Monday, June 10, 2019

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP AT GREETING OF THE 103RD INDIANAPOLIS 500 CHAMPIONS: TEAM PENSKE South Lawn

Office of the Press Secretary

 REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP
AT GREETING OF THE 103RD INDIANAPOLIS 500 CHAMPIONS: TEAM PENSKE

South Lawn

 

4:19 P.M. EDT

     THE PRESIDENT:  Hi, everybody.  (Applause.)  Congratulations.  (Applause.)

     Thank you very much.  It's a great honor to introduce the winner of the Indianapolis 500, Simon Pagenaud.  And he is an incredible racer.  I happened to be watching that one because my friend is somewhat involved with racing.  As you know, Roger Penske is -- there's never been anybody like him, I can really say.

We meet a lot of great athletes.  And if they win a major three or four times, that's a big deal.  He won 18 Indianapolis 500s.  And he was here a few months ago for the Daytona.  You won the whole thing with NASCAR, right?  And I love NASCAR because they endorsed me.  (Laughter.)  I think it's the first time (inaudible) ever endorsed a candidate.  The whole league endorsed me.  So they -- we like NASCAR, too.

     But this is an incredible machine.  And the job that Simon did, if you saw that, that was talent and it was a lot of courage, because I wouldn't do it, I will tell you.  I'm not going to do it.  Even for that trophy.  (Laughter.)  Maybe for that trophy, I would do it.  That's a great trophy.

     But, Simon, I just want to congratulate you.

     MR. PAGENAUD:  Thank you.

     THE PRESIDENT:  That was an incredible job.  (Applause.)

     Roger, come on over.  The great Roger Penske.  Nobody like him.  (Applause.)

     (A helmet is presented.)

     THE PRESIDENT:  I could use it.  I could use it for them.  (Laughter.)  Makes my life easier.

MR. PAGENAUD:  (Inaudible.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Would you like to say something?

     MR. PAGENAUD:  I would just like to say that it is -- as a Frenchman, it's such an honor to represent my country here today in the biggest race in the world.  And especially being invited to come to the White House with President Trump is a phenomenal achievement.  But it's also an honor for my whole team, Team Penske, the entire organization.  We're very proud to be here today.  So, a big thank you.  We want to offer you this helmet --

     THE PRESIDENT:  That's beautiful, thank you.

     MR. PAGENAUD:  -- to thank you very much for your gesture to have us here.

     THE PRESIDENT:  And we're going to find a great spot.  (Applause.)  And I want to thank all of you guys.  And I know when you took those tires off and refueled, and all of the other things you had to do, with -- without that, it's not going to work, right?

     MR. PAGENAUD:  Exactly.

     THE PRESIDENT:  And you were setting records.  And I think it's beautiful.  I think it's really brilliant.  They actually had you a couple of times in slow motion doing the tires and the fueling and everything else.  It was a brilliant thing to watch.  So I just want to congratulate everybody.  And -- special.  Really special job.

     And Roger has been my friend for many years; we know each other well.  And just every year, it's another one, another one.  And I know how hard it is to win the Indianapolis 500.  When I see -- when I see countries -- Japan and Germany and so many countries -- spending tremendous amounts of money trying to win that race, and you won it 18 times.  That’s incredible.  That’s incredible.  So I just want to congratulate you, Roger.

MR. PENSKE:  Thank you, Mr. President.

THE PRESIDENT:  Would you like to say something?

MR. PENSKE:  Yes.  I think, Mr. President, it’s obviously an honor to have our people in the capital today.  And, to me, it’s all about team.  It certainly couldn’t be done without the people behind us.  And I want to thank you for your team and what you're doing for our country, and the people who are in our military, and certainly first responders.  Thank you very much.

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, our country is doing really well, Roger.  And I think probably, in many ways, never better.  It’s never been better.  Our military is being rebuilt.  We have equipment that even you'd like, I'll tell you.  We have some great equipment.  We make the best in the world, and we’re stocking up.

