Administration of Donald J. Trump, 2026
April 6, 2026
The President. Thank you very much.
It's a great honor to be with you, and happy Easter. We had a great Easter. This is one of our better Easters, I think, in a lot of different ways. I can say militarily, it's been one of the best.
So good afternoon. We have quite a bit to discuss. We'll go into pretty good detail, and we have—the people that are most involved will give you exactitude.
And we're here today to celebrate the success of one of the largest, most complex, most harrowing combat searches—I guess you would call it a search-and-rescue mission—ever attempted by the military.
Generally, when planes are knocked down in war—especially when you're fighting a strong group, an evil group—you can't really do this, because you send in 200 men to pick up 1, and it's something that's usually not attempted as much as you want to attempt. And bad things happen to that one or two. And in this case, we did two, and might not have been attempted before, but we did. And we got—we had great talent. We got a little luck too, I would say.
And we were helped by a lot of people—a lot of great people. And it was an honor to be involved with it. It's very historic. This is a rescue that's very historic. It'll go down in the books.
Late Thursday night, an American F–15 fighter jet went down deep inside enemy territory in Iran while participating in Operation Epic Fury, where we're doing unbelievably well, well at a level that nobody's ever seen before. The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night.
Both members of the crew ejected from the aircraft and landed alive on Iranian soil. I immediately was asked to make a decision. I ordered the U.S. Armed Forces to do whatever was necessary to bring our brave warriors back home—a risky decision, because we could have ended up with a hundred dead as opposed to one or two. It's a hard decision to make. But in the United States military, we leave no American behind. We don't do it.
Within hours, our Armed Forces deployed 21 military aircraft into hostile airspace, many flying at very low altitude, being shot by bullets. You bring rifles into play when you're going that low, but there are also certain advantages.
And in broad daylight over Iran, for 7 hours, at times facing very, very heavy enemy fire—we have a helicopter that's got a lot of bullets in it. It's amazing. We just realized how good those weapons are. Those—our machines are—nobody has the equipment that we have. And nobody has the military that we have. Not even close. The most powerful military anywhere in the world by far.
The flight crews and war fighters aboard those aircraft took extraordinary risks to rescue their fellow servicemembers. This first wave of search-and-rescue forces successfully located the pilot of the F–15, and he was extracted from enemy territory by an HH–60 Jolly Green II helicopter—fabulous machine—as our warriors faced gunfire at very close range.
It's amazing that—when you look at the machinery, what happened, that nobody was even injured.
Meanwhile, the second crewmember—a weapon system officer, a highly respected colonel—had landed a significant distance away from the pilot. When you're going at those speeds, even if you go out 2 or 3 seconds later, it's miles. It's miles and miles away because you're going fast.
He was injured quite badly and stranded in an area teeming with terrorists from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps—rough group—as well as besieged military—militia and local authorities. Many—on top of everything else, they told the communities, actually, with—inside of Iran—the people of Iran—they were given a tremendous incentive to find this pilot.
Despite the peril, the officer followed his training and climbed into the treacherous mountain terrain and started climbing toward a higher altitude—something they were trained to do in order to evade capture. They want to always go as far away from the site of the shoot-down. They want to go as far away because they all head right to that site. You want be as far away as you can. And he was injured and he—was an amazing, amazing thing.
He scaled cliff faces; bleeding rather profusely, treated his own wounds; and contacted American forces to transmit his location. They have a very sophisticated beeper-type apparatus that is on them at all times. And when they go out on these missions, they make sure they have lots of battery space and they're in good shape. And this one worked really well—amazingly. Saved his life.
We immediately mobilized a massive operation to retrieve him from the mountain holdout. And he kept going higher and higher. The mountain kept getting rougher and rougher and, really, very, very hard to find. The second rescue mission involved 155 aircraft, including 4 bombers, 64 fighters, 48 refueling tankers, 13 rescue aircraft, and more.
We were bringing them all over and a lot of it was subterfuge. We wanted to have them think he was in a different location, because they had a vast military force out there. Thousands—thousands of people were looking. So we wanted them to look in different areas. So we were scattered all over, like we were right on top of them. We had seven different locations where they thought—and they were very confused. They said: "Well, wait a minute. They've got groups here. They've got groups there." It's an amazing thing.
I was listening to these great people—these great generals. General "Razin" Caine was amazing, and Pete Hegseth was amazing. But I listened to the whole thing. It was pretty amazing.
So that all these different sites where everybody thought he was located. "We think we have him over there because they have nine planes circling a little area that's 25 miles down the coast."
So, in a breathtaking show of skill and precision, lethality and force, America's military descended on the area—the real area; engaged the enemy; rescued the stranded officer; destroyed all threats; and exited Iranian territory while taking no casualties of any kind.
The heroic F–15 weapon system officer had evaded capture on the ground in Iran for almost 48 hours. That's a long time when you're in tough shape and when you're bleeding. It's a long time.
When we left, as you probably know, we had two large planes—old—pretty old planes. It carried a lot. We needed a lot more equipment going in than coming out, obviously. Because going in, we needed to be able to scale mountains. And we had a lot of equipment.
But the sand was—it was sandy—wet sand. So we thought there may be a problem taking off because of the weight of the plane, and then we also had all the men jumping back onto the planes, and they got pretty well bogged down.
And we had a contingency plan, which was unbelievable, where lighter, faster aircraft came in, and they took them out. We blew up the old planes. And we blew them up to smithereens, because we had equipment on the planes that, frankly, we'd like to take, but I don't think it was worthwhile spending another 4 hours there taking it off. So we didn't want anybody to have—we have the best equipment anywhere in the world. We didn't want anybody examining our anti-aircraft and other equipment.
So these were large planes that were old and—pretty old—and we blew them up, and we had faster, lighter planes come in, and they were able to land on the sand. We needed the bigger planes because we had so much equipment that we needed.
We took three helicopters over there, which were very strongly used and—couldn't have lived without them. They did—and they performed unbelievably well. And if you'd see it, you wouldn't believe it.
They came off the plane, and these guys had them—the rotors were off. They rebuilt these helicopters in less than 10 minutes. And that was one of the more amazing things. They—these are helicopters. Small, unbelievably powerful, but small—very small, so it can get into certain areas. And they got them off the plane, and they rebuilt all three of them in a matter of less than—I would say, less than 10 minutes. It's pretty amazing what the genius of these people.
Who would think that? You'd think it would take 5 days to build them. And in some companies, it would take 5 days—[laughter]—and they wouldn't do it well. But they served us well.
They—as Commander in Chief, I never forget the extraordinary risk taken by the warriors that we send into battle.
And the genius—I mean, think of it. Having a contingency of three planes waiting because we think the sand is so bad that we probably won't be able to take off. And the planes really got bogged. The sand was—this was not much of a runway. This was a farm. Not a runway. It's a farm, but it did the trick.
