Amid new reports of U.S. companies initiating a rapid exodus from China, President Trump has announced the delay of the next round of tariff increases on Chinese goods from October 1st to October 15th.

U.S. Company Survey – More than a quarter of the respondents – or 26.5% – said that in the past year, they have redirected investments originally planned for China to other regions. That’s an increase of 6.9 percentage points from last year, the AmCham report said, noting that technology, hardware, software and services industries had the highest level of changes in investment destination (read more)

President Trump apparently senses the diminishing position of Chairman Xi.  The status quo, U.S. disinvestment, has put Beijing into a weakening position.  As the president noted today during remarks from the oval office, Xi’s belt-and-road (aka ‘bribe and loan’) supply chain program is collapsing.

President Trump: “We’re doing very well with China. And you probably saw the numbers that have come out and come out — some of them coming out just today. But China is — their supply chain is breaking up. The supply chain of China, which was this unbreakable, powerful tool that they had, is breaking up like a toy because companies are moving out. And China wants to make a deal.”

We’ll see what happens. We have to make the right deal for this country. China has been taking out hundreds of billions of dollars a year out of our country.

And, you know, I read — I read papers like the Wall Street Journal. They don’t have a clue. They haven’t got a clue. They don’t make any excuses for the fact that China has been literally ripping off the United States in the worst manner for so many years.

Five hundred billion dollars pouring out of the United States. And I hear people — I don’t even know. Do these people have any education on anything? It’s common sense maybe more than anything else.

[…] By the way, China is having the worst year they’ve had now in 57 years, okay? Fifty-seven. It was 27. It was 22 and then 27. It’s 57 years. This is the worst year they’ve had. And it’s only going to get worse. So I think they want to make a deal too. We’re dealing with them, but I think they want to make a deal.

As you know, they’re coming in sometime in early October. And we’re speaking to them constantly. And they also — they made a couple of moves last night that were pretty good. You saw that, right? They were pretty good.

Q Which moves do you mean, sir?

THE PRESIDENT: They were pretty respectful to our people. You’re going to see it, because you were one of the people that reported it. You — your group.

But China is — China is — about to having to do with tariffs, Jeff. Having to do — you saw what they did.

Q With purchases?

THE PRESIDENT: They took tariffs off certain things. A lot of things.

Q And you’re happy about that?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think they did the right thing. I think it was good for them. But they took them off. Yeah, I think it was a gesture, okay? But it was a big move. People were shocked. I wasn’t shocked. But I deal with them, and I know them and I like them. And I hope we can do something. (link to comments)

Earlier today President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump held a press availability in the Oval Office to outline concerns discovered with E-cigarettes and ‘vaping’.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and FDA Acting Commissioner Dr. Sharpless were in attendance for explanations.  Additionally, the President took questions from the press pool.  [Video and Transcript]

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[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you very much. I just want to say that the First Lady and myself, we just came back from an incredible experience at the Pentagon. It was an incredible — really, a beautiful ceremony.

I was very honored, and I think I can definitely speak for the First Lady, to have partaken in a ceremony that was just so, so lovely, representing September 11th. Three thousand lives. And, if you think about it, that number really got, as you know, Alex, it got a lot higher than that, indirectly. Directly and indirectly, a lot of people. A lot of great people.

So, that was a tremendous job everybody did this morning, letting the world know that we’re ready for anything if we have to be. We’re ready for anything.

So, thank you. And I know a lot of you were there, and I appreciate you being there very much.

We have a problem in our country. It’s a new problem. It’s a problem nobody really thought about too much a few years ago, and it’s called “vaping” — especially vaping as it pertains to innocent children. And they’re coming home and they’re saying, “Mom, I want to vape.” And the parents don’t know too much about it. And nobody knows too much about it, but they do know it’s causing a lot of problems. And we’re going to have to do something about it.

One of the words and one of the reasons we’re meeting today is to let you know that it’s out there. And we want to have parents understand that we’re studying it very carefully. It’s, again, very new and potentially very bad. There have been deaths and there have been a lot of other problems. People think it’s an easy solution to cigarettes, but it’s turned out that it has its own difficulties.

So, I’m going to ask Secretary Azar to say a few words. And then, if I could, Acting Director of the FDA Sharpless. And you’ve been doing a fantastic job. I want to thank you.

And we want to discuss the situation because not only is it a problem overall but, really, specifically, with respect to children, we’re getting some stories that we don’t want to hear. And we may very well have to do something very, very strong about it.

So, if I could ask you, Mr. Secretary, to say a few words.

SECRETARY AZAR: Thank you, Mr. President. So we briefed the President and First Lady today on as yet undisclosed, new data that we have from the National Youth Tobacco survey.

This information shows a continued surging in adolescent usage of e-cigarettes. It also shows that the youth are drawn to flavored e-cigarettes, including mint and menthol.

Currently, about 8 million adults use e-cigarettes, but 5 million children are using e-cigarettes. This is exceptionally harmful to our children. An entire generation of children risk becoming addicted to nicotine because of the attractiveness, appeal-ability, and availability of these vaping products.

So, with the President’s support, the Food and Drug Administration intends to finalize a guidance document that would commence enforcement to require that all flavors, other than tobacco flavor, would be removed from the market.

This would include mint and menthol flavoring, as well as candy flavors, bubblegum flavor, fruit flavor, alcohol flavor. You get the drift.

So, once the FDA would finalize this guidance, we would begin enforcement actions to remove all such products from the marketplace.

We would allow tobacco flavoring to remain, subject to their filing — the manufacturers of the tobacco-flavored e-cigarette products — filing for pre-market tobacco approval with the Food and Drug Administration to assure that the availability of their product is consistent with the public health under the standards set by the Tobacco Control Act.

Any of the other products, which would be removed from the market, would be able to apply under the similar regulatory pathway for approval but have to meet that standard.

But I want to caution that with the President’s support, while we would allow the tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes to remain on the market to be available for adults who are seeking to stop the use of combustible tobacco, if we find that children are being attracted to tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes, if we find that manufacturers are marketing the tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes to children, or placing them in settings where they get them, we will take enforcement action there also.

Let me turn it over to Dr. Ned Sharpless, the Acting Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, for any additional details and comments that he would have.

ACTING COMMISSIONER SHARPLESS: Thank you, Secretary. The data gathered by the CDC and the FDA, as the Secretary described, it shows a very concerning, alarming trend of use by children of flavored e-cigarette products.

The President is directing the FDA to take decisive action against this problem and to finalize our plans that we have been working on. This would have the effect, as the Secretary mentioned, of severely curtailing access to flavored e-cigarette products, which we believe drive childhood use, and will help use get a handle on this alarming and concerning trend.

THE PRESIDENT: And I will say that Commissioner Sharpless has been working on this very hard. But he’s now going to double and triple up. We’re looking at very strong rules and regulations. We already have laws as we need them. But we want to get to the bottom of a very unusual situation. It’s so new, and it’s become so big, so fast. And it could be a potential very severe problem.

So, Commissioner, you know what to do.

ACTING COMMISSIONER SHARPLESS: Yes, sir.

THE PRESIDENT: You know what to do. And it’s something that, frankly, should have been looked into a few years ago in a much more advanced way. It wasn’t. And we have something that will be very interesting to see what turns up. But you’ll be able to report back in the fairly near future because you’ve done a lot of work on this. And we’ll see what happens. Okay?

ACTING COMMISSIONER SHARPLESS: Yes, sir. The FDA is on it.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much.

Any questions on this, please?

Q Mr. President, is the Taliban — excuse me. Is the Taliban talks completely dead still? Or is there still a possibility —

THE PRESIDENT: The talks with the Taliban are dead.

Jeff.

Q A follow-up on your decision yesterday with regard to Mr. Bolton. What led you to decide to part ways?

THE PRESIDENT: So, John is somebody that I actually got along with very well. He made some very big mistakes. When he talked about the Libyan model for Kim Jong Un, that was not a good statement to make. You just take a look at what happened with Qaddafi. That was not a good statement to make, and it set us back.

