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
00:07saw the very best of America. After spending nearly 300 days aboard the
00:13International Space Station, Butch Wilmore and Sonny Williams are back on
00:17Earth. These two incredible astronauts were only supposed to be up there for
00:22eight days, but because of the Biden administration's lack of urgency, they
00:27ended up spending nine months in space. Joe Biden's lack of courage to act
00:33boldly and decisively was a big reason why Butch and Sonny did not make it
00:37back until yesterday. But President Trump doesn't waste time. Immediately
00:43after taking office, President Trump directed Elon Musk and SpaceX to rescue
00:47these brave astronauts alongside NASA. The president also called the acting
00:53administrator of NASA and told her to bring the astronauts home as soon as
00:56possible. As acting administrator Janet Petro said herself yesterday, per
01:02President Trump's direction, NASA and SpaceX worked diligently to pull the
01:06schedule a month earlier. The president looks forward to welcoming Butch and
01:11Sonny to the Oval Office when they are recovered. This historic mission brings
01:15new meaning to President Trump's promise to always look out for the
01:18forgotten man and woman. On another important matter, yesterday, President
01:23Trump and President Putin spoke about the need for peace and a ceasefire in
01:28the Ukraine war. Both leaders agreed this conflict needs to end with a
01:32lasting peace and also stressed the need for improved bilateral relations
01:36between the United States and Russia. President Trump also spoke with
01:40President Zelensky this morning to align both Russia and Ukraine in terms
01:44of their needs and requests. As President Trump has said repeatedly, the
01:49precious lives and money that both Ukraine and Russia have been spending
01:53in this war would be better spent on the needs of their people. This terrible
01:57conflict would have never started with President Trump in charge, but he's
02:01determined to end it once and for all. President Trump also promised maximum
02:07transparency and a commitment to rebuild the trust of the American people
02:11in our intelligence community. Part of that promise was to fully release
02:15previously classified records related to the assassination of former President
02:19John F. Kennedy, and he made that happen yesterday. This historic release
02:24consisted of approximately 80,000 pages of previously classified records that
02:29are now published. The records are available to access either online at
02:34archives dot gov slash JFK or in person accessible to the American people at
02:40the National Archives in College Park, Maryland. Records that are currently
02:44only available for in person viewing are being digitized and will be
02:48uploaded in the coming days. On another note, positive economic data
02:53continues 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
03:01Biden administration, the manufacturing sector came roaring back in February.
03:07Industrial production surged in February. These are new numbers three
03:11times at a greater three times rate than the expectations to its highest
03:16ever recorded level. And President Trump's laser focus on massive
03:21deregulation and unleashing our domestic energy industry is leading to
03:25stabilities for Americans. Bottom lines. As Newsweek summed it up today, gas
03:30prices are plummeting under President Trump, and the Trump administration
03:35continues to make American communities safer through our ongoing mass
03:39deportation campaign of illegal alien criminals. Yesterday, FBI Director Kash
03:44Patel announced the agency captured another fugitive from its 10 most
03:49wanted list, securing the extradition of Francisco Javier Roman Bardales, a
03:54key senior leader of the brutal MS 13 gang and the brave men and women of
03:59ice also arrested a number of dangerous aliens across the country. In recent
04:04days, you will see them on this screen. Ice San Francisco just arrested a
04:08citizen of Guatemala convicted of sexual battery. Ice New Orleans
04:13arrested a citizen of Ecuador convicted of rape in Suffolk County,
04:17New York. Ice Atlanta arrested a citizen of Mexico convicted of assault
04:22by strangulation. Ice Dallas arrested a citizen of Mexico convicted of assault
04:27with a firearm and rape with a foreign object. An ice Houston arrested a
04:33citizen of Guatemala convicted of indecent sexual contact with a child in
04:37Texas. These are heinous criminal alien monsters who the previous
04:42administration allowed to flood into our country. And every time President
04:46Trump 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
04:54have been in filling out President Trump's administration. There have been
04:57a record number of 281 Senate confirmed confirmed nominations already, with