But to have a contingency as opposed to having to wait 2 days. Can you imagine—right in the middle? This was central—this was right—you would call it "central casting" if you were doing a movie for location, and the—probably the toughest area of Iran where we'd be sitting there.
So these planes came in. Those pilots came in so fast and so quick and got out of there. Everybody got aboard and just got—15-minute intervals. One, load, out. One, load, out. One, load, out. The three—it happened. And we were watching, and we said, "That's amazing."
It's—in many ways, I was—I was almost more impressed by the contingency that we had than the fact that, you know—if we would have had a runway or decent soil. But it was, I mean, an amazing thing.
But we thank God for every single one of them, and the talent. The genius—it's not even talent. It's genius. It's the whole ball game. Every one of them.
If you look at what we did with Maduro, we went into a military compound, a massive—with thousands and thousands of soldiers—and within a matter of minutes. And he lived behind iron doors. There were steel doors. Broke them down so quickly. And within almost minutes, he was in the back of these planes. It was a similar group. Incredible. We have incredibly talented people.
And if the time comes, we move heaven and earth to bring them home safely. We're going to bring our people home safely.
I want to thank every member of the U.S Armed Forces involved in these historic operations.
They really were historic. It's just not something that's done. And you'd understand it.
Not that they don't want to do it, but when you're going into areas, when you look at these helicopters, when you look at the amount of bullets and everything else that they took—when you go into these areas, you don't come out like we came out. God was watching us, I tell you.
Well, it was the Easter—we were in—[laughter]—the Easter territory, I guess. But God was watching us. Amazing. Because when you look at the machinery, they took damage. Tells you—first thing I said is, these are unbelievable machines. How they flew back, and not even much of a problem.
But these two extraordinary rescues—because it was two, and, as you probably know, we didn't talk about the first one for an hour, then somebody leaked something, which—we'll hopefully find that leaker; we're looking very hard to find that leaker—and talked about, "There's somebody missing." They basically said that we have one, and there's somebody missing.
Well, they didn't know there was somebody missing until this leaker gave the information. So whoever it was—we think we'll be able to find it out, because we're going to go to the media company that released it, and we're going to say: "National security. Give it up or go to jail."
And we know who, and you know who we're talking about, because some things you can't do. Because when they did that, all of a sudden, the entire country of Iran knew that there was a pilot that was somewhere on their land that was fighting for his life.
And it also made it much more difficult for the pilots and for the people going in to search for him. All of a sudden, they know that there's somebody out there. They see all these planes coming in. It became a much more difficult operation, because a leaker leaked that we have one—we've rescued one, but there's another one out there that we're trying to get.
So, actually, the country, Iran, put out a major notice—you all saw it—offering a very big award for anybody that captures the pilot. So, in addition to a hostile, very talented, very good, very evil military, we had millions of people trying to get an award.
So, when you add that to it—but we have to find that leaker because that's a sick person.
Probably didn't realize the extent of how bad it was. I can't imagine that the person did. But we're going to find out. It's national security, and the person that did the story will go to jail if he doesn't say. And that doesn't last long. And I think everybody would understand it. They put this mission at great risk. They put that man at great risk, and they put the hundreds of people that went in looking for them because everyone now knows that we're going in.
Over the past 37 days, America's Armed Forces have carried out more than 10,000 combat flights over Iran—unheard of—striking more than 13,000 targets. The F–15 we lost last week was the first manned aircraft downed by the enemy in this entire operation with thousands and thousands of flights. They got lucky. It was a lucky hit. You know, eventually you get lucky. But we got lucky too, because we got both of them back.
But it's a record that is unparalleled in the history of military air operations. Nobody's ever seen anything like it. It's such an honor to be involved with it.
We were up late at night, and then we were waiting for those contingent planes to come in, and we'd say: "Come on. Let's go. Get in." Because they're waiting out on this farm without a runway, with wet, crummy soil—sand—mostly sand, wet sand, and it eats planes alive. And we're waiting, and we're saying, "I hope that one can land and take off." And they came in like magic. Boom. Boom. Boom. One after another. It was, like, genius. I'm so impressed by that.
Because we were a little concerned. We said, "Boy, if they don't get in and get up fast, we're stitting [sitting; White House correction] in them." And that's called Iran prime. Right, General? That's where the whole bed is. And here we are, sitting there waiting for a plane. But they came in so fast and so hard, and these guys knew exactly what to—"Let's go. Come on. Get in. Let's go." Pwah.
[At this point, the President imitated a plane taking off.]
They came one right after another. Not at the same time. They don't want to come at the same time. They had to come right after each other. They didn't have any room. There was barely any room to land—a tiny, little patch of very wet earth and sand.
So I just—I'm so proud of the people that I have standing up here with me and many others that worked. I mean, so many. Steve Witkoff is over here. He is doing fantastically. Jared Kushner. But the people that are here, the job they did is amazing.
And I think I'm going to introduce the head of the CIA, and he is a man who—he's central casting. Okay? If we cast a movie, he's going to play the head of the CIA. He's one of the few. [Laughter] John Ratcliffe. He did a phenomenal job that night. He did something that—I don't know if you want to talk about it. If you want, you can. I don't—I'm not sure you're supposed to. I'm not going to talk about it.
But he really—the CIA was very responsible for finding this little speck. It's like—they used an expression on one of the shows—a general was talking about: It's like finding a needle in a haystack, finding this pilot. And the CIA was unbelievable.
And you may—if you can, you'll talk. It might be classified; in which case, I'd have to put him in jail if he talks about it. [Laughter] And I don't want to put him in jail. He doesn't deserve that.
So, John, do you want to say a few words? Thank you.
Central Intelligence Agency Director John L. Ratcliffe. Thank you, Mr. President. It's a privilege to be here with you today to share what we can about this exceptional mission and to recognize the ingenuity and bravery of those who executed it, as well as the leadership and resolve of the President who ordered it.
One thing that has been clear to me in this role is that the flawless military operations that the Department of War is known for are hostage to flawless intelligence. We saw that in the skies over Iran in Operation Midnight Hammer last summer. We witnessed it in Venezuela during Operation Absolute Resolve. We've seen it against the cartels in the western hemisphere, and we're seeing it every day in Operation Epic Fury, including this mission to rescue an aviator buried deep behind enemy lines.
[Director Ratcliffe continued his remarks, concluding as follows.]
And to the American people, your confidence should be boosted by knowing that the security of the Nation is in the hands of a President who's willing to take on problems that have confounded both sides of the political aisle for nearly half a century.
It is an honor to serve under a leader who just proved that you can believe him when he says: "No matter what, we will leave no one behind. We will come for you."
Thank you.
