White House holds press briefing amid backlash over Trump's AI Jesus post

[0:00] good afternoon everybody how are you good to see you we have a packed house and i have two very [0:05] special guests with me today i will start with some scheduling announcements tomorrow afternoon [0:10] president trump will travel to las vegas nevada to hold a round table and deliver remarks on the [0:16] working families tax cuts on friday president trump will travel to phoenix arizona to deliver [0:22] remarks at a turning point usa event at dream city church and i'm really honored to be standing [0:27] here today on tax day with two esteemed members of the president's cabinet and his excellent economic [0:33] team treasury secretary scott besant and small business administrator kelly leffler as we have [0:40] seen this tax season president trump's working families tax cuts have put a historic amount of [0:45] money back into the pockets of the american people this year on the campaign trail in 2024 president [0:51] trump looked voters in the eye and promised them he would sign the largest tax cuts in the history [0:57] of our country and on independence day last year president trump and congressional republicans [1:02] delivered passing the largest tax cut in history for working in middle-class americans including no [1:09] tax on tips overtime and social security they also passed unprecedented tax relief for small businesses [1:16] farmers workers and families with tax day officially here the numbers prove these tax cuts have been nothing [1:23] short of extraordinary more than 53 million filers claimed at least one of president trump's [1:30] signature new tax cuts the average refund this filing season is more than thirty four hundred dollars [1:37] the trump administration has issued more refunds in larger refunds than in any year of the history of [1:43] our country and i will allow secretary besant to break down the numbers in greater detail president trump [1:49] and republicans in congress have always believed that the american people know how to spend their money [1:54] better than the government does but what the american people must not forget is that every single [2:00] democrat in congress voted against these tax refunds the media has largely omitted this fact and other [2:07] critical details in their stories covering the benefits of the trump tax cuts if the democrats in congress [2:13] had gotten their way and blocked president trump's historic legislation americans would have faced the [2:18] largest tax hike in history nearly four trillion dollars the average taxpayer would have seen a 22 percent [2:26] increase in their tax rates democrats in congress have proven over and over again that they are the [2:32] affordability frauds who believe the government should keep more of the american people's hard-earned money [2:38] this president and republicans in congress fundamentally believe that americans deserve to keep more of their [2:44] hard-earned paychecks it's a clear contrast for american families to keep in mind so with that i will turn [2:50] it over to our great treasury secretary scott besant and then he will turn it over to kelly thank you [2:56] good thank you caroline uh i'm here to tell you that it has been a fantastic tax season it has gone [3:03] smoothly it has gone efficiently from the point of view of the irs but most importantly it's been a great tax [3:09] season for the american people thanks to promises made promises kept the through the working families [3:16] tax cuts the president has delivered the record refunds to the american people more than 45 percent [3:25] of the filers of the returns that we have seen have had at least one of the four president's signature [3:32] policies no tax and tips no tax and overtime the deductions for our great seniors and the deductibility [3:40] of interest on auto loans for american-made cars and i will tell you that the biggest the one of those [3:47] that americans have taken is no tax and overtime and it's the american way if you want to work longer [3:53] hours you get to keep more of your money and the with that you know we are seeing i want to encourage [4:01] everyone out there watching today to change their withholding if they haven't already done so [4:07] because if you change your withholding then you will get an automatic real wage increase on a weekly [4:14] or a monthly basis and you will be able to keep more of your money this calendar year so with with that [4:21] we have also seen with the trump accounts we have had five million families file for trump accounts for [4:28] their children 1.2 million of those are eligible for the 1 000 seed bonus so we look forward to that [4:39] picking up more and more for those of you who haven't done it it's easy to remember form 4547 you can do it [4:45] while you're filing your taxes you can do it at any point during the year we think this is going to be [4:50] transformational in terms of financial literacy this is financial literacy month and at treasury [4:58] and all over the administration we are working with the american people with american families [5:04] not only to give them more of their money but to show them how to invest it in a safe smart and sound [5:10] way so with that i will turn it over to kelly thank you scott and good afternoon everyone [5:20] excited to be here on tax day important day for small business because small business and their [5:25] employees have real relief thanks to president trump's working family tax cuts as administrator of [5:31] the u.s small business administration it is my great honor to serve our great president as the [5:36] cabinet level voice for america's 36 million small businesses president trump is right small business is [5:43] big business indeed they are a massive economic engine that creates two-thirds of all new jobs they [5:49] represent 99 of all businesses and they drive about half of our gdp the working family tax cuts are [5:56] putting money back into the pockets of the hardest working americans that's why small business and [6:02] their employees are benefiting the most president trump and congressional republicans have saved americans [6:09] from a four trillion dollar tax height including a staggering 20 tax increase on working families it [6:16] would have destroyed millions of jobs now i've traveled the country from maine to alaska and not a single [6:22] worker not a single small business asked to pay a dollar more in taxes yet every single congressional [6:29] democrat voted to raise taxes not just on small businesses on our workers on our seniors on hard-working [6:38] families thankfully republicans united behind common sense policy of letting americans not washington [6:45] bureaucrats or fraudsters keep more of what they earn now so far as you've just heard 12 million small [6:53] businesses have an average tax saving of seven thousand dollars the 20 small business pass-through [7:00] deduction is now permanent offering them certainty to plan for the future and the rocket fuel to create [7:07] one million new jobs eric williams at prince manufacturing in rural georgia he specializes in [7:13] fabrication and machining this year he's reinvesting his tax savings to hire 500 new employees the [7:21] provisions for 100 percent expensing of equipment expansion and r d are also growing production to [7:28] help us reclaim industrial dominance at blue patriot fab which i visited this week in omaha the owners [7:36] highlighted one of their newest buildings and they call it the big beautiful building because the tax cuts [7:41] help them build it made in america is back and that's why the america worker is winning too no tax on [7:49] tips and overtime means that millions of employees are now rewarded not punished for working more and [7:57] it's already benefited as you just heard 31 million taxpayers in baltimore john and tony minedakis are proud [8:04] second generation owners of jimmy's seafood now with no tax on tips and overtime there are 200 employees know that [8:11] coming into work means going home with more pay and wade a cnc machinist that i met at lehigh valley plastics [8:19] in pennsylvania said he routinely takes on extra shifts and now the tax cuts reward his extra effort [8:26] and the benefits aren't just for tax season as you've heard the trump accounts are connecting young [8:32] people from birth to the power of our free enterprise system with 529 savings accounts and workforce pell for trade schools [8:41] we're now training the next generation of skilled workers to fill millions of open jobs at small [8:47] businesses so in closing america is open for business again yet every democrat voted no on the very tax [8:56] relief that is restoring main street that is putting more money back into the pockets of hard-working [9:02] families small businesses are rebounding from years of bite inflation decades of unfair trade [9:08] and massive regulatory overreach but thanks to president trump's tax cuts they now talk about [9:14] expansion hiring plans and generational opportunity this is america first in action lower taxes rising [9:23] wages and a thriving main street now millions of americans are getting their largest tax refund ever [9:29] and main street is getting historic tax relief to keep the american dream alive thank you good and before we [9:38] take questions i want to provide some numbers for you all so tax day statistics as of april 12th over 53 [9:46] million filers number 40 nearly 45 percent claim to one of president trump's signature tax cuts the average [9:54] tax cut for filers benefiting from one of president's tax the new tax cuts is over 800 over 6 million filers [10:03] of claim no tax on tips with an average deduction of 7 100 over 25 million filers have claimed no tax in [10:10] overtime with an average deduction of 3 100 over 30 million seniors have claimed the enhanced deduction for [10:17] seniors with an average deduction of 7 500 and over 1 million filers have claimed no tax on car loan interest [10:24] on american cars on american cars for an average deduction of over 1 800 the average refund this filing [10:30] season is over 3 400 over 34 million families have claimed republicans enhanced child tax credit which