And unfortunately -- hopefully, we’ll never have to use it, but it’s a good thing to have.  In fact, the more of it you have, and the better we are.  Our military is at now a new level -- very soon to be a new level like we’ve never been before.  And we make the best equipment in the world, and now we’ll be getting it in and getting it into the military.  And they appreciate it.  And economically, we’re doing fantastically well.  So it’s been great.

I spoke with Governor Cuomo about the helicopter accident in New York.  We have a lot of our great folks over there, working very closely with New York City, New York State.  And it’s a big tragedy.  There will be a report in a little while as to what happened and why it happened.  But a very, very sad event.  The pilot was killed, as you know.  But we’ll have a full report on that soon.  But the federal people are working with the city and state people, and they’ll have a full report very soon.  Thank you very much.

Q    Any reaction to John Dean's testimony, Mr. President?  Mr. President, is there any reaction to John Dean’s testimony today?

Q    Have you been watching it?

THE PRESIDENT:  Look, John Dean has been a loser for many years.  So I’ve been watching him on one of the networks that is not exactly Trump-oriented, and I guess they paid him a lot of money over the years.  No, John has been a loser for a long time.  We know that.  I think he was disbarred and he went to prison.  Other than that, he’s doing a great job.

     Q    Mr. President, Mexico's foreign minister says there was no secret agreement beyond what was announced on Friday.  What do you mean in your tweets?

     THE PRESIDENT:  Well, we have an agreement on something that they will announce very soon.  It's all done.  And they have to get approval, and they will get approval.  If they don't get approval, we'll have to think in terms of tariffs or whatever.  But it's just another aspect of what we've done.  It was all done because of the tariffs and because of the relationship that we have with Mexico.  I spoke with the President yesterday.  And, by the way, I was with the President of France the other day, too.

     MR. PAGENAUD:  I saw that.  Yes.

     THE PRESIDENT:  And he's a great guy.  Emmanuel.  He's a great guy.

     So we had a great conversation the other day.  And I think you're going to see some real action.  It's sad that, when you think of it, Mexico is doing is more for the United States, as of now, than Congress.  And, specifically, the Democrats, they have to get their act together.  They have to work and get something done because you got a tremendous problem at the border.  You have people pouring in.  And it means crime.  It means drugs.  It means so many other things.

We're building the wall.  We're going to have close to 500 miles of wall built by the end of next year.  That’s a lot.  And we're moving along very rapidly.  We won the big court case, as you know, the other day.  And that was a big victory for us.

So a lot of good things are happening.  But I want to thank Mexico.  And we do have one other thing that will be announced at the appropriate time.  But they have to get approval from their legislative body.

Q    What is it?

Q    Why are the Mexicans denying it then?

THE PRESIDENT:  I don’t think they'll be denying it very long.  It's all done.

Q    Mr. President, you hinted earlier in that CNBC interview that you may not -- you'd actually go ahead and impose tariffs if Xi doesn’t show up for the G20.

THE PRESIDENT:  We'll see what happens.  I think President Xi --

Q    Would you be personally insulted if Xi doesn’t show up?  Would you be insulted?

THE PRESIDENT:  No.  I'm never insulted.  I've learned not to be insulted.  I think President Xi of China -- great relationship with him -- I think he'll be there.  We are scheduled to talk and to meet.  I think interesting things will happen.  Let's see what happens.

     Right now, we're getting 25 percent on $250 billion worth of goods.  That's a lot of money that's pouring into our Treasury.  We've never gotten 10 cents from China.  Now we're getting a lot of money from China.  And I think that's one of the reasons that GDP was so high in the first quarter, because of the tariffs that we've taken in from China.

We always have the option to raise it another $300 billion at 25 percent.  And the 25 percent could be much higher than 25 percent.

But Roger Penske said, "That's enough."  Twenty-five percent is enough.  (Laughs.)  Bernard -- Bernard said, "That's enough," too.  Right?  (Laughter.)  It's not bad.  You like those numbers, right?

Q    Mr. President, do you have a message --

     THE PRESIDENT:  Yes.  

Q    Mr. President, some of your allies have said that if Democrats open up an impeachment inquiry, that it could actually help your reelection chances.  Do you agree with that?

     THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I hear that too.  But you can't impeach somebody when there's never been anything done wrong.  We have a no collusion.  We have no anything.  There's no obstruction.  There's no collusion.  There's no anything.