The President. Thank you, John.
Director Ratcliffe. Thank you, Mr. President.
The President. Thank you. Pete, please.
Secretary of War Peter B. Hegseth. Well, John, thank you for the collaboration of the CIA as well, an incredible and ongoing partnership.
Ladies and gentlemen, fellow Americans, and especially the brave warriors in our Armed Forces, over this Easter weekend, the United States military has once again proved why we possess the greatest fighting force the world has ever known. In two extraordinary combat search—and-rescue operations deep inside enemy territory in Iran, our warriors executed missions of breathtaking skill, courage, and precision.
[Secretary Hegseth continued his remarks, concluding as follows.]
You see, we flew for 7 hours in daylight over Iran to get the first pilot, and we flew 7 hours in the middle of the night to get the second. And Iran did nothing about it.
We fight with honor, and under President Trump's leadership, we win. So God bless our troops. God bless President Trump. And God bless the United States of America.
Thank you.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. J. Daniel Caine, USAF. Well, good afternoon, everyone.
Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
A note before I start. I know many of you want specific details in these briefings. We will share what we can, but I will retain what I must in the event that we have to go do this again sometime.
[Chairman Caine continued his remarks, concluding as follows.]
To every member of the Joint Force, our interagency partners, the leadership at CENTCOM, and our leaders at the department and above, thank you. I'm proud of each and every one of you and thankful to our deployed forces and their families.
And lastly, and most importantly, to Dude 44: Welcome home. Job well done. Thank you.
The President. Wow. Pretty amazing. Pretty amazing.
And these two gentlemen have been—from day one, they've been perfecto.
You know, I've got to know General Caine in my first term because he was able to take out ISIS in 4 weeks instead of the 4-year projection that was given to me by other much lesser generals. And I said, "You know, if I ever do this again, that's going to be the head of my Joint Chiefs of Staff." And we worked it that way, didn't we, huh?
He is amazing. He took out ISIS. We defeated ISIS in 4 weeks. I was told it would take 4 years. I flew to Iraq to find out, with the greatest equipment in the world, why would it take 4 years. And he told me: "Sir, it won't. It will take 4 weeks, and you'll have time left over." And that's exactly what happened.
So he's great.
And Pete—all I can say is that he was treated very unfairly, and now those same people that treated him unfairly, that fought against him, they're calling me up saying, "What a great choice he was." I say, "Well, what happened during his nomination?" What happened to you? I'm telling
you, people that were not for him—Senators, friends of mine—"Sir, I don't think you're doing the right thing," now they're calling me up, "What a choice." These two guys are fantastic.
And John Ratcliffe was incredible. It was actually their genius that called us from—he was 40 miles away. And he said, "You know, we're seeing something moving up in a mountain." This is at night. And they kept the camera on him for 45 minutes. He wasn't moving. And they said, "You know, probably wrong, but we're seeing something moving." This is a vast mountain. Vast. Thick with bushes, trees.
He said, "We see something moving." Forty miles away. It was a—the head of a human being. "I'm telling you, it's moving." And then, all of a sudden, 45 minutes later, he moved a lot, stood up, and they said, "We have him." And that was really the beginning of something incredible. We had an idea where he was, but not specifically. That's a big mountain.
So I want to thank the CIA too. I don't think they get enough credit for the great job they've done.
Yes, please.
Q. Yes.
Thank you very much——
The President. Thank you.
Kurdistan
Q. ——Mr. President, for this great opportunity. Country—it has super army. You make a difference. Mr. President, thank you for your greatest leadership.
The President. Thank you.
Q. I have a two quick questions, Mr. President. What was your reaction when you learned that Kurdistan region had resumed exporting oil to the international market with your support as United States of America?
The President. Well, I expected that. We've gotten along with the Kurds for a long time. So I expected that, yes.
U.S. Military Operations in Iran/Human Rights Issues
Q. Another question. What would be your reaction if the Iranian people rise up against their regime during a casefire [cease-fire; White House correction], Mr. President?
The President. Well, they should do it. But, again, the consequences are great. I mean, they were told—you, if you protest, you will be shot immediately. You saw what happened to the young wrestler. He was a great champion, by the way. He was a great wrestler. One of the top in the world. And he and his two friends were hung, and all they did was say a little bit about liberty. They wanted liberty, and they were violently executed. But the number is up to probably 45,000 people were killed.
So, you know, when somebody stays in a house, when they know, if they walk out of the house to protest, they'll be immediately shot and killed. And they issued that. You know, that was publicly issued. That's not a secret.
That's why so many people say, "Oh, well, why are you doing this?" We can't let Iran have a nuclear weapon.
You know, we got regime change. We do. We're dealing with a much different regime than before. We're dealing with different people. They're smarter. I think they're sharper and far less radical. We have regime change, but we didn't do this for regime change.
We did it for the fact—and my view was very simple. I saw somebody said, "Oh, he doesn't have a plan." I have the best plan of all, but I'm not going to tell you what my plan is. You know, they want me to say: "Here's my plan. We're going to attack at 9:47 in the morning, and then we're going to do this, and then we're going to"—and if you don't do that, they say—I have a plan. These people know what the plan is. Everybody here knows what the plan is. But it's very unfair to say we're—because I don't mind being insulted. I've been insulted for many years by the fake news.
But you can't—it's so bad for the—for people that are so—you just saw two great—and John Ratcliffe—three unbelievable people. They have a plan. Every single thing has been thought out by all of us. But I can't reveal the plan to the media. So, you know. But we're just thrilled by the success of this operation.
Yes, please.
U.S. Military Operations in Iran
Q. Thank you, Mr. President. You've said Iranians would be mad if you stopped these attacks. But why would they want you to blow up their infrastructure, to cut off their power? Wouldn't that be punishing Iranians——
The President. Yes.
Q. ——for the actions of the regime?
The President. They would be willing to—they would be willing—and it's suffering. They would be willing to suffer that in order to have freedom.
The Iranians have—and we've had numerous intercepts. "Please keep bombing." Bombs that are dropping near their homes. "Please keep bombing. Do it." And these are people that are living where the bombs are exploding. And when we leave and we're not hitting those areas, they're saying, "Please come back, come back, come back." These are the people——
Q. [Inaudible]—they suffer?
The President. I don't know what they do. All I can tell you is, they want freedom. They have lived in a world that you know nothing about. It's a violent, horrible world, where if you protest, you are shot.
Remember the great woman protest where they had 400,000, 500,000 women, and they were all enthused, and they were going to protest, and everybody said, "Oh, the regime is going to come to an end"? And then, all of a sudden, "Boom. Boom." Five, six—different areas. A woman would go down. Right between the eyes. They had snipers. They had five snipers. That's all it took.
And those 4- or 500,000 women said, "Oh, my God. What's that? Oh, look over there.
