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Trump's Remarks During Border Wall Construction and Operational Update, Yuma, AZ
REMARKS
Remarks by President Trump During Border Wall Construction and Operational Update | Yuma, AZ
IMMIGRATION
Issued on: August 18, 2020
Yuma, Arizona
1:34 P.M. MST
THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody. Were here to celebrate a very big achievement. And its Yuma, and its hot. (Inaudible) a little hot out there. Im supposed to speak for 45 minutes. Its about 120 degrees. Do you think Joe Biden could do that? I dont think so. (Laughter.) I have a feeling he couldnt do it.
So were really, sort of, celebrating a lot of things. The incredible people right over there have done such an incredible job. (Applause.) Thats first and foremost.
And I will say this: Youre setting records at the border. Youve been unbelievable, and I know the wall is helping. You know, in two weeks, we will have hit 300 miles of wall. And this is a small version of it because, actually, the real deal goes up 30 feet. This is much smaller than that. But this is a small version of it. This is what the finish will be.
Those are anti-climb plates at top, so that makes it much more difficult when you get to the top because you see these guys climbing up with drugs on their back, and when you see that, its actually they look at the wall and they say, Lets pass. Lets take a pass on it. So its a its been a really incredible success.
So, within two weeks, well be in 300 General, I think in 300 miles.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL SEMONITE: Sir, were actually going faster than that. Wed like to think we can get to 300 by the end of this week.
THE PRESIDENT: Thats fan- wow.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL SEMONITE: Yes, sir.
snip
We put up 18 miles in San Diego, as an example, right opposite Tijuana. And Tijuana is probably the worst place in South America, in terms of the China virus. Its I think it is the worst place. And San Diego is not suffering at all because of it. So its I mean, its an incredible thing that happened.
So California is actually very happy that we built the wall. They dont say it publicly because they cant; its not good, politically, for them, although I actually think it probably is good, politically, for them.
So its been an incredible success. Chad, do you want to say a couple of words, please?
ACTING SECRETARY WOLF: Absolutely. Let me again thank you for your leadership, Mr. President, on providing the resources to build over 450 miles of the new border wall system by the end of this calendar year. Never did we ever dream of that at the beginning of this administration. So thank you for that.
{snip}
THE PRESIDENT: Well, a lot of people, even the media, frankly I mean, they see whats happening, they see the numbers, and there hasnt been very much criticism, amazingly.
Would anybody have anything to say to the we call it the fake news media, but we dont want to say that. Do you have anything to say? Any statements to make or questions to ask of them? Huh? (Laughter.)
PARTICIPANT: (Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: Youre very smart. (Laughter.)
Oh, there. Okay, go ahead. Please.
{snip}
THE PRESIDENT: And I appreciate your support.
(Applause.)
Do you have any questions?
Q Secretary Wolf, back home, Miles Taylor says that the White House Liaison for DHS has been asked to dig up dirt on him. Is that true?
ACTING SECRETARY WOLF: I dont know anything about that. What I can tell you is Im very disappointed in Mr. Taylor. He was at the Department for a number of years, but again, decided to left the Department over a year ago, a year and a half ago; left the Department very praising the administrations policies, procedures; has said nothing since that time; and 70 days roughly 70 days from election, has decided now to start talking. I think most reasonable Americans understand what that is all about. So, very disappointed.
THE PRESIDENT: And if I could add: I never met him, to the best of my knowledge. I never heard of him. I dont know who he is. I then said, When did he leave? And it was like a year and a half ago. He said the best things about what were doing, unbelievable statements, and he left a year and a half ago. All of a sudden, hes badmouthing.
Now, the reason is the Democrats or somebody got to him and said, How would you like to speak? or whatever. Hes a lowlife. Anybody that does that is a lowlife to me, and its a shame, because these people work so hard. And I dont even know if you know Miles Taylor. Do you know who he is?
COMMISSIONER MORGAN: I never met him, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: I never met him; I never heard of him before. But, all of a sudden, they have big headlines: Member of the Trump administration hes not a Trump administration. And hes been gone for close to a year and a half. And I guess you met him or knew him a little bit. But he left, and we checked said the greatest things. And all of a sudden, he says bad, right before an election. These are bad people. These are sick people. And we call it out. The difference is: We call it out. Somebody else would let him get away with it. We call him out. Hes a lowlife. Okay?
Q Do you have an update on the Post Office situation?
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah, the Post Office is running as well as it has in a long time. They took a lot of old administrative acts where they wanted to do from past administrations and theyve done them.
Look, I have a much better idea on the Post Office: You raise the price per package by a number that it should be, so that instead of Amazon and these other companies making a fortune including the fact that they pay virtually no tax, which is ridiculous, and very unfair to regular stores Amazon will pay for the cost of the Post Office.
So now, instead of losing tens of billions of dollars a year, like it has been for 30, 40 years, Amazon should pay for it and so should other companies in the business of Amazon delivery. They should pay. They should also pay tax, by the way. And then youll solve your problem with the Post Office, because I dont want to lay people off. Im not laying postal workers off.
