Earlier today President Donald Trump held a press availability to announce the list of names he would use to select the next Supreme Court nominee. [List Follows Transcript]  Additionally, President Trump delivered remarks on his response to COVID-19.

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[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much, my fellow Americans. Apart from matters of war and peace, the nomination of a Supreme Court justice is the most important decision an American President can make. For this reason, candidates for President owe the American people a specific list of the individuals they consider for the United States Supreme Court.

Four years ago, I announced my first list of highly qualified candidates and promised to fill Justice Scalia’s vacant seat from among — from among those names.

Just days after my inauguration, I kept that promise when I nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch. And, as you know, he has been very spectacular. A year later, I nominated and the Senate confirmed another outstanding justice, Brett Kavanaugh.

By the end of my first term, we will have confirmed a record number of federal judges — over 300 — all of whom will faithfully uphold our Constitution as written.

What has always made America exceptional is our reverence for the impartial rule of law. People have come here from all over the world to pursue the American Dream based on this sacred principle.

Equality under the law is the bedrock of our society. It is the principle that inspired American heroes to abolish slavery and end segregation, secure civil rights, and build the most free and just nation in history.

Unfortunately, there is a growing radical-left movement that rejects the principle of equal treatment under law. If this extreme movement is granted a majority on the Supreme Court, it will fundamentally transform America without a single vote of Congress.

Radical justices will erase the Second Amendment, silence political speech, and require taxpayers to fund extreme late-term abortion. They will give unelected bureaucrats that power to destroy millions of American jobs. They will remove the words “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance. They will unilaterally declare the death penalty unconstitutional, even for the most depraved mass murderers. They will erase national borders, cripple police departments, and grant new protections to anarchists, rioters, violent criminals, and terrorists.

In the recent past, many of our most treasured freedoms, including religious liberty, free speech, and the right to keep and bear arms, have been saved by a single vote on the United States Supreme Court. Our cherished rights are at risk, including the right to life and our great Second Amendment.

Over the next four years, America’s President will choose hundreds of federal judges, and, in all likelihood, one, two, three, and even four Supreme Court justices. The outcome of these decisions will determine whether we hold fast to our nation’s founding principles or whether they are lost forever.

That is why today I am announcing 20 additions to my original list of candidates for the United States Supreme Court. Should there be another vacancy on the Supreme Court during my presidency, my nominee will come from the names I have shared with the American public, including the original list and these 20 additions.

Joe Biden has refused to release his list, perhaps because he knows the names are so extremely far left that they could never withstand public scrutiny or receive acceptance.

He must release a list of justices for people to properly make a decision as to how they will vote. It is very important that he do so.

My original list of potential justices include many of our nation’s brightest legal minds, such as Bill Pryor, Amy Coney Barrett, and Thomas Hardiman. Outstanding people. Like those distinguished individuals, the 20 additions I am announcing today would be jurists in the mold of Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito.

Their names are as follows:

* Bridget Bade of Arizona, judge on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
* Daniel Cameron of Kentucky, Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Kentucky
* Paul Clement of Virginia, former Solicitor General of the United States
* Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas
* Senator Ted Cruz of Texas
* Stuart Kyle Duncan of Louisiana, judge on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
* Steven Engel of the District of Columbia, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel at the Department of Justice
* Noel Francisco, former Solicitor General of the United States
* Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri
* James Ho of Texas, judge on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
* Gregory Katsas of Virginia, judge on the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals
* Barbara Lagoa of Florida, judge on the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals
* Christopher Landau of Maryland, United States Ambassador to Mexico
* Carlos Muñiz of Florida, justice on the Supreme Court of Florida
* Martha Pacold of Illinois, judge on the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
* Peter Phipps of Pennsylvania, judge on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals
* Sarah Pitlyk of Missouri, judge on the District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
* Allison Jones Rushing of North Carolina, judge on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals
* Kate Todd of Virginia, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Counsel to the President
* Lawrence VanDyke of Nevada, judge on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

Every one of these individuals will ensure equal justice, equal treatment, and equal rights for citizens of every race, color, religion, and creed. Together, we will defend our righteous heritage and preserve our magnificent American way of life.

Thank you. God Bless America. Thank you very much. Thank you.

Q Mr. President, why did you intentionally downplay the —

Does anybody have any questions on the judges? Please.

Q I do, sir. Why did —

THE PRESIDENT: Anybody? On the judges? Excuse me. Any questions? They’re outstanding people. Very important decision.

Very important that Joe Biden put up potential nominees. I think it’s a very important thing for our country that he do that.

Okay? Please, go ahead. Do you have a question? Question?

Q Mr. President, have you spoken to these candidates?

Q Mr. President, can you address the concerns from the Woodward book in regards to whether — did you mislead the public by saying that you downplayed the coronavirus and that you repeatedly did that in order to reduce panic? Did you mislead the public?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think if you said “in order to reduce panic,” perhaps that’s so. The fact is, I’m a cheerleader for this country, I love our country, and I don’t want people to be frightened. I don’t want to create panic, as you say. And certainly, I’m not going to drive this country or the world into a frenzy.

We want to show confidence. We want to show strength. We want to show strength as a nation. And that’s what I’ve done. And we’ve done very well. We’ve done well from any standard. You look at our numbers, compared to other countries, other parts of the world. It’s been an amazing job that we’ve done.

