President Trump Holds a Press Conference

The White House

The President:
Thank you very much.

I just wanted to begin
by mentioning that the

nominee for Secretary of
the Department of Labor

will be Mr. Alex Acosta.

He has a law degree from
Harvard Law School,

was a great student.

Former clerk for
Justice Samuel Alito.

And he has had a
tremendous career.

He's a member, and has
been a member, of the

National Labor Relations
Board, and has been

through Senate
confirmation three times,

confirmed -- did
very, very well.

And so Alex, I've
wished him the best.

We just spoke.

And he's going to be
-- I think he'll be a

tremendous
Secretary of Labor.

And also, as you probably
heard just a little while

ago, Mick Mulvaney, former
congressman, has just been

approved -- weeks late,
I have to say that.

Weeks, weeks late.

Office of Management
and Budget.

And he will be, I think,
a fantastic addition.

Paul Singer has just left.

As you know, Paul was very
much involved with the

anti-Trump, or, as they
say, "Never Trump." And

Paul just left and he's
given us his

total support.

And it's all about
unification.

We're unifying the party,
and hopefully we're going

to be able to
unify the country.

It's very important to me.

I've been talking about
that for a long time, but

it's very, very
important to me.

So I want to thank Paul
Singer for being here and

for coming up
to the office.

He was a very strong
opponent, and now he's a

very strong ally.

And I appreciate that.

I think I'll say a few
words, and then we'll take

some questions.

And I had this time --
we've been negotiating a

lot of different
transactions to save money

on contracts that were
terrible, including

airplane contracts that
were out of control and

late and terrible.

Just absolutely
catastrophic in terms of

what was happening.

And we've done some
really good work.

We're very proud of that.

And then right after that,
you prepare yourselves and

we'll do some questions
-- unless you

have no questions.

That's always
a possibility.

I'm here today to update
the American people on the

incredible progress that
has been made in the last

four weeks since
my inauguration.

We have made
incredible progress.

I don't think there's ever
been a President elected

who, in this short period
of time, has done

what we've done.

A new Rasmussen poll, in
fact -- because the people

get it; much of the
media doesn't get it.

They actually get it, but
they don't write it --

let's put it that way.

But a new Rasmussen poll
just came out just a very

short while ago, and it
has our approval rating at

55 percent and going up.

The stock market has hit
record numbers,

as you know.

And there has been a
tremendous surge of

optimism in the business
world, which is -- to me

means something much
different than it used to.

It used to mean,
oh, that's good.

Now it means that's
good for jobs.

Very different.

Plants and factories are
already starting to move

back into the United
States and big league --

Ford, General Motors,
so many of them.

I'm making this
presentation directly to

the American people with
the media present, which

is an honor to have you
this morning, because many

of our nation's reporters
and folks will not tell

you the truth and will not
treat the wonderful people

of our country with the
respect that they deserve.

And I hope going forward
we can be a little bit

different, and maybe get
along a little bit better,

if that's possible.

Maybe it's not, and
that's okay too.

Unfortunately, much of the
media in Washington, D.C.,

along with New York, Los
Angeles, in particular,

speaks not for the people
but for the special

interests and for those
profiting off a very, very

obviously broken system.

The press has become so
dishonest that if we don't

talk about it, we are
doing a tremendous

disservice to the American
people --

tremendous disservice.

We have to talk about it
to find out what's going

on, because the press

honestly is out of control.

The level of dishonesty
is out of control.

I ran for President to
represent the citizens

of our country.

I am here to change the
broken system so it serves

their families and
their communities well.

I am talking, and really
talking, on this very

entrenched power
structure, and what we're

doing is we're talking
about the power structure,

we're talking about
its entrenchment.

As a result, the media is
going through what they

have to go through to
oftentimes distort -- not

all the time -- and some
of the media is fantastic,

I have to say; they're
honest and fantastic.

But much of it is not
-- the distortion.

And we'll talk about it,
and you'll be able to ask

me questions about it.

But we're not going to let
it happen, because I'm

here again to take my
message straight

to the people.

As you know, our
administration inherited

many problems across
government and

across the economy.

To be honest, I inherited
a mess -- it's a mess --

at home and abroad.

A mess.

Jobs are pouring
out of the country.

You see what's going on
with all of the companies

leaving our country, going
to Mexico and other places

-- low-pay, low-wages.

Mass instability overseas,
no matter where you look.

The Middle East,
a disaster.

North Korea -- we'll
take care of it, folks.

We're going to take
care of it all.

I just want to let you
know I inherited a mess.

Beginning on day one, our
administration went to

work to tackle
these challenges.

On foreign affairs, we've
already begun enormously

productive talks with many
foreign leaders -- much of

it you've covered --
to move forward toward

stability, security, and
peace in the most troubled

regions of the world,
which there are many.

We've had great
conversations with the

United Kingdom -- and
meetings -- Israel,

Mexico, Japan,
China, and Canada.

Really, really productive
conversations.

I would say far more
productive than you

would understand.

We've even developed a new
council with Canada to

promote women's business
leaders and entrepreneurs.

It's very important to
me, very important to my

daughter Ivanka.

I have directed our
defense community, headed

by our great general, now
Secretary Mattis -- he's

over there now, working
very hard -- to submit a

plan for the defeat
of ISIS, a group that

celebrates the murder and
torture of innocent people

in large sections
of the world.

It used to be a small
group, and now it's in

large sections
of the world.

They've spread
like cancer.

ISIS has spread
like cancer.

Another mess I inherited.

And we have imposed new
sanctions on the nation of

Iran, who's totally taken
advantage of our

previous administration.

And they're the world's
top sponsor of terrorism.

And we're not going to
stop until that problem is

properly solved.

And it's not
properly solved now.

It's one of the worst
agreements I've ever seen

drawn by anybody.

I've ordered plans to
begin for the massive

rebuilding of the
United States military.

I've had great support
from the Senate.

I've had great support
from Congress generally.

We've pursued this
rebuilding in the hopes

that we will never have
to use this military.

And I will tell you that
is my -- I would be so

happy if we never
had to use it.

But our country will never
have had a military like

the military we're about
to build and rebuild.

We have the greatest
people on Earth in our

military, but they don't
have the right equipment.

And their
equipment is old.

I used it, I talked
about it at every stop.

Depleted -- it's depleted.

It won't be
depleted for long.

And I think one of the
reasons I'm standing here

instead of other people is
that, frankly, I talked

about we have to have
a strong military.

We have to have strong
law enforcement also.

So we do not go abroad
in the search of war.

We really are searching
for peace, but it's peace

through strength.

At home, we have begun
the monumental task of

returning the government
back to the people on a

scale not seen in
many, many years.

In each of these actions,
I'm keeping my promises to

the American people.

These are campaign
promises.

Some people are so
surprised that we're

having strong borders.

Well, that's what I've
been talking about for a

year and a half
-- strong borders.

They're so surprised --
"oh, you're having strong

borders." Well, that's
what I've been talking

about to the press
and to everybody else.

One promise after another
after years of politicians

lying to you
to get elected.

They lie to the American
people in order

to get elected.

Some of the things I'm
doing probably aren't

popular, but they're
necessary for security and

for other reasons.

And then coming to
Washington and pursuing

their own interests, which
is more important to

many politicians.

I'm here following through
on what I pledged to do.

That's all I'm doing.

I put it out before
the American people.

Got 306 Electoral
College votes.

I wasn't supposed
to get 222.

They said there's no
way to get 222;

230 is impossible.

Two hundred and seventy,
which you need,

that was laughable.

We got 306 because people
came out and voted like

they've never seen before.

So that's the way it goes.

I guess it was the biggest
Electoral College win

since Ronald Reagan.

In other words, the media
is trying to attack our

administration because
they know we are following

through on pledges that
we made, and they're not

happy about it for
whatever reason.

But a lot of people
are happy about it.

In fact, I'll be in
Melbourne, Florida, five

o'clock on Saturday, and I
heard -- just heard that

the crowds are massive
that want to be there.

I turn on the TV, open
the newspapers, and I see

stories of chaos. Chaos!

Yet, it is the
exact opposite.

This administration is
running like a fine-tuned

machine, despite the
fact that I can't get my

Cabinet approved, and

they're outstanding people.

Like Senator Dan Coates
whose there -- one of the

most respected men of the
Senate --

he can't get approved.

How do you not
approve him?

He's been a colleague,
highly respected --

brilliant guy, great guy,
everybody knows it -- but

waiting for approval.

So we have a wonderful
group of people that's

working very hard,
that's being very much

misrepresented about, and
we can't let that happen.

