White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt outlined what she described as key elements of Donald Trump’s foreign strategy, including strong warnings to Iran amid ongoing unrest. Leavitt said the U.S. has made clear that “serious consequences” would follow if killings continued in Iran, and that all options, including military action, remain on the table — part of a broader hard-line approach to escalate pressure on Tehran.
On Arctic policy, she defended Trump’s insistence that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority, saying talks with Danish officials would continue and that the U.S. is exploring a range of options. Critics have called the strategy controversial and diplomatically risky.
#KarolineLeavitt #WhiteHouse #Trump #Iran #Greenland #ForeignPolicy #USPolitics #GlobalSecurity #MilitaryOptions #Diplomacy #ArcticStrategy #NationalSecurity #PressBriefing #BreakingNews #InternationalRelations #Denmark #Tehran #WorldAffairs #USForeignPolicy #Controversy #PressSec
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On Arctic policy, she defended Trump’s insistence that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority, saying talks with Danish officials would continue and that the U.S. is exploring a range of options. Critics have called the strategy controversial and diplomatically risky.
#KarolineLeavitt #WhiteHouse #Trump #Iran #Greenland #ForeignPolicy #USPolitics #GlobalSecurity #MilitaryOptions #Diplomacy #ArcticStrategy #NationalSecurity #PressBriefing #BreakingNews #InternationalRelations #Denmark #Tehran #WorldAffairs #USForeignPolicy #Controversy #PressSec
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NewsTranscript
00:00Good afternoon. Good afternoon, Jackie. Thank you for that. Thanks for coming in on a snow day for the rest of the government in the country. And as much of the country feels the impacts of that winter storm, President Trump continues to monitor the situation closely, and he has remained in constant contact with FEMA and emergency responders.
00:20President Trump also quickly approved 12 federal emergency disaster declarations within 24 hours for the states of Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, enabling these states to access critical federal resources to supplement their response efforts if needed.
00:44These declarations will help state-led efforts of turning power back on, clearing roads for emergency services, and keeping communities safe.
00:53The White House will continue to correspond directly with governors and local officials in the coming days, especially in those states that were harshly impacted by this storm.
01:03I would also like to address the chaotic scenes in Minnesota over the weekend. Nobody in the White House, including President Trump, wants to see people getting hurt or killed in America's streets.
01:15This includes Renee Goode, Alex Preddy, the brave men and women of federal law enforcement, and the many Americans who have been victimized at the hands of illegal alien criminals.
01:28Saturday's shooting remains under active investigation by Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI.
01:35The Customs and Border Protection is also conducting their own internal review.
01:39As President Trump said yesterday, the administration is reviewing everything with respect to the shooting, and we will let that investigation play out.
01:48But let's be clear about the circumstances which led to that moment on Saturday.
01:53This tragedy occurred as a result of a deliberate and hostile resistance by Democrat leaders in Minnesota.
01:59For weeks, Governor Walz and the Mayor, Jacob Fry, and other elected Democrats were spreading lies about federal law enforcement officers who are risking their lives daily to remove the worst criminal illegal aliens from our streets.
02:15Murderers, rapists, pedophiles, human traffickers, and gang members.
02:20Governor Walz and Mayor Fry have shamefully blocked local and state police from cooperating with ICE, actively inhibiting efforts to arrest violent criminals.
02:30They have also used their platforms to encourage left-wing agitators to stalk, record, confront, and obstruct federal officers who were just trying to lawfully perform their duties,
02:41which has created dangerous situations threatening both these officers and the general public and Minnesotans alike.
02:50This is precisely what unfolded in Minneapolis on Saturday morning.
02:54Obstructing federal law enforcement and inciting violence against officers is wrong and illegal.
03:00This used to be a universally accepted position in the United States.
03:05Amid the hysteria, we must remember how we got here to this moment today and what this Democrat opposition is about.
03:12Former President Joe Biden and the Democrats opened America's borders for four years, inviting tens of millions of illegal aliens from all over the world to flood into our country.
03:24Among them, violent criminals who terrorized American communities and have inflicted devastating permanent pain and harm on law-abiding Americans and their families.
