Monday, September 23, 2019

1600 Daily The White House • September 23, 2019 See the Best Moments: ‘How Great is America?’ says Australian Leader


1600 Daily
The White House • September 23, 2019

See the best moments: ‘How great is America?’ says Australian leader

Under the stars, President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump hosted a celebratory State Dinner at the White House Friday night for two special guests of honor: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and First Lady Jenny Morrison.

“Melania and I are immensely honored to host you and the entire Australian delegation for a State Dinner in the historic Rose Garden,” President Trump said. “Tonight, we celebrate more than a century of loyal and devoted friendship between the United States and Australia.”

Australia’s State Visit—the second official ceremonial State Visit of the Trump Presidency—was both a celebration of the unbreakable bond these two countries share and a reaffirmation of our common vision for peace and prosperity around the world.

The busy weekend began with a full military arrival ceremony on the South Lawn Friday morning. Under clear skies, hundreds of guests gathered to watch Marine Band performances of both countries’ beautiful national anthems. During the ceremony, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that no two nations make better friends than America and Australia—and explained how American ideals have inspired countries the world over.

“How great is America? The world is a better place because of this country living out its moral purpose—a world not just more secure, but more prosperous as well,” he said. “The new economies of the world lifting hundreds of millions from poverty do so because they first saw the United States define a century and do that first, and then invited and supported them to follow.”

Prime Minister Morrison also joined President Trump at Pratt Industries in Ohio yesterday for an event that underscores the powerful economic ties between our countries. President Trump announced that American manufacturing is in store for yet another boost thanks to billions being invested by Australian factory owner Anthony Pratt. All told, that faith in U.S. workers will create 5,000 new jobs on its own over the next decade.

“Here in Ohio, we see the shining example of the wonderful future we can build together—a future where proud, independent nations uplift each other and the world by uplifting their own citizens.”

President Trump wins big Ohio manufacturing investment from Australian firm

🎬 Watch: White House arrival ceremony for the Prime Minister of Australia

At UN, President Trump calls for global action to end religious persecution 


President Trump kicked off this week at the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York with a simple but powerful statement.

“Today, with one clear voice, the United States of America calls upon all the nations of the world to end religious persecution. To stop the crimes against people of faith, release prisoners of conscience, repeal laws restricting freedom of religion and belief, protect the vulnerable, the defenseless, and the oppressed.”

 President Trump: Our founders understood the right to religious freedom

“America stands with believers in every country who ask only for the freedom to live according to the faith that is within their own hearts.”

Religious freedom is in a state of global crisis. Right now, a stunning 83 percent of the world’s population lives in nations where religious freedom is threatened or banned. The resulting violence has been on the rise for the past decade, affecting many faiths.

That’s why President Trump is putting the issue center stage this week at the United Nations, an organization with the power to do more to hold bad actors accountable. The right to follow religious convictions is built into the very fabric of America, but that right shouldn’t be exclusive to us. Citizens of every nation should be allowed to worship freely.

Learn more about how President Trump is standing up for religious freedom in America and around the world.

Photo of the Day

Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks
First Lady Melania Trump talks with guests at the State Dinner in honor of Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his wife Mrs. Jenny Morrison | September 20, 2019

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP AND PRESIDENT MOON OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA BEFORE BILATERAL MEETING InterContinental New York Barclay New York, New York

Office of the Press Secretary
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP
AND PRESIDENT MOON OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA
BEFORE BILATERAL MEETING

InterContinental New York Barclay
New York, New York

 
5:29 P.M. EDT

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Well, thank you very much.  We're pleased to be with President Moon of South Korea.  We have a long-term friendship, and we are making a lot of progress.  We are working on tremendous trade deals.  We -- as you know, we've completed a trade deal, and that's working out very well for both countries.  That deal is completed now, and it's been in existence for -- solidly in existence for six months.  And it's been very good.

     And we intend to do some additional things on trade.  Of course, we'll be talking about North Korea.  We'll be talking the purchase of equipment.  South Korea is one of our largest purchasers of military equipment.  And we're working together very well.

     PRESIDENT MOON:  (As interpreted.)  Mr. President, it's a great pleasure to meet you again three months after our last meeting.  Your visit to Panmunjom will go down as a historic moment that embodied peace through action.  And I have to say that I always marvel at your imagination and bold decision-making.

     Thanks to your leadership, we have been able to achieve great progress in terms of inter-Korean relations.  And this has also led to a dialogue between the United States and North Korea.  And soon, I will be expecting the working-level negotiations between the United States and North Korea to prepare for the third -- your third summit with Chairman Kim to resume -- to be resumed soon.

     And when you have your third summit with Chairman Kim, maybe I hope that this will go down as a truly historic moment in world history.  This will be a great achievement that equals a great transformation in terms of a complete denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.

     During the time I have been working together with you, the ROK-U.S. alliance has been evolving in a great way, especially in the economic field.  We have been able to revise a bilateral free trade agreement, and that has been a great success, while many Korean companies are increasing their investment in America.

     And during the course of my visit to New York, we'll be signing the deal to increase the import of LNG from America, while we'll also be signing a deal regarding a joint venture between a Korean motor company and an automotive vehicle company in America.  So I believe that all of this will come to reinforce our already strong alliance.

     And furthermore, I do look forward to engaging in candid discussions with you today on how we could truly make great progress in our alliance in other aspects as well.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Thank you very much.

     Q    What's it going to take to have a third summit with Chairman Kim, sir?

