Thursday, September 10, 2020

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP BEFORE AIR FORCE ONE DEPARTURE Joint Base Andrews Prince George’s County, Maryland

 

Office of the Press Secretary
 
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP
BEFORE AIR FORCE ONE DEPARTURE

Joint Base Andrews
Prince George’s County, Maryland
 
 
5:35 P.M. EDT
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  So, we're going to Michigan, where we have tremendous economic activity.  The governor should open up the state, open up the schools, play Big 10 football; we want them to do that.  Big 10 is looking very strongly at opening up their season, but we're not getting any cooperation from the governor of Michigan. 
 
     We have -- we need some cooperation also from North Carolina, the governor of North Carolina.  Tremendous economic activity; auto plants opening up, auto plants being expanded.  Michigan is doing really well.  They had the best year in their history last year.  And when the plague came in, we had to shut it down and then open it up.  But the problem with a few states is governors -- Democrat governors all -- are not opening up, and they have to open up. 
 
     So we look forward to a good time.  I hear we have a big crowd, like we had in Pennsylvania, frankly, and North Carolina and everywhere we go -- New Hampshire.  We're having very big crowds.  And we're going to have a big crowd.  I understand a very big one in Michigan when we land; we're doing it at the hangars in the airport.  So we'll see you there.
 
     Anybody have any questions?
 
     Q    Mr. President, have you seen the whistleblower report?  Have you seen the whistleblower report? 
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  No, I haven’t seen it.  Is that another fake whistleblower, like the one we had?  I mean, we had one -- a whistleblower -- who wrote a totally different report than my conversation.  So, you know, it sounds like a Schiff.  Who’s the whistleblower?  Schiff? 
 
     Q    No, it’s a -- it’s an official at DHS who says that intelligence reports were manipulated to make you look better.
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I can’t imagine that, but you'll have to ask the Secretary.  I will say this: If it's anything like the last whistleblower report, which was a joke, which was a fake, and frankly, how he gets away -- how he even got away with it is disgusting, if he actually did get away with it.  We'll find out about that.
 
     But these are fake reports.  I will tell you, I'm not referring to a new one.  You're just telling me that for the first time.  The whistleblower report that we had was totally different than the conversation that it covered.  It was a fake report.  So this is politics, and it's a disgrace.
 
     But ask Chad Wolf.  He's the one that would know something about it.
 
     Q    On TikTok, can you tell us how much closer you are?  Do you have bids to --
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah, TikTok is moving along.  We’ll see what happens.  It’ll either be closed up or they'll sell it.  So we'll either close up TikTok in this country for security reasons, or it’ll be sold.
 
     Q    Will you extend the deadline if there are negotiations?
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  I’m not extending deadlines, no.  It’s September 15th.  There’ll be no extension of the TikTok deadline. 
 
     Q    Did you share classified information about a nuclear weapons system with Woodward?  What were you talking about when you talked about that?
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  No, we have great, great weaponry.  No, I'm not talking about classified; I'm talking about what we build.  We're building great weaponry.  Our military is stronger now than it's ever been.  We spent $2.5 trillion on our military over the last three, three and a half years.  And we now have new rockets and missiles.  And, frankly, our nuclear -- we have to hope to God we never have to use it -- but our nuclear now is in the best shape it's been in decades.
 
     Q    But you mentioned a system that nobody knows about during your conversations with him.
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  There are systems that nobody knows about, including you, and we have some systems that nobody knows about.  And, frankly, I think I'm better off keeping it that way.  We have some incredible systems.
 
     Q    Mr. President, what did you mean when you said you “saved MBS’s ass” to Woodward?  What did you mean when you said you saved him? 
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Who are you talking about?
 
     Q    Mohammed bin Salman. 
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Oh, I don’t know.  You’ll have to figure that out yourself. 
 
     Yeah, go ahead.  
 
     Q    Are you going to have to take executive action since Congress has --
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  You have to talk louder, really.
 
     Q    Congress hasn’t passed a stimulus bill.  There’s no stimulus bill.
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  I don’t know.
 
     Q    It looks like it’s off the table. 
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Right now, the Democrats don’t want to pass it.  They don’t want to help, really, the workers of our country.  They didn't deserve this.  This was given to us by China.
 
     But Nancy Pelosi and Schumer don't want to pass a stimulus bill because they think that helps me in the election.  I don't think it helps me at all.  We are prepared to pass stimulus for people that need it.  Again, it wasn't their fault; it was China's fault.  So we're prepared to do it, but I have a feeling the Democrats won't do it.
 
     In the meantime, our economy is very good.  We’re in a “super V.”  We're doing numbers that were -- are much better than anybody ever thought possible.
 
     We had the best four months of hiring that we've ever had -- I guess it was 10.4 million people -- in the history of our country.  Our retail numbers, as you saw, came out.  They’re record-setting retail numbers.  Our country is doing really well.  We're going to have a great third quarter.  And next year will be one of the best economic years we've ever had.
 
     And again, I'm going to Michigan, where we have car plants, where we have expansion of plants.  They're going to have a fantastic year, next year.  The one problem with Michigan: the governor has to open up the state.  Okay?  
 
