How are we?
How are you?
I brought the great Mr. Witkoff out here today. Obviously there's a lot of foreign policy news. The president put out a very strong statement to Hamas directly last night. And Mr. Witkoff brought the hostages to the white -- the White House, to the Oval Office yesterday. The president met with them and Mr. Witkoff did as well.
So, I wanted to give Steve an opportunity to take some of your questions. Obviously, we ask you reserve questions about nonforeign policy topics for him. That's his wheelhouse. Um, and we'll let you guys take some questions, but I think he has some words to share with you as well.
Hi. Hi, everybody. So, um, we had a wonderful day with the hostages yesterday. We, um, had them for breakfast, spent a bunch of time with them and then of course they got the treat of a lifetime. They got to spend some time with President Trump. And we thought it was going to be a short period of time because his day was busy.
But he ended up spending about an hour with them, with each of the hostages. Um, pictures, and spent a lot of time listening to their stories about what happened for them in captivity. And he was clearly emotional about it as anybody would be. We had other people in the Oval Office as well and I think that they felt a really great sense of catharsis that they got to tell the president about their experience.
Talk about other hostages who they spend time with while they were in captivity and the need to get them all home and that led to his Truth last night. So, um, I describe it as a very, very important day for them. I think they all went home feeling that they got a great sense of closure, at least in part.
So --
Steve, what is the deadline for Hamas to release all the hostages or else? -- I want to ask you about your trip on Tuesday.
So, I would say to you that the president was pretty blunt, it's time for Hamas to start acting in a responsible and reasonable way, and we don't think that they have been doing that.
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Can we ask about the negotiations with Hamas, with Rubio and Waltz? What do you expect to come out of that meeting? What would a successful meeting look like?
Well, President Zelenskyy sent a letter to the president. I think the president, uh, thought that it was a really good positive first step. And from that we have now -- we're now in discussions to, uh, coordinate a meeting with the Ukrainians in Riyadh or even potentially Jeddah. So, the city is moving around a little bit, but it will be Saudi Arabia.
And I think the idea is to get down a framework for a peace agreement and an initial ceasefire -- ceasefire as well.
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Steve --
Steve Holland
OK.
The direct discussions with Hamas --
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How are you going about getting Edan Alexander out of --
Well, Edan Alexander is very important to us, as all the hostages are, but Edan Alexander is an American, and he's injured. And so, he's a top priority for us. And Adam Boehler, uh, is, uh, as you know, the special envoy in charge of hostages. And he's had conversations. We feel that, um, Hamas has not been forthright with us. And it's time for them to be forthright with us. And, uh, and Edan Alexander would be a very important show.
And so, we'll see -- we'll see, how they're going to react. The president has issued a statement about what's acceptable to him and what's not and hopefully we'll see some good conduct next week and I'll be able to go in there and have discussions.
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So, are you still hoping for a Phase 2 -- three phase kind of agreement framework still in place or did the president's Truth Social kind of pop in that?
Well, I would say that the president basically was saying, I don't want to put words in his mouth, but I think it's fairly clear, he was saying I've had enough. Like, there's a lot of mistreatment. There's a lot of conversation among these hostages about the deprivation that they went through, about murders that they saw, and I think that the president listened to it, absorbed it and said this is unacceptable.
I'm not going to tolerate this type of behavior.
What does that mean for Phase 2 negotiations?
I don't think you -- I don't think, as the president has said before, I don't think you alert everybody how you're going to negotiate or what your reaction is going to be. But I wouldn't test President Trump.
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So, Steve, what is the bottom line? What happens when? And, uh, what's the bottom line for President Trump? And what happens, does the US authorize someone to take action or does the US take action?
Well, I think -- I think it's unclear exactly what's going to happen. I think there's going to be some action taken. It could be jointly with the Israelis. It's unclear right now. But I think Hamas has an opportunity to act reasonably to do what's right and then to walk out. They're not going to be a part of a government there.
Everybody understands that, and that is implicit in the May 27 protocol agreement pursuant to which these negotiations are happening. So, I think they have to understand that and if they understand that, then they get a path to leave.
Including military action?
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I don't -- I don't --
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A lot of hostages families in Israel are concerned that if the focus changes to only American hostages that will leave Israeli hostages, not Americans, behind. What can you say to them? And also, regarding the negotiations, um, would going back, uh, to military options in Gaza, is that something that is on the table even though it can put hostages at risk?
So, I would say to you that yesterday there were two American hostages in the room and there were seven other Israelis. So, lives matter to the Trump Administration, all lives matter to him. And -- and he was focused on all lives.
