Today is NATO day; the 70th anniversary of NATO formation.  President Trump hosts an oval office open-press meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg prior to their bilateral meeting.  The President takes multiple questions from the media about a variety of issues. [Video Below –  – Transcript Added]

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[Transcript] – Oval Office – 1:53pm EDT – PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much. It’s a great honor to have Secretary General Stoltenberg of NATO with us. We have developed a very great relationship, and I’m very happy to say the Secretary General will be with us for quite a long time because he was just extended. So congratulations on that.

SECRETARY GENERAL STOLTENBERG: Thank you very much.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: That’s a big thing. And I was with you 100 percent. But you know that. I felt very strongly about that.

We’ve worked together on getting some of our allies to pay their fair share. It’s called burden sharing. And as you know, when I came, it wasn’t so good, and now it’s — they’re catching up.

We have 7 of the 28 countries are currently current and the rest are trying to catch up, and they will catch up. And some of them have no problems because they haven’t been paying and they’re very rich. But we’re looking at the 2 percent of GDP level. And at some point, I think it’s going to have to go higher than that. I think probably it should be higher. But we’re at a level of 7 out of the 28.

The United States pays for a very big share of NATO — a disproportionate share. But the relationship with NATO has been very good. The relationship with the Secretary General has been outstanding. And I think tremendous progress has been made.

If you look — in fact, you showed me this originally, yourself — if you look at the charts and the different things, if you go back 10 and 15 years, and it’s a roller coaster ride down, in terms of payment.

And since I came to office, it’s a rocket ship up. We’ve picked up over $140 billion of additional money, and we look like we’re going to have at least another $100 billion more in spending by the nations — the 28 nations. We’re going to have — and that’s exclusive of the United States. We’ll have another $100 billion more by 2020 or a little bit into 2020.

So tremendous progress has been made, and NATO is much stronger because of that progress. And, Mr. Secretary General, it’s a great to honor to have you with us at the White House. Thank you. Thank you very much.

SECRETARY GENERAL STOLTENBERG: Thank you so much, Mr. President. And once again, thank you for hosting me and my delegation, once again, in the White House. And it’s great to be back, great to see you. And thank you for your strong commitment to NATO, to our alliance, and to our transatlantic bond, and especially for your very strong leadership on burden sharing. Because as you just mentioned, after years of cutting defense budgets, NATO Allies have now started to invest more. And by the end of next year, they will have added $100 billion more into their defense budgets since you took office.

And that helps and it proves also that NATO is a strong alliance. We have increased the readiness of forces. We have stepped up in our joint fight against terrorism. And we are investing more.

So, actually, North America, United States, and Europe, we are doing more together now than have done for many, many years. And that shows the strength of this alliance. In the year, we actually are celebrating the 70th anniversary of NATO.

So it’s great to see you. I look forward to our meeting. And thank you for your support.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, thank you. And it has been an honor. And we’re very proud of what’s happened over the last couple of years with respect to the relationship and to NATO.

A lot of the media doesn’t understand what took place, but a tremendous amount of additional money was invested by other nations, which was a fair thing from the United States — you know, from our standpoint, the standpoint of the United States. And a lot more money will be invested.

But we’ve been picking up a tremendous and disproportionate share, and we just want fairness. I have to have fairness for our taxpayer too. And I think that’s what’s happening, and I very much appreciate it. Thank you very much.

Thank you all very much.

Q Mr. President, is your intention, sir, to close the border this weekend? What would it take to not close the border?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, I haven’t made that intention known. And I’m ready to close it, if I have to close it.

Mexico, as you know, as of yesterday, has been starting to apprehend a lot of people at their southern border coming in from Honduras and Guatemala and El Salvador. And they’ve — they’re really apprehending thousands of people. And it’s the first time, really, in decades that this has taken place. And it should have taken place a long time ago.

You know, Mexico has the strongest immigration laws in the world. There’s nobody who has stronger. I guess some have the same, but you can’t get any stronger than what Mexico has. And we don’t want people coming up making that very dangerous journey and coming in.

Our system is absolutely maxed out. And Border Patrol has done an incredible job, but the system is absolutely maxed out. And it’s a very unfair thing.

So Mexico has, as of yesterday, made a big difference. You’ll see that — because few people, if any, are coming up. And they say they’re going to stop them. Let’s see. They have the power to stop them. They have the laws to stop them.

And what we have to do is Congress has to meet quickly and make a deal. I could do it in 45 minutes. We need to get rid of chain migration. We need to get rid of catch and release and visa lottery. And we have to do something about asylum. And to be honest with you, you have to get rid of judges.

Every time — and you won’t even believe this, Mr. Secretary General — you catch somebody that’s coming illegally into your country, and they bring them to a court. But we can’t bring them to a court because you could never have that many judges. So they take their name, they take their information, and they release them. Now, we don’t release too many. We keep them. It’s called “catch and keep.” But you don’t have facilities for that. But you have to bring them through a court system. If they touch your land — one foot on your land: “Welcome to being Perry Mason. You now have a big trial.”

So what they’ve done over the years is they release them into the United States and they say, “Come back in four years for a trial.” And nobody comes back. I guess 1 percent — 1 to 2 percent, on average, come back. And nobody can understand why they come back. They’re the only ones that come back.

