Karoline Leavitt holds a White House press briefing.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Good afternoon everybody. How are we? It's a newsy day indeed. And last night we saw
00:07the very best of America. After spending nearly 300 days aboard the International Space Station,
00:15Butch Wilmore and Sonny Williams are back on Earth. These two incredible astronauts
00:20were only supposed to be up there for eight days, but because of the Biden administration's
00:26lack of urgency, they ended up spending nine months in space. Joe Biden's lack of courage
00:32to act boldly and decisively was a big reason why Butch and Sonny did not make it back until
00:38yesterday. But President Trump doesn't waste time. Immediately after taking office, President
00:45Trump directed Elon Musk and SpaceX to rescue these brave astronauts alongside NASA. The
00:51President also called the Acting Administrator of NASA and told her to bring the astronauts
00:56home as soon as possible. As Acting Administrator Janet Petro said herself yesterday, per President
01:02Trump's direction, NASA and SpaceX worked diligently to pull the schedule a month earlier.
01:09The President looks forward to welcoming Butch and Sonny to the Oval Office when they are
01:13recovered. This historic mission brings new meaning to President Trump's promise to always
01:18look out for the forgotten man and woman. On another important matter, yesterday, President
01:24Trump and President Putin spoke about the need for peace and a ceasefire in the Ukraine
01:28War. Both leaders agreed this conflict needs to end with a lasting peace and also stressed
01:34the need for improved bilateral relations between the United States and Russia. President
01:39Trump also spoke with President Zelensky this morning to align both Russia and Ukraine in
01:44terms of their needs and requests. As President Trump has said repeatedly, the precious lives
01:50and money that both Ukraine and Russia have been spending in this war would be better
01:54spent on the needs of their people. This terrible conflict would have never started with President
02:00Trump in charge, but he's determined to end it once and for all. President Trump also
02:06promised maximum transparency and a commitment to rebuild the trust of the American people
02:11and our intelligence community. Part of that promise was to fully release previously classified
02:16records related to the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy, and he made that
02:21happen yesterday. This historic release consisted of approximately 80,000 pages of previously
02:28classified records that are now published. The records are available to access either
02:33online at archives.gov slash JFK or in person accessible to the American people at the National
02:40Archives in College Park, Maryland. Records that are currently only available for in-person
02:46viewing are being digitized and will be uploaded in the coming days. On another note, positive
02:52economic data continues to pour in, showing the immediate impact of President Trump's
02:56pro-growth agenda. After suffering a steep decline in the final year of the Biden administration,
03:03the manufacturing sector came roaring back in February. Industrial production surged
03:09in February. These are new numbers, three times at a greater three times rate than the
03:14expectations to its highest ever recorded level. And President Trump's laser focus on
03:21massive deregulation and unleashing our domestic energy industry is leading to stabilities
03:26for Americans' bottom lines. As Newsweek summed it up today, gas prices are plummeting under
03:32President Trump. And the Trump administration continues to make American communities safer
03:38through our ongoing mass deportation campaign of illegal alien criminals. Yesterday, FBI
03:44Director Kash Patel announced the agency captured another fugitive from its 10 most wanted list,
03:50securing the extradition of Francisco Javier Roman Bardelas, a key senior leader of the
03:55brutal MS-13 gang. And the brave men and women of ICE also arrested a number of dangerous
04:02aliens across the country in recent days. You will see them on this screen. ICE San Francisco
04:08just arrested a citizen of Guatemala convicted of sexual battery. ICE New Orleans arrested a
04:13citizen of Ecuador convicted of rape in Suffolk County, New York. ICE Atlanta arrested a citizen
04:20of Mexico convicted of assault by strangulation. ICE Dallas arrested a citizen of Mexico convicted
04:27of assault with a firearm and rape with a foreign object. And ICE Houston arrested a citizen of
04:33Guatemala convicted of indecent sexual contact with a child in Texas. These are heinous criminal
04:40alien monsters who the previous administration allowed to flood into our country. And every
04:45time President Trump and this team deport one of them, our country becomes safer. Finally,
04:50before I open it up to questions, I want to tout how successful our efforts have been in filling
04:55out President Trump's administration. There have been a record number of 281 Senate confirmed
05:01nominations already, with another 280 in process. Here at the White House, OPM, and GSA, we have
05:09filled 100 percent of the total number of slots. And this is a record number of placements in the
05:15first 58 days of any administration and a testament to the caliber and the sheer quantity of talented
05:22people who want to work for President Trump to make America great again. Here in our new media
05:28seat today, we have Katie Pavlich. Katie is the editor of townhall.com, which is a subsidiary of
05:34Town Hall Media. It's a leading conservative news and opinion outlet based right here in Washington
05:40D.C., with writers and journalists reporting around the country. Last year, Town Hall Media had 60
05:46million unique users and 1.4 billion page views, with a broad reach on a number of social media
05:52platforms. With that, Katie, please kick us off.