What's that?" A woman shot right between the eyes. And after five or six of them go down, then you start hearing the purr through the vast number of people. And then they said: "Oh, my God. Who would do that?" And they're incredible people, but they've lived so horribly. They've lived so horribly.
You know, Iran was a great country if you go back 25 years ago or so. The Persian people.
The—they're incredible, smart, brilliant, actually.
And I know so many. I know—coming from New York originally, I know so many people from Iran. They're incredible people. Incredible energy and very, very brilliant people.
And—but when you're standing in a group and protesting and you have a woman—in the case of the woman—remember the great woman march? Everybody was like, "Oh, this is the end of the country." And then snipers selectively picked. Every single one was shot right between the eyes from a long distance. They were on top of buildings. Nobody even knew where they were. Where are they coming from?
This wasn't like a machinegun, which is also very bad. They've done that too. They did that recently. This was snipers sitting on the top of buildings aiming and hitting women. And when they see people go down, and all of a sudden there's a riot in the reverse direction. And they never came out again.
And a lot of the media—the news doesn't talk about. They talk about, "Oh, women's rights." You want to see women's rights? You're not going to see it there.
It's amazing when I see some of the stupid people, like, you know, A.O.C. plus three—all that group. They talk about, "Oh, freedom for Iran." They don't tell you the real facts. Women, the men, gays. How about gays for Iran? They kill the gays. They throw them off buildings.
So I wonder what—what's going on? I can only say this: They want us to keep bombing, even if it jeopardizes—because their life is in much greater danger. They want freedom for Iran, but it's very hard for them to protest.
I actually tell them—I said: "Don't go out. I fully understand." Nobody in this room would go out. I don't think there's any. Because, frankly, it's not a question of bravery. We're all brave, right? You're brave. I'm brave. We're all brave. But we're also intelligent. If you have people shooting at you, expert shots with the best rifles you can get and hitting you right between the eyes every single time, and you're looking here and you're seeing, and you're looking here—you're out of there. I don't care who it is.
Please.
Q. Mark Meredith, Fox News.
The President. I know that, Mark.
Q. Oh, thank you, sir.
The President. How would I not know that? Go ahead.
Q. "America is Watching." No——
The President. Good job.
Rescue of U.S. Servicemembers in Iran
Q. Can we go back to the weekend? First off, was everyone on board with the operation, or were there people that were trying to talk you out of going through with the operation this weekend?
The President. Not everybody was on board.
Q. Somebody else within——
The President. No, there were military people, very professional, that preferred not doing it. These two were totally on board, which was very important. I mean, if they weren't, I would have had a little difficulty. But no, there were military people that said you just don't do this. You don't
go into the heart of a very powerful military—you know, this is—hey, you have countries and countries. You have some countries where military is not their strong suit. This whole thing is militarized like nobody's ever seen before. Half the people are wearing uniforms.
And no, we had people within the military. Usually, it's not done. That's one of the reasons. You know, I was surprised. Somebody said it's the only time it's ever been done. I said, "That's not possible." But it is possible, because you're going into hundreds of thousands of soldiers along the path. I mean, look at some of the helicopters, how they got hit.
So, yes, there were people within the military that said it's a wise—and don't forget, how many men did you send altogether, approximately——
Chairman Caine. Uh——
The President. For the operation.
Chairman Caine. I'd love to keep that a secret, Mr. President. [Laughter]
The President. Okay. Well, we're——
But I will tell you the number—I'll keep it a secret, but it was hundreds and hundreds of these people. [Laughter] He's pretty good. Is he central—is he central casting?
But hundreds of people went into this journey. Hundreds of people could have been killed. Forget about the equipment. A lot of equipment. Nobody cares. Hundreds of people could have been killed.
So we had people that were within the military that said this is not a wise—and I understood that, but I decided to do it.
U.S. Military Rescue Operation in Iran
Q. Was there a point that they were going to—that you were thinking there's too much on the line and somebody was saying, "Maybe we abort this now and wait"? I mean, given the resources, like the general said, it seems like there was so much on the line here. You must have been thinking——
The President. Well——
Q. ——this could have completely changed the next three——
The President. So the first one, which was in many ways as dangerous as the second—I guess it gets—because we're flying over daylight.
Chairman Caine. Right.
The President. You know, we're the best at the world at night. We have goggles that nobody—we have goggles. I've tried them, and they're unbelievable. I see better with the goggles at night with—than I see without them during daylight. I mean, daylight—today we have a beautiful day. You see just as well with goggles. In many ways, it's enhanced. So we have the best in the world.
So it's much safer us—for us to do it at night. Whereas, other people—no other country has that capability. They don't have the—they don't have that particular piece of equipment like we do.
But when I was told flying—and in daylight. I think we flew 7 hours over Iran, and that's a long time—over unbelievably hostile territory where they have nothing but weapons.
We took out their antiaircraft, which is great. We took out their radar, which is great. We took out a lot. But they still have a—you know, what hit this one was a shoulder—handheld shoulder missile—heat-seeking missile. So it's not like, you know, they're totally—whatever.
But—and they had probably a little luck, because you've got to get lucky. But they shot it, and it got sucked in right by the engine. But these guys were out of there. They were great. Their timing was great.
But no, I was told that this is a very dangerous mission. I understood. They didn't say it's a foolish mission. They said, you know, we're going to be sacrificing hundreds of people do this. This is—I mean, you have tankers that are flying over this area so that they could—the flight was so long, they had to refuel. It's a very dangerous mission.
I just felt it was worth it. If you would have told me that we would've been successful, gotten both, and nobody was even essentially injured, I would have said that would be impossible.
Yes, please.
Q. Mr. President, thank you very much.
The President. You.
Q. Thank you, sir.
The President. Oh. Well, I'll come back to you.
Q. Okay. Thank you.
Iran/U.S. Diplomatic Engagement/Nuclear Weapons Development
Q. Given that you are now dealing, you say, with a more reasonable, less extreme leadership in Iran, what does that mean for the protestors, for the human rights movement in that country after this conflict?
The President. Well, I think positive.
Q. What's your expectation?
The President. Yes, if they assume control—if we do something and they assume control, I think it's very positive. A big step.
I don't think you'd see the radicalization that you have seen in the last—look what happened.
I mean, women are being executed because they're not properly clothed, they say. They're not properly clothed, and they execute the women. They absolutely—they shoot them right on the street.
No, you have a much different group of people. Now, I'm not saying—we are dealing with them. Essentially, they have until 8 o'clock tomorrow night, eastern time. But we are dealing with them. I think it's going well.
Mr. Witkoff is here, and J.D.'s involved in the dealing. Mr. Witkoff is sitting right here, and I think it's going fine, but we'll have to see. You have to understand, we've been dealing with these people for 47 years. I'm standing here with a much more powerful Iran—as of a month ago. Not anymore. Right now they are decapitated.
