White House Briefing: Trump MRI Normal, Ukraine Talks Hopeful, Venezuela Strike Defended

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Trump’s October MRI was part of a preventative health screening and confirmed he remains in excellent cardiovascular health. On Ukraine, she expressed optimism about ongoing peace negotiations. Regarding a controversial US strike on a suspected Venezuelan drug boat, she defended the action as lawful 'self-defence.'

#WhiteHouse #TrumpHealth #UkraineTalks #Venezuela #USPolitics #KarolineLeavitt #TrumpMRIReport #World

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Transcript

00:00Good afternoon, everybody. I apologize for my tardiness. We had some technical difficulties,

00:06as you can see, but I think we are ready to rock. So let's get to it. I'll begin this week with some

00:11scheduling announcements for President Trump's very busy week ahead. Tomorrow, President Trump

00:16will host his ninth cabinet meeting of the year alongside his incredible cabinet who continue to

00:22deliver for the American people at a record pace. Later in the afternoon tomorrow, the president

00:28will make an announcement in the Oval Office on his initiative to create Trump accounts to give

00:33the next generation of Americans a jumpstart on savings. It will be a very exciting announcement

00:39indeed, especially for all of the parents across the country with young children and babies.

00:44On Thursday, President Trump will host the presidents of the Republic of Rwanda and the

00:48Democratic Republic of Congo to sign the historic peace and economic agreement that he brokered.

00:54On Thursday night, the president and the first lady will celebrate one of America's greatest

00:59traditions, the lighting of the national Christmas tree on the ellipse. And on Friday,

01:05President Trump will attend the FIFA World Cup final draw at the Kennedy Center. You all will be

01:10seeing and hearing from the president every day this week. So you have me today and then he will

01:14take on the rest of the week himself. Next, I would like to address the horrific tragedy that took

01:19place in our nation's capital that last week. A foreign terrorist that the Biden administration

01:25failed to properly vet ambushed two members of the West Virginia National Guard who were honorably

01:32serving here to keep the residents and visitors of Washington, D.C. safe. U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant

01:39Andrew Wolf was severely wounded in the attack and remains hospitalized while he continues to fight

01:45for his life. Tragically, U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom died of her wounds. She was just 20

01:53years old. President Trump and the entire White House are praying for Andrew's full recovery at the

01:59request of his parents and their personal phone call with the president over the weekend. And we are

02:04keeping Sarah's family and friends in our prayers during this unimaginably difficult time. Sarah and Andrew

02:11represent the very best of America. Two young patriots who were willing to put on the uniform and risk

02:18their lives in defense of their fellow Americans. Both of them truly embody the profound words spoken by Jesus

02:25Christ in the gospel. Greater love has no one than this to lay down one's life for one's friends. Sarah and Andrew

02:33are heroes and we will never forget their sacrifice. That means ensuring the monster responsible for this atrocity

02:40is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and faces the most severe punishment possible.

02:47It also means reckoning with why this atrocity was allowed to happen in the first place so that it

02:52may never occur again. Here are the facts. The terrorist who has gunned down, who gunned down American

02:58soldiers blocks away from the White House in an ambush was an Afghan national who was flown into our

03:05country by Joe Biden's administration in September 2021 in the chaotic wake of their botched withdrawal

03:11from Afghanistan. One of the most embarrassing moments in the history of our great country.

03:18Joe Biden's historic failure in Afghanistan continues to haunt this country and our men and women in

03:24uniform. Not only did this surrender lead to a suicide bombing that killed 13 American heroes in Kabul,

03:30but now National Guard troops were shot on U.S. soil by the same kind of enemy. We continue to live with the deadly

03:38consequences of Joe Biden's horrific leadership. Nearly 100,000 Afghans were recklessly released into the United States

03:46with little to no vetting. There was no regard for the disorder and violence that this would unleash on American

03:51communities and American culture. Reportedly, thousands of these strangers and unknown individuals

03:58were flagged to the Biden administration for national security, public safety and fraud concerns.