And, frankly, he wanted to do things — not necessarily tougher than me. You know, John is known as a tough guy. He’s so tough, he got us into Iraq. That’s tough. And — but he’s somebody that I actually had a very good relationship with, but he wasn’t getting along with people in the administration that I consider very important. And I hope we — we’ve left in good stead, but maybe we have and maybe we haven’t.

I have to run the country the way we’re running the country. We’re doing very well. We’re respected all over the world again; respected like we haven’t been respected in many, many years. You look at Iran and you look at so many of the things that are happening. Iran wants to talk. They all want to talk.

We’re doing very well with China. And you probably saw the numbers that have come out and come out — some of them coming out just today. But China is — their supply chain is breaking up. The supply chain of China, which was this unbreakable, powerful tool that they had, is breaking up like a toy because companies are moving out. And China wants to make a deal. We’ll see what happens. We have to make the right deal for this country. China has been taking out hundreds of billions of dollars a year out of our country.

And, you know, I read — I read papers like the Wall Street Journal. They don’t have a clue. They haven’t got a clue. They don’t make any excuses for the fact that China has been literally ripping off the United States in the worst manner for so many years. Five hundred billion dollars pouring out of the United States. And I hear people — I don’t even know. Do these people have any education on anything? It’s common sense maybe more than anything else.

But I look at some statements that are made from so many different people. And, you know, John wasn’t in line with what we were doing. And actually, in some cases, he thought it was too tough, what we were doing. Mr. Tough Guy. You know, you have to go into Iraq. Going into Iraq was something that he felt very strongly about. So we’re right now in for over $7 trillion into the Middle East. And I don’t say it was his decision. You had a President and you had other people also. But he was very out there, I can tell you, and wanting to have them do it.

And I disagreed with that decision from the beginning, even though I was a civilian, so nobody cared. But I was out there. I was outspoken about it. I thought it was a terrible mistake. Here we are, many, many years later — decades later — and we’re still there. And we’ve been acting as policemen.

And I’ll tell you one thing: We are hitting the Taliban right now harder than they’ve ever been hit. And what they did was horrible. When they killed a great American soldier, when they killed 12 people — innocent people — essentially, innocent people. Because, if you look, I mean, many of these people were civilians. You also had a NATO soldier, in addition to our great soldier.

But when they did what they did, in order to create what they thought was a better negotiating stance, I said, “That’s the end of them. Get them out. I don’t want anything to do with them.” And they’ve been hit very hard. And I know for a fact they said that was a big mistake that they made, and it was. But that was my decision. And what we’re doing now is my decision.

So we have a lot of great people that want that position. A lot of great people want a lot of positions. They want to be a part of this administration. We’ve done more in this administration, in less than three years, than I believe any President. You look at the accomplishments; even today what we’re doing. You look at what we’re doing today — these are big things. Nobody else would be doing this. They’re big things.

But we’ve done more than any administration probably in the history of the country. You just look at one point after another point, whether it’s regulation cuts, whether it’s tax cuts. You look at Right to Try, with these two gentlemen. So important. Right to Try — where people are able to use some of the incredible innovations that we’ve developed with the greatest labs and the greatest doctors in the world. And they can use them, instead of being forced to move to — and leave — to other countries that don’t have a clue, compared to us. And now they have Right to Try.

And, by the way, a lot of people are being saved. A lot of great things are happening with Right to Try.

But what we’ve done for the vets, what we’ve done for our great military — we’re spending 700 this year — $718 billion. And, by the way, that’s also jobs, secondarily. But it’s also jobs. Nobody has done what we’ve done. And we’re very honored to have done it. We’re in a very good footing. Our country is respected again.

Q Who are your top picks to replace Bolton?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I have five people that want it very much. I mean, a lot more than that would like to have it. But there are five people that I consider very highly qualified. Good people I’ve gotten to know over the last three years. And we’ll be announcing somebody next week, but we have some very highly qualified people.

But we were set back very badly when John Bolton talked about the Libyan model. And he made a mistake. And as soon as he mentioned that, the “Libyan model,” what a disaster. Take a look at what happened to Qaddafi, with the Libyan model. And he’s using that to make a deal with North Korea? And I don’t blame Kim Jong Un for what he said after that. And he wanted nothing to do with John Bolton. And that’s not a question of being tough; that’s a question of being not smart, to say something like that.

So I wish John the best. We actually got along very well. I’m sure he’ll, you know, do whatever he can do to, you know, spin it his way. John came to see me the night before. In fact, I think a lot of you people were out there waiting for me to get on the helicopter. I’m sure you have a shot somewhere along the line. And he sat right in that chair.

And I told him, “John, you have too many people, and you’re not getting along with people. And a lot of us, including me, disagree with some of your tactics and some of your ideas. And I wish you well, but I’d like you to submit your resignation.” And he did that. And I really — I know he’s going to do well. I hope he’s going to do well. And I wish him well.

Q Mr. President, what are you prepared to do on guns, on background checks? What are you prepared to announce?

THE PRESIDENT: So I just spoke with Senator Toomey and Senator Murphy and Joe Manchin, Senator Joe Manchin. Just had a long talk with them, just before this meeting. Just hung up. And we are working very, very hard together, all of us, and we’re seeing if we can come up with something that’s acceptable to everybody. It’s a subject that’s been going on for decades. Decades they’ve been talking about it.

So we’re looking at background checks, and we’re looking at putting everything together in a unified way so that we can have something that’s meaningful. At the same time, all of us want to protect our great Second Amendment. It’s very important to all of us.

So we are now in meetings. The meetings are going to go on tonight. I’m going to speak with them again tomorrow. And I think progress is being made. I hope so.

Q Are you willing to put background checks on all private gun sales?

THE PRESIDENT: We’re going to take a look at a lot of different things. And we’ll be reporting back in a fairly short period of time. There are a lot of things under discussion. Some things will never happen, and some things can, really, very much — some very meaningful things can happen.

It’s really “gun sense,” if you think about it. What we’re looking at is — and maybe that’s what we should call it, “The Gun Sense Bill.” But we will have some — we’re having great dialogue. We’ll see what happens.

Q And did you tell your Chief of Staff to have NOAA disavow those forecasters who said that Alabama was not in the path of the storm?

THE PRESIDENT: No, I never did that. I never did that. That’s a whole hoax by the fake-news media, when they talk about the hurricane and when they talk about Florida, and they talk about Alabama. That’s just fake news. It was, right from the beginning, it was a fake story.

And while we’re here and while we’re talking about that, I want to congratulate Dan Bishop last night on an incredible win. He was — Dan was 17 points behind, three weeks ago. The media thought he was going to lose. They were all set to have a big celebration with their partners from the Democrat Party.

And Dan Bishop worked really hard. And I worked very hard with him. And he made up a 17-point lead in a few weeks. And he won a great election last night. And also, Greg Murphy — which nobody is even reporting — but Greg Murphy won a great congressional election in North Carolina last night.

And I want to congratulate, between Dan and Greg, what a job they did. We picked up two seats, and Greg was, you know, anticipated to win by two or three points, maybe less, but two or three points. And he won by many, many points. I don’t know what the final tab is, but he won by a lot. And he campaigned brilliantly, and Dan campaigned brilliantly. And so we’re very happy about that. That’s a tremendous win for the Republican Party. Okay?

Yeah, go ahead.

Q Now that John Bolton is gone, is your policy on Venezuela going to change? Are you open to meeting with Maduro?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, we have a policy on Venezuela that’s a firm policy. But Venezuela is really hurting. And we’re trying to help people in a humanitarian way. That’s probably not good in terms of crushing a terrible regime. But you have people dying. This is a country that, 15 years ago, was one of the wealthiest countries, and now it’s dying. They don’t have water, they don’t have food, they don’t have medical. They have nothing. So we’re trying to help as much as we can.

We’re also working with Colombia, and he’s — their leader of Colombia is a friend of mine and he’s doing a really good job, I can tell you that. We’re working with Colombia. We’re working with Brazil. We’re working with other countries on a humanitarian basis. Venezuela is in very sad shape. That shows you about socialism. I mean, that shows you what happens. You take a country that was so wealthy 15 years ago, and today they don’t have water, and they don’t have basic food.