is [10:38] permanently doubled and expanded by the working families tax cuts over 105 million filers have claimed the [10:45] permanently doubled standard deduction simplifying tax filing for millions across america so as much as people do not [10:53] like to pay their taxes and we saw a survey today that 70 percent of americans still believe that they [10:59] are overtaxed this is a great day for the american people and kelly we'll now open it up to questions [11:06] you're welcome to ask me questions or either of the great cabinet officials next to me and we'll start [11:12] as always with our new media seat mr posovic why don't you kick us off thank you caroline secretary [11:18] there's been this media narrative out there that while we see the the data on tax refund [11:25] that it's not good enough that the tax season has been too soft what is your response to this media [11:30] narrative regarding the tax refunds look it's been an incredible tax season we have done more with [11:39] less at the irs that we have moved over millions of taxpayers to digital tax accounts and that leaves us [11:48] able to service more taxpayers in person and on the phone and as we can see the economy was very strong [11:57] we are seeing uh growth across the board in all areas and the uh as kelly said you know small business [12:06] main street are the really the big beneficiaries and this is what they don't want you to hear that wall [12:12] street always done great this administration is focused on parallel prosperity and bringing [12:19] prosperity back to main street and that starts with people keeping more of their money and one for [12:26] for caroline as well as the administration in general if i may uh this past saturday i published a video of [12:33] former now former representative eric swalwell in bed as the president said in las vegas well eric [12:40] swalwell was in las vegas in this video i'm told according to geotagging this scandal has erupted [12:46] now accusers coming forward many others coming forward as well as questions regarding his extremely [12:51] close relationship with arizona senator reuben gallego and i want to know if the administration [12:57] had any comment on the fact that senator gallego seemed to be very vocal about wanting the release of [13:03] the epstein files and yet when questions come to his own involvement with eric swalwell he doesn't [13:08] seem like to provide anything yeah look i think the accusations and allegations against uh former [13:14] representative swalwell are despicable and disgusting um i think it's also quite plausible as you point [13:21] out jack that there were many other democrats in this town on capitol hill who knew about his [13:27] perhaps illegal behavior certainly his disgusting and inappropriate behavior and why were they silent [13:33] for so long i think those are questions that must be raised of these sitting representatives [13:37] including mr gallego and i hope that the journalists in this room will do their jobs and the journalists [13:41] on capitol hill will do their jobs to ask democrats in power how they knew about such despicable behavior [13:47] from one of their elected representatives for so long but never said or did anything about it so that's [13:52] what we hope to see as far as the white house and the president is concerned thank you peter thank you [13:57] i have one for you and then one for secretary besson sure uh for you caroline there are now 10 american [14:02] scientists who have either gone missing or died since mid 2024 they all reportedly had access to [14:09] classified nuclear or aerospace material is anybody investigating this to see if these things are [14:16] connected i've seen the report peter i haven't spoken to our relevant agencies about it i will certainly [14:22] do that and we'll get you an answer if true of course that's definitely something i think this government [14:26] and administration would deem work worth looking into so let me do that for you thank you and [14:31] secretary besson it doesn't sound like we're going to have three dollar a gallon gas by summer time which [14:36] we had initially been told by the trend by the uh energy secretary he now says uh that it would be very [14:45] aggressive if we're going to get to the three dollar a gallon gas by the summer so when are we really [14:51] going to get three dollar a gallon gas well i think that's going to be the uh up to how how the [14:58] negotiations go president trump said this morning that he thinks we're nearing the end uh the u.s [15:06] kept their side on the ceasefire we've stopped firing the straits of remove have not been completely [15:13] reopened uh so we will see and i'm optimistic uh that during the summer we will see gas with a three in [15:21] front of it sooner rather than later i have it's bank week here in dc so i've been meeting with a lot of my [15:29] meadow eastern counterparts the finance ministers and they all say that once the straits are open [15:34] they can start pumping again within one week so not by summer like memorial day but maybe by [15:40] labor day again i i'm optimistic