Donald and Melania Trump speak at Military Mother’s Day event

[1:03:22] the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, [1:03:25] and First Lady Melania Trump. [1:03:59] Good afternoon, and welcome to the White House. [1:04:04] I would like to extend warm welcome [1:04:06] to our Vice President, J.D. Vance, [1:04:10] and his wife, Usha. Welcome. [1:04:12] It is our pleasure to join today by Secretary McMahon, [1:04:17] Mrs. Huxett, and I'm also honored to welcome [1:04:22] Mrs. Melody Wolf and Lorraine Hawk, [1:04:26] and to my Chief of Staff, Haley Harrison, [1:04:29] who is preparing to welcome her second child onto the world. [1:04:34] Haley, you're a wonderful mother, [1:04:36] and I wish you and your growing family all great things. [1:04:43] I often think about the brave people [1:04:46] who make the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. [1:04:50] When I went to honor the fallen service members [1:04:54] from the 103rd Sustainment Command [1:04:58] at Dover Air Force Base last March, [1:05:01] I realized that words cannot comfort [1:05:05] the all-consuming grief that family members, [1:05:09] and mothers in particular, experience. [1:05:13] The loss is overwhelming. [1:05:16] Although I understand the deep pride these families feel [1:05:21] in their loved ones' service to our great Republic, [1:05:25] I cannot fathom the depth of their sorrow. [1:05:30] A mother is awestruck when she welcomes her child into the world. [1:05:37] After nine months, the miracle of life creates a fascinating bond [1:05:42] between mother and child. [1:05:45] With each breath, day by day, this bond deepens, [1:05:50] bringing forth emotions never felt before. [1:05:54] Quite frankly, these are emotions understood only by women. [1:06:00] Only a mother can carry this type of powerful connection with her child, [1:06:06] which is also too profound for words. [1:06:11] This is a time of military conflict for America, [1:06:16] and whereby we honor our selfless and valiant service members regularly. [1:06:22] Today is the day we hold their mothers in the highest regard. [1:06:28] It is these military mothers who find themselves alone, [1:06:32] awake their entire thoughts in the darkest hours of the night. [1:06:39] Of course, we must also remember the mothers with a spouse overseas, [1:06:44] praying for a safe return so their family can become whole once again. [1:06:52] At the very heart of America's strength lies the boundless love [1:06:56] and quiet power of mothers. [1:07:00] We are the most devoted teachers, gently nurturing empathy, [1:07:05] inspiring dreams, and guiding our children towards goodness. [1:07:11] We help them rise with courage when life grows difficult. [1:07:16] In every hug, every story read at bedtime, [1:07:20] and every sacrifice made without complaint, [1:07:23] mothers build the moral foundation of our families. [1:07:29] In doing so, America's mothers help build the soul of our nation. [1:07:36] I pray you find enduring strength [1:07:39] as your loved one serves in defense of our freedom. [1:07:45] Most know my husband as the strong commander-in-chief, [1:07:51] but his empathy transcends the role and shape a caring leader [1:08:00] who constantly remembers each and every American soldier [1:08:05] is someone's child. [1:08:07] Distinguished guests, please join me with a warm welcome [1:08:11] for our President, John L. J. Trump. [1:08:23] The President Trump, thank you. Great job. [1:08:27] So, I want to thank everybody for being here. [1:08:29] We have so many things to talk about, [1:08:33] but there's nothing more important than military moms [1:08:37] that I can tell you, because without you, [1:08:40] I don't think it would be in this house. [1:08:43] I don't think this house probably ever would have been built [1:08:46] a long time ago. So important. [1:08:48] I want to start off by saying we're in our great vice presidents [1:08:52] right here, and we're in a, I call it a skirmish, [1:08:57] because that's what it is, it's a skirmish. [1:08:59] And we're doing unbelievably well, [1:09:02] as we did in Venezuela, where it was rapid over in one day. [1:09:09] And we're doing pretty much equally as well, I would say. [1:09:13] Larger. But we're doing very well in Iran. [1:09:17] It's going very smoothly, and we'll see what happens. [1:09:20] They want to make a deal. They want to negotiate. [1:09:23] And I think that military mothers would want to hear that. [1:09:27] Do you agree? I think it's appropriate. [1:09:29] Somebody would say, oh, that's not appropriate. [1:09:30] I think military mothers want to hear about this stuff. [1:09:33] And we have the greatest, and we have the greatest, [1:09:39] we have the greatest military that we've ever had. [1:09:43] We have the greatest military in