Katie Zacharia and Karoline Leavitt: Comparing Trump press secretaries first White House briefings

[0:00] good afternoon everybody how are we good to see all of you it's an honor to be here with all of [0:10] you a lot of familiar faces in the room a lot of new faces and president trump is back and the [0:16] golden age of america has most definitely begun the senate has already confirmed five of president [0:22] trump's exceptional cabinet nominees secretary of state marco rubio defense secretary pete [0:28] hegseth cia director john ratcliffe homeland security secretary christine noem and treasury [0:34] secretary scott besant it is imperative that the senate continues to confirm the remainder of [0:40] the president's well-qualified nominees as quickly as possible as you have seen during the past week [0:47] president trump is hard at work fulfilling the promises that he made to the american people [0:52] on the campaign trail since taking the oath of office president trump has taken more than 300 [0:58] executive actions secured nearly one trillion dollars in u.s investments deported illegal alien [1:05] rapists gang members and suspected terrorists from our homeland and restored common sense to the federal [1:12] government i want to take a moment to go through some of these extraordinary actions on day one [1:18] president trump declared a national emergency at our southern border to end the four-year-long invasion [1:25] of illegal aliens under the previous administration additionally president trump signed an executive [1:31] order to end catch and release and finish construction of his effective border wall by using every lever of [1:39] his federal power president trump has sent a loud and clear message to the entire world america will no [1:47] longer tolerate illegal immigration and this president expects that every nation on this planet will cooperate [1:55] with the repatriation of their citizens as proven by this weekend when president trump swiftly directed [2:02] his team to issue harsh and effective sanctions and tariffs on the colombian government upon hearing [2:08] they were denied a u.s military aircraft full of their own citizens who were deported by this administration [2:15] within hours the colombian government agreed to all of president trump's demands proving america is once again [2:22] respected and respected on the world stage so to foreign nationals who are thinking about trying to [2:28] illegally enter the united states think again under this president you will be detained and you will be deported [2:36] every day americans are safer because of the violent criminals that president trump's administration [2:42] is removing from our communities on january 23rd ice new york arrested a turkish national for entry without inspection [2:51] who is a known or suspected terrorist on january 23rd ice san francisco arrested a citizen of mexico [3:00] unlawfully present in the united states who has been convicted of continuous sexual abuse of a child [3:07] aged 14 years or younger ice saint paul has arrested a citizen of honduras who was convicted of fourth degree [3:15] criminal sexual conduct with a minor ice buffalo arrested a citizen of ecuador who has been convicted of [3:23] rape ice boston arrested a citizen of the dominican republic who has a criminal conviction for second [3:30] degree murder this criminal was convicted of murder for beating his pregnant wife to death in front of [3:37] her five-year-old son and ice saint paul also arrested a citizen of mexico who was convicted of possessing [3:43] pornographic material of a minor on a work computer these are the heinous individuals that this administration [3:50] is removing from american communities every single day and to the brave state and local law enforcement [3:56] officers cbp and ice agents who are helping in the facilitation of this deportation operation president [4:03] trump has your back and he is grateful for your hard work on the economic front president trump took [4:10] immediate action to lower costs for families who are suffering from four long years of the biden [4:16] administration's destructive and inflationary policies president trump ordered the heads of [4:22] all executive departments and agencies to help deliver emergency price relief to the american people [4:28] untangle our economy from biden's regulatory constraints and end the reckless war on american [4:35] energy president trump also signed sweeping executive orders to end the weaponization of government [4:42] and restore common sense to the federal bureaucracy he directed all federal agencies to [4:48] terminate illegal diversity equity and inclusion programs to help return america to a merit-based [4:55] society president trump also signed an executive order declaring it is now the policy of the [5:01] federal government that there are only two sexes male and female sanity has been restored before i take [5:09] your questions i would like to point out to all of you once again have access to the most transparent and [5:15] accessible president in american history there has never been a president who communicates with the american [5:21] people and the american press corps as openly and authentically as the 45th and now 47th president [5:30] of the united states this past week president trump has held multiple news conferences gaggled on air force [5:37] one multiple times and sat down for a two-part interview on fox news which aired last week [5:43] as politico summed it up best trump is everywhere again and that's because president trump has a great [5:50] story to tell about the legendary american revival that is well underway and in keeping with this [5:58] revolutionary media approach that president trump deployed during the campaign the trump white house [6:04] will speak to all media outlets and personalities not just the legacy media who are seated in this room [6:11] because according according to recent polling from gallup americans trust in mass media has fallen to [6:17] a record low millions of americans especially young people have turned from traditional television outlets [6:24] and newspapers to consume their news from podcasts blogs social media and other independent outlets it's [6:32] essential to our team that we share president trump's message everywhere and adapt this white house to the new [6:38] media landscape in 2025 to do this i am excited to announce the following changes will be made to this [6:45] historic james s brady briefing room where mr brady's legacy will endure this white house believes [6:52] strongly in the first amendment so it's why our team will work diligently to restore the press passes of [6:58] the 440 journalists whose passes were wrongly revoked by the previous administration we're also opening up [7:05] this briefing room to new media voices who produce news related content and whose outlet is not already [7:12] represented by one of the seats in this room we welcome independent journalists podcasters social media [7:18] influencers and content creators to apply for credentials to cover this white house and you can apply now on [7:26] our new website whitehouse.gov slash new media starting today this seat in the front of the room which is [7:35] usually occupied by the press secretary staff will be called the new media seat my team will review [7:42] the applications and give credentials to new media applicants who meet our criteria and pass united [7:47] state secret service requirements to enter the white house complex so in light of these announcements our [7:54] first questions for today's briefing will go to these new media members whose outlets despite being some of [8:00] the most viewed news websites in the country have not been given seats in this room and before i turn to [8:06] questions i do have news directly from the president of the united states that was just shared with me [8:12] in the oval office from president trump directly an update on the new jersey drones after research and study [8:20] the drones that