Karoline Leavitt speaks to reporters outside the White House.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Caroline, does President Trump have any plans to talk to you?
00:25It's Monday. We have another big week on Wednesday. It will be Liberation Day in America as President Trump has so proudly dubbed it.
00:35The cabinet will be here for the event. It will be our first Rose Garden event of this administration.
00:40So you all will be invited to attend and cover this historic moment.
00:44The president will be announcing a tariff plan that will roll back the unfair trade practices that have been ripping off our country for decades.
00:51He's doing this in the best interest of the American worker.
00:54We also had great news this morning on the border.
00:58Our homeland security team, our national security team continues to do an incredibly effective job when it comes to deporting foreign terrorists from American soil.
01:0617 Tren de Aragua and MS-13 illegal criminal terrorists were deported from our country back to El Salvador.
01:14And they will no longer ever be able to say they can roam free in this country under this president.
01:19These were convicted felons, murderers, rapists who are no longer in our country.
01:23And I think we should all be very grateful for that. I'll take some questions.
01:26Is there anything these countries can do at this point to stave off these tariffs?
01:30And has the president decided on the scale and scope of these tariffs?
01:34Well, I think, first of all, unfortunately, these countries have been ripping off our country for far too long.
01:39And they've made, I think, their disdain for the American worker quite clear.
01:43If you look at the unfair trade practices that we have, 50 percent from the European Union on American dairy.
01:48You have a 700 percent tariff from Japan on American rice.
01:52You have a 100 percent tariff from India on American agricultural products.
01:57You have nearly a 300 percent tariff from Canada on American butter and American cheese.
02:02This makes it virtually impossible for American products to be imported into these markets.
02:08And it has put a lot of Americans out of business and out of work over the past several decades.
02:13So it's time for reciprocity.
02:15And it's time for a president to take historic change to do what's right for the American people.
02:20And that's going to take place on Wednesday.
02:21And what about the scope of them?
02:22He said yesterday he would be more generous.
02:24What does that mean?
02:25I will let the president make the announcement on Wednesday.
02:28But it's certainly going to ensure that there's reciprocity and the American people are treated fairly.
02:33Has the president determined how many countries are going to see these reciprocal tariffs?
02:38Again, I'll let the president get into the specifics of the announcement.
02:41But he has a brilliant team of trade advisors.
02:43You have Secretary Besant, Secretary Lutnick, Jameson Greer, our U.S. trade representative,
02:48Peter Navarro, of course, and Kevin Hassett here at the White House, Stephen Miller as well.
02:52The vice president has been deeply involved in these conversations.
02:55All of these individuals have presented plans to the president on how to get this done.
03:00And it's the president's decision to make.
03:02And we will not get ahead of him on the specifics of the announcement.
03:05And has the overall stock market sell-off caused the White House to rethink any of these plans?
03:11The president has always said that the stock market is a snapshot of a moment in time.
03:15And he's doing what's best for Main Street.
03:17And Wall Street will work out just fine in this administration, just like they did in their first term.
03:22As you said last week, Caroline, you said there would be an investigation or a review
03:27into how Jeffrey Goldberg's number got on that group chat.
03:32What's the status of that review?
03:34And what is the status of National Security Advisor Mike Walz?
03:37As the president has made it very clear, Mike Walz continues to be an important part of his national security team.
03:43And this case has been closed here at the White House, as far as we are concerned.
03:47There have been steps made to ensure that something like that can obviously never happen again.
03:52And we're moving forward.
03:53And the president and Mike Walz and his entire national security team have been working together very well.
03:58If you look at how much safer the United States of America is because of the leadership of this team.
04:05On the tariffs, are there going to be sector-by-sector announcements this week at the event?
04:09Are you looking to be focusing on sectors or country-based tariffs?
04:13The goal of Wednesday are country-based tariffs, but certainly sectoral tariffs.
04:17The president has said he's committed to implementing them.
04:20And I'll leave it to him on when he makes that decision and that announcement.
04:23Caroline, does President Trump still plan to talk to President Putin this week?
04:27And if so, when?