And let me just tell you, what we do is: Its price per package, and they havent figured out exactly whether its $2 or $3. And you make it so Amazon has to pay, and they cant pass it on. They make a lot of money; they cant pass it on to their customer.
Right now, Amazon comes in, they build their big plant, and they deliver the easy ones; and the hard ones, they give to the Post Office. And the plant is usually right next to a big Post Office building or Post Office. They dump packages into the Post Office; we, the United States, delivers the package for Amazon, and we lose a lot of money. Unacceptable.
And Ive been telling these people to do this for the last three years, but they just got the board, and were going to be doing it. Amazon is going to pay for the Post Office.
Q Did you have any role in the decision not to make any changes to the Postal Service, in terms of overtime or
THE PRESIDENT: No, I wasnt involved. You have a good man and the head man. And he was carrying on for years what has been taking place at Mark, is that a correct statement?
COMMISSIONER MORGAN: Thats correct.
THE PRESIDENT: This has been going on for a long time. But I have a much better idea: You get more per package, because the people that used to be there under the Obama administration, appointed by Obama, they never went really, they never raised the prices on Amazon. So Amazon is paying an ancient price, and they shouldnt be. And they shouldnt be allowed to pass it on to their customer. They have to pay for it themselves. They make a fortune.
So theyve used the Post Office, and theyve used it very smartly, very well. And Ive known this for a period of time, but now you have a full board. And we should raise the price of packages Amazon has to pay, and we shouldnt get rid of any of our postal workers. I dont want to get rid of our postal workers. If you look at past administrations, they wanted to cut the Post Office way down; I dont want to do that.
And, by the way, Amazon could never replicate the Post Office. The Post Office is bigger than Amazon, by a lot. Hard to believe how big it is. But it also loses billions and billions. Lost $78 billion over a short period, like a 12-year period of time. Something like that. Seventy-eight billion.
Now, well fix it very easily. It can be done in one day. We charge Amazon for use, because its part of their model. They think the Post Office is stupid. They think the people in government are stupid. So he builds plants, he builds his receptor plant, or whatever he may call it or they may call it, and he takes a lot of that stuff, and he drops it into the Post Office. Then the Post Office loses two and a half dollars every time they deliver a package. They shouldnt do that.
So my idea is very simple: Amazon has to pay. They cant pass it on to their customer because they shouldnt. They make so much money. Theyve made money by using the U.S. Post Office, and nobody did anything about it. I did, because we started this project two years ago, and now were in a position to do it.
So thats what they should be doing. This way, you keep everything. Your Post Office could almost, probably, make money. Probably ends up making money, where first time in 45 years that it would actually make money. And I dont want to fire anybody in the Postal Service, all right? I think thats pretty clear.
Yeah.
Q Mr. President, do you agree with the Senates conclusion that do you agree with the Senates conclusion that Vladimir Putin directed the hack of Democrats emails?
THE PRESIDENT: I dont know anything about it. I didnt read it. I did see Senator Rubio saying, Donald Trump had absolutely nothing to do with it. He was on before; he said, Donald Trump had absolutely nothing to do with Russia. Its all a hoax. Its a big hoax.
What was in a report done by some politicians on the other side, like Warner? What was in the report? That, I dont know? But I know one thing that was in the report: that Donald Trump had absolutely nothing to do with it or with Russia. Is that right? Did you read that?
Q It did
THE PRESIDENT: Go ahead. Did you read it? Come on. You can say.
Q It concluded that you were
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much.
Q But, Mr. President
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much.
Q Mr. President Mr. President
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah, go ahead. Please.
Q The report also said that Ukraine there was no evidence that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election. Do you still believe
THE PRESIDENT: Oh, now its Ukraine.
Q They they did not find
THE PRESIDENT: So, I thought it was Russia. You mean now its
Q They didnt find any evidence
THE PRESIDENT: Who are you with? Who are you with?
Q You know who Im with.
THE PRESIDENT: Huh?
Q They did not find any evidence that Ukraine interfered in 2016. Do you believe that Ukraine
THE PRESIDENT: Youre telling me that Ukraine did interfere now.
Q No, Im not. Im saying that Senate the Senate Intelligence Committee, led by Republicans, did not find any evidence that Ukraine interfered in 2016. You repeatedly have said that they did. Do you still believe they did?
THE PRESIDENT: I dont know anything about it. I dont know about Ukraine. I dont know about Russia. All I know is that I had nothing to do with either one of them, and that came out loud and clear in the report. Loud and clear.
And I want to thank Senator Rubio. He made it very, very powerfully; he made a very powerful statement today. He said, Donald Trump had absolutely nothing to do with Russia. And thats true.
Okay, what else?
Q Mr. President, the U.S.-China talks were postponed. You were
THE PRESIDENT: Please.
Q U.S.-China talks were postponed. You were supposed to have a review of this
THE PRESIDENT: I dont want to thats right.
Q trade deal. So
THE PRESIDENT: I postponed them.