were flying over new jersey in large numbers were authorized to be flown by the faa for [8:27] research and various other reasons many of these drones were also hobbyists recreational and private [8:34] individuals that enjoy flying jones in meantime in the in time it got worse due to curiosity this was not [8:42] the enemy a statement from the president of the united states to start this briefing with some news and [8:48] with that i will turn it over to questions good morning i am so honored to work for president trump and [9:05] the american people as the new white house press secretary i want to thank president trump for his [9:15] trust that he has placed in me i have wanted to work for him for a very long time i'm looking forward to [9:25] working with each of you as well especially as we are in the middle of the midterm blitz with energy and [9:33] excitement never seen before in the history of midterms thanks to president trump just look no further than [9:42] last night in youngstown ohio where president trump delivered another blockbuster rally out on the trail [9:51] the arena was overflowing with enthusiasm as thousands came out to support president trump as well as special [9:59] guests jake paul and football legend john gruden the president also announced the department of war [10:07] has officially selected cleveland ohio as the new home for the u.s navy's submarine component repair center [10:16] this massive 46 000 square foot facility will manufacture repair and maintain key parts for virtually all [10:27] new and existing submarines this is historic everyday americans are showing up in droves to attend these [10:35] rallies because of president trump's america first agenda of lower taxes higher wages and one of my [10:45] favorites secure borders but it doesn't stop there president trump is planning to hold rallies in alaska [10:57] arizona montana where i will be with him and georgia building off of the incredible momentum generated [11:07] over the last several days from his stops in tennessee new york texas and nebraska he is an energetic [11:15] president attendance is at record highs as enthusiastic hard-working americans are lining up and packing [11:25] arenas to support president trump and republicans it's not hard to see why president trump is fighting [11:36] and delivering for american workers every minute of every day real wages are up 1.2 percent since [11:46] president trump took office with average annual earnings outpacing inflation by 800 dollars under [11:54] biden real wages fell nearly four percent with the average private sector workers annual purchasing power [12:02] declining by nearly three thousand dollars annually president trump is the first president in modern [12:10] history to actually lower prescription drug prices delivering the biggest drop in 63 years president [12:20] trump has created more than 1 million private sector jobs in his second term including nearly 112 000 factory [12:28] construction jobs and 72 000 manufacturing jobs this year alone and thanks to president trump we are once [12:38] again bringing back american energy dominance because energy security is national security president trump [12:48] secured the biggest oil deal in world history delivering the u.s majority control of more than 65 billion barrels [12:58] of proven oil reserves in venezuela he had a historic one-day war and now we are have a booming economy [13:07] and a great relationship with venezuela the u.s achieved record domestic oil and gas production in 2025 and [13:17] record crude and petroleum product exports in 2026 building off of his historic boom in energy production [13:25] in the first 15 months of this administration we have secured trillions of dollars and new investments [13:32] trillions of dollars including 1.4 trillion dollars from the united arab emirates [13:38] 600 billion dollars from apple and 340 billion dollars from amazon no other president could have gotten these deals done [13:48] just weeks ago president trump announced that masabi metallics will build a massive 15 billion dollar [13:56] steel complex in iowa the largest steel plant ever built in the united states this facility a historic facility [14:08] will create 1750 new permanent jobs and support up to 6 000 construction jobs and generate an estimated 95 [14:19] billion dollars in economic output in addition president trump and enduro announced arsenal 2 the biggest [14:29] american shipyard push since world war ii in maryland this new facility will create about 3 100 direct jobs [14:38] and support more than 11 000 indirect jobs president trump also unveiled a south korea energy investment [14:47] package of up to 200 billion dollars in the united states this is an amazing deal this includes as much as [14:55] a hundred and twenty billion dollars to build a to build eight large scale nuclear power plants something [15:02] we've needed as the united states and something president trump promised on the campaign trail and [15:07] something president trump is delivering on just like he delivers on every promise in addition to that [15:16] we will be we will be do here there is 54 billion dollars tied to the alaska lng pipeline and terminal to [15:25] service the pacific rim and sell fuel to our allies as well as 22.3 billion dollars for a six gigawatt [15:34] natural gas power facility in texas not only is the trump administration bringing in trillions of dollars to [15:42] invest throughout the country but we are also protecting your tax dollars by addressing fraud head [15:48] on since taking office the trump administration has uncovered over 260 billion dollars of fraud stopped [15:59] 72 billion dollars of fraud annually through administrative actions and recovered 58.9 billion dollars [16:07] through indictments settlements and civil monetary penalties above all president trump is working to secure [16:18] the western hemisphere for centuries to come president trump signed an unprecedented agreement [16:25] giving the united states lasting control over security interests in greenland president trump has used the [16:33] power of tariffs to stop china from producing fentanyl precursor chemicals those spent the fentanyl killed many of our [16:42] citizens and he is hard at work and ensuring that that won't happen and here at home fentanyl trafficking across [16:51] the southern border is down 56 percent and fentanyl link deaths plunged 22 percent in a single year because of president trump [17:02] this is a president and administration that is looking out for you the american people and i'm thrilled [17:11] to officially be part of this incredible journey together and with that i will take your questions [17:19] and we will begin with our new media members mike allen from axios matt boyle from breitbart [17:25] mike why don't you go ahead thank you very much carolyn does the president see anything fishy about deeps [17:31] either its origins or its cost and could china's ability to make these models affect our thinking [17:40] about expanding generation data centers trip sure the president was asked about deep seek last night [17:46] on air force one when he gaggled for i think the third or fourth time throughout the weekend with [17:51] members of the traveling press corps the president said that he believes that this is a wake-up call to [17:57] the american ai industry the last administration sat on their hands and allowed china to rapidly develop [18:05] this ai program and so president trump believes in restoring american ai dominance and that's why he [18:11] took very strong executive action this past week to sign executive orders to roll back some of the [18:16] onerous regulations on the ai industry and president trump has also proudly appointed the first [18:22] ai and crypto czar at this white house david sachs whom i spoke with yesterday very knowledgeable on [18:28] this subject and his team is here working every single day to ensure american ai dominance as for [18:34] the national security implications i spoke