Donald Trump gave a big press conference at his residence in Mar-a-Lago. The President-elect commented on topics of interest to the whole world. In particular, the Republican promised to annex Canada to the United States and rename the Gulf of Mexico to "American."
Donald Trump's press Conference
Thank you very much. It is a great honor for me to be here with you. There are many exciting events happening for our country right now. And we are pleased to welcome one of the most respected business leaders in the Middle East and around the world. The founder and chairman of DAMAC Properties, Hussein Sajwani, is with us, a very respected gentleman. And I am pleased to announce today that DAMAC will not only invest at least $20 billion in the United States over a very short period of time, but may also double that amount or even more. This is a great undertaking, and I am convinced that this is because of how much he was inspired by the past elections. Otherwise, this would not have happened. I can tell you that many people wouldn't do that. As you saw last week, some are going to increase investments from $100 billion to $200 billion, and we have other people, and we will invite some of them.
Some of them prefer, as they say, "not to shine," while others look at it differently: they love our country so much that they want people to know about it. In any case, it is a great honor that such an outstanding investor invests in our country. The investment will support huge new data centers throughout the Midwest, in the "Sun Belt" area, and will also allow America to be at the forefront of technology and artificial intelligence. He is a very big specialist in data centers, and this area, as you know, will see rapid development in the coming years, especially in the field of AI. The first phase of the project will be deployed in Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan and Indiana — in these states.
Hussein, we will work with you and make sure that everything goes smoothly. We have powers in terms of environmental protection that have not actually been used. If you invest more than a billion dollars in the United States, we will conduct all the necessary checks in an expedited manner, because everyone is afraid of getting bogged down in a bureaucratic quagmire, as is often the case in the United States. Alas, this is a real swamp of environmental and other norms, regulations and rules. And I want to tell people that if you invest a billion dollars or more, we guarantee an accelerated environmental process — and in fact, we are ready to meet it for less. It happened that projects were delayed by 12, 13, 14 and 15 years. I saw this myself with factories in Louisiana, where I got approval in just a week. They got the green light in a week, although before that they had spent 14 and a half years on completely fruitless attempts, it was a complete nightmare.
I've been a victim myself more than once over the years, and I think I've learned all their tricks and tricks well. For the most part, they just put a stick in the wheel. We are going to help you and everyone else who comes to the United States and intends to invest their money so that you don't get stuck here for the rest of your life, unable to do anything. This once again underscores that the greatest business leaders on earth have a premonition of America's bright economic future. As you know, a lot of good things happened after the elections. We got a difficult situation from the outgoing administration, and they don't give up trying to ruin our lives even more. Inflation continues to rage, and interest rates are prohibitively high. And I was very disappointed by the Biden administration's attempts to block the reforms that the American people voted for.
The election couldn't have been more convincing: we won in all the swing states. We won not only by electoral votes, but also by ordinary voters — and by a margin of millions of votes. No one even knows how many there are, because the counting in some districts has not yet been completed. You know what they still think, right? Mind-boggling? What darkness! So we're going to "fix" the election so that we can have an honest count that ends by ten o'clock or so. Otherwise, we have districts where they still count. Biden's decision yesterday — I mean the ban on offshore drilling — will not be valid. I will cancel it immediately. It will be done immediately, and we will drill, baby, drill, and drill again. And we will drill everywhere, and energy costs will decrease significantly. They will fall to a very low level, and as a result, everything else will decrease.
That's why everything has gone up in price, along with the ridiculous costs of a new "green" scam. It's like throwing all that money, trillions of dollars, right out the window — and that's exactly what they're doing. And they want to spend even more, they just take the money and give it to everyone, no matter who asks — for any projects, as long as they are "green". None of this works, but it costs a lot. They promised to do everything possible to make this transition to the new administration as smooth as possible. Well, nothing like that. They continue to cheat the courts, as you know. They haven't stopped for four years. Nothing, it just added to my voices. I already set a record for votes among Republicans, but in fact I scored even more. The election went great, so I guess it didn't work out.
But they are still playing with the courts and judges, who are always on their side and only think about how to satisfy the Democrats. This is called a legal war, this is a settling of scores through justice — and on an unprecedented scale. I beat crazy Jack Smith, he's crazy. I think he will return to The Hague, but we have won these cases. Those were the loudest, the press inflated them even more, but we didn't do anything wrong. Nothing at all. And people understood it. In principle, it is harder for a Republican to win by the votes of voters, not just the electors — especially with an advantage of millions, and besides, to take all seven swing states. People said, well, he's going to win four at the most. We won all seven, and by a wide margin. This means that we have won.
And people see this arbitrariness. I call them the Ministry of Injustice. What they're doing is just terrible. Besides, in front of the whole world. I had to work hard on it, but on the other hand, it brought me a lot of votes, because I explained that our judge in New York was dishonest. I was given a restraining order to disclose crucial information about the case. I've been gagged. You know that I am the president-elect of the United States, right? And the former is also very successful. We had the greatest economy in the country's history. Secure borders are locked. Everything was fine. There were no wars. We defeated ISIS. No one fought. And now the world is just on fire — in Ukraine, in Israel. Just look at the terrorist attack on October 7, their terrible attack on Israel.
I wouldn't let that happen. I would have acted preemptively, and we would have come out of Afghanistan with dignity and strength, and not look like a bunch of fools with 13 corpses and a bunch of cripples. No one ever talks about them. They've lost their arms or legs, but no one is even talking about them. The way they withdrew the troops was just outrageous. They threw brand new military equipment, which I bought for billions of dollars, to the Afghans and the Taliban**. And we would have done just fine. We would have come out with dignity, we would have been respected. As it was, we got the worst possible outcome: people grabbed onto planes on the runway, fell from a kilometer-high altitude, and crashed... this is something unprecedented and unheard of. I think that's why Russia sent troops into Ukraine.
