Press Gaggle: Donald Trump Speaks to Reporters Before Marine One Departure - October 19, 2026

Hello everybody. I'm going to take a nice trip to Kansas, where we have a wonderful Senator Marshall. He's going to do very well, I think. He's going to win. I won the state by many, many points. I love the people of Kansas, and that's why I go there. So, hopefully we'll have a great victory in Kansas, but we'll know soon enough.

I think he's going to do very well.

Roger Marshall is one of the finest people in government, as far as I'm concerned.

Mr. President, can you talk about -- have you agreed to a trilateral? Thank you. You said that you don't want to drive Vladimir Putin away from the bargaining table. What guarantee has he made you that he's willing to strike a bargain?

Well, you'll see soon enough, because I'm trying to get a hostage that the country's been after for a long time and -- before my time. And let's see what happens; that'll be soon. We also have a very good situation with respect to Iran. He's laying off Iran, that's nice because we're hitting Iran very hard, as you know, and economically as well as militarily.

And Russia has done nothing there that we can see, and I think that's a very positive. And of course, we're negotiating with him on Ukraine. So, I'm not looking to break up negotiations right in the middle. And by the way, I have the right to do that at any time immediately. So, if things don't work out, I can always do it.

Have you agreed to a trilateral meeting?

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Republicans who have been speaking out?

Say it.

What do you say to Republicans who have been speaking out against the deal?

Well, I think when they find out what the deal is, they -- I've had four of them call up, because I only put out word last night. I'm in the midst of negotiating a deal. When you're negotiating a deal, you don't do that to the people you're negotiating with. And the deals -- the Ukraine deal. Also, I'm negotiating with them on Iran because they've been very well-behaved on Iran.

Also, I'm negotiating with them on hostages and I'm also negotiating on diesel. So, when you -- look, that's my business. When you're negotiating, you don't do that. When I tell that to Republicans that speak out, and there aren't many of them because they have confidence in me. I'm the one that got them there.

I'm the one that's winning. I'm the one that's doing the rallies that's taking people into a winning position. When you look at what's happened, if you take a look at what's happened since I've been doing these massive, totally sold-out rallies, nobody's ever seen anything like it. As an example, we're up in Texas, we weren't. We're up in Alaska, we weren't. We're up -- everybody -- every place that I've gone to, we're up.

Have you agreed to a trilateral meeting with Presidents Putin and Xi? Talk about Ukraine?

No, but I would do it, not so much for Ukraine because Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine, they haven't been doing much. And the same thing with China. We would have it to talk about nuclear weapons and denuclearization. And any time I can have a meeting on denuclearization. So, we have more -- during my term, I did it -- we have more nuclear weapons than anybody.

Russia is second, China is third but catching up. China was way behind and now they're catching up. It'll take them probably five years. We would schedule a meeting based on denuclearization and that's a very positive thing for the world. So, I would do it if they want to have a -- I just heard about it -- if they'd like to have it, I think it would be held in China.

He just left here. If President Xi wants to have it, I'd have it. I'm sure we'll talk about other things like trade, too. But yeah, I would do that.

Have you investigated at all, closed down or [Inaudible] corrupted Starlink in Ukraine? Who ordered that interruption?

I don't know who it was, but I'd like to find out, yeah.

Mr. President, Emmanuel Macron is blaming the Iran war and you essentially for the rioting in France right now.

I don't think he is. No, I think that's fake news. Who are you with?

No, sir. Mary Margaret with the Daily Wire.

Oh, Daily Wire is good. Sorry, Daily Wire is good.

Mr. President, would you do a meeting with President --

Emmanuel -- look, he's a friend of mine. I told him a long time ago you're making a big mistake in France. You're letting everybody from the world come in. The whole world was coming in. And, you know, as you know, Paris is going to be a Muslim city very soon, and that wasn't the deal -- that wasn't the deal.

I told Emmanuel, you should close up your borders and, let's see, I've known him for probably eight or nine years. I told him as soon as I met him, I said, you're making a big mistake. We closed our borders, he didn't. And you know what? His borders are a problem, and he also has a little bit of a problem with energy, but they have gone -- you know, they're doing better than others.

But Emmanuel should have closed his borders a long time ago. I told him to do it.

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Zelensky says you're supporting Putin by waiving these sanctions.

I'm supporting stopping the war between Russia and Ukraine.

How does that help stop the war?

And you know what? Why? Because that's what I do for a living. And frankly, Zelenskyy is not helping matters much. I think he doesn't want to stop it, but I want to see people not die. They're losing probably, on average, 25,000 to 35,000 soldiers every single month. All I want to do, I don't care, I want to get the war stopped.

I don't want to see 25,000, 35,000. Last month it was 32,000. I don't want to see 32,000 soldiers dead -- has nothing to do with this country. But you know what? From a human standpoint, Ukraine is losing a lot of -- Ukraine is losing all of its men. You know, I was watching a woman on television the other night, and she blames Zelenskyy.

She said he's killing our men. And the fact is, she said, and it was very poignant, she said our men are dying. Our men have no legs in many cases. You look around, they have no legs, they're in mental institutions. She's talking about Ukraine and she's very well-known and they want to put her in prison.