03:35Yet we never saw outrage from Democrats or their allies in the liberal media over these horrifying crimes against U.S. citizens.
03:44The pain of American Angel families was ignored and dismissed because it undermined the Democrat narrative.
03:51Innocent Americans like Jocelyn Nungere, Lakin Riley, and Rachel Morin are just a few of the many victims savagely murdered by illegal alien criminals.
04:01Earlier this month, an illegal alien from Mexico with a long criminal history who came into our country under Joe Biden's administration threw a baseball-sized stone at a school bus carrying children in New Jersey and fractured the skull of an eight-year-old innocent child.
04:18President Trump promised accountability to these American families by securing the border, deporting every illegal alien who has committed crimes, especially, and most importantly, violent crimes.
04:31Nearly 80 million Americans voted for him to deliver on that very promise, and he is.
04:36As the duly elected president, the president is fulfilling the will of the people by arresting and removing these threats from our country and cities from Los Angeles to New York and, yes, Minneapolis.
04:49Yet Democrat leaders in Minnesota with sanctuary city policies have actively defied federal immigration law and the will of the people.
04:57And as a result of that defiance, two Minnesotans have now tragically lost their lives on the streets of Tim Walz's state.
05:06It is President Trump's hope and wish and demand for the resistance and chaos to end today.
05:13That's why President Trump spoke with Governor Walz directly this morning, and he has outlined a clear and simple path to restoring law and order in Minnesota.
05:22Number one, Governor Walz, Mayor Frey, and all Democrat leaders should turn over all criminal illegal aliens currently incarcerated in their prisons and jails to federal authorities,
05:33along with any illegal aliens with active warrants or known criminal histories for immediate deportation.
05:41Number two, state and local law enforcement must agree to turn over all illegal aliens who are arrested by local police.
05:49And then thirdly, local police must assist federal law enforcement in apprehending and detaining illegal aliens who are wanted for crimes, especially violent crimes.
06:00If Governor Walz and Mayor Frey implement these common sense cooperative measures that I will add have already been implemented in nearly every single other state across the country,
06:11Customs and Border Patrol will not be needed to support ICE on the ground in Minnesota.
06:16ICE and local law enforcement can peacefully work together, as they are effectively doing in so many other states and jurisdictions.
06:24Additionally, President Trump is calling on the United States Congress to immediately pass legislation ending sanctuary cities once and for all.
06:33American cities should be safe sanctuaries for law-abiding citizens only, not for dangerous illegal alien criminals who broke our nation's laws and do not belong here.
06:43We hope Governor Walz will continue will do the right thing and continue to work with President Trump to keep the American people safe following their call this morning.
06:53Americans overwhelmingly want exactly what President Trump is delivering strong borders and strict immigration enforcement against the worst illegal aliens,
07:02of which there are still hundreds of thousands to deport from the interior of our country.
07:07The most peaceful way to carry out this vital public safety mission is for Republicans and Democrats to do it together and for state and local law enforcement to work together with federal law enforcement.
07:19We want to let cops be cops.
07:21You wouldn't know this continues to be a very popular policy position from the biased media coverage over the course of the last few days.
07:28But polling shows huge support for this exact thing President Trump is calling for.
07:34More than 80 percent of Americans favor deporting illegal aliens convicted of violent crimes.
07:39A country unable to deport criminals who enter it illegally is no country at all.
07:46The open borders agenda of Kamala Harris, Tim Walz and the Democrats was already on the ballot on November 5th, 2024, and it was resoundingly rejected.
07:56President Trump will never back down from his promise to deport violent criminal illegal aliens and make America safe again.
08:02And he welcomes all cooperation in that effort.
08:05With that, I will answer your questions.
08:07And Jordan Conradson, why don't you kick us off today?
08:09Thank you for being here.
08:10Thank you, Caroline.
08:11Jordan Conradson with the Gateway Fund.
08:12I have a few questions.
08:14First, with respect to the shooting in Minneapolis, we're seeing massive outrage from mainstream media and the left.
08:21But I'm just wondering, where was that outrage when Ashley Babbitt, an Air Force veteran, was executed by Capitol Police Officer Michael Byrd,
08:29who she posed no threat to in the U.S. Capitol?
