Enhance Your English with U.S. Government News –  Secretary Karoline Leavitt Briefs, 2025. 5. 09.

0:05 good afternoon everybody 0:08 good to see all of you happy Friday 0:11 the president looks forward to embarking 0:13 on his historic return to the Middle 0:15 East visiting Saudi Arabia Qatar and the 0:18 United Arab Emirates next week where he 0:20 will focus on strengthening ties between 0:23 our nations eight years ago President 0:25 Trump’s first trip was to this same 0:27 region of the world where he introduced 0:29 his bold peace through strength foreign 0:32 policy strategy on that trip the 0:34 president laid out his goal of 0:36 eradicating terrorism and extremism in 0:38 the region which he successfully 0:40 accomplished over the course of his 0:41 administration with the total defeat of 0:44 ISIS in the historic signing of the 0:46 Abraham Accords now eight years later 0:49 President Trump will return to 0:51 re-emphasize his continued vision for a 0:53 proud prosperous and successful Middle 0:56 East where the United States and Middle 0:58 Eastern nations are in cooperative 0:59 relationships and where extremism is 1:02 defeated in place of commerce and 1:04 cultural exchanges this trip ultimately 1:07 highlights how we stand on the brink of 1:08 the golden age for both America and the 1:11 Middle East united by a shared vision of 1:13 stability opportunity and mutual respect 1:16 the president greatly looks forward to 1:18 visiting with our brave men and women in 1:20 uniform at our US air base in Qatar 1:23 throughout this trip yesterday President 1:25 Trump demonstrated the art of the deal 1:27 and secured a historic trade agreement 1:30 despite all of the naysayers who said no 1:32 deals were coming that of course turned 1:34 out to be untrue on the 80th anniversary 1:37 of victory day for World War II 1:39 President Trump announced a great deal 1:41 that provides American companies 1:43 unprecedented access to the UK markets 1:46 while bolstering US national security 1:49 this trade deal will massively expand US 1:51 market access in the United Kingdom 1:53 creating a $5 billion opportunity for 1:56 new exports for US farmers ranchers and 1:59 producers this includes more than $700 2:01 billion in ethanol exports and $250 2:05 million in other agricultural products 2:07 like good old American beef the deal 2:10 commits the United States and United 2:12 Kingdom to work together to enhance 2:14 industrial and agricultural market 2:15 access and strengthens American 2:17 competitiveness importantly the deal 2:19 also ensures 2:21 streamlined customs procedures for US 2:24 exports the UK will also be purchasing 2:27 $10 billion of Americanmade Boeing 2:30 planes as part of the deal a trade 2:32 agreement like this between the United 2:34 States and the United Kingdom was being 2:35 worked on for many years but continued 2:37 to prove elusive but because of 2:40 President Trump’s bold negotiating 2:41 approach he got it done all of this 2:44 happened because of President Trump’s 2:46 implementation of powerful tariffs to 2:48 end the era of economic surrender and 2:50 rebalance America’s trading agreements 2:52 american workers and companies are the 2:55 best in the world and they finally have 2:56 a president who has their backs fights 2:59 for them and delivers good deals that 3:01 puts them first this is just the first 3:03 of many trade deals to come get ready 3:05 for more historic deals and our country 3:07 to boom like never before on that note 3:10 Treasury Secretary Scott Besson and 3:12 Ambassador Jameson Greer will meet with 3:14 the lead representatives on economic 3:15 matters from the People’s Republic of 3:17 China over the weekend in Switzerland as 3:20 President Trump has said the United 3:21 States and China have been talking for 3:23 some time over the course of the 3:24 administration and now teams from both 3:26 countries will meet in person to 3:28 continue discussions you can be certain 3:30 that President Trump and his trade team 3:32 will ensure we work to achieve the best 3:35 deal possible for America in other news 3:38 the Trump administration just announced 3:40 a new incentive for illegal aliens 3:42 living in the United States to 3:43 self-epport eligible illegal aliens who 3:46 now use the CBP Home app to self-epport 3:48 will receive a clear safe way to leave 3:51 the United States their plane tickets 3:53 home may be paid for and they will 3:55 receive a $1,000 stipen once we have 3:57 confirmation that they have left our 3:59 country this new feature will allow 