Administration of Donald J. Trump, 2025
November 7, 2025
President Trump. Well, thank you very much. It's an honor to have a friend of mine here, Viktor Orbán, the Prime Minister of Hungary. And he's done a fantastic job. He's a very powerful man within his country, but he's also beloved. They love Viktor, and people that know him do.
He's run a really great country.
And he's got no crime, he's got no problems, like some countries do, but probably has a couple of things that I don't know about, maybe that I don't want to know about. But he's a very special person. I've known him for a long time.
We're going to be talking trade. We're going to be talking a little bit of Russia-Ukraine. We'll be talking about energy and energy prices. We have energy down to a pretty low point right now in the United States. We're drilling. "Drill, baby, drill," we call it. But energy costs are very low. Our general costs are very low.
And I just saw that Walmart came out with a statement last night—they've done it for many years—that Thanksgiving this year will cost 25-percent less than Thanksgiving last year under Sleepy Joe Biden. So that's a big difference. That's a big difference. Twenty-five percent less Thanksgiving. And I think that's a very good chart. They include everything—everything that you need for Thanksgiving. So it's 25-percent less this year than it was last year. And that's true—that's emblematic of the rest of prices.
Energy prices are way down from what they were last year. Inflation is almost nonexistent. We have inflation down to a very low number, whereas Biden, as you know, is the worst inflation in the history of our country. So we're doing very well.
We have a shutdown, as you probably know, because the Democrats have gone—they're crazy. They're crazy. But they don't care if they hurt the country. But we've approved it 14 times. We've approved a opening up 14 times, and they keep rejecting it. And I guess maybe they will again. Let's see what happens.
They want to have—a lot of bad things happened—bad things for our country. We're not going to give $1.5 trillion to people that came into our country illegally—we're not going to do it; to people—came from prisons, they came from mental institutions, they're drug dealers. And they want to give them medical care, and we're not going to do that—$1.5 trillion. And we're not going to do other things that they're requesting also.
So I just want to welcome this really good person. I know him very well. He's a good person.
And he's a great leader, and he's loved in his country. And, Viktor, would you like to say a few words?
Prime Minister Orbán. Thank you very much, President Trump.
President Trump. Thank you.
Prime Minister Orbán. First of all, may I say that the—thank you very much for the invitation. It's good to see you, President, back to the White House. [Laughter] And good to be back after 6 years, in a way, again, to see you here——
President Trump. Yes.
Prime Minister Orbán. ——as we have met last time.
The reason why we are here is to open a new chapter between the bilateral relation of United States and Hungary, basically because during the Democrat administration, everything was ruined. So, after your leaving, President, everything was basically blocked, ruined, canceled. A lot of harm done by the previous administration.
In the last 10 months, President, what you have done, we are very much grateful for that. You restored the old level of the relationship. You improved the bilateral relation. You repaired what was done badly by the previous administration. So now we are in a quite good position to open up a new chapter, let's say a golden age between United States—-
President Trump. Good.
Prime Minister Orbán. ——and Hungary.
And we have plenty of suggestions for today: economic cooperation, military cooperation, and political cooperation.
And the main issue probably, President: You know we are neighboring Ukraine——
President Trump. Sure.
Prime Minister Orbán. ——which is in war. It's the most important issue for us, and we would like to discuss with you how we can contribute to help you in your peace efforts. That's why we are here——
President Trump. And you've——
Prime Minister Orbán. ——as well.
President Trump. And you've taken a lot of Ukrainians that needed your help, and you've taken a lot of them in your country, and everybody appreciates that.
Prime Minister Orbán. Thank you very much. Yes. We do our best.
President Trump. Thank you very much. Any questions, please?
[At this point, several reporters began asking questions at once.]
Q. Mr. President, are you planning to give Hungary——
President Trump. Go ahead.
Q. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank——
Q. ——a—[inaudible]—out on Russian oil, sir?
Hungary/Russian Oil and Gas Supply
Q. Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. Orbán has requested an exemption as it relates to oil that is coming from Russia. Is that something that you are prepared to do?
And may I ask Mr. Orbán a question in regards to that very issue?
President Trump. Sure. We're looking at it, because it's very difficult for him to get the oil and gas from other areas. As you know, they don't have—they don't have the advantage of having sea. It's a great country—it's a big country—but they don't have sea. They don't have the ports, and so they have a difficult problem. There's another country that has that same problem, by the way.
But when you look at what's happened with Europe, many of those countries, they don't have those problems, and they buy a lot of oil and gas from Russia. And, as they know, I'm very disturbed by that, because we're helping them and they're going and buying oil and gas from Russia.
So that question could be really asked, maybe more accurately, if you talked about many European countries—not Hungary necessarily, because Hungary is in a different position. But many European countries are buying oil and gas from Russia, and they have been for years. And I say, "What's that all about?" Right?