It is the worst, dumbest immigration system in the world. The Democrats could change it with one meeting. Everybody would agree. But they don’t want to change it because they don’t want to give the Republicans a victory. They don’t want to change it because they want open borders, which means crimes — and lots of other things coming in, including drugs.

So we’ll see what happens. I think the Democrats — today, I spoke to a couple of them and they — all of a sudden, they’re changing because they’re seeing it really is a crisis. It is a national emergency on the border. And let’s see if they can do it.

But I want to thank — it’s a very short period of time, because for years this should have been done. But Mexico is now stopping people coming — very easy for them to do — stopping people coming in through Mexico. Let’s see if they keep it done, if — if they keep doing that.

Now, if they don’t, or if we don’t make a deal with Congress, the border is going to be closed, 100 percent. And this should have been done by other Presidents. So many things should have been done by other Presidents.

But if we don’t make a deal with Congress, or if Mexico — and probably you can say “and/or” — if Mexico doesn’t do what they should be doing — they shouldn’t have people coming into their country either; this is their southern border that they have to protect — then we’re going to close the border. That’s going to be it. Or we’re going to close large sections of the border. Maybe not all of it. But it’s the only way we’re getting a response, and I’m totally ready to do it.

And I will say this: Many people want me to do it, because we’re being abused by a bad legal system that was put in by Democrats. And that has to be changed. And it can be changed in 45 minutes, if they want to change it. Let’s see what they do.

Yes, Steve.

Q Do you worry about the impact on the U.S. economy by closing the border?

THE PRESIDENT: Sure. It’s going to be — have a negative impact on the economy. It’s one of the biggest trade deals in the world that we’ve just done with the USMCA.

It’s a very big trading partner. But to me, trading is very important, the borders are very important, but security is what is most important to me. I have to have security. This is what this gentleman is all about — to my right. And we’re going to have security in this country. That’s more important than trade.

Hey, all you hear me talking about is trade. But let me just give you a little secret: Security is more important to me than trade.

So we’re going to have a strong border, or we’re going to have a closed border. And you know, when we close that border, we will stop hundreds of millions of dollars of drugs from coming in, because tremendous amounts of drugs come through our southern border. And so that’s one of the benefits.

So I’m totally prepared to do it. We’re going to see what happens over the next few days.

Q It sounds like Mexico is doing enough to keep you from immediately closing the border, though, from all their apprehensions (inaudible).

THE PRESIDENT: Well, they made a big step over the last two days. Look, they are apprehending people. You see how many there are. A lot. It’s a lot of people. And the fact that they’re doing that means fewer people are going to come. But, you know, we pay hundreds of millions of dollars to Honduras and Guatemala and El Salvador as a combination. And what do they do? They don’t do anything for us. You know, it’s supposed be money well spent. I understand the reason for it, but that money doesn’t get there.

So we’re giving hundreds of millions of dollars to these three countries, and the money is not going to where it’s supposed to be going, number one. Number two, they’re taking advantage of the United States, and they have been for many years. So I cut off the payments yesterday. I know what the payments are supposed to be for; they’re supposed to be to help so that they don’t have this problem. But they don’t do that. The money is gone. It’s not spent properly.

And they arrange — I mean, the thing that bothers me more than anything: They arrange these caravans and they don’t put their best people in those caravans. They put people in there that you don’t want to have in the United States. And we’re not going to have them in the United States. It’s very simple. It’s very, very simple.

Q Are you happy with Stoltenberg as leader of NATO?

THE PRESIDENT: Say it?

Q Why are you happy with Stoltenberg as the leader of NATO?

THE PRESIDENT: I think he’s been a terrific leader. And I can just say, during my time — so it’s already amazing, two and half years — but we get along really well. And he made — his first statement was — we had our first meeting, and I think I got them to put up — the other countries, respectfully — 27 countries; put up the other 27 — $64 billion. Sixty-four billion. That’s a lot of money.

And he went out and he said what a great job he did. A lot of people don’t like giving credit. Like the media never gives me credit, but he gave me credit. Now we’re up to way over a $100 billion, and it’s going to be a lot higher than that by the end of 2020.

But I appreciate the job he’s done. He’s done an excellent job. And when it came time to renew — because a lot of people wanted that job; that’s a great job. I mean, it really is. But a lot of people wanted it. But I had no doubt in my mind who I wanted.

Q Have you ever contemplated moving the U.S. out of NATO?

THE PRESIDENT: People are paying, and I’m very happy with the fact that they’re paying.

Yeah?

Q What kind of security threat do you think Russia poses to NATO?

THE PRESIDENT: I hope that it’s not going to be a security threat. I hope we have a good relationship with Russia and with, by the way, China and everybody else. But I think the fact that we have NATO — and NATO is a lot stronger since I’ve been President, would you say that’s correct? We’ve taken a lot more money and —

SECRETARY GENERAL STOLTENBERG: Allies are investing more, and that provides some new capabilities. We need to maintain credible defense and defense for all NATO countries.

THE PRESIDENT: But I think we’ll get along with Russia. I do — I do believe that.