04:28I don't have a readout for you on that call.
04:30But as always, we'll provide a readout.
04:32Usually the president likes to let you guys know first, especially for big calls like that.
04:36Steve?
04:37Any exemptions for farmers being considered for these tariffs?
04:40No exemptions at this time.
04:42Caroline?
04:43The validation guide that DHS is using to determine who is an enemy alien, a Tren de Aragua member,
04:50and if they're vulnerable under the Enemy Aliens Act, it has criteria here that require eight points to be classified as a TDA member.
05:01You can get classified by simply having certain symbols in your tattoos and wearing certain streetwear brands.
05:09That alone is enough to get someone classified as TDA and sent to El Salvador.
05:16That's not true, actually, Andrew.
05:18According to this document, it is.
05:20No, according to the Department of Homeland Security and the agents.
05:23Have you talked to the agents who have been putting their lives on the line to detain these foreign terrorists
05:29who have been terrorizing our communities?
05:32TDA is a vicious gang that has taken the lives of American women.
05:37And our agents on the front lines take deporting these people with the utmost seriousness.
05:43And there is a litany of criteria that they use to ensure that these individuals qualify as foreign terrorists
05:50and to ensure that they qualify for deportation.
05:55And the president made it incredibly clear to the American public that there would be a mass deportation campaign
06:00of not just foreign terrorists, but also illegal criminal aliens who have been wreaking havoc on American communities.
06:06And shame on you and shame on the mainstream media for trying to cover for these individuals.
06:10This is a vicious gang, Andrew.
06:13This is a vicious gang that has taken the lives of American women.
06:17And you said yourself there are eight criteria on that document.
06:24And you are questioning the credibility of these agents who are putting their life on the line
06:29to protect your life and the life of everybody in this group and everybody across the country.
06:34And their credibility should be questioned.
06:36They finally have a president who is allowing them to do their jobs, and God bless them for doing it.
06:40Caroline, what method would the president use to potentially run for a third term?
06:43As you said, there are methods there.
06:45Look, you guys continue to ask the president this question about a third term.
06:49And then he answers honestly and candidly with a smile.
06:52And then everybody here melts down about his answer.
06:55The president talked about this last night on the plane.
06:58He said it's not really something we're thinking about.
07:01He has four years. There's a lot of work to do.
07:03We've done a lot in these nearly first 100 days.
07:06And the American people love what this president is doing,
07:09particularly when it comes to efforts to secure the border.
07:12How confident is President Trump that he can get a peace deal done in Ukraine?
07:15How confident is President Trump that he can get a peace deal done in Ukraine?
07:19Look, the president is working incredibly hard to get a peace deal done between Russia and Ukraine.
07:24And he has expressed his displeasure with comments that have been made
07:28by leaders of both sides of this conflict.
07:30He has expressed what he believes needs to take place.
07:33In order to see this conflict come to an end, he continues to work very hard on it,
07:36and our teams continue to be engaged.
07:38Caroline, can countries that don't have tariffs on the U.S.
07:41but may have other forms of non-tariff trade barriers,
07:44I'm thinking in my case of Australia,
07:46can they expect to be hit in Wednesday's announcement,
07:49or can they expect to be left out and dealt with another time?
07:52Again, I'll let the president make the announcement on Wednesday,
07:55but I think any country that has treated the American people unfairly
08:00should expect to receive a tariff in return on Wednesday.
08:03Caroline, you talk about the European Union.
08:05Is the president expected to impose those tariffs in blocks,
08:08or will he distinguish countries within those trading blocks?
08:11Again, I will let the president get into the specifics of the announcement.
08:14It's his announcement to make. It's going to be very exciting.
08:16We'll see you guys in the Rose Garden.
08:18And you will also hear directly from the president,
08:20if you have any lingering questions, 5.30 this afternoon, or evening rather,
08:25although it's really afternoon for us.
08:27That's about midday for this president because he works all night.
08:30But he'll be signing an executive order.
08:32It will be the in-house pool in the Oval Office, and we'll see you all there.
08:36Thanks, guys.
08:38Thank you, Caroline.