Donald Trump (00:00):
Hello, everybody. The jet fighters will be surrounding the plane in about seven minutes. I heard they threw you out of the press conference.
Kaitlan Collins (00:17):
They tried, but Karoline stopped them.
Donald Trump (00:19):
Karoline saved you. You're lucky. You're lucky. You were a little out of control.
Kaitlan Collins (00:23):
How's the trip going so far?
Donald Trump (00:24):
It's going very well-
Kaitlan Collins (00:24):
I was asking about your meeting with the Syrian-
Donald Trump (00:27):
I think it's really going well. Great relationships, and now we're meeting with a group that's fantastic. The emir is a great guy, I know. I know them all very well. How are you?
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Good. Thank you.
Donald Trump (00:37):
You're going to be surrounded by eight fighters, you know, in about seven minutes. Then you say, "Do we need them?" And when they say, "Yes," that doesn't make me feel good, right?
Speaker 4 (00:50):
[inaudible 00:00:50] threat. Did they tell you what the threat is?
Donald Trump (00:56):
No. Let's assume there's no threat. We have to assume that.
Speaker 4 (00:59):
How did you find the Syrian president?
Donald Trump (01:01):
Great. Great. I think very good. Young, attractive guy. Tough guy. Strong past. Very strong past fighter.
Speaker 4 (01:11):
Does that worry you at all?
Donald Trump (01:13):
But he's got a real shot at pulling it together. I spoke with President Erdogan, who I'm very friendly with, and he feels he's got a shot at doing a good job. It's a torn up country.
Speaker 4 (01:26):
Do you think Syria will join the …
Donald Trump (01:26):
[inaudible 00:01:39].
Speaker 4 (01:26):
What about Lebanon? Do you think there's a path for Lebanon to normalize relations with-
Donald Trump (01:50):
You know, a friend of mine is the new ambassador to them, and I didn't even know, and I never knew his relationship, but he was born in Lebanon. And he said, "I'd like to be the ambassador." He's a very successful guy. And I said, "You know, that's very dangerous." And he said, "I don't care. I love my country, and it's worth it to do." [inaudible 00:02:05] go and interview him sometime, Michel. He's a great guy, but he's approved, or almost approved. But there's a danger there for a very successful man to go and do that. I said, "You sure you know what you're doing?" It's like Doug taking pictures, right? You got some good shots, I guess.
Speaker 5 (02:30):
Yes, sir.
Donald Trump (02:30):
It was a beautiful scene. The last scene at the airport, I thought was beautiful. We rode out together. They generally don't do that.
Speaker 4 (02:40):
[inaudible 00:02:43].
Donald Trump (02:43):
They don't generally meet presidents.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
There have been some reports of the Syrian president wanting a Trump tower in Damascus. Did that come up at all?
Donald Trump (02:59):
That, I haven't heard. Wait a little while. Let things calm down a little while with the country. I think he's going to do … He's got the potential to do … He's a real leader, and he led a charge, and he's pretty amazing. Did you see him? Did you get to see him?
Speaker 3 (03:10):
No.
Donald Trump (03:12):
He was there. He was with us at the event.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
Did the PGA Tour or LIV Golf come up at all in your conversations with the crown prince?
Donald Trump (03:19):
No. No. You mean the LIV?
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Yeah.
Donald Trump (03:21):
No. It didn't. We didn't discuss it.
Speaker 4 (03:26):
[inaudible 00:03:26] the Saudi Intelligence Legion, the 9/11 families want the Saudi Intelligence Legion to be extradited to the United States to face charges regarding [inaudible 00:03:36]. Did that come up in conversation?
Donald Trump (03:38):
No, it didn't. I know all about it but it didn't come up.
Speaker 6 (03:39):
On Israel, you're not going to Israel. Does this trip sideline Israel at all?
Donald Trump (03:45):
No, not at all. No, this is good for Israel. Having a relationship like I have with these countries, Middle Eastern countries, essentially all of them, I think it's very good for Israel.
Speaker 6 (03:57):
Can I ask you [inaudible 00:03:57] on Israel, the hostage deal? Did any of your people speak with Israel about the release of the American hostage? I'm sorry, on the sanctions lifting [inaudible 00:04:11].
Donald Trump (04:10):
[inaudible 00:04:11].
Speaker 6 (04:12):
Let me ask [inaudible 00:04:13] first. What credit does Israel deserve, if any, for that release of the hostage?
