President Trump speaks at a White House Iftar dinner.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Thank you very much.
00:07Thank you for being proud.
00:14Thank you very much.
00:24Nice looking crowd.
00:38Hello, Lindsey.
00:40Nice to see you.
00:42And you'll like it.
00:44Good evening and welcome to this magnificent Iftar
00:47dinner, very special, as we honor the Islamic holy
00:50month of Ramadan.
00:52Let me begin by saying to our Muslim friends, of
00:55which I have many tonight, and I think we have many
00:58all over the world based on the results in Michigan,
01:01other places.
01:02But I just want to say hello to all of the people
01:06that supported us so strongly.
01:08Ramadan Mubarak.
01:10We're grateful to be joined by Director of
01:15National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
01:20Tulsi, thank you very much.
01:24Deputy Secretary of State Chris Landau.
01:27Chris, thank you, Chris.
01:29Congratulations, by the way.
01:32Deputy Special Envoy Morgan Ortagus.
01:35Morgan.
01:37Hi, Morgan.
01:40A very good friend of mine who I just endorsed,
01:43actually.
01:44Senator Lindsey Graham.
01:45Congressman Abe Hamadeh.
01:46Thank you, Abe.
01:47Thank you, Abe.
01:48Good job.
01:49Counselor to the President, Alina Haba, and
01:51going to be the U.S.
01:52Attorney in New Jersey.
01:53Very important.
01:54Great job.
01:55Pastor Paula White, my friend for a long time,
01:58and somebody that's done an incredible job.
02:02And all of the things that so many in this room
02:05stand for.
02:06Paula White.
02:07Thank you, Paula.
02:08And a person that Paula would have a hard time
02:11not being with.
02:12I would say Jenny would be about impossible for you,
02:15right?
02:16But Jenny Korn is here, and she's been incredible.
02:30And she's been incredible, the Faith Office Director.
02:33And right out of the White House, right?
02:35Jenny?
02:36Hi, Jenny.
02:37How are you?
02:38And a great friend of mine, Basad Boulos.
02:41Basad, how are you doing?
02:44I also want to extend a very special thanks to
02:47the hundreds of thousands of Muslim Americans who
02:50supported us in record numbers in the 2024
02:53presidential election.
02:54It was incredible.
02:55We started a little slow with you, but we came
02:59along.
03:00And by the time that election was finished, we
03:03figured we went up like a rocket ship.
03:06So I just want to thank everybody very much for
03:09that.
03:10That was great.
03:11And in particular, I want to thank two great
03:14gentlemen.
03:15The mayor of Hamtramck, Michigan.
03:17Hamtramck, how are you, Mr. Mayor?
03:19And he's done a great job as mayor, and he's done a
03:23great job with his support of us.
03:26And Mr. Amir Ghalib.
03:29And thank you very much.
03:30You were such a tremendous endorsement right at the
03:33right time.
03:34Your timing was excellent.
03:35Thank you very much.
03:36And you'll be the next ambassador to Kuwait, and
03:40you're going to have a great time with Kuwait.
03:43Wonderful people.
03:44And it's a great place.
03:45So congratulations.
03:46Really terrific.
03:47You're going to love them, and they're going to love
03:49you.
03:50And they're going to love you.
03:51Thank you very much.
03:52Congratulations to, as well as the mayor of
03:54Dearborn Heights, Mr. Bill Bassett.
03:57Bill.
03:58Good job, Bill.
03:59And Bill, actually, is going to be the next
04:02ambassador to Tunisia, and that's big stuff.
04:05Those guys, you're very upwardly mobile.
04:08You're doing very well.
04:09That's great.
04:10You're going to have a tremendous time.
04:12Both great countries.
04:13And enjoy it.
04:15Every day, we're keeping our promises to the
04:17Muslim community.
04:18My administration is engaged in relentless
04:22diplomacy to forge a lasting peace in the
04:24Middle East, building on the historic Abraham
04:27Accords, which everybody said would be impossible.
04:29And now we're going to start filling them out.
04:31Because, as you know, Biden did nothing to fill
04:34them out.
04:35He did absolutely.
04:36We had the four great countries, and nothing
04:38happened, despite the importance of the
04:41Abraham Accords.
04:42But I have a feeling it's going to fill out very
04:44quickly.
04:45It's already — people are talking already about it.
04:47They should have had them long — long ago, it
04:50would have been done.
04:51We're rapidly defeating inflation by reducing
04:54energy costs and even slashing the price of
04:58eggs by 50 percent.
04:59Doesn't sound like much.
05:00Believe me.
05:01You know, when I got here, I was — I was in one
05:05week, and I was being hit by the fake news media.
05:08They were saying, Egg prices have quadrupled.
05:11I said, I just got here.
05:12I didn't even know.
05:13I said, What's — what's the problem with eggs?
05:15But the problem with eggs was Joe Biden.
