Remarks in an Exchange With Reporters Aboard Air Force One En Route to Miami, Florida

The President. Hello, everybody.

Q. Hello, sir.

Q. Hello, Mr. President.

The President. Nice to see you.

Q. Nice to see you.

The President. We had a—hello. Nice—I haven't seen you in a while.

Q. Good to see you, sir.

[At this point, the President held up a gold card with his face printed on it.]

The President. Five million—for 5 million dollars, this could be yours. That was the first of the cards. You know what that card is?

Q. Gold card.

The President. It's the gold card. The Trump card, gold card.

Special Immigration Program

Q. Who's the first buyer?

The President. Me. I'm the first.

Q. Who's the second? [Laughter]

The President. I don't know. But I'm the first buyer. It will be out in about—less than 2 weeks, probably. Pretty exciting, right?

Q. You ready for some questions?

The President. Anybody want to buy one? Huh?

Okay, let's go.

Stock Market Volatility/Tariffs

Q. First, we'd love to get your reaction, sir, to what's going on in the financial markets today.

The President. Well, I mean, it's to be expected. We're—this is a patient that was very sick. We inherited—we really inherited a terrible economy, as you know, with a lot of problems, including a loss of manufacturing and plants closed up all over the country. You know, we've lost 90,000 plants since NAFTA—if you think of that, 90,000, it's not even believable—and about 6 million jobs.

And so it's a sick—it was a sick patient. It went through an operation on "liberation day." And it's going to be a booming country, a very booming country. It's going to be amazing, actually. And we see it, because we have trillions of dollars committed to come in—trillions.

Manufacturing Investment

Q. Sir, can I ask you, when you say that it was an operation and the patient is healthy now, does that mean you see us as kind of towards the high-water mark, in terms of how high——

The President. Yes, I think the operation—sure. The operation is over, and now we let it settle in. You see the plants are starting to—construction already. We have many plants. Indiana, massive auto plant, the Honda. And we have so many plants, and they'll be under construction. And as they start to build, you're going to see a lot of construction jobs, and you're going to see a lot of jobs when they open.

Additional Tariffs in Other Sectors

Q. Does that mean chips and pharma tariffs are not on the table?

The President. Yes, well, they're starting very soon. The chips are starting very soon. The pharma is going to be starting to come in, I think, at a level that you haven't really seen before. We are looking at pharma right now, pharmaceuticals as a separate category. And we'll be announcing that sometime in the near future—not-too-distant future.

Q. Are you negotiating——

The President. That's under review right now.

Trade Negotiations/Tariffs/TikTok Application

Q. Are you negotiating with partners currently?

The President. What we have is we have a set of tariffs, based on what they have been charging us, that's reciprocal. And those tariffs have come in, and many—every country has called us. That's the beauty of what we do. We put ourselves in the driver's seat. If we would have asked some of these countries, almost—most of these countries to do us a favor, they would have said, "No." Now they'll do anything for us.

But we have tariffs. They've been set. And it's going to make our country very rich.

Q. But are you open to deals with these countries, if they're calling you?

The President. Well, it depends. If somebody said that we're going to give you something that's so phenomenal, as long as they're giving us something that's good. For instance, with TikTok, as an example, we have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, "We'll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariff?"

The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. Always have. I've used them very well in the first administration, as you saw. But now we're taking it to a whole new level, because it's a worldwide situation, and it's very exciting to see.

And what it's done is driven a lot of great companies to our country. And you're going see construction starting all over. I already got a couple of calls from Lee Zeldin from Environmental. He's got some big plants to approve, like really big plants.

[At this point, several reporters began asking questions at once.]

Manufacturing Investment

Q. How long will it take to get manufacturing—American manufacturing to where you would like to see it?

The President. Well, let's say it's a 2-year process. You know, they start a plant—and they're big plants. We're giving them approval to also, in many cases—to build the electric facility with it. So you have electric generation and a plant, and they're big plants.

Now, the good news is a lot of money for them, and they can build them fast. But they're still very big plants. So I'd always say it would take a year and a half to 2 years.