So if the Democrats, who
have -- all you have to do

is look at where they are
right now -- the only

thing they can do is
delay, because they've

screwed things up
royally, believe me.

Let me list to you some of
the things that we've done

in just a short
period of time.

I just got here.

I got here with
no Cabinet.

Again, each of these
actions is a promise I

made to the
American people.

So we'll go over just some
of them, and we have a lot

happening next week and
in the weeks coming.

We've withdrawn from the
job-killing disaster known

as Trans-Pacific
Partnership.

We're going to make trade
deals, but we're going to

have one-on-one
deals -- bilateral.

We're going to have
one-on-one deals.

We've directed the
elimination of regulations

that undermine
manufacturing, and called

for expedited approval of
the permits needed for

America and American
infrastructure, and that

means plants, equipment,
roads, bridges, factories.

People take 10, 15, 20
years to get disapproved

for a factory.

They go in for a permit
-- it's many, many years.

And then at the end of the
process -- they spend tens

of millions of dollars on
nonsense -- and at the end

of the process,
they get rejected.

Now, they may be rejected
with me, but it's going to

be a quick rejection.

It's not going
to take years.

But mostly, it's going
to be an acceptance.

We want plants built, and
we want factories built,

and we want the jobs.

We don't want the jobs
going to other countries.

We've imposed a hiring
freeze on nonessential

federal workers.

We've imposed a temporary
moratorium on new federal

regulations.

We've issued a
game-changing new rule

that says for each one
new regulation, two old

regulations must
be eliminated.

Makes sense.

Nobody has ever seen
regulations like we have.

If you go to other
countries and you look at

industries they have, and
you say, let me see your

regulations, and they're
a fraction, just a tiny

fraction of what we have.

And I want regulations
because I want safety, I

want all environmental
situations to be taken

properly care of.

It's very important to me.

But you don't need four or
five or six regulations to

take care of
the same thing.

We've stood up for the
men and women of law

enforcement, directing
federal agencies to ensure

they are protected from
crimes of violence.

We've directed the
creation of a task force

for reducing violent crime
in America, including the

horrendous situation --
take a look at Chicago and

others -- taking place

right now in our inner cities. Horrible.

We've ordered the
Department of Homeland

Security and Justice to
coordinate on a plan to

destroy criminal cartels
coming into the United

States with drugs.

We're becoming a
drug-infested nation.

Drugs are becoming cheaper
than candy bars, and we're

not going to let it
happen any longer.

We've undertaken the
most substantial border

security measures in a
generation to keep our

nation and our tax dollars
safe, and are now in the

process of beginning to
build a promised wall on

the southern border.

Met with General, now
Secretary, Kelly yesterday

and we're starting
that process.

And the wall is going to
be a great wall, and it's

going to be a wall
negotiated by me.

The price is going to come
down, just like it has on

everything else I've
negotiated

for the government.

And we're going to
have a wall that works.

We're not going to have a
wall like they have now,

which is either
nonexistent or a joke.

We've ordered a crackdown
on sanctuary cities that

refuse to comply with
federal law and that

harbor criminal aliens,
and we've ordered an end

to the policy of catch and
release on the border.

No more release, no matter
who you are -- release.

We've begun a nationwide
effort to remove criminal

aliens, gang members, drug
dealers, and others who

pose a threat to
public safety.

We are saving American
lives every single day.

The court system has not
made it easy for us.

And we've even created a
new office in Homeland

Security dedicated to the
forgotten American victims

of illegal immigrant
violence,

of which there are many.

We've taken decisive
action to keep radical

Islamic terrorists
out of our country.

Though parts of
our necessary and

constitutional actions
were blocked by a judge's,

in my opinion, incorrect
and unsafe ruling, our

administration is working
night and day to keep you

safe -- including
reporters safe -- and is

vigorously defending
this lawful order.

I will not back down from
defending our country.

I got elected on
defense of our country.

And I keep my
campaign promises.

And our citizens will be
very happy when they see

the result.

They already are.

I can tell you that.

Extreme vetting will be
put in place, and it

already is in place
in many places.

In fact, we had to go
quicker than we thought

because of the bad
decision we received from

a circuit that has been
overturned

at a record number.

I've heard 80 percent -- I
find that hard to believe;

that's just a number I
heard -- that they're

overturned 80
percent of the time.

I think that circuit is in
chaos and that circuit is,

frankly, in turmoil.

But we are appealing that
and we are going further.

We're issuing a new
executive action next week

that will comprehensively
protect our country, so

we'll be going along the
one path and

hopefully winning that.

At the same time, we will
be issuing a new and very

comprehensive order to
protect our people, and

that will be done some
time next week, toward the

beginning or middle
at the latest part.

We've also taken steps to
begin construction of the

Keystone Pipeline and
Dakota Access Pipelines --

thousands and thousands of
jobs -- and put new "Buy

American" measures in
place to require American

steel for American
pipelines.

In other words, they build
a pipeline in this country

and we use the powers of
government to make that

pipeline happen.

We want them to use
American steel.

And they're willing to
do that, but nobody ever

asked before I came along.

Even this order was drawn
and they didn't say that.

And I'm reading the order,
I'm saying, why aren't we

using American steel?

And they said,
that's a good idea.

We put it in.

To drain the swamp of
corruption in Washington,

D.C. I've started by
imposing a five-year

lobbying ban on White
House officials and a

lifetime ban on lobbying
for a foreign government.

We've begun preparing

to repeal and replace Obamacare.

Obamacare is a
disaster, folks.

It's a disaster.

You can say, oh, Obamacare
-- I mean, they fill up

our alleys with people
that you wonder how they

get there, but they're not
the Republican people that

our representatives
are representing.

So we've begun preparing
to repeal and replace

Obamacare and are deep in
the midst of negotiations

on a very historic tax
reform to bring

our jobs back.

We're bringing our jobs
back to this

country big league.

It's already happening,
but big league.

I've also worked to
install a Cabinet over the

delays and obstruction
of Senate Democrats.

You've seen what they've
done over the last long

number of years.

That will be one of the
great Cabinets ever

assembled in
American history.

You look at Rex Tillerson
-- he's out there

negotiating right now.

General Mattis I mentioned
before, General Kelly.

We have great,
great people.

Mick is with us now.

We have great people.

Among their
responsibilities will be

ending the bleeding of
jobs from our country and

negotiating fair trade
deals for our citizens.

Now, look, fair trade
-- not free -- fair.

If a country is taking
advantage of us, we're not

going to let that
happen anymore.

Every country takes
advantage of us, almost.

I may be able to find
a couple that don't.

But for the most part,
that would be a very tough

job for me to do.

Jobs have already
started to surge.

Since my election, Ford
announced it will abandon

its plans to build a new
factory in Mexico and will

instead invest $700
million in Michigan,

creating many, many jobs.

Fiat-Chrysler announced it
will invest $1 billion in

Ohio and Michigan,
creating 2,000 new

American jobs.

They were with
me a week ago.

You know -- you were here.

General Motors, likewise,
committed to invest

billions of dollars in its
American manufacturing

operation, keeping many
jobs here that

were going to leave.

And if I didn't get
elected, believe me, they

would have left.

And these jobs and these
things that I'm announcing

would never
have come here.

Intel just announced that
it will move ahead with a

new plant in Arizona that
probably was never going

to move ahead with.

And that will result in

at least 10,000 American jobs.

Walmart announced it will
create 10,000 jobs in the

United States just this
year because of our

various plans
and initiatives.

There will be
many, many more.

Many more.

These are a few
that we're naming.

Other countries have been
taking advantage of us for

decades -- decades and
decades and decades, folks.

And we're not going to
let that happen anymore.

Not going to
let it happen.

And one more thing.

I have kept my promise to
the American people by

nominating a justice of
the United States Supreme

Court, Judge Neil Gorsuch,
who is from my list of 20,

and who will be a true
defender of our laws and

our Constitution -- highly
respected, should get the

votes from the Democrats
-- you may not see that,

but he'll get there
one way or the other.

But he should get there
the old-fashioned way, and

he should get those votes.

This last month
has represented an

unprecedented degree of
action on behalf of the

great citizens
of our country.

Again, I say it --
there has never been a

presidency that's done
so much in such a short

period of time.

And we haven't even
started the big work that

starts early next week.

Some very big things are

going to be announced next week.

So we're just
getting started.

We will be giving a
speech, as I said, in

Melbourne, Florida,
at 5:00 p.m.

I hope to see you there.

