Administration of Donald J. Trump, 2025
October 6, 2025
The President. Well, thank you very much, everybody. We have a very big signing today having to do with Alaska, a place that I am very familiar with, and we're making it greater and bigger and more powerful and job-producing. It's an economic gold mine, so to speak.
And I signed this years ago, and Biden unsigned it for me. This was something that should have been long-operating and making billions of dollars for our country and supplying a lot of energy and minerals and everything else that we're talking about, and they undid it and wasted a lot of time and a lot of money and a lot of effort.
And now we're starting again. And this time, we have plenty of time to get it done, and it's going to be done properly. I'd like to ask your Department of Interior head, who has done a fantastic job, Doug Burgum, to say a few words about it. And then we'll go to Chris after you and anybody else that wants to say something.
And it's a very powerful deal—a very, very big deal, from the standpoint of minerals and energy.
So thank you all for being here. Doug, please, go ahead.
Secretary of the Interior Douglas J. Burgum. Well, thank you, President Trump. Yesterday is a historic day. President Trump, as he promised when he was running in the election to the American people, that he was going to unlock the potential of this country, he was going to unlock America's mineral wealth, he was going to generate returns for American people, and he was going to, importantly, bolster the critical supply chains around critical minerals for our country.
On day one, he signed an—a very important Executive order, Unleashing Alaska's Extraordinary Resource Potential, and this is part of the continuation. There's a number of things that have already happened with Alaska that are moving forward. There's more to come, but big milestone today.
In reversing this Biden-area—era decision about the Ambler Road—this is a 211-mile-long road that begins over 200 miles north of Fairbanks, off the haul road that goes up to the—the North Slope. This road is—goes to an area where there's no roads.
[At this point, Secretary Burgum continued his remarks, concluding as follows.]
In addition, there's going to be an announcement made later today that, as part of this announcement, that the Department of War, the United States Government is making an investment in Trilogy Minerals [Metals; White House correction]. They're one of the companies that has mining claims at the—in this area that is a remote wilderness right now. And, again, making that investment so we can make sure that we're securing these critical mineral supplies and that ownership in that company will benefit the American people.
With that, I'll kick it over to Chris Wright.
Secretary of Energy Christopher A. Wright. Thank you, Doug.
And what a huge thank you to the President today. This is a tremendous achievement for the people of Alaska. We were in the North Slope of Alaska a few months ago celebrating energy development there. They want jobs and opportunity to develop the resources on their lands. This is another major step forward.
We say energy is the lifeblood of society, the circulatory system. Minerals and metals, they're the skeletal infrastructure, the physical upholding of everything we do, everywhere we walk and operate. Your cameras, everything you hold are made out of metals and minerals.
[Secretary Wright continued his remarks, concluding as follows.]
Our critical minerals and mining expert within the administration is standing right next to me, David Copley. I'll see if he wants to add any words.
National Security Council Senior Director David Copley. This is a really big deal for the American mining industry, and I think it shows the President's seriousness about getting this industry going, making sure we have the critical minerals we need for our defense industrial base and for our broader economy.
The President. Thank you very much.
And I think we want to get this going by a certain time——
White House Staff Secretary William O. Scharf. Yes, sir.
The President. ——so I signed it. And, Will, I'm going to give it to you, and you get it filed.
And——
Staff Secretary Scharf. Yes, sir.
The President. ——good job.
Staff Secretary Scharf. Thank you, sir.
The President. That's a big job. Thank you very much.
So we created a great deal of wealth for that part of the world and that part of our country by doing this long, very difficult road to build. And we'll be talking about that sometime later, but it's been—it's a great deal for the—for our country. It's a great deal for the people of our country and for the taxpayers of our country.
And if you have any questions on that, let me know. Steve [Steve A. Holland, Reuters].
Timeline for Ambler Road Construction
Q. When do you expect the road to be constructed? I mean, how quickly will they get underway?
The President. Go ahead.
Secretary Burgum. Well, this road is an industrial road. It will have ownership. It will likely be split between the state of Alaska, the federal government, and the Native Alaska Corporations. We would expect that construction would begin next spring, with planning throughout this winter. The 211-mile-long road will be a gravel road with a solid designed base to handle the weight of the trucks that are going in and out.
This is typical design that far north because asphalt, with a freeze-thaw cycle—very difficult with asphalt and concrete. So gravel—a fantastic gravel road is going to have the least impact on the environment. It's going to be the best suited purpose.
Alaska has done this in the past with the Red Dog mine. They built a toll road that, again, is—has ownership. The companies that use the road pay to transit that road. So this is an economic model used around the world in mining districts. We'll apply it right here.
And, again, it's going to generate revenue for the American people and for—for the citizens of Alaska, as opposed to a cost.
Q. It will probably take——
The President. And also two bridges. We're going to build two bridges that we'll be able to complete. And we'll get them up very quickly.
Q. And how long to complete? I mean, 211 miles, that's a lot of—that's a lot of——
The President. Yes, it's—we'll get it done——
Secretary Burgum. It's——
The President. ——in less than a year.
Secretary Burgum. It's going to come in three—yes, three phases. The first road, as President Trump said, will go quickly, which is—they call it a "pilot road." We'll build a single lane—a single-lane gravel road through the full duration of it. That will be then expanded to a second phase and then a third phase over time.
But, again, we want to get that pilot road built, because then we can help get materials back to help the mine get started quickly as well.
