President Trump Gaggles with Press Before Departing the White House, May 1, 2026

[0:00] Mr. President, Mr. President, can you tell us about the new Iranian proposal? [0:05] Can you tell us about the new Iranian proposal, please? [0:08] So they want to make a deal, but I don't, I'm not satisfied with it. [0:12] So we'll see what happens. [0:13] Did it move the needle at all? [0:14] Iran wants to make a deal because they have no military left, essentially. [0:19] And they want to make a deal, but I'm not satisfied. [0:22] Mr. President, why are you not seeking congressional approval to extend it? [0:30] Because it's never been sought before. There's been numerous, many, many times, [0:34] and nobody's ever gotten it before. They consider it totally unconstitutional. [0:38] But we're always in touch with Congress. [0:40] But nobody's ever sought it before. Nobody's ever asked for it before. [0:45] It's never been used before. Why should we be different? [0:49] Are you willing to send anybody to Islamabad, your invoice? [1:00] We have great respect for Pakistan and Islamabad, and tremendous respect for the prime minister [1:07] and the field marshal. And they're working with us. They continue to work with us. [1:11] But the trip is a very long one, and we're doing everything in terms of negotiating right now, [1:18] in terms of the negotiation telephonically. They've made strides, but I'm not sure if they ever get there. [1:28] There's tremendous discord. There's tremendous — they're having a tremendous problem getting along with each other in Iran. [1:37] The leadership is very disjointed. It's got two to three groups, maybe four. [1:43] And it's a very disjointed leadership. And with that being said, they all want to make a deal, but they're all messed up. [1:50] I spoke with your — the winner, a very good man. As you know, I was very strongly in favor of him in Iraq. [2:08] And we had a long conversation yesterday. I congratulated him. He won. And with our help, he won. And we want him to do very well. [2:18] And I told him that the United States is with him all the way. It was a great victory. [2:23] The new head of Iraq is somebody that we support very strongly. [2:29] Pakistan — thank you, Mr. President. Pakistan has opened the land route with Iran. [2:38] Did they consult you before opening it up to Iran? And are you aware of it? [2:43] That was a vicious bee. I know everything about it. Yeah, I have great — I have great respect. [2:49] Are you — are you from Pakistan? No, I'm not from Pakistan. I'm in Pakistan. [2:53] I have great respect for Pakistan and for the Field Marshal and for the Prime Minister. [2:57] But yeah, I know — [2:58] On the European Union yesterday, you talked about Italy and the withdrawn of troops from Europe, from Italy and Spain. [3:05] Can you clarify your words? Well, I'm not happy with Italy and I'm not happy with Spain. [3:10] And they've done — they don't — they feel it's okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon. [3:16] Anybody that feels it's okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon is not very smart. [3:22] And it'll be a terrible thing in the future. [3:25] If — if they were ever allowed to have a nuclear weapon, you would have problems the likes of which the world has never seen before. [3:33] And it's not going to happen. And aside from that, right now they have no Navy. [3:38] It's been wiped out. No Air Force. It's been wiped out. They have no anything. [3:42] They have no anti-aircraft. They have no radar. They have no leaders. [3:47] Because, frankly, their leaders are very disjointed. They have a lot of problems right now. [3:53] They're not getting along with each other. [3:55] The leaders — their leaders are not getting along with each other. So — [4:00] The President, the European Union — the European Union — the European — [4:04] The President, why? Why did you put the — [4:06] We raised the tariffs on cars coming in from the European Union [4:11] because the European Union was not adhering to the trade deal we have. [4:15] So, based on that — now, when they build their plants, of which we're spending — [4:20] they're spending over $100 billion — all countries, not just the Union. [4:24] And when those plans open, there