White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt delivered an emotional tribute to National Guardsmen Sarah Beckstrom and Andrew Wolfe, praising their courage and selflessness in the line of duty. Leavitt highlighted their actions as an example of extraordinary heroism, reflecting values of service, sacrifice, and devotion to others.
#WhiteHouse #KarolineLeavitt #NationalGuard #SarahBeckstrom #AndrewWolfe #Heroism #Bravery
#WhiteHouse #KarolineLeavitt #NationalGuard #SarahBeckstrom #AndrewWolfe #Heroism #Bravery
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NewsTranscript
00:00Good afternoon, everybody. I apologize for my tardiness. We had some technical
00:05difficulties, as you could see, but I think we are ready to rock. So let's get
00:08to it. I'll begin this week with some scheduling announcements for President
00:12Trump's very busy week ahead. Tomorrow, President Trump will host his ninth
00:16cabinet meeting of the year alongside his incredible cabinet, who continue to
00:21deliver for the American people at a record pace. Later in the afternoon
00:26tomorrow, the president will make an announcement in the Oval Office on his
00:29initiative to create Trump accounts to give the next generation of Americans a
00:34jumpstart on savings. It will be a very exciting announcement indeed, especially
00:39for all of the parents across the country with young children and babies. On
00:43Thursday, President Trump will host the presidents of the Republic of Rwanda and
00:46the Democratic Republic of Congo to sign the historic peace and economic
00:51agreement that he brokered. On Thursday night, the president and the First Lady
00:56will celebrate one of America's greatest traditions, the lighting of the national
01:00Christmas tree on the ellipse. And on Friday, President Trump will attend the
01:04FIFA World Cup final jaw at the Kennedy Center. You all will be seeing and hearing
01:09from the president every day this week. So you have me today and then he will take on
01:13the rest of the week himself. Next, I would like to address the horrific tragedy that took
01:18place in our nation's capital that last week. A foreign terrorist that the Biden
01:23administration failed to properly vet ambushed two members of the West Virginia
01:29National Guard who were honorably serving here to keep their residents and
01:33visitors of Washington, D.C. safe. U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe was
01:39severely wounded in the attack and remains hospitalized while he continues to fight
01:44for his life. Tragically, U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom died of her
01:49wounds. She was just 20 years old. President Trump and the entire White House
01:55are praying for Andrew's full recovery at the request of his parents and their
01:59personal phone call with the president over the weekend. And we are keeping
02:03Sarah's family and friends in our prayers during this unimaginably difficult
02:08time. Sarah and Andrew represent the very best of America. Two young patriots,
02:14who were willing to put on the uniform and risk their lives in defense of their
02:18fellow Americans. Both of them truly embody the profound words spoken by Jesus
02:24Christ in the gospel. Greater love has no one than this to lay down one's life for
02:29one's friends. Sarah and Andrew are heroes and we will never forget their
02:34sacrifice. That means ensuring the monster responsible for this atrocity is
02:39prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and faces the most severe
02:44punishment possible. It also means reckoning with why this atrocity was
02:48allowed to happen in the first place so that it may never occur again. Here are
02:53the facts. The terrorist who is gunned down, who gunned down American soldiers
02:58blocks away from the White House and an ambush was an Afghan national who was flown
03:03into our country by Joe Biden's administration in September 2021 in the
03:08chaotic wake of their botched withdrawal from Afghanistan. One of the most
03:13embarrassing moments in the history of our great country. Joe Biden's historic
03:18failure in Afghanistan continues to haunt this country and our men and women in
03:22uniform. Not only did this surrender lead to a suicide bombing that killed 13
03:27American heroes in Kabul, but now National Guard troops were shot on U.S. soil by the
03:33same kind of enemy. We continue to live with the deadly consequences of Joe Biden's
03:39horrific leadership. Nearly 100,000 Afghans were recklessly released into the
03:44United States with little to no vetting. There was no regard for the disorder and
03:48violence that this would unleash on American communities and American
03:52culture. Reportedly, thousands of these strangers and unknown individuals were
03:57flagged to the Biden administration for national security, public safety and fraud
04:02concerns. But the terrifying truth is that the Afghanistan debacle is just a
04:06small part of Democrats' complete and total betrayal of the American people
04:11during the Biden years. The tragedy that we just witnessed the day before
04:15Thanksgiving is a reminder that untold thousands of terrorists, gang members and
04:20criminals were invited into our country and remain here to this very day. The
04:26border is now secure, thanks to President Trump, but the threat in our interior remains
04:31real and urgent. These public safety threats are already inside our land. And
04:37President Trump was elected on a promise to find and remove them. And he has
04:41already taken significant steps and made significant progress towards fulfilling
04:46this promise. But there is more work to be done because President Trump believes
04:50that he has a sacred obligation to reverse the calamity of mass unchecked
04:55migration into our country. As a result, the Trump administration is now actively
05:01reexamining all of the Afghans imported into the country by Joe Biden. Any individual who
05:07threatens our national security or our citizenry will be subject to removal.
