Remarks on the Situation in Ukraine and an Exchange With Reporters Prior to Departure From Joint Base Andrews, Maryland

The President. Okay. Thank you. Thank you very much.

We've had some pretty good news coming out of Russia. We're hearing good things. Who knows? But we're hearing good things. They're in a very strong position militarily with quite a few Ukrainian soldiers, but hopefully nothing will happen with that. I've asked them not to let anything happen, and I think—I hope that nothing happens.

But I feel that Russia is going to make a deal with us, I hope. We've spoken with President Putin. We've spoken with a lot of people, and Ukraine is waiting.

I'm very concerned about the field. In the field, there's a very vulnerable group of Ukrainian soldiers right now that are actually surrounded. And that's not good, because we don't want them to die. Enough people have died.

So we'll see what happens with regard to all of it. But I'm getting—from the standpoint about a cease-fire and, ultimately, a deal—some pretty good vibes coming out of Russia.

Any questions?

Federal Government Appropriations

Q. Sir—Mr. President, what do you think about the Senate vote on the C.R.?

The President. What was the vote?

Q. They just voted to advance it.

The President. What?

Q. They just voted to advance it.

The President. Good. That's good. I mean, I was told that that was what was going to happen. Very good. And I appreciate Senator Schumer, and I think he did the right thing. Really, I'm very impressed by that.

Q. Mr. President, walk us through the tariff——

Q. [Inaudible]—Gaza, Mr. President. You——

[At this point, a boom microphone operator accidentally bumped the President's chin with the microphone.]

Q. I'm so sorry.

Q. Obviously, you're concerned about—you're concerned about the situation in Gaza. What are the hopes now to—to get the hostages back?

[The President referred to being bumped by the boom microphone.]

The President. This is great television tonight. She just became a big story tonight, right? [Laughter]

Q. Yes, sir.

The President. Did you see that?

What did you say?

Hostages Held in Gaza, Palestinian Territories

Q. On Gaza, sir. The situation. What is your hope now for a hostage release?

The President. Well, I hope that it all works out. You're talking about Israel, though, right? We're very much into negotiations with regard to the hostages and Israel, and we're going to have to see what happens. We'll see what happens. Hopefully, it will work out.

A very complex situation. There's tremendous hatred at levels that nobody has ever seen before.

Yes.

Tariffs

Q. Mr. President, walk us through the tariffs and why it will be financially beneficial for America. We know the Australians will not do reciprocal tariffs, but can you walk us through this whole process and how it will bring wealth back to the United States?

The President. Well, it's going to bring tremendous wealth back. And it was tariffs used in reverse that really brought our country to a position that we don't ever want to be in again. And when somebody is treating us badly, we're going to put tariffs on. They're going to be very fair. They're going to be fair and reciprocal.

And our country is going to come back very, very strong. I think our country is going to come roaring back. The tariffs are a big deal.

And, frankly, that's how China does it, and that's how a lot of other people do it. And we do it better than them, but we never had a President that knew how to do it.

Thank you very much, everybody.

Q. Thank you, sir.