04:04But the terrifying truth is that the Afghanistan debacle is just a small part of Democrats complete

04:09and total betrayal of the American people during the Biden years. The tragedy that we just witnessed

04:16the day before Thanksgiving is a reminder that untold thousands of terrorists, gang members and

04:22criminals were invited into our country and remain here to this very day. The border is now secure,

04:28thanks to President Trump. But the threat in our interior remains real and urgent. These public safety

04:35threats are already inside our land. And President Trump was elected on a promise to find and remove them.

04:42And he has already taken significant steps and made significant progress towards fulfilling this

04:47promise. But there is more work to be done because President Trump believes that he has a sacred

04:52obligation to reverse the calamity of mass unchecked migration into our country. As a result, the Trump

05:00administration is now actively reexamining all of the Afghans imported into the country by Joe Biden.

05:06Any individual who threatens our national security or our citizenry will be subject to removal.

05:14President Trump has already permanently paused migration of foreign nationals from third world

05:19countries that pose a very high risk to the United States. For too long, past American presidents

05:25supported self-destructive immigration policies that allowed foreigners who outright hate our country

05:33and have no interest in assimilating into our culture, they've allowed these individuals to flood

05:39peaceful American communities. This disastrous approach has drained our welfare program, driven up

05:45the cost of housing, suppressed wages, and jeopardized the safety of law-abiding American citizens.

05:52In fact, according to a new bombshell report from the New York Times, Somalian migrants in Minnesota have

05:58defrauded nearly $1 billion in taxpayer-funded benefits under Democrat Governor Walz's leadership.

06:05President Trump is putting an end to this dangerous America last approach. His position is rooted in

06:12common sense. In the wake of last week's atrocity, it is more important than ever to finish carrying out

06:17the president's mass deportation operation. America cannot allow millions upon millions of unvetted

06:24illegal aliens to be rewarded with amnesty after they broke our nation's laws to come here.

06:29They must go back to their home countries. It is also essential to immediately address the massive

06:36fraud and corruption that has been going on for decades in other aspects of our immigration system,

06:42most notably when it comes to asylum claims. Millions of people who have come here under false

06:47pretenses and told blatant lies now enjoy temporary legal status. President Trump is ending this scam

06:56as well, and I would point out that the Democrats have tried to block this administration from doing so

07:01at every turn with lawsuit after lawsuit. The hard truth is that even when it comes to our

07:08legal immigration system, past presidents have failed to ensure that all prospective citizens

07:14love America will add value and contribute to our communities and will assimilate into our culture.

07:21Leaders have a duty to defend and advance the interests of their own people, not foreign nationals.

07:27Leaders also have a duty to preserve the integrity and character of our nation's national identity.

07:34That is why President Trump is more committed than ever to fully restoring American sovereignty

07:39by keeping our borders secure, removing all illegal alien invaders, and rebuilding a legal immigration

07:46system that makes sense and benefits our country. President Trump has no higher responsibility than to

07:53defend our homeland and our people, and he will never waver in doing so. With that, I will open it up to

07:59questions and we'll lead today with Isabel Brown, who is in our new media seats. She's a very popular face on

08:04television these days. She's built a great independent media podcast and platform with the Daily Wire,

08:10and I appreciate your being here, Isabel. Thank you for being here. Thank you, Caroline. I appreciate it and

08:13appreciate the briefing. Many Americans, in light of these recent events that you just mentioned,

08:18are starting to say that we are being invaded as a country, culturally and logistically when it comes to

08:23immigration. And we know that immigration without assimilation is indeed invasion. So given the recent

08:29remarks from Vice President Vance on a college campus about dramatically reducing legal

08:34immigration to address some of this crisis in President Trump's Truth Social post last week about

08:39individuals who may be non-compatible with Western civilization, are there any conversations happening

08:44or plans being made behind the scenes for the administration to implement at least a temporary

08:49immigration moratorium, for example, in light of what the American people might be calling for?

08:54So, Isabel, it's a great question. I think I spoke a little bit to the heart of your question in my opener there.

