President Trump Delivers Remarks, Apr. 23, 2026

[0:01] Well, thank you very much. [0:02] And I'm told this is a rather historic meeting [0:05] because these countries have been bordering each other [0:09] for many, many years, and it doesn't happen much, [0:12] although they like each other. [0:13] I found that out today, and I've sort of heard about that. [0:16] They actually like each other, Lebanon and Israel. [0:19] And we had a great meeting with the very high officials [0:23] of Lebanon and very high officials of Israel. [0:27] And we think that the President of Lebanon [0:30] and the Prime Minister of Israel [0:31] over the next couple of weeks will be coming here. [0:34] They've agreed to an additional three weeks of, I guess, [0:39] no firing, ceasefire. No more firing. Let's see. [0:43] We hope that happens. It's not going to happen between that, [0:45] but they do have Hezbollah to think about. [0:50] And we're going to be working with Lebanon [0:53] to get things straightened out in that country. [0:56] I really believe it's something we can do pretty easily, [0:59] just with the power of who we are, [1:01] the great people, the Lebanese people. [1:03] We have our ambassador here, who has done a fantastic job. [1:08] Ambassador to Lebanon from the United States. [1:11] And we had a great conversation, [1:14] and I think it's the beginning of something very important. [1:16] It would be a wonderful thing to get this worked out [1:19] simultaneously with what we're doing in Iran. [1:23] And I'd like to start by just asking J.D., [1:25] our Vice President, our great Vice President, [1:27] just say a few words, and then Marco will speak. [1:30] And then the representatives from the country. [1:33] Mike Huckabee, you'll say a few words, Mike. [1:35] You've done a great job, by the way. [1:37] I appreciate it. Everybody does. [1:39] And J.D., please. [1:41] Mr. Yes, sir. Well, first of all, congratulations. [1:43] Congratulations to you and our Secretary of State. [1:45] But most importantly, congratulations to the people of Israel and Lebanon. [1:49] I think it's a major historic moment. [1:51] We're going to extend the ceasefire for three weeks [1:53] that's already in place between Israel and Lebanon. [1:56] Of course, it wouldn't have happened [1:57] without the President's direct engagement. [1:58] The fact that you have these leaders of different countries [2:01] coming together for the first time, [2:02] they came together in the Oval Office, [2:04] and they came together because of energetic diplomacy, [2:07] of course, led by the President of the United States. [2:09] So I think it's a big moment for the world. [2:10] It's a big moment for our country, [2:12] but just very proud to be a part of it. [2:14] So thank you, sir, for making it happen. [2:15] The President. Thank you very much, J.D. [2:17] Thank you, Mr. President, for hosting this, actually. [2:19] You know, the President wanted to be personally involved, [2:21] and I'm glad he was because it made it possible [2:23] to get this extension, [2:24] and it gives everybody time to continue to work [2:26] on what's going to be a permanent peace. [2:28] Between two countries that want to be at peace, [2:31] both are victimized by the same terrorist organization, [2:34] a terrorist organization that no doubt has victimized Israel, [2:36] but has also victimized the people of Lebanon. [2:38] The people of Lebanon deserve to live [2:40] in a country that's peaceful and prosperous. [2:43] They have an opportunity to do that. [2:44] They have a history of that. [2:45] And what's standing in the way is an organization [2:47] that operates, a terrorist organization [2:49] that operates within their national territory [2:52] that needs to be — that threat needs to be eliminated. [2:54] And so, thank you, Mr. President, for this gathering today [2:57] and for convening it and being a key part of it. [3:00] And it buys this time to continue to work. [3:01] I'm very optimistic that in a few weeks, [3:04] we'll be even closer to the kind of permanent peace [3:06] that the people of Israel and Lebanon deserve. [3:08] The President. Thank you very much. [3:09] Michelle, please. [3:10] Well, I would like to thank the President, [3:13] the Vice President, and Secretary [3:14] to make this historical meeting today [3:17] that bring two countries that they've never been next [3:21] to each other more than today, in a way. [3:22] This is 60, 70 years in the making, [3:25] and today is really the historical day. [3:27] Thank you, Mr. President, Vice President, Secretary. [3:30] And