Q Mr. President, on healthcare, why are you pushing a vote on a healthcare replacement until after the 2020 election?

THE PRESIDENT: Because I think we’re going to have a great healthcare package. I think the Republican Party will become the party of healthcare. I see what the Democrats are doing; it’s a disaster what they’re planning and everyone knows it. You’re going to lose 180 million people under private insurance.

And I think, really, very important, Obamacare has been such a catastrophe because it’s far too expensive. It costs the people so much; they can’t afford it. And, of course, the premiums are very high: seven to eight thousand dollars on average. So you have to spend over $8,000 before you even hit.

So, Obamacare has been bad. So if we get back the House, and on the assumption we keep the Senate and we keep the presidency — which I hope are two good assumptions — we’re going to have a phenomenal healthcare.

Q Did Mitch McConnell ask you to delay this?

THE PRESIDENT: No, I wanted to delay it myself. I want to put it after the election because we don’t have the House. So even though the healthcare is good, really good — it’s much better than — when the plan comes out, which we’ll be showing you at the appropriate time, it’s much better than Obamacare.

So when the plan comes out, you’ll see it. It’s possible the Democrats would want to do it. I mean, it’s much better for the people, but I’m assuming they won’t because the Democrats never do anything that necessarily is going to be anything other than political.

So what happens is we’ll go through the election, we have a very good chance at retaking the House, and we have a very good chance of keeping the Senate. And I think we will keep the Senate. And I think we’re going to keep the presidency and we’ll vote in the best healthcare package we’ve ever had.

Q Mr. President, what do you think that NATO has accomplished in 70 years?

THE PRESIDENT: I think many things they’ve accomplished, but I think they also really stand for a signal of truth and of strength. And we have a great leader.

Q Are you going to talk about Germany today? The news from —

THE PRESIDENT: I’ll be talking about Germany. I always talk about Germany. I mean, Germany, honestly, is not paying their fair share. I have great respect for Angela and I have great respect for their country. My father is German. Right? Was German. And born in a very wonderful place in Germany, and so I have a great feeling for Germany.

But they’re not paying what they should be paying. They’re paying close to 1 percent, and they’re supposed to be paying 2 percent. And the United States, over the years, got to a point where it’s paying 4.3 percent, which is very unfair. And the U.S. GDP, especially under me — because the GDP has gone up so much, because it’s 4.3 of a much larger GDP. So we’re paying for a big proportion of NATO, which basically is protecting Europe. So we’re protecting Europe.

At the same time, they’ve taken advantage of us on trade. So we have the best of all worlds: We’re protecting countries that have taken advantage of the United States on trade. But it’s all changing. It’ll take a little while, but it’s all changing.

Q Mr. President, there is going to be a vote in the House Judiciary Committee tomorrow whether or not to authorize subpoenas to demand an unredacted version of the Mueller report and all of the background materials. If they do vote out the authority for subpoenas, will the White House fight those?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think it’s ridiculous. We went through two years of the Mueller investigation. We have — I mean, not only that. You read the wording. It was proven. Who could go through that and get wording where it was no collusion, no nothing?

So there’s no collusion. The Attorney General now, and the Deputy Attorney General, ruled no obstruction. They said no obstruction. And so there’s no collusion. There’s no obstruction. And now we’re going to start this process all over again? I think it’s a disgrace.

These are just Democrats that want to try and demean this country. And it shouldn’t be allowed. And I’ll totally live by what the Attorney General — I have great respect for the Attorney General. I’ll live by what he said.

But I will tell you this: Nothing you give them, whether it’s Shifty Schiff or Jerry Nadler, who I’ve known — he’s been fighting me for half of my life, in Manhattan, and I was very successful, thank you. But Nadler has been fighting me for years and years in Manhattan — not successfully.

I will tell you: Anything we give them will never be enough. We could give them — it’s a 400-page report, right? We could give them 800 pages and it wouldn’t be enough. They’ll always come back and say, “It’s not enough. It’s not enough.”

This thing has gone on for two years. And, really, it started long before that. It practically started from the time I came down the escalator, because this was a whole — this was a whole plot, whether you want to use the insurance policy as a timeframe. This was an insurance policy just in case she — Hillary Clinton — loses. Well, she lost and she lost big.

This has been going on for years. Now they want to keep it going on? We had the most — they spent over $30 million on an investigation. They found no collusion — which, by the way, was the most ridiculous premise I’ve ever heard of anyway, and you understand exactly what I mean. No collusion. There was no collusion. There never was.

After $30 million, we’re going to start this process again because Jerry Nadler wants to start it or because Schiff wants to start it? I’ll rely on the Attorney General to make decisions, but I will tell you: Anything that’s given to them will never be good enough. You could give them more documents than they’ve ever seen and it would never be good enough.

So I think it’s somewhat of a waste of time. This is just politics at a very low level.

Q What about the fact that Congressman Nadler opposed the release of the Starr report in 1998?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, that’s a good thing. That’s very nice that you bring that up. The fact is that Jerry Nadler was on the opposite side of this. And he thought it was a disgusting, terrible thing to even think about giving the Starr report but now we should give the Mueller report.