Thank you. Yes, go ahead.
Q. Thank—thank you, Mr. Orbán.
Prime Minister Orbán. So that will be one of the issue for today——
Q. Yes.
Prime Minister Orbán. ——to explain clearly what would be the consequences for the Hungarian people and for the Hungarian economy not to get oil and gas from Russia, because we are supplied by pipelines. Pipeline is not an ideological or political issue. It's a physical reality, because we don't have port, exactly as the President explained to you. So we will negotiate on that point. It's vital for us as a way.
Q. Mr. Orbán, there are two pipelines, as I understand it. There's a pipeline from Ukraine and there's a pipeline from Croatia. And my understanding is that the pipeline from Croatia can provide all of Hungary's energy needs. As a result, why would you need an exemption, if that's the case?
Prime Minister Orbán. So, when we discuss that issue, you should separate the gas and the oil. On the gas issue, which is very important for us, 90 percent of the Hungarian households based on heating system based on gas. So we have only one pipeline delivering gas to Hungary, which is the main pipeline, the Turkish one. What we got from Croatia is a very small-volume, supplementary gas pipeline. Okay? That's gas.
Oil is another issue. So oil is coming from the Druzhba pipeline, which is the main supply. And there is a Croatian one, which is the secondary and supplementary pipeline. We would like to convince the Croatian Government to enlarge it and make it possible to deliver more. Under the circumstances, it cannot be the main pipeline. It's just supplementary. But later on, with some big investments, it could serve better the interest of Hungary.
Q. Thank you, sir.
Q. Mr. President——
President Trump. Yes, please. Go ahead.
Hungarian Politics/Migration Issues in Europe
Q. Mr. President, thank you. Many people see this meeting not just as an encounter between two countries, but as the symbol of the strengthening of a new conservative alliance. Would you agree with that interpretation? And how do you see the future of Europe in the light of leaders like Viktor Orbán stand up to Brussels' bureaucracy and the globalist agenda?
President Trump. Are you from Hungary?
Q. Yes, I am.
President Trump. I figured. [Laughter]
The fact is that he's a great leader, and he's respected all over. Not necessarily liked by some of the leaders, but you know, those leaders have proven to be wrong. If you look at his stance on immigration and other things—you know, if you look at Europe, they've made tremendous mistakes on immigration. It's really hurting them very badly. He has not made a mistake on immigration.
So he's respected by everybody. He's liked by some. And I can tell you, I like and respect—I'm a double—I like and respect him. And that's the way Hungary is being led. They're being led properly, and that's why he's going to be very successful in his upcoming election. Okay?
[Several reporters spoke at once.]
Prime Minister Orbán. May I—President—President——
President Trump. Yes.
Prime Minister Orbán. May I have a comment——
President Trump. Please, go ahead.
Prime Minister Orbán. May I have a comment on that?
President Trump. Please.
Prime Minister Orbán. You know, language is important, because the Anglo-Saxon terminology is different from the European one. So to use categories can create some misunderstanding. So I would like to be clear as much as we can.
We are the only government in Europe which consider itself as a modern, Christian government. All the other governments in Europe are basically liberal, leftist governments. So, we try to do something, from 2010, which is different from what the others are doing, even at the philosophical level and the level of practice as well, as just the President described it, like migration.
So we are kind of a special island of difference in a liberal ocean in Europe, and we consider ourselves as a modern, Christian government. That's the proper category to describe what we are doing.
Q. To both of you, to both of you——
President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin of Russia/Ukraine
Q. Foreign press reports a possible meeting with Vladimir Putin. And would that happen in Budapest?
President Trump. We're talking, but we'll report on that later—meetings with Putin. We were talking about that with Viktor. He understands Putin and knows him very well. And I feel that—I mean, I'm going to let you say what you think, but I think that Viktor feels we're going to get that war ended in the not-too-distant future.
Viktor, do you want to talk about that?
Prime Minister Orbán. Yes. Yes, yes. I'm strongly convinced. So the question is whether we Westerners are unified or not. The problem is that the president has huge peace efforts, which are just splendid and very positive for the European continent and all the peoples of the—of Europe. But, at the same time, we are not unified because Brussels and the Europeans has a different approach to the war.
So the only pro-peace government is the United States Government and the small Hungary in Europe, anyway. All the other governments prefer to continue the war, because many of them think that Ukraine can win on the front line, which is a misunderstanding of the situation.
So it's a complicated issue. We will discuss it. It's—it requires not just 2 minutes to respond to your question, but rather than an hour lecture. Sorry, not to continue more on that.
[Several reporters spoke at once.]
Q. To both of you, to both of you——
President Trump. So you would say that Ukraine cannot win that war?
Prime Minister Orbán. You know, miracle can happen. President Trump. Yes. [Laughter] That's right. [Laughter] [Several reporters spoke at once.]
