U.S. Attorney General nominee William Barr has been confirmed by the senate.  The vote was 54-45 with three democrats voting to support Barr: Kyrsten Sinema (AZ), Doug Jones (AL) and Joe Manchin (WV); with one republican, senator Rand Paul (KY), voting against the nomination.

Now that he is confirmed Barr is officially supervising the special counsel probe of Robert Mueller.  It is also likely that after a transition period Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein will depart.

One of Barr’s responsibilities will be to determine what, if anything, to tell congress about the Mueller probe once it is completed.  Perhaps the best way to think about the Mueller report is to think about your local police department (detective or DA) doing an investigation on a subject and completing that task.

At the conclusion of the inquiry, perhaps using a grand jury, if there is no determination of criminal wrongdoing – the investigator does not outline the investigation in a report to the general public.

The basic premise behind this standard process is simple.  Everyone is innocent unless they can be proven to be guilty.

If everyone who was ever investigated had the internal investigative material made public it would be profoundly unfair to the target.  It would be even more unfair if the investigator was allowed to frame a public report, with their own internal biases and innuendo, in lieu of their ability to find criminal wrongdoing.

Now amplify that simple fairness issue x 1,000 and consider how severely political federal investigators might produce such a document against their opposition.  It is easy to see how such a report can be weaponized for political benefit.  The weaponization and benefit is the goal of the current Democrat leadership.

However, specifically to address these issues, and in an attempt to remove the political weaponization possible within the special counsel statute, the DOJ framed the ending of a special counsel investigation such that a summary of investigative finding is delivered to the U.S. Attorney General, who then puts out a public statement (of sorts) describing the conclusion (the finding).

(WaPo) […] The special-counsel regulations call for Mueller to provide the attorney general with a “confidential report” explaining who he did and did not decide to prosecute, and for Barr to notify Congress of the investigation’s end and of any steps Mueller wanted to take that were vetoed.

The regulations give Barr some latitude to release information publicly, though Barr noted at his confirmation hearing that under normal circumstances, prosecutors would not reveal information about those they choose not to charge. (more)

Pelosi, Schumer and the Democrats do not want William Barr to be able to write a summary, a public statement, based on the report delivered to him by Robert Mueller.

Instead, the Democrats want the report from Mueller, including all the investigative trails that were exhausted, so they can exploit aspects of the inquiry that were not able to be proven.  That allows them to weaponize “innuendo” and “possibility” for political benefit.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman appears on Fox News to discuss the border security funding bill.  Senator Graham urges President Trump to accept the deal that is presented and move on.

Earlier today President Donald Trump delivered a speech to a conference of Major County Sheriffs and Police Chiefs. [Video and Transcript]

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[Transcript] 3:21 P.M. EST – THE PRESIDENT: I have a lot of friends in this room. Thank you. That’s a very fancy-looking table. A lot of very powerful people sitting around that table. Thank you very much, everybody. And thank you, Sheriff Judd — a friend of mine for a long time — for those kind words and for your outstanding leadership of the Major County Sheriffs of America. That’s an important group of words. Done an incredible job.

I also want to thank your Vice President, Sheriff Peter Koutoujian, as well as the leaders of the Major Cities Chiefs Association, and Houston Police Chief, Art Acevedo. Where’s Art? What a job you’ve done, Art. I’m proud of you. Thank you, Art, very much. Appreciate it. And Phoenix Chief, Jeri Williams. Where’s Jeri? Stand up. Stand up, Jeri. Great job. Thank you, Jeri. (Applause.)

We’re grateful to be joined as well by Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker. Matt? (Applause.) Fantastic, Matt. They all appreciate the job you’ve done. And so do I, Matt, very much. Thank you very much.

It’s an honor to address so many amazing police chiefs, and sheriffs, and superintendents from our nation’s largest cities and counties. Together, you represent hundreds of thousands of extraordinary law enforcement officials and personnel all across our nation. I’ve come to deliver a very important message from the American people to you: Thank you.

That’s their message. (Applause.)

And I think — I have to say this: You have no idea how much the American people love and respect you. You don’t hear it. You probably don’t hear too much when you have to read it from the fake news. But they love you. They love you and they respect you, and they really appreciate everything you do. So on behalf of the American people, I thank you all.

And I want to thank you for what you do in defending our streets and keeping America safe. You and the officers have just done an incredible job. And you love what you do. You wouldn’t trade it for anything. I know very few people in your profession that would want to do anything else. They love it. Right? Look at them; they’re all nodding, “Yes. Yes.” You wouldn’t want to switch with me, either. (Laughter.)

It’s true. You love what you do. And if you don’t love it — I used to talk about success all the time. If you don’t love it, you can never do it well; you’ll never be successful. And that’s one of the reasons you do it so well.

When I took office two years ago, one of my highest priorities was to reduce violent crime. In the two years before my inauguration, violent crime increased by 8 percent nationwide, and murders were up by more than 20 percent.

The cornerstone of our strategy is revitalizing one of the most effective crime reduction initiatives in history: Project Safe Neighborhoods. This program brings together law enforcement, community groups, and local leaders to get the most violent offenders, in the most dangerous areas, off our streets and put them behind bars as quickly and easily as possible.

Last year, we secured $50 million in funding Project Safe Neighborhoods, and I’m proud to announce that we are asking Congress for even more funding this year. And we’ll get it.

We’ve deployed nearly 200 new violent crime prosecutors across our country. In 2018, my administration prosecuted more violent criminals than ever before in the history of our country. And we’ve increased the average sentence for drug trafficking to its highest level in many years.