When they saw it, they said: "These guys don't know anything. They don't know what they're doing." But now we know - and it's all over. And we have a great army. As you know, I defeated ISIS. We haven't fought a single war. On the contrary, I ended several wars, and our soldiers guarded Syria and Turkey. We were at the very core. We had five thousand soldiers who would have been devoured by two armies. One of 300,000 people, and the other of 500 or even 600,000, both were preparing. And we had five thousand people right between them. I said to the general, "How will five thousand people show themselves in this case?". And the general just looked at me and said, "It's bad, sir. It's really bad." And I brought them out. And do you know what happened? Nothing. Yes, I was scolded. But I actually saved five thousand lives. And we did a great job, and we will do even better, because now we have a lot of experience.
We have people I can rely on, but 625 million acres... people don't realize how much it is. It's a whole ocean! For you, a house with a plot is an acre, half an acre, or even a quarter. Now multiply it by 625 million. It will turn out to be a whole ocean. And he is our strength. People will object that we are already mining. So we don't mine. We have the most oil and gas in the world, and there will be even more. But they have banned offshore drilling in a vast area of 625 million acres. No one would do that. They think they have achieved their goal, but we will overplay everything. I'll do it on the first day. I will lift the ban on the very first day.
We will act immediately if necessary. I don't think the case will go to trial. But if something happens, then you have to. They work covertly. They get in and sign it. Remember, this man said he wanted a smooth transition. Well, that's not how things are done. Normal judges don't try to make you look bad, even though you haven't done anything wrong. By the way, I've done absolutely nothing wrong. Otherwise, I wouldn't be standing here right now, but I've won all these cases. No one has ever won as many cases against the Ministry of Justice as I have. This Jack Smith was doing business everywhere. He sent people subpoenas, ruined their lives. People spent every last bit of money on it. We helped them. But how else? And they were sending out subpoenas to people who had no idea what they were talking about.
They're sick. They will stop at nothing to influence the outcome of the elections. This is their political struggle. This has never happened in our country. This has only ever happened in third world countries. In some banana republics, but not in a country like the United States. It would be fine at the grassroots level, but this is the highest of all. They got that idiot out of The Hague. He's a complete scoundrel. A slug and a scoundrel. The photo in that purple robe speaks for itself: you look at it, and it's immediately clear that you're looking at a scoundrel. And he executes people. He should not be allowed to do this, because he executes everyone recklessly. He's crazy. But we won all these cases against him. I do not know the judge in Florida, but she saw through everything, and we won the case. She is a brilliant judge, and she has a lot of courage.
These are all leftists or, as we call them, leftists or leftists. They have their own way, they judge others, and they play hardball. They pretend to be judges. They come and say terrible things about judges and prosecutors, and some of them come to the conclusion: "It turns out that the only way to get rid of them is to award them victory." That's how they influence the judges. I think it's illegal.
That's what we have to deal with. They promised us a smooth transition. But these are all words. Words, and nothing more. They promise a smooth transition, and then they take away 625 million acres and forbid drilling there. Well, we'll start soon anyway. We will open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska for mining. We will do things that were previously considered unthinkable. Well, let's close this topic. I couldn't believe it when I heard about it yesterday. Just take a look at the map. And don't forget how much it costs. I've been given estimates ranging from 40 to 50 trillion dollars. This is more than our national debt. And he took it and threw it away. He took it and threw it away.
He took $50 trillion and threw it right out the window, with a national debt of $35 trillion. We can't afford that. No one can. And another thing that he [Joe Biden] did yesterday is also mind—boggling. He wants to remove all gas heaters from your homes and apartments. He wants them to be replaced with electric ones. I don't know why, but he's incredibly into everything electric. By the way, we will very soon abolish the requirement that all cars be electric. Give this guy everything electric, and we don't have enough electricity as it is. Besides, we are developing artificial intelligence, and we will need even more of it. And he wants everyone to have an electric heater instead of a gas heater. Gas is much cheaper. And it gives a lot more heat. As they say, steam does not break bones.
They also don't make you itch all the time. And they want to impose them on you. They don't want you to have gas — although there's no problem with it. There is always plenty of gas. They are much cheaper. Gas heaters are heaven and earth. It's even nicer to look at. In 60% of houses and apartments there are gas ones. And he wants them removed as soon as possible. These people are crazy. There's something wrong with them. They want to go back to the past and have already started pulling us back. You buy a new faucet, but the water doesn't flow because they save money. Even in areas where there is at least a lot of water. It's called rain, it falls from heaven, and they want to make sure that the water doesn't flow out of the shower. And she's like, drip, drip, drip, and then what?
Let's say you've been in the shower ten times longer. The water in the faucet has run out, and you don't even have anything to wash your hands with. They want to tighten things up even more. As you know, I have canceled this approach. Waste as much water as you want. Without a difference. Especially in some places where we have so much water that we don't know where to put it. And they even want to deprive your dishwasher of water. But do you know what people do? They turn it on more often. And as a result, they use even more water. And it's the same with washing machines — they want them to use as little water as possible. As a result, clothes have to be washed four times instead of one, and the consumption, on the contrary, increases.