So, we’ll see what happens. No, I disagreed with John Bolton on his attitudes on Venezuela. I thought he was way out of line. And I think I’ve proven to be right. But we are always watching Venezuela very, very closely.

Q And would you be open to meeting with Maduro?

THE PRESIDENT: I don’t want to comment. I don’t want to talk about that.

Q Mr. President, about your announcement today, are you concerned that the companies that were making these products will be treated unfairly by taking more of these products off the market?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, they’ve become very rich companies very fast. And the whole thing with vaping is a — it’s been very profitable. And I want companies; look, you know that. I fight for our companies very hard. I fight — that’s why I’m fighting with China. That’s why I’m fighting other countries. If you look at European Union, and if you look at Japan, and if you look at so many others, including South Korea and many others, we’re constantly dealing with them to make it good for our companies because I view it as jobs. I view it as income for our country and jobs.

Vaping has become a very big business, as I understand it. Like a giant business in a very short period of time. But we can’t allow people to get sick, and we can’t have our youth be so affected. And I’m hearing it. And that’s how the First Lady got involved. I mean, she’s got a son — together — that is a beautiful, young man, and she feels very, very strongly about it. She’s seen it. We’re both reading it. A lot of people are reading it. But people are dying with vaping.

So we’re looking at it very closely. And, you know, if nothing else, this is a conference that’s going to let people know about it, because people are going to watch what we’re saying. And parents are going to be a lot tougher with respect to their children.

A lot of people think vaping is wonderful, it’s great. It’s really not wonderful. That’s one thing, I think, we can say definitely, Commissioner. It’s not a wonderful thing. It’s got big problems. We have to find out the extent of the problem. It’s so new. It’s so new. But we’re going to find out.

And I hope that parents that — you know, they have children, and the children are a certain age — I hope they’re going to be able to make wise decisions, maybe based on what we’re saying today. But the Commissioner and Alex Azar, they’re going to be coming back over the next pretty short period of time, couple of weeks, with some very strong recommendations.

Q Can you tell us what the timeline is for taking those flavors off the market?

THE PRESIDENT: Alex?

SECRETARY AZAR: Yeah. So, it’ll take several weeks for us to put out the final guidance that would announce all the parameters around the enforcement policy. And then there will likely be about a 30-day delayed effective date, as is customary with FDA’s good guidance practices. And, at that point, all flavored e-cigarettes, other than tobacco flavor, would have to be removed from the market. Tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes — their manufacturers would, by May 2020, have to file for approval for FDA of their products. The other flavored product manufacturers can, at any time, also file, but they would be off the market until approved by FDA.

The Obama administration had allowed these products to go onto the market in an unregulated way by delaying any enforcement in the hopes that people who are using combustible tobacco would transition to a less harmful form of nicotine delivery through e-cigarettes.

But what we’ve seen is the data just shows the kids are getting access to these products in spite of our best efforts at enforcement, at retail enforcement, at controlling locations, at over 8,000 warning letters to retailers and others, in spite of moving products off shelves. They’ve been going at it, so we simply have to remove these attractive flavored products from the marketplace until they secure FDA approval, if they can.

Q Mr. President, are you looking at arranging a meeting with Iranian President Rouhani at UNGA?

THE PRESIDENT: I’m not looking at anything. Iran is a different country than it was two and a half years ago. Two and half years ago, they were given a lot of money by President Obama. Previous to that, $150 billion; $1.8 billion in cash — in actual cash. It’s very impressive.

But they are a much different country right now than they were two and a half years ago when I came into office. And I do believe they’d like to make a deal. If they do, that’s great. And if they don’t, that’s great too. But they have tremendous financial difficulty, and the sanctions are getting tougher and tougher.

We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon, and they never will have a nuclear weapon. And if they’re thinking about enrichment, they can forget about it, because it’s going to be very — it’s going to be very dangerous for them to enrich. Very, very dangerous, okay?

So you can — you can —

Q So do you want to meet with him, or no?

THE PRESIDENT: — you can spread the word to Iran.

Q Would you consider easing sanctions to let them — to make a meeting happen?

THE PRESIDENT: We’ll see what happens. We’ll see what happens. I think Iran has potential, and I think North Korea. Those are two countries we’re dealing with right now at a very high level. And I think Iran has a tremendous, tremendous potential. They’re incredible people. They have — we’re not looking for regime change. We hope that we can make a deal, and if we can’t make a deal, that’s fine too, okay? That’s fine too. But I think they have to make a deal. They’ve never been in this condition.

By the way, China is having the worst year they’ve had now in 57 years, okay? Fifty-seven. It was 27. It was 22 and then 27. It’s 57 years. This is the worst year they’ve had. And it’s only going to get worse. So I think they want to make a deal too. We’re dealing with them, but I think they want to make a deal.

As you know, they’re coming in sometime in early October. And we’re speaking to them constantly. And they also — they made a couple of moves last night that were pretty good. You saw that, right? They were pretty good.

Q Which moves do you mean, sir?

THE PRESIDENT: They were pretty respectful to our people. You’re going to see it, because you were one of the people that reported it. You — your group.

But China is — China is — about to having to do with tariffs, Jeff. Having to do — you saw what they did.

Q With purchases?

THE PRESIDENT: They took tariffs off certain things. A lot of things.

Q And you’re happy about that?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think they did the right thing. I think it was good for them. But they took them off. Yeah, I think it was a gesture, okay? But it was a big move. People were shocked. I wasn’t shocked. But I deal with them, and I know them and I like them. And I hope we can do something.

And with respect to Iran, I think they have to do something, because they have the potential to have an unbelievably great country. But the way it’s going right now, it’s disintegrating, and I don’t think — I don’t think they should allow that to happen.

North Korea has tremendous potential. North Korea is in between Russia, China, and South Korea. It’s an incredible — incredible people. I think that they really will — they have this truly unbelievable potential, and I think they want to get to it. We’ll see what happens. I mean, maybe they do and maybe they don’t — won’t. I mean, you’re just going to just see. But I really believe that North Korea would like to see something tremendous happen.

This could be one of the most unbelievable — if you look at a country, in terms of upside, this could be one of the most unbelievable experiments ever: North Korea.

And I also say the same with Iran. Iran can get back to business. They can do unbelievably well with all of the natural things that they have.

So on vaping, just to finish, this is all about vaping. This is a meeting that gets off a little track because you ask us questions about other things. And I think we’re better off answering them than not.

But we are looking at vaping very strongly. It’s very dangerous. Children have died. People have died. And the Acting Commissioner is somebody that’s a true expert on it, as much as you can be an expert on a brand-new subject.

And we’re going to have some very strong rules, regulations. And more importantly, I think we’re going to have some very important information come out very shortly, okay? And we’ll be reporting that over the next couple of weeks.

And I want to thank you. And, Commissioner, I want to thank you very much. Okay? Thank you very much.

ACTING COMMISSIONER SHARPLESS: Thank you, sir.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, everybody. Thank you.

Q Mr. President, your reaction to Netanyahu’s promise to annex more of the West Bank?

THE PRESIDENT: What?

Q The West Bank — Netanyahu and the West Bank. Do you have any reaction to what —

THE PRESIDENT: No. No reaction.

END 12:58 P.M. EDT

Earlier today President Trump delivered remarks during a Pentagon 911 observance ceremony. [Video and Transcript]

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[Transcript] THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you very much, Secretary Esper. Today, our nation honors and mourns the nearly 3,000 lives that were stolen from us on September 11th, 2001. On these grounds, 184 people were murdered when al Qaeda terrorists overtook American Airlines Flight 77 and crashed it into the Pentagon.

For every American who lived through that day, the September 11th attack is seared into our soul. It was a day filled with shock, horror, sorrow, and righteous fury.

I vividly remember when I first heard the news. I was sitting at home watching a major business television show early that morning. Jack Welch, the legendary head of General Electric, was about to be interviewed when all of a sudden they cut away. At first, there were different reports: It was a boiler fire, but I knew that boilers aren’t at the top of a building. It was a kitchen explosion in Windows on the World. Nobody really knew what happened. There was great confusion.

