Q A couple questions. You mentioned the USCMA. Can you explain why you don't think, one, that Pelosi understands the deal? And, two, why don't you - why doesn't your administration send that text to Pelosi and force her hand and start the clock on that vote?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, they're being very nice to her because they really - you know, she's a mess. Look, let's face it: She doesn't understand it. And they sort of feel she's disintegrating before their eyes. She does not understand it. They want to have her understand it before we - it's finished, it's signed. As you know, Mexico has approved the deal. Canada has approved the deal. And they're waiting to get a signal for her.
Now, I would say this: The farmers should start talking to the Democrats in the House. The Senate is ready to approve it - the Republican Senate. But the Democrat House is not. Pelosi does not understand the bill. She doesn't understand it. Even though unions are in favor of it, farmers, manufac- - everybody, just about, is in favor of it. It's a replacement for, as I said, the worst trade deal ever made.
So she's got to get up to snuff, learn the bill. And, by the way, I think she wants to approve it - I think.
But, so Bob Lighthizer, who you can speak to you if you want, he's waiting to get the okay from her to send it in. But we're at a point where we're just going to have to send it in. It's all ready.
Q How long will you wait, sir?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, he said she'd like to have two weeks to get to know the bill. I think that's a long time. I think it's a - it's a do-nothing Congress. The Democrats have done nothing in the House. They've done absolutely nothing. They don't get - I mean, other than investigate. They want to,
"Let's investigate."
After the Mueller report came out - no collusion, no obstruction, no nothing -
"Let's start it all over again." They weren't too happy, so they want to just keep it going. And what that does is it takes up tremendous time and energy. And they've done absolutely - I mean, it's just been a - it's been very bad. So, if they don't get the USMCA, that would be very sad.
Jeff.
Q Speaker Pelosi said today she hoped your family would conduct an intervention.
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah.
Q What's your reaction to that?
THE PRESIDENT: No, I saw her read it perfectly, just the way she said it. It's a very, very - sort of a nasty type statement.
But I will say this: She said I walked into the room, right next door, yesterday, and walked in and started screaming and yelling. Just the opposite. Just the opposite. Because I know that they will always say that, even if it didn't happen - because this happened once before. I walked out; I was so calm. You all saw me minutes later. I was at a news conference. I was extremely calm. I was probably even more so in that room.
So, I walked into the Cabinet Room. You had the group: Cryin' Chuck, Crazy Nancy. I tell you what: I've been watching her, and I have been watching her for a long period of time. She's not the same person. She's lost it.
Now, as far as the group is concerned - where is Sarah? Kellyanne? Where are you? Come here a minute. You were in that room. Kellyanne. You were in the room. Sarah was in the room. Mercedes was in the room yesterday.
So I just want to let you know: Every time I go into a room, if there aren't cameras, they come out and say,
"Oh, he was yelling. He was screaming."
Kellyanne, what was my temperament, yesterday, in the room?
MS. CONWAY: Very calm. No temper tantrum. I told the Facts First crowd if they published that you were fuming, temper tantrum, rage, lost it - that that's just a lie, because everyone was there. I'm sure somebody has it on tape too. But you were very calm. Stood at the edge of the Cabinet table.
THE PRESIDENT: They have it on tape someplace?
MS. CONWAY: Sure.
THE PRESIDENT: Good. That'd be good.
MS. CONWAY: Cabinet - you stood at the end of the table, stated your case.
THE PRESIDENT: And he doesn't - Peter doesn't want to hear this, by the way. He wants to ask another one.
MS. CONWAY: But the headlines are written (inaudible).
THE PRESIDENT: Because he doesn't - he's fake news. But go ahead.
MS. CONWAY: And, by the way, sir - Mr. President, why would you have to raise your voice? You said to them, when you were done,
"There are two tracks. Come back and we'll talk about infrastructure." You made that very clear. We're working on infrastructure, drug pricing -
THE PRESIDENT: We had the meeting set up. Right.
MS. CONWAY: - USMCA. You made that very clear to them.
THE PRESIDENT: And I just don't know what she's going to do with USMCA. It's going to be one of the great trade deals of all time. And, frankly, if we didn't have tariffs, we would never have a deal like this, because when Canada, when Mexico said they're not going to agree to certain points, I said,
"That's okay, we're just going to tariff your nation. We're going to tariff your - either you're going to agree or not." It's a great deal. In fact, you know, your friends on the other side of the border, they started striking and picketing. So that's usually not a good sign for the other side, right?
We made a great deal. But whether or not Pelosi understands it, or whether - I don't think she's capable right now of understanding it. I think she's got a lot of problems.
Mercedes, you were in the room yesterday. I walked in, and I would say, in this voice, I said,
"Not right what you did. And calling a meeting like this wasn't right." And so I said,
"So I'm going to postpone it or call it off. But you can focus on one thing: You shouldn't go down two tracks at the same time." Because they can't. They're so - the whole Democrat Party is very messed up. They have never recovered from the great election of 2016 - an election that I think you folks liked very much, right?
