Out of town pool report #3: Gaggle

POTUS gaggled for roughly 14 minutes last night shortly after departure. Transcript below.

Q: What are you expecting from your meeting with President Xi?

A: We have a lot of things to discuss, including our farmers. Various trade deals that have been made in the past — some broken, some not broken. We have many many things. I think it’s going to turn out to be a good meeting.

Q: Will China need to make concessions to get a deal?

A: Sure they’ll have to make concessions. I guess we will too. We’re at 157% percent tariff for them. I don’t think that’s sustainable for them. They want to get that down, and we want certain things from them.

Q: What are the odds that you go ahead with that 100% tariff?

A: I don’t know. I have no odds. I don’t think they would want that. It would not be good for them. I wouldn’t like to see it.

Q: What do you think Canada needs to do to get things back on track?

A: Canada lied. They made up a fake statement by President Reagan. Reagan was a big supporter of tariffs when needed. We need tariffs for national security and they totally turned it around because they’re getting hurt by tariffs, and we’re gaining by tariffs. They’ve used tariffs on us when we’ve had different presidents very successfully. They’ve taken a lot of money out of our country and now we’ve taken it all back. So they went out and they made a fake commercial. The Reagan Foundation went crazy with it because it was the opposite.

Reagan liked tariffs and when necessary, he would use tariffs. It’s made us a very rich country. It’s also made us, when it was used against us, not good for us. But we’ve used them very successfully. We have the highest stock market we’ve ever had. We have great national security. I’ve settled wars because of tariffs, and a president has the right to use tariffs especially when it comes to national security. We need it for national security even including our own wealth and paying down debt. We’re in very good shape with that but they took a commercial saying the exact opposite, so I’m very disappointed in Canada. They lied. It was a fraud what they did.

Q: But what can they do to get it back on track?

A: I don’t know, I’m satisfied with the deal we had. We have a deal right now that’s very good for us and any deal that would have been made would have been better for them than the one they have right now that’s why I’m surprised they did this. They did this to try and influence the Supreme Court, and many foreign countries aren’t particularly happy but they took advantage of us for year and years they took advantage and presidents shouldn’t have allowed it to happen but they did so really I don’t think there’s really much they can do. So I assume leave it the way it is. If you leave it the way it is, it’s very good for us.

Q: Will you meet with PM Carney during this trip?

A: I don’t have any intention, no.

Q: What do you expect of your meeting with the new Japanese PM Takaichi.

A: I think good. I hear great things about her. I think she’s going to be great. She’s a great friend of Mr. Abe who was a great man. Prime Minister Abe was a great friend of mine as you know who is just a fantastic person. He liked her a lot. She liked him a lot. So that’s a good sign. I look forward to meeting her.

Q: She’s reportedly bringing plans to buy Ford F150 pick-up trucks —

A: Oh good. That’s good. They’re great trucks. Are you saying I have that plan or she has that plan?

Q: She has that plan.

A: Well that’s great, she has good taste. That’s a hot truck.

Q: Are you concerned she might eventually try to negotiate the trade deal?

A: She might, she might. Look, I’m open to whatever they — we have a great relationship with Japan, and we’re going to have a fantastic relationship with her.

Q: Do you believe that China played a role in establishing peace between Cambodia and Thailand in their recent conflict?

A: They weren’t involved. Malaysia was involved. Malaysia helped. It’s one of the reasons I’m going to Malaysia is they were very much involved in that, the whole thing.I told the leader of Malaysia who’s a very good man, I said, ‘I think I owe you a trip,’ and that’s why we’re stopping in Malaysia for that reason. Malaysia was very much involved.

Q: While you’re in South Korea, do you have any plans to meet with Kim Jung Un?

A: Well I would if he would contact. The last time I met him, I put it out over the internet that I’m coming to South Korea and if he’d like to meet I’m open to it. I’d do it. If you want to put out the word, I’m open to it. They don’t have a lot of telephone service. They have a lot of nuclear weapons but not a lot of telephone service. I’m open to it. I had a great relationship with them. He probably knows I’m coming, right? If you want to put out the word, I’m open to it. There’s not a lot of ways other than the internet. They have very little telephonic service. But he knows I’m coming. Yeah, I’d be open to it, 100%. I got along very well with Kim Jung Un.

Q: Do you expect to finalize your tariff deal with South Korea on this trip?

A: It’s pretty close to being finalized. If they have it ready, I’m ready.

Q: How about Malaysia and Cambodia those trade deals, are you ready?

A: Yeah sure, if the papers are ready. We have deals with a lot of people. And they’re very good deals. I hope they’re very good for everybody.

Q: There’s a report that the Thailand prime minister might not attend due to a death in Thailand.

A: There was a change. There was a death. So I don’t know.

Q: How did you manage to find somebody to pay for our troops during the shutdown?

A: He’s a great gentleman. He’s a patron. He’s obviously a very substantial man, and he contributed $130 million for the military in order to make up any different so he wanted to see the military get paid. So did I. And he’s a wonderful man. He doesn’t want publicity. He prefer that his name not be mentioned which is pretty unusual in the world I come from and in the world of politics you want your name mentioned. He doesn’t. He’s a great patriot. He really is. He put up $130 million in order to make sure — that’s a lot of money — in order to make sure that the military got paid, and he’s a big supporter of mine.