And actually, the Mueller report is actually much tighter because the Starr report went to Congress. The Mueller report goes to the Attorney General. So there’s a big difference. They made that because the Starr report got out of control with respect to going to Congress, because I guess lots of people had it that maybe shouldn’t have had it and did bad things with it.

So now they limited it to the Attorney General and they did that specifically for that reason. So Jerry Nadler thought the concept of giving the Starr report was absolutely something you could never do. But when it comes to the Mueller report, which is different on our side, that would be something that he should get. It’s hypocrisy and it’s a disgrace.

I will say this: Look, there was no collusion. There was no obstruction. They were very disappointed. I don’t know what they were thinking, because they all know. I guarantee you, they go into a room — between Nadler, Schiff, and the group — and they laugh like hell at how they’ve kept this thing going for two years. They laugh like hell.

And I hope that this investigation now, which is finished — it’s totally finished. No collusion. No obstruction. I hope they now go and take a look at the oringes [origins] — the origins of the investigation, the beginnings of that investigation. If you look at the origin of the investigation — where it started; how it started; who started it, whether it’s McCabe or Comey or a lot of them; where does it go; how high up in the White House did it go — you will all get Pulitzer Prizes, okay? You’d all get Pulitzer Prizes. You should have looked at it a long time ago.

And that’s the only thing that’s disappointing to me about the Mueller report. The Mueller report, I wish, covered the oringes [origins] of how it started — the beginnings of the investigation and how it started. It didn’t cover that. And for some reason, none of that was discussed.

Now, if you look at the IG report, it’s very serious. Now, we have another IG report coming out, hopefully, very soon. And I think you’re going to learn a lot.

But you should look at the beginnings and where it started — the whole situation. Because this has been a very, very bad thing for our country. The question was asked before about Russia, about Germany, about all of the different things that you and I discuss so often.

This has been a very bad thing for the United States. It’s been a total waste of time. But what hasn’t been a waste of time is some very bad people started something that should have never been started. And I hope that’s going to continue forward because people did things that were very, very bad for our country and very, very illegal and, you could even say, “treasonous.” Okay?

Thank you very much everybody.

END 2:16 P.M. EDT

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders holds an impromptu press conference with an argumentative and combative press corps.  Topics surround the possibility of closing the U.S-Mexico border to cope with the growing crisis, and the Democrat narrative du jour around security clearances.

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Additionally, Ms. Sanders held a formal interview earlier today.

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Earlier today at the White House, President Trump held an upbeat event to celebrate prison reform and passage of the first-step act.  Boy howdy, do the media ever want to bury this event… Every participant becomes an ambassador for Trump 2020  [Video and Transcript Below]

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[Transcript] East Room – 6:01 P.M. EDT – THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you very much. Please. Thank you. We are very honored to be joined by our incredible Vice President. Mike — please, stand up, Mike. (Applause.) Mike Pence.

Today we’re here to celebrate the truly extraordinary bipartisan — that’s a very pleasant word — (applause) — that’s a pleasant word — achievement of the FIRST STEP Act. Very important. This landmark legislation will give countless current and former prisoners a second chance at life and a new opportunity to contribute to their communities, their states, and their nations. And that’s what they’re doing. Many distinguished — (applause) — that’s true. (Applause.)

Many distinguished guests are here with us for today’s — really, this is a ceremony that’s something that’s very special. And I want to just recognize a few of them: Attorney General William Barr. Thank you. (Applause.)

A man doing a great job — Secretary Alex Acosta. (Applause.) Where’s Alex?

Ben Carson. Ben. HUD. (Applause.) Setting records over at HUD. Really good, Ben. I’m proud of you.

Secretary Rick Perry — former Governor of Texas. (Applause.) And I have to say Rick really pioneered what we’re here for today. He was an early advocate and has done a great job in a lot of ways, but as Governor of Texas also. An early pioneer of what we’re doing today. Thank you, Rick. (Applause.)

And a very special thanks also to members of Congress. We have with us Senators Chuck Grassley. Where is our Chuck? (Applause.) Chuck. Chuck. Thank you, Chuck. And I’m glad I found him. I’d be in trouble if I didn’t find him. (Laughter.) Bill Cassidy. Bill. (Applause.) Thank you, Bill. Senator Cassidy. Mike Lee. Mike? Thank you, Mike. (Applause.) Thank you. Senator Rob Portman. (Applause.) Thank you, Rob. Cindy Hyde-Smith. (Applause.) Ran a great race. Ran a great race. Good job. Congratulations, Cindy. Great job. And a friend of mine — Roger Wicker, senator. (Applause.) Thank you.

And a lot of congressmen and women are here. But just to introduce a few of them: Congressman Doug Collins. Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you. Josh Gottheimer. Thank you, Josh. (Applause.) And Tom Reed. No Labels. (Applause.)

A lot of governors are here, and some we’re going to leave out — (laughter) — because I don’t like them. But that’s okay. I’ll get to like them. Kentucky Governor — a man I do like — Matt Bevin. (Applause.)

An incredible guy, a friend of mine and all of us for a long time, and he’s going to be leaving the governorship one day soon, and we’re not going to be happy about that at all: Phil Bryant. Fantastic governor. (Applause.) He is a fantastic governor. And he built the African American Museum, and it’s one of the best jobs I’ve seen in a long time. A lot of money but under budget and ahead of schedule, right, Phil? And he was proud of that. (Applause.) You don’t see that often in government.