05:03another 280 in process here at the White House, O. P. M. And G. S. A. We
05:09have filled 100% of the total number of slots, and this is a record number
05:14of placements in the 1st 58 days of any administration and a testament to the
05:19caliber and the sheer quantity of talented people who want to work for
05:24President Trump to make America great again. Here in our new media seat today,
05:29we have Katie Pavlich. Katie is the editor of Town Hall dot com, which is a
05:34subsidiary of Town Hall Media. It's a leading conservative news and opinion
05:38outlet based right here in Washington, D. C. With writers and journalists
05:42reporting around the country. Last year, Town Hall Media had 60 million unique
05:47users 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. Thank you, Caroline. Really
05:56appreciate 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
06:03president plan to send new and additional flights of Venezuelan gang
06:07members now designated as foreign terrorists from the U. S. To El
06:10Salvador or elsewhere? Can Americans expect to see those flights sometime
06:14soon? Americans can absolutely expect to see the continuation of the mass
06:18deportation campaign that has been successfully led by this president,
06:22Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem and also our Secretary of State,
06:26Marco Rubio. Since you brought up the judges, I would like to point out that
06:31the judges in this country are acting erroneously. We have judges who are
06:37acting as partisan activists from the bench. They are trying to dictate policy
06:42from the president of the United States. They are trying to clearly slow walk
06:47this administration's agenda, and it's unacceptable. As the president said last
06:52night, we will continue to comply with these court orders. We will continue to
06:55fight these battles in courts, but it's incredibly apparent that there is a
07:00concerted effort by the far left to judge shop to pick judges who are
07:05clearly acting as partisan activists from the bench in an attempt to derail
07:10this president's agenda. We will not allow that to happen. And not only are
07:13they usurping the will of the president and the chief executive of our country,
07:18but they are undermining the will of the American public. Tens of millions of
07:22Americans who duly elected this president to implement the policies that
07:26are coming out of this White House. One more question. I'm set a minority
07:29leader. Chuck Schumer said yesterday that he was united with Democrats and
07:33working against Americans who quote their attitude is I made my money all
07:38by myself. How dare your government take my money from me? Or I built my
07:41company with my bare hands. How dare your government tell me how to treat
07:44my customers? What is the president's response to this, given his upcoming
07:48tax agenda and need to work on capital? Well, we certainly hope that Democrats
07:52all of a sudden are for more money in the pockets of the American public. The
07:56president has made it incredibly clear that he is committed to tax cuts. He is
08:00committed to passing a big reconciliation package later this year,
08:04ending no taxes on tips, taxes on overtime, no taxes on Social Security
08:09for our hardworking seniors. And we encourage everybody on Capitol Hill to
08:13support that when it comes to the finish line, especially Democrats who clearly
08:17need a boost from the American public. Right now, their approvals are at an
08:20all time record. Well, thanks for being with us, Katie Garrett. One other
08:24question, but I want to follow up on Katie's question. Actually, you said
08:26the mass deportation campaign would continue, but she asked about the
08:29flights specifically. Will those flights to El Salvador continue while
08:33this case is being appealed? We don't have any flights planned specifically,
08:37but 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
08:45president doesn't have the executive authority to deport foreign terrorists
08:50from our American soil. That is an egregious abuse of the bench. This
08:55judge does not have that authority. It is the opinion of this White House
08:59and of this administration, and that's why we're fighting this in court. And
09:03it's very, very clear that this is an activist judge who is trying to usurp
09:08the president's authority. Under the Alien Enemies Act, the president has
09:11this power, and that's why this deportation campaign has continued. And
09:15this judge, Judge Boasberg, is a Democrat activist. He was appointed by
09:20Barack Obama. His wife has donated more than $10,000 to Democrats, and he
09:25has consistently shown his disdain for this president and his policies, and
09:29it's unacceptable. I wanted to go about the idea that these people are all
09:33foreign terrorists, but Judge Boasberg was originally appointed by George W.