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Well, we'll see.  Right now, people would like to see that happen.  I want to know what's going to be coming out of it.  We can know a lot before the summit takes place.

     We had, really, two very successful summits.  There's been -- as you know, there's been no lessening of the sanctions.  There's only been an increasing of the sanctions.  But very importantly, we have our hostages back.  And that was a very big deal.  And we got our hostages back.  We have the remains of our great heroes from the past back -- a lot of them.  And they're coming in, and they actually have a lot of them ready to start coming in again.

     So, a lot of things have happened.  Plus, there's been no nuclear testing at all for the last quite a long period of time, at least that we can detect.  And the relationships have been very good.

     So, we'll see what happens.  But we'd like to see if we can do something.  And if we can, that would be great.  And if we can't, that's fine.  We'll see what happens.  But there's been no nuclear testing for a long time.  A long time.

     Q    Mr. President, for guns, do you plan on announcing a gun plan in the coming days?  And if so, is it going to include background checks?

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Well, we're working very much with the Republicans, and we're working also with the Democrats.  But a lot of the Democrats are wasting their time on nonsense, on pure nonsense.  So they don't have much time to work on guns, unfortunately.  If they did, it would be probably pretty easy to do.  But we always have to protect our Second Amendment.  It's very important.

     I saw where this character from Texas -- I can't imagine he'll get one vote in Texas.  He wants to start confiscating guns.  That's not a good thing.  That's no good.  It makes it actually much harder to make a deal when this Beto O'Rourke comes out and starts talking about confiscating guns.  When you do that, it makes it much tougher.

     But the Democrats are really just wasting so much time on -- on nonsense, on junk.  And if they focused on this, they could get it done.  But we have to protect our Second Amendment.  We have to protect people that want and need guns.  And we have to keep guns out of the hands of crazy people and sick people.  Very simple.  It's not very complicated.

     Q    Are you considering sanctions -- considering actions first before denuclearization as part of your new method for the -- in the denuclearization talks?

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Sanctions where?

     Q    Sanctions first before denuclearization, as part of your new method in denuclearization talks.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  I can't -- you're going to have to speak up.  Say it again.  Sanctions.  Go ahead.  What was --

     Q    Sanctions -- considering action first before denuclearization?

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Where?

     Q    For North Korea and the denuclearization talks.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  I'm not considering actions.  We're getting along very well with North Korea.  I have a good relationship with Kim Jong Un.  And we're not considering actions at all.  There's no reason for actions.

     I will say this: If I weren’t President, you’d be at war with North Korea, in my opinion.  If the same group was in that preceded me, you’d be in a war with North Korea.

     So we’re not looking at any actions.  We have a good relationship with Kim Jong Un.  We’ll see what happens.  Maybe we’ll be able to make a deal.  Maybe not.

     Q    Mr. President, I meant the sanctions first.  I beg your pardon.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Go ahead.

     Q    Mr. President, there is breaking news just now --

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  More breaking news?

     Q    More breaking news, yes.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  There’s always breaking news.  It’s usually -- it’s usually breaking fake news.  Go ahead.

     Q    Two rockets just landed in the Green Zone in Baghdad.  Do you see this as an escalation in the Middle East?  And could --

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  I don’t know anything about it.  You just told me it’s breaking news, so I’ll have to see it.  You know, right now, I’m here.  I haven’t heard it.

     Q    But this is not the first time.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  When did this happen?

     Q    Just now, but this is not the first time.  Many rockets landed before.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  No, that is not the first time.  Nope. We’ll look into it.  We’re going to look into it.

     Q    But are you worried about the U.S. embassy in Baghdad -- the security there?

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  We’re going to look into it.  I know nothing about it.  You just told me it’s breaking, so therefore I assume it’s relatively new, like within the last four days.

     Q    Mr. President, do you plan on discussing the North Korean short-range missile tests with your counterpart?

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yeah.  We’re going to discuss that.

     Q    And, Mr. President, yourself: Do you have any comment --

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  I will be discussing that.

     Q    -- on the North Korean missile tests?

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yeah.  I will be discussing.  We didn’t have an agreement on short-range missiles.  And a lot of people and a lot of countries test short-range missiles; there’s nothing spectacular about that.  But we will be discussing that also.  Okay?

     Q    Can we hear from President Moon if he is troubled by the short-range missiles and if he’d like to see you maybe try to stop it from happening -- talk to Chairman Kim?

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Well, we’ll take a look at it.  We’re going to talk about it.  But I didn’t really discuss that with Kim Jong Un.  That was never a part of our discussion.  We did discuss nuclear testing and other things.  And, frankly, he’s lived up to his word on those things that we discussed.  And we actually signed an agreement in Singapore.  We actually had two very good meetings.

     You would have been at war right now with North Korea if I weren’t President.

     Thank you very much.  Thank you.

                             END       5:39 P.M. EDT

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP AND PRIME MINISTER LEE OF SINGAPORE BEFORE BILATERAL MEETING InterContinental New York Barclay New York, New York

Office of the Press Secretary
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP
AND PRIME MINISTER LEE OF SINGAPORE
BEFORE BILATERAL MEETING

InterContinental New York Barclay
New York, New York

 
3:54 P.M. EDT

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Well, thank you very much.  As we just said, we signed a very important agreement having to do with defense and mutual defense, and I guess you could say mutual offense, also.

