President Donald J. Trump (00:00):
Today, Congressman Brian Mast, who's right here, introduced the bill to ensure this new medal will be awarded to any law enforcement officer or first responder who gives his or her life in the line of duty. I also want to recognize Lara and Eric Trump for their work to make this medal reality. Thank you, Lara, and thank you, Eric. Appreciate it very much. Thanks as well to Attorney General Pam Bondi, who's with us. Pam, thank you very much. Appreciate it. So busy. She's so busy, but she wouldn't miss it. Secret Service Director Sean Curran. Sean, wherever you may be. Hi, Sean. Congressman Byron Donalds, State Representative Meg Weinberger, and Dan Newland, thank you. Thank you, Dan. Thank you, everybody. Thank you, Byron. Thank you, everyone. Really great that you're here. I also want to express our gratitude to Major Paul Vrchota. Where is Paul? Paul? Thank you, Paul. Captain Ryan Mugridge. Thank you, Captain. Lieutenant Shandon Hood. Thank you, Shandon. Sergeant Scott Yoder.
Sergeant Scott Yoder (01:11):
Sir.
President Donald J. Trump (01:12):
Thank you very much, Sergeant. Deputy Sheriff Christopher Farron. Thank you very much, Christopher. And Deputy Sheriff Chris Cameron. Thank you very much. Thank you. And all of the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office. We have many people here representing that incredible office. I know it very well.
(01:33)
Very special thanks as well to Alexandre Arnault, who's a tremendous person, with his father, who… They own Tiffany, and they really devoted a tremendous time and effort to helping us design this beautiful medal. And thank you very much, Alexandre. I appreciate that you came all the way from France and the incredible team at Tiffany & Company. And Tiffany is doing great. He's a fantastic leader. You know all about the fantastic, the great Arnault family, and the fact that you came for this is very meaningful, actually. It's really incredible. But for crafting this beautiful medal. I know he looked at it, and he worked on it, and he had his best people working on it.
(02:22)
People are loving it, and this will go on for a long time. You'll be making that medal for a long time. Unfortunately, in one way it's very sad, but we properly respect the ones that have lost their lives today. We also remember three remarkable heroes who will become the medal's first ever recipients. So, it's a big honor. Corporal Luis Paez Jr., Deputy Sheriff Ralph 'Butch' Waller Jr., and Deputy Sheriff Ignacio 'Dan' Diaz. And thank you very much. Represented by family members who are… I was there with them. That was devastation. They were devastated. We're profoundly grateful to be joined by their loved ones. Corporal Paez's former wife, Doris. Thank you, Doris, for being with us. Thank you very much. Thank you. And his son, Cameron. Good-looking son too. Deputy Waller's wife, Denise. Thank you, Denise, very much. And Deputy Diaz's daughter, Alexandria. Thank you. Thank you very much. I want to thank you all.
(03:35)
The three officers we recognize today were close friends. They were really close friends and colleagues, and together, they dedicated their lives to protecting the people of Palm Beach County and well beyond. They were beloved by everyone and respected by all. Really, really top-of-the-line people. Countless times when I was in Florida, they proudly saved, and they saved a lot of lives. They were going around saving a lot of lives. Their reputation was incredible. They served in motorcades for presidents called presidential motorcades, a very dangerous job, actually. And I was deeply honored to attend their memorial service last year.
(04:16)
In a horrific accident in November, the three officers were working to restart one of their motorcycles on the shoulder of a road when they were struck by a SUV, struck dead center, and all three perished from their injuries. Essentially, they perished immediately. This was a terrible tragedy. It shook the entire Palm Beach community like very, very few events I've ever seen. All of Florida mourned their loss, and today, our entire nation joins in honoring these three incredible patriots taken from us much too soon, much, much too soon.
(04:55)
To Doris, Cameron, Denise, Alexandria, and to all of those who love these brave men, we are deeply sorry for your loss and eternally grateful for their sacrifice, their great, great sacrifice. Just respected by everybody. We'll never forget their legacy, and we will never forget the debt we owe all of these great law enforcement heroes who have given their lives to keep our community safe and make America strong again. We have so many unbelievable people in the police department and other departments, first responders, firemen, a lot of brave, incredible people.
(05:33)
I'd now would like to ask my son, Eric Trump, to say a few words, followed by Congressman Brian Mast and Alexandre Arnault, who's going to be giving out the medals. Then I'll present the Medals of Sacrifice. Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you for being here too. Thank you. Please.
