1600 Daily The White House • September 1, 2020 President Trump visits Kenosha, Wisconsin

The White House • September 1, 2020 President Trump visits Kenosha, Wisconsin President Trump just finished thanking law enforcement officers in Kenosha, Wisconsin, for their efforts helping to quell violence and protect neighborhoods from additional damage after a series of violent riots last week. “Law enforcement has just done such a great job working with the National Guard and working with a lot of people . . . We’re here to show our support for Kenosha,” President Trump said. “We’re all in this together.” During his visit, the President surveyed property damaged from the riots, met with local residents who were affected, toured the Emergency Operations Center, and participated in a roundtable discussion on Wisconsin community safety.  “This is an example of what can happen if you do it right.” President Trump acted quickly to send Federal law enforcement support to Wisconsin, putting a sudden stop to the unrest in Kenosha. Although Democratic Governor Tony Evers was slow to accept Federal help, President Trump credited him today for ultimately making the right decision to protect residents’ safety. “Once again, we saw the hijacking of a protest by a hardcore group of radicals,” Attorney General Bill Barr said today. “Out of 175 arrests, 100 were from out of town.” Over 200 agents from the FBI, ATF, and U.S. Marshals Service joined the National Guard in assisting state and local officers with restoring law and order in Kenosha. Across the Nation, Federal law enforcement is coordinating with state and local officials to bring justice to rioters, looters, arsonists, and other criminals praying on our communities. For example, Operation Legend—a Department of Justice-led initiative to fight violent crime in America’s cities—has led to more than 1,000 arrests in less than 2 months. The murder rate in Kansas City, where the operation launched, has been cut by 33 percent, while the murder rate in Chicago has been cut in half over the last month. President Trump once again extended his offer today to help Democrat-run cities that have become overrun with violent rioting. Just last night, far-left “protesters” in Portland started a fire in the occupied apartment building where they believe Democrat Mayor Ted Wheeler lives. “To stop the political violence, we must also confront the radical ideology that includes this violence. Reckless far-left politicians continue to push the destructive message that our Nation and our law enforcement are oppressive or racist,” President Trump said. “Actually, we must give far greater support to our law enforcement . . . They’re fighting to save people they’ve never met in many cases.” Watch the full Kenosha roundtable with President Trump here.  President Trump: We must confront the ideology that spawns violence Photo of the Day President Trump surveys property damage in Kenosha, Wisconsin | September 1, 2020

PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP IS WORKING TO STOP EVICTIONS AND PROTECT AMERICANS’ HOMES DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 1, 2020 PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP IS WORKING TO STOP EVICTIONS AND PROTECT AMERICANS’ HOMES DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC “I want to make it unmistakably clear that I’m protecting people from evictions.” – President Donald J. Trump   TEMPORARILY HALTING EVICTIONS: President Donald J. Trump is taking action to put a temporary halt to evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Following an Executive Order by President Trump, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is using its authority to temporarily halt evictions through the end of 2020 in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. Under the CDC Order, American renters who meet certain conditions cannot be evicted if they have affirmatively exhausted their best efforts to pay rent, seek Government rental assistance, and are likely to become homeless due to eviction. Those who benefit from this assistance are still obligated to pay accrued rent or housing payments in accordance with their lease or contract. Landlords are still permitted to pursue eviction against tenants committing criminal acts, threatening the health or safety of other residents, and damaging property, among other offenses. The intent of this Order is to use Federal authority to prevent evictions that could exacerbate the spread of COVID-19. It is essential during the pandemic that Americans have an effective place to quarantine, isolate, and social distance, and evicting people from residences undermines that objective. PROTECTING AMERICANS:  President Trump has provided extensive relief to help keep Americans in their homes during the fight against COVID-19. The Trump Administration is following through on President Trump’s Executive Order to protect American homeowners and renters during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced they would extend their eviction and foreclosure moratorium for Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured homeowners through the end of the year. HUD has already allocated $7 billion in grants to State and local governments that could be used for rental assistance to address increased eviction risk. HUD is also explicitly considering factors associated with eviction risk when allocating nearly $2 billion in CARES Act funding and working with Federal grant recipients to facilitate their use of various funds to assist renters at risk of eviction. The Department of the Treasury has also allocated $142 billion in Coronavirus Relief Funds to States and localities, with broad application for rental assistance and other programs. PROVIDING ASSISTANCE: Over the course of the pandemic, President Trump has made providing assistance to Americans facing financial hardship a top priority. HUD is providing housing counseling services and has published resources and guidance to help tenants, landlords, and lenders, including a toolkit to help landlords and public housing authorities work with their tenants during this time. President Trump successfully delivered economic impact payments to tens of millions of Americans to help relieve burdened families and workers. President Trump has also worked to expand and maintain unemployment benefits to help Americans who are out of work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP DURING EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER TOUR Mary D. Bradford High School Kenosha, Wisconsin

