- 7/9/2025
President Trump hosts African Leaders at the White House and takes questions from reporters.
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00:00The new economic deals for the United States on June 27th, the foreign ministers of the
00:06Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda visited the White House to sign a historic
00:13peace agreement that we worked out. They've been fighting for 30 years,
00:207 million are dead, and they think their number is actually quite a bit higher than that. It's
00:25been a long and vicious fight, and I just wanted to say that the countries represented were very
00:31happy that we were able to solve that problem. I think over the next couple of weeks, the leaders
00:37of both countries will come to sign the final agreement. As you know, we had foreign ministers
00:42last week, but we're going to be signing an end to the horrible 30-year war. It's been going on for
00:50a long time. I've been reading about it, hearing about it, and it was a vicious war. It was a
00:57terrible war. I want to thank our outstanding senior advisor for Africa, Mossad Boulos, for helping to
01:04mediate this breakthrough. He was very much involved in that settlement. Most people thought it
01:12couldn't be done, but there's still much more to be done, and we're going to be facilitating peace
01:19also in places like Sudan, where they have a lot of problems. Libya and others. There's a lot of
01:26anger on your continent, and we've been able to solve a lot of it. My administration is committed to
01:34strengthening our friendships in Africa through economic development efforts that benefit both
01:39the United States and our partners, and we're shifting from AID to trade. We had AID, or aid as we
01:49sometimes call it, right to trade, and trade seems to be a foundation that I've been able to settle a lot
01:55of these disputes, like as an example, India and Pakistan, Kosovo, Serbia. I said, you guys are going to fight,
02:04we're not going to trade, and we seem to be quite successful in doing that. To that end, we have
02:10closed the USAID group to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse, which was tremendous waste, fraud, and
02:17abuse, and we're working tirelessly to forge new economic opportunities involving both the United
02:23States and many African nations. There's great economic potential in Africa, like few other places
02:30countries. In many ways, in the long run, this will be far more effective and sustainable
02:35and beneficial than anything else that we could be doing together. I'm eager to work with each of you
02:43on your vital issues and also to discuss security. We've encouraged our staff at the White House to
02:50work along with these nations. There's such tremendous wealth there and potential there.
02:56We encourage the countries here today to make greater investments in defense, hopefully,
03:03of course, buying our equipment, because we do make the best defense equipment. I guess we proved
03:08that about two weeks ago in Iran, but we make the best equipment, best military equipment anywhere in
03:14the world by far. There's nobody close. And keep pursuing the fight against terrorism, which is a big
03:20problem in Africa. Immigration will also be on the agenda, and I hope we can bring down the high rates
03:27of people overstaying visas and also make progress on the safe third country agreements. And once again,
03:34I want to thank you all for being here, and it's an honor for me. Some of you I've met, and some of you I
03:40just got to meet. And I think it would be nice if you said a few words to the press, which is right
03:47back here. We have a camera over here. Be nice if you could. Oh, there it is. You could speak to the
03:53you don't want to turn your head so much. I do it a lot. It's not pleasant. But perhaps we could start
04:01with you, please. Thank you very much. Great gentleman, by the way.
04:10Thank you for giving me the floor, Mr. President.
04:22First of all, I would like to thank you. Thank you, Mr. President Trump.
04:31Mr. President, for inviting us to come here today.
04:37I'm President Ghazwani, President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.
04:42Thank you, Mr. President, for this invitation and the invitation you sent to the other colleagues
04:55present to you today. This is a very strong message from you, and we are receiving this message
05:02very well. This is a message of interest that you're sending to us, and it's a message that
05:11you're sending to the whole of Africa. All of this is generous on your part.
05:16Thank you, Mr. President. We are receiving this, and we accept this message from you.
05:21Before I talk about my country, I would like to let you know that we are delighted to see
05:42President Trump's commitment to our continent. Mr. President, in the short time you've been back in office,
05:53the last few months, you came to the rescue for peace. You did it in Asia, with Pakistan and India.
06:04Yeah. The war sort of started, and if it had gone on, the consequences could have been a real disaster.
06:19Since the beginning, you've been doing a great deal of work on the war in Europe, that is, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
06:32You rushed to Africa to resolve a long-standing problem. Lots of efforts had been made by many heads of states,
06:48but your will made it possible for this agreement to be signed. And now, this conflict is behind us.
07:02You are currently working with a great deal of enthusiasm, and you're also working on the Middle East.
07:14You're paying a great deal of attention to the Middle East. We all know how far back this conflict goes.