Q So, is the
THE PRESIDENT: I postponed talks with China. You know why? I dont want to deal with them now. I dont want to deal with them now. With what they did to this country and to the world, I dont want to talk to China right now. Okay?
Q Are you going to are you going to pull out of the trade deal?
THE PRESIDENT: Well see. Well see what happens. Look, let me tell you, what China did to the world was not even thinkable. They could have stopped it. They stopped it from going into China, and they should have stopped it. So thats correct: I cancelled talks with China.
Q Mr. President, Mike Lin-
THE PRESIDENT: And, by the way, if Sleepy Joe Biden ever got in, China would own the United States. Theyd own it. Theyd own every one of these people. Theyd own this building. Theyd own the United States because Biden would give them everything for two reasons: Number one, hes not smart; and number two, hes weak. China would own our country.
And you know what else? Youll have a deal the first month, or sooner, with Iran. Iran is dying to make a deal. But I said, Lets wait until after the election. And they would want to wait because theres a chance if Biden ever got in, theyd give them another $150 billion, like they did. The dumbest deal Ive ever seen.
Q Are you going to take action against Iran on the basis of the U.S. intelligence report that they paid bounties?
THE PRESIDENT: Youre going to see. Youre going to see. Youre going to see very soon. I dont talk about that. Youll see very soon.
Any other questions?
Q Mr. President, Mike Lindell, Mr. Pillow the pillow guy hes promoting a new therapeutic for COVID-19, oleandrin. And he says youre enthusiastic about it. Is that true?
THE PRESIDENT: I know nothing about it other than I know hes got something that hes working with some science people.
Q Why should we listen to him? He doesnt he manufactures pillows.
THE PRESIDENT: I dont know. I dont know. All I know is this: Were very close to a vaccine. We have the best companies in the world doing it. Were very close to a therapeutic. Were going to solve it therapeutically, in addition which, frankly, to me, is better because its quicker for now. The vaccine is great, but therapeutics and were very close to coming up with the answers. We already, I think, have answers, if you want to know the truth. Then when we have to General, we have to deliver it. Were going to do it through the military, through one of your friends, whos a general for logistics.
But I dont know anything about it. I havent heard that. What is he doing?
Q Did many medical experts talk to you about
THE PRESIDENT: Hes wait. Hes promoting some kind of a
Q Yeah. Oleandrin. Hes out here talking about it.
THE PRESIDENT: That, I dont know.
Q He said youre enthusiastic about it.
THE PRESIDENT: I dont know the name. But I know Mike; hes a good man. He does hes a good man, and he makes a good pillow.
Q On Russia: Do you accept that your 2016 campaign staff were a security risk, given their high level of contacts with Russian officials?
THE PRESIDENT: Youre going to have to say it louder.
Q Do you accept that your 2016 campaign staff constituted a security risk because of their repeated contacts with Russian officials?
THE PRESIDENT: I dont even know who youre talking about. I know that I know that Ukraine sent a phony document, saying it was a Manafort document and it was a forged document the black book; they call it a black book. And it turned out, I believed, to be forged. But I wouldnt know what youre talking about.
I can only tell you this: They said, Donald Trump knew nothing about anything. And that came out loud and clear. You could find a couple of sentences inside that say something; I dont know. But I can say this: That black book that had to do with somebody that worked for me for a very short period of time I think hes a good man, if you want to know the truth. But I dont know. But will say that the book, I think, they said was forged. It was a phony book, just like everything else was phony with that whole deal.
Look, we caught the Obama administration spying on our campaign. They spied on our campaign. Thats treason. Thats treason. If this were the other way around, and it was Democrats instead of Republicans, thered be people many people would be in jail already. Its a disgrace that its taking this long. We caught him spying on our campaign. Lets see what happens.
Just last week I guess they announced last week that a very high-level person from the FBI was forging documents in order to make me look bad. All right? Its all about making me look bad. So he was a high-level man. He was forging documents. Lets see what happens to him.
But the bottom line is: We caught President Obama and Sleepy Joe spying on our campaign. Thats treason. Thats illegal. These people should take them and do something with them Ill tell you. Its a disgrace. Its really a disgrace. And they knew it. And not only spying; they were working on our campaign before I won and after I won, hence the insurance policy from Strzok and his lover, Page. Two lovers. They got caught because they were lovers.
And she said, and he said, Shes going to win, but just in case she loses, we have an insurance policy. Well, we went through the insurance policy. The problem is we caught them, and we caught them cold. And lets see what happens. And Obama knew about it, and Im sure Michelle knew about it, and Biden knew about it. All right?
Q Are you going to pardon Manafort then?
THE PRESIDENT: I think he was treated unbelievably, because the black book, they say, was a phony book. So well see what happens with him. Well see.
Im very happy to have given a full and complete pardon to Susan B. Anthony. That was a great thing. That was very popular too. That was a very good one. And I actually asked the other day; I said they were talking about Susan B. Anthony, and, you know, she made she did that for other people, and she didnt want herself included. She wasnt included in the pardon from many years ago.