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 1, 2020 REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP DURING EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER TOUR Mary D. Bradford High School Kenosha, Wisconsin   1:24 P.M. CDT      THE PRESIDENT:  So I came to thank the law enforcement, the police.  They’re incredible.  And the National Guard has been truly amazing.  They all got together.  They coalesced.  The minute they got here, it was over.      And I’d like to ask you to say exactly what you told me, because I think it’s really very interesting.  You can take that off.  You take it off, and I’ll just stay a little further away.  Right?       SHERIFF BETH:  Since this first occurred on Sunday night, we’ve had resources from all of the state of Wisconsin, and actually members of the federal government have been here, really, since the first day.      National Guard started coming Monday, and those numbers kept increasing.  We’ve got officers from 40 different agencies throughout Wisconsin: the DNR, the State Patrol.  And we’ve made a few phone calls and -- on I believe it was Wednesday -- more members of the federal government started arriving and our numbers kept increasing.      And it is all of these different members and our -- what we do kept improving every single day.  The operation kept improving.      And, truly, I want to thank the President, who’s standing right here.  I want to thank everybody who's part of this operation to help keep Kenosha safer and protect the people and protect the properties.  And it's been getting better every single day.  And I want to thank everybody.      THE PRESIDENT:  And the whole state of Wisconsin.  It's been an incredible coming together of a lot of great people, especially law enforcement and the Guard.      Senator Ron Johnson, maybe you could say something, please.      SENATOR JOHNSON:  Well, again, Mr. President, first of all, thank you for coming here and thank you for your decisiveness.  Congressman Steil got here on the ground early, talked to the local leaders, and found out the local leaders wanted help.  And so we put a call into you.  And I know how accessible you are.  You called them back immediately, offered whatever assistance.      And that's what really made the difference here, as opposed to Portland or Seattle: local officials wanted help; President Trump offered help.  And once it all came together, this was over.      And we can't -- we can't be more appreciative of the help you offered and the resolve that you showed, because that’s the bottom line.  Elected officials have to take their responsibility seriously about protecting everybody's constitutional rights; keeping our community safe and secure; having that kind of resolve.  And then the manpower that surged into here from around the state, but also from around the country, made all the difference in the world.      This should be a model on how we can end the rioting throughout America.  But again, thank you for your resolve and your decisiveness.      THE PRESIDENT:  And whether it's Portland, Oregon, we could have that done so quickly, so easily, your head would spin.  It would end immediately.  Last night, they attacked the mayor’s house.  It's ridiculous.      All they have to do is ask, and we'll be there within -- literally within minutes.  We're set.  We're all set to go in.  We already have a big force; they're protecting the courthouse and it's totally protected.  We have 300 people; they’re Homeland Security.  It's totally protected.      Congressman, maybe you could say a few words?  You called me originally, and we appreciate it.  Please      REPRESENTATIVE STEIL:  Thank you, Mr. President, for being here.  I think today is a great opportunity for Kenosha to really begin to heal and to rebuild the city.      As events began to spiral out of control, I was in constant communication with local officials here, and it was very clear Kenosha needed additional resources.  And on Tuesday morning, I called the President, and the President answered my call, offered those resources.  They were ultimately rejected on that day, on Tuesday; we ultimately got them accepted on Wednesday.      And when we knew -- when individuals knew, criminal elements knew that those resources were going to come here, that's what allowed us to get control here in Kenosha and to end the criminal behavior.      We now have public safety, we need to maintain public safety in Kenosha.  Now we need to also heal.  And today is an opportunity to begin the rallying cry to rebuild Kenosha and make it stronger than ever.      I can’t thank you enough for being here, Mr. President.      THE PRESIDENT:  And who rejected the call originally?      REPRESENTATIVE STEIL:  Our governor, Tony Evers, rejected your offer.      THE PRESIDENT:  But ultimately, he called, he said okay, and we sent in the group and they had a lot of great people here to start with, I have to say.      Would you like to say something please?      CHIEF MIKINIS:  Just a great deal of gratitude for everybody from across the state in law enforcement, the federal government, and certainly the Wisconsin National Guard and, I understand, from several other states.      What transpired here is an attack on America, and it can't happen in any community.  The way to stop this is to act decisively while still protecting rights but putting an end to it.  And we appreciate the assistance.      THE PRESIDENT:  This ended within an hour, as soon as we announced we were coming, and then they saw we were here.  This ended immediately.  And it should be that way all over.  Chicago could use a hand.  New York could use a hand.  Although, I'll tell you, if you let -- New York's Finest and Chicago police department, they do a great job, but they're not allowed to do their work.  A lot of times, you're not allowed to do your work.  And they could do it themselves, but you have to be decisive, and you have to be tough, and you have to be strong, and you have to be willing to bring people in.      So the federal government, like it was in Wisconsin, the federal government is waiting; we just wait for a call.  In Oregon, we have Portland, which is just every night -- 93 nights.  And every day we call: "Do you want us?  Do you want us?"  And last night, they attacked very viciously the mayor's house, and we were ready to go in, just in case, if it got any worse.  But it was bad.  And this man just stands here and says, "No, we have a democracy.  It's…"  You don't have a democracy when that happens, actually; you have the opposite of a democracy.      So I want to thank you all -- thank all of you for being here.  But this is in really great shape, and we're looking at a couple of other locations.  Now, we can do them all at one time.  We're very well equipped.  Our National Guard is great, and our military is beyond any military in the world.  It's totally restocked and in great shape.  We won't have to use military.  I don't think we'd have to use military, but we're ready to go with whatever power we need to use.      In Washington, D.C., we have a radical, liberal mayor, a Democrat, and she's -- I guess she just doesn't get it.  But she's trying to work with the White House and the Secret Service, but it would be so easy to solve that.  So we may have to do something there.  It'll take approximately 15 minutes.      You don't see people ripping down statues anymore because I signed, essentially, a law.  I signed a statute that: If you knock down a statue, you knock down a monument, it's 10 years in prison.  And, amazingly, it stopped.  You haven't had any problems since then, right?  So, it stopped.           So I just want to thank everybody.  You have done a fantastic job.  Ron, thank you very much.  Congressman, great job.  Really great job.  Thank you all very much.      Q    Mr. President, (inaudible) Jacob Blake?  And do you believe the shooting was justified?      THE PRESIDENT:  Well, we have the pastor here, who's tremendous.  He's a tremendous gentleman.  I'm going to meet him in a little while.  He represents the family.  And I think it's probably better off if that's handled locally right now.  It's under investigation, as you know.  So I think it's much better.  I actually suggested we handle it locally.      I was going to speak to the mother yesterday.  I hear she's a very fine woman.  I was going to speak to her.  But then I heard there were a lot of lawyers on the phone.  I said, "I have enough lawyers in my life.  I don't need to get involved with that."  I spoke with the pastor.  The pastor is going to see me in a little while.  He is really a terrific guy, if you know him.  He's a terrific guy.  So, I look forward to that.      But we're going to -- this is going to heal very quickly.  We're going to help them from an economic standpoint, and we're going to make a contribution to your law and to what we call "law and order."  Some people think those are two terrible words: law and order.  And they're not terrible at all.  They're beautiful.  They have to be used judiciously.  They have to be used properly.      But I wish somebody would have called.  When I called the governor, I wish he would have accepted night one, instead of night three.  Because night one, those stores would still be up.  But he's better than many.  He accepted.  In all fairness to the governor, he accepted.  And when he accepted, it all ended.      So I want to thank the governor, and I want to thank everybody, but, in particular, I want to thank your police and your great people from law enforcement.  They've done a fantastic job.  I want to thank you all.  You've done a fantastic job.  (Applause.)      Thank you all very much.  Great job.  Thank you.      Thank you very much, everybody.      Q    Mr. President, do you have a message for the Blake family?  A message for them?  The father -- they said that your government increases racial divisions.      THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah, thank you very much, everybody.  Thank you very much.                         END                1:32 P.M. CDT