But I'm standing here, a month ago, with a much more powerful Iran than it was at any point during 47 years. This should have been handled by seven Presidents—a lot of Presidents. And those Presidents are saying now, every one of them, to their friends, "We should have done this a long time ago."
So it's not something I like doing. It's very dangerous. And we are getting them at the height of their strength. If I didn't terminate the Barack Hussein Obama Iran nuclear deal, they would have had a—don't forget, that was a path to a nuclear weapon. Remember this. He chose Iran over Israel. Pure and simple.
How an—how Israel can vote for a Democrat is—if you're Jewish in New York City or any place else in this country, and how you can vote for a Democrat is unbelievable, because he chose Iran. A very hostile Iran.
Remember when he filled up a 757 with cash—billions of dollars of cash—and he sent it over to them? Then they gave him tens of billions of dollars. He chose Iran over Israel and, really, the Arab world, if you look, because, you know, the other—Saudi Arabia, Qatar, U.A.E.—I mean, you take a look—I mean, I can add Kuwait and I can add Bahrain and you can add others. He chose such an unlikely candidate. Nobody could believe it.
Frankly, if you're going to choose between Iraq and Iran, he should have chosen—he should have befriended Iraq. He went in the exact opposite direction of all thinking, and he made a terrible mistake. But that was a road to a nuclear weapon.
And when I terminated that, everyone said, "Oh, he terminated it." It was one of the best things we ever did, because he had a road to a nuclear weapon. And it was going—it was a very short-term deal.
You know, countries don't do 10-year deals. Countries do hundreds of years. You don't do a 10-year deal. For a country, you need—this isn't you're a landlord and you're renting a store on a certain street, and you give somebody a 5-year or 10-year lease. This is a country.
It was a short-term deal. It was ready to expire. I terminated it before it expired. Took a lot of heat, and it was one of the best things I ever did, because he would have had a nuclear weapon.
Then he would have had another nuclear weapon had those beautiful B–2 bombers not gone in 8 months ago and obliterated that site. And by the way, the word is "obliteration." CNN said, "Well, maybe it wasn't complete." It was so complete that they still haven't been able to get it. It was obliteration.
But if we didn't hit them—that was a courageous decision too, because we had all those planes flying in at night with very little cover. Unbelievable stealth planes, and they were able to do their job.
If we didn't do that, Iran would've had a nuclear weapon at a high level, either one of those two instances. And if they did, in my opinion—I told this to Bibi Netanyahu yesterday—Israel would've been extinguished. Large portions of the Middle East would have been extinguished, whether it's Saudi Arabia, Qatar, U.A.E., or others.
And you saw that with thousands of missiles raining down upon them. They didn't think they were going to be hit. They thought they'd be watching us fight. And all of a sudden, U.A.E. got hit by 1,500 missiles. He would have taken them out also, and they were powerful.
If I didn't come along and terminate the Obama deal, which was terrible—the Iran nuclear deal was a road to a nuclear weapon. A big one, unlimited. Legally, I terminated it, without even much thought. It was so easy. I terminated that. And then the B–2 bombers.
And I did one other thing. I had killed Qasem Soleimani, who was an evil genius. And the reason I did it: I heard he was going to knock out five of our military bases. And had he lived, I believe we would be fighting perhaps a different Iran right now, because——
[Several reporters began asking questions at once.]
——because he's never been replaced, you know?
And I also—I did one other, but that—this one was not picked up: Usama Bin Laden. If you read my book, I said, "You've got to take him out" 1 year before the World Trade Center came down. So I wish you'd read the book. But——
[Several reporters spoke at once.]
But you—as a President—to be a good President, I believe you have to have good instincts.
And a lot of this is instinct.
Yes, please.
Q. Thank you so much for taking my question today, Mr. President. [Several reporters spoke at once.]
The President. Yes. Go ahead, please.
Iran/Diplomatic Engagement With U.S.
Q. Mr. President, last week, you suggested that Europe should take the lead on reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Has circumstances changed now that you're issuing a direct 40-hour—8-hour—I mean, 48-hour ultimatum?
And secondly, would a new cease-fire include Israel, or would it just be between Iran and the U.S.?
The President. I can't talk about cease-fire, but I can tell you that we have a active, willing participant on the other side. They would like to be able to make a deal. I can't say any more than that. [Inaudible]
[Several reporters spoke at once.] Please, go ahead.
Q. Thank you, Mr. President. Happy Easter.
The President. Who are you with? Who are you with?
Q. My name is Diyar Kurda. I'm with the largest Kurdish media outlet, Rudaw Media Network. It's based in Iraq.
The President. Go ahead.
Kurds/U.S. Military Operations in Iran
Q. Mr. President, you said before that you don't want the Kurdish forces to enter Iran and be harmed. Do you still want them to stay away, or what role do you expect them to play now?
The President. I'd rather have them stay away.
Q. And then——
The President. I'd rather have them stay away because I think they bring with them some problems and some difficulties. And another thing: They bring death—I mean, you know, to themselves. But I'd rather have them stay away.
[Several reporters spoke at once.] Go ahead, please.
New York Times/U.S. Military Operations in Iran/New York Times
Q. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President, for the question. Deliberate attacks on civilian infrastructure violate the Geneva Conventions and international law.
The President. Who are you with? Who are you with?
Q. The—I'm with the New York Times. Zolan from the New York Times. Are you concerned——
The President. [Laughter] The failing—the failing New York Times.
Q. Are you concerned——
The President. Your circulation way down at the New York Times. What's going on with the New York Times?
Q. Are you concerned that your threat to bomb power plants and bridges amount to war crimes?
The President. No, not at all. No. No, I'm not. I hope I don't have to do it. But, again, I just said: 47 years they've been negotiating with these people.
Q. Why would that attack not——
The President. They're great negotiators.
Q. But why would that attack not violate international law?
The President. And—because they're not going to have a nuclear weapon. And if somebody that takes my place someday is weak and ineffective—which possibly that will happen, because we had numerous Presidents that were weak, ineffective, and afraid of Iran.
We're never going to let Iran have a nuclear weapon. And if you think it's okay for people that are sick of mind; that are tough, smart, and sick—really sick ideology—you know, from a policy standpoint, from a stand—any which way you want to say—mentally, these are disturbed people. If you think I'm going to allow them—and powerful and rich—to have a nuclear weapon, you can tell your friends at the New York Times: not going to happen.
Q. Even if it means violating international law? [Several reporters spoke at once.]
Q. Even if it means violating international law——
The President. Quiet. Quiet. Quiet.
