In Difficult Times Good People gravitate towards Absolute Truth
Press Briefing by Press Secretary Sarah Sanders
In the meantime, we're looking at other areas where we can draw money from to make sure that the President can actually protect our border and protect American citizens.
Q With the deficit ballooning to over a trillion dollars under this President, where are the additional monies for this wall going to come from? And why is he asking the American taxpayer for them, when he promised Mexico was going to pay?
MS. SANDERS: Look, we're not asking American taxpayers for that. We are looking at existing funding through other agencies right now that we can draw on to do that immediately.
The President has been clear -
Q So there's no add to the deficit?
MS. SANDERS: The President has been clear that the USMCA deal would provide additional revenue through that deal that would show that Mexico was paying for the wall.
Q Not to the Treasury, though. The trade benefits, if there are any, don't go to the Treasury.
MS. SANDERS: He's saying that the revenue provided and the money that would be saved through the USMCA deal, we could pay for the wall four times over. And by doing that new trade deal, we have the opportunity to pay for the wall.
Q But trade benefits go to private citizens. They don't go the United States Treasury.
MS. SANDERS: But he's talking about - he's talking about the general revenue that comes from that.
Q So you're going to tax?
MS. SANDERS: No, we're not taxing. We're talking about additional revenue that wouldn't have existed without the President getting a new deal.
Q Have you done the math on that? That -
MS. SANDERS: There are - there have been a number of things that we've looked at in which we know will have additional revenue that comes in through the USMCA.
Q Twenty-five billion from the USMCA into the Treasury?
MS. SANDERS: We think we'll have - we think there will be more than that that comes in.
Jeff, go ahead.
Q Sarah, it was announced today that the President's charity is being dissolved. Does the President or anyone in his family have regrets about how that charity was handled?
MS. SANDERS: That's something that I would refer you to the Trump Organization. That's not something we could comment on here at the White House.
Q Let me ask you one other question on another topic. Can you just clarify, Sarah -
MS. SANDERS: Sorry, I'm going to keep it moving.
Q Can you just clarify, Sarah, real quick on something else - whether the President has given any indications to Turkey that he would be willing to extradite the cleric, Gulen?
MS. SANDERS: The only thing he said is that we would take a look at it. Nothing further at this point beyond that.
Q Take a look at extraditing?
MS. SANDERS: Take a look at it but nothing committal at all in that process. Just that he would look into it.
Q Sarah, you've been saying a lot that things don't have anything to do with the President, and he's just giving his opinion, and he has a right to give his opinion. But does he not have a broader right - I mean, responsibility, as far as, you know, if his national security advisor is lying? Should he not be speaking on behalf of the American people, not just himself, President Trump, man under investigation? But, you know, in all these aspects, you're talking about - saying that he is just speaking for himself and he's not been linked to collusion, is the claim, and therefore, you know, it doesn't matter what he says. And the same thing with the Fed and -
MS. SANDERS: That's not what I said at all.
Q - that his comments on the Fed have no bearing; he's just giving his opinion. What about him speaking for the American people?
MS. SANDERS: I didn't say they have no bearing. I said he's the President of the United States and he should - not only does he have the ability to give his opinion, he should give his opinion. That's why the people elected him, is because they trusted him to make decisions on policy matters. They want to know what his positions are on specific policies. He absolutely should state his opinion on not just that but on every topic that comes up that he wants to engage on.
Q But a lot of people who are somehow involved in investigations feel the FBI is unfairly targeting them. But the President normally has a different role as far as -
MS. SANDERS: We know for a fact that the FBI engaged in an outrageous amount of political bias. The fact that anybody could deny that there was political bias within the FBI, particularly under James Comey's leadership, is frankly just laughable.
Q I guess I'm wondering, using terms like "rat" and things like that to talk about people who are cooperating witnesses with the FBI, does he not have -
MS. SANDERS: For people who were dishonest and lying. I mean, seems like a pretty appropriate term.
Q - does he not have a broader responsibility to preserve confidence in the rule of law to the American people?
MS. SANDERS: Certainly. And that's why he has appointed new people to help do exactly that - whether it's Director Wray; a new attorney general; somebody that can come in and be very transparent throughout this process.
I'll take one last question. Justin. The President's event is about to kick off.
Q Sure, I just wanted to go back to the shutdown. And you keep saying that you've asked agencies to look for more money. And so, on this issue of reprogramming, specifically: Is your red line in these negotiations that you need Congress to reprogram money explicitly, so DHS or the Defense Department, or whoever it might be, say - that Congress say, "You can spend this money that we didn't spend on something else on wall construction?"
MS. SANDERS: No.
Q Or are you saying that you think that you have the legal authority? And what are you, I guess, basing that legal authority on, since Nancy Pelosi said today that, in fact, that sort of authority doesn't (inaudible).
MS. SANDERS: I would never use Nancy Pelosi as my source for legal authority on probably anything. But I would use attorneys that work here at the White House and in agencies that that's their entire job is determining whether or not something is legal. And we're looking to those individuals to find out those specific pots of money that can be used for that.
Q So a bonus amount of money that is sort of reprogrammed by Congress won't be necessary for the President's signature on this budget bill?
MS. SANDERS: Again, we would like to see Congress pass an appropriations bill that fully funds our government and that allows the President to protect our border and provides substantial border security funding, both for the wall, for CBP, for ICE, all of DHS. But in the meantime, we're also looking at other avenues that would allow us to provide and do our constitutional authority, and the President to be able to carry that out by protecting our border and protecting American citizens.
