July 18, 2019 1600 Daily The White House • On Behalf of Our Country, President Trump Receives a Piece of American history

The White House • July 18, 2019

On behalf of our country, President Trump receives a piece of American history  President Donald J. Trump welcomed Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte to the White House today, where the President accepted an incredible gift. “Today, on behalf of the American people, I will receive an American flag that flew aboard a ship carrying the first waves of United States service members to land in Normandy,” President Trump said. “Seventy-five years after that momentous day,” this great piece of American history is “back home where it belongs.”  Watch: “It is my honor to welcome this great American flag back home.” This 48-Star banner is an important symbol of perhaps the most storied military victory for the free world. On June 6, 1944, the flag President Trump received today flew aboard Landing Craft Control 60 as it approached Normandy. The ship was commanded by a young Navy lieutenant, two days shy of his 27th birthday, named Howard Vander Beek. “Amid treacherous German minefields, raging winds, and rough seas, Lieutenant Vander Beek and his crew led an astonishing 19 waves of American troops and equipment to those very, very dangerous beaches,” the President explained. “Through it all, this flag soared proudly above the waters of the English Channel, announcing the arrival of our American warriors.” After the D-Day mission was complete, Lt. Vander Beek carried the flag with him through the end of the war. It stayed in his possession until he passed away in 2014. Today, this same flag—which still bears scars from German gunfire and stains from American blood—is being returned home, where it will be on display in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. “It will always be a reminder of the supreme sacrifice of our warriors, and the beautiful friendship between the Dutch and the American people,” President Trump said. That close partnership continues today, as the United States and the Netherlands work to meet security challenges head-on. Whether it’s efforts to defeat ISIS or support NATO's forward presence in the Baltics and Poland, both nations’ forces stand together.  Watch: The Netherlands present America with a historic D-Day flag. More: In France, President Trump honored D-Day’s 75th anniversary Team USA Special Olympic athletes visit the White House Athletes who represented America at the 2019 Special Olympics World Games visited the Oval Office today, where they were greeted by President Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and Second Lady Karen Pence. “What you have done is incredible,” the President told them. “All those medals.” The Vice President and Second Lady have been heavily involved with supporting the Special Olympics under President Trump. The President asked the Second Lady herself to lead the U.S. delegation at the World Games. “This is probably the highest honor I will ever have as Second Lady,” she said. “You make us so proud—not just for your athletic prowess, but for the way you represent our country and the way you reach out to other nations and other athletes.”  Watch: President Trump welcomes Team USA from the Special Olympics Photo of the Day Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, joined by Vice President Mike Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence, meet with members of Team USA for the 2019 Special Olympics World Games | July 18, 2019

July 18, 2019 President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Designate Individual to a Key Administration Post

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 18, 2019

President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Designate Individual to a Key Administration Post   Today, President Donald J. Trump announced his intent to designate the following individual to a key position in his Administration: James J. Sullivan, Jr., of Pennsylvania, to be designated Chairman of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

July 18, 2019 REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP AT A FLAG PRESENTATION CEREMONY

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 18, 2019 REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP AT A FLAG PRESENTATION CEREMONY East Room   3:09 P.M. EDT      THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much.  Thank you.  Before I begin, I want to apprise everyone of an incident in the Strait of Hormuz today involving USS Boxer, a Navy amphibious assault ship.  The Boxer took defensive action against an Iranian drone, which had closed into a very, very near distance, approximately 1,000 yards, ignoring multiple calls to stand down and was threatening the safety of the ship and the ship’s crew.  The drone was immediately destroyed.      This is the latest of many provocative and hostile actions by Iran against vessels operating in international waters.  The United States reserves the right to defend our personnel, our facilities, and interests, and calls upon all nations to condemn Iran’s attempts to disrupt freedom of navigation and global commerce.      I also call on other nations to protect their ships as they go through the Strait, and to work with us in the future.  Thank you very much.      I thought you should you know that. I’m honored to be here with Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands -- fantastic country; incredibly successful country -- and so many of our Dutch friends who have come with Mark.  I want to thank you all for being with us in the East Room of the White House.  Thank you all for being here.  I appreciate it.  Thank you.  Thank you very much.  (Applause.) Thank you also to Vice President Pence and Acting Secretary of Defense Richard Spencer for joining us.  Thank you, Richard, Mike.   Last month, Melania and I traveled to the United Kingdom and France to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of D-Day.  Together, we paid tribute to every courageous patriot who fought to liberate Europe from the evil of Nazi rule. Today, on behalf of the American people, I will receive an American flag that flew aboard a ship carrying the first waves of United States service members to land in Normandy.  Seventy-five years after that momentous day -- and that is truly a momentous day; one of the most powerful, most important days in the history of our world -- it is my honor to welcome this great American flag back home where it belongs. I want to thank the Prime Minister, as well as U.S. Ambassador Peter Hoekstra.  Pete, thank you.  Thank you very much, Peter.  You’re doing a great job.  And Dutch Ambassador Hendrik Schuwer, for being here today and for their devoted efforts to deepen the abiding ties between the United States and the Netherlands.  Our relationship has never been closer than it is today. We are also profoundly moved to be joined by several incredible World War Two veterans who helped defeat the Nazis and save freedom for all humanity. With us is Jack Goldstein, who served in Europe during the war.  Jack?  Where’s Jack?  (Applause.)  Thank you, Jack.  Thank you.  Thank you very much, Jack.  Along with Steven Melnikoff and Harold Angle, both veterans of the Normandy campaign.  (Applause.)  Thank you very much, fellas.  And they went on to fight in the Netherlands.  Thank you, fellas.  That’s incredible.  Thank you all three.  You look great.  Young guys.  (Laughter.)  Thank you very much. This event would not be possible without the extraordinary generosity of the flag’s two donors from the Netherlands: Mr. Bert Kreuk, and his uncle and business partner, Mr. Theo Schols.  And I want to thank you very much.  Where are they?  Thank you very much.  That’s great.  (Applause.)  Very much, thank you. And thank you for preserving our history and for watching over the immortal legacy of our D-Day heroes.  That’s what you did.  Thank you.  And I know it was expensive.  Two rich people, I assume, right?  (Laughter.)  Huh?  I appreciate it.  Thank you. On June 6, 1944, the flag we receive today flew aboard Landing Craft Control 60.  And it was approached, and when it approached Utah Beach -- I was there very recently with the First Lady, and it was something incredible to see. Commanding the ship was a young Navy lieutenant, two days shy of his 27th birthday, named Howard Vander Beek.  Amid treacherous German minefields, raging winds, and rough seas, Lieutenant Vander Beek and his crew led an astonishing 19 waves of American troops and equipment to those very, very dangerous beaches.  Through it all, this flag soared proudly above the waters of the English Channel, announcing the arrival of our American warriors. After completing his mission on D-Day, Lieutenant Vander Beek took the flag -- now bearing the scars of German machinegun fire and stained, all over it, with dirt and diesel and blood.  He carried it with him in his backpack for the remainder of the war and kept the flag until his death in 2014.      Soon after, the flag was purchased at auction by Mr. Kreuk and Mr. Schols, whose relatives were among the hundreds of Dutch who perished in the German bombings of Rotterdam in 1940. These two gentlemen paid half a million dollars to obtain the flag, just so they could return it as a gift to the American people and to the United States of America. As they explained, they wanted to thank the United States for the extraordinary sacrifice our service members made to liberate their nation and all of Europe in World War Two.  So nice.  Thank you very much.  So nice.   Thousands of Americans gave their lives on D-Day, and many thousands more gave their lives to drive the Nazis from the Netherlands. Following today’s ceremony, the extraordinary flag will be displayed at the Smithsonian’s Museum of American History -- and very proudly.   With us this afternoon are Secretary of the Smithsonian, a friend of mine, Lonnie Bunch.  Lonnie, thank you very much for being here.  (Applause.)  And Director of the Museum of American History, Anthea Hartig.  Anthea, thank you very much.  (Applause.)  Thank you. And I know they will take great care of this priceless American artifact.  Thank you very much for being here, both.  I know they share Mr. Kreuk’s vision for the flag.  As he said, it will tell visitors from around the world about the story of freedom. With their help, this wonderful flag will be preserved forever and ever in American history, as it should be.  It will always be a reminder of the supreme sacrifice of our warriors, and the beautiful friendship between the Dutch and the American people. And now, I would like to introduce a very special man, a man I've gotten to know very well during our strong negotiations on trade and our negotiations on the military and NATO and all of the other things we've been talking about for so long, it seems like right now.  A Prime Minister who is very, very popular in his country.  A great gentleman.  And you're going to say a few words, and then Mr. Kreuk and Secretary Bunch will tell us more about the treasured gift that they presented us with. So I want to thank you all, and God bless America. Mr. Prime Minister?                                        END                3:19 P.M. EDT

July 18, 2019 REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP AND PRIME MINISTER RUTTE OF THE NETHERLANDS BEFORE BILATERAL MEETING

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 18, 2019 REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP AND PRIME MINISTER RUTTE OF THE NETHERLANDS BEFORE BILATERAL MEETING Oval Office   1:40 P.M. EDT      PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Thank you very much, everybody.  It's a great honor to be with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands.  We've become friends over the last couple of years.      PRIME MINISTER RUTTE:  Absolutely.  Yeah.      PRESIDENT TRUMP:  We've had a lot of good conversations.  We're dealing on trade, we're dealing on military, we're dealing on intelligence.  And the relationship has never been better.      And, Mr. Prime Minister, it's an honor to have you with us.  Thank you very much.       PRIME MINISTER RUTTE:  Mr. President, thanks again for hosting me.  Last year, we had a very good conversation here --      PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Right.        PRIME MINISTER RUTTE: -- and discussed our two priorities: jobs and how to keep our citizens safe.  And today we’ll discuss how to accelerate the implementation of all of that, and particularly the defense agreement we closed.      PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Right.       PRIME MINISTER RUTTE:  I’m going to Boston -- you and I discussed -- to bring up the number of Americans in a job from 800,000 to a 1,000,000.  So I will be -- there's a big trade (inaudible) in the Boston area, and to try to make next steps in that sense.  So that’s very good.     PRESIDENT TRUMP:  And a lot of people wouldn’t know that over a million jobs -- we think, very shortly, we’ll have over a million jobs having to do with the Netherlands.        PRIME MINISTER RUTTE:  Absolutely.      PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Indirectly and directly, over a million jobs.  That’s --      PRIME MINISTER RUTTE:  You (inaudible) a quarter of a million in the Netherlands --      PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Oh, well, we’re work --         PRIME MINISTER RUTTE:  -- so we have to bring that number up, too. PRESIDENT TRUMP:  We’ll work on that.        PRIME MINISTER RUTTE:  Absolutely.      PRESIDENT TRUMP:  So thank you very much for being here.        PRIME MINISTER RUTTE:  Absolutely.      PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Thank you everybody.  Thank you very much.      Q    Sir, the sanctions --      PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Steve.      Q    Sir, the sanctions on Turkey: Have you ruled out sanctions on Turkey (inaudible) -- PRESIDENT TRUMP:  We’re looking at it.  We’re looking at it.  Very, very difficult situation for a lot of reasons.  Things could have been done better in the pre- -- in the previous administration.  The previous administration made some very big mistakes with regard to Turkey, and it was too bad. So we’re looking at it.  We’ll see what we do.  We haven’t announced that yet. Q    Mr. President, if I could just ask a follow-up question.  What would your message be to your supporters who are making that chant?  And would you, again, stop them? PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Well, these are people that love our country.  I want them to keep loving our country.  And I think the congresswomen, by the way, should be more positive than they are.  The congresswomen have a lot of problems. When you look at the statements they made that were so bad and so horrible to our country, you look at what they said, Jon -- what they said was something that is -- it’s hard to believe that they could make statements like that. And I could go page over page over page -- many, many statements -- whether it’s about us, whether it’s about Israel, whether it’s about the World Trade Center, and all of the different things that were said.  It was a very terrible thing. I’m not happy about when I hear a chant like that.  And I’ve said that, and I’ve said it very strongly. But I will tell you, the Congressmen and women also have a big obligation in this country and in every country, frankly.  But they have a big obligation.  And the obligation is to love your country.  There is such hatred.  They have such hatred.  I’ve seen statements that they made with such hatred toward our country, and I don’t think that’s a good thing.  They should embrace our country.  They should love our country.  And things would be a lot better. Thank you very much everyone.  