Eric Trump (05:54):
Mr. President, thank you very much. My father and I attended that funeral that day, and I can't tell you how moving that experience was. And one simple question was asked, "Why is there no medal, medal of Valor, Medal of Sacrifice, that commemorates law enforcement officers, first responders who have fallen in line of duty?" And Congressman Mast, he was there with me that day. He was with my father, and we said, "We're going to take care of this problem. Where are you getting involved?" And the first call that was made was to the great Arnault family, who owns Tiffany's. And they said without hesitation that they'd be honored to design something absolutely beautiful, that's a tribute to these incredible officers, these incredible EMS responders. And here we are roughly six months later with something that's truly beautiful.
(06:40)
I want to thank the Tiffany's family, the Arnault family, for all the work they've put into it, and their entire team. I can tell you this has been a nonstop effort. I want to thank the congressman. Without the congressman, his staff, we would not be here today. I want to thank the president for allowing us to do this. It's such an important mission. This medal is going to be given for hundreds and hundreds of years to come. And last but not least, I want to send on behalf of this entire nation, on behalf of our entire family, the incredible families of the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office and your incredible families… They made the ultimate sacrifice, and know that we all appreciate their dedication. Many of us knew them, have met them, and we love them very much, and I'm sure they're missed. But today, hopefully, this is a great tribute to them. And I know because of our wonderful president that this medal will be given now for many years to come. Thank you very much.
Brian Mast (07:38):
I would just start by thanking all of our law enforcement officers. The job is always dangerous and you do it still every single day. And I would thank the families, because the job, you are a reminder of, is often deadly. And I would thank you, Mr. President, because for the first time in
Congressman Brian Mast (08:00):
… our nation's history, you're willing to say to all of our first responders, all of our law enforcement, all of our firefighters, we're going to recognize that sacrifice from the office of the presidency for each and every one of them. And that's never taken place before, that recognition. That it's a job that's always dangerous and often deadly, and there's a debt that can never be repaid, but you're willing to recognize that debt. So thank you Mr. President for recognizing the debt.
President Donald J. Trump (08:30):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
Mr. President, Congressman, thank you very much for involving Tiffany in this process. We're very honored to having made these medals. Tiffany is a jeweler, as everyone knows it, but also a maker of American heritage. We were making the Medal of Honor in the 19th and early 20th century, and it's only natural that we followed with this heritage just as we work on other very important American heirlooms. This medal was made in Providence, Rhode Island in our largest factory in the US, out of silver plated and 24 carat gold, just like the ceiling of this office, and represents the coat of arms of the United States. Mr. President, thank you very much.
President Donald J. Trump (09:18):
Thank you very much. Byron, would you like to say a few words, please?
Byron (09:25):
First to be brief. To the families, we are so sorry for your sacrifice, but your officer from your family represented not just Palm Beach County, but the United States with honor. Mr. President, thank you for allowing this to go forward. To my colleague, Congressman Mast, thank you for your leadership. We will always honor first responders in the United States of America.
President Donald J. Trump (09:47):
Thanks. Okay, so you want to help us? That's beautiful. So can we ask the [inaudible 00:10:10] to step forward, please? Joe, would you like to help us? Please. Thank you very much. There you are, you grab that.
(10:09)
First families.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
Thank you sir, I really appreciate it.
President Donald J. Trump (10:09):
Thank you very much.
(10:09)
Thank you very much. You take care of yourself, okay?
Speaker 2 (11:44):
Thank you. Thank you for honoring him.
(11:44)
I would like to thank you very much for honoring my husband and his brothers and for what you do for the country. Making this so very special for them and for all the people to come. It's a club you never want to be in, but you honored them and it just means the world. Thank you.
President Donald J. Trump (11:54):
Thank you very much. Appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
You want me to go over there or-
President Donald J. Trump (12:06):
Come on over here.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
I viewed my dad as Superman. Someone my whole life you look up to. He's an amazing guy. And I, it's horrible that this happened to all three families, but I'm glad that something was done about it. And we got represented and everyone in the future will be. So thank you.
President Donald J. Trump (12:41):
Thank you very much. He'd be very proud of you.
(12:41)
Thank you very much.
(12:41)
Thank you very much.
(12:41)
Thank you very much.
(12:41)
Would you like to say anything us on behalf of our force? Would you like to say something? It's a very tough thing to do.
(12:41)
Would you like to say something?
Speaker 4 (13:46):
Mr. President, on behalf of Sheriff Ric Bradshaw and every member of the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, we can't thank you enough for taking the lead on this and recognizing the extreme sacrifice of our three brothers. Words really can't express how thankful we are.
