In town pool report #8 - fuller quotes from departure

Here are fuller quotes from when President Trump stopped to talk to reporters on the South Lawn.

Question: Will you pull out of NATO if it doesn't help to acquire Greenland?

President Trump:

“NATO has been dealing with us on Greenland. We need Greenland for national security very badly. If we don't have it, we have a hole in national security, when it comes to what we're doing in terms of the golden dome and all of the other things. We have a lot of investments in military. We have got the strongest military in the world that is only getting stronger. And you saw that with Venezuela. You saw that with the attack on Iran, with the knocking out their nuclear capability, potentially. So yeah, we’re talking to NATO.”

Question: You told protestors in the streets that help was on the way. Is help still on the way or has the bar for intervention changed?

Trump: “Well we’re gonna see as you know Iran canceled the hanging of over 800 people. They were going to hang over 800 people yesterday, and I greatly respect the fact that they canceled them."

Question: Did Arab and Israeli officials convince you to not strike Iran?

Trump: “Nobody convinced me. I convinced myself. You had, yesterday scheduled over 800 hangings. They didn't hang anyone. They canceled the hangings. That had a big impact”

Question on the Canada/China deal:

Trump: “Well that's okay. That's what he should be doing. It's a good thing for him to sign a trade deal. If you can get a deal with China, you should do that.”

Question: You accepted Maria Corina Machado's Nobel Prize medal. What do you intend to do with it? And why would you want someone else's Nobel Prize?

Trump: “Well, she offered it to me. I thought it was very nice. She said, You know, you've added eight wars, and nobody deserves this prize more than— in history— than you do. And I thought it was a very nice gesture. And by the way, I think she's a very fine woman, and we'll be talking again."

Question: What's your trigger for the Insurrection Act?

Trump: “Well, the Insurrection Act, which has been used by 48% of the Presidents as of this moment, the Insurrection Act also, if you look at, I believe it was Bush, the elder Bush, he used it. I think 28 times. It's been used a lot, and if I needed it, I'd use it. I don't think there's any reason right now to use it, but if I needed it, I'd use it. It's very powerful.”

Question: Why align with Delcy Rodriguez in Venezuela and not with Maria Corina Machado who has the support of the Venezuelan people?"

Trump: “If you ever remember a place called Iraq where everybody was fired, every single person, the police, the generals, everybody was fired, and they ended up being ISIS. Instead of just getting down to business, they ended up being ISIS. So I remember that. but I'll tell you, I had a great meeting yesterday by a person who I have a lot of respect for, and she has respect, obviously, for me and our country, and she gave me her Nobel Prize. But I'll tell you what—I got to know her. I never met her before, and I was very, very impressed. She's a really—this is a fine woman.”

Question on March for Life and questions about the Hyde Amendment:

Trump: “Well, you know what I tell them, you're going to hear about it — because I just taped a beautiful piece for them, and they're going to play it. And those are great people. I want to tell you they're great people.”

(h/t to Haley Bull from Scripps News for help transcribing quotes that were hard to hear over the helicopter noise.)

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