07:20It is a conflict that is about 80 years old, 70 years. But it is also a war that has been raging for a year and a half.
07:34And you've also talked about the human toll. Many people have died in this conflict.
07:41Of course, you also stopped the war between Iran and Israel. That could have been a real disaster for the region.
07:59It's a sensitive region to start with. Your work in favor of peace has been tremendous.
08:09Tremendous. And we are also very interested in supporting peace in the same way.
08:18When there is no peace, like you said earlier today, when there is no peace, a lot of other things are lacking.
08:29When there is no peace, it is difficult to have prosperity.
08:33It is difficult to have calm, to have a sense of quietness. It's hard to sleep. It's hard to go about your business every day.
08:45You understand that well, Mr. President, and you're working on this. So thank you.
08:50Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
08:55I am the president of Mauritania.
09:00Mauritania is a small country.
09:07Depending on the criteria, if you look at the number of people who live in Mauritania, it's a small country because we have about 5 million people in Mauritania.
09:24We might just be a little bit over 5 million.
09:28It's a small country also in the sense that what influence it has throughout the world. It's not like the U.S., Mr. President.
09:43Internationally, we understand that our weight, our influence is not that great, and we have no complex about this.
09:56It's also a small country because of our level of prosperity. We're not a very prosperous country. We have many problems related to the well-being of our population.
10:10But it is also a great country, a big country in other ways.
10:17Mauritania is a great country in the sense of its strategic position.
10:25It is on the Atlantic coast, which makes it a neighbor to the U.S.
10:30It is what unites North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa, or what links the two.
10:40That is its strategic position, but also in terms of resources. We have a great deal of resources, many, many resources, and we have a lot of opportunities to offer in terms of investment.
10:55We have minerals, rare earths, rare minerals, we have manganese, we have uranium, and we have a good inclination that we have lithium and other minerals.
11:16We're the second largest producer over the last 60 years in Africa of iron ore. We produce a lot. And we have a lot of resources in our seawaters, so lots of fishing and whatnot. I don't want to spend too much time on this.
11:35We have to go. But I appreciate it very much. I appreciate it. Maybe we're going to have to go a little bit quicker than this because we have a whole schedule. If I could just say it's, you know, your name and your country would be great. Thank you, please.
11:54Thank you, Mr. President, and for welcoming everything. For us, it's the second time here to come with us as a guest. The first time we had that meeting in Guinea-Bissau.
12:15But I will not talk too much. But Guinea-Bissau is a peaceful country. And we are a small country. But we are a great state. Not a great state like the United States.
12:39But we are a great country as well. And to end, we are be following your dynamics and the war with Russia and Ukraine. And you can count on Guinea-Bissau. Thank you very much.
12:59Thank you very much, beautiful. Thank you very much. Please, go ahead. Thank you.
13:03Thank you very much.
13:33Thank you very much.
14:03Thank you very much.
14:33To see that happen. We want to work with the United States in peace and security within the region, because we are committed to that. And we just want to thank you so much for this opportunity.
14:47Well, thank you. And such good English. Such beautiful. Where did you learn to speak so beautifully? Where were you educated? Where? In Liberia?
14:59Yes, sir.
14:59Well, that's very interesting. It's beautiful English. I have people at this table can't speak nearly as well.
15:05I know, sir. Thank you.
15:06They come from...
15:07They come from...
15:08They come from...
15:10...
15:40to meet a great American president, homologue president
16:01No microphone for the speaker. No interpretation. There's no microphone for the speaker.
16:27Could you turn that on? There you go. Yes. I would like to commend you, Mr. President,
16:49for the success you had in reaching a peace agreement between Rwanda and the DRC. Africa
16:54is a vast continent that has many problems, and we truly count on you for your assistance
17:00in Sudan and in the Sahel because no investment can be made when there is a war for investment.
17:09The other heads of state who are here with me represent countries that are at peace, and that
17:16has been the case for some time. When we also have raw materials, minerals, rare earths. We are not poor countries. We are rich countries when it comes to raw materials. But we need partners to support.
17:31us and help us develop those resources with win-win partnerships. That is our wish. I often listen to your remarks and speeches, Mr. President. We also want our raw materials to be processed locally in our country so that we can create that value.
17:38And to create jobs for youth so that they stop dying. They are crossing the sea.
17:45the ocean to go to other countries. That is what we want to have, local processing of raw materials.
17:52That is what we want to have, local processing of raw materials.
17:59Gabon is a rich country. We have over 2 million inhabitants and a great deal.
18:02We also want our raw materials to be processed locally in our country so that we can create value and to create jobs for youth so that they stop dying.
