officials here at the White House.
20:44We have a great U.S. ambassador to India, and Mr. Sergio Gore, who will represent our country very well.
20:51And the President and his trade team continue to be in very serious discussions with India with respect to that topic.
20:58So I know the President has great respect for Prime Minister Modi, and they speak pretty frequently.
21:06Hi, yes.
21:07The air traffic controller crisis ongoing.
21:09Secretary Duffy said he will now start to cancel ground flights next week to maintain safety.
21:15Should people fly next week, given this new information?
21:18And is the administration encouraging people to stop flying altogether and look at alternative transportation modes?
21:24The administration is encouraging Democrats to reopen the federal government.
21:28So this chaos and disruption to our air traffic control system in the United States of America stops.
21:34It is ridiculous that we have even gotten to this place and that the Democrats have continued to shut down the government.
21:40With 35 days, our air traffic controllers continuing to work unpaid, every single major airline in our country coming out and begging the Democrats to please reopen the government.
21:51And you had a Democrat staffer who was quoted, I believe in Politico a few weeks back, saying short of planes falling out of the sky, we are not going to reopen the government.
22:02That is a reckless and dangerous statement from someone who didn't want to put their name on that statement.
22:07But we know it came from the Democrat Party.
22:09And I think we're very clear we want to reopen the government so we can resume travel in the safest and most efficient way possible, especially as we head into the busiest travel season of the month.
22:20We have Thanksgiving in a few weeks.
22:22And so Americans across the country need to make it very clear to their Democrat representatives that we want this government to be reopened so we can resume safe and efficient travel.
22:33Fran.
22:34Thanks, Caroline.
22:35As of last I checked, the President still had not commented on the death of former Vice President Dick Cheney.
22:40Is the White House involved in funeral arrangements in any way?
22:44Does the President plan to speak at the funeral?
22:46Has he spoken to anyone in the Cheney family today?
22:48And does the White House have an opinion on whether or not the former Vice President should lie in honor or stay in the Capitol?
22:54I don't believe the White House is involved in that planning or at least hasn't gotten to it yet.
22:59I know the President is aware of the former Vice President's passing.
23:02And as you saw, flags have been lowered to half staff in accordance with statuatory law.
23:07Jasmine.
23:09Back on the question of the fiddle buster, how much political capital is President Trump willing to expend to get Republicans to do what he's asking?
23:17I mean, will we see him at the Hill?
23:19Will he be calling folks over here?
23:21What exactly is President Trump planning to do outside of these true socials and maybe some of these private conversations to get Republicans to fall in line?
23:29Look, I think you'll see.
23:30I think you'll see the President continue to engage very strongly and consistently with his friends on Capitol Hill.
23:37I don't have any meetings to read out for you at this time, but I think you should stay tuned and keep your eyes on true social on this matter.
23:43The President's making his position on it quite clear.
23:45And again, he is right.
23:47Republicans need to play tough.
23:49We know that this is what the Democrats will do if they are ever given the keys to power again.
23:53And he wants to pass as many good pieces of legislation as we possibly can for our country and for our people.
24:00That includes election integrity reforms.
24:02It includes additional tax policy.
24:06It includes, you know, fixing our immigration system further in ways that only Congress can.
24:11And the President fears with a Democrat Party that is so radical and opposes everything he does and everything he says.
24:18This is the only option for Republicans to move forward.
24:21Karen.
24:22The second question.
24:23President Trump said to CBS in the 60 Minutes interview that he did not know the Binance founder, which he pardoned.
24:29What exactly did he mean for that?
24:31He means he does not know him personally.
24:33He means he does not have a personal relationship with this individual.
24:36And when it comes to pardons, the White House takes them with the utmost seriousness.
24:40And the President understands the responsibility that he has as President to issue clemency and issue pardons to individuals who are seeking that.
24:48That's why we have a very thorough review process here that moves with the Department of Justice and the White House Counsel's Office.
24:54There's a whole team of qualified lawyers who look at every single pardon request that ultimately make their way up to the President of the United States.
25:02He's the ultimate final decision maker.
25:05And he was very clear when he came into office that he was most interested in looking at pardoning individuals who were abused and used by the Biden Department of Justice and were over prosecuted by a weaponized DOJ.