END            5:40 P.M. EDT

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP IN PRESS BRIEFING James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

 

Office of the Press Secretary
 
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP
IN PRESS BRIEFING
 
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
 
 
3:29 P.M. EDT
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much.  Wow.  We have some big ones today, huh?  This is a room -- loaded up.  Wow.  Paula Reid.  Jonathan Karl.  Phil Rucker.  Hi, Phil.  How are you?  Kaitlan.  We’ve got the all-stars.  A lot of all-stars today.  You too.
 
     Q    Alex Alper, Reuters. 
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  You too.  That’s good.  Well, that’s fine. 
 
     Thank you very much.  In the past four months, we've added 10.6 million jobs, including 643 [thousand] manufacturing jobs and 658,000 construction jobs.  It's far beyond expectations. 
 
     We've experienced the smallest contraction of any Western nation, meaning we've been affected less than any other nation -- Western nation -- and probably, almost, I think you can put us in -- I just saw some numbers -- I think you can put us into just about any category anywhere.  And the fastest recovery by far.  And that's anywhere.  Nobody has recovered like we're recovering. 
 
     If we follow Joe Biden’s strategy, we’d shut down the entire country after just having set records on growth.  And we also did have tremendous retail growth, as you probably noticed.  We're witnessing the fastest labor market recovery from an economic crisis in our history. 
 
     By contrast, the Obama-Biden administration had the slowest, weakest, and worst recovery in American history, as you know. 
 
     We continue to make progress in our fight against the China virus.  New weekly cases have declined by 44 percent since July.  Deaths declined by 20 percent compared to just last week.  It's going down very rapidly.  Really rapidly.  This is in contrast to nations in the European Union, which have recently experienced a sharp increase in cases.  They’re having a very big spike over there.  We're hopefully beyond our spike, and we'll see, but we're doing very well all over our country. 
 
     In the past five weeks, per capita cases doubled in France; surged to over 300 percent in Spain, which I've been hearing about and speaking to some of the leaders of Spain, and they are having a hard time; and increased more than 400 percent in Italy again.  And as you remember, I stopped -- I put a ban on people coming in from Europe after the ban I imposed on China, Wuhan -- but because of Wuhan primarily, because that area was very infected.  We -- we also put a ban on Europe.  So Spain is being heavily impacted, France, and 400 percent in Italy. 
 
     Yesterday, European nations experienced 50 percent more deaths than the United States.  And you don't hear these things.  You don't hear these statistics.  But the United States has done really well.  Very proud of everybody that worked on this.  And I really do believe we're rounding the corner. 
 
     And the vaccines are right there, but even -- not even discussing vaccines and not discussing therapeutics, we're rounding the corner.  We already have therapeutics out there, by the way, which are having obviously a very big impact because you look at that, you look at the -- the way people are recovering, it’s so much better than in the past before we knew about the disease and had anything to fight the disease. 
 
     On schools, as part of our science-based approach, we want schools to safely open and stay open.  Children are at extremely low risk of complications from the virus.  Less than 0.2 percent -- 0.2 percent of the coronavirus deaths have occurred in those under the age of 25, and most had underlying conditions where there was a problem. 
 
     There is no substitute for in-person learning.  According to a recent study, student progress in math decreased by half and -- using online education compared to in-person or campus education.  So, online, we think of so many things online and how great it is; there’s nothing like being in the classroom.  That’s what we've learned from this whole ordeal.
 
     According to the CDC, school closures disproportionately harm low-income and minority children, as well as those with disabilities.  And I think you see some slides behind me that are very new, very current.  It's also crucial for colleges and universities to stay open.  And we hope that they do indeed stay open, and we want to see Big 10 football.  We hope it's coming back.  We have a lot of the colleges that we're talking about, they want to come back.  We hope that Michigan agrees. 
 
     We hope that -- and I know the governor will have a lot to say about it.  We hope she approves it.  But we have a couple that -- Maryland is another one.  We hope the governor puts a little pressure on so that we can have it, but I have a feeling they may do it.  They may do it without having everybody, but I think they're going to have maybe Michigan, maybe Maryland.  We have a couple of states that might not participate. 
 
     But people are working very, very hard to get Big 10 football back, and I'm pushing it.  And it'll be a great thing for our country and the players.  And the coaches want to do it really badly.  The par- -- the players are missing -- they only have so many years of this.  And the players are missing a big opportunity, including the chance, in some of the cases -- they have some of the best players, college players in our country, and they want to get into the NFL and they want to make money in the NFL, and they're not going to be able to do that too easy if you don't get to see them play. 
 
     It's much safer for students to live on campus.  And low-risk young people would, rather than the alternative.  It's -- the alternative is no good -- than going home spreading the virus to high-risk Americans.  It's -- they want to be on campus.  They want to go back to school.  And the parents want them back in school, maybe more so than they want to be back in school.  And they want them back safely and they want to go back safely, but they have to go back. 
 
     Based on the recent data from more than 20 colleges, not a single student who tested positive for the virus has been hospitalized.  So that's a lot of people.  That's a lot of students.  Not one has been hospitalized. 
 
     As we continue to follow the science-based approach to protect our people and vanquish the virus, Joe Biden continues to use the pandemic for political gain.  Every time I see him, he starts talking about the pandemic.  He's reading it off a teleprompter.  I'm not allowed to use a teleprompter.  Why is that, Phil?  They ask questions and he starts reading the teleprompter.  He says, “Move the teleprompter a little bit closer, please.”  I don't know, I think if I did that, I'd be in big trouble.  I think that would be -- that would be the story of the year. 
 
