Trump takes questions on potential Iran peace deal progress after canceling strikes

[0:00] And, Natalie, we're just getting word that President Trump is holding a press conference inside the Oval Office. [0:04] We just got some fresh sound from that. Let's listen in. [0:07] Mr. President, on Iran, how confident are you that there will be a signing this weekend? [0:15] Because you have come close to sealing a deal, but at the last minute it has fallen apart. [0:20] It'll be soon. Maybe this weekend. [0:24] And has the Supreme Leader approved this deal, sir? [0:26] I understand the answer is yes. [0:28] And when the seal is signed, is the United States going to immediately lift the blockade? [0:35] Yes, that's part of the deal. [0:38] And you'll have oil prices dropping like a rock. [0:42] And, sir, have you actually secured an agreement on the discussions about the nuclear material and the nuclear negotiations? [0:49] Yes, conceptually on that, and nobody's getting close to it because it's buried under a mountain, basically. [0:55] There's B-2 bombers. [0:56] But has Iran committed to not pursuing a nuclear weapon, or will there be more negotiations on that down the line? [1:08] They will not have a nuclear weapon. They've agreed to that. [1:10] There will be no, which is the whole reason, which is a big part of the reason. [1:14] Is that going to be in your agreement, sir? [1:15] They will not only not have, they will not purchase, develop in any way, any shape, in any way, shape, or form a nuclear weapon. [1:23] They will not have a nuclear weapon. [1:24] Mr. President, just to follow up on that, you have said before that Iran and the United States were close to a deal. [1:30] It has not happened yet. [1:31] Why are you so convinced that this time is different? [1:34] Because they've taken a pounding. [1:37] They've taken a pounding like very few people could take, and they want to make the deal a lot more than I do. [1:44] And we could have had it done the other way, I guess, but it would have taken longer. [1:48] They got hit very hard recently, as you know, and I don't like to have to do things that way, but I felt it was necessary. [1:57] It's a great deal for the United States and for the Middle East, and I think ultimately great for Iran, because they'll be able to build up their country and other countries. [2:04] I really believe it's a regime change, because I find these people to be much more rational than the people that are no longer with us. [2:13] We knocked out the first team of leadership, the second team of leadership. [2:17] This is a different group. [2:19] This is a different level, and I think it's, frankly, a smarter level, and it's a level that has reason. [2:25] And they've all approved the deal. [2:27] Everybody's approved the deal. [2:29] Now we'll get it finished up, and hopefully that'll be done. [2:34] We will not have Iran having a nuclear weapon, which is very important to these people behind. [2:40] We can talk about fishing. [2:42] There won't be anybody to fish. [2:43] The fish will still be around. [2:45] I guess they're probably going to be effective, too. [2:47] We're not going to let it happen. [2:48] And so Iran will essentially, most important paragraph to me, Iran will in no way, shape, or form have a nuclear weapon or purchase a nuclear weapon. [2:59] But is this just a concept of that agreement when it comes to nuclear? [3:02] You said this was just a concept of that agreement. [3:04] So is this just essentially setting the stage for deeper talks on nuclear? [3:08] It's a very strong memorandum of understanding. [3:11] That is a little conceptual, but it's something that's going to get done. [3:14] And if it doesn't get done for any reason, which I can't imagine that's not happening, they want to sign it as much as I do or more. [3:21] I would say they want to sign it more, maybe a lot more. [3:24] But it's a very detailed memorandum of understanding, also agreed to by many other countries that have great influence over them. [3:32] And everybody wants it done. [3:34] So it's going to get done. [3:35] So why would I say that Iran may be tapping along the U.S.? [3:40] Those were the words that you used. [3:41] What makes you believe that they are sincere this time in wanting to pursue diplomacy? [3:47] It's the level of enthusiasm for getting at that. [3:49] And we were hitting them very hard for the last three days. [3:54] We're going to hit them even harder tonight. [3:55] They knew that. [3:56] We told them exactly what we were going to do. [3:57] We explained it exactly because they had no Navy. [4:01] They had no Air Force. [4:02] They had no any weapons of detection. [4:05] They had nothing. [4:07] And so we could tell them exactly what there wasn't a thing they could have done about it. [4:10] And we won this war militarily very early on. [4:14] The only thing we didn't win was the fake news was, you know, no matter if they could have raised the white flag of surrender. [4:22] And the fake news would say, oh, they did wonderfully. [4:24] They didn't do wonderfully. [4:26] But you know what? [4:27] They've got a chance to build a country. [4:30] Their country is largely demolished. [4:33] Again, their Navy is gone. [4:35] Their Air Force is gone. [4:36] Their anti-aircraft is gone. [4:38] Everything is gone. [4:39] Their leadership is gone many times over. [4:42] Even many people from this leadership is gone. [4:45] But we found them to be