It's good to see all of you. And yesterday, as you all know, we celebrated six months of the Trump administration. It's been a pleasure to work with all of you, day in and day out, here at the White House. Six months, the most transparent administration in history, if I may add. And I know the President just wanted me to highlight his accomplishments over the past six months.
If you -- As you all remember, 'cause you all covered it, on the campaign trail, the President really, uh, promised the American people many things, but at the top of that list was to defeat the Biden inflation crisis and to secure our border and our homeland. And I think you've all seen, in six months' time, the President has delivered on those two core campaign promises.
Inflation is now running at a 2.1% annual rate. If you look at our southern border, look at the numbers, just last month, zero illegal aliens were released into our country. And then, look at what the President has done on the world stage. He has ended wars, uh, wars like, uh, India and Pakistan. He continues to work aggressively to end the war in Russia and Ukraine.
He completely obliterated Iran's nuclear sites. Uh, he has, sh- -- uh, continued to hopefully negotiate a ceasefire, uh, between Israel and Gaza to end that conflict and release all of the hosta- -- sh- hostages. We've seen many of the hostages released as a result of this president's efforts. Uh, and this president is working around the clock, every day, to deliver on the promises he made.
You also look at some of the cultural issues; to abolish DEI from our federal government and our military, to effectively end men in women's sports, which is a huge common-sense policy that the American people support. And then, if you look at the President's strong executive orders that have effectively ended the chemical castration of young children in our country.
Just today, Washington, D.C. Children's Hospital, in this city, has announced they are no longer going to be prescribing puberty blockers to minors. This is a huge win for America and our children. There's certainly more work to do and the President is doing it right now and he will continue for the next three and a half years.
But certainly, we've accomplished so much in just six months and I'm happy to take some questions. Go ahead.
Karoline, was the President serious or was he joking when he said he might block a Washington Commanders' stadium deal if they don't change the name?
The President was serious. And as part of the art of the deal, part of his negotiating skills, as you know, sports is one of the many passions of this president and he wants to see the name of that team change.
Why is he getting involved in that? Why, why does he see that as part of his first --
Look, I think you've seen the President gets involved in a lot of things that most presidents have not. He's a non-traditional president. He likes to see results on behalf of the American people. And if you actually pole this issue with sports fans across the country and even in this city, people actually do support the President's position on this and the name change.
Michael?
[Crosstalk]
Michael, go ahead. And then, Mary, you can go.
Thank you, Karoline. What's the White House's reaction to Senator Chuck Grassley, today, releasing the formally classified Clinton Annex showing that the Comey-led FBI failed to fully investigate Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server, also failed to really look into thumb drives with potential national security risks on them and emails from President Obama?
It comes as no surprise, unfortunately. And I think that's why you've seen the FBI open up investigations into the individual you mentioned and some others as well.
[Crosstalk]
Why doesn't the President just order the FBI to release the full Epstein files, just get it all out there?
The President has said, if the Department of Justice and the FBI want to move forward with releasing any further credible evidence, they should do so. As to why they have or have not or will, you should ask the FBI about that.
That's still incomplete.
Go ahead.
We want information, Karoline.
Does the President have any mess --
It's up to the Attorney General.
Does the President have any message for the countries that are planning to attend the two-state solution conference taking place later this month?
Um, I'm not quite sure he has a particular message for those countries. I think the President's message on this conflict we've seen in the Middle East taking place for far too long that has become quite brutal, especially in recent days, you've seen reports of more people dying, the President never likes to see that.
He wants the killing to end and he wants to negotiate a ceasefire in this region, he, and he wants to see all of the hostages released from Gaza. That has been a top priority for this president. Within this six months, we have seen, uh, many of the hostages released, including the last living American hostage, Edan Alexander, which was a result of this administration's diplomatic efforts and approach, um, to ending this conflict.
And again, this is another conflict that the President inherited from the previous administration who was so weak and incompetent, it led to so much chaos and death around the world. But this president is focused on solving it.
[Crosstalk]
Kelly, go ahead.
Thank you. So, with that six months, the President has also experienced some pushback from members of his own MAGA base, especially on the matter of the Jeff, Jeffrey Epstein files. Is the President satisfied that his own supporters are not, uh, heeding his call to let it go and to move on?
I know the President would reject that, Kelly. In fact, he cited, over the weekend, some polls showing that his approval rating with the Republican Party is actually at an all-time high. Uh, he's polling 90 to 95% amongst Republicans right now. That's higher than any Republican president or any leader of this party, ever.