     When I took early action in January to ban the travel and all travel to and from China, the Democrats and Biden, in particular, called it “xenophobic.”  You remember that?  Joe was willing to sacrifice American lives to placate the radical-left open-border extremists.  And we saved tens of thousands of lives, probably hundreds of thousands of lives.  And we saved millions of lives by doing the closing and now the opening the way we did it. 
 
     Joe's decision to publicly attack the China ban proved he lacks the character or intelligence or instinct to do what is right.
 
     Now Biden has launched a public campaign against the vaccine, which is so bad, because we have some vaccines coming that are incredible.  Scott was telling me about some of the things that are happening and it's very exciting, Scott.  Thank you for being here.  But you don't want to have anything having to do with, for political purposes, being an anti-vaxxer.  You don't want to be talking about the vaccines in a negative way, especially when you see the statistics that we're starting to see.  They're incredible, actually.
 
     Biden is perfectly happy to endanger the lives of other people by doing something that he thinks is going to help him politically because his polls are getting very bad.  They're getting very shaky. 
 
     This was an election that was going to be very easy, very quick, and then the China virus came in and I had to go back to work politically, unfortunately.  I had to devote more time politically than to the other things we do, which are very important for our country.  But I had to go back to work.  And it looks like -- it looks like we're going up very rapidly.  More rapidly than the media wants to admit. 
 
     And Biden has had to go out.  He's gotten out of his basement and he's working.  Let's see what happens.  But we got to talk about how great these vaccines are if, in fact, they’re great.  And I think you're going to see numbers that are going to be very, very impressive. 
 
     The approach to the virus is a very unscientific blanket lockdown by the Democrats -- that's what they're talking about -- which takes all of these incredible statistics, records, and it throws them out the window.  Now, they did say it would be based on the recommendation of the experts, but, you know, whether expert or not, we're not doing any more shutdowns.  We did the shutdown and now we're doing the opening, and there won't be any more shutdowns. 
 
     There could be a little section, a small section, where you have a breakout, but we're not talking about shutdowns like they were talking about, depending on experts.  We're not going to be doing that. 
 
     The swine flu was a disaster, you remember, when -- not nearly as deadly, not -- not the same world.  But when Joe Biden was Vice President, his failed approach to the swine flu was disastrous.  He called it -- he called it N1H1; it's actually H1N1.  You know, you remember the “H” comes before the “N,” so it’s sort of easy to remember, right?  But Joe -- Joe always calls it the opposite way, but it was -- call it the “swine flu.”  It was disastrous.
 
     And his own chief of staff said that when Biden helped manage the swine flu in 2009, they, quote, “did everything possible wrong.”  And 60 million Americans got H1N1 in that period of time.  This is a quote from his chief of staff.  And it’s just “purely a fortuity that this isn't one of the great mass casualty events.  It had nothing to do with us doing anything right because we did everything wrong.”  It was a disaster.  It was a disaster.  And now he's telling us how to manage -- he can't manage himself. 
 
     Two hundred and seventy thousand Americans were hospitalized during this attack.  The outbreak was so rampant that the Obama administration told states to stop testing.  “We don't want any tests,” because they don't want to show all of the things that tests show.  By the way, we're setting a record on testing.  Our testing is at a level that nobody has ever seen before.  We're substantially greater than the second country -- which is India, by the way, which has 1.5 billion people.  But we're 50 million tests ahead -- 50 million ahead.
 
     And they ordered the CDC to stop counting tests and stop counting cases, and then left us a depleted stockpile, which is what I inherited.  I inherited a depleted -- a very badly depleted stockpile.  In other words, Biden's record demonstrates that if he had been in charge of this very serious, highly, highly contagious epidemic or pandemic -- the China virus -- countless more Americans would have died.
 
     And if we didn't do what we did -- and I say it all the time now because the media likes to belittle.  What we've done has been incredible.  Now you can look at Europe and you can look at other places, and you can start comparing.
 
     Biden is weak on China.  Yesterday, it was revealed that a fund -- partly owned by Joe Biden's son, Hunter -- facilitated the sale of a Michigan auto parts producer to a leading Chinese military defense contractor.  You don't want to write about that, do you?  Biden spent his entire career selling Michigan jobs to China.  Now the Biden family is selling out our country directly to the Chinese military, which has to do with this company that Hunter -- here we go with Hunter again.  He didn't have a job; now, all of a sudden, he’s selling companies from Michigan to China. 
 
     China's military got American manufacturing jobs, and the Biden family got paid a lot of money.  And I said, “If Joe Biden ever got elected, China will own America.”  They will -- they will own America.
 
     Finally, I can announce with great pride that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will be departing this evening on a historic trip to Doha -- that’s Qatar -- for the beginning of intra-Afghan peace negotiations.  We've been negotiating with them for quite some time, getting along with them, moved a lot of soldiers out.
 
     I got a report this morning that there's been nobody killed in Afghanistan since early February.  It's a long time.  There’s been no deaths, no problems.  And a lot of progress is being made in Afghanistan.  But we'll be down to 4,000 soldiers in a very short period of time.
 
     Likewise, Iraq: We’ll be down to about 2,000 soldiers in a very short period of time.  And, in Syria, for the most part, we're out, other than we kept the oil.  And so we have soldiers guarding the oil -- not too many; I think a small number -- but they're guarding the oil.  And we're helping the Kurds, and we're making their lives much more pleasant because of the fact that we have the oil.
 