Q. Mr. President, I'm curious——

Q. Mr. President, can I ask you about the NSC?

The President. They've already started some of them.

Former Governor Andrew M. Cuomo of New York/Coronavirus Pandemic

Q. Mr. President, have you been following the New York City mayor's race? And specifically, Andrew Cuomo is now the front-runner, according to the polls.

The President. Yes.

Q. How do you feel about that? Do you think you could have a good relationship with a Mayor Andrew Cuomo?

The President. Well, I've always gotten along with him. We had our ins and outs a little bit. We did a great job for him. Remember, we built the convention center, rooms for him. He didn't use them, unfortunately. And we sent the Mercy ship. We sent the really magnificent hospital ship, and they didn't use it. But we always had a pretty good relationship.

Q. You going to make an endorsement in that race?

The President. Well, it's not something I'm thinking about yet. Is he thinking about running? Yes?

Q. Maybe.

Russia/Ukraine

Q. On Russia-Ukraine. There's a Russian Envoy in town for some meetings. Can you give us an update on how that's going?

The President. We do. We have an Envoy from Russia. We're talking about it. We'd like to see that stop as soon as possible, because thousands of people are being killed a week—soldiers, mostly soldiers—and Ukrainian soldiers and Russian soldiers, and you're losing 2,000, 3,000, sometimes, a week.

So we're, you know, spearheading the drive to get it done. Europe has not been successful in dealing with President Putin, but I think I will be successful.

National Security Council

Q. Sir, can I ask you about the NSC. How many staffers were let go and why? Your National Security Council, how many staffers were let go by——

The President. Oh, there were some. There were some. Always, we're going to let go of people, people that we don't like or people that we don't think can do the job or people that may have loyalties to somebody else. You'll always have that.

Q. Sir, you mentioned——

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel/Gaza Conflict

Q. Sir, have you talked to Netanyahu recently? Israel has now talked about staying in Gaza, doing long-term occupation. Has anything changed in regard to the U.S.-Gaza-Israel plans?

The President. I spoke to him today, as a matter of fact, and I think he's going to be coming to our country sometime in the not-too-distant future, maybe next week, and we'll speak about Israel. We'll speak about what's going on. That's another thing we'd like to get solved, and I think we will get it solved. But I think——

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

I think he very well may be coming next week.

Q. Who's coming?

The President. Benjamin Netanyahu.

TikTok Application/Tariffs

Q. Sir, could I follow up on your earlier comment about TikTok? You said that the Chinese might be willing to agree to prove—approve that sale in exchange for tariff relief. Is that something that you floated to them, or you've heard from them, or——

The President. No. No. I'm just using that as an example.

Q. Okay.

The President. Let's say we had a problem with TikTok, and let's say China wasn't going to approve, and we could use tariffs in order to get it approved. You know, you can——

Q. The deadline is Saturday.

The President. If give them something in return.

TikTok Application/China-U.S. Trade

Q. What's the update on the deal negotiations for TikTok?

The President. We have—we're very close to a deal with a very good group of people for TikTok.

Q. Larry Ellison? Or is it multiple investors, just——

The President. Multiple.

Q. And then, did the last-minute bids kind of throw things into disarray for you, or do you have your strategy completely locked up on who's going to——

The President. Which last minute? Which——

Q. On acquiring TikTok.

The President. No, I think——

Q. There were, like, some last-minute bids.

The President. I think that China maybe will call and say, "Well, we're upset with the tariffs," and maybe they want to get something a little bit in order to get TikTok approved. Who knows. But——

Q. Is there any plans underway to speak to Xi?

The President. ——that's I have no knowledge of that, but that's the kind of thing that would happen.

Gaza, Palestinian Territories/Hostages Held in Gaza

Q. On Israel. Can you give us any update on the Palestinian relocation plan? Are there—are we talking to any countries that——

The President. Well, we're going to try and solve the Gaza problem. It's been a problem for many years. For many, many decades, it's been a big problem. We have—I've met with, as you know, a lot of the hostages. It's a terrible situation.

