LIVE: Trump holds a press conference on the Iran war

Thank you very much.

It's a great honor to be with you and happy Easter. We had a great Easter.

happy Easter. We had a great Easter.

This is one of our better easters, I think, in a lot of different ways. I can

say militarily, it's been one of the best.

So, good afternoon. We have quite a bit to discuss. We'll go into pretty good

to discuss. We'll go into pretty good detail and we have the people that are most involved. We'll give you exactitude.

involved. We'll give you exactitude.

And we're here today to celebrate the success of one of the largest, most complex, most harrowing combat searches.

I guess you would call it a search and rescue mission ever attempted by the military.

Generally, when planes are knocked down in war, especially when you're fighting a strong group, an evil group, you can't really do this because

you send in 200 men to pick up one. And

it's something that's usually not attempted as much as you want to attempt. And bad things happen to that

attempt. And bad things happen to that one or two. And in this case, we did two and might not have been attempted before, but we did. And we got we had

great talent, but we got a little luck too, I would say.

And uh we were helped by a lot of people, a lot of great people. And it

was an honor to be involved with it.

It's uh very historic. This is a a rescue that's very historic. It'll go

down in the books. Late Thursday night, an American F-15 fighter jet went down deep inside enemy territory in Iran while participating in Operation Epic

Fury where we're doing unbelievably well. Uh well at a level that nobody's

well. Uh well at a level that nobody's ever seen before.

The entire country can be taken out in one night and that night might be tomorrow night.

Both members of the crew ejected from the aircraft and landed alive on Iranian soil. I immediately

soil. I immediately was asked to make a decision. I ordered

the US armed forces to do whatever was necessary to bring our brave warriors back home. A risky decision

back home. A risky decision because we could have ended up with a hundred dead as opposed to one or two.

It's a hard decision to make. But in the United States military, we leave no American behind. We don't do it. Within

American behind. We don't do it. Within

hours, our armed forces deployed 21 military aircraft into hostile airspace.

Many flying at very low altitude, being shot by bullets.

You bring rifles into play when you're going that low. But there are also certain advantages.

and in broad daylight over Iran for seven hours at times facing very very heavy enemy fire. We have a helicopter that's got a lot of bullets in it. It's

amazing. We just realized how good those those weapons are. Those our machines are nobody has nobody has the equipment that we have and nobody has the military

that we have. Not even close. We're most

powerful military anywhere in the world by far. The flight crews and war

by far. The flight crews and war fighters aboard those aircraft took extraordinary risks to rescue their fellow service members. This first wave

of search and rescue forces successfully located the pilot of the F-15 and he was extracted from enemy territory by an HH60 Jolly Green 2

helicopter.

Fabulous machine as our warriors faced gunfire at very close range.

It's amazing that when you look at the machinery, what happened that nobody was even injured.

Meanwhile, the second crew member, a weapon system officer, highly respected colonel, had landed a significant distance away from the pilot when you're going at those speeds. Even if you go

out two or three seconds later, it's miles. It's miles and miles away because

miles. It's miles and miles away because you're going fast.

He was injured quite badly and stranded in an area teaming with terrorists from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps rough group as well as besieged milit

militia and local authorities. many uh on top of

authorities. many uh on top of everything else, they told the communities actually with inside of Iran, the people of Iran, they were

given a tremendous incentive to find this pilot. Despite the peril, the

this pilot. Despite the peril, the officer followed his training and climbed into the treacherous mountain terrain and started climbing toward a

higher altitude, something they were trained to do in order to evade capture.

Uh they want to always go as far away from the site of the shootown. You want

to go as far away because they all head right to that site. You want to be as far away as you can.

And he was injured and he was an amazing amazing thing. He scaled cliff faces,

amazing thing. He scaled cliff faces, bleeding rather profusely, treated his own wounds and contacted American forces

to transmit his location. And they have a very sophisticated beeper type apparatus that is on them at all times.

And when they when they go out on these missions, they make sure they have lots of battery space. And they're in good shape. And this one worked really well.

shape. And this one worked really well.

Amazingly saved his life. We immediately

mobilized a massive operation to retrieve him from the mountain holdout.

and he kept going higher and higher. The

mountain kept getting rougher and rougher and really very very hard to find. The second rescue mission involved

find. The second rescue mission involved 155 aircraft including four bombers, 64 fighters, 48 refueling tankers, 13

rescue aircraft, and more. We were

bringing them all over and a lot of it was subtrauge.

We wanted to have them think he was in a different location because they had a vast military force out there. Thousands

thousands of people were looking. So we

wanted them to look in different areas.

So we were scattered all over like we were right on top of them. We had seven different locations where they thought and they were very confused. They said,

"Well, wait a minute. They've got groups here. They've got groups there. It's an

here. They've got groups there. It's an

amazing thing." I was listening to these great

thing." I was listening to these great people, these great generals. General

Raisin Kane was amazing and Pete Hexath was amazing. But I listened to the whole

was amazing. But I listened to the whole thing. It was pretty amazing. So they

thing. It was pretty amazing. So they

had all these different sites where everybody thought he was located. We

think we have them over there because they have nine planes circling a little area that's 25 miles down the coast.

So in a breathtaking show of skill and precision, lethality and force, America's military descended on the area, the real area, engaged the enemy,

rescued the stranded officer, destroyed all threats, and exited Iranian territory while taking no casualties of any kind.

The heroic F-15 weapon system officer had evaded capture on the ground in Iran for almost 48 hours. That's a long time

when you're in tough shape and when you're bleeding. It's a long time. When

you're bleeding. It's a long time. When

uh when we left, as you probably know, we had two large planes, old pretty old planes. It carried a lot. We needed a

planes. It carried a lot. We needed a lot more equipment going in than coming out obviously because going in we needed to be able to scale mountains and we had

a lot of equipment but the sand was it was sandy wet sand. So we thought there may be a problem taking off because of the weight of the plane. And then we

also had all the men jumping back onto the planes and they got pretty well bogged down and we had a contingency plan which was unbelievable where

lighter faster aircraft came in and they took them out. We blew up the old planes and we blew them up to smitherines because we had equipment on the planes that frankly we'd like to take but I

don't think it was worthwhile spending another four hours there taking it off.

So, we didn't want anybody to have we have the best best equipment anywhere in the world. We didn't want anybody

the world. We didn't want anybody examining our uh anti-aircraft and other equipment. So, these were large planes

equipment. So, these were large planes that uh were old and pretty old and we blew them up and we had faster, lighter planes come in and they were able to

land on the sand. We needed the bigger planes because we had so much equipment that we need. We took three helicopters over there which were very strongly used and couldn't have lived without them.

They did they performed unbelievably well. And if you'd see it, you wouldn't

well. And if you'd see it, you wouldn't believe it. They came off the plane and

believe it. They came off the plane and these guys had them the the uh the rotors were off. They rebuilt these helicopters in less than 10 minutes.

And that was one of the more amazing things.

These are helicopters. Uh, small,

unbelievably powerful, but small hel very small so it can get into certain areas. And they got them off the plane

areas. And they got them off the plane and they rebuilt all three of them in a matter of less than I would say less than 10 minutes. It's pretty amazing

what the the genius of these people. Who

would think that? You'd think it would take five days to build them and in some companies it would take five days and they wouldn't do it well but they served us well. The as commander-in-chief I

us well. The as commander-in-chief I never forget the extraordinary risk taken by the warriors that we send into battle and the genius I mean think of it

having a contingency of three planes waiting because we think the sand is so bad they probably won't be able to take off and the planes really got bogged.

Sand was this was not much of a runway.

This was a farm, not a runway. It's a

farm, but uh it did the trick. But to

have a contingency as opposed to having to wait two days, can you imagine right in the middle? This was central.

This was right, you would call it central casting if you were doing a movie for location and probably the toughest area of Iran where we'd be sitting there. So these planes came in,

sitting there. So these planes came in, those pilots came in so fast and so quick and got out of there. Everybody

got aboard and just got 15 minute intervals. One load out. One load out.

intervals. One load out. One load out.