I think it’s very sad, in many respects, because the incredible individuals working so hard on it, including our Vice President, they’ve done this great job. They haven’t been acknowledged by the news media — and they should — for the job we’ve done. Whether it’s ventilators — and now, you’ll see very soon, with vaccines and with therapeutics, the job we’ve done has been incredible.

Q But, Mr. President —

THE PRESIDENT: But we don’t want to — we don’t want to instill panic. We don’t want to jump up and down and start shouting that we have a problem that is a — a tremendous problem — scare everybody.

And I’ll tell you the other thing: We immediately started buying. All over the world, we started buying masks and gowns and everything else. And we don’t want to cause pricing to go up to a level that becomes almost unaffordable. So —

Q But, Mr. President —

THE PRESIDENT: Yeah, in that sense — so, in that sense, I agree with it.

Yeah, please.

Q Mr. President, how do you reassure the American public, going forward, that they can trust what you’re saying?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think that’s really a big part of trust. We have to have leadership. We have to show leadership. And the last thing you want to do is create a panic in the country. This was a horrible thing. It was sent to us by China. It should not have happened — should never have happened. This is a disgusting, terrible situation that was foisted upon us.

And we have to show — we just don’t want to use — the best word is “panic.” We don’t want to have to show panic. We’re not going to show panic. And that’s exactly what I did. And I was very open — whether it’s to Woodward or anybody else. It’s just another political hit job. But whether it was Woodward or anybody else, you cannot show a sense of panic or you’re going to have bigger problems than you ever had before.

Please.

Q Respectfully, sir, your comments amounted to more than trying to reduce panic, sir. On February 7th, you told Woodward —

THE PRESIDENT: Please, please.

Q — “It’s more deadly than [even] your strenuous flu.” But —

THE PRESIDENT: Excuse me, he’s — he’s going.

Q But then, publicly, you weren’t saying that at all.

THE PRESIDENT: Go ahead, please.

Q Look, Mr. President, don’t you think if you were more forthright with the American, more lives could have been saved? Do you take responsibility at all for some of the 200,000 deaths that we’ve had?

THE PRESIDENT: So, I think if we didn’t do what we did, we would have had millions of people die. We closed up our country. We closed it up very, very quickly, very effectively. We did a job. We learned about this horrible disease, along with the rest of the world, which had to learn about it. And then we opened it up. And now we know the vulnerable; we know who it attacks, who it’s so vicious against. And I think we’ve done, from every standpoint, a — a incredible job.

We shouldn’t have lost anybody. Nobody should have lost — China released something that they shouldn’t have been allowed to re- — they should not have released. It came out of China. It went to Europe. It went all over the world. It should have never happened. They could have stopped it. They stopped it from going into the remainder of China. It started in Wuhan, and they stopped it. But they didn’t stop it from coming to our country.

Now, we had to show calm. We had to show — you know, if it was up to you or whoever — I have no idea what he said in the book. And again, it’s a book that — I gave him some quotes and, frankly, we’ll see how the book turned out. I have no idea. You’re asking me questions for the first time.

But, again, the last thing we can show is panic or excitement or fear or anything else. We had to take care of the — we had to take care of the situation we were given.

Now, long before anybody else wanted to do it, I closed our borders to a very heavily infected China. If I didn’t do that, we would have had hundreds of thousands more people die. Dr. Fauci said it. Many people said it. It was a great decision. It was a decision I made and I had to make.

It was a decision that a lot of people thought I was wrong. Nancy Pelosi said I was wrong. Joe Bo- — Biden said I was wrong. They all came back, and they said it was the right decision. And I was way early. That was in January. The end of January, I did that.

So that was a very good thing we did. Otherwise, we would have had hundreds of thousands more. But if we didn’t close the country, we would have been talking about millions of people, instead of the numbers that we have right now.

Go ahead.

Q Mr. President, you mentioned that you were trying to avoid price gouging. But you mentioned to Bob Woodward that you recognized, as this virus spread through the air, in — on February 7th — you didn’t begin Project Air Bridge until March; you didn’t use the Defense Production Act until March; you didn’t start ramping up ventilator production until March.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I mean, you didn’t — you didn’t really think it was going to be to the point where it was. All of a sudden, the world was infected. The entire world was infected. Everyone was scrambling around, looking where to buy facemasks and all of the other things.

We’ve opened up factories. We’ve had tremendous success with facemasks and with shields and with the ventilators. We’re now supplying the rest of the world. We have all the ventilators we can use.

And remember this: The ventilators were very important. Not one person that needed a ventilator didn’t get it. And these are very complex, expensive machines to make. We opened up something like hadn’t been done since the Second World War. We — honestly, we’ve done a — an incredible job.

But we don’t want to run around, screaming, shouting, “Oh, look at this. Look at this.” We have to show leadership. And leadership is all about confidence. And confidence is confidence in our country.

And our people have been great. We’ve been put through a lot by China. By releasing this, by having this come here, we were put through a lot. They could have done something about it, and they chose not to.

I am very honored to have presented to you today a list of 20 incredible people. And we will talk later. I’m sure we’ll be meeting later in the day.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

END 3:59 P.M. EDT

Bridget Bade is a Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Prior to her appointment in 2019, Judge Bade was a United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Arizona and an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Arizona. Judge Bade served as a law clerk to Judge Edith H. Jones of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Judge Bade earned her B.A., summa cum laude, from Arizona State University and her J.D., cum laude, from Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.