Thank you. Q    Mr. President, on the JEDI contract with the Pentagon -- PRESIDENT TRUMP:  What? Q    With the Pentagon’s JEDI contract, is there any chance that you might intervene in that contract, in that bidding? PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Which one is that? Q    It’s the Pentagon’s -- PRESIDENT TRUMP:  The Amazon? Q    Correct.  The Amazon and Microsoft -- PRESIDENT TRUMP:  So, I’m getting tremendous complaints about the contract with the Pentagon and with Amazon.  They’re saying it wasn’t competitively bid.  This is going on for a long time -- I guess, probably, before this administration.  And we’re looking at it very seriously. It’s a very big contract.  One of the biggest ever given having to do with the cloud and having to do with a lot of other things. And we’re getting tremendous, really, complaints from other companies and from great companies.  Some of the greatest companies in the world are complaining about it, having to do with Amazon and the Department of Defense. And I will be asking them to look at it very closely to see what’s going on because I have had very few things where there’s been such complaining.  Not only complaining from the media -- or at least asking questions about it from the media -- but complaining from different companies like Microsoft and Oracle and IBM.  Great companies are complaining about it.  So we’re going to take a look at it.  We’ll take a very strong look at it. Thank you very much everybody.  Thank you. Q    (Inaudible.) PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Thank you.  A big event just happened in Iran.  A big event.  I'll be talking about it -- Q    And what will you be doing about it, sir? PRESIDENT TRUMP:  A big event.  A big event.                                         END          1:45 P.M. EDT

July 18, 2019 REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP WELCOMING TEAM USA FOR THE 2019 SPECIAL OLYMPICS WORLD GAMES

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 18, 2019 REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP WELCOMING TEAM USA FOR THE 2019 SPECIAL OLYMPICS WORLD GAMES Oval Office   12:39 P.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I want to thank you all for being here.  This is special for me and special for the First Lady because this is the Special Olympics. And, I have to say, Vice President Pence and Karen Pence have been so involved.  And because she does such a job with so many things, I've asked Karen Pence to represent our government and our country on Special Olympics.  And we have a lot of the great champions here.  We have some of the winners.  They won, and they came in a couple of seconds and a couple of thirds, but a lot of first places.  And we did fantastically well in the Special Olympics. And I'd like to have Karen Pence say a few words.  You have done a fantastic job, and we appreciate it. MRS. PENCE:  Well, thank you, Mr. President.  And thank you for asking me to lead the delegation.  This was probably the highest honor I will ever have as Second Lady. And you have here, represented -- you have representatives from Special Olympics, but you also have coaches here.  You have unified athletes and you have Special Olympics athletes here.  And they represent several different sports.  And we're just so proud of all of them. We've become close friends.  I got to see them at the Winter Games and then I got to see them again at the Summer Games.  And it's so great to see the familiar faces. But one of the great things that I think the President needs to know about all of you is that you are such good representatives of our country.  They have made friends with other athletes all over the world.  And they stay in touch all the time.  And you are really adding to the diplomacy that the United States has. You make us so proud -- not just for your athletic prowess, but for the way you represent our country and the way you reach out to other nations and other athletes.  And it was such a privilege to be able to be here with all of you today. And I don't know if Mary Davis -- the President wondered if you could say a few words since you're the CEO of the Special Olympics. MS. DAVIS:  Sure, Mrs. Pence.  Thank you so much for the opportunity, President. THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you. MS. DAVIS:  I know our athletes are absolutely thrilled to be here.  We create an environment every single day in Special Olympics so that our athletes can be the very best they can be.  And we also create an environment so that the rest of the world can understand their abilities and their courage and their strength and their determination and so that they will be more accepting and we can build a more inclusive community and world. And we were so fortunate to have the Games hosted in Abu Dhabi.  And the ambassador is here, I know, today.  And they've just been incredibly supportive of our efforts, and so have you.  And in doing this, you are all creating a more inclusive world for everybody. Thank you -- THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much. MS. DAVIS:  -- for Mrs. Pence being here.  I've been at the World Games in Austria and also in Abu Dhabi.  We just had a blast; we had a great time.  She saw soccer, she saw bocce.  (Laughter.) MRS. PENCE:  (Laughs.)  Yeah. MS. DAVIS:  Not golf, mind you, but -- (laughter) -- all the other things.  And it was a great experience.  And you can see the faces of our athletes, proudly wearing their medals, standing tall.  And -- THE PRESIDENT:  Right.  All of you are fantastic.  Just fantastic. MS. DAVIS:  -- it's all through opportunity.  So, thank you for your support. THE PRESIDENT:  Well, Mary, thank you.  And you did a fantastic job.  It was a great success. Where is the ambassador?  Where is the ambassador? Mr. Ambassador, you don't have to stand there.  (Laughter.)  Come on up.  Would you like to say a few words?  You've done a fantastic job -- your country has -- and it was a great Special Olympics.  So thank you very much. AMBASSADOR AL OTAIBA:  Thank you, sir.  It was just really an honor to host it.  And these athletes represented the country very well.  And the UAE not just was honored, it was happy, it was proud.  The people in the country were actually joyful for the entire week that this was going on.  We were worried that we weren't going to have enough volunteers; we ended up having 21,000 volunteers sign up for the event. So it was just a reflection of how well it went. THE PRESIDENT:  That's fantastic, isn't it?  Right?  Wow.  Congratulations.  Say hello to all the folks. AMBASSADOR AL OTAIBA:  Thank you, sir. THE PRESIDENT:  Our friends, right?  Great friends.  Great friendship.  Thank you very much. Well, I just want to congratulate every -- I mean, what you've done is incredible.  Bringing home all those medals.  How did you feel about winning?  How did you feel? MS. CAMERON:  I did good.  I did five -- over five time -- -- five times over. THE PRESIDENT:  Whoa.  (Laughter.)  That's not bad, huh?  (Applause.) MS. CAMERON:  I did -- I did fourth -- fourth place. THE PRESIDENT:  Right.  Very good.  Thank you very much. MRS. PENCE:  But, Mr. President, Jane was telling us beforehand -- we were waiting in the Roosevelt Room -- she was sharing that she was so excited that her dad and she both have the same color hair as you.  (Laughter.) THE PRESIDENT:  Wow. MS. CAMERON:  Yes. THE PRESIDENT:  Oh, wow. MRS. PENCE:  Pretty proud of that. THE PRESIDENT:  I hope he has a beautiful head of hair like me.  (Laughter.)  Maybe it's better. MS. CAMERON:  But my dad (inaudible) hair. THE PRESIDENT:  He likes the hair.  (Laughter.)  That's very interesting.  I'm going to have to think about that.  (Laughter.)  Thank you.  Say hello to your dad, right? MS. CAMERON:  No.  I'll tell you why. THE PRESIDENT:  Go ahead. MS. CAMERON:  My dad died. THE PRESIDENT:  Ooh. MS. CAMERON:  And my mom too. THE PRESIDENT:  When did your dad die? MS. CAMERON:  (Inaudible) home. THE PRESIDENT:  That's too bad. MS. CAMERON:  And my mom too. THE PRESIDENT:  And you loved them both, right? MS. CAMERON:  Yes. THE PRESIDENT:  That's good.  And they're proud of you, you know?  