North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum. Doug? Thank you, Doug. (Applause.) And Mrs. Burgum. And Mrs. Burgum. Thank you very much. And Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. (Applause.) Thanks, Ken. Washington, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine. Karl, thank you. (Applause.) Thank you, Karl. And Florida’s former Attorney General, Pam Bondi — respected by everybody. (Applause.) Where’s Pam? Thank you, Pam.

And they’re joined by many faith and law enforcement leaders. We have tremendous numbers of people here today that are just such strong believers in not only what we’re doing but also faith. And faith is a good thing. In my book, it’s a great thing.

I also want to recognize someone that you all know well, who worked tirelessly on this project. And to achieve it he went through a lot. And I’ll tell you what — he got there, and he got there with flying colors, because he believes, and a lot of other people believe — both conservative and liberal, and those in the middle: Jared Kushner. (Applause.) Jared?

And he did not want me to do that. Because I saw this beautiful line and — (laughter) — and he didn’t want it but other people did. They insisted that I do it and it was real easy. But, you know, Jared has had a very easy life. He was doing phenomenally in New York, and everything he touched has turned to gold. And then, one day, he said, “I want to come down and I want to have peace in the Middle East. And I want to do criminal justice reform. And I want to do all these wonderful things.” And his life became extremely complex. (Laughter.)

And he wouldn’t trade it. I don’t think he’d trade it, because what he’s doing is incredible. And he is doing great in the Middle East. I think you’re going to have, someday — before we’re finished, I think you’re going to have something very important signed, and I hope so. You’re doing a great job. Thank you. (Applause.)

So, many people said — in fact, I guess we could say almost all people said — that criminal justice reform would never pass. But we came together as a group, we worked across party lines, and we got it done. And it’s an incredible thing when you see some of the people here — so conservative and then some so liberal. And we just have a lot of great people that came together. They knew it had to be done.

As President, I pledged to work with both parties for the good of the whole nation. And that’s what it is: It’s for the good of the whole nation. And it’s something that is so important to me in terms of this and lots of other things. And it’s happening. Slowly, but surely, it’s all happening.

The more I met and spoke with those involved in our criminal justice system, the more clear it became that unfair sentencing rules were contributing to the cycle of poverty and crime like really nothing else before. It was time to fix this broken system — and it’s a system of the past — and to improve the lives of so many people.

And you look at the safety and all of the things that are happening now as a result of the FIRST STEP — as an example, non-violent prisoners will have opportunities to participate in vocational training, education, and drug treatment programs. When they get out of prison, they will be ready to get a job instead of turning back to a life of crime. (Applause.) All right?

And I’m really — I’m thrilled to report that, since I signed the FIRST STEP Act, more than 16,000 inmates have already enrolled in drug treatment programs. (Applause.) And my administration intends to fully fund and implement this historic law. It’s happening, and it’s happening fast. And it’s a lot for some people to understand. As soon as they understand it, they say, “Wow, why didn’t we do this a long time ago?”

And some of the great governors that are here with us today have already implemented it. And they were a step ahead and now they’re going a step further. And I want to just congratulate them. And these are states that I won’t name because I don’t know if I should be naming them, but these are states that you wouldn’t think necessarily would be at the forefront of criminal justice reform. You understand that. (Applause.) Thank you.

The FIRST STEP Act serves as a model for criminal justice reform as the state level and all over the state level — all over every aspect of what we do — and throughout many states that are following our lead and already moving similar legislation forward — many of them are — including Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Missouri, and Mississippi.

The FIRST STEP Act also ensures that those in prison are placed closer to their families and home communities so they can have that communication that they need, greatly easing their return to society. (Applause.) It’s really important. Really important. Right?

And finally, the law rolls back provisions of the 1994 Clinton crime law that was so devastating to some many and that disproportionately impacted the African American community. Nobody believes how much, and now they understand it.

In less than four months, more than 500 people with unfair sentences have been released from prison and are free to begin a new life. (Applause.)

One of these newly freed Americans is Troy Powell, who is with us today. In 2004, Troy was sentenced to 20 years for doing a drug offense. During his 15 years in prison, he took courses and worked as an electrician, and he got really good at being an electrician. Really good. In fact, if you ever lose your job, come see me. I need electricians. (Laughter.) We could use them right here in the White House, Troy, if you want to know the truth. (Laughter.)

In February, Troy was released under the FIRST STEP Act. Nine days later, he was hired at Boone Lumber Company in Lenoir, North Carolina. And now Troy is saving — and really saving a lot of money because he’s doing well. You know, our economy is helping a little bit, Troy. I’ll tell you. (Laughter and applause.) But he’s saving money to buy a home. And he’s got one in mind. One particular home in mind. He’ll get it, I have no doubt about it. So, Troy, congratulations. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you. (Applause.) Do you want to say a couple words?

MR. POWELL: Yeah, sure.

THE PRESIDENT: He didn’t know about it. (Applause.)

