Administration of Donald J. Trump, 2026
September 13, 2026
The President. I just wanted to make sure everyone's okay with the music. Right?
Q. We loved it, Mr. President.
The President. Are you okay?
Q. We love it.
The President. Do you like the music——
Q. Mr. President, were you listening——
The President. I'm only back here—I gave you a press conference before we got on. The music is great, right?
Q. Yes, it's great. It was fantastic.
The President. Okay?
The President's Playlist/Death of Musician Dolly Parton
Q. Were you picking these songs?
The President. I picked myself. I want to make you happy, so I'm playing wonderful music, happy music.
Q. Dolly Parton was the best.
The President. Dolly was the greatest, wasn't she?
That was a sad moment when Dolly left us. We have a lot of Dolly songs on there, but Dolly was——
The President's Taste in Music
Q. Yes, you're a big music guy. You probably really liked her.
The President. I love music. I love good music. That's what keeps me happy. Because with my life, it's a very interesting thing. But I love music.
President Xi Jinping of China/U.S. Tariff Policy
Q. President Trump, when you meet with President Xi soon, will you be discussing autos with him? And would you ever allow——
The President. I'm discussing almost everything with him.
Q. Would you ever allow Chinese autos into the United States?
The President. Well, I haven't. I'm the one that kept them out. The tariffs kept them out. I have 100-percent tariff—from 100 to 150 percent.
Q. But would you?
The President. So, unlike Europe, which is being decimated by cars—zero. So, so far, the answer is yes.
Aviation Industry
Q. What about Boeing planes? Do you think you're going to get that deal figured out?
The President. Yes, I'll get—I get every deal.
China/Iran
Q. And on the topic of Xi, we recently reported that Chinese entities may have provided the Iranians with satellite imagery of the air bases in Jordan.
The President. They do what we do. They basically do what we do.
Q. Are you going to raise that——
The President. I would say this——
Q. ——with Xi when he visits?
The President. ——I think he's behaved reasonably well, and we behave reasonably well. You know, when they say that China spies on us, I say, "You're right, and we spy on them too." You know, we spy on them too. Okay?
[At this point, several reporters began asking questions at once.]
This is a different trip. I just gave you news. I just wanted to know how you like the music.
It's good?
The President's Playlist
Q. Mr. President, can we get the—we need the full playlist. Can we keep playing it?
The President. Just keep writing the songs down. Eventually—[laughter]——
The President's Truth Social Posts
Q. Mr. President, on Friday you reposted a video you took on January 6. What was the message for posting that on Friday?
The President. Well, I posted about 30. Which one are you talking about?
Q. You posted a video you took and posted on January 6, asking the rioters to go back home.
The President. The who?
Q. The rioters of January 6 in 2021.
The President. I don't know what she's talking about.
Venezuela/Oil Supply and Refining
Q. You also reposted Maduro again—the capture of Maduro.
The President. I did. Yes. Well, they never talk about Maduro. See, you do, but they never talk about Maduro.
Q. That was a great capture.
Q. Speaking on Venezuela——
The President. That was a big. That was a big get. Maduro.
Q. Yes. Speaking on Venezuela, you're going to New York later this month.
The President. Yes.
Q. Will you be meeting with Delcy Rodríguez to talk about the oil?
The President. I may be, yes. I may be. Well, we have the oil now and we're taking in——
Q. But the oil deal, will you be speaking with her?
The President. ——we're taking in billions of barrels of oil a month.
Ukraine/Russia/Oil Markets and Prices
Q. Mr. President, the way things are going now with Russia and Ukraine, which war do you think could end sooner?
The President. Well, the problem I have with Ukraine and Russia is that, you know, a lot of the diesel comes—diesel oil comes, and that's the one where there's a big up—it comes from Russia. And the Russia—plants are being hit by Ukraine. And I've asked President Zelenskyy not to hit the diesel plants—refineries.
Q. Is it potentially that Ukraine war could end——
The President. Because that's what's driving it up. The——
Q. Is there potential that——
The President. Wait a minute.
Q. Yes, sir.
The President. The diesel is being driven up by the fact that it's having a hard time coming out of Russia, and that's a case that hurts the world. We've got to stop it.