They're looking down right now, because you're in the Oval Office.  This is the big stuff, right?  You're in the Oval Office, and they're looking down on you and they see gold, right?  That's gold.      MS. CAMERON:  Yes.      THE PRESIDENT:  That’s really something.  And they’re very proud of you, right?      MS. CAMERON:  Thank you.      THE PRESIDENT:  So, congratulations.      MS. CAMERON:  Thanks.      THE PRESIDENT:  Who would like to say?  Would you like to say something?  Anybody?  On your great victory?      MRS PENCE:  Well, I think you should tell about your special accomplishment.  (Applause.)         MR. MILLETT:  On behalf of Special Olympics (inaudible) -- we have 15 total.  We're (inaudible) to be here in this great room.  It's a great honor and privilege to be here.              My shot was okay.  It was three-fourths shot at the end of the game.  It was swish.  It went viral.  It really (inaudible).  (Laughter.)      THE PRESIDENT:  It was?  It was (inaudible).      MR. MILLETT:  Yeah, it went viral.      Yes, so thank you for the honor to be here.      THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.      MR. MILLETT:  This is a once in a lifetime.  So we appreciate all you do for Special Olympics.  And we --      THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.      MR. MILLETT:  -- say thank you.      THE PRESIDENT:  Very proud of you.  Thank you very much.  That’s great.  That is really -- how about over here?  Anybody want to say something about your great victory?      MS. RODRIGUES:  I’m Delina.  I’m a powerlifter and I won gold overall.  (Applause.)      THE PRESIDENT:  You did?  (Inaudible.)  Let me see.   Excellent.  Yeah, I can see that.  (Laughter.)  So how much -- how much did you lift?      MS. RODRIGUES:  I’d say 120.      THE PRESIDENT:  Wow.  I can’t lift to 120.  (Laughter.)  That’s fantastic.      MS. RODRIGUES:  Thank you.      THE PRESIDENT:  I can see that.  Thank you.      Go ahead.      MR. SPAETH:  I do track.  I’m from Greensboro, North Carolina.      THE PRESIDENT:  That’s fantastic.  (Applause.)  I just left -- I just left North Carolina.  That's a great state.  It’s a great -- they’re great people.  Great state.  I just left.  I just got back.  I got back late last night from North Carolina.      MS. CAMERON:  Okay!      THE PRESIDENT:  Right?  Good, right?      MS. CAMERON:  Yeah.      THE PRESIDENT:  That’s --      MS. CAMERON:  I see you on TV.  (Laughter.)      THE PRESIDENT:  You saw me on TV?      MS. CAMERON:  Yes, I did. THE PRESIDENT:  Did you like it?      MS. CAMERON:  Yeah.      THE PRESIDENT:  Did you like -- see?  That’s good.      MS. CAMERON:  I did.      THE PRESIDENT:  Boy, that was good.  And I didn’t -- I didn’t pay for that.  (Laughter.)  I didn’t pay -- I didn’t pay for that, Jon.      But listen, just on behalf of Karen Pence; Mike Pence, our Vice President; Melania, First Lady; and everybody here -- and, Mary, I want to thank you for doing a fantastic job.  Karen, I want to thank you for doing an incredible job.  You work so hard.      MRS. PENCE:  Well, thank you, Mr. President, for restoring funding for Special Olympics.  We are very, very grateful.  (Applause.)      THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, everybody.  Thank you very much.      Q    Mr. President, if I may -- MR. MILLETT:  Mr. President, we have a -- Q    Mr. President, Mr. President, if I may --      THE PRESIDENT:  Jon, excuse me.      Go ahead.      MR. MILLETT:  Mr. President, we have a shirt we’d like to give you.  Mr. Vice President, I have a shirt we’d like to give you.      THE PRESIDENT:  Oh, that's very nice.      THE VICE PRESIDENT:  (Inaudible) give it to the President.      MR. MILLETT:  Yep.  She has it. THE PRESIDENT:  Oh, that's beautiful.  Thank you. MR. MILLETT:  I have your --      We all signed it.      THE PRESIDENT:  Wow.  All signed.  Thank you so much.      MR. MILLETT:  Thank you very much, Mr. President.      THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much.      Okay, thank you.      Thank you, darling.  Appreciate it.      MS. RODRIGUES:  No problem.      THE PRESIDENT:  No problem is right.  (Laughter.)      Yes.      Q    And, Mr. President, if I may, when your supporters last night were shouting -- chanting, “Send her back,” why didn’t you stop them?  Why didn’t you ask them to stop saying that?      THE PRESIDENT:  Well, number one, I think I did.  I started speaking very quickly.  It really was a loud -- I disagree with it, by the way.  But it was quite a chant.  And I felt a little bit badly about it.  But I will say this: I did, and I started speaking very quickly.  But it started up rather -- rather fast, as you probably noticed.      Q    So you’ll tell your supporters never to say it again?      THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I would say that --      Q    That that is --      THE PRESIDENT:  -- I was not happy with it.  I disagreed with it.  But again, I didn’t say -- I didn’t say that; they did.  But I disagree with it.      Q    But they were echoing what you said in your first tweet, that they should “go back.”      THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I don’t think -- if you examine it, I don’t think you’ll find that.  But I disagree with it.      Anybody else?      Q    Why did you decline the NAACP’s invitation to be part of the presidential forum next week?      THE PRESIDENT:  Because we had a date set and then they wanted to change the date.  And they wanted to do it within the form of an interview.  I had agreed to make a speech.  I would have loved to have made a speech to the NAACP. We have, as you know, record unemployment numbers -- the lowest in the history of our country.  We have -- the poverty numbers -- it’s a poverty scale -- and the African Americans doing the best that they’ve ever done in the history of our country.  We have something to be very proud of.  I mean, really proud of. I was going over with Mike, before, some of the numbers having to do with the African American community.  It’s the best numbers we’ve ever had. I very much wanted to go, but we had a date; the date got changed.  And unfortunately, they wanted to do it in the form of a question and answer.  I think you were going to be, possibly, the person asking the question. Q    I am the moderator. THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah, I mean, so -- Q    And they say  -- THE PRESIDENT:  -- maybe you could answer the question better than me. Yes, go ahead. Q    Mr. President, will you appoint Senator Rand Paul as your emissary to Iran, as it was reported?      THE PRESIDENT:  No.  I don’t know anything about that other than I have spoken to Senator Paul.  And Senator Paul is somebody I have a very good relationship with.  And I would listen to him.  But I didn’t appoint him, no.  When did this come up?      Q    Yesterday or the day before.      THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.  No.  He's somebody that I listen to.  I respect Senator Paul.  And if he had some ideas, I'd listen. I will say that Iran is a much different country right now.  When I took over, and Mike and I came into office, Iran was the scourge of the world.  They were doing 14 different sites of confliction.  They were fighting and causing problems in Yemen and Syria and Iraq and all over.  It's a much different country right now.  And you look at what's happening.  You look at them pulling back.  And they're not pulling back because they love us; they're pulling back because they don’t have money.      They're being hurt very badly by sanctions.  And I hope that doesn’t happen for long because I hope they're able to straighten it out.  It can happen very quickly.  But if you look at the original President Obama deal, it was a disaster from many standpoints, but almost, most importantly, because it was going to be ending very shortly. You know, it's a very short-term deal.  And you can't have a short-term deal for a country.  You need 100-year deal.  You don’t need a short-term.  