I'm going to keep going, working for a peace. [3:34] I hope he will get it as soon as possible. [3:36] The President. Thank you. [3:37] You're a very successful man. [3:39] And when I asked him if he'd like to be ambassador to Lebanon, [3:43] I said, it could be a dangerous job. [3:45] He said, well, I'm Lebanese. I was born in Lebanon, [3:48] and I — your parents have a whole big history. [3:51] He said, danger doesn't matter to me, really. [3:53] It's something I want to do. He's very successful. [3:55] He didn't need this. [3:57] And I think it's probably more dangerous [3:59] than you even thought, but you've done a fantastic job. [4:01] So — [4:02] The President. It is an honor for me to serve you, [4:04] Mr. President, and then I'm going to go till the end. [4:07] The President. Thank you. Thank you very much. [4:09] And likewise, Mike Huckabee. We all know Mike. [4:12] And he didn't need it either, did he? [4:14] But he's doing a fantastic job. [4:16] Mike, go ahead, please. [4:17] The President. I just want to say, Mr. President, [4:19] what an amazing opportunity to be here [4:21] at a moment of history. [4:22] The people of Lebanon and the people of Israel are neighbors, [4:25] and they want to get along. [4:26] They can get along. [4:28] But it's like neighbors who have a rough little kid [4:30] living in the neighborhood [4:31] who keeps throwing rocks at everybody's window. [4:34] And if the kid will quit throwing rocks, [4:35] the neighbors can get along [4:37] and start actually working together. [4:40] The President has initiated something [4:42] that is truly bringing the neighborhood [4:45] back to a neighborhood, [4:47] and recognizing that the problem is not Lebanon, [4:49] that the problem is not Israel. [4:50] The problem is Hezbollah, [4:52] the bad little kid throwing rocks. [4:54] That's what the President is going to launch today [4:57] to get that little kid out of the neighborhood. [5:03] The President, thank you. [5:04] Mr. Ambassador, please. [5:05] The President, thank you, Mr. President, [5:07] for your hospitality, [5:09] for bringing Israel and Lebanon together [5:11] here in the Oval Office. [5:13] Israel wants peace with Lebanon, [5:15] and Israel wants security for its citizens. [5:18] We're united with the Lebanese government [5:21] in wanting to rid the country [5:22] of this malign influence called Hezbollah. [5:25] And now that, Mr. President, [5:27] under your leadership, Iran has been so degraded, [5:31] the possibility of degrading Hezbollah [5:34] and liberating Lebanon from their occupation is real. [5:37] So we hope that, together, under your leadership, [5:40] we can formalize peace between Israel and Lebanon [5:42] in the very near future. [5:43] And we are just very thankful for the opportunity. [5:46] The President, thank you. [5:47] And I look forward to having the next meeting [5:48] with your great Prime Minister. [5:52] He is a wartime Prime Minister with Bibi [5:55] and with the President of Lebanon. [5:56] It will be fantastic. [5:58] I think a lot is going to happen. [6:01] Madam Ambassador. [6:02] The Press- Thank you so much. [6:03] Thank you so much, President Trump. [6:05] Thank you for your leadership, [6:07] for making sure to be presiding [6:09] over this historic moment. [6:11] I want to really say thank you to the United States, [6:13] under your leadership, for all your effort to help [6:16] and to support Lebanon. [6:18] And I think, with your help, with your support, [6:19] we can make Lebanon great again. [6:21] Thank you so much. [6:22] The President, thank you. [6:23] I like that phrase. [6:24] It sounds nice. [6:25] The President, it's a good phrase. [6:26] Ms. MTA. [6:27] The President, thank you very much. [6:28] I think we will. [6:29] Any questions? [6:30] Yeah, please. [6:31] The Press- President Trump, [6:32] Anthony Mirshak from MTV Lebanon. [6:33] First, thank you for having us [6:35] in the White House for the year and a half. [6:35] The President, thank you very much. [6:37] And this is historical for our audience as well. [6:40] The President Trump, [6:40] we would like to ask you two or three questions. [6:42] First question, the peace between Lebanon and Israel. [6:45] Do you think it will happen this year? [6:48] The President Trump, I think it has a great chance. [6:49] I mean, you know, they're friends about the same things [6:52] and they're enemies on the same things. [6:54] And it has to do with, I guess you could say, [6:57] a couple of countries. [6:57] But certainly, it's, if you look at Hezbollah, [7:00] that's where everybody