09:36Bush and then elevated by Barack Obama. I just feel like I should clear that
09:40up. Well, let me just say something to that effect. Garrett 67% of all of the
09:45injunctions in this century have come against which President Donald J. Trump.
09:50Let me say that again. 60% of the injunctions by partisan activists in
09:55the judicial branch have come against President Donald Trump, and 92% of
09:59those 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
10:09impose or slow down his agenda. So given that, do you think it's a good
10:15use of Congress's time and the president's political capital? Try to
10:20impeach and remove a federal judge, which would take 67 votes. You're
10:23unlikely to get in the Senate. Well, look, the president has made it clear
10:26that he believes this judge in this case should be impeached, and he has
10:29also made it clear that he has great respect for the Chief Justice John
10:33Roberts, and it's incumbent upon the Supreme Court to rein in these
10:37activist judges. These partisan activists are undermining the judicial
10:41branch. By doing so, we have co equal branches of government for a reason,
10:45and the president feels very strongly about that. Jackie, what options does
10:49the president have to? You know, he says he's gonna follow court orders. He
10:54wouldn't defy a court order, but he's raised his concerns about these judges
10:57acting in such a partisan way. What option does he have to ensure that his
11:02agenda continues to move forward while this is ongoing? And the judges appear
11:06to be trying just lock and delay. Well, you're right. They are trying to
11:10block, delay and impede. This is lawfare. The president is no stranger
11:15to it. He faced it in his campaign, and this is a continuation of the lawfare
11:19that President Trump faced as a candidate, and he's now unfortunately
11:23facing as a president. Clearly, these partisan activists in the judicial
11:26branch didn't get the memo on November 5th when the American people
11:29overwhelmingly re elected this president to continue with mass
11:33deportation. So White House counsel and the Department of Justice are
11:36working on this. They're appealing these cases, and we will continue to
11:40use the full weight of the White House counsel's office in the president's
11:44team of lawyers to fight this in court because we know we will win even if we
11:48have to go all the way to the Supreme Court.
11:51Andy McCarthy said in an interview with Hugh Hewitt, he certainly agrees with
11:55what the president is trying to do with the Alien Enemies Act, but he's not
11:58sure that the law is completely on his side. He cites some previous Supreme
12:03Court rulings dealing with enemy combatants in wartime, says that even
12:07they have a right to challenge their detention in court. He raised concern
12:12also that while TDA has been designated as a terrorist organization, these
12:16individuals hadn't been prosecuted for terrorism. So my question is, will the
12:21president ask Congress potentially to declare war on these cartels for the
12:27invasion that he's talked about so that he's on stronger legal footing? Well,
12:31we absolutely disagree with the legal opinion of the individual that you
12:34mentioned. We would not have moved forward with this if we didn't believe
12:37the president. This was within the president's executive authority to
12:41continue with this mass deportation effort under the authority provided to
12:45him under the Alien Enemies Act. And when you read the act, as I did last
12:49time at the podium, a predatory incursion is absolutely what has
12:53happened with Tren de Aragua. They have been sent here by the hostile Maduro
12:57regime in Venezuela, and the president immediately upon taking office
13:01designated TDA as a foreign terrorist organization. And under this act, it is
13:06within the president's authority to deport these terrorists. And anybody
13:10trying to defend these terrorists who have now been sent off of American soil
13:15should talk to the families of the individuals who these heinous monsters
13:19have killed and have raped. If you talk to those families, they are so
13:23heartened by the president's decision to take tough action and to use his
13:27executive authority, something that no other president has been willing to do
13:30because President Trump does what he says he's going to do, and he is
13:33deporting these foreign terrorists from American soil to secure our homeland,
13:37and he's within his rights to do that.