One load out. The three it happened and we were watching and we said that's amazing. It's in many ways I was I was

amazing. It's in many ways I was I was almost more impressed by the contingency that we had than the fact that you know if we would have had a runway or decent

soil but it was an amazing thing. But we

thank God for every single one of them and the talent. The genius is not even talent. It's genius. It's the whole ball

talent. It's genius. It's the whole ball game. Every one of them. And if you look

game. Every one of them. And if you look at what we did with Maduro, we went into a military compound, a massive with thousands and thousands of soldiers and

within a matter of minutes and he lived behind iron doors. There were steel doors, broke them down so quickly and within almost minutes he was in the back

of these planes. It was a similar group.

Incredible. We have incredibly talented people. And if the time comes, we move

people. And if the time comes, we move heaven and earth to bring them home safely. We're going to bring our people

safely. We're going to bring our people home safely. I want to thank every

home safely. I want to thank every member of the US armed forces involved in these historic operations. They

really were historic. It's just not something that's done. And you'd

understand it. Not that they don't want to do it, but when you're going into areas, when you look at these helicopters, when you look at the amount of bullets and everything else that they took, when you go into these areas,

you don't come out like we came out. God

was watching us. Tell you, well, it was the Easter. We were in Easter territory,

the Easter. We were in Easter territory, I guess. But God was watching us.

I guess. But God was watching us.

Amazing. Because when you look at the machinery, they took they took damage.

tells you first thing I said is these are unbelievable machines how they flew back and not even much of a problem but these two extraordinary rescues because it was two and as you probably

know we didn't talk about the first one for an hour and then somebody leaked something which we'll hopefully find that leaker we're looking very hard to

find that leaker and talked about there's somebody missing they basically said that we have one and there's somebody missing. Well, they

didn't know there was somebody missing until this leaker gave the information.

So, whoever it was, we think we'll be able to find it out because we're going to go to the media company that released it and we're going to say national

security, give it up or go to jail.

And we know who and you know who we're talking about cuz some things you can't do because when they did that all of a sudden the entire country of Iran knew

that there was a pilot that was somewhere on their land that was fighting for his life.

And it also made it much more difficult for the pilots and for the people going in to search for him. All of a sudden uh they know that there's somebody out

there. They see all these planes coming

there. They see all these planes coming in. It became a much more difficult

in. It became a much more difficult operation because a leaker leaked that we have one. We've rescued one, but there's

one. We've rescued one, but there's another one out there that we're trying to get.

So, actually the country Iran put out a major notice. You all saw it. Offering a

major notice. You all saw it. Offering a

very big award for anybody that captures the pilot. So in addition to a hostile,

the pilot. So in addition to a hostile, very talented, very good, very evil military, we had millions of people trying to get an

award. So when you add that to it, but

award. So when you add that to it, but we have to find that leaker because that's a sick person. Probably didn't

realize the extent of how bad it was. I

can't imagine that the person did, but we're going to find out. It's national

security and the person that did the story will go to jail if he doesn't say and that doesn't last long and I think everybody would understand it. They put

this mission at great risk. They put

that man at great risk and they put the hundreds of people that went in looking for him because everyone now knows that we're going in. Over the past 37 days,

America's armed forces have carried out more than 10,000 combat flights over Iran. Unheard of. Striking more than

Iran. Unheard of. Striking more than 13,000 targets. The F-15 we lost last

13,000 targets. The F-15 we lost last week was the first manned aircraft downed by the enemy in this entire operation with thousands and thousands of flights. They got lucky. It was a

of flights. They got lucky. It was a lucky hit. You know, eventually you get

lucky hit. You know, eventually you get lucky, but we got lucky, too, because we got both of them back. But it's a record that is unparalleled in the history of

military air operations. Nobody's ever

seen anything like it. It's such an honor to be involved with it. We were up late at night and then we were waiting for those

contingent planes to come in and we say, "Come on, let's go get in." Because

they're waiting out on this uh farm without a runway with wet, crummy soil, sand, mostly sand, wet sand,

and it eats planes alive. And we're

waiting and we're saying, "I hope that one can land and take off." And they came in like magic. Boom. Boom. Boom.

One after another. It was like genius.

So impressed by that because we were a little concerned. We said, "Boy, if they

little concerned. We said, "Boy, if they don't get in and get up fast, we're sitting in the" And that's called Iran prime, right, General? That's that's

where the whole bed is. And here we are sitting there waiting for a plane. But

they came in so fast and so hard. And

these guys knew exactly what. Let's go.

Come on. Get in. Let's go. Pa. They came

one right after another. Not at the same time. They don't want to come at the

time. They don't want to come at the same time. They had to come right after

same time. They had to come right after each other. They didn't have any room.

each other. They didn't have any room.

There was barely any room to land. Tiny

little patch of very wet earth and sand. So, I just I'm so proud of the people that I have standing up here with me and many others that work.

I mean, so many. Steve Whit's over here.

He's doing fantastically. Jared Kushner.

But the people that are here, the job they did is amazing. And I think I'm going to introduce the head of the CIA.

And he is a man who he's central casting. Okay. If we cast a movie, he's

casting. Okay. If we cast a movie, he's going to play the head of the CIA. He's

one of the few John Ratcliffe. He um he did a phenomenal job that night. He did

something that I don't know if you want to talk about it. If you want, you can.

I not sure he's supposed to. I'm not

going to talk about it. But uh he really the CIA was very responsible for finding this little speck. It's like they used an expression on one of the shows a general was talking about it's like

finding a needle in a haststack finding this pilot and the CIA was unbelievable and you may if you can you'll talk it might be classified in which case I'd have to put

him in jail if he talks about it and I don't want to put him in jail. He

doesn't deserve that. So John do you want to say a few words? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. President. It's a

privilege to be here with you today to share what we can about this exceptional mission and to recognize the ingenuity and bravery of those who executed it as

well as the leadership and resolve of the president who ordered it.

One thing that has been clear to me in this role is that the flawless military operations that the Department of War is known for are hostage to flawless

intelligence. We saw that in the skies

intelligence. We saw that in the skies over Iran in Operation Midnight Hammer last summer. We witnessed it in

last summer. We witnessed it in Venezuela during Operation Absolute Resolve. We've seen it against the

Resolve. We've seen it against the cartels in the Western Hemisphere. And

we're seeing it every day in Operation Epic Fury, including this mission to rescue an aviator buried deep behind enemy lines

because it is the unique tradition of the US armed forces that we leave no man or woman behind.

This was a no-fale mission. That was the spirit in which the president put us to work and we were determined not to let him down or our airmen down.

As an agency, the CIA possesses unique capabilities that only the president can deploy.

Some of these capabilities fall under covert action authorities. And because

covert means exactly that, I'm not going to be able to tell you everything that you want to know.

At the president's direction, we deployed both human assets and exquisite technologies that no other intelligence service in the world possesses to a

daunting challenge comparable to hunting for a single sane of grain of sand in the middle of a desert.

This was also a race against the clock as it was critical that we locate the downed aviator as quickly as possible while at the same time keeping our

enemies misdirected.

For that reason, in addition to the human and technical assets deployed by the president to find our airmen, CIA executed a deception campaign to

confuse the Iranians who were desperately hunting for our airmen.

On Saturday morning, we achieved our primary objective by finding and providing confirmation that one of America's best and bravest was alive and

concealed in a mountain crevice, still invisible to the enemy, but not to the CIA.

That confirmation was relayed by Secretary Hegith to the president, and the operation quickly moved to the execution phase.

Following the successful exfiltration on Saturday night, our intelligence reflects that the Iranians were embarrassed and ultimately humiliated by the success of this

audacious rescue mission.

When the president asked me to lead the CIA, he made it clear, get back to basics. No

politics, no agendas. Tackle the hardest problems and execute the toughest missions.

This president is about results. And now

that's what his CIA is about, too. The

professionals at the agency and at the Department of War deserve immense credit for their flawless execution during this daring mission. Their skill, creativity,

daring mission. Their skill, creativity, and courage are unmatched on the battlefield wherever they step.

But none of that matters.

And all of that is wasted without a president with the political courage to put them into action.

Mr. President, I've had the privilege of seeing you act with political courage in the best interest of the United States up close on a daily basis, and I'm grateful that this successful mission

has given the American people a window into that as well.

The secretary and chairman will tell you that our service members confidence is boosted by a commander-in-chief who has their back the same way they have yours.

And I know that the confidence of CIA's officers is boosted by the knowledge that their work is informing a president who's not afraid to make the hardest

decisions when the stakes are highest.

And to the American people, your confidence should be boosted by knowing that the security of the nation is in the hands of a president who's willing to take on problems that have

confounded both sides of the political aisle for nearly half a century.