MR. POWELL: Oh, my God. Man, this is crazy. Well, first of all, I’d like to say thank you to everybody here on Capitol Hill for finally getting this bill pushed through. I mean, I know there was a lot of work involved in it. And I would like to say thank you to the organizations that got me here, like #Cut50, and Amy, CAN-DO. And them people, I mean, they’ve done so much for me. It’s unbelievable how much they’ve done for me. I never thought — I never thought this bill would pass, and coming home and finding places like Boone Lumber Company that took a chance on me right out the door. I mean, “No problem. Come home to work.” You know?

I can’t thank everybody enough for that, and — but more than just thanking everybody for these things, there’s more that can be done. I left so many people behind in prison doing 40 and 50 years for nothing. I mean, absolutely nothing. I mean, should I have went to prison? Absolutely. I committed a crime.

But for 20 years for the small things that I had done? I should’ve definitely went to prison. And I don’t know what to say. I think there — I think there should be a second step, that’s what I say. (Applause.) I think there should be a second step. (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: Now, could I have said it better than that? (Laughter.) His statement about so many people — and that’s true. So many people in there that really are serving 40- and 50-year sentences for things that you wouldn’t even believe; that some people wouldn’t even be going to prison for today. So I want to — I just think that was incredible.

And don’t worry, I’m going to ask a couple. But, you know, none of them know they’re going to speak, and that makes it — (laughter) — that usually produces a much better speech.

We’re also proud to have with us on stage five more Americans who have been released under the FIRST STEP Act and transformed their lives, and that includes Gregory Allen. Where’s Gregory? Gregory. (Applause.) Hi, Gregory. You want to say something? Come on.

MR. ALLEN: Mine is real short. Two months ago, I was in a prison cell and I’m in the White House. (Laughter.) That’s going to tell you to make America great again. (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: That’s great. And you know what? The people of our country feel the same way as you people.

MR. ALLEN: Absolutely.

THE PRESIDENT: They do. They feel it.

Yvonne Fountain. Yvonne? Yvonne, thank you very much. (Applause.) Thank you very much, Yvonne. (Applause.) Oh, she wants to come up? Come up, Yvonne. She wants to — she wants to come up. (Applause.) Come on, Yvonne.

MS. FOUNTAIN: Thank you so much. God bless you. Thank you.

I just want to say I am so grateful. First, I want to thank God because God got me through a lot in prison. Yes, I went to prison. I did my time. I was good the whole time. I worked. I stayed out of trouble. I programmed. I did what I needed to do. When you y’all passed this, I could’ve fell through the floor. (Laughter.) Because I had to wait for years and years for them to pass that mandatory bill. And that’s a hard thing.

But I’m grateful. I thank everybody who put their hands in it, all the hard work. And I really thank you for signing that bill. (Applause.) When you signed that, I really could have fell through the floor. Thank you so much.

THE PRESIDENT: April Johnson. April. Come up, April. (Applause.)

MS. JOHNSON: I just want to thank — thank you for signing the bill. I got compassionate release from my daughter. And because of that, I’ll be able to spend what time she has left with her.

MR. ALLEN: Take your time. Take your time.

MS. JOHNSON: She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in September and they have since gave her a grave prognosis. And because of the bill and FIRST STEP Act, I’ll be able to spend the rest of her time with her. And I thank you. (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, sweetheart. You take care. (Inaudible.)

MS. JOHNSON: Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Beautiful.

Catherine Toney. Catherine? Catherine? (Applause.) Catherine — I thought that was you, Catherine. Come.

MS. TONEY: Good evening, everyone. First of all, I would like to thank God. Then I would like to thank the President for signing the bill. (Applause.) I also would like to thank Jared. (Applause.) I would like to thank Van Jones, Jessica Jackson, #Cut50, Amy Povah. I would also like to thank Harry Jackson — Bishop Harry Jackson. He’s been great through my release. (Applause.) I would like to thank Jared for calling corporate of Walmart, giving me — getting me my first job in 16 years. (Applause.)

I would also like to thank Becky, which is here. Ms. Becky, could you please stand up? Becky Sadler. She has worked with me since I’ve left the White House the first time, getting me this job at Walmart with Jared — reached to them. And I just want to thank everybody, both parties.

And what I have to say is I feel as if the FIRST STEP Act needs to be fully implemented and it needs to be fully funded in order to make this step work. It’s so many people that we left behind that needs the same opportunity that we on this stage have. And if they had the full funding that this step need, it would be many of us on this stage. So I just want to thank everyone. And God bless you all. (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: And a man who’s actually become much more famous than me, or anybody else in the room — (laughter) — his story is an incredible story, and it’s been inspiring. And I’d just like to introduce quickly, Matthew Charles. (Applause.) Matthew. Come here, Matthew.

MR. CHARLES: Thank you. I’m truly humbled. Nobody could be more famous than you. I’m truly humbled. I’m grateful. I’m thankful. Jared, the President, I’m thankful that you were insistent about getting this bill passed and signed. When it stalled in the Senate, and you informed Mitch McConnell you wanted to actually do this before that Senate in Congress went out, I’ll always remember that. So I’m just humble, thankful. In all, I’m still pleasantly overwhelmed and it’s an experience that I’ll never forget. Thank you. (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: And I want to thank you all. And a woman who I think is a terrific woman and spokesman, and I’ve watched her, and we helped her a little bit. She was in jail for a long time, and she had a long time to go. And I’d like to say — is Alice here? Where’s Alice? Come up here, Alice, will you please? (Applause.) Alice Johnson. Alice Johnson. Come up.

