White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday (January 12) said President Donald Trump did not direct the Department of Justice to open a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Leavitt answered "No" when asked if Trump had a hand in the move, after Powell posted a video in which he confirmed the DOJ was investigating him over comments he made to Congress about a renovation project at the Federal Reserve building in Washington.
00:00As you all know, we'll be traveling to Michigan tomorrow. I know the president's really looking
00:03forward to it. He's going to give a speech at the Detroit Economic Club in addition to touring a
00:08factory in Dearborn, Michigan that produces F-150s. And my understanding is Ford is ramping up that
00:14manufacturing and also going to be hiring more American workers at this facility thanks to
00:19President Trump's policy. So he'll be doing that tomorrow and talking about all of the great
00:23economic news, which I would be remiss if I did not point out to you all. We have mortgage rates
00:28falling below 6% for the first time in years. Thank you, NBC, for this very fair and honest
00:35headline. But this is the truth and these are the facts thanks to President Trump's economic policies.
00:39So frankly, they're hard to deny. And then again, we have the Washington Examiner out this morning
00:44with gas prices. The national average has fallen to $2.79 per gallon for the first time in nearly
00:51five years. So these were two of the biggest pain points for the American people, as you all know,
00:55under the previous administration. Gas prices, mortgage rates, interest rates, all things that
00:59this administration is committed to seeing fall. And in addition to prices, we know core inflation
01:05is at its lowest point as it has been in five years. And so these economic policies are really
01:10coming into fruition now that we're in 2026. And we'll be seeing more tax cuts into the pockets of
01:15the American people later this spring as well. So it's all good news on the economic front. And I know
01:19the president looks forward to talking about that tomorrow in Michigan. I'll take some of your
01:23questions to everyone. Thank you so much, Caroline. Andrew Powell, President Trump has mentioned
01:30on multiple occasions that the administration could probably bring a lawsuit against him.
01:36Did the president ever direct DOJ officials to open an investigation into Powell? No.
01:42And can you reassure the American public that his longstanding criticisms and public comments
01:49about how it had nothing to do with the event? Well, look, the president has every right to
01:54criticize the Fed chair. He has a First Amendment right, just like all of you do. And one thing for
01:59sure, the president's made it quite clear, is Jerome Powell is bad at his job. As for whether or not
02:05Jerome Powell is a criminal, that's an answer the Department of Justice is going to have to find out.
02:08And it looks like they intend to find that out.
02:11I haven't spoken to the president about Senator Tillis's comments. I'll leave that to our legislative
02:27affairs shop to figure out. And I'll let the president speak on that himself.
02:30The president has made it quite clear. He thinks Jerome Powell is bad at his job. And the president
02:41has made it quite clear, as have many economists, by the way, that interest rates should be lowered
02:46and they should have been lowered a long time ago. But does he believe in the independence of the Fed?
02:49He has, and he's said that many times.
02:51The president believes that Jay Powell should go to jail if he lied about his job.
02:56Eamon, you're yelling out a question that's being asked in a different way,
03:00but it's the same exact question as we just answered, and I just answered it. We'll let
03:04the Department of Justice determine that.
03:05The president has power strikes off the table in Iran, and does he believe there's a potential
03:10path to end the protest there without military action?
03:14Well, I think one thing President Trump is very good at is always keeping all of his
03:18options on the table. And airstrikes would be one of the many, many options that are on
03:22the table for the commander in chief. Diplomacy is always the first option for the president.
03:27He's told all of you last night that what you're hearing publicly from the Iranian regime is
03:31quite differently from the messages the administration is receiving privately. And I think the president
03:36has an interest in exploring those messages. However, with that said, the president has shown
03:42he's unafraid to use military options if and when he deems necessary. And nobody knows that
03:47better than Iran. I understand that Steve Whitcoff will continue to be a very important player
03:56in diplomacy with respect to Iran. I think the last week has shown that the president made the right
04:06realistic assessment of what needed to take place in Venezuela at this moment in time. And the interim
04:12authorities and Dulce Rodriguez and her team have been very cooperative with the United States and
04:18the president and his team, as evidenced by the massive energy deal that the president was able
04:23to cut with the interim authorities, their commitment to release Venezuelan political prisoners,
04:28which we also saw last week. So we've seen a great level of cooperation and the president expects that to
04:34continue. Go ahead. Sorry. And how soon does he want to see election in Venezuela?
