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Remarks in an Exchange With Reporters Aboard Air Force One En Route to Waterford Township, Michigan

Compilation of Presidential Documents (GovInfo) · 2026-07-27

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Administration of Donald J. Trump, 2026

Remarks in an Exchange With Reporters Aboard Air Force One En Route to
Waterford Township, Michigan
July 27, 2026

The President. Hello, everybody. Hi, Jennifer [Jennifer Jacobs, CBS News].
Q. Afternoon, sir.
Q. Mr. President.
The President. Hello, everybody.
Do you have a question, Jennifer?
Secretary of War Peter B. Hegseth/U.S. Military Operations in Iran
Q. Yes. On the Iran war. Have you been frustrated with Secretary Hegseth because of the
advice——
The President. No.
Q. ——he gave you early on in the war and how it's turned out?
The President. No, I think he's done a great job. We've pretty much destroyed their military.
They want to meet, and we're meeting. We'll see what happens. There's a chance we could make a
deal.
Without what we did, they wouldn't even be talking to us. They requested a meeting through
their surrogates and directly, and we're meeting. And you know, good things can happen.
I guess oil dropped very big today. The stock markets, as of about an hour ago, was, like,
through the roof.
But no, they requested a meeting. They would not have requested the meeting if we were
doing poorly. The only reason they want to meet is because we've been hitting them very hard.
Yes.
Commercial Transit Through the Strait of Hormuz/Iran/U.S. Diplomatic Engagement
Q. How much patience do you have left with Iran, sir?
The President. I have a lot of patience. I have plenty of time. Plenty of time.
Their whole shoreline's wiped out. The Strait is in very good shape, and we're talking right
now. You know, they wanted to talk. Their people said, "Please don't drop—don't shoot," last
night, the night before, two nights. "Don't do it."
You know, we're having good talks, so we'll see what happens. I think there's a good chance
that something could happen. And if it does, good. If it doesn't, we go back to doing what we
were doing 2 days ago.
Red Sea/Houthi Rebel Group
Q. Mr. President, what has communication been like with the Houthis in the Red Sea?
The President. With who?
Q. The Houthis. Are you concerned about the disruptions?

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The President. Well, we're dealing with Saudi Arabia, and it's a problem that we had a while
ago, and we knocked the hell out of them, as you know. But we didn't have any problems with the
Houthis after that. But we're not involved with that. But we may—you know, if they're a problem,
we'll probably have to get involved.
Saudi Arabia/Middle East Regional Peace and Integration Efforts
Q. On Saudi Arabia, have you gotten any indications from Saudi Arabia when it comes to
the Abraham Accords that they will sign on?
The President. We haven't talked about that, no.
Q. You put out a Truth Social——
U.S. Munitions Supplies
Q. Mr. President, are you concerned about unit stockpiles if there is a broadening conflict in
Iran?
The President. No, we have plenty. We have a lot of ammunition, different types. You know,
Biden gave a lot to Ukraine, and so we're building that up. But we have a lot. We have a lot of the
mid-level stuff too. I mean, more than we could ever use, no matter what. But we have a lot.
I'd like to have more, to be honest. But so much was given to Ukraine by Biden.
When I left, the cupboards were full. When I came here, with Obama, he didn't buy
ammunition. We had very little, and I got it built. Now, as soon as I left, they gave a lot of it to
Ukraine. I mean, I mean numbers that nobody's ever seen before.
Q. [Inaudible]
The President. So we're building it very rapidly. Plants are being built. A lot of equipment's
being built. The Patriots, in particular, are being built. The THAAD system is going up. We have
a lot.
Every one of our contractors is building four to five plants right now, and we're in very good
shape.
But, for some of the more sophisticated stuff, we'd certainly like to have more. Biden gave a
lot of it away.
Senate Majority Leader John R. Thune/Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act
Q. Mr. President, you put out a Truth Social this morning about Leader John Thune. What's
your relationship like with the Senate majority leader?
The President. It's fine. It's fine. He's got to get his job done. But it's fine. I have a good
relationship with John Thune. He's just got to get his job done.
You got to get SAVE—the SAVE America Act passed, or better than that would be the
filibuster. If you terminate the filibuster, everything happens. If you don't terminate the filibuster,
only bad things will happen. If you don't terminate the filibuster, only bad things will happen.
Q. But you don't want to see him replaced as leader?
The President. No, I haven't even thought about it.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel
Q. You're meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu tomorrow, why did you ask for——
The President. Yes, I will be. I'll meet him.