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Steve, just a question, the -- the negotiations, exactly how long is it going to be -- Have you spoken to Hamas about anything other than the destruction of Gaza? And finally, in Ukraine, is the president is satisfied with the outreach from President Zelenskyy in the past --
So, my -- I have not met with Hamas, but my understanding is that any discussions with Hamas have been recent, not three weeks as has been reported, but a couple of days, and that's well within the ambit of the special envoy. In fact, that's his job. His job is to get these people home. We help in that effort so, I commend him for doing that.
He cares about -- Adam cares about lives, as everybody should be, and the hostage families are, I think, grateful for it and so is President Trump.
Steve -- Steve, a question about reconstruction --
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You said there was a framework on Tuesday for Ukraine. Will the minerals deal be signed then on Tuesday?
Well, I think Zelenskyy has offered to sign it, and we'll see if he follows through.
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Steve can I -- Steve negotiate with -- directly. Can I ask about yesterday, the hostages came and they met President Trump. President Trump yesterday posted writing Shalom Hamas; hello and goodbye. And what does it mean exactly? And can you tell us how did you feel yesterday with the hostages at the Oval Office and with such an amazing meeting, heard their stories, you really asked them to tell their stories.
And can you tell us if you think that you'd like to go through with the second phase of the deal?
I think he felt the awesome responsibility of this office and I think he listened to nine human beings who had been held in captivity in some really difficult circumstances, say to him, thank God for you. Thank God for your election. Thank God because we -- each and every one of them, to a person, not scripted, said, but for him they would not be there today.
And they were grateful for their families. And you know, in the Jewish religion save a life, you save a thousand lives. The president was there, listening to nine people say that each of them viewed their lives as being saved for -- by him. They talked about how they heard about his election and they were uplifted.
They were in these dark dank caverns 200ft below the surface of the earth, never having any hope. And when they heard he was elected, they were ebullient. They -- they had never felt like -- they were elated waiting for him because they knew he was going to help them get rescued. So, it was a really emotional experience for him and for me and everybody who was in that Oval Office yesterday.
[Crosstalk] Karoline --
Would there be --
Karoline -- Karoline was there too and you can -- you can ask her, it was -- it was deeply moving yesterday.
Would there be a Phase 2? Will there be a Phase 2? What about the Phase 2 of the deal?
Well, I think that's the discussion, the discussion today, whether we're -- look, people define it as an extension of Phase 1 or Phase 2. For me, I don't really care what we call it. What we call what we call it is, are we going to have a resolution? Are we going to have a peace deal? Are we going to get all of those hostages home, which is the aim of the Trump Administration?
And that that's going to require some good reasonable humanitarian action on the part of Hamas. And it's time for them, I think, to gain some political capital and show that they're capable of doing that.
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Would Israel have to end the war? Will Israel have to withdraw?
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-- a deadline for the talks? Is there a date when would you say, if we don't make any progress after that date, then we go back fighting?
I think there definitely is such a date, but I'm not at liberty to discuss what that date is.
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Steve, what do --
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Can I ask you, what does -- what does -- what -- What do you mean by joint Israeli actions? Can you -- can you describe that to me?
Well, we're a -- we're a guarantor of the process, right? It's the Israelis who, um, who control Gaza today, and it's the Israelis and the counterparty is Hamas. And so, I think any action really principally comes from the Israelis. But you heard the president say yesterday, he's giving the Israelis anything they need.
So, it's the Israelis, but with very, very strong physical and emotional support from the United States of America.
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Steve --
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Steve, could I ask --
I don't mean to --
Can I ask you about the meeting with the Ukrainians next week? Is there anything specific they can bring to the table there that would allow a resumption of the military aid and the sharing of intelligence?
Well, I think those are all decisions of the president, but I think he felt that Zelenskyy's letter was a very positive first step. There was an apology. There was an acknowledgment that the United States has done so much for the country of Ukraine and a sense of, um, of gratitude. I think that's the biggest deal, right?
Like we've supported that country. And I think it's important when you support somebody that that that person comes back and acknowledges that and says, you know, how do you want -- how is it that we should be? It's not just some sort of unilateral way of processing these things.
So, it's possible that it could all be resumed after the meeting?
Well, I think we're going there to meet, presumably. I think it'll be a good meeting. I really do believe that, that hopefully that will be a good signal to the Russians because they have been proactive too in wanting to do -- to get something done here. And I think that's what the president -- that's who he is. He's a peace through strength president.
Uh, you don't -- you know, the best wars are the wars that never have to get fought. And so, if we can solve this and not fight anymore and save lives, that's the aim of President Trump.
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Sir, in the absence of the US --
One more. Jackie? Last question, go ahead.
