Remarks in an Exchange With Reporters Prior to Departure for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The President. Hello, everybody.

Q. Hello, Mr. President.

Q. President, what's next for the Department of Education?

The President. We brought our star along here.

[At this point, the President gestured to White Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.]

We're going to Pittsburgh. We're going to be touting about—actually, going to be numbers like nobody has ever heard before. It's mostly to do with AI. We have tremendous investments being made, literally trillions of dollars of investments being made in our country on AI, artificial intelligence. I don't know if the word "artificial" is a good word, but that's the word. That's what they've chosen.

So I think we're going to have a very successful trip.

We had a good call with the Texas Congressmen this morning, as you probably heard, and that went very well.

And do you have any questions? Yes.

[Several reporters began asking questions at once.]

Q. Mr. President, on Texas.

Q. Mr. President, your your——

Q. Oh. Gabe [Gabe Gutierrez, NBC News], you go first.

Q. Okay.

Q. And then I'll go.

Inflation/Federal Reserve System

Q. Mr. President, your reaction to the latest numbers from the Labor Department saying that inflation rose slightly last month?

The President. Very slight. Essentially, they were exactly as anticipated. Very low inflation. So what you should do is lower the rate. The Fed should lower the rate immediately.

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

Department of Education Proposed Closure

Q. Sir—what's next for the Department of Education, sir?

Q. Did—did tariffs—

Q. Mr. President, sir, what's next—what's next——

The President. We had a big win with the Supreme Court on the Department of Education. And we want—as you know, we want to bring education back to the States, take the Federal Government out of it. A little, tiny bit of supervision, but very little, almost nothing. Like to make sure they speak English, that's about all we need. But——

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

Q. Mr. President, what you tell a student who might be in a struggling, failing school right now? What would you tell that student?

The President. Well, we have school choice, and we've—getting school choice approved all over the country. We just got it done in Texas, and school choice is the answer.

Yes, please. Hi, Steve [Steve A. Holland, Reuters].

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

Russia/Ukraine

Q. Mr. President, you've given Russia 50 days. What happens now? Do you talk to Vladimir Putin? What——

The President. Well, at the end of 50 days, if we don't have a deal, it's going to be too bad.

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

Q. [Inaudible]

The President. Yes, the tariffs are going to go on, and other sanctions go on.

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

Ukraine/Russia

Q. Should Zelenskyy target Moscow? Should Zelenskyy target Moscow, sir? Should Zelensky target Moscow or deeper into Russia—[inaudible]——

The President. No, he shouldn't target Moscow.

Q. Is that why you gave him more weapons, though?

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

Ukraine/U.S. Security Assistance

Q. A question on Ukraine. Are you willing to give long-range missiles to Ukraine as well? And are you—[inaudible]—the 50 days?

The President. No, we're not looking to do that.

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

Russia/Ukraine

Q. Mr. President, why are you giving Mr. Putin 50 additional days to prosecute his war against Ukraine?

The President. Oh, I don't think 50 days is very long, and it could be sooner than that. I don't think 50 days is very long.

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

You should have asked that same question to Biden: Why did he get us into this war?

Q. I did ask that question.

The President. You should've asked that question.

Q. I asked the question to Biden.

The President. Yes? And what did he tell you? Why did he get us into this war?

Q. He didn't give us an answer, Mr. President.

The President. You know why he got us in? Because he's a dummy, that's why. And you don't cover it right.

Q. I covered it.

The President. But you should be asking that question to Biden: Why did he get us into this war? Because he's incompetent. It would have never happened if I were President.

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

Go ahead.

Indonesia-U.S. Trade/India-U.S. Trade/Tariffs

Q. Mr. President, what's the deal with Indonesia? What are the terms?

The President. So we made a deal with Indonesia. I spoke to their really great President—very popular, very strong, smart—and we made the deal. We have full access to Indonesia, everything. As you know, Indonesia is very strong on copper, but we have full access to everything. We will pay no tariffs.

So they are giving us access into Indonesia, which we never had. That's probably the biggest part of the deal. And the other part is, they are going to pay 19 percent, and we are going to pay nothing. It's going to—I think it's a good deal for both parties. But we will have full access into Indonesia.

And we have a couple of those deals that are going to be announced. India, basically, is working along that same line. We're going to have access into India. And you have to understand, we had no access into any of these countries. Our people couldn't go in. And now we're getting access because of what we're doing with the tariffs.

