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Remarks by Trump in Meeting with Governor Abbott of Texas; May 7, 2020
Last edited Fri May 8, 2020, 12:05 PM - Edit history (1)
REMARKS
Remarks by President Trump in Meeting with Governor Abbott of Texas
HEALTHCARE
Issued on: May 7, 2020
Oval Office
2:37 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. It’s a great honor to have Governor Greg Abbott with us. He’s a very special governor. He’s a done a phenomenal job. Texas is — well, it’s sort of like the U.S. We were both booming, and now it’s still booming, but it’s going to be booming at the highest level very soon, I project.
GOVERNOR ABBOTT: Exactly.
THE PRESIDENT: I think we both feel we’re going to have a transition period in the third quarter, and we’re going to have a very good fourth quarter. I think next year has a chance to be one of our really great years, economically. So we’re looking forward to getting on with it. The only thing is we pay our respects for the fallen. We pay our respects for those that have died, the families of those that have died.
It’s a horrible, horrible thing that was given to our country. It could’ve been stopped. It should’ve been stopped right at the site, where it came from.
{snip}
Q Mr. President, could we get your reaction to some breaking news? The Justice Department has decided to dismiss the case against Michael Flynn. Are you aware of that?
THE PRESIDENT: I didn’t know that was happening at this moment. I felt it was going to happen, just by watching and seeing, like everybody else does. He was an innocent man. He is a great gentleman. He was targeted by the Obama administration, and he was targeted in order to try and take down a President. And what they’ve done is a disgrace, and I hope a big price is going to be paid. A big price should be paid. There’s never been anything like this in the history of our country.
What they did — what the Obama administration did is unprecedented. It’s never happened. Never happened. A thing like this has never happened before, in the history of our country. And I hope a lot of people are going to pay a big price because they’re dishonest, crooked people. They’re scum. And I say it a lot: They’re scum. They’re human scum. This should never have happened in this country. A duly elected President.
And they went after him by going after fine people. And those fine people said, “No, I’m not going to lie. I can’t lie.” He’s not the only one. There are many of them. And they all said, “I can’t lie.” They could’ve said something like, “Oh, make up a lie. Trump loves somebody or something or some country.” And they said, “Oh, you wouldn’t have any problem.” That’s what they were trying to do. And it’s disgrace.
The Obama administration Justice Department was a disgrace. And they got caught. They got caught. Very dishonest people. But much more than dishonest; it’s treason. It’s treason.
So I’m very happy for General Flynn. He was a great warrior and he still is a great warrior. Now, in my book, he’s an even greater warrior. What happened to him should never happen again. And what happened to this presidency — to go through all of that and still do more than any President has ever done in the first three years is pretty amazing when you think of it, with what we’ve done with regulations and tax cuts and Second Amendment and all of the things we’ve done. It’s never happened.
And until two months ago, we had the greatest economy in history. Unfortunately, we had to — like you did in Texas — we had to close it down. But for these people to have done that, I am very proud of General Flynn, I can tell you that right now.
Q Who would you like to see pay a price for this?
THE PRESIDENT: Oh, the people should pay a big price for what they’ve done to this country. They should pay a big price. And their partner, very complicit, is a thing called the media. The media is totally guilty.
And all of those writers and so-called journalists — they’re not journalists; they’re thieves — all of those journalists that received a Pulitzer Prize should be forced to give those Pulitzer Prizes back because they were all wrong. There was no — because if you saw today, more documents came out, saying there was absolutely no collusion with Russia. It came out very loud and clear.
And they wrote for years because they tried to do a number on the presidency and this President. It happened to be me. Pulitzer Prizes should all be returned. Because you know what? They were given out falsely. It was fake news. They’re all fake news. Those Pulitzer Prizes should be given back immediately.
And the Pulitzer committee, or whoever gives the prizes, they’re a disgrace, unless they take those prizes back. Because they got Pulitzer Prizes for what turned out to be false stories. And Pulitzer Prizes should be given to the ones that got it right, and I could give you a long list of those names too. And you know who I’m talking about.
{snip}
Q Governor Abbott, in Odessa, Texas, police were used with an armored vehicle and guns drawn to shut down a bar that had opened up in — going against the order. What role do police have in enforcing these kind of lockdown and social-distancing orders?
GOVERNOR ABBOTT: Well, there’s different standards used in different communities. However, today I made one thing clear, and that is: As we go through this process of trying to maintain order in our states, as we are asking the people in our state to comply with these orders, we should not be taking these people and putting them behind bars — these people who have spent their life building up a business and being told to shut it down and lose every penny they have. And then, if they don’t follow every little, you know, fine point of all the rules, they suddenly are subject to arrest, that is wrong. And that’s why I issued another executive order today, saying that, in the state of Texas, no one can be put behind bars because they’re —
THE PRESIDENT: That’s great.