And with that, I'd just
say, God bless America,

and let's take
some questions.

Mara. Mara, go ahead.

You were cut off pretty
violently at our

last news conference.

The Press: Did you
fire Mike Flynn?

The President: Mike Flynn
is a fine person, and I

asked for his resignation.

He respectfully gave it.

He is a man who -- there
was a certain amount of

information given to Vice
President Pence, who is

with us today.

And I was not happy with
the way that

information was given.

He didn't have to do that,
because what he did wasn't

wrong, what he did in
terms of the

information he saw.

What was wrong was the
way that other people,

including yourselves in
this room, were given that

information, because that
was classified information

that was given illegally.

That's the real problem.

And you can talk all you
want about Russia, which

was all a fake news,
fabricated deal to try and

make up for the loss of
the Democrats, and the

press plays right into it.

In fact, I saw a couple
of the people that were

supposedly involved with
all of this -- they know

nothing about it.

They weren't in Russia,
they never made a phone

call to Russia, they never
received a phone call.

It's all fake news.

It's all fake news.

The nice thing is I see it
starting to turn, where

people are now looking at
the illegal, Mara -- and I

think it's very important
-- the illegal giving out

classified information.

And let me just tell you,
it was given out, like,

so much.

I'll give you an example.

I called, as you
know, Mexico.

It was a very
confidential, classified

call, but I called Mexico.

And in calling Mexico, I
figured, oh, well, that's

-- I spoke to the
President of Mexico,

had a good call.

All of a sudden it's out
for the world to see.

It's supposed
to be secret.

It's supposed to be either
confidential or

classified in that case.

Same thing with Australia.

All of a sudden people are
finding out exactly

what took place.

The same thing happened
with respect to

General Flynn.

Everybody saw this, and
I'm saying -- the first

thing I thought of when
I heard about it is, how

does the press get this
information

that's classified?

How do they do it?

You know why?

Because it's an illegal
process, and the press

should be ashamed
of themselves.

But, more importantly, the
people that gave out the

information to the press
should be

ashamed of themselves.

Really ashamed.

Yes, go ahead.

The Press: Why did you
keep your Vice President

in the dark for
almost two weeks?

The President: Because
when I looked at the

information, I said,
I don't think he did

anything wrong.

If anything, he did
something right.

He was coming into
office, he looked at

the information.

He said, huh, that's
fine, that's what they're

supposed to do.

They're supposed to be --
and he didn't

just call Russia.

He called and spoke to,
both ways -- I think there

were 30-some-odd
countries.

He's doing the job.

You know, he was
just doing his job.

The thing is he didn't
tell our Vice President

properly, and then he
said he didn't remember.

So either way, it wasn't
very satisfactory to me.

And I have somebody that I
think will be outstanding

for the position, and that
also helps, I think, in

the making of my decision.

But he didn't tell the
Vice President of the

United States the facts,
and then he didn't

remember.

And that just wasn't
acceptable to me.

Yes.

The Press: President
Trump, since you brought

up Russia, I'm looking for
some clarification here.

During the campaign, did
anyone from your team

communicate with members
of the Russian government

or Russian intelligence?

And if so, what was
the nature of

those conversations?

The President: Well, the
failing New York Times

wrote a big, long
front-page

story yesterday.

And it was very much
discredited, as you know.

It was -- it's a joke.

And the people mentioned
in the story -- I notice

they were on television
today saying they never

even spoke to Russia.

They weren't even a part,
really -- I mean, they

were such a minor part --
I hadn't spoken to them.

I think the one person,
I don't think I've ever

spoken to him.

I don't think
I've ever met him.

And he actually said he
was a very low-level

member of, I think, a
committee for a short

period of time.

I don't think
I ever met him.

Now, it's possible that I
walked into a room and he

was sitting there, but I
don't think

I ever met him.

I didn't talk
to him, ever.

And he thought
it was a joke.

The other person said he
never spoke to Russia,

never received a call.

Look at his phone records,
et cetera, et cetera.

And the other person,
people knew that he'd

represented various
countries, but I don't

think he represented
Russia -- but knew that he

represented
various countries.

That's what he does.

I mean, people know that.

That's Mr. Manafort,
who's, by the way --

who's, by the way,
a respected man.

He's a respected man.

But I think he represented
the Ukraine, or Ukraine

government, or somebody.

But everybody --
people knew that.

Everybody knew that.

So these people -- and
he said that he has

absolutely nothing to do
and never has with Russia.

And he said that
very forcefully.

I saw his statement.

He said it very
forcefully.

Most of the papers don't
print it because that's

not good for
their stories.

So the three people that
they talked about all

totally deny it.

And I can tell you,
speaking for myself, I own

nothing in Russia.

I have no loans in Russia.

I don't have any
deals in Russia.

President Putin called
me up very nicely to

congratulate me on the
win of the election.

He then called me up
extremely nicely to

congratulate me on the
inauguration, which

was terrific.

But so did many other
leaders -- almost all

other leaders from almost
all other countries.

So that's the extent.

Russia is fake news.

Russia -- this is fake
news put out by the media.

The real news is the fact
that people, probably from

the Obama administration
because they're there --

because we have our new
people going in place

right now.

As you know, Mike Pompeo
is now taking control

of the CIA.

James Comey at FBI.

Dan Coats is waiting
to be approved.

I mean, he is a senator,
and a highly

respected one.

And he's still waiting
to be approved.

But our new people
are going in.

And just while you're at,
because you mentioned

this, Wall Street Journal
did a story today that was

almost as disgraceful as
the failing New Times's

story yesterday.

And it talked about --
you saw it, front page.

So, Director of National
Intelligence just put out

-- acting -- a statement:
"Any suggestion that the

United States intelligence
community" -- this was

just given to us -- "is
withholding information

and not providing the best
possible intelligence to

the President and his
national security team is

not true."

So they took this
front-page story out of

The Wall Street Journal --
top -- and they just wrote

the story is not true.

And I'll tell you
something, I'll be honest

-- because I sort of enjoy
this back and forth, and I

guess I have all my life,
but I've never seen more

dishonest media than,
frankly, the

political media.

I thought the financial
media was much better,

much more honest.

But I will say that I
never get phone calls from

the media.

How do they write a story
like that in The Wall

Street Journal
without asking me?

Or how do they write a
story in The New York

Times, put it
on front page?

That was like that story
they wrote about the women

and me -- front page.

Big massive story.

And it was nasty.

And then they called.

They said, "We
never said that.

We like Mr. Trump." They
called up my office -- we

like Mr. Trump; we
never said that.

And it was totally -- they
totally misrepresented

those very wonderful
women, I have to tell you

-- totally misrepresented.

I said, give us
a retraction.

They never gave
us a retraction.

And, frankly, I then
went on to other things.

Go ahead.

The Press: Mr.
President --

The President: You okay?

The Press: I am.

Just wanted to
get untangled.

Very simply, you said
today that you had the

biggest electoral margins
since Ronald Reagan with

304 or 306
electoral votes.

In fact, President
Obama got 365 in 2008.

The President: Well, I'm
talking about Republican. Yes.

The Press: President
Obama, 332.

George H.W. Bush,

426 when he
won as President.

So why should
Americans trust --

The President: Well, no,
I was told -- I was given

that information.

I don't know.

I was just given.

We had a very,
very big margin.

The Press: I guess my
question is, why should

Americans trust you when
you have accused the

information they receive
of being fake when you're

providing information
that's fake?

The President:
Well, I don't know.

I was given that
information.

I was given -- actually,
I've seen that

information around.

But it was a very
substantial victory.

Do you agree with that?

The Press: You're
the President.

The President:
Okay, thank you.

That's a good answer. Yes.

The Press: Mr. President,
thank you so much.

Can you tell us in
determining that

Lieutenant General Flynn
-- there was no wrongdoing

in your mind, what
evidence was weighed?

Did you have the
transcripts of these

telephone intercepts
with Russian officials,

particularly Ambassador
Kislyak, who he was

communicating with?

What evidence did you
weigh to determine there

was no wrong doing?

And further than that,
sir, you've said on a

couple of occasions this
morning that you were

going to aggressively
pursue the sources of

these leaks.

The President: We are.

The Press: Can we ask
what you're doing to do?

And also, we've heard
about a review of the

intelligence community
headed by

Stephen Feinberg.

What can you tell
us about that?

The President: Well, first
of all, about that, we now

have Dan Coats, hopefully
soon Mike Pompeo and James

Comey, and they're
in position.

So I hope that we'll be
able to straighten that

out without using
anybody else.