The President. All right?
U.S. Cease-Fire Proposal Between Hamas and Israel/Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel
Q. Mr. President, there's negotiations happening with your team in Egypt right now over your proposed peace plan.
The President. Yes.
Q. It was reported by Axios over the weekend that you had a call with Prime Minister Netanyahu where you told him to stop being so negative and to take the win when it came to Hamas' response to that. Is that true, and what——
The President. No, it's not true.
Q. ——else did you say to him?
The President. He's been very positive. He's been very positive on the deal. Everybody is. I think every nation is. We have just about every nation working on this deal and trying to get it done, something that—you could say 3,000 years, if you look at it in certain ways, or you could say centuries. But this is a deal that, incredibly, everyone just came together. They all came together.
No. Israel has been great. They've all been good, Kaitlan [Kaitlan Collins, CNN].
Q. And in the negotiations, do you have any red lines in terms of Hamas disarming and whatnot? Or are there any places——
Hamas
The President. No, I have red lines.
Q. ——you're willing to negotiate?
The President. If certain things aren't met, we're not going to do it, but I think we're doing very well. And I think Hamas has been agreeing to things that are very important.
[Several reporters began asking questions at once.]
Lapse in Federal Government Appropriations/Health Insurance Exchanges
Q. Mr. President—on the Government shutdown, Mr. President. If the vote today fails in the Senate, will that trigger layoffs?
The President. It could. At some point, it will. And you know, the Democrats are the ones that started this. And if you think about it, it's about health care. To a large extent, it's about—we want great health care for people. We don't want to give the money away to other people that come pouring into our country, and they've already poured, because nobody's coming into our country now. We have the border totally stopped.
In fact, numbers we just announced again—we're at another zero. So we have zero for 4 months in a row. Zero people coming into our country illegally. That's a pretty good number. I'm not sure even I can believe that, Doug, if you want to know the truth. Zero. We went from millions of people to zero, but it's pretty close to that number.
And we—the way you stop them is not to give away—not to announce that you're giving everybody free health care, free this and that. But what that does, it affects the American people, because the American people are unable to get good health care.
Obamacare has been a wreck, as you know, and to do that, we have to keep it propped up and keep—do the best you can with it. It's a mess.
But things are—a lot of things are going on in that. You know, we talk about Hamas, and we talk about negotiations that we have going on right now. We have a negotiation going on right now with the Democrats that could lead to very good things.
Q. What kind of negotiations—are you speaking directly——
The President. And I'm talking about good things——
Q. ——with Democratic leaders?
The President. ——with regard to health care.
Congressional Negotiations To Fund Federal Government Operations
Q. Are you speaking with Democratic leaders? What kind of negotiation is going on with Democrats?
The President. Well, I don't want to say that. I don't want to say that.
But we are speaking with the Democrats, and some very good things could happen with respect to health care.
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Q. Would you make a deal with them on the ACA subsidies? The President. If we made the right deal, I'd make a deal. Sure. [Several reporters spoke at once.]
I mean, you have, right now, subsidies. You have subsidies. That's the problem with Obamacare. The subsidies are so much. It's—billions and billions of dollars is being wasted, and we can have a much better health care than we have right now.
And we're talking to them. I mean, I'm not saying that's going to happen, because this has also been going on—not for 3,000 years, but it's been going on for a long time.
But yes——
Q. But you would make it——
The President. ——we're talking to the Democrats.
Q. You would work to make a deal with them on Obamacare subsidies——
The President. I'd like to see a deal made——
Q. ——to reopen the——
The President. ——for great health care. Yes.
Q. To reopen the Government?
The President. I want to see great health—I'm a Republican, but I want to see health care better—much more so than the Democrats.
Economic Consequences of Lapse in Federal Government Appropriations
Q. So, Mr. President, on all of this, as you know, the American people are experiencing a lot of pain with any kind of Government shutdown. And while you're dealing with Democrats and, of course, Republicans are standing their ground, what is your message directly to the American people who may encounter some of this pain and despair?
The President. Yes.
Q. How do you give them hope?
The President. Well, up till now, there hasn't been a great deal of pain. There could be a great deal of pain, but up till now, there hasn't been.
I will say this: Just hang in there, because I think a lot of good things are going to happen.
That's all I can say.
I mean, I think a lot of good things could happen, and that could also pertain to health care.
Immigration Enforcement Actions
Q. Mr. President, we have seen a surge in attacks on ICE agents across the country, including the shooting in Dallas and over the weekend in Chicago. We saw 10 cars boxing in on ICE agents and another one ramming into an ICE vehicle.
The President. Yes.
Q. We have heard Secretary Noem saying that some of these attackers are actually organized and they're planning to kill——
The President. It's true.
Q. ——and ambush these officers.
The President. Right.
Law Enforcement in Chicago, Illinois/Use of National Guard Troops in U.S. Cities
Q. What are the consequences for these individuals?
The President. Very severe. We're going to have very severe—we're find out who's going after our Federal agents.
So, when you look at Chicago, they've had probably 50 murders in the last 6 or 7 months, 8 months. Many, many people shot, like 30, 40, 50 people shot. Didn't die, but they've been shot. It's like a war zone.
And then I listen to the Governor and the mayor get up and say how they have it under control. They don't. It's—it's probably worse than almost any city in the—in the world. You could go to Afghanistan, you can go to a lot of different places, and they probably marvel at how much crime we have. Then you go to Memphis, where we are right now.
