Press Gaggle: Donald Trump Speaks to Reporters Before Air Force One Departure - September 13, 2026

Thank you very much. Ireland was fantastic. The tournament was record-setting. The attendance was number one. They have never seen anything like that one because the person in one, Shane, who's a fantastic player, but he's from Ireland and, uh, he played well. He played fantastic, and everybody was, just a very exciting moment.

Uh, so it was an honor to be here. We did a lot of business. Uh, met with Taoiseach, met with, uh, various other leaders and we did a lot of business, but it was great to see it. It was a very festive occasion, very big, a very big thing just happened.

Mr. President, uh, they say your approval rating is really low in Ireland, around 20%, but by the way those fans scream, you think those polls are incorrect?

I think the polls are fake. My approval rate in Ireland is good. My approval rating in the U.S. is great. The problem is, uh, only the legitimate polls are going, as you understand. No, we're doing well. The country is doing very well. Our country is doing very well.

President Trump, are you trying to cut off trade with a nation running a trade deficit with the U.S. unless the Federal Reserve lowers interest rates? Are you actually gonna follow through with that --

Oh, yeah, yeah. I'm gonna do that with some nations. I'll have no choice. We don't wanna have deficits with nations. We wanna have, uh, surpluses or at least breakevens, but we have, other presidents, and other presidents have allowed tremendous deficits, and we're not gonna have that, so --

When can you do that?

-- so I will be doing it.

What year?

It'll take place over a period of time.

Um, the 9/11 families, on Friday, asked you to help hold Saudi Arabia accountable for 9/11. They're asking you to release more records that tie maybe some of the hijackers or the people --

Yeah.

-- seen in Saudi Arabia.

I heard that.

Would you be open to that?

Well, I'm gonna look at it when I get back. I know they asked me, uh, Friday. I'll be looking at it when I get back.

Do you think you gonna be open to that though?

It could be, yeah.

Mr. President, what do you think --

Did you see that video when AOC and Mamdani laughing at the 9/11 ceremony in New York? What, what were your thoughts?

I think it's terrible. It's not a place to be laughing, especially in that case. I thought it was terrible. That fact that they were laughing together in a very important part of the ceremony was inappropriate.

Mr. President, what's your, what's your reaction to the countries, like the UK, Ireland, Canada, who put sanctions on the Israeli settlers in the West Bank last week? Did you see that? What's your reaction?

What sanctions are --

Uh, the UK and a number of European countries --

I did see it. I'll look at it. I'm gonna see it. Uh, the prime minister's calling me on Monday or Tuesday and I'll be taking a look at it.

Mr. President, when you think of Ken Paxton's race? It's pretty close. Some cases a Democrat win it. Ken Paxton doing what he needs to be doing?

I think so. I think the fact that we had such a successful convention really helped Ken Paxton. Uh, he was a big part of it. And look, I mean, he was a great attorney general. Ken Paxton was a great attorney general, and that's, uh, and continues to be, and I think that counts for a lot.

Why do you think he's doing better?

Well, I think he's tied or leading now. I think he got, he picked up blood. I, I hear that the convention helped Ken Paxton a lot.

Lindy Clancy's attorney, last week, asked you to pardon her. Is that under consideration?

Well, I know. I mean, it's a very sad situation. I, I certainly heard that. Uh, but it's, uh, look, it's a very sad, there is no winner there. There's no, there's no win, no matter what you do. It's, uh, three children are dead, so I don't know. But, uh, it's actually a state situation, you know, not a federal.

He's asking you to call the prosecutor in the state. Would you do that?

I appreciate that he feels that way, but, and he's a good attorney. I've heard from other people, he's a very good attorney. Uh, I hope they can work it out. That's something they have to work out. It's a very sad, there is no win there.

Mr. President, are you willing to meet with the Republican candidate predictor in Illinois, Illinois at the end of this month?

Well, I like the candidate from Illinois. He's a good man.

Darren Bailey.

He had a tragedy, a horrible tragedy. His family was partially wiped out in a terrible helicopter accident on the planet.

Has JB Pritzker reached out to you prior to the Presidents Cup?

No. I think JB Pritzker is a disaster as a governor. You know, you look at what's happening with Brian. And JD Pritzker could lose. I, you know, for some reason, Democrats win there. I don't know why. But Bailey is a very good candidate. He had a, he had a horrible tragedy, amazing that he can go forward, but his, his, a large portion of his family was wiped out.

I have already endorsed him. I'm all for Bailey.

Iran says that one of their vessels was struck last night. Was it the United States?