4:02 illegal aliens to have a planned 4:03 departure out of the country and to 4:05 leave as soon as possible in a dignified 4:07 way if illegal aliens make the right 4:09 decision here and submit their intent to 4:11 depart through the CBP home app and pass 4:13 extensive vetting they will be 4:15 temporarily depprioritized for ICE 4:17 detention and enforcement action before 4:19 their scheduled departure and leaving 4:21 voluntarily in this matter may improve 4:23 their legal immigration options in the 4:25 future this initiative will also save 4:27 massive amounts of money for American 4:29 taxpayers voluntary departures are much 4:32 more cost-effective than traditional 4:34 removals by deploying the CBP home app 4:36 in this new way President Trump is 4:38 aiming to reduce the need for costly 4:40 arrest detentions and court proceedings 4:43 currently the average cost of 4:44 traditional removal is more than 4:47 $17,000 per illegal alien our 4:50 projections estimate that the use of the 4:52 CBP home app will massively reduce that 4:54 financial burden by approximately 70% so 4:57 taxpayer dollars can be redirected and 4:59 our brave immigration law enforcement 5:01 officers can focus on removing the most 5:03 violent illegal aliens hiding in our 5:06 communities uh finally it was announced 5:08 this morning that First Lady Melania 5:10 Trump secured a $25 million investment 5:13 in President Trump’s budget to provide 5:15 housing and support for youth 5:16 transitioning out of foster care and in 5:19 recogn recognition of the seventh 5:21 anniversary of Mrs trump’s be best 5:23 initiative the US Department of Housing 5:25 and Urban Development allocated funds 5:27 toward the agency foster youth to 5:29 independence program yesterday Mrs trump 5:32 hosted a special celebration of military 5:34 mothers with the president bringing 5:36 together 150 military moms from around 5:39 the country to recognize their service 5:42 not just in their home but for our 5:43 country for those of you who were there 5:45 at the attend events yesterday like I 5:47 did I have no doubt you will join me in 5:49 recognizing how truly special those 5:51 moments were so let’s get to questions 5:54 here in our new media seat today is 5:55 Andrew Edgar the White House 5:57 correspondent for The Bull Work the Bull 5:59 Work is a new media company launched in 6:00 2019 with hundreds of thousands of 6:02 readers on Substack and more than a 6:04 million subscribers on YouTube andrew 6:06 please kick us off and thanks for being 6:07 here yeah thank you for having me 6:08 Caroline the president posted another ad 6:10 uh this week for his Trump meme coin uh 6:12 the group that’s running that coin is 6:14 encouraging people to buy in order to 6:16 win a dinner this month with the 6:17 president uh why is the president 6:19 planning to attend a dinner for the top 6:20 investors in his coin look the president 6:22 is abiding by all uh conflict of 6:24 interest laws the president has been 6:26 incredibly transparent with his own 6:27 personal financial obligations 6:29 throughout the years the president is a 6:31 successful businessman and I think 6:32 frankly it’s one of the many reasons 6:33 that people re-elected him back to this 6:35 office there are at least some people 6:36 who are buying this coin who seem to 6:38 view it as an opportunity to influence 6:39 the president’s views there was a 6:41 logistics company this week that said 6:42 they would buy $20 million in the coin 6:44 in order to advocate for free trade 6:46 between the US and Mexico if buyers are 6:48 buying for that reason are they wasting 6:49 their money look I can assure you the 6:51 president acts with only the interests 6:53 of the American public in mind putting 6:55 our country first and doing what’s best 6:56 for our country full stop that’s his 6:59 intention and that’s what he’s focused 7:00 on kristen good to see you here today 7:02 welcome back thank you glad to be back 7:05 uh so on those China talks what does 7:07 President Trump expect to come out of 7:10 those talks and is he going to be 7:12 disappointed if his team can’t secure a 7:14 deal well look the president is very 7:15 confident in his secretary of treasury 7:17 Scott Bessant uh and of course 7:19 Ambassador Jameson Greer who has played 7:21 an instrumental role in all of these 7:22 trade negotiations as well i think 7:24 yesterday’s success the announcement of 7:26 a trade deal with the United Kingdom is 7:28 a great first step again many said in 7:30 this room it couldn’t be done um now