I encourage you guys to tune in to the President's event. We'll talk to you soon. Thanks guys.
Go Back
Q With the deficit ballooning to over a trillion dollars under this President, where are the additional monies for this wall going to come from? And why is he asking the American taxpayer for them, when he promised Mexico was going to pay?
MS. SANDERS: Look, we're not asking American taxpayers for that. We are looking at existing funding through other agencies right now that we can draw on to do that immediately.
The President has been clear -
Q So there's no add to the deficit?
MS. SANDERS: The President has been clear that the USMCA deal would provide additional revenue through that deal that would show that Mexico was paying for the wall.
Q Not to the Treasury, though. The trade benefits, if there are any, don't go to the Treasury.
MS. SANDERS: He's saying that the revenue provided and the money that would be saved through the USMCA deal, we could pay for the wall four times over. And by doing that new trade deal, we have the opportunity to pay for the wall.
Q But trade benefits go to private citizens. They don't go the United States Treasury.
MS. SANDERS: But he's talking about - he's talking about the general revenue that comes from that.
Q So you're going to tax?
MS. SANDERS: No, we're not taxing. We're talking about additional revenue that wouldn't have existed without the President getting a new deal.
Q Have you done the math on that? That -
MS. SANDERS: There are - there have been a number of things that we've looked at in which we know will have additional revenue that comes in through the USMCA.
Q Twenty-five billion from the USMCA into the Treasury?
MS. SANDERS: We think we'll have - we think there will be more than that that comes in.
Jeff, go ahead.
Q Sarah, it was announced today that the President's charity is being dissolved. Does the President or anyone in his family have regrets about how that charity was handled?
MS. SANDERS: That's something that I would refer you to the Trump Organization. That's not something we could comment on here at the White House.
Q Let me ask you one other question on another topic. Can you just clarify, Sarah -
MS. SANDERS: Sorry, I'm going to keep it moving.
Q Can you just clarify, Sarah, real quick on something else - whether the President has given any indications to Turkey that he would be willing to extradite the cleric, Gulen?
MS. SANDERS: The only thing he said is that we would take a look at it. Nothing further at this point beyond that.
Q Take a look at extraditing?
MS. SANDERS: Take a look at it but nothing committal at all in that process. Just that he would look into it.
Q Sarah, you've been saying a lot that things don't have anything to do with the President, and he's just giving his opinion, and he has a right to give his opinion. But does he not have a broader right - I mean, responsibility, as far as, you know, if his national security advisor is lying? Should he not be speaking on behalf of the American people, not just himself, President Trump, man under investigation? But, you know, in all these aspects, you're talking about - saying that he is just speaking for himself and he's not been linked to collusion, is the claim, and therefore, you know, it doesn't matter what he says. And the same thing with the Fed and -
MS. SANDERS: That's not what I said at all.
Q - that his comments on the Fed have no bearing; he's just giving his opinion. What about him speaking for the American people?
MS. SANDERS: I didn't say they have no bearing. I said he's the President of the United States and he should - not only does he have the ability to give his opinion, he should give his opinion. That's why the people elected him, is because they trusted him to make decisions on policy matters. They want to know what his positions are on specific policies. He absolutely should state his opinion on not just that but on every topic that comes up that he wants to engage on.
Q But a lot of people who are somehow involved in investigations feel the FBI is unfairly targeting them. But the President normally has a different role as far as -
MS. SANDERS: We know for a fact that the FBI engaged in an outrageous amount of political bias. The fact that anybody could deny that there was political bias within the FBI, particularly under James Comey's leadership, is frankly just laughable.
Q I guess I'm wondering, using terms like "rat" and things like that to talk about people who are cooperating witnesses with the FBI, does he not have -
MS. SANDERS: For people who were dishonest and lying. I mean, seems like a pretty appropriate term.
Q - does he not have a broader responsibility to preserve confidence in the rule of law to the American people?
MS. SANDERS: Certainly. And that's why he has appointed new people to help do exactly that - whether it's Director Wray; a new attorney general; somebody that can come in and be very transparent throughout this process.
I'll take one last question. Justin. The President's event is about to kick off.
Q Sure, I just wanted to go back to the shutdown. And you keep saying that you've asked agencies to look for more money. And so, on this issue of reprogramming, specifically: Is your red line in these negotiations that you need Congress to reprogram money explicitly, so DHS or the Defense Department, or whoever it might be, say - that Congress say, "You can spend this money that we didn't spend on something else on wall construction?"
MS. SANDERS: No.
Q Or are you saying that you think that you have the legal authority? And what are you, I guess, basing that legal authority on, since Nancy Pelosi said today that, in fact, that sort of authority doesn't (inaudible).
MS. SANDERS: I would never use Nancy Pelosi as my source for legal authority on probably anything. But I would use attorneys that work here at the White House and in agencies that that's their entire job is determining whether or not something is legal. And we're looking to those individuals to find out those specific pots of money that can be used for that.
Q So a bonus amount of money that is sort of reprogrammed by Congress won't be necessary for the President's signature on this budget bill?
MS. SANDERS: Again, we would like to see Congress pass an appropriations bill that fully funds our government and that allows the President to protect our border and provides substantial border security funding, both for the wall, for CBP, for ICE, all of DHS. But in the meantime, we're also looking at other avenues that would allow us to provide and do our constitutional authority, and the President to be able to carry that out by protecting our border and protecting American citizens.
I encourage you guys to tune in to the President's event. We'll talk to you soon. Thanks guys.
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