And I said, Well, so, she has a record? And they said, Yeah, she has a record. I said, Why cant we pardon her? They said, Thats the coolest idea Ive ever heard. And its been very, very popular. Susan B. Anthony. And Ive just signed the pardon. Ive just signed the papers. And she is fully pardoned. The first time in a long time, shes fully pardoned.
Q How do you feel about Oracle? Do you feel Oracle would be a good buyer for TikTok?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think Oracle is a great company, and I think its owner is a tremendous guy. Hes a tremendous person. I think that Oracle would be certainly somebody that could handle it. Yeah. We gave them until September 15th.
Q Okay.
THE PRESIDENT: After that, they got to close shop, okay? Thats TikTok.
Q Would you prefer Oracle to Microsoft?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I guess Microsoft wants it and so does Oracle, and probably so do other people, but they have to also make sure the United States is well compensated because were the ones making it possible. Very simple: Were the ones making it possible. So our Treasury has to be very well compensated.
Q How would that work? Would that be a fee? A commission fee?
THE PRESIDENT: Its very simple how it would work. Its called: You have to put money into the Treasury.
Any other questions?
Q How are you going to make your convention a bit more lively than the Democratic one?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, their ratings were very bad. They just announced their ratings. I thought it was not the best television Ive ever watched. It was brutal, actually.
No, their ratings were very bad. I think were going to do great. Thursday night, Im doing it live. Unlike Michelle Obama, Im doing it live. And itll be Thursday night. Itll be at the White House, on the South Lawn. And, hopefully, youll enjoy it. Okay?
Q Mr. President, since were here at the border and were
THE PRESIDENT: Live, by the way, it always much more exciting than a tape, especially once you made the tape long before the event. She didnt even have the accurate facts. And then they say, What a wonderful job. What what was wonderful about it? It was a divisive speech, devoid of facts, and it wasnt current; it was old. It was done probably two, three weeks ago. So, you know. But the media will always say good.
Q President Trump, since were here talking about the wall, and the election is fast approaching, do you have anything to say about your 2016 campaign promise that Mexico would pay for it?
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah, they are paying for it.
Q How?
THE PRESIDENT: Theyre going to pay at the border, at the gate cars going through. Were going to do a toll, or we may do a toll for money being sent back and forth. They will pay for it. Yeah, they are paying for it. Its a hundred percent.
Q But just to be clear: Right now, they are not paying for it.
THE PRESIDENT: No, no, it doesnt matter whether they pay now or over the next 12 months. No, no, Mexico will be paying. We have a very good relationship with Mexico. And we built the wall under budget, ahead of schedule. Once we started, these guys the Army Corps of Engineers did a great job. And Mexico is paying for the wall, yeah either through the toll. And its a very small charge because we do such big business.
You know, its the largest entry to a country in terms of business anywhere in the world, by far a lot of people dont know that our southern our border between Mexico and other countries. But our southern border, its the largest point of entry anywhere in the world.
So they are paying for it. Yeah.
Q Just, can one of the officials here, one of the experts talk a little bit about what that fee is, how much it is, and how much you plan to actually earn from it?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think what were doing is were figuring how much we have to charge, what the charge would be. It wont be very substantial because we have millions and millions of cars and trucks going through the border. And we also may do it as a tax or a combination. We may do it as a tax money being sent back into Mexico.
Q Even though the border is closed right now?
THE PRESIDENT: And you know what? Thats closed, but its not going to always be closed. And its open at entry. At the points of entry, its open, but were very, very careful. But it will be fully open in a short period of (inaudible). When the pandemic, when the China virus goes, it will be open.
But I will tell you this: We built a great wall. The Army Corps of Engineers did a spectacular job, maybe even superseded by Border Patrol and all of the people, right?
LIEUTENANT GENERAL SEMONITE: Yes, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: Because the job youve done without the wall is incredible. You know, the Democrats used to say, You dont need a wall. We need drones. What are you going to do with the drone? Watch people go by? Two things never got old. You know, technology is an amazing thing. Two things never got. You know what it was? One is the wall and one is a wheel. And you can come back in 1,000 years from now, and youre going to have walls and youre going to have wheels. Other things, theyre all obsolete.
But we can run drones right from the wall. We have technology that we flip onto the wall. We can run our drones; we can run all sorts of cameras. Its all wired up. We have everything you can possibly have. Its an amazing its an amazing and very complex setup.
Yeah.
Q Mr. President, Speaker Pelosi said today that she would wanted to meet halfway on a stimulus bill. When are you guys ready to
THE PRESIDENT: I dont know what she says. She doesnt know what she says. She reminds me of Joe Biden. She doesnt know what she says.
Okay. Thank you very much. Now, Ive got to make a speech. Im sure youll enjoy a speech in 120-degree weather. But I got to do it, and I will do it.
Thank you very much. Thank you.