I was looking out of a window from a building in Midtown Manhattan, directly at the World Trade Center, when I saw a second plane, at a tremendous speed, go into the second tower. It was then that I realized the world was going to change. I was no longer going to be — and it could never, ever be — that innocent place that I thought it was.

Soon after, I went down to Ground Zero with men who worked for me to try to help in any little way that we could. We were not alone. So many others were scattered around trying to do the same. They were all trying to help.

But for the families who join us, this is your anniversary of personal and permanent loss. It’s the day that has replayed in your memory a thousand times over. The last kiss. The last phone call. The last time hearing those precious words, “I love you.” Then the attack. The anguish of knowing your family member had boarded one of these flights or was working in the World Trade Center or serving right here at the Pentagon.

You waited, you prayed, you answered that most dreaded call, and your life changed forever. To each of you: The First Lady and I are united with you in grief, we come here in the knowledge that we cannot erase the pain or reverse the evil of that dark and wretched day, but we offer you all that we have: our unwavering loyalty, our undying devotion, and our eternal pledge that your loved ones will never, ever be forgotten.

Eighteen years ago, the terrorists struck this citadel of power and American strength. But the enemy soon learned that they could not weaken the spirit of our people. In times of distress, the heart of the American patriot only grows stronger and more determined.

Even in the midst of the attack, the world witnessed the awesome power of American defiance. Forty passengers and crew on Flight 93 rose up, fought back, and thwarted the enemy’s wicked plans. In their final moments, these American heroes thunderously declared that we alone decide our fate.

We saw American perseverance in the valiant New York firefighters, police officers, first responders, military, and everyday citizens who raced into the crashing towers to rescue innocent people.

One such American was retired Army Colonel Rick Rescorla, who gave his life on 9/11. Rick earned the Silver Star and the Purple Heart for his service in Vietnam. He later became the Vice President for Security at Morgan Stanley in the World Trade Center. On the day of the attack, Rick died while leading countless others to safety. His selfless actions saved approximately 2,700 lives.

Today, I am honored to announce that I will soon be awarding the late Rick Rescorla the Presidential Citizens Medal for his extraordinary sacrifice. Though Rick has left this Earth, we will ensure that the memory of his deeds will never, ever be forgotten. His memory will forever endure. Thank you. Thank you, Rick. (Applause.) Thank you, Rick. Thank you, Rick.

Here on the western side of the Pentagon, we saw brave men and women rush into the fire and race into the scorching flames to rescue their colleagues. When evil seeks to do us harm, the incredible men and women of the United States military answer with unyielding valor and unstoppable resolve.

Navy Admiral David Thomas crawled through live wires and helped lift a wall of debris to save the life of a colleague. As Admiral Thomas remembers, “It was the worst day of my life, but the heroism and selfless disregard I saw that [horrible] morning is forever burned in my heart.” Admiral Thomas, America salutes you and every patriot who defied evil that day. Thank you very much, Admiral. Thank you. Thank you very much. (Applause.) Thank you very much.

Army Ranger Chris Braman repeatedly went back inside the burning building, rescuing one injured person after another. Before he entered, he said a prayer and asked God to give him strength, and then he dove into the suffocating smoke and fumes and flames. At the same time, Sheila Moody had just prayed that someone would find her. Then, she heard Chris’s voice. As Sheila says, God sent Chris as her guardian angel.

To Sheila and Chris, America is strengthened by your goodness and your grace and your bravery. Thank you very much. Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you very much.

To fulfill our unbreakable promise to every survivor and family of 9/11, earlier this year, we fully reauthorized the Victims Compensation Fund to the tune of billions and billions of dollars.

Since September 11th, nearly 6 million young men and women have joined the United States Armed Forces. They have crossed seas, climbed mountains, trekked through deserts, and rushed into enemy compounds to face down the threat of radical Islamic terrorism.

Nearly 7,000 service members have laid down their lives to protect our home, our flag, and our American way of life. American freedom survives only because there are patriots willing to sacrifice everything in its defense. No tribute is sufficient to convey the infinite depth of our nation’s gratitude.

On this solemn day of remembrance, our thoughts also turn to the 200,000 valiant soldiers, sailors, airmen, Coast Guardsmen, and Marines who are now, at this very moment, stationed overseas.

We do not seek conflict, but if anyone dares to strike our land, we will respond with the full measure of American power and the iron will of the American spirit. And that spirit is unbreakable.

We had peace talks scheduled a few days ago. I called them off when I learned that they had killed a great American soldier from Puerto Rico and 11 other innocent people. They thought they would use this attack to show strength. But actually, what they showed is unrelenting weakness. The last four days, we have hit our enemy harder than they have ever been hit before, and that will continue. (Applause.)

And if, for any reason, they come back to our country, we will go wherever they are and use power the likes of which the United States has never used before. And I’m not even talking about nuclear power. They will have never seen anything like what will happen to them.

No enemy on Earth can match the overwhelming strength, skill, and might of the American Armed Forces. And we have rebuilt and strengthened the last two and a half years, spending $700 billion, $716 billion, and now, just approved, $738 billion — more money, by far, than ever spent on our armed forces. You are the fearless sentinels who stand watch over all that we cherish and everything we hold sacred, priceless, and dear.

This morning, we also give thanks to the dedicated men and women at the Department of Homeland Security. Their Department was created after 9/11 to help secure our immigration system and ensure that those who threaten our people are denied entry to our shores. We’re indebted to every law enforcement official — state, local, and federal — who devotes their life to keeping America safe.

As we gather at this moment, and at this incredible memorial, we are reminded that there is no greater testament to our fallen heroes than the presence of their families who knew and loved them so much.

Among the family members here today is Stephanie Dunn. Her husband, Navy Commander Patrick Dunn, was one of the patriots who gave his life, right here, 18 years ago. Before he left that morning, Patrick gave Stephanie a big, beautiful kiss. Then, for the first time, he leaned down and kissed her pregnant stomach. Stephanie was just two months along with their first child. Earlier this year, their daughter Allie celebrated her 17th birthday.

Allie grew up into a strong, truly remarkable young woman. She mentors the children of our nation’s wounded warriors, and recently, I was honored to give Allie the President’s Volunteer Service Award for her hundreds of hours of community service. We are blessed to have Allie here with us at today’s ceremony. Thank you, Allie. Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you.

And, Allie, I know your dad is watching over you. He’s right up there. He’s watching from Heaven, looking down right now with love and pride. He is so proud of you. Thank you very much. Incredible. (Applause.)

Also joining us is the Vigiano family. For generations, the Vigiano family has served in our military and in the New York City Fire and Police Departments. These are two great departments. I grew up with them. I know. On September 11th, NYPD Detective Joseph Vigiano rushed into the World Trade Center, and died rescuing his fellow citizens. His brother, John, was a New York firefighter. He also gave his life that day at Ground Zero.

At the time, Joseph’s three sons were just young boys, ages eight, six, and three months old. This morning, they are with us. The youngest, John, just started his freshman year of college at SUNY Maritime College, and he plans to join the military. Joseph, Jr. is a Marine reservist and, just like his father, he is a proud member of the NYPD. And James is a corporal in the Marines. On his last deployment, James was stationed on the USS New York, a ship made using 24 tons of steel from the World Trade Center. Every time he left the mess hall on his way to his bunk, he passed a picture of his dad.

To John, Joseph, and James, and to the Vigiano family, you have sacrificed beyond measure, and you will never, ever stop giving back to this country. And thank you very much for being here. Thank you very much. Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you. Very proud of you. Thank you. Thank you very much.

The heroes present today remind us of an immortal truth. The future of our nation is secured through the vigilance of our people: The brave men and women who tore through the gates of hell to save the hurt and the wounded. The service members who honor the friends who perished by continuing their exceptional life of service. The moms and dads who endure the loss of their soulmates, and fill their children’s lives with all of the adoration in the world. The sons and daughters who suffered grave loss, and yet through it all, persevere to care for our neighbors, defend our homeland, and safeguard our nation. Each of your lives tells the story of courage and character, virtue and valor, resilience and resolve, loyalty and love.