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP DURING SURVEY OF PROPERTY DAMAGE Rode’s Camera Shop Kenosha, Wisconsin

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 1, 2020

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP DURING SURVEY OF PROPERTY DAMAGE Rode’s Camera Shop Kenosha, Wisconsin   1:02 P.M. CDT      THE PRESIDENT:  So, this store was here 109 years.  Just about the oldest in the nation, doing what you do.      MR. RODE:  It's the oldest in the state for sure.      THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.  That’s fantastic.      And we're going to help them a lot.  I think we're going to help them a lot.  Would you like to say something?      MR. RODE:  I just appreciate President Trump coming today; everybody here does.  We're so thankful that we got the federal troops in to help because once they got here, things did calm down quite a bit.  And our city police and sheriff and fire departments are awesome.  They worked harder than you can believe, 24/7.      THE PRESIDENT:  That’s true.  These gentlemen did a fantastic job working --      MR. RODE:  Fantastic job.      THE PRESIDENT:  -- working with the federal government, and it was really great.  And once we said, "Let's go," that was the end of it.      Unfortunately, they had a few days when people wouldn't call us.  They didn't want to have us come in.  They just don't want us to come in, and then destruction is done.  A day earlier, we would’ve saved your store.      MR. RODE:  Absolutely.      THE PRESIDENT:  One day earlier.      MR. RODE:  One day earlier.      THE PRESIDENT:  So, the governors have to call, the mayors have to call.  As soon as they call, the federal government will come in; it'll put it out.      You take -- the ultimate example is Portland.  It's been terrible for a long time -- for many decades, actually.  I read a story -- 50 years.  But you take a look what's been happening for the last 94 days.  We would put it out within one hour.  It would take one hour, maybe less.  And that's really what happened here.      And it happened in Minneapolis also.  Came in -- it went for nine days.  And we came in; it ended almost from the minute we came in.  But these governors don't want to call.  The mayors don't want to call.  And they have to call, and they have to ask.      I want to thank -- Bill Barr is here some place.  Bill, thank you very much.  And a man that just got a very strong promotion in a sense -- Chad is here.      So, we're going to have some meetings.  We're going to meet with some of the owners, and then we're going to have a roundtable.  I think you're going to be there.      But we're going to work with you.  We're going to help you.  Okay?  We'll help you rebuild.  It's a great area.  It's a great state.  This should never happen.  A thing like this should never happen.  They have to call early.      Okay, thank you.  I'll see you over there.  Thank you very much.                         END                1:04 P.M. CDT