I want to see the war stop. You're losing tremendous numbers of mostly young military men. And that means 25,000 to 35,000 a month. All I want is for Russia and Ukraine to stop that stupid war. Yeah.

Mr. President, would you meet with President Xi and Putin to discuss the end of the war without Zelenskyy there?

Well, I would meet in order -- anything I can do to end the war, whether somebody is there or not, whatever I can do to end the war. And they do want to have a meeting at my suggestion, because I'm going to be over in China in November on the denuclearization. And if we can do denuclearization, I will have done the world a big, big favor.

But so, we are going to have --

Zelenskyy says that you're on the wrong side of history here, sir. Zelenskyy says you're on the wrong side of history.

What did you say?

Zelenskyy says you're on the wrong side of history on this one.

Zelenskyy said it? Zelenskyy doesn't know what he's talking about. Zelensky is a man that should have had this war settled a long time ago. If he would have listened to me, he would have made a much better deal a long time ago, and he'd have a million people living from his side.

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And to be honest, I don't think -- I think it's time for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine, because what's happened?

Very little land has moved, but a million people, a tremendous number of people are dead. They're losing their male population. Ukraine could have had this thing settled a long time ago. If he would have listened to me, and you remember the Oval Office, he would have had this settled a long time ago. Maybe it's time for Zelenskyy to get somebody else to negotiate.

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Is it a bad sign for Republicans that you have to go campaign in Kansas today?

No. I tell you, I have a man named Roger and you know him very well, Roger Marshall. He's a fantastic Senator; he's one of the best. It's a close race, it shouldn't be and, as you know, I won by a tremendous amount, like 25, 30 points. I won by a lot, Kansas, and they should be winning by a lot. So, I went to --

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Do you want to listen to me? I went to Alaska and Dan Sullivan is up. I went to Ohio, Jon Husted is up. I went to Texas and Ken Paxton is up. So far -- and I went to many other places.

Wherever I go, they seem to be up, and I have the biggest rallies anybody's ever seen. They have packed houses. We have thousands and thousands of people today and beyond the house, they're broadcast all over. And my rallies are having a huge impact and a positive impact on the Republican Party. I'm going to Kansas because I won it by a lot and the great Senator, and he's a great Senator, Roger Marshall.

He's one of the best Senators. He's -- I think he's tied or up by a little bit according to polls. Look, the polls are fake, but according to polls. So, I want to make sure Roger Marshall gets in. Roger Marshall is a great man and he's a great Senator. So, that's why I'm going, I think that's fine.

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Sharing intelligence with Ukraine on Russian attacks?

Yeah, we share intelligence.

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We share a lot. We've given a lot to Ukraine. You know what? We've given a lot to Ukraine; they've given nothing to us, remember that. We've given hundreds of billions of dollars. I gave the Javelins to Ukraine when he knocked out -- that was me. Obama gave them pillows. You know the expression Obama gave them sheets and pillows; Trump gave them the Javelins, so don't tell me about Ukraine.

We've given a lot to Ukraine; they've given us nothing.

Republicans are worried that you're going to put money in the pocket of -- Mr. President, you said Russia could have done way more to help. You said Russia could have done way more to help Iran if they wanted. Did Russia threaten --

Russia could have done a lot more? That's right, Russia could have done a lot more to help. If you put it bluntly, Russia could have done a lot more to help Iran. Russia has done very little for Iran. But China could have done a lot more for Iran, they've done -- and I remember that. When China does not that much, maybe nothing almost, but very little for Iran, and Russia does very little for Iran, I view that as being a very positive thing.

Mr. President, Republicans are worried -- Sir, you seem like you're feeling really good about the midterms, is that accurate?

I feel good, I feel good. I mean, I think good. I think it's fake polls. Look, I had one poll where I was down by 3 and I won by 20. And the person that was the pollster had to quit in disgrace. So, you know, one of those things. I don't rely on the polls, but polls mean something, but a lot of polls are rigged, just like the journalists are rigged.

I could name six of them that I'm looking right here, you're rigged journalist. A lot of the polls are rigged -- not all of you but there's some good ones I can name also. But a lot of the polls are rigged. A lot of the pollsters -- look at what happened in Iowa, where a pollster said that I was going to lose Iowa, and I ended up winning by almost 20 points.

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And by the way, she knew what she was doing. That was a crooked -- that was a crooked deal.

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Because up until then, for years, she was always polling me correctly, I was going to win by a lot. I had a great win in Iowa, and she said I was going to lose by 4 and I won by almost 20. That was a crooked deal.

Mr. President, the French protests -- under French protests what's your message to [Inaudible]

Well, the France thing is a very sad situation, what's happening in France. Because what's happening in France has to do with immigration, not schools, not anything, it's immigration. And I told President Macron, close up your borders. I told him the first time I met him, which was years ago in my first term -- close up your borders, you're going to have nothing but trouble.

And they've got a lot of trouble. They let people into their country that don't love their country, they don't love their buildings, they don't love their art. And I said the first time I met Macron, I said, you've got to close up your borders, you're going to ruin your country. And they've ruined their country.

