President Trump Gaggles with Press on Air Force One En Route Joint Base Andrews, Mar. 29, 2026

[0:00] Mr. President. [0:01] The President. [0:02] Mr. So we've had very good negotiations today [0:05] with Iran, getting a lot of the things that they [0:09] should have given us a long time ago. [0:11] We'll see how it works out, but they're very good. [0:13] They're moving along very nicely. [0:15] They've destroyed a lot of additional targets today. [0:18] The Navy's gone. [0:19] The Air Force has gone. [0:20] We know that. [0:21] We destroyed many, many targets today. [0:23] It was a big day. [0:24] And we are negotiating with them directly and [0:28] indirectly. [0:29] We have emissaries, but we also are dealing [0:32] directly. [0:33] And, as you know, they've agreed to send eight boats [0:38] two days ago, and then they added another two. [0:41] So it was 10 boats. [0:42] And now today, they gave us, as a tribute, I don't [0:47] know, I can't define it exactly, but they gave us, [0:51] I think out of a sign of respect, 20 boats of oil. [0:55] Big, big boats of oil going through the Hormuz [0:59] Strait and that sticky place starting tomorrow [1:03] morning, the next couple of days. [1:06] That's a lot of boats. [1:10] They say that we're doing extremely well in that [1:13] negotiation. [1:14] But you never know with Iran because we negotiate [1:18] with them, and then we always have to blow them [1:20] up, whether it's the B-2 bombers or just terminating, [1:24] as an example, the Iran nuclear deal done by [1:28] Barack Hussein, Obama, probably the worst deal [1:30] we've ever done as a country, one of the dumbest [1:32] deals we've ever done. [1:33] But they terminated it, unfortunately. [1:35] Otherwise, right now, they'd have a nuclear weapon. [1:37] And we did the attack with the B-2 bombers, and we [1:40] stopped them from having nuclear. [1:42] And now we had to blow them up again. [1:44] And we will probably have, I think we'll make a deal [1:49] with them. [1:50] I'm pretty sure. [1:51] But it's possible we won't. [1:53] But we've had regime change, if you look already, [1:56] because the one regime was decimated, destroyed. [2:00] They're all dead. [2:01] The next regime is mostly dead. [2:04] We're dealing with different people than [2:08] anybody's dealt with before. [2:09] It's a whole different group of people. [2:11] So I would consider that to be a good thing. [2:13] We've had regime change. [2:14] And frankly, they've been very reasonable. [2:16] So I think we've had regime change. [2:18] But we can't do much better than that. [2:20] The regime that was really bad, really evil, was the [2:23] first one that was done. [2:25] The second was appointed. [2:27] And they're gone. [2:28] They're all dead. [2:29] One group may have a little life. [2:34] And then the third group. [2:35] And the third group are people that seem to be [2:38] much more reasonable. [2:39] It truly is regime change. [2:40] And regime change is an imperative. [2:41] But there's a lot more to it. [2:42] And I think we've had regime change. [2:43] And frankly, they've been very reasonable. [2:44] So I think we've had regime change. [2:46] We can't do much better than that. [2:47] But I think we have it automatically. [2:48] I did something today. [2:49] We just got these in from the architects. [2:50] A lot of people are talking about how beautiful the [2:51] ballroom is. [2:52] For 150 years, they've wanted to build a ballroom [2:53] at the White House. [2:54] And other presidents have wanted it. [2:55] But we have dignitaries coming, like President Xi, [2:56] of China, or anybody else. [2:58] We have very small rooms. [2:59] They're not big enough to handle the construction. [3:00] But we have a lot of people that want to build a [3:01] ballroom at the White House. [3:02] And I think we've had regime change. [3:03] And frankly, they've been very reasonable. [3:04] But we can't do much better than that. [3:05] And frankly, they've been very reasonable. [3:06] And frankly, they've been very reasonable. [3:07] But we've had regime change. [3:09] And frankly, they've been very reasonable. [3:10] But we've had regime change. [3:19] And frankly, they've been very reasonable. [3:26] And frankly, they've been very reasonable. [3:46] And