Yes. Go ahead, please.
Hungary/European Union/North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Q. Thank you, Mr. President. What is your message to the EU? Because I'm from Hungary, and the EU want to impose their woke policies on Hungary. What is your message?
President Trump. Well, I think they should respect Hungary and respect this leader very, very strongly, because he's been right on immigration. Look what's happened to Europe with the immigration. They have people flooding Europe all over the place, and it's hurting it. It's—the crime rates are way up. A lot of bad things are happening.
He—his crime rates are very low. They're the same as they always were, which is very little crime, because he's kept it the way it should be.
Europe—I mean, I don't want to go into individual countries. They're all friends of mine, every one. As you know, in the—in NATO, they voted to go from 2 percent to 5 percent. And, you know, that—nobody thought that was possible. And we had just about—almost, other than Spain—a unanimous vote.
No, I think that—I think they respect him a lot. They don't agree with him, but actually, inwardly, I think they probably do agree. What he—he was right on immigration. They were wrong. They are flooding Europe with people from all over the world, and Europe is becoming a different place.
And I tell the leaders all the time, "You'd better stop, or you're not going to have Europe anymore." It's a very dangerous thing they're doing.
[Several reporters spoke at once.]
Prime Minister Orbán. May—President, may I——
President Trump. Please.
Prime Minister Orbán. May I have a reflection on that?
So, on migration issue, just for clarification: In Hungary, the number of illegal migration is like that—zero. Zero. Because we have a crystal-clear system. If somebody would like to come to Hungary, first, he should ask for that. If you give the permission, they can step in. Nobody can step on the territory of Hungary without giving—having a permission from the Hungarian authorities. This is the regulation. Simple, while working.
What is the consequence of that? We are under sanctions—financial sanctions of European Union because we don't let the illegal migrations to come to Hungary and to the European Union as well. So we have to pay—just to inform you, we have to pay, every day, €1 million as a punishment to the Brüsszelian budget, because we stop the migrants. This is the absurd world we are living now in Europe.
[Several reporters spoke at once.]
President Trump. Go ahead, please. Yes, go ahead.
Q. To both of you, to both of you——
European Union/North Atlantic Treaty Organization/Migration Issues
Q. Thank you so much. Thank you. I'd like to ask whether—what do you think, what do you believe: After this meeting, can you have, maybe—or the European Union will have another opinion about—you know, just because of this penalty, another opinion about Hungary because of the immigration and because of this kind of politics, which is not that strictly as the European Union directs? What do you believe? Can——
President Trump. Yes, where are you from?
Q. I'm from Hungary.
President Trump. Okay. I do have that conversation with them, and I respect and like them.
You know, they're all friends of mine. I think pretty much every single leader in Europe is a friend of mine. We get along really well. They've done everything I've asked them to do with NATO, et cetera. The only thing they continue to do is buy oil from Russia. That's not too good.
But I told them they should respect this man. They can also learn from Viktor. Viktor has had a very hard stance on, more than anything else, immigration or even illegal immigration. He literally has accepted no one over the years.
Think of how much greater these countries would be if they didn't have the tremendous crime that has come in with the immigration. People just flowing into Europe—they've got to stop it. And not only stop it, they have to reverse it. They have to get them out.
We've done that here. We have zero people coming in now. The borders are closed. We take people, but we take them legally. But we've done it very strongly, and we're—we're moving hundreds of thousands, millions of people out.
We had—of the 20 million people, 25 million—nobody knows even what the number is.
They never knew. Biden had no idea. He wasn't—he had no idea. I don't believe he had any idea what was happening, because he wasn't about open borders. But we had open borders, and we had millions of people come in, and they were coming in from jails. They were coming in from mental institutions. They were coming in as drug dealers. We had 11,888 murderers; half of them committed more than one murder. We're getting them all out. We're getting them out.
He doesn't have that problem, but Europe does have that problem. Other parts of Europe have that problem.
So, you know, I tell them all the time. We—I'm—I stick up for Viktor Orbán. Not a lot of people do, because they're—in many cases, they're jealous. They wish they did what he did. They would have no problems if they did what he did.
And I have a bigger heart than anybody. But, you know, they've destroyed some of those countries. Some of those countries had no crime 10 years ago, and now they have quite a bit of crime. And I would say that—I don't know anything about your crime levels, but I would imagine they're very low.
Prime Minister Orbán. They're down. Down.
President Trump. Huh?
Prime Minister Orbán. They're very down.
President Trump. Not too high, right?
Prime Minister Orbán. No, no. It's very down. [Laughter]
President Trump. I have——
Prime Minister Orbán. One of the best in Europe.
President Trump. I had a feeling. [Several reporters spoke at once.]
Prime Minister Orbán. May I—President—President——[Several reporters spoke at once.]