In a few years, literally -- in a few years they would be on their way to a nuclear weapon.  That’s unacceptable. Plus, they can't do ballistic missiles, and the deal allows them to do ballistic missiles.  And we have to look other sites.  The best -- the most important site we we're not allowed to go in and look at.  What kind of a deal is that?  And other things.  And many other things. So Iran is not the same country.  They have inflation now at 75 percent.  They're having tremendous problems within the country.  They're selling very little oil.  We have an embargo.  We have a stop on oil.  Even the European countries are now agreeing with me.  You see they're coming over.  And they're coming over very strong. It's very sad what happened to Iran.  All we want to do is have a fair deal.  The deal that was made was a bad deal.  It was not approved by Congress.  A lot of problems with the deal that was made.  And we can do something quickly, or we can take our time.  I'm in no rush.  I'm in no rush. Q    Mr. President, are you concerned that your supporters chanting, you know, "Send her back" puts Representative Omar or these other representatives in danger? THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I have tremendous support.  And I wasn’t happy with that message that they gave last night.  But that was a packed arena.  We could've sold the arena.  We could've sold 10 of those arenas last night.  There were tremendous numbers of people that couldn’t get in.  We had, outside, thousands and thousands of people.  We had thousands and thousands of people that wanted to come, and we said, "Please don’t come."  It held 10,000 people.  It was packed.  We could've sold that arena 10 times. There's tremendous support for the Republican Party.  There's tremendous support for this team -- for the President, for the Vice President.  We have tremendous support, maybe like nobody has seen in a long time.  There's great energy.  I say there's far more energy on the right than there is on the left.  I mean, I hear about the left; all I see is the left is fighting all over the place.  I think we have far more support than they do, and I think we have far more energy than they do.  And we're going to have a very interesting election. But I was not happy when I heard that chant. Thank you every- -- thank you very much everybody.       Q    Mr. President, why did they do it?  Why did they do it, if not responding to --      THE PRESIDENT:  You'd have to ask them, Jon.      What I would suggest as -- I was not happy with it.  But what I would suggest: You go there, go to North Carolina, and you ask the people why did they say that.  But that’s what they said.  That’s what they --      Q    But you'll stop them if they try to do it again?      THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I didn’t like that they did it.  And I started speaking very quickly.  I could have -- I could have stood --      Q    You let it play out for several seconds.      THE PRESIDENT:  Really?  If you would have heard, there was tremendous amount of noise and action and everything else.  I started very quickly.  And I think you know that.      Q    That chant went on for --      THE PRESIDENT:  Well, maybe you’re giving me too much credit.  You’re used to giving me too much credit.      Thank you, everybody.      Q    Will you stop it next time, Mr. President?  Will you stop it the next time?      THE PRESIDENT:  Yes.  I will try.  I would certainly try, yeah.      Q    Thank you.      Q    Mr. President, on the debt ceiling --      THE PRESIDENT:  We're working on the debt ceiling.      Q    Are you close?      THE PRESIDENT:  Don’t forget, you know, the debt under President Obama added more debt than every President put together.  So you’re talking about a debt ceiling: President Obama added $10 trillion during his eight years.  He doubled the debt.  He added more debt than every President -- every single President put together.  President Obama doubled -- more than doubled the debt.      So we’re talking about a debt ceiling.  The previous President doubled the debt.  And that’s what we get stuck with.  That’s the way it is, folks.      Thank you very much.      Q    Are there sanctions -- sanctions on Turkey that you’re anticipating?      THE PRESIDENT:  No, we’re not looking at that right now.  No.      Thank you everybody.  Thank you.      Q    Thank you, sir.      THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.                                         END                 12:56 P.M. EDT

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 17, 2019

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP UPON AIR FORCE ONE ARRIVAL Pitt-Greenville Airport Greenville, North Carolina   6:21 P.M. EDT      THE PRESIDENT:  So we just got a very big vote on impeachment -- the most ridiculous project I've ever been involved in.  We have the strongest economy in the world.  We've rebuilt our military.  We've knocked out regulations.  We have the greatest tax cuts we've ever had -- the biggest and best -- including ANWR and including getting rid of a lot of different things that people didn’t want.      We have just received an overwhelming vote against impeachment.  And that's the end of it.  Let the Democrats now go back to work.  Thank you very much.                              END                6:22 P.M. EDT

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP IN MEETING WITH SURVIVORS OF RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 17, 2019 REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP IN MEETING WITH SURVIVORS OF RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION Oval Office   4:22 P.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon.  We’ll be leaving for North Carolina in a short while.  I think some of you will be outside.  Tremendous crowds in North Carolina.  Tremendous crowds everywhere. But we have a very important group of people standing alongside of me.  I’m honored to welcome Pastor Andrew Brunson and other survivors of religious persecution to the White House. We’re grateful to be joined by Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback -- a former governor, as you know; as well as Pastor Paula White -- a tremendous religious leader and a friend of the White House, a friend of the presidency, and a friend of the President. With us today are men and women of many different religious traditions from many different countries.  But what you have in common is each of you has suffered tremendously for your faith.  You’ve endured harassment, threats, attacks, trials, imprisonment, and torture.  I got to know many of you and helped you get some -- get some of you out of the difficult situation that you were in.  I’m very proud of you in the way you’ve reacted to a different life.  It is a tremendous thing. Your families are very proud, and our country is very proud, and your countries are very proud -- for those of you that aren’t from the United States.  Each of you has now become a witness to the importance of advancing religious liberty all around the world.  It’s about religious liberty. Last year, my administration hosted the world’s first-ever meeting of foreign ministers devoted solely to the subject of international religious freedom.  I want to thank all of you for joining us as we host this meeting for the second year in a row.  A lot of individual breakout meetings are being had, and we’re getting a lot of ideas as to how we can help. In America, we’ve always understood that our rights come from God, not from government.  In our Bill of Rights, the first liberty is religious liberty.  Each of us has the right to follow the dictates of our conscience and the demands of our religious conviction.  We know that if people are not free to practice their faith, then all of the freedoms are at risk and, frankly, freedoms don’t mean very much. That’s why Americans will never tire in our effort to defend and promote religious freedom.  I don’t think any President has taken it as seriously as me.  