18:09And we want to have the resources that we want to have. We want to have the resources that we want to have in our country so that we want to have local processing of raw materials.
18:16Gabon is a rich country. We have over 2 million inhabitants and a great deal of diversity, raw materials, oil and gas reserves, and we would like those resources to be tapped using an economic model that fits
18:39in our country. Since our liberation, we have changed how we do trade. We have focused on transparency and bids for anyone who wants to come invest in our country.
18:55If you follow the news, we have also worked on agreements with the European Union, and we wanted to review those because we didn't think that those were win-win opportunities.
19:09So our market is open. We want to process manganese locally, which you purchase through a company called Eramet. And I'm sure that it's more expensive compared to when you can come and buy it directly from us.
19:31In order to do this local processing, we need 8 to 10 gigawatts of electricity. Again, this is an open bid. Any American company that wants to invest in electricity in Gabon is welcome to take advantage of that opportunity.
19:49Now, looking at defense, the Gulf of Guinea is an issue. There is maritime piracy in that area, and we want to work together to stabilize it. You said you had the best equipment, the best military equipment, and that's what we'd like to have so that we can stop maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea. We can't do it alone.
20:11We need a reliable and strong partner that is committed and that takes real steps, real action. We also need to be pragmatic. And that's what you are. And I'm a general, and I am too. I'm pragmatic. I like it when things move quickly.
20:33Our country is free, open to one and all. You are welcome to come and invest. Otherwise, other countries might come instead of you. Thank you.
20:44Thank you very much. Good job. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.
20:48Okay. Thank you, Mr. President. I would like to thank you for this invitation. It is an honor for us to be here at the White House and to have this opportunity to speak with you about the new partnership that you are putting in place with Africa,
21:16particularly for investment. I also wanted to commend you for your commitment to peace throughout the world and the incredible diplomatic success that you had with the DRC, as my colleagues mentioned.
21:33Mr. President, you said that this put an end to a long war that claimed many lives. And thankfully, you were here to put an end to this 30-year war. I also wanted to express that Africa supports all efforts to bring back peace to Sudan, Libya, and in the Sahel.
21:56Mr. President, as you have seen, you can only do business when there is peace and security. And you build peace everywhere in the world so that there can be better investments. The entire world is grateful to you for this.
22:19Now, with respect to my country, Senegal, I've been president for some 15, 16 months now. And I want to reassure all American investors about our country's political stability and our favorable regulatory environment, which we are continuously improving upon in order to attract more investment.
22:46I wanted to speak about two projects that I think are an exceptional opportunity. I will speak about the U.S. ecological survey, which can help assess the potential of the minerals in our country. And thanks to American companies, we've been able to discover oil and gas.
23:14Some 950 billion cubic meters of gas that we can tap into in order to support our economy. And again, here, we were able to do this with an American company.
23:38Another project I'd like to mention. And again, I would like to invite American investors to take part in this. It's for a digital city. We identified a space within the city of Dakar. It has a view of the sea. It's on some 40 hectares. And this is a great opportunity for American tech companies to
24:08to come in and make Dakar a tech city open to Africa. I was wondering what your secret was for resolving all these complex crises. And I know you are a tremendous golf player.
24:27The golf requires concentration and precision, qualities that also make for a great leader.
24:34Senegal has exceptional opportunities to offer, including in the area of tourism. So perhaps an investment could be made in a golf course in Senegal. It would just be six hours by flight from New York, from Miami, from Europe, or from the golf.
24:59And that would be an opportunity for you to show off your skills on the golf course, too. Thank you for your attention.
25:05Thank you. Thank you very much. Very nice. Some way to show off my skills. It's a long trip to show off my skill. But that's really nice. And he's led a very interesting life. He looks like a very young person.
25:18He's a little older than he looks. But a fantastic job. He was treated very unfairly by his government. And he prevailed. And so congratulations on that. Really, congratulations. A great job.
25:31And you've all done a fantastic job. And so we'll be talking to you as we have the meal. Do you want to ask any questions, please? Where's my reporter from Africa? There you are. How are you?
25:44Thank you. I'm fine. Thank you, Mr. President.
25:46He's very famous in Africa. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
25:55I have one question for the African presidents and one question for President Trump. As you can see, Mr. President Trump, all the African presidents are very happy with your efforts to bring peace in the Democrat Republic of the Congo.
26:11My question to you is today you are making history by receiving five African presidents and showing the interest of the United States to collaborate and to work close with the African nations.