BACKGROUND PRESS CALL ON THE SERBIA-KOSOVO ECONOMIC TALKS

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 1, 2020 BACKGROUND PRESS CALL ON THE SERBIA-KOSOVO ECONOMIC TALKS Via Teleconference   1:07 P.M. EDT      SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Good afternoon.  Thank you for joining this background briefing on the Serbia-Kosovo Economic Talks.  Today we have [Special Advisor to the President] and [Senior Administration Official].      This call is embargoed until its conclusion and is attributable on background to a “Special Advisor to the President” and to a “Senior Administration Official.”      Our Special Advisor to the President will give brief remarks, and then we will go into Q&A.      With that, I will turn it over to [Special Advisor to the President].      SPECIAL ADVISOR TO THE PRESIDENT:  Well, thank you.  Thank you, everyone, for joining.  I am more interested in getting to your questions and starting in as quickly as possible, and I’ll answer as many as we have in the short time that we have.      So why don’t I just turn it over to try to get to the questions so that I can talk about what you want to talk about, rather than just some sort of statement.      SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Perfect.  Moderator, we’ll go ahead and open up to questions.      Q    Hi.  Thanks for doing the call.  Could you just lay out a little bit of what you expect to have happen on the fourth and what the presidential (inaudible) will be?      SENIOR ADVISOR TO THE PRESIDENT:  Ann, say that last part again.  The President’s what?      Q    What the President’s role will be.  Is he going to be part of these discussions or meet with any of the people attending the summit on the fourth?      SENIOR ADVISOR TO THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah, yeah.  Okay.  Well, first of all, he has been a part of these discussions.  I’ve been talking to him pretty regularly about this.      Look, anybody who has been watching this kind of negotiation and the ask towards EU membership and the issues that have been developing, anybody who is a casual observer would realize that we’re kind of stuck on political discussions and we keep kind of pounding the same issues over and over without much progress.      What President Trump wanted to do was to see if a focus on economic development and job creation for young people could somehow change the dynamic of the situation.  And so for the last, you know, more than a year, we have been solely focused on economic normalization, trying to find a way to move the parties into putting the political issues aside in order to create momentum around economic issues.      We’ve been very successful so far, even though the media hasn’t really focused on the historic three agreements that we’ve made around economic normalization, one of which is the first flight between Pristina and Belgrade in 21 years.  We have an agreement on that.  It has not been implemented.  The flight has not taken place.  We’re not there yet to open it up to travel and commerce.  But the agreement is there.      So, you know, we had a problem in a transition government in Kosovo.  We had a problem with COVID.  But we are solely focused on implementing the air, rail, and motor agreements that we’ve already agreed on.  Those agreements really are going to allow us to build economic development.      So, on Thursday, when we have our discussions, we’re going to further those three agreements and then add a whole bunch of issues to the discussions that would create commerce, that would create economic development and jobs.      So we have gone through this, kind of, list from both sides and picked and choosed what would be beneficial to the economy and to job creation.      You know, when I first got involved, the first thing that I did when I went to Pristina and to Belgrade: I got off the plane in both places and went straight to the business community.  I didn’t want to go straight to the political community because I think that they have failed.  They’ve largely failed to move us forward.      And meanwhile, the business is really frustrated.  They’ve wanted to make progress, and the chambers of commerce on both sides have been talking.  They have been -- you know, they don’t have many of these political problems that the media keeps focusing on.  The business community has been frustrated enough to talk amongst themselves and to try to figure out the way forward.      So I heard from them immediately to figure out what are the things that need to happen.  Their first request was rail and air, to normalize commerce.  And so that’s what we’ve been working on for the past year.  And now what we want to do on Thursday is really participate in this discussion to move forward economic normalization.      As for whether or not the President will participate in these meetings physically on Thursday or Friday, I think that has yet to be determined.  He has already participated in terms of our side and what we can kind of push forward and how we prioritize these economic projects.      But at the end of the day, I think the parties need to be able to make progress in order for the United States to continue utilizing these mechanisms in such a powerful way.  I mean, the fact that he’s asked me to do this from the outside is really a testament to the fact that we do believe that a concentration on the economic development side would produce progress, but we still need to test that theory.      Q    Hello.  Thank you for doing this.  It’s been a -- really, a pleasure to hear about this.  I have just two, three points.  One is: The Russians are still harping on U.N. Resolution 1244 from 1999.  And the foreign minister says that we don’t recognize Kosovo.  That’s one.      The second one is: In June, EU Special Envoy Miroslav had said that, to quote him, “The EU cannot be left aside because it is offering [Serbia and Kosovo] a European future, unless you want to leave the European future aside.”      And then there has been talk about how the U.S. will take care of the financial cooperation, economic cooperation, and EU will take care of the political settlement.  But if you remember that in November 2018, the Kosovo government imposed a steep tariff on imports.  So that, sort of, derailed and suspended the dialogue.      So how are you going to move forward?  And Thursday is still a few days away, so where are we going to go?  And what are the factors that you are going to look into so that this, again, doesn’t get (inaudible)?      SPECIAL ADVISOR TO THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.  I get your three statements.  So here is the thing: I would refer you back to my long answer on question one.  Everything that you just asked is very much a political-establishment-style question.  And that’s exactly, I think, the problem that we’ve had in the past is to, you know, think about this in terms of a linear process and “Oh, the Russians say this” or “U.N. Security Council Resolution…”  None of that matters to people who don’t have jobs in the region.      And so I think what you miss in your questions -- there’s a presumption that somehow -- that our failure over the last decade to make progress is accepted by the young people who are moving to Poland and to Hungary.  And I would just challenge you to say: Why don’t you go to Pristina or go to Belgrade and listen to the people on the streets who are wildly frustrated with the political process and politicians who keep asking these same kind of U.N.-resolution-type questions.      Look, the fact of the matter is we’re going to make progress when we create jobs and do economic development.  