In-town pool report #9: POTUS gaggle quotes 2/2

Highlights from the back of the POTUS gaggle on the South Lawn:

Q: Countries are calling for a ceasefire in the Middle East and to reopen dialogue…

“Well look, we can have dialogue, but I don’t want to do a ceasefire. You know, you don’t do a ceasefire when you’re literally obliterating the other side….We’re not looking to do that.”

From here, POTUS moved further down, away from the pool camera, and it became much harder to hear:

Q: Chuck Norris death

“Oh he did?...I thought he was a great guy, wow….I didn’t know that…he was a great guy, he was a really good, tough cookie, you didn’t want to fight him….he was a great supporter. Wow, that’s too bad.”

He said to tell his family (something inaudible)

After that it was not possible to hear him for a minute or so. When audio came back, he was talking about how Iran “should have been done long before me.”

Q: about MAGA being “unified” behind him, as well as Republicans; there are reports the US could send 2,500 Marines, are you concerned that could change the unity?

“I don’t know, I seem to have great support.” He brought up CNN showing he had 100% (MAGA support) “which is an honor” and said “as far as troops are concerned, I can’t tell you what we’re doing.”

Q: What would you like Australia and South Korea to do?

“They should get involved.”

He said he was surprised they said “no” but didn’t say what they said no to.

He brought up his frustration again with UK about not letting US use Diego Garcia. “They should have acted a lot faster.”

Q: Sarah Sanders leave a restaurant?

“Her politics are right down the center and that shouldn’t have happened.”

Trump said he loves Arkansas, noted he won it, said “it’s too bad” and she’s “a good woman.”

Q: Sounded like was about oil prices being up and stocks being down and whether he miscalculated

“It’s going to go up, it’s going to go down, no, no no, no, we’re not giving a nuclear weapon to terrorist thugs, and we’re knocking the hell out of them….I expected worse, actually, I really thought, I thought that oil prices would go much higher when I did this.” He said talked about the stock market reaching levels he’s not seen before. “But I said I have to go off of that path, and I have to take a little journey…We had to go off on a circuitous path and take care of business, and we are in the process of doing it, and I’ll tell you, I think we’re weeks ahead of schedule.”

Question to Rubio: The president said this week he could take Cuba. How soon can that happen?

Rubio: “Cuba is a disaster. And it’s because of their communist government, it doesn’t work. So I don’t have any news for you on that today, other than this has been going on for 67 years, they’re a disaster. It’s the worst it’s ever been.”

Q: What are you hearing from Senate colleagues on chances of SAVE America Act passing?

Trump: “Well it seems to be doing okay….I’m hearing very good things.” He said he’d been hearing “negative things” and hit Democrats for being against the bill and the other provisions he wants, including the transgender athlete ban. “Look, it should be an easy pass. But we need Democrat votes. They don’t want to approve voter ID, because they cheat.” He said Democrats don’t want to approve a citizenship check either “because they want to cheat.”

The president changed the subject to the ballroom construction, pointing it at and saying, “Speaking of something that’s more pleasant.”

He said that today began one of the biggest pours of concrete that has ever been seen in Washington.

Q: does the construction ever wake you up?

“It makes me happy. When I hear those piledrivers – my wife doesn’t love it, but I love the sound. I love the sound of concrete, I love the sound of piledrivers.”

That was the end of the gaggle, which lasted roughly 13 minutes per the C-SPAN video. That’s all from the White House. Have a good weekend, everyone.

Francesca Chambers

White House Correspondent, USA TODAY