     So we're pretty much out of Syria.  We're pretty much out of Iraq.  And we're down to the smallest force that we've had in -- we’ll be very shortly down to that number in Afghanistan.
 
     The negotiations are a result of a bold diplomatic effort on part of my administration in recent months and years.  The United States will play an important role in bringing the parties together to end the decades-long war; it's been going on for almost 20 years, long before I got involved, I can tell you that.
 
     And had they not been wasting our time with all of the phony witch hunts and all of the things, we probably could have done this even faster.  But a lot of time had to be spent wasted like that.
 
     But the parties are together right now, and we're negotiating, and we're really making tremendous progress.
 
     Next week at the White House, we'll be having a signing between UAE and Israel, and we could have another country added into that.  And I will tell you, countries are lining up that want to go into it.
 
     As you know, UA- -- UAE is headed by a very, very highly respected gentleman and respected by everybody.  And he's a warrior too.  He’s a great warrior.  And Mohammed is very excited about this.  And you'll be hearing other countries coming in over a relatively short period of time. 
 
     And you could have peace in the Middle East.  I think what, ultimately, will happen is you're going to have quite a few countries come in.  The big ones are going to be coming in.  I spoke to the King of Saudi Arabia, so we're talking.  We're starting a -- we just started the dialogue.  And you'll have them come in.
 
     And I think two things are going to happen: Iran will -- if we win the election, Iran will come and sign a deal with us very, very rapidly, within the first, I would say, week, but let's give ourselves a month -- because their GDP went down 25 percent, which is, like, an unheard of number, and they'd like to be able to get back to having a successful country again.  So I think that'll happen.
 
     And I think, very importantly, the Palestinians will get back into the fold.  And when they see all of these countries that, frankly, have been supporters of the Palestinians -- very big supporters and, certainly, financial supporters.
 
     As you know, we used to pay the Palestinians $750 million a year, and I ended that some time ago, on the basis that they didn't seem to want to make peace.  And we'll think about it once we have a deal, but I've ended that quite a while ago.  I'm frankly surprised they haven't been to the table earlier.
 
     But this is the best way.  This is a way that's going to be great.  This can really bring the Middle East together. 
 
     And again, since February, we haven't had a death in Afghanistan, which is -- it's a record for many years.  Not a death.  And we're getting along very, very well with the Taliban and very well with Afghanistan and its representatives.  And we'll see how it all goes.  It's a negotiation.
 
     But Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will be departing in a little while.  So I think that's very exciting news.  And a lot of people thought that my natural instinct is war; no, my natural instinct is actually peace.  When we were on the debate stage, people used to say, “Will it be one week or two weeks before President Trump gets into a war?”  But that’s not -- I did rebuild our military.  We have a military that -- two and a half trillion dollars -- new jets and rockets and tanks and ships and a lot of things we have.  We have the newest, best military we've ever had.  So, hopefully, we won't have to use it.
 
     Our nuclear program has been put into gear like never before, and in particular, hopefully, we won't have to use that, because that's a whole new level of destruction.  And we never want to -- just have to pray to God we never have to use that.
 
     All right, please, Jon.
 
     Q    Yes, thank you, Mr. President.  Why did you lie to the American people?  And why should we trust what you have to say now?
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Such a terrible question and the phraseology.  I didn't lie.  What I said is: We have to be calm; we can't be panicked.  I knew that the tapes were there.  These were a series of phone calls that we had -- mostly phone calls.  And Bob Woodward is somebody that I respect, just from hearing the name for many, many years, not knowing too much about his work, not caring about his work.
 
     But I thought it would be interesting to talk to him for a period of, you know, calls.  So we did that.  I don't know if it's good or bad.  I don't even know if the book is good or bad, but, certainly, if he thought that was a bad statement, he would have reported it because he thinks that -- you know, you don't want to have anybody that is going to suffer medically because of some fact.  And he didn't report it because he didn't think it was bad.  Nobody thought it was bad. 
 
     Q    But when you told him that this --
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Wait a minute.  Wait a minute.  And your question -- the way you phrased that is such a disgrace.  It’s a disgrace to ABC Television Network.  It's a disgrace to your employer.  And that's the answer.  Are you ready?  Because I --
 
     Q    Are you saying you didn’t lie?
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  I love --
 
     Q    I mean, you -- you told him that you knew that --
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Of course I didn’t.  Of course I didn’t.
 
     Q    -- it was “deadlier than the flu.”
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  No, no.  No, no. 
 
     Q    And then you went out and told the American public that this was “just like the flu.”
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Let me tell you something: We’ve had flu years --
 
     Q    I mean, you told Woodward one thing and you told everybody else something else.
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  No.  And five times, right?  Five times.  You ever hear the expression, “five times”?  We’ve had flu years where we lost 100,000 people.  The flu is a very serious problem for this country also.  And we’ve been losing them -- Scott, what kind of a number have we lost over the years with flus?  Into the hundreds of thousands?
 
     DR. ATLAS:  Well, I mean, the last five years have been something like 35 to 80 thousand per year, every year, even with antiviral drugs and even with vaccines. 
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Flu is a very serious problem also.
 
     Q    But you told Bob Woodward this is -- this is worse than the most deadly -- “deadlier than the most strenuous flu.”
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Okay.
 