26:25African continent is watching. African youth is watching. And this new approach that your administration is taking to deal with African nations, not only based on help, but in doing business that everybody can win, is really much appreciated for all the Africans.
26:43My question is, are you planning, Mr. President, in the future to travel to Africa, to see firsthand all those countries in Africa, all those potential that those countries have?
26:58And for the African leaders, my question is, as you can see, President Trump is working to bring peace, not only in Africa, but also in the world. Are you all considering to nominate President Trump for a Nobel Prize peace?
27:15That's a very nice reporter. I got to meet her two weeks ago when we had the Congo and Rwanda and we had some other people up from Africa. And that was the first time. But that's very nice. I appreciate the questions. Very nice, actually.
27:35Would you like to? At some point, I would like to go to Africa. Absolutely. We're going to see what the schedule is. But at some point, I would like to do that very much. Would you like to give a fast answer, please?
27:52Thank you very much. Of course, we are supporting. Microphone, please.
27:57Yeah, microphone, please.
27:58We are in favor of this dynamic for peace. We are very committed on peace. I am the first head of state who went to Russia and who went to Ukraine, both since the start of the war.
28:23I was I held the presidency of a co-wass and I went to see Mr.
28:30Putin. We spoke for four hours and then I went to Ukraine.
28:36I spent 12 hours on a train to speak to President Zelensky.
28:40But now the weight of President Trump is something else altogether.
28:44We are with you. We are behind you to see what we can do to help bring peace back.
28:51No one wins when there's war.
28:55So you have our support so that we can bring peace back.
29:01Very nice. Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
29:04Go ahead, please.
29:07Thank you, Mr. President Trump.
29:11Thank you for your questions.
29:15A Nobel Peace Prize, while I don't see any problem with it, I think that President Trump deserves it for all the efforts that he's worked on.
29:29And he brought peace back in the SIAC region.
29:37That is my region, the region where DRC and Rwanda signed a deal.
29:44And so he is now bringing peace back into a region where that was never possible.
29:49So I believe that he does deserve a Nobel Peace Prize.
29:53That is my opinion on this.
29:55Well, thank you very much. It's very, very nice. Thank you.
29:59I didn't know I'd be treated this nicely. This is great.
30:03We could do this all day long.
30:05Thank you very much. Please, go ahead.
30:10Mr. President, we, I believe that we have to continue to support Americans in their strength to be able to bring about peace in the world.
30:24America. America is a melting point and also a country that we all look forward to.
30:32And I want to encourage you because without peace, we cannot have a war to leave.
30:39And we stand with you on that.
30:42All right. Thank you. Well said. Please.
30:45Thank you, Mr. President, and thank you for your question.
30:54Very important question indeed.
30:58Forgive me for saying this, but unfortunately, I don't really understand.
31:03I don't know how things work when it comes to Nobel Prizes, but I can guarantee you that
31:11Mauritania would never be opposed to President Trump receiving a Nobel Peace Prize
31:18because he's already working very hard in favor of peace throughout the world
31:25with no distinction, no regard to what continent it's on, and he's working on areas where there are tensions everywhere,
31:36and he's committed towards peace, and our world needs more peace.
31:41Thank you very much. Thank you.
31:43Thank you very much. The jury will decide. It's not a matter of voting amongst our countries,
31:56but what is for sure is that the results and the work has been done in such a short amount of time
32:03show that you would be a good recipient, and I'm sure that the jury sees that in the rest of the world,
32:16sees it as well, and understands it.
32:17When the time comes, I think everyone will see that it is a deserved prize.
32:25Congratulations on what you've done so far.
32:28If we took a poll, I think you would be very far ahead in those polls.
32:34Thank you very much. Very nice. All of you, thank you very much. I appreciate it. Peter?
32:39Thank you, President Trump.
32:41James Comey and John Brennan, now under criminal investigation related to the Trump-Russia probe.
32:47Do you want to see these two guys behind bars?
32:50Well, I know nothing about it other than what I read today,
32:54but I will tell you, I think they're very dishonest people. I think they're crooked as hell.
33:00And maybe they have to pay a price for that. I believe they are truly bad people and dishonest people.
33:09So whatever happens, happens.
33:11And now, a few weeks after the strikes that you ordered on the nuclear facilities in Iran,
33:15there is an Iranian official who says you, President Trump, have done something that he can no longer sunbathe in Mar-a-Lago
33:25as you lie there with your stomach to the sun.
33:28A small drone might hit you in the navel. It's very simple.
33:33Do you think that's a real threat?
33:36And when is the last time you went sunbathing anyway?