Now it's—just like in Washington—Washington, DC, right now—you people know better than I do, because you have to live right inside. And so many of the press have come to me, and they've said: "I can't believe it. It's changed so much." We have a safe city in Washington.
Memphis will very soon have a safe city. Chicago could be very, very safe. It's going to be very safe, but Chicago is going to be very safe.
And you say: Why is it that a Governor wouldn't accept free help from—regardless—I mean, whether it's National Guard or the military or anybody. I mean if—women raped and beaten and knocked to hell—and the same with men, where they're being shot all over the place in large numbers.
I mean, we had a week in Chicago where 11 people were murdered and 38 people were shot.
And then we have a Governor get up and say: "Oh, it's safe. We can handle it."
He can't handle it. He's an incompetent guy. That's why they threw him out of the family business. They threw him out. I knew the family business very well, and they threw him out. And now he's a Governor, and he should say, "We'd love to have a safer place."
Chicago is a great city, potentially. You know, I told you, the head of the Union Pacific Railroad said: "Sir, save Chicago. It's a great city. It's going to be lost if you don't do it." We have no choice but to do this.
And when judges give us rulings that, you know, you don't have to do it.
Portland is on fire. Portland has been on fire for years, and—not so much saving it. We have to save something else. Because I think that's all insurrection. I really think that's really criminal insurrection.
So I appreciate the question. These are unsafe places. We're going to make them safe.
So you see what's going on in Memphis. Not pretty, but you know what? We're doing a pretty job, because it's going to be a very safe place in a little while. And the people of Memphis are so happy that we're there.
And the people of Chicago—so you have Black women with MAGA hats on in Chicago, all over the place. They want the Guard to come in, or—they don't care who comes in. They just want to be safe, and they really don't care.
You know, there was one woman on—she was great—today. She said: "You know what, I don't care if it's a National Guard, the Army, the Marines, the Air Force. I don't care who comes in, as long as we're safe." And that's the way most of the public feels.
We're going to make Chicago really great again, and we're going to stop this crime. Then we're going to go to another one, and we're going to go city by city. We're going to have safe cities.
And it was so great that we started with our Nation's Capital. One of the worst—I mean, so many people—every week, somebody was killed. They'd come from Iowa. They'd come from Indiana. They want to see the Jefferson Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial. They want to see something. And they'd get shot. And you'd call their parents, "I'm sorry, but your son is dead." And they go, "What do you mean he's dead?" Came to Washington, DC.
Not anymore. That's not happening anymore. We have a safe place. We have a safe Capital.
It's as safe as we have—probably, almost, just about—in the country. And if you look back 6 months ago, seven months ago, this was a death trap.
You look back during the Biden—I mean, what—what they did, how badly they managed things.
And almost all of these cities—most of these cities are Democrat run. And we don't care—Democrat, Republican. We're going to make them safe. So we have to save Chicago. It's very important. And you can't have a Governor getting up and saying "it's good" when 11 people were shot over a weekend.
[Several reporters spoke at once.]
The President's Authority To Deploy Military Servicemembers to U.S. Cities
Q. Under what conditions would you invoke the Insurrection Act, sir?
The President. What?
Q. The Insurrection Act. Under what conditions or terms would you invoke it?
The President. Well, I'd do it if it was necessary. So far, it hasn't been necessary, but we have an Insurrection Act for a reason. If I had to enact it, I'd do that.
If people were being killed, and courts were holding us up or Governors or mayors were holding us up—sure, I'd do that.
Q. With Armed Forces?
The President. I mean, I want to make sure that people aren't killed. We have to make sure that our cities are safe.
And it's turning out—and we started with DC. It's been so successful. Think of it. People wouldn't go to restaurants. The restaurants were closing. We were losing a lot of restaurants, as you all know, and now restaurants are opening, and they're thriving.
And I went 2 weeks ago, and it was great. I'm going to go again. I felt very safe—very safe.
Forgetting about guards and Secret Service, and a—I would have gone. It would have been very safe. DC is a great—and look at the cleanliness of DC. Look at how it's clean. You don't have tents all over the place.
We had parks where you couldn't even walk through the park. You had people with—from tents, and they were violent people. Some of these people were violent people.
We have a great, safe Capital again.
And if you look at it in 6 months from now, it will be the most beautiful anywhere in the world. It's being cleaned. The graffiti is all gone now. The tents are all gone. It's—we have a capital that you can be proud of, but it will only get better with time.
[Several reporters spoke at once.]
U.S. Cease-Fire Proposal Between Hamas and Israel/Progress in Negotiations
Q. Tomorrow—tomorrow is October 7, the 2-year anniversary of the original Israeli attack. Do you expect the Gaza deal tomorrow or any sort of hostages deal tomorrow, or——
The President. I think we're going to have it soon. I think we're going to have a deal. I—look, I—it's a hard thing for me to say that, when for years and years, they've been trying to have a deal on Gaza. But, I mean, for—literally, for centuries—okay?—if you really think about it.
But we're going to have a Gaza deal, I'm pretty sure. Yes. [Several reporters spoke at once.]
Q. And what are you hearing from Mr. Witkoff about the talks?
The President. Well, I'm the one that got the hostages back. Remember that. You know? I'm the one that——
Q. I was going to ask you that. This weekend——
The President. Yes, I got them back.