we 7:32 are moving forward with many other 7:33 countries we’re talking to dozens of our 7:35 trading partners around the world but of 7:37 course China um is a is a major uh 7:39 country a major player in this space and 7:42 the president has said and he’s right 7:44 China needs the United States of America 7:46 they need our markets they need our 7:48 consumer base and secretary Bessant 7:50 knows that he is going uh to Switzerland 7:52 this weekend with the full support and 7:54 confidence and trust of the president 7:56 here at home jack thanks very much 7:59 caroline two questions first uh can you 8:00 give us an update on US efforts to 8:02 mediate or um have an impact on the 8:05 conflict between India and Pakistan sure 8:07 I absolutely can this is something that 8:09 the secretary of state and of course now 8:11 our national security adviser as well 8:13 Marco Rubio has been very much involved 8:16 in the president has expressed he wants 8:18 to see this deescalate as quickly as 8:20 possible he understands these are two 8:21 countries that have been at odds with 8:23 one another for decades long before 8:25 President Trump was here in the Oval 8:27 Office uh however he has good 8:29 relationships with the leaders of both 8:31 countries and the secretary of state uh 8:33 Marco Rubio I spoke to him just 8:35 yesterday he has been in constant 8:36 communication with the leaders of both 8:38 countries trying to bring this conflict 8:40 to an end just one one one other 8:42 question yesterday we saw the news of 8:44 the new pope um before Pope Leo became 8:47 Pope Leo there were some critical 8:49 comments that he made about President 8:51 Trump and about Vice President Vance uh 8:54 on his ex account then exac account does 8:57 the White House have any reaction to 8:58 those comments the president made his 9:00 reaction to Pope Leo’s uh announcement 9:03 yesterday very clear he is very proud to 9:05 have an American pope i think it was a 9:07 surprise to everyone i saw the news 9:08 media was surprised to report on that 9:10 yesterday um but it’s a great thing for 9:12 the United States of America and for the 9:13 world uh and we are praying for him 9:16 thank thanks Caroline the president has 9:18 been pretty firm on keeping these 145% 9:20 tariffs in place on Chinese imports 9:22 today via truth social he said that he’d 9:24 be possibly open to lowering those to 9:27 80% why the change and how did the 9:29 president land on 80 the president still 9:31 remains with his position that he is not 9:34 going to unilaterally bring down tariffs 9:36 on China we need to see concessions from 9:38 them as well and again that’s part of 9:39 the reason that Secretary Bessant is 9:41 going to talk to his Chinese 9:42 counterparts this weekend um to start 9:44 those discussions in person um as for 9:47 the 80% number that was a number the 9:49 president threw out there and we’ll see 9:50 what happens this weekend and always in 9:52 the effort of transparency i’m sure 9:54 you’ll hear directly from the Treasury 9:55 Secretary or the president uh after 9:57 those ne negotiations conclude jackie 10:00 thank you caroline why did the White 10:02 House announce this deal with the UK 10:04 before all of the details were finished 10:06 uh that’s not true actually I um saw the 10:09 fact sheet i saw the deal as well uh 10:11 before the president brought all of you 10:13 in the Oval Office in the effort of 10:15 transparency you have the president and 10:17 the prime minister on the phone talking 10:19 to all of you directly about how this 10:21 was a great deal a phenomenal deal um 10:24 and discussions will continue but as I 10:26 spoke to our ambassador Greer yesterday 10:28 this is how trade deals work you set an 10:31 initial agreement you set the framework 10:33 you set up the deal and then of course 10:35 um you know do uh tees have to be 10:37 crossed and eyes have to be dotted but 10:39 this deal is a good deal uh and the 10:42 numbers are determined and all of the 10:43 market access that I just discussed will 10:45 remain does that mean that the 10% 10:47 baseline is going to still be there at 10:50 the end when all of the other details 10:52 are ironed out the president is 10:53 committed to the 10% baseline tariff not 10:55 just for the United Kingdom but for his 10:57 trade negotiations with all other 10:59 countries as well permanently even after 11:01 the deals are done like that is going to 11:02 remain the president is determined to 11:05 continue with that 10% baseline tariff i 11:07 just spoke to him about