This morning, we make a sacred vow to carry on this noble legacy. Today and every day, we pledge to honor our history, to treasure our liberty, to uplift our communities, to live up to our values, to prove worthy of our heroes, and above all, stronger than ever, to never, ever forget.

We are now, and will forever be, one American family united by patriotism, bound by destiny, and sustained by the faith of Almighty God.

Thank you. God bless you. God bless our military. And God bless the United States of America.

Thank you all. Thank you very much. (Applause.)

END 10:14 A.M. EDT

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were greeted at the Pentagon by Defense Secretary Mark Esper and his wife and Joint Chiefs Chairman Dunford and his wife.  The Defense Secretary of Joint Chief Chairman joined with the President and First Lady as they placed a wreath to remember the fallen. The wreath is red, white and blue.

President Trump and First Lady Melania walked out onto the South Lawn at 8:46 a.m. this morning to commemorate 9-11.   At exactly 8:47am a bell tolled three times in memory of those lost.   Mr. and Mrs Trump prayed during a moment of silence and then put their hands over their hearts for the solemn playing of Taps.

U.S. Senator Rand Paul supports the removal of John Bolton as National Security Advisor due to an abject difference of foreign policy with Bolton.  Also, Senator Lindsey Graham cautiously supports the removal of John Bolton from a concessionary position that Trump is correct, and the endless foreign intervention needs to have some conclusion.

Beyond the orange-man-bad democrats, and their new found political love for Bolton (their former nemesis), interestingly the strongest DC and media voices against Bolton’s removal are foreign policy voices primarily concerned about supporting Israel (Ted Cruz, Mark Levin etc).

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So far today CTH notes no-one is mentioning Bolton’s failed policy on Venezuela. That policy/effort was all John Bolton; ….and that brings another point into the picture.

Can you imagine what interventionist policy Bolton was starting to formulate surrounding Hong Kong?

Typical war-hawks like John Bolton, and those within the ‘industrial military‘ circle, do not value the more forceful use of economic strategy to accomplish national security objectives.  The economic approach is easily President Trump’s preferred weapon; and right now the biggest geopolitical confrontation is the U.S. -v- China.

Hong Kong is a part of the geopolitical dynamic; but it is a part President Trump is able to carve out from the larger issue.  No doubt the Bolton approach would have been to send troops in/around Hong Kong, eventually drawing a conflict with Beijing.  A person like Bolton would be exactly the wrong person in the game of economic chess.  In my opinion Trump’s China trade strategy is much better off without Bolton mucking it up.

Here’s Graham:

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With Bolton gone, might we see Tom Bossert re-enter the administration?

This afternoon President Donald trump delivers remarks at the 2019 National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Conference at the Renaissance Washington, D.C. Downtown Hotel.  Anticipated start time is 2:15pm EDT.

UPDATE: Video and Transcript

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[Transcript] THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. It’s a great honor to be here with you. And Ja’Ron, you’re a special person — a great friend of my daughter and my son-in-law. And he’s done an incredible job.

And it’s really wonderful to be with the unbelievable leaders of our nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities. It was a very important trip for me to be here with you today. A couple of people aren’t happy because I had to cancel them out, but that’s okay. We don’t mind.

I’m truly honored to be here today to celebrate the vital and cherished role of the HBCUs in American life. Together, we will ensure that HBCUs continue to thrive and prosper and flourish for the countless generations to come. For more than — (applause) — it’s true. We’re doing it. And you know we’re doing it. We’ve done a lot, and we’re going to do a lot more.

For more than 180 years, HBCUs have strengthened our country and called America to greatness. Your institutions have been pillars of excellence in higher education and the engines of advancement for African American citizens. They’ve been incredible, the job they’ve done. (Applause.)

You have shaped American leaders, trained American legends, pioneered American innovations, empowered American workers, built American communities, and you’ve made all of America very proud of you and the job you’ve done, and all of those great students that have learned so much from your wisdom. Thank you very much.

This nation owes a profound and enduring debt of gratitude to its HBCUs. (Applause.) So true. And that is why we gather to pay tribute to this remarkable legacy and to renew our commitment to protecting, promoting and supporting HBCUs like never before. And I think you’ve seen that. You’ve seen this administration’s commitment bigger and better and stronger than any previous administration, by far. So that’s very important.

My administration is determined to fight for you and the noble institutions you represent each and every day.

We’re grateful to be joined this afternoon by a tireless supporter of HBCUs, Secretary Betsy DeVos, who is in the audience some place. (Applause.) Betsy, thank you. Thank you, Betsy. Thank you.

I also want to recognize our terrific executive director of the White House HBCUs initiative, Johnathan Holifield. (Applause.) Where is Johnathan? (Applause.)

And I want to tell you, Evander Holyfield is a friend of mine and he could fight. (Laughter.) You always knew when went in the ring with Evander, he may be 50 pounds lighter, but you knew it was going to be a tough night out there for you. But he was something.

I just spoke with my Board of Advisors for HBCUs. And let me thank our amazing Chairman, Johnny Taylor. Johnny, thank you very much. (Applause.) Great job, Johnny.

And also, our Board member here today — and we have a few of them:

Aminta Breaux. (Applause.) Aminta, thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Phyllis Dawkins. (Applause.) Phyllis, thank you. Great job, Phyllis.

Rodney Ellis. (Applause.) Rodney, thank you. Thank you very much, Rodney.

Marshall Grigsby. (Applause.) Thank you, Marshall. Thank you.

Nickolas Justice. (Applause.) Thanks, Nickolas.

Ronald Johnson. (Applause.) Thanks, Ronald. Thank you.

Harold Martin. (Applause.) Thank you, Harold, very much.

Bernard Milano. (Applause.) Connie Rath and Billy Hawkins. (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you all.

And, Billy, I will always remember the Talladega Marching Band in my inaugural parade. That was something. You topped them all. That was a great — that’s a great group. Thank you very much. They were fantastic.

This afternoon, we are also thrilled to be joined by more than 40 students who were selected as the 2019 White House HBCU Competitiveness Scholars. Would you please stand so that we can congratulate you and applaud? Where are you? (Applause.) See, that’s what it’s all about, when you get right down to it, isn’t it?

The inspiring tradition of HBCUs dates back to the Civil War era, when pastors, abolitionists, and men and women who had escaped slavery founded many of the first colleges and universities for African Americans. That’s a long time ago.

In 1861, a free African American woman, Mary Peake, taught 20 students under an oak tree near a Union base in Virginia. That tree still stands tall and mighty on the campus of Hampton University. (Applause.) Good school.

In the face of immense hardship and painful injustice, your schools rose to the very pinnacle of academia, becoming many of America’s finest and most acclaimed institutions of higher learning. Tremendous respect everybody has for the work that many of you have done — almost everybody in this room has done. I can tell you.

HBCU graduates have improved and uplifted every feature of American society. From your halls came great Americans like Booker T. Washington, Rosa Parks, Ida B. Wells, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson, acclaimed inventor Lonnie Johnson, Air Force General Daniel James Jr., NFL Hall-of-Famer Jerry Rice, and legendary Coach Eddie Robinson. Eddie Robinson was a good coach. (Applause.) I think Eddie Robinson won more games than anybody, didn’t he? (Laughter.) Is that true? Is that true? I think so.

And we are — by the way, have Scott Turner, speaking about good football players. Where is Scott? He’s leading such a great charge with the Opportunity Zones. (Applause.) Thank you, Scott. He’s a great, great gentleman. He works so hard. He goes — he’s all over the place. I say, “Where’s Scott today?” He’s in about six cities at one time. (Laughter.) And the Opportunity Zones have really caught on. Been incredible. Thank you, Scott.

During World War II, Tuskegee University trained the young Americans who would become the legendary Tuskegee Airmen. That was great group of people.

Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. graduated from Morehouse College. (Applause.) That’s great.

And African American students helped plan the Montgomery Bus Boycott in the basement of another HBCU, Alabama State University. (Applause.)

Our Historically Black Colleges and Universities have always challenged our nation to be better and braver, to do what is right, to dream bigger, aim higher, and always be bolder in pursuit of what is just, decent, and true.