the world, by far. [1:09:46] There's nobody even close. [1:09:47] And I think we've displayed that. [1:09:49] I built the military in my first term, much of it. [1:09:52] It was when I inherited the military. [1:09:54] It was like when I inherited the border. [1:09:56] The border was a mess, and the military was a mess. [1:09:59] A lot of you know that because you were there to witness it. [1:10:03] And now we have the strongest military that we've ever had. [1:10:08] We're just getting approval of $1.5 trillion [1:10:14] to upgrade our military still further. [1:10:17] But when I was spending all that money in my first term, [1:10:19] it was a great term, a very unbelievable term. [1:10:23] We had the best economic numbers that the country has ever had. [1:10:28] Now we're going to blow them away. We're blowing them away right now. [1:10:32] But I built the military in my first term [1:10:37] with the help of a lot of great admirals, generals, [1:10:39] and everybody else. [1:10:41] And I didn't know we'd be using it quite so much, [1:10:44] but that's okay, whatever it is. [1:10:46] Because in the case of Iran, [1:10:48] we're not going to let Iran have a nuclear weapon. [1:10:51] We're not going to let that happen. [1:10:53] And we won't let that happen. [1:10:55] And so we're dealing with people that want to make a deal very much. [1:11:00] And we'll see whether or not they can make a deal [1:11:02] that's satisfactory to us. [1:11:04] We have it very much under control. [1:11:07] The blockade is unbelievable. [1:11:08] The Navy has been incredible. [1:11:10] The job they did, it's like a wall of steel. [1:11:12] Nobody goes through. [1:11:14] In particular, the Iranians, [1:11:16] they're not getting anything through one way or the other. [1:11:19] So they're out of business. [1:11:20] And we'll see whether or not they are agreeing. [1:11:24] And if they don't agree, they'll end up agreeing shortly thereafter. [1:11:28] So that's the way it is. [1:11:30] And I thought you might want to have a little rundown now. [1:11:33] The fake news is all happy because they can hear what we had to say. [1:11:38] And I have to say, J.D.'s doing a fantastic job. [1:11:41] He's working with us, with him and all of the team. [1:11:48] Marco and we have Steve Witkoff, Jared. [1:11:52] We have a whole group, the generals. [1:11:54] And General Cain has been fantastic. [1:11:56] Pete Hegseth, incredible. [1:11:57] We have just a great group of people. [1:12:01] CIA John Ratcliffe, he's great. [1:12:03] I think Mrs. Ratcliffe is even here someplace. [1:12:07] And are you here, Mrs. Ratcliffe? [1:12:08] I think somebody said yes. [1:12:11] But we have amazing people. [1:12:14] We have an amazing military. [1:12:16] And I think it's on display. [1:12:18] Sometimes you'd rather not have it be on display, [1:12:21] but they're there for a purpose and the greatest military anywhere in the world. [1:12:28] And the world is watching us as we do our thing. [1:12:30] And we have the respect of the world, which we didn't have. [1:12:35] Two years ago, we were a laughing stock all over the world. [1:12:37] Now we have the hottest country anywhere in the world in every way. [1:12:40] So I just want to congratulate you all because you're a big part of it. [1:12:47] And I want to thank you, Melania. [1:12:50] Amazing, the job you've done. [1:12:51] She did a little movie and it became the number one movie. [1:12:54] Now, you know, and I can't exaggerate because if I did, [1:13:00] they would be all over. [1:13:02] It wasn't number one. [1:13:03] It was number two. [1:13:04] It was number five. [1:13:06] So I can't. [1:13:06] I have to be very, very careful with it. [1:13:08] And then it went streaming. [1:13:09] This is a different world. [1:13:10] I didn't even know what they were talking about. [1:13:12] They said, oh. [1:13:13] And it became number one streaming, too. [1:13:15] So congratulations. [1:13:17] That's an amazing achievement. [1:13:22] And most importantly, and most importantly to her, [1:13:25] she's done an incredible job as First Lady. [1:13:28] And she's an incredible mom. [1:13:31] She has a little boy who's quite tall. [1:13:35] He's a little boy to us, but he's quite tall, right? [1:13:38] And he's great, Barrett. [1:13:39] And she takes great care of him. [1:13:42] And thank you. [1:13:43] Great mom. [1:13:44] Today, we're honored to welcome the, [1:13:47] to the White House, a group of strong and resilient women [1:13:51] who represent the best of our country, [1:13:53] the amazing military mothers. [1:13:56] It's so important. [1:13:57] And we want to thank you all for being here. [1:14:00] So many of you I know or recognize, [1:14:02] and I want to thank you very much, [1:14:03] because there's nothing like the White House, right? [1:14:05] Is