it earlier 11:08 stephen thank you Caroline i’d like to 11:10 ask about New York and about a personnel 11:12 matter on New York the mayor Eric Adams 11:14 is here today uh could you tell us 11:16 anything more about the visit uh who 11:17 initiated it what they’re talking about 11:19 and also is is there any comment from 11:20 the White House on the air traffic 11:22 control issues in New York uh all I will 11:24 say on Mayor Eric Adams is that he 11:26 requested a meeting with the president 11:27 and the president was willing to take it 11:29 uh if the president wishes to discuss 11:31 his private meeting afterwards I will 11:33 let him do that himself um yes I’m glad 11:35 you asked about the FAA um there was a 11:38 glitch in the system this morning 11:39 especially at Newark airport as you all 11:41 know i spoke to the department of 11:42 transportation um that glitch was caused 11:44 by the same telecoms and software issues 11:46 that were raised last week everyone 11:48 everything went back online after the 11:50 brief brief outage and there was no 11:52 operational impact dot and the FAA are 11:55 working to address these this technical 11:57 issue tonight to prevent further outages 12:00 as well as install new fiber from New 12:02 York airport to Philadelphia uh and the 12:04 goal is to have the totality of this 12:06 work done by the end of the summer i 12:08 want to add that this outage at New York 12:10 airport speaks to why the Secretary of 12:13 Transportation yesterday made a massive 12:15 announcement um in investing in our um 12:19 aviation safety and our telecom system 12:21 there’s a fourpart infrastructure uh 12:24 plan that was released by the Secretary 12:26 of Transportation yesterday to improve 12:28 communication surveillance automation 12:30 and their facilities um they want to 12:32 replace the antiquated telecom systems 12:34 with new fiber wireless and satellite 12:36 technologies replace more than 600 12:38 radars which have gone way past their 12:40 life cycle and address runway safety 12:43 they want to build six new air traffic 12:45 control centers for the first time since 12:46 the 1960s and replace towers as well 12:50 they want to implement excuse me new 12:52 modern hardware and software for all 12:54 traffic facilities to create a common 12:56 platform system throughout the towers 12:58 these are much needed changes this is a 13:00 very bold plan by the Department of 13:02 Transportation i think it’s unfortunate 13:04 that the previous administration sat in 13:06 their hands and did nothing but how 13:07 grateful we are that we have a 13:09 Department of Transportation and a 13:10 secretary and a president who’s willing 13:12 to take bold action and change personnel 13:14 matter caroline could I ask thanks 13:16 Caroline um just going back to India 13:18 Pakistan can we expect President Trump 13:20 to get in touch personally with the 13:22 leaders of those countries to um to try 13:24 and deescalate this situation uh if and 13:27 when that happens we will certainly let 13:28 you know 13:30 thanks Caroline sure i have a question 13:31 about the Middle East trip will any of 13:33 the president’s family members including 13:36 Don Jr Eric or Jared Kushner be joining 13:38 him on the trip i am not tracking any of 13:40 the president’s family members joining 13:42 us at this time but of course the first 13:44 family is welcome to come i hope they 13:45 would they’re great people great to be 13:47 around but I’m not tracking them on the 13:48 manifest given that you you noted he is 13:50 a successful businessman do you know if 13:52 the president has any plans to to meet 13:54 with any of the folks involved with any 13:56 of the the family businesses over there 13:58 or see any of the sites that are going 14:00 to be new not to my knowledge and let me 14:02 just get to the premise of your question 14:04 that both of you have raised i think 14:05 it’s frankly ridiculous that anyone in 14:07 this room would even suggest that 14:09 President Trump is doing anything for 14:11 his own benefit uh he left a life of 14:13 luxury and a life of running a very 14:16 successful real estate empire for public 14:18 service not just once uh but twice and 14:21 again the American public reelected him 14:22 back to this White House because they 14:24 trust he acts in the best interest of 14:26 our country and putting the American 14:27 public first this is a president who has 14:29 actually lost money for being president 14:31 of the United States i don’t remember 14:32 these same type of