05:55Thank you, Caroline. Really appreciate it. Thank you. So given the back and forth with this U.S. District
05:59Judge and the administration's use of the Alien Enemies Act, does the President plan to send new and
06:05additional flights of Venezuelan gang members, now designated as foreign terrorists, from the U.S. to El
06:10Salvador or elsewhere? Can Americans expect to see those flights sometime soon?
06:14Americans can absolutely expect to see the continuation of the mass deportation campaign that has been
06:20successfully led by this President, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, and also our
06:25Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Since you brought up the judges, I would like to point out that the
06:31judges in this country are acting erroneously. We have judges who are acting as partisan activists
06:39from the bench. They are trying to dictate policy from the President of the United States. They are
06:45trying to clearly slow walk this administration's agenda, and it's unacceptable. As the President said
06:51last night, we will continue to comply with these court orders. We will continue to fight these battles in
06:56courts. But it's incredibly apparent that there is a concerted effort by the far left to judge shop, to pick
07:04judges who are clearly acting as partisan activists from the bench in an attempt to derail this
07:10President's agenda. We will not allow that to happen. And not only are they usurping the will of the
07:15President and the chief executive of our country, but they are undermining the will of the American public,
07:21tens of millions of Americans who duly elected this President to implement the policies that are coming
07:26out of this White House.
07:27And then one more question. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said yesterday that he was united with
07:33Democrats in working against Americans who, quote, their attitude is, I made my money all by myself. How
07:38dare your government take my money from me? Or I built my company with my bare hands. How dare your government
07:44tell me how to treat my customers? What is the President's response to this, given his upcoming tax agenda and
07:49need to work on capital help?
07:51Well, we certainly hope that Democrats all of a sudden are for more money in the pockets of the American
07:55public. The President has made it incredibly clear that he is committed to tax cuts. He is committed to
08:01passing a big reconciliation package later this year, ending no taxes on tips, taxes on overtime, no taxes on
08:08Social Security for our hard-working seniors. And we encourage everybody on Capitol Hill to support that when
08:14it comes to the finish line, especially Democrats who clearly need a boost from the American public right now.
08:19Their approvals are at an all-time record low. Thanks for being with us, Katie.
08:22Gary.
08:23Can I have one other question? But I want to follow up on Katie's question, actually. You said the mass
08:27deportation campaign would continue, but she asked about the flights specifically. Will those flights to El Salvador
08:32continue while this case is being appealed?
08:35We don't have any flights planned specifically, but we will continue with the mass deportations. And I would just like to
08:41point out that the judge in this case is essentially trying to say that the President doesn't have the executive authority to
08:48deport foreign terrorists from our American soil. That is an egregious abuse of the bench. This judge does not have that
08:57authority. It is the opinion of this White House and of this administration, and that's why we're fighting this in court.
09:03And it's very, very clear that this is an activist judge who is trying to usurp the President's authority. Under the Alien
09:09Enemies Act, the President has this power, and that's why this deportation campaign has continued. And this judge, Judge
09:16Boasberg, is a Democrat activist. He was appointed by Barack Obama. His wife has donated more than $10,000 to Democrats,
09:25and he has consistently shown his disdain for this President and his policies, and it's unacceptable.
09:30You took me right where I wanted to go about the idea that these people are all foreign terrorists, but Judge Boasberg was
09:34originally appointed by George W. Bush and then elevated by Barack Obama. I just feel like I should clear that up.