It is an honor to serve under a leader who just proved that you can believe him when he says, "No matter what, we will

leave no one behind. We will come for you." Thank you.

you." Thank you.

Well, John, thank you for the collaboration of the CIA as well.

Incredible and ongoing partnership.

Ladies and gentlemen, fellow Americans, and especially the brave warriors in our armed forces, over this Easter weekend, the United States military has once

again proved why we possess the greatest fighting force the world has ever known.

In two extraordinary combat, search and rescue operations deep inside enemy territory in Iran, our warriors executed

missions of breathtaking skill, courage, and precision. When our warriors are

and precision. When our warriors are unleashed, as this president has allowed them to be, they are unstoppable.

When American airmen were down behind enemy lines, our forces and our president did not hesitate. Special

operators supported by elite air crews and intelligence professionals moved swiftly and decisively into treacherous mountain terrain under the constant threat of Iranian forces closing in.

Ultimately, it was an impotent Iranian threat. And today, as the CIA director

threat. And today, as the CIA director mentioned, Iran's military, and we know this, is embarrassed and humiliated, and they should be. Now, these are not

routine operations. They were high-risk,

routine operations. They were high-risk, high stakes missions conducted in the heart of enemy territory. This was not just barely into Iran. This was deep into Iran, involving coordinated strikes

to suppress threats, deception tactics to protect our teams, and full synchronization across air, ground, and special operations. The Iranians are

special operations. The Iranians are still asking themselves right now, how did the Americans do this?

One downed airman evaded capture for more than a day, scaling rugged ridges while hunted by the enemy. When he was finally able to activate his emergency

transponder, his first message was simple and it was powerful. He sent a message, "God is good."

In that moment of isolation and danger, his faith and fighting spirit shone through. You see, shot down on a Friday,

through. You see, shot down on a Friday, Good Friday, hidden in a cave, a crevice all of Saturday,

and rescued on Sunday. Flown out of Iran as the sun was rising on Easter Sunday.

A pilot reborn, all home and accounted for, a nation rejoicing.

God is good.

Despite incoming fire and unforgiving conditions, our troops brought every American home. No American lives were

American home. No American lives were lost. We leave no man behind. And that

lost. We leave no man behind. And that

is not luck. It's the result of unmatched training, superior technology, an unbreakable warrior ethos, and sheer American grit. Our special operators,

American grit. Our special operators, pilots, and support crews performed with near perfection under fire, and they were lethal.

Just ask any Iranian soldier who dared attempt to get anywhere near that pilot before or during that mission. Death

from above.

Our troops turned a potential tragedy into a resounding demonstration of American resolve and capability. That's

what excellence in uniform looks like.

But make no mistake about it. None of

this would have been possible without the courageous leadership and ironclad determination of President Donald J.

Trump. From the moment our airmen went down, President Trump made it clear, we will leave no one behind. The first

mission, the first of two, was an audacious daylight thunderun right up the middle. It was authorized in less

the middle. It was authorized in less than two hours from those that pilot going down when we knew where he was and it was authorized in the middle of the night because anybody that's worked

for this this man knows he's up in the middle of the night. Authorized

immediately without hesitation audaciously.

The second mission as soon as we knew where that pilot was and John was certainly helpful in that also executed immediately. You know, I looked up at my screen when the final

mission was complete inside our skiff, our secure facility. And we have a running VTC, a running coordination

cell, and the top of it read 45 minutes and 45 hours and 56 minutes. For 45

hours and 56 minutes, we held that call open for coordination. From the moment our pilots went down, our mission was unblinking.

The call never dropped. The meeting

never stopped. The planning never ceased.

The president demanded rapid, decisive action. He backed our military with the

action. He backed our military with the full weight of his resolve, refusing to let enemy propaganda or tactical setbacks deter us. His leadership

ensured that every lethal and non-lethal resource was brought to bear, that our forces had the authorities and the support they needed to succeed. When the

president says he has the backs of our war fighters, he means it. And it means a great deal and it's a big difference on the battlefield. President Trump

understands that peace through strength is not a slogan. It is a doctrine that saves American lives. His unwavering

commitment to rebuilding our military and restoring the warrior spirit has paid dividends in missions just like this one. Under his command, America

this one. Under his command, America projects power with confidence and brings our people home with victory. And

that continues today. By the way, per the president's direction, today will be the largest volume of strikes since day one of this operation. Tomorrow, even

more than today. And then Iran has a choice. Choose wisely because this

choice. Choose wisely because this president does not play around. You can

ask Solommani.

You can ask Maduro. You can ask Kani.

To those heroes who planned and executed these rescues, your nation stands in awe. I stand in awe. The chairman stands

awe. I stand in awe. The chairman stands in awe. We all stand in awe of your

in awe. We all stand in awe of your professionalism and bravery. We serve

for you. You embody the very best of America. To the rescued airmen and their

America. To the rescued airmen and their families, welcome home. Your courage and endurance, the quiet declaration of

faith amid the storm inspires us all.

God is good every day. And to our adversaries watching from Thrron, let this be a clear message. The United

States military will go anywhere at any time to protect our own and complete the mission. We execute with precision. We

mission. We execute with precision. We

control the skies. You see, we flew for 7 hours in daylight over Iran to get the first pilot. And we flew seven hours in

first pilot. And we flew seven hours in the middle of the night to get the second. and Iran did nothing about it.

second. and Iran did nothing about it.

We fight with honor and under President Trump's leadership, we win. So, God

bless our troops, God bless President Trump, and God bless the United States of America. Thank you.

of America. Thank you.

Well, good afternoon everyone. Um, thank

you, Mr. President. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. A note before I start, I know

Secretary. A note before I start, I know many of you want specific details uh in these briefings. We will share what we

these briefings. We will share what we can, but I will retain what I must in the event that we have to go do this again sometime. And I cannot stress the

again sometime. And I cannot stress the importance, as the president said, around operational security. The

secretary and I will do a more detailed briefing tomorrow morning, and we look forward to sharing the details that we can. On Thursday to April at 10:10 p.m.

can. On Thursday to April at 10:10 p.m.

Eastern time, 4:40 in the morning, local Iran time, the Joint Personnel Recovery Center, which handles the Central Command area of responsibility, declared

an isolated personnel recovery event for a US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle call sign dude 44, which was down in hostile Iranian territory. The pilot and weapons

Iranian territory. The pilot and weapons system officer had both safely ejected and were isolated behind enemy lines.

Following confirmation of active rescue beacons and on the direction of the secretary and by order of the president, a rescue operation was launched with the stated purpose of bringing both

Americans home safely. As the secretary said several hours later on the morning after positively locating the front seater call sign dude 44 alpha and aware

of an aggressive ongoing search by the enemy a US central command plan was approved by the secretary and the president. Shortly thereafter a US air

president. Shortly thereafter a US air force combat search and rescue task force comprised of A10 warthogs in their Sandy role and I'll describe what that

is in a minute. HC-130 Combat King twos, HH60 Jolly Green 2 helicopters, and Air Force special warfare airmen, a package

comprised of combat rescue officers and par rescument operators, audaciously penetrated enemy territory in broad

daylight to find, fix, and recover Dude 44 alpha from behind enemy lines.

This was an incredibly dangerous mission, an incredibly dangerous undertaking, but a filled promise made

to every American war fighter that you will not be left behind. We will always come find you and we will always bring you home. Over the next hours, the

you home. Over the next hours, the search and rescue task force crossed the beach, entered into Iranian airspace, protected by a fighter strike package,

and moved into the objective area, all under fire. In route, as some of you

under fire. In route, as some of you have seen on social media, the helicopters took gas off the C130s and pressed onward and forward up into the

objective area. While this was ongoing

objective area. While this was ongoing and out in front of them, the Sandy flight of A-10s and other remotely piloted aircraft, drones, and other

tactical aircraft were violently suppressing and engaging the enemy in a close-in gunfight to keep them away from the front seater and allow the pickup

force to get into the objective area.

During this engagement, one of the Sandy aircraft, the one primarily responsible for communicating with a downed pilot, uh, was hit by enemy fire. This pilot

continued to fight, continued the mission, and then upon exit flew his aircraft into another country and determined that the airplane was not

landable. This was one of our A-10 Sandy

landable. This was one of our A-10 Sandy aircraft. The pilot then made the

aircraft. The pilot then made the decision to eject over friendly territory and was quickly and rec safely recovered and is doing fine.