13:41There's a website that's trying to docks Tesla owners across the country
13:45and saying they're only going to take down personal information when people
13:49show that they've sold their cars. What's the administration going to do
13:53I haven't seen that website, but we certainly think it's despicable. The
13:56violence that has taken place against Tesla, the company, its employees and
14:00also just Americans who have chosen to drive an electric vehicle. Many of them
14:04are Democrats. By the way, Democrats were big supporters of Tesla and of
14:09electric vehicles until Elon Musk decided to vote for Donald Trump. So we
14:13would like Democrats to also come out and condemn this heinous violence that
14:17we have seen. And I believe the attorney general has said she's
14:19investigating these incidents as acts of domestic terrorism. Jennifer
14:22on Ukraine. Can you say is the White House going to pause foreign military
14:28aid or intelligence sharing with Ukraine as Russia says it's pushing
14:32for and then have a follow up on the federal papers? Sure. When it comes to
14:36Ukraine, I do have a statement for you from the National Security Advisor and
14:40also the Secretary of State. First, I'd like to reiterate what the president
14:43said earlier. Following his call with President Zelensky this morning, he
14:47said he just completed a very good telephone call with President Zelensky.
14:51It lasted approximately one hour. Much of the discussion was based on the
14:55call made yesterday with President Putin in order to align both Russia and
14:59Ukraine in terms of their requests and needs. We are very much on track, and I
15:04will ask Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Mike Waltz to give an accurate
15:07description 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 Vladimir Zelensky had a
15:19fantastic phone conversation. President Zelensky thanked President Trump for a
15:23productive start for the work of the Ukrainian American teams in Jeddah on
15:27March 11th. The meeting of the senior officials from both nations
15:30significantly helped in moving toward ending the war. President Zelensky
15:34thanked President Trump for the support of the United States, especially the
15:38Javelin missiles that President Trump was first to provide in his efforts
15:42towards peace. The leaders agreed Ukraine and America will continue
15:46working together to bring about a real end to the war, and that lasting peace
15:50under President Trump's leadership can be achieved. President Trump fully
15:54briefed President Zelensky on his conversation with Putin and the key
15:58issues discussed. They reviewed the situation in Kursk and agreed to share
16:02information closely between their defense staffs as the battlefield
16:05situation evolved. President Zelensky asked for additional air defense
16:09systems to protect his civilians, particularly Patriot missile systems,
16:13and President Trump agreed to work with him to find what was available,
16:17particularly in Europe. The two leaders also agreed on a partial ceasefire
16:22against energy. Technical teams will meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days
16:26to discuss broadening the ceasefire to the Black Sea on the way to a full
16:31ceasefire. They agreed this could be the first step toward the full end of the
16:34war and ensuring security. President Zelensky was grateful for the
16:38president's leadership in this effort and reiterated his willingness to adopt
16:42a 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
16:51in running those plants with its electricity and utility expertise.
16:55American ownership of those plants would be the best protection for that
16:58infrastructure and support for Ukrainian energy infrastructure. President
17:02Zelensky also thanked President Trump for continuing to push humanitarian
17:06concerns, including the exchange of prisoners of war. He noted they had just
17:10had a successful exchange and thanked the president for his leadership on
17:14that. President Trump also asked President Zelensky about the Children
17:18who had gone missing from Ukraine during the war, including the ones that
17:22had been abducted. And President Trump promised to work closely with both
17:26parties to help make sure those Children were returned home. They
17:29agreed all parties must continue the effort to make a ceasefire work. The
17:33president's noted the positive work of their advisers and representatives,
17:37especially Secretary Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Special
17:41Envoy Kellogg and others. The president's instructed their teams to
17:44move ahead with the technical issues related to implementing and broadening
17:48the partial ceasefire. The president's instructed their advisers and
17:51representatives to carry out this work as quickly as possible. The president's
17:55emphasized that in further meetings, the teams can agree on all necessary
17:59aspects of advancing toward lasting peace and security. That is a lengthy
18:04statement that was just given to me. So thanks for bearing with me. Our office
18:07will, of course, provide this after. And as you know, as I just pointed out in
18:10the statement, the president's team of negotiators and national security
18:14experts will be heading to Saudi again later this week to continue working on
18:18and ironing out the details. But I would just like to emphasize we have never
18:22been this close to peace, and it's only because of President Trump that we are
18:25here. I think a couple of years ago, as you all reported on the war, it was
18:29incomprehensible to have a partial ceasefire in this conflict. And today,
18:34that is true because of the leadership of this president.