that sometime between june 20th and september 20th that we can [15:48] have three dollar gas again and as i said this morning too we are going to be watching the gas stations [15:54] because they they raised prices very quickly when they stated when the crude oil prices went up we [16:02] hope they'll bring them down just as quickly as crude oil prices have come down which they've come [16:08] down substantially just in the past 10 days thank you so much caroline can you give us an update on [16:16] the president's thinking on the next attorney general a lot of names have been going around like ronda [16:20] santis rudy giuliani ed martin um they're being floated as contenders what qualities is the [16:26] president looking for in a new ag and will there be accountability for what many have described as [16:31] weaponization within biden's office when he was the president sure well certainly ensuring that [16:37] there's accountability for the weaponization of justice that took place under the biden administration [16:42] is a top priority for this president with respect to names that are floated there are always [16:47] names floated in the press sometimes i have a chuckle when i read some of the reports about [16:52] certain people floated for certain jobs as far as the president is concerned right now todd blanche [16:56] remains the acting attorney general the president feels he's doing a good job and that's where it [17:01] remains right now i don't have any personnel updates for you today annie thank you caroline i have a [17:05] question for you and also for the treasury secretary um uh first of all there was an interview that dr [17:12] memet oz did recently where he described the president's views on his own diet he said that [17:18] he argued that diet soda is good for him because it kills grass and if you pour it onto the grass it [17:24] the grass is killed and it therefore must kill cancer cells i'm wondering if you can was this sort of an [17:29] accurate description of how the president sees look as we all know in this room i think you know the [17:35] president has a very good sense of humor it's one of his most underreported characteristics i would [17:40] say i have heard him tell this joke before i think the wall street journal should get a better sense [17:44] of humor and then another one for you um has the president filed his taxes and is he going to release [17:49] them publicly it's actually a very good question i have not inquired uh with the president directly [17:54] about his own taxes but i'm happy to do so and we'll get you an answer on that i have filed my taxes [18:00] um the so the um the president has publicly said that you are the reason that he has not fired um [18:10] chairman jay powell um will you make that case again to him as he's recently said that he still [18:15] wants to fire the chairman look i i am confident that the process that we have laid out in terms of [18:21] kevin warsh the becoming the next fed chair he's going to have the hearing on the 21st of this month [18:27] uh he's a great candidate uh we know that the uh republicans on the senate finance or senate [18:34] banking committee are aligned in that and i am very optimistic that the kevin warsh will be the [18:40] chair of the fed on time and that will be a moot question secretary you mentioned that the no tax [18:48] on overtime is the biggest one that people are claiming you said 25 million people have you seen [18:54] evidence that more companies are offering overtime or that people are working more over time and [18:58] increasing their productivity and the second question um the health insurance industry is [19:03] advertising heavily in dc describing themselves as the big guys in the whole healthcare system [19:09] president trump has threatened to haul in their executives and force them to lower prices can you [19:13] provide any update on the administration's efforts there okay so i'll take the second one last because [19:18] that's not my area i don't wear a lot of hats here but the i i am sure that the the president makes his [19:25] views known with corporate executives and if that is true then they will be hold before him and with [19:35] overtime as kelly and i go out and talk to employers and workers around the country they all want more [19:44] overtime and there was this narrative that i think over 2 million illegal aliens have either voluntarily [19:52] deported or been deported and that there would be a worker shortage well what better way to fill that [19:58] gap than with overtime for hard-working americans and for them to keep more of it yeah i'll just i'll just [20:05] add that a great example are the factories that we see coming back thanks to 100 made in america [20:11] expensing kusa steel is a great example in rome georgia where the owner was down to running one shift [20:19] one day a week he's up to two or three shifts five or six days a week so thanks to re-industrializing [20:24] this nation through our small manufacturing base which most manufacturers in america meet the small [20:29] business definition 98 of them we're seeing more