frankly, they've been very reasonable. [3:47] A lot of people are giving it really good reviews. [3:50] Some are giving it reviews without even seeing the [3:52] building, because this just came out today. [3:54] These pictures were just made today. [3:57] We got rid of, a long, quite a while ago, the [4:00] stairs on the south side. [4:02] And it's become really beautiful. [4:05] But it matches and fits the White House. [4:08] It's also capable of handling the inauguration. [4:12] We have all bulletproof glass. [4:15] We have drone-proof roofs. [4:18] Ceilings, everything is drone-proof and bulletproof. [4:22] And, unfortunately, we're living in an age where [4:24] that's a good thing. [4:26] And this is the view from the Treasury opposite the Treasury. [4:29] Let me see another one of them. [4:32] Here's a view from on the south with the porch, [4:35] which is a porch, and it's also a fire stair, [4:37] basically, leading down to the grounds. [4:40] And that porch will be magnificent, [4:42] looking in between the columns. [4:45] And they no longer. [4:46] We took the stairs out that were on the south side [4:49] and really replaced them with these stairs. [4:51] So you have an open porch and you have the closed [4:54] porch under the columns, overlooking the Washington [4:57] Monument, the Jefferson Memorial, and the Lincoln [5:02] Memorial slash Monument. [5:04] So that's great. [5:07] This is a view of the columns as they are going to [5:14] be made. [5:14] They're going to be hand-carved, and they're [5:16] beautiful. [5:17] Top of the line, there'll be Corinthian, which is [5:20] considered the best, most beautiful by far. [5:22] The President The President [5:27] The President The President [5:28] The President The President [5:29] The President The President [5:30] The President The President [5:31] Our citizens. [5:32] We're in� tenerged. [5:34] Everything under budget, ahead of schedule, [5:35] and under budget. [5:37] And all of this money, all of the money paid is [5:39] are paid by myself and donors. [5:40] That's all donors. [5:57] There's not one dime of government going into the [5:58] ballroom. [5:59] Now, the military is building a big complex [6:01] under the ballroom. [6:02] So, we're ahead of schedule. [6:03] That's part of it. [6:04] And the ballroom essentially becomes a shed [6:07] for what's being built under the military, [6:09] including from drones and including from any other thing. [6:13] The glass on the windows — you see the big windows? [6:18] The glass is extremely thick. [6:20] It's high-grade, bulletproof glass. [6:22] So, all of the windows are bulletproof. [6:26] I think the Times wrote to you, some of the windows are fake. [6:28] We have no fake windows. [6:30] They said — they talked about a stairway in the South. [6:32] We don't have a stairway in the South. [6:35] That was replaced a long time ago. [6:37] But this is a view of it from the North. [6:41] And that's — if you see it, it fits in with the White House. [6:44] It's almost a twin to the White House. [6:47] It's something we just wanted to pay tribute to the White House. [6:51] And so that fits in beautifully. [6:53] Let me just see another one of that glass. [6:55] Here's another one. [6:57] Excuse me, wait. [6:58] I thought I'd do this now because it's easier. [7:00] I'm so busy that I don't have time to do this. [7:04] But I'm full. [7:05] I'm fighting wars and other things. [7:07] But this is very important because this is going to be with us for a long time. [7:12] And it's going to be — I think it'll be the greatest ballroom anywhere in the world. [7:16] It's the highest level. [7:17] The same height — exact height, if — not higher. [7:20] The same height as the White House, exactly the same height. [7:24] And if you look, you have the White House over here. [7:27] You have this. [7:28] And that's a duplicate of the wall. [7:29] So it pays total homage to the White House, which is, I think, very important. [7:34] The Press 2. [7:35] Sir, the President is still in Iran this upcoming week. [7:36] The Press 2. [7:36] The Press 2. [7:37] The Press 2. [7:37] Do you foresee a deal in Iran this upcoming week? [7:40] The President I do see a deal in Iran, yeah. [7:42] The Press Mr. President, are you considering [7:44] still putting boots on the ground? [7:46] And would you do that without going to Congress? [7:48] The President I just have lots of alternatives. [7:49] We have tremendous numbers of ships over there. [7:52] We don't need them, though, because of, you know, the power. [7:56] Look, the — I would say we're — just like we're ahead of [7:59] schedule on the ballroom, in a much bigger way, [8:02] we're ahead of schedule with Iran. [8:04] We're weeks ahead of schedule. [8:06] If you would have said that in three days we were going to [8:09] knock out 158 ships — their entire Navy, which we did. [8:13] We knocked out their entire Air Force. [8:15] We knocked out most of their missiles. [8:17] That's why you see missile attacks, [8:18] but they're down to — they're sputtering. [8:22] And we have a group — it's really a new regime. [8:25] It's a group of people — people that we've never [8:28] dealt with before — that are acting very reasonable. [8:32] It is truly regime change. [8:34] The Press Is Khamenei's son still alive, sir? [8:36] Is he a part of these conversations? [8:37] The President We think he may be, but nobody's heard about him. [8:39] He's — [8:40] The President He may be alive, but he's obviously [8:42] very seriously in trouble. [8:45] He's seriously wounded. [8:47] The Press If you had offered that 15-point plan to Iran, [8:50] did they ever come back and were able to respond? [8:52] The President Yeah, they came back on the 15-point plan. [8:53] The Press What did they say? [8:54] The President They gave us most of the points. [8:56] Why wouldn't they? [8:57] The Press And you make it sound like they've made [8:59] some concessions. [9:01] Can you identify those? [9:02] The President Well, they're agreeing with us on the plan. [9:04] I mean, we asked for 15 things, and for the most part, [9:08] we're going to be asking for a couple of other things. [9:11] Just to prove that they're serious, [9:12] they gave us all these votes. [9:13] When I talked to you about four days ago, a present, [9:15] I said they gave me a present, but I didn't think [9:18] I was at liberty to say what it was. [9:21] What it was was eight plus two. [9:23] It's 10 massive boatloads of oil. [9:27] And today, they gave us another present. [9:28] They gave us 20 boatloads of oil. [9:30] That starts being shipped tomorrow. [9:32] We're having very good meetings, both directly [9:34] and indirectly, and I think we're getting a lot [9:37] of very important points. [9:37] The Press Sir, were you caught off guard when the [9:39] Senate passed the DHS funding bill? [9:41] The President It's a shame. [9:42] They should really just go to a filibuster. [9:44] They should terminate the filibuster. [9:45] The Press And will you compete? [9:46] The President And they should vote. [9:47] That's what I think. [9:48] Look, I think the Senate is playing too soft. [9:54] The Republicans are wonderful people, but we're [9:58] dealing with very sick individuals. [9:59] The Democrats are sick. [10:00] There's something wrong. [10:01] They're like terrorists. [10:02] And we have to protect our country. [10:05] We have to protect our border. [10:06] We have to protect our wall. [10:08] It was up to them. [10:10] They'd open up the wall. [10:11] They'd let millions of people pour into our [10:12] country. [10:13] And we've all been through that. [10:14] I don't care if you're liberal or you're [10:16] conservative. [10:18] What we have now is we have a beautiful, closed [10:21] border. [10:21] We're getting murderers out of our country that [10:23] Biden let in, the administration, the [10:25] Democrats. [10:26] We're getting the drug lords out of our country. [10:28] We're bringing them back to other countries where [10:30] they came from, from all over the world. [10:33] We have great crime numbers, despite the fact [10:35] that they let in 25 million people. [10:38] And we're focused on the bad ones. [10:39] I mean, the ones that came in, we'll work on [10:43] something, but we have to get the killers out. [10:44] We have to get the drug dealers out. [10:46] We have to get the criminally insane. [10:49] We have people that are criminally insane. [10:50] They are unbelievably violent people that come [10:55] out of insane asounds. [10:56] The Democrats