     But we -- we're now going to talk about trade.  We do tremendous amounts of trade with Singapore.  And the Prime Minister -- highly respected.  One of the truly most respected men anywhere in the world.  And he’s been my friend for a long time.  And we’re doing very well.  But we do tremendous trade with Singapore, and we appreciate it very much, Mr. Prime Minister.

     PRIME MINISTER LEE:  Well, thank you, Mr. President.  As you said, we’ve just signed an agreement to extend our memorandum of understanding on defense cooperation.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Right.

     PRIME MINISTER LEE:  It’s the second time we are extending this.  It reflects the very good defense relationship we have between the two countries, but also reflects our broader cooperation and friendship.

     And, in economics, we have an FTA between the U.S. and Singapore.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Right.

     PRIME MINISTER LEE:  The volume of trade is substantial, and the volume of investments, too.  In Singapore, you are one -- you are our most important foreign investor.  And, in America, as small as we are, we have 55 billion dollars’ worth of investments --

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  That’s not too bad.

     PRIME MINISTER LEE:  -- in many different states.  And (inaudible) they tell me a quarter million U.S. jobs.  So it’s not bad for a small country.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Not bad.

     PRIME MINISTER LEE:  We’d like to do more, and we hope that you will do more in Singapore and also in the Asia Pacific region.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Well, we had a very successful meeting with Kim Jong Un of North Korea, and it was in Singapore.  And people don’t give that meeting as much credit as it deserves.  The relationship was established, and it was a tremendous success.

     And we saw each other there.  Really got to know each other there very well.  And you've done a fantastic job.  It’s a great country.

     PRIME MINISTER LEE:  Well, we were very honored to host that first summit between you and --

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Right.

     PRIME MINISTER LEE:  -- Mr. Kim.  We are happy that it has helped to turn the situation in Korea around and point it in the right direction.  And we wish you every success in continuing to make progress on this very difficult task.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Well, thank you.  It’s moving along pretty well, actually.  So, thank you very much.  That was a great couple of days we spent, and we enjoyed it.  Thank you.

     PRIME MINISTER LEE:  Thank you.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Thank you very much everybody.

     Q    Mr. President, why did you go to the climate change meeting today?  What prompted you to pop in there?

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Because I believe in clean air and clean water.  It’s very simple.  We have the cleanest air.  We have the cleanest water.  Cleaner than it’s ever been before in our country.  And I like clean air and I like clean water.

     Q    Are you going to -- could you give us a little flavor of your speech tomorrow?  Are you going to bring up Iran, North Korea?

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  We’re going to bring up a lot, Steve.  We have a lot of different things to talk about.  And if I talk about everything that we’re working on, it would go on for two days.

     But there are a lot of things to talk about.  We have a lot of really great relationships, and we have some relationships that are -- let’s call it “in formation.”  We’re being nice.

     But we’ll be talking about Iran.  We’ll be talking about various things that we’re doing.  And we’re having tremendous success.  We’re also going to be talking about the economy.  As you know, Mr. Prime Minister, our economy is doing fantastically well.  We have the best unemployment numbers we’ve ever had in most categories, and getting better.  We just had some phenomenal results today, Steve, as I understand it.  We just had -- Wilbur, we just had a great couple of numbers.

     Larry Kudlow, could you discuss that, please?

     MR. KUDLOW:  PMI --

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Some great numbers just came out.

     MR. KUDLOW:  PMI -- manufacturing, up.  Up.  Unfortunately, Europe's was down, and Germany's was down a lot.  It looks like we're in a turning zone back up on manufacturing.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Others were down, and we're up.  And we continue to go in the right direction.  We're getting numbers that we never anticipated having.  And we're doing very well.  Other parts of the world are not doing nearly as well.

     But -- and I think we have tremendous potential upward.

     Q    Just on Iran, are you going to make the case to keep the pressure on them in your speech tomorrow?

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Well, I don’t want to say now, Steve.  But, look, we have a lot of pressure on them right now.  More pressure than they've ever had.  And Iran knows that they're in a position that they're -- a lot of things are going to happen.  Let me just put it this way: A lot of things are happening with respect to Iran.  A lot more than you would know.  A lot more than the media knows.  But a lot of things are happening.  Okay?  I'll be discussing it a little bit tomorrow.
   
     Anybody else?

     Q    Mr. President, are you content with the way Rudy Giuliani has been handling the Ukraine situation over the last  --

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  I think he was excellent.  I watched him the other night.  I haven't watched that show in a long time.  I don't watch CNN because it's fake news.  But I watched Rudy take apart Fredo.  Fredo's performance was incompetent.  Rudy took him apart.

     The press doesn't give him credit because they take little tiny snippets, where wherever Rudy was a little bit -- if he mispronounces a word, they'll show that.  They won't show the whole.  Rudy Giuliani took Fredo to the cleaners.  It's the first time I've watched CNN in a long time, too.  I hate to watch it because it's so fake.

     Okay?  Thank you very much, everybody.  Thank you.
 
                         END          3:59 P.M. EDT

 

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP AND PRIME MINISTER LEE OF SINGAPORE AT A SIGNING CEREMONY InterContinental New York Barclay New York, New York

Office of the Press Secretary
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP
AND PRIME MINISTER LEE OF SINGAPORE
AT A SIGNING CEREMONY

InterContinental New York Barclay
New York, New York

 
3:51 P.M. EDT

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Well, thank you very much.  We are close friends with Singapore and with Prime Minister Lee, and we've gotten to know each other very well.

