Wednesday, August 7, 2019

Photos from President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump’s Visit to Dayton, Ohio



Office of the Press Secretary
Photos from President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump’s Visit to Dayton, Ohio



President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump visit victims of Sunday’s attack and their family members Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019, at the Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio. Nine people were killed and 27 others were injured in a mass shooting on Sunday in the Oregon District of Dayton. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead) 
  

President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump visit victims of Sunday’s attack and their family members Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019, at the Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio. Nine people were killed and 27 others were injured in a mass shooting on Sunday in the Oregon District of Dayton. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead) 
  

President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump meet with First Responders during their visit with victims of Sunday's attack and their family members Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019, at the Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio. Nine people were killed and 27 others were injured in a mass shooting on Sunday in the Oregon District of Dayton. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead) 
  

President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump visit victims of Sunday’s attack and their family members Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019, at the Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio. Nine people were killed and 27 others were injured in a mass shooting on Sunday in the Oregon District of Dayton. (Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks) 
  

President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump meet with hospital staff during their visit with victims of Sunday’s attack and their family members Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019, at the Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio. Nine people were killed and 27 others were injured in a mass shooting on Sunday in the Oregon District of Dayton. (Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks) 
  
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1600 Daily The White House • August 7, 2019 Powerful Scenes From Dayton and El Paso

1600 Daily
The White House • August 7, 2019

Powerful scenes from Dayton and El Paso  


President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump traveled today to Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas, where they met with survivors, families, medical workers, and first responders affected by this weekend’s horrific acts of mass violence.

In Dayton this morning, the two met with patients and staff members at Miami Valley Hospital. “They’ve been stopping between rooms to thank the hardworking medical staff,” Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham wrote. “Very powerful moments.”

 Watch President Trump: “We love you Dayton, Ohio!”

“You had God watching. I want you to know we’re with you all the way,” the President said. Later in the afternoon, he and the First Lady visited with first responders, hospital staff, and victims and their families at University Medical Center of El Paso.

As always when tragedy strikes, our nation’s first responders put their own lives at risk to help save others. The men and women who answered the call in both Dayton and El Paso were no exception. On Monday, President Trump thanked those “who responded to these atrocities with the extraordinary grace and courage of American heroes.”

Before departing Washington today, the President pledged to push Congress on finding bipartisan solutions to address mass violence. “We’re going to be meeting with members of Congress. I’ve already got meetings scheduled. And I have had plenty of talks over the last two days,” he said. Specific measures the President has mentioned include stronger background checks, early warning detection, and “red flag” protection orders.

“I’ll be convincing some people to do things that they don’t want to do, and that means people in Congress,” President Trump said.

🎬 President Trump says he’ll work with Congress to prevent future tragedies.

First Lady honors Purple Heart Day

Today is Purple Heart Day, marking the occasion 237 years ago when Gen. George Washington established the Badge of Military Merit. Washington designed that original badge by fashioning royal purple cloth into the shape of a heart.

In the early 1900s, Gen. Douglas MacArthur established the Purple Heart both to commemorate Washington and to revive his tradition of giving a badge to those service members who, in battle, gave an uncommon measure of devotion.

“Melania joins me in honoring all of our country’s Purple Heart recipients, their loved ones, and our Gold Star Families for their immeasurable sacrifice,” President Trump wrote in his official message for today. “We are forever grateful.”

See President Trump’s message on Purple Heart Day, 2019.  

Photo of the Day

Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks
President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump meet with survivors, families, hospital staff, and first responders at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio | August 7, 2019

President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Individual to a Key Administration Post

Office of the Press Secretary
President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Individual to a Key Administration Post
 
Today, President Donald J. Trump announced his intent to nominate the following individual to a key position in his Administration:

Sandra E. Clark of Maryland, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Burkina Faso. 