But if you notice, hostages are being released now, and that's happened only since I got involved. So we have hostages being released, quite a few, actually.

Q. And you're still committed to the relocation?

The President. And hopefully—yes, I'd like to get as many hostages as we can. And then Gaza——

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

Gaza is a very important thing. It's—it's been under siege for many, many years. It's a shame. It's a shame. A lot of people die in Gaza. Gaza has been a place we have a lot of people die. A lot of bad things happen on Gaza. We'll see what we can do about it.

The President's Schedule/Professional Golf

Q. The dinner tonight, can you tell us about it? Who's going to be there? Any leaders, any——

The President. So dinner tonight is sort of a—I have a couple of them, actually, but a lot of it's based around charity. It's at Doral. And we raise a lot of money for charities. We're going to also have—they're having one of the big golf tournament—professional golf tournament there, LIV. And that'll take place over the next few days at Doral, from, I guess, tomorrow till they have—I think they have a pro-am right now.

But I'll be speaking tonight. I think I'm making a speech to the players. Great players. Some of the best players in the world.

And ultimately, hopefully, the two tours are going to merge. That would be good. I'm involved in that too. But hopefully, we're going to get the two tours to merge. You have the PGA Tour; you have the LIV tour. And I think having them merge would be a great thing.

Q. Mr. President——

The President. Yes.

Tariffs

Q. About the tariffs. Do you have any message for the American farmer—American businesses that might feel the impact of any reciprocal tariffs coming from the EU, for example, or from other countries?

The President. Well, I think it's going to all work out. Remember, there are no tariffs if you build your plant or you build your product, make your product in the U.S. And so a lot of people—I mean, there's going to be a transition period, because they're going to be building instead of paying tariffs to some other place. And—but there are no tariffs—you know, if you think, there are no tariffs. All you have to do is build, make your product in the United States. So it's—and a lot of people are doing that.

The—they're moving, like the auto companies. I know I spoke to two of the four or five that are really active, and they've already started moving their parts-making things out of Mexico, out of Canada, and into the United States.

Q. Did you speak to any CEOs today?

White House Senior Adviser Elon R. Musk/U.S. DOGE Service

Q. Sir, do you have a sense of how long Elon Musk's mission will last and when he will depart?

The President. Well, Elon is fantastic, and I think it's—you know, he's a patriot, and I think it's a shame what they're doing with his car company. And a great car—it's a great car, great product. And it tells you what a patriot he is. He's amazing.

No, I mean, as long as he'd like. I like smart people, and he's a smart person. I also like him personally. When he endorsed me, that's when I really got to know him. I knew him a little bit before that but not much. And then he endorsed me, and it was a very strong, embracing endorsement, as we all know. And I would say, Elon will stay for a certain period of time, and then he's going to want to get back to his businesses full time.

But he's done a fantastic job. We've found hundreds of—think of it, just hundreds of—we found millions of dollars of fraud and abuse and waste, and they're still going. I mean, they're going strong. They're finding—they found something today that's horrible. It's horrible.

So what they found——

Q. What was it?

The President. Well, you'll find out very soon. What they found is incredible, and I give him a lot of credit. He's got some very smart people with him.

Q. Do you think he can finish——

The President. And they're working very closely with our Secretaries and our—the people that are the heads of the—[inaudible].

Q. Do you think he can finish——

White House Senior Adviser Elon R. Musk

Q. Do you think you would appoint him to another position once his 130 days——

The President. Well, I would. I would. I think Elon is great, but he also has a company to run or a number of companies to run, you know? That he can do this, that he can find the time—he loves the country. That's why does it.

But we're in no rush. But there'll be a point at which time Elon is going to have to leave.

Q. Sir, you mentioned the auto companies.

Q. But has he given you a date, a specific date on when he's out?

The President. No, I would think a few months.

U.S. DOGE Service

Q. Even when you—even when Elon leaves and goes back to being CEO, will DOGE stick around in some kind of capacity?

The President. Yes. It'll still—DOGE itself? Yes. At some point——

Q. What does that look like?

The President. Just so you understand—I don't want to get it wrong—I want Elon to stay as long as possible. Number one, I like him. Number two, he's doing a great job. Number three, he is a patriot. That's why he's doing this. And he's—you know, it's very costly for him.

