The President: Okay, so I'm heading to the great state
of Pennsylvania, and we're going
to have a rally. A lot of people are outside,
as you probably know. Many, many people. And it's going to be
a packed house, as it always is. I don't know if you've ever seen
a vacancy for Trump, but I don't think so.
We're going to have a good time. I don't know who's coming,
but I hope you come. It'll be a lot of fun. The Press: Why are you asking
Don McGahn to defy a Congressional
subpoena? The President: Well,
as I understand it, they're doing that for
the Office of the Presidency, for future presidents. I think it's
a very important precedent.
And the attorneys say that
they're not doing that for me; they're doing that
for the Office of the President. So, we're talking
about the future. Yes, go ahead. The Press: What's your feeling
on Judge Mehta's ruling about
your financial records? And do you plan to appeal? The President: Well,
we disagree with that ruling. It's crazy
because you look at it — this never happened
to any other president. They're trying to get a redo. They're trying to get
what we used to call in school a deal —
a do-over. And if you look, you know,
we had no collusion, we had no obstruction.
We had no nothing. The Democrats were very upset
with the Mueller report, as perhaps they should be. But, I mean, the country
is very happy about it because there was never
anything like that.
And they're trying to get
a redo, or a do-over, and you can't do that. As far as the financials
are concerned, we think it's the wrong —
it's totally the wrong decision by, obviously,
an Obama-appointed judge. He was a recent
Obama-appointed judge. The Press: Mr. President,
your reaction to Justin Amash, who says you committed
impeachable offenses? The President: Well,
I've known him, and he's been against Trump
from the beginning.
He probably wants to run
for some other office. I don't think
he'll do very well. He's been a loser
for a long time. Rarely votes for Republicans. And, you know, personally,
I think he's not much. The Press: What do you have
to say to Americans who feel that your
administration is stonewalling all these investigations
up on Capitol Hill? Why not let Don McGahn testify?
Are you afraid of what — The President: I think we've
been the most — The Press: — he has to say? The President: Yeah, I think
we've been the most transparent administration in the history
of our country.
We just went through
two years of Bob Mueller, with 18 people
that hated Donald Trump. They were Angry Democrats,
as I called them. We've been through it
for two years, and they spent almost
$40 million on it. We had, I think,
500 people testified. We had 1.4
or 1.5 million documents. At the end of all of that,
he said there's no collusion. Now what happens is
the Democrats want a re-do, and we've had enough,
and the country has had enough. There has never been,
ever before, an administration that's been
so open and transparent. So, we want to get on. What we want to do is get on
with running the country. The Press: Can you clarify
your position specifically on
the Alabama abortion law? And do you think
it goes too far? The President: Well, I put out
my position on the — on abortion.
You've known it for a long time.
But I put it out the other day. You have it.
I feel strongly about it. And all of that is working
its way through court, along with the fact
that the Democrats are talking about third term and they're really talking
about beyond third term, and that's a terrible thing. The Press: What's going on
with Iran? Are you worried
about a war there? Or do you want negotiations
or what? The President: So, with Iran,
we'll see what happens. But they've been very hostile. They've truly been the
number-one provocateur of terror in this country and in the — you know,
representing their country. But certainly, our country
has been very much involved because we're trying to help
a lot of people out. And I don't mind that at all.
We have no indication that anything has happened
or will happen.
But if it does, it will be met,
obviously, with great force. We'll have no choice. The Press: (inaudible) negotiations with them?
Any talks with them? The President: Say it? The Press: Any negotiations
with Iran? The President: We have not —
we've not talked about it. We'll see what happens. If they called,
we would certainly negotiate. But that's going
to be up to them. I'd only want them to call
if they're ready. If they're not ready,
they don't have to bother. The Press: Will you continue
to apply economic sanctions to Iran?
Or are you going to pause it to try and deescalate tensions
right now? The President: Well,
we'll see what happens. But right now,
we have very strong sanctions. We'll see what happens. The Press: The polls have you
losing in Pennsylvania to several Democrats — The President: I don't know. I think we're doing very well in Pennsylvania. We won it last time. The polls had us
losing Pennsylvania last time, and we won.
And I expect we'll win it this
time because the coal industry, the steel industry,
the car industry — they're all doing
incredibly well. Pennsylvania now has the best
employment they've ever had — the best employment record. More people working
in Pennsylvania now than ever before, like,
in our country. So, I think we'll do
very well in Pennsylvania. The Press: Will you appeal
the judge's ruling on the — on your financial — The President: Yeah.
They'll
appeal it. The Press: You will appeal it?
You will — The President: They'll appeal it. Sure, they'll appeal it. The Press: What about this —
there's another child who has died on the border.
Another child migrant, now five. The President: Well,
I know this, that if you look at the border,
and if you look at the fact that the Democrats
are really making it very, very dangerous for people
by not approving simple, quick, 15-minute legislation,
we could have it all worked out. It'd be great for people, great
for lives, great for safety. And the border
is a dangerous place.
It's only made that way because the Democrats will
not approve any legislation. I mean, they don't want
to approve anything. And it's making the border
very dangerous. The Press: What's being done
to make sure these kids don't die, though? What's being done to make sure
these kids don't die? The President: Well,
we're working very hard. And I'll tell you,
the Border Patrol people and all of law enforcement
is working very hard. I mean, unfortunately, many of them have
become doctors and nurses, and they're taking people
that are very, very sick from a long trek up —
2,000 miles — and they're doing
an incredible job.
Honestly, what should happen is the Democrats should sit down
and make changes so that we can
protect people on the border. The Press: Do you mean
there is no — you don't see anything going on
right now from the Iranian side? Is that what you just said? The President: Say it again? The Press: Did you mean,
right now, what you said that — The President: There are no
talks going on with Iran. The Press: What Iran might
or might not be up to — do you see any threats
right now? Do you see any threats? The President: I think Iran
would be making a very big mistake
if they did anything.
If they do something,
it'll be met with great force. But we have no indication
that they will. Okay? The Press: Are you going to
approve additional funding for Puerto Rico, for disaster funding,
as part of this package? The President: So, I've given
more money to Puerto Rico than, I believe, any president ever. They've gotten $91 billion
for the hurricane. Not only that; our military,
our law enforcement, and FEMA has done a great job
for Puerto Rico. And I think the people of
Puerto Rico are very thankful. We'll see you in Pennsylvania..