Gaza Conflict/The President's Diplomatic Efforts
Q. Israeli citizens are celebrating what you've accomplished——
The President. Yes.
Q. ——in this deal. Should it come through, there would be a lot of celebration on the streets of Israel. The hostages' families—have they been in contact with you with regard to this deal that—
The President. Yes.
Q. ——could happen?
The President. They're so happy about it. It's like they can't breathe. One said, "I can't breathe." You know, it's very sad, because you have hostages, and you have people that are no longer living. But the parents—and I've said this to you many times—the parents want the bodies of their boy back, the bodies of, you know, their loved one back. In most cases, they're young men, and they're dead. And there's probably 32 or so—about that number. Nobody knows exactly what the number is.
They want that body back, as much as if their son were alive. I've—and I've been with them. You know, many have come to the White House, to the Oval Office. I've been with many of the people that I got released.
We have a fantastic group working on it. Steve Witkoff has been amazing. Jared. I have Jared. I took Jared out because Jared is a very—you don't find anybody more capable. And we have—we have the A-plus team working on it. I think we're—I think we've made tremendous progress.
And yes, the people of Israel—the people of Israel want it to happen. But the people related to hostages—I mean, you see in Israel, tens of thousands of people—they really want the hostages back, and they really want things to end.
And I think Hamas, now, has been—all I can say is, they've been fine. They've been fine. I hope it's going to continue that way. I think it will.
I really think we're going to have a deal. We have a really good chance of making a deal, and it will be a lasting deal. We want to have peace.
This is beyond Gaza. Gaza is a big deal, but this is beyond. This is really peace in the Middle East.
And the amazing thing is, we have every Arab country, every Muslim country. We have every country surrounding—they all want—I spoke with President Erdoğan of Turkey. He's fantastic. He's been pushing very hard. He's a very powerful guy, and he's been pushing very, very hard to get this deal done. And Hamas has a lot of respect for him.
They have a lot of respect for Qatar. They have a lot of respect for U.A.E. and Saudi Arabia.
We have—everybody is on our side to get this deal done. There's never been anything like it. Nobody has ever seen it. There's always been like 80 percent of them don't want something done. I think, virtually, we even had a signal—a very strong signal, as you know, from Iran. They'd like to see this done.
[Several reporters spoke at once.] Yes.
Deployment of National Guard Personnel to U.S. Cities/Immigration Enforcement Actions
Q. On Portland, Mr. President, Governor Abbott offered up the Texas National Guard to—
—
The President. Oh, that's good.
Q. ——Guard to you. Have you had any other conversations with other red-state governors
about——
The President. Yes, I have. They're willing to offer—every one of them is willing to offer whatever we need.
We thank Governor Abbott of Texas. Every one of the "red-State," as you call them—red-State Governors is willing to give whatever we need because they want our agents protected.
You know, these ICE agents have a tough job. They have to go in and get, in many cases, stone-cold criminals, hardened criminals, long-time criminals. And every, essentially, Republican governor has offered up whatever we need, and some Democratic Governors also.
Daniel [Daniel Baldwin, One America News Network].
Critical Minerals Supply Chain/TikTok/Artificial Intelligence/Electric Capacity Expansion Efforts
Q. Yes. Mr. President, thank you. A quick question on the subject of the order. The Biden administration—previously speaking, they shut down Alaska for business. You have reversed that. You reversed it on day one. You opened it up, going after all the critical minerals.
This mission of yours and Secretary Burgum, Secretary Wright to boost our own independent production of critical minerals——
The President. Yes.
Q. ——rare earths—can you——
The President. Well, it's necessary, right?
Q. ——talk about how important that is over the next 4 years, sir?
The President. Well, it's very necessary. You know, in the past, we were able to go to other countries, buy whatever we want. But all of a sudden, if those countries are hostile—and, by the way, China hasn't been.
We've made deals with China. You know, they approved the TikTok deal. Everyone said you'd never get the TikTok deal approved. They approved it, and we have great people buying it. American—big, strong American companies are buying it—the most prestigious companies there are, actually—and they're going to make sure everything's good.
But President Xi was great. He approved it. So I'm not saying hostile, but it's good to have our own minerals.
And you know, we created tremendous value by creating a road. We build a road that only we can do because we have the rights to do it, number one, and we have the power to do it. And so we build a road that's over 200 miles long through a very beautiful area of the world. Actually, it's incredible, when you look at it. It's incredible. But a rough area from the standpoint of building. So we get a road done, and with that, we unleash billions and billions of dollars of wealth. It's pretty amazing when you think of it. And it's wealth that we need if we're going to be the number-one country.
You know, we're number one now with AI. You probably read we'll—we're beating everybody with AI at levels that nobody ever thought even possible. And one of the reasons we are is because of energy.
So our grid is old and tired, like most grids are. They get old with time. You know, the older you are, the older the grid gets, right? But I've allowed the people building AI or other plants—other types of plants—but AI in particular, because they need so much electricity. I've allowed them to build their own power, and it's been amazing. They're building massive plants. And with the plant, they're building their own electricity. They've become a utility, in a sense.
I said: "Maybe you'll do better with the utility than you do with the AI. I don't know." But we're letting them build their own electricity, so we don't have to worry about the grid. We don't have to worry about anything.
And they're going to build it in such a way that if they have excess capacity, they're going to put it back into the grid. It's pretty amazing.