After picking up uh dude 44 alpha, the HH60 Jolly Green fight was engaged by every single person in Iran who had a small arms weapon. And one of the

aircraft, the trailing aircraft, took several hits. The crew sustained minor

several hits. The crew sustained minor injury and they are going to be fine. A

note for those of you that do not know what a Sandy does. Named after the flight call sign that did this very mission in Vietnam, flying A1 Skyraiders

and A7 Corsaires, a Sandy has one mission. Get to the survivor, bring the

mission. Get to the survivor, bring the rescue force forward and put themselves between that survivor on the ground and

the enemy. They are committed to this.

the enemy. They are committed to this.

This is what they live for and this is what they've trained for over many, many years. The A-10 force and the rescue

years. The A-10 force and the rescue force did fantastic did a fantastic job rescuing Dude 44 Alpha.

He was recovered Friday afternoon.

As I said, and the nation needs to know this, this was an incredibly brave and courageous mission and a testament to

the courage, skill, and tenacity of the joint force and our leaders and especially a daylight option. Having the

guts to try means so much to so many.

Meanwhile, the backseater, as the president and secretary have said, had continued to work and survive through the hours of daylight. Dude 44 Bravo,

the backseater evaded using every means available. The efforts of the United

available. The efforts of the United States military, the Central Intelligence Agency, and others were attempting to find and locate with

precision dude 44 Bravo, the backseater.

A note on on the backseater and the front seater. The single most important

front seater. The single most important contributor to a successful rescue operation is the spirit of attack inside

the heart of that downed aviator. Their

will to survive, their will to evade, their will to recover is everything. In

this case, the backseaters absolute commitment to surviving made much of our efforts possible.

On Saturday for April, after establishing positive communications with the backseater, we learned, as the president said, that he was injured and

actively evading enemy forces. And

thanks to our inter agency partners, we were able to get eyes on his location and positively ID him. Throughout this

entire time, the enemy force continued to search for 44 Bravo, and the joint force continued to strike them over and over and over again, fighting off

marginal weather in Iran and the enemy's search. For a second time on Saturday,

search. For a second time on Saturday, at the recommendation of the Sencom commander and at the approval of the secretary and the president, we launched a rescue task force to recover Dude 44

Bravo. Again, this came to the president

Bravo. Again, this came to the president and the secretary for approval. This

time with a much larger force package based on the time that the enemy had to prepare to find 44 bravo. Again, this

force was protected by A-10 warthogs using the Sandy call sign. And this

force had one single mission. Do

everything they can to bring an American home. This meant having a plan, being

home. This meant having a plan, being prepared to execute that plan, and more importantly being prepared for multiple

simultaneous contingencies. And because

simultaneous contingencies. And because of this force's professionalism, grit, and determination, fight off two enemies

at the same time. the enemy searching for 44 bravo and contingencies which anyone who has done these types of missions knows we run into every single

time. The force fought off both of those

time. The force fought off both of those enemies incredibly well. During the

period of darkness on Saturday and as the secretary said into Easter Sunday and into the daylight, the force fought

its way in and rescued dude 44 bravo.

They were protected overhead by an air armada, including tactical drones, strike aircraft, and others. The force

fought through multiple simultaneous contingencies, something no other nation, no other military can do, and

safely returned dude 44 Bravo, the backseater home, and all other Americans home as well. At midnight 12 local

Eastern time, Eastern Sunday, more than 50 hours after the start of this operation, the Joint Personnel Recovery Center

declared Dude 44 Bravo both the front and back seater returned to friendly territory.

The courage demonstrated by both the pilot and the weapons system officer while isolated and them invading the enemy cannot be overstated. Their grit

and warfighting tenacity is a direct result of the absolute trust they have in our rescue forces, their training, and their will to survive in return.

They always knew that we would be ordered to go get them, and they always knew that we would be coming to get them. These two operations reflect our

them. These two operations reflect our nation's most sacred obligation to our military service members. We leave no one behind. Bless you. It also perfectly

one behind. Bless you. It also perfectly captures the first truth of our special operations forces that people are more

important than hardware. That is the standard we live by and the rescue forces that execute these missions

operate under under a clear motto. These

things we do that others may live. Their

actions were a direct embodiment of that commitment to others. And I could not be more proud of each and every one of them today.

As the secretary said to our enemies, this operation serves as a clear reminder of the capability and will of America's joint force. The United States

of America will recover our war fighters anywhere in the world, under any conditions when we want to. We will

always bring overwhelming skill and firepower. To every member of the joint

firepower. To every member of the joint force, our inter agency partners, the leadership at Sentcom, and our leaders at the department and above. Thank you.

I'm proud of each and every one of you and thankful to our deployed forces and their families. And lastly, and most

their families. And lastly, and most importantly, to Dude44, welcome home. Job well done. Thank you.

welcome home. Job well done. Thank you.

Pretty amazing. Pretty amazing. And uh these

amazing. Pretty amazing. And uh these two gentlemen have been uh from day one, they've been perfecto. You know, I got

to know General Kaine in my first term because he was able to take out ISIS in four weeks instead of the four-year projection that was given to me by other much lesser generals. And I said, "You

know, if I ever do this again, that's going to be the head of my joint chiefs of staff." And we worked it that way,

of staff." And we worked it that way, didn't we? It's amazing. He took out

didn't we? It's amazing. He took out ISIS. We defeated ISIS in four weeks. I

ISIS. We defeated ISIS in four weeks. I

was told it would take four years. I

flew to Iraq to find out with the greatest equipment in the world. Why

would it take four years? And he told me, "Sir, it won't. It'll take four weeks and you'll have time left over."

And that's exactly what happened. So,

he's great. And Pete, all I can say is that uh he was treated very unfairly.

And now those same people that treated him unfairly, that fought against him, they called me up saying, "What a great choice he was." They said, "Well, what happened uh during his nomination? What

happened to you?" I'm telling you, people that were not for him, senators, friends of mine, sir, I don't think you're doing the right thing. Now

they're calling me up. What a choice.

These two guys are fantastic. And John

Ratcliffe was incredible. It was

actually their genius that called us from he was 40 miles away and he said, you know, we're seeing something moving up in the mountain. This is at night

and they kept the camera on him for 45 minutes. He wasn't moving and they said,

minutes. He wasn't moving and they said, you know, probably wrong, but we're seeing something moving. This is a ma vast mountain, vast, thick with bushes,

trees. He said, "We see something

trees. He said, "We see something moving." 40 miles away

moving." 40 miles away was a the head of a human being. I'm

telling you, it's moving. And then all of a sudden, 45 minutes later, he moved a lot.

Stood up and they stood, we have him.

And that was really the beginning of something incredible.

We had an idea where he was, but not specifically. That's a big mountain. So,

specifically. That's a big mountain. So,

uh, I want to thank the CIA, too. I don't

think they get enough credit for the great job they've done. Yes, please.

Yes.

Thank you very much, Mr. President, for this great opportunity.

Uh, country it has super army. You make

a difference, Mr. President. Thank you

for your greatest leadership.

Thank you.

I have a two quick questions, Mr. President.

What was your reaction when you learned that Kurdistan region had resumed exporting oil to the international market with your support as United

States of America?

Well, I expected that we've gotten along with the Kurds for a long time. So, I

expected that.

Uh, another question. What would what would be your reaction if the Iranian people rise up against their regime during a case fire, Mr. President?

Well, they should do it, but again, the consequences are great. I mean, they were told you if you protest, you will be shot immediately. You saw what happened to the young wrestler. He was a great champion, by the way. He was a

great wrestler, one of the top in the world. And he and his two friends were

world. And he and his two friends were hung.

And all they did was say a little bit about liberty. They wanted liberty and

about liberty. They wanted liberty and they were violently executed. But uh the numbers up to probably 45,000 people were killed. So you know when somebody

were killed. So you know when somebody stays in a house when they know if they walk out of the house to protest they'll be immediately shot and killed.

And they issued that. You know that was publicly issued. It's not a secret.

publicly issued. It's not a secret.

That's why so many people say oh well why are you doing this way? We can't let Iran have a nuclear weapon. You know, we got regime change. We do. We're dealing

with a much different regime than before. We're dealing with different

before. We're dealing with different people. They're smarter.

people. They're smarter.