questions being asked 14:34 of my predecessor about a career 14:37 politician who was clearly profiting off 14:38 of this office that is not what 14:40 President Trump does and this White 14:41 House holds ourselves to the highest of 14:43 ethical standards phil uh thank you 14:46 there’s this Reuters report that the US 14:49 is in talks with Israel about an 14:51 American post-war administration in Gaza 14:54 is that accurate are these talks ongoing 14:56 uh we are in constant communication and 14:58 dialogue with our counterparts and our 15:00 allies and friends in Israel uh Ron 15:02 Durmer was here at the White House 15:04 yesterday meeting with members of 15:05 President Trump’s team as for the 15:07 situation in Gaza the president and his 15:10 entire national security team have made 15:11 it very clear we want to see the 15:13 hostages released from Gaza that is a 15:16 priority for this administration as for 15:18 what that looks like and even moving 15:20 beyond that I’m not going to get into 15:21 the details of plans that frankly may or 15:23 may not have even been proposed but I 15:26 can emphasize what the president holds 15:28 closest in his heart right now and 15:29 that’s the release of all of the 15:31 hostages in Gaza and then there’s been 15:32 some conservative push back to some of 15:34 these salt tax uh the salt tax cap um 15:37 for instance majority leader Steve 15:39 Scaliz said that bringing back the state 15:41 and local tax deduction would 15:42 essentially mean quote 45 states are 15:45 subsidizing five states that have very 15:47 high taxes imposed by leftist governors 15:50 is he wrong is it fair to ask red 15:53 Indiana to bail out uh blue New York 15:57 well look this is an ongoing discussion 15:59 on the hill there see there’s a lot of 16:01 disagreement on Capitol Hill right now 16:02 about the salt tax proposal and we will 16:04 let them work it out as for the tax 16:07 provisions and the reconciliation bill 16:08 the priorities of this president he has 16:11 made them incredibly clear no tax on 16:13 tips for our hardworking service workers 16:15 no tax on social security for our 16:17 well-deserving seniors who have worked 16:19 their whole lives to pay into this 16:21 system no tax on overtimes for hard 16:24 overtime for hardworking Americans as 16:26 well and there’s a plethora of other 16:28 priorities the president wants to see in 16:30 this bill anyone who opposes this bill 16:32 will be opposing the largest tax cut in 16:35 American history they will be voting to 16:37 raise taxes by the tune of 4 trillion on 16:40 the middle class of this country uh and 16:42 we look forward to holding them 16:43 accountable for that everyone on Capitol 16:45 Hill on both sides of the aisle should 16:47 be supportive of the president’s tax 16:48 priorities follow up on that go ahead 16:51 sure go ahead and then I’ll go to your 16:53 followup thanks Caroline um so I I want 16:55 to follow up on the true social post um 16:57 so the president saying 80% tariffs 16:58 could come down just an announcement 17:00 would be enough to lower those tariffs 17:02 uh is that what he’s looking for from 17:04 the Chinese that’s not what the 17:06 president said uh he said that an 80% 17:08 number may sound good to him but again 17:10 he’s in constant contact with our 17:12 secretary of treasury who will be 17:13 leading the negotiations this weekend 17:15 and historically the Chinese have made 17:17 the meeting itself a win what does a win 17:20 look like out of these meetings for the 17:22 president this weekend a good deal for 17:25 the American worker and the American 17:26 people go ahead Caroline yeah back to 17:28 the reconciliation bill can you just 17:30 clarify the president’s position though 17:31 a little bit specifically on the tax 17:33 issue because in his truth social post 17:35 he said this morning that he would 17:37 accept even a tiny tax increase for the 17:40 rich but then says Republicans probably 17:42 shouldn’t do it but I’m okay if they do 17:43 it so what is it that he wants does he 17:46 want them to increase the tax rates the 17:48 president wants tax cuts the largest tax 17:51 cuts in history he wants to extend his 17:53 historic tax cuts from 2017 and he wants 17:55 to see all of the other tax priorities 17:57 that I just laid out for you included in 17:59 this bill as well as for the policy 18:01 proposal you’re talking about the 18:03 president has said he himself personally 18:05 would not mind paying a little bit more 18:07 to help the poor and the middle class 18:08 