Ms. Clark, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, has served in various roles at the State Department, including as the Director of the Office of West African Affairs in the Bureau of African Affairs, Senior Fellow at the German Marshall Fund, Deputy Chief of Mission of the United States Embassy Dakar, Senegal, Deputy Coordinator of Assistance to Europe and Eurasia, and as Director of the Office of Economic Policy and Public Diplomacy.  In addition, Ms. Clark has served as the Economic Counselor at the United States Embassy in London, England, Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs, and as Deputy Director in the Office of North Central European Affairs.  Ms. Clark earned her B.A. from Swarthmore College and her J.D. from Columbia University School of Law.  Ms. Clark speaks French and Russian.

President Donald J. Trump Approves Disaster Declaration for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation

Office of the Press Secretary


President Donald J. Trump Approves Disaster Declaration for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation


Today, President Donald J. Trump declared that a major disaster exists for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and ordered Federal aid to supplement the Tribe’s efforts in the areas affected by severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, and flooding from May 7 to June 9, 2019.

Federal funding is available to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, and flooding.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.

Pete Gaynor, Acting Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named Benjamin D. Abbott as the Federal Coordinating Officer for Federal recovery operations in the affected areas.

Additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the Tribe and warranted by the results of further damage assessments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION MEDIA SHOULD CONTACT THE FEMA NEWS DESK AT (202) 646-3272 OR FEMA-NEWS-DESK@FEMA.DHS.GOV.
 

 

West Wing Reads President Trump and First Lady Visit El Paso, Dayton Today

West Wing Reads

President Trump and First Lady visit El Paso, Dayton today 


President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are visiting “El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, on Wednesday in the wake of two mass shootings in the cities last weekend,” Nikki Schwab reports for the New York Post.

“Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway said Tuesday morning that the president planned to meet with a number of people impacted by the dual tragedies.”

Click here to read more.
“The Trump administration has implemented an unprecedented pressure campaign on Iran’s leaders with two objectives: First, to deprive the Iranian regime of the money it needs to support its destabilizing activities. Second, to force the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to the negotiating table to conclude a comprehensive and enduring deal,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo writes in USA Today. “Iran’s proposed military budget for 2019 included a 28% cut to its defense budget and a 17% cut to its terror branch, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.”
“For anyone who cares about the common good, this nation desperately needed to hear Trump say what he said Monday,” the Washington Examiner editorial board writes. Unfortunately, “partisan hackery can transcend any national tragedy . . . Shame on all of them, and on all of the others who want the nation to be upset and fragmented and divided by tragedy, just so that they can sooner get the political outcome they are hoping for.”
“For the last three years, [the left has] said that attacks on the press are attacks on democracy itself. Yet, many wasted no time this week torching the New York Times for a headline they did not like. They pressured the newspaper into changing its coverage to better suit the Democratic perspective,” Becket Adams writes in the Washington Examiner. “The New York Times, of course, caved to peer pressure.”
“Under President Trump, the U.S. is experiencing record-low unemployment and rising wages the previous administration repeatedly said wasn’t possible. As a result, small businesses are hiring at a record pace,” Job Creators Network CEO Alfredo Ortiz writes for Fox News. “President Trump’s goal of energy dominance has played a big part in this economic expansion. Rather than restrict energy production, Trump policies are creating record production of oil and natural gas.”

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP BEFORE MARINE ONE DEPARTURE

Office of the Press Secretary

 

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP
BEFORE MARINE ONE DEPARTURE

South Lawn

 

9:13 A.M. EDT

     THE PRESIDENT:  So, we’re going to Dayton first, and then we’re going to El Paso.  And we’ll be meeting with first responders, law enforcement, and some of the victims, and paying my respects and regards.  I’ll be going with the First Lady.  And it’s a terrific opportunity, really, to congratulate some of the police and law enforcement.  The job they’ve done was incredible.  Really incredible.

     Q    Mr. President, no doubt -- I don’t think anybody will argue this is a difficult time in our country for all of us.  So, from your heart, from your mind, what do you say to your critics that believe it’s your rhetoric that is emboldening white nationalists and inspiring this anger?

     THE PRESIDENT:  So, my critics are political people.  They’re trying to make points.  In many cases, they’re running for President and they’re very low in the polls.  A couple of them, in particular, are very low in the polls.  If you look at Dayton, that was a person that supported, I guess you would say, Bernie Sanders, I understood; Antifa, I understood; Elizabeth Warren, I understood.  It had nothing to do with President Trump.