I think they're sharper uh and far less radical. We have regime change, but uh

radical. We have regime change, but uh we didn't do this for regime change. We

did it for the fact. And my my view was very simple. I saw somebody said, "Oh,

very simple. I saw somebody said, "Oh, he doesn't have a plan. I have the best plan of all." But I'm not going to tell you what my plan is. You know, they want me to say, "Here's my plan. We're going

to attack at 9:47 in the morning, and then we're going to do this, and then we're going to" And if you don't do that, they say, "I have a plan." These

people know what the plan is. Everybody

here knows what the plan is, but uh it's very unfair to say, "We don't because I don't mind being insulted. I've been

insulted for many years by the by the fake news, but you can't. It's so bad for the for people that are so pro. You

just saw two great and John Ratliff, three unbelievable people. They have a plan. Every every single thing has been

plan. Every every single thing has been thought out by all of us, but I can't reveal the plan to the media. So, you

know, but we're just thrilled by the success of this operation. Yes, please.

Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, you've

said Iranians would be mad if you stopped these attacks, but why would they want you to blow up their infrastructure to to cut off their power? Wouldn't that be punishing

power? Wouldn't that be punishing Iranians for the actions of the regime?

They would be willing to they would be will and it's suffering. They would be willing to suffer that in order to have freedom. Uh the Iranians have and we've

freedom. Uh the Iranians have and we've had numerous intercepts. Please keep

bombing bombs that are dropping near their homes. Please keep bombing. Do it.

their homes. Please keep bombing. Do it.

And these are people that are living where the bombs are exploding. And when

we leave and we're not hitting those areas, they're saying, "Please come back. Come back. Come back." These are

back. Come back. Come back." These are the people.

I don't know what they do. All I can tell you is they want freedom. They have

lived in a world that you know nothing about. It's a violent, horrible world

about. It's a violent, horrible world where if you protest, you are shot.

Remember the great woman protest where they had 400,000 500,000 women and they were all enthused and they were going to protest and everybody said, "Oh, the

regime is going to come to an end." And

then all of a sudden, boom, boom, five, six different areas. A woman would go down right between the eyes. They had

snipers. They had five snipers. That's

all it took. And those four or 500,000 women said, "Oh my god, what's that?"

Oh, look over there. What's that? A

woman shot right between the eyes. And

after five or six of them go down, then you start hearing the purr through the vast number of people.

And then they said, "Oh my god, who would do that?" And they're incredible people, but they've lived so horribly.

They've lived so horribly. You know,

Iran was a great country. If you go back 25 years ago or so, uh, the Persian people, the they're incredible, smart, brilliant actually. And I know so many I

brilliant actually. And I know so many I know coming from New York originally, I I know so many people from Maria, they're incredible people, incredible energy and and uh very very brilliant

people.

But when you're standing in a group and protesting and you have a woman, in the case of the woman, remember the great woman march, everybody was start, oh, this is the end of the country

and then snipers selectively picked.

Every single one was shot right between the eyes from a long distance. They were

on top of buildings. Nobody even knew where they were, where they coming from.

This wasn't like a machine gun, which is also very bad. They've done that, too.

They did that recently. This was snipers sitting on the top of buildings aiming and hitting women and when they see people go down and all of a sudden

there's a riot in the reverse direction and they never came out again and a lot of the me the news doesn't talk about that they talk about oh women's rights you want to see women's rights you're

not going to see it there it's amazing when I see some of the stupid people like you know AOC plus three all that group they talk about oh freedom for Iran. They don't tell you the real

Iran. They don't tell you the real facts. Women,

facts. Women, men, gays. How about gays for Iran?

men, gays. How about gays for Iran?

They kill the gays. They throw them off buildings. So, I I wonder what what's

buildings. So, I I wonder what what's going on. I I can only say this.

going on. I I can only say this.

They want us to keep bombing even if it jeopardized because their life is in much greater danger. They want freedom for Iran, but it's very hard for them to protest. I actually tell them, I said,

protest. I actually tell them, I said, "Don't go out. I fully understand nobody in this room would go out. I don't think there's any because frankly it's not a question of bravery. We're all brave, right? You're brave. I'm brave. We're

right? You're brave. I'm brave. We're

all brave. But we're also intelligent.

If you have people shooting at you, expert shots with the best rifles you can get and hitting you right between the eyes every single time. And you're

looking here and you're seeing and you're looking here, you're out of there. I don't care who.

there. I don't care who.

Mark Meredith, Fox News. Uh,

I know that. How would I know that? Go

ahead.

America's watching. Uh, no. Um,

can we go back to the weekend? First

off, was everyone on board with the operation or were there people that were trying to talk you out of going through the operation this weekend?

Not everybody was on board.

Somebody else within.

No, there was military people, very professional, that preferred not doing it. These two were totally on board,

it. These two were totally on board, which was very important. If they

weren't, I would have had a little difficulty. But uh no, there were

difficulty. But uh no, there were military people that said you just don't do this. You don't go into the heart of

do this. You don't go into the heart of a very powerful military. You know, this is Hey, you have countries and countries. You have some countries where

countries. You have some countries where military is not their strong suit. This

whole thing is militarized like nobody's ever seen before. Half the people are wearing uniforms. Uh and we had we had people within the military.

Usually it's not done. That's one of the reasons, you know, I was surprised.

Somebody said it's the only time it's ever been done. I said, "That's not possible." But it is possible because

possible." But it is possible because you're going into hundreds of thousands of soldiers along the path. I mean, look at some of the helicopters how they got

hit. So, yeah, there were people within

hit. So, yeah, there were people within the military that said it's a wise and don't forget, how many men did you send altogether approximately uh for the operation?

I'd love to keep that a secret, Mr. Okay. Well, we are. Okay.

Okay. Well, we are. Okay.

But I will tell you the number. I'll

keep it a secret, but it was hundreds and hundreds of these people. He's

pretty good. Is he central? Is he

central casting? But hundreds of people went into this journey. Hundreds of

people could have been killed. Forget

about the equipment. A lot of equipment.

Nobody cares. Hundreds of people could have been killed. So we had people that were within the military that said, "This is not a wise." And I understood that. But I decided to do it.

that. But I decided to do it.

Was there a point that they were gonna that you were thinking there's too much on the line and somebody was saying maybe we abort this now and and wait. I

mean given the resource like the general said it seemed like there was so much on the line here. You must have been thinking this could have completely changed.

So the first one which was in many ways as dangerous as the second I guess it gets because we're flying over daylight.

You know we're the best at the world at night. We have goggles at nobody. We

night. We have goggles at nobody. We

have goggles. I've tried them. They're

unbelievable. I see better with the goggles at night with than I see without them during daylight. I mean, daylight today, we have a beautiful day. You see

just as well with goggles. In many ways, it's enhanced. So, we have the best in

it's enhanced. So, we have the best in the world. So, it's much safer to for us

the world. So, it's much safer to for us to do it at night, whereas other people no other country has that capability.

They don't have the they don't have that particular piece of equipment like we do. But when I was told flying and in

do. But when I was told flying and in daylight, I think we flew seven hours over Iran and that's a long time over unbelievably hostile territory where

they have nothing but weapons. We took

out their anti-aircraft which is great.

We took out their radar which is square.

We took out a lot but they still have you know what hit this one was a shoulder handheld shoulder missile heat seeeking missile. So, it's not like, you

seeeking missile. So, it's not like, you know, they're totally whatever, but but and they have probably a little luck because you got to get lucky, but they

shot it and it got sucked in right by the engine. But these guys were out of

the engine. But these guys were out of there. They were great. Their timing was

there. They were great. Their timing was great. But no, I was told that this is a

great. But no, I was told that this is a very uh dangerous mission. I They didn't say it's a foolish mission. They said,

you know, we're going to be sacrificing hundreds of people do this. This is I mean you have tankers that are flying over this area so that they could the flight was so long they had to refuel.

It's a very dangerous mission. Uh I just felt it was worth it. If you would have told me that we would have been successful gotten both and nobody was even essentially injured I would have

said that would be impossible. Yeah.

Mr. President, thank you very much.

Uh you Thank you, sir.

We'll come back to you.

Okay. uh given that you are now dealing you say with a more reasonable um less uh extreme leadership in Iran, what does that mean for the protesters, for the human rights movement in that country

after this conflict? What's your

positive?

Yeah, if they assume control, if we do something and they assume control, I think it's very positive, a big step.