with nsc this morning they are looking into what those may [18:39] be and when i have an update i will share it with you mike carolyn you say restore u.s dominance is [18:44] there a fear that the u.s either is following or has fallen behind and how would the president make sure [18:50] the u.s stays ahead no the president is confident that we will restore american dominance in there [18:55] yeah so karen uh first of all thank you to you and president trump for actually giving voices uh [19:00] to new media outlets uh that represent millions and millions of americans um the thing i would add [19:06] the i've got a two-part question for you the first is is just can you expand upon what steps uh the [19:11] white house is going to take uh to bring more voices not less which is what our founder andrew breitbart [19:17] believed in uh into this room where they rightly belong yeah absolutely and as i said in my opening [19:23] statement matt it is a priority of this white house to honor the first amendment and it is a fact that [19:29] americans are consuming their news media from various different platforms especially young people [19:34] and as the youngest press secretary in history thanks to president trump i take great pride in opening [19:39] up this room to new media voices to share the president's message with as many americans as possible [19:46] in doing so number one we will ensure that outlets like yours axios and breitbart which are widely [19:52] respected and viewed outlets have an actual seat in this room every day we also again encourage anybody [19:59] in this country whether you are a tick tock content creator a blogger a podcaster if you are producing [20:05] legitimate news content no matter the medium you will be allowed to apply for press credentials to this [20:13] white house and as i said earlier uh our new uh media website is um whitehouse.gov slash new media [20:21] and so we encourage people to apply again as long as you are uh creating news related content of the day [20:28] and uh you're a legitimate independent journalist you're welcome to cover this white house and secondly [20:32] can you say you laid out several of the actions of president trump obviously a star contrast to the [20:38] previous administration a breakback speed from president trump uh can we expect that pace to continue [20:44] as the hunt the you know the first hundred days moves along here and beyond that absolutely there [20:49] is no doubt president trump has always been the hardest working man in politics i think that's been [20:53] proven uh over the past week this president has again signed more than 300 executive orders he's taken [20:59] historic action i gaggle the board air force one to mark the first 100 days of this administration 4 [21:06] pm last friday our first hundred hours rather and this president did more in the first hundred hours than the [21:11] previous president did in the first 100 days so uh president trump i think you can all expect uh [21:17] to for him to continue to work at this breakneck speed so i hope you're all ready to work very [21:21] hard i know that we are seek miller thanks caroline a question that we've asked your predecessors of [21:26] both parties in this job when you're up here in this briefing room speaking to the american public do you [21:31] view yourself and your role as speaking on advocating on behalf of the president or providing the unvarnished [21:37] truth that is you know not to lie not to obfuscate to the american people i commit to telling the truth [21:43] from this podium every single day i commit to speaking on behalf of the president of the united [21:48] states that is my job and i will say it's very easy to speak truth from this podium when you have a [21:53] president who is implementing policies that are wildly popular with the american people and that's exactly [21:59] what this administration is doing it's correcting the lies and the wrongs of the past four years many of [22:05] the lies that have been told to your faces in this very briefing room i will not do that but since [22:10] you brought up truth seek i would like to point out while i vow to provide the truth from this podium [22:16] we ask that all of you in this room hold yourselves to that same standard we know for a fact there have [22:21] been lies that have been pushed by many legacy media outlets in this country about this president about [22:27] his family and we will not accept that we will call you out when we feel that your reporting is wrong or [22:34] there is misinformation about this white house so yes i will hold myself to the truth and i expect [22:40] everyone in this room to do the same and caroline just on a substantive question yesterday the white [22:44] house office of management and budget directed across the board uh freeze um for individual [22:51] assistance we understand uh to federal grants it's caused a lot of confusion around the country um head [22:56] start providers among providers uh services to homeless veterans uh provide you know medicaid [23:02] provider states saying they're having trouble accessing the portal um could you help us clear [23:07] up some of the confusion give some certainty to folks and also is that uncertainty how does that [23:11] uncertainty service the president's voters well i think there's only uncertainty in this room amongst [23:16] the media there's no uncertainty in this building so let me provide the certainty and the clarity that [23:21] all of you need this is not a blanket pause on federal assistance and grant programs from the trump [23:27] administration individual assistance that includes i'm not naming everything that's included but just [23:33] to give you a few examples social security benefits medicare benefits uh food stamps welfare [23:40] benefits assistance that is going directly to individuals will not be impacted by this pause and [23:47] i want to make that very clear to any americans who are watching at home who may be a little bit [23:51] confused about some of the media reporting this administration if you are receiving individual [23:55] assistance from the federal government you will still continue to receive that however it is the [24:00] responsibility of this president and this administration to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars that is [24:07] something that president trump campaigned on that's why he has launched doge the department of government [24:11] efficiency who is working alongside omb and that's why omb sent out this memo last night because the [24:17] president signed an executive order directing omb to do just this and the reason for this is to ensure that [24:24] every penny that is going out the door is not conflicting with the executive orders and [24:29] actions that this president has taken so what does this pause mean it means no more funding for illegal [24:35] dei programs it means no more funding for the green news scam that has cost american taxpayers tens of [24:42] billions of dollars it means no more funding for transgenderism and wokeness across our federal bureaucracy [24:49] and agencies no more funding for green new deal social engineering policies again people who are [24:55] receiving individual assistance assistance you will continue to receive that and president trump is [24:59] looking out for you by issuing this pause because he is being good steward of your taxpayer dollars [25:05] thanks caroline sure how long is this pause going to last and how is the trump administration recommending [25:12] that organizations that rely on federal funding make payroll pay their rent in the meantime it is a [25:19] temporary pause in the office of management and budget is reviewing the federal funding that has [25:24] been going out the door again not for individual assistance but for all of these other programs [25:29] that i mentioned i also spoke with the incoming director of omb this morning and he told me to [25:34] tell all of you that the line to his office is open for other federal