     So these are people that are looking for political gain.  I don’t think they’re getting it.  And, as much as possible, I’ve tried to stay out of that.

     Q    Mr. President, Senator Ted Cruz today said that people on both sides of the political aisle need to tone down the rhetoric.  Do you agree with that?

     THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I do agree, but I think we have toned it down.  We’ve been hitting -- we’ve been getting hit left and right from everybody.  Many of the people, I don’t know.  A couple of people from Texas -- political people from Texas that aren’t doing very well.  I guess somebody said -- the mayor -- I had one very nice conversation with the mayor of Dayton; could not have been nicer.  And then she goes and says I tried to call her.  Well, I spoke to her, and I didn’t receive any call.

So they’re trying to make political points.  I don’t think it works because, you know, I would like to stay out of the political fray.

     As I was saying, and as just came out, the Dayton situation -- he was a fan of Antifa.  He was a fan of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.  Nothing to do with Trump.  But nobody ever mentions that.

     Q    (Inaudible.)

     THE PRESIDENT:  Say it?

     Q    (Inaudible) supported Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.  Should they be blamed for (inaudible)?

     THE PRESIDENT:  No, I don’t blame Elizabeth Warren, and I don’t blame Bernie Sanders in the case of Ohio.  And I don’t blame anybody.  I blame -- these are sick people.  These are people that are really mentally ill, mentally disturbed.  It’s a mental problem.

     And we’re going to be meeting -- we’re going to be meeting with members of Congress.  I’ve already got meetings scheduled.  And I have had plenty of talks over the last two days.  And I think something is going to be come up with.  We’re going to come with something that’s going to be, really, very good -- beyond anything that’s been done so far.

     Q    Do you support bringing the Senate back to consider legislation on --

     THE PRESIDENT:  Well, we're going to see where we are.  We’re dealing with leadership right now.  And, you know, you have two sides that are very different on this issue, and, let’s say, all good people.  But two sides that are very different.  If we get close, I will bring them back.  But it has to be -- you know, we have to see where we are with leadership.

Normally, this has been, really, a decision -- Congress gets together and they try and do something.  But if you look over the last 30 years, not a lot has been done.

     Q    The background check bill already that has passed the House, what good (inaudible)?

     THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I’m looking to do background checks.  I think background checks are important.  I don’t want to put guns into the hands of mentally unstable people or people with rage or hate, sick people.  I don't want to -- I'm all in favor of it. 

     Q    What about assault rifles?  A lot of people would like to see them banned.  What is your position?

     THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I can tell you that there is no political appetite for that at this moment.  If you look at the -- you could speak, you could do your own polling.  And there's no political appetite, probably, from the standpoint of legislature.

But I will certainly bring that up.  I'll bring that up as one of the points.  There's a great appetite -- and I mean a very strong appetite -- for background checks.  And I think we can bring up background checks like we've never had before.  I think both Republican and Democrat are getting close to a bill on -- they're doing something on background checks.

     Q    (Inaudible.)  South Korea and Japan exports are (inaudible.)

     THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.  South Korea and I have made a deal.  They've agreed to pay a lot more money toward the United States.  As you know, we've got 32,000 soldiers on South Korean soil, and we've been helping them for about 82 years.  And we get nothing.  We get virtually nothing.  And South Korea and I have made a deal where they're paying a lot more money, and they're going to pay a lot more money.  And the relationship is a very good one.

     But I felt, all along, I felt for years it was a very unfair one.  So they've agreed to pay a lot more, and they will agree to pay a lot more than that.  And we're with them.  We're with them.

     Q    Mr. President, you banned bump stocks.  Would you consider a ban on these huge, large-capacity magazines?

     THE PRESIDENT:  So, you have to have a political appetite within Congress.  And, so far, I have not seen that.  I mean, I can only do what I can do.  I think there's a great appetite to do something with regard to making sure that mentally unstable, seriously ill people aren't carrying guns.  And I've never seen the appetite as strong as it is now.  I have not seen it with regard to certain types of weapons.