Uh I don't think you'd see the radicalization that you have seen in the last look what happened. I mean, the women are being executed because they're not properly clothed. They say they're

not properly clothed and they execute the women. They absolutely they shoot

the women. They absolutely they shoot them right on the street.

Uh, no, you have a much different group of people. Now, I'm not saying we are

of people. Now, I'm not saying we are dealing with them. Uh, essentially they have till 8:00 tomorrow night, Eastern time. But we are dealing with them. I

time. But we are dealing with them. I

think it's going well. Mr. Whitco is here and JD is involved in the dealing.

Mr. Whit is s sitting right here and I think it's going fine, but we'll have to see. You have to understand we've been

see. You have to understand we've been dealing with these people for 47 years.

I'm standing here with a much more powerful Iran as of a month ago. Not anymore. Right

now, they are decapitated. But I'm

standing here a month ago with a much more powerful Iran than it was at any point during 47 years. This should have been handled by seven presidents, a lot

of presidents. And those presidents are

of presidents. And those presidents are saying now, every one of them, to their friends, we should have done this a long time ago. So, it's not something I like

time ago. So, it's not something I like doing. It's very dangerous. And we're

doing. It's very dangerous. And we're

getting them at the height of of their strength. If I didn't terminate the

strength. If I didn't terminate the Barack Hussein Obama Iran nuclear deal, they would have had a Don't forget that was a path to a nuclear weapon. Remember

this, he chose Iran over Israel, pure and simple. how an how Israel can vote

and simple. how an how Israel can vote for a Democrat is if you're Jewish in New York City or any place else in this

country and how you can vote for a Democrat is in because he chose Iran, a very hostile Iran. Remember when he

filled up a 757 with cash, billions of dollars of cash, and he sent it over to them. Then they gave them tens of

them. Then they gave them tens of billions of dollars. He chose Iran over Israel and really the Arab world if you look because you know the other Saudi

Arabia, Qatar, UAE, I mean you take a look. I mean I can add Kuwait and I can

look. I mean I can add Kuwait and I can add Bahrain and you can add others. He

chose such an unlikely candidate. Nobody

could believe it. Frankly, if you're going to choose between Iraq and Iran, he should have chosen he should have befriended Iraq. He went in the exact

befriended Iraq. He went in the exact opposite direction of of all thinking and he made a terrible mistake. But that

was a road to a nuclear weapon. And when

I terminated that, everyone said, "Oh, he terminated it. It was one of the best things we ever did because he had a road to a nuclear weapon and it was going to it was a very short-term deal." You

know, countries don't do 10-year deals.

Countries do hundreds of years. You

don't do a 10-year deal for a country.

You need this isn't you're a landlord.

You're renting a store on on a certain street and you give somebody a 5year or 10-year lease. This is a country was a

10-year lease. This is a country was a short-term deal. It was ready to expire.

short-term deal. It was ready to expire.

I terminated it before it expired. Took

a lot of heat and it was one of the best things they ever did because he would have had a nuclear weapon. Then he would have had another nuclear weapon had those beautiful B2 bombers not gone in eight months ago and obliterated. That's

it. And by the way, the word is obliteration. CNN said, "Well, maybe it

obliteration. CNN said, "Well, maybe it wasn't complete." It was so complete

wasn't complete." It was so complete that they still haven't been able to get it. It was obliteration. But if we

it. It was obliteration. But if we didn't hit them, that was a courageous decision, too, because we had all those planes flying in at night with very little cover, unbelievable stealth

planes, and they were able to do their job. If we didn't do that, Iran would

job. If we didn't do that, Iran would have had a nuclear weapon at a high level, either one of those two instances. And if they did, in my

instances. And if they did, in my opinion, I told this to BB Netanyahu yesterday, Israel would have been extinguished,

large portions of the Middle East would have been extinguished, whether it's Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, or others. And

you saw that with thousands of missiles raining down upon them. They didn't

think they were going to be hit. They

thought they'd be watching us fight. And

all of a sudden, UAE got hit by 1,500 missiles. He would have taken them out

missiles. He would have taken them out also and they were powerful. If I didn't come along and terminate the Obama deal, which was terrible. The Iran nuclear

deal was a a road to a nuclear weapon, a big one, unlimited legally. I terminated

it without even much thought. It was so easy. I terminated that. And then the B2

easy. I terminated that. And then the B2 bombers. And I did one other thing. I

bombers. And I did one other thing. I

had killed Casam Solamini who was an evil genius.

And the reason I did it, I heard he was going to knock out five of our military bases.

And had he lived, I believe we would be fighting perhaps a different Iran right now because because he's never he's never been replaced, you know. And

I also I did one other but that this one was not picked up. Osama bin Laden if you read my book I said you got to take him out one year before the World Trade

Center came down. So I wish you'd read the book.

But you as a president to be a good president I believe you have to have good instincts and a lot of this is instinct. Yeah. Please,

Mr. President, you Mr. President, please last week uh last week you suggested that Europe should take the lead on reopening the straight of Harm. Uh has

circumstances changed now that you're issuing a direct 40 8 hour I mean 48 hour ultimatum and secondly would a new new ceasefire include Israel or would it just be between Iran? can't talk about

ceasefire but I can tell you that we have a active willing participant on the other side they would like to be able to make a deal I can't say any more than

that president so much excuse me please you with who you with my name is Dakur I'm with the largest Kurdish media outlet Rud media network

it's based in Iraq ahead Mr. President, you said before that you don't want the Kurdish forces to enter Iran and be harmed. Do you still want them to stay away or what role do you

expect them to play now?

I'd rather have them stay away.

And then I'd rather have them stay away because I think they bring with them some problems and some difficulties and I don't think they bring death. I

mean, you know, to themselves, but I'd rather have them stay away.

Go ahead.

Thank you, Mr. president for the question. Um, deliberate attacks on

question. Um, deliberate attacks on civilian infrastructure violate the Geneva Conventions and international law.

Who you with?

I'm with the New York Times. Zolan from

the New York Times. Are you fulfilling?

Are you concerned circulation way down at the New York Times? Are you concerned that your threat to bomb power plants and bridges amount to one?

No, not at all. No, I'm not. I hope I don't have to do it.

But again, I just said 47 years they've been negotiating with these people.

They're great negotiators. Why would

that happen?

Because they're not going to have a nuclear weapon. And if somebody that

nuclear weapon. And if somebody that takes my place someday is weak and ineffective, which possibly that will happen because we had numerous presidents that were weak, ineffective,

and afraid afraid of Iran. We're never

going to let Iran have a nuclear weapon.

And if you think it's okay for people that are sick of mind, that are tough, smart, and sick, really sick ide, uh,

you know, from from a a policy standpoint, from a stand, any which way you want to say, mentally, these are disturbed people. If you think I'm going

disturbed people. If you think I'm going to allow them and powerful and rich to have a nuclear weapon, you can tell your friends at the New York Times, not going to happen.

even if it means violating international quiet. You no longer have credibility at

quiet. You no longer have credibility at the New York Times because the New York Times said, "Oh, Trump won't win the election and I won in a landslide. I won

every swing state." New York Times said, "Oh, Trump won't win the election." New

York Times has no credibility. The

credibility they have is it used to be all the news that's fit to print. A

great The old gray lady, it was great, but they're they're running on past fumes and you can't keep doing that. You

have to be able to give the correct news. And people like you who I know are

news. And people like you who I know are fake. You're fake. Go ahead, please.

fake. You're fake. Go ahead, please.

Your messaging on the war has moved from the war is coming to an end to we're going to be bombing Iran to the stone ages. And we've heard a range of those

ages. And we've heard a range of those kind of messages.

So are you so which is it? Are you

winding this down? Are you

escalating? I can't tell you. I don't

know. I can't tell. Depends what they do. This is a critical period. They have

do. This is a critical period. They have

a period of well till tomorrow at 8:00.

I gave them an extension. They asked for an extension of seven days, right? I

said, Steve, give them 10 days.

10 days is up actually today. So, I gave him 11, I guess, indirectly. I thought

it was inappropriate the day after Easter. I want to be a nice person. Uh,

Easter. I want to be a nice person. Uh,

they have till tomorrow. Now, we'll see what happens. I can tell you they're

what happens. I can tell you they're negotiating, we think, in good faith.