25:18And the individual you're referring to, that was certainly the case.
25:21Even the judge in his case said that the sentencing that the Biden administration was asking for was egregious and went too far.
25:29And so the President is correcting that wrong.
25:31And he has officially ended the Biden administration's war on the cryptocurrency industry.
25:36And I think that's the message he sent with this pardon.
25:38Karen, yes.
25:39Back on the issue of back pay for furloughed workers, you said that the White House is open to discussing that with Democrats.
25:45But what would that discussion even be?
25:47There was a law the President signed in 2019.
25:50What could a discussion look like?
25:52Why is that even open for discussion?
25:54Look, Karen, as I said, Republicans are talking about that with Democrats right now.
25:57And I don't want to get in the middle of those sensitive conversations.
26:00But as we've complied with the SNAP order, the White House, the administration is always going to comply with the laws.
26:07We're always going to comply with the ruling of judges across the country.
26:11But the Republicans are discussing this matter with Democrats right now.
26:15Why would there even be a consideration of not paying those workers on the Caroline?
26:18Big day in the Supreme Court tomorrow with President Trump's tariff policy facing a legal challenge.
26:23What's at stake with that case?
26:25And if the Supreme Court were against the Trump administration, what is Plan B for trade policy?
26:30I'll tell you, the White House is always preparing for Plan B.
26:33It would be imprudent of the President's advisers not to prepare for such a situation.
26:38With that said, we are 100 percent confident in the President and his team's legal arguments and the merits of the law in this case.
26:47And we remain optimistic that the Supreme Court is going to do the right thing.
26:51The importance of this case cannot be overstated.
26:54The President must have the emergency authority to utilize tariffs.
26:59Look at what President Trump has been able to do with the leverage and the power of tariffs.
27:04He's been able to sign peace deals all over the world and end global conflicts and literally save lives.
27:10He's been able to bring in trillions of dollars of investments into our country.
27:15In fact, this year alone, we are going to cut the deficit by $600 billion, namely because of the President's effective use of tariffs.
27:26And the President strongly believes that economic security is a matter of national security.
27:31And tariffs have a lot to do with that.
27:33And this case is not just about President Trump.
27:36It's about the use of this emergency authorization for tariffs for future presidents and administrations to come.
27:42And we're confident and hopeful that the Supreme Court will do the right thing.
27:46Kristen.
27:48Why did President Trump get an MRI during his recent withdrawal rate?
27:53Look, as President Trump said, he would inquire with the physicians.
27:56I'll check back on that.
27:57But as the physical itself stated, Kristen, and as you all know, because you were all witness to it every single day, the President is in optimal physical health.
28:05This was a follow-up appointment, and we provided a detailed readout of that physical.
28:09I'm happy to give it to you again, and I can inquire further.
28:11With all due respect, an MRI is a very specific procedure.
28:14It's done on a part of the body looking for something specific.
28:18So it's not generally part of any kind of routine checkup.
28:21And in addition, President Trump has said that he wants to be transparent.
28:24He has told us to ask the doctors, which we have and have not heard back.
28:28Why don't we have more information on this?
28:30As I said, I'll check back for you.
28:32Go ahead.
28:33John, can you update us on the mediation efforts this administration is leading in Sudan trying to achieve a ceasefire there?
28:42Sure, yes.
28:43The United States is actively engaged in efforts to bring about a peaceful resolution to the terrible conflict in Sudan.
28:50We remain committed to working with our international partners, including Quad members, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, as well as others,
28:58to lead a negotiated peace process that addresses both the immediate humanitarian crisis and the longer-term political challenges.
29:06I actually spoke with Secretary Rubio about this this morning, as of course there's been, you know, kind of an uptick in recent reporting on the matter.
29:13And he assured me that the administration is very much engaged.
29:16We're in pretty frequent communication with those Arab partners that I just mentioned.
29:20And we want to see this conflict come to a peaceful end, just as we have with so many others.
29:25But the reality is it's a very complicated situation on the ground right now.
29:29Hi, Caroline.
29:30Yes.
29:31Hi, yes.
29:32Just trying to go back into the subject of Mexico.
29:34Is the Trump administration planning to send U.S. troops to Mexico to combat drug portals, as reported by other outlets?