We can try your way, which is the -- you know, the politician’s way of wrestling through political issues first, and then we’re going to be in this position of still not having jobs for young people and no hope.      And so we’re going to flip the script, and we’re going to try to first give people some excitement about growth in the economy and let some of these political issues come secondary.      Q    Yes, hello.  Thank you for this opportunity.  So I have three short questions.      The first one: Will the mutual recognition be one of the topics of the Friday meeting?      And then, what will be the nature of these meetings on the economic normalization?  So will there be -- is this a one-off meeting, or will these meetings be continued with other such meetings or in White House or elsewhere?      And the last one: What about the statements from Serbian President Vučić, who is saying that the meeting on the fourth will be dependent on what happens actually on the 3rd of September meeting?  Is there a chance that the Serbian (inaudible) will not participate on Friday meeting?      Thank you.      SPECIAL ADVISOR TO THE PRESIDENT:  I sometimes do these interviews, and I’m amazed that people don’t listen to my answers.  I think I answered that completely in the first question.      The fact of the matter is, is we are having these discussions on Thursday.  We will see what happens.  It’s not a one-off, and it’s not an absolute to do the next meeting.  We are open -- if the parties are willing to agree to economic development, the United States knows how to do this and we’re willing to help.  So we need to make progress on economic development in order for the United States to stay focused on this.      I think, you know, what President Vučić said is exactly what I said in my first answer, which is: Who knows what’s going to happen on Friday?  This is one of the problems I think that we have in this system, is that reporters and politicians are thinking linearly about this process, of “Well, Friday, what will happen?  And Monday, what will happen?”      This is an art, not a science.  And so we have to see if the parties -- and what our position is, is we’re testing them.  Do these parties want to flip the script and move towards economic development, bringing in American businesses, American industries, European businesses, European industries?      There is a whole bunch of business leaders who are sitting on the sideline because they perceived conflict.  So whether or not there is a conflict, there is a perception that the parties can't get along.  And so, therefore, rental car companies are frustrated that if you rent a car in Kosovo, you can't drive it over the border into Serbia.      This is a problem of, you know, historic proportions, in that companies are frustrated.  And so we can either sit around and continue talking about political issues that get us nowhere, or we can do something that President Trump thinks might work, and we're going to test it to see if it works -- is to create economic development that will then somehow change the dynamic amongst the political class because the regular people are excited about job growth.      Q    Currently, Kosovo has a large trade debt with Serbia, with Kosovo currently importing 440 million euros’ worth of goods from Serbia.  How will this week's discussions help make this relationship more equal?      SPECIAL ADVISOR TO THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I don’t think it's our job to make the relationship more equal.  I think it's a bilateral issue for the two.  What we're going to try to do is create industry and excitement in the economy so that both sides will be able to have more revenue into their government because more of their citizenry have jobs.      Q    I would like to ask you whether President Trump and Europe is prepared to propose to Serbia and Pristina present during the meeting in Washington similar agreement as was reached recently between Israel and United Arab Emirates.  Thank you.      SPECIAL ADVISOR TO THE PRESIDENT:  I'm sorry, I didn’t -- I didn’t quite hear.  It was muffled.  I didn’t hear the question.  Could somebody repeat it for me?      Q    I would like to ask you: Could you propose to Serbia and Pristina (inaudible) in Washington a similar agreement as it was recently between the United Arab Emirates and Israel?      SPECIAL ADVISOR TO THE PRESIDENT:  Ah, I see your question.  Look, I don’t know if I can answer that because I think that's all going to be part of the discussions on Thursday.  You know, we're going to have a discussion that will hit, I think, on every issue.  We will test whether or not they -- there is a desire from the parties to talk about these issues.  I think we'll present almost every issue.  But it's going to be up to the parties on whether or not they want to move forward.      You know, despite what the media has been saying for more than a year, the United States does not have a secret plan.  We do not have something that we're going to demand.  What -- the only thing that we're going to demand is: If you want the United States’ help, if you want development dollars from the United States, then there needs to be progress on the economic front.  We don’t want to waste our money, and so we don’t want to keep doing the same thing if it's not working.  I don’t think that's fair to the American taxpayers.      So we're going to test whether or not the parties are interested.  And I think that's one issue that certainly would be thrown out -- thrown on the table -- meaning, for discussion.      Q    You are saying that you're going to be focused on the economic issues.  And I wanted to see, at a certain point, when do you perceive that this will intersect with political progress that, as you said, it's necessary so the countries can develop, and whether you're going to pose any -- for a lack of a better word -- conditions to the political leaders to make this sort of progress? And are you going to coordinate with the European Union since they also have a plan that focuses on economic development for the betterment of both of the lives of populations in both countries?  Thank you.      SPECIAL ADVISOR TO THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah, two points.  One, to your first question, if I could predict the future, I would go predict the lottery numbers and win millions and then completely be out of politics and live at the beach.  So I have no idea how to predict the future on whether or not this is going to intersect politically or when.      On your second question, we have been coordinating with the EU.  We will continue to coordinate with the EU.  As [redacted], I know Mr. Hecker quite well, and I coordinate very closely with the Germans.  I also have very closely coordinated with the French on an ongoing basis, and with other Europeans.  So despite what the media says, we have been closely coordinating with Europeans, and they know our plan and are supportive of our plan.      Again, we are not a member of the European Union and are not involved in the very important process that the EU has with each of the parties.  They have their own process.  We are supportive of our friends in Europe.  We do whatever we can do, but they are in charge, they determine the pace, they determine the discussion. And so, you know, I would just say that the entire EU membership political issues are, you know, completely the responsibility of the Europeans, and we do what we can, when asked, to be supportive.  But since we’re not a member, we really are not privy to those discussions.      When it comes to economic development, certainly the Europeans have a very healthy economic development and robust policies that they can implement.  