President Trump Gaggles with Press Upon Departure from the White House, Oct. 19, 2026

Hello, everybody. I'm going to take a nice trip. 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. 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, Mr. President, Mr. President, you said that you don't want to drive Vladimir Putin away from the Balkans. 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. It's nice because we're hitting Iran very hard, as you know, economically as well as militarily. And Russia's 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. Well, I think when they find out what the deal is, they... I've had four of them call up, and they only put out one 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. and the deal is 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 do that, 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, It'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, wholly 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 in everybody. Every place that I've gone to, we're up. The Press.: Mr. President, have you agreed for trilateral meeting with President Putin to talk about Ukraine? The President.: 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 anytime 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 the denuclearization, and that's a very positive thing for the world. The Press 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'd talk about other things like trade, too. But, yeah, I would do that. I don't know who it was, but I'd like to find out. Mr. President, Mr. President, Emmanuel Macron is blaming the Iran war and you, essentially, for the rioting in France right now. I don't think he's... I think that's fake news. Who are you with? No, sir. Mary Bartlett with the Daily Wire. Oh, Daily Wire's good. Mr. President. Sorry, Daily Wire's good. Mr. President, would you do a meeting with President... Emmanuel, I'd like to see 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 don't think he will. Mr. President, Zelensky says you're supporting troops by making these tanks. I'm supporting stopping 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, Zelensky is not helping Mattis, but 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 to 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 stuff. Ukraine is losing all of its men. You know, I was watching a woman on television the other night, and she claims a little. 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. Yes. The Presser- Mr. President, what do you mean with President Xi and Zelenskyy to discuss the end of the war without Zelenskyy there? Well, I would meet and order anything I could do to end the war, whether somebody's there or not, whatever I could 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 could do denuclearization, I will have done the world a big, big favor. So let's say you're on the wrong side of history here, sir. We are going to have... So let's say you're on the wrong side of history. What'd you say? So let's say you're on the wrong side of history on this one. Zelensky said? Zelensky 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. And to be honest, I don't think, I think there's time for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine. Because what's happened, very little land destroyed, but a million people, a tremendous number of people in 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 Zelensky to get somebody else to negotiate. Is it a bad sign for Republicans that you have to go compete 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... The Press Why is it so close? The President You want to listen to him? The Press Yes, sir. The President I went to Alaska, and Dan Sullivan is up. I went to Ohio. John 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 has ever seen. We 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. 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 why. 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 it knocked out. That was me. Obama gave them pillows. You know the expression? Obama gave them sheets and pillows. Trump gave them the javelin. So don't tell me about Ukraine. We've given a lot to Ukraine. They've given us nothing. The Press- The Republicans are worried that you're going to put money in Mr. Trump's pocket. What's your response to that? The Press- Russia could have done way more to help. You said Russia could have done way more to help Iran if they want to. The Press- Russia could have done a lot more. That's right. Russia could have done a lot more to help, if you could put it bluntly. Russia could have done a lot more to help Iran. Russia's done very little for Iran. China has done a lot more for Iran. 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. How about the midterm? How about the midterm? How do you feel about the midterm? I feel good. I feel good. I mean, I think it's good. I think it's fake polls. Look, I had one poll where I was down by three, 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 the polls are rigged, just like the journalists are rigged. I can name six of them that I'm looking right here. You're rigged journalists. 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 they ended up winning by almost 20 points. The Press Well, you said you were a Republican. The President You know what? She — and by the way, she knew what she was doing. That was a crooked — that was a crooked deal. The Press That's impressive. The President Because up until then, for years, she was always polling the correct numbers I was going to win by a lot. I had a great win in Iowa, and she said I was going to lose by four, and I won by almost 20. That was a crooked deal. Mr. President, on the French protest, what's your message to the young people in France who are protesting 50, hoping for a better future? Well, the French, this 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 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. The Press The Press The Press The Press The Press The Press The Press The Press The Press The Press Mr President, a lot of Republicans are worried that the Lib Dems will... The National Guard member was shot. After he tried to break up a fight. What's your message to the National Guard? Mr President, Mr President, Mr President, you send 600... Thank you, Mr President. Throw this for strength. You're out of Europe. You're not out of France. Get a government. What do 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 right. This isn't about schools. This is about immigration. These are people that are coming and taking over the country, and he made a mistake. And I told Putin, and I told others, I told Putin, having to do with Russia on another subject, when we talked about it, I told Macron, I told all of these leaders, you've got to watch your borders, because your countries are being destroyed. And you know who agrees with me? Some of these leaders that you people don't like. President, the violence was also in Italy during this weekend. So did you see that? What's your reaction in Italy, Milan? Well, it has to do with, when you look at Italy and France, it has to do with immigration. And I told them all that was going to happen. That is 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 ten years ago. 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. 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's asking for a meeting, but my relationship with Kim Jong-un is very good. Would you like to see Delcy Rodriguez facing Maria Corina Machado in a presidential election in Venezuela? Well, that would be interesting. I think what they've done is weaponize government, government. Oh my God, what is this? What kind of government? Are you insane? Oh my God, ruining her, her state, destroying her state. But what they're doing is really discouraging people from going into politics. No, they've weaponized government for Democrats. That's what they've done. How are you feeling about Hispanic voters today? More than any Republican in history, I've got tremendous respect for them. Are you looking around for 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, you can't, right? And we have Roger Marshall, and we want to make sure he wins. great senator. I just want to make sure. Every place I've gone to, they're doing well. Mr. President, when you talk to the President, is she about Ukraine? When you talk to the President, is she about Ukraine? I would do. But so far, I think he's been very fair with Ukraine. He's 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. Mr. President, why are you... how do we see the future of Europe? As we know, Europe is in a... 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 to survive. When I look at France, when you look at Italy, when Look at all the turmoil and the hatred. That's not about school. That's about people coming into the country that hate the country. They hate the building. They hate the people. They hate the art. They have to close their borders, and they have to take those bad people out. In California, why is it a question of farmers? Thank you, sir. Senator Slotkin, a Democrat, she says she wants her to be prosecuted. She's scared of the young conservatives going into office. I know. 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. Thank you. How much do you have a golf course? It's old, it's tired, it's beaten up, it's useless. It doesn't do much to us, but we want to do something great for Washington. We're going to basically build a better golf course. We can go on 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 run down, bad, dangerous, dirty, lousy, and it's going to be one of the great courses. What do you think?