Transcript - Press Gaggle: Donald Trump Speaks to the Press Before Marine One Departure - January 14, 2019 | Factba.se

Donald Trump

00:00:00 - 00:00:09 (10 sec)

Good morning. Beautiful -- it's beautiful. It's too bad they took the snow off the ground. It's too bad. It was more beautiful last night.

Question

00:00:09 - 00:00:12 (3 sec)

[Inaudible] plans to meet with Democrats?

Donald Trump

00:00:12 - 00:00:33 (21 sec)

I'll be going to New Orleans right now. I'm going to be speaking in front of our great farmers. I look forward to that. I did it last year, and I look forward to it. So we'll be back a little bit later. I believe -- I don't know if the weather changes things, but the Clemson championship team, the national championship team, will be coming tonight.

Donald Trump

00:00:33 - 00:00:54 (21 sec)

It'll be exciting. A very great team. An unbelievable team. They'll be coming tonight. And I think we're going to serve McDonald's, Wendy's, and Burger King, with some pizza. I really mean it. It'll be interesting. And I would think that's their favorite food. So we'll see what happens. But they're coming tonight -- the national champions -- subject to the weather.

Question

00:00:54 - 00:01:00 (6 sec)

[Inaudible] shutdown? When are you going to talk to Democrats?

Donald Trump

00:01:00 - 00:01:21 (22 sec)

So I've been here all weekend. A lot of the Democrats were in Puerto Rico, celebrating something. I don't know, maybe they're celebrating the shutdown. We have a very big crisis -- a humanitarian crisis -- on the border. Everybody knows it. They know it. And many of them are saying, "We agree with you." Many of them are calling, and many of them are breaking.

Donald Trump

00:01:21 - 00:01:41 (20 sec)

The Republicans are rock solid. We've got to take care of our border. Many of the people -- they're all going to get their money. Many of the people that aren't being paid right now are in total agreement with us. You saw the Border Patrol agents. You saw what was happening. They're in total agreement with us. So we'll see how it all goes.

Donald Trump

00:01:41 - 00:02:02 (21 sec)

I will tell you this: We have a priority. It's the safety of our nation. The southern border has been horrible for decades, and it's now -- because of the success of our country, it's now at a level that we cannot put up with. The Democrats have to do something. We need their votes. Otherwise, we can't solve it without their votes.

Donald Trump

00:02:02 - 00:02:09 (6 sec)

They now control the House. Let's see if they can lead. I don't know that they can lead, but we're going to soon find out.

Question

00:02:09 - 00:02:21 (12 sec)

Did you hear about Senator Lindsey Graham's suggestion that you reopen temporarily?

Donald Trump

00:02:21 - 00:02:21 (0 sec)

What did you say?

Question

00:02:21 - 00:02:25 (4 sec)

Lindsey Graham suggested that you reopen the government temporarily while you continue to negotiate.

Donald Trump

00:02:25 - 00:02:35 (9 sec)

Well, that was a suggestion that Lindsey made. But I did -- I did reject it, yes. I'm not interested. I want to get it solved. I don't want to just delay it. I want to get it solved.

Question

00:02:35 - 00:02:38 (3 sec)

[Inaudible] you willing to share the interpreter's notes from your meetings with Vladimir Putin?

Donald Trump

00:02:38 - 00:03:01 (23 sec)

I just don't know anything about it. I read it this morning; it's a lot of fake news. That was a very good meeting. It was actually a very successful meeting. And I have those meetings with everything. I just know nothing about it. It was a -- a very, very successful meeting. We talked about Israel. We talked about the pipeline, that Germany is paying Russia a lot of money; I don't think it's appropriate, and we talked about that.

Donald Trump

00:03:01 - 00:03:13 (13 sec)

We talked about many subjects. But I have those meetings, one on one, with all leaders, including the President of China, including Prime Minister of Japan Abe. We have those meetings all the time. No big deal.

Question

00:03:13 - 00:03:15 (2 sec)

[Inaudible] have you ever worked for Russia?

Donald Trump

00:03:15 - 00:03:33 (19 sec)

I never worked for Russia, and you know that answer better than anybody. I never worked for Russia. Not only did I never work for Russia, I think it's a disgrace that you even asked that question because it's a whole big, fat hoax. It's just a hoax.

Question

00:03:33 - 00:03:38 (5 sec)

Mr. President, what about Steve King's remarks on white supremacy?

Donald Trump

00:03:38 - 00:03:38 (0 sec)

Question

00:03:38 - 00:03:41 (3 sec)

Steve King. Congressman Steve King. He said white supremacy --

Donald Trump

00:03:41 - 00:03:44 (3 sec)

I don't -- I haven't been following it. I really haven't been following it.

Question

00:03:44 - 00:03:52 (8 sec)

Mr. President, Kellyanne Conway said in a gaggle [Inaudible] you are close on a deal. Do you agree with Kellyanne that you think that you're close on a deal?

Donald Trump

00:03:52 - 00:03:52 (0 sec)

A deal with what?

Question

00:03:52 - 00:03:56 (4 sec)

In terms of ending the shutdown.

Donald Trump

00:03:56 - 00:04:12 (15 sec)

I don't know if we're close on a deal. This should be the easiest deal that I've ever seen. We're talking about border security. Who could be against it? We're talking about drugs pouring in -- human traffickers tying up women, putting tape on their mouth, and pouring into our country. We can't have that.

