Administration of Donald J. Trump, 2026
March 13, 2026
The President. Hello, everybody.
Q. Hi, Mr. President.
The President. So the situation in Iran is going very well. A lot of big hits today, a lot of big wins today, as you probably have heard, militarily. And I think it's going very well. And it's a very good control.
We'll see what's happening with the straits. They continue to try and sabotage their own country and the Middle East. But it's been very, very strong militarily.
Gasoline Costs/U.S. Military Operations in Iran
Q. Mr. President, what's your message to voters who may be concerned about the potential for rise in gas prices?
The President. Well, I think your gas prices, as soon as that's over, are going to come tumbling down along with everything else. I think it's going to be—you're going to see a very big decrease in the price of gasoline, gas, anything having to do with energy, as soon as this is ended.
But we had to end the nuclear threat in the Middle East and throughout the world, and we will have done that.
Q. Mr. President——
U.S. Military Operations in Iran
Q. Do you still expect unconditional surrender? And what does that mean to you, sir?
The President. Well, to me, it means very simply that we are in a position of dominance that nobody has ever seen before. And whether or not they're able to say the words or whether they—or not they're able to even fight. Their navy is gone. Their air force is gone. Most of their military is gone. Their big threat is gone in every way. They have no radar. They have no anti-aircraft weapons. For the most part, weapons and—for indefinitely, they have no way of—of determining what they call visibility. So just about everything is gone, and you'll see that.
But today we've had some very, very big hits. Very powerful hits.
Commercial Transit Through the Strait of Hormuz
Q. Mr. President, when will the Navy start escorting tankers through the Straits of Hormuz?
The President. It will happen soon. Very soon.
President Xi Jinping of China
Q. Mr. President, have you spoken with Chinese President Xi about the Iran War?
The President. I have, and we're discussing a couple of different things with him. Not only that, but other things.
Election Reform
Q. Mr. President, on the—on the SAVE Act. If Leader Thune cannot whip up the Republican support to either nuke the filibuster, reopen the Government and pass the SAVE Act, or somehow——
The President. It's not called the SAVE Act. It's called——
Q. SAVE America.
The President. ——the SAVE America Act.
Q. You're right, sir.
The President. So that's important.
Q. Do you think if Leader Thune can't accomplish that, do you think the Senate needs a new leader?
The President. Well, it's certainly a very popular thing. I don't think there's ever been a bill that's more popular than the SAVE America Act. It's voter ID. It's proof of citizenship. It's things that are so popular. No men in women's sports. No transgender mutilization of our children. So many different things. It's so good. No running around with the mail-in ballot nonsense that's gone on for so long that no other country does. No other country.
We're going to clean up our elections. I don't think I've ever been involved in anything that's had the support of the SAVE America Act. So we'll see what happens.
[At this point, several reporters began asking questions at once.]
Israel/U.S. Military Readiness
Q. How regularly are you speaking with Prime Minister Netanyahu? And are your objectives the same in terms of ending the war?
The President. Well, I think they might be a little different, I guess. You know, they're a different country than we are. But he will tell you there's never been a power like the power of the United States.
I built our military in my first term—continue to do so—but I built our military and rebuilt it. It was in bad shape, just like the wall, just like the border, just like everything else in our country. It was all in bad shape. But I rebuilt the military in my first term, and we're using it in this term to—you know, really for the sake of good, for the sake of peace, and for the sake of safety and good.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel
Q. Do you speak daily?
The President. Excuse me?
Q. Do you speak with Netanyahu daily?
The President. I speak to him a lot, yes.
U.S. Military Operations in Iran
Q. How long now do you think the war is likely to last?
The President. I can't tell you that. I mean, I have my own idea, but what good does it do? It'll be as long as it's necessary. They've been decimated. The country is in bad shape. The whole thing is collapsing.
If you read some of the fake news, it's like, "Oh, they're doing wonderfully." They're not doing wonderfully. They're doing the opposite. They're doing as bad as you can have.
I would say this: I won't give you a time, but we're way ahead of schedule.
Q. Can you comment on——
The President. Militarily, we're way ahead of schedule.
Iran/Nuclear Weapons Development
Q. Did President Putin make an offer to you this week that he would be willing to send in troops to take the uranium and store it?
The President. I can't talk to you about that.
Mexico/Counternarcotic Efforts
Q. Sir, you made a post about Claudia Sheinbaum refusing your help in Mexico. What—what's your plan with Mexico?
The President. Well, she should not have refused my help. I offered to get rid of the cartels in Mexico, and for some reason, she doesn't want to do that. I like her very much, but she should get rid of the cartels because the cartels are—whether we like it or not, the cartels are running Mexico. We can't have that.
Thank you.
NOTE: The President spoke at 6:41 p.m. on the tarmac prior to boarding Air Force One. In his remarks, he referred to President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo of Mexico. He also referred to Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act. A reporter referred to President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin of Russia.
Categories: Interviews With the News Media : Exchanges with reporters, Joint Base Andrews, MD.
Locations: Joint Base Andrews, MD.
Names: Netanyahu, Benjamin; Sheinbaum Pardo, Claudia; Xi Jinping.
Subjects: China, President; Election security and integrity, strengthening efforts; Foreign narcotics traffickers; Gasoline costs; Iran, nuclear weapons development; Iran, U.S. military operations; Israel, defense relationship with U.S.; Israel, Prime Minister; Maryland, Joint Base Andrews; Maryland, President's visit; Mexico, counternarcotic efforts; Mexico, President; News media, Presidential interviews; Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act; U.S. military readiness, improvement efforts.
DCPD Number: DCPD202600175.