29:41That's not something I would confirm from this podium if it were happening.
29:44So I will not comment on that.
29:45Emen.
29:46Thank you, Caroline.
29:47Why did the President decide not to go to the Supreme Court tomorrow?
29:50He'd indicated earlier that he might want to go and attend in person.
29:53Yeah.
29:54And I was saying he's not going to go.
29:55Why?
29:56The President did have an interest in attending the Supreme Court hearing tomorrow, as I just expressed how important it is to him, the administration, and the country, this case.
30:04But he is traveling to Miami tomorrow, as you all know, to give an economic address with the mayor of Miami and many global business leaders to talk about his historic success with the economy over the past 10 months and talk about sort of where we are headed as a country in terms of our economy.
30:22So he'll be traveling tomorrow on the road in Miami.
30:25That's why he won't be here.
30:26But Secretary Scott Besant will be in attendance at the hearing tomorrow at the request of the President.
30:31And on the NVIDIA chips issue, he has said that he doesn't want to export the high-end NVIDIA chips to China.
30:36That's right.
30:37But the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that there was some question about whether the President would raise this as a possible concession with the Chinese side during his meeting with Xi Jinping.
30:46So does the White House consider NVIDIA chip exports to China to be a closed issue right now, or is this an ongoing negotiation between the United States, China, and NVIDIA at this point?
30:56The President has made his position on this very clear, both to the Chinese and also to all of you.
31:01He's answered this question directly.
31:02As for the most advanced chips, the Blackwell chip, that's not something we're interested in selling to China at this time.
31:08Annie.
31:09What's the thing that the results of Virginia or New Jersey from interrail races tomorrow or statewide races tomorrow will in any way reflect a voter sentiment towards his administration?
31:22Look, Annie, I'm not at liberty to talk about the election results, and I certainly won't get ahead of them.
31:27I'm not going to engage in hypotheticals that may or may not happen tonight.
31:30We'll have to watch and see.
31:31And I'm sure you'll hear directly from the President tomorrow on that point.
31:35I think we'll get on SNAP just really quickly.
31:36Is there anything that prompted the President's tweet this morning?
31:40Because it did seem quite different from some of his other communications about SNAP.
31:45It seemed a little bit out of the left field.
31:47I'm just wondering if he had a conversation or if there's anything you're aware of that caused him to decide around 11 o'clock to send out that message.
31:54Look, the President is constantly well-read on the news, as you know, and he is very much aware.
31:59We are in day 35 of a government shutdown in which these SNAP benefits were pushing them out the door.
32:05USDA put out that guidance to the states this morning.
32:08The President was aware of that, and he wants to make it very clear that these benefits are in jeopardy because of the Democrats,
32:14and they should just open the government so that we can continue getting these funds out the door in an easier and more efficient way.
32:20There's some new reporting that just dropped a few minutes ago that the Trump administration is negotiating with the makers of Ozempic
32:29to sell some weight loss drugs for $149 a month, that's according to the Wall Street Journal.
32:34Do you have any more information on that? Can you confirm that?
32:36I think the President has said himself, in previous Most Favored Nations announcements,
32:40that this is something that the administration has been engaged in and looking into.
32:44I won't get ahead of the President on any future announcements,
32:47but I will echo his strong commitment to bringing down drug prices in this country.
32:52And you've heard it directly from Secretary Kennedy and Dr. Marty McCary
32:56and his entire Health and Human Services team how committed the President is to bringing down the cost of drugs,
33:03and we're working with pharmaceutical companies to do that every day.
33:06Very quickly, Carolyn, on SNAP. I know it's been asked, and I know we just asked it, but I want to put a fine point on it.
33:11You talked about the President's post here, and he wrote that SNAP benefits will only be given when the Democratic will let Democrats open up to government.
33:19I understand your previous answers, but as written, how would that not violate the court order as it's written?
33:26I've now answered this question several times, Gabe.
33:28We are complying with the court's order. We are getting the payments out the door as quickly as we can.
33:32USDA sent the guidance to the state. The President is referring to future SNAP payments.
33:36He does not want to have to keep tapping in to an emergency fund and depleting it.
33:41In the case of a catastrophe in this country, he wants to have those funds preserved, as they should be.
33:47And he's made it very clear Democrats should reopen the government.
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