seems to be united against them. [7:05] So, they are both very united in that way. [7:09] I think there's a very good chance of having peace. [7:11] I think it should be an easy one. [7:12] Relative to some of the things we're working on, [7:14] it should be an easy one. [7:15] But it's been so many years because nobody focused on it. [7:20] But Lebanon was a great country. [7:22] It was a beautiful country. [7:23] Smart people, very brilliant people. [7:25] Doctors, professors, economists. [7:27] Some of the smartest people on the planet. [7:31] But it got torn apart by different factions [7:34] and nothing having to do with them. [7:36] Outside factors. [7:38] So, no, I think it could be brought back pretty quickly. [7:40] And when do you think our President [7:43] will meet Netanyahu here at the White House? [7:45] The President Biden will do it over the next, [7:46] during this period of time, during the three-week period. [7:48] Ideally. [7:49] I mean, I'd like to suggest, [7:51] over the three-week ceasefire, if you can do that. [7:55] We're here, we're doing it in the Oval Office. [7:58] And regarding Hezbollah, [7:59] he's not responding to our government. [8:02] He's doing whatever he wants. [8:04] What do you say for Hezbollah? [8:06] And do you think you will enter the military? [8:07] The President Biden has to, I mean, [8:08] we're just talking about it. [8:09] Israel is going to have to defend itself if they're shot at. [8:13] And they will. [8:15] I would never say that they can't. [8:17] It would be nice if they wouldn't have to bother with that. [8:19] But if they, if something happens, [8:22] they're going to have to defend themselves, as you know. [8:24] But they're going to do it carefully. [8:26] And they're going to be surgical, [8:28] as opposed to beyond surgical. [8:31] And, you know, there's a lot they can do. [8:33] But Israel is going to have to defend itself. [8:36] And regarding our Lebanese speaker, [8:37] Nabi Khair reportedly told Prince Yazid bin Farhan [8:41] that Lebanon will not move forward with peace [8:44] unless Saudi Arabia is involved. [8:46] What is your reaction to that statement? [8:48] And do you believe Saudi Arabia must play a central role [8:51] in a potential Lebanon-Israel peace process? [8:54] The President Biden is great. [8:56] And they have a great leader. [8:58] And I think that they'd be very happy with this. [9:01] I haven't spoken in my will. [9:03] This happened very quickly. [9:05] But Saudi Arabia is going to be, they're great people. [9:10] A great, great place. [9:12] Incredible place. [9:13] I know it very well. [9:14] But I know the leader very well. [9:16] And he'd want to see something like this happen. [9:18] He's a tremendous guy. [9:20] The Pressure and make Lebanon great again. [9:22] This is our slogan on MTV Lebanon. [9:24] Make, like, make America great again. [9:26] And make Lebanon great again. [9:28] It's our slogan on MTV Lebanon that all the Lebanese [9:31] and our audience are putting hope on you, Mr. President. [9:34] The President Biden make Lebanon great again. [9:35] It's a good slogan to work for here. [9:38] I think it's maybe the greatest political slogan [9:41] in the history of the world, [9:42] make America great again. [9:44] But, you know, we're great now. [9:45] So I will never say that we won't use that slogan, MAGA. [9:50] But we have another one, America is back. [9:53] Where's that at? [9:53] Does anybody have a clue? [9:54] Yeah, that's the old one. [9:56] And then show them the new one. [9:59] And we never choose — we're never changing MAGA. [10:02] I don't have the courage to change MAGA. [10:05] Make America great again. [10:06] But, you know, we're really — we're great now. [10:09] We're the hottest country anywhere in the world. [10:11] We're the most powerful country in the world, by far. [10:14] And we suffered years of abuse by people [10:17] that were grossly incompetent, like Biden — like Obama. [10:21] Obama was incompetent. [10:22] He was a great divider. [10:24] And we are — we're a great country. [10:27] Again, we're respected all over the world. [10:29] That's why this happened so fast. [10:30] I mean, it can happen fast. [10:32] Thank you. [10:33] The Press, sir, the funding that Hezbollah [10:35] gets from Iran — is Iran going to have to cut that off [10:38] to do a deal with you? [10:39] Yeah, they're going to have to cut that off. [10:40] That's a must for you. [10:41] Yeah, sure. [10:42] That's a must, yeah. [10:43] Mr. President, apparently there was a Special Forces [10:46] soldier who was involved in the