government agencies across the [25:40] board and if they feel that programs are necessary and in line with the president's agenda then the [25:47] office of management and budget will review those policies i think this is a very responsible [25:51] measure again the past four years we've seen the biden administration spend money like drunken sailors [25:56] it's a big reason we've had an inflation crisis in this country and it's incumbent upon this [26:00] administration to make sure again that every penny is being accounted for honestly [26:04] we'll pose this pause with so little notice why not give organizations more time to plan for the fact that [26:12] they are about to lose in some cases really crucial federal funding there was for a period of time [26:19] there was notice it was the executive order that the president signed there's also a freeze on hiring [26:23] as you know a regulatory freeze and there's also a freeze on foreign aid and this is again incredibly [26:29] important to ensure that this administration is taking into consideration how hard the american people [26:36] are working and their tax dollars actually matter to this administration you know just during this pause [26:42] doge and omb have actually found that there was 37 million dollars that was about to go out the door [26:48] to the world health organization which is an organization as you all know that president trump [26:54] with the swipe of his pen in that executive order is no longer wants the united states to be a part of [26:58] so that wouldn't be in line with the president's agenda doge and omb also found that there was about [27:03] to be 50 million taxpayer dollars that went out the door to fund condoms in gaza that is a preposterous waste of [27:10] taxpayer money so that's what this pause is focused on being good stewards of tax dollars [27:17] meals on wheels for head start or disaster aid again it does not affect individual assistance that's [27:23] going to americans to follow up on nancy do you think there will be a list of who is affected and [27:28] how much money is affected how how will these contractors and organizations know if they are actually [27:34] being having their funding frozen and then secondly if you're willing can you just clarify is the end [27:40] goal of this to essentially challenge congress or to to prove that the president can withhold federal [27:46] funding is in other words is this an attempt to pick a fight to prove that he can do this no absolutely [27:52] not as it says right here in the memo which i have and i'd encourage all of you to read it it says the [27:57] american people elected president trump to be the president of the united states and gave him a mandate to [28:02] increase the impact of every federal dollar this memo requires federal agencies to identify and review all [28:08] federal financial assistance programs and supporting activities consistent with the president's policies [28:13] and requirements the american people gave president trump an overwhelming mandate on november 5th and he's [28:19] just trying to ensure that the tax money going out the door in this very bankrupt city actually aligns [28:25] with the will and the priorities of the american people brian glenn yes uh welcome you look great you're [28:31] doing a great job you talked about transparency and some of us in this room know how just transparent [28:37] president trump has been the last five or six years i think you'll do the same my question is do you [28:43] think this latest incident with the president of colombia is indicative of the global uh powerful [28:51] respect they have for president trump moving forward not only to engage in economic diplomacy with [28:57] these countries but also world peace absolutely i'll echo the answer that the president gave on air force [29:04] one last night when he was asked a very similar question by one of your colleagues in the media this [29:10] signifies peace through strength is back and this president will not tolerate illegal immigration into [29:17] america's interior and he expects every nation on this planet again to cooperate with the repatriation [29:24] of their citizens who illegally entered into our country and broke america's laws won't be tolerated [29:30] and as you saw the colombian government quickly folded and agreed to all of president trump's demands [29:35] flights are underway once again deanna questions on president trump had said on the campaign trail that [29:44] he would deport pro-hamas students who are here on visas and on his first day in office he signed an [29:50] executive order that said quote the u.s must ensure that admitted aliens and aliens otherwise already [29:55] present in the u.s do not bear hostile attitudes towards the citizens culture government institutions [30:02] were found in principles so should we take this executive order as trump's saying he would be open [30:07] to deporting those students who are here on visas but you know hold pro-hamas sympathies the president [30:13] is open to deporting individuals who have broken our nation's immigration laws so if they are here [30:19] illegally then certainly he is open to deporting them and that's what this administration is hard at [30:24] work at doing we receive data from dhs and from ice every single day from what we hear on the ground [30:31] ice agents are feeling incredibly empowered right now because they actually have a leader in this [30:36] building who is supporting them in doing their jobs that they were hired to do which is to detain [30:42] arrest and deport illegal criminals who have invaded our nation's borders over the past four years [30:47] that's what the president is committed to seeing peter very quickly just following up on the question [30:52] on immigration first president trump during the course of the campaign in 2024 said the following about [30:57] illegal immigration he said they're going back home where they belong and we start with a [31:01] criminals there are many many criminals nbc news has learned that ice arrested 1179 undocumented [31:06] immigrants on sunday but nearly half of them 566 of the migrants appear to have no prior criminal record [31:13] besides entering the country illegally is the president still focused exclusively which is a civil crime not [31:19] a not a not a it's not criminal it's a federal crime so i'm asking though he said he was going to [31:25] focus on those violent offenders first so his violent offenders no longer the predicate for these people [31:30] to be deported the president has said countless times on the campaign trail i've been with him at [31:34] the rallies i know you've been there covering them too peter that he is focused on launching the [31:39] largest mass deportation operation in american history of illegal criminals and if you are an [31:44] individual a foreign national who illegally enters the united states of america you are by definition [31:49] a criminal and so therefore you are subject to deportation i apologize for interrupting so to be [31:53] clear it's not violent criminals do not receive precedence in terms of the deportations taking [31:58] the president has also said two things can be true at the same time we want to deport illegal [32:02] criminals illegal immigrants from this country but the president has said that of course the illegal [32:07] drug criminal drug dealers the rapists the murderers the individuals who have committed [32:13] heinous acts on the interior of our country and who have terrorized law-abiding american citizens [32:19] absolutely those should be the priority of ice but that doesn't mean that the other illegal [32:23] criminals who entered our nation's borders are off the table understood let me ask you a separate [32:27] question about the confusion that still exists across the country right now as it relates to the [32:31] the freeze or the pause as it's described president trump of course ran one of the key policy items was [32:37] that he was going to lower prices