33:38It's been a long time. It's been a long time.
33:40I don't know. Maybe I was around seven or so.
33:45I'm not too big into it.
33:49Yeah, I guess it's a threat.
33:51I'm not sure it's a threat, actually, but perhaps it is.
33:55And on the point of the subject, two Democratic senators now,
33:58Cory Booker and Alex Padilla, have a new bill out.
34:01They want to require CBP and ICE officers to have legible IDs,
34:05and they don't want CBP or ICE officers covering their faces.
34:09Would you ever sign that?
34:12Well, they wouldn't be saying that if they didn't hate our country,
34:16and they obviously do.
34:18I'm surprised that they would do it, knowing a little bit about them.
34:21I don't know them well.
34:23But these officers are doing a tremendous job.
34:27They're great patriots.
34:29If you expose them because of statements like have been made by Democrats and others on the left,
34:36usually, mostly, I think probably exclusively,
34:40you put them in great danger, tremendous danger.
34:43And it's sort of funny when people picket in front of Columbia, in front of Harvard,
34:48and they have masks on, more than masks.
34:50I mean, you can't see anything.
34:52Nobody complains about that.
34:53But when a patriot who works for ICE or Border Patrol puts a mask on so that they won't recognize him
35:04and his family, so they can lead a little bit of a normal life after having worked so hard
35:10and so dangerously, there's a problem with that.
35:13So they have their – this is why this is the problem with the Democrats.
35:17They have a lot of bad things going on in their heads.
35:22They've really become very – they've lost their confidence, number one,
35:26and they're really – they've become somewhat deranged.
35:30I want to do whatever is necessary to protect our great law enforcement people,
35:35and they are right at the top of the list.
35:37And your agriculture department also announced this week
35:40that they are going to start limiting Chinese ownership of American farmland.
35:45Why do you think that the Chinese have been buying up all this farmland in our country
35:50so close to military installations?
35:53Well, I don't want to get into that.
35:55I have a very good relationship with President Xi.
35:58We're going to see – and I'm going to – you know, they're going to be making a recommendation to me.
36:02But we have a very good relationship.
36:04As you know, we – they're paying a lot of tariffs to the United States now.
36:09And so I'm not going to get into that right now.
36:14Yeah, please.
36:16Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the White House was weighing whether to send
36:21another Patriot air defense system to Ukraine.
36:23Can you confirm that reporting?
36:25They would like it.
36:27They've asked for it.
36:28They're very rare indeed, you know, because a lot of systems have been sent to Ukraine.
36:34But they would like to – I know they made the request.
36:36We're going to have to take a look at it.
36:38Very expensive.
36:39Very expensive system.
36:40It's a shame that we have to spend so much money on a war that would have never happened
36:45if I were President.
36:46That's a terrible, terrible war over there.
36:49And it's really a shame.
36:51It's very sad.
36:52You know, when you talk about a system like that, highly sophisticated, tremendous amount of money.
36:57And they're doing it because they want to prevent death.
37:00They're getting hit hard, very hard.
37:03So we're looking at it.
37:05Also on Russia.
37:06As well, Ukraine was hit by over 700 drones sent by Russia last night.
37:10What's your response to that attack?
37:12Well, I've been sort of letting people know I'm not happy about what's going on.
37:16It's a war that should have never happened.
37:18It should not happen now.
37:19They're losing – now it's up – I've been saying 5,000.
37:22Now it's up to 7,000.
37:24Think of it, 7,000 people a week on both sides.
37:277,000 people.
37:28Young, mostly military people.
37:31Young souls are dead and dying.
37:36And it should be stopped.
37:37It should be stopped.
37:39Very sad to see what's happening.
37:40Yes, please.
37:42Sir, can you explain how you calculated your latest round of tariffs?
37:46Was there a formula that was used?
37:48And do you expect any of these countries to face tariffs as well?
37:53The formula was a formula based on common sense, based on deficits, based on how we've been treated over the years, and based on raw numbers.
38:05And we're going to have a couple of more coming out today.
38:07Brazil, as an example, has been not good to us, not good at all.
38:13We're going to be releasing a Brazil number, I think, later on this afternoon or tomorrow morning.
38:18But they're based on very substantial facts and also past history.
38:24You look at the past history.
38:26We've been, we've never had anybody in the White House that understood the numbers or were into it like I have.
38:34You know, we've taken in hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs, hundreds of billions.
38:39And we haven't even started yet.
38:43And it's going to be a great thing for our country.
38:45I think it's going to be a fair thing for the world.
