Administration of Donald J. Trump, 2026
August 21, 2026
The President. So we're going to South Carolina. Darline Graham is doing very well. We'll see how it all works out. We have a big crowd. I hear we have a very big crowd. And I think it's going to be great.
She's a terrific woman, and so I thought we'd do a little bit of a rally for her. And it will be very interesting.
Senator Darline Graham Nordone
Q. Mr. President, Darline Graham——
Q. Sir, can we get your reaction to the ballroom ruling?
Q. ——faced some criticism for her response at a debate earlier this week, where she said national security is not her thing. Is that an acceptable——
The President. Well, no, all she was is being honest. She's very smart, and she was being honest. I mean, she's into the price of groceries, the price of food, the price of beef. And it's not—it hasn't been her thing, but she's surrounded by very good people, and she said that she's totally for the military. I mean, she's going to do what the military wants and, really, what the President wants. She understands that national security is my thing.
And she is a terrific woman who answered the—I watched that. I thought it was a very honest answer, actually.
[At this point, several reporters began asking questions at once.]
Q. Can we get your reaction—[inaudible]—the ballroom, sir? Hello. Yes.
White House Ballroom Construction Project
Q. On the ballroom, sir, can you guarantee that no tax money will be used in the construction of the ballroom?
The President. Yes, we're—no money—we're spending hundreds of millions of dollars on the ballroom, and it's all from people like me and great companies that are putting it up. It's going to be close to $400 million, and it's all paid for by patriots and patriotic companies—big companies.
I'll name the companies probably over the next couple of weeks, but I want to ask if they mind. But—and, really, most of them have said, "You could use my name gladly."
So that's all money. No taxpayer money for the ballroom at all.
Secretary of the Treasury Scott K.H. Bessent/Bond Markets
Q. Mr. President, did you—did you direct Secretary Bessent to intervene in the bond market?
The President. No. Not at all.
Q. Was that your idea? Did you talk to him?
The President. No. He's a very capable man. He wanted to do it. He's very good at it. He has a good touch, very good natural touch for the bonds and interest, and he did that.
Yes.
Bond Markets
Q. The yields have come back up since then. Have you talked to him about another type of intervention? Is that something he will be doing?
The President. We have many types of intervention. That's one. The ultimate intervention is our military, and if we have to use that, we will.
Yes.
U.S. Beef Imports
Q. Your move on beef imports is upsetting some ranchers, as well as some Republicans are asking you to delay that move on imports. What——
The President. Well, we want to get the beef prices down, so we'll get them down a little bit.
And that's what people want, that's what the voters want, and that's what I want.
The ranchers are great. They're my people. I love the ranchers. They've done a fantastic job.
But they admit that we need a little help and—in order to get the prices down. So that's what we're doing.
Q. Sir—Mr.—we're hearing that——
Q. Which countries did you arrange——
2026 Midterm Elections
Q. Sorry, Hadriana [Hadriana Lowenkron, Bloomberg News]. We're hearing that MAGA, Inc., is going to start spending your war chest. What races are you putting money into, sir?
The President. Well, I've raised a lot, and nobody knows what it is. But I will tell you, it's about $850 million. And I'll be spending a lot of that money for—and my own money—but I'll be spending a lot of that money for candidates that I think are good—Republican candidates that I think are good.
So, when you add the $850 million to all of the other money that we've raised, we're in very good shape.
Data Centers/Electricity Production
Q. Mr. President, there are several Republicans who are running for midterms this year who are starting to come out against AI data centers. Why do you think they're taking a different approach than you are?
The President. Well, who are they? Do you know?
Q. The Senate race in Ohio is one example where it's become a very hot topic.
The President. Well, the data center subject, to me, is a pretty simple one. If you pick the right location—and it's got to be; not every location is perfect for it—but you pick the right location, what it means for a community is jobs and lots of money and lower taxes. And the data centers now are mandated by me that they build their own electricity, so they're not taking it from the grid.
Q. Are you worried that Members——
The President. It's going to lower the electric cost because they're building electricity, and the extra—as an example—we talked about this once. I'm very proud of—it was my idea. They're going to build their own electric-producing facility, and that electricity that they have left over is going to the grid. It's going to lower the cost of electricity.
So, if I were a community, I would want the data center. It means jobs, it means income, and it means lower taxes.
Q. Do you want Republican candidates to take the same AI—take the same message on data centers that you are?
The President. No, I want them to do what they want. Some people feel differently. I really want them—if a Republican is against the data center, that's okay with me. I will—I'm only saying that if I ran a community—now, there are different types of communities, but generally speaking, if I ran a community, if I was a mayor or if I was a Governor in a State, I would want to have the data centers because they bring tremendous income. They're clean. They produce their own energy; the new ones are producing their own energy. I would want to have data centers.
Q. Mr. President——
National Debt/National Economy
Q. On the national debt, as you know, it surpassed——
The President. Yes.