We're going to find out. We're getting

the help of some incredible countries that want this to be ended because it affects them also. A lot of people are affected by this, but we're giving them

uh we're giving them till tomorrow 8:00 Eastern time. And after that, they're

Eastern time. And after that, they're going to have no bridges. They're going

to have no power plants.

Stone ages. Yeah. So

the negotiation CNN fig are you willing to make a deal that does not include reopening the straight of Hormuz or is that now a top priority?

I would say it's a very big priority because um see that's that's one thing that's a little different than other. We

can bomb the hell out of them. We can

knock them out for a loop. But to close the straight, all you need is one terrorist that somehow has a truck loaded with, because you can carry them

in trucks, large trucks, a water mine.

Drop them in the water. And now you tell people that own ships that cost a billion dollars to don't worry about the mine. You can do that even just by

mine. You can do that even just by saying we put mines in the water. So

it's not like the rest. We can knock out their military. We already have. We've

their military. We already have. We've

knocked out their navy. We've knocked

out their air force completely. knocked

out 158 ships in three days. We've

knocked out even their mind droppers.

They don't have any mind droppers anymore, but they put them on other boats and they could drop them. I'm not

even sure they have any minds, by the way. I'm not sure. I don't I'm

way. I'm not sure. I don't I'm personally They say there might be eight. I don't know. I don't know. I

eight. I don't know. I don't know. I

think there might be none. Uh because

they're very good artists.

That's why for 47 years they've been bullshitting other presidents and they haven't done the job. And people are living in hell. You live in that

country, they're living in hell. No, I

think that uh 47 years of this stuff is long enough. They're at the weakest

long enough. They're at the weakest point they've ever been. They have no navy. They have no air force. They have

navy. They have no air force. They have

no anti-aircraft weaponry. They have no radar. They have

weaponry. They have no radar. They have

no communication. In fact, the biggest problem we have in our negotiation is that they can't communicate. I said to Steve, "What are they saying?" Sir, they can't communicate. They have no method

can't communicate. They have no method of communication. So, we're doing we're

of communication. So, we're doing we're communicating like they used to communicate 2,000 years ago with children bringing a note back and forth.

They have no communication.

But all I want to see is I want to have a safe world. And you're not going to have a safe world. Israel will be gone.

The Middle East will be gone. And then

they're coming for Europe. And I have to tell you, I'm very disappointed in NATO.

Very. I think that NATO I think it's a mark on NATO that will never disappear.

Never disappear in my mind. You know,

they're coming to see me on Wednesday.

They're going to say, "Oh, we'll do this. We'll do that." Now, they all of a

this. We'll do that." Now, they all of a sudden want to send things, you know, but they said it loud and clear at the beginning when I spoke to UK of all. I

would have said they would have been the first because they've been they're the oldest. And I say, "Yeah, I'd love to

oldest. And I say, "Yeah, I'd love to have a little help." He said, "No, sir.

We'd rather wait till you win." I said, "I don't need help after we win. They

have two old broken aircraft carriers barely work. I said, "I guess we can use

barely work. I said, "I guess we can use them. Who the hell knows?" I called the

them. Who the hell knows?" I called the general. He didn't even want. He said,

general. He didn't even want. He said,

"We don't really need them. We got We got the SS Abraham Lincoln, sir. We

don't need them." Do you know we have in terms of technology, we had one day 101 missiles going at 2,700 miles an hour

aimed at the Abraham Lincoln.

101 missiles. out of 101 missiles, 101 missiles were shot down.

Unbelievable technology.

10 years ago, five years ago, I don't know if that would have been possible, but 10 years ago, that wouldn't have been that wouldn't have been possible.

Uh 101 missiles heading to a ship that's not that far off the coast.

And out of the 101 missiles, we shot down all 101. We have weaponry. Uh the

Patriots are unbelievable. We have

weaponry. That's unbelievable. Yeah.

Go ahead, please.

Thank you, Mr. President. Um you said earlier today during the egg roll that you would like to take Iran's oil, but Americans want US forces home.

Correct.

What's that trade-off if I had my choice?

If I had my choice. Yeah.

Because I'm a businessman first with Venezuela.

As you know, the war was over in about 45 minutes.

And we have great people running Venezuela. Very good people. I mean, the

Venezuela. Very good people. I mean, the relationship is good. And we are a partner with Venezuela. And we've taken hundreds of millions of barrels.

Hundreds of millions over 100 million barrels already is in Houston, refined and out. And paid paid for that war many

and out. And paid paid for that war many many times over. many times. You know

the old days to the victim.

Okay. Do you know that to the uh to the winner belong the spoils go the spoils.

And I've said why don't we use it to the victor go the spoils. And we don't have that. We haven't had that in this

that. We haven't had that in this country probably in a hundred years because even the second world war. You

look at the second world war. We didn't

have it with the second war. We helped

rebuild all those countries. We rebuilt

Germany. How about Germany telling us Germany telling us that uh well it's not their war. We had nothing to do with

their war. We had nothing to do with getting they wanted me to go and tell them everything I was doing. We didn't

know anything about it. Well, if I would have told them, they would have leaked it and we wouldn't have been nearly as successful possibly, right? But to the victor belong the spoils. So, we haven't

heard we haven't heard that in I think maybe hundreds of years now with Venezuela and we just so you understand the people of Venezuela. They say if I

ran for president of Venezuela, I'm polling higher than anybody has ever pled in Venezuela. So after I'm finished with this, I can go to Venezuela. I will

quickly learn Spanish. It won't take too long. I'm good at language. And I will

long. I'm good at language. And I will go to Venezuela. I'm going to run for president. But we're very happy with the

president. But we're very happy with the president-elect that we have right now.

The the the people that are running it.

If you remember Bush with Iraq, they fired the generals. They fired the police. They fired the people that

police. They fired the people that worked in their equivalent of the White House. They fired everybody. And you

House. They fired everybody. And you

know what they had? They had a mess. And

you know what happened? ISIS formed.

Those generals and those soldiers got together. The police got together. They

together. The police got together. They

all got together. They formed ISIS. Not

going to happen with us. So, uh,

Venezuela has been an incredible, it's been an incredible situation. We went

in, we were very successful. Military

power like nobody's ever seen. The

general uh Venezuelan general said, "I was on that site." I said, "I've never seen ferocity like that. I've been doing this for 40 years." He said, "I've never seen it." They they hit us from 17

seen it." They they hit us from 17 different It was They were all set. They

saw that big beautiful aircraft carrier, the Ford in that case, and planes were pouring off it at one:00 in the morning.

So, typically when you see that late at night, you know you could be in trouble, right? and we're all ready. They had

right? and we're all ready. They had

their equipment. It was Russian and they had Chinese equipment. It was all set.

They were going to give us a fight, he said. And then they came and they came

said. And then they came and they came at speeds like we've never seen. And

they came at 17 different angles, the general and his people. That was a lot of angles. They hit him from every

of angles. They hit him from every angle. He said, "We knew it was over in

angle. He said, "We knew it was over in three minutes. We were waiting for them.

three minutes. We were waiting for them.

Their equipment didn't work. And there's

a reason it didn't work. Someday we'll

explain that to people. They pressed the button, nothing happened. They pressed

it again and again. Nothing happened.

And he said, "We knew this whole thing was over in three minutes. We've never

seen any." He he used the word ferocity.

The ferocity of these planes from 17 different angles. And it was over. They

different angles. And it was over. They

went inside and remember that was on a military base with thousands of soldiers. And those soldiers looked and

soldiers. And those soldiers looked and they said, "Get the hell out of here."

Thousands. We didn't have thousands. We

had like 200 people. So, we have a great military. And I'll tell you what,

military. And I'll tell you what, somehow this rescue captured the world's attention more so than normally. You're

talking about two people. But this

rescue captured the world's attention.

But we did it in Venezuela. That was

amazing. And now we have a very bad man in prison. and going to trial. I mean,

in prison. and going to trial. I mean,

he he released aside from the drugs, which he was terrible, Maduro released hundreds of thousands of people from jails into our country. Drug dealers,

murderers, the worst people in the world were released into our country because we had a stupid president who probably didn't know. And we had a borders who

didn't know. And we had a borders who never went to the border and never once called our great border patrol agents, right? Not once, Kamla. She never called

right? Not once, Kamla. She never called the Border Patrol. She never said, "How we doing?" I used to call the Border

we doing?" I used to call the Border Patrol guys every day. You can ask them.

