Full press conference: Trump signs Melania-backed order to close women's health research gaps

[0:11] Good morning. Welcome. Cabinet members, doctors, directors, administrators, and all in attendance [0:22] today. Thank you for standing behind this important issue. Please sit down. Now is the time. This is the [0:36] time. This is a transformative moment for women in America. Beginning today, we will change the [0:45] reality of women's health. Previous generations fought for women's rights. Our generation will [0:54] fight to discover the cures that will ensure a woman can live her life in health and to the fullest. [1:05] The advancing women's health to improve outcomes in all phases of life, executive order, establishes [1:15] a new standard for women's health in America. We now possess extraordinary scientific capabilities, [1:26] such as superintelligence, advanced biotechnology, and groundbreaking therapies. At the same time, [1:35] social norms are changing and topics that were once taboo are becoming open, well informed, [1:44] and necessary. Together, these developments present a unique chance to reinvent women's health care. [1:56] We will move our hopes into action, beginning with the distinguished individuals and great minds present [2:06] here today. This afternoon, the first task force working session will convene. As you embark on this [2:16] important work, I ask you to keep in mind the priorities that form my first lady's five pillars [2:25] of women's health innovation. Start by directing research, founding towards finding cures for diseases that [2:36] affect women in a unique way. Second, use superintelligence to enhance our understanding of female biology [2:47] and speed up medical discoveries, all to the benefit of women. Third, accelerate the process of guiding [2:59] promising therapies from laboratories to female patients, while still keeping strict safety standards. [3:07] Fourth, ensure that medical breakthroughs are accessible and affordable to women, regardless of their [3:18] financial circumstances. And fifth, replace generations of silence with open conversation, education, [3:29] and compassion. Our mission must serve women at every stage of life, from young girls just starting out, [3:42] to mothers dealing with a complex range of responsibilities, to mature women who deserve to have vitality, [3:50] dignity, dignity, and independence. In 2026, medical advances can do more than just prolong life. It should give women the freedom [4:04] to live life to its fullest, to pursue our dreams, experience love, discover, create, travel, and lead. [4:14] Today, we establish a new ambition, transforming hardship and pain into scientific discovery, effective treatments, and lasting cures. [4:28] We are women. We are resilient, capable, and deserving of lives defined not by the burdens we carry, but by the possibilities before us. [4:41] Our health should never be limited in the fullness of our lives. I would like to thank the president for his support and for signing this very important executive order. Thank you. [5:02] Please welcome the president, Donald J. Trump. Thank you. [5:07] Donald J. Well, thank you very much, everybody. Melania works so hard, you wouldn't believe it. [5:32] And she's accomplished so much in a very short period of time. So I think everybody here very much appreciates the job you do. [5:39] You don't need to do it, but you do it. Thank you. Please, please. [5:46] And if I might, that stone is so beautiful. You know, I've been here when we had grass. [5:56] You know, this is built on a wetland and the grass was always wet. If it didn't rain for two weeks, the grass was soaking wet. [6:01] And many women have ruined their shoes. And they look at me and they've ruined many, many sets of shoes as we kept trying to have use that swamp. [6:13] And it didn't work out. And what we did here has just been incredible. [6:16] It's become the most popular place to have a news conference. And I hope you enjoy it. [6:21] I even see the cushions as beautiful yellow cushions. They're supposed to be a half an inch high. [6:26] I said, how about four inches? Don't they feel nice? They don't make them in four inches. I had them specially made four inches for everybody. [6:34] So it lifts you up higher and it's a lot more comfortable than the one inch deal. [6:38] And well, enjoy it. And outside, you have the new heliport that just opened. [6:42] And behind you, you're going to have one of the greatest ballrooms and military complexes. [6:46] Very complex situation going on, I will tell you. But it's it's on time. [6:53] It's actually ahead of schedule, I would say. And it's going to be the greatest ballroom and the greatest military complex combination that's ever been built. [7:03] So it's very important. The White House has needed that for 150 years. [7:09] Presidents have been saying, please, we've got to have some room. [7:13] We had President Xi recently and he called with a request of 350 people. [7:19] In other words, 350 friends or representatives from the United States. [7:24] They said, the room's holes, 125, 350 is going to