The gentleman you
mentioned is a very

talented man, very
successful man.

And he has offered his
services, and it's

something we may
take advantage of.

But I don't think we'll
need that at all because

of the fact that I think
that we're going to be

able to straighten it out
very easily on its own.

As far as the general is
concerned, when I first

heard about it, I said,
huh, that doesn't

sound wrong.

My counsel came -- Don
McGahn, White House

Counsel -- and he told me,
and I asked him, and he

can speak very
well for himself.

He said he doesn't think
anything is wrong.

He really didn't think
-- it was really what

happened after that, but
he didn't think anything

was done wrong.

I didn't either, because
I waited a period of time

and I started to
think about it.

I said, well, I don't see
-- to me, he was

doing the job.

The information was
provided by -- who I don't

know -- Sally Yates -- and
I was a little surprised

because I said, doesn't
sound like he did anything

wrong there.

But he did something wrong
with respect to the Vice

President, and I thought
that was not acceptable.

As far as the actual
making the call -- in

fact, I've watched various
programs and I've read

various articles where he
was just doing his job.

That was very normal.

At first, everybody got
excited because they

thought he did
something wrong.

After they thought about
it, it turned out he was

just doing his job.

So -- and I do -- and, by
the way, with all of that

being said, I do think
he's a fine man.

Yes, Jon.

The Press: On
the leaks, sir --

The President: Go ahead,
finish off, then I'll get

you, Jon.

The Press: Sorry, what
will you do on the leaks?

You have said
twice today --

The President: Yes, we're
looking at it very,

very seriously.

I've gone to all of the
folks in charge of the

various agencies, and
we're -- I've actually

called the Justice
Department to look

into the leaks.

Those are criminal leaks.

They're put out by people
either in agencies.

I think you'll see it
stopping because now we

have our people in.

You know, again, we don't
have our people in because

we can't get them
approved by the Senate.

We just had Jeff Sessions
approved in Justice,

as an example.

So we are looking into
that very seriously.

It's a criminal act.

You know what I say --
when I was called out on

Mexico, I was shocked.

Because all this
equipment, all this

incredible phone
equipment.

When I was called out on
Mexico, I was -- honestly,

I was really,
really surprised.

But I said, you know, it
doesn't make sense,

that won't happen.

But that wasn't that
important to call,

it was fine.

I could show it to the
world and he could show it

to the world -- the
President who is a very

fine man, by the way.

Same thing with Australia.

I said, that's terrible
that it was leaked but it

wasn't that important.

But then I said, what
happens when I'm dealing

with the problem
of North Korea?

What happens when I'm
dealing with the problems

in the Middle East?

Are you folks going to
be reporting all of that

very, very confidential
information -- very

important, very -- I mean,
at the highest level, are

you going to be reporting
about that too?

So I don't want classified
information getting out to

the public.

And in a way, that
was almost a test.

So I'm dealing
with Mexico.

I'm dealing
with Argentina.

We were dealing on this
case with Mike Flynn.

All this information gets
put into the Washington

Post and gets put into
the New York Times.

And I'm saying, what's
going to happen when I'm

dealing on the
Middle East?

What's going to happen
when I'm dealing with

really, really important
subjects like North Korea?

We've got to stop it.

That's why it's a
criminal penalty.

Yes, Jon.

The Press: Thank
you, Mr. President.

I just want to get you
to clarify just a very

important point.

Can you say definitively
that nobody on your

campaign had any contacts
with the Russians during

the campaign?

And, on the leaks, is it
fake news or are these

real leaks?

The President: Well,
the leaks are real.

You're the one that wrote

about them and reported them.

I mean, the
leaks are real.

You know what they
said -- you saw it.

And the leaks are
absolutely real.

The news is fake because
so much of

the news is fake.

So one thing that I felt
it was very important to

do -- and I hope we can
correct it, because there

is nobody I have more
respect for -- well, maybe

a little bit -- than reporters,

than good reporters.

It's very important to me,

and especially in this position.

It's very important.

I don't mind bad stories.

I can handle a bad story
better than anybody as

long as it's true.

And over a course of time,
I'll make mistakes and

you'll write badly and
I'm okay with that.

But I'm not okay
when it is fake.

I mean, I watch CNN --
it's so much anger and

hatred and just
the hatred.

I don't watch it anymore
because it's very good --

he's saying no.

It's okay, Jim.

It's okay, Jim.

You'll have your chance.

But I watch others too.

You're not the only one,
so don't feel badly.

But I think it
should be straight.

I think it should be
-- I think it would be,

frankly, more interesting.

I know how good
everybody's ratings are

right now, but I think
that actually would be --

I think that it would
actually be better.

People -- I mean, you have
a lower approval

rate than Congress.

I think that's right.

I don't know, Peter,
is that one right?

Because you know, I think
they have lower -- I

heard, lower
than Congress.

But honestly, the public
would appreciate it.

I'd appreciate it.

Again, I don't mind bad
stories when it's true.

But we have an
administration where the

Democrats are making
it very difficult.

I think we're setting a
record, or close to a

record in the time of
approval of a Cabinet.

I mean, the
numbers are crazy.

When I'm looking -- some
of them had them approved

immediately.

I'm going forever, and I
still have a lot of people

that we're waiting for.

And that's all they're
doing, is delaying.

And you look at Schumer
and the mess that he's got

over there, and they
have nothing going.

The only thing they
can do is delay.

And you know, I think
they'd be better served by

approving and making sure
that they're happy and

everybody is good.

And sometimes, I mean -- I
know President Obama lost

three or four, and you
lose them on the way.

And that's okay.

That's fine.

But I think they would be
much better served, Jon,

if they just went through
the process quickly.

This is pure
delay tactics.

And they say it, and
everybody understands it.

Yeah, go ahead, Jim.

The Press: The first
part of my

question on contacts.

Do you definitively
say that nobody --

The President: Well, I had
nothing to do with it.

I have nothing to
do with Russia.

I told you, I have
no deals there.

I have no anything.

Now, when WikiLeaks, which
I had nothing to do with,

comes out and happens to
give -- they're not giving

classified information.

They're giving stuff --
what was said at an office

about Hillary cheating on
the debates -- which, by

the way, nobody mentions.

Nobody mentions that
Hillary received the

questions to the debates.

Can you imagine --
seriously, can you imagine

if I received
the questions?

It would be the
electric chair, okay?

"He should be put in
the electric chair."

You would even call for
the reinstitution of the

death penalty, okay?

Maybe not you, Jon.

Yes, we'll do
you next, Jim.

I'll do you next. Yes?

The Press: Thank
you, Mr. President.

I just want to clarify
one other thing.

The President: Sure.

The Press: Did you direct
Mike Flynn to discuss the

sanctions with the
Russian ambassador?

The President:
No, I didn't.

No, I didn't.

The Press: (Inaudible.)
(Off mic.)

The President:
No, I didn't.

The Press: Did you fire
him because (inaudible) --

The President: Excuse me
-- no, I fired him because

of what he said to Mike
Pence, very simple.

Mike was doing his job.

He was calling countries
and his counterparts.

So it certainly would have
been okay with

me if he did it.

I would have directed him
to do it if I thought he

wasn't doing it.

I didn't direct him but I
would have directed him

because that's his job.

And it came out that way
-- and, in all fairness, I

watched Dr. Charles
Krauthammer the other

night say he was
doing his job.

And I agreed with him.

And since then I've
watched many other

people say that.

No, I didn't direct him,
but I would have directed

him if he didn't
do it, okay? Jim.

The Press: Mr. President,
thank you very much.

And just for the record,
we don't hate you,

I don't hate you.

If you could
pass that along.

The President: Okay.

Well, ask Jeff Zucker how
he got his job, okay?

The Press: If I may
follow up on some of the

questions that have
taken place so far, sir.

The President:
Well, not too many.

We do have other people.

You do have other people,
and your ratings aren't as

good as some of the other
people that are waiting.

The Press: They're pretty
good right now, actually.

The President: Okay.

Go ahead, Jim.

The Press: If I may ask,
sir, you said earlier that

WikiLeaks was revealing
information about the

Hillary Clinton campaign
during the election cycle.

You welcomed that
at one point.

The President: I
was okay with it.

The Press: You said
you loved WikiLeaks.

At another campaign press
conference you called on

the Russians to find the
missing 30,000 emails.

I'm wondering,
sir, if you --

The President: Well, she
was actually missing

33,000, and then that got
extended with a whole pile

after that, but
that's okay.

The Press: Maybe my
numbers are off a

little bit too.