08:32Well, you raise a very important point, which I also believe I just raised as well in those opening remarks,
08:37in that there has no doubt been selective outrage by the liberal biased media in picking and choosing victims and highlighting their stories.
08:46And as I've said, President Trump does not want any Americans to lose their lives in the streets of America and in American communities across the country.
08:55He believes what happened on Saturday is a tragedy.
08:58But every life is equal to President Trump.
09:01And that's why the lives of Lakin Riley and Jocelyn Nungere continue to matter to him and be an utmost priority to him to this very day.
09:09And it's unfortunate that we did not see the same type of sensationalist media coverage over the tragic deaths of those innocent American women and girls across the country,
09:18as we are in the wake of this tragedy that took place on Saturday.
09:21I want to get your response to this.
09:25The Arizona attorney general just days before this shooting in Minneapolis,
09:29she seemingly encouraged rioters to go out and shoot and kill ICE agents.
09:35And I'll quote her here.
09:36She said, if you reasonably believe your life is in danger and you're in the house or in your car or on your property,
09:42you can defend yourself with lethal force.
09:44And she said that you can't tell if ICE agents are law enforcement or imposters.
09:50And it becomes an issue of whether you reasonably believed they were law enforcement.
09:54Do you have a response to that?
09:55And does the White House believe that she should be held accountable for these war?
09:59Well, such dangerous rhetoric, as I pointed out, is exactly what has brought us to this position today,
10:04where you have elected Democrat officials across the country who are encouraging left wing agitators and crazy people to go out and unlawfully obstruct lawful immigration enforcement.
10:17Again, these brave men and women of ICE and Border Patrol and the federal enforcement are just trying to do their jobs to enforce our nation's immigration laws
10:25and to go after the worst of the worst in this country.
10:28I would encourage everyone in this room and I would encourage the Arizona attorney general to look at the video of an ICE agent in Minneapolis.
10:36He was approached by left wing agitators who were honking their horns and were screaming slurs at him.
10:45And he rolled down his window and he said, what are you doing?
10:48I am out here trying to catch a child predator, somebody who has convicted crimes against an innocent child,
10:55and you are trying to obstruct me from doing my job.
10:58This rhetoric against ICE, comparing them to Nazi Gestapo, Donald Trump's police force, is despicable.
11:05It is shameful and it is precisely what has led to the escalation of tensions in Minneapolis and in other places across the country.
11:12Gabe, go ahead.
11:13Should the DOA be looking at her for justifying violence?
11:16I would defer you to the Department of Justice on that.
11:18Thank you, Caroline.
11:19Regarding Minnesota, on Saturday, the Department of Homeland Security posted that Freddie looks like he wanted to do maximum damage to massacre law enforcement.
11:28Stephen Miller on Saturday posted that, or called Freddie a would-be assassin.
11:33Why did administration officials jump to conclusions before an investigation had even been conducted?
11:40Well, look, this has obviously been a very fluid and fast-moving situation throughout the weekend.
11:45As for President Trump, whom I speak for, he has said that he wants to let the investigation continue and let the facts lead in this case.
11:52With regards to the deployment of Tom Homan to Minneapolis, should the deployment of Mr. Homan to Minneapolis be seen as a sign that the President is dissatisfied with how the officials on the ground had handled the incident?
12:09No.
12:10Mr. Homan is doing an exceptional job, and he has been working with Secretary Noem and President Trump over the course of the last year.
12:16Secretary Noem still has the utmost confidence and trust of the President of the United States, and she's continuing to oversee the entire Department of Homeland Security and all of the immigration enforcement that's taking place across the whole entire country.
12:28Of course, Secretary Noem is also in charge of FEMA, and we are in the wake of a brutal winter storm where hundreds of thousands of Americans have been impacted by that.
12:36So, Borders are Homan is in a unique position to drop everything and go to Minnesota to continue having these productive conversations with state and local officials, and I know that he's catching a plane in just a few hours to do just that at the request of the President.
12:52Jennifer.
12:53On Saturday's shooting, has the President been briefed, and have you been briefed on specific details of the shooting?