it, the coolest? [1:14:06] And by the way, right behind me, see that? [1:14:09] You call it a window or a drape. [1:14:11] I call it a knockout panel. [1:14:12] Because behind that, in fact, if you want to see it, [1:14:17] I think we could work it out. [1:14:18] But behind that window is a, and drape. [1:14:22] In fact, the drapes are so nice, [1:14:23] I think I'm going to leave them. [1:14:25] How am I going to get a nicer something than that? [1:14:28] But that's the entrance to the new ballroom [1:14:30] that's being built, which would be good. [1:14:33] Which everybody, which everybody likes, [1:14:36] especially since last Saturday evening. [1:14:38] They like it even more. [1:14:39] Because it'll have a thing called security. [1:14:41] It'll be nice. [1:14:42] But right back there is where we're building. [1:14:44] So if you hear any pounding noises, [1:14:47] the pile drivers are out. [1:14:48] It's already up to the first floor. [1:14:50] But we're a little bit ahead of schedule, [1:14:53] right on budget. [1:14:55] But it's going to be something great. [1:14:56] It'll be one of the most beautiful buildings [1:14:58] of its kind anywhere in the world. [1:15:00] And you know, for 150 years, [1:15:02] presidents have wanted a room. [1:15:05] This is the ballroom right here. [1:15:06] This is, and it's too small. [1:15:07] We had the king and queen of a lovely country, [1:15:12] United Kingdom. [1:15:13] And I had, we would have had at least 1,000. [1:15:18] Everybody wanted to be here. [1:15:19] And we had 112 people. [1:15:22] Because this is a lovely room, but it's not big enough. [1:15:25] It's got one, and it's been that way for many, many years. [1:15:29] So every president's been calling. [1:15:30] But I was in a position being a builder [1:15:33] and having built many ballrooms and many other things. [1:15:36] I'm good at ballrooms. [1:15:38] And we're giving you the, I believe it's the best, [1:15:40] it'll be the best ever built. [1:15:42] And it will have windows that are thicker [1:15:44] than any ballroom I've ever built. [1:15:46] I used to, I usually have glass [1:15:50] that's about a quarter of an inch thick. [1:15:52] This is about six inches thick. [1:15:54] This can repel a lot of different, [1:15:57] a lot of different weapons. [1:15:59] But it's going to be incredible. [1:16:00] It's going to be, aside from being secure, [1:16:02] it's going to be the, I think it's going to be [1:16:04] the most beautiful ballroom I've ever built. [1:16:06] And it's something that the White House has needed, [1:16:09] that presidents have needed. [1:16:11] And it's an honor to be involved. [1:16:13] And it's, it really has become very popular. [1:16:15] When people see the design, they really, [1:16:18] they really like it. [1:16:19] And it's been great, gotten some great reviews. [1:16:21] Also, with us is Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, [1:16:25] my friend, who's done such a fantastic job, [1:16:28] wherever you are, Linda. [1:16:31] Hi, Linda. [1:16:32] She's great. [1:16:33] What a job. [1:16:35] Along with Jennifer Hegseth. [1:16:37] Jennifer? [1:16:38] Hi, Jennifer. [1:16:39] He's doing some job, I'll tell you. [1:16:42] He's doing a job. [1:16:43] You know, he stood up. [1:16:44] He was the only one. [1:16:45] He, he was standing up in the ballroom the other day [1:16:48] in the event, the White House. [1:16:52] We got, they call it the White House dinner. [1:16:54] You know, they were saying, can you use, well, [1:16:57] when you use that term, I guess you probably can use it. [1:17:00] But we had a little dinner the other night, [1:17:02] and your husband was standing on the top of a table. [1:17:05] Everyone else was under the table. [1:17:07] So, that's what we want of our Secretary of War, right? [1:17:11] We want somebody. [1:17:11] But he was standing on top of the table. [1:17:14] Everyone else was under the damn table. [1:17:16] Anyway, he's, he's doing a fantastic job. [1:17:19] He and the General, those are great news conferences. [1:17:22] We like them. [1:17:23] They work very well together, I can tell you. [1:17:25] The wife of Pete Hegseth, and say hello to Pete. [1:17:30] Michelle Ratcliffe, Michelle, where is Michelle? [1:17:34] I think she's here someplace, Michelle. [1:17:37] And the wife of CIA Director John Ratcliffe, [1:17:40] and Jackie Emmer, Jackie, you are so great. [1:17:45] Jack, I know Jackie well, because her husband and I, [1:17:48] we didn't know each other, we were, we fought. [1:17:51] You know, in politics you can fight. [1:17:53] And then when we got to know each other, [1:17:54] we love each other, right? [1:17:56] But she always liked Trump. [1:17:58] And she convinced her husband, who's a big power in the House, [1:18:02] she convinced her husband that