The President is the creator and the leader of the Make America Great Again movement. It's his baby, um, that he, that he made. And, uh, he knows what his supporters want. It's transparency, um, and he has given them that on all accounts when it comes to everything this administration has done, especially when it just comes to the President himself taking questions from all of you in the press corps on a near daily basis, multiple times a week.
No question is off limits here at this White House, not just for the President, but myself as well. Kelly.
[Inaudible]
Again, as I just answered, the President has told the Attorney General, uh, and the FBI Director to release any credible evidence that they find. And he also signaled to them over the weekend to move forward with unsealing the grand jury, uh, documents that were under seal by various judges across the country.
And I believe the Attorney General has taken the proper legal action to do that. Kelly.
[Inaudible] -- Israel is stepping up attacks in Gaza. Has the President expressed his frustration with Netanyahu? And how does this impact the ceasefire negotiations?
Well, look, the President, uh, enjoys a good working relationship with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and can s- -- stays in, you know, frequent communication with him. Um, he was caught off guard by the bombing in Syria and also the bombing of a Catholic Church in Gaza which, as you know, I addressed at my briefing last week.
And in both accounts, the President quickly called the Prime Minister, um, to rectify those situations. And we saw Secretary Rubio intervene when it came to Syria. We saw a de-escalation there. And as for the bombing of the Catholic Church in Gaza, the Prime Minister did put out a, a statement saying this was an accident, and they deeply regretted that action, uh, on behalf of the State of Israel following his conversation with the President.
Jordan.
A White House statement was issued on, I guess, Salazar's [Inaudible] bill and, ideally, what does the President want with the work program for [Inaudible]
Again, I know I, you asked me about that last week. And I regret to inform you, my answer remains the same. I don't think that's the, the, um, focus of the White House right now, in terms of legislative priorities. Um, but certainly, I promise you we'll get a readout on the bill. But as I reiterated to you before, the President does not support amnesty for illegal alien criminals.
And I think the tragic, uh, circumstance that took place in New York City this past weekend underscores the, the priority of this President to secure our homeland, and to deport illegal alien criminals and public safety threats from our country and our community. That's this president's priority right now.
[Inaudible] that in the last several months, people, Americans have become more hesitant about President Trump's different, uh, ways that he, he's been conducting immigration. They think that it's going too far. Is the White House going to limit any ways that it is enforcing immigration across the country?
I think the Trump administration is going to continue to focus on removing public safety threats and illegal alien criminals from sanctuary cities. The President himself has said that's the priority for him in this administration, which the vast majority of Americans do still support removing illegal heinous criminals from their communities.
And ultimately, the best poll that was ever taken was on November 5th when nearly 80 million Americans voted to reelect this president, uh, largely because of his immigration policies. And we've seen they have been, uh, a resounding success. Again, zero illegal aliens were released into the country last month.
That's a good thing for all of us standing here and for Americans across the country.
But Karoline there were reports, there are reports --
Sure.
-- that, uh, President Trump or the FBI agents going through the Epstein files are told to flag President Trump's name if it came up. Is that something the President was aware of, or something that he directed those agents or the Department of Justice to do?
I don't believe that's something the White House was aware of. You'd have to ask the FBI.
Karoline, is President Trump satisfied with how aid's being distributed in Gaza right now?
Look, the President is the reason that aid is even being distributed in Gaza, at all. He wants to see this done in a peaceful manner where more lives are not being lost. Um, he hated seeing the pi- -- pictures of starvation, of, of women and children needing that, uh, d- -- desperately needing that aid, which is why this administration came to a creative solution to bring that aid into the reason, region.
And we wanna make sure that aid is delivered to people in need, but certainly does not end up in the hands of terrorists. I think both things can be done at the same time. Look, it's a very difficult and complicated situation, again, that the President inherited, uh, because of the weakness of the last administration.
And I think he should be applauded and the administration should be applauded for coming up with a creative solution to get aid into the region. President wants to see peace and he's been pretty clear about that. And, um, our national security team continues to work on this every single day but, of course, it's a very complicated situation.
[Crosstalk]
Particularly over the weekend, the Commerce Secretary had some pretty tough words for the Fed chairman.
Hi, Mark.
Yeah.
You're sneaking in back there.
I know, I, I wish I was taller. The Commerce Secretary over the weekend had some pretty tough words for the Federal Reserve chairman. The White House has tended to send some mixed messages whether or not his job is safe or not. Will Powell be allowed to finish his term as Federal Reserve chairman?
Look, Mark, the president's talked about this and answered these questions for you pretty extensively in the Oval Office. He has no plans to fire the Fed chair, but he has been very transparent in expressing his displeasure with, uh, Jerome Powell's management of the Fed and also his policies. And the president is right, by the way.