rational. [4:48] And they're going to make a deal. [4:50] And I'll tell you what, it's a great deal. [4:54] You know why it's a great deal? [4:56] Because they will never have a nuclear weapon. [4:58] Is there a specific amount of time that has to pass between this memorandum of understanding and a final deal being done? [5:05] Well, we hope it's going to go relatively quickly. [5:07] But it's not. [5:07] Is there a 16 or a 19-day deadline? [5:08] I mean, the districts are going to open immediately. [5:10] It's fun signing. [5:11] Maybe it'll be Saturday or Monday. [5:13] Where is there a deadline, though, to get from this to a final deal? [5:16] Well, we think it's going to go pretty quickly. [5:20] I don't want to say a deadline because if I say a deadline, you'll say, oh, he didn't meet the deadline. [5:25] You know, this is like, it's not going to matter much because it's going to get signed. [5:31] And the strait is open. [5:33] But the straits have been open for a number of months already, and you just didn't know about it. [5:39] You know, you as reporters weren't able to get it. [5:41] I just announced yesterday that we brought a lot of ships that nobody knew about it. [5:45] I guess we did a pretty good job, Peter, right? [5:47] But we brought many, many ships across, and millions, hundreds of millions of barrels of oil were brought. [5:55] And there wasn't a thing that anybody could have done about that. [6:00] Yeah. [6:00] Is the Card Island operation off the table, and are you ruling out boots on the ground at this point? [6:05] Well, now it would be. [6:05] We signed this agreement. [6:06] They weren't so thrilled when they heard that that's what I would have done. [6:10] And I just don't think – I like it. [6:12] Great. [6:12] Look at Venezuela, how well that's worked out. [6:14] We paid for that war many times over. [6:16] And many, many times over. [6:18] We have millions of barrels of oil from Venezuela going to Houston, and we're working great with the Venezuelan government. [6:25] Couldn't be better. [6:26] It's a real – it's a real good relationship, really good relationship. [6:32] Venezuela has been amazing. [6:33] This is a larger situation. [6:37] Actually, less oil. [6:38] Venezuela has a lot of oil. [6:40] But we – think of it. [6:43] We spend X dollars. [6:45] We paid for it many, many times. [6:46] When was the last time you heard that? [6:48] Many times over we paid for it. [6:50] You ever think you'd see that in this country? [6:52] Right? [6:52] We go to wars. [6:53] We end up with – always we end up with just blasting the hell out of people. [6:56] And we come home. [6:59] Nothing happens. [7:01] Venezuela was amazing. [7:02] And this is amazing. [7:04] Yeah. [7:04] Mr. President, thank you. [7:05] Are you considering using or drafting an executive order to extend VISA or to continue using SEC? [7:11] Well, the Congress wants me to do it. [7:12] And let's see what happens. [7:14] The Republican leadership wants you to do it. [7:15] Well, I put out a statement, sure. [7:17] It's very important. [7:18] It's very important for our military. [7:20] Yeah. [7:20] Mr. President, on the State of America Act, you are now urging Republicans to add that to this third reconciliation bill. [7:26] What's your perspective on why election integrity matters so much for national security from your perspective? [7:33] Well, we need it for our elections. [7:35] We need to have voter identification, which you don't have right now, on a national basis. [7:41] We need it for – and the voter ID is very important – we need it for proof of citizenship. [7:47] Do you believe it? [7:48] The Democrats are fighting. [7:50] They don't want you to prove your citizenship when you vote. [7:52] You know why they want that? [7:53] Because they're cheap. [7:54] And we also want it – mail-in voting, where you have people that are sent seven, eight ballots, two ballots, four ballots, and a lot of them sign those ballots. [8:06] Mail-in voting. [8:07] And we want to be very judicious if you're in the military and you're far away or if you're handicapped or if you're sick or if you're on vacation that you have a – but you're not going to – millions and millions. [8:20] Look at California. [8:21] They send out millions of ballots, tens of millions. [8:23] They have no idea what's going on. [8:25] Those elections are so corrupt. [8:27] So, we have a mail-in ballot. [8:29] Then we have no men in – we had two more. [8:32] No men in women's sports. [8:33] We're talking about saving America, right? [8:36] No men in women's sports. [8:37] Another one. [8:38] Very popular. [8:39] I think it's 99 to 1. [8:40] They say it's 80-20. [8:41] I think it's 99 to 1. [8:43] And we have no mutilization of your children for transgender purposes. [8:50] So, let's see. [8:50] Transgender mutilization of your children. [8:54] Does that sound good with you guys, gentlemen, in speaking? [8:56] You know that it's a transgender mutilization of your children. [9:00] Not at all. [9:00] Not at all, sir. [9:01] When your child leaves your house and they take your child from you. [9:05] And some – think of it. [9:06] It's six states. [9:07] They take the child and do what they want to do. [9:09] What they do is – I don't even want to talk about – [9:13] We had that no transgender mutilization of your children. [9:17] On DNI, Mr. President, do you intend to have Bill Pulte continue to serve as the acting director of national intelligence? [9:24] And