want them protected. [10:59] I want them out. [10:59] They have to be out. [11:00] You can't have a country if they're here. [11:03] Would you sign a DHS deal without ICE funding [11:05] to get in? [11:06] ICE is vital to the well-being of our country. [11:11] ICE, first of all, they're great patriots, but they [11:15] are physically. [11:15] They are. [11:16] And mentally very strong people. [11:18] And they are able to protect us from the [11:21] animals that have been sent in, allowed to be [11:24] sent in by the Biden administration, where your [11:28] people in jails, jails, were in prisons from [11:31] Venezuela, from the Congo, from all over the [11:34] world, every from every continent. [11:37] They were allowed to come into our country, totally [11:40] unchecked, totally unvetted. [11:42] You can't have a soft, weak, sad person deal with [11:49] these. [11:49] You need strong people. [11:50] Now, they love our country. [11:52] They're very brave. [11:54] They're very strong, like some of these guys. [11:57] But you have to have these people removed or you [12:01] don't have a country. [12:02] So we had the best crime numbers that we've had. [12:05] Murder numbers. [12:06] The best in 125 years. [12:08] Think of it. [12:09] Since the year 1900, before my father was [12:12] born by a lot, we have the best crime numbers. [12:15] And we're going to keep it that way. [12:17] And that's despite the fact that so many [12:18] criminals were allowed into our country. [12:20] So we need ICE. [12:22] We need Border Patrol. [12:24] The last thing people want to see is our country [12:27] overrun again by criminals. [12:28] And that's not going to happen. [12:30] We're not going to let that happen. [12:31] And, by the way, our country doesn't want that. [12:33] The Press Well, they say they'll have to. [12:43] The parliamentarian is going to have to make a [12:45] decision on that. [12:47] But, again, I say end the filibuster in terms of [12:50] tonight, the filibuster. [12:51] Just vote, and you'll get everything you want. [12:54] You'll get all five things. [12:55] We have voter ID. [12:57] We have proof of citizenship. [12:59] It's so important. [13:01] Mail-in ballots have to be stopped, with [13:03] exceptions, for the military, for sick people, [13:05] people that are sick, people disabled, for [13:09] people that are traveling. [13:10] If you're traveling, you can vote. [13:12] But other than that, mail-in ballots are [13:14] inherently dishonest. [13:15] Jimmy Carter and his Carter Commission said [13:17] you can't have mail-in ballots. [13:19] We're the only country in the world that's going to [13:22] have mail-in ballots. [13:24] We're the only country in the world that has. [13:27] You know, we have a big case to be coming in the [13:29] Supreme Court that had to do with the babies of [13:35] slaves after the Civil War. [13:38] And instead of that, it's being used as a way for [13:41] rich countries and thousands and thousands [13:45] of people from China coming in and getting [13:47] citizenship for people within their family. [13:50] This is not what they meant when they did that. [13:53] So that's a big decision coming up. [13:56] But if you look at it, and you look at what we've [13:59] done here, we have five points. [14:00] We don't want men playing in women's sports. [14:03] The Democrats do. [14:05] We don't want transgender mutilization of our children. [14:09] The Democrats are just fine with it. [14:11] They could get you to every child in America. [14:14] They'd be very happy. [14:15] We don't want the utilization of our [14:19] children as transgender, and we're not going to have it. [14:21] So we want to go into those things. [14:23] They're five points. [14:24] And with the filibuster termination, you can vote [14:27] them all in. [14:28] The Republicans would have the vote. [14:30] The Press Latter, Mr. President, Leader Thune [14:31] told me that they do not have the votes to [14:34] terminate the filibuster. [14:34] How will you get around that? [14:35] The President I know, but that's part of being a leader. [14:36] You have to get the votes. [14:37] The Press Do you have confidence in Leader Thune? [14:38] The President I mean, I like him so much. [14:40] He's a high-quality