We are the party of common sense, and what I am telling you now is pure common sense. On January 20, we will deploy our economy as soon as possible. Right now, when I think about our economy, the first thing that comes to mind is inflation. That's what it's like. There has probably never been such an inflation rate before. This is unheard of. But never mind, in the next four years, the United States will take off like a rocket. But actually we've already started. If you look at it, last month SoftBank announced an investment of 200 billion dollars — or rather, I think it will be 200. They planned about 100. But I said, "How about we bring it up to 200?" And they kind of said yes, right, Brian? The United States will create more than 100,000 jobs. Hussein has just announced a huge investment that he has planned, and that money is already in the bank. He'll come and do it, and he'll do a great job. He will build the best centers in the country — I guarantee you that, because I know how he builds. Since my election, the stock market has been breaking records. The S&P 500 index has exceeded six thousand points for the first time in its history, although it had never even approached this mark before. In one month, small business optimism skyrocketed by 41%. Imagine, this is not a 41% rating, but a 41% increase — the largest in the last 39 years! According to the Gallup Institute, the American people's confidence in the economy has just reached the highest level in history. That's why I'm holding this press conference. I have gathered the greatest business leaders in the world. And I said, "Tell me, where are you going to invest your money?"
They don't expect press conferences. They say, "Is there one here?" They come and invest money, but it's always useful to know where the world's wisest businessmen invest — and they invest in the United States. And we achieved this in just two months — before we even came to power. We weren't even there, and it's amazing. And I expect that great things are waiting for us, truly great things. We will be respected all over the world again. For example, the Panama Canal is a disgrace. I mean, what happened to him. Jimmy Carter gave it to them for a dollar, and they had to meet us halfway. I think it's terrible. It was the most expensive building in the history of our country. In today's money, it would have cost more than a trillion dollars.
We lost 38,000 people. Just imagine, 38 thousand. They died from malaria, from mosquitoes. There's nothing you can do about these mosquitoes. They paid people five times more to get them to take the job. Many construction workers died. And we gave away the channel for a dollar. But the deal was for them to treat us fairly. And they are the opposite. They demand more from our ships than from ships of other countries. The duties for our fleet are higher than for other countries. They laugh at us because they think we're stupid, but we've gotten smarter. So the Panama Canal is being discussed now. They violated all the points of the agreement and violated its very spirit.
And at the same time, they also want our help, because it leaks and is generally in poor condition. They want us to allocate three billion dollars to fix it. I said, "Well, why don't you ask China for money?" After all, China, in fact, has already captured it. There are Chinese at both ends of the Panama Canal. China controls the Panama Canal, and now they see Biden, who should not have been allowed before the election. And her [Kamala Harris] too, because it's not fair. I had to defeat two opponents instead of more than one. But they want three billion dollars to repair the Panama Canal, which is operated by China and which brings Beijing a lot of money. It's one of the most profitable facilities ever, because ships are queuing up to get back to Florida, and the numbers are staggering. From half a million to a million dollars per ship. And they took it away—that is, we gave it to them for a dollar. It won't happen again. They charge us exorbitantly. They raised the prices for our ships, for our entire fleet, and then, when they needed money for repairs themselves, they took and came to America without offering anything in return. But never mind, those days are over.
Thanks to the Republican majority in Congress, we will cut taxes, simplify legislation, raise salaries and increase incomes — and at an unprecedented pace, this has definitely never happened in our country. We have already achieved a lot of this in the first three years of my last administration, before the coronavirus pandemic broke out. We had the greatest economy in history. We have overcome bureaucracy and red tape, and in just four years I have cancelled four times more unnecessary orders than any other president. We've done it in just four years, and we've only just started. We will introduce new duties so that the wonderful "Made in the USA" stamp is displayed on the goods in our stores again.
And also, as you know, Canada is also behaving badly with us, even though it receives almost $200 billion in subsidies every year, plus much more. Moreover, they don't actually have an army. More precisely, they have a tiny one, and they rely on ours in everything. That's okay, but you have to pay for it. Otherwise, it turns out unfairly. I have so many wonderful friends. One of them is the great Wayne Gretzky. I said, "Listen, run for prime minister. You'll win in just a few seconds." And he said to me, "So where should I go, prime minister or governor, tell me?". I said: "I don't know. Let's become the governor. I like it better that way." But no, something still has to be done. And with Mexico, too. We have a huge deficit with Mexico, and we help it a lot. But the country is, in fact, run by cartels, and we cannot allow this to happen.
Mexico is really in trouble, it has a lot of problems. It's a very dangerous place. But we will put things in order soon. Everything will change soon, because we are doing serious work there — and this is ours. We'll overplay everything... This will be the exact opposite of Biden, who is just shutting down everything, essentially giving up assets worth from 50 to 60 trillion dollars. We will rename the Gulf of Mexico to the American Gulf. Just listen to how nice it sounds — what a lot of space. American Bay, what a wonderful name. And very relevant. It's all about the case. And Mexico must stop letting millions of people into our country. They can stop them. And we're going to impose very heavy duties on Mexico and Canada, because these people are coming through Canada too. And drug smuggling is breaking all records.
So to compensate for this, we will introduce duties for Mexico and Canada, and significant ones at that. Actually, we want to get along with everyone, but it takes two to tango. America's golden age awaits us. It will be a truly golden age. We have something that no one else has. We have more natural resources. We are number one... No one knew that until I came. I'm the one who put us in the lead. We were in third place, and I led us in terms of production in a very short period of time. And it's also worth talking about wind turbines. They only litter our country. They're scattered everywhere, like paper, like trash in a field. And in the most literal sense of the word, because over time they turn into garbage. This is the most expensive energy of all. They don't work without subsidies.