Donald Trump

00:04:12 - 00:04:30 (18 sec)

We can't have that. We have drugs, we have criminals, we have gangs, and the Democrats don't want to do anything about it. They say, "Oh, it's immoral." But it wasn’t immoral three years ago, five years ago, six years ago, and ten years ago, when they all raised their hands to approve a wall. All of the sudden, it's immoral.

Donald Trump

00:04:30 - 00:04:38 (8 sec)

It's immoral because -- one reason. Because they know they're going to lose in the 2020 election. That's the only reason, to them, it's immoral.

Question

00:04:38 - 00:04:41 (3 sec)

Mr. President, Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez has called you a "racist."

Donald Trump

00:04:41 - 00:04:41 (0 sec)

Question

00:04:41 - 00:04:43 (2 sec)

Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez.

Donald Trump

00:04:43 - 00:04:45 (2 sec)

Who cares. She's --

Question

00:04:45 - 00:04:51 (6 sec)

Mr. President, what was your take from last week's talks with China about trade?

Donald Trump

00:04:51 - 00:05:09 (18 sec)

We're doing very well with China. They're having a hard time with their economy because of the tariffs. We're doing very well with our economy. We're at records -- our unemployment numbers just hit a record, another record. We're doing extremely well, as a country. We're doing better than any country right now, anywhere in the world.

Donald Trump

00:05:09 - 00:05:30 (21 sec)

China wants to negotiate. I have a great relationship with President Xi because it's good to have relationships with Russia, and China, and Japan, and India. And I have relationships with almost everybody, and that's a good thing, not a bad thing. I think that we are going to be able to do a deal with China.

Donald Trump

00:05:30 - 00:05:39 (9 sec)

We are -- I can tell you, we are getting things that, before I became President, you would have had no chance of getting. They would have laughed at your President's face.

Question

00:05:39 - 00:05:39 (0 sec)

Donald Trump

00:05:39 - 00:06:12 (33 sec)

The people that started that investigation are McCabe, who's a proven liar and was fired from the FBI; or Lisa Page, who was forced to leave the FBI, and her lover, Peter Stzrok, who -- we got their text messages, and what they said in those text messages was shocking, when you talk about bias. And also Comey.

Donald Trump

00:06:12 - 00:06:42 (30 sec)

And I guess they started it because I fired Comey, which was a great thing I did for our country. So the people doing that investigation were people that have been caught that are known scoundrels. They're, in many -- I guess you could say they're "dirty cops." And I'll tell you what, it is so unfair what's happened to the FBI, in terms of the men and women working in the rank and file of the FBI. I know many of them.

Donald Trump

00:06:42 - 00:07:24 (42 sec)

These are great people, and they are so embarrassed by their leadership. You've never seen -- I have never seen a turnaround in a bureau or agency like I have with the FBI. They are so embarrassed. I think 12 people now have been terminated. And others -- if you look at what's happening, others are going to go. What happened at the FBI -- So when you say, "Should I have confidence in the FBI or intelligence agencies?" When I see Ohr and I see all of these people; when I see Lisa and her lover, and their notes and their texts get captured, and you see what they said about me, having nothing to do with the investigation.

Donald Trump

00:07:24 - 00:07:45 (21 sec)

Let me tell you something, when people see that, you have an angry country because the whole thing is a hoax. It's a big hoax, and it's very bad for our country. So what happened with the FBI -- I have done a great service for our country when I fired James Comey because he was a bad cop, and he was a dirty cop, and he lied.

Donald Trump

00:07:45 - 00:07:49 (4 sec)

He really lied. And all you have to do --

Question

00:07:49 - 00:07:49 (0 sec)

Donald Trump

00:07:49 - 00:08:10 (21 sec)

Wait a minute. And all you have to do is take a look at the crooked Hillary Clinton investigation, where they brought her on the July 4th weekend -- July 4th. They didn't swear her in. They didn't do any tapes. They didn't do anything. They just let her go. And she usually said, mostly said, "I don't know." She didn't know anything.

Donald Trump

00:08:10 - 00:08:33 (23 sec)

Just like James Comey, a week ago. He was interviewed by Congress. And, you know, unfortunately, people didn't see it because the Republicans, with Paul Ryan, unfortunately, they didn't put him out there. But what he said was -- either he's a bad liar or he's grossly incompetent. Unfortunately, people didn't see it, but you can read the transcript.

Question

00:08:33 - 00:08:33 (0 sec)

Donald Trump

00:08:33 - 00:08:33 (0 sec)

Question

00:08:33 - 00:08:34 (1 sec)

Do you think that the [Inaudible]?

Donald Trump

00:08:34 - 00:08:44 (10 sec)

You know how I feel. Okay, we'll see you in --

Question

00:08:44 - 00:08:44 (0 sec)

Donald Trump

00:08:44 - 00:08:44 (0 sec)

Question

00:08:44 - 00:08:45 (1 sec)

[Inaudible] call a national emergency?

Donald Trump

00:08:45 - 00:09:07 (22 sec)

I'm not looking to call a national emergency. This is so simple, you shouldn't have to. Now, I have the absolute legal right to call it, but I'm not looking to do that because this is too simple. The Democrats should say, "We want border security." We have to build a wall, otherwise you can't have border security.

Donald Trump

00:09:07 - 00:09:23 (16 sec)

And we should get on with our lives. The Democrats are stopping us, and they're stopping a lot of great people from getting paid. All they have to do is say, "We want border security." That automatically means a wall or a barrier. Thank you. I'll see you in New Orleans.