     Q    And then you went out and said, “It’s just like the flu.”
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  What I went out and said is very simple --
 
     Q    And that it was “going to go away.”
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Listen, what I went out and said is very simple: I want to show a level of confidence and I want a show strength as a leader, and I want to show that our country is going to be fine, one way or the other.  Whether we lose one person -- we shouldn’t lose any, because this shouldn’t have happened.  This is China’s fault.  This is nobody’s fault but China.  China should not have allowed it to happen. 
 
     Whether you have a -- one person, 180,000 people, or two and a half or 3 million people, which it could have been very seriously if we didn't make the moves.  And when you look at the opposition, where they said, “Oh, why did he put the ban on?” -- Doctor Fauci said we saved hundreds of thousands of lives by putting the ban on China and then, ultimately, putting the ban on Europe.  There was no lie here. 
 
     What we're doing is we're leading, and we're leading in a proper way.  And if, frankly, somebody else was leading it, they wouldn't have closed it. 
 
     If you look at Nancy Pelosi, you look at Cuomo, you look at de Blasio, you look at Biden, months later, they said there's no problem -- they're talking about me.  Months later.  And before any statement was made -- you have to remember, I put the ban on China.  So, obviously, outwardly I said it's a very serious problem.  And it's always a serious problem.  That doesn't mean I'm going to jump up and down in the air and start saying, “People are going to die!  People are going to die!”  No.  No.  I'm not going to do that. 
 
     We're going to get through this.  And we're, right now, I hope -- really think we're going to -- we're rounding the final turn.  And a lot of good things are happening with vaccines and with therapeutics, but there's no lying.  And the way you ask that question is very disgraceful. 
 
     Q    But should people trust you now?
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Phil, go ahead, please.  Go ahead. 
 
     Yeah, I do think so.  And I think we did a great job.  I think we did a great job.  And the people that did such -- our generals, our admirals, Mike Pence, all of the people that have worked so hard -- and now Dr. Atlas -- all of the -- Dr. Fauci, Dr. Birx -- they should be respected for the job they've done.
 
     Q    So you won't downplay it again? 
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  And you haven’t --
 
     Q    You won't downplay it again?  Because you said you downplayed it.  That’s what you told (inaudible).
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  All I'm doing is -- no, I don't want to jump up and down and start screaming “Death! Death!” because that's not what it's about.  We have to lead a country.  We're leading a great country, and we're doing a great job. 
 
     And the people that have done such a good job should be given the kind of credit that they deserve.  We possibly have done the best jobs when you start looking at what we're doing with the vaccines and therapeutics and ventilators.  We had no ventilators, Jon.  We make thousands of ventilators now a month, and we're supplying them to the whole world.  The job we've done is the best job.  And don't give me any credit; give the people that have done this the credit.  They've done a great job.
 
     Yeah, Phil.  Go ahead.
 
     Q    Yeah, Mr. President, you talked about the need to stay calm and not jump up and down and scare people.  A lot of other world leaders were calm.  German Chancellor Angela Merkel was very calm and she presented information to the German people so that they could stay safe and protect their families.  So why as you, as President of the United States, did you not level with the American people, did you not share the information that you knew at the time, in real time?
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I don't know what -- what Angela is doing.  But if you look at the European Union right now, they're having breakouts like you've never seen before.  And, frankly, their numbers are at a level that are much worse than the numbers here.
 
     Q    Many people have died in the United States.
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  We are -- we have done -- we have -- Phil, we have done much, much better than the European Union.  I just read you numbers that are not good on their behalf; that are very good at ours.  And we have rounded the final turn, and we have -- we're going to have vaccines very soon --
 
     Q    (Inaudible.)
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  -- maybe much sooner than you think.  Listen, maybe much sooner than you think. 
 
     But we have done a phenomenal job, and the people that have done this job -- including the American public that's had to put up with a lot with the lockdowns and all of the things that they had to do -- they have to be given credit.  They have to be given credit.
 
     Q    But you knew this was a deadly virus.
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Please, go ahead.
 
     Q    You knew it was airborne.  You knew -- on February 7th, you told Bob Woodward how it transferred from person to person in the air, how deadly it was.  Why did you not come to the podium and (inaudible) people what you --
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Well, let me ask you this: If Bob Woodward thought that was bad -- because this is stuff that everyone knew.  There's a report that I have here someplace where China said it was airborne earlier than the statements I made.  People knew it was airborne.  This was nothing -- this was no big -- when I say it was airborne, everybody knew it was airborne.  This was no big thing.
 
     Q    (Inaudible) put that out in February?
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  But read the reports.  China came out with a statement that it was an airborne disease.  I heard it was an airborne disease.  I assumed it early on.  The fact is, there has to be a calmness.  You don't want me jumping up and down, screaming, “There's going to be great death.  There is going to…” and really causing some very, very serious problems for the country. 
 
     If Bob Woodward thought what I said was bad, then he should’ve immediately, right after I said it, gone out to the authorities so they can prepare and let them know. 
 
     Q    But Bob Woodward is not -- 
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  But he didn't think it was bad, and he said he didn't think it was bad.  He actually said he didn't think it was bad.
 
     Q    Bob Woodward is not the President.
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  The only one that said it was bad or thinks it was bad were the fake news media, because they take it and they try and put it a certain way. 
 