The President: No, no, but
I did say 30,000, but it

was actually
higher than that.

The Press: If I may ask
you, sir, it sounds as

though you do not have
much credibility here when

it comes to leaking if
that is something that you

encouraged in
the campaign.

The President:
Okay, fair question. Ready?

The Press: So if I may ask
you that -- if I may ask a

follow-up --

The President: No, no, but
are you -- let me do one

at a time.

Do you mind?

The Press: Yes, sir.

The President: All right.

So in one case you're
talking about highly

classified information.

In the other case you're
talking about John Podesta

saying bad things
about the boss.

I will say this: If John
Podesta said that about me

and he was working for me,
I would have fired him so

fast your head
would have spun.

He said terrible
things about her.

But it wasn't
classified information.

But in one case you're
talking about classified.

Regardless, if you look
at the RNC, we had a very

strong -- at my suggestion
-- and I give Reince great

credit for this -- at my
suggestion, because I know

something about this
world, I said I want a

very strong
defensive mechanism.

I don't want to be hacked.

And we did that, and you
have seen that they tried

to hack us and
they failed.

The DNC did not do that.

And if they did it, they
could not have

been hacked.

But they were hacked, and
terrible things came.

And the only thing that I
do think is unfair is some

of the things were so --
they were -- when I heard

some of those things, I
said -- I picked up the

papers the next morning, I
said, oh, this is going

to front page.

It wasn't even
in the papers.

Again, if I had that
happen to me, it would be

the biggest story in the
history of publishing or

the head of newspapers.

I would have been the
headline

in every newspaper.

I mean, think of it.

They gave her the
questions for the debate,

and she should have
reported herself.

Why didn't Hillary Clinton
announce that, "I'm sorry,

but I have been given the
questions to a debate or a

town hall, and I feel that
it's inappropriate, and I

want to turn in CNN for
not doing a good job"?

The Press: And if I may
follow up on that, just

something that Jonathan
Karl was asking you about

-- you said that the leaks
are real, but

the news is fake.

I guess I don't
understand.

It seems that there
is a disconnect there.

If the information coming
from those leaks is real,

then how can the
stories be fake?

The President: Well,
the reporting is fake.

Look, look --

The Press: And if I may
ask -- I just want to ask

one other question.

The President: Jim,
you know what it is?

Here's the thing.

The public isn't -- they
read newspapers, they see

television, they watch.

They don't know if it's
true or false because

they're not involved.

I'm involved.

I've been involved with
this stuff all my life.

But I'm involved.

So I know when you're
telling the truth or when

you're not.

I just see many, many
untruthful things.

And I tell you
what else I see.

I see tone.

You know the word "tone."

The tone is such hatred.

I'm really not a bad
person, by the way.

No, but the tone is such
-- I do get good ratings,

you have to admit that.

The tone is such hatred.

I watched this morning a
couple of the networks,

and I have to say "Fox &
Friends" in the morning,

they're very
honorable people.

They're very -- not
because they're good,

because they hit me also
when I do something wrong.

But they have the most
honest morning show.

That's all I can say.

It's the most honest.

But the tone, Jim.

If you look -- the hatred.

I mean, sometimes --
sometimes somebody gets --

The Press: (Off mic.)

The President: Well, you
look at your show that

goes on at 10 o'clock
in the evening.

You just take a
look at that show.

That is a constant hit.

The panel is almost always
exclusive anti-Trump.

The good news is he
doesn't have good ratings.

But the panel is almost
exclusive anti-Trump.

And the hatred and venom
coming from his mouth, the

hatred coming from other
people on your network.

Now, I will say this.

I watch it.

I see it.

I'm amazed by it.

And I just think you'd
be a lot better off -- I

honestly do.

The public gets
it, you know.

Look, when I go to
rallies, they turn around,

they start
screaming at CNN.

They want to throw
their placards at CNN.

I think you would do much
better by being different.

But you just take a look.

Take a look at some of
your shows in the morning

and the evening.

If a guest comes out and
says something positive

about me, it's brutal.

Now, they'll take
this news conference.

I'm actually having a
very good time, okay?

But they'll take this news
conference -- don't forget

that's the way I won.

Remember, I used to give
you a news conference

every time I made a
speech, which was like

every day.

The Press: (Off mic.)

The President: No,
that's how I won.

I won with news
conferences and

probably speeches.

I certainly didn't win by
people listening to you

people, that's for sure.

But I am having
a good time.

Tomorrow they will say,
Donald Trump rants and

raves at the press.

I'm not ranting
and raving.

I'm just telling you,
you're dishonest people.

But -- but I'm not
ranting and raving.

I love this.

I'm having a good
time doing it.

But tomorrow the headlines
are going to be:

Donald Trump Rants and Raves.

I'm not ranting
and raving.

The Press: If
I may just --

The President: Go ahead.

The Press: One more
follow-up because --

The President: Should I
let him have

a little bit more?

What do you think, Peter?

The Press: Just
because of this --

The President: Peter,
should I have let him have

a little bit more?

Sit down.

Sit down.

The Press: Just because
of the attack --

The President:
We'll get it.

The Press: Just because of
the attack of fake news

and attacking our network,
I just want to ask you, sir --

The President: I'm
changing it from fake

news, though.

The Press: Doesn't
that undermine --

The President:
Very fake news now.

(Laughter.)

The Press: But
aren't you --

The President:
Yes, go ahead.

The Press: Real
news, Mr. President.

Real news.

The President: And you're
not related to our new --

The Press: I am not
related, sir, no.

(Laughter.) I do like the
sound of Secretary Acosta,

I must say.

The President: I looked --
you know, I looked

at that name.

I said, wait a minute, is
there any relation there?

Alex Acosta.

The Press: I'm sure you
checked that out, sir.

The President:
No, I checked it.

I said -- they
said, no, sir.

I said, do me a favor, go
back and check

the family tree.

The Press: But aren't you
concerned, sir, that you

are undermining the
people's faith in the

First Amendment freedom of
the press, the press in

this country when you call
stories you don't like

"fake news"?

Why not just say it's
a story I don't like?

The President: I do that.

The Press: When you call
it fake news, you're

undermining confidence --

The President:
No, I do that.

No, no, I do that.

The Press: -- in
our news media.

The President:
Here's the thing.

The Press: Isn't
that important?

The President: Okay, I
understand -- and you're

right about that
except this.

See, I know when I should
get good and when I should

get bad.

And sometimes I'll say,
wow, that's going to be a

great story, and
I'll get killed.

I know what's
good and bad.

I'd be a pretty good
reporter -- not

as good as you.

But I know what's good.

I know what's bad.

And when they change it
and make it really bad --

something that
should be positive.

Sometimes something that
should be very positive,

they'll make okay.

They'll even
make it negative.

So I understand it
because I'm there.

I know what was said.

I know who is saying it.

I'm there.

So it's very
important to me.

Look, I want to see
an honest press.

When I started off today
by saying that it's so

important to the public
to get an honest press.

The press -- the public
doesn't believe you

people anymore.

Now, maybe I had something
to do with

that, I don't know.

But they don't
believe you.

If you were straight and
really told it like it is,

as Howard Cosell
used to say, right?

Of course, he had
some questions also.

But if you were straight,
I would be your biggest

booster, I would be your
biggest fan in the world

-- including bad
stories about me.

But if you go -- as an
example, you're CNN -- I

mean, it's story after
story after story is bad.

I won. I won.

And the other
thing: Chaos.

There's zero chaos.

We are running -- this
is a fine-tuned machine.

And Reince happens to
be doing a good job.

But half of his job is
putting out

lies by the press.

I said to him yesterday,
this whole Russia scam

that you guys are building
so that you don't talk

about the real subject,
which is illegal leaks.

But I watched him
yesterday working so hard

to try and get
that story proper.

And I'm saying, here's my
Chief of Staff, a really

good guy, did a
phenomenal job at RNC.

I mean, we won the
election, right?

We won the presidency.

We got some senators.

We got some -- all over
the country, you take a

look, he's done
a great job.

And I said to myself, you
know -- and I said to

somebody that was in the
room -- I said, you take a

look at Reince, he's
working so hard just

putting out fires
that are fake fires.

They're fake.

They're not true.

And isn't that a shame,
because he'd rather be

working on health care.

He'd rather be working
on tax reform, Jim.

I mean that.

I would be your biggest
fan in the world if you

treated me right.

I sort of understand
there's a certain bias,

maybe by Jeff or somebody
-- for whatever reason.

And I understand that.

But you've got to be at
least a little bit fair.

And that's why the public
sees it -- they see it.