04:40I think right now it's still too soon to say, and I don't want to set a deadline for the president on that.
04:45Two more questions on the Fed for you. Senator Tillis is promising to hold up all
04:49Fed nominees until this legal matter with Jerome Powell is resolved. What does the president make of that?
04:55I haven't spoken to the president about Senator Tillis's comments. I'll leave that to our legislative
04:59affairs shop to figure out and I'll let the president speak on that himself.
05:02The president has made it quite clear. He thinks Jerome Powell is bad at his job and the president
05:13has made it quite clear, as have many economists, by the way, that interest rates should be lowered
05:18and they should have been lowered a long time ago. Does he believe in the independence of the Fed?
05:21He has and he said that many times.
05:23The president believes that Jay Powell should go to jail if he lied about the
05:29president. Eamon, you're yelling out a question that's being asked in a different way,
05:33but it's the same exact question as we just answered and I just answered it.
05:36We'll let the Department of Justice determine that.
05:38The president is taking airstrikes off the table in Iran, and does he believe there's a potential path
05:43to end the protest there without military action?
05:46Well, I think one thing President Trump is very good at is always keeping all of his options
05:51on the table and airstrikes would be one of the many, many options that are on the table
05:55for the commander in chief. Diplomacy is always the first option for the president.
05:59He's told all of you last night that what you're hearing publicly from the Iranian regime
06:04is quite differently from the messages the administration is receiving privately.
06:08And I think the president has an interest in exploring those messages.
06:11However, with that said, the president has shown he's unafraid to use military options
06:16if and when he deems necessary and nobody knows that better than Iran.
06:20I understand that Steve Whitcoff will continue to be a very important player in diplomacy with respect to Iran.
06:31I think the last week has shown that the president made the right realistic assessment of what needed to take place in Venezuela at this moment in time.
06:44And the interim authorities and Delce Rodriguez and her team have been very cooperative with the United States
06:51and the president and his team, as evidenced by the massive energy deal that the president was able to cut with the interim authorities,
06:58their commitment to release Venezuelan political prisoners, which we also saw last week.
07:03So we've seen a great level of cooperation and the president expects that to continue.
07:10Go ahead. Sorry.
07:11And how soon does he want to see elections in Venezuela?
07:13I think right now it's still too soon to say and I don't want to set a deadline for the president.
07:18What's the meeting this morning with Marco Rubio about Venezuela?
07:22When can we see this week by Venezuela more meeting?
07:25The president meets with the secretary of state and national security adviser daily,
07:29sometimes multiple times a day.
07:31And so it was on a range of topics as it always is.
07:34I think right now the main correspondence with the interim authorities is really focused on obviously ensuring stability and prosperity
07:57and continued cooperation with respect to energy.
08:00As you all know, there was a very powerful and big group of oil executives who were here at the White House on Friday.
08:05And so continuing to iron out some of these energy deals, we also have made it very clear.
08:11The president's made it very clear that we don't want to see any more jug boats sailing from Venezuela towards the United States of America,
08:18which we have not, frankly, in the last week.
08:20Presidents also made it very clear that only oil tankers that are approved by the United States of America will be flowing from Venezuela.
08:29And we will continue to seize ships that are stateless or that are not approved for commerce by the United States of America.
08:38Back to Iran.
08:40Is the objective in these discussions with Iran still complete denuclearization?
08:45Or what else is the president looking for as he engages in these discussions?
08:50Well, he's made it quite clear. He certainly doesn't want to see people being killed in the streets of Tehran.
08:55And unfortunately, that's something we're seeing right now.
