Press Gaggle: Donald Trump Speaks to Reporters Before Marine One Departure - October 22, 2026

Hello.

Hi. Mr. President, Amy Acton's mother has not cared for her in about 50 years after her stepdad was indicted for raping her. Why should anyone listen to what the mother has to say?

Well, I know nothing about it. All I know is the mother said very bad things about Acton, who I guess is running for governor against Vivek. And all I can say is Vivek is great. And I know one thing, if my mother said bad about me, it would be a major news story, that's for sure. So, I don't know what it is, but I guess the mother said very bad things about the one who's running for governor.

And I think you have to take that seriously.

Is there anything in a campaign ad that should be off limits?

I know one thing. If my mother said that about me, it would be -- you would have hit gold. You would have been very happy about it. So, I know nothing about it other than the mother said horrible things about a person that's running for governor of a great state, right, a great state. And if it's even a little bit true, you don't want her as governor.

Can I ask you about Ukraine? But you're campaigning for for Ashley Hinson tonight in Iowa. She said that the Ramaswamy ad is absolutely terrible and it should be taken down. Why are --

Well, that's her opinion.

You defending it?

That's her opinion. I'm defending it because I know that, if that ad were about my mother, you would love it. You would love every inch of it. And what's happened is the press has teamed up because he's a Republican, and they've tried to make it like it's a horrible thing. This is a mother saying very bad things about her daughter, and I don't know why that should be shielded.

The only problem is the press has decided to unify and act like it's a horrible thing. It's horrible for her. And I told Vivek, I said, well, if it were about you or about -- especially about me -- if Mary McLeod, my mother, Mary McLeod Trump, said that about me, you'd have it as your number one story.

On Ukraine, Mr. President, President Zelenskyy said these new Russian strikes overnight are proof that nothing's changed with Putin, that he doesn't want peace. How do you see it?

Well, we'll see how it works out. That's been happening a lot.

Mr. President, was it a mistake [Inaudible] Barack Obama is coming to Michigan right before --

Yeah.

You go through Michigan. Any thoughts on how that's going to work out for Democrats?

Well, I won Michigan by a lot. It was a -- it's a great state. I've done a lot for them, the Air Force base and everything else. And I think we're going to do very well in Michigan, I really do.

And then you saw what Ilhan Omar said about her brother. She was asked if she'd married her brother, and she said not to my knowledge.

Yeah.

Why do you think that she didn't just say no?

Well, if you asked me that same question about, let's say, my sister, I would say no. She said not to my knowledge. That tells you a lot right there. No, she's -- I've never been a big fan of hers, I -- I'll be honest. Let's see how it all works out. But that statement tells you a lot.

Did you call Elon Musk to bring back Starlink for Ukraine? When did you do that?

Well, I don't want to say. But I know it was a very interesting situation, so I don't want to comment one way or the other. But my --

The Wall Street Journal is --

My relationship with Elon is a very good one. Go ahead.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that you called him and asked him to --

Yeah, I don't want to comment on it. You know, whether I called or whether somebody else called doesn't make any difference. I guess the bottom line, he put it back.

Was it a mistake for Starshield to be slowed down over Ukraine?

Go ahead.

Mr. President?

Any other questions? Go ahead.

Thank you.

Say hello.

Mr. President, [Inaudible] one question.

Hi.

On Camp Lejeune, you said at the recent rally that you would --

Right.

Order the DOJ to settle those lawsuits if they're legitimate.

If they can, yeah.

Why not do so now, sir?

I think if they can do it reasonably, they should settle. If they can't, they have to just go. But we want to take care of a lot of soldiers. If soldiers were affected and it was -- it was a proper situation, we want to take care of it. We want to take care of our soldiers.

You said it was dependent on the midterms results, though. Why?

Well, because if we're not there, then somebody else is going to have to settle it. So, I can't speak for another administration. So, if we do badly or if the people that we need surrounding us can't get it done -- because you have a lot of congressmen up, you have a lot of senators up, you have a lot of people involved in that whole situation.

So, if the Republicans don't do well, I would say that maybe they won't get their money.

[Crosstalk]

Mr. President, why did you make no mention of the sexual abuse allegations that Amy Acton made against her stepfather, who stayed married to her mother?

Well, I have no idea -- I don't know the mother. I don't know her. I never heard of her until just recently as somebody running for governor of Ohio. I can tell you this. If my mother ever made those statements -- I have a mother -- I had a mother who's up there right now looking down, Mary McLeod Trump.

If she ever made statements like that about me, you and your fake station would have it front row center. You'd love it. What's happened is the -- the press has ganged up on a woman making a horrible statement about her daughter, and I don't know why she should be shielded or the daughter should be shielded.

She accused her stepfather of a child rape, Mr. President.

Wait a minute. The mother made a horrible statement about the daughter, said she was a dirty liar. She said she was a lot of different things. And I don't know why you're not allowed to say that, gee -- I know one thing. If my mother, who loved me --

But the child rape allegation is different.

Made those statements, you'd be the first one to be broadcasting, and you would have found nothing wrong with them. Amy Acton's mother said horrible things about Amy Acton, and I don't know why you're not allowed to do that. You're not allowed to broadcast it. Now, I'll say this. The press has ganged up because you hate it, because that one ad should really win.

Look, if what the mother said about the daughter is half right, she has no right even running for the governor of Ohio.

What about what the daughter said about her mother? What about what the daughter said?

I don't what the daughter said. I don't know.

She said her stepmother -- her mother remained married her stepfather, who sexually abused her when she was 12 years old.

Well, when did she make that statement? Was it --

Years ago. In the 1970s, sir. Years ago.

You know --

He was charged it.