MS. JOHNSON: Thank you so much. First of all, everyone knows me — I have to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, first. (Applause.)

And I want to thank our incredible President, President Donald John Trump. (Applause.) I just told him I finally get a chance to hug you and properly say thank you for believing in me. And I’d like to thank all of the advocates who have fought so long for me, who have been working behind the scenes trying to magnify my case.

I thank everyone in this room for your prayers. And I also want to thank the media for being so kind to me — (laughter) — because you have really — you have really helped magnify my story. (Laughter and applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: Are you sure? (Laughs.) Good!

MS. JOHNSON: But thank you. I’m an example of a woman who has been given a second chance in life. There are so many others who deserve that same second chance. And so I’m grateful for platforms like this, for events like this today, that magnifies that need — because somehow, when you see a face, when you see another human being like me who has been separated from their family almost 22 years, that changes things, that changes heart.

God bless you and God bless America. (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you, Alice. You know, when you said — Alice said, “I want to also thank the media,” I sort of bent over and said, “Are you sure?” (Laughter.) She said — and I do, too. I think it’s fantastic. That’s great. (Applause.)

And a couple of people: Van Jones, please stand up. Please. (Applause.) He goes after me on occasion — (laughter) — but you know what? He came together with this one. We all agree this is very, very strong. This is a great bonding. And we appreciate it. You worked very hard on it, along with Ivanka. Please stand up. Ivanka. (Applause.) And Charlie Kirk. Stand up real fast. (Applause.) And Matt Schlapp. Stand up real fast. (Applause.) You guys — now, that’s an example of seriously conservative people and they’re totally into it, right? I mean, so many. So many.

So, to recognize the dignity and the potential of every American, I have designated April as the “Second Chance Month.” And we have a beautiful certificate coming. (Applause.)

As a result of our incredible economic turnaround — we had a big stock market day today, so that makes it even better, but a big day — there has never been a better time for those who need a second chance and they get a fresh start.

It’s so incredible to see people coming out of prison. They’ve done, historically, as you know, very, very poorly, oftentimes having to go back. Because they come out; they can’t get a job. Nobody wants to hire them because they were in prions. And because the economy is so strong, they’re getting an incredible start, as we say.

And it’s also maybe even more incredible to see what the people that are doing the hiring are saying. They are in love with what’s happening. (Applause.) They’re hiring people that are great, and they’re letting everyone know it. Everyone know it. Pretty incredible.

So the good economy is really giving them a chance — and a second chance, and in some cases, really a third chance. And they’re working out. I can’t say everybody, but the word is that it’s been terrific. It’s been just terrific. Employers all over the country are helping out. And Walmart has been a big factor. Ivanka, I know that was through you. And other of the major companies, but also smaller companies. And they are — the results are incredible. They’re just really good. And we’re very, very happy about that. So congratulations to everybody in the room.

Since my election, we’ve created more than 5.3 million jobs. Unemployment has reached the lowest rate in more than 50 years. Last year, a record 73 percent of new jobs went to people who were out of the labor force — totally out; totally out — and now they’re coming off the sidelines and going back to work. (Applause.)

And you’ve seen where I’ve said a lot because I’m very proud of it. And I said, “What do you have to lose?” And people would say, “Well, maybe you shouldn’t say it.” But I meant that because it was tough. African American unemployment is the lowest level in the history of our country right now. (Applause.) And that goes for Hispanic American, Asian American. Women are very close. Women are at a 64-year low. It’s up to 64. Soon to be historic, I hope. And it’s been incredible.

African American income, by the way, and Hispanic American income is the highest level it’s ever been in the history of our country. That’s a big factor, too. (Applause.)

But to take advantage of everything, those with criminal records still face many barriers toward gainful employment.

When Catherine Toney was released in February, she had difficulty finding work due to her past record. She applied to the local Walmart in Daphne, Alabama. As part of our Pledge to America’s Workers, Walmart is looking to change its hiring practice; it has already started very strongly, and is hiring a lot of great people. And some are getting a second chance, and some are getting a little bit more than that. And I want to thank Walmart.

And I really want to thank some of the big companies of our country. They’re doing an incredible job. What they’re doing is — I think, even if you go back, Van, 5 years, 10 years, you go back just a short while ago, nobody would believe what’s happening with respect to exactly what we’re talking about today. Very few people would believe it. So we’re very, very proud.

They interviewed Catherine. They were really impressed by her resolve, her ability to speak so beautifully. She’ll probably end up running for office. (Laughter.) And two weeks ago, she began her first day on the job. And I have no doubt she’s going to be very successful, and she’ll do a terrific job.

So, Catherine, we can’t wait to see you and all that you achieve over what will be a long, long life. And we appreciate it very much. (Applause.) We appreciate it very much. Thanks, Catherine. We look forward to that.