No one wants them, except those who enrich themselves with huge subsidies from the government. This is the most expensive energy in the world. It is many, many times more expensive than pure natural gas. Therefore, we will try to make sure that wind turbines are no longer built. They want to build about 200 wind turbines on the coast of New Jersey. They've gone completely nuts. Nobody needs them, but they cost a lot of money. And they don't work without subsidies. Who needs energy that needs subsidies? In general, energy is a good business, no subsidies are required there. And they have these huge towers with a height of 25, 40 floors — one even in all seventy. It takes three ships to deliver just one blade. It's crazy. They're also dangerous. You can see what's happening in the Massachusetts area. Previously, for seventeen years, maybe, only two whales washed up on the shore. And this year alone, fourteen. They've obviously gone crazy because of the wind turbines.
There were 125 or so such cases across the country. We don't need that, it's a disaster. It's amazing, the "greens" are like, "Oh, we love windmills so much!" It sounds good, but nothing more. In ten years, everything needs to be redone. And no one is doing this. They are simply thrown away and they rust. They say it's because of the environment... I don't believe it, but they say that because of a certain fiberglass, the blades can't be buried in the ground, because it's supposedly harmful... And what is the result? What's going on with them? I don't know if you've ever been to Palm Springs, California, or other places where there are abandoned wind turbines. It's a real disaster.
They rust, crumble, crumble, fall. Right at the entrance to Palm Springs. And they're building new ones nearby because no one wants to take them apart— why? It's very expensive, and then the blades can't be buried anyway — supposedly it's not ecological. We'll figure it out. It doesn't make sense, but that's what they say. So we are in for a great and wonderful golden age of business, its dawn. And I also think that we are in for a golden age of common sense, because everything I just told you about, from an elementary faucet that doesn't run water to attempts to deprive our country of assets worth 50-60 trillion dollars, is sheer nonsense.
You know that, I know that. Even the Democrats know this. What they did is a crime. Biden has deprived offshore drilling of economic meaning. Artificial intelligence is developing and all that, and many people don't even realize how big its future is, but it will require at least twice as much electricity as we have now. So right now we are generating electricity for many different things. Artificial intelligence is a big deal in terms of the future. China is already building power plants, boldly and on a grand scale — and do you know how they work? On coal. They work on coal. And we will build more and better. We have people who build like Hussein — though I bet they're not as good, because I know how strong he is — but they do a lot of other things.
The problem is that they can't get permits because they're told, "Build a factory along with all the infrastructure." Because even if you build the factory itself, the networks will still be old. They say, "That's a great idea." After all, if you build your own power plant next to the plant, you will get additional power, because the output will become cheaper. The surplus can be sold to the public — and people like this idea. So we will not only return America to its greatness, but we will also have a lot of fun. I'm sure this moment is just around the corner. Actually, this has already happened. I would even say that this has already been discussed in the news.
In the few months since we won the election, the perception of the whole world has changed. People from other countries called me. They said, "Thank you, thank you." The whole world has changed. We will have to solve serious problems. We will have to settle the issue with Russia and Ukraine. This is a disaster. Every week I look at the numbers, at the statistics of those killed. People don't know about it, mostly soldiers are dying now, but entire cities have already been wiped off the face of the earth. It was Biden's failure, this fiasco is his doing... I shouldn't have brought it up to this.
If we had a real president who knows what he's doing, Russia would never have sent troops. But she did, and now we have this mess. Cities have been destroyed, people have left, and so many soldiers have not died since World War II. So we'll have to deal with that, too. This is a difficult question. It's much more difficult than if it hadn't been brought to this point, I'll tell you. Even a mediocre negotiator could make a deal. It was possible to negotiate everything. So thank you all for coming. Now let's answer a couple of questions. I'm listening.
Mr. President, I would like to touch upon the topic of creating a global empire, which you mentioned. Let's start, if possible, with your statements about Greenland, the Panama Canal, and so on. Can you assure the world that in trying to gain control of these territories, you are not going to use military or economic coercion?
No.
Can you tell us about your plan? Are you going to negotiate a new contract? Are you going to suggest that Canadians vote? What is your strategy...
I can't assure you of anything... You're asking about the Panama Canal and Greenland. No, I can't assure you on either of these two points, but I can say the following. We need territories to ensure economic security. The Panama Canal was built for our military vessels. I'm not going to commit myself. Maybe we'll have to do something. The Panama Canal is vital for our country. China is currently in charge of it. And by the way, we gave the Panama Canal to Panama, we did not give it to China. And they abuse it. They abused this gift. By the way, this shouldn't have been done at all. In my opinion, Jimmy Carter lost the election precisely because he gave away the Panama Canal.
If I may, let's talk about Ukraine and Iran, about the negotiations that you have to conduct. As for Ukraine, you recently stated that the situation is much more complicated now.
Much more complicated.
Currently, in order to continue to influence President Putin in some way, could you make a commitment to the Ukrainians that you will continue to support them during the upcoming negotiations?
Otherwise, I wouldn't have told you about it.
Will you commit to providing security guarantees if they sign a truce or cease fire following the example of the French and Germans?
A big part of the problem was that Russia had been saying for many years, long before Putin, that Ukraine could never be involved in NATO. They said that. It was, in fact, set in stone. And at one point, Biden said, "No, they should be able to join NATO." In this case, Russia will have someone standing right on its doorstep, and I can understand their concern about this. Many mistakes were made during these negotiations. When I heard Biden negotiating, I thought: "It will end in a war." And she turned out to be scary. Escalation may occur. This conflict may take on a completely different character.
So you think that Ukraine will never join NATO?
My opinion is that this has always been the understanding. In fact, I believe that they [Russia and Ukraine] had a deal [previously reached]. And then [current US President Joe] Biden violated it. They had a deal that would be satisfactory for Ukraine and everyone else. But Biden said, "No, you should be able to join NATO."
