Press Conference by President Trump | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release:

    Lotte New York Palace  •  New York, New York  •  September 27, 2018  •  4:57 P.M. EDT

    THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much everybody. We've had a great three days at the United Nations in New York. And this is quite a gathering. Wow. It's a lot of people. A lot of media. (Laughter.)

    We've covered a great deal of territory. Just left, as you know, Prime Minister Abe of Japan. We're starting trade talks with Japan. They were not willing, for years, to talk trade, and now they're willing to talk trade. And I'm sure we'll make a very good deal.

    Just concluded, as you know - two days ago, signed a deal with South Korea - a trade deal. A tremendous deal with South Korea. It means a lot of business for our farmers. We're opening up for farmers. We're opening up for a lot of different groups.

    We're going to be able to sell much more than double the number of automobiles that we were allowed under a deal that was totally defective that was there before. And so we're very happy with that. That deal is actually concluded.

    We're very well along the way with Mexico. The relationship is very good. And with Canada, we'll see what happens. They're charging us 300-percent tariffs on dairy products. We can't have that. We can't have that.

    With China, as you know, we put out an announcement today. They would like to see me lose an election because they've never been challenged like this. But I want to open up China to our farmers and to our industrialists and our companies. And China is not open, but we're open to them. They charge us 25, 35, 55 percent for things, and we charge them nothing in terms of coming into the country.

    Cars, they're at 25 percent. And we're at 2 percent and 2.5 percent, and don't even collect it. But we collect it now.

    So we're doing very well in our situation with China on trade. I have a great relationship with the President of China, President Xi. But it's got to be a two-way street. It - for 25 years and longer, it was not. And trillions and trillions of dollars was taken out of the United States for the benefit of China. We just can't have that. We have to make it fair.

    So we're at $250 billion now, at 25 percent interest. And a lot of money is coming into our coffers. And it's had no impact on our - absolutely, by the way, no impact on our economy, which I said it wouldn't.

    In fact, steel is like the hottest industry there is. If you look at what happened with steel, we're charging a 25 percent tariff for the dumpers. They dump massive amounts of steel. They want to put the steel companies out of business. And after they're out of business, they'll come in and charge five times more than you ever thought possible. And we need steel and we need aluminum. And those industries are doing well.

    But steel is incredible. U.S. Steel is opening up a minimum of eight plants. Nucor is opening up plants. And these are big plants - $750 million and a billion dollar plants, in some cases.

    So what's happening with the steel industry is very exciting to me. It's being rebuilt overnight. If you look at the miners in coal, if you look at energy, LNG - Japan just gave us some numbers that are incredible. They're doubling the amount that they are going to be buying for Japan. They're taking the LNG and they're doubling it up.

    I said, "You have to do me a favor. We don't want these big deficits. You're going to have to buy more." They're buying massive amounts of equipment and military equipment, and other countries are doing the same thing. Because we have trade imbalances with almost everybody. It's a rare exception that we don't.

    So we are doing great as a country. Unfortunately, they just raised interest rates a little bit because we are doing so well. I'm not happy about that, because I know it's going to be a question. I am not happy about that. I'd rather pay down debt or do other things, create more jobs. So I'm worried about the fact that they seem to like raising interest rates. We can do other things with the money. And - but they raised them. And they're raising them because we're doing so well. You know, we're doing much better than I had projected in terms of - when I was campaigning, I said we were going to do this and we're doing much better than anybody ever thought possible.

    And, I will say, if others got in, it would have been just the opposite because they were going to put restrictions on. They were going to put regulations on. They were going to choke the economy as it was already choking, but it would have been worse. And they were going to raise your taxes. That's what they want to do now if they ever got control, which I don't think they'll have control for a long time.

    So, with that being said, we'll take some questions and - yes, please. John, go ahead. We have plenty of time.

    Q Mr. President, thank you very much. Of course, what you're looking forward to tomorrow is the hearings with Judge Kavanaugh -

    THE PRESIDENT: Yes.

    Q - before the Judiciary Committee. In 1991, when Joe Biden passed along to the Bush 41 White House the allegations that Anita Hill had raised against Clarence Thomas, the Bush White House asked the FBI to look into it as part of Judge Thomas's background investigation - not a criminal investigation, but the background investigation.

    THE PRESIDENT: Right. Right.

    Q When these allegations were raised, why didn't this White House do the same thing? And with all of the allegations that are coming out now about Judge Kavanaugh, was there an opportunity missed here to have investigators look into this and get some sort of clarity one way or the other?

    THE PRESIDENT: Well, the FBI told us they've investigated Judge Kavanaugh six times, five times, many times over the years. They know him very well. But here, there was nothing to investigate from at least one standpoint. They didn't know the location. They didn't know the time. They didn't know the year. They didn't know anything. And it's like, where do you go?

    Also, it's not for the FBI. If you look at what Joe Biden said, he said, "They don't do this." And he said it very clearly.

    So I think when you really look at it all, it's not going to change any of the Democrats' minds. They're obstructionists. They're actually con artists because they know how quality this man is and they've destroyed a man's reputation and they want to destroy it even more.

    And I think people are going to see that in the midterms. What they've done to this family, what they've done to these children - these beautiful children of his - and what they've done to his wife. And they know it's a big, fat con job.

    And they go into a room and, I guarantee you, they laugh like hell at what they've pulled off on you and on the public. They laugh like hell.

    So, it wouldn't have mattered if the FBI came back with the cleanest score. And you understand that very well, John. If they would have come back with the most perfect - "We found everything, and he's perfectly innocent of everything." It wouldn't have made a difference. You wouldn't have gotten one vote.