END
2:14 P.M. MST
Remarks by President Trump During Border Wall Construction and Operational Update | Yuma, AZ
IMMIGRATION
Issued on: August 18, 2020
Yuma, Arizona
1:34 P.M. MST
THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody. Were here to celebrate a very big achievement. And its Yuma, and its hot. (Inaudible) a little hot out there. Im supposed to speak for 45 minutes. Its about 120 degrees. Do you think Joe Biden could do that? I dont think so. (Laughter.) I have a feeling he couldnt do it.
So were really, sort of, celebrating a lot of things. The incredible people right over there have done such an incredible job. (Applause.) Thats first and foremost.
And I will say this: Youre setting records at the border. Youve been unbelievable, and I know the wall is helping. You know, in two weeks, we will have hit 300 miles of wall. And this is a small version of it because, actually, the real deal goes up 30 feet. This is much smaller than that. But this is a small version of it. This is what the finish will be.
Those are anti-climb plates at top, so that makes it much more difficult when you get to the top because you see these guys climbing up with drugs on their back, and when you see that, its actually they look at the wall and they say, Lets pass. Lets take a pass on it. So its a its been a really incredible success.
So, within two weeks, well be in 300 General, I think in 300 miles.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL SEMONITE: Sir, were actually going faster than that. Wed like to think we can get to 300 by the end of this week.
THE PRESIDENT: Thats fan- wow.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL SEMONITE: Yes, sir.
snip
We put up 18 miles in San Diego, as an example, right opposite Tijuana. And Tijuana is probably the worst place in South America, in terms of the China virus. Its I think it is the worst place. And San Diego is not suffering at all because of it. So its I mean, its an incredible thing that happened.
So California is actually very happy that we built the wall. They dont say it publicly because they cant; its not good, politically, for them, although I actually think it probably is good, politically, for them.
So its been an incredible success. Chad, do you want to say a couple of words, please?
ACTING SECRETARY WOLF: Absolutely. Let me again thank you for your leadership, Mr. President, on providing the resources to build over 450 miles of the new border wall system by the end of this calendar year. Never did we ever dream of that at the beginning of this administration. So thank you for that.
{snip}
THE PRESIDENT: Well, a lot of people, even the media, frankly I mean, they see whats happening, they see the numbers, and there hasnt been very much criticism, amazingly.
Would anybody have anything to say to the we call it the fake news media, but we dont want to say that. Do you have anything to say? Any statements to make or questions to ask of them? Huh? (Laughter.)
PARTICIPANT: (Inaudible.)
THE PRESIDENT: Youre very smart. (Laughter.)
Oh, there. Okay, go ahead. Please.
{snip}
THE PRESIDENT: And I appreciate your support.
(Applause.)
Do you have any questions?
Q Secretary Wolf, back home, Miles Taylor says that the White House Liaison for DHS has been asked to dig up dirt on him. Is that true?
ACTING SECRETARY WOLF: I dont know anything about that. What I can tell you is Im very disappointed in Mr. Taylor. He was at the Department for a number of years, but again, decided to left the Department over a year ago, a year and a half ago; left the Department very praising the administrations policies, procedures; has said nothing since that time; and 70 days roughly 70 days from election, has decided now to start talking. I think most reasonable Americans understand what that is all about. So, very disappointed.
THE PRESIDENT: And if I could add: I never met him, to the best of my knowledge. I never heard of him. I dont know who he is. I then said, When did he leave? And it was like a year and a half ago. He said the best things about what were doing, unbelievable statements, and he left a year and a half ago. All of a sudden, hes badmouthing.
Now, the reason is the Democrats or somebody got to him and said, How would you like to speak? or whatever. Hes a lowlife. Anybody that does that is a lowlife to me, and its a shame, because these people work so hard. And I dont even know if you know Miles Taylor. Do you know who he is?
COMMISSIONER MORGAN: I never met him, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: I never met him; I never heard of him before. But, all of a sudden, they have big headlines: Member of the Trump administration hes not a Trump administration. And hes been gone for close to a year and a half. And I guess you met him or knew him a little bit. But he left, and we checked said the greatest things. And all of a sudden, he says bad, right before an election. These are bad people. These are sick people. And we call it out. The difference is: We call it out. Somebody else would let him get away with it. We call him out. Hes a lowlife. Okay?
Q Do you have an update on the Post Office situation?
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah, the Post Office is running as well as it has in a long time. They took a lot of old administrative acts where they wanted to do from past administrations and theyve done them.
Look, I have a much better idea on the Post Office: You raise the price per package by a number that it should be, so that instead of Amazon and these other companies making a fortune including the fact that they pay virtually no tax, which is ridiculous, and very unfair to regular stores Amazon will pay for the cost of the Post Office.
So now, instead of losing tens of billions of dollars a year, like it has been for 30, 40 years, Amazon should pay for it and so should other companies in the business of Amazon delivery. They should pay. They should also pay tax, by the way. And then youll solve your problem with the Post Office, because I dont want to lay people off. Im not laying postal workers off.
And let me just tell you, what we do is: Its price per package, and they havent figured out exactly whether its $2 or $3. And you make it so Amazon has to pay, and they cant pass it on. They make a lot of money; they cant pass it on to their customer.