They see it's not fair.

You take a look at some of
your shows and you see the

bias and the hatred.

And the public is smart.

They understand it.

Okay, yeah, go ahead.

The Press: We have no
doubt that your latest

story is (inaudible).

But for those who believe
that there is something to

it, is there anything that
you have learned over

these last few weeks that
you might be able to

reveal that might ease
their concerns that this

isn't fake news?

And secondly --

The President: I think
they don't believe it.

I don't think
the public would.

That's why the Rasmussen
poll just has me through

the roof.

I don't think
they believe it.

Well, I guess one of the
reasons I'm here today is

to tell you the whole
Russian thing --

that's a ruse.

That's a ruse.

And, by the way, it would
be great if we could get

along with Russia, just
so you understand that.

Now, tomorrow you'll say,
Donald Trump wants to get

along with Russia,
this is terrible.

It's not terrible
-- it's good.

We had Hillary Clinton
try and do a reset.

We had Hillary Clinton
give Russia 20 percent of

the uranium in
our country.

You know what
uranium is, right?

It's this thing called
nuclear weapons

and other things.

Like, lots of things
are done with uranium,

including some bad things.

Nobody talks about that.

I didn't do
anything for Russia.

I've done nothing
for Russia.

Hillary Clinton gave them
20 percent of our uranium.

Hillary Clinton did a
reset, remember, with the

stupid plastic button that
made us all look like a

bunch of jerks?

Here, take a look.

He looked at her like,
what the hell is she doing

with that cheap
plastic button?

Hillary Clinton --
that was a reset. Remember?

It said "reset."

Now, if I do that,
oh, I'm a bad guy.

If we could get along with
Russia, that's

a positive thing.

We have a very talented
man, Rex Tillerson, who is

going to be meeting
with them shortly.

And I told him, I said,
I know politically it's

probably not good for me.

Hey, the greatest thing
I could do is shoot

that ship that's 30 miles
offshore right out

of the water.

Everyone in this country
is going to say, oh, it's

so great.

That's not great.

That's not great.

I would love to be able
to get along with Russia.

Now, you've had a lot of
Presidents that haven't

taken that tact.

Look where we are now.

Look where we are now.

So, if I can -- now, I
love to negotiate things.

I do it really well and
all that stuff, but it's

possible I won't be able
to get along with Putin.

Maybe it is.

But I want to just tell
you, the false reporting

by the media, by you
people -- the false,

horrible, fake reporting
makes it much harder to

make a deal with Russia.

And probably Putin said,
you know -- he's sitting

behind his desk and he's
saying, you know, I see

what's going on in the
United States, I follow it

closely; it's got to be
impossible for President

Trump to ever get along
with Russia because of all

the pressure he's got
with this fake story. Okay?

And that's a shame.

Because if we could get
along with Russia -- and,

by the way, China and
Japan and everyone -- if

we could get along, it
would be a positive thing,

not a negative thing.

The Press: Tax reform --

The Press: Mr.
President, since you --

The President: Tax reform
is going to happen

fairly quickly.

We're doing Obamacare --
we're in final stages.

We should be submitting
the initial plan in March,

early March, I would say.

And we have to, as you
know, statutorily and for

reasons of budget,
we have to go first.

It's not like -- frankly,
the tax would be easier,

in my opinion, but for
statutory reasons and for

budgetary reasons, we have
to submit the

health care sooner.

So we'll be submitting
health care sometime in

early March, mid-March.

And after that, we're
going to come up -- and

we're doing very
well on tax reform. Yes.

The Press: Mr. President,
you mentioned Russia.

Let's talk about some
serious issues that have

come up in the last week
that you have had to deal

with as President of
the United States.

The President: Okay.

The Press: You mentioned
the vessel, the spy

vessel, off the coast
of the United States.

The President: Not good.

The Press: There was a
ballistic missile test

that many interpreted
as a violation --

The President: Not good.

The Press: -- of the
agreement between

the two countries.

And a Russian
plane buzzed a

U.S. destroyer.

The President: Not good.

The Press: I listened to
you during the campaign --

The President: Excuse me,
excuse me,

when did it happen?

It happened when -- if you
were Putin right now, you

would say, hey, we're back
to the old games with the

United States.

There's no way Trump can
ever do a deal with us

because the -- you have to
understand, if I was just

brutal on Russia right
now, just brutal, people

would say, you would say,
oh, isn't that wonderful.

But I know you
well enough.

Then you would say, oh,
he was too tough, he

shouldn't have done that.

Look, of all --

The Press: I'm just
trying to find out your

orientation to those --

The President:
Wait a minute.

Wait, wait.

Excuse me just one second.

The Press: I'm just trying
to find out what you're

doing to do about
them, Mr. President.

The President: All of
those things that you

mentioned are very recent,
because probably Putin

assumes that he's not
going to be able to make a

deal with me because it's
politically not popular

for me to make a deal.

So Hillary Clinton tries
to reset, it failed.

They all tried.

But I'm different
than those people.

Go ahead.

The Press: How are you
interpreting those moves?

And what do you intend
to do about them?

The President: Just
the way I said it.

The Press: Have you given
Rex Tillerson any advice

or counsel on how to deal?

The President: I have.

I have.

And I'm so beautifully
represented.

I'm so honored that the
Senate approved him.

He's going to
be fantastic.

Yes, I think that
I've already --

The Press: Is Putin
testing you, do you

believe, sir?

The President: No,
I don't think so.

I think Putin probably
assumes that he can't make

a deal with me anymore
because politically it

would be unpopular for a
politician to make a deal.

I can't believe I'm saying
I'm a politician, but I

guess that's
what I am now.

Because, look, it would be
much easier for me to be

tough on Russia, but then
we're not going

to make a deal.

Now, I don't know that
we're going to

make a deal.

I don't know.

We might, we might not.

But it would be much
easier for me to be so

tough -- the tougher I am
on Russia, the better.

But you know what, I want
to do the right thing for

the American people.

And to be honest,
secondarily, I want to do

the right thing
for the world.

If Russia and the United
States actually got

together and got along --
and don't forget, we're a

very powerful nuclear
country and so are they.

There's no upside.

We're a very powerful
nuclear country

and so are they.

I've been briefed.

And I can tell you, one
thing about a briefing

that we're allowed to say
because anybody that ever

read the most basic book
can say it: Nuclear

holocaust would
be like no other.

They're a very powerful
nuclear country

and so are we.

If we have a good
relationship with Russia,

believe me, that's a good
thing, not a bad thing.

The Press: So when you say
they're not good, do you

mean that they are --

The President: Who
did I say is not good?

The Press: No, when I read
off the three things that

have recently happened and
each one of them you said

they're not good.

The President: No, it's
not good,

but they happened.

The Press: But do they
damage the relationship?

Do they undermine this
country's ability to work

with Russia?

The President: They all
happened recently, and I

understand what they're
doing, because they're

doing the same thing.

Now, again, maybe I'm not
going to be able to do a

deal with Russia, but at
least I will have tried.

And if I don't, does
anybody really think that

Hillary Clinton would be
tougher on Russia than

Donald Trump?

Does anybody in this room
really believe that? Okay.

But I tell you one thing:
She tried to make a deal.

She had the reset.

She gave all the
valuable uranium away.

She did other things.

You know, they say
I'm close to Russia.

Hillary Clinton gave away
20 percent of the uranium

in the United States.

She's close to Russia.

I gave -- you know
what I gave to Russia?

You know what I gave?

Nothing.

The Press: Can we conclude
there will be no response

to these particular
provocations?

The President: I'm not
going to tell you anything

about what response I do.

I don't talk about
military response.

I don't say I'm going into
Mosul in four months.

"We are going to attack
Mosul in four months."

Then three months later:
"We are going to attack

Mosul in one month." "Next
week, we are going to

attack Mosul." In the
meantime, Mosul is very,

very difficult.

Do you know why?

Because I don't talk about
military, and I don't talk

about certain
other things.

You're going to be
surprised to hear that.

And, by the way, my whole
campaign, I'd say that.

So I don't have
to tell you --

The Press: There
will be a response?

The President: I don't
want to be one of these

guys that say, "Yes,
here's what

we're going to do."

I don't have to do that.

The Press: There will be a
-- in other words, there

will be a response,
Mr. President?

The President: I don't
have to tell you what I'm

going to do in
North Korea.

Wait a minute.

I don't have to tell you
what I'm going to do in

North Korea.

And I don't have to tell
you what I'm going

to do with Iran.

You know why?

Because they
shouldn't know.