     When you look at past impeachments, whether it was President Clinton or -- I guess, President Nixon never got there; he left.  I don't leave.  There's a big difference.  I don't leave.

We did nothing wrong except create the greatest economy in the history of our country.  We did nothing wrong except rebuild our military like nobody has ever seen before.  We're doing a great job.  Our country has never been stronger.

And I think that having Simon here and Roger here is a tremendous honor for me.  And these are champions.  These are the people I like.  These are great, great champions.  Thank you.  (Applause.) 

 

                                                      END            4:28 P.M. EDT 

 

1600 Daily The White House • June 10, 2019 How President Trump Outsmarted the ‘Experts’—Again

1600 Daily
The White House • June 10, 2019

How President Trump outsmarted the ‘experts’—again 


Eleven days ago, President Donald J. Trump gave Mexico a choice: either restore the rule of law on its side of the border and help curb soaring illegal immigration into America, or face a 5 percent escalating tariff on all exports into the United States.

A Joint Declaration between the two countries came on Friday, reading in part:
 
 Mexico will take unprecedented steps to increase enforcement to curb irregular migration, to include the deployment of its National Guard throughout Mexico, giving priority to its southern border. Mexico is also taking decisive action to dismantle human smuggling and trafficking organizations as well as their illicit financial and transportation networks.
 
 
With these commitments comes renewed enforcement. Part of the new agreement, for example, requires a vote from Mexico’s legislative body to implement. “We do not anticipate a problem with the vote but, if for any reason the approval is not forthcoming, Tariffs will be reinstated!” President Trump tweeted today.

It took only days for President Trump to bring Mexico to the table. He did so by leveraging America’s position as the strongest economy in the world. Despite that massive negotiating advantage, many in Washington were convinced that effort would fail.

How did the establishment get it so wrong, yet again?

Washington suffers from a disease of short-term bias, most of it self-inflicted. Pundits and career politicians inflate trivial controversies to avoid addressing real ones. The mainstream media follows suit, looking for cheap sensationalism to help keep a few more viewers entertained. In both cases, the news cycle moves on before anyone is held accountable for making wrong prediction after wrong prediction.

That short-sightedness also tells us who the Beltway’s real customers are. It’s no coincidence that much of the political class pays closer attention to the hourly fluctuations of Wall Street than to the long-term decline of American communities. Both their jobs and those of their patrons depend on not disrupting the status quo at any cost.

Real negotiation, on the other hand, requires a willingness to stand your ground. It also requires understanding your bargaining power. President Trump knows that a strong America—both economically and militarily—can help shape the world for the better.  

The results are already drowning out Washington’s “experts.” For example:
  • Our NATO allies cut their defense budgets for years knowing that American taxpayers would pick up the bill. President Trump said no more—and has already secured a $100 billion increase from our allies in defense spending.
     
  • Both President Trump and former President Obama promised to renegotiate NAFTA to get a better deal for American workers. Only President Trump delivered, and the new USMCA now awaits approval from Congress.
     
  • For years, pundits said that America’s days as a manufacturing powerhouse were over. Under President Trump, the U.S. economy added 284,000 manufacturing jobs in 2018—the most of any year since the 1990s.  
The bottom line: American strength works. It just requires the will to use it.

See the headlines: President Trump secures a historic immigration deal with Mexico.

Video of the Day

First Lady Melania Trump wrapped up a five-day visit to Europe with President Trump on Friday, one that included visits to the United Kingdom, Ireland, and France.

Their trip began with an official State Visit to the United Kingdom, where the First Lady met with Her Majesty the Queen. Throughout the visit, Mrs. Trump also attended spousal outings, including a garden party at 10 Downing Street with Mr. Philip May.

On Thursday, the First Lady accompanied President Trump to Normandy, France, in honor of the 75th anniversary of D-Day. The event “was a beautiful tribute to our veterans and the fallen soldiers of the D-Day invasion and the Second World War,” said Mrs. Trump. “It was an honor to be a part of this historic ceremony remembering the strength and courage of our allied forces.”