Trump [1:18:03] was much better than he thought. [1:18:06] And I remember you, I like you. [1:18:08] Now I really like him, he's an incredible, [1:18:10] but I like you more than I'm always, [1:18:12] because you were there long before him, right? [1:18:14] But Jackie, you're great, I appreciate it. [1:18:16] Thank you very much. [1:18:18] And as you know, Tom Emmer is the House Majority Whip, [1:18:23] and he's a fantastic person, real leader. [1:18:26] Comes from an interesting place, [1:18:28] a place that's under investigation [1:18:30] by our great Vice President. [1:18:31] They're finding a lot. [1:18:32] And Tom Emmer was one of the biggest complainers [1:18:35] about what was going on in Minnesota [1:18:37] and lots of other places. [1:18:39] I also want to say a special thank you [1:18:41] to the many moms among our fantastic military aides [1:18:45] and social aides who support us here at the White House. [1:18:48] They've been incredible, all of you have been so incredible. [1:18:51] And I want to thank you very much for being with us today. [1:18:54] It's beautiful. [1:18:55] The women in this room have sacrificed [1:18:58] for our country in countless ways. [1:19:00] Among you are veterans and active duty service members, [1:19:03] proud spouses, and the parents of those [1:19:06] who serve in uniform, amazing people, [1:19:09] the most amazing people. [1:19:11] Many of you have missed cherished moments, [1:19:14] and you really have. [1:19:15] You've spent so much time taking care of the ones you love. [1:19:20] You've missed holidays, birthday parties, graduations, [1:19:23] or even a child's first words. [1:19:25] Others have moved more times than anybody can even count. [1:19:30] And I don't know if you love doing it or not, [1:19:32] but you get very good at it. [1:19:34] You have the way, you know the way, [1:19:36] you know the way to do it. [1:19:38] But you do it all because you love America, [1:19:41] you love our country. [1:19:42] And this week, as we prepare to celebrate Mother's Day, [1:19:46] we take this opportunity on behalf of all of us [1:19:49] to say thank you very much for the incredible job. [1:19:52] You do it with love, so it's not, I don't think, [1:19:55] there's no such thing as a job if you love it, [1:19:57] but we'll call it a job nevertheless. [1:20:00] The job you do is incredible, [1:20:02] and everybody respects you so much, you have no idea. [1:20:06] So I just want to thank you all, [1:20:07] and thank you all for being here. [1:20:09] Joining us is someone who knows the incredible sacrifice [1:20:13] of service, Brittany Stevenson from Camp Lejeune. [1:20:17] That's a hell of a camp. [1:20:20] That's beyond a camp. [1:20:21] The word camp, I don't know. [1:20:23] It doesn't look like a camp to me. [1:20:26] Her parents were both Marines, [1:20:27] and in 1983, her dad survived the Marine barracks bombing [1:20:32] in Beirut. [1:20:34] We talk about that even to this day. [1:20:35] That was something. [1:20:36] Brittany loved the Marines so much [1:20:38] that she married a Marine herself, [1:20:40] and the love of her life. [1:20:43] Taylor, over 15 years, her family has moved 10 homes, [1:20:48] 10 different homes, and been assigned [1:20:51] to six duty stations from all over the world. [1:20:55] And now her daughter, Ava, is part of the Marine Corps [1:20:58] Junior ROTC program, and wants to become a Marine as well. [1:21:03] So, Brittany, your family is a definition of semper fi, [1:21:07] and always faithful. [1:21:08] And I want to thank you. [1:21:09] Where are you? [1:21:10] Where are you? [1:21:11] Please, stand up. [1:21:12] Would you like to come up and say, [1:21:13] come here, Brittany, come here. [1:21:24] Thank you. [1:21:24] I'm not really sure what to say, [1:21:26] but this is such an honor and a privilege to be here. [1:21:30] I'm truly touched to represent my family, [1:21:33] the Marine Corps, Camp Lejeune, [1:21:35] and military moms and spouses like you all. [1:21:38] So, thank you. [1:21:39] Good job. [1:21:40] She had no idea she was going to be doing that, [1:21:49] but I looked at her. [1:21:50] I said, she looks so great, [1:21:52] I'm going to get her up here, right? [1:21:55] That was beautiful. [1:21:56] Thank you very much. [1:21:57] As Melania mentioned, we're also honored to be joined [1:22:00] by a military mother who sacrificed far more than most. [1:22:05] That's Melody Wolf. [1:22:08] And, you know, I love the name Melody because for a long time, [1:22:12] you know, they have spell correct and word correct [1:22:15] and these crazy machines that we use to put out truths [1:22:19] or they used to be called tweets. [1:22:21] And every time I wrote Melania, it would correct to Melody. [1:22:29] So, I'd do things and I'd work very fast, very