And that will help them on their political issues. But for the Americans, our very vibrant economic development programs need to be used when they are beneficial.  Under the Trump administration, we have really reformed our process of how we give out money and when we give out money.  It’s not just a blank check.  And we certainly don’t want to do it if it’s not working.  And so this is one of those situations where we’re testing whether or not it’s going to work and whether or not we can participate.      Q    Thank you.  I have a few questions.  First one: In addition to the talks on the economy, are you and President Trump open to any discussions about mutually (inaudible)?      And then also, I would like to ask you: What would you say would be the (inaudible) scenario that you’re going for, or that would you to continue to create success?      And final question: What is different and what you can do better than any other previous American administration was not able basically to do to resolve this historic problem?  Thank you.      SPECIAL ADVISOR TO THE PRESIDENT:  Well, again, I will say on your third question, I would re-read by first answer, which is economic development and flipping the script.  So I’ve answered that.      On your first question, I’m going to assume that you are quietly tip-toeing around some sort of a land-swap question.  We -- I have never been privy to that conversation.  That’s not something that I remotely discuss.  I wouldn’t discuss it.  It’s not part of our economic development discussions.      We, the United States, leave all of those types of discussions to the parties.  And again, I don’t know how clear I need to be, but I’ve never been around those discussions in any of my conversations.  It’s solely been economic, and that’s what we’re concentrating on, is economic normalization.      SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  We have time for two more questions.      Q    Hi.  Thank you very much for this opportunity.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t hear the entire answer of yours because of the operator was interrupting us.  But can I just ask you: President Trump, in a letter to Kosovo’s President Thaçi, said that the U.S. “stands ready to assist [in] efforts to reach an agreement that balances the interests of both Kosovo and Serbia.”  Can you tell us more about these “balances”?  How -- what do you understand by the balances between the two countries?  Do you see two countries making a compromise -- a kind of a compromise to reach any agreement?      SPECIAL ADVISOR TO THE PRESIDENT:  So, first of all, I would say that we’re stuck in this process with the political class and the reporter class of over-analyzing words and creating all sorts of rumors and discussions around a word.      When we use the word “balance,” it’s just simply a word that says maybe we should balance the discussion between Serbia and Kosovo.  There’s no secret meaning to the word “balance.”  It just means “balance.”  It means “fair.”  And so we don’t have any secret plans.  There’s no big, huge discussion that is going to be around the word “balance.”  It’s literally going to be whether or not the parties agree.      I would say that the answer to the question is up to the parties.  The parties would sign something that they feel is fair and maybe I would use the word “balanced.”  So if the parties believe it’s balanced, if the parties believe they’re getting something and that they’re getting more than what they’re giving up and they think it’s a good deal, then they would sign.  We don’t have a secret deal.  We don’t have any demands.  It’s literally up to the party -- to the parties.      What our role is going to be is pushing the two parties together to say, “Look, this is important.  Let’s talk about economic development.  Let’s talk about jobs for young people.”  That will change the dynamics.      If you had a whole bunch of young people who suddenly were working for a brand-new industry, and that industry came to Kosovo and came to Serbia and it created all sorts of jobs because of the ability of the politicians to recognize economic normalization as important thing, I think that that gift to young people and their families, and the idea that people are going to stay in the region and build a life -- I think that that is worth something, and that will be felt on the ground.      And so I would really implore media and reporters who have covered the Balkans issue for 20 years to really put aside the normal linear thinking on what's going on and remember that the Trump administration is different.  We do things a different way, and we're focused on trying to find results.      The Trump economy that was built before COVID was historic.  It was incredible and exciting, and I saw a whole bunch of private companies from Europe scrambling to get to the United States to be a part of it.      We now want to help create excitement in the region.  We think that these economic development programs are going to solve political problems.  There's no secret plan that we have.  We want to help create jobs and build an economic region that is based around freedom and democracy and human rights, and move us past some of these very complicated political issues that we've been talking about for decades.      Q    Hello.  You're speaking now as Special Advisor to the President on Serbia and Kosovo.  In light of you joining the Trump campaign recently, are you still getting a government salary?      And also, in your recent claim that the President charmed Chancellor Merkel, she seems to laugh off that suggestion.  So, do you stand by that?  And could you elaborate on what you meant?      SPECIAL ADVISOR TO THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah, first of all, let me just say that you created fake news there because it's not true -- I'm not on the Trump campaign.  I did not join the Trump campaign.  I'm not being paid a penny for all of my work on Kosovo and Serbia, so I would hope that you could get that out there.  I did join the RNC as a special advisor, but that’s not on the Trump campaign, so you were wrong on that front.      And then, lastly, I would just say, you know, I’m happy to show you all of the pictures of Chancellor Merkel and President Trump laughing together and being charmed.  What Chancellor Merkel said, when asked about it, was that she wasn’t going to respond.  Now, we had a whole bunch of advocates within the media immediately say that somehow that was laughing it off, and she said “no.”  That’s not what happened at all.  I would challenge you completely and ask you to Google all of the pictures.      And finally, I would just say that you weren’t in the room when I was when I saw the fact that President Trump’s style of diplomacy is absolutely charming with world leaders.      Now, I know that reporters laugh at that and they think that there’s no way because they see the press release or the comments later.  But when you’re in the room and you see what this President does, he absolutely listens.  I have heard leaders over and over say, “You know what?  I can negotiate with the President because he listens and he negotiates.”  He doesn’t go in and tell somebody exactly what to do.      Certainly, he’s going to push U.S. policy, just like when we’re in the room; the Germans will push German policy.  And we have a discussion.  But the discussion is, 95 percent of the time, incredibly calm and charming.  I don’t back away from that word at all.      SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  All right.  Thank you, everyone, for joining today’s call.  As a reminder, this call is attributable, on background, to a “Senior Advisor to the President.”      The call is now concluded, and the embargo is lifted.                        END                1:37 P.M. EDT