Sorry. Sorry. May I—may I have one remark on that?
President Trump. Sure. Please.
Prime Minister Orbán. No, no, no, no. Just—just to—just a clarification as well. I'm not here to ask of President Trump to manage my conflicts, or our conflicts, with the European Union.
This is our matter. So, we will do it.
What we need is a golden age—to open a golden age of the United States-Hungary relationship. That's the biggest help we can get from United States.
President Trump. And maybe Europe too. You know, we can include Europe. [Laughter] But it's going to get more difficult.
Prime Minister Orbán. So, inside the European Union, we will manage all of our affairs. To be the most possible humble guy, yes? But I am the longest serving Prime Minister of
Europe. I survived all the Prime Ministers who attacked us, and I'm sure we will survive next year's as well. So we will manage our conflicts successfully.
[Several reporters spoke at once.]
Q. Mr. President——
Romania
Q. Mr. President, speaking of Europe, one question for you, Mr. President; one question for the prime minister. Speaking of Europe, last month you said that you would not withdraw U.S. troops from Europe. Yet, 2 weeks later, the Pentagon announced—decided to withdraw significant number of troops from Romania. So have you changed your mind, or the Pentagon ignored your assurance?
President Trump. No, they don't ignore anything that I say. What they do do is that we make changes. We move—it's the same number, total number, but we move people around. I happen to like the Romanian people. I think they're great people.
And, Pete, you may want to suggest something right there, please.
U.S. Secretary of War Peter B. Hegseth. Absolutely, no. Nothing was uncoordinated with the White House. It's all part of the view that we have of Europe. And there will remain troops in Romania, but there's some change in how we rotate and how many we rotate.
President Trump. And the relationship with Romania is very good, right?
Secretary Hegseth. Very good. And we've coordinated all this with Secretary General Rutte, with—throughout EUCOM, throughout our allies. Everyone was notified in advance.
[Several reporters spoke at once.]
President Trump. The relationship with Romania is very good. The relationship with Europe is very good. I disagree with what Europe is doing having to do with immigration, but I agree with them on many other subjects.
We just signed the biggest trade deal ever made with Europe: $950 billion. We were able to do it because of tariffs. It was a deal that was good—very good. But we had a very unfair deal. We were treated very badly before I came into office. But we just signed—it's the single biggest trade deal ever signed. So we have a very good relationship with Europe.
Yes.
[Several reporters spoke at once.]
Russia/Ukraine
Q. What is the main dispute with the Russians which prevent the Budapest summit with Putin for—from taking place?
President Trump. The basic dispute is, they just don't want to stop yet. And I think they will. I think that's—it's taken a big toll on Russia. Big toll on both countries, obviously—but it's taken a big toll. They're losing 7,000 soldiers a week. That's a big toll. And between the two of them—divided—you know, with Russia losing more soldiers, actually. But they're both losing a lot of people.
And that's the primary thing that—with me. It's not economic. It's not money. In fact, we don't spend any money. We send it to NATO. They pay us for our missiles and for our military and everything else.
We don't—it's not a question of money. It was with Biden. He spent $350 billion and got nothing for it.
The war would have never happened. If I were President, the war would have never happened. I think you would agree with that. This war would never have happened if I were President. It's stupid that it happened. But it did happen. I inherited the war, and I think we're going to get it ended—not-too-distant future.
Prime Minister Orbán. May I——
President Trump. Yes, please.
Prime Minister Orbán. So no question that, if that time, the name of the United States President would have been Donald Trump, there would be no war between Ukraine and Russia. That's clear. But what we are speaking about here is more than that, because without the pressure coming from the United States Government—I'm speaking 2022—the Europeans would not take that hard line what they have today on the war.
Remember that big countries of Europe rejected to be involved more than just sending some, you know, humanitarian issues. So the pressure coming from the United States to be more pro-war in Europe. So that's the fact of the history, anyway. So we have to restore something, which was ruined and created from here, and that's the reason why I'm—I understand absolutely the devotion of the President now to do everything to stop the war, because that would be not that deep without the previous pressure—previous government pressure from here.
So the reason why I'm here: to be as much as helpful I can to contribute to the peace efforts of the president. Because that was an enormous mistake, what we have done—I mean, the Western world—several years ago, and we have to stop it, and—[inaudible].
[Several reporters spoke at once.]
President Trump. Biden actually pushed for that war to happen. Okay? If you can believe it.
Nobody can believe it, but it's one of those things. And now look what happened. Look what's happened to Ukraine. It's a much smaller country. Lot of people are dead.
You take a look at what—it's a whole different world over there. And Russia has not been helped very much by that war, either. They lost a tremendous number of soldiers and people. And you know, look, that war should have been a 1-week war. I don't know why it's taken—this is 4 years. Should have been one week. It should have been over with. But it would have never started—should have never started.