fast. [1:22:33] Blah, blah, blah, blah. [1:22:33] And I'd talk about it and I'd say, [1:22:35] and Melania is fantastic and happy Mother's Day, Melania, [1:22:40] our great first lady Melania, [1:22:41] but it would spell correct and word correct to Melody. [1:22:47] And sometimes I wouldn't proofread it and I'd say, hmm. [1:22:50] And I would get just absolute decimated. [1:22:53] These people would decimate. [1:22:55] He said he didn't know the name of his wife. [1:22:57] He keeps calling her. [1:22:59] And I said, what the hell is wrong with this machine? [1:23:01] I didn't know about that little feature, [1:23:04] but I got that corrected eventually. [1:23:05] You know who corrected? The military. [1:23:07] I said, come here, you got to correct this. [1:23:09] You're killing me. [1:23:10] I took more abuse. [1:23:11] She's been called Melody a lot. [1:23:14] Anyway, I had to explain it to you this way. [1:23:17] I stood up here to explain it to you. [1:23:20] I apologize. [1:23:21] Last year, Melody's 24-year-old son, Andrew Wolfe, [1:23:26] of West Virginia National Guard, [1:23:28] was on patrol in Washington, D.C., [1:23:31] helping to restore law and order to our capital city. [1:23:36] And I spoke to her. [1:23:37] This woman is amazing. [1:23:39] Along with her comrade specialist, Sarah Backstrom, [1:23:45] who is just was a fantastic person. [1:23:49] He was ambushed by a terrorist and shot in the head. [1:23:53] A violent, horrible person did this. [1:23:56] Nobody thought Andrew was going to make it. [1:23:59] But Melody told me, and I called her that evening in the hospital. [1:24:03] Sir, I have no doubt, the doctor said he won't be making it. [1:24:09] And as you know, Sarah passed away also from a shot to the head [1:24:14] by these people, these horrible, horrible people. [1:24:18] But Melody was the one person. [1:24:21] In fact, Melody's husband, who's great, [1:24:24] he didn't feel the same way. [1:24:26] But she said, I have no doubt, sir. [1:24:28] I'm telling you, he's going to be fine. [1:24:30] Don't worry about it. [1:24:31] He's going to be fine. [1:24:32] I never saw anything. [1:24:33] It was really pretty amazing. [1:24:35] And she was right. [1:24:38] A week went by, another week went by. [1:24:40] I'd call and say, how's he doing? [1:24:42] Sir, he's doing really well. [1:24:45] And the doctors would say, I think he maybe will make it. [1:24:48] And she turned out to be right. [1:24:49] It was sort of a miracle, actually. [1:24:52] And I've never seen, you know, [1:24:54] they talk about the power of positive thinking. [1:24:56] I've never seen anything like this one. [1:24:57] J.D., you wouldn't believe it. [1:24:59] He had no chance. [1:25:01] I'm telling you. [1:25:02] And she willed it. [1:25:05] And now it's really something very special [1:25:10] that I think I hear he's just doing fantastic. [1:25:12] It was a Bible verse from the book of Isaiah. [1:25:16] Do not fear, for I am with you. [1:25:19] With God's help, Andrew has made a really incredible recovery. [1:25:24] It's hard to believe. [1:25:25] And during my State of the Union address, [1:25:27] we were privileged to award him the Purple Heart. [1:25:30] This was a real Purple Heart. [1:25:31] This was a terrible thing that happened. [1:25:35] And Melody, where are you, Melody? [1:25:37] There you are. [1:25:38] Hi. [1:25:39] Haven't seen you in a little while. [1:25:40] But it's true, the story, right? [1:25:42] You were the only one. [1:25:43] You know that you were the only one. [1:25:44] She was so positive, I don't think she hurt anybody else. [1:25:47] And your husband is doing okay? [1:25:49] And he feels much better about it. [1:25:52] He was not feeling too good. [1:25:55] I think you should, do you want to say something about your boy? [1:25:58] Come on up here, Melody. [1:26:00] No, it's an amazing, it's such an amazing story. [1:26:05] Such an amazing story. [1:26:08] We went through a couple of bad nights together, right? [1:26:11] Yes. [1:26:12] I first want to say that we had the nation behind us [1:26:17] at a time when nobody thought our boy would make it. [1:26:21] He was 24 years old. [1:26:22] He was a young man on the streets of D.C., a shot [1:26:26] to the left part of his brain. [1:26:32] We have a strong faith in God, and God is what brought [1:26:35] our son through this. [1:26:36] He gave us an amazing backing. [1:26:40] He gave us amazing doctors. [1:26:42] He gave us amazing nurses in our community, our nation, [1:26:46] our community, just all of the support and the support [1:26:50] of the White House medical staff. [1:26:53] Anything that our son needed was met. [1:26:58] We are just truly thankful, and we're a little over five months. [1:27:02] He came home from the hospital April 2nd, [1:27:05] and he is now enjoying being