09:40Well, let me just say something to that effect, Garrett. 67% of all of the injunctions in this century have come against
09:48which President? Donald J. Trump. Let me say that again. 60% of the injunctions by partisan activists in the judicial branch
09:56have come against President Donald Trump, and 92% of those have been from Democrat-appointed judges. This is a clear,
10:04concerted effort by leftists who don't like this President and are trying to impose or slow down his agenda.
10:13So, given that, do you think it's a good use of Congress's time and the President's political capital to try to impeach and
10:20remove a federal judge, which would take 67 votes you're unlikely to get in the Senate?
10:24Well, look, the President has made it clear that he believes this judge in this case should be impeached, and he has also made it
10:30clear that he has great respect for the Chief Justice John Roberts, and it's incumbent upon the Supreme Court to rein in these
10:37activist judges. These partisan activists are undermining the judicial branch by doing so. We have co-equal branches of
10:44government for a reason, and the President feels very strongly about that.
10:48What options does the President have to, you know, he says he's going to follow court orders, he wouldn't defy a court order,
10:55but he's raised these concerns about these judges acting in such a partisan way. What option does he have to ensure that his agenda
11:03continues to move forward while this is ongoing and the judges appear to be trying to just block and delay and impede?
11:09Well, you're right. They are trying to block, delay, and impede. This is lawfare. The President is no stranger to it. He
11:16faced it in his campaign, and this is a continuation of the lawfare that President Trump faced as a candidate, and he's now,
11:22unfortunately, facing as a President. Clearly, these partisan activists in the judicial branch didn't get the memo on November 5th
11:28when the American people overwhelmingly re-elected this President to continue with mass deportations. So, White House Counsel
11:35and the Department of Justice are working on this. They're appealing these cases, and we will continue to use the full weight of
11:42the White House Counsel's Office and the President's team of lawyers to fight this in court because we know we will win even if we have to go
11:48all the way to the Supreme Court.
11:49One more on TDA. Andy McCarthy said in an interview with Hugh Hewitt, he certainly agrees with what the President is trying to do
11:57with the Alien Enemies Act, but he's not sure that the law is completely on his side. He cites some previous Supreme Court rulings
12:04dealing with enemy combatants in wartime, says that even they have a right to challenge their detention in court.
12:11He raised concern, also, that while TDA has been designated as a terrorist organization, these individuals hadn't been prosecuted
12:18for terrorism. So, my question is, will the President ask Congress, potentially, to declare war on these cartels for the invasion
12:27that he's talked about so that he's on stronger legal footing?
12:30Well, we absolutely disagree with the legal opinion of the individual that you mentioned. We would not have moved forward with this
12:36if we didn't believe the President. This was within the President's executive authority to continue with this mass deportation effort
12:43under the authority provided to him under the Alien Enemies Act. And when you read the act, as I did last time at the podium,
12:50a predatory incursion is absolutely what has happened with Tren de Aragua. They have been sent here by the hostile Maduro regime
12:57in Venezuela, and the President, immediately upon taking office, designated TDA as a foreign terrorist organization.
13:04And under this act, it is within the President's authority to deport these terrorists. And anybody trying to defend these terrorists
13:12who have now been sent off of American soil should talk to the families of the individuals who these heinous monsters have killed
13:19and have raped. If you talk to those families, they are so heartened by the President's decision to take tough action
13:26and to use his executive authority, something that no other President has been willing to do, because President Trump does what he says
13:32he's going to do, and he is deporting these foreign terrorists from American soil to secure our homeland.
13:37And he's within his rights to do that.
13:39Very quickly on Tesla, there's a website that's trying to dox Tesla owners across the country and saying they're only going to take down
13:47personal information when people show that they've sold their cars. What's the administration going to do about that?
13:53I haven't seen that website, but we certainly think it's despicable, the violence that has taken place against Tesla,
13:59its company, its employees, and also just Americans who have chosen to drive an electric vehicle.
14:04Many of them are Democrats, by the way. Democrats were big supporters of Tesla and of electric vehicles
14:10until Elon Musk decided to vote for Donald Trump. So we would like Democrats to also come out
14:15and condemn this heinous violence that we have seen, and I believe the Attorney General has said
14:19she's investigating these incidents as acts of domestic terrorism. Jennifer.
14:23In Ukraine, can you say, is the White House going to pause foreign military aid or intelligence sharing with Ukraine
14:30as Russia says it's pushing for, and then have a follow-up on that Federal Trade Commission?