won't be any tariffs. [4:27] But we raised the tariffs because they were not — as usual — [4:31] they were not adhering to the agreement that we have. [4:34] We have a trade deal with the European Union. [4:36] They were not adhering to it. [4:38] So I raised the tariffs on cars and trucks to 25 percent. [4:44] That's billions of dollars coming into the United States. [4:47] And it forces them to move their factory production much faster. [4:53] We have — [4:55] We have right now in the United States over $100 billion of car plants being built. [5:01] It's a record. We've never had anything like it. [5:03] From all countries — Japan, South Korea, every — [5:07] by the way, Canada, Mexico — they're all building plants in the United States. [5:12] But the European Union was not adhering to the deal that we made. [5:16] And we're dealing with Iran. [5:26] You know, it's a very disjointed, unfriendly leadership, unfriendly to each other. [5:31] They're not getting along. [5:33] They're very, very confused by what's happened because, essentially, [5:37] most of their military has been wiped out. [5:39] But we just had a conversation with Iran. [5:42] Let's see what happens. [5:43] But I would say that I am not happy. [5:46] They're very disjointed. [5:47] Their leadership is very disjointed, very argumentative with each other. [5:53] They come back. [5:54] One says one thing. [5:55] One says another. [5:56] They're very confused. [5:58] Obviously, their country has been, frankly, decimated. [6:03] Their Navy is gone. [6:04] Their Air Force is gone. [6:06] Many of their soldiers, unfortunately, are gone. [6:10] They've got to come up with the right deal. [6:13] At this moment, I'm not satisfied with what's going on. [6:16] Did you decide against that? [6:18] Did you decide bailing out steered airlines? [6:20] Well, I guess we're looking at it. [6:22] If we can do it, we'll do it. [6:23] But only if it's a good deal. [6:24] They're claiming that they're preparing to shut down this weekend [6:27] because they haven't gotten to deal. [6:28] Well, we're looking at it. [6:29] But if we can't make a good deal, no institutions are able to do it. [6:33] I said, I'd like to save the jobs. [6:35] But we'll have an announcement sometime today. [6:37] We gave them it. [6:38] We gave them a final report. [6:41] Excuse me. [6:42] Excuse me. [6:43] Excuse me. [6:44] Mr. President, day 60, are you going to seek congressional authorization? [6:48] Well, no other country has ever done it. [6:52] It's never been, as you know. [6:55] Most people consider it totally unconstitutional. [6:58] Also, we had to cease fire, so that gives you additional time. [7:02] But no other country's done it. [7:04] We're in the midst of a big victory. [7:06] This is a victory like we haven't had since Venezuela, okay? [7:10] To be honest with you. [7:11] We haven't had. [7:12] But, you know, we have a country that lost its way. [7:15] It really lost its way. [7:17] That's our country in terms of the military. [7:20] Now we have a great military. [7:22] We're on our way to another victory, a big victory. [7:25] And I don't think that it's constitutional what they're asking for. [7:29] These are not patriotic people that are asking. [7:32] You know, when they say, even the losers, even the ones that say all the wrong things, admit that it's been amazing what we've done. [7:42] The strait is totally shut down. [7:44] It's flawless. [7:45] It's totally 100 percent shut down. [7:47] Now, we've been dealing with Iran. [7:50] They want to make a deal. [7:53] They're not there. [7:54] They're not with a... [7:55] Not... [7:56] They're sort of... [7:57] They get close. [7:58] And then a new group of people come in. [8:00] They don't know who their leaders are. [8:02] They have no idea who their leaders are. [8:05] But they're very confused. [8:07] And that's because of the success we've had militarily. [8:10] They essentially have no military. [8:15] Let me just tell you, the war powers. [8:18] So many presidents, as you know, have gone and exceeded it. [8:22] It's never been used. [8:24] It's never been adhered to. [8:26] And every other president considered it totally unconstitutional. [8:30] And we agree with that. [8:31] Well, you are. [8:34] Well, you