shifts taking place more opportunities for [20:36] overtime and the more willingness of workers to take on overtime shifts because in the past they were [20:41] penalized by the tax system for taking on overtime elizabeth this is for administrator law clerk you [20:48] talked about how the one big beautiful bill benefits small businesses with small business optimism falling [20:54] in march is the administration planning on providing any additional tax relief or other resources to [20:59] small businesses that have been affected by high fuel process high fuel prices during their run operation [21:05] yeah so one one data point does not a trend make and and the long-term trend under president trump has [21:11] been for small business optimism to be above its 52-year average under joe biden small business optimism [21:17] fell below that average for 34 consecutive months because small business was being crushed by regulation [21:23] massive red tape the threat of high taxes and all the burdens of the green new deal so right now small [21:30] businesses are really in growth mode they're planning to hire and the optimism is very strong if you see in [21:35] the nam survey national association of manufacturers came out their optimism is up five points so i think [21:41] this is temporary and we'll get back on trend what's the status of extending the iran ceasefire in [21:47] carolina yes so i saw some reporting again bad reporting this morning that we had formally requested an [21:53] extension of the ceasefire that is not true at this moment we've remained very much engaged in these [21:59] negotiations in these talks you heard from the vice president directly and the president this week [22:03] um that these conversations are productive and ongoing and that's where we are right now i've also [22:08] seen some reporting about the potentiality for in-person discussions again those discussions are being [22:14] had but nothing is official until you hear it from us here at the white house but we feel good about the [22:19] prospects of a deal the president mentioned that in his interview yesterday and it's obviously in the [22:24] best interest of iran to meet the president's demands i think he's made his red lines in these [22:29] negotiations very clear to the other side and so we are continuing to see how these conversations go [22:36] would those talks be in islamabad or where would they be the next round they would very likely be [22:41] in the same place as they were last time yes with the same i would just want to make one point that's [22:46] important to the president uh the pakistanis have been incredible mediators throughout this process and [22:51] we really appreciate their friendship and their efforts to bring this deal to a close so they are the [22:56] only mediator in this negotiate negotiation while there have been many countries around the world [23:01] who want to offer their help the president feels it's important to continue to streamline this [23:05] communication through the pakistanis and so that's what continues to take place will [23:10] thank you caroline um how much room uh do you see um for additional sanctions places being placed on iran [23:20] and uh are you do you feel like the united states is getting enough support from allies on that front [23:24] that there was a letter that went to oman and some other uh allies that suggested maybe the sanctions [23:30] weren't uh this could be for secretary fester as well but the the the the sanctions basically weren't [23:34] having the effect that the united states wanted i'll let the treasury secretary who's in charge of [23:38] sanctions answer that question yeah i i think that's the uh not a correct characterization uh yesterday [23:45] we announced operation economic fury and we uh for over a year we have had maximum pressure on on the [23:53] iranians both on blocking payments into the iranian state and going after the accounts of the irgc [24:02] one of the what may prove to be fatal mistakes that the iranians made was bombing their gcc neighbors [24:11] and who are now willing to be much more transparent in terms of the funds or do a deeper dive in [24:18] investigating the funds that are held within their banking systems so we have pushed out to them the [24:25] request that we want to freeze more funds of the leadership of the irgc and any members of iranian [24:34] leadership the other thing that we have done is we have told company we have told countries the that [24:40] if you are buying iranian oil that if iranian money is sitting in your banks we are now willing to apply [24:47] secondary sanctions which is a very stern measure and the iranians should know that this is going to [24:54] be the financial equivalent of what we saw in the kinetic activities is this an example of expanding [25:00] the world economically as opposed to militarily this is another exactly [25:08] any update on the insurance program the u.s re-insurance program for ships and tankers sailing through [25:13] this trade reform moves any update on that sir well it's now up to 40 billion it's run through the dfc [25:20] and