To me, it’s very important.  It’s vital.  It’s really vital. And I just want to thank everybody very much for being with us today.  You’ve been through a lot.  And I think I can say it for everyone here: You’ve been through a lot -- more than most people could ever endure.  And I want to congratulate you because that’s what you need, is congratulations.  It’s really an honor to be with you, and I will stand side by side with you forever. If I could ask Ambassador Brownback to say a few words, please. AMBASSADOR BROWNBACK:  Yes.  Thanks, Mr. President. THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you. AMBASSADOR BROWNBACK:  Appreciate it.  Thank you and your administration for your leadership on this.  Last year was the first; this year is the largest meeting ever held in the world on religious freedom -- just on this, devoted to this topic.  And with you here today, we have a Nobel Peace Prize winner, Nadia Murad, who was taken by ISIS and made into a -- well, horrible situation that she’s in.  But she’s been an outstanding advocate. And then we have helped -- this government has -- in rebuilding Northern Iraq, the Yazidi and the Christian area. THE PRESIDENT:  That’s right. AMBASSADOR BROWNBACK:  Of course, Andrew Brunson and I both -- neither of us would be here if it wasn’t for you.  And, Andrew, you busted out of a Turkish prison.  This gentleman was at Christchurch in the shootings at the mosque that took place that was there. THE PRESIDENT:  Wow. AMBASSADOR BROWNBACK:  And you have, really, people -- well, Mariam Ibraheem is here.  Was in a Sudanese jail while she was pregnant and had a death penalty for her.  But people advocated for her around the world, and she and her child are alive today.  And that’s just a few. THE PRESIDENT:  We got you out.  That’s good.  That’s great. AMBASSADOR BROWNBACK:  That’s just a few. THE PRESIDENT:  You’re feeling good?  Everything fine? MS. IBRAHEEM:  I’m feeling very well. THE PRESIDENT:  Good. MS. IBRAHEEM:  My children are very well. THE PRESIDENT:  Okay.  Congratulations. MS. IBRAHEEM:  Thank you. AMBASSADOR BROWNBACK:  Reverend Samson was going to make a comment for the group.  He’s from Burma.  He’s Kachin Christian, and they have suffered greatly there as well, and we’ve worked a lot with them. Reverend Samson, you want to tell, briefly, your story? REVEREND SAMSON:  Yes.  Yes.  I’m (inaudible) from Baptist Convention from Northern Burma.  And then, as Christians in Myanmar, we are very been oppressed and tortured by the Myanmar military government.  So -- and then we don’t have chance, many, for religious freedom.  And also, ethnic armed groups fight against to the central military government.  So, please, American government focus on ethnic people and the ethnic leader to get general democracy and federalism.  It is very important for your (inaudible) and for your (inaudible). And then thank you very much for your sanction yesterday.  It was very helpful. THE PRESIDENT:  Yes.  Yes.  We did something.  Thank you.  Appreciate it very much.  Thank you very much. Ambassador, so which is more important?  You were the governor of a great state -- a very, very top state, in my opinion.  And you’re doing, now, something for religious liberty and freedom.  Which is tougher and which is more important to you? AMBASSADOR BROWNBACK:  I think of all the jobs I’ve had -- I’ve been a congressman, a senator, a governor -- this is the most important because it’s about billions of people. THE PRESIDENT:  It's really something. AMBASSADOR BROWNBACK:  These folks here represent the faiths of billions of people around the world.  And the United States is the main country -- not the only; and many other allies are coming along -- but we’re the main country to stand up and fight for their religious freedom.  And we’re not picking a winner or loser.  We’re just saying, look, you’ve got -- governments have to protect this right.  And that’s why, to me, this job and what this administration is doing to protect it affects billions of people.  And I’m -- I think it’s incredible.  It’s an incredible opportunity. THE PRESIDENT:  So when you say other countries are coming along -- and some aren’t coming along, I assume.  Right? AMBASSADOR BROWNBACK:  Yes. THE PRESIDENT:  Some are not doing much.  Who are the good ones?  I won’t talk about the bad ones because I know who the bad ones are.  Who are the good ones? AMBASSADOR BROWNBACK:  You know, the British have been great.  They’ve been putting out some reports lately on the persecution of people of faith, and they’ve stepped up more aggressively.  UAE -- United Arab Emirates -- hosted the first-ever papal visit on the Arabian Peninsula in the history of mankind. THE PRESIDENT:  That’s great. AMBASSADOR BROWNBACK:  And they’ve been -- they’ve been stepping up and doing -- doing a lot -- a lot more. THE PRESIDENT:  That's good. AMBASSADOR BROWNBACK:  So, several -- the Europeans have been; the South Americans are starting to step up more so.  We need more. THE PRESIDENT:  You’re doing a great job.  Thank you very much. AMBASSADOR BROWNBACK:  Thank you. THE PRESIDENT:  Paula White?  Could you say a few words, Paula, please? MS. WHITE:  Yes, sir. MS. LHAMO:  Sorry, it's just -- I'm from Tibet.  It’s my dream to visit -- this opportunity to visit the President (inaudible).  Tibetan need -- (inaudible) Tibetan need (inaudible) support, please.  We need support (inaudible) His Holiness -- THE PRESIDENT:  Support, yeah. MS. LHAMO:  Yeah.  His Holiness Dalai Lama (inaudible) come back in Tibet.  My English is not good, but -- THE PRESIDENT:  No, it’s fine. MS. LHAMO:  Thank you so much for this opportunity to gather and share the story.  Thank you. THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much. MS. LHAMO:  Thank you so much. THE PRESIDENT:  Please say hello.  Please say hello.  Okay? MS. LHAMO:  Thank you. THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much.  I appreciate it.  And your English is actually very good. MS. LHAMO:  Thank you. THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you. MS. ZHANG:  I’m a Falun Gong practitioner.  My husband, now, is still in prison. THE PRESIDENT:  Your husband is in prison. MS. ZHANG:  Yeah.  And the forced organ harvesting still exists.  So we should take action.  Just the (inaudible), it doesn’t work.  So how to -- how to do this action in the communist -- Chinese communist regime. THE PRESIDENT:  And where is this, now?  Where?  Where is your husband a prisoner? MS. ZHANG:  Now my husband in Jiangsu -- Jiangsu -- Province of Jiangsu and Suzhou prison.  And, you know, 2018 -- last year -- yeah, last year -- one of our practitioners, after three years in prison, he was released home.  And in just one day, he died.  And before that, he (inaudible) a large amount of blood. As you know, you are -- THE PRESIDENT:  He -- did you say he died? MS. ZHANG:  Yeah, he died -- another Falun practitioner, where he is still also in the Suzhou prison. So, as you know, I know your one young man from the North Korea come back to U.S. and, several days after he returned, and he died.  And you know the regime, what they do.  So what should we take to act? THE PRESIDENT:  Yes.  I understand. MS. ZHANG:  Yeah.  Yeah, yeah. THE PRESIDENT:  I appreciate it. MS. ZHANG:  Thank you.  Thank you. THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much. MS. ZHANG:  Thank you. THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much.  Thank you.  You take care of yourself. Paula? MS. WHITE:  Mr. President, it’s such an honor.  And I just have to say, on behalf of you and your courageous leadership -- I have watched, from day one and even before you took this office, you be a relentless fighter for people of all faiths and religious liberty. We see it on stateside -- from you saying we can say “Merry Christmas” again; to the DOJ passing laws that no other administration could pass to give high holy days to all religions to be able to take off of work and to honor that; to, as the Ambassador said, this is the second but the largest in the world gathering for religious liberty freedom. You have taken a bold, courageous stand that many governments have (inaudible).  