08:59I would add that the Trump administration has done more to limit migration, both illegal and legal,

09:05than any administration in history. And I'll just walk you through some of the actions that we have

09:10taken thus far. Number one, the Trump administration issued a travel ban for 19 countries, including

09:16Afghanistan. Special immigrant visas, which is a legal pathway to get here, which we know many Afghans

09:22have utilized to come into the country, have now been paused since the tragic shooting last week.

09:26Refugee admissions were suspended for Afghans from this administration on day one. And refugee

09:33admissions into the country right now are essentially at zero, with the exception of Afrikaners fleeing

09:38persecution in South Africa. The State Department has also heightened their scrutiny and vetting of

09:44all visas and have revoked visas, as you know, for those who do not align with our country's national

09:51interests. The Secretary of State has the right to do that, and we've taken unprecedented action to do just

09:56that. We are also now pausing all asylum adjudications for additional vetting as well. And so

10:03additional actions I don't have to read out for you today, but I would just remark that the President

10:07has made tremendous progress on this front. And it's why it's it's so crucial that we not only secure

10:13the borders, which the President did in record time, we have zero illegal aliens entering into the

10:19country month after month. But we all are we also are taking a look at those who are already in the

10:24interior of our country, and removing them if they are here illegally, and also taking a look at these

10:30visas. Again, having a visa in the United States is not a right, it is a privilege. And the Secretary of

10:35State, if you are deemed contrary to our country's foreign national interests, has the right to revoke that

10:41privilege. Thank you.

10:43Gabe.

10:44Caroline. Excuse me. Regarding Venezuela, the President said yesterday that Secretary Hegsatt had denied that

10:52that second strike, that reported second strike on an alleged drug vote on September 2nd, the Secretary said to

11:00the President that that didn't happen. But to clarify, I just wanted you to clear this up. In his social media posts,

11:06Secretary Hegsatt didn't go into details about that strike. He just said U.S. operations in the area were lawful,

11:12and he said that the story and media reports were fabricated. So to be clear, does the administration

11:17deny that that second strike happened? Or did it happen and the administration denies that Secretary

11:23Hegsatt did war?

11:24The latter is true, Gabe. And I have a statement to read for you here. President Trump and Secretary

11:30Hegsatt have made it clear that presidentially designated narco terrorist groups are subject to

11:36lethal targeting in accordance with the laws of war. With respect to the strikes in question on September

11:422nd, Secretary Hegsatt authorized Admiral Bradley to conduct these kinetic strikes. Admiral Bradley

11:48worked well within his authority and the law, directing the engagement to ensure the boat was destroyed

11:54and the threat to the United States of America was eliminated. And I would just add one more point

12:00to remind the American public why these lethal strikes are taking place. Because this administration

12:05has designated these narco terrorists as foreign terrorist organizations. The president has a right

12:11to take them out if they are threatening the United States of America, and if they are bringing illegal

12:15narcotics that are killing our citizens at a record rate, which is what they are doing. And under the

12:20previous administration, there was enough fentanyl trafficked into our country to kill every American man,

12:26woman and child many times over. And so that's why you've seen a drastic difference in this

12:32administration's policy with respect to the last. And it's one of the many reasons that the American

12:36public reelected this president and support this secretary of war in conducting these strikes.

12:42To clarify, Admiral Bradley was the one who gave that order for a second strike.

12:46And he was well within his authority to do so.

12:48And a separate question. The president several days ago said it was his intention

12:52to pardon the former president of Honduras, who was a convicted drug trafficker. And yesterday

12:58in Air Force One, the president said that if someone sells drugs in that country, that doesn't mean

13:03you arrest the president and put him in jail for the rest of his life. How is that different than

13:09what the administration is accusing Venezuela as well as Nicolas Maduro of?

13:13You're cherry picking the president's statement a little bit yesterday. As he also said yesterday,

13:17the people of Honduras have highlighted to him how the former president Hernandez was set up.

13:23This was a clear Biden over prosecution. He was the president of this country. He was in the

13:28opposition party. He was opposed to the values of the previous administration and they charged him

13:34because he was president of Honduras. There were some other egregious facts that come out,

13:40came out during this trial. And I would encourage you to report on them.