be tough. [7:29] So we gave him 10 and we won't have that problem anymore. [7:34] Then we had King Charles came in. [7:35] Likewise, he said, would it be possible to have 293 people? [7:40] We have them from the UK all over the United States. [7:43] They want to fly in. I said, well, it's going to be a little possible. [7:46] It's about three times more than the room holes. [7:48] That means I would get none. So we made a little compromise. [7:52] But we're going to have no problem very shortly. [7:54] We're going to have the kind of room we want. [7:57] But I want to thank Melania. [7:58] I want to thank all of her friends for being here and all of her people that have helped her so much through [8:03] coming up with some of the most important ideas probably in the administration. [8:07] Through her fostering the future and be best initiatives, Melania has made an outstanding [8:12] contribution, a truly outstanding contribution to the well-being of America's children and families. [8:20] And now we're delighted that she's bringing her extraordinary leadership and skills. [8:24] She's a very skilled person, actually, to help improve the health of our nation's women and girls. [8:30] We're also pleased to be joined by Second Lady Usha Vance. [8:36] And congratulations with that gorgeous little baby that you have in your arms. [8:40] It's a beautiful, perfect baby. [8:43] Congratulations. That's so beautiful. [8:46] Along with Secretary of Health and Human Services, [8:49] Robert F. Kennedy and his beautiful wife, Cheryl. [8:52] Thank you, Cheryl, for being here. [8:54] Wow. That's much more impressive. [8:57] Bobby. I see Bobby alone. It's not the same when Cheryl's here. [9:01] When Cheryl's here, he looks much better. [9:04] Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins. Thank you, Brooke, very much. [9:09] Thank you very much. The prices are coming way down. I'm seeing down, down, down. [9:14] Big improvement from the previous administration. [9:19] A absolute star in the administration, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. [9:25] Lee, thank you very much. Thank you very much. [9:28] And the Administrator of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. [9:34] A very good friend of mine, a friend of all of us, I think, [9:37] because he's doing an unbelievable job, Dr. Mehmet Oz. Thank you. [9:42] Thank you, Oz. [9:45] Thanks as well to the Director of the National Institute of Health, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya. [9:51] Jay, thank you. Great job. [9:53] The CDC Director just got confirmed, and she got confirmed with a very high mark. [10:00] I'm very impressed if you've ever sat down and spoken to her or watched her speak. [10:05] She's very impressive. Just came in. Would you please stand up, Erica? [10:11] Erica Schwartz. Thank you. Yeah, you did very well. [10:16] They said you did amazing, actually. Acting FDA Commissioner Kyle Diamentes. [10:22] Where are you, Kyle? Thank you, Kyle. Thank you. [10:27] And my nominee for Surgeon General, Dr. Nicole. [10:31] Everyone knows Nicole Sapphire. I've watched her for a long time on television, Dr. Nicole Sapphire. [10:37] And we'll be getting her approved. Stand up, Nicole. [10:39] We'll be getting her approved rapidly as soon as the Senate gets back and really gets going. [10:46] But along with Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who was a very capable person in the administration. [10:53] Now she's governor of a very lovely state that I set records with. I'm very happy about it. [10:59] And we're doing very well there. So, Sarah, please. Governor. Governor of Arkansas. Governor. [11:06] Wow. I told you that was going to happen. Representative Diana Harshbarger. Thank you. [11:12] Diana. Where are you, Diana? Hi, Diana. [11:14] Thank you. And several wonderful cabinet spouses, including Jennifer Hexa, Catherine Burgum, [11:21] and Farrah Sonderling. And congratulations to Keith Sonderling. Just got approved also. [11:28] I want to recognize many incredible members of the healthcare community for being here today. [11:33] I want to thank you. There's so many. And what important, I guess there's really sort of nothing [11:40] more important. So I want to thank you for the great job you do. As Melania said, [11:44] today we're taking historic action to promote women's health through all phases of life. Despite [11:50] amazing advances in medical science, many diseases and conditions that disproportionately affect women [11:58] remain chronically understudied. But we're studying right now, Oz and Bobby and the whole group, [12:04] the amount of work that we're doing that people aren't quite hearing about, but they're going to be [12:09] hearing about some very big events that are taking place, I think, Bobby. So you'll be hearing about [12:14] some incredible things that we're doing. These are mothers, daughters, sisters, wives. And under the [12:21] Trump administration, we're going to get them the care and support that they need and deserve. The [12:27] executive order I'll sign in just a moment. We'll direct the Department of Health and Human