It's going to be hard to get it back, but hopefully France will come back.

Have you gotten to the bottom of the claims against Ric Grenell? Have you gotten to the bottom of Elena Habas's claims against Ric Grenell?

No, I don't know what she's claiming. I know they're having a little bit of a feud. Whatever it is, I wish them luck.

Mr. President, a lot of Republicans are worried that the moves you're making will help -- A National Guard member was shot in the feet after he tried to break up a fight. What --

Well, I'm looking at it, very sad. Fortunately, he wasn't killed, he'll be fine.

Mr. President, you say 600 -- COVID has spread throughout Europe. [Inaudible] What did you advise?

Well, I told many of those leaders your immigration is going to cause you a tremendous amount of problems in Europe -- in France and in Europe. And I've been right; that's an immigration problem. These are people that come in, as an example, in France where it's so bad, they don't love the country. They don't love their art, they don't love their buildings, they don't love their people and they've got themselves a riot.

This isn't about school; this is about immigration. And these are people that are coming, they're taking over the country and they made a mistake. And I've told Putin and I've told others, I told Putin having to do with Russia on another subject, but we talked about it. I told Macron, I told all of these leaders, you'd better watch your borders because your countries are being destroyed.

And you know who agrees with me? Some of the leaders that you people don't like.

Mr. President, the violence was also in Italy during this weekend. So, did you see that? What's your reaction in Italy, Milan, the violence of France.

It has to do with -- when you look at Italy and France, it has to do with immigration. And I told them all it was going to happen. That is a -- that's a boiler waiting to explode. It's a very sad thing to watch -- for me to watch. We have closed borders, nobody comes in. And we're getting all the people out, all the people that came in illegally, they're coming out.

What happened is they let people in, they didn't get them out and they came in by the millions. And honestly, they're different countries than they were 10 years ago.

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Do you think you're going to be able to get that meeting with North Korea next month in China?

Oh, I don't know. I don't know --

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I get along -- I get along with him very well. With Kim Jong-un, I get along with him very well. And I'm not sure that anybody is asking for a meeting, but my relationship with Kim Jong-un is very good.

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Would you like to see Delcy Rodriguez facing Maria Corina Machado in a presidential election in Venezuela?

Well, that would be interesting.

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Mr. President, what are your thoughts on Senator Elissa Slotkin suggesting that Democrats banned prosecutions of Republican leaders could scare young conservatives away from getting involved in politics?

I think what they've done is weaponize government. Slotkin is a lowlife who's ruining her state, just destroying her state. But what they're doing is really discouraging people from going into politics. No, they've weaponized government, the Democrats, that's what they've done.

[Inaudible] he's finding votes. How are you feeling about Hispanic votes --

I think we're doing great. I won with Hispanics; I've done more than any Republican in history; I got tremendous Hispanic pride.

[Inaudible] Republicans have been losing ground to what you want.

No, I think they're good and I think every time I have a rally -- right now, as you know, you know where I'm going, to Kansas, right? And we have Roger Marshall and we want to make sure he wins. He's a great Senator; I just want to make sure. Every place I've gone to, they're doing well. That means I have [Inaudible]

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Will you talk to President Xi about Ukraine?

I would do -- but so far, I think he's been very fair in Ukraine. He hasn't been very much involved and the same with Russia. They haven't been nearly what they could have been and I appreciate that, they know I appreciate that.

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Mr. President, you were so kind to let Ukrainians stay in America under TPS. Will you let them stay under the temporary protected status until the war ends? Ukrainians?

Are you talking about -- I'd certainly consider that.

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Do you have any update to a federal investigation into the death of Nolan Wells? You told me the other week that the FBI -- you were looking at the FBI investigation.

I will continue to look at it?

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Why are you training election workers? Why are you training election workers -- How do you see the future of Europe? As we know, Europe is in --

If Europe doesn't close its borders and bring the criminals out, like the people that are protesting, Europe is finished. Europe has to close its borders like I've been telling them for 10 years. They have to close their borders, and they have to take people that hate their countries out because otherwise they're finished, they will not have a chance of survival.

When I look at France, when you look at Italy, when you look at all the turmoil and the hatred, that's not about school, that's about people coming into the countries that hate the country, they hate the buildings, they hate the people, they hate the art. They have to close their borders, and they have to take those bad people out.

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Thank you, sir. Senator Slotkin, a Democrat, she says she wants there to be prosecutions of Republicans to scare conservatives, young conservatives going into office.

I know. That's a hell of a statement. So, Slotkin said that there should be prosecutions in order to scare people from going into politics. That's a Democrat and that's what they do; that's all they're good at. And you know what? That's why they're getting their asses kicked. But thank you.

Mr. President, on farmers, sir.

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You have a golf course here now, it's old, it's tired, it's beaten up, it's useless, it doesn't do much business. We want to do something great for Washington. We're going to basically build a better golf course. You could call it a renovation. It should be very simple and it's something that the Department of Interior is allowed to do absolutely.

All they want to do is fix up their property. It's been allowed to get rundown, it's bad, dangerous, dirty, lousy and it's going to be one of the great courses.

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