13:43His court appointed lawyer was only given three weeks to prepare for trial. He shared that his

13:48conviction was lawfare by the leftist party who, quote, struck a deal with the Biden-Harris

13:53administration. Hernandez has highlighted there was virtually no independent evidence presented.

13:59And many of his conviction was based on testimony from many admitted criminals who hoped that

14:04cooperating would reduce their own penalties. So the president heard the concerns from many people,

14:09as he does. And he's, of course, within his constitutional authority to sign clemency for

14:14whomever he deems worthy of that. Jackie. Thank you, Caroline. Following up on Gabe's question,

14:19you said that the follow-up strike was lawful. What law is it that allows no survivors?

14:27The strike conducted on September 2nd was conducted in self-defense to protect Americans in vital

14:33United States interests. The strike was conducted in international waters and in accordance with the

14:38law of armed conflict. And then on this pardon for the Honduran president,

14:43does it at all undercut the administration's messaging while you have these congressional

14:48Republicans defending the strikes on the narco terrorists and then a partying for a convicted

14:54drug trafficker? Does that make it more difficult for your members to defend your administration's

15:00policy? I don't think so, Jackie. I think that President Trump has been quite clear

15:05in his defense of the United States homeland to stop these illegal narcotics from coming to our borders,

15:11whether that's by land or by sea. And he's also made it quite clear that he wants to correct the

15:16wrongs of the weaponized justice department under the previous administration. And Ouija,

15:20I'll call on you because I think we're wearing matching blazers today.

15:23Great minds. Thank you, Caroline. So just to be clear, to clarify on Jackie and Gabe,

15:31did Admiral Bradley order that second strike because there were still survivors after the initial

15:37strike? Again, as I read for you, Admiral Bradley worked well within his authority in the law. He

15:42directed the engagement to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat of narco terrorists to the

15:48United States was completely eliminated. So was the initial order from Secretary Hague said,

15:53everyone be killed? And did that come from President Trump? I saw that quoted in a Washington

15:58Post story. I would reject that the Secretary of War ever said that. However, the President has made it

16:05quite clear that if narco terrorists, again, are trafficking illegal drugs towards the United States,

16:10he has the authority to kill them. And that's what this administration is doing.

16:14And can I pull up on the MRI? Because President Trump yesterday said that he would release the

16:19results of his MRI. Is that happening right now? It is happening right now.

16:24As part of, and this is a summary from the President's physician and we will release it

16:29right now. I think my team has it teed up for all of you. I'll read it for you and then you'll get it

16:33physically as well. As part of President Trump's comprehensive executive physical, advanced imaging was

16:39performed because men in his age group benefit from a thorough evaluation of

16:44cardiovascular and abdominal health. The purpose of this imaging is preventative,

16:49to identify any issues early, confirm overall health, and ensure the President maintains long-term

16:55vitality and function. President Trump's cardiovascular imaging was perfectly normal.

17:01No evidence of arterial narrowing impairing blood flow or abnormalities in the heart or major vessels.

17:07The heart chambers are normal in size, the vessel walls appear smooth and healthy,

17:12and there are no signs of inflammation or clotting. Overall, his cardiovascular system shows excellent

17:18health. His abdominal imaging is also perfectly normal. All major organs appear very healthy and

17:24well-perfused. Everything evaluated is functioning within normal limits with no acute or chronic concerns.

17:31In summary, this level of detailed assessment is standard for an executive physical at President Trump's

17:37age and confirms that he remains in excellent overall health. Again, we will provide that to you. I think

17:42that's quite a bit of detail. And in the effort of transparency, the President promised it last

17:46night and we have delivered today. So there you go. Danny. Thanks Caroline. Just going back to Venezuela,

17:52can you confirm that President Trump is going to be hosting a meeting of his national security team

17:57in the Oval Office today on Venezuela? And what are they going to discuss? Are they hoping to reach a

18:02a kind of final decision on that? Out of the effort of transparency, I will confirm that the President

18:07will be meeting with his national security team on this subject and on many matters. He meets with

18:12his national security team quite often. He's the Commander-in-Chief. It's part of his responsibility

18:17to ensure that peace is ongoing throughout the world. I'm definitely not going to detail the specifics of a