05:12President Trump has already permanently paused migration of foreign nationals from
05:17third world countries that pose a very high risk to the United States. For too long, past American
05:23president supported self-destruction, self-destructive immigration policies that allowed foreigners
05:29who outright hate our country and have no interest in assimilating into our culture, they've allowed
05:36these individuals to flood peaceful American communities. This disastrous approach has drained
05:42our welfare program, driven up the cost of housing, suppressed wages and jeopardize the safety
05:48of law abiding American citizens. In fact, according to a new bombshell report from the New York
05:53Times, Somalian migrants in Minnesota have defrauded nearly $1 billion in taxpayer funded benefits
06:01under Democrat Governor Walz's leadership. President Trump is putting an end to this dangerous
06:07America last approach. His position is rooted in common sense. In the wake of last week's atrocity,
06:13it is more important than ever to finish carrying out the president's mass deportation operation.
06:19America cannot allow millions upon millions of unvetted illegal aliens to be rewarded with
06:25amnesty after they broke our nation's laws to come here. They must go back to their home countries.
06:31It is also essential to immediately address the massive fraud and corruption that has been going
06:37on for decades in other aspects of our immigration system, most notably when it comes to asylum claims.
06:44Millions of people who have come here under false pretenses and told blatant lies now enjoy temporary
06:51legal status. President Trump is ending this scam as well, and I would point out that the Democrats
06:57have tried to block this administration from doing so at every turn with lawsuit after lawsuit.
07:04The hard truth is that even when it comes to our legal immigration system, past presidents have
07:09failed to ensure that all prospective citizens love America, will add value and contribute to our
07:16communities, and will assimilate into our culture. Leaders have a duty to defend and advance the
07:22interests of their own people, not foreign nationals. Leaders also have a duty to preserve the integrity
07:29and character of our nation's national identity. That is why President Trump is more committed than
07:35ever to fully restoring American sovereignty by keeping our borders secure, removing all illegal alien
07:42invaders, and rebuilding a legal immigration system that makes sense and benefits our country. President
07:49Trump has no higher responsibility than to defend our homeland and our people, and he will never waver in
07:56doing so. With that, I will open it up to questions, and we'll lead today with Isabel Brown, who is in our
08:01new media seats. She's a very popular face on television these days. She's built a great independent
08:06media podcast and platform with the Daily Wire, and I appreciate your being here, Isabel. Thank you for
08:11being here. Thank you, Caroline. I appreciate it and appreciate the briefing. Many Americans, in light of these
08:15recent events that you just mentioned, are starting to say that we are being invaded as a country, culturally and
08:21logistically when it comes to immigration. And we know that immigration without assimilation is indeed
08:26invasion. So, given the recent remarks from Vice President Vance on a college campus about
08:31dramatically reducing legal immigration to address some of this crisis and President Trump's Truth
08:36Social post last week about individuals who may be non-compatible with Western civilization, are there
08:42any conversations happening or plans being made behind the scenes for the administration to implement at least
08:47a temporary immigration moratorium, for example, in light of what the American people might be calling
08:52for? So, Isabel, it's a great question. I think I spoke a little bit to the heart of your question
08:56in my opener there. I would add that the Trump administration has done more to limit migration,
09:02both illegal and legal, than any administration in history. And I'll just walk you through some of the
09:08actions that we have taken thus far. Number one, the Trump administration issued a travel ban for 19
09:13countries, including Afghanistan. Special immigrant visas, which is a legal pathway to get here, which
09:19we know many Afghans have utilized to come into the country, have now been paused since the tragic
09:24shooting last week. Refugee admissions were suspended for Afghans from this administration on day one. And
09:31refugee admissions into the country right now are essentially at zero, with the exception of Afrikaners
