Remarks in an Exchange With Reporters Prior to Departure for Charlotte, North Carolina

The President. Hello, everybody.

Q. Do you think—[inaudible]?

The President. I just want to compliment law enforcement for having done an incredible job. The FBI, Secret Service—so many. I mean, they just got together and did a fantastic job. Like finding a needle in a haystack. So I want to congratulate them, as you know. I think everybody wants to congratulate them. But they did a fantastic job.

I'm going to North Carolina right now. It's raining, so if you don't mind, I'll step out of the rain. But I really—we're very proud of law enforcement.

[At this point, many reporters began speaking at once.]

Attempted Mail Bomb Attacks Against Public Figures and CNN

Q. Did you see your face on that van, sir? Did you see your face on that van?

The President. I did not. I did not see my face on the van. I don't know—I heard he was a person that preferred me over others, but I did not see that.

Q. Does it bother you at all, sir?

Q. Are you to blame at all for what happened, Mr. President?

Q. Does it bother you at all?

The President. No, not at all. No, I mean—not at all, no. That—there's no blame. There's no anything. If you look at what happened to Steve Scalise, that was from a supporter of a different party. If you look at what happened on—numerous of these incidents, they were supporters of others. No.

I'm just really proud of law enforcement. I think they did an incredible job. And I will see you in North Carolina.

2018 Congressional Elections/Attempted Mail Bomb Attacks Against Public Figures and CNN

Q. Could you do something differently in the way that you engage—[inaudible]?

The President. No, I don't think so. I think that we're running a great campaign. People love what we're doing. They love what we're saying. The Republicans had tremendous momentum, and then, of course, this happened, where all that you people talked about was that. And rightfully so. It was a big thing. Rightfully so.

But now we have to start the momentum again. I think the Republicans have tremendous momentum, when you think of Judge Kavanaugh, when you think of all the things that have happened. And hopefully, we're going to go into a great victory. We have a lot of Senate races where we're leading—races that, frankly, were going to be uncontested. It looks like we're leading a lot of those races. The House is—a lot of people in the House, so we're going to see how that goes. But I think we're doing very well in the House.

Q. Are you worried—[inaudible]—your way?

Former President Barack Obama

Q. Will you call President Obama to update him? Will you call President Obama or any of those targets to update them?

The President. If they wanted me to. But I think we'll probably pass.

Thank you very much.

2018 Congressional Election/News Media

Q. Would you yourself pledge to tone down the rhetoric for the next few days during the campaign?

The President. Well, I think I've been toned down, if you want to know the truth. I could really tone it up. Because, as you know, the media has been extremely unfair to me and to the Republican Party.

News Media

Q. How? How have we been unfair?

The President. I think the media has been very, very unfair in terms of the Republican Party——

Q. How have we been unfair?

The President.——and the way it's been covered. And they understand that. They write articles about that. Many of them admit that. But the media has been unbelievably unfair to Republicans, conservatives, and certainly to me. But with all of that being said, we're winning. So I like that.

Thank you very much. Thank you.