home. [1:27:08] He's getting back into playing golf. [1:27:11] He loves cornhole, as you know. [1:27:14] Yes. [1:27:16] He loves doing so many activities, [1:27:18] and so we're truly blessed that we're able to get him [1:27:21] into some outpatient care closer to home. [1:27:23] We do have another surgery coming up in September, [1:27:26] and just recovery is my understanding that will happen [1:27:30] for quite some time, but I have no doubt that he will be [1:27:35] 100 percent back to Andrew within a few years, [1:27:38] independent, driving, being a young bachelor again. [1:27:42] So, thank you so much. [1:27:44] That's incredible. [1:27:56] That's incredible. [1:28:04] That's incredible. [1:28:05] Nobody really can understand it, [1:28:07] but I was with the general, who was fantastic, right? [1:28:12] And he said, not much of a chance, maybe no chance. [1:28:19] I mean, I hate to say it even, but no chance. [1:28:22] They all said the same thing. [1:28:23] And she said, no, God is with him. [1:28:26] I'm telling you, President, God is with him. [1:28:29] He's going to be okay. [1:28:31] And I get reports that he's amazing, right? [1:28:34] So, congratulations. [1:28:35] Thank you very much. [1:28:36] It's, you taught us all something. [1:28:38] Appreciate it. [1:28:44] Also joining us is an outstanding active duty [1:28:47] Air Force mom, Lieutenant Colonel Amanda Collazo. [1:28:52] She's an MQ-9 Reaper drone pilot. [1:28:56] Whoa, that's pretty good. [1:28:58] An evaluator, a weapons officer and desk officer [1:29:05] at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. [1:29:09] She has traveled to 20 countries, flown over 7,000 hours, [1:29:13] and eliminated many high-value targets. [1:29:16] She's a great, great talent, they say. [1:29:19] Our military is strong again. [1:29:21] And as Amanda says to herself, we are, as a nation, [1:29:26] we are really respected again. [1:29:27] She said that, and it's true. [1:29:29] So, Amanda, thank you very much. [1:29:31] Where are you, Amanda? [1:29:32] Where are you? [1:29:33] Where's, come on up here, Amanda. [1:29:35] I got to do this. [1:29:36] You know, they're not, they're not expected to, [1:29:39] but they're doing very well. [1:29:41] Come on up. [1:29:42] That's great. [1:29:48] Thank you, Mr. President. [1:29:49] Thank you, Melania, for hosting this event. [1:29:51] Thank you, Cindy, for inviting me out here. [1:29:53] I just want to say I'm proud to be an American. [1:29:55] I am proud to serve our nation, [1:29:57] the world's greatest Air Force. [1:29:59] Thank you for all of the moms out here, [1:30:00] and for your spouses, your kids, yourselves. [1:30:04] So, thank you all, and happy Mother's Day. [1:30:06] She's very sharp, isn't she? [1:30:16] She'll be running for office someday. [1:30:18] Great. [1:30:20] Thank you very much. [1:30:21] Appreciate it. [1:30:22] As Commander-in-Chief, I will always support [1:30:24] our great service members and their families. [1:30:27] We've invested a record-setting trillion, [1:30:30] and now it's up to $1.5 trillion, [1:30:33] and all built in the USA, by the way, all right? [1:30:35] So, it's a lot of jobs, too, you know? [1:30:38] Some people said, I did it for that. [1:30:39] Actually, I didn't. [1:30:41] I did it for the military, but it's a byproduct. [1:30:44] We have tremendous numbers of very talented people [1:30:47] building all of the things that we do, [1:30:50] and we make the best equipment anywhere in the world by far. [1:30:52] They're all ordering it for us. [1:30:54] In fact, I've given a special edict [1:30:58] that the defense companies who have the best equipment, [1:31:02] they're not making it fast enough, [1:31:04] and now they're all building plants all over the place. [1:31:06] I said, you're not allowed to buy back stock anymore. [1:31:09] I told some of these people that are making millions [1:31:12] and millions of dollars, you've got to reduce your salary. [1:31:14] I'm going to reduce your salary. [1:31:15] You're going to put it into weapons. [1:31:17] And it's been incredible. [1:31:20] The spirit we have, and they're building, [1:31:22] some of them are building six, seven plants right now [1:31:25] to make the Patriots and the Tomahawks. [1:31:28] Tomahawks are unbelievable. [1:31:30] Patriots, unbelievable. [1:31:31] We had recently, we had 111 missiles shot [1:31:35] at one of our very valuable objects, [1:31:39] something called an aircraft carrier. [1:31:41] Think of this, 111 missiles, high range, [1:31:45] high quality, speed missiles, very high, very fast, [1:31:49] very top of the line. [1:31:51] 111 out of 111 missiles shot at a, you know, [1:31:56] well, it used to be, you'd like to say, a billion-dollar boat. [1:31:59] Now they're about $18 billion, they're very expensive. [1:32:03] But 