09:37fleeing persecution in South Africa. The State Department has also heightened their scrutiny and vetting of
09:43all visas and have revoked visas, as you know, for those who do not align with our country's national
09:50interests. The Secretary of State has the right to do that, and we've taken unprecedented action to do
09:55just that. We are also now pausing all asylum adjudications for additional vetting as well. And so
10:01additional actions I don't have to read out for you today, but I would just remark that the President has
10:06made tremendous progress on this front. And it's why it's it's so crucial that we not only secure the
10:12borders, which the President did in record time, we have zero illegal aliens entering into the country
10:18month after month. But we all are we also are taking a look at those who are already in the interior of
10:23our country and removing them if they are here illegally and also taking a look at these visas. Again,
10:29having a visa in the United States is not a right. It is a privilege. And the Secretary of State,
10:34if you are deemed contrary to our country's foreign national interests, has the right to revoke that
10:40privilege. Thank you. Gabe.
10:42The Press, regarding Venezuela, the President said yesterday
10:48that Secretary Hegsat had denied that that second strike, that reported second strike on an alleged
10:54drug vote on September 2nd. The Secretary said to the President that that didn't happen. But to clarify,
11:01I just wanted you to clear this up. In his social media posts, Secretary Hegsat didn't go into details
11:07about that strike. He just said U.S. operations in the area were lawful. And he said that the story and
11:12media reports were fabricated. And to be clear, does the administration deny that that second strike
11:17happened? Or did it happen and the administration denies that Secretary Hegsat gave the order?
11:22The latter is true, Gabe. And I have a statement to read for you here. President Trump and Secretary
11:28Hegsat have made it clear that presidentially designated narco-terrorist groups are subject
11:34to lethal targeting in accordance with the laws of war. With respect to the strikes in question on
11:40September 2nd, Secretary Hegsat authorized Admiral Bradley to conduct these kinetic strikes. Admiral Bradley
11:47worked well within his authority and the law, directing the engagement to ensure the boat was
11:52destroyed and the threat to the United States of America was eliminated. And I would just add one
11:58more point to remind the American public why these lethal strikes are taking place. Because this
12:03administration has designated these narco-terrorists as foreign terrorist organizations. The President has a
12:09right to take them out if they are threatening the United States of America and if they are bringing
12:13illegal narcotics that are killing our citizens at a record rate, which is what they are doing. And
12:18under the previous administration, there was enough fentanyl trafficked into our country to kill
12:23every American man, woman and child many times over. And so that's why you've seen a drastic difference
12:30in this administration's policy with respect to the last. And it's one of the many reasons the American
12:35public reelected this president and support this Secretary of War in conducting these strikes.
12:40So to be clear, to clarify, Admiral Bradley was the one who gave that order for a second strike.
12:44And he was well within his authority to do so.
12:46And a separate question. The President, several days ago, said it was his intention
12:51to pardon the former President of Honduras, who was a convicted drug trafficker. And yesterday on Air
12:57Force One, the President said that if someone sells drugs in that country, that doesn't mean you
13:02arrest the President and put him in jail for the rest of his life. How is that different than what the
13:08administration is accusing Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro?
13:11Ms. You're cherry picking the President's statement a little bit yesterday. As he also
13:15said yesterday, the people of Honduras have highlighted to him how the former President
13:20Hernandez was set up. This was a clear Biden over prosecution. He was the President of this
13:26country. He was in the opposition party. He was opposed to the values of the previous
13:30administration. And they charged him because he was President of Honduras. There were some other
13:36egregious facts that came out during this trial, and I would encourage you to report on them.
13:41His court-appointed lawyer was only given three weeks to prepare for trial. He shared that his
13:46conviction was lawfare by the leftist party who, quote, struck a deal with the Biden-Harris administration.