14:34Sure. When it comes to Ukraine, I do have a statement for you from the National Security Advisor
14:39and also the Secretary of State. First, I'd like to reiterate what the President said earlier
14:44following his call with President Zelensky this morning. He said he just completed a very good telephone call
14:50with President Zelensky. It lasted approximately one hour. Much of the discussion was based
14:55on the call made yesterday with President Putin in order to align both Russia and Ukraine
15:00in terms of their requests and needs. We are very much on track, and I will ask Secretary of State Marco Rubio
15:06and Mike Waltz to give an accurate description of the points discussed. That statement will be put out shortly.
15:10While I have that statement for you right here, bear with me as I read it.
15:15Today, President Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky had a fantastic phone conversation.
15:20President Zelensky thanked President Trump for a productive start for the work of the Ukrainian-American teams
15:26in Jeddah on March 11th. The meeting of the senior officials from both nations significantly helped
15:31in moving toward ending the war. President Zelensky thanked President Trump for the support of the United States,
15:37especially the Javelin missiles that President Trump was first to provide in his efforts towards peace.
15:43The leaders agreed Ukraine and America will continue working together to bring about a real end to the war,
15:48and that lasting peace under President Trump's leadership can be achieved.
15:53President Trump fully briefed President Zelensky on his conversation with Putin and the key issues discussed.
15:59They reviewed the situation in Kursk and agreed to share information closely between their defense staffs
16:04as the battlefield situation evolved. President Zelensky asked for additional air defense systems
16:10to protect his civilians, particularly Patriot missile systems, and President Trump agreed to work with him
16:16to find what was available, particularly in Europe. The two leaders also agreed on a partial ceasefire against energy.
16:23Technical teams will meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days to discuss broadening the ceasefire to the Black Sea
16:29on the way to a full ceasefire. They agreed this could be the first step toward the full end of the war
16:35and ensuring security. President Zelensky was grateful for the President's leadership in this effort
16:40and reiterated his willingness to adopt a full ceasefire. President Trump also discussed Ukraine's electrical supply
16:47and nuclear power plants. He said that the United States could be very helpful in running those plants
16:52with its electricity and utility expertise. American ownership of those plants would be the best protection
16:58for that infrastructure and support for Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
17:02President Zelensky also thanked President Trump for continuing to push humanitarian concerns,
17:07including the exchange of prisoners of war. He noted they had just had a successful exchange
17:12and thanked the President for his leadership on that. President Trump also asked President Zelensky
17:17about the children who had gone missing from Ukraine during the war, including the ones that had been abducted,
17:23and President Trump promised to work closely with both parties to help make sure those children were returned home.
17:29They agreed all parties must continue the effort to make a ceasefire work.
17:33The Presidents noted the positive work of their advisors and representatives, especially Secretary Rubio,
17:38National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Special Envoy Kellogg, and others.
17:43The Presidents instructed their teams to move ahead with the technical issues related to implementing
17:47and broadening the partial ceasefire. The Presidents instructed their advisors and representatives
17:52to carry out this work as quickly as possible. The Presidents emphasized that in further meetings
17:57the teams can agree on all necessary aspects of advancing toward lasting peace and security.
18:03That is a lengthy statement that was just given to me, so thanks for bearing with me.
18:06Our office will, of course, provide this after. And as you know, as I just pointed out in the statement,
18:11the President's team of negotiators and national security experts will be heading to Saudi again
18:16later this week to continue working on and ironing out the details.
18:19But I would just like to emphasize we have never been this close to peace,
18:23and it's only because of President Trump that we are here.
18:25I think a couple of years ago, as you all reported on the war,
18:28it was incomprehensible to have a partial ceasefire in this conflict.
18:33And today that is true because of the leadership of this President.
18:37So they agreed to closely share information between their defense staffs.
18:42Does that mean all intelligence sharing will continue?
18:45So the White House is rejecting Russia's request to pause that?
18:49Intelligence sharing in terms of defense for Ukraine will continue to be shared.
18:53Mary.
18:54Thanks, Caroline.
18:55I have two questions, one on the United States Institute of Peace
18:58and then on the Supreme Court, if that's okay.
19:00Sure.