Q. ——sir?
The President. Quiet. You no longer have credibility at the New York Times, because the New York Times said, "Oh, Trump won't win the election," and I won in a landslide. I won every swing State. New York Times said, "Oh, Trump won't win the election." New York Times has no credibility.
The credibility they have is it used to be "All the news that's fit to print." A great—the "Old Gray Lady." It was great, but they're running on past fumes, and you can't keep doing that. You have to be able to give the correct news. And people like you, who I know, are fake. You're fake.
Go ahead, please.
U.S. Military Operations in Iran
Q. Mr. President, your messaging on the war has moved from "the war is coming to an end" to "we're going to be bombing Iran to the stone ages."
The President. Right.
Q. And we've heard a range of those——
The President. Sure.
Q. ——kind of messages. So are you—so which is it? Are you winding this down——
The President. Can't tell you.
Q. ——or are you escalating it?
The President. I can't tell you. I don't know. I can't tell—depends what they do.
This is a critical period. They have a period of—well, until tomorrow at 8 o'clock. I gave them an extension. They asked for an extension of 7 days. Right? I said, "Steve, give them 10 days." Ten days is up actually today, so I gave them 11, I guess, indirectly. I thought it was inappropriate the day after Easter. I want to be a nice person. They have until tomorrow.
Now we'll see what happens. I can tell you they're negotiating, we think, in good faith. We're going to find out. We're getting the help of some incredible countries that want this to be ended because it affects them also. A lot of people are affected by this.
But we're giving them—we're giving them until tomorrow, 8 o'clock eastern time. And after that, they're going to have no bridges. They're going to have no power plants. Stone ages, yes.
Stone ages.
[Several reporters spoke at once.] CNN fake news, go ahead.
Commercial Transit Through the Strait of Hormuz/ U.S. Military Operations in Iran/North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Q. Are you willing to make a deal that does not include reopening the Strait of Hormuz, or is that now a top priority?
The President. I would say it's a very big priority, because—see, that's one thing that's a little different than on the other hand. We can bomb the hell out of them. We can knock them out for a loop. But to close the Strait, all you need is one terrorist that somehow has a truck loaded with—because you can carry them in trucks—large trucks—a water mine. Drop them in the water. And now you tell people that own ships that cost a billion dollars to—"Don't worry about the mine." You can do that even just by saying, "We put mines in the water."
So it's not like the rest. We can knock out their military. We already have. We've knocked out their navy. We've knocked out their air force completely. We've knocked out 158 ships in 3 days. We've knocked out even their mine droppers. They don't have any mine droppers anymore. But they put them on other boats, and they could drop them.
I'm not even sure they have any mines there, by the way. I'm not sure. I don't—I'm—personally—they say there might be eight. I don't know. I don't know. I think there might be none, because they're very good bullshit artists. That's why, for 47 years, they've been bullshitting other Presidents, and they haven't done the job. And people are living in hell. You live in that country—they're living in hell.
No, I think that 47 years of this stuff is long enough. They're at the weakest point they've ever been. They have no navy. They have no air force. They have no anti-aircraft weaponry. They have no radar. They have no communication.
In fact, the biggest problem we have in our negotiation is that they can't communicate. I said to Steve, "What are they saying?" "Sir, they can't communicate. They have no method of communication." So we're doing—we're communicating like they used to communicate 2,000 years ago with children: bringing a note back and forth. They have no communication.
But all I want to see is, I want to have a safe world. And you're not going to have a safe world. Israel will be gone, the Middle East will be gone, and then they're coming for Europe.
And I have to tell you, I'm very disappointed in NATO—very. I think that NATO—I think it's a mark on NATO that will never disappear. Never disappear, in my mind. You know, they're coming to see me on Wednesday. They're going to say: "Oh, we'll do this. We'll do that." Now they all of a sudden want to send things. You know?
But they said it loud and clear at the beginning when I spoke to U.K. Of all, I would have said they would have been the first because they've been—they're the oldest. And I say, "Yes, I'd love to have a little help." He said: "No, sir. We'd rather wait until you win." I said, "I don't need help after we win."
They have two old, broken aircraft carriers. Barely work. I said: "I guess we can use them. Who the hell knows?" I called the general. He didn't even want them. [Laughter] He said: "We don't really need them. We've got the SS Abraham Lincoln, sir. We don't need them."
Do you know, we have—in terms of technology, we had, one day, 101 missiles going at 2,700 miles an hour aimed at the Abraham Lincoln. Hundred and one missiles. Out of 101 missiles, 101 missiles were shot down. Unbelievable technology. Ten years ago—5 years ago, I don't know if that would've been possible. But 10 years ago, that wouldn't have been. That wouldn't have been possible. A hundred and one missiles heading to a ship that's not that far off the coast. And out of the 101 missiles, we shot down all 101. We have weaponry—the Patriots are unbelievable. We have weaponry that's unbelievable.
Yes, go ahead.
[Several reporters spoke at once.] Go ahead, please. Yes.
Venezuela/Oil Supply and Refining/Iran/Iraq/Illegal Immigration
Q. Thank you, Mr. President. You said earlier today during the egg roll that you would like to take Iran's oil, but Americans want U.S. Forces home.
The President. Correct.
Q. What's that trade-off there?
The President. If I had my choice——
Q. Does it take too much time?
The President. If I had my choice? Yes, because I'm a businessman first.
With Venezuela, as you know, the war was over in about 45 minutes. And we have great people running Venezuela. Very good people. I mean, the relationship is good. And we are a partner with Venezuela. And we've taken hundreds of millions of barrels—hundreds of millions. Over a hundred million barrels already is in Houston, refined and out, and paid for that war many, many times over. Many times.
You know, the old days, "to the victim"—okay? You know that. To the winner belong the spoils—go the spoils.
And I've said: "Why don't we use it? To the victor go the spoils." And we don't have that.
We haven't had that in this country probably in a hundred years, because even the Second World War—you look at the Second World War, we didn't have it with the Second World—we helped rebuild all those countries. We rebuilt Germany. How about Germany telling us—Germany telling us that, well, it's not their war. "We had nothing to do with getting"—they wanted me to go and tell them everything I was doing. We didn't know anything about it. Well, if I would've told them, they would've leaked it, and we wouldn't have been nearly as successful, possibly.
Right?
But to the victor belong the spoils. So we haven't heard that in, I think, maybe hundreds of years.
Now, with Venezuela—and we—just so you understand, the people of Venezuela—they say if I ran for President of Venezuela—I'm polling higher than anybody has ever polled in Venezuela. So, after I'm finished with this, I can go to Venezuela. I will quickly learn Spanish. It won't take too long. I'm good at language. [Laughter] And I will go to Venezuela, and I'm going to run for President.
But we're very happy with the President-elect that we have right now. The people that are running it—if you remember Bush with Iraq, they fired the generals, they fired the police, they fired the people that worked in their equivalent of the White House. They fired everybody. And you know what they had? They had a mess.