13:53Hernandez has highlighted there was virtually no independent evidence presented. And many of his
13:59conviction was based on testimony from many admitted criminals who hoped that cooperating would reduce
14:04their own penalties. So, the President heard the concerns from many people, as he does. And he's,
14:09of course, within his constitutional authority to sign clemency for whomever he deems worthy of that.
14:15Jackie.
14:15The Press. Thank you, Caroline. Following up on Gabe's question, you said that the
14:20follow-up strike was lawful. What law is it that allows no survivors?
14:25The strike conducted on September 2nd was conducted in self-defense to protect Americans in vital United
14:32States interests. The strike was conducted in international waters and in accordance with the
14:36law of armed conflict. And then on this pardon for the Honduran President, does it at all undercut
14:44the administration's messaging? While you have these congressional Republicans defending the strikes on
14:49the narco-terrorists and then a pardon for a convicted drug trafficker, does that make it more
14:55difficult for your members to defend your administration's policy?
14:59I don't think so, Jackie. I think that President Trump has been quite clear in his defense of
15:05the United States homeland to stop these illegal narcotics from coming to our borders, whether that's
15:10by land or by sea. And he's also made it quite clear that he wants to correct the wrongs of the
15:15weaponized justice department under the previous administration. And, Ouija, I'll call on you because
15:20I think we're wearing matching blazers today. Great minds.
15:23Thank you, Caroline. So just to be clear, to clarify on Jackie and Gabe, did Admiral Bradley
15:32order that second strike because there were still survivors after the initial strike?
15:36Again, as I read for you, Admiral Bradley worked well within his authority in the law. He directed the
15:41engagement to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat of narco-terrorists to the United States
15:47was completely eliminated. So was the initial order from Secretary Hague said everyone be killed,
15:53and did that come from President Trump? I saw that quoted in a Washington Post story. I would reject
15:58that the Secretary of War ever said that. However, the President has made it quite clear that if
16:04narco-terrorists, again, are trafficking illegal drugs towards the United States, he has the authority to
16:10kill them. And that's what this administration is doing. And can I follow up on the MRI? Because
16:15President Trump yesterday said that he would release the results of his MRI. Is that happening right now?
16:21It is happening right now. As part of, and this is a summary from the President's physician,
16:26and we will release it right now. I think my team has it teed up for all of you. I'll read it for
16:31you, and then you'll get it physically as well. As part of President Trump's comprehensive executive
16:36physical, advanced imaging was performed because men in his age group benefit from a thorough evaluation
16:42of cardiovascular and abdominal health. The purpose of this imaging is preventative, to identify any
16:49issues early, confirm overall health, and ensure the President maintains long-term vitality and
16:55function. President Trump's cardiovascular imaging was perfectly normal. No evidence of arterial
17:01narrowing, impairing blood flow or abnormalities in the heart or major vessels. The heart chambers are
17:07normal in size, the vessel walls appear smooth and healthy, and there are no signs of inflammation or
17:12clotting. Overall, his cardiovascular system shows excellent health. His abdominal imaging is also
17:19perfectly normal. All major organs appear very healthy and well-perfused. Everything evaluated is
17:26functioning within normal limits, with no acute or chronic concerns. In summary, this level of detailed
17:32assessment is standard for an executive physical at President Trump's age, and confirms that he
17:37remains in excellent overall health. Again, we will provide that to you. I think that's quite a bit of
17:42detail, and in the effort of transparency, the President promised it last night, and we have delivered
17:46today. So there you go. Danny. Thanks, Caroline. Just going back to Venezuela, can you confirm that
17:51President Trump is going to be hosting a meeting of his national security team in the Oval Office
17:57today on Venezuela? And what are they going to discuss? Are they hoping to reach a kind of final
18:01decision on that? Out of the effort of transparency, I will confirm that the President will be meeting with
18:07his national security team on this subject and on many matters. He meets with his national security team
18:12quite often. He's the Commander-in-Chief. It's part of his responsibility to ensure that peace is ongoing
18:18throughout the world. I'm definitely not going to detail the specifics of a meeting between the
18:22President and his national security team that's taking place in the Oval Office, but I'm happy to confirm
18:27that meeting is taking place for you. Can you tell us, is there still — what's the position on
18:33whether troops — U.S. troops on the ground is a possibility there? Is that — I know you've answered that
18:38before, but what's the current operative — In Venezuela?