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

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 1, 2020

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP BEFORE AIR FORCE ONE DEPARTURE Joint Base Andrews Prince George’s County, Maryland   11:23 A.M. EDT      Q    I had a very good conversation with the Commissioner of Big Ten football, Kevin Warren.  And I think it was very productive, about getting Big Ten playing again and immediately.  And let’s see what happens.  He’s a great guy.  It’s a great conference.  Tremendous teams.  And we’re pushing very hard.      I think the biggest headwind we have is that you have Democrats that don’t want to see it happen.  But I think they want to play, and the fans want to see it, and the players have a lot at stake, including possibly playing in the NFL.  You have a lot of great players in that conference.      So we had a very good conversation, very productive.  And maybe we’ll be very nicely surprised.  They had it closed up, and I think they’d like to see it open, along with a lot of other football that’s being played right now.      So thank you very much.  And thank you to Kevin.      Q    (Inaudible) with Jacob Blake or anyone related?      THE PRESIDENT:  Say it?      Q    Will you be meeting with the family of Jacob Blake when you’re in Wisconsin?      THE PRESIDENT:  I don't know yet.  We’ll see.  We’ll be making that determination.  I don't know yet.      Q    Mr. President, can you tell us more about this plot that you were referring to on Fox News last night?      THE PRESIDENT:  The which?      Q    This plot of people gathering on a plane in gear that you were referring to.      THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah, I can tell you that -- I can probably refer you to the person, and they could do it.  I’d like to ask that person if it was okay.  But a person was on a plane, said that there were about six people like that person, more or less.  And what happened is the entire plane filled up with the looters, the anarchists, the rioters -- people that obviously were looking for trouble.  And the person felt very uncomfortable on the plane.  This would be a person you know.  So I will see whether or not I can get that person.  I’ll let them know, and I’ll see whether or not I can get that person to speak to you.      But this was a firsthand account of a plane going from Washington to wherever.  And I’ll see if I can get that information for you.  Maybe they’ll speak to you and maybe they won’t.      Q    Are you concerned at all by the armed militias on the streets?  Are they a worry or are they to be applauded?      THE PRESIDENT:  I think a lot of people are looking at what’s happening to these Democrat-run cities, and they’re disgusting.  They see what’s going on, and they can’t believe this is taking place in our country.  I can’t believe it either.      One of the reasons I’m making the trip today and going to Wisconsin is we’ve had such a big success in shutting down what would be, right now, a city -- that would’ve been Kenosha -- a city that would’ve been burnt to the ground by now.  And we’re going to really say hello to law enforcement and the National Guard.  And it all stopped immediately upon the National Guard’s arrival.      So, you know, it’d be easy to stop.  I saw last night where these radical anarchists were trying to get into the mayor’s house, and lots of bad things were happening to this poor, foolish, very stupid mayor.  I mean, how he could be mayor, I have no idea.  But all he has to do is call and, within 10 minutes, their problem will be over.      As you know, they have to call us.  They have to call and request help.  All he has to do is call, and the problem will end.  They had tremendous numbers of people, really, harassing him horribly, and, I guess, trying to break into his house.  And he still sticks up with him because he’s a fool.  Only a fool would stick up for them like that.  These are anarchists.  These are agitators.  They’re rioters.  They’re looters.  They’re bad people.  They’re burning down Portland.  And you take a look at that.  You take a look at the scenes last night.  And then the fake-news media will say that they’re friendly protesters.  Because you people -- I’ll tell you, if we only had an honest press in this country, we’d be much more advanced.  But we have a very dishonest press.      Yes.  Any other questions?      Q    Mr. President, can you speak at all -- you’ve spoken a lot about the anarchy that you’re referring to.  What about racial divisions?  Would you like to bridge some of those gaps?      THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah, I would.  I would.      Q    And do you think that anything that you’re saying is helping with that?      THE PRESIDENT:  I think it’s helping because I’m about law and order.  And if you look at the black community, they want the police to help them stop crime.  The Hispanic community, they want police.  Eighty-two percent, eighty-four percent -- numbers that you haven’t even seen -- they don’t want crime.  They don’t want to be mugged.  They don’t want to have any problems.  And it’s just a shame.      And as far as the previous administration, take a look at Baltimore, what happened.  Was it Freddie Gray?  Take a look at Baltimore.  Take a look at St. Louis.  Take a look at Ferguson.  Take a look at what happened.  What they had was -- it put what we’re doing -- it put them to shame -- it put it to shame.  Take a look at those places.  And you always had Portland.  Portland has been like this -- I read an article today -- for 50 years this has been going on.  I’d like to stop it, and we could stop it quickly.  All they have to do is say, “Okay, President, now we’re ready.  Now we’re ready.”      When I watched that scene last night, with all of those really horrible people outside of the mayor’s house, I also saw the way they shot the young gentleman in the street.  He was targeted.  They targeted him.  They shot him in the street, and then they were so happy, and he died.  You don’t mention that.  You mention somebody spray-painted somebody from the other side.  They shot a man in the street.  They executed a man in the street -- a religious man, in the street.  And you don’t mention it.  It’s not even a story.  You talk about other things.      The press should be ashamed of themselves.  I think the press is actually -- the media is what’s fueling this, more so than even Biden, because Biden doesn’t know he’s alive.  The press is really fueling this, and they’re fueling it horribly.  And you’re doing a great disservice to your country.      Okay.  Any other questions?      Q    Are you going to speak with the governor about your visit?  He obviously doesn’t want you to show up.      THE PRESIDENT:  I may.  No, I may.  I’m also going to be speaking with a pastor who was talking to -- as per your question previously -- a very well involved and respected man.  I look forward to that.  I spoke to him yesterday, by the way -- the pastor of the family, as you know.  And I spoke to him yesterday.  I had a great conversation.  I think he’s going to be there.      But I’m speaking -- really, today I’m there for law enforcement and for the National Guard because they’ve done a great job in Kenosha.  They put out the flame immediately.  As soon as they came in, boom, the flame was gone.  Now maybe it’ll start up again, in which case, they’ll put it out very powerfully.      Q    Can you give us the latest on TikTok and what percentage you want, if any, of that deal?      THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I told them that they have until September 15th to make a deal.  After that, we close it up in this country.  And I said that the United States has to be compensated -- well compensated -- because we are the ones that are making it possible, and so we should be compensated.  So the Treasury has to be well compensated.      Q    Mr. President, do you have an update on airlines -- what your administration wants to do to help airlines?      THE PRESIDENT:  Well, we’ll be helping the airlines.  Yeah, we’ll be helping the airlines.  You have to help the airlines.  It’s a tough business -- always is.  Airlines are a tough business in good times, and we’re about ready to get back to good times.      If you look at the numbers this morning, some of the numbers coming out are incredible.  We have now the all-time highest stock market, if you take the average.  We’re at a number that nobody would even believe.  We’re doing well.      We have tremendous -- I tell you, we have tremendous -- what would you say is the best word?  The enthusiasm for the country, the enthusiasm for the comeback -- the “V.”  You look at the “V.”  Now I think it’s a “Super V.”      And Morgan Stanley, of course, which is one of the most respected on Wall Street, would you say?  And they just made a big prediction.  You know what the prediction was, right?  That President Trump is going to remain President.      So we’ll have to see.  We’ll have to see.  But I don’t -- I cannot imagine anything else.  Because if somebody else got in -- namely, my opponent -- your stock markets, instead of being records right now, they will crash.  Your 401(k)s will be down to nothing.  Your stocks will be down to nothing.  And we will have a depression like you’ve never seen before.      We’re going to have an incredible economy.  Next year is going to be one of the best years that we’ve ever had.  And everybody is getting a big tax cut.      Thank you very much.      Q    Tell us the latest on drug pricing, sir.  On drug pricing?  The latest on that.      THE PRESIDENT:  We’re working with the drug companies on substantially lowering drug prices.  I’ve put out a favored nations clause; I’ve signed it.  That means we get the lowest prices anywhere in the world.  We match whoever gets the lowest.  And the drug company is having a real problem with that.  So they’re coming in to see me, and we expect to get a very substantial price reduction in prescription drugs, which has never been done before.      Q    When are they coming to see you, sir?  Do you know?      THE PRESIDENT:  They’re coming.  Yeah.  They’re coming this week.                               END              11:32 A.M. EDT