19:01So on the United States Institute of Peace, this is a little bit wild.
19:03I understand the old President refused to leave after he was removed from his position.
19:08He barricaded himself in his offices, had to be escorted out by police,
19:12left the building without Wi-Fi, telephones, elevators, and more,
19:16and is now telling media that DOJ broke in and illegally removed him.
19:21So can you comment on this sequence of events and specify, did DOJ illegally enter?
19:26I'm really glad you brought this up, Mary.
19:28We were made aware of this story by individuals at DOJ, at Elon Musk's team,
19:36and also at the State Department who were unable to access this building.
19:41And it became very clear that there was a concerted effort amongst the rogue bureaucrats
19:46at the United States Institute of Peace to actually physically barricade themselves,
19:50essentially, inside of the building to prevent political appointees of this administration
19:56who work at the direction of the President of the United States to get into the building.
20:01There was a piece in the Daily Caller, thank you for sharing the truth on this,
20:04about what happened.
20:06Staff contacted the MPD in an attempt to prevent DOJ personnel from entering.
20:11They barricaded the doors.
20:13They also disabled telephone lines, Internet connections, and other IT infrastructure
20:19within the building.
20:21They distributed flyers internally, encouraging each other to basically prevent
20:27these individuals from accessing the building.
20:29I use this to say this is what DOJ and this administration is facing.
20:34It's a resistance from bureaucrats who don't want to see change in this city.
20:38President Trump was elected on an overwhelming mandate to seek change and implement change,
20:43and this is unacceptable behavior.
20:46And just really quick on the Supreme Court.
20:47I know it's been almost three years now since the leak of the draft Dodd's opinion to Politico,
20:51actually, a leak which sparked protesting outside the homes of the justices
20:55and even brought on one attempted assassination attempt.
20:58I know Justice Alito said that it made the justices targets for assassination.
21:02But yet the Supreme Court has not tracked down any leaker.
21:05Does the White House have interest in finding out who that leaker was,
21:08and can you comment on that at all?
21:10I know, generally speaking, the President has an interest in finding leakers,
21:14and he believes it's unacceptable.
21:16And it's the position of this administration.
21:18You've seen the Secretary of Homeland Security has taken tough action at her agency.
21:22Leaking is unacceptable to this President and to the leaders across the board
21:26in this Cabinet, especially when it puts people in harm's way.
21:29Sure.
21:30Hi.
21:31A mom whose daughter was forced to change in a locker room with a biological male
21:35at school filed a complaint with the DOJ.
21:37How will the Trump DOJ deal with violations of President Trump's orders
21:41protecting women and girls like this?
21:43I would defer you to the Department of Justice on that specific case,
21:45but the President has made it incredibly clear that it is the policy of this administration
21:50that there are only two genders, male and female, only two sexes, rather, male and female,
21:55and that we are not going to tolerate such behavior by men pretending to be women.
22:01The President will continue to strongly stand for the rights of women and girls,
22:05not just in sports and on athletic fields, but also in private spaces like locker rooms and bathrooms.
22:10Go ahead.
22:12On the FTC, two quick questions.
22:14Can you explain the President's thinking in his decision to fire the two Democratic commissioners,
22:18especially given that Mark Meador is on track to be confirmed next week
22:22and there would be a Republican majority?
22:24My biggest question is why now?
22:26Sure.
22:27Because the time was right to let these people go,
22:30and the President absolutely has the authority to do it,
22:32and they were given ample notice in a letter that I believe your outlet reported on,
22:37so it pretty much explains exactly why this administration chose to let those individuals go.
22:41Was the ultimate goal to get this to the Supreme Court to try to overturn the 1935 precedent?
22:45The goal was to let these individuals go.
22:47If we have to fight it all the way to the Supreme Court, we certainly will.
22:50Rachel.
22:51Back to those deportation fights to El Salvador.
22:53Can the administration provide any more details on how authorities determined
22:57that each of those men were in fact members of a gang?
23:00And if the White House can publish images, photos, videos of those men,
23:05why can't the administration just release basic information like their identities and names?
23:09We are not going to reveal operational details about a counterterrorism operation,
23:13but what I can assure you, as I said on Monday,
23:16we have the highest degree of confidence in our ICE agents
23:20and our Customs and Border Patrol agents who have committed their lives
23:24to targeting illegal criminals in our country, particularly foreign terrorists,
23:29and they had great evidence and indication.