So they're paying 19 percent, and we are not paying anything. And they're going to have—they're going to give us full access into Indonesia.

Now, Indonesia has some great product, and they also have some very valuable earths and various other materials. One of the things, as you know, they're known for is very high-quality copper, which we'll be using.

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

USA Today/Inflation

Q. Mr. President, do you believe your tariffs might have led for inflation to increase last month? Do you think they had any role in the uptick?

The President. Well, we had very little inflation. I don't know.

Who do you work for?

Q. USA Today.

The President. What?

Q. USA Today.

The President. Oh, well, they wrote me a beautiful article the other day, so I can't get angry at you.

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

USA Today just wrote a very good article about me. What's that all about? So I can't get angry at you.

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

No, there was very little inflation, as you know. The numbers were very good, very much inside the margin. So we've had no inflation. All we have is, we're making a fortune. We are taking in hundreds of billions of dollars. You saw we had a surplus of $25 billion last month, which we haven't had in many, many years.

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

Brazil/U.S. Tariffs

Q. President Trump, how do you justify putting tariffs on Brazil if they have a surplus with the United States?

The President. We are—do it because I've got to—because I'm able to do it. Nobody else would be able to do it.

Q. But do you need a national security reason?

The President. We have tariffs going on because we want tariffs, and we want the money coming into the United States. But more important than the money—there's two aspects of tariffs. There's the money which comes in. The other aspect is that, rather than paying the tariffs, the country—or the company will build in the United States, make their product in the United States, and that creates jobs.

And I would say, of the two, probably the more important to me is that.

Yes.

Q. Sir, on tech. How many——

Ukraine/Russia

Q. Mr. President, are you—are you on Ukraine's—are you on Ukraine's side now?

The President. No, I'm on nobody's side. I'm—no.

Q. Why?

The President. I want to—you know—the side I'm on? Humanity's side. I want to stop the killing of thousands of people a week. I want to stop the killing. I want the killing to stop in the Ukraine-Russia war. That's the side I'm on.

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

Investigation Documents Pertaining to Deceased Convicted Sex Offender Jeffrey Epstein

Q. Mr. President, your daughter—Mr. President, your daughter-in-law said that there—that there should be transparency in the Epstein case. Do you agree with her, sir?

The President. The Attorney General has handled that very well. She is—she's really done a very good job. And I think that when you look at it, you'll understand that.

I would like to see that also. But I think the Attorney General—the credibility is very important. And you want credible evidence for something like that, and I think the Attorney General has handled it very well.

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

Attorney General Pamela J. Bondi

Q. The Attorney—on Epstein, the Attorney General briefed you on the DOJ and FBI's review—the findings of that review. The Attorney General briefed you on that.

The President. On what? On the——

Q. On the DOJ and FBI review——

The President. On what? On what subject?

Q. Epstein. On Epstein.

The President. Okay.

Q. On the review of the files. Attorney General Pam Bondi briefed you on that.

The President. A very—quick briefing, yes.

Q. Did she tell you—what did she tell you about the review? And specifically, did she tell you at all that your name appeared in the—in those files?

The President. No, no. She's—given us just a very quick briefing and—in terms of the credibility of the different things that they've seen. And I would say that, you know, these files were made up by Comey, they were made up by Obama, they were made up by the Biden—you know.

We—and we went through years of that with the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax. With all of the different things that we had to go through, we've gone through years of it.

But she's handled it very well, and it's going to be up to her. Whatever she thinks is credible, she should release.

Yes.

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

Texas Redistricting of Congressional Seats

Q. Mr. President, on Texas, how many more seats do you want the Republicans to draw for h- ——

The President. Five.

Q. And then what if California, New York, Illinois, and other blue States decide to do this?

The President. Yes. Well, that's okay too. But five. I think we'd get five, and there could be some other States—we're going to get another three or four or five in addition. Texas would be the biggest one, and that will be five.

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

Q. Are you calling, then, for a complete redrawing of the congressional map ahead of next year?

The President. No, no. I just—a very simple redrawing, we'd pick up five seats. But we have a couple of other States where we'll pick up seats also.

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

Chairman of the Federal Reserve System Board of Governors Jerome H. Powell

Q. When was the last time, Mr. President, that you spoke with Fed Chairman Jerome Powell? When was the last time you spoke with him?

The President. Well, when he was in my office.