So, when they build—we're giving them permits to build their own electric power plants, and it's incredible when you see what they're doing.
And because of that and other things that we're doing, we're leading every country. Nobody is even close to us to our—us with AI. And AI seems to be the big thing. I don't know. I can't tell you that.
There are a lot of people building and a lot of people are have high stock prices because of AI, so a lot of people think it's great stuff, and I think it's great stuff. I look at it. I—it's amazing.
What it can do in terms of medical, in terms of medical costs, in terms of knowledge, it's basically information, and information at a level that nobody thought possible before. So we'll see.
But they're building plants where—you saw the one overlay that I did where—in this case, it's Meta—one of their plants is essentially the size—almost the size of Manhattan. And that's a building. You know, it's a building that covers Manhattan, so it's big stuff. And nobody is even close to us. We're leading AI by so much.
Q. Mr. President, on the Supreme Court——
Q. Mr. President, on—President——
The President. Yes, go ahead. Please.
Public Safety in the District of Columbia/U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Q. ——since the start of your administration, we've seen a lot more Americans wanting to join ICE. And as we're seeing more attacks on them right now, what's your message to rank-and-file ICE agents who are trying to do their jobs——
The President. Yes.
Q. ——but are facing a 1,000-percent increase in attacks?
The President. I love your questions. You know, I like you. So, who are you with?
Q. I'm with NTD. Iris [Iris Tao, NTD News].
The President. Very good.
Q. The one who got mugged, if you remember me.
The President. You were the one. That's what I thought. You got mugged. You're not getting mugged anymore.
Q. Not anymore, thanks to you.
The President. She was really—you're lucky to be with us with that deal that happened. I know all about that. No, not anymore though.
You feel—a different world out there, right?
Q. Totally. I feel safe with the baby nowadays, walking the street.
The President. Oh, good. Well, you're safe now. You're not—nobody is going to be hurting you in any way.
Q. And thank you, Mr. President, for making DC safe.
The President. Okay. Thank you very much.
Q. Mr. President, on the Supreme Court today——
The President. Thank you. So the bottom line on your question: We're just going to make things real safe. We're going to make—we're going to have a country that you can be proud of, not a country that you read about every day where somebody gets mugged from behind or hit over the head with a baseball bat. Those people aren't with us any longer.
Yes, please.
Q. Mr. President, yes.
The President. Thank you very much.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil/Brazil-U.S. Trade
Q. Thank you, Mr. President. On today's call with Lula from Brazil——
The President. Yeah.
Q. ——are you considering lowering tariffs after the call or attending COP——
The President. Well, I had a great talk with the president of Brazil. It was a—a good man.
I met him actually at the United Nations. I was going up to make a speech, and I didn't have a teleprompter. I was walking up to my teleprompter. I said, "You know, I don't have a teleprompter." But just before that, I met with President Luna [Lula; White House correction], and I found him to be very good. I mean, we had a very good talk for about, you know, 2 minutes, and then I went up to make a speech.
And I was surprised to see—how would you like that one, Doug? I've got every leader in the world sitting out there; my teleprompter isn't on. You know why, Daniel? Because it was a rigged deal.
Q. [Inaudible]
The President. But, fortunately, I made a better speech than I would have if I read it off a teleprompter, which is pretty easy to do.
So it was quite a day. That was a big day, but we met, and we liked each other. And yes, we had a great conversation. Yes, we'll start doing business.
Q. And are you considering traveling to Brazil for COP30 in November?
The President. At some point, I would. And he'll—he's going to come here. We talked about
that.
Swedish Activist Greta Thunberg
Q. And a follow-up question on Israel. Israel Government has been arresting and deporting activists that were traveling to Gaza. Today Greta Thunberg, for instance, also some dozens——
The President. Well, she's just a troublemaker. You know, I mean, she's—you mean, she's no longer into the environment? Now she's into this.
She's a troublemaker. She has an anger management problem. I think she should see a doctor. She needs anger—if you ever watch her, she's a young person. She's so angry. She's so crazy. No, you can have her. You can have her. She's just a troublemaker.
Yes, please.
Convicted Sex Trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell/The President's Pardon Authority
Q. [Inaudible]—today, Mr. President.
The President. Say it.
Q. The Supreme Court is back——
The President. Yes.
Q. ——in session. They rejected today an appeal by Ghislaine Maxwell to overturn her conviction. That means her only chance of getting out of prison is a pardon from you. Is that something you're open to doing?
The President. Who are we talking about?
Q. Ghislaine Maxwell.
The President. You know, I haven't heard the name in so long. I can say this—that I'd have to take a look at it. I would have to take a look. Did they reject that?
Q. She wanted to appeal her conviction.
The President. And what happened?
Q. And they said they were not going to hear her appeal.
The President. I see. Well, I'll take a look at it. I'll speak to——
Q. But you're considering that?
The President. I will speak to the DOJ. I wouldn't consider it or not consider it. I don't know anything about it So—but I'll speak——
Q. Why would she be a candidate?
The President. I will speak to the DOJ.
Q. Why would she be a candidate for clemency, sir?
The President. I don't know. I mean, I'd have to speak to the DOJ. I'll look at it. I'll—I have a lot of people have asked me for pardons. I call him "Puff Daddy"—has asked me for a pardon.
Q. But she was convicted of child sex trafficking.
The President. Yes. I mean, I'm going to have to take a look at it. I'd have to ask DOJ. I didn't know they rejected it. I didn't know she was even asking for it, frankly.