Services to [12:33] establish a new women's health division within the National Institute of Health. That's a big deal. [12:41] They've been after it for a long time. I don't know why they don't do things. I don't know why they [12:45] haven't done things. There's so many things that would seem so basic. Think of it, a women's health [12:50] division. And it hasn't been done, but it's been done under Trump. This historic initiative, [12:56] conceived by Melania, will promote. When I heard about it, I said, are you sure they don't have that? [13:09] Who the hell wouldn't have a woman's health division? Melania said they don't have it. [13:14] So good guy. Look at her. Well, you think she's easy? She's not so easy, but she's very smart and she [13:25] gets it. And that was a great, great thing. It's true. I said it must. It couldn't be possible, [13:30] but it's possible. This historic initiative will promote new research and really go after the [13:39] understudied diseases affecting women and promote innovative technologies to diagnose conditions [13:45] sooner and improve treatment using the best available science. And we've got that. And we're [13:50] way ahead on, I call it super intelligence, SI. We're way ahead. It's the name that everyone's [13:58] preferring now. Actually, companies are changing because it is indeed super. It's not artificial. [14:03] Artificial is fake. It's super. And we want to watch it very carefully. But we're way ahead of [14:10] any other nation. We're way ahead of China, substantially ahead of China. When President [14:15] Xi was here a week ago, he said, you guys are doing very well. He came off the plane. He said, wow, [14:23] what a job. What a job the United States has done in the last less than substantially less than two [14:29] years. So today's order also establishes the White House Women's Health Task Force, which will mobilize [14:37] the entire federal government to coordinate action focused on improving women's health. [14:42] And this task force will be led by Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy. That's a big [14:48] one. And he's been fantastic, I have to tell you. He's a little different. We understand that, don't [14:55] we? Cheryl, do we understand? He is a little different. But that's what makes him good, I think. [15:02] I'll let you know about it. That's what makes him good. I know Oz has such great respect. I talked. [15:09] I was talking about you with Oz the other day. The respect that he's got is unparalleled, [15:15] really unparalleled. So keep it going. Stay just the way you are, all right? And White House Chief [15:23] of Staff, Susie Wiles, who's been fantastic. Thank you, Susie. And you know, as many of you know, [15:29] I don't know if Susie wants this brought up, but as many of you know, Susie recently won her battle [15:35] against a very tough opponent, breast cancer. It wasn't easy. We went through it, we got her through it, [15:44] and she got through it, and she's tough. But she's a tremendous fighter, and much like our First Lady, [15:50] she cares deeply about improving the health of American women. Susie was very excited by this [15:56] particular meeting that we're having right now. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and [16:01] the task force will hold its first meeting today. So I want to thank you, Susie. I want to thank Melania. [16:07] I want to thank everybody here, because everybody here is a big factor. Everybody here. I recognize [16:12] almost, I can say, most of you. You're amazing people, and you've done an amazing job. And [16:19] the White House, Melania, and myself, we stand behind you 100 percent. So thank you all very much. [16:24] Appreciate it. Good luck. Very important. I'm going to use the white pen. [16:40] Ms. Whatever you like, Susie. [16:48] Okay. I hope this is a good one. This has to be a good one. Come on up, [17:02] Cheryl. Come on up, Cheryl. Come on, Sarah. Come on, everybody. Come up. [17:05] Ms. Sarah. Jimmy. [17:06] Come on up. Come on. Bring that baby in. Oh, yes. [17:13] We need a little youth. We need a little youth in there. Be careful. [17:17] Stay asleep. Be stand-righted. Oh, that's a good one. Whoa. [17:26] We'd be best men. Okay. [17:31] Why don't you sign right? I don't know if their signature means anything. [17:34] But why don't you do it? Because I think it's us. [17:37] Yes. Yours is the most important. [17:40] Hmm. Oh, that looks very simple. [17:45] That looks very simple. [17:48] Copy everything, right? [17:50] Okay. Perfect. [17:51] Do you want to give that to somebody after? [17:52] Yes. Yes. Please. Thank you. [17:55] How about we'll give that to a baby? [17:59] Yes. [18:00] We'll give this one to Susie. [18:02] Thank you, sir. [18:03] Okay. We'll give these out. Okay? [18:05] Thank you. [18:06] Perfect. [18:07] Okay. We'll pass them around. [18:10] Pass these around. [18:11] Thank you. [18:12] And we'll pass the last one. [18:13] Keep going. [18:16] And now, there it is. [18:19] Yay! [18:20] Great job. That's a great job. [18:41] Thank you. [18:42] You too. [18:46] I love to have this. [18:47] Thank you.