     Q    Mr. President, how concerned are you about the rise in white supremacy?  And what are you going to do about it?

     THE PRESIDENT:  I am concerned about the rise of any group of hate.  I don't like it.  Any group of hate, I am -- whether it's white supremacy, whether it's any other kind of supremacy, whether it's Antifa, whether it's any group of hate, I am very concerned about it.  And I'll do something about it.

     Q    Do you believe that your rhetoric has any impact on (inaudible)?

     THE PRESIDENT:  No, I don't think my rhetoric has at all.  I think my rhetoric is a very -- it brings people together.  Our country is doing incredibly well.  China is not doing well, if you look at the trade situation.

     China just admitted yesterday that they've been a currency manipulator.  First time they've ever been called out.  Companies are moving out of China by the thousands, and our country is doing very well.  We're going to see how it all works out.  Somebody had to do this with China because they were taking hundreds of billions of dollars a year out of the United States.  And somebody had to make a stand.  So, I think our country is doing really well.

     Q    What's your reaction to the market reaction to the trade war?  And what's next with China?

     THE PRESIDENT:  I think the market -- I think the market reaction is anticipated.  I would have anticipated.  I would have maybe anticipated even more.  But ultimately, it's going to go much higher than it ever would have gone because China was like an anchor on us.  China was killing us with unfair trade deals.  The people that allowed that to happen are a disgrace.  China, what they were doing to us, for years and years, taking hundreds of billions of dollars out, stealing intellectual property, targeting our farmers.  All of that is ending, and they understand that.

     Q    Mr. President, you still believe there's no political appetite for an assault weapons ban, but as the leader of this country, do you personally believe people should be able to buy assault weapons?

     THE PRESIDENT:  That’s right.  I'll be -- I'll be convincing some people to do things that they don’t want to do, and that means people in Congress.  But you've got a lot of people on one side, and you have a lot of people in the other.  But I can -- I have a lot of influence with a lot of people, and I want to convince them to do the right thing.

     And I will tell you, we've made a lot of headway in the last three days.  A lot of headway.

     Q    Mr. President, do you still believe that illegal immigration into this country is an invasion?  You and the shooter in El Paso used that same language.  Do you regret that?

     THE PRESIDENT:  I think that illegal immigration -- you're talking about illegal immigration, right?  Yeah?  I think illegal immigration is a terrible thing for this country.  I think you have to come in legally.  Ideally, you have to come in through merit.  We need people coming in because we have many companies coming into our country.  They're pouring in.  And I think illegal immigration is a very bad thing for our country.  I think open borders are a very bad thing for our country.

And we're stopping; we're building a wall right now.  We won the lawsuit in the Supreme Court two weeks ago.  The wall is well under construction.  It's being built at a rapid pace.  We need that.  We need strong immigration laws.  But we want to allow millions of people to come in because we need them.  We have companies coming in from Japan, all over Europe, all over Asia.  They're opening up companies here.  They need people to work.  We have a very low unemployment rate.

So, I believe we have to have legal immigration, not illegal immigration.

Q    Are you watching the stock market's reaction to China, sir?

THE PRESIDENT:  I am.  I think the market reaction is to be expected.  I might've expected even more.

At some point, as I just said, we have to take on China.  They've been taking -- look, they've been taking us to the cleaners for 25 years.  This should've been done long before me as a President.  You know the story better than anybody.  You know it better than I do, frankly.  Hundreds of billions of dollars a year taken out of our country.  Stealing intellectual property.

And you know what?  We, right now, we're sitting on top.  We have money pouring in.  We have powerful companies, strong companies.  China is losing so many -- they're losing -- thousands and thousands of companies are leaving China now because of the tariffs.  And we're in a very good position as to whether or not a deal will be made.  I will tell you this: China would like to make a deal very badly.

Q    Mr. President, Joe Biden.  Joe Biden says you have more in common with George Wallace than George Washington.

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, you know, Joe is a pretty incompetent guy.  I've watched his interviews.  I've watched what he said and how he said it.  And I wouldn't have rated him very high in the first place, but Joe Biden has truly lost this fastball, that I can tell you.