05:17That was the problem.
05:18He let them get out of control.
05:20And as you probably saw, last — last month, they
05:23went down 35 percent.
05:24And the quantity is so much that — I don't know, I
05:27think they're going to go down a lot further.
05:29We have a total of over 50 percent in a few weeks,
05:32Lindsey.
05:32I'd say that's pretty good.
05:34And nobody wants to talk about it now.
05:36They don't want to talk about it.
05:37They talked about it when it went up under somebody
05:39else, but when it went down under me, they don't
05:41want to talk.
05:42So we have to talk ourselves.
05:43If they won't say it, we have to say it.
05:45Right?
05:46I learned that a long time ago.
05:47We're fighting for parents' rights and school
05:50choice, and we're stopping schools from
05:53indoctrinating children with transgender
05:55ideology — something which the people of this
05:58room are not happy about.
05:59I know that for a fact.
06:00And it's a shame what's happened.
06:02But we're turning it around and turning it
06:04around at levels that nobody can even believe.
06:07I signed an order also, and I think very
06:09importantly also, in particular for people in
06:11this room, we're keeping men out of women's sports.
06:15Is that okay?
06:16Men out of women's sports.
06:18The Muslim community was there for us in November.
06:22And while I'm President, I will be there for you.
06:25I'm going to be there for you.
06:26And I think you know that, and our two great mayors
06:28understand that.
06:30I said that I would see you after, and I saw you
06:32after, and I think you're doing better than we are.
06:35You're doing better than anybody.
06:36So it's so — it's so great.
06:38I'm so glad you're here.
06:39But as we approach the end of Islamic holy month of
06:43Ramadan, we're also deeply honored to be
06:46joined by many of the international friends and
06:48partners, including the Ambassador from Saudi
06:51Arabia to the United States — a very, very
06:54special woman, Princess Rima.
06:57Princess, thank you.
06:58Thank you, Princess.
06:58Say hello to everybody.
06:59It's great to see you.
07:00Thanks, as well, to the ambassadors and chiefs of
07:01mission from the United Arab Emirates, from
07:02Jordan, Egypt, Kuwait, Qatar.
07:43of people represented tonight, wouldn't you say, Senator?
07:45I think so.
07:46And we're greatly honored by your presence this evening.
07:52I just really want to thank you all.
07:53It's a special group.
07:54I look forward to it.
07:56You know, we have long days, not like other people
07:58that had this position.
08:00I work long hours.
08:02And I said tonight, after making three calls for people
08:05running for office, they call them teletown halls,
08:08and they're not easy to do.
08:10And I said, well, now I go home and can relax.
08:15They said, no, you can't, sir.
08:18You're seeing your friends from lots of different places,
08:21and that's okay.
08:21As soon as they found out who they were,
08:23I said, all right, that's okay.
08:25But Ramadan is a season of spiritual reflection
08:28and self-restraint.
08:29Every day during the sacred ninth month
08:31of the Islamic calendar, Muslims fast from dawn to dusk,
08:36deepening their focus on prayer and devotion to God.
08:39So nice.
08:40Then Muslims all over the world join family and friends
08:43each night in sundown to give thanks to the Almighty
08:46and break their fast with an iftar dinner,
08:50just like this one.
08:50This is what we have tonight.
08:52Right, Paul?
08:53I hope you like it.
08:54If you don't like it, don't complain.
08:55Okay?
08:56You're still in the White House, right?
08:59We're all in the White House together.
09:01So how bad can that be?
09:03So tonight, we gather with the goodwill and the gratitude
09:06for God's many blessings.
09:07And that's what it's all about.
09:09This tradition exemplifies the beautiful spirit
09:11of all three Abrahamic faiths,
09:14the spirit that inspires us to seek happiness
09:18and prosperity at home and peace for the entire world.
09:21We're all looking for peace for the entire world.
09:24When I was in Michigan, I met with so many leaders of faith.
09:27And I said, what about your attitude here,
09:31your attitude there?
09:32All of the attitudes and all of the things I heard,
09:35they said, sir, all we want is peace.
09:38Right?
09:39Remember, Mr. Mayor?
09:40I said, but I understand you don't mind death.
09:43They said, no, sir, we want to live.
09:45We want to live and we want to be happy.
09:47And we want to love everybody.
09:49And I actually, it was a very inspirational period
09:53of time for me.
09:54And I want to thank you also for introducing me
09:56to so many of your friends.
09:58It was absolutely incredible.
09:59Thank you very much.
10:01To our Muslim friends, I look forward to working
10:03with each of you to achieve a brighter
10:05and more hopeful future.
10:07And I think together we're going to do great.
10:08You're going to make strides like you've never made.
10:10You have somebody in the White House that loves you.
10:13Thank you all very much.
10:14And now we'll have a little dinner.
10:16Have a little dinner.
10:18Thank you very much.