we we are waiting for uh the ships to be able to get some symbols of normality and then they can [25:28] come to the dfc and uh our private sector partners and request the the insurance and what do you tell [25:36] private shipping companies out there right now nervous about this whole thing saying you know [25:40] wondering if they should even get near the street what's that what do you tell in to encourage shipping [25:46] companies to do business through the street well i think we're going to have to wait and see when [25:50] they are permanently open because this this is a mechanism when we declare that it is safe they also [25:56] have to have insurance lloyds of london had skyrocketing insurance during the time uh the rates are still [26:04] very high so we want to provide the u.s government will make a profit on this but we want to provide [26:10] a more normalized level and an economically sound basis for ships to move in and out of the gulf [26:16] as they did before the start of the conflict [26:22] yeah thanks caroline i appreciate it so i want to cover two topics if i could the um the tax day but [26:26] also the confirmation so the confirmation hearing set for next week for kevin warsh but tom tillis [26:32] senator tom tillis is still a no and he's holding firm on that how are you going to win over [26:36] senator tillis to get this confirmation out of committee well i'm sure senator tillis wants to [26:40] do the best thing for the federal reserve for the american people he has publicly said that kevin [26:45] warsh is a great candidate for the chair so let's let's get to the hearings and see where we are then [26:52] about tax day if i could so um the tax gains that you've talked about through the one big beautiful bill [26:57] um is that going to offset the consternation from americans for lack of a better term uh over the [27:04] four dollar gas gallon gas well again as i said no one's ever objected to more money in their pocket [27:10] so the americans have more money they can decide how they want to spend it and i did want to come back [27:16] to the overtime question because i was up in westchester county last friday and i met with several of the [27:23] the uh first responders the uh and uh police unions and those whether it's our great policemen [27:31] our firemen the uh our ambulance drivers they all now want more overtime and you know how great it [27:38] is to have them the uh to be able to be engaged and keep more of their money [27:44] um for both of you perhaps are president trump's threats of a 50 percent tariff against china still [27:53] on the table now or is the letter exchange that you talked about now taking that off well as you [27:59] know the president spoke about um the letter with respect to he and the the correspondence between [28:04] he and president xi uh president xi assured the president that they are not supplying iran with [28:10] weapons throughout this conflict uh and that assurance was made to the president it's obviously [28:14] something the administration keeps uh close tabs on with respect to tariff you have any update on [28:19] that i don't have an update on the tariffs but i do have an update via on sanctions uh iran is the [28:26] or used to be the largest state sponsor of terrorism china was purchasing more than 90 percent of their [28:33] oil which is about eight percent of china's energy needs we believe this blockade in the straits [28:40] there will be a pause of chinese buying but i will tell you that two chinese banks received letters [28:49] from the u.s treasury i'm not going to identify the banks but we told them that if we can prove [28:55] that there is iranian money flowing through your accounts then we are willing to put on secondary [29:00] sanctions and are you go ahead thank you so my question sure are you considering any more um sanctions [29:10] relief mr secretary for countries that are suffering right now in order to get more oil to your allies [29:18] we will not be renewing the general license on russian oil and we will not be renewing the general [29:24] license on iranian oil because again that was oil that was on the water prior to march 11th so all [29:32] all that has been used nick go ahead questions for the treasury secretary um as you both noted 53 million [29:38] americans have used one of these new taxes exemptions uh the president enacted um can you speak to not [29:45] only the relief that that's bringing specifically working class americans like waiters bartenders [29:50] overtime workers but also the impact this is going to have on the economy well a couple of things [29:57] there is i can tell you i think kelly's very popular but i i think with service workers i may [30:02] be the most popular cabinet secretary in dc because when i show up a doorman the uh not so much [30:09] bartenders but waiters waitresses they all say thank you for no tax and tips again i was in a diner [30:15] up in westchester county and this is this is a home run the in terms of you know what's happening [30:24] with these folks and uh what we can't tell you yet and we will be able to provide data at a