person. [14:42] And he told me the same thing. [14:44] We don't have the votes. [14:45] Well, he's only a couple of votes short. [14:46] But that's what being a leader is. [14:49] You have to get the votes. [14:50] You have to get the votes. [14:52] Those people will not be able to withstand the [14:54] onslaught. [14:55] Because Republicans and the country wants it. [14:58] You know, it's polling at 87 percent voter ID. [15:02] Think of it. [15:03] We're talking about Save America. [15:05] And it's not the Save Act. [15:06] It's the Save America Act, because it's saving [15:07] America. [15:08] The Save Act, nobody knows what it's saving. [15:09] It's the Save America Act. [15:12] And you have to have it. [15:14] You have to have it. [15:15] The Save America Act, voter ID, all of these [15:18] things, proof of citizenship. [15:20] It's an 87 percent issue with all voters, [15:23] including Democrats. [15:25] The only ones that don't want to vote are the [15:26] Democrats. [15:27] The only ones that don't want it are Schumer and [15:28] these corrupt Democrat leaders, because it will [15:31] not give them the ability to cheat in an election. [15:35] Look, why wouldn't you want voter ID? [15:37] There's not a reason in the world you wouldn't [15:39] want it except to cheat. [15:41] And if they don't cheat, their policy is so bad, [15:42] they'll never win another election. [15:44] The Press Well, Mr. President, on the [15:46] party, you mentioned that Cuba will be next. [15:47] What did you mean by that exactly? [15:48] The President And who will be next? [15:49] The Press Cuba. [15:50] The President Yeah, Cuba is going to be next. [15:52] Cuba is going to be. [15:53] The Press In what way? [15:53] The President Cuba is a mess. [15:55] It's a failing country. [15:56] And they're going to be next. [15:57] The President Yeah. [15:57] The President It's not a good period of time. [15:58] It's going to fail. [16:00] And we will be there to help it out. [16:03] We'll be there to help our great Cuban Americans out [16:06] who were thrown out of Cuba. [16:07] In many cases, their family members were [16:10] mutilated and killed by Castro. [16:12] No, Cuba is going to be next, yeah. [16:14] The Press Are you considering withdrawing [16:19] Casey Means for Surgeon General and nominating [16:21] Supervisor? [16:22] The President Well, we're looking at a lot of [16:24] different things. [16:25] And I don't know how she's doing in the nomination [16:30] process. [16:31] I'm more focused on the election. [16:32] I'm more focused on Iran. [16:34] But something like that would be possible. [16:36] The Press Is she still confident? [16:37] The President We certainly have a lot of great [16:40] candidates for that job. [16:41] The Press She's still confident in Tulsi Gabbard, [16:43] sir. [16:44] The President Yeah, sure. [16:45] I mean, she's a little bit different in her [16:47] thought process than me. [16:48] But that doesn't make somebody not available to [16:52] sit on the same page as you. [16:54] The Press Is she on the same page as you? [16:54] The President I would say that I'm very strong on [16:56] the fact that I don't want Iran to have a nuclear [16:59] weapon, because if they had a nuclear weapon, [17:02] they'd use it immediately. [17:03] And I think she's probably a little bit [17:04] softer on that issue, but that's okay. [17:06] Some people are. [17:07] Most people aren't. [17:08] Most people are saying, thank you very much for [17:11] doing what you did. [17:12] They are decimated right now. [17:14] They're going to give up nuclear weapons. [17:16] They're going to give us the nuclear dust. [17:18] They're going to do everything that we want to [17:20] do. [17:20] And you know what? [17:21] They're going to go on and maybe have a great [17:24] country again. [17:26] But if they don't do that, they're not going to have [17:28] a country. [17:29] They're not even going to have a country. [17:31] So she's softer on that issue. [17:33] But I have other people, not too many. [17:35] That's an issue. [17:36] That's an issue that we've had great support. [17:37] You saw the CNN poll. [17:39] With Trump with MAGA, and I think MAGA is most of [17:42] the Republican Party, is 100 percent approval. [17:45] In fact, the young gentleman