23:32They have the highest degree of professionalism,
23:34and they were 100 percent confident in the individuals that were sent home on these flights
23:39and in the President's executive authority to do that.
23:41Just to follow up, I know in the last briefing you cited privacy concerns
23:44as a reason why the administration may not be able to reveal the identities.
23:48What exactly are the privacy rights of immigrants who were deported
23:51that the administration says were dangerous enough to be sent to El Salvador and sent into prison?
23:56Again, as I just said, we're not going to reveal the operational details
23:59of a counterterrorism operation for quite obvious reasons.
24:03We're trying to combat terrorism here in the United States of America.
24:06Jeff.
24:07I could ask something else about the phone call yesterday.
24:09There was a couple different readouts from the Kremlin and the U.S.
24:12on a couple different points.
24:13One was energy and infrastructure.
24:16The U.S. statement said energy and infrastructure.
24:19The Kremlin said energy infrastructure.
24:21What is your understanding of what the actual substance of that disagreement was?
24:26And then one other question on that.
24:27I would defer you to the readout that was provided by the White House.
24:30That's our understanding, and that's the truth.
24:32And if I could ask a question about the judge as well.
24:34How does a President define a bad judge?
24:38Just someone who disagrees with him?
24:40No.
24:41And is that a dangerous precedent in this case?
24:42Because this is a temporary ruling from Judge Boasberg
24:44that he could ultimately rule in your favor.
24:47Is he setting up a standard here for calling for the impeachment of a judge
24:51who may ultimately rule on your side?
24:54No.
24:55It has nothing to do with disagreeing with the President on policy.
24:58It's with disagreeing with the Constitution and the law.
25:01And it's trying to usurp the authority of the executive branch of this country.
25:05It's having baseless reasoning for these injunctions.
25:08And it's a clear effort by these judges to slow roll this President's agenda.
25:13And if you just look at the injunctions that this President has faced,
25:17deporting foreign terrorists from our homeland,
25:20hiring and firing of executive branch employees
25:24when the President is the executive of the executive branch.
25:28You also see an injunction by a partisan activist judge
25:32when it comes to the Secretary of Defense
25:35trying to determine the readiness of our troops
25:38and the qualifications of our troops in our armed forces.
25:42Does a single district court judge really have more authority
25:45over the Commander-in-Chief and the Secretary of Defense
25:48to determine who should serve in our United States Armed Forces?
25:51Absolutely not.
25:53Anyone who has taken a basic civics lesson can understand that.
25:57And it's ridiculous lawfare that we are witnessing.
26:00The President said he supports –
26:02I'm sorry, the President said he respects the Chief Justice here.
26:06Does he respect him specifically on this case, in this opinion,
26:10or respects him overall?
26:12And has he spoken to any other Supreme Court justice?
26:14The President respects Chief Justice Roberts overall.
26:17He just expressed that to me in the Oval Office.
26:20But it's also quite clear that the Supreme Court needs to rein in these judges
26:24who are acting as partisan activists,
26:26and they are undermining the judicial branch.
26:28And it's a dereliction of duty on their behalf.
26:31Deanna.
26:32Deanna, go ahead.
26:33Thank you so much, Caroline.
26:34On the call with Zelensky, did they discuss the minerals deal at all?
26:38Is that back on the table?
26:39And what do the Ukrainians have to do to get that back on the table?
26:42And then one on the Russia call as well.
26:44Again, I just provided a very lengthy readout of the call.
26:47That was provided by the Secretary of State and the National Security Advisor.
26:51And now we have moved beyond the economic minerals deal.
26:54We are at a place of peace.
26:56We're at a partial ceasefire,
26:57and we're moving towards a full ceasefire and a longstanding peace in this conflict.
27:02And that's great news for the American public.
27:03The Kremlin readout mentioned that Trump and Putin
27:06spoke about potential U.S.-Russia hockey games.
27:09And the Kremlin readout also said that Russia wanted the U.S.
27:15to stop U.S. intelligence and U.S. funding to Ukraine.
27:18The President has said that that conversation did not happen.
27:22Just wondering if you can get us any more clarity on that.