     And we're signing a memorandum of defense -- really, an understanding.  And it's a very strong understanding.  We know where we are.  We have an extraordinary relationship with Singapore and with the Prime Minister.

     And we're going to be -- there'll be a lot of -- a lot of trade involved in our agreement today.  We're going to be doing a lot of trade, a lot of military equipment, et cetera, et cetera.  So I just want to thank you, Mr. Prime Minister.  And great honor to be with you.  It's a great honor. 

     PRIME MINISTER LEE:  Thank you.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Thank you.

     PRIME MINISTER LEE:  I would like to thank the President for signing this memorandum with me, updating our memorandum on defense cooperation between Singapore and the United States.  We've had this since 1990.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Right.

     PRIME MINISTER LEE:  We've updated it once before in 2005, and we're very happy to update it once more to extend for the next 15 years at least.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  That’s right.

     PRIME MINISTER LEE:  It reflects our very good cooperation in defense matters between the United States and Singapore, and also the broader cooperation we have in so many other fields -- in security, in economics, in counterterrorism, and in culture and education, as well.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  That’s right.
 
     PRIME MINISTER LEE:  So we are very happy with our relationship.  We hope to grow it.  And we hope that it will also be a means for the U.S. to deepen its engagement in Southeast Asia and in the Asia Pacific region.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Very good.  Well, it's an honor.  Thank you very much.

     PRIME MINISTER LEE:  Thank you.  Now we sign.

     (The memorandum of understanding is signed.)

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Okay, thank you very much, everybody.  (Applause.)  We're going to see you -- we're going to see you in the other room.  We'll see you in the other room.  Thank you very much.

     PRIME MINISTER LEE:  Thank you.
 
                                   END              3:53 P.M. EDT

 

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP AND PRESIDENT DUDA OF POLAND BEFORE BILATERAL MEETING InterContinental New York Barclay New York, New York

Office of the Press Secretary
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP
AND PRESIDENT DUDA OF POLAND
BEFORE BILATERAL MEETING

InterContinental New York Barclay
New York, New York

 
2:22 P.M. EDT

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Well, thank you very much.  It’s a great honor to be with President Duda of Poland.  And we’ve become friends over the last fairly short period of time.  But it’s been -- it was quite a day in Poland, when we made the speech.  You said some nice remarks, I said some nice remarks, and a lot of people remembered what we said.  And that was a big -- that was a big afternoon, a big weekend, and it's something we -- that I will never forget, frankly.  And I know the United States was very well received.

     The people of Poland loved the United States.  We love the people of Poland.  We love Polish people.  I think it’s -- you can tell me: How many Polish people -- ancestry -- do we have in the United States right now?  What is it approximately?

     PRESIDENT DUDA:  How many people --

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yes.

     PRESIDENT DUDA:  -- we think is living here in the United States?

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  It’s a tremendously large number.

     PRESIDENT DUDA:  Oh, it’s about 10 million.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yeah.  It’s one of the largest.  They’re great people.  They’re fantastic people.  So, thank you.

We’re going to be discussing trade --

     PRESIDENT DUDA:  I met them yesterday in New Britain.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  That’s right.  That’s right.  I know exactly what you’re saying.  We’ll be discussing trade and many other things.  We have some long meetings set up over the next two weeks.  But Poland has been a very, very great country, as far as the United States is concerned.  We do a lot of business with Poland.

     And they also make product and they sell a lot of us product -- a lot of us really very good product.  You have great craftsmen.  And that’s what we like, is great craftsmen.  But so do we.  So, we’ve had a great trading relationship.

     The visa waivers are in store; it’s already approved.  And we’re doing it mechanically now so that we get them done as soon as we can, so it’s much easier to get to Poland and to the United States for the people that want to get there.  It’s something that’s very important.  It was very important, I think, for the President to get that done.  And he was able to do it.  Through a lot of hard work, he was able to do it.

     So I congratulate you, and that’s something that’s going to be great for a lot of -- as you say, for the 10 million people living in the United States that want to travel easily to Poland.  It’s our honor.

     PRESIDENT DUDA:  (Inaudible) to visit United States more Polish people as tourists.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  That’s true.  That's true.  That’ll work both ways.

     Thank you very much, Mr. President.  Thank you.

     Okay, thank you.

     Q    Could you talk about that defense cooperation agreement you just signed?  What were the details of that?

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  We’re going to be cooperating in so many different ways, and militarily, primarily.  We’ll be moving soldiers there.  Poland has borne the expense.  They’re going to be building us facilities that I’m sure will be very beautiful.  They’re -- it’s being worked out right now.

     But Poland came to us; they asked us if we would put some troops there.  And they will bear the entire expense, and we appreciate that.  And we worked out a deal.

     Perhaps, Mike, you’d want to say something about that?

     SECRETARY POMPEO:  We’ll put out the full document shortly.  You can see all the hard work that both our teams have done.  Both our Department of Defense and the Poland Ministry of Defense have done great work to (inaudible) and to do better information sharing -- all the things that friendly partner countries do to keep each other secure.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  And we’ll most likely be moving troops from other places in Europe, as opposed to new troops going over there.

     Q    Are you considering more troops to Poland in the future?  Are you considering --

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Well, we’ll talk to the President and the others about that.  Yeah.

     Q    Mr. President, did you order a review?  Did you initiate a review of Ukraine’s aid in order to encourage them to investigate Joe Biden?