Daniel Cameron is the 51st Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Before his election in 2019, Attorney General Cameron practiced law with Frost Brown Todd, LLC and served as Legal Counsel to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. He served as a law clerk to Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. Attorney General Cameron received his B.S. from the University of Louisville and his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law.

Tom Cotton is a United States Senator for the State of Arkansas. Prior to his election in 2014, Senator Cotton served as a Member in the United States House of Representatives and in the United States Army, rising to the rank of Captain while serving in both Iraq with the 101st Airborne and in Afghanistan with a Provincial Reconstruction Team. Prior to his military service, Senator Cotton practiced law at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP. Senator Cotton served as a law clerk to Judge Jerry Smith of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He received his A.B., magna cum laude, from Harvard College and his J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Paul Clement is a partner with Kirkland & Ellis, LLP. He previously served as Solicitor General of the United States and has argued over 100 cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. He served as a law clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court of the United States and Judge Laurence Silberman on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Mr. Clement received his B.S.F.S., summa cum laude, from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service; his M.Phil. from Cambridge University; and his J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School.

Ted Cruz is a United States Senator for the State of Texas. Prior to his election in 2012, Senator Cruz was a partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP and served as Solicitor General of Texas. Senator Cruz served as a law clerk to Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist on the Supreme Court of the United States and Judge J. Michael Luttig on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Senator Cruz received his A.B., cum laude, from Princeton University and his J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School.

Stuart Kyle Duncan is a Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Before his appointment in 2018, he was a partner at Schaerr Duncan, LLP and General Counsel of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. Earlier in his career, Judge Duncan served as Solicitor General of Louisiana. Judge Duncan served as a law clerk to Judge John M. Duhé, Jr., of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He received his B.A., summa cum laude, from Louisiana State University; his J.D. from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University; and his LL.M. from Columbia University Law School.

Steven Engel is the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel of the United States Department of Justice. Prior to his appointment in 2017, Mr. Engel was a partner with Dechert, LLP and previously served in the Office of Legal Counsel as Deputy Assistant Attorney General. Mr. Engel served as a law clerk to Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court of the United States and to Judge Alex Kozinski on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Mr. Engel earned his A.B., summa cum laude, from Harvard College; his M. Phil. from Cambridge University; and his J.D. from Yale Law School.

Noel Francisco is the former Solicitor General of the United States. Prior to his appointment in 2017, Mr. Francisco was a partner at Jones Day and served in the Office of Legal Counsel as Deputy Assistant Attorney General and as Associate Counsel to the President. Mr. Francisco served as a law clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court of the United States and Judge J. Michael Luttig on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Mr. Francisco received his B.A., with honors, from the University of Chicago and his J.D., with high honors, from the University of Chicago Law School.

Josh Hawley is a United States Senator for the State of Missouri. Prior to his election in 2018, Senator Hawley served as Attorney General of the State of Missouri, was an Associate Professor at the University of Missouri School of Law, and was an attorney with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. Senator Hawley served as a law clerk to Chief Justice John Roberts on the Supreme Court of the United States and Judge Michael McConnell on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. He received his B.A., with honors, from Stanford University and his J.D. from Yale Law School.

James Ho is a Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Prior to his appointment in 2018, Judge Ho was a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP and served as Solicitor General of Texas. Judge Ho clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court of the United States and Judge Jerry Smith of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He received his B.A., with honors, from Stanford University and his J.D., with high honors, from the University of Chicago Law School.

Gregory Katsas is a Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Prior to his appointment in 2017, Judge Katsas served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Counsel to the President. He was previously a partner at Jones Day and served in senior positions in the United States Department of Justice, including as Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division and Acting Associate Attorney General. Judge Katsas served as a law clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas, both at the Supreme Court of the United and the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and to Judge Edward Becker of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Judge Katsas earned his A.B., cum laude, from Princeton University and his J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School.

Barbara Lagoa is a Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Before her appointment in 2019, Judge Lagoa was a Justice on the Supreme Court of Florida. She also served as District Judge on the Florida Third District Court of Appeal and as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. Judge Lagoa earned her B.A., cum laude, from Florida International University and her J.D. from Columbia Law School.

Christopher Landau is the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the United Mexican States. Prior to his appointment in 2019, Ambassador Landau was a partner with Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP and, before that, headed the Appellate Litigation Practice Group at Kirkland & Ellis, LLP. Ambassador Landau served as a law clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas, both on the Supreme Court of the United States and the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and to Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court of the United States. He received his A.B., summa cum laude, from Harvard College and his J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School.

Carlos Muñiz is a Justice on the Supreme Court of Florida. Prior to his appointment in 2019, Justice Muñiz served as General Counsel to the United States Department of Education and in various positions in the Florida State government, including as Deputy Attorney General and Chief of Staff to Attorney General Pam Bondi. Justice Muñiz served as a law clerk to Judge Jose Cabranes on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and to Judge Thomas Flannery on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Justice Muñiz received his B.A., with high honors, from the University of Virginia and his J.D. from Yale Law School.

Martha Pacold is a Judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Prior to her appointment in 2019, Judge Pacold served as both Deputy General Counsel of the Department of the Treasury. Earlier in her career, Judge Pacold was a partner at Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott, LLP and served as Counsel to the Attorney General at the United States Department of Justice. Judge Pacold served as a law clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court of the United States, to Judge Jay Bybee of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and to Judge A. Raymond Randolph of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Judge Pacold earned her B.A., with highest distinction, from Indiana University, and her J.D., with honors, from the University of Chicago Law School.