GOVERNOR ABBOTT: — not following an executive order. It’s common sense.
THE PRESIDENT: So that includes the woman that I’ve been reading about —
GOVERNOR ABBOTT: She’s —
THE PRESIDENT: — with the beauty salon.
GOVERNOR ABBOTT: She’s free today.
THE PRESIDENT: Good.
{snip}
Q So how much — how much influence does Fox News have over your thinking on the pandemic?
THE PRESIDENT: No different than anybody else. I mean, I watch Fox News and I watch others, and I read a lot of newspapers, and I get a lot of information from my people. I think I’m very well versed when it comes to not only the pandemic, but everything. I mean, I’m — I enjoy that and I think I have an obligation to do it.
So — but they are certainly a more honorable source than some. I mean, some — some is fake. If you look at CNN, it’s fake news. If you look at “MSDNC” — I call it “MSDNC.” You know what that means, right? “Democratic National Committee.”
You look at NBC. NBC, to me, is very dishonest news. And that’s why they fired Andy Lack, I guess. You’ll have to ask them, but Andy Lack was a hack, and they fired him. And they did a big favor to the world and to this country. But, no, I find NBC to be very dishonest. I find — which is a Comcast division. I call it “Con-cast,” with — with an “N.” I don’t use the “M.” I always call it “Concast.”
ABC, I thought he gave me a very fair interview the other night. Very good professional. I’ve had very good relationships with him, as you know.
CBS is having a hard time, but they’re not getting it straight. In fact, last night, I read where they did a false report where they actually got people to make it look like it was a tur- — did you see what happened? They got people — “Let’s get some people” — because they wanted to make it look like it was turmoil. And they do that with this White House all the time. They — they love — they love the word “chaos,” when there’s no chaos whatsoever. They love the word, “chaos.”
But what happened at CBS yesterday was terrible, where they got a lot of people to try and pretend like it was a mass amount of chaos and disorder. You saw that. It was terrible.
So the news media in our country is a mess. But they fired Andy Lack and that was a good thing. That’s a big step forward.
{snip}
Q Your wife and daughter — excuse me, your wife and son —
THE PRESIDENT: Good shape.
Q — are in good shape?
THE PRESIDENT: They’re in good shape.
Q They’ve been tested, and they’re both —
THE PRESIDENT: They’re in great shape.
Q Thank you, sir.
END
3:13 P.M. EDT
Remarks by President Trump in Meeting with Governor Abbott of Texas
HEALTHCARE
Issued on: May 7, 2020
Oval Office
2:37 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. It’s a great honor to have Governor Greg Abbott with us. He’s a very special governor. He’s a done a phenomenal job. Texas is — well, it’s sort of like the U.S. We were both booming, and now it’s still booming, but it’s going to be booming at the highest level very soon, I project.
GOVERNOR ABBOTT: Exactly.
THE PRESIDENT: I think we both feel we’re going to have a transition period in the third quarter, and we’re going to have a very good fourth quarter. I think next year has a chance to be one of our really great years, economically. So we’re looking forward to getting on with it. The only thing is we pay our respects for the fallen. We pay our respects for those that have died, the families of those that have died.
It’s a horrible, horrible thing that was given to our country. It could’ve been stopped. It should’ve been stopped right at the site, where it came from.
{snip}
Q Mr. President, could we get your reaction to some breaking news? The Justice Department has decided to dismiss the case against Michael Flynn. Are you aware of that?
THE PRESIDENT: I didn’t know that was happening at this moment. I felt it was going to happen, just by watching and seeing, like everybody else does. He was an innocent man. He is a great gentleman. He was targeted by the Obama administration, and he was targeted in order to try and take down a President. And what they’ve done is a disgrace, and I hope a big price is going to be paid. A big price should be paid. There’s never been anything like this in the history of our country.
What they did — what the Obama administration did is unprecedented. It’s never happened. Never happened. A thing like this has never happened before, in the history of our country. And I hope a lot of people are going to pay a big price because they’re dishonest, crooked people. They’re scum. And I say it a lot: They’re scum. They’re human scum. This should never have happened in this country. A duly elected President.
And they went after him by going after fine people. And those fine people said, “No, I’m not going to lie. I can’t lie.” He’s not the only one. There are many of them. And they all said, “I can’t lie.” They could’ve said something like, “Oh, make up a lie. Trump loves somebody or something or some country.” And they said, “Oh, you wouldn’t have any problem.” That’s what they were trying to do. And it’s disgrace.
The Obama administration Justice Department was a disgrace. And they got caught. They got caught. Very dishonest people. But much more than dishonest; it’s treason. It’s treason.