do you think it's unreasonable that some Republicans have concerns that he has no intelligence experience, even if he's serving in this acting role? [9:30] But he's intelligent, unlike a lot of other people. [9:34] But do you think that's a fair – no intelligence – [9:36] He's only there for a little while. [9:37] He's running it for a short while where we get a very talented person, Jay Clayton, as you know. [9:42] Jay Clayton's an incredible talent, the head of Sullivan and Cromwell. [9:46] He was head of the SEC. [9:48] He's now Southern District. [9:50] I mean, nobody has better credentials. [9:53] But Bill will run it for a short while. [9:55] He's done a fantastic job at Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, created tremendous – it's probably worth a trillion dollars now. [10:02] Trillion. [10:03] He's done a great job. [10:04] He's a smart guy. [10:05] Mr. President, can you help me? [10:08] Today's another example of you bringing these everyday Americans into the White House and listening to them. [10:12] How important is it for you to listen to everyday Americans when it comes to policymaking on a new basis? [10:17] These people built the country. [10:19] Not the complainers. [10:20] The complainers didn't build the country. [10:21] These people built the country. [10:23] Whether it's fishermen or farmers or anything else. [10:27] Me. [10:28] Guys like me. [10:29] Guys like me. [10:29] They built the country. [10:30] And, you know, I watch all these ingrates. [10:33] They're always complaining, complaining. [10:35] They didn't build anything. [10:36] They couldn't build anything. [10:37] Look at what's happened in Minnesota. [10:39] Somalia. [10:41] All these people came in from Somalia. [10:43] They ripped off our system. [10:45] You have the woman who married her brother. [10:49] She came in and married her brother. [10:50] Isn't that wonderful? [10:51] And then she talks about the constitution of the United States. [10:55] She comes from Somalia. [10:56] They don't have constitutions in Somalia. [11:00] They don't have police. [11:01] All they have is people that run around shooting each other. [11:04] And then she comes and tells us how to run our country. [11:07] I don't like it. [11:07] These people don't like it. [11:08] I can tell you. [11:09] I think I can speak for you. [11:10] Yeah. [11:11] She comes in. [11:12] Ilhan Omar. [11:13] She comes in. [11:14] She tells us how to run the United States of America. [11:17] And she comes from a place without anything. [11:20] Without anything. [11:21] Probably among the worst countries in the world. [11:23] And she says, the constitution of the United States protects me. [11:28] She shouldn't be protected. [11:29] She honestly, she was thrown out of the country. [11:33] She's corrupt. [11:34] And most of the people that came in are corrupt. [11:37] And the whole voting system is corrupt in Minnesota. [11:40] I won Minnesota three times, easily. [11:44] I won almost every county. [11:46] But they didn't give it to me. [11:47] It's a corrupt system. [11:49] Very corrupt state. [11:50] The governor is terrible. [11:51] The attorney general is terrible. [11:52] They're all very corrupt people. [11:54] Sir, on the defense supplemental, [11:56] do you think there's enough support from Republicans in Congress [11:59] to pass it? [12:00] I hope so. [12:00] I mean, any Republican that voted against it would be... [12:04] McConnell would call and say they don't think it's a Republican. [12:05] Well, McConnell's an angry man. [12:07] He, you know, got thrown out of his position. [12:09] He's an angry guy. [12:11] You know, he should be very thankful to me. [12:12] Because if I didn't win, he wouldn't have gotten to appoint. [12:14] I appointed the judges. [12:16] He didn't. [12:16] He gets credit for appointing judges. [12:18] He didn't appoint anybody. [12:19] I did. [12:19] You know how I did? [12:21] I won the election. [12:22] And then I picked judges. [12:25] And the judges ended up getting approved. [12:27] And they said, oh, didn't he do a good job? [12:28] He didn't do a good job. [12:29] What the hell did he do? [12:30] I won the election. [12:32] That is President Donald Trump taking questions from reporters inside the Oval Office. [12:37] He's covering a number of topics. [12:38] But the big headline to come out of this particular press conference was this deal. [12:43] That's this impending deal that will be signed with Iran, [12:46] according to the president, this weekend. [12:47] Now, the deal, they're calling it a memorandum of understanding. [12:51] And part of the agreement would include lifting the blockade and the Strait of Hormuz. [12:56] And also, no way, shape, or form, according to the president, [13:00] would Iran ever have a nuclear weapon? [13:02] Those are the two big sticking points of this memorandum of understanding [13:05] that the president says will be signed in Europe over the weekend. [13:09] So when asked why this deal was different, [13:11] of course, we've been hearing for the past couple of weeks that the deal was closed, [13:15] that we were close to making a deal. [13:16] The U.S. launched strikes overnight on Iran. [13:19] And according to the president, [13:21] the Iran took a pounding and they need a deal more than the U.S. [13:25] And that is why this deal is different. [13:28] We're going to stay on top of this breaking news story. [13:29] We'll have much more on CBS News 24-7.