And I would have solved the problem without giving up anything. Ukraine would have remained as is. So there were tremendous mistakes long before I got there. I inherited that mess. And we're getting it solved, along with the eight wars that we've already ended.
[Several reporters spoke at once.]
European Union/Hungary
Q. Thank you. What is our interest: cultivating better relations with the EU leader or Orbán, Viktor—Viktor?
President Trump. I think I can do both. I mean, there's no reason why I can't. I get along well with the European nations.
Prime Minister Orbán. We are still member of European Union, so it's easy.
President Trump. Yes. And by the way, he's a member in good standing, I guess—although they penalize him every once in a while. [Laughter] But he's a member in good standing with the European Union. So he's a member. He's a—you know, he's a part of it.
But I get along great with him, and I get along very well with them. I agree with him on immigration much more than I agree with them. But I agree with, you know, a lot of the things in Europe he also agrees with. But he had a difference, I would say, primarily, on immigration, more than anything else. And I happen to think he was right, because their whole fabric has changed. I mean, you go to some of the countries, they're unrecognizable now because of what they've done. And Hungary is very recognizable.
Yes, ma'am.
Q. Mr. President——
Hungary/U.S. Diplomatic Efforts With Respect to Russia
Q. Yes, Mr. President. Will there be a peace—[inaudible]—Budapest still this year? What you think about meeting?
President Trump. You mean a meeting with President Putin?
Q. Yes.
President Trump. You mean in—and in Hungary—well, I'd like to keep it in Hungary—in Budapest. That meeting—it turned out I didn't want to do that meeting because I didn't think anything was going to be happening, of significance.
But if we have it, I'd like to do it in Budapest, yes. It'd be good.
Q. Mr. President—Mr. President, do you——
Hungarian Politics/Hungary-U.S. Trade
Q. You said many times—you said many times to support Viktor Orbán. Why is it important to win the next election, for example, for the United States, Hungary, and also Europe? Why is it important for you?
President Trump. Well, I don't know his opponent. I don't know if he has an opponent yet.
At some point, he will, I guess.
Prime Minister Orbán. Always.
President Trump. You know, we always have opponents, right?
Prime Minister Orbán. Always, always. President Trump. Not much of an opponent. Prime Minister Orbán. Always.
President Trump. But I'll be supportive of him. He's done a fantastic job. We've had a great relationship. The United States—look, we had a country that had no leader. It had an autopen. Illegal autopen, totally illegal. And that's coming out stronger and stronger. But we had—we had no leader in the United States.
I mean, Hungary, as an example, had no relationship with the United States, even though we do, you know, billions of dollars in trade with Hungary.
Prime Minister Orbán. Yeah.
President Trump. Hungary is a big country, economically. We do, you know, billions of dollars in trade with Hungary. Why would they give that up? And they gave up so much else. Look, they gave up everything.
This country was poorly run. I think if I didn't win the election, we might not have a country, if you want to know the truth—not a recognizable country. But our relationship was immediately good as soon as I won the election, because Viktor is one of the people that's highly respected.
And we had a great relationship with Hungary, and we do again.
That was an easy one.
Q. Mr. President——
President Trump. Yes, please.
Ukraine/Russia
Q. Mr. President, do you and Prime Minister Orbán agree on ways to put pressure on President Putin to come to the negotiating table to end the war in Ukraine?
President Trump. I think we agree that the war is going to end. Sometimes people have to fight it out a little bit longer, but I think we agree that the war is going to end in the not-too-distant future.
Do you want to talk about that, Viktor?
Prime Minister Orbán. Well, I have some ideas, and I will present it to the President. [Inaudible]
[Several reporters spoke at once.]
Consumer Prices/News Media/U.S. Economy
Q. Mr. President, since you brought up the Walmart Thanksgiving meal——
President Trump. Yes.
Q. ——and it is cheaper, but it also contains less. As affordability continues to be an issue—
—
President Trump. Well, I haven't heard that. You're telling me——
Q. Well, that's what Walmart says.
President Trump. Who are you with? Who are you with?
Q. I'm with NBC News, sir——
President Trump. Fake news. NBC—[laughter]——
Q. ——representing the pool.
President Trump. You're fake news.
Q. But, sir, as affordability continues to——
President Trump. What a——
Q. ——be a problem for Americans——
President Trump. What a—NBC has gone down the tubes——
Q. Why——
President Trump. ——along with most of the rest of them.
Q. Sir, may I ask—if I may ask: Why do you think there's such a disconnect between the
economy that you're describing day to day and the way many Americans say they are feeling and their concerns about affordability?
President Trump. Well, they feel better about our country right now—other than the shutdown, obviously, which is caused by the Democrats. Could be ended by the Democrats in two minutes.