HBCUs represent only 3 percent of America’s higher education institutions. You get graduates — 80 percent — think of that: 80 percent of African American judges, 40 percent African American engineers, and more than 50 percent of African American doctors. That’s an incredible statement. From 3 percent overall to 50 percent and more for doctors. (Applause.) That’s an incredible statistic. It’s an incredible achievement.

My administration is deeply devoted to advancing this amazing legacy of success, commitment, and contribution to our nation. You have never stopped working to improve this country, and you deserve a government — you have to just keep going. You really do deserve a government that never stops working for you. And you never stop working for it. You’re amazing people in this room. Incredible people. And I congratulate you for it. (Applause.)

That is why, in my first weeks in office, I took action to make HBCUs a top priority once again. I signed an executive order to move the federal HBCU initiative to the White House, right where it belongs. (Applause.)

Over the past two and a half years, we have listened and learned from you, and we have taken very, very major action. I think you know that. I signed legislation to increase federal funding for HBCUs by a record 13 percent. That was the highest ever done. (Applause.)

When members of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund asked us to lift the ban on Pell Grants for summer classes, I included that change in my budget, and we worked with Congress and we got it done. (Applause.) And, you know, we had a little opposition to getting that done, I must tell you. But we got it done.

In the fall of 2017, we met with leaders of HBCUs devastated by Hurricane Katrina: Dillard University, Southern University at New Orleans, Tougaloo College, Xavier University of Louisiana.

And less than a year later, my administration took action to fully forgive their disaster loans, so these colleges could get out of debt and back to their critical mission of educating our nation’s future leaders — and truly great leaders they will be. So, congratulations. (Applause.)

Last year, my administration also worked with UNCF and key members of Congress to provide capital finance loan deferment to 13 HBCUs that presented rigorous plans for growth. In total, over the last two and a half years, through the Capital Financing Program, we have provided more than $500 million in loans to HBCUs. (Applause.) At a very good interest rate, I might add. (Laughter.)

Right here in our nation’s capital, we delivered an additional grant of $15 million to the only federally chartered HBCU — a great school, with a great reputation, that was already mentioned once today: Howard University. It really is; it’s a great school. (Applause.)

I signed a farm bill that included more than $100 million for scholarships, research, and centers of excellence at Historically Black Colleges and Universities that are land-grant institutions. One hundred million dollars. (Applause.)

And thanks to Secretary DeVos leadership and her work with many of you, we’ve also made unprecedented progress to reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens so that your institutions are free to innovate and offer more flexible ops — you know, options for the students. And you’re doing that. You’re doing a lot of great options. I looked at some before. They’ve got a lot of really great options, and that’s what you need.

Today, I’m thrilled to announce another major action we’re taking to protect HBCUs. Previously, federal law restricted more than 40 faith-based HBCUs and seminaries from fully accessing federal support for capital improvement projects. This meant that your faith-based institutions, which have made such extraordinary contributions to America, were unfairly punished for their religious beliefs. Did we know that? Did everybody know that? Because it was — it was hap- — that was not good.

This week, our Department of Justice has published an opinion declaring such discriminatory restrictions as unconstitutional. (Applause.) It was a big step. And from now on, faith-based HBCUs will enjoy equal access to federal support. (Applause.)

When I came into office, I directed the entire federal government to develop a strategy to support Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Today, 32 federal departments and agencies have released statements of priority that are helping your institutions receive resources and support that you deserve.

To give just a few examples, NASA is expanding outreach to HBCU students who want to become scientists, engineers, and even astronauts. I don’t know about the astronaut. I don’t want to be an astronaut. How about you? Does anybody want to be an astronaut over there? (Laughter.) Huh? I don’t see too many hands going up. (Laughter.) I see one. There’s one brave person over there. That’s pretty great though. But what we’ve done there is terrific. And for those that do want to be an astronaut and those other wonderful things, it’s now possible.

The Departments of Labor and Education are working with HBCUs to increase apprenticeship opportunities. Our federal budget also prioritizes HBCUs in our plan to give more students access to state-of-the-art training in high-demand fields, such as science, technology, engineering, and math. We want to help each student have the experience they need to get a tremendous job, enjoy a rewarding career, and join our great national effort to rebuild America, which is what we’re doing. (Applause.)

The fierce dedication to strengthening HBCUs is a core part of my administration’s unwavering focus on the project of national renewal.

We are working every day to make decisive decisions so that we can really avoid many of the failures of the past. There have been so many failures. It just didn’t work. And a lot of that has been our government’s fault; they didn’t allow it to work. We are fixing decades of mistakes made by politicians in both parties who put the needs of other countries before our own country, and who put special interests before the interests of everyday, hardworking people.

Past leaders spent trillions of dollars in the Middle East, but they let our citizens suffer, our middle class languish, and our neighborhoods fall into total disrepair. And they didn’t take care of our — you know, our colleges. I mean, our colleges at different levels. They didn’t take care of a lot of things.

The Washington establishment enacted ruinous trade policies that devastated millions of hardworking families and inflicted deep economic pain on many African American communities. Both leaders in both parties let China and other nations loot our jobs, raid our factories, and shatter the dreams of our citizens. China would take out of our country more than $500 billion a year for many years and steal our intellectual property. Things are much different today.

More than half a million African Americans lost good-paying manufacturing jobs after a twin disasters of NAFTA and China’s entrance into the WTO. That’s the World Trade Organization. That was when it all began to happen. These were not good deals. You’re going to all make better deals than that. You have to promise me, when you’re up here someday — one of you or two of you or three of you, at different times, of course. (Laughter.) You’ll be up here. We don’t do any tries over here, right? But you’ll be at different times, but you’ll do much better than the past.

But under this administration, the era of economic surrender is over. We are bringing back our jobs, we’re bringing back our wealth, and we are bringing back our dignity. The stock market is getting ready, it seems, to hit the 118th day. We have had 118 records, where we hit the highest point. And three weeks ago, they were saying, “Recession, recession.” They were hoping for a recession because maybe that would hurt our chances of doing all of the things that we’re doing.

But we’re getting ready, it looks like, to hit another great milestone, another great all-time stock market record, which to me means jobs, more than anything else. Forget about stock prices; it means jobs.

After years of building up other countries, we are finally building up our country, standing up for our workers, and fighting for our forgotten communities.

The first and highest duty of government is to take care of its own citizens. African Americans built this nation through generations of blood, sweat, and tears. And you, like all of our citizens, are entitled to a government that puts your needs, your interests, and your families first. (Applause.)

The first agenda and the America First agenda is about the sacred bonds of love and loyalty that unite all Americans. That is why we’re joining forces with HCBUs to invest in the workforce of the future. Our Pledge to the American Worker has already secured commitments for 13 million employment and training opportunities for American citizens. It’s been an incredible success. We are getting people off of the sidelines and back into the game. Last month alone, nearly 600,000 Americans entered the labor force. You read that just the other day.

To unleash small business creation and produce millions of jobs, we passed massive tax cuts and launched a historic regulatory reduction campaign. We cut more regulations than any President in history, even though they’ve been there for, in many cases, a lot longer than I have.

Thanks to these pro-American trade, tax, and regulatory policies, the economy is booming and wages are rising, and our country is very much respected again. Last month, the unemployment rate for African Americans hit yet another all-time, historic low. In the history of our country, it’s the lowest number we’ve ever had. (Applause.)

And this is very exciting, especially for the folks in the room and those young folks over there that are so great and so smart: African American youth unemployment has reached the lowest rate ever recorded in the history of our country. (Applause.)

So, in other words, it’s a good time to be looking for a job, right? You picked the right time.

For the first time ever, most new hires are minorities and predominantly women. So, that’s a big statement. Most are minorities and women.

The African American poverty rate also reached a new record low in the history of our country. The lowest poverty rate. We are — (applause) — that’s something. I don’t know, when I’m on that debate stage with whoever I’m on, these are pretty good numbers to, you know. (Laughter.) Who is going to beat these numbers? Please tell me. (Laughter.)