Peter Phipps is a Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Prior to his elevation in 2019, Judge Phipps served as United States District Judge for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Before taking the bench, Judge Phipps served as Senior Trial Counsel in the Federal Programs Branch of the Civil Division at the United States Department of Justice. Judge Phipps served as a law clerk to Judge R. Guy Cole, Jr., of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He earned both his B.S. and his B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Dayton and his J.D. from Stanford Law School.

Sarah Pitlyk is a Judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. Prior to her appointment in 2019, Judge Pitlyk was Special Counsel at the Thomas More Society and in private practice at Clark & Sauer, LLC. Ms. Pitlyk served as a law clerk to then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She received her B.A., summa cum laude, from Boston College; her M.A.’s from Georgetown University and the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium; and her J.D. from Yale Law School.

Allison Jones Rushing is a Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Prior to her appointment in 2019, Judge Rushing was a partner at Williams & Connolly, LLP. Judge Rushing clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court of the United States, Judge David Sentelle on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and then-Judge Neil Gorsuch on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Judge Rushing earned her B.A., summa cum laude, from Wake Forest University and her J.D., magna cum laude, from Duke University School of Law.

Kate Todd is Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Counsel to the President. Before her appointment in 2019, she served as Senior Vice President and Chief Counsel of the United States Chamber Litigation Center and as a partner at what was previously Wiley Rein & Fielding, LLP. Ms. Todd served as a law clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court of the United States and Judge J. Michael Luttig of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Ms. Todd earned her B.A., with distinction, from Cornell University and her J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School.

Lawrence VanDyke is a Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Prior to his appointment earlier this year, Judge VanDyke served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the United States Department of Justice. Earlier in his career, Judge VanDyke served as both Solicitor General of Nevada and Solicitor General of Montana. Judge VanDyke served as a law clerk to Judge Janice Rogers Brown of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He earned his B.S., with highest honors, from Montana State University; his B.Th., summa cum laude, from Bear Valley Bible Institute; and his J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School.

♦President Trump’s foreign policy approach brought North and South Korea together away from the table of conflict.  ♦President Trump’s foreign policy approach brought Serbia and Kosovo together away from the table of conflict.  ♦President Trump’s foreign policy rallied the Gulf Cooperation Council to stop Qatar’s support for Islamic extremists via the Muslim Brotherhood. ♦President Trump’s foreign policy brought Turkey and the Kurdish forces together away from war and conflict.  ♦President Trump’s foreign policy created a ceasefire to stop the bloodshed in Syria.  President Trump mediated a cessation of hostilities between India & Pakistan in the Kashmir region. ♦President Trump’s foreign policy brought Israel and the UAE together…

These are just a few examples of Trump’s effective doctrine; previously Moon Jae-in said President Trump deserved the Nobel Peace Prize; and yet leftist jaws are agape as he is nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2021.

(Jerusalem Post) US President Donald Trump was nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in reaching the agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Fox News reported on Wednesday morning.

Christian Tybring-Gjedde, a member of the Norwegian parliament and head of the Norwegian delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, submitted the nomination.

Tybring-Gjedde had previously submitted a nomination for Trump to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018 for his Singapore summit, which hosted Kim Jong Un.

“For his merit, I think he has done more trying to create peace between nations than most other Peace Prize nominees,” Tybring-Gjedde told Fox News.

“It is for his contribution for peace between Israel and the UAE,” Tybring-Gjedde, a member of parliament for the right-wing Progress Party, told Reuters. “It is a unique deal.”

In addition to the Israel-UAE deal, the nomination letter to the Nobel Committee cited Trump’s “key role in facilitating contact between conflicting parties… such as the Kashmir border dispute between India and Pakistan, and the conflict between North and South Korea.”  (read more)

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany holds a press briefing from the Brady press room of the White House. Anticipated start time 12:00pm ET. [Livestream Links Below]

WH Livestream Link – RSBN Livestream Link – Fox Business Livestream

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Tonight President Donald J. Trump heads to a MAGA campaign event at Smith-Reynolds Regional Airport in Winston-Salem, NC. The anticipated start time is 7:00pm ET with pre-rally events ongoing. Livestream links below:

Trump Campaign Livestream – RSBN Livestream Link – Fox News Campaign Livestream

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President Trump will deliver remarks on the success of the White House support for Florida environmental projects from the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse & Museum.  The anticipated start time is 3:00pm ET.  Livestream Links Below:

UPDATE: Video and Transcript Added:

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[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you very much. And I’m thrilled to be back at the historic Jupiter Inlet. I know it very well. Don’t live very far away, as you know. The lighthouse. It’s my home state; it’s called the state of Florida, and it’s a great state. Hello, Ed. (Applause.)

Sit down. Do you have seats? Yeah, you do. Sit down, everybody.

The Sunshine State is truly one of the most beautiful places on Earth. I love it. And together we will preserve its breathtaking natural splendor for generations to come.

We’re here today to celebrate our incredible record of natural conservation and environmental protection. Over the last four years, I’ve been working with your both governors, your last governors, your current governor; he’s fantastic, by the way. And we’ve been working very, very hard. (Applause.) We’ve been working very hard together to make sure everything is perfect — and to recommit ourselves to preserving the awesome majesty of God’s great creation.

