Administration of Donald J. Trump, 2025
November 25, 2025
The President. Okay. Hello, everybody. How are you?
Q. Happy Thanksgiving, sir.
The President. Hi. How are you?
Q. Hi.
Russia/Ukraine
The President. What would you like to know today?
Q. Could you start off by telling us the latest one with Russia and Ukraine? Are you expecting——
The President. Well, we're having——
Q. Are you expecting Zelenskyy to come visit you?
The President. We're having good—I don't know. He would like to come, but I think we should get a deal done first. We're having good talks. We started with Russia. We're having some talks with Russia. Ukraine is doing well. I think they're pretty happy about it. They'd like to see it end.
And we won't know for a little while, but we'll—we're making progress.
Q. You said—what other things did you——
The President. We settled eight wars, and I thought this would be one of the easier ones because of my relationship with President Putin, but this is probably one of the more difficult ones. There's a lot of hatred.
U.S. Diplomatic Efforts/Ukraine/Russia
Q. Mr. President, you said that there were a few points of disagreement that were still left to be——
The President. Yes, a few. A few.
Q. Can you tell us what those are, what the points of disagreement are?
The President. Well, it's the—standard things, but people are starting to realize it's a good deal for both parties. They got to stop the war. They're losing a lot of people—a lot of soldiers. Mostly soldiers.
Q. In that 28-point plan——
The President. Yes.
Q. ——that was originally leaked, there were some portions of that that said that Ukraine needed to cut——
The President. Well, that was an original proposal. And then, from there, we went back and forth.
Negotiations in the Ukraine-Russia Conflict
Q. So, when it comes to ceding land to Russia, is that still on the table, or has that changed?
The President. Well, they're talking about going land both ways and trying to clean up a border. You know, you can't go through the middle of a house, you can't go through the middle of a highway. So they're trying to work something. It's a complicated process. It doesn't go that quickly.
Q. Do you think Russia——
Q. The U.S.——
Q. What about security—what about security guarantees and Ukraine joining NATO?
The President. Well, we're working that out with Europe. Europe will be largely involved in that. We're working that out with Europe. Europe really wants to see it end, if possible.
Q. There were a lot of Republicans who felt that the first plan, the first 28-point plan, was too favorable to Russia. Have you changed that?
The President. Well, that was just a map. All that was is a map. That was not a plan. It was a concept. And from there, they've taken each one of the 28 points, and then you got down to 22 points. A lot of them were solved and, actually, very favorably solved. So we'll see how—we'll see what happens.
Q. Do you think——
Q. Does the same——
Russia/Ukraine/U.S. Diplomatic Efforts
Q. Do you think that Russia—that Ukraine was being asked to give too much land back to Russia? I know at one point you said they——
The President. Well——
Q. ——shouldn't have to give any back.
The President. Yes. It's really up—look, the way it's going, if you look, it's just moving in one direction. So, eventually, that's land that, over the next couple of months, might be gotten by Russia anyway. So do you want to fight and lose another 50-, 60,000 people, or do you want to do something now?
In some cases, the land is going in the other direction. So they're negotiating. They're trying to get it done. You want to have a border, you can't have a border that goes through a highway or a—border that goes through the middle of a town. Sort of doesn't work. So it's a long, complicated process and very—very sad because so many people are being killed.
Q. What's the next step?
The President. They're going to keep talking. They're talking to Russia now. Steve Witkoff is going over, maybe with Jared. I'm not sure about Jared going, but he's involved in the process. Smart guy. And they're going to be meeting with President Putin, I believe, next week in Moscow.
Q. Next week in Moscow?
The President. I think so, yes.
Negotiations in Ukraine-Russia Conflict
Q. What kinds of concessions are the Russians going to have to make?
The President. Well, they're making concessions. Their big concession is, they stop fighting and they don't take any more land. Again, it's a war that would have never happened if I was President. This was not anything that was going to happen. This happened because of stupidity. It's too bad.
Q. Mr. President——
Russia/Ukraine/U.S. Diplomatic Efforts
Q. So, if Witkoff is going to Russia next week, does that mean that Thanksgiving deadline doesn't stand anymore for Ukraine to agree to this deal?
The President. No, we're going to see what happens. They set up a date, and the date is going to be sometime in the very near future.