12:59How many shots were fired? How many guns discharged? I mean, did the protesters' gun go off, or only the officers' guns? Do you have any of those details?
13:09Again, the investigation is continuing, Jennifer, and we will let the facts lead and we will let the facts play out in this investigation.
13:15I do know that HSI and FBI are conducting interviews with those that were involved and the agents who were involved in this unfortunate tragedy on Saturday.
13:24Are they keeping the President up to date on all those details?
13:26The President is obviously very much on the ball with respect to this investigation.
13:30I think he's made that quite clear with the various statements that you've seen him put out, and also the four points that the President has outlined as well to Governor Walz,
13:39and to encourage him to cooperate with ICE and with the administration.
13:43Mary.
13:45Thanks, Caroline. To follow on Gabe's question, Secretary Noem said Alex Preddy committed an act of domestic terrorism.
13:49Stephen Miller labeled Preddy a domestic terrorist. Does the President agree with them?
13:53Look, as I've said, I have not heard the President characterize Mr. Preddy in that way.
13:57However, I have heard the President say he wants to let the facts and the investigation lead itself.
14:02Was he alarmed to hear his top officials referring to him in that way, rushing to that judgment?
14:06Danny, go ahead.
14:07Thanks, Caroline. On Stephen Miller's comments, will Stephen Miller be apologizing to the family of Alex Preddy?
14:12For calling him, quote, an assassin who tried to murder federal agents despite the fact that, as you say, this is still under investigation?
14:20Look, again, this incident remains under investigation.
14:23And nobody here at the White House, including the President of the United States, wants to see Americans hurt or killed and losing their lives in American streets.
14:32And we mourn for the parents. As a mother myself, of course, I cannot imagine the loss of life, especially losing one's child.
14:41And that same empathy from the President goes for the parents of angel families, parents of victims of illegal alien crime across our country as well.
14:52And that's exactly why the President continues to be wholeheartedly committed to deporting the worst of the worst criminals from our country.
15:01Why don't we go to the back? Kelly?
15:03Caroline, does the President believe that the killing, though, was a mistake? Has he expressed that at all?
15:09Again, the President has said, you know, we have to review it. And this investigation needs to continue. And he's letting the facts and the investigation lead itself.
15:18Does he want body camera footage to be released to the public?
15:22Now, that's not something I've heard the President commit to, so I won't do that from the podium.
15:27Sure.
15:28Caroline, how serious is the administration taking allegations that local and state officials in Minnesota are actively coordinating with demonstrators through encrypted or non-encrypted communications,
15:39as well as providing government resources to impede immigration enforcement operations?
15:44I'm sorry, Carrie, could you repeat your question?
15:47How serious is the administration taking allegations that local and state Minnesota officials are communicating with demonstrators to basically impede immigration officials?
15:59Well, we've definitely seen active organization amongst these left-wing groups, Carrie, and it is something that I know the FBI and the Department of Justice are looking into.
16:07Again, it is illegal to unlawfully obstruct lawful immigration enforcement in this country.
16:13And these agitators are making it nearly impossible for ICE to do their jobs and for federal law enforcement to carry out the will of the American people to deport the worst of the worst.
16:23I would just encourage everyone to please imagine in this room, all of you come to the White House every day to report on the President of the United States and the administration.
16:33You come into this briefing room, you walk through the gates of the White House, just imagine if there were left-wing agitators or agitators of any kind who were in your face,
16:41who were doxing you, who were harassing you, who were physically threatening you, who were biting off your fingers in the case of two Border Patrol agents we saw this past weekend in Minneapolis.
16:51That would make it very difficult for you to show up and do your job here at the White House every single day.
16:56That's what these officers in Minneapolis are facing. That's why the President is calling on Governor Walz and Mayor Frey for these three very simple and common sense points of cooperation so that ICE and local law enforcement can work together.
17:10Again, we are just asking for police to be police. And if you ask any law enforcement agent or official, they want to be able to work with their federal counterparts at the state and local level and vice versa.
17:23Thanks a lot, Caroline. Two questions. One is looking forward, the role of Mr. Homan. Is he being sent by the President to defuse the situation that exists right now on the ground?
17:37Is he the point person essentially for the White House in terms of trying to tamp down the tensions that exist right now in Minnesota?