Well, Nancy Pelosi was not happy about it. And she is a mess.
Let me ask you this, Mercedes - you're always a straight talker: You were in that room yesterday?
MS. SCHLAPP: Yes, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: What was my attitude when I walked in? Did I ever scream?
MS. SCHLAPP: No, you were - no, you were very calm and you were very direct. And you sent a very firm message to the Speaker and to the Democrats. And it's very discouraging and disgraceful to see that the Speaker would decide, an hour before coming to the White House, to make those comments, call it that there's a cover-up, and then stride into the White House and expect there to be an constructive meeting.
You know, we want to solve these big issues of infrastructure. We want to solve these big issues of USMCA. You, yourself, have tried time and time again to negotiate and work with them on issues like border security, which they call a
"manufactured crisis." And it's time for them to wake up and to stop waging this political war and these endless investigations, and start to really find the solutions that the American people are looking for, that our farmers are looking for.
THE PRESIDENT: Right. And I think it's going to be very hard for Nancy Pelosi to stop that. Now, they're a do-nothing group of people. The Democrats have done nothing, other than obstruct. They're obstructing this country, but they are obstructing. And it'll be interesting to see whether or not they approve the USMCA, which we need.
Is Sarah there? Sarah?
MS. CONWAY: She was called out.
THE PRESIDENT: Larry, were you at the meeting?
MR. KUDLOW: Yes, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: Oh, fantastic. The great Larry Kudlow. Could you come here, please? You're not afraid of television, I know that. Larry has done more live television. Maybe Regis has you by a little bit, right? Not by much.
Larry, you were at the meeting yesterday, right?
MR. KUDLOW: Yes, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: So they have this narrative that they want to put out. Because I saw Cryin' Chuck yesterday. And he went out, and he said,
"He was stomping, and he was this and that and..." Larry, you were there. There were many people there, by the way. Many people. We can get you 25 - 20 other people to say this. What was my attitude, yesterday, at the meeting?
MR. KUDLOW: Mercy is right. Kellyanne is right. You were very calm and you laid out the case. You had a lot of numbers of what you contributed in terms of paperwork and witnesses and so forth.
While you were there, they didn't say anything. The Speaker didn't say anything. And you left; you made your case.
THE PRESIDENT: That's all it was. Very calm, very -
MR. KUDLOW: Much calmer than some of our trade meetings. (Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: I would say calm like I was at news conference minutes ago - minutes later.
MS. CONWAY: Mr. President, if I could say one more thing.
When the 12 Democrats were here on April 30th for the first meeting, they went out to the sticks and addressed the press. And I think you should go back and play Speaker Pelosi's comments from that day because she made very clear that it was a productive, constructive move toward infrastructure.
And some of you asked her,
"How will you investigate him and work on infrastructure?" And she said,
"We didn't talk about investigations. We're here to talk about infrastructure." So that changed yesterday, an hour before she came here.
THE PRESIDENT: And there's really - if you look at it - hi, Sarah. We're just talking about the meeting. You were there yesterday?
MS. SANDERS: Yes, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: Were you?
MS. SANDERS: Yes.
THE PRESIDENT: Just come forward. Does anybody know Sarah Huckabee Sanders? (Laughter.) Sarah, we're just talking about the meeting yesterday. The narrative was I was screaming and ranting and raving, and it was terrible. And I watched Nancy and she was all crazy yesterday. She - with the hands and everything. She reminded me of Beto. She actually reminded me of Beto. (Laughter.) Maybe a little bit worse.
Just out curiosity - you were there - what was my tone yesterday at the meeting?
MS. SANDERS: Very calm. I've seen both - (laughter) - and this was definitely not angry or ranting. Very calm and straightforward and clear that we have to actually get to work and do good things for the American people. And it's going to be impossible to do that if we're spending all of our time fighting. So, yeah.
THE PRESIDENT: I couldn't have been more calm. I then respectfully said,
"Sorry to inconvenience you." And I left the room. I then went directly to the press conference, right?
MS. SANDERS: Yes, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: The reason I asked them to say it - because this happened to me once before with the same group. Cryin' Chuck. I don't want to say "Crazy Nancy," because if I say that, you're going to say it's a copy of "Crazy Bernie," and that's no good, because he - Bernie is definitely crazy.
But - but I did it because we had this instance at least once before where I was very, very calm on another occasion. And they walked out to the sticks and they said it was horrible.
"He was ranting. He was raving. He was pounding the table." The reason I didn't do that was because I didn't want to them to say I would do that, but they said it anyway. And so I thought they may say it again.
So I'm very glad that you all saw - were you there, Hogan? You know about it.
MR. GIDLEY: No, but I've seen the first one, Mr. President. And that accusation that you pounded your fists - and I'll be honest, you have every right to do that. We face a crisis on our southern border and they've done nothing. They have not worked with you. All they've done is mocked and derided you.
In fact, calling us
"liars" - calling you a liar," for calling out exactly what's happening at the southern border. You laid it out - the case - to them. They refused to work with you then and they're refusing to work you now.