capture [10:49] of Venezuelan President Maduro, [10:51] who was arrested by federal authorities today [10:53] on suspicion of insider trading and betting on polymarket. [10:59] Are you concerned that federal employees [11:01] are betting on these prediction markets [11:03] and potentially getting rich? [11:05] The President Well, I don't know about it, [11:06] but was he betting that they would get him [11:09] or they wouldn't get him? [11:10] The Press It sounds like he was betting [11:12] on his removal from office, that Maduro would be removed. [11:15] It sounds like he was involved in the operation. [11:17] The President That's like Pete Rose [11:18] betting on his own team then. [11:19] It's a little like Pete Rose. [11:21] The President Because he kept him out of the Hall of Fame [11:23] because he bet on his own team. [11:25] Now, if he bet against his team, that would be no good. [11:27] But he bet on his own team. [11:29] I'll look into it. [11:30] Yeah? [11:30] The Press There are also bets that are being placed [11:31] as well on the Iran conflict, too. [11:34] And there have been some trackings where people suspect [11:36] that there's insider trading happening [11:38] on these prediction markets around the war. [11:41] Are you concerned about that? [11:42] The President Well, you know, the whole world, [11:45] unfortunately, has become somewhat of a casino. [11:48] And you look at what's going on all over the world, [11:50] in Europe and every place they're doing these betting things. [11:53] I was never much in favor of it. [11:55] I don't like it, conceptually. [11:56] But it is what it is. [11:59] No, I think that I'm not happy with any of that stuff. [12:02] But they have all these different sites. [12:04] They have predictive markets. [12:07] It's a crazy world. [12:08] It's a much different world than it was. [12:10] Please. [12:11] The Press We talked about the Fed's renovation. [12:13] Can someone other than the Justice Department [12:15] find out the things you said you wanted to learn? [12:17] The President Well, good. [12:18] I mean, look, it's pretty easy when you look. [12:21] Look, with Jerome too late, pal, I have a real problem [12:26] because he should have been lowering interest rates [12:28] a long time ago. [12:29] And despite that, we fought through it [12:31] and we have the greatest economy we've ever had. [12:33] You take a look, I mean, we just, [12:35] I don't know what the market is today, [12:37] but we've broken every record over the last few days. [12:39] And this is during a military operation or a war, [12:43] whatever you want to call it. [12:44] It makes no difference as far as I'm concerned. [12:47] But we have this unbelievable economy. [12:50] The S&P has a new record. [12:51] The Dow is right at a new record. [12:53] We already broke the record with the Dow. [12:56] People said it wouldn't happen in four years. [12:57] They said in four years, [12:59] it won't be able to be possible to break 50,000. [13:01] We broke it with the Dow. [13:03] And I'm actually a little bit surprised [13:05] that we're breaking it constantly, even now, [13:09] during this conflict. [13:10] Because when we broke it, I called a lot of the people here. [13:13] I called J.D., I called Marco, I called Howard, I called Scott. [13:17] I said, I hate to tell you, fellas, [13:19] but we have to do a little bit of a detour. [13:20] We have to go to Iran [13:22] and make sure they don't have a nuclear weapon. [13:23] We had just broken every financial record. [13:26] And the amazing thing is we continued to break them, [13:29] even during the war. [13:30] Now, fuel went up, [13:31] but I thought it would have gone up much more. [13:33] And a lot of ships are coming to the United States, [13:37] and they're using the United States [13:39] instead of the Hormuz Strait. [13:41] Amazing things are happening. [13:44] Our country is amazing. [13:45] You know, we don't have an oil shortage. [13:47] We have a drill, baby, drill. [13:48] We are right now producing more oil [13:52] than Saudi Arabia and Russia combined. [13:56] Did you know that? [13:57] More — and in about a year from now, [13:59] we'll be doing double the level. [14:01] And Venezuela has been fantastic. [14:04] We have a great relationship with that country [14:07] and with the people that are running the country. [14:10] And we're taking out — we're taking in millions of barrels of oil. [14:14] Millions and millions from Venezuela. [14:17] It's been a great experience, to be honest with you. [14:19] And they're doing a very good job, and they have our