But—so I want him to stay as long as possible, but there'll be a point where he's going to have to leave. And when he does, the Secretaries will take totally over, and DOGE will stay active. We have a lot of smart people. A lot of those people, I believe, are going to go into the agencies, and they'll work on it from the inside.

U.S. Automobile Industry

Q. You mentioned auto companies that you've been speaking with. Have you spoken to any executives today?

The President. Yes.

Q. Who?

The President. Well, I don't want to say who, but I speak to a lot of the auto executives.

But we have much more than autos. We have chips coming in. We have steel coming in. The steel factories——

Q. But did they call asking for exemptions?

The President. The steel factories are opening up and expanding at levels that people have not seen also.

Social Media Influence Laura Loomer

Q. Can you tell us a little bit about your meeting with Laura Loomer and Mike Waltz today and how that came about?

The President. Yes. So Laura Loomer is a very good patriot. She is a very strong person. And I saw her yesterday for a little while. She has rec—she makes recommendations of things and people. And sometimes I listen to those recommendations, like I do with everybody. I listen to everybody, and then I make a decision.

But I saw her yesterday. She was at the ceremony, and she has—she'll always have something to say, usually very constructive.

Q. What did she recommend?

The President. She recommended certain people for jobs.

Q. Who——

Q. Adding to the administration, not——

The President. Adding.

Q. ——but not firing?

Q. ——who did she recommend?

The President. Well, she'll recommend that too. But yesterday she recommended some people for jobs.

National Security Council

Q. Did she have anything to do with the NSC aides who were ousted?

The President. No. No, not at all.

Q. Do you know how many, sir? Do you know how many from the NSC?

The President. Not many. Very few.

Q. Was it five? A dozen?

The President. I really don't know.

Social Media Influence Laura Loomer/Houthi Rebel Group

Q. Who does Loomer want——

There were—there were a couple that I know.

Q. Who did—who did Laura recommend hiring?

The President. Well, I don't want to say that. But she's a—she's recommended some good people over the years. She's been in the party a long time. She's done a good job.

Q. Do you trust your national security staff is——

The President. Yes, I do.

Q. ——doing what you want them to do?

The President. Sure, I do. We've done very well. We've had big success with the Houthis, as —you probably know. Nobody has been able to do it like us. And, you know, they were shooting the boats out of the water. They were sinking ships. That's what they want to do. They're getting a big charge out of sinking ships.

And unfortunately, they're associated with Iran very closely, so they have to stop that. But we've hit them very hard, and we've been hitting them very hard.

Representative Anna Paulina Luna/Proxy Voting in Congress

Q. Sir, did you talk to Congresswoman Luna about her resolution to get maternity——

The President. Congresswoman who?

Q. The Congresswoman about her resolution to allow proxy voting for new mothers? Did you speak to—[inaudible]?

The President. I did. I did. And I would say this: I guess there's two sides to it, right? It's a little controversial. I don't know why it's controversial. I think she's great—Anna. Right?

Q. Do you support her movement——

The President. I——

Q. ——on maternity proxy voting——

The President. I think that——

Q. ——for mothers?

The President. ——that I'm going to let the Speaker make the decision, but I like the idea of being able to—if you're having a baby, I think you should be able to call in and vote. I'm in favor of that, but I understand some people aren't. I'm not involved in the issue. But I did—I spoke to Anna yesterday, and she and some people feel strongly about it. And I would agree with them, yes.

Iran/U.S. Diplomatic Engagement

Q. Sir, you mentioned Iran. They have come out and said, if they're going to sit down with the U.S., they want to use an intermediary. And I believe the U.S. wanted direct talks. Would you still be willing to talk to them via an intermediary?

The President. I think it's better if we have direct talks. I think it goes faster and you understand the other side a lot better than if you go through intermediaries.