17:45Well, Mr. Homan is the point person for cooperating with state and local authorities and corresponding with them, again,
17:52to achieve this level of cooperation to subdue the chaos on the streets of Minneapolis.
17:57And I would just point out that Mr. Homan is someone who has been lauded for many, many decades for his experience working in law enforcement.
18:04In fact, this is a Washington Post headline from nine years ago, 2016. Meet the man the White House has honored for deporting illegal immigrants.
18:13And I would remind everyone in this room that it was former President Barack Hussein Obama who awarded a medal to Mr. Homan.
18:19So he's obviously very qualified. He has the full trust and faith of the president.
18:23He will continue to have these meetings in the hopes that we ICE and local law enforcement can cooperate and work together to have successful immigration enforcement,
18:32as we've seen in almost every other state across the country.
18:36And secondly, Caroline, talk a little bit about tomorrow's trip by the president to Iowa.
18:41What the purpose of that trip is, what the goals of that trip are?
18:44Sure. Yes. Tomorrow, President Trump will be traveling to Des Moines, Iowa.
18:48He will be making a local visit at a local business, and then he will be giving a speech on affordability and on the economy.
18:55And I know he very much looks forward to being there, to meeting with the great people of Iowa, but also lawmakers as well.
19:01Jake. Caroline, a couple quick questions.
19:03First, does the president remain fully confident in Kristi Noam's ability to leave the DHS?
19:08Yes. And then just secondly, just on that Wall Street Journal reporting that we saw yesterday,
19:12the president said at some point that the immigration enforcement officers would leave Minneapolis.
19:17Did the Saturday killing of Alex Priddy expedite that withdrawal at all?
19:22To your first question, the answer is yes. He still has confidence and trust in Secretary Noam.
19:27To the second question, I would point you back to what I said earlier.
19:30If Governor Walz and Mayor Frey implement these common-sense cooperative measures,
19:34CBP will no longer be needed to support ICE on the ground in Minnesota.
19:38ICE and local law enforcement will peacefully work together, as they are effectively doing in so many other states and jurisdictions,
19:45to remove violent criminals from American neighborhoods across the country.
19:48Did the President also ask the President to remove the immigration enforcement officers?
19:52He asked the President to scale down, and the President reiterated what the President put out in his statement yesterday,
19:59and what I'm sharing with all of you as well.
20:01I would just add, on this level of cooperation, a few statistics that I think are very important.
20:06Seven of the top ten safest cities in the United States cooperate with ICE.
20:12And we've seen historic turnaround in safety in cities that have chosen to cooperate with ICE,
20:17that are not just led by Republicans, but also look right here in Washington, D.C.
20:22We had a great level of cooperation with Mayor Bowser and the local government,
20:26and we have been able to remove thousands of illegal aliens from the District of Columbia,
20:31where you all live, so you can thank President Trump for that.
20:35The murder rate in Washington, D.C. has plummeted as a result.
20:38There were no riots. There were no protests.
20:40Nobody was tragically killed as a result of that level of cooperation between federal and local authorities.
20:47And again, that's all the President is asking for in Minnesota.
20:50It's totally common sense.
20:52Jared, go ahead.
20:53Thank you. Caroline, in this process, you continue to describe the situation in Minneapolis as chaos.
21:00Was there any mistake made by Secretary Noem that led the President to send Mr. Holman there?
21:05I'm sorry. I don't understand your question.
21:08Did Secretary Noem make a mistake which led to —
21:11She made any mistake that could led the President to send Mr. Holman to Minneapolis?
21:15No. Look, as I already mentioned, Mr. Holman has been working alongside Secretary Noem
21:20for the President over the course of the last year.
21:22And again, he's uniquely positioned to hop on a flight to Minnesota today
21:26to continue this correspondence with state and local authorities,
21:29and that's what he's going to be doing.
21:31Caroline.
21:32Fran.
21:33Caroline, isn't the White House's position that Americans have the right to show up to these ICE operations
21:38and film, document, or protest the law enforcement actions?
21:42All Americans have a First Amendment constitutional right, of course.