Steve.
Ukraine/U.S. Security Assistance
Q. Have you made a decision on whether to supply Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine—or sell them NATO and let them sell them to Ukraine?
The President. Yes, I've sort of made a decision, pretty much——
Q. Could you share it with us, sir?
The President. ——if you consider——
Yes. I think I want to find out what they're doing with them.
Q. Yes.
The President. Yes. Where are they sending them? I guess I'd have to ask that question.
That war should never have started—would have never started. Such bad judgment was used there—I think on both sides, by the way. But nobody—nobody looks good with the war with Russia and Ukraine. Nobody.
Q. And those——
The President. That's been a vicious—a horrible—this week, they lost over 7,000 soldiers between the two of them.
Q. And those missiles, have a——
The President. This is every week: They're losing 7,000 8,000, 5,000.
Q. ——they have a range of, like, 1,500 miles or something.
The President. No, I know. No, I want to—I would——
Q. And so they would be able to attack deep in—that's—that's——The President. I would ask some questions. I want to see what's——[Several reporters spoke at once.]
I'm not looking to see—I'm not looking to see escalations.
Canada-U.S. Trade/The President's Use of Tariffs in Foreign Policy
Q. Yes. And tomorrow you're meeting with the Canadian Prime Minister. What's on the agenda for that, Mr. President?
The President. Well, I guess he's going to ask about tariffs, because a lot of companies from Canada are moving into the United States. You know, everybody's moving back into the U.S. And he's probably going to be asking about tariffs. He—they're losing a lot of companies in Canada. They're coming into the—they left here.
They left here 20 years ago when Presidents had sat right at this desk weren't doing their job properly. They were probably good politicians, but they weren't good at business, and they allowed these companies to leave. And all they had to do is do what I'm doing right now. And, you know, I'm not saying it's the easiest thing to do, but it is. It's—it's effective. We're a rich country again.
We're a powerful country because, you know—I've ended seven wars, at least half of them was because of my ability at trade and because of tariffs.
If I didn't have tariffs to throw around a little bit, you would have at least four wars raging right now, with thousands of people a day being killed, that aren't happening there. We settled—you know, we settled seven. We're getting close to settling eight. That would be a big one. And that's something that could happen.
But so I think he's coming probably to talk about tariffs, because a lot of companies are leaving Canada to come into the U.S. And they're leaving Mexico. And by the way, they're leaving China. They're leaving all over the world to come into the U.S.
Q. And would you shift your——
The President. Nobody's actually seen anything like it.
Tariffs/The President's Diplomatic Efforts
Q. Would you shift your position on tariffs in response to whatever he says tomorrow?
The President. Well, I mean, look, my position has turned out to—everybody said I'm right.
They find billions of dollars that they didn't even know they had.
Recently, they said they found billions of dollars, and they couldn't understand. I said, "Check the tariff shelf." And they come in the next hour. And they said: "Sir, you're right. It was from the tariffs."
We're a rich—really rich country again. But more importantly, maybe: influence. If I didn't have the power of tariffs, you would have at least four of the seven wars raging. I use tariffs to stop wars.
If you look at India and Pakistan, they were ready to go at it. Seven planes were shot down. They were ready to go at it—and they're nuclear powers. And I don't want to say exactly what I said, but what I said was very effective. They stopped. And that was based on tariffs. It was based on trade.
Tariffs are very important for the United States. We are a peacekeeper because of tariffs. Not only do we make, you know, hundreds of billions of dollars, but we're a peacekeeper because of tariffs.
[Several reporters spoke at once.] Yes.
Lapse in Federal Government Appropriations/Law Enforcement in U.S. Cities
Q. On the shutdown, Mr. President. The shutdown that occurred during your first term lasted 35 days.
The President. Yes.
Q. How long do you expect this shutdown to go?
The President. Well, you don't know. Look, I can say this, that it would have not happened except for the Democrats. The Democrats are very foolish.
They're—they've lost their way. And they have a new—we have a new thing now, when you look at—see, it's called crime.
It's called absolute, as Biden would say—well, I won't say what he would have said.
Remember when he said, "It's a three-letter word: No." [Laughter] Remember that one? And we would say, "What was that all about?" He probably meant "exclamation point" or something after the word.
But this is a five-letter word: crime, c-r-i-m-e. And we want to put it out—and are putting it out—and they don't. They don't seem to care about it, but they do care. I believe that Pritzker and this mayor of Chicago that like to say about, "We have it"—they don't have it under control. Not only is it not under control, it's the opposite. And I believe they're afraid. They're scared for their lives.
I believe that the Portland people are scared. You look at what's happened with Portland over the years. It's a burning hellhole. And then you have a judge that lost her way, that tries to pretend that, like, there's no problem.
[Several reporters spoke at once.]
Court Ruling on the President's Use of Military Personnel in U.S. Cities
Q. You appointed that judge, Mr. President.
The President. Actually, she's not even saying that. There's a huge problem in Portland.
I'll tell you what the problem is: crime. Okay, crime. And it's a huge problem in Chicago—it's called "crime." And we want to put out the crime, and they want to inflame the crime. And why they want to, I don't know, but it could be that Pritzker is scared for his life.
Yes.
[Several reporters spoke at once.]