Right now, Amazon comes in, they build their big plant, and they deliver the easy ones; and the hard ones, they give to the Post Office. And the plant is usually right next to a big Post Office building or Post Office. They dump packages into the Post Office; we, the United States, delivers the package for Amazon, and we lose a lot of money. Unacceptable.
And Ive been telling these people to do this for the last three years, but they just got the board, and were going to be doing it. Amazon is going to pay for the Post Office.
Q Did you have any role in the decision not to make any changes to the Postal Service, in terms of overtime or
THE PRESIDENT: No, I wasnt involved. You have a good man and the head man. And he was carrying on for years what has been taking place at Mark, is that a correct statement?
COMMISSIONER MORGAN: Thats correct.
THE PRESIDENT: This has been going on for a long time. But I have a much better idea: You get more per package, because the people that used to be there under the Obama administration, appointed by Obama, they never went really, they never raised the prices on Amazon. So Amazon is paying an ancient price, and they shouldnt be. And they shouldnt be allowed to pass it on to their customer. They have to pay for it themselves. They make a fortune.
So theyve used the Post Office, and theyve used it very smartly, very well. And Ive known this for a period of time, but now you have a full board. And we should raise the price of packages Amazon has to pay, and we shouldnt get rid of any of our postal workers. I dont want to get rid of our postal workers. If you look at past administrations, they wanted to cut the Post Office way down; I dont want to do that.
And, by the way, Amazon could never replicate the Post Office. The Post Office is bigger than Amazon, by a lot. Hard to believe how big it is. But it also loses billions and billions. Lost $78 billion over a short period, like a 12-year period of time. Something like that. Seventy-eight billion.
Now, well fix it very easily. It can be done in one day. We charge Amazon for use, because its part of their model. They think the Post Office is stupid. They think the people in government are stupid. So he builds plants, he builds his receptor plant, or whatever he may call it or they may call it, and he takes a lot of that stuff, and he drops it into the Post Office. Then the Post Office loses two and a half dollars every time they deliver a package. They shouldnt do that.
So my idea is very simple: Amazon has to pay. They cant pass it on to their customer because they shouldnt. They make so much money. Theyve made money by using the U.S. Post Office, and nobody did anything about it. I did, because we started this project two years ago, and now were in a position to do it.
So thats what they should be doing. This way, you keep everything. Your Post Office could almost, probably, make money. Probably ends up making money, where first time in 45 years that it would actually make money. And I dont want to fire anybody in the Postal Service, all right? I think thats pretty clear.
Yeah.
Q Mr. President, do you agree with the Senates conclusion that do you agree with the Senates conclusion that Vladimir Putin directed the hack of Democrats emails?
THE PRESIDENT: I dont know anything about it. I didnt read it. I did see Senator Rubio saying, Donald Trump had absolutely nothing to do with it. He was on before; he said, Donald Trump had absolutely nothing to do with Russia. Its all a hoax. Its a big hoax.
What was in a report done by some politicians on the other side, like Warner? What was in the report? That, I dont know? But I know one thing that was in the report: that Donald Trump had absolutely nothing to do with it or with Russia. Is that right? Did you read that?
Q It did
THE PRESIDENT: Go ahead. Did you read it? Come on. You can say.
Q It concluded that you were
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much.
Q But, Mr. President
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much.
Q Mr. President Mr. President
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah, go ahead. Please.
Q The report also said that Ukraine there was no evidence that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election. Do you still believe
THE PRESIDENT: Oh, now its Ukraine.
Q They they did not find
THE PRESIDENT: So, I thought it was Russia. You mean now its
Q They didnt find any evidence
THE PRESIDENT: Who are you with? Who are you with?
Q You know who Im with.
THE PRESIDENT: Huh?
Q They did not find any evidence that Ukraine interfered in 2016. Do you believe that Ukraine
THE PRESIDENT: Youre telling me that Ukraine did interfere now.
Q No, Im not. Im saying that Senate the Senate Intelligence Committee, led by Republicans, did not find any evidence that Ukraine interfered in 2016. You repeatedly have said that they did. Do you still believe they did?
THE PRESIDENT: I dont know anything about it. I dont know about Ukraine. I dont know about Russia. All I know is that I had nothing to do with either one of them, and that came out loud and clear in the report. Loud and clear.
And I want to thank Senator Rubio. He made it very, very powerfully; he made a very powerful statement today. He said, Donald Trump had absolutely nothing to do with Russia. And thats true.
Okay, what else?
Q Mr. President, the U.S.-China talks were postponed. You were
THE PRESIDENT: Please.
Q U.S.-China talks were postponed. You were supposed to have a review of this
THE PRESIDENT: I dont want to thats right.
Q trade deal. So
THE PRESIDENT: I postponed them.
Q So, is the
THE PRESIDENT: I postponed talks with China. You know why? I dont want to deal with them now. I dont want to deal with them now. With what they did to this country and to the world, I dont want to talk to China right now. Okay?
Q Are you going to are you going to pull out of the trade deal?