Joining us in the wonderful support effort of that mission is Secretary of the Interior, a man who has worked so hard on this: David Bernhardt. Thank you very much, David. (Applause.) Thank you.

And EPA Administrator, a very powerful man. When he says you can do it, you do it. When he says you can’t, it’s over with; you don’t have a chance. Andrew Wheeler. Thank you, Andrew. (Applause.) Thank you. Great job.

And, of course, your governor, Ron DeSantis, who’s run — not only did he run a great campaign; he’s a great governor. (Applause.) Thanks, Ron. What a great job. What a great job he did. Of course, we’ll let you know on November 3rd. I’ll let you know if he did a good job, okay? (Laughter.)

Also, I want to introduce Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Núñez, who’s been such a fantastic friend and supporter. Thank you very much, Jeanette. (Applause.)

And one of the great attorney generals anywhere in the country, Ashley Moody. Ashley, thank you. (Applause.) Thank you very much.

Florida CFO, Jimmy Patronis. (Applause.) Jimmy. Thank you, Jimmy. Great job.

A man who everybody loves; he’s highly respected in Washington; he’s a great senator: Lindsey Graham, South Carolina. (Applause.) Thank you, Lindsey. Great job.

Representatives Gus Bilirakis. Where’s Gus? Gus. How are you, Gus? Thank you very much. Great job you’re doing. We have a lot of good ones here. We have warriors. I call them “my warriors.” That’s what they are. And, Gus, the job you’ve done.

And Matt Gaetz. Where’s Matt? Where is Matt? (Applause.) Where is Matt? That’s not a very good location for you, Matt. (Laughter.) That’s — I’m used to having you sitting right up here. What’s going on? That’s good. Matt Gaetz.

Brian Mast. Brian? (Applause.) Fantastic guy. Thank you, Brian.

They are our warriors. You see what they do? They have to fight Pelosi, Schumer. They have to fight all these characters, and they do very well in the fights. We want them on our side.

Greg Steube. Greg, thank you very much. Great job. Great job this morning. I watched.

Bill Posey. Bill. Bill Posey. Thank you, Bill. (Applause.)

Michael Waltz. Michael. (Applause.) Fantastic, Michael.

And Ted Yoho. They’ve actually become my friends, actually. Ted, thank you very much. Great. Great. Where is Ted? Great, Ted. Thank you very much. Great job.

And from South Carolina, State Representative Nancy Mace, who’s got a very important race where I think you’re doing very well. (Applause.) I think you’re doing very well, from what I hear, right? You got to win that one. That’s an important one. We’re behind you a thousand percent. You know that, right?

As well as mayor of Miami-Dade County, Carlos Gimenez. Where is Carlos? (Applause.) Carlos, great.

I want to thank you all for being here.

My administration is proving every day that we can improve our environment while creating millions of high-paying jobs. This is a really sharp contrast to the extreme, radical left that you’ve had to deal with. And what you’re doing right now is a lot better than anything you’ve ever been accustomed to, I will tell you that.

Joe Biden’s plan would destroy America’s middle class while giving a free pass to the world’s worst foreign polluters like China, Russia, India, and many others. They don’t have to clean up their lands, but we have to clean up ours.

The left’s agenda isn’t about protecting the environment, it’s about punishing America, and that’s true. Instead of focusing on radical ideology, my administration is focused on delivering real results, and that’s what we have. And we right now have the cleanest air we’ve ever had in this country, let’s say over the last 40 years — (applause) — because I assume 200 years ago is probably better. What do you think? I would say that. What do you think, fellas?

So I do want to preface that because the fake news is back there. When I say “the cleanest air we’ve ever had,” over a 40- year period, Lindsey. Is that okay? A couple of hundred years ago, I would imagine it was pretty good, right?

To safeguard our stunning coastal areas, I signed legislation authorizing $100 million to fight the red tide and toxic algae. (Applause.) And to preserve the Everglades and defend Florida from catastrophic flooding — you know about the flooding; we’ve spent a lot of money on flooding and a lot of money on hurricanes. And when you governors came to me and they said, “Can we have this? Can we have that? We need some more for the Panhandle,” they said. “We have to help the Panhandle.” I said, “Without question and without any weight. Let’s go.” Right? That’s what we said. (Applause.) You’ve never had it so easy in your life. (Laughs.)

He’d walk into my office and say, “Sir, just one more.” “How much is it going to cost?” “How about an extra billion?”

PARTICIPANT: Your staff wasn’t happy.

THE PRESIDENT: Yeah, my staff wasn’t too thrilled. That’s right. (Laughter.) We hadto override the staff a couple of times.

We’ve directed over a half a billion dollars to fix the Herbert Hoover Dike and Lake Okeechobee. Lake Okeechobee. (Applause.) We fixed it up good, Mr. Mayor. We did a good job. Did a good job.

We will now compete with this project. And we’re way ahead. You know, we are way ahead — about three years, I think, ahead of schedule from what the original time of completion was going to be. And I’m, in particular, happy with what we’ve done on Lake Okeechobee. I know it well. I know it well. (Applause.)

Everyone said that one couldn’t be done, Ron. You know that, right? They said it would never happen. “You’ll never get it funded.” It’s a big deal, and it’s all gotten done, including the tide is gone; it will be gone, finally, from all the problems that we’ve had with it.