Q. And what did you tell him when he was in your office?

The President. I told him he's doing a very bad job. He's way late. That's why I call him "Too Late." Jerome Powell is too late. He's way late. Interest rates should be coming down. We're—we have a very, very successful country. We should have the lowest interest rate anywhere in the world, and we don't.

Jerome Powell has done a terrible job, and frankly, I don't think he could do a worse job.

Q. Is he not going to—[inaudible]——

The President. He's called everything wrong. So they had a report come out the other day—71 different economists and me. You know who was right? Me.

Q. Are you going to replace him?

Q. Are you going to appoint him to another term?

The President. Did you know that?

Q. I did know that.

The President. I was right.

Q. I did know. Mr. President, are you going to appoint Mr. Powell to another term as Fed Chair?

The President. You must be kidding.

Q. Have you started interviewing his replacement?

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

The President. You must be kidding.

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

That's a funny one coming from you.

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

You had to waste a question like that.

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

European Union

Q. Are you still negotiating with the EU on tariffs? Are you still negotiating with the European Union?

The President. No, we are talking to the EU, and we're making progress. But look, you know, we already have a deal with the EU. It's called the letter that was sent out. I think it was 30 percent. That's the EU. But we—at the same time, we are talking to them.

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

Q. Mr. President, did the Attorney——

The President. No, no.

Go ahead.

New York City Mayoral Race

Q. Mr. President, your reaction to Andrew Cuomo staying in the New York City mayor's race? Andrew Cuomo staying in the New York City mayor's race, your reaction?

The President. I think he should stay. I think he has a shot.

Q. Would you prefer him over——

The President. Well, I don't want to say. You know, I'm a Republican; he's a Democrat or an independent. No, I think Andrew would have a good shot of winning.

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

He's got to run a tough campaign. He's—you know, he's running against a Communist. I would think that he would have a good shot of winning.

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

Steve, go ahead.

The President's Schedule

Q. Tell us about your trip to Scotland, sir. What are you going to do on your trip to Scotland?

The President. Well, we're going to be meeting with the British Prime Minister, very respected. And we are going to have a meeting with him, probably in Aberdeen. And we're going to do a lot of different things. And we're going to also refine the trade deal that we've made. So we'll be meeting mostly with the—at, probably, one of my properties, or maybe not, depending on what happens. But we'll be in Aberdeen, in Scotland, meeting with the Prime Minister.

European Union/Tariffs

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

Q. Mr. President, do you have a message for the EU if they retaliate your tariffs?

The President. Well, I don't know how they can retaliate. You know, they've made a lot of money. They've treated us very badly, but now they're treating us very nicely. And I think we'll end up—I think everybody's going to be happy with the EU.

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

Pope Leo XIV/The Pope's Brother Louis M. Prevost

Q. Sir, any plans—any plans to meet with Pope Leo in the near future, sir?

The President. Not a plan. I would do it. I have a lot of respect—I really like his brother. His brother is a major, serious Trumper. You know that? He's MAGA all the way. I like the Pope's brother, and I think I'd like the Pope. But the Pope's brother lives in Florida. I met him, and he is MAGA. He's got MAGA signs all over the house. He likes Trump, and I like him.

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

Okay. How about you?

President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin of Russia

Q. Do you plan to meet President Putin to sit down to discuss Ukraine in depth?

The President. Well, we're going to see what happens with President Putin. So far, I've been very disappointed with President Putin. I've solved a lot of wars in the last 3 months, but I haven't gotten this one yet.

This is a Biden war. It's not a Trump war. I'm here to try and get us out of that mess.

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

Former President Jair Messias Bolsonaro of Brazil

Q. Thank you so much. Thank you so much, President Trump. Prosecutors——

Q. Do you have messages for trading partners?

Q. Prosecutors in Brazil——

The President. Any messages for what?

Q. Thank you.

Q. Trading partners.

Q. Thank you, President Trump. On——

The President. Yes, go ahead. Do I have a what?

Q. Brasil—I'm from SBT Brasil. Prosecutors in Brazil, they asked the Brazilian Supreme Court——

The President. The people of Brazil?

Q. Yes. But the—okay.

The President. Are you from Brazil?

Q. I am. Okay, prosecutors in Brazil asked the Supreme Court to find former President Bolsonaro guilty. Any word of that?

The President. He's going to trial now, right?

Q. Yes.

The President. When is that trial starting?

Q. He—the prosecutors, they are asking him——

The President. When is the trial for Bolsonaro starting?