111 coming at them at 3,500 miles an hour, [1:32:09] all 111 were shot down and didn't even get close to the ship. [1:32:14] And they're all laying at the bottom of the ocean, [1:32:17] along with the Iranian Navy. [1:32:19] They're all laying very nicely under the water. [1:32:23] But think of that, five years ago, [1:32:24] a thing like that would have been impossible. [1:32:27] Ten years ago, it's not even thinkable. [1:32:29] Ronald Reagan actually thought of the concept. [1:32:32] They called it Star Wars, but it wasn't a concept [1:32:35] that anybody thought would ever work. [1:32:37] But, you know, you have these things coming at you, [1:32:41] and we have the patriots. [1:32:42] The patriots are the best of them. [1:32:46] And we have other things also. [1:32:47] But it's, when you think you hit 100 percent [1:32:50] of the missiles coming at us, it's not like, [1:32:53] oh, let's let a couple get through. [1:32:55] It's not that bad. [1:32:56] One gets through its problems. [1:32:58] So we can do things today, [1:32:59] and no other country has anything like that. [1:33:02] They don't have anything with the power, [1:33:04] with the strength, and with the, you know, [1:33:06] it's accuracy, really. [1:33:07] It's accuracy. [1:33:08] You've got to hit. [1:33:08] It's like hitting a needle in a haystack, [1:33:11] they were saying. [1:33:12] And yet they do it every time. [1:33:13] It's pretty amazing. [1:33:14] And we have the most talented people operating that equipment. [1:33:18] For that, you have to be high IQ. [1:33:21] And you have to have no choke, [1:33:23] because you have about 12 seconds to make a decision [1:33:27] and take the aim. [1:33:28] And you have to be very good mathematically. [1:33:31] You have to know what you're doing. [1:33:32] You have to be very smart. [1:33:33] You have to see the education, the schools. [1:33:36] They go to the best schools in the world. [1:33:37] Some of them come out of, I know I called up a couple. [1:33:40] I said, where did you go to school? [1:33:42] I went to MIT. [1:33:43] Oh, good. [1:33:43] That's good. [1:33:44] So it's, you know, we have a, it's a very different, [1:33:47] frankly, it's a very different military in many ways. [1:33:50] But we have invested a record-setting amount of dollars. [1:33:54] And the U.S. Armed Forces is now stronger than it's ever been. [1:33:57] And we're getting stronger and getting stronger. [1:33:59] And it's so important. [1:34:01] Every branch is setting records in recruitment. [1:34:03] And I'm very proud of the Space Force, [1:34:05] because that was a branch that, a new one that came up. [1:34:10] And we were losing to Russia and to China in space. [1:34:14] And we had it as part of the Air Force, [1:34:16] but it wasn't really thought of, you know, [1:34:18] once it's part of something. [1:34:19] And we put a great general in charge. [1:34:22] And the Space Force is now leading the other countries, [1:34:26] China, Russia. [1:34:28] And there is no fourth, really. [1:34:30] And leading them by, we saw numbers the other day, [1:34:34] leading, we're leading in space by so much, [1:34:36] it's, we're never going to be caught. [1:34:39] So I'm very proud of Space Force. [1:34:40] First time that that's taken place. [1:34:42] A new force, the last one was the Air Force. [1:34:46] And this is, that was 78 years ago. [1:34:48] So this is brand new, and we're very proud of it. [1:34:50] It's turned out to be, I think it's going to be one [1:34:53] of our most important as time goes by. [1:34:55] A lot of the things that you see, [1:34:57] a lot of the accuracy of the weapons is caused [1:35:00] because of what we created with Space Force. [1:35:02] So we're very proud of that. [1:35:03] But every branch is setting records in recruitment. [1:35:07] When last year, if you remember, [1:35:09] before I came to office, actually after the election [1:35:12] it started picking up rapidly, to be honest with you. [1:35:15] November 5th, we had a little election. [1:35:17] We did quite well. [1:35:18] We won every swing state. [1:35:19] We won the popular vote. [1:35:20] We won everything. [1:35:21] We won 87% of the counties. [1:35:24] We won it all. [1:35:26] What I will tell you, right after that election, it started. [1:35:31] But before that, we had the worst recruiting [1:35:34] in the history of our country. [1:35:35] People didn't want to be in the armed services. [1:35:37] They also, they didn't want to be police. [1:35:38] They didn't want to be firemen. [1:35:40] They didn't want to be anything with a uniform [1:35:42] representing our country. [1:35:44] And it was the lowest number we've ever had. [1:35:46] And I can say very confidently that at this moment, [1:35:50] we have the highest recruitment, [1:35:52] the most successful