We’ve expanded funding for the Everglades restoration by over 55 percent compared to four years ago. And I also want to thank the Army Corps of Engineers for their vital work on the C-44 Reservoir and the help — they are unbelievable. One thing, when they build it — (applause) — I said, “You know, you could — you could do it a little bit less expensive than that. The walls don’t have to be seven feet thick; they could be like two feet thick.” But, you know, when the Army Corps of Engineers do it, they do it right. That’s one thing I can tell you.

We’re building the wall — the wall along Mexico, between Mexico and the United States. We’re over 300 miles now of wall, and that’s a serious wall. (Applause.) That’s a wall that’s meant to last and meant to work.

But that’ll help revitalize the wetlands in the St. Lucie River estuary and the Indian River Lagoon. (Applause.) Whoa, that’s pretty good. We hit home with that one, huh?

But today I have a very important announcement. I don’t know if it’s bigger than the things we just announced or the things that we’ve already done or we’re in the process of completing. In a few moments, I will sign a presidential order extending the moratorium on offshore drilling on Florida’s Gulf Coast and expanding it to Florida’s Atlantic Coast, as well as the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina. (Applause.)

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Four more years! (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. I guess you like that one the best of all.

This action follows close consultation with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis — he’s been unbelievable; Florida Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott — they’ve worked so hard; as well as South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott. Lindsey, thank you.

Lindsey liked the idea right from the beginning. I said, “What do you think?” It took you — how long? — about two seconds to say, “I like it.”

The governor of South Carolina — a great man and a really great governor — Henry McMaster. (Applause.)

And I also want to thank the governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, who’s doing a fantastic job. (Applause.)

And a senator who, from the day one — from day one, he’s been with me, Senator David Perdue. Georgia. (Applause.)

And Senator Kelly Loeffler and Congressman Doug Collins and South Carolina State Representative Nancy Mace. Again, I want to thank you all. Incredible. (Applause.)

Thanks to my administration’s pro-American energy policies, we can take this step and the next step while remaining the number-one producer of oil and natural gas anywhere in the world. We’re the largest producer now in the world, by far. We’re number one in the world, and we are energy independent, which is a nice sound. (Applause.)

With fracking, the shale revolution, and the tremendous surge in American energy production, we’re showing that we can create jobs, safeguard the environment, and keep energy prices low for America and low for our citizens. And you see that. And you also see it when you pump the gas into your car and you’re paying sometimes a lot less than 2 dollars lately, right? So we’re doing well.

And we have so much of it. I don’t know — we got more than everybody — anybody ever thought possible, right? It’s really incredible what’s happened.

The approach of Joe Biden and the radical left is exactly the opposite. Their policies will destroy jobs; cause energy prices to double and triple and quadruple, to skyrocket beyond belief; and the environment will be badly hurt. If you go by that, badly, badly hurt. It’ll be injured and permanently injured. And very importantly, they’ll take away our energy independence, and they’ll do it quickly, and they won’t even know what happened to them. We’re dealing with some smart customers; they know exactly what to do. And they don’t like it when we’re energy independent. They don’t like it at all.

So it’s been a really amazing thing for Florida, from the environmental standpoint and, I have to tell you, from the energy standpoint and from a very important level of cost. You’re at a level of costs now with your electric and with so many other things caused and created by energy and fuel, the likes of which you haven’t seen in 30 years.

As President, I’ll defend our environment. I’ll defend our workers and our cherished way of life. Last month, I signed the Great American Outdoors Act, the most significant investment in our national parks in over a century — (applause) — since Teddy Roosevelt. Teddy Roosevelt.

You know, they came to my office — a lot of the senators that I just introduced, and Ron, and everybody — they came to my office. They said that “This will make us and make you the number one environmental President since Teddy Roosevelt.” I said, “Huh, that sounds good.” Because I wasn’t going to do it. I figured, “You know, let’s not do it.” But when they said that, that was like a challenge. (Laughter.)

So I said, “Well, why does it only have to go back to Teddy Roosevelt, which is over 100 years? Why can’t we say from George Washington, right from the beginning?” They said, “Well, we’re not quite there yet.” But one other bill like this, we’ll will be there, Lindsey. You know that, right? (Applause.)

But it’s true: number one since Teddy Roosevelt. Who would have thought Trump is the great environmentalist? Do you hear that, Ed? Do you hear that? (Applause.) That’s good. And I am. I am. I believe strongly in it.

Through this legislation, we’re providing nearly $10 billion for long-delayed maintenance projects in our national parks. And Florida has helped as much as anybody and maybe more.

My administration has fully or partially cleaned up 61 EPA Superfund pollution sites that were rotting all over our country — far more than Obama and Biden — no matter how far you go back, more than any administration.

Since my inauguration, we’ve recovered more endangered or threatened species than any other administration has accomplished in its first term.

Earlier this year, I announced that the United States would join the One Trillion Trees Initiative. We already have 1 billion trees pledged to be planted, and it’s moving very rapidly.

We’ve opened land and expanded access to over 4 million acres of public lands for hunting and fishing, including over 200,000 acres in Florida. My sons will be very happy to hear that. (Applause.)

As the last administration pursued its globalist agenda abroad — they were all over the place. They were everywhere but here, in our country. They were taking care of other lands. You — countries that you never heard of, they were taking care of, and they didn’t do a good job there either. They neglected the fundamentals of public health right here in the United States, right here in our home.

My administration is focused on ensuring crystal clean air and water. Under my administration, we’ve seen a significant drop in air pollution since 2017 — a very significant drop, for the first time in nearly 30 years. (Applause.)