and the working class in this country i 18:10 think frankly that’s a very honorable 18:12 position but again these negotiations 18:14 are ongoing on Capitol Hill uh and the 18:16 president will weigh in when he feels 18:18 necessary encourage them to have a 18:20 higher bracket for top earners the 18:22 president has made his personal position 18:24 on this matter clear 18:28 the president’s in constant 18:29 communication with leaders on the hill 18:30 ahead of the president’s trip to the 18:31 Middle East uh he’s mentioned he wants 18:33 to rename the Persian Gulf the Gulf of 18:35 Arabia iran is now saying that doing so 18:38 will bring the wrath of all Iranians can 18:41 you talk about the support that the Gulf 18:43 of Arabia has in the region and why this 18:45 is important to the president well first 18:46 of all the president has said he hasn’t 18:48 made a determination yet that was in the 18:50 news that you guys all asked him about 18:52 it and he said he wasn’t quite sure so 18:54 he hasn’t made a definitive decision on 18:56 that yet and secondly Caroline the 18:58 president uh has shown support for South 19:01 African refugees that are coming to the 19:03 United States next week can you talk 19:04 about what these refugees are fleeing 19:06 and why this is a priority for the 19:08 administration well the president has 19:10 actually signed an executive order on 19:11 that matter my office can get it back to 19:13 you Michael uh but South this group in 19:16 South Africa has faced uh racial 19:18 persecution in fact the government there 19:21 has uh vowed to take away their farm 19:24 farmland that they own um and so the 19:26 president has talked significantly about 19:28 this as for further details uh on 19:30 refugee claims and asylum claims I would 19:33 defer you to the state department can I 19:35 go ahead no in front of you thanks 19:38 caroline does the administration have 19:40 any response to the news today that a 19:41 federal judge has ordered the immediate 19:43 release of Ramesa Our from detention and 19:45 particularly his comments that the 19:46 government submitted no evidence other 19:48 than an op-ed that OT wrote last year i 19:51 will have to check in on with the 19:52 Department of Homeland Security on that 19:54 particular case but uh I think our 19:56 overall feeling we’ve made quite clear 19:58 that uh lower level judges uh should not 20:00 be dictating the foreign policy of the 20:03 United States and we absolutely believe 20:05 that the president and the Department of 20:06 Homeland Security are well within their 20:08 legal rights to uh deport illegal 20:10 immigrants as for uh visa revocations 20:13 the Secretary of State has the right to 20:15 do that as well uh it is a privilege not 20:17 a right to come to this country on a 20:18 visa but I’ll check in on the specific 20:20 case my office will get you details sure 20:22 caroline um yesterday the administration 20:25 appears to have started dismantling the 20:27 Consumer Product Safety Commission this 20:29 is the federal agency an independent one 20:32 that does recalls and is responsible for 20:34 product safety does the administration 20:36 not believe that it’s important um you 20:39 know to keep toys and cribs I mean 20:41 you’re a young mom off of the product of 20:44 of the market uh it’s a federal agency 20:47 within which 20:48 branch it’s the executive branch who’s 20:50 the head of the executive branch the 20:52 president of the United States he has he 20:55 has the right to fire people within the 20:56 executive branch it’s pretty simple 20:58 answer franchesca thanks uh one foreign 21:01 policy one and then a domestic policy 21:03 thing if I could uh as far as the 21:04 president’s trip goes next week is he 21:07 planning to meet with the FIFA president 21:09 in either Saudi Arabia or Qatar and if 21:11 so could you give us some more details 21:12 about that uh the president has quite a 21:14 few meetings with uh many people when he 21:17 is there we can certainly check at the 21:18 itinerary and let you know if the FIFA 21:20 president uh will be there next week 21:22 frankly I’m not quite sure but we can 21:23 certainly get you an answer as you know 21:24 the president attended a FIFA task force 21:26 meeting at the White House this week on 21:28 the on the domestic front could you 21:30 explain why the FEMA administrator was 21:33 removed from his position this week look 21:35 this is a personnel matter uh in regards 21:38 to the Department of Homeland Security 21:39 but my understanding is that