     If Bob Woodward thought it was bad, then he should’ve immediately gone out publicly, not wait four months.  You know, he's had that statement for four months, maybe five months.  He's had it for a long time.  It was a series of taped interviews, mostly by telephone -- quick ones, not long ones.  Quick ones.  And it was -- I did it out of curiosity, because I do have respect, and I want to see -- I wonder whether or not somebody like that can write good.  I don't think he can, but let's see what happens.
 
     Yeah, please. 
 
     Q    Thank you, Mr. President.  We’re just about 50 days out from the election and we haven't seen a lot out of the Durham investigation yet.
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.
 
     Q    Where is that?  And do you -- do you have confidence in the investigation?
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I can't tell you that yet.  I have to see.  I'm not involved in it.  I purposely stayed uninvolved.  I'm, I guess, considered the chief law enforcement officer of the country.  I could be involved if I wanted to.  I thought it would be better if I wasn't.  I think it's better if our great Attorney General handle it.  He has Durham, who is a very, very respected man, and we're going to see what it is.  I can't tell you that.
 
     Q    But do you want to see more indictments?
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  I can tell you this -- I can tell you this: They -- they lied, they cheated, they leaked, they got caught.  They spied on my campaign.  Never in history has there been anything like this.  And I guarantee if the roles were reversed and I was on the Democrat side, people would have been in jail at the very highest level.  People would have been in jail for two years already.  Nothing like this has ever happened.  And the term would be for many, many years, because it's treason and other words can be used also.
 
     Q    So you think there should be more indictments as a part of this investigation?
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I think -- just on what I read in your wonderful papers, I think -- and -- and see what, you know, just looking at the media -- not even what I know.  I think Comey is a disgrace to our country.  I think Strzok -- who just wrote a book, which is a total fake -- is a disgrace.  I think Page -- Lisa Page, his lover -- is a disgrace to our country. 
 
     I think that when you look at McCabe, where his wife got $700,000 in campaign contributions from Hillary Clinton -- right? 
 
     And then Hillary Clinton is under investigation, and yet she paid the head of the FBI -- one of the top people, but actually the head, because he took over for -- for the other guy, who fortunately I fired.  I made a good move when I fired.  That was a smart move -- because they were looking to take down this administration, duly elected administration.  So I fired him.  That was a great move when I fired him.  Because maybe, if I didn't, I wouldn't be here talking to you as President. 
 
     But when McCabe's wife gets $700,000 in campaign contributions when she was running for whatever office she was running from -- from Virginia -- and yet he's in charge of the investigation of Hillary Clinton.  Now, he says, “Well, I wasn't really in charge.”  Of course, he was in charge.  He was totally in charge.  He knew exactly what was going on. 
 
     These people got caught in the -- probably the biggest political scandal in the history of our country.  They got caught.
 
     Now, what the Durham report is going to say, I can't tell you.  But if they say half as much as I already know -- just from seeing it.  You know, you have people -- I watch some of the shows.  I watch Liz McDonald; she's fantastic.  I watched Fox Business.  I watched Lou Dobbs last night, Sean Hannity last night, Tucker last night, Laura.  I watched “Fox and Friends” in the morning.  You watch these shows; you don't have to go too far into the details.  They cover things that are -- it's really an amazing thing. 
 
     They got caught in the biggest political scandal in the history of our country.  They were spying on their opponent’s campaign.  Not only spying; they were making up fake dossiers.  You have the dirty dossier.  They were making up the dirty -- and it was all made up.  It was all fiction.  It turned out to be fiction.  And then they were using that in the FISA courts -- this revered court.  Well, it’s not so revered anymore because when you look at what they did and how they played it -- and they hurt a lot of people.
 
     General Flynn is still being hurt, and he's being hurt very badly.  He's a wonderful person.  I spoke to General Milley about General Flynn two weeks ago.  I said, “What do you think of General Flynn?”  He said, “He's a great soldier, sir.  He's a wonderful, wonderful human being.”  He's been destroyed.  He's been destroyed.
 
     No, I think that this -- without knowing anything about what Durham is going to release -- the “Durham report,” we'll call it, or maybe it's going to be more than a report.  Maybe it's going to be much more than a report, I don't know.  Maybe it's a report or maybe it's much more than that. 
 
     But when I look at the -- the things that everybody in this room knows, just from reading about it from yourselves back and forth, I think it's a disgrace to our country.  And I think if people don't pay a very, very substantial price, it’ll happen again.  And this should never ever happen to another President.
 
     Thank you very much.  Thank you, everybody.
 
                                   END                 4:00 P.M.

Readout from First Lady Melania Trump’s Meeting with U.S. Ambassador to Hungary David Cornstein

 

Office of the First Lady
Readout from First Lady Melania Trump’s Meeting with U.S. Ambassador to Hungary David Cornstein 
 
Today, First Lady Melania Trump met with U.S. Ambassador to Hungary David Cornstein. Ambassador Cornstein and Mrs. Trump discussed Hungary’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and the relationship between the United States and Hungary. Mrs. Trump thanked the Ambassador for his continued service to the American people.

1600 Daily The White House • September 10, 2020 See President Trump’s 20 additions to his Supreme Court list!

 

1600 Daily
The White House • September 10, 2020

See President Trump’s 20 additions to his Supreme Court list!


The President announced 20 additions to his list of qualified potential Supreme Court nominees yesterday. The 20 men and women he named are committed to the American ideal of impartial rule of law—a value that makes our country exceptional.
 