18:22meeting between the President and his national security team that's taking place in the Oval Office,

18:27but I'm happy to confirm that meeting is taking place for you. Can you tell us, is there still,

18:32what's the position on whether troops, US troops on the ground is a possibility there? Is that,

18:38I know you've answered that before, but what's the current... In Venezuela? I think my previous answer

18:44stands. There's many options at the President's disposal that are on the table and I'll let him speak on

18:49those. Ed. Thanks Caroline. The US announced a trade framework deal with the United Kingdom on

18:55pharmaceuticals where they will pay 25% more and the savings theoretically will go back to American

19:00consumers. What guarantees are in that that that savings will in fact go back to the American

19:05consumer and not be sucked up by the company? I'm going to be honest with you, Ed. I'll get you the

19:10answer to that question after the briefing. So the American Rescue Plan, you know, so funded the

19:16number of universal income... Push will get you that answer, right? My trade guy over here. The American

19:22Rescue Plan funded a number of universal basic income programs. Now Cook County, Illinois is

19:29extending that program into 2026 with seven and a half million dollars of taxpayer money. What does

19:33the White House think about that? I'll also get you an answer on that after the briefing.

19:36Go ahead, sure. In the interest of transparency, does the White House support releasing

19:45the Department of Defense's video of those September 2nd strikes on these military votes and also

19:50separate topic on presidential pardon power. Why did the president commute the sentence of David

19:55Gentile recently? He's a private executive, private equity executive. He served 12 days out of a seven

20:00year sentence. Prosecutors said he defrauded 1.6 billion dollars with thousands of victims including

20:08veterans, farmers, teachers. Why was he important? To your first question, that's definitely not a decision

20:13for me to make. I would defer you to the Department of War. It's also probably a decision for the president

20:18himself to make. As for your second question with respect to that pardon, he issued a commutation

20:24for Mr. Gentile, who's the former CEO and co-founder of GBP Capital Holdings. Unlike similar companies,

20:31GBP paid regular annualized distributions to its investors. In 2015, GBP disclosed to investors the

20:38possibility of using investor capital to pay some of these distributions rather than funding them from

20:44current operations. Even though this was disclosed to investors, the Biden Department of Justice claimed

20:49it was a Ponzi scheme. This claim was profoundly undercut by the fact that GBP had explicitly told

20:55investors what would happen. At trial, the government was unable to tie any supposedly fraudulent

21:00representations to Mr. Gentile. In short, again, this is another example that has been brought to the

21:05president's attention of a weaponization of justice from the previous administration and therefore he signed

21:10this commutation. So say that these people were defrauded. I just read you a very detailed summary

21:17of why the commutation was made. Sure. In the middle with the red tie. Thank you, Caroline. Okay,

21:24Andrew, go ahead. In wake of Thomas Warren Marjorie Taylor Clinton's early resignation, reports last week

21:30indicated that other House Republicans might consider doing the same. Does the president have any concerns

21:36statements in light of those reports about other House Republicans potentially leaving early as well

21:41as the other announced retirements that we saw in the last couple of days? Look, I think the president

21:46maintains very good relationships with the vast majority, maybe with the exception of one or two.

21:52I think many in this room know who I'm referring to. Very good relationships with members of Capitol

21:58Hill within the Republican Party. And the president clearly is the unequivocal leader of the Republican

22:02Party. I think it was a recent CNN poll that actually showed that more than 90% of Republicans

22:08continue to support President Trump as the leader. So he maintains very good relations,

22:12as does his entire team here at the White House. And of course, we have a very slim margin in the House,

22:17and the president wants that to continue. Andrew, go ahead. Sure.