are, well, you are, that's not true. [8:39] You are kind of giving the port to theiramy together. [8:42] No, to China. [8:43] To China, to China it's going to be amazing. [8:45] The visit with China and Chairman Xi, that's going to be great. [8:51] We have the trip with China coming up. [8:53] And it'll be, I think, it'll be an amazing event. [9:02] President, if you can't get a deal on Iran, what next? What would you do? [9:09] Well, right now, we have negotiations going on. They're not getting there. [9:13] They are very disjointed. They're extremely disjointed. [9:18] They're not able to get along with each other as leaders. [9:21] They don't know who the leader is. Their military has been defeated. [9:25] If we left right now, it would take them 20 years to build back that country. [9:29] But we're not satisfied at this point. [9:42] Why would I tell you that? [9:47] Here at airlines, what has been the holdup on a deal? [9:50] We're looking at it. We're looking to try to help them. [9:52] Something we're not looking to get involved with. [9:54] But if we've had a 14,000 job, we are... [9:59] I would say we're driving enough deals. [10:01] It's one of those things. We'll do it or we won't. [10:03] We'll have something for you to sit here tomorrow. [10:05] It seems like the other lenders are thawking. [10:08] They think they'll get bumped down in priority. [10:09] Well, they will. We come first. [10:12] Hey, you know what it is? [10:13] USA first. America first. [10:16] That's my wife. [10:16] Including with airlines. Including with Intel. [10:19] You know, we made an Intel deal. You know that, right? [10:22] We made about $40 billion on that. [10:24] And someday Fox and Peter is going to talk about it. [10:27] But we helped out Intel, [10:29] and we ended up making $40 billion. [10:32] So we're looking at spirit different. [10:35] It's a different kind of a thing. [10:36] But we're looking at spirit and we can help them. [10:38] We will. [10:39] But we have to come first. [10:41] We're first. [10:42] It's America first. [10:43] The DOS Tropics came to meet Susie Wilds a week or two ago. [10:47] What is the latest on your position on that company? [10:49] Well, only just at a very good meeting. [10:50] Do we want to go and just blast the hell out of them [11:05] and finish them forever? [11:06] Or do we want to try and make a deal? [11:08] Let me make sure the options. [11:10] Do you want to go blast the hell out of them [11:11] and finish them forever? [11:13] On a human basis, I prefer not. [11:15] But that's the option. [11:16] Do we want to go in there heavy and just blast them away? [11:20] Or do we want to do something? [11:23] They're a very disjointed unison, as you can understand. [11:26] They're very disjointed. [11:27] I mean, they're not getting along with each other. [11:32] And it puts us in a bad condition. [11:35] One group wants to make a certain deal. [11:37] The other group wants to make a certain deal. [11:39] Including the hardliners. [11:41] The hardliners want to make a deal, too. [11:43] Why wouldn't they? [11:44] They have no Navy. [11:45] They have no Air Force. [11:46] They have no anti-aircraft. [11:48] They have no nothing. [11:52] There was a report this week that, because of all the firepower required for Epic Fury, [11:58] that there are people in the White House who are starting to worry about our inventory of bombs and missiles. [12:03] Are you worried? [12:03] No, no. [12:04] We have more than we've ever had, actually. [12:08] Because all over the world we have inventory. [12:10] And we can take that if we need it. [12:12] But all over the world we have tremendous amounts of inventory. [12:15] The best. [12:16] For instance, we're stocked and locked and loaded. [12:18] Right now, we have more than double what we had when this started. [12:24] But, you know, we're all over the world with many, many different countries, many different places. [12:30] All packed up. [12:31] Now, what happened is Biden came in like a stupid fool. [12:36] And he did, he gave a lot of what we had to Ukraine. [12:41] And $350 billion they spent. [12:45] We don't do that. [12:46] Everybody has to pay. [12:47] The European Union pays us. [12:50] But Biden didn't get money. [12:52] He