And you know what happened? ISIS formed. Those generals and those soldiers got together, the police got together, they all got together, they formed ISIS. Not going to happen with us.
So Venezuela's been an incredible—it's been an incredible situation. We went in. We were very successful. Military power like nobody's ever seen. The general—Venezuelan general said, "I was on that site. I said I've never seen ferocity like that. I've been doing this for 40 years." He said, "I've never seen anything—they hit us from 17 different"—it was—they were all set. They saw that big, beautiful aircraft carrier—the Ford, in that case—and planes were pouring off it at 1 o'clock in the morning.
So, typically, when you see that late at night, you know you could be in trouble, right? And we were all ready. They had their equipment. It was Russian, and they had Chinese equipment. It was all set. They were going to give us a fight.
He said: "And then they came, and they came at speeds like we've never seen. And they came at 17 different angles"—the general and his people. That was a lot of angles. They hit them from every angle. He said: "We knew it was over in 3 minutes. We were waiting for them."
Their equipment didn't work. And there's a reason it didn't work. Someday, we'll explain that to people. They pressed a button. Nothing happened. They pressed it again and again. Nothing happened.
And he said, "We knew this whole thing was over in 3 minutes. We've never seen any"—he used the word "ferocity." The ferocity of these planes from 17 different angles. And it was over. They went inside. And remember, that was on a military base with thousands of soldiers. And those soldiers looked, and they said, "Get the hell out of here." Thousands. We didn't have thousands. We had, like, 200 people.
So we have a great military, and I'll tell you what. Somehow, this rescue captured the world's attention, more so than normally. You're talking about two people. But this rescue captured the world's attention.
But we did it in Venezuela—that was amazing, and now we have a very bad man in prison and going to trial. I mean, he released—aside from the drugs, which he was terrible—Maduro released hundreds of thousands of people from jails into our country.
Drug dealers, murderers, the worst people in the world were released into our country, because we had a stupid President who probably didn't know, and we had a border czar who never went to the border and never once called our great Border Patrol agents. Right? Not once. Kamala. She never called the Border Patrol. She never said, "How are we doing?"
I used to call the Border Patrol guys every day. You can ask them. Paul. Ask any one of them. Brandon. Ask them. All the time: "How are we doing? How are we doing?" And we now, I'm proud to say, have a totally sealed border. Nine months. Nobody is coming through our border, and nobody even tries because they know they're not going to get through. So we don't have caravans anymore. All right?
[Several reporters spoke at once.]
So maybe one or two more, and we'll be done.
Commercial Transit Through the Strait of Hormuz
Q. Mr. President, are you allowed to—or are you willing to end this conflict with Iran charging tolls for passage through the Strait?
The President. Us charging tolls?
Q. Iran.
The President. What about us charging tolls? [Laughter]
Q. Is that something you're considering?
The President. I'd rather do that than let them have them, right? Why shouldn't we? We're the winner. We won. Okay? They are militarily defeated. The only thing they have is the psychology of, "Oh, we're going to drop a couple of mines in the water." All right? No, we—I mean, we have a concept where we'll charge tolls. Okay? I thought you meant us. [Laughter] Your question——
[Several reporters spoke at once.]
Your question would have been more accurate if you said us. Go ahead.
Iran/U.S. Diplomatic Engagement
Q. Mr. President, thank you very much. Just to clarify, in order for Iran to successfully meet your deadline tomorrow, do they have to make a deal, open the Strait, or both?
The President. We have to have a deal that's acceptable to me. And part of that deal is going to be: We want free traffic of oil and everything else.
[Several reporters spoke at once.]
U.S. Military Operations in Iran/The President's Foreign Policy
Q. Mr. President, thank you very much. You've said, "Glory be to God" in this conflict. Do you believe that God supports the United States actions in this war?
The President. I do, because God is good.
Q. And have you sought his direction?
The President. Okay, because God is good, and God wants to see people taken care of. God doesn't like what's happening. I don't like what's happening. I have—everyone says I enjoy it. I don't enjoy this. I don't enjoy it. These two guys don't enjoy it. You know, people say, "Oh, boy, they're so tough." They don't want—they don't like—I don't like seeing people killed.
I've ended eight wars. Nobody's ever done it. The person who won the Nobel Prize came to me and said, "You deserve the Nobel Prize." She announced that when they announced. They said—goes to María. She's a great person. Really a good person.
She said: "No, no, no. This is ridiculous. They gave me the Nobel Prize. President Trump ended eight wars." I could go over every one of them, including India and Pakistan, where the Prime Minister of Pakistan said, "President Trump saved from 30- to 50 million lives."
That makes me much happier than what we're doing right now. That makes me much happier. We have one more to end, by the way. We——
[Several reporters spoke at once.] Okay.
The President's Truth Social Post Concerning the Iran Conflict/Concerns About the President's Mental Health
Q. Mr. President, you called the—yesterday in your Truth Social, you called the Iranians "crazy bastards."
The President. True.
Q. What is your response to critics who say that it is——
The President. I don't care about critics.
Q. What is your response to critics who say that it is your mental health that should perhaps be examined as this war continues?
The President. Well, I haven't heard that, but if that's the case, you're going to have to have more people like me because our country was being ripped off on trade, on everything for many years until I came along.
So, if that's the case, you're going to have to have more people. Dasha [Dasha Burns, Politico], go ahead.
[Several reporters spoke at once.] Dasha, go.
U.S. Military Operations in Iran
Q. You said that very little is off limits in Iran as far as targeting——
The President. Yes.
Q. ——including power plants, bridges. You've mentioned those. Are——
The President. Very little is off limits, yes.
Q. Are there certain kinds of civilian targets, though—I'm thinking schools or hospitals——
The President. I don't want to tell you that.
Q. ——that you would say is off-limits?
The President. I don't want to tell you that. We have——
[Several reporters spoke at once.]
We have a plan, because of the power of our military, where every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o'clock tomorrow night; where every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding, and never to be used again—I mean complete demolition—by 12 o'clock.
And it will happen over a period of 4 hours, if we want it to.
We don't want that to happen. We may even get involved with helping them rebuild their nation. And you know what? If that's the case, the last thing we want to do is start with power plants, which are among the most expensive thing—and bridges.
You saw the bridge. The bridge went. We were very close to a deal. And then I got a call from Mr. Witkoff, Mr. Kushner, and J.D. saying, "I think they're breaking the deal." I said: "Tell them that's okay. Don't worry about it. But tell them to look out their window and watch."
And within 45 minutes, I gave the order to knock out their biggest bridge. I gave the order. Knock out the biggest bridge in, I believe, the Middle East, but the biggest bridge in Iran. And within 10 minutes after I gave that order, that bridge was over.