Q. Do you have a new deadline for a deal to be reached?
The President. No. I don't have a deadline. I just—you know what the deadline for me is?
When it's over. And I think everybody is tired of fighting at this moment. They're losing too many people.
U.S. Special Envoy for Peace Missions Steven C. Witkoff
Q. Have you heard this audio that Bloomberg has of Witkoff coaching the Russians on how to appeal to you and get on your good side?
The President. Well, I haven't heard it. No. But I—that's a standard thing, you know, because he's got to sell this to Ukraine. He's got to sell Ukraine to Russia. That's what he's—that's what a dealmaker does. You've got to say: "Look, they want this. You've got to convince them of this." You know, that's a very standard form of negotiation.
I haven't heard it, but I heard it was standard negotiation. And I would imagine he's saying the same thing to Ukraine, because each party has to give and take.
Q. So you're not worried that he's too pro-Russian?
The President. No, I think, look, this war could go on for years, and Russia has got a lot more people, got a lot more soldiers, you know. So I think if Ukraine can make a deal, it's a good thing. I think it's great for both. Frankly, I think it's great for both. But Ukraine has got a—you know, it's much smaller—it's a much smaller group of people. They've lost a lot of people. Russia has lost a lot of people, but Russia has a much bigger pool of people.
Health Insurance Reforms
Q. Mr. President, are you planning to unveil a health care plan anytime soon? And what do you expect to be in it?
The President. Well, we're looking at different alternatives. I mean, I like my plan the best: Don't give any money to the insurance companies. Give it to the people directly. Let them go out and buy their own health care plan. And we're looking at that, if that can work. We're looking at that. That's sort of taking off. That's what I like.
Don't give the money to the insurance companies. They go out and buy their own plan. You give the money to the people. I like it the best.
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act/Health Insurance Exchanges
Q. Are you planning to extend those subsidies, those Affordable Care Act subsidies?
The President. I'd rather not. Somebody said I want to extend them for 2 years. I don't want to extend them for 2 years. I'd rather not extend them at all.
Q. Will you do it if you have to?
The President. It may be—some kind of an extension may be necessary to get something else done because the "Unaffordable Care Act" has been a disaster. It's a disaster, and I said it was when it first got put in. Unfortunately, we lost a couple of Republican votes, and the Democrats voted for it. It's a Democrat plan, and the premiums are going up, and it's the Democrats' fault.
But, you know, they are negotiating with me. It's very interesting. They want to see something happen.
Q. Who are you talking to on the Democrat side?
The President. I can't tell you who, but we have—a lot of Democrats want this plan to happen. They would love to see the money go to the people and the people go out and get their own health care. And there would be nothing like it.
Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kashyap P. "Kash" Patel
Q. Are you planning to replace Kash Patel as FBI Director?
The President. No. He's doing a good job.
Q. This week, we saw——
The President. Kash Patel?
Q. Yes.
The President. No. He's doing a great job, I think.
Interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Lindsey Halligan
Q. This week, we saw those cases against James Comey and Letitia James tossed out. Do you still have faith in Lindsey Halligan as——
The President. Oh, she's great. I think she's great.
They got out on a technicality, and you'll see what happens from here on. But if you look at the actual charges, I think anybody that looks at it very fairly would say, "Boy, are they guilty." So let's see what happens over the next week.
You know, they—the court didn't say you couldn't bring the case—rebring the case or appeal the case. So they have a lot of—they're going to call the shot. I'm not calling the shot. But Lindsey is a very talented lawyer, actually.
President Nicolas Maduro Moros of Venezuela
Q. Mr. President, on Venezuela, sir, are you planning to talk to Nicolás Maduro?
The President. I might talk to him. We'll see. But we're discussing that with their—with the different staffs. But we might talk, on Venezuela.
Venezuela
Q. Interesting enough, if—why—the U.S. this week did, of course, name him the leader of a foreign terrorist organization. So why do you want to talk to him?
The President. Say it again? What?
Q. Maduro——
The President. Yes. Right.
Q. The U.S. designated him the leader of this foreign terrorist organization. Why do you want to talk to him if he's the leader of——
The President. If we can save lives, if we can do things the easy way, that's fine. And if we have to do it the hard way, that's fine too.