THE PRESIDENT: Well see. Well see what happens. Look, let me tell you, what China did to the world was not even thinkable. They could have stopped it. They stopped it from going into China, and they should have stopped it. So thats correct: I cancelled talks with China.
Q Mr. President, Mike Lin-
THE PRESIDENT: And, by the way, if Sleepy Joe Biden ever got in, China would own the United States. Theyd own it. Theyd own every one of these people. Theyd own this building. Theyd own the United States because Biden would give them everything for two reasons: Number one, hes not smart; and number two, hes weak. China would own our country.
And you know what else? Youll have a deal the first month, or sooner, with Iran. Iran is dying to make a deal. But I said, Lets wait until after the election. And they would want to wait because theres a chance if Biden ever got in, theyd give them another $150 billion, like they did. The dumbest deal Ive ever seen.
Q Are you going to take action against Iran on the basis of the U.S. intelligence report that they paid bounties?
THE PRESIDENT: Youre going to see. Youre going to see. Youre going to see very soon. I dont talk about that. Youll see very soon.
Any other questions?
Q Mr. President, Mike Lindell, Mr. Pillow the pillow guy hes promoting a new therapeutic for COVID-19, oleandrin. And he says youre enthusiastic about it. Is that true?
THE PRESIDENT: I know nothing about it other than I know hes got something that hes working with some science people.
Q Why should we listen to him? He doesnt he manufactures pillows.
THE PRESIDENT: I dont know. I dont know. All I know is this: Were very close to a vaccine. We have the best companies in the world doing it. Were very close to a therapeutic. Were going to solve it therapeutically, in addition which, frankly, to me, is better because its quicker for now. The vaccine is great, but therapeutics and were very close to coming up with the answers. We already, I think, have answers, if you want to know the truth. Then when we have to General, we have to deliver it. Were going to do it through the military, through one of your friends, whos a general for logistics.
But I dont know anything about it. I havent heard that. What is he doing?
Q Did many medical experts talk to you about
THE PRESIDENT: Hes wait. Hes promoting some kind of a
Q Yeah. Oleandrin. Hes out here talking about it.
THE PRESIDENT: That, I dont know.
Q He said youre enthusiastic about it.
THE PRESIDENT: I dont know the name. But I know Mike; hes a good man. He does hes a good man, and he makes a good pillow.
Q On Russia: Do you accept that your 2016 campaign staff were a security risk, given their high level of contacts with Russian officials?
THE PRESIDENT: Youre going to have to say it louder.
Q Do you accept that your 2016 campaign staff constituted a security risk because of their repeated contacts with Russian officials?
THE PRESIDENT: I dont even know who youre talking about. I know that I know that Ukraine sent a phony document, saying it was a Manafort document and it was a forged document the black book; they call it a black book. And it turned out, I believed, to be forged. But I wouldnt know what youre talking about.
I can only tell you this: They said, Donald Trump knew nothing about anything. And that came out loud and clear. You could find a couple of sentences inside that say something; I dont know. But I can say this: That black book that had to do with somebody that worked for me for a very short period of time I think hes a good man, if you want to know the truth. But I dont know. But will say that the book, I think, they said was forged. It was a phony book, just like everything else was phony with that whole deal.
Look, we caught the Obama administration spying on our campaign. They spied on our campaign. Thats treason. Thats treason. If this were the other way around, and it was Democrats instead of Republicans, thered be people many people would be in jail already. Its a disgrace that its taking this long. We caught him spying on our campaign. Lets see what happens.
Just last week I guess they announced last week that a very high-level person from the FBI was forging documents in order to make me look bad. All right? Its all about making me look bad. So he was a high-level man. He was forging documents. Lets see what happens to him.
But the bottom line is: We caught President Obama and Sleepy Joe spying on our campaign. Thats treason. Thats illegal. These people should take them and do something with them Ill tell you. Its a disgrace. Its really a disgrace. And they knew it. And not only spying; they were working on our campaign before I won and after I won, hence the insurance policy from Strzok and his lover, Page. Two lovers. They got caught because they were lovers.
And she said, and he said, Shes going to win, but just in case she loses, we have an insurance policy. Well, we went through the insurance policy. The problem is we caught them, and we caught them cold. And lets see what happens. And Obama knew about it, and Im sure Michelle knew about it, and Biden knew about it. All right?
Q Are you going to pardon Manafort then?
THE PRESIDENT: I think he was treated unbelievably, because the black book, they say, was a phony book. So well see what happens with him. Well see.
Im very happy to have given a full and complete pardon to Susan B. Anthony. That was a great thing. That was very popular too. That was a very good one. And I actually asked the other day; I said they were talking about Susan B. Anthony, and, you know, she made she did that for other people, and she didnt want herself included. She wasnt included in the pardon from many years ago.
And I said, Well, so, she has a record? And they said, Yeah, she has a record. I said, Why cant we pardon her? They said, Thats the coolest idea Ive ever heard. And its been very, very popular. Susan B. Anthony. And Ive just signed the pardon. Ive just signed the papers. And she is fully pardoned. The first time in a long time, shes fully pardoned.