Q. Speaking of diesel——
Q. About your election speech, sir——
U.S. Diplomatic Efforts/Hostages Held in Gaza, Palestinian Territories/Hamas
Q. With CIA Director, Ratcliffe——
The President. Huh?
Q. CIA Director Ratcliffe, is he going to be playing a greater role in the negotiations?
The President. He plays a great role. He's doing a great job. Ratcliffe is doing a great job.
Q. Do you have concerns about Witkoff and Kushner at all and their ability to—to close the deal?
The President. No, no they're doing—well, they're doing a great job too.
Look at Gaza as an example. Look at the fact that we got all the hostages back. We got the hostages back. You know, people forget there's not a lot of fighting in Gaza. Hamas is now willing to give up their weapons.
No, they've done an incredible job. Nobody could have done the job they did. But he's involved in everything.
Ukraine/U.S. Security Assistance
Q. Do you think Zelenskyy will get his Patriots and the licensing that he wants? Are you still
——
The President. Well, we're talking about it. We might.
Q. Have you ruled——
The President. The less sophisticated version.
Q. Are you happy that the U.K.——
The President. You know what I mean?
Q. Yes, yes. Are you——
The President. They're far less sophisticated.
Ukraine/International Military Aid/U.S. Munitions Supply
Q. Are you happy that some of the European allies, some of NATO allies are—plan to sell them some—haven't bought them from the U.S.? It looks like they're going to try and give them some——
The President. That they're doing what?
Q. There's some reports that the—some European countries, like the U.K. and others, are going to kind of band together and try and sell them some of their stockpile or sell the ones that they bought from the U.S.
The President. Well, we'll see. I mean, you know, we have a big stockpile of certain weapons. A lot of them are, you know, virtually unlimited. We have a very big stockpile. When it comes to the elite, a lot of that was given to Ukraine, but we're making it very rapidly right now. We're building up our stockpile very fast.
[Several reporters spoke at once.]
Right now we're making more Patriots than we've ever made, and we are—I mean, plants are literally not just working overtime. Plants are literally being made to make Patriots and others.
Q. Mr. President, with the recent activity in Pickaxe Mountain——
The President. The Patriots, the THAADs, the Tomahawks—plants are being made for each.
So, rather than just overtime at one very big plant, you know, to——
U.S. Military Technology
Q. You talked about in your speech in the—at the U.S. Ambassador's residence. You've got some new emerging technology coming out—these—this lasers and the Gatling guns.
The President. Yes.
Q. Can you tell us any more about the lasers or that kind of kit?
The President. Well, the lasers going to be a big thing because it's a lot less expensive than sending up Patriots. And the lasers is a big thing. So far, it doesn't have the distance, but it'll soon have the distance.
My uncle at MIT was a big laser guy, believe it or not, a long time ago. He said lasers is going to be the future, and I guess it's turning out to be.
Once you have the equipment, the laser beam itself is very inexpensive. Almost nothing. And yes, we're getting close. The lasers are very, very good for, you know, already for certain types of missiles, certain slower missiles.
I think the laser is going to be the future because rather than spending a lot of money—as good as they are, virtually a hundred-percent accurate—the laser is a lot less expensive.
Q. Mr. President, you talked a lot about Canada
Q. With AI and——
The President. A lot less expensive.
Canada/U.S. Tariff Policy
Q. You've talked a lot about Canada just in the recent weeks or so.
The President. Yes.
Q. You keep saying also that Russia and China—or that Canada is more dangerous to the
U.S. than Russia and China.
The President. No, not "more dangerous." I said they're more difficult to deal with. I find Canada to be the worst country to deal with.
Q. Really?
The President. The most difficult country. With that being said, they're dying to make a deal.
Q. Why is that?
The President. I find Canada to be very, very difficult to deal with. Their leaders, not the people. The people are fantastic.
[Several reporters spoke at once.]
Q. On AI, President Trump——
But I find them to be very, very difficult.
Q. On China, sir——
Q. On AI——
The President. And they've ripped off our country for years, but they don't rip them off with
me.