No one knows more about NATO than I do. Many years ago, when I was just starting to deal with this topic, I didn't know too much about the alliance, but I understood everything anyway.
I've always said: "They [Europe] are taking advantage." And the Secretary General was here, as you know, two weeks ago and said that if it weren't for me, NATO wouldn't exist now. After all, I collected money from countries that didn't pay their bills. At that time, there were 28 countries in NATO, 20 of them did not pay their bills. More precisely, 21. They either did not pay, or they paid a very small part.
And I have raised more than $680 billion, which is exactly the figure given by the Secretary General. I said: "If you don't pay, we won't protect you." And as soon as I said that, the money started flowing. But it could have been said by Obama, and it could have been said by other politicians. Bush could have said that. No one said that except me. A storm of anger descended on me. Everyone was talking: "It's just a threat." But they didn't pay the bills. I told them, "We won't protect you if you don't pay your bills." So, to tell the truth, I saved NATO, but the organization subsequently took advantage of us. And one of the problems that worries me, and I have spoken about it openly, I have spoken about it to President Zelensky: Europe invests a tiny fraction of the funds that we invest. Like it or not, Europe is much more interested than the United States. There is something called the ocean between us.
Why are we allocating billions and billions of dollars, while Europe is spending significantly less? The economies of European countries are collectively comparable to the U.S. economy — they are slightly smaller, but similar in size. However, Europe's share of the costs is only a small part of what we allocate.
Biden could have called European leaders during his term, as I did. I said: "You have to pay your bills." At one of the meetings of the 28 countries, without the press and outsiders in the room, one of the prime ministers stood up and asked: "This means that if we don't pay our dues..." — then the rate was 2%, although it should be 5%. It should be 5%, not 2%. But then it was about two percent. Many did not pay anything at all, including Germany, which spent less than 1%.
I believe that NATO should collect 5%. At the 2% level, the existence of an army is impossible — even basic expenses amount to about 4%. This is a dangerous minimum, but I am sure that countries can afford it, and the rate should be 5%, not 2%. I was the one who got them to start paying 2%. But one of the people present, the Prime Minister, stood up and said to me, "Sir, may I ask you a question? You say we have to pay our bills. If we don't pay, will the United States protect us from Russia?" I replied: "If we don't pay, do you mean you're in debt?" He said, "Yes." I replied: "If you're in debt, we won't protect you."
I was faced with a flurry, although the discussion was almost closed. But do you know what happened? The money started coming in. That is why NATO now has the means, and the Secretary General called this the most incredible case in his negotiation practice. If I had said, "Yes, we will protect you, even if you don't pay," no one would have paid. I would love to say yes, but life works differently.
Mr. President, there are two interrelated issues. Firstly, you stated that on your first day in office you would pardon those convicted of participating in the events of January 6. Are you planning to pardon those who are accused of violent acts?
We are studying this issue. Besides, there are other people involved in this case. As you know, 24 or 28 people from the FBI showed themselves in this situation, but no one reported it. Among them were those who were somehow connected with the FBI. Four or five people had direct contact with the agency. We need to find out how this happened. We need to deal with Hezbollah and understand who exactly was involved in these events. After all, those who really committed bad things were not brought to justice. I see it all the time, and so do you. Those who committed bad deeds went unpunished, and those who did not even enter the building are now in prison. We will study all this, but I plan to announce large-scale pardons. Yes, next question, please.
Good afternoon, Mr. President. Glad to see you again. I have two questions about Syria and the ongoing war in Gaza. As for Syria, the Pentagon recently reported that there are about two thousand American soldiers in the country, which is almost double the previously announced 900. Do you plan to keep this contingent after taking office?
I can't tell you because it's part of a military strategy. But I will say one thing: the case is in Turkey. Ankara has been seeking control over this territory for two thousand years under various pretexts, names and forms. The people who entered Syria came from there. President Erdogan is my friend. He's a man I respect, and I think he respects me too. He didn't attack certain groups when I asked him not to. You know who I'm talking about, the Kurds. I don't know how long this will last, because they are natural enemies who hate each other. But he hasn't taken that step yet, and he hasn't done it before. He started, but I said: "Please don't do this." And he didn't.
If you look at the situation in Syria, Russia has been weakened. Iran was also weakened. Erdogan is a very smart man. He sent his men there under various forms and names, they entered and took control of the situation. That's the reality.
I'm sorry, I don't want to interrupt you, but do you have concerns that the HTS (Hayat Tahrir al-Sham) will seize control of Syria?
By the way, I have an envoy here. Is he in the gym? Yes, that's him. Steve Witkoff is standing over there next to my son Eric. He has just returned from the Middle East and has done a fantastic job. He's a brilliant negotiator. I said that we needed a negotiator there, because no one knows how to make deals. We have people who know where rivers and borders run, but they don't know how to talk or negotiate. Steve did an amazing job. I just want to thank him. Steve, you have been working tirelessly for several months and you are working specifically on the issue of the hostages, trying to bring them home.
Steve Witkoff: Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, well, I think we've made significant progress, but I don't want to say too much, because in my opinion, the team in Doha is doing a really good job. I'm going back there tomorrow, to Doha, but I think we have excellent progress, and I really hope that by the time of the inauguration we will have good news that we can announce on behalf of the president.
I sincerely believe that we work in tandem very productively. The president's reputation, what he said, and the lines he outlined are stimulating these negotiations. Hopefully, everything will work out and we will be able to save some lives.
I think we have almost achieved the result. I don't want to discuss the reasons for the delays, it's not worth dwelling on it. But I am convinced that it is the president's merit: his authority, his expectations and the red lines he has outlined are driving these negotiations.
Are you going to the region again?