backing. [14:22] Okay? [14:23] The Press Press.: Mr. President, you said that the — [14:24] The Press Press.: Can you just clarify, again, what exactly — [14:27] The President, here we go. Listen to this. [14:29] The Press Press.: No, no, no. [14:30] Just because the world is watching. [14:32] The President, here we go. Here's his bomb. [14:33] The Press Press.: What have the two sides agreed to here? [14:34] Three weeks ceasefire with the hope that the leaders come and meet? [14:37] The President, yeah, three weeks. [14:38] The President, and the leaders will most likely be coming here during that time. [14:41] And I think when they do, that's a very historic meeting. [14:43] They have never — they haven't met for many, many years, [14:46] as I understand it. They've never met. [14:49] Think of that. They're next to each other. [14:52] They're great people, and they've never met. [14:54] This should be an easy one. Okay? Good question. [14:57] The Press Press.: Thank you for that. [14:58] The Press Press.: The Lebanese law. [15:00] We can't communicate with Israel what we can do about this law. [15:04] Like, if we talk with Israel, it will be a crime for us as Lebanese. [15:09] And this is a question on behalf of all the Lebanese. [15:11] The Press Press Press.: How is it a crime? [15:12] And the Lebanese law? It's a crime? [15:14] They put you in jail? [15:15] The President, well, I think we have to end that. [15:16] The Press Press Press.: Yeah. [15:17] The President, okay? That's something we're going to have to end. [15:19] I've never heard of that. But that's a good start. [15:22] It's a crime to talk with Israel. [15:26] Well, I'm pretty sure that that'll be ended very quickly. [15:29] Okay? I'll make sure of that. [15:31] And I know Lebanon doesn't want that. [15:34] We'll end up — will you work on that, please, everybody? [15:37] That's crazy. [15:38] The Press Press.: Mr. President, the ship that was captured on Monday, [15:40] and you said there was a gift for the Iranians in it. [15:43] What was that — in that ship? The one from China? [15:46] The President, yeah. Well, we have — that's very top-secret. [15:49] Yeah. There was stuff in there, but it's top-secret. [15:52] The Press Press Press.: [15:53] Is that President Shiva? Have you talked to Shiva? [15:57] The President, yeah. [15:57] The President, yeah. [15:58] The Press Press Press.: No, this is not good. [15:59] No, it's — we have a lot of things that we've got. [16:03] You know, that — the strait — the — what we've done [16:08] with the blockade is amazing, and nobody — nobody gets through. [16:12] And nobody wants to get through. Nobody's trying. [16:14] The one who tried, they shot out the engine, [16:17] but nobody's trying. [16:18] We have complete control. [16:20] Now, they can drop their mines in there [16:23] and do all those stupid things. [16:25] It's just going to take longer for them to make money, [16:27] because the mines are going to affect them much more [16:29] than they're going to affect us. [16:30] But — and we don't know that they're doing that, [16:33] but they could be that they're — [16:34] and if they're doing it, it's a very foolish thing to do. [16:36] Just like for Iran to shoot at Saudi Arabia, [16:39] UAE, and Qatar, and Kuwait, Bahrain — [16:44] all the different places they shot. [16:47] Nobody expected that. [16:49] They thought they'd shoot at Israel, in all fairness, [16:51] but you didn't expect they'd be shooting [16:53] at numerous other countries. [16:55] I think it was a big mistake. [16:56] If they're putting mines down, [16:58] it's a big mistake for them, I will say. [17:00] The Press Press Are you angry at China [17:01] for what they sent Iran? [17:02] The President No. [17:04] The Press Press Sir, there's some reporting today that — [17:06] The President I guess we do the same thing, don't we? [17:08] With other countries. [17:10] You know, it's like one of those things, [17:14] but nothing that — it wasn't earth-shaking. [17:18] The Press Press There's some reporting today, sir, [17:20] that you tend to invite Vladimir Putin to the G20 in Miami. [17:23] Is that the case? [17:24] The President No, but if he came, [17:26] it would be probably very helpful. [17:28] You know, I've said a long time ago, [17:30] when they made the G8, the G7, [17:33] they threw Russia out before my time. [17:37] That was Obama and a certain prime minister [17:41] from a place called Canada — it's Trudeau. [17:45] And I said, that's a stupid thing to do. [17:49] And I was right. [17:49] You know, they spent — [17:51] I'd go to these