So I’m very happy for General Flynn. He was a great warrior and he still is a great warrior. Now, in my book, he’s an even greater warrior. What happened to him should never happen again. And what happened to this presidency — to go through all of that and still do more than any President has ever done in the first three years is pretty amazing when you think of it, with what we’ve done with regulations and tax cuts and Second Amendment and all of the things we’ve done. It’s never happened.
And until two months ago, we had the greatest economy in history. Unfortunately, we had to — like you did in Texas — we had to close it down. But for these people to have done that, I am very proud of General Flynn, I can tell you that right now.
Q Who would you like to see pay a price for this?
THE PRESIDENT: Oh, the people should pay a big price for what they’ve done to this country. They should pay a big price. And their partner, very complicit, is a thing called the media. The media is totally guilty.
And all of those writers and so-called journalists — they’re not journalists; they’re thieves — all of those journalists that received a Pulitzer Prize should be forced to give those Pulitzer Prizes back because they were all wrong. There was no — because if you saw today, more documents came out, saying there was absolutely no collusion with Russia. It came out very loud and clear.
And they wrote for years because they tried to do a number on the presidency and this President. It happened to be me. Pulitzer Prizes should all be returned. Because you know what? They were given out falsely. It was fake news. They’re all fake news. Those Pulitzer Prizes should be given back immediately.
And the Pulitzer committee, or whoever gives the prizes, they’re a disgrace, unless they take those prizes back. Because they got Pulitzer Prizes for what turned out to be false stories. And Pulitzer Prizes should be given to the ones that got it right, and I could give you a long list of those names too. And you know who I’m talking about.
{snip}
Q Governor Abbott, in Odessa, Texas, police were used with an armored vehicle and guns drawn to shut down a bar that had opened up in — going against the order. What role do police have in enforcing these kind of lockdown and social-distancing orders?
GOVERNOR ABBOTT: Well, there’s different standards used in different communities. However, today I made one thing clear, and that is: As we go through this process of trying to maintain order in our states, as we are asking the people in our state to comply with these orders, we should not be taking these people and putting them behind bars — these people who have spent their life building up a business and being told to shut it down and lose every penny they have. And then, if they don’t follow every little, you know, fine point of all the rules, they suddenly are subject to arrest, that is wrong. And that’s why I issued another executive order today, saying that, in the state of Texas, no one can be put behind bars because they’re —
THE PRESIDENT: That’s great.
GOVERNOR ABBOTT: — not following an executive order. It’s common sense.
THE PRESIDENT: So that includes the woman that I’ve been reading about —
GOVERNOR ABBOTT: She’s —
THE PRESIDENT: — with the beauty salon.
GOVERNOR ABBOTT: She’s free today.
THE PRESIDENT: Good.
{snip}
Q So how much — how much influence does Fox News have over your thinking on the pandemic?
THE PRESIDENT: No different than anybody else. I mean, I watch Fox News and I watch others, and I read a lot of newspapers, and I get a lot of information from my people. I think I’m very well versed when it comes to not only the pandemic, but everything. I mean, I’m — I enjoy that and I think I have an obligation to do it.
So — but they are certainly a more honorable source than some. I mean, some — some is fake. If you look at CNN, it’s fake news. If you look at “MSDNC” — I call it “MSDNC.” You know what that means, right? “Democratic National Committee.”
You look at NBC. NBC, to me, is very dishonest news. And that’s why they fired Andy Lack, I guess. You’ll have to ask them, but Andy Lack was a hack, and they fired him. And they did a big favor to the world and to this country. But, no, I find NBC to be very dishonest. I find — which is a Comcast division. I call it “Con-cast,” with — with an “N.” I don’t use the “M.” I always call it “Concast.”
ABC, I thought he gave me a very fair interview the other night. Very good professional. I’ve had very good relationships with him, as you know.
CBS is having a hard time, but they’re not getting it straight. In fact, last night, I read where they did a false report where they actually got people to make it look like it was a tur- — did you see what happened? They got people — “Let’s get some people” — because they wanted to make it look like it was turmoil. And they do that with this White House all the time. They — they love — they love the word “chaos,” when there’s no chaos whatsoever. They love the word, “chaos.”
But what happened at CBS yesterday was terrible, where they got a lot of people to try and pretend like it was a mass amount of chaos and disorder. You saw that. It was terrible.
So the news media in our country is a mess. But they fired Andy Lack and that was a good thing. That’s a big step forward.
{snip}
Q Your wife and daughter — excuse me, your wife and son —
THE PRESIDENT: Good shape.
Q — are in good shape?
THE PRESIDENT: They’re in good shape.
Q They’ve been tested, and they’re both —
THE PRESIDENT: They’re in great shape.
Q Thank you, sir.
END
3:13 P.M. EDT
1 replies
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