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Q. Why did you ask for that meeting? I know you guys are on the same page on Iran.
Are you on the same page on Iran, you and Prime Minister Netanyahu?
The President. We're close, yes. Pretty close—we have a little difference, but pretty close.
Yes.
Well, Iran took a beating over the last 14 days, and they asked us very nicely: "Please stop.
Let's meet." And that's where we are right now. We'll see what happens.
If we don't make a deal, we go back to the same thing.
Ukraine/Russia
Q. Zelenskyy—President Zelensky says—Zelenskyy says that Russia is giving Iran satellite
imagery of U.S. bases in the Gulf to help them target. What can you do about that?
The President. Well, we'll find out if that's true. I'll ask Putin about it. We'll find out.
Q. Sir, do you think that he would say?
Q. [Inaudible]
The President. It hasn't had much impact, because we've knocked the hell out of them, when
you think. If that's the case—look, you know, they gave Venezuela a lot of equipment. Venezuela
had all Russian equipment. How did that work out? Not too good.
So they may be giving, but if they are, it hasn't worked out, because they have no army, they
have no air force, they have no navy, they have no nothing, so it hasn't worked out well.
I don't think they've been doing it. Certainly not at a high level. And if they have, it has been
very unimpactful.
Venezuela
Q. There've been reports that the United States has taken in $13 billion from Venezuela.
What is—where is that money going?
The President. Thirteen billion from Venezuela?
Q. Correct. Venezuela.
The President. I think even more than that.
No, Venezuela, we've paid for that war many times over, and that will happen with Iran also.
We paid for the war many times over.
Q. But where is that money going in the——
The President. Which, by the way, no other President can say that for a long time. Okay?
When was the last President they could say that?
So we had a cost of Venezuela. We paid for it many, many times over. And now, as you
know, we have a very good relationship with Venezuela.
Q. But where is that money going?
The President. Goes toward running the country.
Q. No, in the U.S.—the money that the U.S. is taking in, where is that money going?
The President. From Venezuela?
Q. Yes.

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The President. Toward running the country. It can go to the military. You know, Congress
has to approve it. Congress doesn't like approving money for the military. They like giving it to
things that shouldn't be done.
But we're taking in a lot of money, billions and billions of dollars from Venezuela. That will
happen with Iran too.
Iran/Frozen Assets Held in the U.S.
Q. On the Iranian assets. You've said that Iranian assets will be used to pay for damages to
ships that——
The President. That's right.
Q. ——are hit in the Strait of Hormuz. Would the U.S. pay shipping companies directly?
The President. No. No, we're going to use Iran's money to pay for the damage they did. In
other words, the Iran money that we control will be used to pay for damages. Sound good? Not
bad, right?
He should be a reporter.
Okay. Any other questions?
Federal Reserve System/Interest Rates/Iran/Nuclear Weapons Development/Israel
Q. On the Federal Reserve. The FOMC is meeting this week on Wednesday.
The President. And by the way, we're meet—we're going to Michigan. The car companies
are doing better than they've ever done. Many, many plants are being built all over the United
States. They'll be opening them over the next year. Toyota just agreed to come in, move its entire
operation out of Mexico and into the United States. They'll be opening, I guess, the largest plant
in the world, somebody said, but because—all because of tariffs and because of me. All because
of Trump. So it's been pretty amazing, actually.
Q. Mr. President, the Federal Reserve is meeting this week. They've not hit the inflation
target set. They've not hit the 2 percent. They—there are some bets——
The President. Well, we had a very good inflation report the other day.
Q. Are you worried that they might in——
The President. The costs are going down rapidly. Don't forget, I inherited the—I haven't
been here very long. I inherited the worst inflation in history from Biden. But costs are going
down rapidly, and as soon as the war is over, you're going to have—you're going to see a big
drop.
Q. Are you worried that the Fed's going to hike rates to counter inflation?
The President. Well, they have a Board. And Kevin's fantastic, but he's got a Board, and the
Board members are very political, I would say. So, you know, we fight our way through the rates
because we're doing so well.
But no, he's got a Board. You know, he's—he wants to do the right thing. I know what he
wants to do. But you need the consent of some people that have perhaps bad intentions.
Rates should be lowered. This country could be at 8 percent, 9 percent, 10 percent, 12
percent GDP. That's what it should be.
Q. What's——

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The President. We have other countries that are paying less interest rates, and if it wasn't for
us, they wouldn't even exist. It's ridiculous—and they call them elite. We have other countries—
you—I don't want to really mention names of countries, but I could give you plenty that they take
money out of the U.S., and because of that, they make and they get a lower interest rate than we
do, and it shouldn't be that way.
We should have the lowest interest rate in the world. I could take the money that these
countries are making, put it into our portfolio, and we would be—we should have the lowest
interest rate in the world, like it used to be 30 years ago. We always made the lowest rate.
If you take a look at, like, Switzerland, where we have a $30 billion deficit, I could wipe out
that deficit overnight. Overnight. That'd be money that would actually indirectly come to us.
So we've got a lot of interesting things going, but our country is the strongest we've ever
been. It's the hottest country anywhere in the world, and frankly, we're being very nice to a lot of
countries that would not survive without us.
And you know who wouldn't survive without us? Israel. Bibi's coming. He'll tell you.
If I didn't get involved and if I didn't blow up those nuclear—essentially, soon-to-be-nuclear-
weapons; the dust, as I call it—Israel would have been terminated months ago, and years ago if I
didn't terminate the Obama horrible agreement.
Turkey/U.S. Defense Sales
Q. Prime Minister Netanyahu does disagree with you on the F–35s to Turkey. Are you going
to tell——
The President. Say it. What?
Q. Prime Minister Netanyahu opposes sending F–35s to Turkey. Are you going to tell him—
—
The President. Well, no, look, Turkey's been a great ally for me. You know, I think he's—
he's done a very good job. Did a good job with Syria. He's a friend of mine. And nobody tells me
what we should be selling or not.
Turkey's been a tremendous ally for me. If it was up to Turkey, Turkey would—Turkey's not
a big fan of Israel. You know that, right? And not a big fan of Bibi. But he is—they've been great
for me.
Turkey has been great. Very powerful country, by the way. Tremendous military. Very big
military. Very powerful military. Has a lot of great equipment.
U.S. Military Operations in Iran
Q. Does Netanyahu want you to strike a deal on Iran, or does he want you to keep attacking?
The President. He's been fighting—Bibi has been great. I'm not going to say it. He was a
wartime Prime Minister. We did very well together. And if you look at Iran now, they're 8
percent of what they were 4 months ago. They're 8 percent of what they were 4 months ago. So
we'll see how this all comes out.
Okay?
Election Reforms/Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act
Q. On the Senate, on the SAVE Act. Why do you want the U.S. Senate to stay in town?
Shouldn't they be out across the country campaigning?