Q. [Inaudible]
The President. So do I want to do that? No. Do I want to destroy their infrastructure? No. It will take them a hundred years to rebuild. Right now, if we left today, it would take them 20 years to rebuild their country, and it would never be as good as it was. And the only way they're going to be able to rebuild their country is to utilize the genius of the United States of America.
[Several reporters spoke at once.]
North Atlantic Treaty Organization/Global U.S. Defense Relationships
Q. On NATO. You've voiced your displeasure with NATO in the past. Is there a danger to the U.S. not being the de facto of the—leader of the alliance and then other powers within the alliance then getting the decision-making when it comes to wars and nuclear weapons?
The President. Yes, no, it's not a danger. NATO is—look, we went to NATO. I didn't ask very strongly. I just said, "Hey, if you want to help, great." "No, no, no, we will not help." I said: "That's all right. You don't want to help?" Because I've always said NATO is a paper tiger.
See, NATO is a paper tiger. Putin's not afraid of NATO. Putin's afraid of us. Very afraid of us. And he's explained it to me a lot of times. I've got to know him very well. I know him very well.
NATO is a paper tiger. NATO is us. And when we needed them—and we didn't need them, by the way. We didn't need them, obviously, because they haven't helped at all. Just the opposite. They've actually gone out of their way not to help. They didn't even want to give us landing strips. Think of it.
And it's not just NATO. You know who else didn't help us? South Korea didn't help us. You know who else didn't help us? Australia didn't help us. You know who else didn't help us? Japan.
We've got 50,000 soldiers in Japan to protect them from North Korea. We have 45,000 soldiers in South Korea to protect us from Kim Jong Un, who I get along with very well, as you know. Do you notice he said very nice things about me? He used to call Joe Biden a mentally retarded person. Okay? So don't tell me about your stuff. Joe Biden—he said he's a mentally retarded person. He was so nasty to Joe Biden. It was terrible.
But, to me, he likes Trump. And do you notice how nice things are with North Korea? It's very nice.
But we have 45,000 people—soldiers in harm's way in—right next to Kim Jong Un, with a lot of nuclear weapons. Forty-five—which should have never happened. If a certain President—I'm not going to mention this President because I happen to like him, believe it or not. But if a certain President did his job, Kim Jong Un would not have nuclear weapons right now. But they're all afraid to do their job properly.
But just to conclude and just to finish, Japan didn't help us, Australia didn't help us, South Korea didn't help us, and then you get to NATO. NATO didn't help us.
There were some countries that did. Now, countries that have been good, now you can also say they're—got to be a little bit more involved because they're in the territory. But Saudi Arabia has been excellent. Qatar has been excellent. U.A.E. has been excellent. Bahrain. Kuwait. I mean, Kuwait did shoot down three of our planes. The only planes, really, that we lost with friendly fire, they call it. I call it unfriendly fire.
They unfortunately didn't know how to use our great Patriots. The pilots said, "What kind of a missile is coming at us?" "Patriot." Boom, they got out, because they know a Patriot never misses.
So they had beautiful Patriots. There were planes heading in their direction. Unfortunately, they decided to shoot those planes—they were our planes.
So, no, NATO is a paper tiger. Now, he's coming to see me on Wednesday, as you know.
He's a wonderful guy. Secretary General is great. And—Mark Rutte. He's a great person. But he's got—and you know, it all began with, if you want to know the truth, Greenland. We want Greenland. They don't want to give it to us, and I said, "Bye-bye."
Okay. Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you. Thank you.
Q. What about rising gas prices for Americans, who are concerned?
NOTE: The President spoke at 1:08 p.m. in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House. In his remarks, he referred to former President Nicolás Maduro Moros of Venezuela, who was captured, along with his wife Cilia Flores, in a U.S. military operation in Caracas, Venezuela, on January 3 and exfiltrated to the U.S. for criminal processing in New York City; U.S. Special Envoy for Peace Missions Steven C. Witkoff; Saleh Mohammadi, Mehdi Qasemi, and Saeed Davoudi, who were convicted for their role in the killing of two law enforcement officers at a police station and executed in Qom, Iran, on March 19; Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan A. Omar, Ayanna S. Pressley, and Rashida L. Tlaib; Vice President James D. "J.D." Vance; Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel; Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the United Kingdom; Acting President Delcy Rodriguez Gomez of Venezuela; former Presidents George W. Bush and Joseph R. Biden, Jr.; former Vice President Kamala D. Harris; Paul A. Perez, president, and Brandon Judd, former president, National Border Patrol Council; Venezuelan opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize recipient María Corina Machado; Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan; President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin of Russia; and State Affairs Commission President Kim Jong Un of North Korea. He also referred to his son-in-law, U.S. Special Envoy for Peace Jared C. Kushner; and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist organization.
Categories: Interviews With the News Media : News conferences, April 6. Locations: Washington, DC.
Names: Biden, Joseph R., Jr.; Bush, George W.; Caine, J. Daniel; Davoudi, Saeed; Harris, Kamala D.; Hegseth, Peter B.; Judd, Brandon; Kim Jong Un; Kushner, Jared C.; Machado, María Corina; Maduro Moros, Nicolas; Mohammadi, Saleh; Netanyahu, Benjamin; Obama, Barack;
Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria; Omar, Ilhan A.; Perez, Paul A.; Pressley, Ayanna S.; Putin, Vladimir Vladimirovich; Qasemi, Mehdi; Ratcliffe, John L..
Subjects: Rodriguez Gomez, Delcy; Rutte, Mark; Sharif, Shehbaz; Starmer, Keir; Tlaib, Rashida L.; Vance, James D. "J.D."; Witkoff, Steven C.; ; Central Intelligence Agency; Easter; Greenland, ownership and administration; Illegal immigration; Iran, commercial transit through Strait of Hormuz; Iran, human rights issues; Iran, nuclear weapons development; Iran, political unrest and violence; Iran, rescue of U.S. servicemembers; Iran, U.S. airstrikes on nuclear facilities; Iran,
U.S. military operations; Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist organization; Israel, Prime Minister; Joint Chiefs of Staff; New York Times; News media, Presidential interviews; Nobel Prize for Peace; North Atlantic Treaty Organization; North Korea, nuclear weapons development; North Korea, State Affairs Commission President; Pakistan, Prime Minister; Russia, President; Secretary of War; U.S. diplomatic efforts, expansion; U.S. servicemembers, service and dedication; U.S. Special Envoy for Peace; U.S. Special Envoy for Peace Missions; United Kingdom, Prime Minister; Venezuela, Acting President; Venezuela, oil supply and refining; Venezuela, U.S. military capture and exfiltration of President Maduro; Vice President.
DCPD Number: DCPD202600233.