38:47And we really haven't had too many complaints because I'm keeping them at a very low number, very conservative, as you would say, number.
38:55And we haven't had, I'm sure they will be complaining at certain points, but we haven't had complaints.
39:01We've been treated very unfairly by both friend and foe.
39:04And friend has treated us very badly.
39:08It's not even believable that for so many years, you know, I was, I was using tariffs in my first administration.
39:18We had the most successful financially administration that there's ever been.
39:22This is going to be much better.
39:24But we got cut short with the COVID because I didn't think it was appropriate when, you know, Italy, Spain.
39:31And it's the horror show that a lot of the countries went through.
39:36So I cut it a little bit short.
39:38But we took in hundreds of billions of dollars and we had the most successful term ever from a president financially.
39:46But this is going to be much more successful.
39:48Yes, please.
39:49Do you expect any of the countries here to face tariffs as well?
39:53I haven't thought of it, but I, maybe, I don't know.
39:55Let's say I like him, him, him, him, and him.
39:58No, I don't think so.
39:59Not too much.
40:00He's very good.
40:00He's a friend of mine now.
40:04Thank you for taking our questions, Mr. President.
40:05You talked about the amount of external revenue the country has brought in thanks to your tariffs.
40:10Can you talk about how these hundreds of billions of dollars that are getting brought in will help grow the country?
40:15And what do you hope to put it towards?
40:17Well, bigger than the tariffs actually are the fact that when you charge the tariffs at a certain point, they say, well, we can't pay those tariffs.
40:24It doesn't make economic sense.
40:26These are wealthy countries.
40:27These are wealthy countries.
40:27And they or their companies will come into our country and build.
40:31And that's what's actually happening.
40:32If you had a very low tariff, there'd be no incentive to do that.
40:36If you have no tariff like we used to have, which is so stupid, it's not even believable.
40:41But then, obviously, they make their product, the product in their country.
40:45They have the jobs.
40:46They have the income.
40:48They have the taxes.
40:49They have everything.
40:50And they just send it in to us.
40:51And it's jobs that we wouldn't get.
40:54But now the wheel is turned.
40:58And what we're doing is we're, I mean, more important, we're taking in hundreds of billions of dollars, money that we've never seen before.
41:06But more important than that, we have a lot of people that would rather not have to pay that.
41:11So they're coming in and they're building plants.
41:13AI, I mean, we're leading everybody, including China, by a lot with AI.
41:18They're building their own plant.
41:19You heard me say yesterday they're building their own electric generating plants to go along with the factories or plants that they're building.
41:27If they want to do that, we're getting them fast approvals, very fast turnarounds.
41:31They're using mostly natural gas to start off, but they're using coal.
41:35They have the right to use coal.
41:36They have the right to use nuclear.
41:39Nuclear's come a long way in the last five years.
41:42So we're getting them very fast approvals.
41:45We have factories and plants building at a level that we've never had in this country before.
41:51And secondly, a study from the Council of Economic Advisors.
41:54You put it on Truth Social yesterday.
41:55It showed that your assessment that tariffs would slow inflation was accurate and that the prices of imported goods since February has fallen.
42:03That your assessment was right.
42:04The critics were wrong.
42:05Why do so-called experts continually misread your economic policy, sir?
42:10Well, it's not the experts.
42:12It's the fake news and a combination of that and the Democrats.
42:16I saw an ad on television today on Fox, and it was some ad about, oh, Trump has raised costs.
42:24It's the opposite.
42:25I actually put out a statement.
42:27I brought down costs.
42:28I brought down the cost of groceries.
42:30I brought down the cost of energy, tremendously energy, tremendously groceries.
42:35If you remember my first week in office, the press was screaming at me about the cost of eggs.
42:42They were four times higher than they were just a short time ago.
42:45That was caused by Biden and stupid policies, and we got that down.
42:49And by Easter, it was normalized, and now it's actually even at a lower price.
42:54So when I see an ad like that, it's always good to respond.
42:57I feel you have to respond.
42:59It was an ad that things are more costly.
43:01No, they're much less costly.
43:04Yesterday, $1.99 a gallon.
43:06It's two states, three states were selling gasoline.
43:10At $1.99, you haven't seen that for a long time.
43:13And I brought costs way down, just about every cost.
43:17I can't think of a cost that went up, but just about every cost.
43:20So what they do is they lie.
43:21I mean, they take ads.
43:24They'd almost think that the advertising station would stop it because they know it's wrong.
43:32It's such a lie.
43:34All you can do is say it's a lie and explain it.