Photo of the Day

Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead
President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump disembark Marine One at Shannon Airport in Ireland en route to Joint Base Andrews | June 7, 2019

PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP SECURES A HISTORIC DEAL WITH MEXICO TO COMBAT THE CRISIS AT THE BORDER

Office of the Press Secretary

PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP SECURES A HISTORIC DEAL WITH MEXICO TO COMBAT THE CRISIS AT THE BORDER

Opinion writers and commentators are praising President Trump’s historic deal with Mexico to address the surge of migrants flooding across our southern border.  


NEW YORK POST EDITORIAL BOARD: Trump’s Big Win on Mexico and Immigration

“All the hysteria over President Trump’s latest tariff threat to Mexico proved wrong Friday, as the two sides reached a deal that gave Trump what he’d demanded: much more vigorous cooperation in stopping illegal Central American migrants from travelling 1,200-plus miles across Mexico to sneak into the United States.”

FORMER ACTING DIRECTOR OF ICE TOM HOMAN ON FOX NEWS: Trump Deserves Our Thanks for Migrant Agreement with Mexico

“The agreement President Trump announced Friday night between the U.S. and Mexico on tariffs and immigration is an achievement that has eluded past presidents. He deserves the thanks and gratitude of all Americans – but of course, he won’t get it. After threatening to impose tariffs on everything Mexico exports to the U.S., Trump got Mexico to agree to finally take greater action to reduce the flow of illegal immigrants into the U.S. Trump then suspended imposition of U.S. tariffs on our southern neighbor.”

NATIONAL BORDER PATROL COUNCIL PRESIDENT BRANDON JUDD ON FOX NEWS: Trump and America Are Winners by Getting Mexico to Intensify Fight Against Illegal Immigration

“Against nearly insurmountable odds, President Trump proved his critics wrong once again by getting Mexico to agree Friday to step up its efforts to reduce illegal immigration to the U.S. This is a victory not just for the president but for the U.S., because it will strengthen our national security and uphold the rule of law.”

STEVE CORTES IN REALCLEAR POLITICS: Disruptor-in-Chief Shows How to Win With Mexico

“He took decisive executive action that forced the Mexican government to honor its obligations and respect the sovereignty of our land.  After all, if Mexico or any other country wants access to the crown jewel of global commerce -- the American consumer market -- then it must act as a responsible partner.  Our nation seeks prosperity and friendship with all nations, but will not be abused.”

HUGH HEWITT IN THE WASHINGTON POST: Trump’s Big Win Leaves Critics Sputtering

“Because President Trump emerges as a clear winner from his week-long confrontation with Mexico over our neighbor’s lax enforcement of its southern border, reflexive Trump critics will scramble to find some way of containing what is a clear Trump triumph, which came with assists by Vice President Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who conducted the key negotiations.”

STEVE HILTON ON FOX NEWS: Trump Proves that Tariffs Work. Here Are the Lessons We Should Learn

“Last week we saw proof that tariffs work. President Trump threatened tariffs on Mexico. Their leaders came to negotiate, and we got concrete results.”

TOM DEL BECCARO ON FOX NEWS: Trump Proven Right Again, as Tariff Threat Prompts Mexico to Act Against Illegal Immigration

“President Trump proved his doubters wrong once again. While the Democratic Congress refused to fund serious border protection, Trump went his own way and crafted a deal. … He found a promising way to decrease illegal immigration.”

 

West Wing Reads President Trump and America Are Winners by Getting Mexico to Intensify Fight Against Illegal Immigration

West Wing Reads

President Trump and America Are Winners by Getting Mexico to Intensify Fight Against Illegal Immigration


“Against nearly insurmountable odds, President Trump proved his critics wrong once again by getting Mexico to agree Friday to step up its efforts to reduce illegal immigration to the U.S.,” National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd writes in Fox News.

“This win by our president shows he understands that politely asking other countries to change their behavior when it harms us isn’t always enough . . . Facing the largest border security crisis in the history of the United States, and knowing the Mexican economy is completely reliant on U.S. trade, Trump pulled out all the stops.”