18:41I think my previous answer stands. There's many options at the President's disposal that are on
18:46the table, and I'll let him speak on those. Ed.
18:49The U.S. announced a trade framework deal with the United Kingdom on pharmaceuticals
18:55where they will pay 25 percent more and the savings, theoretically, will go back to American
18:59consumers. What guarantees are in that that that savings will, in fact, go back to the American
19:03consumer and not be sucked up by the company? I'm going to be honest with you, Ed. I'll get you the
19:08answer to that question after the briefing. So the American Rescue Plan funded a number of
19:15universal income — Cush will get you that answer, right, Cush? My trade guy over here.
19:20The American Rescue Plan funded a number of universal basic income programs. Now Cook County,
19:26Illinois, is extending that program into 2026 with seven and a half million dollars of taxpayer money.
19:32What does the White House think about that?
19:33Ms. I'll also get you an answer on that after the briefing.
19:35The Press for two.
19:36Ms. Go ahead. Sure. And then Angie.
19:39The Press in the interest of transparency, does the White House support releasing
19:44the Department of Defense's video of those September 2nd strikes on those military votes?
19:49And also, a separate topic on presidential pardon power, why did the President commute the
19:53sentence of David Gentile recently? He was a private equity executive. He served 12 days out of a
19:58seven-year sentence. The prosecutor said he defrauded $1.6 billion with thousands of victims,
20:06including veterans, farmers, teachers. Why was he pardoned?
20:10Ms. To your first question, that's definitely not a decision for me to make. I would defer you to
20:14the Department of War. It's also probably a decision for the President himself to make. As for your
20:19second question with respect to that pardon, he issued a commutation for Mr. Gentile, who's the former
20:24CEO and co-founder of GBP Capital Holdings. Unlike similar companies, GBP paid regular annualized
20:32distributions to its investors. In 2015, GBP disclosed to investors the possibility of using
20:38investor capital to pay some of these distributions rather than funding them from current operations.
20:44Even though this was disclosed to investors, the Biden Department of Justice claimed it was a Ponzi
20:48scheme. This claim was profoundly undercut by the fact that GBP had explicitly told investors,
20:54what would happen. At trial, the government was unable to tie any supposedly fraudulent
20:59representations to Mr. Gentile. In short, again, this is another example that has been brought
21:04to the President's attention of a weaponization of justice from the previous administration,
21:08and therefore he signed this commutation.
21:09It seems as though, say that these people were defrauded.
21:14I just read you a very detailed summary of why the commutation was made.
21:17That's right. Sure. In the middle with the red tie.
21:21The Press. Thank you, Caroline.
21:22Ms. Okay. Andrew, go ahead. And then you.
21:23The Press. In wake of Congressman Marjorie
21:26and Taylor Greene's early resignation, reports last week indicated that other House
21:31Republicans might consider doing the same. Does the President have any concerns
21:36in light of those reports about other House Republicans potentially leaving early,
21:40as well as the other announced retirements that we saw in the last couple of days?
21:43Ms. Look, I think the President maintains very good relationships with the vast majority,
21:49maybe with the exception of one or two, and I think many in this room know who I'm referring to,
21:54very good relationships with members of Capitol Hill within the Republican Party.
21:58And the President clearly is the unequivocal leader of the Republican Party. I think it was a
22:02recent CNN poll that actually showed that more than 90 percent of Republicans continue to support
22:08President Trump as the leader. So he maintains very good relations,
22:11as does his entire team here at the White House. And of course,
22:14we have a very slim margin in the House, and the President wants that to continue.
22:19Andrew, go ahead.
22:19The Press. I have to ask you where you first won the Venezuela strike.
22:23You said that that second strike was in full accordance with the law of armed conflict,
22:30but the Navy's own manual of law of war says that specifically firing on survivors from a wrecked
22:41vessel is an example of a war crime that's forbidden under U.S. law and the law of armed conflict.