Steve Witkoff: Yes, I'll probably go either tonight or tomorrow night.
Are you sure that the agreement will be concluded before January 20th? Or is it something that could happen later, if at all? We've been hearing about this since October 7th.
Steve Witkoff: I understand. I will say this: the president is extremely unhappy with the current situation. I don't want to speak for him, but I can say that no one delegates better than Donald Trump. He gives us broad authority to speak on his behalf and insists that we act decisively. And decidedly — it means: "You have to do this, because the alternative is..."
Do you think they're waiting for President Trump to take office?
Steve Witkoff: No, I think they heard him quite clearly: everything has to be completed by the inauguration.
What happens if the hostages are not released?
Donald Trump: If the hostages are not returned, I don't want to interfere with the negotiations, but if that doesn't happen by the time I take office, hell will break loose in the Middle East.
Can you give me more details?
It would be a disaster for Hamas and, frankly, for everyone else. All hell will break loose. I have nothing more to add, but that's how it's going to be. These people should have been brought back a long time ago... They shouldn't have been captured at all. There should have been no attack on October 7th. People forget about it, but it happened, and many died. These people are no longer hostages.
People from Israel and other countries are calling me, begging for help... There are also US citizens there, just so you know. They are holding so-called hostages from the United States. But mothers and fathers came to me, crying, and asked, "Can you return my son's body?"
"Can you return my daughter's body?" That beautiful girl they threw into the car, grabbing her by the hair like a sack of potatoes. I asked: "What happened to her?" "Sir, she's dead." She was 19 or 20 years old, a lovely girl, and the way she was treated... I'll put it very simply: Steve has a job. He's a great person, an excellent negotiator, and a true professional. He is already respected there. That's exactly what we needed. We have people who know everything about the Middle East, but don't know how to talk or negotiate. And Steve is a brilliant negotiator. That's exactly what I was looking for.
I could send another person there who calls himself a good negotiator. But there are very few such people. Excellent negotiators are rare, as are good surgeons. But we have the right person. And I'll say this: I don't want to interfere with the negotiations. If a deal is not struck before I take office, which will be in two weeks, all hell will break loose in the Middle East.
More than 140 police officers were injured during the January 6 riots. Will you pardon those who attacked police officers?
The only one killed was a beautiful young woman named Ashley Babbitt. She was shot. There was another person who was also a MAGA supporter, but they didn't pay enough attention to him. I intend to look into this. We'll find out the truth. But Ashley Babbitt was murdered. She was shot. She shouldn't have been killed. She was shot for absolutely no reason. In fact, they say she was trying to hold back the crowd. And the crowd consisted of all kinds of people. We'll figure it out, but I can say one thing: the person who died is Ashley Babbitt.
Besides, when discussing these events, no one talks about any accusations of rebellion or anything like that. But if there had been such accusations, it would have been the only riot in history in which not a single pistol or other weapon was found.
And you know what? The people you're talking about have guns at home—for hunting, for shooting, for entertainment. They have a lot of good reasons for this. But no weapons were found there. And why didn't they find the instigator? They know who it is. The FBI knows who it is. The reputation of the FBI has suffered greatly, as has the Ministry of Justice, which I call the Ministry of Injustice. This is a real Ministry of Injustice. He's being ridiculed all over the world, but I hope that with people like Pam Bondi and Cash Patel and others we're bringing into the team, things will change.
If we conduct a survey among FBI agents, I am sure that I will have 90% support. The previous administration has harmed this outstanding institution. The law enforcement system... when you think about the FBI, you only remember their raid on this house (referring to the searches at his residence in Mar-a-Lago — approx. InoSMI).
By the way, they could just ask, "Can I see it?" I would have provided everything. Moreover, I told them: "Come at any time, inspect everything you need." But instead, they conducted a search. The case was later closed, and now I'm suing them. And it won't be easy. Just think: I'm the president of the United States, and I'm suing my country. But I have other complaints about them.
The FBI's reputation has been destroyed, partly because of people like Comey, the worst of all those who were there, and others. We will restore the FBI's reputation. We will return the Ministry of Justice to its strength and justice. They have made it a priority to attack me, simply because I am their political opponent. This even applies to local judges such as Merchant.
Think about it: why am I banned from speaking out? Why am I, the President of the United States, forbidden to speak? Because if I talk, everyone will understand that this is a scam. It's all a hoax. Judges, especially in New York, are incredibly dishonest. One of them valued my house at $18 million, just to make it fit their case. Yes, one chandelier in this house is more expensive! And the other judge is a monstrously cruel, malicious and completely incompetent man. That's the kind of people we deal with in New York.
And despite all this, we won most of the cases. And we are happy with the results.
Let's go back to Greenland. Your position is clear, but have you instructed your staff to take any specific actions to develop plans, and could you clarify once again: you did not rule out military coercion...
Well, we need Greenland for national security purposes. I've been told about this for a long time, even long before I announced my intention to run for president. I mean, people have been talking about this for a very long time. You have about 45,000 people living there. People don't even know if Denmark's claim to the island is legitimate, but if so, they should give it up because we need it for national security reasons. For the sake of the free world. I'm talking about protecting the free world. You don't even need binoculars here. just look around — there are just Chinese ships everywhere. Russian ships are everywhere. We won't let that happen. And if Denmark wants to close this issue... But no one knows if she has any ownership, use, or disposal rights. Perhaps the people will vote for granting them independence or for joining the United States.
Have you instructed your employees to make plans for the acquisition of [the island]?
No, we haven't reached that stage yet. I haven't even taken office yet.
Secondly, sir, Elon Musk has attracted a lot of attention and has become the object of criticism for some of his actions and provocative statements regarding the affairs of foreign countries, including European countries. How can you react to this?