Q. ——$40 trillion. Have you been discussing what to do about that? And can you——
The President. Well, I have. And it's been a problem for 35 years, and what we have now that we've never had before—we had a pretty good piece of it in my first term, as you know—is we have tremendous growth. And the way you take care of debt is with growth, and we have tremendous growth.
We've never had growth like we have right now. The growth will take care of that very easily.
Good question, by the way.
U.S. Beef Imports/Crime Rates/Border Security
Q. Mr. President, on the beef deal, which countries did you make that deal with? What are the sources of the——
The President. On which deal?
Q. The beef deal. Where are the——
The President. I don't want to say which countries, but there are a few countries. But they're going to be sending in the highest quality beef, and it's something that we need.
What else?
Q. Sir, with economic pressure——
The President. By the way, are we going to miss Karoline? I'm going to miss her. Let me have that. Let me have that.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. Here, sir.
[Press Secretary Leavitt handed the President some printouts of news headlines.]
The President. So here are some headlines. And, Karoline, I've got to stand next to her. I feel so good with her.
These are incredible headlines that just came out over the last 24 hours. It's probably easier if I show them to you than reading them.
But basically, the biggest refunds ever given on taxes. That's big. "Trump Bump: Tax refunds jump 17 percent." "American tax refunds increased by $43 billion." That's money that the Government is giving back to the people: $43 billion.
FBI "had the biggest violent-crime drop in 90 years." That's—these are today's headlines. "Trump administration marks 15 straight months with zero border releases as"
apprehension—"apprehensions plunge." So they've never had anything like that. So you've had 15 months with zero people going through our border. I don't even know how that's possible, but they're doing a good job.
Q. Who do you want to fill Karoline's shoes?
The President. Maybe you. Maybe you.
Q. What about Scott Jennings, sir? The President. Scott Jennings is good. That one right there——
[The President pointed at CBS News Senior White House Reporter Jennifer Jacobs.]
——my friend from Iowa. But I don't know, maybe she doesn't want it.
I don't know. Maybe Margo. What do you think of Margo? Maybe Margo.
White House Communications Adviser Margo Martin
Q. What do you think of Margo?
Q. We love Margo.
The President. Let's see. Who do we have in this group?
I will tell you this, and Karoline will tell you this: I have no—I have never had so many job applications in my life.
Press Secretary Leavitt. That's right. Yes, sir.
The President. They all want that job. They love that job.
Press Secretary Leavitt. You have a lot of options.
The President. She's made that job very glamorous.
U.S. Military Operations in Iran
Q. Sir, turning to Iran. With shifting economic warfare towards Iran, does that indicate that the military options in the region for the U.S. are limited?
The President. No, not at all. It's—that just means that we're seeing what happens. They have no money. They have no navy. They have no air force. They are not paying their soldiers. They're not paying their police. They have 350-percent inflation. So we're just going to sort of see what happens.
And we have total control, as you know, of the border. We have total control. If you look at the blockade, we have total control of that entire region having to do with the Strait of Hormuz, and that means well into it—the land areas.
So they would love to make a deal, but they're not ready to make the right deal, in my opinion.
Yes.
Canada-U.S. Trade
Q. Mr. President, on Canada. Have you come to a deal there——
The President. Pretty much. I think so. We'll see.
Q. ——or are you going to extend the deadline? What—
The President. I've dealt with the Prime Minister. I have a good relationship.
And yes, we have to take care of our farmers. Our farmers are very important to me. And the deal with Canada is moving along, and we should be able to have a deal with Canada.
We're also starting on a new deal with Mexico, a much better deal for the United States.
Q. Sir——
I only make good deals. Much better deal for the United States, both with Canada and Mexico.
Thank you very much.
Q. What does the deal with Mexico look like?
Q. Mr. President, did you direct Ed Martin to resign, sir?
NOTE: The President spoke at 4:48 p.m. on the tarmac prior to boarding Air Force One en route to Myrtle Beach, SC. In his remarks, he referred to CNN political contributor Scott Jennings; and Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada. A reporter referred to U.S. Pardon Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr. The White House Office of Communications released a corrected transcript of these remarks on August 24.
Categories: Interviews With the News Media : Exchanges with reporters, Joint Base Andrews, MD.
Locations: Joint Base Andrews, MD.
Names: Bessent, Scott K.H.; Carney, Mark; Graham Nordone, Darline; Jacobs, Jennifer; Jennings, Scott; Leavitt, Karoline; Martin, Margo.
Subjects: 2026 midterm elections; Beef imports; Beef prices; Bond market; Canada, Prime Minister; Canada, trade with U.S.; Crime rates; Data center site selection and construction; Electricity capacity, expansion efforts; Federal deficit and debt; Illegal immigration; Iran, commercial transit through Strait of Hormuz; Iran, diplomatic engagement with U.S.; Iran, U.S. military operations; Maryland, Joint Base Andrews; Maryland, President's visit; Mexico, trade with U.S.; News media, Presidential interviews; Secretary of the Treasury; Tax Code reform; White House Ballroom construction project; White House Communications Adviser; White House Press Secretary.
DCPD Number: DCPD202600550.