lower the cost of everything from groceries as he often said but in [32:42] many of the cases it would seem that some of these moves could raise prices for real americans on [32:46] everything from low-income heating that program child care programs will nothing that the president's doing [32:52] here in terms of the freeze in these programs raise prices on ordinary americans what [32:57] particular actions are you referring to that would bring to l heap right now that's the low income [33:01] heating program for example we can talk about there's no clarity so i could refer to a lot of [33:05] them we don't know what they are specifically can you tell us that l heap the lie heap is not one of [33:09] those affected so you're asking a hypothetical based on programs that you can't even identify [33:15] what i can't tell you just since you guys haven't identified let's do it together just for americans at [33:19] home medicaid is that affected i gave you a list of examples social security medicare [33:26] welfare benefits of food stamps that will not be impacted by this federal pause i can get you [33:32] the full list after this briefing from the office of management and budget but i do want to address [33:36] the cost cutting because that's certainly very important and and cutting the cost of living in [33:42] this country president trump has taken historic action over the past week to do that he actually [33:47] signed a memorandum to deliver emergency price relief for american families which took a number of [33:53] actions i can walk you through those he also repealed many onerous biden administration [33:59] regulations we know over the past four years american households has been essentially taxed [34:04] 55 000 in regulations from the previous administration president trump with the swipe of his pen [34:10] rescinded those which will ultimately put more money back in the pockets of the american people [34:15] so deregulation is a big deal and then when it comes to energy i mean the president signed an [34:20] order to declare a national energy emergency here at home which is going to make america energy [34:25] dominant we know that energy is one of the number one drivers of inflation and so that's why the [34:31] president wants to increase our energy supply to bring down costs for americans the trump energy boom [34:35] is incoming and americans can expect that please don't know thank you [34:39] caroline i think some of the confusion i think may be here with this pause on federal funding you've [34:43] made it clear you're not stopping funds that go directly to individuals but there certainly are [34:47] lots of organizations that receive funding and then may pass along a benefit meals on wheels for one [34:52] they provide meals for over 2.2 million seniors what is the president's message to americans out there [34:58] many of whom supported him and voted for him who are concerned that this is going to impact them [35:03] directly even if as you said the funding isn't coming directly to their world i have now been [35:07] asked and answered this question four times to individuals at home who receive direct assistance [35:13] from the federal government you will not be impacted by this federal freeze in fact [35:18] omb just sent out a memo to capitol hill with q a to to clarify some of the questions and the answers [35:25] that all of you are are asking me right now again direct assistance will not be impacted i've been [35:31] asked and answered about this omb memo there's many other topics of the day jackie hydrant [35:35] direct assistance that's going to another organization and then trickling down direct [35:39] assistance that is in the hands of the american people will not be impacted again as i said to peter [35:44] we will continue to provide that list as it comes to fruition but omb right now is focused on [35:49] analyzing the federal government's spending which is exactly what the american people elected president [35:54] trump to do and one question on immigration of the 3500 arrests ice has made so far since president [36:00] trump came back into office can you just tell us the numbers how many have a criminal record versus [36:05] those who are just in the country illegally all of them because they illegally broke our nation's laws [36:09] and therefore they are criminals as far as this administration goes i know the last administration [36:12] didn't see it that way so it's a big culture shift in our nation to view someone who breaks our [36:17] immigration laws as a criminal but that's exactly what they are they all have a criminal record and [36:23] if they broke our nation's laws yes they are criminal yes thank you on uh stripping security details for [36:29] figures like john bolton um pompeo brian hook senator tom cotton said that he's seen the intelligence [36:36] and the threat from iran is real for anyone who played a role in soleimani's strike um he voiced [36:43] concern it wouldn't just impact those individuals but potentially their family um innocent bystanders [36:49] friends anyone who's near them when they're out in public is the president open to reconsidering his [36:56] decision the president was asked and answered this yesterday and he was firm in his decision [37:01] despite some of the comments that you had referenced and he's made it very clear that he [37:05] does not believe american taxpayers should fund security details for individuals who have served [37:09] in the government for the rest of their lives and there's nothing stopping these individuals that you [37:13] mentioned from obtaining private security that's where the president stands on it i have no updates on [37:18] that is there any concern that this decision might jeopardize the administration's ability to [37:25] hire the best advisors for these kinds of positions in the future no in fact i've talked to the [37:30] presidential personnel office who has told me directly that there is such an influx of resumes for [37:35] this administration that it's incredibly overwhelming there is no lack of talent for the trump [37:39] administration reagan reagan did he take any responsibility if anything happened to these [37:43] people would he feel at all that his decision was a factor in that the president was asked and answered [37:48] this yesterday i defer you to his comments reagan since you're in the back row i hear you the back row hasn't [37:53] gotten much attention in the last four years so i'm happy to answer your question i can project [37:58] does the president intend to permanently cut off funding to ngos that are bringing illegal foreign [38:03] nationals to the country such as catholic charities um i am actually quite certain that the president [38:09] signed an executive order that did just that and i can point you to that for caroline uh president [38:14] trump issued an executive order on increased vetting for refugees in visa applications part of that [38:20] order was considering an outright ban for countries that have deficient screening processes has the [38:25] president considered yet which countries might fall into this category or countries like afghanistan [38:30] or syria under consideration for a full ban yeah so the president signed an executive order to [38:34] streamline the vetting for visa applicants and for illegal immigrants in this country who are coming of [38:40] course from other nations it also directed the secretary of state to review the process and make sure that [38:46] other countries around the world are being completely transparent with our nation and the individuals [38:52] that they are sending here and so the secretary of state has been directed to report back to the [38:57] president i haven't seen that report yet we've only been here for a few days one on the freeze in [39:03] federal funding who advised the president on the legality of telling government agencies that they [39:09] don't have to spend money that was already appropriated by congress well as the omb memo states [39:14] this is