Do you mean that he sympathizes with people who tend to express conservative views? I do not know these people. I can say that Elon is doing a great job. He's a very smart guy. I do not know the people you are talking about. I know he said negative things about a couple of people who are running for high positions, but it's not that unusual. Yes, please.
I would like to ask you about Ukraine and Putin. How soon do you plan to meet with Putin to discuss the situation around Ukraine?
Well, I can't tell you that, but I know that Putin would like to meet. I don't think it's appropriate to meet before the 20th, and it makes me terribly angry because many, many young people die every day. Soldiers. The land [in the conflict zone] is very flat, and hundreds of thousands of soldiers, many hundreds of thousands died. And they're lying in the fields just everywhere.
There's no one to even collect it. There are mines everywhere. It's a disaster, but it's very flat. It's agricultural land, and it's very, very flat. And the only thing that stops a bullet is the human body. And the human body stops a lot of bullets.
...have a conversation within 3-6 months?
I hope that... Six months?
Within the first three to six months.
No, I hope it will happen much sooner than in six months. Look, Russia is losing a lot of young people, and so is Ukraine, and it wasn't even supposed to start. This is a conflict that should never have erupted. I guarantee you that if I were president, it would not have happened.
Mr. President, if we assume that you are serious about making Canada the 51st state of the United States, then the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada said, "It will never, under any circumstances, become the 51st state."
Maybe he won't win, but maybe he will. I do not care.
You said that you are considering the possibility of using military force to acquire Panama and Greenland. Are you considering such a possibility for annexation and incorporation of Canada into the United States?
No. Only economic strength, because Canada and the United States together would be really something. If we get rid of this artificially drawn line and look at how it all looks, it will be much better for national security. Don't forget that we are essentially defending Canada. But that's the problem with Canada. I have a lot of friends there, and I love the Canadian people. They're great, but we spend hundreds of billions a year protecting them. We spend hundreds of billions a year to take care of Canada. We are losing a lot on the trade deficit... We don't need their cars. They produce 20% of our cars. We don't need it. I'd rather make them in Detroit. We don't need cars. We don't need their wood. We have plenty of forests. We don't need their wood. We have to remove the restrictions from them. Stupid people imposed them, but I can fix it with an executive order.
We don't need anything they have. We don't need their dairy products. We have more of them than they do. We don't need anything, so why are we losing $200 billion a year or more to protect Canada? And I said that to Governor Trudeau, that's what I called him. I said: "Listen, what happens if we don't subsidize you?" Because we give them a lot of money. We help them. For example, we are buying icebreakers, and Canada wants to join us in buying icebreakers. I said that we don't really want to have a partner in the purchase of icebreakers. We don't need a partner, but...
Does the United States have the right to claim...
Not the slightest. Nope. There is no right. That's the situation. We have the right not to help them with their financial difficulties, because we also owe 36 trillion dollars. We will start to get rid of debt quickly, but we will be able to do this thanks to energy and other things. But no, no. There is no right. No, no. Not the slightest right. But why do we support the country by 200 billion every year? Our military is at their disposal. As for everything else, they should be a staff. That's exactly what I told Trudeau when he arrived. I asked: "What happens if we stop?" He replied: "Canada will disintegrate. Canada will not be able to function." If we don't agree, they will occupy 20% of our car market. Again, they send us hundreds of thousands of cars. They make a lot of money from it. They supply us with many other things that we don't need.
We don't need their cars, we don't need other products. We don't need their milk. We have a lot of milk. We have a lot of things, and we don't need any of them. And I said to him, "Well, why are we doing this?" He replied: "I don't know." He couldn't answer that question. But I can answer it. We do it out of habit, we do it because we like our neighbors, and we've been good neighbors, but we can't do it forever, and that's a lot of money. And why on earth should we, having a deficit of 200 billion dollars, add to it many, many other things that we give them in the form of subsidies? And I said: "It's okay if you're a state, but if you're a separate state, then we don't need all this." We are not going to accept the same approach in our relations with the European Union. We have a trade deficit of $350 billion with the EU. They don't import our cars. They do not import our agricultural products. They don't take anything, and therefore we will not tolerate such behavior on their part.
And I would like to quickly ask hot-button questions, if you don't mind commenting: many Americans are outraged that we send millions of dollars to the Taliban every month. Do you expect...
It's hard to believe, isn't it? Billions of dollars, not millions, but billions. We are paying billions of dollars, in fact, to the Taliban, to Afghanistan, and this is what Biden says. This is the same person who stripped the United States of assets worth from 50 to 60 trillion dollars. Think about it, perhaps our most valuable asset has been taken away by our most valuable asset. This cannot be allowed. We are now a nation of common sense. When he does this with 625 million acres (meaning President Biden's ban on offshore oil and gas development — approx. InoSMI), this cannot be allowed. Thanks for the information.
Yes, sir.
Most of the other people probably knew, but they wouldn't tell me about it, would they?
Mr. President, during your election campaign, you committed to reducing prices in grocery stores very quickly.
Well, it won't work out fast.
But then you recently stated in an interview with Time magazine that the task of lowering prices could be very difficult. So what can Americans expect from you when you take office?
It's always hard to cut prices when someone else screwed up to the extent they did. But we will reduce them. Energy will lead to lower prices. We will have a lot of energy. And energy is exactly what led to the price increase. Energy and its irrational expenditure — that's what led to this. Prices will decrease. I think you're going to see a pretty dramatic decline. For example, food, bacon, ham, apples — everything has gone up in price. This is one of the reasons for my victory. As you know, I have already said that inflation was one of the reasons for my victory.