They feel much better. We have more jobs. We just set a record on jobs. You do know that? We have more investment in our country than any country in history. We're over $18 trillion as of this moment, and we're going to be maybe at $20- or $21 trillion by the time I finish up my first year.
And there's been no country—China, no country in the world—that's done anywhere even close to that number. Your friend Biden, as an example, in 4 years, was less than a trillion. We'll be at $21 trillion in one year. So there's no country that was even close to that, and our country was a laughingstock all over the world.
We have more jobs, we have more potential than any other country. And, frankly, we're the hottest country right now. Viktor said to me before: We're the hottest country anywhere in the world. Think of it. We'll have $20-, $21 trillion invested. We have auto plants pouring back in. We have AI pouring back in. We're leading China in AI by a lot. We are leading everybody in every category. There's no category that we're in second place.
So I just heard this yesterday, that Walmart said that the Thanksgiving was 25 more expensive—25-percent more expensive under Biden. That's a big—to me, that's a big number, because Walmart is respected. I mean, Walmart is Walmart. And you know, they're giving you prices. So that would mean that the whole series of pricing and costs—you know, the groceries
and everything else—it was a con job. It was a con job. "Affordability," they call it, was a con job by the Democrats.
The Democrats are good at a few things: cheating on elections and conning people with facts that aren't true.
It was 25 percent—Walmart just announced it 2 days ago—25-percent cheaper—this year will be cheaper to have Thanksgiving than it was a year ago under Sleepy Joe Biden.
[Several reporters spoke at once.]
Consumer Prices/Gasoline Costs/Off-Year Elections
Yes. What?
Q. You say affordability is a con job, as you put it.
President Trump. Say it?
Q. You said affordability was a con job——
President Trump. Yes.
Q. ——and you didn't want to—you said, last night, you didn't want to talk about affordability. What—but——
President Trump. I talked about it. When did I not want to talk about it? I talk about it all the time.
We are much better than Biden and all of them. Now, just so you understand, do you remember that the Biden administration had the highest inflation in 48 years—but most people say ever recorded? Do you remember that? Right? Do you remember it?
Q. [Inaudible]
President Trump. Did they have the highest inflation in 48 years? Did they?
Q. [Inaudible]—talk about it.
President Trump. Just answer me the question. You know the answer.
Q. I don't have the figures——
President Trump. The answer is yes. [Laughter]
Q. ——at my fingertips.
President Trump. They had the worst inflation in 48 years.
We have almost no inflation. We're down now to 2 percent, and we'll be at maybe 1 percent. You want to always stay above 1 percent, actually. You want a little, tiny bit of inflation. We're at a perfect number.
They were at the highest level in recorded history. Okay? And when you talk about affordability, that one fact—now, let's talk about the second biggest subject, after inflation: energy. We're going to be a $2 gasoline. We're going to be approximately $2 very soon. We're a little bit above $2 right now for gasoline.
Now, under Biden, it was four and a half—it even hit five, but it was $4 dollars, $3½. We're going to be at $2 a gallon. So gasoline is much less.
Energy costs are less. When you have energy and when you have gasoline less, everything else follows. It's such a big category. So, when you have lower energy prices—which I think you admit we do, substantially—that means everything else. So we are the victors on affordability.
But if I watched that election, which I was not much involved in—I didn't support Virginia, the candidate. Didn't do a lot of support for the other candidates. They asked me about Cuomo, and I said, "Well, it's a question: Do you want a thug or do you want a Communist?" I mean, that was my response. [Laughter] So I wasn't involved in that stuff too much.
But I will say this. If you look at affordability, which they campaigned on, they lied, because they talked about—"Oh, prices are up." No, no. Prices are down under the Trump administration, and they're down substantially. Energy prices are down by 30, 35, 40 percent. Gasoline is way down.
And the other big thing is, we started—inflation is way down. The big—the biggest thing is inflation. The second biggest thing is energy. Energy is way down. And what's also down?
Gasoline. Also, the biggest thing is inflation, and it's way down.
We took over a mess: the highest inflation in recorded history—some people would say 48 years. I'll take either one of them. But I believe it's the highest inflation in recorded history. That alone makes it impossible for them to have done a good job, affordability-wise.
And one other thing. When I came into office, Viktor, 2 days into office, they were screaming at me about the cost of eggs. I was there for two days. Eggs had quadrupled. And I said, "Listen, I just did—I just got here. Let me check it out." And they were right. Eggs had gone up by three, four times. Within a period of a few months, we had eggs down to a normal cost.
We did a great job on groceries and affordability. The only problem is the fake news. You people don't want to report it.
And, in fact, I'd like to ask Karoline—where's Karoline? I'd like to ask Karoline a question.
Where is she? Did she—uh oh. She deserted us. [Laughter] She deserted me. [Laughter] [Several reporters spoke at once.]