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  No, I think what happens, if you look at Ukraine -- and very important to me -- why isn't Europe -- in fact, I was speaking about this to the President -- to President Duda.  Why isn’t Europe spending more money?  Why is it always the United States spending money?  I’ve been complaining about this to my people for a long time.

     We spend so much money not only to Ukraine, but to other places.  And why isn’t Germany spending more money?  Why isn’t France?  Why aren’t other countries in Europe helping Ukraine more?  Why is it always the United States?  And I’ve been saying that from the beginning.  And I don’t like it that it's only us.

     Despite that, we've given far more than the Obama administration.  He used to send sheets and pillows, and we sent anti-tank guns and weapons.  But we really do.

     And when I spoke with -- I had a great conversation with the new President of Ukraine.  And during that conversation, we discussed it.  Perhaps you'll see it, perhaps you won't see that.  It depends on what we want to do.  But we had a great conversation.  A very, very -- a very nice conversation, too.  But one of the things we discussed is why isn’t Europe helping Ukraine more?  Why is it always the United States?  That’s bothered me from day one.  It's not fair to the United States.

     Q    Mr. President, when are you going to visit Poland?

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Say it?

     Q    When are you going to visit Poland?

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  I'll be there fairly soon.  We've had a very open standing invitation, and I'll be there very soon.  That was something -- I really love doing that.  We made a speech.  Even the fake news gave me great reviews on that speech.  (Laughter.)  So I was very happy.  So in that case, it wasn’t fake.  It was real.  That was real news.

     Q    Why have you decided to increase U.S. military presence in Poland?  Is it because of Russian threat?

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  No, I don’t think so at all.  I think it's just because we have a President of Poland who I like, who I respect.  And he asked whether or not we'd be willing to do that.  And I said, "Well, you know, there'll have to be installations built."  And they said they're willing to do that.  And we worked out a deal, and it's my honor.

     Again, we have 10 million Polish -- in terms of heritage -- Polish people in the United States.  Certainly special parts of the United States.  And they're great people.  It's a great country.  They've done very well, and their economics are very good.  They've had an economy that's been very strong -- stronger than most.

     So we worked out a deal.  And I think it's great for Poland and it's very good for us.

     Q    Sir, is visa waiver a done deal already?  Will citizens of Poland be able to come to the United States soon without --

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Very soon.  Yeah.  We have to work out structurally.  In other words, from the -- we have to get it done.  But they qualify.  We worked together very hard on that.  But now they qualify, Georgette, and we're going to be able to work that out very quickly.  I think over the next couple of months we could have it done.  And I know Poland has been looking for that.  How many years have you been looking for that -- the waivers?  How many years have you?  How many?

     PARTICIPANT:  Thirty.

     PRESIDENT DUDA:  Thirty.  (Laughs.)

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Thirty?  (Laughter.)  Thirty is a long time.  I didn’t know it was that long.  But we got it done.  Trump gets it done.  Other people don’t get it done.  We get it done.  And that was a good one.  That's good for everybody.

     Q    Mr. President, on the aid question -- aid -- from a moment ago.  Did you tell the Ukrainian leader that they would have the aid only if they investigated Joe Biden and his family?

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  No, I didn’t.  No, I didn’t.  I didn’t do it at all.

     Q    Can you elaborate as to what you did say, sir?

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  But Joe Biden said it about his son.  Joe Biden was very dishonest, what he did.  What he did is he said if they don’t do this or that and get rid of a certain prosecutor -- Joe Biden said it.  But because you're a faker -- you in particular; you're a fake-news group of people -- you don’t want to report that.

     I didn’t do it.  And you can -- and I hope you're going to be able to see a call, because I didn’t do it.  You know everybody is looking for that call.  And keep going the way you're doing because when you see the call, you're going to be very surprised.

     No, but Joe Biden --

     Q    Are we going to see that call?

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Let me just -- let me just -- be quiet.  Joe Biden is the one that did a very, very bad thing when he said that.  And I think it was $1.2 billion he wasn’t going to give unless they got rid of the prosecutor who was investigating his son and the company that his son works for.  Then you also say: How much did his son make from the Ukraine?  And then ask another question: How much money did his son make from China, based on energy?

     He knows nothing about energy, so why did he leave China?  Why did he leave the Ukraine with all of this money?

     So, Joe Biden was very dishonest.  Now, when you see the call -- if you see it; I hope you see it, frankly -- you will find out that I did not do that at all.  And you'll be very disappointed when you see it.

     It's really a disgrace.  It really is a situation where -- it just shows, the press, you've had such a bad week between Justice Kavanaugh and this and other things.  It's showing how dishonest so many members of the press are.  Not all of you, but so many members of the press are so totally dishonest.

     But this is a case -- I hope you get to see the call because your question, you will see, I did not ask for -- I did not make a statement that "you have do this or I'm not going to give you aid."  I wouldn’t do that.  I wouldn’t do that.

     With that being said, what I want is I want -- you know, we're giving a lot of money away to Ukraine and other places.  You want to see a country that’s going to be not corrupt.  The President is a good man.  He got elected on the fact that he was going to get rid of corruption in Ukraine.  That’s, I think, the primary reason he got elected.  So he gets elected on the basis of ending corruption in Ukraine.  Well, I think that’s good, and that’s what I want to see.  But when Biden does a thing like that, then there's still corruption, and that’s not good.

     Q    Sir, you can release -- you can authorize a release of the transcript.  Will you do that, sir?