You have over 16 countries represented here.  You have approximately 27 people.  But I was in the room yesterday with thousands, and we had thousands that could not get in. THE PRESIDENT:  I heard that was incredible. MS. WHITE:  So we thank you, President, for being the leader -- the courageous leader to stand up not only in our nation, but countries all around, for all faith, of all people that we should have the practice and the right to practice our religion. Thank you, sir. THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  And I did hear that they had thousands of people that couldn’t get in yesterday. MS. WHITE:  From all over the world. THE PRESIDENT:  That’s incredible.  Wow.  I’m sure we’ll get a much bigger room, I guess, or a tent or something. AMBASSADOR BROWNBACK:  Or something like that. MR. AHMED:  May I say a few words? THE PRESIDENT:  Yes, please. MR. AHMED:  Mr. President, thank you from New Zealand. THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much. MR. AHMED:  Thank you for your leadership, standing up for humanity, standing up for religious groups and their rights.  And thank you -- thank you for supporting us in the 15 March tragedy in Christchurch.  And God bless you.  And God bless the United States. THE PRESIDENT:  Well, thank you very much.  And you went through a lot.  I know all about what happened, and that was a terrible situation.  Thank you very much for being here.  Thank you very much.  Appreciate it. MR. TASEER:  Mr. President, I’m from Pakistan. THE PRESIDENT:  Yes, please. MR. TASEER:  And you are meeting our prime minister -- THE PRESIDENT:  That’s true. MR. TASEER:  -- in three days.  I would be very grateful if you would raise with him the issue of persecuted Christians in Pakistan -- the blasphemy law and people who are suffering under this law. THE PRESIDENT:  I’ll do that.  He’s coming in next week, on Tuesday. MS. SAHA:  Sir, thank you.  Sir, I am from Bangladesh.  And here is 37 million, the Hindu, Buddhist, and Christianity (inaudible).  Please help us, the Bangladesh people.  We want to stay in our country. THE PRESIDENT:  Bangladesh. MS. SAHA:  Yeah.  Still, there is 18 million minority people.  My request is: Please help us.  We don’t want to leave our country.  Just help, Mr. President. I have lost my home.  They burned my home.  They’ve taken my land.  But no adjustment has taken place. THE PRESIDENT:  Who took the land?  Who took the home and the land? MS. SAHA:  The Muslim fundamentalist group.  And they are -- always they are getting the political shelter.  Always. AMBASSADOR BROWNBACK:  I know the President has to get on.  So I want to -- THE PRESIDENT:  I don’t mind.  We can take a couple more. AMBASSADOR BROWNBACK:  Can you?  Okay, good. THE PRESIDENT:  The helicopter -- has it landed?  The helicopter -- have we landed out there yet?  Huh? AIDE:  No, sir. THE PRESIDENT:  No?  Come on. MS. ILHAM:  Mr. President, one to three million Uyghur population are locked up in concentration camps in China, including my father, who is now serving a life sentence.  I haven’t seen him since 2013. THE PRESIDENT:  Where is that?  Where is that in China? MS. ILHAM:  That’s in west part of China.  The region -- in Chinese, it’s called “Xinjiang.”  We call it “Uyghur region.”  So far, we had -- THE PRESIDENT:  How long?  How long has your father been gone? MS. ILHAM:  He has been in jail for five years, and we don’t know how long he will still be in there. THE PRESIDENT:  Do you have any communication with him? MS. ILHAM:  I haven’t heard about him since 2017, because that’s when the concentration camps started.  Anyone who goes to ask about anybody’s family members’ news will never make their way back to their own homes. THE PRESIDENT:  That’s tough stuff. Go ahead please. MR. ULLAH:  Good afternoon, Mr. President.  I am a Rohingya from (inaudible).  So most of the (inaudible) Rohingya refugees are waiting to go to -- go back home as quickly as possible.  So what is the plan to help us?  So thank you very much.      THE PRESIDENT:  And where is that, exactly?  Where?      MR. ULLAH:  Bangladesh refugee camp.      AMBASSADOR BROWNBACK:  That is right next to Burma.      THE PRESIDENT:  I see.      AMBASSADOR BROWNBACK:  The Rohingya have been run out.       THE PRESIDENT:  Okay.  Thank you.  Appreciate it. Yes, please.      REVEREND BARROSO: President, I am Pastor Mario from Cuba.      THE PRESIDENT:  Yes.      REVEREND BARROSO:  A blessing.  One Pastor, Ramón Rigal, and his wife are imprisoned in Cuba.  Please pray for them and help the people in Cuba.  Five pastors, the (inaudible) invite for this event in Cuba are not here because the government in Cuba no permission for today here.      I am here because I am refugee in United States.  Thank you for your hospitality for me.      THE PRESIDENT:  How has it been in Cuba without Castro?  There’s still a Castro there, but you have a new leader.  How has that been?  Any different?      REVEREND BARROSO:  No, it’s not real.  Castro continuing the power because Castro is the first secretary to the party -- the communist party.  And the new President is not really.  Castro is the real leader (inaudible).      THE PRESIDENT:  I see.  All right.  Thank you.  Thank you.      Yes, please.  Go ahead. MS. BITRUS:  Thank you, Mr. President --      THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much.  Thank you.      MS. BITRUS:  -- for the opportunity to see you. I am Esther, from Nigeria.  I do three years in (inaudible).  I escaped from Boko Haram.  So thank you for (inaudible).      THE PRESIDENT:  It's tough stuff, right?      MS. BITRUS:  Yes.      THE PRESIDENT:  That’s a tough one.  Thank you.      MS. BITRUS:  Thank you.          MR. JU:  (Inaudible.)      THE PRESIDENT:  Yes.  Please.  Go ahead.      MR. JU:  Mr. President, thank you very much for your (inaudible).      THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Thank you.      MR. JU:  I'm Ilyong from North Korea.  And first, I want to say thank you.  And then my aunt -- a lot of my aunt family, (inaudible), Kim Chul, Kim (inaudible), Kim Jong (inaudible), all of them, they are in political prison camp --      THE PRESIDENT:  Where?      MR. JU:  In -- I don’t know where is; they just took it at the dawn.  And just because aunt's father-in-law was a Christian and my cousin's whole family (inaudible) executed because of their (inaudible).      But even though the persecution of Kim (inaudible), the North Korean citizens, they are trying to -- they are -- they want (inaudible) and they want to worshipping now.  And they are worshipping in underground churches right now.  And even though a few weeks ago we had a message from North Korean underground churches and they sent a photo of the wood and they are three of them gathered there and they were praying for South Korea.  So those kind of things are happening in North Korea.      THE PRESIDENT:  I’ll bring them up.      MR. JU:  So, yeah.      THE PRESIDENT:  I'm understanding exactly what you’re saying.  I’ll bring it up. Yes, please.      MS. MURAD:  So I’m --      AMBASSADOR BROWNBACK:  Nadia is a Nobel Peace Prize winner.      MS. MURAD:  I’m from Iraq and I cannot see my family.  They are in (inaudible), because when ISIS attack us, no one protect us.  After 2003, we started to disappear from our area, from our homeland.  And then when ISIS attack us in 2014, they killed six of my brother.  They killed my mom.  They took me to captivity with my (inaudible) sister-in-law, with all my sister and my nieces.      And today we have 3,000 Yazidi women and children in captivity.  So although they said ISIS is defeated, but where is those 3,000 Yazidi?      And our home is destroyed.  We come to here, we go to Europe, we go to Arab country that ISIS did this.  Everyone saw that.  And we -- I appreciate Vice --      THE PRESIDENT:  And you were captured?          