that does the [17:49] poll, who's very good, actually, because he's [17:51] honest, he said, I've never seen 100 percent [17:53] before. [17:54] I'm 100 percent in the CNN poll, which just came [17:57] out. [17:57] Thank you very much, everybody. [17:58] The Press Thank you, Mr. President. [17:59] One more thing on Cuba. [18:00] There's a report that the U.S. [18:01] is going to let a Russian oil tanker go to Cuba. [18:04] Is that true? [18:04] The President We have a tanker out there. [18:06] We don't mind having somebody. [18:07] Get a boatload, because they need it. [18:09] They have to survive. [18:10] It wouldn't bother me. [18:11] The Press So that report is true, as far as you [18:12] know? [18:13] The President Well, I would say, I told them, if [18:15] a country wants to send some oil into Cuba right [18:19] now, I have no problem with it. [18:20] The Press Do you worry that that helps Vladimir Putin? [18:22] The President Whether it's Russia or not. [18:23] What? [18:24] The Press Do you worry that that helps [18:24] Vladimir Putin, though? [18:25] The President Does it help him? [18:26] He loses one boatload of oil. [18:28] That's all it is. [18:29] It's fine. [18:30] The Press President. [18:30] The President If he wants to do that, and if other [18:32] countries want to do it, it doesn't bother me much. [18:34] It's not going to have an impact. [18:36] Cuba is finished. [18:37] They have a bad regime. [18:39] They have very bad and corrupt leadership. [18:42] And whether or not they get a boatload of oil, [18:44] it's not going to matter. [18:45] I'd prefer letting it in, whether it's Russia or [18:48] anybody else, because the people need cooling and [18:53] all of the other things that you need going. [18:55] The Press Now, the issue of the Strait of Hormuz, [18:57] and Iran control of it, charging tolls, what do [19:01] you think about that? [19:02] The President Well, I have to find out if it's true. [19:03] You know, they're going to do whatever they have to do. [19:06] We could close that up in two minutes. [19:09] We could close that up so fast your head would spin. [19:11] The Press Do you want to see both countries that [19:14] are being attacked by Iran to start to fight back? [19:16] The President They are fighting back. [19:18] Saudi Arabia is fighting back hard. [19:20] Qatar is fighting back. [19:23] UAE is fighting back. [19:24] Kuwait is fighting back. [19:26] Bahrain is fighting back. [19:27] They're all fighting back. [19:28] Actually, they were surprised to be hit. [19:30] I was very surprised they got hit. [19:32] And once they got hit, they started fighting very well. [19:35] We're in very strong communications with all of [19:39] those countries, and they've all been fighting. [19:40] They're 100 percent of our city. [19:42] The Press How long can you pay TSA workers for? [19:44] How long can you pay TSA workers for from the One [19:47] Big Beautiful Bill? [19:48] The President Well, we're going to pay them for as [19:49] long as we have to. [19:50] And I will tell you, the ICE workers have been [19:52] amazing, and it's helping people with their bags. [19:56] It's very interesting. [19:57] You put ICE there, and ICE got a very unfair press. [20:00] They're doing an amazing job getting pardoned [20:03] criminals' murders. [20:04] 11,888 murders were allowed to come into our [20:08] country through Biden, and ICE has been amazing. [20:11] Now, we said, give us a little hand during this [20:13] period of time, because this is caused by [20:16] Democrat terrorists. [20:17] These people are sick. [20:18] They don't care about our country. [20:19] They don't care about people. [20:21] But what it's all about, really, is they want to [20:23] have open borders and they want to have criminals [20:25] come into our country so they can get more votes [20:27] because they're losing votes fast. [20:29] Look at how I did with the Hispanic population. [20:32] And now I'm doing even better with the Hispanic [20:34] population. [20:36] And that's bad for them. [20:36] They always had it. [20:37] Now they don't have it anymore. [20:39] These are people that want our country to fail, and [20:41] the voters see that. [20:42] Thank you very much. [20:43] Thank you. [20:44] Thank you, Mr. President.