Technical Difficulties at the United Nations General Assembly/The President's Foreign Policy Record
Q. Mr. President, on the U.N. Do we have an update on the investigation into what happened to you at the U.N. last month?
And also, what's your message to Americans who are concerned about your and your family's safety, as you're very out in the public——
The President. Yea, I am out there, there's no question about it.
Q. ——attending games, dining out in DC?
The President. Well, at the U.N., we had a problem with the teleprompter.
We had another problem that nobody has actually talked about: The people in the room didn't hear my speech. Did you know that? The people in the room—they didn't have any
loudspeakers, and they didn't hear my speech. And I thought I made a really good speech. I mean, considering I didn't have the use of teleprompter, which is unusual, but I made a speech.
I could have walked off the stage. I guess most people—Doug, I think most people would have just said, "We'll see you in about a half an hour, right?" [Laughter]
But you know, they—they obviously turned off the tele—I think they turned off the teleprompter. But there was a reason that it didn't work. I actually know the reason: They didn't let the teleprompter person into the room—okay?—which is essentially the same thing.
So I made a speech. It turned out to be a very good speech. Got good reviews. I went out to the audience after the speech. I saw my wife. I said: "How good was that speech? Was that unbelievable or what?" She said, "I didn't hear a word you said?" I said, "What do you mean?" She was sitting near the front. I said, "What do you mean?" She said, "You couldn't hear anything that you said." The speakers were turned off.
So I think that's pretty bad stuff—right?—you know?—especially since we support most of the United Nations. And yet I still want to keep it in New York, because I think the United Nations has tremendous potential. If properly run, the United States [Nations; White House correction] has tremendous potential.
But think of this: I settled seven wars. I never spoke to the United Nations about it. Not one of them. You look at—and those were wars that were raging a long time and—in many cases—and I settled seven. I never heard from the United—they didn't help me. They should be able to settle the wars. I shouldn't have to be settling the wars.
Yes, please.
Qatar-U.S. Security Cooperation/U.S. Cease-Fire Agreement Between Hamas and Israel
Q. Last week you signed security guarantees for Qatar. Do you see any role for the Senate in that? Did they have to vote on that? Or do you think a President can do that?
The President. Well, I wouldn't mind if they did. If they want to, they'd let me know.
Nobody said that that. But you know, Qatar has been very, very helpful to us in this process, and I think you'll find that. I think maybe the most influential—they're very influential, very strong.
With Hamas, they're very strong.
And Turkey has, likewise, been helpful. I mean, honestly, U.A.E., Saudi Arabia—everybody's been helpful. I just spoke today with the King of Jordan, and he's been terrific too. We have—I can't think of any country that's been negative about this.
This is why it should happen. I mean, everybody wants it to happen. And usually when everybody—including, I think, Hamas—and when they want it to happen, it's going to happen.
[Several reporters spoke at once.]
Q. James Comey is going to be in court on Wednesday.
Q. You met with members of the Navy yesterday.
Former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James B. Comey
Q. James Comey is being arraigned on Wednesday—obviously, after his indictment. Are you worried that your own statements calling for his prosecution could help him actually in his defense of this case?
The President. No, I think he's a crooked guy. He's a dirty cop. Comey—I think he's a dirty cop. He's recognized by many people to be a dirty cop and dishonest guy. So all I have to do is—I mean, I have nothing to do with the case. I just say, "Good luck."
Q. But you called on Pam Bondi to prosecute him in a post on Truth Social.
The President. No, no. I don't call anybody. You know what? I'm allowed to do that if I wanted to do that. But Comey is a crooked guy. He has been for years, and he got caught.
Look, he lied. This is just a simple case. He totally lied. And then he confirmed the lie on, I guess, numerous occasions—or at least one occasion, he confirmed the lie. He said, "That's what I said and I stand by it." And you know, I mean the guy—and he didn't say, "to the best of my knowledge." He didn't say, "Well, I don't remember." He made a very definitive statement and a very important statement concerning him.
And he got caught in an outright lie, and that's why a group of people—it wasn't me that voted—they voted to indict him. But he's a crooked guy, in my opinion, and we'll find out. The court's going to determine that in a little while, I guess.
[Several reporters spoke at once.]
Q. You met with members of the Navy yesterday, Mr. President.
Domestic Agriculture Industry
Q. Mr. President. Do you expect farm relief this week, Mr. President?
Q. You met with members of the Navy yesterday——
The President. Yes, I've got to do some farm stuff this week. Yes, please.
Importance of Religion/Navy 250 Celebration at Norfolk Naval Station, Virginia/U.S. Armed Forces Recruitment Efforts
Q. You met with members of the Navy yesterday, celebrating——
The President. It was unbelievable.
Q. ——their 250th. Can you talk about that? And as we get closer to America's 250th, you've initiated a prayer initiative as well.
The President. Yes.
Q. Talk to me about both of those events and why they're so important—particularly the prayer initiative—going forward to the celebration of America.
The President. Well, we have—and we're dealing, as you know, with all of the different—and not just evangelicals, Christians. We've—we're dealing with lots of different faiths, religions. And I felt for a long time that, you know, if you don't—if a country doesn't have religion, doesn't have faith, doesn't have God, it's going to be very hard to be a good country. You know, there's no reason to be good.
I want to be good because you want to prove to God that you're good. So you go to that next step, right? So that's very important to me. I think it's really very important.