He's been saying this for a while, but finally, economists and experts are agreeing with him that Jerome Powell should cut interest rates. If you look at our country, by every economic metric right now, it is booming. Look at the trillions of dollars the President has brought in in foreign investments. Look at inflation, like I said, continues to go down.
He's basically defeated it in just six months. If you look at the massive deregulatory campaign, this administration has lost. Look at the cost of goods. The cost of oil is down 20%. We've added 700,000 jobs to the economy in just six months. The manufacturing sector is ticking up again. By all accounts, this is a good economy.
In fact, the Wall Street Journal, wherever you are, did in fact give credit for that today. They said that the economy has its swagger back, which is one way to put it, but I think that it's true, and I think that, um, the Fed share needs it, lower interest rates. The president is right about that. And finally people are catching up to the president on that.
Yeah.
[Crosstalk]
Brian, go ahead.
Has the President shared [Inaudible] privatizing the TSA?
Privatizing the TSA. I haven't heard him talk about that, but perhaps it would be a good idea. I think we can all agree there's a little bit of bureaucracy when you move through an airport. Uh, but I'll get with the president, or perhaps you can ask him yourself next time, Brian.
Yeah, yeah.
Go ahead.
Karoline, the Congressional budget office, or at least updated estimates today about the Big Beautiful Bill, now that it's law, they estimate that the deficit will grow by $3.4 trillion by 2034, then that 10 million people could lose health coverage by 2034. I know you guys are critical of the CBO. More broadly speaking, is there any concern from the administration that this bill, now that it's law, will increase the deficit in any way or remove anyone from health insurance that they have [Inaudible]
No. Look, this bill was a great bill for the American people. It was the largest tax cut for middle and working class families in our nation's history. And the president wants to see this country get our fiscal house in order. That's why this was a fiscally, uh, responsible bill. One of the most fiscally conservative pieces of legislation for its size that has ever crossed through Capitol Hill.
And the president wants to cut our deficit. That's why he's effectively using tariffs to bring more revenue into the United States, to ultimately pay down our debt that has been, um, created by, by presidents on both sides of the aisles for many, many decades.
[Crosstalk]
[Inaudible] 11 days until that August 1st Trade Terrance deadline. What can we expect to be now and August 1st in terms of potential announcements of trade deals with any countries?
Mm-hmm. Look, I can tell you the trade team and the president himself continue to be very engaged with countries around the world when it comes to our trade agreements. You have the president of the Philippines who will be visiting the White House tomorrow. Perhaps this will be a topic of discussion. You all see for yourselves in the Oval Office, as you always do. Uh, but the August 1st deadline is just the, really the start date, uh, for when the United States of America will begin collecting this revenue from all of the countries around the world who the president has sent these letters to. You could see some more letters before August 1st, John.
You could have some more trade announcements as well. Uh, I can tell you the President, Secretary of Treasury, Secretary of Commerce, Ambassador Greer, all continue to be in constant communication with our trading partners.
[Crosstalk]
All right. Yes, sure.
Thank you. Uh, how did you see the tariff negotiation with the South Korea being, uh, fundamentally different with laws with Japan?
I can check in on the status of the South Korean trade talks for you.
[Crosstalk]
[Inaudible] -- just visiting Lebanon --
Mm-hmm.
-- regarding this article [Inaudible] -- does President Trump still believe the --
Who is visiting?
Tom Barrack.
Okay. Thank you.
Okay. Tom Barrack is visiting Lebanon regarding to the [Inaudible] -- does President Trump still believe diplomacy can work with Lebanon while -- while [Inaudible]
Look, I think the president wants to see diplomacy work with Lebanon and all of, um, the partners in the Middle East. You know, the president has been very clear when it comes to, um, his priorities for Iran. And he obliterated their nuclear capability. Um, and I understand that the administration continues to be open to talks with Iran if we deem them necessary.
Um, as for Tom Barrack's trip, uh, I know the president supports him and he's doing a great job in Syria.
[Crosstalk]
[Inaudible] According to the House Judiciary Committee, the Biden administration sent nearly $1 billion in taxpayer funds to a left organization in Israel, who will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. What is exactly is the White House reaction?
Well, it's not a surprise to me that the previous administration sent billions of dollars overseas for useless priorities that don't advance America's interests. We've seen a lot of that, uh, which is why this administration has been very focused on clawing a lot of that money back, and making sure the American government is spending American tax dollars on America's priorities.
Thank you guys. I'll see you later.