Does the US approve of US allies continuing to share US intelligence with Ukraine?
Well, I read -- I read this morning that there's been a -- that there might be a suspension of it. So, I'm really not sure about that. I'm not sure where we are with John Ratcliffe and the DNI. Um, but I would think at some point, you know, hopefully we get things back on track with the Ukrainians and everything resumes.
That's what I would hope for.
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-- negotiate with any group that takes American hostages?
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We heard from the ministry and Russia and they are waiting for the US team to be named. Do we have a timeline on when that could happen and who will be involved in that process?
We've been in discussions with the National Security Advisor this morning about who that name team will be. We've reached out to the Russians. We'll let the Ukrainians know as well. And so, before we get there, that will all be a part of it.
Sir, will the US now engage with any terrorist group that takes American hostages?
Well, I think if you're asking about the reach out that you read about, I think it was the responsibility of the special envoy to actually have conversation and see if anything can be achieved. Unfortunately, what we learned is that Hamas told us they were going to be thinking about it a certain way and they weren't. So, I think that's important information for us to have and so came the tweet from the president, which is, your behavior is unacceptable.
You need to clean up your behavior, and that's where we stand as a government.
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Is there no concern that direct engagement could encourage other --
I don't know. I don't know what -- I don't know whether it was a direct engagement or not. It could have been through a go between. I just know that the messaging was, we want to see these hostages come home. We're not going to sit here, do nothing and tolerate these kind of inhumane conditions. They've lived in a terrible situation.
By the way, who keeps dead bodies? Who does that? Who keeps people chained up downstairs? Who murders in front of other hostages? What's happened here is intolerable and it's not going to be tolerated by President Trump.
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Steve, per your last answer, are you saying that what's been paused is just US Intelligence direct to Ukraine. There was also a pause on the allies sharing intelligence.
I -- I was simply saying, Jackie that I can't comment on specifically what was paused.
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Does the president see any difference? The President, Emmanuel Macron, has floated a one month pause on long range strikes with Ukraine and Russia. Do you think this is something that Russia would accept?
We're talking to the French. I can't -- I can't tell you what specific proposals have been put on the table.
Will President Zelenskyy be allowed back, or be invited back, to the White House?
I think that -- I think that the president has said that there's a path back. And President Zelenskyy has demonstrated that he's intent on that good faith path back. He's apologized. He said he's grateful. He said that he wants to work towards peace. That's -- by the way, that's ultimately the goal here.
We -- we're -- President Trump is an outcome oriented man. He wants a good outcome. And a good outcome is peace, no more death and a better world.
Does the president see any difference between the --
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-- criticized the ceasefire hostage deal that the previous administration put together in terms of the framework? You said it wasn't such a wonderful deal. Um, can you just confirm without going into those details that you're still working off that framework or have you -- are you negotiating that as well?
Well, the May 27 protocol is the framework. That's what they -- that whole deal was predicated based on that May 27 framework. And what I said was that that deal presumed that it would take five years to reconstruct Gaza. And so, the Saudis when they talked about normalization, we're working on a five-year program.
Gazans, thinking about coming back, thought that they would go back to their homes in five years. And I simply am saying that that's a delusion, and that we need to level set the facts so that people can make proper decisions based on the realities. Now you saw a Wall Street Journal article about ten days ago that said it's 15 to 20 years.
So, they're finally beginning to agree that people don't belong back there. It's a really dangerous environment for children, for anybody, unexploded munitions, all kinds of latent, uh, ways to get hurt there. So, we're level setting the facts, we understand what the conditions are and we're going to make proper decisions, master planning, so forth and so on, for every stakeholders benefit with a -- with a lot of input based on -- based on the realities.
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Mr. Witkoff -- Does the president see any difference between, or different priorities, between returning the American hostages and the others from Gaza? I think the president cares about all lives, that's what he cares about.
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He wants to let them all together, all of them?
I mean, of course -- of course an American is going to be a priority for him. And by the way, in Edan Alexandra's case, this young man was injured, and that's part of it, too. Part of the calculus. We know, OK, that he's, uh, living in extreme circumstances. And so -- but I think the president cares equally about Israelis as he would about a Russian captive, as he would about somebody from the Philippines.
We've -- we've gotten releases across the board because the president cares about saving lives. He's a -- he's just a good human being who cares and he knows he has the power to generate this, generate this type of discussion.
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Is there any discussion, Steve, about making defensive weapons available to Ukraine? The civilian populations in Ukraine left vulnerable because of missile strikes by Russia, by drone strikes into Russia. Is that a concern to the president?
I'm sorry, I don't understand the question.
