WH pool report 11 - quotes

The president took a range of questions. No real news, other than his statement that he met with Vladimir Putin’s envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, in the White House today. Dmitriev was here for an event honoring First Lady Melania Trump for her work to get a limited ceasefire recently. Trump said he did not meet with the Ukrainian officials who also came.

He declined to say what he discussed with Dmitriev.
“I can't tell you what I discussed.”

On the tanker crossing the Atlantic loaded with Russian diesel fuel, Trump seemed unaware that a 2022 law prohibits importation of Russian petroleum products, but said that if it was signed by Biden it was probably bad.

“That probably makes it a pretty bad law. I'll take a look at it.”

On Russian’s ongoing targeting and slaughter of Ukrainian civilians, Trump said he had brought it up with Putin, then claimed that Ukraine was doing the same thing.

“I always bring it up and I also bring it up the other way because the other way they kill too, you know.”

“Russia is losing civilians also.”

Prospect of end to Russia’s war on Ukraine:

“There's going to be an agreement it's going to be a big agreement, and it's going to involve more than Ukraine it's going to be a very big it's going to involve more than Ukraine and I could even say it might involve all of Europe it's going to be a big, beautiful agreement and everyone's going to be thrilled.”

Asked about his legacy, Trump spoke at length about tariffs.

“If we took tariffs off right now, let's you know, I watch these stupid people we have $22.2 trillion, the highest number ever for any country at any time by maybe five times if we took that off, everybody would stop building you would have partially built factories all over the country, and they would just send in their product from China, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, everything.”

Trump defended Pete Hegseth, when asked about talk that the defense secretary might leave.

“Pete Hegseth has done a fantastic job now he's got some interesting things you know we had more generals than we -- we did in World War Two. We had so many generals everybody was a four star general. I never saw anything like it and many of those people were woke I don't like awoke general and so he probably has opposition.”

On the Iran war, Trump said he’s not sure it is a war anymore, compared to Vietnam or Russia’s war against Ukraine and that only 18 Americans had been killed there.

“I guess you have I don't know if it's a war because there hasn't been anybody killed in many months.”

On the Alaskan election, the president called the situation “voter fraud.”

“You have Dan Sullivan, the real Dan, I call him the real Dan Sullivan you have the fake Dan Sullivan. The fake Dan Sullivan got a lot of votes meaning 2% or something, but a lot and then they also have somebody else in there that they put they put two people, not just Dan Sullivan they put the fake Dan Sullivan they put another guy who never ran for office or anything, and they said certain things and he got like 3 or 4000 votes. And when you add up those votes, Dan Sullivan, the real Dan Sullivan wins in a landslide, not a landslide, but wins by thousands of votes and I say they because it was a fraud it's voter fraud because of it was a fraud and they took that and they took that fraud and they thought they confused the voter and the people that, like Dan Sullivan, is a very good senator.

The stated purpose of the event was for the president to sign an order declaring the Oval Office and the Cabinet room historic landmarks that could not be demolished or have major alterations without congressional approval.

Asked if that meant the next president would not be allowed to get rid of all his gold decorations, he said: “He can do whatever he wants to. He’s got to be very careful.”

Please check quotes against transcript, if you can find one.

-30-

---

S.V. Dáte
Senior White House Correspondent
HuffPost