27:25And also, again, if it's energy infrastructure or if it's energy and infrastructure,
27:30because I think there is a big difference between that.
27:32Again, as for the readouts of the call, I would defer you to ours.
27:36And when it comes to the topic of hockey, it did come up.
27:40However, we're more interested in securing a peace deal
27:42than scheduling hockey games right now.
27:44Sean.
27:45Hey, about the deportation flight.
27:47So was it the President himself who directed the planes to stay in the air
27:51after the judge ordered them to turn back?
27:53The President invoked the Alien Enemies Act with a proclamation,
27:58which then directed the Department of Homeland Security
28:01and the Department of State to move forward with the plan of action.
28:04And as I said yesterday, all of the planes that were subject to the judge's written order
28:09took off before the order was submitted in court.
28:12I was asked and answered that question multiple times yesterday.
28:15Kate, go ahead.
28:16Is the President still considering pressuring Russia with sanctions
28:19or terrorists to try to get a full ceasefire?
28:21And is there any kind of deadline or timeline that the White House has in mind
28:25for when that pressure might ramp up?
28:27Again, the President had a nearly two-hour-long call with President Putin yesterday.
28:31We provided a readout of that call,
28:33and we have his negotiating team heading to the Middle East this week
28:37to continue these discussions in regards to sanctions and any other details.
28:40I'm not going to give a readout of those from this podium.
28:43And on TikTok, is Oracle the leading contender for a deal?
28:46And would the U.S. back a deal that keeps TikTok's algorithm
28:49and the underlying technology still in Chinese hands?
28:52As President Trump does so well, we don't get ahead of ourselves
28:55when we are in the midst of the art of the deal.
28:58So when the President and his team are ready to announce a deal on TikTok,
29:02which is a high priority for the President, we will make that known.
29:05I've seen that reporting, but I'm not going to comment on it just yet.
29:08Sure, go ahead.
29:09Thank you, Press Secretary Levitt.
29:10Some prominent Trump supporters have been making the case
29:12that Derek Chauvin deserves a pardon.
29:14They argue that he did not receive a fair trial.
29:17Joe Biden and other Democrats actually implied that he was guilty
29:20while the trial was going on.
29:22BLM rioters had these jurors under immense threat and pressure.
29:26Mainstream media, frankly, many news outlets here today are complicit here.
29:30They chose to ignore the autopsy report.
29:33They chose to ignore the full-body camera footage.
29:36They decided to slander Derek Chauvin as a racist cop instead.
29:39Does the administration believe Derek Chauvin received a fair trial,
29:42and will they consider a pardon moving forward?
29:44The President has been asked and answered this question.
29:46He said it's not something he's considering at this time.
29:49Philip.
29:51Two questions.
29:52First, just a follow-up on the readouts from those calls.
29:55When it comes to the discrepancies between the U.S. and Russian readout
29:58of that call between President Trump and Putin,
30:01is it the President's assessment that something is getting lost in translation,
30:05or does he believe that the Russians are trying to play games here?
30:08No, the President believes in his team that put the readout out,
30:10and he also put his own out on Truth Social.
30:12We've been incredibly transparent about all of the President's calls
30:15with foreign leaders, and again, I would defer you to the readout.
30:18Michael.
30:19Thank you, Caroline.
30:21The White House said yesterday that gas prices across the U.S.
30:25have fallen for the fourth straight week,
30:2734 states now seeing gas under $3 a gallon.
30:30This limited ceasefire with Ukraine regarding oil refineries, energy,
30:35will that affect gas prices here in the U.S.?
30:38Well, it's certainly the President's hope that gas prices will continue to fall,
30:42and he's working every single day to ensure that we do,
30:44as you just mentioned, there's been very encouraging data.
30:47Inflation is cooling and gas prices are falling.
30:50The President has established a National Energy Dominance Council,
30:53and it's ultimately the President's goal,
30:55and this administration is working hard on it every single day,
30:58to increase our energy production right here in the United States of America,
31:02to have a Trump energy boom like we saw in our first term,
31:05which will not only lead to lower fuel prices here at home,
31:08but also lessen the rate of inflation that was created by the previous administration.
31:12One more on Tesla, Caroline.
31:14Tim Walz, Governor Walz, saying last night
31:16he frequently checks Tesla stock in doing so to, quote,
31:20give me a little boost during the day.
