Out of Town Pool Report #6 Gaggle with Trump and cabinet officials

We are wheels down at 4:59 PM.

POTUS, Secretary of State Rubio, USTR Rep. Greer and Treasury Secretary Bessent came to the press cabin shortly before 2 PM MYT and gaggled with the press for about 32 minutes. The gaggle covered many topics including trade deals, Elon Musk and North Korea. Otter TK but here are some highlights.

Q: Could you tell us a little bit about how the Lula meeting went yesterday?

POTUS: “Very good. We had a good meeting. We'll see what happens. I don't know anything's gonna happen, but we'll see. they'd ll like to do a deal. We’ll see, right now they're paying, I guess 50% tariff. But we had a great meeting. And happy birthday. I want wish the president happy birthday, okay? It's his birthday today. He’s a very vigorous guy actually, and it was very impressive, but today's his birthday, so happy birthday.”

Q: Secretary Bessent and Secretary Greer both said … you are near a framework. … Give us a status on the talks with the Chinese and where that sets things up for Thursdays meeting?

Bessent: “we had a very good meeting.”

POTUS: But nothing has been agreed to yet. … But we feel good.

Q: When are the Canada tariffs going to take effect?

POTUS: “I don’t know when it’s going to kick in. We’ll see.”

Q: Will you meet with the Canadian prime minister at APEC?

POTUS: “I don’t want to meet with him. I’m not going to be meeting with him for a long time.”

Q: On the fed search, where are you on interviewing candidates for a new chair?

Bessent: “We’re down to five. … We’re going to do a second round and we hope to present a good slate to the president right after Thanksgiving. It will ultimately be his choice.”

Q: Russia this week tested a new missile that can go more than 8000 miles. Is that saber rattling?

POTUS: “They know we have a nuclear submarine…

They’re not playing games with us, we’re not playing games with them either .. I don't think it's an appropriate thing for Putin to be saying either by the way. You ought to get the war ended. …

Are you considering an additional sanctions against Russia?

POTUS: “You’ll find out.”

Q: What are you going to announce in Japan?

POTUS: “Great friendship. I look forward to meeting the new prime minister. She was a great ally and friend of Abe, who was my friend … He was one of the best. … I know they were very close, and I think philosophically they were close, which is very good. It really helps to Japan and the United States.“

Q: Will you sign a final deal on TikTok on Thursday?

POTUS: “We might. That will be one of the things we’ll be discussing … I mean we got an original approval from President Xi. I expect we have an approval, but I'd rather wait a couple of days to let you know.”

Has there been a snag in terms of the South Korean trade talks?

Bessent: Just a lot of details to work out. It's a very complicated deal and I think we're very close.

Do you expect to finalize that Wednesday?

Bessent: “I think not quite. I think the overall framework is done, we’re just crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s.”

Q: Are the South Koreans asking for visa guarantees as part of their investment fund?

POTUS: “This is not just South Korea. This is when they come into our country, we have a lot of factories being built by outside, by foreign interest. When they come in, some of these factories make very, very complex, very highly sophisticated equipment. They've gotta bring people in with them for a period of time, and they'll teach our people how to do it. But even for a fairly long period of time, they're gonna need expertise to be successful.”

Q: What visa would they come in on?

“We’re doing a whole new plan for that.“

Q: You talked about North Korea on your way here. Have you heard anything back from Kim Jong Un?

POTUS: “I haven’t mentioned it. I haven’t said anything, but I’d love to meet with him if he’d like to meet. … If he wants to meet I’ll be in South Korea.”

Q: Would you extend your trip in Asia?

POTUS: “Well I haven’t thought of it … I think the answer would be yeah. It is our last stop so it’s pretty easy to do. I would meet with him.

Q: What could US offer him?

“If he’d like to meet I’m around. I’ll be in South Korea so I can be right over there.”

“Well, we have sanctions. It’s pretty big … I would say that's about as big as you get. … I just had a good relationship with him. I would love to see him if he wants to, if he even gets this message. We haven't mentioned that, but he knows I'm going over there. If he'd like to meet, I'd love to meet him.

Q: How is your relationship with Elon these days?

POTUS: I think it’s good, you saw that during Charlie’s beautiful tribute. … I like Elon, I’ve always liked him.

Q: Have you talked to him since the memorial?

POTUS: “Uhh… on and off, a little bit. … Nothing much.”

“I've always liked him. He had a bad spell, he had a bad period. He had a bad moment. It was a stupid moment in his life, very stupid. I'm sure he’d tell you that. But I like Elon, and I suspect I always will.”

Q: Over the weekend, Israel assassinated a military official of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, does that violate the ceasefire?

Rubio: “Israel didn’t surrender their right to self defense. … We don’t view that as a violation of the ceasefire. They have a right if there’s an imminent threat to Israel … and all the mediators agree to that.”

Q: When will you make a decision on Fed?

POTUS: “I'd say maybe by the end of the year.

Bessent: “Before Christmas.”

Q: Are you going to invite Xi to Mar a Lago

“I pretty much agreed that I'll be going to China. … President Xi will be coming into maybe Washington or Palm Beach or someplace sometime after.”

Cat Zakrzewski

Washington Post

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