     THE PRESIDENT:  I can do it very easily.  But I'd rather not do it from the standpoint of all of the other conversations I have.  I may do it because it was a very innocent call on both his part and mine.  We had a very nice call.  It was really a congratulatory call because he had just won.  It was just confirmed.  And he's the new President.  And I think he's going to do an excellent job.

     But remember, he got elected on the basis of -- the biggest part was corruption, in his campaign.  And so he wants the same thing, and he's looking for the same thing as I am.  He did a very good job.  It was a very nice call.  I hope you get to see it.  And I hope you get to see it soon.

     Q    (Inaudible), question, sir.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  What?

     Q    On Iran.  The Iranian Foreign Minister --

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Boris Johnson.  You were going to say Boris Johnson?

     Q    No, no.  No, I'm talking about the Iranian Foreign Minister.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  No, you mentioned Boris Johnson at the beginning of the --

     Q    No, the Iranian Foreign Minister, sir.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Because he wants a new deal with Iran.

     Q    Sure.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Right?

     Q    But the Iranians are saying now that they're willing to negotiate to end the war in Yemen.  Do you take this seriously?

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Say it again.

     Q    The Iranian Foreign Minister --

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Talk up, please.

     Q    The Iranian Foreign Minister is saying that they are willing to negotiate to end the war in Yemen.  Do you take this statement seriously?

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Well, I think that's a very big, positive statement, if they said that.  I haven't heard it.  I've been here and having lots of different meetings.  We just had a very good meeting with Pakistan, by the way.  We had a great meeting on religious liberty, I think, when you get right down to it, Mike.  That was pretty much incredible.  It was the first time that the President of the United States was involved in a meeting such as that.

     No, I think that Boris Johnson made a strong statement saying that he'd like to see a new agreement.  And I think that's good.  And if what you're saying about Yemen is true, I like that also.  We haven't heard that yet.  That's a very positive thing if that's the case.

     Q    Mr. President, on the whistleblower -- on the whistleblower, you say you want the transcript of the call released.  Do you also want the whistle- --

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  I didn't say that at all.

     Q    Do you also want the whistleblower's complaint --

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  I didn't say that at all.  It may get released.  I didn't say that at all.  I don't think it's a great precedent to be releasing calls with foreign countries -- heads of foreign countries.  So I don't think it's a great precedent, so I didn't say I was going to release it at all.

     I will tell you, it's a great call.  It's a very honorable call.  It's a nice call.  The Ukrainian government, last night, very strongly, they announced that this call was a very nice call.  There was -- and they also said there was no pressure put on them, like the character over to your left.  There was no pressure put on them whatsoever.  I put no pressure on them whatsoever.  I could have.  I think it would probably, possibly, have been okay if I did.  But I didn't.  I didn't put any pressure on them whatsoever.  You know why?  Because they want to do the right thing.  And they know about corruption.  And they probably know that Joe Biden and his son are corrupt.  They probably know that.

     Joe Biden and his son are corrupt.  All right?  But the fake news doesn't want to report it because they're Democrats.  If that ever happened -- if a Republican ever did what Joe Biden did, if a Republican ever said what Joe Biden said, they'd be getting the electric chair by right now.

     Look at the double standards.  You people ought to be ashamed of yourself.  And not all.  We have some great journalists around.  But you got a lot of crooked journalists.  You're crooked as hell.

     Okay.  Thank you very much.  I hope you enjoyed it.  Thank you.  Thank you very much.

                             END         2:34 P.M. EDT

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP AND PRIME MINISTER KHAN OF PAKISTAN BEFORE BILATERAL MEETING InterContinental New York Barclay New York, New York

Office of the Press Secretary
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP
AND PRIME MINISTER KHAN OF PAKISTAN
BEFORE BILATERAL MEETING

InterContinental New York Barclay
New York, New York

 
1:05 P.M. EDT

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Thank you very much.  It’s a great honor to be with my friend, the Prime Minister of Pakistan.  And we have some great discussions going on with Pakistan about a lot of things, including the Taliban and Afghanistan, and many other things.  And trade, I think, maybe is one of the most important.  We’re going to increase trade with Pakistan by a tremendous margin.

     We do a very small amount of trade with them, and they want to do a large, and so do we.  And we should be able to do that, I think, Wilbur, very easily.  So we’re going to double, triple, quadruple the trade.  It will be very easy to do.  They make great product, and so do we.

     And I was really shocked when I saw the original numbers from last year and the year before, and for many years, that the trade with Pakistan isn’t much greater.  But it could be many times the number.

     So we’ll be talking about trade and other things.  And it’s an honor to be with you.  Thank you very much.  Please.

     PRIME MINISTER KHAN:  I look forward, Mr. President, to talk to you about, obviously, Afghanistan, which is a big issue for us Pakistanis, because stability in Afghanistan means stability in Pakistan.  We also want to talk about all three neighbors: Afghanistan, India, Kashmir.  And, of course, Iran, it’s just -- we will discuss the situation there because all -- these all three neighbors of Pakistan.  And I --

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  He lives in a very friendly neighborhood.  (Laughter.)

     PRIME MINISTER KHAN:  I mean, as if there are not already enough challenges.

     Q    Mr. President, after your last meeting with the Prime Minister, you offered to mediate between India and Pakistan over Kashmir.  And since then, the situation has gotten more complicated, and India continues to deny our access in the region.  So where does the offer stand now on (inaudible)?

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  It would always stand.  If I can help, I would certainly do that.  And it will be dependent on both of these gentlemen.  One without the other doesn’t work, if you’re going to do mediation or if you’re going to do an arbitration.

