Travel pool note #14 - Alaska and AF1 gaggle

Air Force One landed at Ted Stevens Anchorage Airport at 7.11am to refuel.

POTUS came back to gaggle shortly after takeoff, speaking for around 27 minutes. Parts later appeared on Fox News on the screens in the cabin so presumably it was played back, but some highlights below.

Fox News host Sean Hannity, Eric and Lara Trump and USTR Jamieson Greer were standing behind POTUS. Hannity later came back to the press cabin while his own interview with POTUS was playing on the screens.

• On China trip:

“We had an amazing time. Very historic... it was a pretty historic couple of days.”

• Iran deal

Said its offer still unacceptable

“I looked at it and if I don’t like the first sentence I throw it away. “

Enrichment: “20 years is enough. But the level of guarantee from them, she's got to be a real”

• Taiwan

“President Xi and I talked a lot about Taiwan… On Taiwan does not want to see a fight for independence. That would be a very strong confrontation, and I heard him out.

• Risk of conflict over Taiwan, as Xi warned? “No, I don't think so. He doesn’t want to see a war… on Taiwan, he doesn't want to see a movement for independence. He says, look, you know, we've had it for thousands of years, and then, at a certain period of time, it left, then we were gonna get it back…. but Taiwan, he feels very strongly. I made no commitment on that.”

• Arms sales to Taiwan: “I'll make a determination over the next fairly short period… I have to speak to the person that right now is, you know, is running Taiwan.

• Xi Iran commitments? “I'm not asking for any favors.”

“I didn't ask him to put pressure, because I don't need favors. I think he will, I think, automatically, he'd like to see it opened up. He gets about 40% of his energy there oil from the strait.”

• Tariff truce extension: “We didn't discuss tariffs. They’re paying tariffs. They're paying substantial tariffs, but we didn't discuss anything.” How come? “It wasn’t brought up.”

• Four Xi meetings: “You know, we're gonna be together four times, potentially, this year..”

Said Xi “wants to come” to G20 in Doral, and that “I’m gonna try” to attend APEC in China which he wants to come to, which I'd like him

• Political prisoners in China? “I did (ask about it)… I think he's giving very serious consideration to the pastor”

Jimmy Lai? “That’s a tough one. I did bring it up. It’s a tough one… he told me that would be a tough one. He said he's gonna strongly consider the pastor.”

• Soybeans deal? “I did. The farmers are gonna be very happy. They're going to be buying millions of dollars”

• British PM Keir Starmer: “He’s in a lot of trouble,” urged him to change course on immigration and energy.

Is he going to survive as PM? “It’s a tough thing. Unless he can straighten out immigration, where he's weak, if he doesn’t start drilling and stop with the windmills.” Should he quit? “I don't say that. I think he's a nice man, actually, but, uh, I mean, I didn't like what he said, we're going to send ships as soon as you're finished” with Iran.

• Considering lifting sanctions on Chinese oil companies that buy Iranian oil? “ “Well, we talked about that, and I'm going to make a decision over the next few (inaudible)

• Would the U.S. defend Taiwan, if it came to it? “I don't want to say. I’m not going to say that l. There's only one person that knows that, you know who it is? Me. I'm the only person.

“That question was asked to me today, by President Xi. I said, ‘I don't talk about that’ He asked me if I'd defend them. I I don't talk about that.”

• Declined to say whether he thought Xi is a dictator. “I don't think about it. He’s the ruler, he’s the president of China. I don't think about it. You have to deal with what you have. I respect him. He’s very smart. He loves his country, I respect him, whether he's a dictator, that's for you to figure out.”

Danny Kemp

AFP White House Correspondent

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