President Donald J. Trump (14:02):
Thank you very much. And we have a fourth, and we're going to give this to you. Hopefully it's maybe never going to be given out. We'll give it to Sheriff Bradshaw, who's an incredible sheriff. You've done an amazing job and we'll have it should something happen. And that's right here. Okay?
Speaker 4 (14:22):
Yes, sir. Thank you.
President Donald J. Trump (14:23):
And I hope it never has to be given out, frankly. Thank you very much.
Speaker 4 (14:30):
Thank you, Mr. President.
President Donald J. Trump (14:33):
Well, thank you. Do you have any questions for what you just saw? They're so important. I mean, people have talked about it for years. I want to thank Brian Mast for what he's done, Congressman. He's been unbelievable. He is a great representative and he worked hard. He wanted to do it right and we wanted to go somehow we could get him done pretty easily in one way, but we wouldn't get them done by Tiffany. And the fact that the Arnault family stepped up was absolutely incredible. It means more when you get a name like that, I think it means something extra.
(15:13)
But these were incredible people and they're looking down on you right now, and they're very, very proud. Very, very proud of all of you. And it's too bad we had to be doing this, but I was there with you that day. That was a rough day. Thank you very much. Would you have any questions? Yeah.
REPORTERS (15:32):
Mr. President, do you Have plans to give this award to any other families posthumously if you find yourself in the same position as having made this sacrifice then after the testimony question about-
President Donald J. Trump (15:45):
Having to do from a previous? We're looking at the possibility of that, yeah. You had a lot of people die in the line of duty when you think of it. And we figured it was time to start. We haven't had the situation arise.
President Donald J. Trump (16:00):
This was a terrible situation. We haven't had it arise yet, but we're looking at going back a little bit and see what we can do about that. Yes, strongly. Yeah. Go ahead.
Speaker 5 (16:11):
On your call with President Putin today?
President Donald J. Trump (16:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (16:14):
You'd mentioned that the Pope would like to take a role potentially in mediating these talks. Does that mean that the U.S. Is taking a step back from?
President Donald J. Trump (16:22):
No, no, no. I think it would be great to have it at the Vatican. Maybe it would've some extra significance, and I saw that it was discussed yesterday, so I thought -- and people told me that they'd be honored to do it. I would imagine they would be. So no, I think it would be maybe helpful. There's tremendous bitterness, anger, and I think maybe that could help some of that anger. So having it at the Vatican in Rome would be a very --. I think it would be a great idea. Thank you,
Speaker 6 (16:52):
Mr. President.
Speaker 7 (16:54):
Mr. President.
President Donald J. Trump (16:55):
Yeah?
Speaker 6 (16:55):
First off can I say?
Speaker 7 (16:58):
Thank you Mr. President, as you know, two and a half months ago, Ukraine President Zelensky agreed to that thirty-day ceasefire that's been on the table all of that time. What was the extent of your conversation with President Putin today about having him agree to that same 30-day ceasefire proposal that you Mr. president put on the table?
President Donald J. Trump (17:17):
Well, what we've done and very strongly is we said, let's get this thing going. I had many of the leaders of European nations on the line with me right after the call, and we have to get that thing solved. 5,000 young people every single week on average, and I've seen satellite pictures, you don't want to see these pictures. We'll have to see what happens. This was not my war. This is not a war that would've happened if I were president. This is not my war. I'm just here to try and help. We've spent hundreds of billions of dollars on this war, and yet that's not, frankly, we made much more than that just in four days in the Middle East. It's a lot of money, but we do much.
(18:07)
This is about thousands of people dying every single week, 5,000, 6,000 people dying every single week, and just like you have the relatives here, wives and children and everything, you have these soldiers. They say goodbye in Ukraine and in Russia, and then their parents never see them again except maybe in pictures of horrible scenes. I've seen some scenes. I've never seen anything like it, so we're going to see if we can get it taken care of. Yeah, please?
Speaker 6 (18:37):
First off, our thanks to the members of law enforcement who are here and our condolences to the families. We're very sorry for your loss. Mr. President on Ukraine, and on your call today that you had with President Putin. You said last week that you thought nothing was going to happen. No advances would be made until you and Putin got together. Do you still feel that way?
President Donald J. Trump (18:54):
I think something's going to happen. It's a very big egos involved. I tell you, big egos involved, but I think something's going to happen, and if it doesn't, I just back away and they're going to have to keep going. Again, this was a European situation. It should have remained a European situation. Should have remained, but because the past administration felt very strongly that we should be involved, that we got involved much more than Europe did in terms of the money and all of the things that we gave, we gave a massive amounts. I think record- setting amounts given to a foreign -- There's never been anything like this. Both weaponry and money. And Europe gave a lot also, but they didn't give anywhere near what we gave. We gave probably almost three times the amount, and it is just a shame. The whole thing is a shame.