Q. Would you still field them?

The President. They want to use—they wanted to use intermediaries. I don't think that's necessarily true anymore. I think they're concerned. I think they feel vulnerable, and I don't want them to feel that way.

And I think they want to meet, yes. Iran. They're talking about Iran.

Q. You said you don't think they want to use intermediaries anymore. Did they send another letter?

The President. Yes.

Q. Did the U.A.E. let you know about this?

The President. Yes. I know for a fact. I think they'd like to have direct talks.

Q. Can you say anything about what the letter said from Iran?

The President. No. I just think they—I'm just telling you, I think they want to have—forget about letters. I think they want to have direct talks.

Q. When could that happen?

Signal Messaging Application

Q. On Pete Hegseth and this IG investigation, do you want to weigh in on that?

The President. What is it?

Q. There's an IG investigation into the Secretary of Defense's use of sig-—the Signal app.

The President. Oh, I don't—is that—you're bringing that up again? Don't bring that up again. Your editors, probably. That's such a wasted story.

So what else?

China

Q. Chinese farmland. Do you have some plans for Chinese ownership of farmland in the U.S.?

The President. Oh, we look at that all the time. And look, I have a very good relationship with China and with the President, who I have a lot of respect for, President Xi. So, you know, we look at that all the time—the farmland.

It's been an issue for years. It's been—people have talked about it for years, but I have a lot of respect for China, and I have a lot of respect for President Xi.

President Xi Jinping of China

Q. When's the last time you talked to President Xi?

The President. I speak to him. Doesn't matter when, but I speak to him, yes.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine

Q. Have you talked to Zelenskyy recently?

The President. Not too long ago, yes.

Q. How did that go?

The President. Good. I think he's ready to make a deal.

President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin of Russia

Q. No progress, though, other than that?

The President. I think a lot of progress. No, he's ready to make a deal, and I think that President Putin is ready—ready to make a deal, and then you'll stop the killing of thousands of young people a week.

Russia/Ukraine

Q. Did Kirill Dmitriev say that to your counter—to his counterparts in the U.S.?

The President. Who?

Q. Kirill Dmitriev, the Russian negotiator that's in Washington right now.

The President. I don't talk about specific people. I just will tell you that there's a lot of good conversation going on about Ukraine-Russia.

Agreement Between Mauritius and the United Kingdom on the Status of the Chagos Archipelago

Q. Sir, have you given your approval for the U.K.'s deal over the Chagos Island that Prime Minister Starmer and you discussed?

The President. I'm talking to the Prime Minister about it, and we'll see how that turns out. He's—we have a very good dialogue going. And I think he was very happy about how we treated them on tariffs.

Q. Sir, there—a lot of people were upset about how their——

The President. Who are you with?

Stock Market Volatility

Q. The Daily Mail.

A lot of people were upset today about how their 401(k)s were doing. Do you have investments? Were you looking at them?

The President. Oh, I think the——

Q. Are you worried?

The President. I think our markets are going to boom. We've got to give it a little chance. But we're taking in jobs, and we're taking in industry. We're taking in trillions of dollars. I think—I think our markets are going to boom. We've got to give it a little bit of time.

But they've already started construction on numerous plants. Soon it will be many, many plants. All over the country, they're going in. So you've got to give——

Q. Have you both been checking——

The President. You've got to give that——

Q. ——your 401(k)?

The President. You've got to give that a little time.

No, I haven't checked my 401(k). [Laughter]

Thank you very much, everybody.

Interest Rates/Inflation

Q. Sir—sir, one question on the Fed. A lot of money markets are now pricing in more Fed cuts this year.

The President. Well, one thing I like is interest rates going down. I see that happening. And interest——

Q. The 10-year yield——

The President. You know what's beautiful——

Q. ——down right below 4 percent.

The President. ——as interest rates go down, I like—I like groceries going down. I like eggs going down. If you look at it, and very importantly, the gasoline prices are going down. So, a lot of good things are happening.

Thank you very much.

Q. Thank you for your time, Mr. President.

Q. Thank you, sir. Appreciate it.