West Wing Reads Sen. Tom Cotton: Kenosha, Minneapolis Carnage Will Spread Until Politicians Restore Order, Deter Criminals

Sen. Tom Cotton: Kenosha, Minneapolis Carnage Will Spread Until Politicians Restore Order, Deter Criminals “Another American city is smoldering because weak politicians failed in their most basic duty: protecting the lives and property of their citizens,” Sen. Tom Cotton writes for Fox News. “Months into this crisis, the lesson to any responsible leader is clear: take action quickly to maintain order, otherwise anarchists and insurrections will be emboldened to destroy your city and move on to the next one. Last week, Kenosha and Minneapolis were the unlucky cities. Next week, it could be your home town.” Click here to read more. MORE: Acting DHS Secretary Wolf responds to Portland Mayor’s letter “Protests have spread across the United States for months now, along with calls for defunding local police departments. But the movement to defund police has a crucial flaw: the policy that it seeks would harm the minority communities whom the protesters claim to care about. Moreover, those communities don’t even agree with it,” Urban Reform Institute President Charles Blain writes in City Journal. “The Department of Agriculture announced Monday that it is extending and expanding a critical food assistance program that has been providing free meals to millions of children during the coronavirus pandemic . . . In addition to extending the assistance through December 31, [USDA is] also expanding access to it,” Devan Cole reports for CNN. “As President Trump has said, in honor of ‘the millions of Jews who suffered unthinkable persecution, we renew our pledge now and always: Never again.’ President Trump has made good on that pledge by fighting anti-Semitism at home and abroad and by standing shoulder to shoulder with Israel, the historical homeland and refuge for the Jewish people,” National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien writes for Fox News.

Presidential Message on National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, 2020

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 1, 2020 Presidential Message on National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, 2020 During National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, we call attention to the struggles of men and families affected by prostate cancer, encourage understanding of the most common risk factors and treatments, and celebrate the victories and medical advances that give us hope that one day we will rid our Nation of this disease. Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer that affects American men, and nearly 12 percent of men in the United States will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime.  Each year, more than 200,000 men are newly diagnosed, and more than 30,000 die from this disease.  Individuals at the greatest risk for prostate cancer include African American men, men over the age of 65, and men with family histories of prostate or other cancers.  While some signs, like trouble urinating and pelvic pain, may indicate the presence of prostate cancer, many men never experience any symptoms.  Screening for prostate cancer using the prostate specific antigen test can identify abnormalities and may find cancer early so that affected men can begin treatment before it spreads.  For this reason, all men aged 55 to 69 are encouraged to talk to their physicians about screening options. Thankfully, prostate cancer is treatable, and early detection can help save lives.  My Administration remains committed to ensuring that Americans have access to necessary drugs and therapies to treat prostate cancer, as well as all other diseases they may face.  That is why, in July of this year, I signed an Executive Order that eliminates kickbacks to drug company middlemen and passes on massive savings to consumers.  This Executive Order will greatly improve prescription drug affordability.  We will continue working to make all drugs more affordable to patients, including drugs to treat prostate and other cancers. This September, we affirm our support for all those battling prostate cancer.  Together, we will work to provide every patient with affordable, reliable care, and look toward a future free from the scourge of this disease. ###

Presidential Message on National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, 2020

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 1, 2020 Presidential Message on National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, 2020 During National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, the First Lady and I join all Americans in remembering the loved ones lost to this terrible disease and in raising awareness of the common signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer.  We extend our full support to those battling this disease, and we resolve to continue working to find new treatments and methods of care to defeat it. For the more than 20,000 American women who are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year, early detection is critical.  Regular medical checkups and knowing the factors that place women at an increased risk for this disease, including age and family medical history, are important steps every American can take to help save lives.  Additionally, awareness of certain common symptoms, like bloating, pelvic pain, and difficulty eating or urinating, can facilitate a potentially life-saving early diagnosis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 14,000 American women will lose their battle with ovarian cancer in 2020 alone.  This tragedy strikes to the very core of our country, and my Administration remains committed to taking every available step to improve quality of care and increase access to treatment for women diagnosed with ovarian cancer.  Since taking office, I have led a historic effort to cut regulations at a record pace to allow faster development of drugs and treatments, and in 2018 I signed Right to Try legislation, which expands access to potentially life-saving drugs.  We will continue to cut regulations and put power in the hands of patients to choose the care that is best for them. The First Lady joins me in sending our prayers to all those battling ovarian cancer.  As one Nation, we will continue working toward a cure and secure a brighter, healthier future for all of our treasured mothers, sisters, wives, and daughters.

WHITE HOUSE TOURS UPDATE

Office of the First Lady FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 1, 2020 WHITE HOUSE TOURS UPDATE The Office of the First Lady is pleased to announce that the White House Visitors Office will resume public tours on Saturday, September 12, 2020. In order to ensure the safety and health of all visitors, there have been new policies implemented that align with the guidance issued by Federal, State, and local officials. Guests attending a White House tour should expect the following precautions to be taken during their visit: Limited Hours and Guests: Tours will be hosted two days a week instead of five, on Friday and Saturday, from 8:00AM to 11:00AM. Number of guests is limited to 18% of normal capacity.  Added Safety Precautions: All guests (ages 2 years and over) are required to wear a face covering and practice social distancing during their visit to the White House complex. Social distancing dots will be placed on the ground for guests during the check-in process. National Park Service, U.S. Secret Service Officers, and Visitors Office staff working the tour route will wear face coverings, gloves, and encourage social distancing when engaging with guests on complex. Hand sanitizer will be available in multiple locations.