Q. Mr. President, can I ask you a question about SNAP, sir?
President Trump. Our great Karoline—superstar—deserted me. Anyway. She's right outside. [Several reporters spoke at once.]
She was going to talk about it, because the fake news, yesterday they talked about that. They said, "Oh, I don't want to talk about affordability." The reason I don't want to talk about affordability is because everybody knows that it's far less expensive under Trump than it was under Sleepy Joe Biden——
Vice President James D. "J.D." Vance. And here she is, sir.
President Trump. ——and the prices are way down. Karoline.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. Yes, sir.
President Trump. Could you discuss that—that question that was asked and how—how it was asked in such a fake, disgusting manner by the fake news?
Press Secretary Leavitt. Yes, and I just saw it asked again here. And it's very unfortunate that the reporters in this room refuse to address, sir, what you just said, which is that you inherited the worst inflation crisis in modern American history, and you are fixing it in 10 short months.
And your entire administration has been tasked with this effort, from Treasury Department to Agriculture Department to the National Economic Council, right here at the White House.
They are slashing regulation.
He signed the largest middle-class tax cut in 6 months—in 6 months—in record time, putting more money back into the American people's pockets.
So affordability is what the American people elected this President to do, and he is doing it, and you guys refuse to cover it. And you refuse to cover that the previous administration created the worst unaffordability crisis in American history.
And I've been watching the TV all day saying that "he doesn't want to talk about affordability." That's what he's working on every day, and that's what this administration——
President Trump. That's what I'm talking about right now.
Press Secretary Leavitt. ——is doing.
President Trump. But you know why they refuse to cover it? Prime Minister Orbán. President, can I get her for some months? President Trump. Because they're fake news. That's why.
Go ahead.
Prime Minister Orbán. Can I get her some months too?
President Trump. Sure. [Laughter] Oh. [Laughter]
Karoline, the Prime Minister would like you to work for him in Hungary.
Prime Minister Orbán. Please consider it.
Press Secretary Leavitt. Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister.
President Trump. She's——
Prime Minister Orbán. Please consider it. [Laughter]
President Trump. You know what? That's a very good decision you just made. [Laughter] Please stay—please don't leave us, Karoline.
Lapse in Federal Government Appropriations/Senate Use of the Filibuster
Q. On the shutdown, Mr. President.
President Trump. Yes, please.
Q. You spoke to Republican Senators. They do not seem interested right now in getting rid of the filibuster.
President Trump. That's too bad. They're making a big mistake. That's right.
Q. Well, what's the offer——
President Trump. No, but they're—they're coming my way.
Q. ——out here, is my question to you.
President Trump. You're right. Wait a minute. Wait a minute.
The way to do it for the Republicans is to terminate the filibuster. They call it the nuclear option. This is the second form of nuclear—very good, very good. This is a good form. This is not a bad form.
I would have been in favor of that a long time ago, but you know the Democrats are going to do that. And most of you will admit, the Democrats are going to do that. So why aren't we doing it? And I think only a foolish person would be against that, especially when you realize that these are crazed people. These people are absolutely crazed—Trump derangement syndrome, whatever it may be.
And I am totally in favor of terminating the filibuster, and we would be back to work within 10 minutes after that vote took place, and lots of other good things would happen. And it—it's—it doesn't make any sense that a Republican would not want to do that.
Q. But if they're not going to do that, then it seems like you'd have to make a deal——[Secretary Rubio passed President Trump a piece of paper.]
——with Democrats to end the shutdown. Are you open to that? President Trump. Here's some of the things that we'd pass—[President Trump held up the sheet of paper.]
——if we terminated the filibuster: voter ID, no mail-in voting, no cash bail, no men in women's sports, no welfare for illegals. You could go on and on. This is two pages of things we'd do if you did that. Without it, I don't know that you'd pass anything, because you can't deal with them. They're really irrational. They really are.
But I was happy to see that a tremendous liability to this country—a woman that made herself rich in this country, Nancy Pelosi—has quit, and she'll be out of here pretty soon. And that—I consider that to be a great asset for America——
Q. But are you——
President Trump. ——getting her out. [Several reporters spoke at once.] Yea, please. Go ahead.
Q. Are you ruling out a deal? Are you ruling out a deal with Democrats? You're not interested in a deal with Democrats?
President Trump. I don't know. We'll see what they have. I mean, we'll see. [Several reporters spoke at once.]
But they're very destructive for the country. NBC fake news, I'm not taking you. Go ahead.
Q. On SNAP, sir.
Senate Use of the Filibuster
Q. Mr. President, are you worried about it backfiring in the future on Republicans should they get rid of filibuster and then, down the road, Democrats are back in power?
President Trump. Well, you know, normally I would say, "Well, a little bit." But the reason that I'm not is because if they ever took over power, they'll do it in——
Look, Joe Manchin and Sinema are two people that are no longer in politics because of this issue. They were opposed to what the Democrats wanted to do. They wanted to terminate the filibuster. They were opposed to it. They're no longer in politics. They're gone.