43:37I guess I have the ability to explain it at conferences like this, so I like to take advantage of it and do it.
43:42But costs are substantially down under the Trump administration.
43:46And, as you know, Biden had the highest inflation, I believe, in the history of our country.
43:52They say 48 years, but regardless, I think it was really the highest in the history of our country.
43:58And they were up to numbers that nobody ever saw before.
44:02And we have inflation now totally under control.
44:06We have a Fed chairman that, if he was doing his job properly, would lower interest rates.
44:11But we're bullying through even that.
44:12We're doing so well, it's not having that kind of an impact on us.
44:16But you want to see a rocket ship?
44:18We should have the lowest interest rates because without us, there's nothing.
44:25And we have a strong country now, and we're taking in a lot of money.
44:29And other countries aren't even complaining.
44:31They got away with murder.
44:32They took advantage of a lot of very stupid people that sat in the seat, very stupid people, or people that didn't understand business or something or something was going on.
44:43But hard to believe that they got away with it for so many years.
44:46But now, and I'm treating them very fairly, again, we have countries with tremendous deficits with us where we have – where we essentially lose a lot of money.
44:59And we are changing that around very rapidly.
45:03And I think it's about time somebody did it.
45:05Sir, President?
45:07Yeah, please.
45:07Sir, yesterday you said that you were not sure who ordered the munitions halted to Ukraine.
45:15Have you since been able to figure that out?
45:16Well, I haven't thought about it because we're looking at Ukraine right now and munitions.
45:20But I have no – I have not gone into it.
45:23What does it say that such a big decision could be made inside your government without you knowing?
45:28I would know.
45:29If a decision was made, I will know.
45:32I'll be the first to know.
45:33In fact, most likely, I'd give the order.
45:35But I haven't done that yet.
45:37Yeah, please.
45:37Sir, can I ask how you'll meet you in Netanyahu?
45:40You went over the last couple of days.
45:41And how realistic do you think a ceasefire is this week?
45:44Well, we're talking about Gaza for the most part.
45:46I think we have a chance this week or next week.
45:48Not definitely.
45:49There's nothing definite about war and Gaza and all of the other places that we all deal with so much.
45:57But there's a very good chance that we'll have a settlement, an agreement of some kind this week and maybe next week if not.
46:06The African Growth and Opportunity Act, which has been central to many sub-Saharan countries having access to the U.S. market,
46:14that's due to expire in September.
46:16Are you hoping to extend that beyond it?
46:19Well, we'll take a look at that.
46:20Yes, please.
46:23That's up to Congress to take a first crack at.
46:26We know that program's been in place for about 20 years.
46:29And at the end result of that, we see a lot of other countries operating in Africa.
46:33We still see a lot of tariff and non-tariff barriers in Africa.
46:36So I think anything, any discussion about that act would also have to think about how we address those kinds of barriers.
46:42Peter.
46:43President Trump, in Alvarado, Texas, a few days ago, 10 people wearing all black allegedly set off fireworks outside an ICE office to lure the officers out so they could ambush them, shoot at them.
46:56They had guns and vests and two-way radios.
47:01Do you think that this was an isolated incident, or do you think there's a national threat of a left-wing militia that is targeting ICE and CBP?
47:10Well, I think you have some very stupid people in the left who have some money that are making it available to these people.
47:17Because you look at the guns they had, they were brand new.
47:19You look at even the clothing they were wearing, it looked like it just came out of some military shop.
47:25So you have some very stupid people that, if anything ever happened, they'd be the first to go.
47:31They don't understand that.
47:32They'd be the first to go.
47:33They'd be the first ones hit.
47:35But they are, there is money being put behind people when you look at the weapons they have, the newness of the weapons, rifles that just came out and they have the latest model.
47:47So there's something going on, and we'll get to the bottom of it.
47:50And what do you think the penalty should be for these people who are, if they are found guilty, for people who shoot at ICE officers?
47:59Very, very stiff.
48:01Very stiff.
48:02A long time in jail, a long time.
48:07And one got hit yesterday in the neck, and he fortunately is going to be okay, but he got hit yesterday in the neck.
48:15No good.
48:16And what would you think if I read you a quote from a lawmaker who says about ICE,
48:20to abolish it, to treat them as criminals or anything that is inappropriate and outrageous?
48:26And I told you that that was Democrat John Fetterman.
48:29Well, it's, by the way, I assume when you read that, because you paused in the middle, you're going to have to read that again without the pause.
48:39Could you read that again, please?
48:41To abolish it, to treat them as criminals or anything that's inappropriate and outrageous.