later date [30:31] that 52 million is how many have used at least one of those so we expect that there are probably [30:38] multiple uh filers who are filers who have used the at least more than one the of those four signature [30:46] things and look again this is the america first americans uh hard-working americans keeping more of [30:55] their money just like with our small businesses you know if we go back and look when you hear the uh the [31:02] left talk about this was a tax cut for millionaires and billionaires you know they wanted to raise the [31:08] tax rate for everyone making more than five hundred thousand dollars that is a small business killer [31:23] mr secretary since we're on the topic of china a few minutes ago we are a little over a year past [31:28] liberation day the tariffs uh the goods trade deficit with china has dropped sharply are those gains [31:34] sustainable and are you worried about any retaliatory actions that could go against those gains [31:39] uh i actually think we're going to be building on those gains in terms of the trade deficit dropping [31:46] with china uh since last summer there's been great stability in the relationship and really the [31:52] keystone to the relationship is the strong respect that the two leaders have between each other my [32:00] experience has been when the communication is at the top then we follow that directive [32:07] the and those wishes we had the meeting in busan korea in october we will be having the state visit in [32:16] beijing and so i expect great stability in the relationship but that doesn't mean that our trade [32:23] deficit can't continue dropping go ahead for the administrator i know that there are orders and [32:31] shipments of factory equipment they are at record highs how many small businesses has the sba assisted [32:37] with loans and supports uh with loans to support them well the sba set an all-time lending record last [32:44] year 45 billion dollars under president trump because small businesses now have access to the capital [32:50] that they need to build in america again we are becoming a nation of builders and we see that on [32:55] the ground factories expanding as a result we have record uh pmi uh which is purchasing managers index [33:03] manufacturing expansion two consecutive months in a row of export records and so when you look at where [33:10] our nation has come in terms of uh export import imbalance uh it's been unfair to the american worker [33:18] and to american industry and we're reshoring whole industries because of this tax bill [33:22] libby i have two questions for you the first one is about around the second one's actually about united [33:29] airlines that i want to ask you about so um on iran is there a timeline for how long this blockade is [33:36] going to remain in place in the strength of hormones by the united united states that president trump has [33:40] voiced to you or that you've heard among officials sure um i will never set timelines on behalf of the [33:46] president of the united states but with respect to the blockade as you know it has been fully implemented [33:52] and it's being enforced against vessels of all nations entering or departing iranian ports i want [33:58] to make that point clear i've seen some misreporting on that as well this includes all iranian [34:02] ports on the arabian gulf and the gulf of oman and our u.s forces in the region are supporting the [34:08] freedom of navigation for vessels that are transiting the strait to and from non-iranian ports so i know [34:14] some in the press were confused about that we are supporting the freedom of navigation just not [34:18] with respect to any tanker or vessel that would benefit the economy of iran as these negotiations [34:25] continue so there was reports that the ceo of united proposed a merger with american airlines this [34:32] would affect tens of millions of americans uh that was proposed in a meeting with president trump [34:38] was that a merger that he has reports to any kind of support of it's not anything that we have a position [34:42] on or anything we're commenting on i know it's an idea that has been proposed by private industry [34:47] but it's not something the president or the white house have an opinion on or are weighing in on at [34:50] this time john john go ahead thanks a lot caroline this is first secretary bessett on monday of next [34:58] week importers can start requesting claims for tariff refunds and my understanding is 127 million [35:07] dollars eligible for refunds what's that process look like how can a porter and an importer request [35:14] such a refund that's not being run out of treasury we would just be the paymaster so that's running [35:20] being run out of cpb and so explain that process i understand you're not running and how does that [35:26] process actually work if you're an importer you pay these tariffs the supreme court found that those [35:32] tariffs were illegal what's the process for them to get back that money they would be in touch with [35:38] the cpb and i i think the number you're quoting is the so that's the amount who