And yesterday was amazing. We went out. We went to the naval base—the largest in the world, actually. And I saw things that were incredible. The level of just—I don't want to use the word "weapons," but they are weapons—is the technology of these planes, on the carriers, on all of the different things that we saw.
The—they gave us missile displays. They did the whole—I don't think they've ever done anything like it, but it was really impressive.
And the talent of the pilots where they can land. You know, the aircraft carriers look massive, but when you put them in the middle of, like, the Atlantic or, in this case, pretty far off the coast of Virginia, and it's sitting in a big ocean. And it was pretty calm yesterday, but it's still a little bit testy, right?
Q. Yes.
The President. And you'd have these guys land right on a thing and come to a sudden screeching halt. And they're really something. They were taking off yesterday, and they look over, "Yes, sir."
[The President imitated the motion of a plane taking off.]
And then you see them—and, you know—you know, see him just get ripped back into the seat, because the g-forces are so great. And actually, if you're not in great shape—because they were doing maneuvers that were incredible last—yesterday. And the admirals were explaining that, if you're not in really good shape, you don't make it, because you pass out. You know, these guys—and women—I met some women pilots that are—I mean, it's incredible what they're able to do.
So we saw something that was great. And you saw the spirit, because we had for a couple of thousand—I think they had probably 20-, 22,000. A large—largely sailors, all dressed in the most beautiful white. There wasn't a spot on any of those uniforms. [Laughter] I looked at them, it was just a wave of white. And it was a great crowd and great reception.
So, you know, getting back to a very important question that was asked. When you go back a year ago, people weren't joining the Armed Forces. They weren't joining the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, the Coast Guard, Air Force. If you look at you know, any of them, they weren't joining. The Space Force.
And now we're setting records—recruitment. And that goes for police and fire. Now they want to be policemen, they want to be firemen. And firemen—people don't mention them.
They're incredible. They're—I know so many of them. They're brave as hell. I wouldn't want to do it, I tell you. But they weren't able to recruit. The police weren't able to recruit, and the military wasn't able to recruit. We were really off.
And I got elected. And it really started on November 5. I got elected, and somehow the country developed the spirit—financially, yes, but also with the military. And now we have record levels of people wanting to be—and every force is filled. We have waiting lists to get into the Marines, to the Army, to the Navy, to the Air Force. We have Coast Guard. We have waiting lists to get in.
It's amazing, actually, what's happened. We have a country that's—it was a dead country. And I say it all the time. We had a dead country 1 year ago. Now we have the hottest country anywhere in the world, and it's nice to see. I've watched you for years on television—
Q. Thank you.
The President. ——so it's nice to meet you.
Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you very much.
NOTE: The President spoke at 4:13 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White House. In his remarks, he referred to Gov. Jay R. "J.B." Pritzker of Illinois; Mayor Brandon Johnson of Chicago, IL; Jim Vena, chief executive officer, Union Pacific; U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steven C. Witkoff; musician and producer Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs; Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada; Karin J. Immergut, judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon; and King Abdullah II of Jordan. He also referred to his son-in-law Jared C. Kushner. The transcript was released by the Office of Communications on October 8.
Categories: Addresses and Remarks : 2025 Ambler Road Project appeal, signing the decision statement; Interviews With the News Media : Exchanges with reporters, White House.
Locations: Washington, DC.
Names: Abbott, Gregory W.; Abdullah II, King; Biden, Joseph R., Jr.; Burgum, Douglas J.; Carney, Mark; Combs, Sean; Comey, James B.; Copley, David; Erdogan, Recep Tayyip; Immergut, Karin J.; Johnson, Brandon; Kushner, Jared C.; Lula da Silva, Luiz Inácio; Maxwell, Ghislaine; Netanyahu, Benjamin; Pritzker, Jay R. "J.B."; Scharf, William O.; Thurnberg, Greta; Trump, Melania; Vena, Jim; Witkoff, Steven C.; Wright, Christopher A.; Xi Jinping.
Subjects: Agricultural production, strengthening efforts; Alaska, 2025 Ambler Road Project appeal; Armed Forces, U.S., recruitment efforts; Artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies; Brazil, President; Canada, Prime Minister; Canada, trade with U.S.; China, President; Critical minerals, supply chain improvements; District of Columbia, beautification efforts; District of Columbia, law enforcement improvement efforts; Electricity capacity, expansion efforts; Federal Government appropriations, lapse; Gaza, conflict with Israel; Gaza, hostages held by Hamas; Hamas political-paramilitary organization; Health insurance exchanges; Illegal immigration; Illinois, crime in Chicago; Illinois, Governor; India, relations with Pakistan; Israel, military operations in Gaza; Israel, Prime Minister; Jordan, King; Manufacturing industry, domestic investment; Middle East, regional integration and security; National Guard; National Security Council; Oil and natural gas, domestic production; Oregon, political demonstrations in Portland; Pakistan, relations with India; Pardons and commutations; Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Qatar, security cooperation with U.S.; Russia, conflict in Ukraine; Secretary of Energy; Secretary of the Interior; Tariffs; Tennessee, law enforcement improvement efforts in Memphis; Texas, Governor; TikTok; Turkey, President; U.S. diplomatic efforts, expansion; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; U.S. servicemembers, service and dedication; U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East; Ukraine, Russian invasion and airstrikes; Ukraine, U.S. assistance; United Nations General Assembly; Virginia, Naval Station Norfolk; White House Staff Secretary.
DCPD Number: DCPD202500982.