Americans with criminal records are unemployed at rates up to five times higher than the national average. Today, I am announcing that the Second Step Act will be focused on successful re-entry and reduce unemployment for Americans with past criminal records. And that’s what we starting right away. (Applause.)

And I’m very proud to say that we’re leading the way, but a lot of states are now following us. They’re liking it; they’re following us. And, believe it or not, it’s great for our people, it’s great for the people that it so deeply affects. But, you know, it’s also great for the economy. We actually — it’s hard to believe, we save a tremendous amount of money because people are coming out with these 40- and 50-year sentences for what you would consider to be everything serious, but not that serious. And they’re getting out and they’re working instead of being in prison. And we’re saving hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars and doing good at the same time. So that’s sort of a rare occurrence. (Applause.)

Our goal is to cut the rate to single digits within five years. And I think that’s very, very achievable, especially if the economy keeps going the way it is. And we’re going to keep it going the way it is.

When we say “Hire American,” we mean all Americans, including former inmates who have paid their debt to society. And they’ve paid it, in many cases, more than many of the people that we think of in our society. They have really paid their debt.

Our bond with our fellow citizens is what stitches us together as one united nation, sharing one common destiny.

We will achieve our goal by encouraging employers to adopt Second Chance hiring practices. That’s a movement that’s very, very en vogue. But, when I say “en vogue,” it’s something that’s happening and it’s happening all over. And, again, we’re going to lead that way, but we are really being studied by a lot of great governors in a lot of states. And some are even with us. I don’t want to let them get too far ahead of us, because I would hate to have that down. (Laughter.) We came in second; that’s no good. But they really are. They’re doing a fantastic job at the state level.

We’re also making it easier to work by removing obstacles to securing housing, and driver’s licenses and occupational licenses. And we’re promoting mentorship through proven programs such as Prison Fellowship — something that people really find very important and very good. (Applause.) Right?

My administration is also supporting funding for re-entry programs, including $88 million for Second Chance Act. You know that. (Applause.) And an estimated $28 million for the Pell Grants pilot program. Great, great program. (Applause.) And really, I think maybe more than anything else, we’re now proving that we are a nation that believes in redemption. (Applause.)

And to remind us what is possible, we are joined by a couple of people. First of all, is Pastor Scott here? Darrell Scott. Where’s the pastor? Is he here someplace? He’s worked so hard. I wanted to point him out. Darrell, thank you very much. Thank you, Darrell. (Applause.) Darrell Scott. Thank you. Worked so hard. Every time I see him on television, I say, “I don’t want to go against that guy.” (Laughter.) He’s a tough pastor and a good friend.

And also a man who has served time in federal prison but today he’s with us, and he’s now a Professor of Law at a place called Georgetown University — and one of his students happens to be my daughter, Tiffany — so, Shon — hey, could I ask Shon to come up, please? (Applause.) Where is Shon? Are you here? Where is Shon? Shon, come up. (Applause.)

Is my daughter okay as a student?

MR. HOPWOOD: She is.

THE PRESIDENT: She better be. (Laughter and applause.)

MR. HOPWOOD: It’s fun to get to come back here. The one thing I realized when we worked on FIRST STEP was I got to meet a lot of really cool people. And we worked on this together, and I have become friends with so many of you.

It’s astonishing to me that so many people want to come work and help people that are in prison. Because when you’re in prison, it feels very lonely and there’s not a lot of hope. And now there is more hope in the federal system than there ever has been at any point since I have been watching. And that’s because of the work that everybody in this room has done.

Thank you for helping people like me. Thank you for giving second chances. I think you are going to be rewarded in a way that you cannot even imagine when we get more people like my friend, Matthew Charles — who, by the way, came over to our house last night for dinner. And you know what my daughter said?

THE PRESIDENT: What?

MR. HOPWOOD: My 7-year-old daughter said, “Dad, how do I talk to Matthew? He’s so famous!” (Laughter and applause.)

So, thank you, Mr. President, for your leadership on this. You have gotten things done that has taken decades of work from a lot of people in this room. And to see the fruits of your labor is just amazing to watch. Thank you, sir. (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Keep up the good work.

And the FIRST STEP Act proves that, really, beyond almost anything we can think of, our country can achieve amazing breakthroughs when we put politics aside and put the interests of all Americans first. It’s true. It’s so true. Especially in these times. (Applause.)

If we work together for the common good, we can forge a future of even greater safety, opportunity, dignity, and freedom for the families across this incredible nation of ours.

I want to again thank everybody in the room, everybody for being with us. So many leaders. I see Paula White; she’s worked so hard on bringing the faith-based community together. (Applause.) And where’s Paula? That’s great. So hard. (Applause.) I want to thank you. I want to thank you. Such a great job.

And most importantly, I want to congratulate all of the people that have been so incredibly successful. They’ve left a place called prison, and as you said brilliantly, they arrived at the White House. They go from prison to the White House. And you know what? You’re going to have an incredible future. Everybody in this room — you know who we’re talking about — and the people standing on this stage, you’re going to have an incredible future.

And it’s my honor and it’s the honor of all of the folks in this room that have helped to have been part of a process, I think, that’s going to go down as a tremendous day in the history of our country. A lot of tremendous things are about to happen. Thank you very much. (Applause.)

END

Living a Dream