meetings at the G7, [17:54] and about 90 percent of the meeting was talking about Russia [17:58] and what's going on with Russia. [18:00] And I said, why'd you throw them out? [18:02] You know, if they didn't throw them out, [18:06] they would have been much better off, in my opinion. [18:08] You know, it should — it should have been the G8. [18:10] But when they threw out President Putin, [18:13] he was very offended by that. [18:15] He was — rightfully, but he was very offended by that. [18:18] I venture to say you probably wouldn't be having these problems [18:21] if you didn't throw them out, right? [18:23] The Press So he's not coming to the G20, [18:25] as far as you're concerned? [18:26] The Press Because there are senior administration officials [18:29] being quoted in news reports this afternoon [18:31] that says they're being — [18:33] the Russians are being invited to at least ministerial meetings. [18:36] The President Well, you're saying being invited [18:38] as opposed to coming. [18:39] I don't know of the invitation, [18:40] but if he were invited, I don't know. [18:42] The Press Would you like to come? [18:43] The President I'm of the opinion that you talk to everybody. [18:46] I'm not one of these guys who say, [18:47] oh, let's not talk to him. [18:48] You know, there's a war going. [18:49] Oh, let's not talk to him. [18:51] I like talking to everybody. [18:52] If you — if you're a smart person, [18:54] if you have control over your emotions [18:57] and all the other things you need control over — [19:00] I'm somebody that believes in talking. [19:02] I don't know of that. [19:04] I don't know that he's coming. [19:05] I doubt he'd come, to be honest with you. [19:06] I sort of doubt he'd come. [19:08] But we're working on trying to get that one solved. [19:11] That would be number nine. [19:14] I've ended eight wars, and that one is — [19:18] but it's — they continue to fight. [19:20] The hatred between him and President Zelensky [19:25] is extraordinary, I can tell you. [19:28] The Press Can I ask you a FIFA question, sir? [19:30] What do you think of this idea of replacing Iran [19:32] with Italy in the World Cup? [19:36] The President I don't think about it too much. [19:38] The Press Okay. [19:39] The President That's an interesting question. [19:43] Let me — let me give it — you know what? [19:45] Let me give it that little thought. [19:46] That's a very — is that what they're doing? [19:48] They're thinking about replacing Iran? [19:50] The Press Apparently it's a proposal. [19:51] Let Marco make his polymorphous efforts in there. [19:52] The President Marco, can you make a statement [19:53] of that, please? [19:54] What do you think of — [19:55] The President Yeah, there's — [19:56] nothing from the U.S. [19:57] has told them they can't come. [19:58] I mean, the problem with Iran, [20:00] it would be not their athletes. [20:02] It would be some of the other people [20:03] that we want to bring with them, [20:04] some of whom have ties to the IRGC. [20:06] We may not be able to let them in, [20:07] but not the athletes themselves. [20:09] But no one's — I don't know where that's coming from, [20:11] other than speculation that Iran may decide not to come, [20:14] and then Italy would fill their spot. [20:15] But that's — they decide not to come on their own [20:17] because they decided not to come. [20:19] What they can't bring is a bunch of IRGC terrorists [20:21] into our country and pretend that they're, [20:23] you know, journalists and athletic trainers. [20:25] The Pressure Sir, is the government going to buy — [20:26] The President We would not want to affect the athletes. [20:29] The Pressure Is the government going to buy [20:30] a stake in Spirit Airlines? [20:34] The President So, Spirit is an airline [20:39] that's had some trouble. [20:41] They were going to merge with People Express, [20:44] or one of them, a number of years ago, [20:47] and Barack Hussein Obama decided it was a bad idea. [20:50] How did that work out? [20:51] It's bad for both of them. [20:52] That would have been a natural merger. [20:54] Not United and American, but Spirit and the other. [20:59] We're looking at helping them. [21:00] We have 18,000 people that live in this country [21:04] that are great people and great employees, [21:06] and we're thinking about doing it. [21:07] Helping them out and — meaning bailing them out. [21:10] Or buying it, I think. [21:11] We just buy it. [21:13] We'd be getting it virtually debt-free. [21:17] They have some good aircraft that have good assets. [21:19] And when the prices of