18:38Agreed to share closely share information between their defense
18:42staffs. Does that mean all intelligence sharing will continue? So the White
18:46House is rejecting Russia's request.
18:49Intelligence sharing in terms of defense for Ukraine will continue to be
18:53shared. Mary.
18:54Thanks, Caroline. I have two questions, one on the United States Institute of
18:58Peace and then on the Supreme Court. But that's okay. Sure. So on the United
19:01States Institute of Peace, this is a little bit wild. I understand the old
19:04president refused to leave after he was removed from his position. He
19:08barricaded himself in his offices, had to be escorted out by police, left the
19:13building without Wi Fi, telephones, elevators and more, and is now telling
19:17media that Doge broke in and illegally removed him. So can you comment on this
19:22sequence of events and specify? Did Doge illegally enter? I'm really glad
19:27you brought this up, Mary. We were made aware of this story by individuals at
19:33Doge at Elon Musk's team and also at the State Department who were unable to
19:39access this building. Um, and it became very clear that there was a concerted
19:44effort amongst the rogue bureaucrats at the United States Institute of Peace to
19:48actually physically barricade themselves essentially inside of the
19:52building to prevent political appointees of this administration who
19:56work at the direction of the president of the United States to get into the
20:00building. There was a piece in the Daily Caller. Thank you for sharing the
20:04truth on this about what happened. Um, staff contacted the MPD in an attempt
20:09to prevent Doge personnel from entering. They barricaded the doors. Um, they
20:14also, um, disabled telephone lines, Internet connections and other I. T.
20:19infrastructure within the building. They distributed flyers internally,
20:22um, encouraging each other to basically, um, prevent these individuals from
20:28accessing the building. I use this to say this is what Doge in this
20:33administration is facing. It's a resistance from bureaucrats who don't
20:36want to see change in this city. President Trump was elected on an
20:39overwhelming mandate to seek change and implement change. Um, and this is
20:44unacceptable behavior. Thank you. I just really like on the Supreme Court. I
20:47know it's been almost three years now since the leak of the draft Dobbs
20:50opinion to Politico. Actually, a leak which sparked protesting outside the
20:54homes of the justices and even brought on one attempted assassination
20:57attempt. I know Justice Alito said that it made the justices targets for
21:01assassination. But yet the Supreme Court has not tracked down any leaker.
21:05Does the White House have interest in finding out who that leaker was? And can
21:09you comment on that at all? I know, generally speaking, the president has
21:12an interest in finding leakers, and he believes it's unacceptable. Um, and
21:16it's the position of this administration. You've seen the
21:18Secretary of Homeland Security has taken tough action at her agency. Leaking
21:23is unacceptable to this president into the leaders across the board in this
21:26cabinet, especially when it puts people in harm's way. Sure. Thank you,
21:29Caroline. A mom whose daughter was forced to change in the locker room
21:33with a biological male at school filed a complaint with the D O. J. How will
21:37the Trump deal with violations of President Trump's orders because the
21:41women and girls like this? I would defer you to the Department of Justice on
21:44that specific case. But the president has made it incredibly clear that it
21:48is the policy of this administration that there are only two genders, male
21:52and female, only two sexes, rather male and female on that. We are not going to
21:56tolerate such behavior by men pretending to be women. The president
22:02will continue to strongly stand for the rights of women and girls, not just in
22:06sports and on athletic fields, but also in private spaces like locker rooms and
22:10bathrooms.
22:11Go ahead. Thank you.