Speaker 6 (19:47):
Did you ask President Putin to meet?
President Donald J. Trump (19:48):
The level of death just a shame, yeah?
Speaker 6 (19:51):
Did you ask President Putin to meet with you?
President Donald J. Trump (19:53):
About what?
Speaker 6 (19:54):
About Ukraine?
President Donald J. Trump (19:56):
Of course I did. I talked to him about it. I said, "When are we going to end this, Vladimir?" I've known him for a long time now. I said, "When are we going to end this bloodshed, this bloodbath? It's a bloodbath." And I do believe he wants to end it. When I made the call, I told the people last night, I spoke to the heads of the different countries, Germany and Finland. We had Italy as you know, and the UK was on the line today and a couple of others, and then they were in turn calling everyone. Ursula was there from the European Union. She was terrific and we spoke for a long time about it, and they got a problem. It's a big, big problem. It's a terrible war. It's a very hard to extradite themselves away from what's taken place over there. The amount of anger, the amount of hate and the amount of death. It's very hard, very tough situation.
(20:57)
But I said to him, "We got to get going," and I did say also, if I thought that you couldn't do it, I'd step away because what are you going to do? We don't have boots on the ground. We wouldn't have boots on the ground, but we do have a big stake, and the financial amount that was put up is just crazy. It's crazy. This isn't for us. This is for somebody else. The amount of money that we put up is record-setting. It's never been anything like this, and that includes weapons. Never been anything like this. Yeah, please?
Speaker 8 (21:30):
Mr. President, on the medal, how far back do you intend to look to consider for the recipients? And then on your call today, if Putin ultimately proves to be the obstacle to peace, is further arming Ukraine on the table at that point?
President Donald J. Trump (21:43):
Well, we'll look. I mean, we're going to look. I like to think positively. Frankly, I just can't believe that they allow this to continue. This would've never happened if I were president, and most people admit that, and it didn't happen for four years. And October 7th would've never happened either. That's the attack on Israel. That would've never happened. So sad. A lot of things wouldn't have happened, but so sad to see it. Now, I think that there's a good chance we can get this done. I believe Putin wants to do it. Now, if I thought Putin, I mean that's what I do. My whole life is deals one big deal, and if I thought that President Putin did not want to get this over with, I wouldn't even be talking about it because I just pull out.
Speaker 8 (22:28):
What did you hear that gave you confidence that he does want peace versus buying time?
President Donald J. Trump (22:34):
I think he's had enough. I think he's had enough. It's been a long time. This has been going on for more than three years. When you think, right, it's been going on for a long time. Yeah, please?
Speaker 9 (22:46):
So thank you, Mr. President. When you implored him to stop previously, Vladimir stopped on social media and he didn't, he just continued. I'm curious, did you bring that up with him in your phone call today?
President Donald J. Trump (22:59):
You have to talk up.
Speaker 9 (23:00):
Sorry, you previously on truth social implored President Putin to stop. You wrote, "Vladimir stop," and he didn't stop quite the contrary. I'm curious, did you bring that up on your call with him today?
President Donald J. Trump (23:10):
No, no. I didn't bring that up, but I did say, it's time you got to stop this thing, and I believe he wants to stop. Look, I would be, I think, very able to tell whether or not he wanted to. I thought there was a very good chance, like 50/50 chance that he would say," I want to take the whole thing." I didn't know what he was going to say, and then they have a different kind of a problem, but I believe he wants to stop. For sure.
Speaker 9 (23:37):
Can you ask twice just now about backing away or walking away, if it looks like it's going to be an intractable problem, do you have a red line in your head of what would cause you to back away and let go?
President Donald J. Trump (23:46):
In my head, but not something I'm going to announce, but yeah, definitely in my head I do, yeah.
Speaker 9 (23:50):
What exactly would that look like?
President Donald J. Trump (23:51):
Because this isn't our war. This is not my war. This is not the war. I mean, we got ourselves entangled in something that we shouldn't have been involved in
President Donald J. Trump (24:00):
And we would've been a lot better off and maybe the whole thing would've been better off because it can't be much worse. It's a real mess. It's a death trap.
Speaker 10 (24:08):
And what exactly-
President Donald J. Trump (24:08):
So I think that… Yeah, I would say I do have a certain line, but I don't want to say what that line is because I think it makes the negotiation even more difficult than it is. Yes, please.