21:46But Americans do not have a constitutional right to impede and obstruct lawful immigration enforcement operations.
21:55That is actually a crime, and it's something that we've seen taking place in the streets of Minneapolis,
22:00which, again, is leading to these dangerous circumstances that these federal law enforcement officers have been forced to work within.
22:07In respect to the call with Governor Walz this morning, the President described it as respectful.
22:13He said, we seem to be on a similar wavelength.
22:16But you had strong criticism for the governor and the Minneapolis mayor, Jacob Frey, just now.
22:21So could you explain the difference in tone between what the President had said in his true social post,
22:27and I think some of the criticisms that you just levied through the podium?
22:30Fran, I think the criticisms that I laid out, I'm painting the picture for all of you in this room,
22:34are what led to the moment that we are in today, where Governor Walz and President Trump are having a conversation,
22:40a constructive and productive conversation to end the chaos and the lawlessness that has taken place in Governor Walz's state.
22:47Thank you. I had a question. With Holman now going to Minnesota, is Gregory Bovino also going to remain in Minnesota overseeing these ICE operations?
23:00Mr. Bovino is a wonderful man, and he's a great professional.
23:04He is going to very much continue to lead customs and border patrol throughout and across the country.
23:09Mr. Holman will be the main point of contact on the ground in Minneapolis.
23:12And to follow up, given what we've heard from several Trump administration officials,
23:16people like Stephen Miller, as people point out calling him a domestic terrorist,
23:20Bovino saying that Freddie was out to massacre law enforcement,
23:24why not require ICE agents to wear body cameras to clear up some of the disputes that we are hearing from witnesses
23:33and video footage versus what the administration has been saying?
23:36Ms. Well, that's a policy question that I know the policy folks in the building are having with members on Capitol Hill,
23:42and I'll leave it to them and the President to make that decision.
23:45The final question is on, you were talking about the level of cooperation that the President talked about with Governor Walz.
23:50Will the administration commit to cooperating with local officials on this investigation into Alex Freddie?
23:57Ms. The President spoke about this with Governor Walz and said he would have a discussion about it.
24:02He did not make a commitment, and so, therefore, I won't make that commitment here.
24:06I would just remind all of you in the media, because I've seen a lack of reporting on this fact,
24:11there are investigations into what took place on Saturday.
24:14The Homeland Security investigations and the FBI have teamed up for an investigation,
24:19and there's also an internal CBP investigation,
24:22an internal review of what is happening on the ground in Minnesota.
24:25The President supports those investigations, and as I've said repeatedly,
24:28he wants to see them move forward.
24:30Phil.
24:31Thank you, Caroline.
24:32FBI Director Cash Patel said in a Sunday interview,
24:35quote, you cannot bring a firearm loaded with multiple magazines to any sort of protest.
24:40Does the President believe the Second Amendment rights remain in effect even when protesting?
24:45The President supports the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding American citizens, absolutely.
24:50There has been no greater supporter or defender of the right to bear arms than President Donald J. Trump.
24:56So while Americans have a constitutional right to bear arms, Americans do not have a constitutional right to impede lawful immigration enforcement operations.
25:07And any gun owner knows that when you are carrying a weapon, when you are bearing arms and you are confronted by law enforcement,
25:16you are raising the assumption of risk and the risk of force being used against you.
25:23And again, that's unfortunately what took place on Saturday.
25:26Caroline is in Minneapolis.
25:27Will his mission continue to be focusing on illegal immigrants within criminal history, or will it be on illegal immigration generally?
25:34Mr. Holman will continue to enforce our nation's immigration laws, especially deporting the worst of the worst criminals in Minnesota who have committed violent offenses.
25:44And I would just remind all of you that this important work is continuing to be carried out.
25:48In just the last few days, I'm happy to provide this packet to anyone in the room.
25:52ICE has arrested many multiple violent criminals, illegal aliens within Minnesota.
25:59Many of them have convictions for assault, driving under the influence, fraud.
26:04This individual here I'm looking at was an aggravated felon with multiple convictions for larceny, fraud and forgery of checks,
26:11vehicle theft, drug possession, domestic assault, inflicting bodily harm on another criminal convictions of larceny, identity theft.