Q. Are the tariffs still in effect?
The President. Yes. Well, we have a lot of tariffs. A lot more tariffs are coming in. Don't
forget, on January 1, car tariffs—the big one is cars, and we take in a lot of their cars. Car tariffs are coming in.
Artificial Intelligence
Q. President Trump, this week, again, there's been so much concern about AI. Have you heard directly from any of these AI tech leaders?
The President. Yes, I have.
Q. And you seem to downplay some of the concerns that we've heard.
The President. No, I'm not downplaying, but it's—you know, it's going to be more good than bad, but by a lot. And I've said it—I've said it——
Q. Have you heard directly from any of them?
The President. ——from the beginning: Whoever wins AI—and we're leading by a lot—whoever wins AI, wins.
Q. Have you ever used it yourself, or have you been?
The President. I use AI. Yes, I do.
Q. How do you use AI?
The President. But I would say——
Q. Do you——
The President. ——you know, for the most part, you can use AI for a lot of things.
Q. What do you use it for?
The President. Well, I don't want to tell you that.
Flock License Plate Readers
Q. Speaking of AI, Flock cameras. You haven't talked a lot about these Flock cameras. A lot of law enforcement say the—they really help them. Would you be willing to back that?
The President. Well, people—yes, no, I sort of like them because of that, because of law enforcement, but some people don't. They think it's an infringement.
Q. They help catch a lot of criminals. The President. But I—like them. Thank you, everybody.
New South Lawn Helipad
Q. Mr. President, we saw you on Friday showing Melania the helipad. When do you plan to use it first?
The President. Well, it's going to be, I think, the 21st. Is—it's open now.
Q. The 21st?
The President. It's ready now, and it's a masterpiece.
Q. When will you be using it?
The President. Does everybody like it? Is it beautiful? It is a masterpiece.
Q. I think it's—yes, it looks nice.
The President. That's all carved granite. It's like—it's a—million. It's a stone rated 1 million-plus years, and carved—beautifully. People are loving it.
White House Ballroom Construction Project
Q. When's the ballroom going to be done?
The President. People are really liking it.
Q. Do we have, like, a schedule for when you're going to be——
The President. Now, listen, okay, I came back here for——
The President's Taste in Music
Q. What's your favorite song?
The President. Enjoy—the—I——
Q. Thank you, Mr. President.
Q. Every—song that you hear is my—they're all good.
Q. Did you handpick them?
The President. We like Elton. We like Dolly. We like them all.
Have a good time, everybody.
Q. Thank you.
The President. Thank you.
NOTE: The President spoke at 11:19 p.m. in the press cabin. 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 to the Middle East Steven C. Witkoff; and musician Elton John. He also referred to his son-in-law, U.S. Special Envoy for Peace Jared C. Kushner. Reporters referred to Acting President Delcy Rodriguez Gomez of Venezuela; and U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Edward S. Walsh. The transcript was released by the Office of Communications on September 14.
Categories: Interviews With the News Media : Exchanges with reporters, Air Force One. Locations: Air Force One.
Names: Witkoff, Steven C.; John, Elton; Kushner, Jared C.; Maduro Moros, Nicolas; Parton, Dolly; Ratcliffe, John L.; Xi Jinping; Zelenskyy, Volodymyr.
Subjects: 2021 civil unrest and violence at U.S. Capitol; Artificial intelligence and emerging technologies; Automobile industry, strengthening efforts; Canada, relations with U.S.; Central Intelligence Agency; China, President; China, relations with U.S.; Deaths, Dolly Parton; Diesel fuel, supply shortages; Flock license plate readers; Gaza, hostages held by Hamas; Gaza, international assistance; News media, Presidential interviews; North Atlantic Treaty Organization; Russia, conflict in Ukraine; Tariffs; U.S. munitions supply; U.S. Special Envoy for Peace; U.S. Special Envoy for Peace Missions; Ukraine, President; Ukraine, Russian invasion and airstrikes; Venezuela, oil supply and refining; Venezuela, U.S. military capture and exfiltration of President Maduro; White House Ballroom construction project.
DCPD Number: DCPD202600608.