Paul, ask any one of them. Brandon, ask

them all the time. How are we doing? How

are we doing? And we now, I'm proud to say, have a totally sealed border. Nine

months, nobody is coming through our border. And nobody even tries because

border. And nobody even tries because they know they're not going to get through. So, we don't have caravans

through. So, we don't have caravans anymore.

So, maybe one or two more and we'll be done.

Mr. President, are are you allowed to are you willing to end this conflict with Iran charging tolls for passage through the street?

Uh us charging tolls.

Iran?

What about us charging tolls?

Is that something you're considering?

I'd rather do that than let them have them, right? Why shouldn't we? We're the

them, right? Why shouldn't we? We're the

winner. We won. Okay. They are

militarily defeated. The only thing they have is the psychology of, oh, we're going to drop a couple of mines in the water. All right. No, we I mean we have

water. All right. No, we I mean we have a concept where we'll charge tolls.

Okay. I thought you meant your question your question would your question would have been more accurate if you said ahead.

Thank you very much.

Just to clarify, in order for Iran to successfully meet your deadline tomorrow, do they have to make a deal, open the straight, or both?

We have to have a deal that's acceptable to me. And part of that deal is going to

to me. And part of that deal is going to be we want free traffic of oil and everything else.

Mr. President, thank you very much.

You've said glory be to God in this conflict. Do you believe that God

conflict. Do you believe that God supports the United States actions in this?

I do because God is good. Because God is good and God wants to see people taken care of. God doesn't like what's happening. I don't like what's

happening. I don't like what's happening. Everyone says I enjoy I don't

happening. Everyone says I enjoy I don't enjoy this. I don't enjoy it. These two

enjoy this. I don't enjoy it. These two

guys don't enjoy it. You know, people say, "Oh, boy, they're so tough." They

don't want They don't like I don't like seeing people killed. I've ended eight wars. Nobody's ever done it. The person

wars. Nobody's ever done it. The person

who won the Nobel Prize came to me and said, "You deserve the Nobel Prize." She

announced that. When they announced, they said, "Goes to Maria. She's great

person. Really a good person." She said, "No, no, no. This is ridiculous. They

gave me the Nobel Prize. President Trump

aimed at eight wars. I could go over every one of them, including India and Pakistan where the prime minister of Pakistan said, "President Trump saved

from 30 to 50 million lives." That makes me much happier than what we're doing right now. That makes me much happier.

right now. That makes me much happier.

We have one more to end, by the way.

Okay. Mr. President, um, you called the yesterday in your truth social, you called the Iranians crazy bastards.

True.

Um, what is your response to critics who say that I don't care about critics.

What is your response to critics who say that is your mental health that should perhaps be examined as this war continues?

I haven't heard that, but if that's the case, you're going to have to have more people like me because our country was being ripped off on trade or on mil on everything for many years until I came

along. So if that's the case, you're

along. So if that's the case, you're going to have to have more people. Dash,

when you said that very little is off limits in Iran as far as targeting, including power plants, bridges, you've mentioned those.

Very little is off limits.

Are there certain kinds of civilian targets though? I'm thinking

targets though? I'm thinking I don't want to tell you that you I don't want to tell you that we have we have a plan because of the power of our

military where every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12:00 tomorrow night where every power plant in Iran will be

out of business, burning, exploding, and never to be used again. I mean complete demolition by 12:00. and it'll happen over a period of four hours if we wanted

to. We don't want that to happen. We may

to. We don't want that to happen. We may

even get involved with helping them rebuild their nation. And you know what?

If that's the case, the last thing we want to do is start with power plants, which are among the most expensive thing and bridges. You saw the bridge. The

and bridges. You saw the bridge. The

bridge went we were very close to a deal. And then I got a call from Mr.

deal. And then I got a call from Mr. Witco, Mr. Kushner and JD saying, "I think they're breaking the

deal." I said, "Tell them that's okay.

deal." I said, "Tell them that's okay.

Don't worry about it, but tell them to look out their window and watch." And

within 45 minutes, I gave the order to knock out the biggest bridge. I gave the order, knock out the biggest bridge in, I believe, the Middle East, but the

biggest bridge in Iran. And within

10 minutes after I gave that order, that bridge was was over. So, so do I want to do that? No. Do I want to destroy their

do that? No. Do I want to destroy their infrastructure? No. It will take them a

infrastructure? No. It will take them a hundred years to rebuild right now. If

we left today, it would take them 20 years to rebuild their country. And it

would never be as good as it was. And

the only way they're going to be able to rebuild their country is to utilize the genius of the United States of America.

Mr. President on NATO, you voiced your displeasure with NATO in the past. Is

there a danger to the US not being the de facto of the leader of the alliance and then other powers within the alliance then getting the decision making when it comes to wars and nuclear weapons?

No, it's not a danger. NATO's look, we went to NATO. I didn't ask very strongly. I just said, "Hey, if you want

strongly. I just said, "Hey, if you want to help, great. No, no, no, we will not help." I said, "That's all right. You

help." I said, "That's all right. You

don't want to help?" Because I've always said NATO's a paper tiger. See, NATO is a paper tiger. Putin's not afraid of NATO. Putin's afraid of us. Very afraid

NATO. Putin's afraid of us. Very afraid

of us. And he's explained it to me a lot of times. I got to know him very well. I

of times. I got to know him very well. I

know him very well. Uh NATO is a paper tiger. NATO is us. And when we needed

tiger. NATO is us. And when we needed them, and we didn't need them, by the way. We didn't need them, obviously,

way. We didn't need them, obviously, because they haven't helped at all. Just

the opposite. They've actually gone out of their way not to help. They didn't

even want to give us landing strips.

Think of it. And it's not just NATO. You

know who else didn't help us? South

Korea didn't help us. You know who else didn't help us? Australia didn't help us. You know who else didn't help us?

us. You know who else didn't help us?

Japan.

We've got 50,000 soldiers in Japan to protect them from North Korea. We have

45,000 soldiers in South Korea to protect us from Kim Jong-un, who I get along with very well, as you know.

Do you notice he said very nice things about me? He used to call uh Joe Biden a

about me? He used to call uh Joe Biden a mentally person. Okay, so don't

mentally person. Okay, so don't tell me about your stuff. Joe Biden, he said he's a mentally person. He

was so nasty to Joe Biden. It was

terrible. But to me, he likes Trump. And

do you notice how nice things are with North Korea? It's very nice. But we have

North Korea? It's very nice. But we have 45,000 people, soldiers in harm's way in right next to Kim Jong-un with a lot of nuclear weapons. 45. What should have

nuclear weapons. 45. What should have never happened if a certain president I'm not going to mention this president because I happen to like him, believe it or not. But if a certain president did

or not. But if a certain president did his job, Kim Jong-un would not have nuclear weapons right now. But they were all afraid to do their job properly. But

just to conclude and just to finish, Japan didn't help us. Australia didn't

help us. South Korea didn't help us. And

then you get to NATO. NATO didn't help us. There were some countries that did.

us. There were some countries that did.

Now, countries that have been good. Now,

you could also say they're got to be a little bit more involved because they're in the territory. But Saudi Arabia has been excellent. Qatar has been

been excellent. Qatar has been excellent. UAE has been excellent.

excellent. UAE has been excellent.

Bahrain, Kuwait, I mean Kuwait did shoot down three of our planes. The only

planes really that we lost it with friendly fire. They call it I call it

friendly fire. They call it I call it unfriendly fire. They unfortunately

unfriendly fire. They unfortunately didn't know how to use our our great patriots.

The pilot said, "What kind of a missiles coming at us?" Patriot. Boom. They got

out because they know a patriot never misses. So they had beautiful Patriots.

misses. So they had beautiful Patriots.

There were planes heading in their direction. Unfortunately, they decided

direction. Unfortunately, they decided to shoot those planes. They were our planes. So, uh, no. NATO is a paper

planes. So, uh, no. NATO is a paper tiger. Now, he's coming to see me on

tiger. Now, he's coming to see me on Wednesday, as you know. He's a wonderful guy. Secretary General is great. And

guy. Secretary General is great. And

Mark Ruta, he's a great person, but he's got and you know, it all began with, if you want to know the truth, Greenland.

We want Greenland. They don't want to give it to us. And I said, bye-bye.

Okay. Thank you very much, everybody.

Mr. PRESIDENT, what about rising gas prices for Americans who are concerned?