certainly within the confines of the law so white house counsel's office believes that [39:20] this is within the president's power to do it and therefore he's doing it okay so they disagree [39:24] with lawmakers who say that they don't have the power to freeze this again i would point you to [39:28] the language in the memo that clearly states this is within the law and all that happened on friday [39:32] night the the administration fired several inspectors general without giving congress the 30-day [39:38] legally required notification that they were being fired i think only two were left at dhs and the doj [39:44] and then yesterday we saw several prosecutors i believe 12 fired from the justice department who [39:49] worked on the investigations into the president as you know they are career prosecutors therefore [39:54] they are afforded civil service protections how is the administration deciding which laws to follow [40:00] and would ignore so it is the belief of this white house in the white house council's office that [40:05] the president was within his executive authority to do that he is the executive of the executive branch and [40:12] therefore he has the power to fire anyone within the executive branch that he wishes to there's [40:17] also a case that went before the supreme court in 2020 scala law llc versus the customs uh the [40:25] bureau protection i would advise you to look at that case and that's the legality that this white [40:29] house was wrestling on so you're confident that if they bring lawsuits against you the prosecutors [40:33] who are fired that that they will succeed we will win in court and did he personally direct this [40:37] given they worked on the classified documents investigation in the election interference [40:41] investigation this was a memo that went out by the presidential personnel office and the president [40:46] is uh the leader of this white house so yes yes caroline is caroline caroline sure thank you [40:52] uh congrats on your first day on the podium thank you um president trump ended funding for unra and [41:01] also designated the houthis a foreign terrorist organization that's right both were decisions that the [41:05] previous administration had reversed so here's my question will there be an investigation into who [41:11] gave the previous administration this terrible advice well that's a very good point i haven't [41:16] heard discussions about such an investigation but it wouldn't be a bad idea considering that the houthis [41:21] certainly are terrorists uh they have launched attacks on u.s naval ships uh across this world and so [41:28] i think it was a very wise move by this administration to redesignate them as a terrorist group because they [41:33] are and i think it was a foolish decision by the previous administration to do so as for an [41:37] investigation i'm not sure about that but it's not a bad idea josh thank you for the question i [41:42] appreciate it can you give us an update on the president's plan for his tariff agenda he spoke a [41:46] lot about and there's a couple of dates coming up he's number one february first he's alluded to [41:52] both the potential for mexico but also china to take effect on those days whereas what's he thinking [41:59] about yeah should those countries expect that again he was asked and answered this question this past [42:03] weekend when he took a lot of questions from the press and he said that the february 1st state [42:08] for canada and mexico still holds china 10 percent tariff that he also had used about last tuesday [42:14] uh going into effect on the same day yeah the president has said that he is very much still [42:17] considering that for february 1st yesterday he talked also about sectoral tariffs on for instance [42:23] pharmaceuticals as well as semiconductor computer chips dumped with steel aluminum and copper what's [42:28] the timeline on those is that a similar sort of coming days thing yeah so when the president [42:33] talked about that in his speech yesterday that actually wasn't a new announcement that was within [42:36] a presidential memorandum that he signed in one of the first days here in the white house on his [42:41] america first trade agenda so there's more details on those tariffs in there as far as a date i don't [42:47] have a specific date to read out to you but the president is committed to implementing uh tariffs [42:51] effectively just like he did in his first term finally he also was asked on the plane when he gagled [42:55] about the potential for a universal tariff he was asked maybe about two and a half percent there was a [42:59] report about that he said he wanted much bigger than that should we understand that these tariffs [43:04] would add up you know in other words you might have country specific tariffs like canada mexico china [43:08] you might have sectoral tariffs like on pharmaceuticals as well as a potential universal tariff on top of [43:15] that could be stacked on one of the other or would one sort of take precedence over and up all i can [43:20] point you to is what the president has said on this front the february first date for canada and mexico [43:24] also the china a tariff that he has discussed he rejected the 2.5 percent tariff he said that was [43:29] a little bit too low he wants it to be higher i'll leave it to him to make any decisions on that [43:34] front phil weichman what the mexicans and canadians have done so far do you have any comment on whether [43:38] that has met the bonfetinal thank you i i won't get ahead of the president again on um advocating to [43:45] foreign nations on what they should or shouldn't do to get away from these tariffs the president has [43:50] made it very clear again that he expects every nation around this world to cooperate with the [43:55] repatriation of their citizens and the president has also put out specific statements in terms of [44:00] canada and mexico when it comes to what he expects in terms of border security we have seen a [44:05] historic level of cooperation from mexico but again as far as i'm still tracking and that was last [44:09] night talking to the president directly february 1st is still on the books phil thank you caroline [44:14] uh quick programming note and then a question on uh taxis well in terms of programming should we expect [44:20] to see you here every day how frequently will these uh press briefings be it is a good question april so [44:25] look the president as you know is incredibly accessible first day here he wanted all of you [44:30] in the oval office you got a 60-minute press conference with the leader of the free world while [44:34] he was simultaneously signing executive orders i may add that's pretty impressive i don't think the [44:39] previous office holder would be able to pull such a thing off so look the president is the best [44:45] spokesperson that this white house has and i can assure you that you will be hearing from both [44:49] him and me as much as possible and then a question about tax cuts um you know the president has [44:55] promised to extend the tax cuts from the previous term um i'm curious you know does the president [45:00] support corresponding spending cuts as some republicans have called for in congress and will the new [45:06] treasury secretary be leading those negotiations with the hill as mnuchin did during the first [45:12] administration the president is committed to both tax cuts and spending cuts and he has a great team [45:17] negotiating on his behalf but there's no better negotiator than donald trump and i'm sure he'll be [45:21] involved in this reconciliation process as it moves forward [45:26] carolyn the announcement that you made last night on the iron dome it said the president had directed [45:34] that the united states will build this iron yeah when you read into the executive order it seemed [45:41] short of that it asked for a series of studies yeah and reports back from can you tell us whether the [45:46] president has directed this and