And eventually you guys
are going to get tired of

asking that question.

So when you ask me, what
am I going to do with the

ship -- the Russian ship,
as an example -- I'm not

going to tell you.

But hopefully, I won't
have to do anything.

But I'm not going
to tell you. Okay.

The Press: Thanks.

The Press: Can I just ask
you -- thank you very

much, Mr. President
-- the Trump --

The President:
Where are you from?

The Press: BBC.

The President: Okay.

Here's another beauty.

The Press: That's
a good line.

Impartial, free, and fair.

The President: Yeah, sure.

The Press: Mr.
President --

The President: Just
like CNN, right?

The Press: Mr. President,
on the travel ban -- we

could banter
back and forth.

On the travel ban, would
you accept that that was a

good example of the smooth
running of government,

that fine-tuned --

The President: Yeah, I do.

I do.

And let me tell you
about the travel --

The Press: Were there
any mistakes in that?

The President:
Wait, wait, wait.

I know who you are.

Just wait.

Let me tell you
about the travel ban.

We had a very smooth
rollout of the travel ban,

but we had a bad court.

We got a bad decision.

We had a court that's been
overturned -- again, maybe

wrong, but I think it's
80 percent of the time.

A lot.

We had a bad decision.

We're going to keep going
with that decision.

We're going to put in a
new executive order next

week sometime.

But we had a bad decision.

That's the only thing that
was wrong

with the travel ban.

You had Delta with a
massive problem with their

computer system
at the airports.

You had some people that
were put out there,

brought by very nice
buses, and they were put

out at various locations.

Despite that, the only
problem that we had is we

had a bad court.

We had a court that gave
us what I consider to be,

with great respect,
a very bad decision.

Very bad for the safety
and security

of our country.

The rollout was perfect.

Now, what I wanted to do
was do the exact same

executive order but said
one thing -- and I said

this to my people: Give
them a

one-month period of time.

But General Kelly, now
Secretary Kelly, said, if

you do that, all these
people will come in, in

the month -- the bad ones.

You do agree, there are
bad people out there, right?

They're not everybody
that's like you.

You have some bad
people out there.

So Kelly said,
you can't do that.

And he was right.

As soon as he said it, I
said, wow,

never thought of it.

I said, how
about one week?

He said, no good.

You got to do it
immediately, because if

you do it immediately,
they don't have

time to come in.

Now, nobody ever reports
that, but that's why we

did it quickly.

Now, if would have done it
a month, everything would

have been perfect.

The problems is we would
have wasted a lot of time,

and maybe a lot of lives,
because a lot of bad

people would have come
into our country.

Now, in the meantime,
we've vetting very,

very strongly.

Very, very strongly.

But we need help, and we
need help by getting that

executive order passed.

The Press: Just a
brief follow-up.

And if it's so urgent,
why not introduce --

The President:
Yes, go ahead.

The Press: Thank you.

I just was hoping that we
could get a yes- or-no

answer on one of these
questions

involving Russia.

Can you say whether you
are aware that anyone who

advised your campaign
had contacts with Russia

during the course
of the election?

The President: Well, I
told you, General Flynn

obviously was dealing.

So that's one person.

But he was dealing -- as
he should have been --

The Press: During
the election?

The President: No, no,
nobody that I know of.

The Press: So you're not
aware of any contacts

during the course
of the election?

The President: Look, look,
how many times do I have

to answer this question?

The Press: Can you just
say yes or no on it?

The President:
Russia is a ruse.

Yeah, I know you have to
get up and ask a question,

so important.

Russia is a ruse.

I have nothing to do with
Russia, haven't made a

phone call to
Russia in years.

Don't speak to
people from Russia.

Not that I wouldn't, I
just have

nobody to speak to.

I spoke to Putin twice.

He called me on the
election -- I told you

this -- and he called me
on the inauguration, and a

few days ago.

We had a very good talk,
especially the second one

-- lasted for a pretty
long period of time.

I'm sure you probably
get it because it was

classified, so I'm sure
everybody in this room

perhaps has it.

But we had a very,
very good talk.

I have nothing to
do with Russia.

To the best of my
knowledge, no person that

I deal with does.

Now, Manafort has
totally denied it.

He denied it.

Now, people knew that he
was a consultant over in

that part of the world
for a while, but

not for Russia.

I think he represented
Ukraine or people having

to do with Ukraine, or
people that -- whoever.

But people knew that.

Everybody knew that.

The Press: But in his
capacity as your campaign

manager, was he in touch
with Russian officials

during the election?

The President: I have --
you know what, he said no.

I can only tell you what
he -- now, he was replaced

long before the election.

You know that, right?

He was replaced long
before the election.

When all of this stuff
started coming out, it

came out during
the election.

But Paul Manafort, who's a
good man also, by the way

-- Paul Manafort was
replaced long before the

election took place.

He was only there for a
short period of time.

How much longer should
we stay here, folks?

Five more minutes,
is that okay? Five?

The Press: Mr. President,
on national security --

The President: Wait, let's
see, who's -- I want to

find a friendly reporter.

Are you a friendly
reporter?

Watch how friendly he is.

Wait, wait -- watch
how friendly he is.

Go ahead.

Go ahead.

The Press: So, first
of all, my name is

(inaudible) from
(inaudible) Magazine.

And (inaudible).

I haven't seen anybody in
my community accuse either

yourself or any of the --
anyone on your staff of

being anti-Semitic.

We have an understanding
of (inaudible).

The President: Thank you.

The Press: However, what
we are concerned about,

and what we haven't really
heard be addressed is an

uptick in anti-Semitism
and how the government is

planning to
take care of it.

There have been reports
out that 48 bomb threats

have been made against
Jewish centers all across

the country in the
last couple of weeks.

There are people who are
committing anti-Semitic

acts or threatening to --

The President: You see, he
said he was going to ask a

very simple,
easy question.

And it's not.

It's not.

Not a simple question,
not a fair question.

Okay, sit down.

I understand the rest
of your question.

So here's the
story, folks.

Number one, I am the least
anti-Semitic person that

you've ever seen in
your entire life.

Number two, racism --
the least racist person.

In fact, we did very well
relative to other people

running as a Republican.

The Press: (Inaudible.)

The President:
Quiet, quiet, quiet.

See, he lied about -- he
was going to get up and

ask a very straight,
simple question.

So you know, welcome to
the world of the media.

But let me just tell you
something -- that I

hate the charge.

I find it repulsive.

I hate even the question
because people that know

me -- and you heard the
Prime Minister, you heard

Netanyahu yesterday --
did you hear him, Bibi?

He said, I've known Donald
Trump for a long time, and

then he said, forget it.

So you should take that,
instead of having to get

up and ask a very

insulting question like that.

Yeah, go ahead.

Go ahead.

The Press: Thank you.

I'm Lisa from the PBS --

The President: See, it
just shows you about the

press, but that's
the way the press is.

The Press: Thank
you, Mr. President.

Lisa Desjardins from
the PBS Newshour.

The President: Good.

The Press: On national
security and immigration,

can you give us more
details on the executive

order you planned for
next week, even

its broad outlines?

Will it be focused on
specific countries?

The President: It's
a very fair question.

The Press: And in
addition, on the DACA

program for immigration,
what is your plan?

Do you plan to continue
that program or to end it?

The President: We're going
to show great heart.

DACA is a very, very
difficult subject for me,

I will tell you.

To me, it's one of the
most difficult subjects I

have, because you have
these incredible kids, in

many cases --
not in all cases.

In some of the cases
they're having DACA and

they're gang members and
they're drug dealers too.

But you have some
absolutely incredible kids

-- I would say mostly --
they were brought here in

such a way -- it's a
very, very tough subject.

We are going to deal
with DACA with heart.

I have to deal with a lot
of politicians, don't

forget, and I have to
convince them that what

I'm saying is right.

And I appreciate your
understanding on that.

But the DACA situation is
a very, very -- it's a

very difficult
thing for me.

Because, you know,
I love these kids.

I love kids.

I have kids and grandkids.

And I find it very, very
hard doing what the law

says exactly to do.

And you know,
the law is rough.

I'm not talking
about new laws.

I'm talking the existing
law is very rough.

It's very, very rough.

As far as the new order,
the new order is going to

be very much tailored to
what I consider to be a

very bad decision, but we
can tailor the order to

that decision and get just
about everything, in

some ways more.

But we're tailoring it
now to the decision.

We have some of the best
lawyers in the country

working on it.

And the new executive
order is being tailored to

the decision we got
down from the court. Okay?