Speaker 10 (24:19):
Mr. President, thank you all for your sacrifice. I'm so sorry for your loss and everybody. You've mentioned the bloodbath you want to see end in Ukraine. You mentioned that you believe Putin wants peace, but he just attacked Ukraine yesterday. So what makes you think that he wants peace?
President Donald J. Trump (24:36):
Well, he's in a war. Nobody said don't. They're fighting. They're attacking. They're attacking each other and people are dying all the time. He's in a war. He's fighting a war. Nobody said he was going to stop. I think is it terrible? Yeah, it's terrible. I do. I think it's terrible.
Speaker 11 (24:53):
Can you wait on President Biden? President Biden was diagnosed with cancer-
Speaker 10 (24:56):
Just one more question on the war, and then I'm going to ask you about reconciliation. Why haven't you increased the sanctions on Russia yet?
President Donald J. Trump (25:03):
Well, because I think there's a chance of getting something done, and if you do that, you can also make it much worse. But there could be a time where that's going to happen. Yep.
Speaker 11 (25:12):
You want to respond to President Biden being diagnosed with cancer? Are you going to call your predecessor?
President Donald J. Trump (25:23):
I think it's very sad actually. I'm surprised that the public wasn't notified a long time ago because to get to Stage IX, that's a long time. I just had my physical. You saw that. You saw the results of that particular test. I think that test is standard to pretty much anybody getting a physical, good physical. We had the doctors at the White House and over at Walter Reed, which is a fantastic hospital. I did a very complete physical, including cognitive test. I'm proud to announce I aced it. Got them all. I got them all right. You proud of me? Yes. Your husband would be proud of me for getting them all right. It's a little risky. If I didn't get them all right, these people would be after me. It would be not a good situation.
(26:07)
But I think frankly, anybody running for president should take a cognitive test. They say it's unconstitutional, but I would say in that particular case, having a cognitive test wouldn't be so bad. But when you take tests medical, as a male, that test is very standard. I don't know if it's given to everybody, but it's given just about, and it takes a long time to get to that situation. Now, I think to get to a Stage IX, I think that if you take a look, it's the same doctor that said that Joe was cognitively fine. There was nothing wrong with him.
(26:46)
Well, he said if it's the same doctor, he said there was nothing wrong there. And that's being proven to be a sad situation. And the autopen is becoming a very big deal. The autopen is becoming a big deal because it seems like that maybe was the president, whoever operated the autopen. But when they say that that was not good, they also, you have to look and you have to say that the test was not so good either.
(27:10)
In other words, there are things going on that the public wasn't informed. And I think somebody's going to have to speak to his doctor if it's the same. Or even if it's two separate doctors. Why wasn't the cognitive ability, why wasn't that discussed? And I think the doctor said he's just fine. And it's turned out that's not so. It's very dangerous.
(27:31)
Look, this is no longer politically correct. This is dangerous for our country. Look at the mess where, and you're talking about all these questions on Ukraine and Russia, that would've never happened as an example of our president would've never happened. The other thing is you have to say, why did it take so long? I mean, when this takes a long time, can take years to get to this level of danger. Look, it's a very, very sad situation and I feel very badly about it, and I think people should try and find out what happened. Because I'll tell you the Walter… I don't know if it had anything the hospital but Walter Reed is really good. They're some of the best doctors I've ever seen. I don't even know if they were involved, but a doctor was involved in each case. Maybe it was the same doctor and somebody is not telling the facts. That's a big problem.
Speaker 12 (28:23):
President Zelenskyy of Ukraine says Ukrainians are ready for a ceasefire. They're ready for peace negotiations. In your mind, is Ukraine doing enough to get this peace?
President Donald J. Trump (28:33):
I'd rather tell you in about two weeks from now, because I can't say yes or no. I think, look, he's a strong person. Zelenskyy, strong guy, and he's not the easiest person to deal with, but I think that he wants to stop. It's a very bad thing that's happening over there. I think he wants to stop, but I could answer that question better in two weeks or four weeks from now. I hope the answer is that he wants to get it solved. I want to thank everybody very much, and on behalf of the United States of America, we greatly honor your family and your friends and everybody that had to suffer so much. But you have some three great men that are looking down on you, and they're very proud right now. They're very proud. This is the Oval Office, and they're a big part of it now. They're a part of the Oval Office, the White House, and thank you all very much. Thank you. Thank you, Sheriff. Thank you very much everybody.
Speaker 10 (29:35):
Thanks guys. Thank you. Thanks guys. Head this way.