if he is just concerned on this issue why the suspensions that we [45:53] saw listed by omb included so many different nuclear programs non-proliferation programs programs [46:01] programs to blend down nuclear weapons and so forth first of all when it comes to the iron dome the [46:08] executive order directed the implementation of the of an iron dome it also as you said kind of directed [46:14] research and studies to see if or how the united states can go about doing this particularly the [46:21] department of defense when it comes to the other question that you asked about those specific [46:26] programs again i would say this is not a a ban this is a temporary pause and a freeze to ensure that all of [46:34] the money going out from washington dc is in align with the president's agenda and as the office of [46:40] management and budget uh has updates on what will be kick-started once again i will provide those [46:45] to you can just clarify for a sec what you were saying before on medicaid it wasn't clear to me [46:51] whether you were saying that no medicaid would be cut off obviously a lot of this goes to states [46:56] before it goes to individuals and so forth so are you guaranteeing here that no individual now on [47:01] medicaid would see a cut off because of the pause i'll check back on that and get back to you john [47:07] thanks a lot caroline as you know in the first uh week that the president was in office signed an [47:13] executive order as it relates to birthright citizenship trying to eliminate that about 22 [47:19] state attorney generals have said that this is uh unconstitutional a federal judge has just agreed [47:27] with their argument what's the administration's argument for doing away with birthright citizenship [47:33] the folks that you mentioned have a right to have that legal opinion but it is in disagreement with [47:39] the legal opinion of this administration this administration believes that birthright citizenship [47:44] is unconstitutional and that is why president trump signed that executive order illegal immigrants who [47:50] come to this country and have a child are not subject to the laws of this jurisdiction that's the opinion of [47:57] this administration uh we have already appealed uh the rule the lawsuit that was filed against this [48:02] administration and we are prepared to fight this all the way to the supreme court if we have to [48:06] because president trump believes that this is a necessary step to secure our nation's borders and protect [48:12] our homeland on foreign policy caroline on foreign policy if i may the president's commitment to the [48:20] nato defense alliance is it as strong as the prior administration is it the same as when he served as [48:27] president in his first term in office as long as nato pays their fair share and president trump has called [48:32] on nato allies to increase their defense spending to five percent you actually saw the head of nato at davos [48:39] last week on bloomberg television saying that president trump is right and if europe wants to keep itself [48:44] safe they should increase their defense spending i would just add that there was no greater ally [48:50] to our european allies than president trump in his first term the world for all nations in europe [48:57] and of course here at home was much safer because of president trump's peace through strength diplomatic [49:03] approach monica thank you thank you caroline and it's great to finally be called on as well in the [49:08] briefing room i appreciate that um of course we know president trump just got back from north carolina [49:12] and california meeting with victims of natural disasters uh there's the two-year anniversary of the east [49:17] palestine ohio toxic train derailment does the president have any plans to go visit the victims [49:23] of that toxic spill or just visit in general not no plans that i can read out for you here if that [49:28] changes i will certainly keep you posted what i can tell you is that president trump still talks about [49:33] his visit to east palestine ohio that was one of the turning points i would say in the previous [49:39] election campaign where americans were reminded that president trump is a man of the people [49:44] and he as a candidate visited that town that was just derailed by the train derailment no pun intended [49:50] and he offered support and hope just like i saw the president do this past week it was a purposeful [49:55] decision by this president on his first domestic trip to go to north carolina into california to [50:01] visit with americans who were impacted by hurricane helene and also by the deadly fires a red state and a blue [50:08] state both of which feel forgotten by the previous administration in the federal government that is now that is [50:14] now ended under president trump he will continue to put americans first whether they're in east [50:18] palestine and pacific palisades or in north carolina thank you caroline on california could you please [50:26] clarify what the military did with the water last night as referenced in the president's true social [50:31] post the water has been turned back on in california and this comes just days after president trump [50:37] visited pacific palisades and as you all saw applied tremendous pressure on state and local [50:44] officials in pacific palisades including los angeles mayor karen bass to turn on the water and to [50:50] direct that water to places in the south and in the middle of the state that have been incredibly dry [50:56] which has led to the expansion the rapid expansion of these fires could you clarify what the military's [51:02] role was where the water came from and how it got there again the army corps of engineers has been on [51:08] the ground in california to respond to the devastation from these wildfires and i would point out that [51:15] just days after president trump visited the devastation from these fires the water was turned on that is [51:21] because of the pressure campaign he put on state and local officials there who clearly lack all common [51:26] sense and i will never forget being at that round table with the president last week and hearing the [51:31] frustration and the voices of pacific palisades residents who feel as though their government has just gone [51:36] insane before president trump showed up on the scene karen bass was telling private property owners [51:42] that they would have to wait 18 months to access their private property so this administration the [51:47] president and his team that's on the ground in california rick grinnell who he has designated to [51:52] oversee this great crisis has it will continue to put pressure on karen bass and state and local [51:58] officials to allow residents to access their properties this is a huge part of it these residents want to [52:04] take part in their own clearing out of their properties they should be able to do that it's [52:08] the united states of america what happened to our freedom clearly it's gone in california but not [52:12] anymore under president trump april caroline welcome to the briefing room thank you um several questions [52:17] one on the parks um will minority serving institutions preferably colleges and universities uh have those [52:26] monies held back temporarily at this moment again i have not seen the entire list because this memo was [52:31] just sent out so i will provide you all with updates as we receive them okay also also secondly [52:39] when it comes to immigration there is this southern border focus what happens to those who've overstayed [52:47] their visas that is part of the book immigration system in 2023 there was a report by the biden [52:52] administration of homeland security that said overstays of visas for three times more than usual will there [52:58] be a focus on the overstays for visas as well if an individual is overstaying their visa they are [53:04] there for an illegal immigrant residing in this country and they are subject to