22:22Andrew, first on the administrative strike. You said that that second strike was in full accordance

22:29with the law of armed conflict. But the Navy's own manual of law of war says that specifically firing

22:39on survivors from a wrecked vessel is an example of a war crime that's forbidden under U.S. law and the

22:49law of armed conflict. So how how is was that second strike in following law of armed conflict

22:56in that second operation? Again, Andrew, I would reiterate to you the strike was conducted in

23:01international waters and in accordance with the law of armed conflict. And since somebody asked about

23:06Congress and it's sort of related to Venezuela, I also want to add that Secretary Hegseth spoke with

23:12members of Congress who may have expressed some concerns over the weekend. And there have also been

23:1713 bipartisan briefings to Congress on the Venezuelan strikes. There have been a number

23:23of document reviews for members of Congress to review the classified DOJ Office of Legal Counsel

23:28Opinion and other related documents. 29 senators and 92 representatives have reviewed those documents,

23:35which is about two thirds of those are Democrat members. And they've been they have been made available

23:40to all 100 senators, all 435 members of the House and to general counsels of the relevant committees on

23:47a bipartisan basis for their review.

23:49On immigration, during your topper, you said, and I quote, leaders also have a duty to preserve the

23:56integrity and character of our nation's national identity. Can you explain what you mean by our

24:05nation's national identity and integrity and character and how would refugees, people coming

24:13from war torn places who are seeking safe haven in America, like many of our forebears in this room,

24:20not add to our nation's integrity and character of our national identity?

24:25I'll tell you what does not add to our nation's character and integrity is refugees who come here

24:31under the alleged plight of asylum and fleeing persecution and then come to the United States

24:37to abuse our system and rip off American taxpayers. And as I pointed out, the New York Times, to their

24:43credit, it was about six months too late, but they did write about how Somali immigrants in Minnesota have

24:49been ripping off American taxpayers. In fact, 86 people have been charged in a rampant and widespread

24:55fraud scheme spanning multiple programs in Minnesota. Of those 86, 78 of those people

25:01are Somali, 91% of them charged. So far, 59 of those people have been convicted for their roles

25:09in fraud plots that have stolen $1 billion from taxpayers. In one scheme, and this is egregious,

25:16a nonprofit and its affiliates with these Somali migrants claim to have fed tens of thousands of

25:22American children during the pandemic. They were reimbursed for those meals by taxpayers. However,

25:29federal prosecutors found that almost all of those meals were never even delivered to hungry children.

25:35In fact, those organizations leaders spent the money on houses, luxury cars, and real estate in

25:41Turkey and Kenya. Another scheme involved hundreds of organizations who were reimbursed for services

25:47that were supposed to help people at risk of homelessness. Once again, those services were never

25:51provided. All of this has happened under Democrat leadership in a Democrat-run state where these

25:57refugees, these migrants, are coming to the United States. They are abusing our system. They are

26:01draining our resources that should be going to law-abiding, taxpayer-funded, tax-paying Americans.

26:07And this president is not going to come up with it anymore. Rachel.

26:10Thank you, Caroline. Just to follow back up on the Washington Post reporting, so much of the concern

26:15from Democrats and Republicans is focused on the survivors. Why won't the administration either confirm or

26:22deny or reveal whether or not there were survivors after that initial first strike? And what imminent

26:28threat would two survivors pose who were clinging presumably to the wreckage of that boat? Again,

26:34as I said, I think you guys are sort of not listening fully to the statement I've provided. Admiral

26:39Bradley worked well within his authority and the law, directing the engagement to ensure the boat was

26:44totally destroyed and the threat to the narco terrorists, to the United States, was eliminated. And for any

26:51further questions about his thinking, I would defer you to the Department of War. I obviously wasn't in

26:55the room for the answer. Just to follow up, Caroline, just on the administration's policy when it comes

26:59to survivors, was there a change in policy after this strike on September 2nd? The Washington Post is

27:07reporting that these two survivors were killed after a second strike, but then in October two people

27:12were rescued and returned to Colombia and Ecuador. So was there a decision that was made to handle

27:18survivors differently after these strikes? Not to my knowledge, no. Steve? The President confirmed

27:25that he spoke to the Venezuelan leader. Are you trying to negotiate his departure? Is there an

27:30asylum deal under working? The President, as you know, last night on Air Force One, he said,

27:35I don't want to comment on that, but I did speak to him in the effort of transparency. So there you go.

27:40You got your confirmation. I'll let him speak further if he wishes to on the details of that

27:45conversation that took place. Steve Whitcoff is headed to Moscow. How close are you to some

27:50sort of Ukraine agreement? I think the administration feels very optimistic.