08:57Kelly.
08:58Has Whitcoff spoken with Iranian officials today and has President Trump spoken with Elon Musk about the internet situation there as well?
09:07I understand he has spoken to Elon about that. Yes, he talked to all of you about that on the plane last night.
09:13What was your first question, Kelly?
09:14Has Whitcoff spoken with Iranian officials today? Could you give any updates on those conversations?
09:18I haven't spoken with Mr. Whitcoff today about that, but we can certainly get you an answer.
09:22Archbishop Coyle is here.
09:24Is he meeting on Thursday?
09:25Yes, he is.
09:26President Trump is meeting with Archbishop Coyle here today.
09:27Of great interest to you, I'm sure.
09:28Absolutely, and they may be speaking as we're speaking.
09:31Can you give us a preview of what they'll be talking about, or will there be a readout as well after they're done and what they've discussed?
09:36I can see if the president will provide you a readout. How's that?
09:39Sounds good. And also, President Trump, has he seen the video put out by Jerome Powell on Sunday? And if so, what's his reaction?
09:46That video was put out after I was with the president when Air Force One landed last night, I believe.
09:50So I was no longer with him when that video came out. I don't know if he's seen it or not.
09:55Does the president have a date line, a timeline?
10:00No, he has not set a timeline, but it's definitely a priority for him.
10:05She's asking about Greenland, and I think the president was very clear last night.
10:09He said that he wants to see the United States acquire Greenland because he feels that if we do not, then it will eventually be acquired,
10:15or even perhaps hostilely taken over by either China or Russia, which is not a good thing for the United States or for Europe or for Greenland as well.
10:24Let's not forget, it would not just be in the best interest of the United States, but perhaps it would be in the best interest of Greenland as well to be part of the United States and protected by the United States.
10:34I can't even finish my answer. Everybody's screaming. Go ahead, Monica.
10:39What did the president mean last night when he said that Iran had called to negotiate and that there may be a meeting that is set up?
10:46I mean, what else do you want me to explain by that?
10:49Who called and who would be a part of that meeting?
10:51There was an official from the Iranian government, I believe it was reported earlier,
10:55that reached out to a member of the president's very close team, Special Envoy Whitcoff,
11:00expressing a far different tone than what you're seeing publicly.
11:04Can we talk about the meeting on Thursday?
11:06Secretary Kristi Noem has been front and center in response to this ICE video.
11:11Is the president satisfied with her efforts there and all of her media interviews?
11:16Yes, 100%. President Trump and I actually spoke about this last night and how Secretary Noem is doing a phenomenal job,
11:24not just securing the border, which she and the president did together in record time,
11:29but also in defense of the brave men and women of ICE who put on a law enforcement uniform every single day
11:36to protect our communities and to protect all of you and every American, regardless if they are Democrat or Republican.
11:43And ICE is doing a very important job to remove illegal alien criminals from our communities.
11:49And I think it's very striking that all weekend long you had agitators and violent American citizens out in the streets of Minneapolis protesting.
11:59Protesting what exactly?
12:01Apparently they are protesting the removal of heinous murderers and rapists and criminals from a city that I can guarantee you,
12:08when you look at the list of the illegal criminals that ICE is removing from our communities every day,
12:13not a single person in those protests and not a single person standing here that works in the mainstream media in Washington DC
12:20would want those individuals in your neighborhood, in your community, around your children and around your families.
12:27ICE is doing an incredibly important job that's not just important to our homeland security, but our national security.
12:34And this administration will continue to stand wholeheartedly by the brave men and women of ICE,
12:39including that officer in Minneapolis who was absolutely justified in using self-defense against a lunatic who was part of a group,
12:47an organized group to interject and to impede on law enforcement operations.
12:53And it's disgusting what we have seen from the left.
12:56And I think that it just shows you where the modern day Democrat Party stands today in protecting illegal alien pedophiles and rapists and murderers
13:05over law abiding American citizens and our brave men and women who serve in law enforcement.
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