MS. MURAD:  Yes.  Vice President -- he help us a lot, but now today, you can’t solve our problem.  Now there is no ISIS, but we cannot go back because Kurdish government and the Iraqi government, they are fighting each other who will control my area. And we cannot go back, if we cannot protect our dignity, our family.  But we get a lot of support from President Macron.  He push -- he put a lot of pressure in Iraqi and Kurdistan government to help minorities.  The Yazidis will stay in their home, but we still continue to emigrate to find a safe place to live.  I hope you can call or anything to Iraqi and Kurdistan government to --      THE PRESIDENT:  But ISIS is gone?      MS. MURAD:  But, if I can --      THE PRESIDENT:  And now it’s Kurdish and --      MS. MURAD:  And Iraqi.  Iraqi government.  If I cannot go to my home and live in a safe place and get my -- like, my dignity back, this is not about ISIS, it’s about (inaudible).  My people cannot go back.  We are not million of people; we are only half million people.  And after 2014, about 95 years -- 95,000 years, Yazidi, they immigrate to Germany through a very dangerous way.  Not because we want to be a refugee, but we cannot find a safe place to live.  All this happened to me.  They killed my mom, my six brother.  They left behind --      THE PRESIDENT:  Where are they now?      MS. MURAD:  They killed them.  They are in the mass graves in Sinjar.  And I’m still fighting just to live in safe.  Please do something.  And it’s not about one family --      THE PRESIDENT:  I know the area very well, you’re talking about.  It's a tough -- yeah.      MS. MURAD:  It’s about half million.  It’s about the whole community.      THE PRESIDENT:  Okay.  Well, we’ll continue very strong.      MS. MURAD:  Thank you so much.      THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  And you had the Nobel Prize?      MS. MURAD:  Yeah.      THE PRESIDENT:  That’s incredible.  They gave it to you for what reason?  They can explain.      MS. MURAD:  For what reason?  For that -- after all this happen to me, I can -- I make it clear to everyone that ISIS raped thousands of Yazidi women.  This one was first time the woman from Iraq, she gave out and spoke about it happen.      THE PRESIDENT:  Oh really?  Is that right?      MS. MURAD:  And it’s --      THE PRESIDENT:  It’s the first time?      MS. MURAD:  First time.  And it’s --      THE PRESIDENT:  So you escaped.      MS. MURAD:  I escaped, but I don’t -- I don’t have my freedom yet because --      THE PRESIDENT:  I understand.      MS. MURAD:  -- you didn’t see any ISIS (inaudible).  It (inaudible).  ISIS are -- we don’t know if they killed everyone, if they are in jail, but we know we have 3,000 Yazidi women and children, including my niece, my nephew, my sister-in-law.  Three years ago, she call us.  She said, “I am in Syria.”  And now, we didn’t know anything about her.      THE PRESIDENT:  Let me look.  We’re going to look, okay?  Thank you very much.      MS. MURAD:  Thank you so much.      THE PRESIDENT:  Yes, ma'am.  Go ahead.  Thank you.      MS. WEISS:  I am a survivor of the Holocaust, of a different era of persecution.  And I have great sympathy and empathy with these people; that I’m very sorry to realize that things have not changed and persecution continues.      AMBASSADOR BROWNBACK:  That’s why we’re putting such an emphasis on it, Mr. President, because there just is a lot of work to do in the world.  But -- and we’re going to -- obviously, we’ve got a lot yet to do.  But we’re pushing the effort.  We’re going to be announcing additional measures -- the Secretary of State is -- tomorrow.      THE PRESIDENT:  Good.      AMBASSADOR BROWNBACK:  He’s giving a big speech.  The Vice President is giving a speech tomorrow about measures.  And we’re going to keep leading this charge.      THE PRESIDENT:  Well, thank you very much.  The world is a -- the world is a tough place.     Yes, please.  Go ahead.      MS. BERHANE:  My name is Helen.  I’m from Eritrea.  I’m a gospel singer.  So I have been, for 32 months, in a metal shipping container because of my faith.  But the reason I am here -- all our pastors, they are still in prison in Eritrea, including the patron (inaudible).  So that is my message.  I am a voice for those voiceless.      THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much.  Appreciate it.      MS. BERHANE:  Thank you.  We pray for you.      THE PRESIDENT:  In a shipping container.      MS. BERHANE:  Metal shipping container for 32 months.      THE PRESIDENT:  Thirty-two.  Thirty-two months.      Please.      MR. SHAKOOR:  (As interpreted.)  I am from the Ahmadiyya Muslim community of Pakistan.  In 1974, we were declared non-Muslims.  Our houses and shops were looted, set on fire.  I relocated.  I was a salesman and then I was imprisoned for five years for selling books and fined.  I’ve been released after three years. We are peaceful.  I can call myself a Muslim in the United States of America, but not in Pakistan -- otherwise I’ll be punished.  We have never retaliated, and left everything to God. AMBASSADOR BROWNBACK:  I know you need to get on. MS. WHITE:  Thank you all. MR. SHAKOOR:  (As interpreted.)  God bless you and give you a long life. THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much. So, you see, the world is a tough place.  And we’re making strides.  We’ve made some very good strides.  Andrew is a case in point -- Pastor Brunson, wherever you may be.  And so I appreciate it. How has everything been for you since you got out? PASTOR BRUNSON:  Very well.  I want to tell you, an Iranian woman told me today that your fighting for me -- the most powerful person in the world fighting for someone who is not known at all -- was an inspiration to many people.  It gave hope to many people around the world, and also many young Iranians. So thank you for that. THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, Andrew.  I appreciate it very much. MS. BET-TAMRAZ:  Mr. President, I’m Iranian. THE PRESIDENT:  Yes. MS. BET-TAMRAZ:  I’m a Christian minority from Iran.  My family are being persecuted in Iran.  The Iranian people are with you.  The majority of Iranian people -- THE PRESIDENT:  What is happening?  Explain what is happening in Iran.      MS. BET-TAMRAZ:  My parents are pastors.  They’re Christian pastors.      THE PRESIDENT:  Right.      MS. BET-TAMRAZ:  They’ve been arrested -- all my family: my father, my mother, and my brother.  They are free on bail, awaiting the trial.  Long sentences.  My father was sentenced to 10 years in prison, my mother 5 years.  We still don’t know about my brother.      We would appreciate if you mention my family, but also Christian persecution in Iran and in holding a negotiation with (inaudible) in Iran.      THE PRESIDENT:  They were in jail for what reason?  Because they're pastors?      MS. BET-TAMRAZ:  Christian pastors preaching the Gospel.      THE PRESIDENT:  Incredible.  I will.      MS. BET-TAMRAZ:  Thank you very much.      THE PRESIDENT:  I’m going to get the information.  I will.      MS. BET-TAMRAZ:  Thank you.      PASTOR GA:  Vietnam.      THE PRESIDENT:  Yes?      PASTOR GA:  (Inaudible) no freedom religion.  I want to, President, have Vietnam have --      THE PRESIDENT:  Vietnam?      PASTOR GA:  -- freedom --      THE PRESIDENT:  Vietnam?      PASTOR GA:  Vietnam have freedom religion.  Vietnam need to (inaudible).  I thank you.      THE PRESIDENT:  I appreciate that.  I think I understood everything.      PASTOR GA:  Thank you.      THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much everybody.  Thank you.      Q    Mr. President, Congressman Green introduced articles of impeachment against you for your conduct.  Any comment on the articles of impeachment, Mr. President?  Do you regret your tweets that have now triggered these articles of impeachment against you?      THE PRESIDENT:  I know nothing about that.      Thank you.  Thank you very much.                                                  END                 4:46 P.M. EDT