We’re working hard to ensure economic opportunity extends to all Americans, including those who have been released from prison. With employers and educational centers like HBCUs, we are supporting Second Chance hiring policies so that former inmates get a new shot at life. (Applause.) And we’re very proud of this. I have to say that it’s never been like this before. There’s never been anything where you get out of prison and they weren’t able to find jobs. They had that stigma and they weren’t able to find a job. Nobody would hire them.

And today — and a lot of it has to do with the fact that the employment numbers are just about record low for country. And it’s been incredible. The success has been incredible, and the quality has been incredible. So many employers are saying, “I wish I knew about this. I would have started it years ago.” So it’s been an incredible time. And there’s never been a time like it, as far as people getting out of prison and getting a real shot at life. So we’re very proud of that.

This is just one more way that we live by those two simple and really crucial rules: Buy American and hire American. (Applause.) For this reason, we’re also pursuing immigration reforms to protect jobs and wages for American workers, especially those who have been left behind.

We’re fighting to give every parent of every student access to school choice, because no American child deserves to be trapped in a failing school. (Applause.)

To remedy unfair sentencing laws that disproportionately hurt African Americans, last year I proudly signed groundbreaking criminal justice reform into law, a bipartisan FIRST STEP Act. So we signed that just recently. (Applause.) They were never able to get it, and we got it.

We’ve taken historic action to confront the opioid crisis. And last year, our nation saw the first decline in drug overdose deaths in more than 30 years.

My administration — that’s a big thing. It’s such a problem for our country and such a problem for countries all over the world. It’s a tremendous problem, the drug problem.

My administration has also launched an unprecedented campaign to spur investment and revitalization in our country’s most underserved communities.

Under this vital initiative, America’s governors have designated nearly 9,000 communities as Opportunity Zones. And that’s where Scott has been so incredible. About half of all of the HBCUs are located in these Opportunity Zones.

Scott, come up here for a second. Will you just come up? This guy is so unbelievable. (Applause.) He’s so unbelievable, the job he’s doing. I only ask, do you sleep? But they ask me that question too, “Do you sleep?” He sleeps, I think, maybe less than I do. Come up, up Scott. He doesn’t need stairs. (Applause.)

MR. TURNER: Well, thank you, Mr. President. And very briefly, Opportunity Zones — this initiative called Opportunity Zone is really unprecedented in our nation’s history. You take private capital and you partner it with public investment to bring about real revitalization and transformation in our communities.

And it’s unique because it’s not just economic development; it’s community development. See, poverty, it has no favorite. Poverty is in the black community. It’s in the white community. It’s urban. It’s rural. It’s tribal. It’s suburban.

We’ve been to 38 cities in the last 15 weeks, and I’ve seen some of the worst cities in our country, from coast to coast, tip to tip, and even in the Heartland. And one thing I’ve learned is that poverty does not care…

what you look like. It doesn’t care where you come from. But I’ve had the old saying that I like to teach my son: We fight fire with fire.

The name of this council is the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council. “Revitalize” means to imbue with new life. It means to reinvigorate, to reenergize. Revitalization also has no color. Revitalization has no party, ladies and gentlemen. Revitalization starts in the heart of every man and every woman.

And our goal here, our mission — and thank President Trump and his administration for the courage and the vision for this — our mission is, yes, it’s job creation, it’s new businesses, it’s housing, but it is the eradication of poverty in our nation — a systemic problem that has crippled this nation for a long time.

And we’re here, and we need all of you. We spoke to the HBCU Conference yesterday. We need everyone in this room, one, to pray for our leadership, to pray for what we’re doing, and number two, see how you can get involved to bring about revitalization where you live. Doesn’t matter black, white, Democrat, Republican — it doesn’t matter. Revitalization starts in the heart.

I’m grateful to steward this council, and I’m going to try to reach as many people as we can. Because at the end of the day, long after all of us have gone to glory, this has to have a generational impact. And history will tell the story — (applause) — of revitalization. God bless you. (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Scott. Is he great? He is something. What a job you’re doing, Scott. Thank you very much. What a job.

I know that each and every one of you shares the same commitment to improving our communities and building a future of limitless opportunity.

For nearly two centuries, America’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities have done exactly that. You have empowered millions of students to thrive in their careers, start a business, own a home, and raise proud, strong, and loving families.

That is your magnificent legacy, and that is the mission we are determined to help you carry on. We’re right by your side.

So together with Historically Black Colleges and Universities, we will power this nation to new heights. Heights like nobody would’ve imagined.

We will reward hard work and innovation in every field.
We will champion freedom, justice, equality, and opportunity for all.

We will pursue greatness together, as communities, as citizens, and as one United States of America.

Every day of my presidency, we’ll strive to give every child, of every background and every race, religion, color, and creed, the best chance to reach that beautiful American Dream.
As we do, I pledge that we will always support the institutions which help make these goals possible: our nation’s wonderful HBCUs. We will never let you down and we will never stop fighting for you.

And I just want to thank everybody for being here today. It’s a great honor.

God bless you. And God bless America. Thank you very much. Thank you. (Applause.)

END 2:57 P.M. EDT

WH Livestream Link – Fox News Livestream Link – NBC Livestream Link

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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin hold a press conference to discuss terror related issues and national security. The Press Conference relates to This Executive Order.

UPDATE: Video and Transcript Added

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[Transcript] – SECRETARY MNUCHIN: Hello, everybody. So, Secretary Pompeo and I are here today to talk about the President’s new executive order. And after that, we’d be happy to take a few questions.

So, today, the President signed a new executive order which underscores his decisive leadership in fighting global terrorism. This administration has intensified our counterterrorism sanctions effort. We’ve designated more than 230 individuals and entities in 2018, the most designation of any year in the last 15 years.

The new executive order, “Modernizing Sanctions to Combat Terrorism,” which was signed today, greatly enhances our ability to identify, sanction, and deter perpetrators of terrorism worldwide.

Among other provisions, the EO allows the U.S. government to better target terrorist group leaders; provides new tools to pursue individuals who participate in terrorist training; authorizes secondary sanctions on foreign financial institutions that have knowingly conducted or facilitated significant financial transactions with sanctioned persons; and targets those actors for, or on behalf of, a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.

Utilizing this new executive order, today, Treasury sanctioned over two dozen individuals and entities from 11 terrorist groups. Specifically, we have leaders, operatives, and financiers from over 11 terror organizations, including Iran’s Qods Forces, Hamas, ISIS, al Qaeda, and their affiliates.

The government has taken more action than we ever have before. The U.S. is — Treasury is enhancing our efforts to deny terrorists access to the U.S. financial system. We will continue to make sure that the security of the United States and to protect innocent people from becoming victims of terrorist attacks.

SECRETARY POMPEO: Thank you, Steven. Today’s executive order marks the most significant update to counterterrorism sanctions authority since September of 2001. It significantly expands authorities to target terrorists and those who finance their activities.

Specifically, today’s action amends Executive Order 13224 by adding clauses that allow the Departments of State and Treasury to first directly target leaders of terrorist groups and their associated entities without having to tie terrorist leaders to specific acts.

Second, it more effectively and efficiently targets individuals and entities who participate in terrorist training, and provides new authorities to impose sanctions on foreign financial institutions that knowingly do business with terrorists.

The Trump administration has already used existing sanctions authorities more aggressively than any administration before us. And now we’re immediately putting these new authorities to good use, as Secretary Mnuchin said.

Today, the Department of State announces the designation of 12 terrorist leaders. They include: ISIS Wali of Iraq and former amir of improvised explosive devices; four senior members of Hizballah’s Jihad Council; and leaders from Hamas, Palestinian-Islamic Jihad, ISIS-Philippines, ISIS-West Africa, and TTP in Pakistan.

Further, we’re announcing the designation of Hurras al-Din, an al Qaeda-affiliated jihadist group in Syria, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist Entity.

As these actions show, today’s executive order by President Trump adds further muscle to U.S. counterterrorism efforts. It will help us to ensure that the deadly attacks of September 11 that occurred 18 years ago this week are never repeated on American soil. Never.

At this time, Secretary Mnuchin and I are happy to take a couple of questions on this topic.