22:14Can you explain the president's thinking in his decision to fire the
22:17two Democratic commissioners, especially given that Mark matter is on track to
22:21be confirmed next weekend? There would be a Republican majority. My biggest
22:25question is why now? Sure, because the time was right to let these people go,
22:29and the president absolutely has the authority to do it on. They were given
22:33ample notice in a letter that I believe your outlet reported on. So it pretty
22:37much explains exactly why this administration chose to let those
22:40individuals go to the Supreme Court to try to overturn the 1935 precedent. The
22:45goal was to let these individuals go. If we have to fight it all the way to the
22:48Supreme Court, we certainly will. Rachel back to those deportation flights to
22:52El Salvador. Can the administration provide any more details on how
22:56authorities determined that each of those men were in fact members of a
22:59gang? And if the White House can publish images, photos, videos of those men, why
23:05can't the administration just release basic information like their identities
23:08and names? We are not going to reveal operational details about a
23:12counterterrorism operation. But what I can assure you, as I said on Monday, we
23:16have the highest degree of confidence in our ice agents and our Customs and
23:20Border Patrol agents who have committed their lives to targeting illegal
23:25criminals in our country, particularly foreign terrorists. And they had great
23:30evidence and indication. They have the highest degree of professionalism, and
23:34they were a hundred percent confident in the individuals that were sent home
23:38on these flights and in the President's executive authority to do that. Just a
23:41follow-up. I know in the last briefing you cited privacy concerns as a reason
23:44why the administration may not be able to reveal the identities. What exactly
23:48are the privacy rights of immigrants who were deported that the administration
23:52says were dangerous enough to be sent to El Salvador and sit in a prison? Again, as
23:56I just said, we're not going to reveal the operational details of a
23:59counterterrorism operation for quite obvious reasons. We're trying to combat
24:04terrorism here in the United States of America. Jeff.
24:07I could ask something else about the phone call yesterday. There was a couple different readouts from the Kremlin and the U.S. on a couple different points. One was energy and infrastructure.
24:16The U.S. statement said energy and infrastructure. The Kremlin said energy
24:20infrastructure. What is your understanding of what the actual substance of that
24:25disagreement was? And then one other question on that. I would defer you to
24:28the readout that was provided by the White House. That's our understanding, and
24:31that's the truth. If I could ask a question about the judge as well. How does a president define a bad judge? Just someone who disagrees with him? No.
24:40It's a dangerous precedent in this case because this is a temporary ruling from Judge
24:43Boasberg that he could ultimately rule in your favor. Is he setting up a standard
24:48here for calling for the impeachment of a judge who may ultimately rule on your
24:53side? No. It has nothing to do with disagreeing with the president on policy.
24:58It's with disagreeing with the Constitution and the law, and it's trying
25:01to usurp the authority of the executive branch of this country. It's having
25:06baseless reasoning for these injunctions, and it's a clear effort by
25:11these judges to slow roll this president's agenda. And if you just look
25:15at the injunctions that this president has faced, deporting foreign terrorists
25:19from our homeland, hiring and firing of executive branch employees, which when
25:25the president is the executive of the executive branch. You also see an
25:30injunction by a partisan activist judge when it comes to the Secretary of
25:34Defense trying to determine the readiness of our troops and the
25:39qualifications of our troops in our armed forces. Does a single district court
25:43judge really have more authority over the commander-in-chief and the Secretary
25:47of Defense to determine who should serve in our United States Armed Forces?
25:52Absolutely not. Anyone who has taken a basic civics lesson can understand
25:56that, and it's ridiculous lawfare that we are witnessing. And it's... The president said he supports... I'm sorry, the president said he respects the Chief Justice here.
26:06Does he respect him specifically on this case, in this opinion, or respects him
26:11overall? And has he spoken to any other Supreme Court justice? The president
26:14respects Chief Justice Roberts overall. He just expressed that to
26:18me in the Oval Office. But it's also quite clear that the Supreme Court
26:22needs to rein in these judges who are acting as partisan activists, and they
26:26are undermining the judicial branch. And it's a dereliction of duty on their
26:31behalf.