We are strengthening standards to prevent vulnerable children from being exposed to lead and copper in drinking water, including in our schools. They were exposed to lead and copper in drinking water. We’ve done some job with that; that was an important one.

And we’ve invested over $38 billion in drinking water infrastructure to care for our children. I’m committed to ensuring the United States has the cleanest air and cleanest water on Earth.

The contrast between our vision and the radical left has never been more clear. They talk a big game and they do nothing. That’s really what it is, too: They talk and talk. The environment — they talk and talk, nothing happens. It’s all talk. (Applause.) It’s all words and no action. You ever hear that?

To our political opponents, environmental policy is just an excuse to advance a socialist platform that will impose trillions and trillions of dollars in new taxes, and send our jobs overseas, making it impossible to open up new companies and to live less expensively.

Your energy costs would be four, five — sometimes even under scenarios, 10 times more expensive. And really, you wouldn’t even have energy.

To my administration, environmental protection is a sacred obligation, and so it is our duty to fight for the dreams and livelihoods of the citizens we serve — and to the citizens of Florida that I know so well and that I love. This is my home. This is my home. (Applause.)

We’re rapidly restoring the greatest economy in history. We created the greatest economy in the history of our country. And then we had to close it up when the China plague came in. We closed it up. We saved millions of lives. We banned highly-infected China from coming in. It was highly infected. The people were highly infected — Wuhan province. We banned them. Nobody said, “Do it.” Everybody said I shouldn’t do it. Biden said, “Don’t do it.” Three months later, he admitted I was right.

But we banned people; we would have lost hundreds of thousands more. But we would have lost millions if we didn’t close it up. And now we open it up, and we’re setting records at every single level.

So we’re maintaining that pristine — (applause) — resource of beautiful, clean environment at every single community in Florida and all over the country. We’ll always defend the Everglades, and we will always safeguard the magnificent Florida coastline. We’ll expand access for fishermen and sportsmen, we’ll uphold your right to hunt, and we will protect your right to keep and bear arms — your Second Amendment. (Applause.)

And I can tell you this: If Joe Biden gets in, he’ll have no — nothing to say about it. He’s not — let’s face it, Joe is shot. (Laughter.) If Joe Biden gets in, your Second Amendment is gone. It’s gone — either obliterated to a point of being gone or gone itself. Okay? It — you will not have a Second Amendment.

And the pressure put on me in the last four years to make massive changes to the Second Amendment, which would have really rendered it worthless — Ron knows. Ron knows. The pressure put on me — very few people would have been able to withstand that pressure. They would have made big, big cuts and big changes. Your Second Amendment will remain powerful, will remain strong, will remain with you. (Applause.)

We will re-shore our critical supply chains, and we will bring back jobs and factories from China and other foreign polluters.

In everything we do, we’ll be guided by our love of this state, its people, and its priceless, natural treasures. It’s a great state. From its breathtaking beaches to its shimmering bays; from its vast marshes — all those beautiful marshes and marshlands; to its wild forests, there is truly no place on Earth like the great state of Florida. (Applause.)

And I — I can tell you, I am so happy to have helped. Because when I was first elected, you had things that were in such bad shape, and now they’re fixed or being fixed at a cost of a lot of money. But they’re either fixed or being fixed, and soon they’ll be in better condition than they were the day they were built, which was many, many decades ago. We have things that were built a long time ago that were in a state of disrepair that you wouldn’t believe.

As long as I am President of the United States, we will conserve this wondrous national inheritance. From Key West to Key Biscayne, from Tampa to Tallahassee, from the Pensacola — beautiful Pensacola. I love Pensacola. I think it was 97 percent; that’s one of the reasons I like them. (Laughter.) They said, “How’d you do in Pensal- — Pensacola?” I said, “Was that — maybe 95, 97?” Right up there, so that helps. It’s amazing how that can help, isn’t it? Right here to Jupiter, which I know very well. And we’ll preserve this glorious land for our children, for our grandchildren, and for every generation of American to come.

And I will now sign this order. It’s an order that does so much for the state of Florida. It’s an order that I’m so proud to sign. I’ve been talking about this with Ron and with all of the people I’ve mentioned for a long time. And I said, “We want to get it done.” And this protects your beautiful gulf and your beautiful ocean, and it will for a long time to come.

So congratulations to Florida and Georgia and South Carolina and, frankly, North Carolina. But I want to just thank everybody for being here, and this is a true honor for me to sign this order. Thank you very much. Thank you. (Applause.)

(The order is signed.)

Thank you very much.
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, everybody.

END 3:22 P.M. EDT

White House Livestream Link – Fox News Livestream Link – Alternate Livestream

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An interesting article in the Miami Herald highlights increased support within the Miami-Dade Latino community for President Trump’s re-election. The article is based around a local poll conducted September 1 through 4, and notes two-thirds of Spanish speaking respondents support President Trump.

This is an important statistical development within Florida as the current ground reporting indicates President Trump has actually gained significant support since 2016 in the Miami-Dade community.  Democrats need to depend on Joe Biden running-up the vote total in Miami-Dade county because the rest of the state is more favorable to Trump.

Hillary Clinton won Florida Latinos by 27 points; currently Joe Biden is only leading by 16 points. One important factor for Florida is the number of Puerto Rican residents that came into the state after Hurricane Maria, many still remain.  Puerto Ricans skew heavily toward the dependency left outlook; however, the scale of corruption in the aftermath of Maria has revealed the consistent outcome of socialist government.