Q How do you feel about Oracle? Do you feel Oracle would be a good buyer for TikTok?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think Oracle is a great company, and I think its owner is a tremendous guy. Hes a tremendous person. I think that Oracle would be certainly somebody that could handle it. Yeah. We gave them until September 15th.
Q Okay.
THE PRESIDENT: After that, they got to close shop, okay? Thats TikTok.
Q Would you prefer Oracle to Microsoft?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I guess Microsoft wants it and so does Oracle, and probably so do other people, but they have to also make sure the United States is well compensated because were the ones making it possible. Very simple: Were the ones making it possible. So our Treasury has to be very well compensated.
Q How would that work? Would that be a fee? A commission fee?
THE PRESIDENT: Its very simple how it would work. Its called: You have to put money into the Treasury.
Any other questions?
Q How are you going to make your convention a bit more lively than the Democratic one?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, their ratings were very bad. They just announced their ratings. I thought it was not the best television Ive ever watched. It was brutal, actually.
No, their ratings were very bad. I think were going to do great. Thursday night, Im doing it live. Unlike Michelle Obama, Im doing it live. And itll be Thursday night. Itll be at the White House, on the South Lawn. And, hopefully, youll enjoy it. Okay?
Q Mr. President, since were here at the border and were
THE PRESIDENT: Live, by the way, it always much more exciting than a tape, especially once you made the tape long before the event. She didnt even have the accurate facts. And then they say, What a wonderful job. What what was wonderful about it? It was a divisive speech, devoid of facts, and it wasnt current; it was old. It was done probably two, three weeks ago. So, you know. But the media will always say good.
Q President Trump, since were here talking about the wall, and the election is fast approaching, do you have anything to say about your 2016 campaign promise that Mexico would pay for it?
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah, they are paying for it.
Q How?
THE PRESIDENT: Theyre going to pay at the border, at the gate cars going through. Were going to do a toll, or we may do a toll for money being sent back and forth. They will pay for it. Yeah, they are paying for it. Its a hundred percent.
Q But just to be clear: Right now, they are not paying for it.
THE PRESIDENT: No, no, it doesnt matter whether they pay now or over the next 12 months. No, no, Mexico will be paying. We have a very good relationship with Mexico. And we built the wall under budget, ahead of schedule. Once we started, these guys the Army Corps of Engineers did a great job. And Mexico is paying for the wall, yeah either through the toll. And its a very small charge because we do such big business.
You know, its the largest entry to a country in terms of business anywhere in the world, by far a lot of people dont know that our southern our border between Mexico and other countries. But our southern border, its the largest point of entry anywhere in the world.
So they are paying for it. Yeah.
Q Just, can one of the officials here, one of the experts talk a little bit about what that fee is, how much it is, and how much you plan to actually earn from it?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think what were doing is were figuring how much we have to charge, what the charge would be. It wont be very substantial because we have millions and millions of cars and trucks going through the border. And we also may do it as a tax or a combination. We may do it as a tax money being sent back into Mexico.
Q Even though the border is closed right now?
THE PRESIDENT: And you know what? Thats closed, but its not going to always be closed. And its open at entry. At the points of entry, its open, but were very, very careful. But it will be fully open in a short period of (inaudible). When the pandemic, when the China virus goes, it will be open.
But I will tell you this: We built a great wall. The Army Corps of Engineers did a spectacular job, maybe even superseded by Border Patrol and all of the people, right?
LIEUTENANT GENERAL SEMONITE: Yes, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: Because the job youve done without the wall is incredible. You know, the Democrats used to say, You dont need a wall. We need drones. What are you going to do with the drone? Watch people go by? Two things never got old. You know, technology is an amazing thing. Two things never got. You know what it was? One is the wall and one is a wheel. And you can come back in 1,000 years from now, and youre going to have walls and youre going to have wheels. Other things, theyre all obsolete.
But we can run drones right from the wall. We have technology that we flip onto the wall. We can run our drones; we can run all sorts of cameras. Its all wired up. We have everything you can possibly have. Its an amazing its an amazing and very complex setup.
Yeah.
Q Mr. President, Speaker Pelosi said today that she would wanted to meet halfway on a stimulus bill. When are you guys ready to
THE PRESIDENT: I dont know what she says. She doesnt know what she says. She reminds me of Joe Biden. She doesnt know what she says.
Okay. Thank you very much. Now, Ive got to make a speech. Im sure youll enjoy a speech in 120-degree weather. But I got to do it, and I will do it.
Thank you very much. Thank you.
END
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Trump's Remarks During Border Wall Construction and Operational Update, Yuma, AZ (Original Post)
mahatmakanejeeves
Aug 2020
OP
underpants
(182,888 posts)1. Yo! Semonite!
Sorry, I couldnt resist.
louis-t
(23,297 posts)2. One stupid motherfucker.
I hate the way he talks. I hate the way people suck up to him because they think he's brilliant. I hate the way he lies about "300 miles of wall" he claims to have built. Nobody fact checks. Everybody's done an "amazing job" of doing nothing.