Q: Is it an American citizen?

A: It is, yeah. A great American citizen.

Q: Do you want Congress to pass a bill to allow 42 million Americans to continue to get food stamps this shutdown. I’m going to let some other people talk to you. I will have a comment on that later. But Democrats are stopping it. All they have to do is agree to let’s go and we’re ready. We voted for it many times. All we need to do is find Democrats. Republicans voted for it but we’ll see what happens. But really, this is purely Democrats. They’re doing some very bad things. I think they’re lost souls, do you know what that is? They are lost souls.

Q: After this trip, do you think you’ll sit down with Hakeem Jeffries and Schumer?

A: I would, I’d be willing to. I would have now too. I left, I said come on over, just put the government back. All they have to do is say yes, then it’s over. And then we go into negotiations. Look Obamacare has been terrible, we can make it better I’m all for that but they want to allow many many illegals. People who came into our country illegally from prisons from mental institutions from all over the world. They want them to get paid and that’s going to hurt the citizens of our country and I just can’t do it.

Q: What influence do you want China to exert on Russia?

A: Well I’d love China to help us out with Russia. We put very big sanctions on Russia. I think those sanctions are going to be very biting, very strong but I’d like to see China help us out. I have a very good relationship with President Xi, very good. We’re going to have a good meeting, I’m pretty sure we’re going to have a great meeting, maybe a great meeting. I think we’re going to do some good business. One of the things we’ll talk about is Russia Ukraine, they’re killing 7,000 people a week. Solders mostly solders and we’ll certainly be talking about that.

Q: Do you worry that the sanctions are too biting that you might push Putin to far?

A: I don’ t think so. Uh I don’t think so. He’s saying that they won’t have that much of an effect so I don’t know. That’s what he says. I don’t think he’s right about that.

Q: Earlier you said you don’t know think China will any moves on Taiwan.

A: I hope they won’t. We’ll have to see. Maybe they will, maybe they won’t. I hope they won’t. It would be very dangerous for them to do.

Q: Are you open to changing US policy on Taiwan?

A: Well I don’t want to talk about that now, I don’t want to create any complexity. The trip is already complex. I think China wants to have 10 great years and they can, they can. Or they could have some bad years and they don’t want that. We’re going to have very good meeting.

Q: If you don’t get a deal, what will you do for US farmers who are being impacted?

A: We’re going to subsidize them. We’re going to give them some money because it’s not their fault. They’ve been doing very well. They did very well under me, even if you look at the ranchers, the ranchers for the first time in years have made some money. The beef prices are up a little big so we’ll have to make a determination, but the ranchers are very happy because for many years they suffered now they’re making a little money and that’s a good thing

Q: North Korea says that to have talks with the US they have to be recognized as a nuclear power?

A: Well I think they are sort of a nuclear power. I know how many weapons they have and I know everything about them. But I’ve got a very good relationship with Kim Jung Un. When you say they have to be recognized as a nuclear power, well they got a lot of nuclear weapons I’ll say that.

Q: What kind of land targets in Venezuela do you want to strike and how do you decide which ones to strip?

A: We’re going to see with Venezuela. I can tell you one thing. We stopped all drugs from coming in by sea. I will stop all drugs from coming in by land very shortly. You’ll see that starting. They’re not going to want to do it. You’re going to see drugs stopping into our country. Just like we stopped prisoners and drug dealers and drug addicts, drug everything. We have stopped virtually everybody from coming in, other than people who want to come in legally. We have a lot of people coming in legally, passing tests going through a process but we don’t have people coming from prisons and mental institutions. Nobody. For five months in a row they had zero people come in and we used to have 1 million and 2 million and 3 million people come in.

Q: Will you meet with Brazil’s president on this trip?

A: I believe we’re meeting yeah. We met at the United Nations briefly just before I went on and there was no teleprompter. They didn’t allow my teleprompter to work, how about that? Well I gave a good speech anyways.

Q: Are you open to reducing the tariffs on Brazil?

A: Yeah under the right circumstances.

Q: Do yon plan to talk about AI with President Xi?

A: We’re leading in AI, we’re leading China in AI we’re leading everybody in AI. We’re doing very well. We have plants being built all over the country. We’re going to have maybe $21 trillion dollars by the time my first year is up. Nobody’s ever had that. We’ve already hit 17 trillion dollars. No country has ever hit numbers like that. That is investment into our country.

We have auto factories open. You saw General Motors yesterday and Ford - they took a big leap forward because of tariffs, but they took a big leap. They went way up. We’re really respected as a country and a lot of that has to do with tariffs. Tariffs are giving us national security and strength.

Q: Are you going to sleep?

A: I don’t know. I’d love to. I don’t know if I’m capable of it. I’m going to try. The answer is: I would imagine so. Have fun.

Sophia Cai

White House Reporter

POLITICO

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