     But certainly, I would be willing to help if both wanted.  If both Pakistan, let’s say, and India wanted me to do that, I am ready, willing, and able.  It’s a complex issue.  It’s been going on for a long time.  But if both wanted it, I would be ready to do it.

     Q    Mr. President, with all the things -- reverting back to my question in the Oval Office on Kashmir --

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yes.

     Q    -- you know, the thing is, you are asking both the parties to accept and one is aggressor, (inaudible) these U.N. resolutions.  And that's non-compliant, plus -- you know, merging Kashmir into its own territory.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  This is the kind of reporter I like.

     Q    Which is (inaudible) U.N. resolution.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  I like this reporter.  (Laughter.)

     Q    And how can you --

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Are you a member of this team?  Or are you a --

     Q    I'm a member of -- I’m not a member of this team.  I’m an independent journalist.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  You know what?  You’re saying -- you’re saying what you think.

     Q    No, let me complete my question, Mr. President.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  No, but I have to be requesting --

     Q    How can you make --

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Excuse me.

     Q    -- an aggressor and a (inaudible) meet and --

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  That’s okay.  I understand.

     Q    -- in violation of the U.N. resolutions?

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Very fair question, or statement.  I’ll -- let me put that one down as a statement, if you don’t mind.

     Q    Thank you.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  But you’re right, you have to have a -- they have to have two parties that want to agree.  And if they -- when they come -- and, at some point, India may come.  I have a very good relationship with Prime Minister Modi.  I have a very good relationship with Prime Minister Khan.

     And if at any time they say, “You know, we have some points that we think we can maybe iron out,” I think I’d be an extremely good arbitrator.  I’ve done it before, believe it or not, and I’ve never failed as an arbitrator.  I’ve been asked to arbitrate disputes -- pretty big ones -- from friends.  And I’ve done it in a good, successful fashion.

     If I can be of help -- you know that -- if I can be of help, let me know.  But you’d have to have the assent also from the other side.

     Q    Prime Minister Johnson has now called for a new deal, just moments ago -- for a new Iran deal.  This is the first time he’s called for that.  I wonder what your reaction to it.  And have you discussed that with him previously?

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Well, I think that’s why he’s a winner.  That’s why he’s a man that’s going to be successful in the UK.  And I think that’s great.  You’re talking about Boris, right?

     Q    Yes, talking about Boris, sir.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Boris is a man who -- number one, he’s a friend of mine, and, number two, he’s very smart, very tough.  And he does want a new deal because the other deal was ready to expire.  It was at a very short number of years left.  All that money paid and wasted.  You didn’t have the right to inspect the appropriate sites.  You were looking at sites that would never be used to create nuclear.  The sites that they would use, we weren’t allowed to inspect.  What kind of a deal is that?  And ballistic missiles -- they’re allowed to test ballistic missiles and other things.

     But one of the biggest things is the fact that the agreement is going to expire in a very short number of years.  And what kind of a deal is that?  We’re dealing with countries.  You have to go long term.

     So, I respect Boris a lot, and I am not at all surprised that he was the first one to come out and say that.

     Q    Mr. President, this is the first time -- (inaudible) from (inaudible) Pakistan.  So this is the first time we get honest leadership like you in America.  And in past --

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  I agree with that.  This is the first time you’ve had honesty.

     Q    Sir, in past --

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  You’ve had a lot of dishonesty, and they’ve treated Pakistan very badly.  The people in my position have treated Pakistan very badly.  I think that -- I wouldn’t say Pakistan has treated us too well either, but maybe there was a reason.  And, in fact, I think there was a reason for it.

     Q    Sir, in past, you have said that you don’t trust Pakistan.  So, when we have honest (inaudible) --

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  I trust Pakistan.  But people before me didn’t, but they didn’t know what they were doing.  So it’s just one of those little problems in life.

     You know, I -- you know what I do?  I trust this gentleman right here.  And I do trust Pakistan.  I know -- I have a lot of Pakistani friends living in New York.  They’re smart.  Great negotiators, by the way, in case you had any questions.  They’re among the toughest negotiators in the world.

     And, you know what?  It’s all going to work out.  But if I can help, I’d like to help.  But I don’t think you’ve ever had a President that felt the way I do, in a positive way, about Pakistan.  I don’t think you have.  I’ve looked back, and I’ve seen where it was.  And -- and -- but I also have a very good relationship with India.  I have a good relationship with both.

     So, if they decide to use that feeling among both, I think we can help out.  But this has been a longstanding -- this has been going on for a long time.

     Q    Mr. President, yesterday you shared the stage with PM Modi.  He alleged that Pakistan is the hub of terrorism.  Do you endorse that or do you disagree with that?  Because you said that Pakistan has made a lot of progress.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Well, I really have been pointing much more to Iran.  I mean, Iran if you look at what, that's been really the state of terror.  And I've been saying it's the number one state of terror in the world.  And the agreement we had does not cover that.  It was not doing well.  It was doing very poorly.  And now Iran is doing very poorly.  Iran is a different place than when I took over.

     When I took over the United States -- when I became President -- Iran was a real threat to the entire Middle East and maybe beyond.  And now they're having very, very big difficulties, to put it mildly.  So we'll see.

     Q    Are you happy with the progress that Pakistan has made countering terrorism, particularly eliminating terrorism (inaudible)?