Donald Trump (04:20):
Well, they've been fighting a long time. They're warring. And I think they deserve a lot of credit. I think my people deserve a lot of credit, maybe. The most credit. He wouldn't be there. If it weren't for us, he wouldn't be living right now. Probably none of the hostages would be living right now. We probably have 20 that are living that will be getting out step-by-step. We've gotten a lot of them out, and last time, a couple of weeks ago, 10 people walked into my office, the Oval Office, and they said … They had a 59 on their shirt front, and I said, "What does that represent?" The number of hostages. I said, "Wow, that's a lot." They said, "Well, 20 more are living, and now it's 20. The number is 20 that are living. Four have died. And the young people." Young people don't die. Young people are killed. They don't die. So, the 24 living, of the 59, 24 living is now down to 20, and we got Edan out. His family was so thankful. We did a good job with that. We'll continue to do it.
Kaitlan Collins (05:25):
What happens on Thursday if President Putin doesn't show up in Turkey for the talks with Ukraine? What will you do?
Donald Trump (05:44):
Well, I don't know if he's showing up. I know he would like me to be there, and that's a possibility. If we could end the war, I'd be thinking about it. Tomorrow, we're all booked out. You understand that. [inaudible 00:05:58].
Kaitlan Collins (05:56):
But you'd go if he goes?
Donald Trump (06:03):
We're going to go UAE tomorrow, and so we have a very full situation. Now, that doesn't mean I wouldn't do it to save a lot of lives and come back. But yeah, I think they're thinking about something. I don't know that he would be there if I'm not there. We're going to find out. Marco is going, and Marco has been very effective.
Kaitlan Collins (06:20):
How are you feeling about how Putin is handling this? I know you even said a few weeks ago, you thought maybe-
Donald Trump (06:24):
About who?
Kaitlan Collins (06:24):
How Putin is handling this. You said a few weeks ago, you thought maybe he was tapping you along-
Donald Trump (06:28):
I don't know. I'll let you know in a week. I'll let you know in a few days.
Speaker 6 (06:35):
Mr. President, on Israel again, has any of your team been in touch with Israel or you, your team, about lifting the sanctions on Syria? What's their reaction?
Donald Trump (06:42):
Well, in touch. We told them we're doing it. The reason I did it, and I think it's been very popular actually, certainly in the Middle East it's been popular, with virtually everybody. But the reason I did it is because I spoke with President Erdogan, who I get along with very well. And I spoke to Mohammed, as you know, just with him, and they thought it was very important to do. It gives them a much better chance of survival as a country.
Speaker 6 (07:09):
[inaudible 00:07:10] Netanyahu thinks about it?
Donald Trump (07:12):
Well, I think what's happened is Turkey feels we should do it, other countries. If you looked at my speech last night, which I assume most of you were at, I think the biggest applause was when I said that we're lifting these sanctions on Syria, and that's because they want to give Syria a chance to live and to be great.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
Mr. President, an emirate government-backed firm did a $2 billion deal-
Donald Trump (07:38):
What?
Speaker 3 (07:39):
An emirate government backed firm did a $2 billion using the Trump digital coins. How did that deal come about?
Donald Trump (07:48):
I don't know anything about it. I really don't know anything about it. But I'm a big crypto fan, I will tell you. I've been that from the beginning, right from the campaign. I'm a believer in crypto, and if we're not going to do it, China's going to do it. That's the way I look at it. It's like AI. I'm a believer in AI because we have to have it. We're leading China by a lot, and in crypto, we're leading China by a lot, so I'm a big crypto fan.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
You didn't know about that?
Donald Trump (08:12):
No, no.
Kaitlan Collins (08:12):
Senator Schumer said he wants to block your Justice Department political appointees until he gets answers about questions about the Qatari plane. What's your response?
Donald Trump (08:21):
Schumer, you know, he's become a Palestinian. There's something wrong with him. I don't know. I've known him a long time, and there's something wrong. He's lost his confidence, totally. And there's just something wrong with him. I don't know what it is with Schumer. Yeah, did you have a question? Go ahead.
Speaker 4 (08:38):
I've got two questions on Iran and Russia. Are you still considering secondary sanctions on Iran's oil exports?
Donald Trump (08:47):
Let's see what happens over the next week. I don't really want to answer it because I want to see what happens over the next week. Go ahead.
Speaker 4 (08:54):
And then on Iran and Russia, are you considering sanctions on Russia for supporting Iran and for the continued war on Ukraine?
Donald Trump (09:02):
Well, again, I don't want to talk about it, but I'm always considering the secondary sanctions. I had the secondary sanctions on Iran and drove them into bankruptcy and there would've been no October 7th. There would've been no money for Hamas or Hezbollah or anybody else. So, I'm always … As you know, I put secondary sanctions on Iran again. And hopefully they're going to make the right decision because something's going to happen one way or the other. Very simple. It's going to happen one way or the other. They can [inaudible 00:09:35] or do it very unfriendly and that won't be pleasant. Thank you very much.
Kaitlan Collins (09:39):
On the Qatari plane, Mr. President-
Speaker 7 (09:40):
[inaudible 00:09:41].
Kaitlan Collins (09:41):
Thank you, Mr. President.