22:49So how was that second strike in following law of armed conflict and then second on immigration?
22:56Again, Andrew, I would reiterate to you the strike was conducted in international waters and in
23:01accordance with the law of armed conflict. And since somebody asked about Congress and it's sort
23:06of related to Venezuela, I also want to add that Secretary Hegseth spoke with members of Congress
23:12who may have expressed some concerns over the weekend. And there have also been 13 bipartisan
23:17briefings to Congress on the Venezuelan strikes. There have been a number of document reviews for
23:23members of Congress to review the classified DOJ, Office of Legal Counsel Opinion, and other related
23:29documents. 29 senators and 92 representatives have reviewed those documents, which is about
23:34two-thirds of those are Democrat members. And they have been made available to all 100 senators,
23:41all 435 members of the House, and to general counsels of the relevant committees on a bipartisan basis
23:47for their review.
23:48The Press on immigration. During your topper, you said, and I quote,
23:52leaders also have a duty to preserve the integrity and character of our nation's national identity.
24:00Can you explain what you mean by our nation's national identity and integrity and character,
24:08and how would refugees, people coming from war-torn places who are seeking a safe haven in America,
24:16like many of our forebears in this room, not add to our nation's integrity and character of our
24:23national identity?
24:24I'll tell you what does not add to our nation's character and integrity is refugees who come here
24:30under the alleged plight of asylum and fleeing persecution and then come to the United States
24:36to abuse our system and rip off American taxpayers. And as I pointed out, the New York Times,
24:41to their credit, it was about six months too late, but they did write,
24:44about how Somali immigrants in Minnesota have been ripping off American taxpayers. In fact,
24:5086 people have been charged in a rampant and widespread fraud scheme spanning multiple programs
24:56in Minnesota. Of those 86, 78 of those people are Somali, 91% of them charged. So far, 59 of those
25:05people have been convicted for their roles in fraud plots that have stolen $1 billion from taxpayers.
25:13In one scheme, and this is egregious, a non-profit and its affiliates with these Somali migrants claimed
25:19to have fed tens of thousands of American children during the pandemic. They were reimbursed for those
25:25meals by taxpayers. However, federal prosecutors found that almost all of those meals were never even
25:32delivered to hungry children. In fact, those organizations' leaders spent the money on houses,
25:37luxury cars, and real estate in Turkey and Kenya. Another scheme involved hundreds of organizations
25:43who were reimbursed for services that were supposed to help people at risk of homelessness. Once again,
25:49those services were never provided. All of this has happened under Democrat leadership in a Democrat-run
25:54state, where these refugees, these migrants, are coming to the United States. They are abusing our
25:59system. They are draining our resources that should be going to law-abiding, taxpayer-funded,
26:04tax-paying Americans. And this President is not going to put up with it anymore. Rachel.
26:09Thank you, Caroline. Just to follow back up on the Washington Post reporting, so much of the
26:14concern from Democrats and Republicans is focused on the survivors. Why won't the administration
26:20either confirm or deny or reveal whether or not there were survivors after that initial first strike?
26:26And what imminent threat would two survivors pose who were clinging, presumably, to the wreckage of
26:31that boat? Again, as I said, I think you guys are sort of not listening fully to the statement I've
26:36provided. Admiral Bradley worked well within his authority and the law, directing the engagement to
26:41ensure the boat was totally destroyed and the threat to the narco-terrorists, to the United States,
26:47was eliminated. And for any further questions about his thinking, I would defer you to the Department of
26:52War. I obviously wasn't in the room for the answer. Just to follow up, Caroline, just on the
26:56administration's policy when it comes to survivors, was there a change in policy after this strike on
27:03September 2nd? The Washington Post is reporting that these two survivors were killed after a second
27:09strike, but then in October two people were rescued and returned to Colombia and Ecuador. So was there a
27:15decision that was made to handle survivors differently after these strikes? Not to my knowledge, no.
27:21Steve. The President confirmed that he spoke to the Venezuelan leader.
27:25Are you trying to negotiate his departure? Is there an asylum deal under working?
27:30The President, as you know, last night on Air Force One, he said,
27:34I don't want to comment on that, but I did speak to him in the effort of transparency. So there you go.