31:22How should Americans view politicians who take pride
31:26in the downfall of an American car company?
31:28I think that's quite sad, but I think Governor Walz, unfortunately,
31:31is living a sad existence after his devastating defeat on November 5th.
31:35Reagan. Reagan, go ahead.
31:38Thank you, Caroline.
31:39Across the country, Tesla cars are being lit on fire,
31:42dealerships are being shot up, Molotov cocktails are being used.
31:46There was a website posted yesterday
31:48that shared the addresses of private Tesla owners
31:51and reportedly had Kash Patel's information on it.
31:54A.G. Bondi has called this acts of domestic terrorism.
31:57Does the White House have any indication
31:59that this is some sort of coordinated movement
32:01or that it's being funded by some outside group?
32:03And do you know if the investigation by the DOJ
32:06is being investigated as incidents of organized terror?
32:09I believe the attorney general has made her comments clear on that.
32:12She is investigating these events as acts of domestic terrorism,
32:16and we fully condemn them.
32:18And as I said earlier to Jackie's question,
32:21we think it's despicable what is happening
32:23to not just this American company but also their innocent employees
32:26and, again, innocent Americans who drive these vehicles.
32:29We condemn it wholeheartedly.
32:31Sure.
32:33More than 24,000 workers in 18 agencies
32:36are in the process of being reinstated.
32:38What is your message to these workers,
32:40and can you assure them they won't be fired again
32:43as the administration directs agencies to do more layoffs?
32:46Well, the administration is complying with the court's order.
32:49Again, as I have spoken about repeatedly, we think it's despicable
32:52that we have judges acting as judicial activists,
32:55partisan activists, trying to dictate
32:57who the president of the United States,
32:59the executive of the executive branch, can hire and fire.
33:02We have never seen anything like this.
33:04We are fighting this in court,
33:06and we will continue to fight it all the way to the Supreme Court
33:09if we have to.
33:11And as for federal employees,
33:13it's been the very common-sense position
33:15of this president and the administration
33:17that bureaucrats here in Washington, D.C.,
33:20need to show up to the office just like the rest of America.
33:23Middle-class Americans, from doctors to business owners
33:27to teachers to law enforcement officers,
33:29have to show up to their offices every single day,
33:32and the president has made it a clear priority
33:34that people in this city have to do the same.
33:36And we also continue to be committed
33:38to reducing the scale of our workforce
33:41and to reducing the size of our federal bureaucracy
33:43here in Washington, D.C., to save taxpayers money.
33:46Annie, go ahead.
33:48In the statement that you read,
33:50you referenced the president's interest
33:53in helping return Ukrainian children
33:56to their parents and to their families.
33:58There's an organization that provides intel
34:01and information about those children
34:03that their aid has been cut.
34:06It's a Yale University program that used foreign aid.
34:09And I'm curious if, as part of this new thinking with Ukraine,
34:13that aid might be unfrozen.
34:15I have no updates about that
34:17or that specific program at this time.
34:19Karen.
34:20Thanks, Caroline.
34:21Just to follow up on your answer
34:22to the question on the minerals deal,
34:24you said that the White House has moved
34:26beyond the minerals deal.
34:27What does that mean?
34:28Is that no longer on the table?
34:29Nope, nope.
34:30It means the minerals deal was that first set of framework
34:32that you all saw in that very public meeting
34:34with President Zelensky and President Trump
34:36in the Oval Office.
34:37We are now focused on a long-term peace agreement.
34:40As you know, on that deal, or that meeting
34:42between President Zelensky and President Trump,
34:45the Ukrainian president at the time
34:47wasn't talking about a greater peace deal.
34:49We are now at that place where we are talking about that.
34:52So we've moved beyond
34:53just the economic minerals deal framework,
34:55looking at a lasting ceasefire.
34:57Right now, we're at a partial ceasefire.
34:59But again, the president is sending
35:01his highly skilled, intelligent, and experienced team
35:03to Saudi Arabia later this week
35:05to continue fighting for peace in this conflict.
35:08And I would just reiterate one more time,
35:10we have never been closer to peace than we are today.
35:13Thank you very much, everybody.
35:14We'll see you later.
35:15Thanks, Karen.