The Democrats will do this. So, if the Democrats are going to do it, I'm saying Republicans should do it before they get a chance. It's very simple. And if we do it, we will never lose the midterms, and we will never lose a general election, because we will have produced so many different things for our people—for the people, for the country—that it would be impossible to lose an election.
[Several reporters spoke at once.]
Artificial Intelligence
Q. Are you worried about an AI bubble, Mr. President? Are you worried about an AI bubble at the moment?
President Trump. No, I love AI. I think it's going to be very helpful. So many things are happening with it. And in addition to which, we're leading China, we're leading the world in AI. We're building massive electric plants that the companies themselves are building for their plant. I've given them the right, because we need so much electricity for that. And just—the word is "electricity," believe it or not. Double the electricity that we currently have in the country for just the AI plants.
And I've allowed those companies to rebuild and build electric plants along with their facility. We're getting approvals done in less than a month, sometimes in 2 weeks, for massive—beautiful, massive buildings.
And no, I'm totally in favor of it. I think it's really going to be the wave of the future. And we're leading the world. We're leading everybody by a lot.
[Several reporters spoke at once.]
Lapse in Federal Government Appropriations
Q. How long do you think the shutdown is going to last? Mr. President, how long do you think shutdown will last or can last?
President Trump. I don't know. It's up to the Democrats. [Several reporters spoke at once.]
We voted—the Republicans have voted 14 times to open up the country, and the Democrats have voted 14 times to hurt the country, really. They should approve it, but they might not.
That's why I like the—that's why I like the fact that we terminate the filibuster. If we terminate the filibuster, the country will be open within 10 minutes after that termination, because we'll take a second vote, which is the vote—opening of the country, and the Republicans will vote to open the country.
That's one of the reasons—not the major reason, by the way. I think it's less important than the other things that we get. But if we terminate the filibuster, the second vote that we will take will be to open up the country. It'll take 10 minutes, and the country will be open.
Senate Use of the Filibuster
Q. Is there any room for bipartisanship? Because it seems like that's the main purpose of the filibuster, is to create some sort of compromise. So how do you——
President Trump. Well, it didn't work, obviously.
Q. So do you encourage——
President Trump. You're right. That was——
Q. ——bipartisanship?
President Trump. That was the purpose of the filibuster: bipartisanship. But that didn't work.
Q. So are you saying the next 3 years in Washington, there shouldn't be some level of——
President Trump. Well, no, if there's—if there's—if the filibuster is terminated, we will have the most productive 3 years in the history of our country. If the filibuster is not terminated, then we will be in a slog with the Democrats and very little for either party will be done. So, it's a good thing.
Thank——
[Several reporters spoke at once.]
Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you. Thank you very much.
NOTE: The President spoke at 12:39 p.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White House. In his remarks, he referred to Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears; New York City mayoral candidates former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and State Assemblyman Zohran K. Mamdani of New York; Rep. Nancy Pelosi; and former Sens. Joseph A. Manchin III and Kyrsten L. Sinema. Secretary Hegseth referred to Secretary General Mark Rutte of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The transcript was released by the Office of Communications on November 19.
Categories: Interviews With the News Media : Exchanges with reporters, White House; Meetings With Foreign Leaders and International Officials : Hungary, Prime Minister Orbán.
Locations: Washington, DC.
Names: Biden, Joseph R., Jr.; Cuomo, Andrew M.; Earle-Sears, Winsome; Hegseth, Peter B.; Leavitt, Karoline; Mamdani, Zohran K.; Manchin, Joseph A., III; Orbán, Viktor; Pelosi, Nancy; Putin, Vladimir Vladimirovich; Sinema, Kyrsten L.; Vance, James D. "J.D.".
Subjects: Artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies; Border security; Election security and integrity, strengthening efforts; Electricity capacity, expansion efforts; Europe Union, relations with U.S.; Europe, migration issues; European Union, trade with U.S.; Federal Government appropriations, lapse; Gasoline costs; Health insurance exchanges; Hungary, Prime Minister; Hungary, relations with U.S.; Hungary, trade with U.S.; Illegal immigration; Inflation; Job creation and growth; Manufacturing industry, domestic investment; North Atlantic Treaty Organization; Romania, defense relationship with U.S.; Romania, relations with U.S.; Russia, conflict in Ukraine; Russia, oil supply and refining; Russia, President; Secretary of War; Senate filibuster; Spain, defense spending level; Ukraine, Russian invasion and airstrikes; Ukraine, U.S. assistance; Ukraine, war refugees, humanitarian situation; Vice President; Virginia, off-year elections; White House Press Secretary.
DCPD Number: DCPD202501103.