The Miami Herald article is heavily tilted to favor leftist perspectives and support Biden. However, the underlying information within the article is very good news for President Trump and his supporters.

Miami Herald – […] Trump’s gains among Miami-Dade’s Hispanic voters are due in large part to his success in winning over Cuban-Americans, who in 2016 remained somewhat leery of him following his primary defeat of Miami’s Cuban-American U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio. Since becoming president, Trump has paid several visits to Miami to talk about socialism, including his 2017 trip to Little Havana to sign a presidential memo toughening the federal government’s stance on Cuba’s communist government. He also chose Miami for the launch of his Latinos for Trump campaign coalition, featuring Florida’s Cuban-American Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez as co-chairwoman.

Mercedes Schlapp, a Cuban-American from Miami and senior adviser to the Trump campaign, said she is “not surprised” by the popularity of Trump’s “pro-worker, anti-socialism record.” She referred to Biden’s campaign as an “unmitigated arroz con mango” — a sticky situation — “of leftist policies and alliances” with politicians such as Democratic socialist U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.

[…] “There’s still time,” said Amandi. “But the idea that you would want to start with less support than in previous cycles in a county instrumental to the Democrats’ chances of capturing Florida is reason, I think, for concern.” (read more)

Maximo Alvarez is a Cuban immigrant whose family fled totalitarianism from both Cuba and Spain. During the RNC convention Mr. Alvarez spoke directly about candidate Joe Biden and the Democrats’ dangerous slide towards socialism and the far left. Mr. Alvarez knows personally how President Trump is fighting to keep the American dream alive.

A powerful and emotional message directly from the heart:

“There’s nowhere else to go”…

Red States, Blue States, Red Regions and Blue Regions present an incredible disparity within our republic; I’m curious what is the current status of the COVID lifestyle near you. What is going on in/around your town, city, region or hamlet?

Having traveled extensively during this COVID crisis it is quite amazing the scale of difference between cities and states. The media has been reporting in large generic terms, but the stuff that matters is how it impacts your life; your daily function. That’s what we are all interested in.

Right now those who wish to “fundamentally change” our nation are waging a full frontal assault against our constitutional republic. The bombardment seems overwhelming.

It is remarkable how different life amid COVID is within each state, even when two states are right next to each other; and often even between two cities within the same state.

…So how is it your area?

In order to support the most important political objectives of the DNC writ large in the 2020 election, COVID-19 hype is essential:

♦Without COVID-19 panic Democrats cannot easily achieve ‘mail-in’ voting; which they desperately need in key battleground states in order to control the outcome.

♦Without COVID-19 panic Democrats cannot shut down rallies and political campaigning efforts of President Trump; which they desperately need to do in key battleground states.

♦Without COVID-19 panic Democrats cannot block the campaign contrast between an energetic President Trump and a physically tenuous, mentally compromised, challenger.

♦Without COVID-19 panic Democrats do not have a mechanism to keep voters isolated from each-other; limiting communication and national debate adverse to their interests. COVID-19 panic pushes the national conversation into the digital space where Big Tech controls every element of the conversation.

♦Without COVID-19 panic Democrats cannot keep their Blue state economies easily shut-down and continue to block U.S. economic growth. All thriving economies are against the political interests of Democrats.

♦Without COVID-19 panic Democrats cannot easily keep club candidate Joe Biden heavily controlled and sealed inside the bubble; where the electorate is not exposed to visible signs of his dementia.

♦Without COVID-19 panic it becomes more difficult for Big Tech to censor voices that would outline the fraud and scheme. With COVID-19 panic they have a better method and an excuse.

♦Without COVID-19 panic Democrats cannot advance, influence, or organize their preferred presidential debate format, a ‘virtual presidential debate’ series.

♦Without COVID-19 panic the economy would rebound quickly and people would go back to work.  This is against the interests of Democrats.

All of these, and more, strategic outcomes are based on the manufactured weaponization of the COVID-19 virus to achieve a larger political objective. There is ZERO benefit to anyone other than Democrats for the overwhelming hype surrounding COVID-19.

It is not coincidental that all corporate media are all-in to facilitate the demanded fear that Democrats need in order to achieve their objectives. Thus there is an alignment of all big government institutions and multinationals to support the same.

Nothing is coincidental.

Everything is political.

Every second that you live your life with thankfulness for the abundance within it; every moment that we CHOOSE to engage with fellowship; every day that we accept guidance from God – however you define him to be; and every moment we cherish this time to be a beacon of optimism; is a moment that we withstand that barrage and hold the flag in place.   It is a genuinely patriotic position not to succumb to the attack.

We must withstand this onslaught and rally to the origin of our true national spirit. We must rally to a standard of Americanism and accept this is not that. In essence, we must individually take a stand. Purposefully, deliberately and with forethought, we must engage those around us to get rid of this sense of foreboding.

This approach is how we win the larger battle.

All around us, in every tribe and region, there are people who need you to show them the strength that you have. Strength of spirit. Strength of fellowship that you will not relent from expressing. No matter what noise is shouting from the loudspeakers we must withstand it; we must make eye contact and remain joyful. We cannot allow despair to be the status quo.

Our MAGA message is optimistic; and we must fight against any tendency to allow the leftist hatred and scheme against our American value system to impact delivery of that message…  #Trump2020