have already requested [35:46] refunds so they are already in the shoot and we'll see what the timeline is for that will that affect [35:53] the u.s economy all of those refunds coming out of the u.s treasury again uh we'll we'll have to see [35:59] what comes out uh and we'll we'll have to see what the companies do with them you know just to be [36:05] clear just to be clear thanks to the supreme court some of this money is going back to china [36:10] so is that going to affect the u.s economy i don't know [36:15] i have a question for uh secretary yes danie go ahead um secretary um you were quoted saying in an [36:21] interview earlier this week that it was worth a bit of economic pain for international security [36:26] is that this administration's message to american voters with high gas prices that ahead of the [36:31] midterms this year that it's worth the economic pain well the the message is the uh short-term [36:37] volatility for long-term gain danny if i could add to that you know the president's been very clear [36:47] again as the secretary just said this is a short-term disruption for the long-term strategic goal of the [36:53] united states to ensure that the world's leading state sponsor of terror cannot obtain a nuclear [36:59] weapon that's a good thing for the american people that's a good thing for people all over the [37:03] world and as the president and his economic and energy team have repeatedly stated as soon as the [37:10] operation and now the negotiations with iran conclude and the strait is reopened we do expect gas [37:16] prices to decrease and thank goodness we have a president in an administration that believes in [37:21] american energy dominance in bringing down prices at the pump look at how gas prices decreased over the [37:27] past year since this president was in office it's a stark contrast to the previous administration and [37:32] democrats in this city who believe in hampering our domestic energy industry who believe in [37:38] importing our most precious resources who believe in implementing policies that create created the [37:44] worst inflation crisis in history so president trump has built the greatest economy in the world before [37:50] he is doing it again of course we have this short-term disruption but again it's for the long-term [37:54] strategic goal of ensuring that these terrorists cannot possess a nuclear bomb jennifer jennifer [38:00] first secretary besant on the russian oil i know the the sanctions waivers have expired but how much [38:06] money did russia benefit from that temporary sanctions you initially said about 2 billion is that [38:12] it could have been 2 billion we don't know but again it's let's think of a different world where oil [38:19] spiked to 150 and they would have made a lot more by doing that by pushing the russian barrels that [38:26] were already on the water they were going to be sold they were going to china no matter what [38:31] that the we push them to our allies we helped stabilize the oil price and as you can see there [38:37] were doomsday scenarios oil is going to 150 it's going to 200 it's going to 250 dollars west texas crude [38:43] the for the front month deliveries about 92 or 93 dollars now thank you everybody i know we have [38:53] two very busy cabinet secretaries with us here today before we do depart of just one final announcement [38:59] as you know this year we celebrate america's 250th birthday in honor of this historic occasion [39:05] president trump and the department of interior will submit plans for the united states triumphal arc [39:11] which will be an architectural masterpiece to celebrate our history right here in washington dc [39:17] this is a rendering of the arc for you thank you peter um it's quite beautiful as you can see [39:24] and this monumental arc will beam at 250 feet tall in honor of 250 years and stand on ground that is [39:32] currently empty green space in memorial circle on columbia island a man-made island in the potomac river [39:39] managed by the national park service the united states triumphal arc will be outfitted with [39:43] beautiful artwork and depictions celebrating the success of the american people over our 250-year [39:50] history and the enduring triumph of the american spirit long after everyone in this room is gone [39:55] our children and grandchildren will remain inspired by this national monument beginning construction this [40:01] year on the architectural arc is a fitting way to commemorate the 250th anniversary of american [40:07] independence great nations build beautiful structures that cultivate national pride and love of country [40:13] and this triumphal arc should be a project that all americans of all political persuasions can support [40:18] because it's a monument for every american to celebrate 250 years of our nation's proud history [40:23] and again the plans for this will be submitted tomorrow we'll have many more announcements with respect [40:28] to our 250th anniversary in the coming months as we look forward to the 4th of july thank you very much [40:34] thank you very much everyone have a great day