“Apart from matters of war and peace, the nomination of a Supreme Court justice is the most important decision an American President can make,” President Trump said.
 
🎬 President Trump adds 20 great legal minds to his Supreme Court list
 
Filling a vacancy on the Supreme Court is a decision that shapes America’s future for generations. President Trump wants judges who will preserve our Constitution as written—not subject it to their whims or policy preferences.
 
“In the recent past, many of our most treasured freedoms, including religious liberty, free speech, and the right to keep and bear arms, have been saved by a single vote on the United States Supreme Court,” President Trump said. 
 
The new names on President Trump’s list include distinguished Federal judges as well as legislators with a long history of fighting for our Constitution, such as Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas.
 
📖 READ: Additions to President Trump’s Supreme Court List
 
🎬 WATCH: Record numbers of Federal judges confirmed!

Ivanka Trump visits Farmers to Families Food Box site in North Carolina


When the pandemic struck, the Trump Administration went to work quickly designing a program to protect the food security of vulnerable American families. The result was the Department of Agriculture’s Farmers to Families Food Box program.
 
Today, Ivanka Trump and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue traveled to Raleigh to visit the North Carolina State Farmers Market. The market accepts Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards that use government funds to help those most in need—another effort by this Administration to connect fresh produce from local farmers to low-income families.
 
“With over 100 million meals delivered to date, the Farmers to Families Food Box Program continues to serve and innovate in remarkable ways to feed our nation’s most vulnerable,” Ms. Trump said. “By making this technology available through USDA, we are enabling those most in need access to fresh, locally sourced meat, dairy, and produce for their families.”

 President Trump announced an additional $1 billion for the program in August.
 
📖 How President Trump took action to protect America’s food supply!

Photo of the Day

President Trump delivers remarks on judicial appointments | September 9, 2020

TWO NOMINATIONS SENT TO THE SENATE

Office of the Press Secretary

NOMINATIONS SENT TO THE SENATE:

     William Ruger, of Virginia, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

     Chad F. Wolf, of Virginia, to be Secretary of Homeland Security, vice Kirstjen Nielsen, resigned.

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

 

Office of the Press Secretary
President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate the Following 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:

William Ruger, of Virginia, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
 
William Ruger serves as Vice President for Research and Policy at the Charles Koch Institute and Vice President for Foreign Policy at Stand Together. He was previously an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Texas State University and an adjunct Assistant Professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. He serves on several non-profit boards, including the Board of Directors of the Center for the National Interest and the Advisory Board of the Policing Project at the New York University School of Law.
 
Dr. Ruger is a veteran of the Afghanistan War and an officer in the United States Navy (Reserve Component).  Dr. Ruger’s scholarship has appeared in a number of academic journals and he is the author of the biography Milton Friedman and coauthor of two books on state politics, including Freedom in the 50 States. 
 
Dr. Ruger was awarded his A.B. degree from The College of William and Mary and his Ph.D. from Brandeis University.  He also earned a Special Operations Warfighter Certificate from the Joint Special Operations University in Tampa, Florida.  He is the recipient of numerous awards including the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy Achievement Medal, and the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with campaign star.

Proclamation on Patriot Day, 2020

 

Office of the Press Secretary
PATRIOT DAY, 2020
 
- - - - - - -
 
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
 
A PROCLAMATION
 
 
     In 2001, our Nation, united under God, made an unbreakable promise never to forget the nearly 3,000 innocent Americans who were senselessly killed on September 11.  On this sacred day -- Patriot Day -- we solemnly honor that commitment.  As the bells toll, we call by name those who perished in the terrorist attacks in New York, New York; Arlington, Virginia; and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.  In cities and towns across our great country, we stand in solidarity to remember the victims and mourn their stolen hopes and dreams.

     On a day that began as ordinary as any other, terrorists carrying out a sadistic plan murdered thousands of our fellow compatriots.  With shock and disbelief, we watched our first responders, encumbered by heavy equipment and hindered by debris and smoke, rush with conviction and courage into the void to rescue those in despair.  With pride and sorrow, we felt the tremendous bravery of those aboard Flight 93, who summoned the courage to charge the terrorists in a counterattack that saved countless American lives.  As the day closed, America steadied its resolve to hold accountable those who had attacked us and to ensure it would never happen again.

     The courage, heroism, and resilience Americans displayed on 9/11, and in its aftermath, are perpetual testaments to the spirit of our country.  While our Nation was anguished by this attack, the grit displayed that day -- the very essence of America -- was a reminder that our citizens have never failed to rise to the occasion.  Heroes sprang into action in the face of great peril to help save their fellow Americans.  Many laid down their lives.  As we reflect on the events of that September morning, let us recommit to embrace the stalwart bravery displayed and reaffirm our dedication to defending liberty from all who wish to deny it.
 
     To fulfill our collective promise never to forget, we impart the memory of that fateful day to our children and grandchildren.  The smoke that rose from the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and the Pennsylvania field carried away the souls of innocent Americans.  As we recall the images of our American Flag raised from the ashes of Ground Zero and the Pentagon, we are reminded that good triumphs over evil.  We recommit ourselves to fortifying our cherished American values so that future generations will know in their souls that the United States is the land of the free and the home of the brave.