26:31And how will you rein them in?
26:32Deanna, go ahead.
26:33Thank you so much, Caroline. On the call with Zelensky, did they discuss the minerals deal at all? Is that back on the table? And what do the Ukrainians have to do to get that back on the table? And then one on the Russia call as well.
26:44Again, I just provided a very lengthy readout of the call that was provided by the Secretary of State and the National Security Advisor. And now we have moved beyond the economic minerals deal. We are at a place of peace. We're at a partial ceasefire, and we're moving towards a full ceasefire and a long-standing peace in this conflict. And that's great news for the American public.
27:03The Kremlin readout mentioned that Trump and Putin spoke about potential U.S.-Russia hockey games. And the Kremlin readout also said that Russia wanted the U.S. to stop U.S. intelligence and U.S. funding to Ukraine. The President has said that that conversation did not happen. Just wondering if you can get us any more clarity on that. And also, again, if it's energy infrastructure or if it's energy and infrastructure, because I think there is a big difference between that.
27:31Again, as for the readouts of the call, I would defer you to ours. And when it comes to the topic of hockey, it did come up. However, we're more interested in securing a peace deal than scheduling hockey games right now.
27:43Hey, about the deportation plight. So was it the President himself who directed the planes to stay in the air after the judge ordered them to turn back?
28:14Kate, go ahead.
28:15Is the President still considering pressuring Russia with sanctions or tariffs to try to get a full ceasefire? And is there any kind of deadline or timeline that the White House has in mind for when that pressure might ramp up?
28:27Again, the President had a nearly two-hour-long call with President Putin yesterday. We provided a readout of that call. And we have his negotiating team heading to the Middle East this week to continue these discussions in regards to sanctions and any other details. I'm not going to give a readout of those from this podium.
28:42And on TikTok, is Oracle the leading contender for a deal? And would the U.S. back a deal that keeps TikTok's algorithm and the underlying technology still in Chinese hands?
28:51As President Trump does so well, we don't get ahead of ourselves when we are in the midst of the art of the deal. So when the President and his team are ready to announce a deal on TikTok, which is a high priority for the President, we will make that known. I've seen that reporting, but I'm not going to comment on it just yet.
29:07Sure, go ahead.
29:08Thank you, Press Secretary Leavitt. Some prominent Trump supporters have been making the case that Derek Chauvin deserves a pardon. They argue that he did not receive a fair trial. Joe Biden and other Democrats actually implied that he was guilty while the trial was going on. BLM rioters had these jurors under immense threat and pressure.
29:25Mainstream media, frankly, many news outlets here today are complicit here. They chose to ignore the autopsy report. They chose to ignore the full-body camera footage. They decided to slander Derek Chauvin as a racist cop instead. Does the administration believe Derek Chauvin received a fair trial, and will they consider a pardon moving forward?
29:44The President has been asked and answered this question. He said it's not something he's considering at this time.
29:50Two questions. First, just a follow-up on the readouts from those calls. When it comes to the discrepancies between the U.S. and Russian readout of that call between President Trump and Putin, is it the President's assessment that something is getting lost in translation, or does he believe that the Russians are trying to play against Syria?
30:07No, the President believes in his team that put the readout out, and he also put his own out on Truth Social. We've been incredibly transparent about all of the President's calls with foreign leaders, and again, I would defer you to the readout.
30:18Michael.
30:19Thank you, Caroline. The White House said yesterday that gas prices across the U.S. have fallen for the fourth straight week, 34 states now seeing gas under $3 a gallon. This limited ceasefire with Ukraine regarding oil refineries, energy, will 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, and he's working every single day to ensure that we do. As you just mentioned, there's been very encouraging data. Inflation is cooling, and gas prices are falling. The President has established a National Energy Dominance Council, and it's ultimately the President's goal, and this administration is working hard on it every single day, to increase our energy production right here in the United States of America.