got nothing. [12:52] He got nothing. [12:54] But he gave a lot of the inventory away. [12:56] Now, relatively speaking, it's got that. [12:59] But it was a lot of inventory. [13:01] He gave it to Ukraine. [13:03] We filled it up. [13:04] But we have been matured from all over the world. [13:06] The President. [13:08] The G7 is in France. [13:09] Will you go to it? [13:11] Probably. [13:11] The President. [13:12] The President. [13:13] The President. [13:13] The President. [13:14] The President. [13:14] The President. [13:15] Did the King change your mind about President NATO? [13:18] What about NATO? [13:20] Did the King change your mind? [13:21] King Charles. [13:22] No, no. [13:22] The King and I had a great sister. [13:24] He's just a great person. [13:26] He's a high-quality person. [13:28] I love the job he did in Congress. [13:30] He actually got the Democrats to stand. [13:33] He's a wonderful person. [13:34] He's a wonderful lady, a wonderful queen. [13:37] And we had a good time. [13:39] Mr. President. [13:39] The President. [13:40] The Lebanese. [13:41] The Lebanese. [13:42] The Lebanese. [13:42] The German leaders will be meeting here soon at the White House? [13:44] Yeah, they're going to be coming. [13:45] The President. [13:46] When do you go to a... [13:47] This is going to be your first big public event [13:50] since somebody tried to kill you on Saturday. [13:53] Do you feel safe going to something like this today? [13:56] I don't even think about it, Peter. [13:58] What about the public? [13:59] What about the big vote? [14:01] Do you still support a pardon for Pete Rose, sir? [14:05] Oh, I think Pete Rose was great. [14:07] I think Pete Rose should have been in the Baseball Hall of Fame a long time ago. [14:12] A long time ago before his death. [14:15] I think baseball did a great disservice by not respecting his achievements on the field. [14:20] He was a great player. [14:21] I knew him. [14:22] I pardoned him, sir. [14:23] He was a great player. [14:24] Mr. President, Mr. President, sir. [14:26] It seems like you're happy with your blockade [14:31] and you don't have to restart the war or you don't have to make a deal. [14:35] Is that correct? [14:36] Are you happy with the blockade? [14:38] The blockade has been unbelievable. [14:41] Powerful, 100%. [14:42] It's been actually unbelievable. [14:46] If we left right now, we had a great victory, but we're not doing that. [14:49] We're negotiating with them. [14:53] Their teams are unbelievably disjointed, but we are negotiating. [14:57] Mr. President, sir, the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 posted their biggest monthly gain since your first term, sir. [15:05] Can you talk about what this means to you, the stock market performance, [15:09] and do you believe that this is going to continue throughout the rest of your term? [15:11] Thank you. [15:12] The stock market is hitting record numbers. [15:14] We have more people working in the USA today than we've ever had working, as you know. [15:21] It's in many ways. [15:22] Now, when this war ends, the gasoline and oil and everything is going to come tumbling down. [15:28] But right now, as of this moment, the stock market has hit record highs. [15:34] We have more people, again, working in the United States today than at any time in the history of our country. [15:41] We are really doing well. [15:43] Now, gasoline's high. [15:46] Other prices are way down, but gasoline's high. [15:48] But when this is over, you'll have a world without a nuclear weapon with Iran. [15:54] If you allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon, the world would be in great jeopardy. [16:00] So it's not going to happen. [16:01] As soon as the war ends, the gasoline prices will go. [16:05] You're going down to the villages. [16:08] You're going to be talking to our seniors. [16:10] You've delivered for seniors. [16:11] No tax on Social Security. [16:13] Most favored nations. [16:14] Can you talk about everything that you've done to help our senior population, sir? [16:18] Well, we have no tax on tips. [16:19] We have the largest tax cuts in the history of our country also, and regulation cuts. [16:26] And it's one of the reasons we're doing so well. [16:27] So we