27:54Obviously, you've seen, Steve, that the President's entire team, including Special Envoy Whitcoff and

28:00Secretary Rubio and the Vice President and the President himself, Secretary Hegseth as well,

28:05have been working so hard on this effort, and they all really want to see this war come to an end.

28:10And so just yesterday, Sunday, I believe that was yesterday, they had very good talks with

28:16the Ukrainians in Florida. And now, of course, Special Envoy Whitcoff is on his way to Russia.

28:20This is sort of the shuttle diplomacy that you've seen from this administration play out,

28:24where we speak equally with both sides. We've put points on paper. Those points have been

28:29very much refined. But as for the details, I will let the negotiators negotiate. But we do feel

28:34quite good. And we're hopeful that this war can finally come to an end.

28:38Stephen. Thank you, Caroline. I've got a question about Ukraine and then a clarification

28:43about the immigration changes that are happening. On Ukraine, President Trump very briefly yesterday

28:49said that corruption issues there were not helpful to the peace process following the resignation on

28:54Friday of President Zelensky's top aide, Andre Yermak. We were told from your podium in the prior

28:59administration that, quote, there is no indication that there's been any kind of widespread corruption

29:05involving U.S. resources in Ukraine. What is the Trump administration's view of corruption issues

29:10in the wake of Duramax resignation? How is that impacting these folks?

29:14Well, look, I think the president has made it quite clear, as he said last night, corruption is never

29:18helpful. And he does not want to see American tax dollars taken advantage of, which is why he has

29:23stopped the endless checks that were being written by the previous administration to fund this war.

29:29The United States is selling weapons to NATO that are being sent to Ukraine. That's a very different

29:33thing than the American people writing blank checks to a war effort very far away.

29:38It does not degrade the administration's determination to see this war come to an end,

29:43but I think it exemplifies the president's desire to always put the American people and the American

29:48taxpayer first. On immigration, you mentioned or you emphasized that there would be a review of the

29:53Afghans who were resettled here under the previous administration. There's a lot of changes happening

29:58right now to asylum and to green card holders. What should people, what should the two million

30:04people with pending asylum claims or the roughly million people from the 18 other countries of

30:10concern know about what's going on in the review? What's the status of all these other people?

30:16They're essentially paused for review and the Department of Homeland Security is taking this

30:21very seriously because we are not going to allow soldiers like we saw in American streets

30:26last week to be gunned down at the hands of these foreign nationals who had the privilege of coming

30:31to the United States of America. And unfortunately, this is not the only example of a dangerous

30:36Afghan who was let in by Joe Biden, who went on to harm the American people. There was an Afghan

30:41national who was let into the country under the Biden administration through Operation Allies Welcome

30:46who shot and wounded two Fairfax, Virginia police officers during a routine traffic stop. He was killed

30:52by return fire after declaring, quote, I should have served with the explicative Taliban. Two Afghan

30:59nationals were given legal status by the Biden administration as well who were arrested and

31:03prosecuted for plotting a terrorist attack in Oklahoma just before Election Day in 2024. We all remember that

31:10they possessed hundreds of rounds of ammunition and had pledged their allegiance to ISIS. There was also

31:15an Afghan national who was on the terror watch list who was apprehended by Border Patrol in 2024,

31:21but then he was released into our country by the Biden administration. Again, let's just highlight

31:26the absurdity of that. Border Patrol apprehended a terrorist and then the Biden administration,

31:32because of their lax policies, still allowed him to come into the United States of America.

31:36I think everyone in this room, whether you want to admit it or not, does not want that individual

31:41living alongside you in your American neighborhood. And that individual was later arrested again

31:46after being allowed to live in the US at large for over a year. Another one, a criminal illegal alien

31:52from Afghanistan was arrested by ICE in 2025, convicted of second degree assault, was previously

31:57allowed to stay in the country by the Biden administration. I have several more examples

32:01here. I'm happy to provide them to anyone in this room. John? Thank you, Caroline. First of all,

32:07happy Thanksgiving to you and your young family. Hope you enjoyed it. I have two questions unrelated.