deportation and [53:08] also lastly lastly um as we're dealing with anti-dei anti-wrote efforts we understand this administration [53:14] could it's thinking about uh celebrating black history month have you got any uh word on that anything [53:20] that you can offer to us as far as i know this white house certainly still intends to celebrate [53:24] and we will continue to celebrate american history and the contributions that all americans regardless [53:29] of race religion or creed have made to our great country and america is back christian day talk [53:34] thanks caroline um just real quick you mentioned the inflation executive order the president signed [53:40] but egg prices have skyrocketed since president trump took office so what specifically is he doing [53:46] to lower those costs really glad you brought this up because there is a lot of reporting out there that is [53:51] putting the onus on this white house for the increased cost of eggs i would like to point out [53:57] to each and every one of you that in 2024 when joe biden was in the oval office or upstairs in the [54:02] resident sleeping i'm not so sure egg prices increased 65 percent in this country we also have seen [54:11] the cost of everything not just eggs bacon groceries gasoline have increased because of the inflationary [54:17] policies of the last administration as far as the egg shortage what's also contributing to that is [54:23] that the biden administration and the department of agriculture directed the mass killing of more [54:28] than 100 million chickens which has led to a lack of chicken supply in this country therefore a lack [54:33] of egg supply which is leading to the shortage so i will leave you with this point this is a an example [54:39] of why it's so incredibly important that the senate moves swiftly to confirm all of president trump's [54:44] nominees including his nominee for the united states department of agriculture brooke rollins [54:48] who is already speaking with kevin hassett who's leading the economic team here at the white house [54:53] on how we can address the egg shortage in this country as for costs i laid out costs i laid out the [54:58] plethora of ways that president trump has addressed saving costs for the american people over the past week [55:05] he looks forward to continuing to doing that in the days of hell thank you guys so much [55:08] here in our new media seat we have nick gelbertson from breitbart hi katie uh welcome to the briefing [55:19] room and congrats on the new position one of the things that your predecessor caroline levick did is [55:24] open this room up to more voices not less at breitbart that's something our founder hinder breitbart [55:30] certainly believed in um and whether that's adding this new media seat adding new media voices to the pool [55:37] can you tell us what you plan to do to continue to ensure that new media voices continue to be heard [55:42] here at the white house yeah well firstly my predecessor caroline levitt did an incredible job [55:47] and i completely agree with the choice of new media seat we are absolutely going to keep it [55:53] and we're going to expand on it to the extent possible we love new media and we want to be able [55:59] to embrace it absolutely and then just to follow up to you did touch on presidential travel [56:03] um the president's been all over the place and he kind of laid out his schedule over the next couple [56:08] days but um is it only going to intensify here in the next couple of weeks up to midterms absolutely [56:14] you can expect more of the midterm blitz uh just now we've added kentucky and we have a few other [56:21] stops as he goes down to florida so it'll be georgia kentucky and florida okay um hello we will take [56:30] peter ducey thanks katie nice to meet you um you're starting as white house press secretary three [56:37] weeks before a midterm cycle that president trump himself says will be very tough for republicans [56:44] is your job just to speak about white house matters or is it to make things less tough for republicans [56:51] in the midterms well but peter i get to do what i was doing on the outside already which was hoping to [56:59] amplify multiply and expand upon president trump's incredible agenda for the american people and what [57:06] i hope to do in this position is to take that into an official capacity and only build on only amplify [57:12] and only multiply to the extent possible all of the wins he's making for americans for for americans to [57:19] understand how much has changed in this brief period of time what he's been able to accomplish [57:24] my goal is to be able to communicate that in complete tandem with the president as he is his [57:30] own best spokesperson and will absolutely be leading the way as with that and i want to ask [57:37] you a policy question has the u.s stopped sharing intel with ukraine i'll have to get back to you on that [57:44] hi alina shirazi yes alina shirazi hi congrats on the job thank you first of all and i have two [57:56] questions for you if i can first of all on kimberly gilfoyle the daily mail has been reporting on her [58:02] since last year the president said yesterday to reporters that he is considering firing her do you [58:08] know a timeline for that and also potentially who could be on the short list to replace her if he does [58:14] we have asked ambassador gilfoyle to resign she has been a wonderful asset to the team and we wish her [58:21] well okay second question for you if i may a personal question your family is in california [58:30] your husband you have four children i'm wondering how you manage how are you going to manage that [58:35] caroline levitt left because she wanted to spend more time with her family and also did she give you [58:40] any advice on how to handle this job and the people in this room well first of all i want to give my [58:46] husband an amazing shout out we have four kids ranging from 12 10 8 and 6. three of them are boys [58:53] so we have a handful and i adore my family i love them they are my priority they i i love being with [59:01] my kids the idea of not spending evenings with my kids kids are is completely uh unacceptable so my [59:07] president or excuse me my husband uh that's a that's a good one my husband is out here is in her family and [59:19] we are very very protective of celebrating birthdays as a family so he brought the entire crew out here [59:25] blessed him it's a lot and we will be moving out here and as far as your second question is [59:32] yes caroline has been an incredible support she gave me great and wonderful feedback on how to balance i [59:39] think this job is not one you necessarily balance and i would love to share that in my career i stayed home [59:45] with my kids from 2014 to 2020 in in the process of having them and then when i started working again [59:52] i was able to integrate them into my life there are many photos of which are not public of the kids and [59:58] i at fox bureau where they are sitting with me in the pod before a hit so i intend to to the extent [1:00:03] possible include my family include my kids in my work though my work will be demanding they will always [1:00:10] be a priority and i i president trump is the most family friendly president we've ever had he has [1:00:16] hired more women with families and the fact that he knew i had four kids and he knew that this job would [1:00:22] be demanding and still places trust in me shows that i know i'm capable of being able to step up to that [1:00:28] so thank you for that question in fact i am going to end it because president trump is heading out to [1:00:33] marine one for our historic trip to alaska [1:00:37] and we can ask him all of the questions uh out there so thank you so much [1:00:41] did the president speak with ambassador to the question on 30 the president will be back on [1:00:50] thursday and that's what i will answer i'll leave it there [1:00:53] he will he will he will answer those questions out and marine [1:00:57] is