Yes, sir.

Q Did John Bolton fire — get fired, or did he quit? And did he leave the White House because he disagreed with you in particular over talks with the Taliban?

SECRETARY POMPEO: So, last night, the President asked for Ambassador Bolton’s resignation. As I understand it, it was received this morning.

Q Was it because of this disagreement?

Q Secretary Pompeo, about Syria —

SECRETARY POMPEO: Go ahead. Yes, ma’am. In the back.

Q Go ahead.

Q Was it because of this disagreement?

SECRETARY POMPEO: I’ll leave it to the President to talk about the reasons he made the decision.

But I would say this: The President is entitled to the staff that he wants at any moment. This is a staff person who works directly for the President of the United States, and he should have people that he trusts and values and whose efforts and judgments benefit him in delivering American foreign policy. That’s what, as Cabinet members, Secretary Mnuchin and I try and do each and every day. And when the President makes a decision like this, he’s well within his rights to do so.

Q Secretary Pompeo, can you describe your working relationship with John Bolton as it was today?

SECRETARY POMPEO: Sure.

Q And also, does his departure make it easier for you to do your job and for the administration to accomplish the President’s foreign policy agenda?

SECRETARY POMPEO: Look, I don’t talk about the inner workings of how this all goes. We all give our candid opinions. There were many times Ambassador Bolton and I disagreed; that’s to be sure. But that’s true for lots of people with whom I interact.

My mission is always to make sure, as I run the Department of State, is to deliver America’s diplomacy and to work with a team — whether it’s at Treasury or the President’s staff — to make sure we get good outcomes.

I know everyone has talked about this for an awfully long time. There were definitely places that Ambassador Bolton and I had different views about how we should proceed.

Q With John Bolton out of the picture, is it now possible to see some less hawkish Iran policy? And does this open the path for the President to meet with Rouhani?

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: I would say Secretary Pompeo and myself and the President are completely aligned on our maximum pressure campaign. I think you know we’ve done more sanctions on Iran than anybody. And it’s absolutely working.

Now, the President has made clear he is happy to take a meeting with no preconditions, but we are maintaining the maximum pressure campaign.

Yeah, go ahead. Go ahead.

Q So, Secretary Pompeo, for clarity on this, can you foresee a meeting between President Trump and the Iranian leader later this month surrounding the United Nations?

SECRETARY POMPEO: Sure.

Q Would the President support that, and do you support that actively?

SECRETARY POMPEO: The President has made very clear he is prepared to meet with no preconditions.

Q Just to follow up quickly on the original guidance for this briefing: Bolton was on the guidance to be here, so were you two blindsided by what occurred today, that he’s no longer with the administration? Was it news to you today? Because last night you were told he would be here today.

SECRETARY POMPEO: Yeah. I’m never surprised.
(Laughter.)

Q Well, let me ask it this way —

SECRETARY POMPEO: And I don’t mean that on just this issue. And I think Secretary Mnuchin would say the same thing. We work very closely with the President of the United States. I think we have a pretty good understanding of how he’s thinking about things — I think you’d agree, Steven — at nearly all times.

And so, you know, our mission says not to talk about these inner workings and the palace intrigue that I know you are so curious about —

Q Well, I’m just curious —

SECRETARY POMPEO: — but rather to talk about the things that matter to American foreign policy.

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: I would just add that people who knew should know, and don’t get into, you know, the administrative things if a notice went out. Because yesterday, the three of us were (inaudible).

Q Secretary Pompeo, thank you very much. I appreciate it.

SECRETARY POMPEO: Yes, ma’am.

Q Secretary Pompeo, a question about Syria. We reported on Syria and the refugee camps last night. Our David Muir was there. And he talked about how these refugee camps — ISIS fighters are blending in. There’s children dancing around the ISIS flag. Are you concerned about these refugee camps becoming a breeding ground — a training ground for terrorists, for ISIS fighters?

SECRETARY POMPEO: So there’s a long history of just exactly what you’re describing: camps in Iraq, camps other places where prisoners were detained and extremist elements breeding in those places.

But we’ve been working diligently on this. We have conducted enormous operations against ISIS, even after the fall of the caliphate, as recently as the last handful of days. We are very focused on this.

The success that we had moving down the Euphrates River Valley that our Department of Defense led with the SDF forces was truly remarkable. We will not take our eye off the ball, ensuring that whether it’s ISIS or other radical Islamic extremist groups continue to be under pressure from the United States of America. And that was — just to close it up, and that would include in these camps that you’re referring to.

Yes, go ahead.

Q The White House says that National Security Advisor Bolton’s foreign policy was not aligned with the President’s philosophy. How was it out of alignment?

SECRETARY POMPEO: Well, I’ll leave that to the White House to talk about. Other than to say, I think President Trump — I watched his campaign. I’ve now worked with him first as CIA Director and now as Secretary of State. Someone asked, “Would the policy be different absent any individual being here?”

These have been the President’s policies. We give him our best wisdom. We share with him our understanding. When I was intelligence director, we did our best to make sure that he had the facts and data available so he could make good decisions. But I don’t think any leader around the world should make any assumption that because some one of us departs, that President Trump’s foreign policy will change in a material way.

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: The one thing I would just say to follow up, because the President has been very clear on this: The President’s view of the Iraq War and Ambassador Bolton’s was very different. And the President has made that clear.

Yeah. Go ahead.

Q Mr. Secretary —

SECRETARY POMPEO: Sure. Way in the back. Yes, ma’am.

Q On Venezuela. Thank you so much, Mr. Secretary.

Q Are you no longer planning to impose tariffs on Mexico if they don’t continue with the immigration plan?

SECRETARY POMPEO: So we’re looking forward to our meeting with Foreign Minister Ebrard here in just a little bit. We’re going to talk about the progress that’s been made, which has been substantial and real and material, and has made America more secure.

But at the same time, we know there is still work to do and we’re going to talk about how best we can jointly deliver that. We are deeply appreciative of what the President of Mexico and the Foreign Minister have done to increase the capacity to deter migration into the United States. And you can see the numbers have improved substantially. But we also know, A, it needs to be sustained, and, B, we’ve still got real work to do.

Go ahead, Steven.

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: Yeah. You, yes.

Q Can I?

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: Yes.

Q On Venezuela, we know that Ambassador Bolton was trying to keep up the pressure in Venezuela (inaudible). And we know that Ambassador Bolton and President Trump disagreed on many things regarding to Venezuela. What can we expect now with the departure of Ambassador Bolton?

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: I think you know that the Treasury Department and the State Department have been incredibly active on sanctions. Everything we do in is consultation with the State Department. Again, we have a massive sanctions program that’s working.

But I would just add, we are concerned about the people there and what’s going on, the humanitarian crisis. And I know the Secretary has worked with their neighbors extensively.

Go ahead.

Q Is this national security team a mess?

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: Absolutely not. That’s the most ridiculous question I’ve ever heard of. So —

Q Well, you’ve had three national security advisors in three years. Three national security advisors in three years.

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: Let me just say, the national security team, which is what you asked, consists of the National Security Advisor, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, myself, the Chief of Staff, and many others. So —

Q Can you disagree with the President without the risk of being fired?

Q What is the way forward in Afghanistan now with (inaudible)?

SECRETARY POMPEO: I’m sorry. I’m sorry. We’ll take one more. Yes ma’am. In the red.

Q Thank you, sir.

SECRETARY POMPEO: Yes.

Q There were reports this week that the CIA had to pull a top Russian asset out because of concerns that his identity could be exposed. Under which administration was this source burned?. And is there currently an investigation into how his identity got leaked to the media?

SECRETARY POMPEO: Yeah, I’ve seen that reporting. The reporting is materially inaccurate. And you should know, as the former CIA Director, I don’t talk about things like this very often. It is only the occasions when there is something that I think puts people at risk, or the reporting is so egregious as to create enormous risk to the United States of America that I even comment in the way that I just did.

And I won’t say anything more about it. I know the CIA put out a statement. Suffice to say that the reporting there is factually wrong.

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: Thank you, everybody.

END 1:43 P.M. EDT

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