32:12The first, back to Afghanistan. My son and I walked by the horrific shooting less than one hour

32:20before it happened. So for anybody that's here, this thing's real. You outlined all of these

32:26unvetted Afghans that were let in by Biden. We just had one the other day that was going to blow

32:33up a DHS building. Can you be specific on what the Trump administration is doing now

32:39to re-vet those that are here so that we don't get a repeat of what we have Wednesday night?

32:46Sure. I can tell you two top level things, and I would defer you to DHS for more of the specifics,

32:50as of course they are leading this effort. And I can assure you, Secretary Noem is on the ball.

32:55I've spoken with her and her team, and they have an all hands on deck effort

32:59to having resources go towards this. But we have paused all asylum adjudications. And then,

33:05of course, the special immigrant visas, which we know many Afghans utilize to come into the country

33:10under the Biden administration, have also now been paused. And I would just point out one more time

33:15that the Biden administration was responsible for the original sin that led to this tragic killing

33:21last week, the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan. He was responsible for Operation Allies Welcome,

33:26which is something that this White House and the people behind this podium in the last

33:31administration fully and wholeheartedly embraced. And they assured the American people there would be

33:36no risk or no harm to them. And as I just laid out for you in those many examples, that unfortunately

33:41and tragically has not turned out to be the truth. Just ask the families of these two brave national

33:46guardsmen, one who is no longer with us and one who continues to fight for his life. So

33:51I know the president is wholeheartedly focused on this effort. And I think, unfortunately,

33:55these events do remind us why it's so important that the president's mass deportation operation

34:00continues. The White House today launched a new fake news portal, which I found interesting.

34:12What is your objective with that, ultimately? And are you going to name the news networks? And are you

34:18also going to name some of the correspondents, some which may be here today? Yes, we are. I'm glad,

34:25I'm glad you noticed, much to the dismay of some of your colleagues in the room, John. And I think it

34:30goes to our original promise on day one to hold the media accountable, because unfortunately,

34:36and we deal with this all day, every day around here, there are so many fake stories that are

34:41unfortunately written that have inaccurate characterizations of meetings that took place.

34:46And it's all based on anonymous sourcing. And, you know, the standard for journalism,

34:50unfortunately, has dropped to such a historic low in this country. And again, we deal with it every day,

34:56where you can have an anonymous source who has no idea what they're talking about,

35:00zero credibility, call up a reporter in Washington and say, hey, I heard this. And then the next thing

35:05you know, it's on the front page of the New York Times. It's really incomprehensible. We appreciate

35:09the journalists, some of those who are in this room who do reach out for comment, who try to get things

35:14right. And there are some that remain. But overwhelmingly, the fake news that we see pumped

35:19out of this building on a day to day basis, it's it's honestly overwhelming to keep up with it all,

35:25and to constantly have to defend against these fake news and these attacks. And I will point out

35:29one fake news story over the weekend before I let you all go from the New York Times that took about

35:35one third of the president's daily calendar and his daily schedule and said that he's doing less than

35:42he did in his first term or he might not be fit for the job. That is unequivocally false. And it's

35:47deeply unfortunate that this story was written by the same outlet and the same reporter who wrote this

35:54Biden is doing 100% fine after tripping while boarding Air Force One. Oh, same outlet, same

36:01reporter who wrote that President Trump is not fit for the job. Are you kidding me? You all see him

36:06almost every single day. He is the most accessible president in history. He is taking meetings around

36:11the clock. Another one Biden declared, quote, healthy and vigorous after his first presidential

36:17physical. I don't see headlines like that too often about this president. Again, same reporter,

36:23same outlet who wrote falsely over the weekend that President Trump is not fit for the job. I can

36:28assure you he absolutely is. You all see that with your own eyes on a daily basis. And the president's

36:33position has now given you all three detailed reports on the state of the president's health.

36:38So with that, I will leave you all and we'll see you tomorrow. Thank you.

White House Briefing: Trump MRI Normal, Ukraine Talks Hopeful, Venezuela Strike Defended

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