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The President. Why? What a stupid question for you to ask.
Q. Shouldn't they be out and be campaigning though?
The President. What a stupid question.
Q. Because—[inaudible].
The President. For Jennifer to ask such a stupid—she's a smart person. I knew her all the
way back in the Iowa days when she said Trump's going to win, and boy was she right.
So, listen, why do I want? The SAVE Act has to be done. They shouldn't leave town. I'm not
going to stop them from doing it, but they should get the SAVE Act done.
If they don't get it done, it's going to be a very bad thing for the party. And frankly, you
know, if you look at it, the SAVE Act is going to be voted against by all Democrats, just so we
know. We have some Republicans that I will not comment on—a few of them, probably four—
that we probably won't get their vote. I'd like to comment on them, but I have too much sense to
do it.
The Democrats are going to vote a hundred percent against voter identification and proof of
citizenship. A hundred percent. They want your taxes to go up. They want men playing in
women's sports. They want open border for the world's criminals to pour into our country. And
yet, despite all of that, we have the lowest crime rate in the history of our country, since 1900,
with murders—with all of that, with all of the 25 million people, many of them criminals, that the
Democrats let in.
Well, they just announced this morning: They want an open-border policy where the world's
criminals can pour into our country.
I think they're crazy. There's something wrong with them.
Any other questions?
Artificial Intelligence/China
Q. Mr. President, on China. On China, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last week the
administration's going to look into whether Chinese AI models are distilling from U.S. models.
The President. Yes, well, they'll look.
Q. Do you think China's stealing American IP?
The President. Well, you know, we—they're looking at us, and we're looking at them. But
we're leading, now, China substantially in AI, and we're going to keep it that way.
We're leading everybody in everything. We have a country that's doing well.
Thank you very much, everybody. See you in Michigan.
Q. Thank you, Mr. President.

NOTE: The President spoke at 12:24 p.m. in the press cabin. In his remarks, he referred to former
Presidents Joseph R. Biden, Jr., and Barrack Obama; Kevin M. Warsh, Chairman, Federal
Reserve System Board of Governors; President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey; and Sens.
Susan M. Collins, Thomas R. Tillis, Lisa A. Murkowski, and A. Mitchell McConnell. He also
referred to S. 1383.

Categories: Interviews With the News Media : Exchanges with reporters, Air Force One.
Locations: Air Force One.

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Names: Biden, Joseph R., Jr.; Collins, Susan M.; Erdoğan, Recep Tayyip; Hegseth, Peter B.;
McConnell, A. Mitchell; Murkowski, Lisa A.; Netanyahu, Benjamin; Obama, Barack; Putin,
Vladimir Vladimirovich; Thune, John R.; Tillis, Thomas R.; Warsh, Kevin M.
Subjects: Armed Forces, U.S., munitions supply; Artificial intelligence and emerging
technologies; Automobile industry, strengthening efforts; Border security; Defense contractors,
delivery improvement efforts; Election security and integrity, strengthening efforts; Federal
Reserve System; Inflation; Interest rates; Iran, commercial transit through Strait of Hormuz; Iran,
diplomatic engagement with U.S.; Iran, U.S. airstrikes on nuclear facilities; Iran, U.S. military
operations; Iran, U.S. sanctions and seizure of assets; Israel, defense relationship with U.S.;
Israel, Prime Minister; Middle East, regional integration and security; News media, Presidential
interviews; Oil markets and prices; Red Sea, threats to commercial shipping operations; Russia,
President; Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act; Saudi Arabia, security cooperation with
U.S.; Secretary of War; Senate filibuster use; Senate majority leader; Stock market; Turkey,
President; Turkey, relations with U.S.; Ukraine, U.S. assistance; Venezuela, relations with U.S.;
Venezuela, U.S. military capture and exfiltration of President Maduro; Yemen, Houthi rebel
group.
DCPD Number: DCPD202600492.