     This Patriot Day, we commemorate the lives of those who perished on September 11, 2001, we pray for the families who carry on their legacies, and we honor the unmatched bravery of our Nation's first responders.  We also commend those who, in the days and years following the attack, answered the call to serve our country and continue to risk their lives in defense of the matchless blessings of freedom.

     By a joint resolution approved December 18, 2001 (Public Law 107-89), the Congress designated September 11 of each year as "Patriot Day."

     NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim September 11, 2020, as Patriot Day.  I call upon all departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the United States to display the flag of the United States at half-staff on Patriot Day in honor of the innocent people who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.  I invite the Governors of the United States and its Territories and interested organizations and individuals to join in this observance.  I call upon the people of the United States to participate in community service in honor of the innocent people we lost that day and to observe a moment of silence beginning at 8:46 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time to honor those victims who perished as a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
 
     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this tenth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-fifth.
 
 
                              DONALD J. TRUMP
 
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Text of a Notice on the Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Certain Terrorist Attacks

 

Office of the Press Secretary

 NOTICE
 
- - - - - - -
 
CONTINUATION OF THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN TERRORIST ATTACKS
 

 
     Consistent with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act, 50 U.S.C. 1622(d), I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency previously declared on September 14, 2001, in Proclamation 7463, with respect to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the continuing and immediate threat of further attacks on the United States.
 
     Because the terrorist threat continues, the national emergency declared on September 14, 2001, and the powers and authorities adopted to deal with that emergency must continue in effect beyond September 14, 2020.  Therefore, I am continuing in effect for an additional year the national emergency declared on September 14, 2001, in response to certain terrorist attacks.
This notice shall be published in the Federal Register and transmitted to the Congress.

 
                              DONALD J. TRUMP
 

THE WHITE HOUSE,
    September 10, 2020.

 

Text of a Letter to the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate

 

Office of the Press Secretary
September 10, 2020
 
 
Dear Madam Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)
 
Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act, 50 U.S.C. 1622(d), provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless, within 90 days before the anniversary date of its declaration, the President publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to the Congress a notice stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the anniversary date.  Consistent with this provision, I have sent to the Federal Register the enclosed notice, stating that the emergency declared in Proclamation 7463 of September 14, 2001, "National Emergency by Reason of Certain Terrorist Attacks," is to continue in effect beyond September 14, 2020.
 
The threat of terrorism that resulted in the declaration of a national emergency on September 14, 2001, continues.  The authorities that have been invoked under that declaration of a national emergency continue to be critical to the ability of the Armed Forces of the United States to perform essential missions in the United States and around the world to address the continuing threat of terrorism.  For these reasons, I have determined that it is necessary to continue in effect the national emergency declared on September 14, 2001, in response to certain terrorist attacks.
 
                             Sincerely,
 
 
 
                             DONALD J. TRUMP

Text of a Letter to the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate

 

Office of the Press Secretary
September 10, 2020
 
Dear Madam Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)
 
Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)) provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless, within 90 days before the anniversary date of its declaration, the President publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to the Congress a notice stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the anniversary date.  In accordance with this provision, I have sent to the Federal Register for publication the enclosed notice stating that the national emergency with respect to the threat of foreign interference in or undermining public confidence in United States elections declared in Executive Order 13848 of September 12, 2018, is to continue in effect beyond September 12, 2020. 
 
Although there has been no evidence of a foreign power altering the outcomes or vote tabulation in any United States election, foreign powers have historically sought to exploit America's free and open political system.  In recent years, the proliferation of digital devices and internet-based communications has created significant vulnerabilities and magnified the scope and intensity of the threat of foreign interference.  The ability of persons located, in whole or in substantial part, outside the United States to interfere in or undermine public confidence in United States elections, including through the unauthorized accessing of election and campaign infrastructure or the covert distribution of propaganda and disinformation, continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.  Therefore, I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13848 with respect to the threat of foreign interference in or undermining public confidence in United States elections.
 
                              Sincerely,

 
 
 
                             DONALD J. TRUMP

Text of a Notice on Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect To Foreign Interference In or Undermining Public Confidence In U.S. Elections

 

Office of the Press Secretary

 NOTICE
 
- - - - - - -
 
CONTINUATION OF THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO FOREIGN INTERFERENCE IN OR UNDERMINING PUBLIC CONFIDENCE IN THE UNITED STATES ELECTIONS
 
 

     On September 12, 2018, by Executive Order 13848, I declared a national emergency pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States constituted by the threat of foreign interference in or undermining public confidence in United States elections. 

     Although there has been no evidence of a foreign power altering the outcomes or vote tabulation in any United States election, foreign powers have historically sought to exploit America's free and open political system.  In recent years, the proliferation of digital devices and internet-based communications has created significant vulnerabilities and magnified the scope and intensity of the threat of foreign interference.  The ability of persons located, in whole or in substantial part, outside the United States to interfere in or undermine public confidence in United States elections, including through the unauthorized accessing of election and campaign infrastructure or the covert distribution of propaganda and disinformation, continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.  For this reason, the national emergency declared on September 12, 2018, must continue in effect beyond September 12, 2020.  Therefore, in accordance with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13848 with respect to the threat of foreign interference in or undermining public confidence in United States elections.

     This notice shall be published in the Federal Register and transmitted to the Congress.

 
                              DONALD J. TRUMP
 

THE WHITE HOUSE,
    September 10, 2020.

 

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