oil goes down, [21:22] we'll sell it for a profit. [21:23] I'd love to be able to save those jobs. [21:25] I'd love to be able to save an airline. [21:27] You know, we — I like having a lot of airlines, [21:29] so it's competitive. [21:31] So we are looking at Spirit. [21:32] It's in a bankruptcy. [21:33] It's in bankruptcy court, and we're looking. [21:36] If we could get it for the right price, [21:38] I'd do it to save the jobs. [21:39] And we have somebody that wants to run it, [21:43] do a good job — smart person. [21:45] And if they run it properly, and if prices come down, [21:48] all of a sudden it's a valuable asset. [21:50] And they have some very good slots, too, [21:53] which are pretty valuable. [21:54] The Presser you will visit Lebanon [21:55] and visit Ambassador Issa to the embassy [21:58] because we're building a huge U.S. embassy in Lebanon. [22:02] Are you going to plan to launch it for opening — [22:06] or attending for the opening? [22:07] The President. [22:08] You want to answer that? [22:09] Well, we're working on it. [22:10] It's not done yet, but once it's done, [22:12] I will ask the President to come and cut the ribbon. [22:16] The Presser I have no objection to that. [22:19] Go ahead, please. [22:20] The Presser in the U.K. today, [22:21] they've just announced a total of $1.3 billion [22:26] in returns from the digital service tax, [22:28] which you, in the past, have called an unfair tax [22:31] on American companies. [22:32] You know it very well. [22:33] You have — you previously called for investigations, [22:35] but so far, as we can tell, there has been none. [22:37] Would you call for that — [22:38] The President. [22:39] What tax is this? [22:40] The digital service tax, it's the kind of — [22:41] nicknamed it — the tech tax or big tech tax that kind of — [22:44] The President. [22:45] They're going to put a tax on basically American companies? [22:47] The President. [22:47] It's already there, sir. [22:48] The President. [22:48] Could you say the U.K.? [22:49] Yes, sir. [22:49] They made $1.3 billion last year. [22:53] So is that something you would kind of investigate, [22:55] call for it to be scrapped, have a look at? [22:57] The President. [22:57] We don't like it when they target American companies [22:59] because basically you're talking about [23:01] our great American companies. [23:03] Whether we like those companies or don't like them, [23:05] they're American companies, [23:06] and they're the top companies in the world. [23:11] And we are looking at it. [23:12] We've been looking at it. [23:13] The U.K. did it. [23:14] A couple of other people did it. [23:15] They think they're going to make an easy buck. [23:17] That's why they've all taken advantage of our country. [23:19] They don't take advantage of it. [23:20] No, we've been looking at it, and we can meet that very easily [23:24] by just putting a big tariff on the U.K. [23:26] So they better be careful. [23:27] If they don't drop the tax, [23:28] we'll probably put a big tariff on the U.K. [23:31] What do they expect? [23:31] 5 percent, 10 percent, [23:33] something similar to what you've done before? [23:34] More than what they're getting. [23:36] They shouldn't be doing that. [23:37] That's all that's doing is really targeting. [23:41] It's targeting great companies, but they're our companies. [23:44] It's like us targeting their companies, [23:45] which we could do very easily. [23:47] But you don't have big companies like that. [23:49] You don't have those great companies. [23:51] Not fair. [23:53] I have an obligation to protect our companies. [23:57] That's how they became great. [23:59] And they've become great during my administration. [24:01] My first four years, we had the best economy in history [24:04] in my first four years. [24:05] And this will blow it away. [24:06] Look at it. During a war, we have the highest stock market. [24:09] During a war, it's not a big war for us, but it's a war. [24:16] And during a war, we have the highest stock market. [24:17] I have to protect this country. [24:19] So if they want to do the service tax, [24:21] France did it also and some others. [24:24] And I mean, literally, I have a meeting after this [24:28] having to do with that exact question. [24:30] And what we'll do is we'll reciprocate [24:34] by putting something on that's equal or greater [24:37] than what they're doing. [24:38] And they won't be happy about that. [24:40] The Press Press Secretary- No, that's enough. [24:41] You can ask somebody. [24:42] The Press Secretary- Mr. President, [24:43] I emailed the