have no tax on tips, no tax on Social Security for our seniors. [16:32] We have no tax on overtime. [16:34] And, you know, something that nobody talks about, if you buy a car, if it's American-made, [16:40] you get a deduction on interest for income tax. [16:43] And, by the way, very important, right over there, is the greatest, you're going to have [16:51] the greatest ballroom ever built. [16:53] It's on time, on budget, and it's doing great. [16:57] Mr. President, Mr. President, you're going to be hoping the first ever UFC fight at the [17:03] White House in 45 days, sir. [17:05] Can you preview the event? [17:07] Can you talk about the car? [17:08] All right. [17:08] Well, we have some of the greatest champions in the world. [17:11] The arena, let's start building it over the next week. [17:14] It's right here. [17:15] It's going to be about 5,000 seats. [17:17] They'll have 100,000 people down by the ellipse with Sweden, and it's all free. [17:22] It's going to be great. [17:23] Mr. President, what's your message to Americans? [17:37] So we're facing the pain, if I doubt, for it? [17:39] Well, we just announced we have more people working in the United States today than ever [17:45] before in history. [17:46] Outside of the gasoline, prices are way down. [17:49] Prices have come down. [17:51] Groceries have – and I inherited that. [17:53] We inherited the highest inflation in the history of our country, 48 years. [17:57] But in the history of our country, and prices are down. [18:04] When the war ends, it shouldn't be too long. [18:07] They want to make a deal so badly, but they're not there yet. [18:10] They're not there. [18:11] In my opinion, they're not there. [18:13] When the war ends, gasoline prices are going to tumble. [18:16] Because there is so much right now on the seas already loaded into tankers, tankers that [18:23] can't escape the straits. [18:25] There is so much, like, record-setting. [18:28] But when the war ends, gasoline prices will go down to the lower they were. [18:33] I think it's very important. [18:36] The stock market just hit an all-time high. [18:41] And, again, more people working today than at any time ever. [18:45] And we just got the largest tax cut in history with the no tax cut. [18:49] Mr. President, you – Mr. President, if you – Mr. Curd is here. [18:56] Do you like him? [18:58] Yeah, yeah. [18:58] Go ahead. [19:00] I love you, Mr. President. [19:02] Mr. President – [19:03] I like him too. [19:04] Thank you. [19:04] Thank you, Mr. President. [19:05] Mr. President, you said – you sent weapons to help – [19:11] Iranian demonstrators – some sort of claim these weapons are in Sulaymania, in Iraqi Kurdistan. [19:18] Do you confirm that? [19:20] And as you said, they will pay a big price? [19:24] The President – I'm not happy with the delivery of the weapons. [19:29] I'm not thrilled with it. [19:30] But a small amount of weapons were sent, and we'll see who has them. [19:37] But I'm not happy with what happened with the Kurds. [19:40] The Kurds did not deliver the weapons. [19:43] The Kurds did not deliver the weapons. [19:47] The Kurds did not deliver the weapons. [19:51] We're doing great production. [19:55] We're producing more oil right now. [19:57] That's the other thing. [19:58] We have more oil production right now than any time in history. [20:03] And if you take a look at the ships, they're all coming up to Texas, Louisiana, Alaska. [20:08] Did you see the line? [20:09] What do they call it? [20:11] The tango. [20:12] But that is some line of ships. [20:15] They're all coming up. [20:16] They're loading up. [20:17] The biggest ships in the world are coming up to Louisiana, Texas, and to Alaska, and [20:23] they're loading up. [20:24] I don't want to say it, but our country is getting stronger and stronger. [20:31] This has been amazing. [20:32] The amount of oil and gas that we're selling now is at a level that nobody's ever seen. [20:37] Would you consider Ron DeSantis for a cabinet position? [20:45] Well, I like him a lot. [20:47] I like him a lot. [20:49] Ron, can you tell us that you're not satisfied with the plan right now? [20:53] Can you tell us what specifically you're not satisfied with? [20:57] They're asking for things that I can't agree with.