this 21:41 individual testified um saying something 21:44 that was contrary to what the president 21:46 believes in the goals of this 21:48 administration in regards to FEMA policy 21:50 and so of course we want to make sure 21:52 that people in every position are 21:53 advancing the administration’s goals but 21:55 as for specifics I’d defer you to the 21:57 Department of Homeland Security we leave 21:58 it up to our great cabinet secretaries 22:00 when it comes to personnel matters sure 22:02 in the back thank you 22:05 aid hasn’t gone into Gaza in 10 weeks uh 22:08 Israel says that this is a policy to 22:09 pressure Hamas in the negotiations the 22:11 ceasefire negotiations is this a policy 22:14 that this administration supports the 22:16 president answered this this week he 22:17 said that he wants to ensure that aid 22:19 can get into Gaza but we have to do it 22:21 in a responsible way to ensure it 22:23 doesn’t end up in the hands of 22:24 terrorists so this is something the 22:26 administration is actively working on 22:27 and when we have uh a policy to announce 22:30 on this definitively we can certainly 22:32 let you know can you talk about this 22:34 effort for the US to take over uh the 22:36 distribution of aid in Gaza to exclude 22:39 Israel um but also international 22:41 organization said this uh effort 22:43 militarizes um aid i would reject uh 22:47 that characterization by whatever groups 22:50 you are citing kelly Caroline thank you 22:52 i I want to get back to the first lady 22:54 Melania Trump dealing with foster 22:56 children that’s an important component 22:58 in American life uh to see what happens 23:00 to the future of our children 23:02 particularly in foster care can you 23:04 explain the significance of this 23:05 development between the first lady and 23:08 the housing and urban development yes 23:11 absolutely it’s millions of dollars that 23:13 will go into a program that helps these 23:15 children transition out of foster care 23:17 to have productive and positive lives 23:20 and I’d like to share a personal story 23:22 since you asked if I may i hope the 23:23 first lady won’t mind um I was at an 23:26 event in Florida um last year and I was 23:29 approached uh by a gentleman who was a 23:31 foster dad and he had taken in uh I 23:34 think it was six or seven foster 23:36 children um and he spoke to me he had 23:39 recognized me in my work for President 23:40 Trump’s campaign at the time and the 23:43 little boy who was with him talked about 23:45 the personal relationship that he had 23:47 with First Lady Melania Trump um and the 23:50 conversation she had had with him and 23:52 how she really encouraged him to be the 23:54 best that he could be during her first 23:56 term here at the White House and how 23:57 even after uh she and President Trump 23:59 left the White House she kept in very 24:01 close touch with this young foster child 24:03 it was a touching moment that I will 24:05 never forget and it speaks to the heart 24:07 of this first lady and the great work 24:09 that she is doing for foster children 24:11 and this is certainly a very big 24:13 announcement that I know our secretary 24:15 of housing and urban development is in 24:16 particular very excited about and we can 24:18 certainly get you all the details on 24:20 that program john thanks a lot caroline 24:23 I want to ask you about the trade deal 24:24 that the president announced yesterday 24:26 with the UK as it relates to the auto 24:28 sector uh the trade group that 24:30 represents the big three here in the US 24:33 believes that it may put the big three 24:35 automakers at a competitive disadvantage 24:38 what what the trade group says is that 24:40 it will now be cheaper to import a UK 24:43 vehicle with very little um American 24:46 content than a USMCA compliant vehicle 24:50 imported from Mexico or Canada with just 24:53 50% American content what’s your 24:56 response to that uh criticism coming 24:59 from this trade group well first of all 25:01 let’s be clear about what the deal does 25:03 it sets a 10% rate on autoimp import 25:05 ports for the first 100 cars that are 25:08 imported into the United 100,000 cars 25:10 thank you that would be very little very 25:12 few cars 100,000 cars imported from the 25:15 United Kingdom after 100,000 vehicles it 25:17 goes back up to a 25% tariff and the as 25:21 for our US auto manufacturers our auto 25:24 industry the president wants to put them 25:26 on the best pedestal to compete and by 25:29 the way if they produce vehicles right 25:31 here in the