You know, I have no idea. All I know is Amy Acton's mother said horrible things about Amy Acton, calling her a liar and other things, and unreliable, a lot of very bad things. And I say that she's fair game. And I know one thing. If it were my mother, I'd be fair game. And you know that and you know that well.

You're trying to help Amy Acton get elected. The press has teamed up to help Amy Acton get elected, and that's all it is. What the mother said is terrible from the standpoint that I wouldn't want somebody like that to be the governor of a great state.

[Crosstalk]

There are a lot of close races in red states, Mr. President.

Say it.

There are a lot of close races in red states. Why are Democrats doing so well?

Well, we don't know if they're close. I mean, I just saw that the New York Times used the poll numbers of a totally fake -- you know, a group that said they were fake numbers against me. So, I don't know if you saw that. The New York Times -- the New York Times used fake poll numbers against me, and it was just revealed.

The polling company just said that the numbers were fake, and I haven't had an apology from The New York Times. But if you saw that polling company, it was a fake poll, and The New York Times uses that polling company. So, to the best of my knowledge, they have not apologized to me.

[Inaudible] be able to keep the House and the Senate?

I hope so. I mean, we'll see. Look, we'll see. When I run, we get almost 50 percent more voters. So, if I can get my voters out, we're going to win. If we can't get the voters out, I guess not. Typically, the -- the president of -- you know, Republican, Democrat, whatever, doesn't do well in midterms. I say this.

If my poll -- if my people come out even a little bit, we'll do great. But I think the number is 49 or 50 -- 50 percent. So, when I run, 50 percent more people come out. I guess that's a compliment. I'd like to see if I could get a lot of them out now. If we do that, we'll win easily in a landslide.

Mr. President, a question on Maine --

[Crosstalk]

A question on Maine. You're going all over the country. Do you have plans to go to Maine? Would that help Senator Collins?

Well, we're going to go for a number -- we're probably going to add a couple. It's a lot of work. I will tell you, this is a lot of -- this is a lot of travel. But I love the people. We are getting great crowds. They have a line in Iowa that's miles long right now trying to get into the arena.

You're spending a lot of money and time in Texas. You're spending a lot of money and time in Texas, I think the most amount of money you're spending [Inaudible].

Well, I think this. I think that we have the greatest attorney general running in the history of Texas, and he's running against a guy they call him a freak. I mean, that's his nickname. He is a freak. And Texas cannot have Talafreako. So, what Texas has is the greatest attorney general in their history, and one of the greatest attorney generals in the country.

And that's what you want for your senator.

[Crosstalk]

Do you have any -- do you have any reaction to the reports that the -- the DOJ is looking at Corey Lewandowski now?

I don't know about it. I mean, I heard something about it, but I don't know exactly what it is. All I know is I want my people to be honest. And if they're not going to be honest, they have to be prosecuted. I don't know about specifically, but -- because I view it people are not honest. They're stealing from me as president.

They're stealing from me. So, I want my people to be honest. And if they're not honest, I'll have my DOJ go and do whatever they have to do.

Sounds like you're ok with that investigation then.

I -- well, I -- I could -- I guess I can stop anything. Look, if my people are not -- I have no idea what he did. I have just heard about it a little while -- I want the people that work for this administration to be 100 percent honest.

Sir, Calley Means -- Mr. President, did someone -- Calley Means means resigned today from HHS. Is MAHA dead, sir?

Don't know her very well at all. I guess you're talking about --

Calley Means.

It's a -- it's a Bobby person.

Secretary Kennedy's advisor.

Well, you'll have to ask -- no, no, it's doing great. MAHA's doing great.

[Crosstalk]

What was the concern? On Corey Lewandowski, it sounds like you were talking about him specifically when you were talking about people stealing.

I would say this. If somebody is dishonest, I consider them not only against the country, I consider that dishonest against me.

Do you think --

So, I will never -- I will never do anything to stop a prosecution if somebody is dishonest. Yeah.

How worried are you about the Mississippi Senate race? Why are you going to Mississippi?

I'm just hearing about it now from you. What -- what's wrong with Mississippi?

Are you worried about losing the seat there?

What are the poll numbers?

Why are you going?

What are the poll numbers? [Inaudible] for Cindy Hyde-Smith [Inaudible] below. And what is it? What are the poll numbers?

It's tough to say, but they're close.

I mean, Cindy Hyde's been very popular.

Why are you going?

If I need to -- you know, I won Mississippi as -- like I did just about everything else, in a landslide. So, if I need to get her over the top, I would go there. She's great. Cindy Hyde-Smith is great. So, if I need to go -- I mean, I'm pretty well booked up, as you see. But if I need to go, I'd go.

Sir, will you only endorse Vice President Vance if Republicans hold the majorities?

Vice president?

If Republicans don't hold the majorities, are you not going to endorse Vice President Vance for 2028?

Where do you get that idea?

Well, you just said it's way too early to tell --

I never even -- honestly, I never even --

What happens.

I never even thought of it, no, because we're just too -- we have too much time to be thinking about that. It's a long way off.

Where will you be -- Todd -- has Todd Blanche briefed you about the Corey Lewandowski situation?

No, he hasn't. I just heard about it a little while ago. But I want my people to be honest. If he's honest, that's good. If he's not honest, you have to pay a price.

And in all these tight races, Mr. President, how do you think the Iran war has impacted the races?

Well, in one way, they love it, because I'm doing what should have been done by other presidents. In another way, maybe they don't. It's -- there's a price to pay, which I knew immediately when I did it. But we can't let Iran have a nuclear weapon. I mean, in one way, people probably don't love it. But many people, many great patriots, really love it. This should have been done a long time ago by other presidents, the Iran war.

And we've knocked the hell out of them, and we may do it a little bit further. Thank you.