Virginia Department of Elections [24:46] earlier today and asked them if they had seen any evidence [24:49] of election tampering, of fraudulent mail ballots [24:51] being passed in the Tuesday election, [24:53] or if there was any evidence of non-citizens [24:55] voting in that election. [24:56] Why did you say that that election was rigged? [24:58] The President, well, you have mail-in ballots [24:59] and they found a lot of them at the end of the day, [25:01] all of a sudden. [25:02] The Press Secretary- They said that they have received [25:03] no credible information related to this question. [25:05] The President, well, I know you'd say that no matter what. [25:06] You know, you've been saying that for years [25:08] and now they're finding out that the 2020 election [25:10] was totally rigged. [25:11] And when you look at what just, excuse me, [25:14] how do you defend what just happened [25:16] where your Southern law, whatever it is, [25:18] has given money to KKK, [25:20] they're supposed to protect people [25:22] and they're paying all these people, crooked as can be, [25:25] millions of dollars, millions of dollars, [25:27] going all to all these people [25:29] that they're supposed to be protecting from, [25:30] but they're actually supporting them [25:33] because they want to have companies that they can protect [25:35] and because they want to rig elections. [25:36] That was all a rigged election. [25:38] All of the things with Charlottesville, [25:40] all of the stuff that they did. [25:42] And you won't bring that up, [25:44] but you'll bring up some nonsense. [25:45] Let me tell you, the election we were winning all day long, [25:48] it's a totally horrible situation. [25:51] Hopefully, the courts will overturn what they did in Virginia. [25:54] You have a grossly incompetent governor, [25:56] yet a very good governor who did a good job. [25:58] You know, all those companies that want to move into Virginia now, [26:01] they want to move out and go to a different location. [26:04] So that's my opinion. I believe it was a rigged election. [26:06] Virginia is known for it. It was a rigged election. [26:09] They had a lot of ballots, mail-in ballots. [26:12] Anytime you have mail-in ballots, [26:14] anytime you have mail-in ballots, you have cheating. [26:16] Did you have something? [26:18] Yes. You said that the U.S. will work with Lebanon [26:21] to protect itself from Israel. [26:22] What does that look like exactly? [26:24] What is that? [26:25] You said that the U.S. will work with Lebanon [26:27] to protect itself from Israel. [26:28] Well, we're just going to work with them. [26:30] I mean, we have a good relationship with Lebanon. [26:33] It's amazing that, you know, it's the amazing thing [26:36] is they actually have sort of a good relationship with Israel. [26:38] They don't deal with each other, [26:39] but now they're going to deal with each other. [26:41] We're putting them together. [26:42] What's the material support that you intend to provide? [26:45] We're just going to help them. [26:46] We're going to help them. [26:48] If they're great people, [26:50] it can be a really good country again, [26:51] maybe a great country again. [26:53] And I think you have all the ingredients, [26:55] so we're going to work together. [26:56] And I think Israel is going to be terrific. [27:00] But they do have a common problem. [27:02] It's Hezbollah. [27:03] Okay, a couple of more. [27:04] The Pressure, some House Republicans are saying [27:06] that they don't want to vote for a bill [27:07] that just has the Homeland Security funding. [27:09] Would you support them expanding that [27:11] to include other tax and defense measures? [27:13] Well, I'd love to see one thing. [27:15] You know what that is? [27:16] Save America. [27:19] I'd love to see the Save America Act, [27:21] which is voter ID, which is proof of citizenship, [27:27] which is, by the way, no mail-in voting, [27:29] which is a fraud. [27:30] Anytime you have mail-in voting, [27:32] you're going to have a fraudulent election. [27:34] But I'd leave it for military, you know, [27:37] mail-in voting for military, for people that are sick, [27:40] for people that are traveling, like business or whatever, [27:43] different things, but disability, [27:45] where they have a problem. [27:47] But no mail-in ballots. [27:49] We added a couple of things. [27:51] No men playing in women's sports. [27:52] It's unrelated, but it's a popular thing. [27:56] And no transgender mutilization of our children. [28:00] So, that's it. [28:01] Thank you very much, everybody.