48:46So he's saying that to treat the people that did the shooting is?
48:50To treat ICE officers.
48:52Oh, okay, good.
48:53Because the way you read it, it really was the opposite.
48:56That's okay.
48:57That's all right.
48:58I think that's what he meant.
49:00No, the new John Fetterman is exactly what you said.
49:03He's right.
49:04He's right.
49:05And we have to protect our police officers, and we will.
49:07And we have been, if you saw the stats released by the FBI the other day, the murder rate's way down.
49:14The lowest it's been in a long time, and that took place over the last six months.
49:18For the last six months, murder, it's a hell of a subject to have to talk about, but murder is way down at almost getting to be modern-day records.
49:27So that's, despite the fact that we have a lot of people that came into the country that shouldn't be here.
49:33Mr. President?
49:34Mr. President?
49:34Yes, please.
49:35So two questions.
49:36One on tariffs, the other on the IRS.
49:38On tariffs, China is reportedly softening their impact on U.S. tariffs in Africa, announcing last month that they would halt charges on imports for nearly all of its African partners.
49:51Does this move by China influence your thinking, your approach to tariffs on the continent?
49:57Well, we treat Africa great in many different ways, including with tariffs.
50:01But, you know, parts of Africa charge us tremendous tariffs, as you know.
50:06And they're going to be dropping those tariffs.
50:09They've already informed me they're going to be dropping those tariffs.
50:11But we treat Africa far better than China or anybody else, anyplace else.
50:16And on the IRS, the IRS says that churches can now endorse political candidates.
50:21What's your reaction to this?
50:23And how do you expect this to influence some of the work that's afoot on the continent?
50:29There's a lot of American churches that are missionaries, doing missionary work on the continent.
50:34Do you support that?
50:35I love the fact that churches can endorse a political candidate.
50:40I think so, because we have a lot of respect for the people that lead the church, for the pastors and the ministers and the rabbis and the all different leaders, all different religions.
50:53And people respect those people.
50:54And I think there's nothing wrong.
50:56You know, it was a very big penalty if that took place just a little while ago.
51:01They had a thing called the Johnson Act.
51:03And it was a very big penalty.
51:05I think it's great if a pastor, minister, priest, rabbi, and we could very much go into your religion, by the way, which is something that people are having great respect for throughout the world.
51:18If somebody of faith wants to endorse, I think it's something that I'd like to hear.
51:25And I'd also, I can guarantee you, the people that they're with every Saturday or Sunday or whatever it is they're with, they want to hear from these people.
51:35And it was a very severe penalty.
51:37Those people were not allowed to speak up.
51:39Now they're allowed to speak up.
51:40No, I think it's terrific.
51:41Mr. President, your administration took new actions against Harvard University today.
51:46Are you still optimistic about reaching a deal with the university?
51:49Oh, yeah, I think so.
51:50Harvard's been very bad, totally anti-Semitic.
51:53And, yeah, they'll absolutely reach a deal.
51:58Peter?
51:58I just got a text from our colleague John Roberts.
52:01He says that we are now reporting the guy who was arrested in the Alvarado, Texas, incident for tampering with the evidence was a green card recipient under the Biden administration and a prior DACA recipient.
52:15What do you think of that?
52:15It's very sad.
52:17It's very bad.
52:18A lot of them are here.
52:20We came in and 21 million, I think it's higher than that, by the way, but they say 21 million people came in, many of them are criminals, many of them are murderers.
52:2911,888 is what they say are murderers.
52:34And they came in through open border policies, no checking, no vetting, no nothing, and we have a lot of that.
52:42And despite that, we have crime down, which is pretty amazing.
52:45And this is a long meeting, so –
52:47And say hello to John.
52:48Say hello to John Robertson.
52:49I will.
52:49I'm sure he's watching this right now.
52:51A lot of news has broken since we've been in here.
52:54Axio says a secret White House meeting between Steve Witkoff, Ron Dermer, and a Qatari envoy on Tuesday led to significant progress in the negotiations over the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal.
53:04What can you tell us about this secret meeting?
53:05It's very possible.
53:06I will tell you we're getting very close to a deal.
53:09I don't know if it's secret or not secret, but it doesn't matter to me.
53:12Secret's fine if it gets us to where we want to be.
53:15We want to have a ceasefire.
53:16We want to have peace.
53:17We want to get the hostages back.
53:19And I think we're close to doing it.
53:21Okay?
53:21Thank you all very much.
53:23Thank you very much.
53:30Good job, everybody.
53:32That was a good job.