Thank you.


                                            END                9:24 A.M. EDT
 

 

Presidential Message on Purple Heart Day, 2019

Office of the Press Secretary

 

Presidential Message on Purple Heart Day, 2019


On Purple Heart Day, we honor our Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, Airmen, and Coast Guardsmen who have endured immense suffering to earn the Purple Heart.  We also pay tribute to the families whose loved ones have been awarded the Purple Heart through their ultimate sacrifice in service to our Nation.

Two hundred and thirty-seven years ago, General George Washington established the Badge of Military Merit.  Washington designed the original badge by fashioning royal purple cloth into the shape of a heart.  In the early 20th century, General Douglas MacArthur established the Purple Heart both to commemorate Washington and to revive his tradition of giving a badge to our Nation’s men and women in the military who, in battle, gave an uncommon measure of devotion.  Though the medal’s name has evolved since the Revolutionary War, its legacy of heroism remains steadfast.  A Purple Heart on the chest of an American continues to be a symbol of the solemn price of our Nation’s liberty and peace.

Melania joins me in honoring all of our country’s Purple Heart recipients, their loved ones, and our Gold Star Families for their immeasurable sacrifice.  These American patriots represent the unyielding and unmatched strength and determination of the United States Armed Forces, and we are forever grateful for their devotion to duty and love of country.
 

1600 Daily The White House • August 6, 2019 President Trump and First Lady to Visit Dayton and El Paso Tomorrow

1600 Daily
The White House • August 6, 2019

President Trump and First Lady to visit Dayton and El Paso tomorrow


President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will travel tomorrow to Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas, where mass shootings over the weekend claimed more than 30 lives and injured dozens more.

“We are outraged and sickened by this monstrous evil, the cruelty, the hatred, the malice, the bloodshed, and the terror,” President Trump said yesterday at the White House. “Our hearts are shattered for every family whose parents, children, husbands, and wives were ripped from their arms and their lives.”

The President also called for bipartisan action to confront gun violence, condemned the scourge of white supremacy, and thanked law enforcement in Ohio and Texas “who responded to these atrocities with the extraordinary grace and courage of American heroes.”

  Watch: “We must honor the sacred memory of those we have lost.”

Read: The President’s full remarks on the shootings in Texas and Ohio

America takes historic action to cut off the dictatorship in Venezuela 


Nicolas Maduro and his cronies in Venezuela have illegitimately usurped power, abused human rights, arbitrarily arrested and detained Venezuelan citizens, curtailed the freedom of the press, and continually undermined Venezuela’s democratically elected National Assembly and its leader, Interim President Juan Guaido.

Today, however, the Maduro dictatorship woke up to a new reality in Venezuela.

With executive action yesterday, President Trump imposed a sweeping set of sanctions that blocks all property of the Venezuelan Government in the jurisdiction of the United States. This historic move is the first action of its kind from the United States against a government in the Western Hemisphere in more than 30 years.

President Trump will continue to cut off the financial resources of Maduro and his enablers, which include officials in Russia and China. The Trump Administration has issued 30 rounds of sanctions targeting approximately 200 individuals and entities, focused on corruption networks that steal from the suffering Venezuelan people.

America stands with Venezuelans as they continue to fight for freedom, human rights, democracy, and the rule of law in their country. President Trump maintains strong support for Interim President Guaido and the democratically elected National Assembly. While sanctioning Maduro strongly, the United States has taken careful measures to provide the Venezuelan people with access to humanitarian aid, including food and medicine.

“All options are on the table,” White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement. “The Maduro dictatorship must end for Venezuela to have a stable, democratic, and prosperous future—free from the horrors of socialism that have ravaged this once great country.”

National Security Advisor John Bolton added that with this E.O., all those individuals that continue to support Maduro must make a choice. Stick with a sinking dictatorship or move toward the right side of history!”

President Trump is cutting off the resources of Maduro and his cronies.

Press Secretary Grisham: Full statement on the President’s order 

Photo of the Day

Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead
President Donald J. Trump delivers remarks on the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio | August 5, 2019