26:19Again, charged with driving under the influence.
26:22These are extremely dangerous people who Governor Walz and Mayor Frye have allowed to roam on their streets.
26:27And all the president is asking for is cooperation to arrest individuals like this and deport them from the United States of America.
26:34I'll take a couple more. Go ahead.
26:36So this weekend, the president posted that this is a cover up of the fraud in the state of Minnesota.
26:42He also posted Minnesota is a cover up. These both happened after the shooting.
26:46So given that these came after the shooting, what is the this here? What is the cover up he's alleged?
26:51Yes, it's a good question. I spoke with the president about this at length.
26:54What the president is referring to is the fact that you have Governor Walz and again, the mayor,
26:59who have been encouraging these left wing agitators to come out and to harass and to docks and to threaten ICE
27:06and to make this conversation about and smear lies about federal law enforcement who again are just trying to do their jobs
27:14in an attempt to distract from the widespread, massive fraud that has taken place in their state.
27:20Billions and billions of dollars has been stolen from law abiding taxpayers in Minnesota.
27:26And the administration continues to be very focused on getting to the bottom of it, especially in it.
27:31The president raised a good question over the weekend with respect to Congresswoman Ilhan Omar,
27:35who now has a net worth within the millions. And one must ask themselves why and how is that possible?
27:41Is she connected to the fraud rings that we have seen taking place within her state and her own district?
27:47It's a question the American people are raising and the president believes it's one worth answering.
27:51Haley.
27:52Thanks, Caroline. I want to go back to some of the comments from Stephen Miller and Secretary Niel.
27:57You've made clear the president wants to see the investigation play out.
28:01When answering to the question on the specific details,
28:04is he concerned that some of those definitive statements made by other officials
28:09with public perception of the credibility of those investigations now playing out?
28:14Again, the president believes that these investigations are credible.
28:17They are continuing. They are active. And he wants to let them play out.
28:21Alex.
28:22Is the administration willing to separate DHS funding from other funding bills in order to avoid a broader shutdown?
28:29Look, at this point, the White House supports the bipartisan work that was done to advance the bipartisan appropriations package.
28:35And we want to see that passed. Policy discussions on immigration in Minnesota are happening.
28:40Look, the president is leading those discussions, as evidenced by his correspondence with Governor Walz this morning.
28:45But that should not be at the expense of government funding for the American people,
28:49which would include, as you know, Alex, FEMA funding.
28:52And we are in the midst of the storm that took place over the weekend.
28:56And many Americans are still being impacted by that.
28:58So we absolutely do not want to see that funding lapse.
29:01And we want the Senate to move forward with passing the bipartisan appropriations package that was negotiated on a bipartisan basis.
29:08And secondly, there's another round of Russia-Ukraine talks this weekend, Sunday.
29:14I wonder if you can walk us through with the president and how he will be involved in that, if at all.
29:19We'll be talking to President Putin, President Zelenskyy, ahead of those meetings.
29:22I'm not tracking any scheduled calls at this point in time.
29:25However, the president remains deeply involved.
29:28And, of course, he's being apprised by his advisers, namely Jared Kushner and Special Envoy Witkoff on these talks.
29:34They had a multilateral meeting this past weekend, which didn't get a ton of coverage.
29:38But that was historic in nature, where the president's team has really brought two sides of this war to the table together to move the ball closer towards peace.
29:47So the president is not giving up on the peace process.
29:50He obviously just met with President Zelenskyy when we were in Davos, Switzerland.
29:54But I'm not tracking any calls scheduled for this week.
29:57On one more foreign policy point I will point out, as you all saw, the last remaining body of the hostages, Israeli hostages in Gaza, has been returned.
30:07This is a huge foreign policy feat for the president of the United States, for the state of Israel, and, frankly, for the whole world.
30:14The president made the impossible possible.
30:17And so it's great news for the president, for the United States, for our allies, and also for peace in the Middle East.
30:23And I understand that more than 20 new additional countries have also signed up to join the newly established Board of Peace with respect to the rebuilding of Gaza,
30:32which is another historic accomplishment for this president.
30:35So thank you all very much and we'll see you in Iowa tomorrow.
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