recruitment for the military, [1:35:54] Army, Navy, the Navy, Air Force, Marines, [1:35:58] Coast Guard, Space Force, all of it. [1:36:02] We have the highest recruitment, [1:36:03] the best recruitment that we've ever had. [1:36:05] We have lines of people wanting to get in. [1:36:08] We're taking people based on their fitness and their quality. [1:36:12] We're taking, you wouldn't believe what the difference it is. [1:36:16] And Washington, D.C. is an example. [1:36:20] And the, that's why it's so sad when Melody comes up [1:36:24] and talks about that one event. [1:36:25] Because, you know, the numbers in Washington, D.C. [1:36:29] are so incredible. [1:36:31] The numbers have gone down from, from, [1:36:34] we had a place that was so, so unsafe, [1:36:37] a great capital, and now it's considered [1:36:39] one of the safest cities anywhere in the United States. [1:36:42] We went to Memphis. [1:36:44] And Memphis was, was a killing field, practically. [1:36:48] And now it's down, the numbers are down, crime 80%. [1:36:52] In New Orleans, Louisiana, the governor called up. [1:36:54] Jeff Landry said, sir, we have the Mardi Gras coming up, [1:36:57] and we have a lot of crime in the city. [1:36:59] Can you do something? [1:37:00] And we put our people there, mostly National Guard, [1:37:03] but whatever's necessary. [1:37:05] And we have, crime was down 79% [1:37:09] after two and a half, three months. [1:37:11] And by the way, if they had the brains in Chicago, [1:37:14] they'd ask us to go there. [1:37:15] We'll solve the problem for them very quickly. [1:37:18] We'd go to San Francisco very quickly. [1:37:20] San Francisco would be so easy for us. [1:37:22] We'd go to New York and help them out. [1:37:24] We'd love to help them out. [1:37:26] And we'd get crime numbers down 70%, 80%, 90% [1:37:30] in a matter of months. [1:37:31] We took it in D.C. [1:37:34] It was really bad. [1:37:35] I don't want to go into the numbers in terms of using [1:37:38] the word murder, but it was really bad. [1:37:40] And it's gone from that to being, we're down 92%. [1:37:45] And actually, I'm trying to figure out, you know, [1:37:47] the 8%, who they are. [1:37:49] One of the things we did, and some people like it, [1:37:54] but the numbers are, the numbers speak for themselves. [1:37:56] If you really get down, you see drug traffic coming [1:38:00] into our country's way down. [1:38:02] And by sea, by sea, by ocean, by the water, you know? [1:38:07] A lot of people say, what do you mean by sea? [1:38:09] Is it sea, like vision? [1:38:10] No, it's the SEA. [1:38:12] But it's down 97%. [1:38:16] Think of it, 97%. [1:38:18] For years, they'd grab a boat, and they'd bring them in, [1:38:22] and they'd see a judge, and they'd let them out, [1:38:24] and the next day, he's back in his country, [1:38:26] bring in more drugs, and nothing worked. [1:38:28] We're down nothing. [1:38:29] Get worse, worse, worse. [1:38:31] Down 97%. [1:38:33] And we're trying to figure who the 3% are, [1:38:36] because we consider them to be maybe the bravest people [1:38:39] anywhere in the world. [1:38:41] You look at those boats, pew, pew. [1:38:43] And you feel terribly, except for one thing. [1:38:47] Those boats, 25,000 people die from just a couple of those boats. [1:38:54] Think of it from drugs, ruin families, ruin everything. [1:38:57] And when you see that, you say, thank you very much. [1:38:59] But drugs coming in by sea are down 97%. [1:39:03] And now we've started the land force, which is much easier. [1:39:06] And you'll hear some complaints from some people in, [1:39:10] like representatives from Mexico and other places. [1:39:13] But if they're not going to do the job, [1:39:15] we're going to do the job. [1:39:16] And they understand that. [1:39:17] And so that's sort of the easy one, by comparison, to the sea. [1:39:21] We had to do the sea first. [1:39:22] You had no idea how much came in by water. [1:39:25] And very little, almost nothing, is coming in right now. [1:39:28] They don't want to do that anymore. [1:39:30] But no one should ever doubt the resolve [1:39:32] of America's military moms. [1:39:34] They're incredible. [1:39:35] From the start of our republic down to today, [1:39:38] our nation has been strengthened by the love and devotion [1:39:42] and the commitment of incredible women. [1:39:44] These are really incredible, [1:39:45] really incredible women who've served our country, [1:39:49] supported our troops, and poured out their care [1:39:52] and compassion for this nation that we all love. [1:39:55] So I just want to thank everybody. [1:39:56] And happy Mother's Day. [1:39:58] And God bless you all. [1:39:59] Thank you very much. [1:40:00] Thank you. [1:40:01] I'm going to start packing quickly. [1:41:09] I'm going to start packing quickly.