    Now we will get votes from the Democrats if we win. You'll have three, four, or five Democrats giving us votes, because they're in states that I won by 30 and 40 points and they're going to give us votes.

    But other than that, you probably won't get any, John.

    Yes, go ahead. Please.

    Q Mr. President, there are now three women accusing Judge Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct. Are you saying that all three of those women are liars? Is there anything that can be said at this point tomorrow -

    THE PRESIDENT: Yeah.

    Q - that could cause you to withdraw the nomination? Anything at all that -

    THE PRESIDENT: I won't get into that game. I'll only tell you this: This is one of the highest quality people that I've ever met, and everybody that knows him says the same thing. And these are all false - to me, these are false accusations in certain cases. And certain cases, even the media agrees with that.

    I can only say that, what they've done to this man is incredible. You know, it's very interesting - I pick a lot of judges. I have 145 judges I will be picking by the end of a fairly short period of time because President Obama wasn't big on picking judges. When I got there, I said, "How is this possible?" I have 145 - including court of appeals - judges. And they just didn't do it. You know why? They got tired. They got complacent. Something happened. I have 145 judges.

    Everybody wants to be a federal judge. Not just a Supreme Court judge, I'm talking about court of appeals; I'm talking about district court. I don't think they're going to want to so much. I'll be calling people, and we'll have people calling people that do this. And people are going to be scared because we could say it about you, "Thirty-five years ago, you met some..." - and you might know - you might not know what's going on.

    What is going on? Why did they wait so long? Why did Senator Feinstein wait until the hearings were over and make this case? Why didn't she bring it right at the beginning? When you ask about, as an example, the FBI - why didn't they bring this right at the beginning, during the hearing? You would have had all the time in the world for the FBI. It would have been fine.

    Now the FBI, as you know, did investigate this time, as they have five or six other times. And they did a very thorough investigation. But this is a big con job. And I would love to be in the room with the Democrats, close the door - you guys are all away, outside, waiting. And Schumer and his buddies are all in there laughing how they fooled you all. Let's just stop them. A big fat con.

    Yeah, go ahead.

    Q But, Mr. President, if I could follow up. You have daughters. Can you understand why a victim of sexual assault would not report it at the time? Don't you understand -

    THE PRESIDENT: By the way, I only say this: thirty-six years - no charge, no nothing. Everybody -

    Q But - but that happens often. I mean -

    THE PRESIDENT: People are going to have to make a decision. Thirty-six years, there's no charge. All of a sudden, the hearings are over and the rumors start coming out.

    And then you have this other con artist, Avenatti, come out with another beauty today. I only say that you have to look at the facts. The senators are very capable people. They're very good people. I know many of them. They're friends of mine. These are very talented, very good people. And they're going to vote. They're going to believe what they believe.

    I can - when I look at what's happened to the reputation of a great gentleman - a great intellect; a brilliant man; somebody that has a chance to be one of our great Supreme Court Justices in history, intellectually - I think it's a shame.

    Yes, please.

    Q Yes, Mr. President. My name is Tomás Regalado from Radio and TV Marti. Mr. President, yesterday at the speech at the U.N., you spoke about how Venezuela's problem was because of Cuba and the Castros - how they went in there and they brought socialism and communism to Venezuela, and now to Nicaragua as well.

    Mr. President, are you going to be more proactive now against Cuba as well?

    THE PRESIDENT: I've been very proactive against Cuba. I don't like what's happening in Cuba. As you know, President Obama gave them a pass and I didn't like it. Neither do Cuban people based in Miami and based in our country that came from Cuba and suffered in Cuba.

    I don't like what he did. I've ended much of it - most of it. I don't like what's happening in Cuba, and I certainly don't like what's happening in Venezuela.

    Yes, please.

    Q Mr. President.

    THE PRESIDENT: Go ahead.

    Q Mr. President, just to finish really fast. You said also that you had a call-to-action to ask the leaders around the world to also end socialism. Would you like to be recognized as -

    THE PRESIDENT: Well, I wouldn't say that socialism has bene working really well around the world, okay. You can take a look at Venezuela as your number one - your number one - I guess, the one that is most obvious. But you take a look around the world, socialism is not exactly riding high.

    Please.

    Q Thank you, Mr. President.

    THE PRESIDENT: Go ahead.

    Q Thank you very much. If you don't mind, after I'm finished, if Weijia, or Hallie, or Vivian, or one of our female colleagues could go after me, that would be great.

    Mr. President, just to follow up on these allegations against Brett Kavanaugh -

    THE PRESIDENT: What does he mean by that? Explain. What does that mean?

    Q I think it would be great if a female reporter -

    THE PRESIDENT: What does it mean? No, what does it mean?

    Q I think it would great if a female reporter would ask you a question about this issue. So if you don't mind, I would ask -

    THE PRESIDENT: I wouldn't mind that at all. No. Wouldn't mind it at all.

    Q All right. Well, let me - if I could call on -

    THE PRESIDENT: Wouldn't make any difference to me.

    Q All right.

    THE PRESIDENT: Go ahead.

    Q If I could follow up on John, and John's question. Why is it, Mr. President, that you always seem to side with the accused and not the accuser? You have three women here who are all making allegations, who are all asking that their stories be heard. And, you know, if you look at the case of Roy Moore, if you look at the case of one of your staffers, you seem to, time and again, side with the accused and not the accuser. Is that because of the many allegations that you've had made against you over the years?