United States of America 25:32 they will face no tariff at all i would 25:34 argue of any industry the president has 25:36 spent more time talking to and listening 25:39 to the concerns of our auto industry 25:41 here at home he hears them he believes 25:44 in them he wants to see them produce 25:46 their vehicles here in the United States 25:47 of America this is a good deal for them 25:49 too so is this a a model for European uh 25:53 and Asian vehicles as well what we see 25:56 coming out of the UK trade deal with the 25:58 US look all of these deals are going to 26:01 be tailor made the president has said 26:02 that from the beginning it’s very 26:04 apppropo that the first trade deal was 26:06 announced between the United States and 26:07 the United Kingdom one of our oldest and 26:09 greatest allies but each country has 26:12 unique concerns and challenges in terms 26:14 of American industry we need to open up 26:17 markets in in every single country and 26:20 obviously the needs are unique so our 26:22 trade team is looking at each country 26:24 and the advantages that we can pursue 26:26 for American industries and American 26:27 workers sure happy early Mother’s Day oh 26:31 thank you the president said yesterday 26:32 that he would be speaking with Zinsky 26:34 shortly did that call happen yesterday 26:36 or do we expect that to happen in the 26:37 near term the call happened yesterday 26:39 president Zalinsky called the president 26:41 uh to tell him that the critical 26:44 minerals deal had passed the parliament 26:46 in Ukraine i’ve talked to the president 26:48 about that call he said it was very good 26:50 and productive and of course the 26:51 critical minerals deal is great um for 26:53 Ukraine but also of course for the 26:55 United States of America and our 26:56 taxpayers here uh it was a good call and 26:59 they also spoke about of course uh the 27:01 ceasefire that the president propo 27:02 proposed the 30-day ceasefire between 27:04 Russia and Ukraine uh which we know 27:06 Europe is on board with and we hope both 27:08 countries will agree to next week do we 27:10 expect President Putin is there any 27:12 chance that he could meet with Trump 27:14 while he’s in the region uh the 27:15 president answered this yesterday not 27:17 going to happen question on ceasefire uh 27:19 has he got any reaction from Zilinsky or 27:21 Putin on the proposal for a ceasefire is 27:23 he satisfied by the reaction to that 27:24 proposal um not to my knowledge but 27:26 certainly if there is reaction and 27:28 updates I’m sure you’ll hear directly 27:29 from the president question uh the 27:31 president fired the Librarian of 27:32 Congress uh why did he choose to do that 27:34 uh we felt she did not fit the deans of 27:36 the American people um there were quite 27:38 concerning things that she had done at 27:39 the Library of Congress in the pursuit 27:41 of DEI and uh putting inappropriate 27:44 books in the library for children and we 27:46 don’t believe that um she was serving 27:48 the interests of the American taxpayer 27:49 well so she has been removed from her 27:51 position and the president is well 27:52 within his rights to do that john thank 27:54 you Caroline happy Mother’s Day as well 27:56 thank you president Trump uh ran on 28:00 delivering the biggest tax cut in 28:01 history got over 70 million votes right 28:03 now you got a handful of obstructionists 28:06 in the Republican conference that are 28:08 saying they’re not going to go along 28:10 with his tax cut package you just said 28:14 those that don’t will be held 28:16 accountable what is your description of 28:18 being held accountable well look I think 28:21 they’ll be held accountable by the 28:23 voters in their respective districts if 28:25 uh they choose to vote for a tax height 28:28 to the tune of $4 trillion which would 28:30 raise uh would raise taxes to thousands 28:33 of dollars per household in this country 28:35 the president has great political 28:37 instincts that’s why he’s back in the 28:39 Oval Office and Capitol Hill should 28:40 follow his lead as for the president 28:42 speaking of him he will be signing 28:44 executive orders later this afternoon we 28:46 are happy to provide more information on 28:48 those executive orders if you wish thank 28:50 you for the Mother’s Day wishes and 28:51 happy Mother’s Day to all of the moms in 28:53 the room and don’t forget to call your 28:55 mom this Sunday we’ll see you guys later 28:56 have a good weekend thank you very much

🟩 🟢 LEARN ENGLISH WITH GLOBAL NEWS INSIGHTS 🗞️