27:39You got your confirmation. I'll let him speak further if he wishes to on the details of that
27:44conversation that took place. Steve Witkopf is headed to Moscow. How close are you to some sort of
27:49Ukraine agreement? I think the administration feels very optimistic. Obviously, you've seen,
27:54Steve, that the President's entire team, including Special Envoy Witkopf and Secretary Rubio and the
27:59Vice President and the President himself, Secretary Hegseth as well, have been working so hard on this
28:05effort. And they all really want to see this war come to an end. And so just yesterday, Sunday,
28:11I believe that was yesterday, they had very good talks with the Ukrainians in Florida. And now,
28:16of course, Special Envoy Witkopf is on his way to Russia. This is sort of the shuttle diplomacy
28:21that you've seen from this administration play out, where we speak equally with both sides.
28:25We've put points on paper. Those points have been very much refined. But as for the details,
28:29I will let the negotiators negotiate. But we do feel quite good. And we're hopeful that
28:34this war can finally come to an end. Steven.
28:37The Press. Thank you, Caroline. I've got a question about Ukraine and then
28:40a clarification about the immigration changes that are happening. On Ukraine, President Trump
28:46very briefly yesterday said that corruption issues there were not helpful to the peace process
28:51following the resignation on Friday of President Zelensky's top aide, Andre Yermak. We were told
28:56from your podium in the prior administration that, quote, there is no indication that there's been any
29:02kind of widespread corruption involving U.S. resources in Ukraine. What is the Trump administration's view
29:08of corruption issues in the wake of your maximum resignation? How is that impacting peace folks?
29:13Well, look, I think the President has made it quite clear. As he said last night,
29:16corruption is never helpful. And he does not want to see American tax dollars taken advantage of,
29:21which is why he has stopped the endless checks that were being written by the previous administration
29:26to fund this war. The United States is selling weapons to NATO that are being sent to Ukraine. That's a
29:31very different thing than the American people writing blank checks to a war effort very far away. It does not
29:38degrade the administration's determination to see this war come to an end, but I think it
29:42exemplifies the President's desire to always put the American people and the American taxpayer first.
29:47On immigration, you mentioned or you emphasized that there would be a review of the Afghans who
29:53were resettled here under the previous administration. There's a lot of changes happening right now to
29:58asylum and to green card holders. What should the 2 million people with pending asylum claims or the
30:05roughly million people from the 18 other countries of concern know about what's going on in the review?
30:12What's the status of all these other people? They're essentially paused for review. And the
30:17Department of Homeland Security is taking this very seriously because we are not going to allow
30:22soldiers like we saw in American streets last week to be gunned down at the hands of these foreign
30:28nationals who had the privilege of coming to the United States of America. And unfortunately, this is
30:33not the only example of a dangerous Afghan who was let in by Joe Biden, who went on to harm the American
30:38people. There was an Afghan national who was let into the country under the Biden administration
30:43through Operation Allies Welcome, who shot and wounded two Fairfax, Virginia police officers during a routine
30:49traffic stop. He was killed by return fire after declaring, quote, I should have served with the
30:55explicit of Taliban to Afghan nationals were given legal status by the Biden administration as well,
31:01who were arrested and prosecuted for plotting a terrorist attack in Oklahoma just before Election
31:07Day in 2024. We all remember that they possessed hundreds of rounds of ammunition and had pledged
31:12their allegiance to ISIS. There was also an Afghan national who was on the terror watch list,
31:16who was apprehended by Border Patrol in 2024, but then he was released into our country by the Biden
31:23administration. Again, let's just highlight the absurdity of that. Border Patrol apprehended a
31:28terrorist and then the Biden administration, because of their lax policies, still allowed him to come into
31:34the United States of America. I think everyone in this room, whether you want to admit it or not,
31:38does not want that individual living alongside you in your American neighborhood. And that individual was
31:43later arrested again after being allowed to live in the U.S. at large for over a year. Another one,
31:49a criminal illegal alien from Afghanistan was arrested by ICE in 2025, convicted of second-degree
31:55assault, was previously allowed to stay in the country by the Biden administration. I have several
31:59more examples here. I'm happy to provide them to anyone in this room. John. Thank you, Caroline.