Q. When it started? Like, months ago.

The President. When is it——

Press Secretary Leavitt. When is it starting?

Q. Months ago.

The President. How is it going?

Q. Now, they are asking him to find him guilty.

The President. But they haven't found him guilty, have they?

Q. But what do you think? Your opinion——

The President. But have they found him guilty? No.

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

Look, here's the—[inaudible]. President Bolsonaro is a good man. I've gotten to know a lot of Prime Ministers and Presidents and Kings and Queens. And I know him, and I'm pretty good at this. President Bolsonaro is not a dishonest man. He loves the people of Brazil. He fought hard for the people of Brazil. He negotiated great deals against me for the people of Brazil, and he was very tough. And he was tough because he—wanted to do a good deal for his country. He was not a dishonest man.

And I believe it's a witch hunt, and it shouldn't be happening. And it's not that I know him that—look, he's not, like, a friend of mine. He's somebody that I know, and I know him as a representative of millions of people—Brazilians. They're great people. And he loves the country, and he fought hard for those people, and they want to put him in jail. And I think that's a witch hunt, and I think it's very unfortunate.

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

And nobody's happy with what Brazil is doing, because Bolsonaro was a respected President—very respected.

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

Senator Adam B. Schiff

Q. President Trump, when you say that you want Adam Schiff "brought to justice," what does that mean?

The President. I would love to see him brought to justice. I think he's——

Q. Is that jail?

The President. I think—I'll tell you what, I think Adam Schiff is one of the lowest of the low. I would love to see him brought to justice. He's a dishonest, crooked guy.

I don't know about the individual charge, if that even happens. But Adam Schiff is a serious lowlife.

New York City Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani/Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Q. And tomorrow morning, here in Washington, A.O.C. is hosting Zohran Mamdani for breakfast. Were you invited?

The President. I'd love to be. I'd really love to go. I mean, I look forward to meeting them both. I know them both very well through what I read and through what I see.

Look, he's a Communist. I don't think our country is ready for a Communist, but we're going to see. And I don't think that race is over yet either. You do have a couple of people running against, and I—it will be an interesting thing. Things are coming out about him which aren't good.

And you know, A.O.C.—look, I think she's very nice, but she's very low IQ. And we really don't need low IQ. Between her and Crockett, we're going to give them both an IQ test to see who comes out best.

Now, I took my test. I took a real test at Walter Reed Medical Center, and I aced it. I got every one of all those questions right. Now it's time for them to take a test.

Anyway, have a good time.

Federal Bureau of Investigation Deputy Director Daniel J. Bongino

Q. Do you have confidence in Dan Bongino? Do you have confidence in Dan——

The President. I like Dan Bongino, yes.

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin of Russia

Q. Mr. President, does—do you think Putin respects you and takes your threat seriously?

The President. I think so.

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

Q. Mr. President, it looks like——

The President. He gets a little special treatment.

Q. Hang on a second. They get excited over you, right?

The President. Oh, they do. They get excited over you.

New York State Attorney General Letitia A. James/Senator Adam B. Schiff

Q. Well, I don't know why. First question. First, Letitia James' alleged mortgage fraud. Now we have Adam Schiff allegedly committed mortgage fraud at all.

The President. Yes.

Q. Your thoughts on that?

The President. Well, I just saw it, and I think the thing with Adam Schiff is very serious. And I think what they have on Letitia James is very serious. That's a very, very serious situation. But I have to leave that up to the district attorneys and to the prosecutors and to the attorney general, most importantly.

Q. Should Letitia James have a law license based upon the alleged violations of mortgage fraud?

The President. Well, they look pretty open-and-shut to me, but you know, I'm not the jury. I'm not the jury.

No. Looks very serious. And Adam Schiff looks very serious. Look, he's a sleazeball. Everybody knows it. And I was a little surprised. I thought he would have covered his bases a little bit better than that. Adam Schiff is a lowlife. He deserves what he gets.

Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act

Q. Let's talk about the GENIUS Act that you just pushed out. Let's talk a little about that.

The President. Yes. Yes, we're going to do that, and we're going to have—we have great support for it. It's a beautiful act. It's—the GENIUS Act is a beautiful act. I even like the name of it, because we need smart people in our country.

Thank you, Brian [Brian Glenn, Real American's Voice].

[Several reporters spoke at once.]

President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin of Russia

Q. Did you get—have you spoken to President Putin since the announcement yesterday——

The President. I have not.