The question simply is about making defensive weapons available to Ukraine. I realize there's a pause right now, but defensive weapons can protect civilian populations.
Well, we've been giving them plenty, but I think the larger discussion for us, the larger discussion for us is to get a peace deal done. We want to see peace, we want to see peace in the Middle East. Well, I should say the president wants to see peace and we follow our commander in chief. Uh, we want to see peace in the Middle East, we want to see it in Ukraine.
We want to see it all over the world and we think all of these -- all of these conflicts can be settled and we're proving it every single day.
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Steve, do we assume that you are talking also with the Iranians to bring US detainees there?
I'm not talking to the Iranians directly and I have no knowledge of anyone in the US government talking to them right now.
[Crosstalk]
Steve, you're coming to Saudi Arabia, will you visit Israel or other countries in the region also to talk about the cease fire and release of hostages?
I always like visiting Israel, Yuna.
But are you planning -- is there something planned to come in order to --
I think -- I think we're in conversations with the Israelis every single day. They're are strategic partner. We view them as critical to the process. We think that, uh, Prime Minister Netanyahu has done an exceptional job. I work directly with Ron Dermer every single day. I talk to him multiple times a day.
And as needed, we're going to travel to Israel. I basically commute to the Middle East, um, that's my job for the president.
So, will you visit after Saudi Arabia and Israel, or before?
I think I'm going to be in four countries next week and, um, we have to determine the sequencing of it.
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Steve, can you -- can you just -- can you just be real clear -- Can you just be real clear about, you talked about the US Israel potential partnership if this doesn't work out with Hamas, does that mean military action?
I -- I can't say.
Steve --
And I think it would be -- and I think it would be not tactical to discuss what the -- what that game plan is.
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What do you think about it -- Edan Alexander, the American hostage?
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Hamas about Edan Alexander, the American hostage? We know --
About Edan Alexander, the American hostage. We know it's important for President Trump and for you. Well, I -- I think we want Edan back, but we want [Inaudible] we want everybody back. We want them all back. I mean, there's -- we estimate 22, maybe 24 live bodies and we want them all back, and we want the bodies back too.
These parents, who know that their children are gone and their relatives are gone, they need those -- those bodies back. They need closure. They need to go and bury their children properly. And so, we want the dead bodies back and we want the live bodies back.
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Is it your impression that the Netanyahu government is willing to --
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-- release all the hostages eventually?
I'm sorry?
Do you think that you can convince Israel and Hamas to release the hostages to do the deal?
Well, I think Israel -- Israel feels as we do. Israel feels that they want to save lives, they do, but -- and hopefully that's possible through dialog and that's the point. We're prepared to have dialog. But if the dialog doesn't work, then the alternative is not such a good alternative for Hamas.
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-- is the Israeli government --
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What's your comment on the Egyptian proposal to Gaza? The counteroffer to the president's plan on Gaza?
I just finished reading it. There's a lot of compelling features to it. We need more discussion about it and -- but it's a good faith first step from the Egyptians and I think the larger point is that President Trump is now encouraging -- what he's talking about in Gaza is now encouraging the people in the Middle East, Middle Eastern world, to present proactive proposals for, uh -- for what we might consider.
And that's what we're doing. We're considering --
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-- allowing Palestinians to remain in Gaza is the president OK with that?
We're evaluating everything there. So, it's a little bit early to comment. We've just gotten the proposal.
Does the president understand --
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-- accept your peacekeeping troops? What is the White House response to that?
I'm sorry?
Russia says they would never accept peacekeeping troops including European peacekeeping troops.
Well, I never -- I never heard that, I heard NATO. And -- and that's a discussion. But I think, again, I don't want to comment on the specifics there. I think we're making -- you know, we've got a lot of good buy-in from the Russians and a lot of good buy in now from the Ukrainians. And that's the really most important thing, right, to bring two sides together to constantly narrow the gap.
This is -- this is Donald, this is President Trump's negotiating strategy. Let's narrow the gaps and then let's figure out how to finally finish it and bring the president --
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Steve -- Does the president understand the concerns of European leaders about their security given his push to close those gaps as quickly as he's doing that?
Of course, he does. He had meetings with Macron in the Oval Office, with Starmer. So, he's listening intently. They're his -- they're the -- they're -- they're his -- they're stakeholders here. It's important to them, and it's important to him how they feel. So, he's listening intently. But first and foremost, we had to get to the Ukrainians, get them back, right?
Get them back in a different place and they're talking peace now, and the Russians too.
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Thank you, guys. Thank you.
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Mr. Witkoff has been very generous with his time today. I know everybody's very interested. We have to go inside.
OK.
Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you, everybody.