Out-of-town pool report 7: quotes from gaggle

Sorry for slightly different formatting, team effort over here. Please check against transcript. Big thanks to co-poolers Jonathan Swan and Brian Schwartz for the assist:

“It’s a lot of people here..

It’s a lot of people. “

“We visited the military courses we want to fix it up… it takes years to get something approved… two courses were very nice… they need a lot of work… we can fix them up good”

Reporter

Did you speak with bukelli to facilitate the transfer of Alberto Garcia?

“I don’t want to say that but he’s been returned … he should have been returned… he should’ve never had to be returned… “

“Either way it’s a total disaster - this is a pretty bad guy … and for the democrats to back him … “

Reporter:

On musk’s contracts and how seriously is he considering cutting musk contracts

“We’ll take look at everything… it’s a lot of money… it’s a lot of subsidy … so we’ll take a look… only if it’s fair… only if it’s to be fair for him and the country… “

Reopening investigation into musk’s company?

“I had no idea there were any… I’ll let them speak for themselves … I have no idea “

What’s his opinion on musk as of today?

“Honestly I’ve been so busy working on China… working on Russia… working on Iran.. I’m not thinking about Elon musk .. I just wish him well “

What does he hope to see

“We are very far advanced in the China deal… we wanted clarification … we had to have clarification

We had a very good talk with President Xi…

It’s a complicated deal but it’s a deal that will bring us a lot of money…”

Can u.s. survive without the contracts?

“The U.S. can survive without almost anybody…except me “

Were you concerned about his drug use when he worked for you?

“I don’t want to comment on that… frankly it sounded very unfair? “

What did he mean when he said musk had a problem?

“I don’t want to talk about the problems… think the United States had problem… but if you look at the numbers today the numbers were unbelievable. Incredible. “

“The stock market went way up… the country is doing very well. A lot of jobs… a lot of good things are happening.”

“we have the hottest country in the world “

Q: Unclear what the question was going to be — because Trump interjected — but it related to the Big Beautiful Bill.

A: “I don’t know of anybody who’s going to vote against it… maybe Rand Paul… we have tremendous support…

Q: On Russia-Ukraine, did Ukraine’s drone strikes on the bombers inside Russia change your view of the cards that Zelensky has?

A: “Well they gave Putin a reason to go in and bomb the hell out of them last night. That’s the thing I didn’t like about it. When I saw it I said, ‘Here we go, now it’s going to be a strike’.”

Then Trump talked about India and Pakistan and claimed that he “stopped that war” and that he thought it might have gotten to a nuclear war.

Q: Are you worried that Russia-Ukraine could spiral into a nuclear conflict?

A: “I don’t… I hope not. I hope not.”

And then he talked about how the war would never have happened if he was president.

Q: Couldn’t quite make out the question but it related to the House-passed Big Beautiful Bill and a conversation he had with Josh Hawley about Medicaid cuts potentially hurting Trump voters in rural areas:

A: “We’re really talking about waste, fraud and abuse. And Senator Hawley’s a great senator, good guy, and I did speak to him, and we want to make sure that doesn’t hurt anybody. Because it is about waste, fraud and abuse, that’s the only thing. And everybody wants that.”

Q: where he stands on the Senate sanctions bill:

“We’re going to see. I think Russia will not be making a deal stopping …. Thousand a week soldiers being killed and people being killed, not just soldiers. People being killed…I’ll use it if it’s necessary. “

Q: Is he talking to the senate about watering it down?

A: No, I haven’t spoken to them about it. They have the bill, it’s going to be up to me. It’s my option. They made it that way….its a very strong bill.

Q: On Elon’s key, and if he’ll ask him to return it:

A: “No I don’t take things back?”

Q: how about the Tesla?

A Trump said he hasn’t thought about it

“I hope he does well with Tesla”

Q: on DOGE post-Musk:

“It’s not finished at all, we’re basically taking over….Many of those people remain. It’s terrific. We saved hundreds of billions of dollars.”

Says much of it is “out into the future”

Said he has no plans to talk with him

Q: On efforts to bring POTUS and Elon back together:

“

There are efforts…but I’m not really interested in that. I’m really interested in the country solving problems, including problems in very faraway lands.”

Went on to say he would’ve prevented conflict in the Middle East, Russia-Ukraine inflation, etc

“We have no inflation now … we would have lower interest rates if this guy would lower rates. Get a lower interest rate….It’s unbelievable. And he’s worried about inflation….all he has to do is get the lower rate, let us borrow at a much lower rate, a much lower rate.”

Q: On next fed chair

“It’s coming out very soon,” but wouldn’t say who he is considering. Said he has a “pretty good idea.”

Q: What do you make of the Ayatollah saying that Iran has to be able to enrich uranium?

A: “Well they won’t be enriching. If they enrich, then we’re going to have to do it the other way. And I don’t really want to do it the other way but we’re going to have no choice. There’s not going to be enrichment.”

Q: on Abrego Garcia, and why the administration’s decision shifted

“DOJ made a decision, and I think their decisions have been very very good. And maybe they just said, look all of these people, all of these judges trying to run the country … a local judge trying to run the country. The man has a horrible past, and I can see a decision being made…bring him back, show everybody how horrible this guy is, and frankly we have to do something because the judges are trying to take place of a president who won in a landslide and that’s not supposed to be the way it is. So I can see bringing him back. I could see it either way, bringing him back or not bringing him back but bringing him back you can show how bad he is. He’s a bad guy.”

Q: On china, “did president Xi agree to restart the flow of rare earth minerals and magnets”:

“yes, he did.”

Myah Ward

White House reporter

POLITICO

XXX-XXX-XXXX