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  I've heard they've made great progress.  And under this leader -- he's a great leader -- I think he wants to make great progress because there's no solution the other way.  The other way is only going to lead to death and chaos and poverty.  It's all it's going to lead to.  I mean, he understands it.  Your Prime Minister understands it.

     Q    Are you concerned about the human rights situation in Kashmir?

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  About which?

     Q    Human rights situation -- human rights violations.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Sure.  I'd like to see everything work out.  I want it to be humane.  I want everybody to be treated well.  You have two big countries, and they're warring countries and they've been fighting.

     And -- I mean, I heard a very aggressive statement yesterday.  I don’t have to say that.  I was there.  I didn’t know I was going to hear that statement, I had said.  But I was sitting there and I heard a very aggressive statement yesterday from India, from the Prime Minister, and I will say it was very well received within the rule -- you know, within in the room.  The statement itself.  That was a big room; there were 59,000 people.

     But it was a very aggressive statement, and I hope that they're going to be able to come together -- India and Pakistan -- and do something that's really smart and good for both.  And I'm sure there could be -- there's always a solution.  And I really believe there's a solution for that.

     (Cross-talk.)

     Easy.  Easy.  You've asked one already.  Go ahead.  Quickly.  Make a one-second statement.  Go ahead, make a statement.

     Q    Now, if you can solve this outstanding issue of Kashmir --

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yeah.

     Q    -- very likely and definitely you will be deserving a Nobel Prize on that.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  I think I'll get a Nobel Prize for a lot of things.  I think I'm going to get a Nobel Prize for a lot of things, if they gave it out fairly, which they don't.

     They gave it out -- well, they gave one to Obama immediately upon his ascent to the presidency, and he had no idea why he got it.  And you know what?  That was the only thing I agreed with him on.

     (Cross-talk.)

Come on.

     Q    Other than Pakistan and India, the Kashmiri people are suffering the last 50 days.  They will talk later on, but right now there was human rights violation in Kashmir.  Fifty days lockdown -- no Internet, no food, nothing.  So, you know, what do you want do for the Kashmiri people?

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Where do you find reporters like this?  (Laughter.)  These guys are fantastic.

     All right, go ahead.

     (Cross-talk.)

     Wait.  Wait.  Wait.  Wait.  He's talking.  Let the American talk for a change.

     Q    Thank you, sir.  Have talks with the Taliban resumed in any way?  And have you looked to Pakistan leaders to help you in any way --

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  No, we've hit the Taliban very hard.

     Q    -- with assistance in Afghanistan.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yes, I have.  And I think that the Pakistan -- I think Pakistan will be a great help.  I know the Prime Minister wants to be a help.  But we've hit the Taliban harder than we've ever hit them -- in all of the years.  I guess we've been there now 19 years.  How ridiculous is that?  And when they killed 12 people -- one of them an American soldier, as you know, and one a United Nations solider -- for the sake of going into the meeting with a little strength, they thought.  They went in with weakness.  And I cancelled everything.  We have hit them harder in the last two weeks than we've ever hit them before.

     Q    When do you think talks could resume again, sir?

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  We'll see what happens.  But I will say that the Prime Minister has been very helpful and he wants to do something.  He wants to see something happen.  So, that’s fine.

     Q    My question is on Pakistan.  Mr. Prime Minister, would you like to raise the issue of curfew and lockdown, and the atrocities in Kashmir before the President of America?

     PRIME MINISTER KHAN:  You know, Mr. President, I was going to raise it in private, but it needs to be said that, for 50 days, 8 million people are under siege by 900,000 troops.  And it's a humanitarian issue.  And so I was going to say that -- were you supposed to meet Narendra Modi now, I would’ve asked you to at least lift the siege.  I mean, it’s a huge humanitarian crisis taking place.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yes, so we're going to talking about that in a little while.

     PRIME MINISTER KHAN:  We'll discuss that.

     Q    Mr. Prime Minister, what are your expectations from American President about the Kashmir issue?

     PRIME MINISTER KHAN:  My expectations: President Trump heads the most powerful country in the world, and the most powerful country in the world has a responsibility.  And, you know, you very kindly want to mediate this and you also said that to do both, first  India and Pakistan has to agree to mediation.

     But, unfortunately, India is refusing to talk to us.  So, in this situation, I feel that this is the beginning of a crisis.  I honestly feel that this crisis is going to get much bigger -- what is happening in Kashmir.  So we would like to talk about that later.

     But just the fact that the position of the United States -- it's the most powerful country.  It can affect the United Nations Security Council.  It has a voice.  So we look to the U.S. to put out flames in the world.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  And I will say this: Look, I have my respect for your Prime Minister, I will say that many countries wanted to meet with me and us -- the United States -- during this very short three-day period, and we were unable to meet with many of them.  One of the countries I wanted to meet with was Pakistan and your Prime Minister.  And it's an honor to be here with you.  And I think you should let us start talking now because --

     PRIME MINISTER KHAN:  Thank you.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  -- but I do appreciate it.  There's a tremendous spirit from your press.  I don’t see that.  With us, they want to always tear our country down.  And with your press, it's really -- they would like to see something positive for your country.

     And I will tell you this: You have a great leader.  And he's a good man.  He's a nice man.  Happens to be a great athlete -- not that that matters, but it's always nice.

     Q    You are a great leader, too, sir.

     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Thank you very much.  You take care of yourselves.  Thank you.  Thank you.  Thanks everybody.

                             END         1:18 P.M. EDT