31:01To have a Trump energy boom like we saw in our first term, which will not only lead to lower fuel prices here at home, but also lessen the rate of inflation that was created by the previous administration.
31:12One more on Tesla, Caroline. Tim Walz, Governor Walz, saying last night he frequently checks Tesla stock in doing so to, quote, give me a little boost during the day. How should Americans view politicians who take pride in the downfall of an American car company?
31:28I think that's quite sad, but I think Governor Walz, unfortunately, is living a sad existence after his devastating defeat on November 5th.
31:35Reagan. Reagan, go ahead.
31:37Thank you, Caroline. Across the country, Tesla cars are being lit on fire, dealerships are being shot up, Molotov cocktails are being used.
31:46There was a website posted yesterday that shared the addresses of private Tesla owners and reportedly had Kash Patel's information on it.
31:53A.G. Bondi has called this acts of domestic terrorism. Does the White House have any indication that this is some sort of coordinated movement, or that it's being funded by some outside group?
32:03And do you know if the investigation by the DOJ is being investigated as incidents of organized terror?
32:09I believe the Attorney General has made her comments clear on that. She is investigating these events as acts of domestic terrorism, and we fully condemn them.
32:18And as I said earlier to Jackie's question, we think it's despicable what is happening to not just this American company, but also their innocent employees, and again, innocent Americans who drive these vehicles.
32:29We condemn it wholeheartedly.
32:31Sure.
32:32More than 24,000 workers in 18 agencies are in the process of being reinstated. What is your message to these workers, and can you assure them they won't be fired again as the administration directs agencies to do more layoffs?
32:45Well, the administration is complying with the court's order. Again, as I have spoken about repeatedly, we think it's despicable that we have judges acting as judicial activists, partisan activists, trying to dictate who the President of the United States,
32:58the executive of the executive branch, can hire and fire. We have never seen anything like this. We are fighting this in court, and we will continue to fight it all the way to the Supreme Court if we have to.
33:10And as for federal employees, it's been the very common-sense position of this President and the administration that bureaucrats here in Washington, D.C. need to show up to the office just like the rest of America.
33:23Middle-class Americans, from doctors to business owners to teachers to law enforcement officers, have to show up to their offices every single day, and the President has made it a clear priority that people in this city have to do the same.
33:36And we are also continuing to be committed to reducing the scale of our workforce and to reducing the size of our federal bureaucracy here in Washington, D.C., to save taxpayers money.
33:46Annie, go ahead.
33:47Thanks so much. In the statement that you read, you referenced the President's interest in helping return Ukrainian children to their parents and to their families.
33:58There's an organization that provides intel and information about those children that has – their aid has been cut. It's a Yale University program that used foreign aid.
34:09And I'm curious if, as part of this new thinking with Ukraine, that aid might be unfrozen.
34:15I have no updates about that or that specific program at this time.
34:18Karen.
34:19Thanks, Caroline. Just to follow up on your answer to the question on the minerals deal, you said that the White House has moved beyond the minerals deal. What does that mean? Is that no longer on the table?
34:28Nope. Nope. It means the minerals deal was that first set of framework that you all saw in that very public meeting with President Zelensky and President Trump in the Oval Office.
34:36We are now focused on a long-term peace agreement. As you know, on that deal – or that meeting between President Zelensky and President Trump, the Ukrainian President at the time wasn't talking about a greater peace deal.
34:48We are now at that place where we are talking about that. So we've moved beyond just the economic minerals deal framework, and we're looking at a lasting ceasefire.
34:56Right now, we're at a partial ceasefire. But again, the President is sending his highly skilled, intelligent, and experienced team to Saudi Arabia later this week to continue fighting for peace in this conflict.
35:07And I would just reiterate one more time, we have never been closer to peace than we are today.
35:12Thank you very much, everybody. We'll see you later.