I don't wanna say.

Mr. President, JD Vance, are you ready to throw your weight behind him in 2028?

Well, it's too early. I mean, it's too early. I think he's terrific. We've got so many terrific people. We have, as they call, a very deep bet.

Who would be most competitive with JD Vance?

I, you know, I just think they're all very good, and JD's fantastic, and he did a very good job.

On the whiskey tariff, taking it out, when is that gonna happen? And that's an EU tariff. Are you taking all --

Yeah. Well, it was very unfair because others have the relief, and they didn't, so I though I'd do it. And actually, Shane asked me about it, too, a lot of people. It was pretty unfair, so I decided to do it.

But just Ireland or all of EU?

Just Ireland. They already have it, that's why it was unfair. The other ones already have it.

Mr. President, on the $5,000 checks, when did you first come up with that idea and --

A while ago.

-- how is that --

That's going forward. The $5,000 is actually going forward, and that's because we're taking in so much money in so different ways, including the tariff.

Is there a plan exactly how we're gonna pay for that?

Yeah, yeah. No, I know exactly how we're gonna pay.

Why --

You know --

And that's because we're taking in so much money in so different ways, including the tariff.

Is there a plan exactly how we're gonna pay for that?

Yeah, yeah. No, I know exactly how we're gonna pay.

Why, oh.

You know, it's interesting on that, because everybody said that the Great Big Beautiful Bill will never happen. It happened. They said that the 1,776 to the military, $1,776 would never happen. And it happened. They were paid. And now they say, "Oh, the 5,000." The 5,000's gonna happen 100%. And the reason is because our country is taking in trillions and trillions of dollars.

And it's gonna happen because the people deserve it because they were treated so badly by the Democrats and by Biden. So remember, they said the Great Big Beautiful Bill, which was basically 17 bills wrapped up into one, will never happen. It happened. They said when I gave the military last year $1,776, 1776, like a certain date that's quite important.

Mr. President, do --

They said that wasn't gonna happen, that happened. And what do you think? I think it's gonna happen. I li- -- I like her.

You have Congress, you have Congress now, so why don't you do the checks now versus after the election?

Because I don't wanna do it now because if the Democrats go t- -- get in, our country will be in shamble and they won't be able to do it. If we get in, we're taking in tremendous amounts of money. We're taking in over $20 trillion in terms of investment. And if the Democrats, all of that money will be thrown out.

If the Democrats get in, they won't be able to pay it. With me, I've always made money. Now I make a lot of money for the country.

Mr. President, you told voters to think of you on the ballot.

Yeah.

To consider you're on the ballot. Should they then think that this is a referendum on your administration?

Well, maybe. I don't care. Whatever it takes because when I run, I, you know, everybody does well. When I don't run, maybe they don't go and vote because they don't care. But I'm asking the voters, the Republican voters that, you know, I got a record vote, the highest vote in the history of the Republican Party.

And if those voters would go out, we will win everything, just like I did. I won every, I won all seven swing states. We won the popular vote. We won. Everything was a landslide, in- -- including counties. If you take a look at counties, we won 86% of the counties in the country. So if we get those people to go out, we're gonna have a tremendous victory.

The problem is if I'm not running, if I'm not on the ballot, they think, "Oh, I'm not running." And if they like me, and they do like me. I mean, I have polls that show me I'm very popular. You know, you have a lot of fake polls, but they like me.

Uh --

Here's the story. If they get out and vote, we win in a landslide. Thank you. Yes. One more question.

Your kids' tents over there, Mr. President. There could still be a Trump name on the ballot. Would it ever happen? Maybe, maybe they can win.

I don't n- -- I better not get into that. [Laughter] But they're good. You know why? They work hard and they're very good people. I call them kids. They're not kids --

They're your kids.

But I call them. They're still my kids.

They're your kids --]

And they're great kids.

What were you doing with the --

Huh?

[Inaudible] press secretary?

I don't know. Would anybody like to be press secretary?

No, no favorite? No, no firm pick?

No, no. But I may have developed one over the weekend, you know? No, we have, we have a lot of people that want it. Many people want it. Many people have been written about, as you know, but many people want it and willing to, you know what we're gonna do for a little while? We're gonna use the secretaries, the, you know, Marco and, uh, maybe JD just did it. He did a great job.

But we're gonna use Scott. We're gonna use Howard. We're gonna use a lot of our secretaries. Linda McMahon is so great. And we'll do it for a little while, uh, but ultimately I'll pick somebody.

When, when can he do it?

We'll do Marco next. I will. Thank you.