Press Gaggle: Donald Trump Speaks to Reporters Before Marine One Departure - October 21, 2026

So, I'm going to South Carolina. We're going to hopefully get Darline Graham elected. She's fantastic, sister of Lindsey. And, uh, we have a tremendous crowd, as we have always had, and I think it will be an amazing day. We had a very good meeting just now, as you know, on cyber, cybersecurity. And that's in full play, and we're gonna do very well.

Should have been done many years ago by other administrations. And do you have any quick questions? Go ahead.

[Crosstalk]

Mr. President -- [inaudible] Amy Acton estranged from her mother after suffering sexual abuse as a child.

Where is this? Where?

In Ohio. The governor candidate for Democrat, Amy Acton, is now featured. Her mother is featured in an ad by Vivek Ramaswamy. She's estranged from her mother.

I don't know anything about it. I heard that there, there's something where his, her mother went against her. Uh, I don't know what that has to do with Vivek.

She suffered sexual abuse by her mother's husband.

I just don't know that. And as you know --

Is it -- it appropriate for an actual campaign ad?

Well, I guess, you know, if it was about a Republican, I could guarantee you they'd let it go. So that's why you're asking. The fact is, I know nothing about it, but, uh, I hear the mother went, uh, very rogue on the daughter. Doesn't have a lot of respect for the daughter. And I think the mother is a witness to things also, so who knows?

And you'll have to figure that out. Uh, it's a very unusual situation to have a mother hate a daughter that much, but I don't think that has anything to do with Vivek.

[Crosstalk]

Go ahead.

Why are military personnel, why are experts, prior embassy personnel being ordered to depart their post in the Middle East, sir?

Uh, I don't know that they are. I mean, you're telling me something. I wouldn't know that.

You're going to South Carolina tonight, you're, in your campaign for Darline Graham.

Yeah.

What has she said to you about lifting those sanctions on Russia that her brother fought so hard for?

Well, I'll tell you, the interesting thing is, you know, we have a gentleman coming home from Russia that they've been after for years. He was captured or taken during the Biden administration. Uh, wouldn't have happened if I were president, but he, he was taken. And he's a highly respected man, Mr. Hubbard, Stephen Hubbard.

And we were in the midst of negotiating, and a lot of stupid people said, and people that don't know how life worked, they said, "Why aren't you putting Russian sanctions or all of this in the midst of a negotiation to try and get a long-term hostage back from, uh, Russia?

Did [Inaudible] give Russia anything in exchange?

If I would have done that, you would not have Mr. Hubbard coming back.

[Inaudible]

Right now, right now, and you don't know anything. I mean, you're fake news, CNN. Look, right now you have a man that's beautifully flying from Russia to wherever he's landing in the United States, that I got out because I had a very good and very fast negotiation with President Putin. If you would have put those sanctions on or whatever you want to call them, uh, you could forget about him.

You'd never see him again. He'd be back in jail for 25 years. The other thing, very important, we're negotiating with Russia right now on Ukraine. Uh, we are maybe close to a deal. For the first time in a long time, we're maybe close to a deal. When you're close to a deal, and you have very delicate negotiations, you don't put sanctions on. And the other thing, we have, uh, decimated Iran.

Russia has had very little input into Iran. They have -- certainly, they could have done a lot more, but I'm not sure they did almost anything. Uh, and that's something that you have to take into consideration also. So we've beaten Iran, we continue to beat Iran, and Russia and China, frankly, have not been certainly much of a player, and we appreciate that.

So the people that say that, "Oh, let's put sanctions on," you know, I have the right to do them in any day. If, if they behave badly --

[Inaudible] in exchange for pay for peace, right, Mr. President?

You don't know what you're talking about. You're a dummy. You're a low-IQ person. You're a dummy, and you work for CNN. Let me tell you, if I'm negotiating to get a man back, a man that we've wanted back for years, a man that was a prisoner in Siberia or someplace in Russia, and we're getting him back because of me. Should have been brought, it should have never happened.

But it should have been brought back during Biden, because he was there during the Biden that was, he was captured or taken during Biden. When you're negotiating that, and you're dropping, and I know that I'm doing it, and because a lot of people didn't know, and they'd say, "Oh, let's put sanctions in Russia," the negotiation would obviously come immediately to an end, so use your head.

Mr. President, [Inaudible] war in Iran --

I don't know. I don't know. No, I think it's one of the greatest things.

Do you think it was a mistake in hindsight?

I think it's one of the greatest, I think it's one of the greatest things we've done. We've stopped Iran from having a nuclear weapon. It's one of the best things that we've done. Uh, it took a lot of courage to do it because no other president was willing to do it. And if we didn't do it, Iran would, right now, have already used massive nuclear weapons.

[Crosstalk]

In Ukraine, [Inaudible] personally ordered Starlink and Starshield [Inaudible]

No, I wasn't involved.

-- or did Elon Musk order it?

I don't know who did it, but I was not involved in it.

[Inaudible] how was ending those sanctions on Russia to secure the release of Hubbard not giving something to Russia in exchange?

Are you a stupid person? Who do you work for?

ABC News.

You're a stupid person. And by the way, your network is the worst of all.

[Crosstalk]

[Inaudible]

Yeah, we would have a meeting. We would certainly have that as a meeting. Yeah.

How confident are you?

Uh, I can't say --

And did China [Inaudible]

I can't say that it's gonna happen, but having a meeting on denuclearization is a very good thing.

[Crosstalk]

[Inaudible] -- while it's being litigated.

I haven't heard that.

[Crosstalk]

[Inaudible] from Brazil. Recently, your Treasury Department announced sanctions against the cartels then less they exposing the Mexican cartels of their, uh, abuse of the American Quarter horses.

Go ahead, then.

So are you gonna launch a full investigation on these cartels --

I always do. And I always have. Thank you for that.

[Crosstalk]