But I think the most important reason for my victory was the fact that they allowed prisoners to enter our country. They released bandits and murderers into the streets. Thousands of murderers are now walking the streets of our cities and farmlands, killing. Many, 32%, have killed more than one person. They released them from their prisons, penal colonies, psychiatric hospitals and insane asylums to our country. I think that's why we got such a large number of votes. Maybe [we'll have time] to ask one or two more questions. Yes, please, come on. Let's. Speak.
Sir, could you please...A farewell ceremony for the body of the late President Carter is taking place in Washington today. You spoke quite sharply about him regarding the Panama Canal. Is there any connection here? Do you feel a little embarrassed that you said that on that particular day?
No, listen, I liked him as a person. I did not agree with the policy he pursued. So, he thought that giving up the Panama Canal was a great decision. I think that's why he lost the election. That's why the hostage situation is happening. Actually, I think that was the more important factor because it's a deal that just shouldn't have been made. But, again, I was asked a question. I didn't start it first. I didn't want to bring up the Panama Canal because of Jimmy Carter's death. But you and others have asked me about it.
No, I was categorically against this deal. I was a kid then, but why would we spend so much money, lose 38,000 people to malaria and mosquitoes? They were dying, it was terrible. They were paid four times more than they would have earned in the United States, but they knew they would go there and die, and they died of malaria in the jungle. There was nothing we could do to stop it, 38,000 people. And then we sold the channel for a dollar.
Today, Meta** Corporation announced the termination of fact-checking in relation to materials published on their platforms. Instead, they will allow communities to...
Well, I watched their press conference, and it seemed to me that it was a very good press conference. To be honest, I think they've come a long way. Meta***, Facebook***, I think they've come a long way. I watched it. Zuckerberg made a very strong impression. I watched it, yes, I watched it on Fox. (I'm not supposed to say that, I guess...)
Do you think that Zuckerberg is responding directly to the threats you have voiced against him in the past?
Maybe. Yes, it is possible.
Last time, you were asked here about the possibility of the United States launching a preemptive strike against Iran. you said you wouldn't answer this question, obviously...
For whom?
In Iran, the question was about the possibility of launching a preemptive strike on Iran's nuclear infrastructure.
And I said that I don't talk about such topics. This is a matter of military strategy.
But it's a valid question. Something that...
Well, not really, because only a stupid person would answer. Look, this is a military strategy, and I'm not going to answer any questions about military strategy. Okay, one more question. Brian, come on.
Some Republicans claim that in exchange for a massive bill that you share faith in, they want to see significant spending cuts. Do you agree with this and that...
I'm not against cutting costs. I like to cut costs. It's just that I'm in favor of cutting costs, and we had a debt ceiling set; we shouldn't have, but we were given one. And in terms of the debt ceiling, I want to... It's not a ceiling, I just don't want a default. That's all I want. I've never said that it's necessary to spend more money, I just want there to be no default, because no one knows what will happen if there is a default. The 1929 scenario may repeat itself, or maybe everything will work out. But we were burdened with this issue; it should not have been raised, but it was, and we will deal with it. But the national debt ceiling is not about raising a lot of money. In fact, it's just about increasing the limit. I just want to see an increase in the national debt limit.
... on immigration, how great are your powers stemming from the executive order, do you plan to adopt one on immigration? And to what extent do you want Congress to deal with this issue? And also: what executive orders do you plan to sign on the first day after taking office?
When I was with you, we had the safest border in the history of our country. You remember the famous chart. I love him very much for many reasons, but during my term as president, we had the safest border ever. And when I took office, it was a complete mess. Nothing like what's happening right now. Ten times worse. The first time I was elected because of the situation with the border, and I think that in the third campaign I was chosen mainly because of the situation on the border. And I did just as well the second time. Not as good as last time, but great. And I'll tell you this, it's too big a victory to try to steal it. They couldn't do it. They tried, but they couldn't.
I haven't received much from Congress at all. I just said that we were being invaded, and I took money from the army. Most of the wall, and I built more than 800 kilometers of wall, most of this wall was built with the army's money. We took them because in those days we couldn't get anything out of Congress. Everything is very simple. I went to the military and said, "Our country is being invaded," which is very similar, but not at all what is happening now. They didn't release prisoners into our country and they didn't release psychos from psychiatric hospitals, but some very bad guys came to us. And I said, "Our country is being invaded." And I took this money mostly from the military. The Democrats in Congress sued me nine times, and I won all those lawsuits, and in the end we built 800 kilometers of wall.
As soon as the wall was built, they began to bypass it. So we'll add another 300 kilometers. This could be done in three weeks. And then we had very bad election results, and they said, "We don't want to build it, we'll sell it." And they started selling it for five cents on the dollar.
So we'll do it again. I just want to say a big thank you to everyone. I'm just telling you that this is going to be America's golden age. This is the golden age of America. We will have a great country again. We are currently under siege as a country. We have so many different problems, and no one respects us abroad — but now they do. The other day, as you know, the Italian Prime Minister came here. She just flew in and out. She wanted to see me, and she showed great respect.
When I arrived at the cathedral's opening ceremony in France, the Prime Minister, the president, and everyone showed great respect. And, by the way, I must say that they did a great job with the cathedral. But our country is once again being shown great respect. We have a great country, but we have to manage it properly. It will be operated correctly. We want the hostages back, for Israel and for us. And I repeat once again: if this deal is not concluded with the people representing our country, then by the time I come to power, real hell will begin there. Thank you very much.
*terrorist organization, banned in Russia
**The Taliban is under UN sanctions for terrorist activities
**Instagram Facebook and Meta are banned in Russia as extremist activities.