Q. Mr. President, do you have any reaction to——
Illegal Immigration/U.S. Drug Interdiction Efforts
Q. What's the goal? If you—if you carry out——
The President. Well, I'm going to tell you what the goal is. You should probably know what the goal is. But they've caused a lot of problem, and they've sent millions of people into our country. They had—I mean, they were probably the biggest abuser, with Tren de Aragua and all the others that they sent in—the drug dealers, the drug lords, the people that they sent in, the jailbirds. They opened their jails and prisons and dumped them into the United States, and we're not happy about it. Okay?
Mayor Muriel E. Bowser of the District of Columbia/Chicago, Illinois
Q. Do you have any reaction to Mayor Bowser announcing she's not running for reelection in D.C.?
The President. Well, I got along with her very well. I liked her. We worked together. DC is now a safe community. It's a great community. You people know it better than I do because you live there. But DC is now safe. The restaurants are booming. The place is booming. We have no crime. And we did that all in a period of 3 or 4 weeks and then made it better and better and better, and now we're setting new records.
I mean, literally, it's as safe as there is anywhere in the country now. And if you go back a year, it was a very unsafe place. Before I got here, DC was a very unsafe—and it's our Capital. We have to make it safe.
We're doing really well in Memphis, Tennessee, and we're doing well in other places. The one that is really troubling is what's happening in Chicago. The crime—it's a potentially great city again, but the Governor has totally lost control. That's where you had the young lady burned.
That's where you had a lot of killings over the last very short period of time. Killings. The Governor has totally lost control of the State, and the mayor is grossly incompetent.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi of Japan/China-U.S. Trade
Q. How was your call with the Japanese Prime Minister?
The President. Great. It was great.
Q. Can you tell us about it?
The President. I had a great talk. I have a very good relationship with her. I also had a very good talk with President Xi of China, and I think that part of the world is doing fine.
Q. Can you tell us about the content of your talks?
The President. Mostly trade.
Q. Trade?
The President. I spoke to President Xi about a lot of things, but trade and buying our farm products. And he said he agreed with me. He's going to—I think he's going to very much surprise
you on the upside. I think he's going to—I asked him, "I'd like you to buy it a little faster. I'd like you to buy more." And he has more or less agreed to do that.
I think we will be pleasantly surprised by the actions of President Xi. I have a good relationship—great relationship with him. I like him. He likes me. I'm going to be going there in April. I guess you'll all be going with me, but I'm going to be going to China in April.
With Japan, likewise. I just came back from Japan, and we have a great relationship—the new Prime Minister and myself. She's very smart, she's very strong, and she's going to be a great leader.
Thank you very much, everybody.
Q. Thank you, sir. Happy Thanksgiving.
NOTE: The President spoke at 6:55 p.m. in the press cabin. In his remarks, he referred to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine; former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James B. Comey; New York State Attorney General Letitia James; Gov. Jay R. "J.B." Pritzker of Illinois; Bethany MaGee, who was burned in an attack aboard a Chicago Transit Authority Blue Line train in Chicago, IL, on November 17; and Mayor Brandon Johnson of Chicago, IL. He also referred to his son-in-law Jared C. Kushner. The transcript was released by the Office of Communications on November 26.
Categories: Interviews With the News Media : Exchanges with reporters, Air Force One. Locations: Air Force One.
Names: Bowser, Muriel E.; Halligan, Lindsey; Johnson, Brandon; Kushner, Jared C.; Maduro Moros, Nicolas; MaGee, Bethany; Patel, Kashyap P. "Kash"; Pritzker, Jay R. "J.B."; Putin, Vladimir Vladimirovich; Takaichi, Sanae; Witkoff, Steven C.; Xi Jinping; Zelenskyy, Volodymyr.
Subjects: China, President; China, trade with U.S.; District of Columbia, law enforcement improvement efforts; District of Columbia, Mayor; Federal Bureau of Investigation; Foreign narcotics traffickers; Health insurance exchanges; Illegal immigration; Illinois, crime in Chicago; Illinois, Governor; Japan, Prime Minister; News media, Presidential interviews; Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Russia, conflict in Ukraine; Russia, President; Tennessee, law enforcement improvement efforts in Memphis; U.S. Special Envoy for Peace Missions; Ukraine, President; Ukraine, Russian invasion and airstrikes; Venezuela, President; Venezuela, Tren de Aragua criminal organization.
DCPD Number: DCPD202501148.