32:04First of all, happy Thanksgiving to you and your young family. Thank you. Hope you enjoyed it. I have two
32:09questions unrelated. The first, back to Afghanistan. My son and I walked by the horrific shooting less
32:17than one hour before it happened. So, for anybody that's here, this thing's real. You outlined all of
32:24these unvetted Afghans that were let in by Biden. We just had one the other day that was going to blow up
32:32a DHS building. Can you be specific on what the Trump administration is doing now to revet those
32:39that are here so that we don't get a repeat of what we had Wednesday night? Sure. I can tell you two
32:46top-level things, and I would defer you to DHS for more of the specifics, as of course they are
32:50leading this effort. And I can assure you Secretary Noem is on the ball. I've spoken with her and her team,
32:55and they have an all-hands-on-deck effort to having resources go towards this. But we have paused all
33:03asylum adjudications. And then, of course, the special immigrant visas, which we know many Afghans
33:07utilize to come into the country under the Biden administration, have also now been paused. And
33:12I would just point out one more time that the Biden administration was responsible for the original
33:18sin that led to this tragic killing last week, the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan. He was
33:23responsible for Operation Allies Welcome, which is something that this White House and the people
33:28behind this podium in the last administration fully and wholeheartedly embraced. And they assured the
33:34American people there would be no risk or no harm to them. And as I just laid out for you in those many
33:38examples, that unfortunately and tragically has not turned out to be the truth. Just ask the families
33:44of these two brave National Guardsmen, one who is no longer with us and one who continues to fight for
33:49his life. So I know the President is wholeheartedly focused on this effort. And I think, unfortunately,
33:54these events do remind us why it's so important that the President's mass deportation operation
33:59continues. With that. The White House today launched a new fake news portal, which I found interesting.
34:11What is your objective with that ultimately? And are you going to name the news networks? And are you also
34:17going to name some of the correspondents? Some which may be here today? Yes, we are. I'm glad.
34:23I'm glad you noticed much to the dismay of some of your colleagues in the room, John.
34:28And I think it goes to our original promise on day one to hold the media accountable because
34:34unfortunately, and we deal with this all day, every day around here, there are so many fake stories
34:39that are unfortunately written that have inaccurate characterizations of meetings that took place.
34:45And it's all based on anonymous sourcing. And, you know, the standard for journalism,
34:49unfortunately, has dropped to such a historic low in this country. And again, we deal with it every day
34:55where you can have an anonymous source who has no idea what they're talking about, zero credibility,
35:00call up a reporter in Washington and say, hey, I heard this. And then the next thing you know,
35:04it's on the front page of The New York Times. It's really incomprehensible. We appreciate the
35:08journalists, some of those who are in this room who do reach out for comment, who try to get things
35:13right. And there are some that remain. But overwhelmingly, the fake news that we see
35:17pumped out of this building on a day to day basis, it's it's honestly overwhelming to keep up with it
35:23all and to constantly have to defend against these fake news and these attacks. And I will point out
35:28one fake news story over the weekend before I let you all go from The New York Times that took about
35:34one third of the president's daily calendar and his daily schedule and said that he's doing less than
35:40he did in his first term or he might not be fit for the job. That is unequivocally false. And it's
35:46deeply unfortunate that this story was written by the same outlet and the same reporter who wrote this
35:52Biden is doing 100% fine after tripping while boarding Air Force One. Oh, same outlet, same reporter
36:00who wrote that President Trump is not fit for the job. Are you kidding me? You all see him almost
36:05every single day. He is the most accessible president in history. He is taking meetings around the clock.
36:10Another one, Biden declared, quote, healthy and vigorous after his first presidential physical.
36:17I don't see headlines like that too often about this president. Again, same reporter, same outlet,
36:22who wrote falsely over the weekend that President Trump is not fit for the job. I can assure you,
36:28he absolutely is. You all see that with your own eyes on a daily basis. And the president's physician
36:32has now given you all three detailed reports on the state of the president's health. So with that,
36:38I will leave you all, and we'll see you tomorrow. Thank you. Thank you, Carolyn.
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