The Press: Mr. President,
Melania Trump announced

the reopening of the White
House Visitors Office.

The President: Yes.

The Press: And she does a
lot of great work for the

country as well.

Can you tell us a little
bit about what First Lady

Melania Trump does
for the country?

And there is a unique
level of interest in your

administration, so by
opening the White House

Visitors Office, what
does that mean to you?

The President: Now,
that's what I call

a nice question.

That is very nice.

Who are you with?

The Press: (Inaudible.)

The President: Good.

I'm going to
start watching.

Thank you very much.

Melania is terrific.

She was here last night.

We had dinner with Senator
Rubio and his wife, who

is, by the way, lovely.

And we had a really good
discussion about Cuba

because we have very
similar views on Cuba.

And Cuba was very good to
me in the Florida election

as you know, the Cuban
people, Americans.

And I think that
Melania is going

to be outstanding.

That's right, she just
opened up the Visitors

Center -- in other words,

touring of the White House.

She, like others that
she's working with, feels

very, very strongly about
women's issues, women's

difficulties, very,
very strongly.

And she's a very,
very strong advocate.

I think she's a great
representative

for this country.

And a funny thing happens
because she gets so

unfairly maligned.

The things they say --
I've known her

for a long time.

She was a very
successful person.

She was a very
successful model.

She did really well.

She would go home at night
and didn't even want to go

out with people.

She was a very
private person.

She was always the highest
quality that

you'll ever find.

And the things they say --
and I've known her for a

long time -- the things
they say are so unfair.

And actually, she's been
apologized to, as you

know, by various media
because they said things

that were lies.

I'd just tell you this: I
think she's going to be a

fantastic First Lady.

She's going to be a
tremendous representative

of women and
of the people.

And helping her and
working with her will be

Ivanka, who is a fabulous
person and a fabulous,

fabulous woman.

And they're not
doing this for money.

They're not doing
this for pay.

They're doing this because
they feel it,

both of them.

And Melania goes back and
forth, and after Barron

finishes school -- because
it's hard to take a child

out of school with a few
months left -- she and

Barron will be moving
over to the White House.

Thank you.

That's a very
nice question.

Go ahead.

The Press: Mr. President.

The President: Yes.

Oh, this is going to be a
bad question

but that's okay.

The Press: No, it's
not going to be

a bad question.

The President: Good,
because I enjoy watching

you on television.

The Press: Well,
thank you so much.

Mr. President, I need to
find out from you -- you

said something as it
relates to inner cities.

That was one of your
platforms

during your campaign.

The President: Fix the
inner cities, yes.

The Press: Fixing
the inner cities.

What will be that fix and
your urban agenda, as well

as your HBCU executive
order that's coming out

this afternoon?

See, it wasn't
bad, was it?

The President: That was

very professional and very good.

The Press: I'm
very professional.

The President: We'll be
announcing the order in a

little while, and I'd
rather let the order

speak for itself.

But it will be something
I think that will be very

good for everybody
concerned.

But we'll talk to you
about that after we do the

announcement.

As far as the inner
cities, as you know, I was

very strong on the
inner cities

during the campaign.

I think it's probably
what got me a much higher

percentage of the African
American vote than a lot

of people thought
I was going to get.

We did much higher than
people thought I was going

to get and I was honored
by that, including the

Hispanic vote, which
was also much higher.

And, by the way, if I
might add, including the

women's vote, which was
much higher than people

thought I was
going to get.

So we are going to be
working very hard on the

inner cities having to do
with education, having to

do with crime.

We're going to try and fix
as quickly as possible --

you know it takes
a long time.

It's taken 100 years or
more for some of these

places to evolve, and they
evolved many of

them very badly.

But we're going to be
working very hard on

health and health care;
very, very hard

on education.

And also, we're going to
working in a stringent

way, and a very
good way, on crime.

You go to some of these
inner city places, and

it's so sad when you
look at the crime.

You have people -- and
I've seen this, and I've

sort of witnessed it.

In fact, in two cases, I

have actually witnessed it.

They lock themselves into
apartments, petrified to

even leave, in the
middle of the day.

They're living in hell.

We can't let that happen.

So we're going to be
very, very strong.

It's a great question,
and it's a very difficult

situation, because it's
been many, many years.

It's been festering
for many, many years.

But we have places in this
country that we

have to fix.

We have to help African
American people that, for

the most part are stuck
there --

Hispanic American people.

We have Hispanic American
people that are in the

inner cities, and
they're living in hell.

I mean, you look at the
numbers in Chicago.

There are two
Chicagos, as you know.

There's one Chicago that's
incredible, luxurious and

all, and safe.

There's another Chicago
that's worse than almost

any of the places in the
Middle East that we talk

about, and that you talk
about every night

on the newscasts.

So we're going to do a
lot of work on

the inner cities.

I have great people lined
up to help with

the inner cities.

The Press: Well, when you
say -- when you say the

inner cities, are you
going to include the CBC,

Mr. President, in your
conversations with your

urban agenda, your inner
city agenda,

as well as your --

The President: Am I
going include who?

The Press: Are you
going to include the

Congressional Black Caucus
and the Congressional

Hispanic Caucus,
as well as --

The President:
Well, I would.

I tell you what, do
you want to set

up the meeting?

Do you want to set
up the meeting?

The Press: No, no, no.

The President: Are
they friends of yours?

The Press: I'm
just a reporter.

The President: No, g
ahead, set up the meeting.

The Press: I know some of
them, but I'm sure they're

watching right now.

The President: Let's
go set up a meeting.

I would love to meet
with the Black Caucus.

I think it's great --

the Congressional Black Caucus.

I think it's great.

I actually thought I had a
meeting with Congressman

Cummings, and he was all
excited, and then he said,

oh, I can't move, it might
be bad for me politically,

I can't have that meeting.

I was all set to
have the meeting.

You know, we called him
and called him, and he was

all set.

I spoke to him
on the phone.

Very nice guy.

The Press: I hear he
wanted that meeting with

you as well.

The President:
He wanted it.

But we called, called,
called, called -- they

can't make a
meeting with him.

Every day, I walked in, I
said, I would like to meet

with him.

Because I do want to
solve the problem.

But he probably was told
by Schumer or somebody

like that -- some other
lightweight -- he was

probably told -- he was
probably told, don't meet

with Trump, it's
bad politics.

And that's part of the
problem of this country.

Okay, one more.

Go ahead.

The Press: Yes,
Mr. President, two

questions --

The President: No, no.

One question.

Two, we can't handle.

This room can't
handle two.

Go ahead, give me the
better of your two.

The Press: (Inaudible)
it's not about your

personality or
your beliefs.

We're talking about
(inaudible) around the

country, some of it by
supporters in your name.

What do you --

The President: And some of
it -- and can I be

honest with you?

And this has to do with
racism and horrible things

that are put up.

Some of it written
by our opponents.

You do know that.

Do you understand that?

You don't think anybody
would do a

thing like that.

Some of the signs you'll
see are not put up by the

people that love or like
Donald Trump, they're put

up by the other side,
and you think it's like

playing it straight. No.

But you have some of those
signs, and some of that

anger is caused
by the other side.

They'll do signs and
they'll do drawings that

are inappropriate.

It won't be my people.

It will be the people on
the other side to anger

people like you.

Okay. Go ahead.

The Press: You are
the President now.

What are you going
to do about it?

The President:
Who is that?

Where is that?

Oh, stand up.

You can --

The Press: What are you
going to do about the

tensions that have
been discussed?

The President: Oh,
I'm working on it.

No, I'm working
on it very hard.

The Press: Are you
going to give a speech?

The President:
No, no, look.

Hey, just so you
understand, we had a

totally divided country
for eight years, and long

before that, in all

fairness to President Obama.

Long before President
Obama, we have had

a very divided.

I didn't come along and
divide this country.

This country was seriously
divided before I got here.

We're going to work
on it very hard.

One of the questions that
was asked -- I thought it

was a very good question
-- was about

the inner cities.

I mean, that's part of it.

But we're going to
work on education.

We're going to work on
lack -- you know, we're

going to stop -- we're
going to try and

stop the crime.

We have great law
enforcement officials.

We're going to try
and stop crime.

We're not going to try and
stop, we're going

to stop crime.

But it's very
important to me.

But this isn't Donald
Trump that

divided a nation.

We went eight years with
President Obama, and we

went many years before
President Obama.

We lived in a
divided nation.

And I am going to try -- I
will do everything within

my power to fix that.

I want to thank
everybody very much.

It's a great honor
to be with you.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

(Applause.)