Click here to read more.
“Ivanka Trump brought her bid to help level the global financial playing field for 50 million women to The Hague Wednesday, where she announced a deal with Mastercard to expand capital to minorities around the world,” Paul Bedard reports for the Washington Examiner. “Investing in women is just smart business, and we should all be doing it,” Ms. Trump told the 9th Global Entrepreneurship Summit.
“Mexican military deployed throughout the country as part of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's vow to do more to apprehend migrants headed to the United States, have officially begun targeting foreigners who have hitched rides aboard a freight train known as ‘The Beast’ to get to the U.S.-Mexico border,” Anna Giaritelli reports for the Washington Examiner. “Riding on top of the 12-foot-tall freight cars is dangerous. Injuries and deaths have been well-documented over the past decade.”
“There’s an important point to remember in the current U.S.-China trade conflict: Beijing started it. For the past 20 years, China has been at war with the U.S. economy, using massive subsidies, currency manipulation and intellectual property theft to continually erode America’s manufacturing base,” former CEO of Nucor steel company Dan Dimicco writes in The Hill. “It’s a strategy that has worked phenomenally well. Over the past two decades, the United States has lost 5 million manufacturing jobs and nearly 90,000 factories. After years of this economic aggression, the Trump administration is now saying, ‘Enough is enough.’”
“The first report of the impact on the bipartisan criminal justice reform package pushed by top Trump aide Jared Kushner shows that it is working to cut sentences, especially for black prisoners,” Paul Bedard reports in the Washington Examiner. “91.3% of those granted a cut in prison time were African American.”

President Donald J. Trump to Award the Medal of Honor

Office of the Press Secretary

President Donald J. Trump to Award the Medal of Honor
 

On Tuesday, June 25, 2019, President Donald J. Trump will award the Medal of Honor to David G. Bellavia for conspicuous gallantry while serving as a Staff Sergeant in the United States Army.
           
Then-Staff Sergeant David G. Bellavia will receive the Medal of Honor for his actions on November 10, 2004, while serving as a squad leader in support of Operation Phantom Fury in Fallujah, Iraq.  Then-Staff Sergeant Bellavia was clearing a block of houses when his platoon became pinned down.  He quickly exchanged an M16 rifle for an M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, entered the house where his squad was trapped, and engaged insurgents, providing cover fire so that he and his fellow soldiers could exit safely.  A Bradley Fighting Vehicle arrived to help suppress the enemy, but it could not fire directly into the house.  Then-Staff Sergeant Bellavia re-entered the house, armed with an M16, and assaulted insurgents who were firing rocket-propelled grenades.  He proceeded to kill one insurgent and wound another, who then ran to another part of the house.  Then-Staff Sergeant Bellavia was soon engaged by another insurgent rushing down the stairs when the previously wounded insurgent reemerged to engage him as well.  Then-Staff Sergeant Bellavia returned fire, killing both attackers.  He then took enemy fire from an insurgent who had appeared from a closet across the room.  He pursued him up the stairs and killed him.  Soon thereafter, he moved to the roof where he engaged and wounded a fifth insurgent, who fell from the roof of the building.  That remarkable day, then-Staff Sergeant Bellavia rescued an entire squad, cleared an insurgent strongpoint, and saved many members of his platoon from imminent threat.

PERSONAL BACKGROUND:

David Bellavia enlisted in the United States Army in 1999.  After previously serving in Kosovo, he deployed to Iraq in 2004 with Company A, Task Force 2-2, 1st Infantry Division.  He was released from duty on August 16, 2005.  David now has his own daily radio talk show for WBEN in Buffalo, New York.  He continues to serve the military and veteran communities through a number of philanthropic organizations.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

 

THE MEDAL OF HONOR:

The Medal of Honor is awarded to members of the Armed Forces who distinguish themselves conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of their own lives above and beyond the call of duty while:

  • engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States;
  • engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force; or
  • serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.

The meritorious conduct must involve great personal bravery or self-sacrifice so conspicuous as to clearly distinguish the individual above his or her comrades and must have involved risk of life.  There must be incontestable proof of the performance of the meritorious conduct, and each recommendation for the award must be considered on the standard of extraordinary merit.

PRESS CREDENTIALING:

Additional information about media credentials will be released at a later date.


###