Through the combined effort of everyone here today, violent crime is now going down for the first time in a long while. Murders in America’s largest cities dropped by 6 percent compared to 2016.

The police departments here today have provided us with new homicide data showing steep declines over the last two years, including an estimated reduction of 16 percent in New Orleans, 27 percent in Newark, and 30 percent in Milwaukee. That’s great. Three places — that’s a great job you’re doing in those three places, especially.

In my administration, we understand that reducing crime begins with respecting law enforcement. We will not tolerate smears, or slanders, or assaults on those who wear the badge and police our streets.

In order to keep every American safe, we are making officer safety a top priority — unless you’d rather not have that. (Applause.) Unless you’d rather not have it. But if you want it, we’re doing it. And I know you want it.

In support of that goal, more than $600 million worth of surplus military equipment has been made available to law enforcement. This is equipment that was rotting. The best stuff, but rotting in warehouses that a past administration didn’t want you to have. Someday they’ll explain that one to me. I actually have heard the reasoning, but you’re getting it and it’s coming in droves. And as we get additional equipment, we send it out to our great police.

When an officer is hurt, it is a wound inflicted upon our entire nation. In my administration, we strongly believe that criminals who murder cops should get the death penalty.

Every day — (applause) — our law enforcement officers risk their lives to defend the lives of others.

One week ago, Milwaukee Officer Matthew Rittner was murdered as he led a drug raid. Last night, NYPD Detective Brian Simonsen tragically lost his life when he responded to an armed robbery. We grieve the loss of these great heroes. Our hearts go out to their families and to everyone in the NYPD and Milwaukee Law Enforcement community. We will never forget them.

Tomorrow is also the one-year anniversary of the horrific Parkland shooting. We cannot imagine the sorrow and suffering the Parkland families have endured. Our entire nation mourns for the victims and their loved ones, and we pledge our unwavering resolve to work with the leaders in this room to secure our nation’s schools and everywhere else.

We enacted the Fix NICS Act and the STOP School Violence Act, which gives grants to schools and law enforcement to improve safety.

My administration also formed a School Safety Commission that recently released its official report, which includes nearly 100 detailed recommendations that really work and really make sense, based on input from families, educators, mental health practitioners, and law enforcement. Now we must work together to turn these recommendations into reality. They’re really good recommendations. A lot of common sense in those recommendations. And we need more common sense, overall, in our country.

Nothing is more important than protecting our children. Today, I would also like to address an urgent and growing threat that impacts the safety, security, and wellbeing of every American family: the crisis on our southern border. So much crime comes in through our southern border.

Illegal immigration provides a lucrative cash flow — to put it mildly, “lucrative” — to some of the most dangerous criminal organizations on the planet. These deadly cartels flood our cities with narcotics that kill thousands of our citizens, ruin families. They use fear, intimidation, and violence to get their way, and they terrorize innocent communities on both sides of the border.

There is only one moral course of action: to put these ruthless criminal cartels out of business and out of business fast. (Applause.)

Just two days ago, with the help of DEA, ICE, and the FBI — we have such incredible people, and you saw this — federal prosecutors secured a conviction against the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, Joaquin Guzman, or “El Chapo.” He is now looking at a lifetime behind bars. And I have to say, the prosecutors did an incredible job — Eastern District. Incredible job. A lot of people did a great job with that.

But to defeat these transnational gangs, we must fully and completely secure the border. That means more law enforcement, closing legal loopholes, ending catch-and-release, ending sanctuary cities, and finishing the border wall, which we will do. Which we will do. We’re very far along. Building a lot of it right now, as we speak.

As we review the new proposal from Congress, I can promise you this: I will never waver from my sacred duty to defend this nation and its people. We will get the job done. The wall is very, very — on its way. It’s happening as we speak. We’re building, as speak, in the most desperately needed areas. And it’s a big wall. It’s a strong wall. It’s a wall the people aren’t going through very easy. You’re going to have to be in extremely good shape to get over this one. (Laughter.) They would be able to climb Mount Everest a lot easier, I think.

But it’s happening. And we have other things happening too. We’re strengthening up the ports of entry. We’re using tremendous technology, including drones, but tremendous technology. But it all hinges around the walls, because if you don’t have the walls, the technology is almost useless.

It is the core responsibility of government to establish and enforce clear rules for entry and admission into our great country. These immigration laws exist to protect our families, our communities, and the security of our entire nation. When these laws are violated, innocent Americans — including millions of hardworking legal immigrants — are left to pay a very heavy price.

When we surrender control of our nation’s borders to coyotes and smugglers, heartache and suffering are the inevitable result.

One of the most tragic consequences of our unsecured border is the terrible scourge of human trafficking and sex trafficking that so many of you folks help and work so hard to stop. But, you know, with the Internet, it’s at the highest level they say it’s ever been in the history of the world. It’s not just United States; it’s in the history of the world — the Internet. So many good things happen with the Internet, but bad things happen too. We must use every resource at our disposal to stop this evil once and for all.

The incredible patriots at Homeland Security are on the frontlines of this vital effort. Every day, the courageous men and women of CBP are rescuing women and girls from trafficking, blocking deadly shipments of weapons and drugs, and tracking down and removing violent criminals who threaten our people.

In the last two years alone, our brave ICE officers have made 266,000 arrests. Think of that. And these are arrests of criminal aliens, including those charged or convicted of approximately 100,000 assaults, 40,000 larcenies, 30,000 sex crimes, 25,000 burglaries, 12,000 vehicle thefts — and these are new numbers; brand-new numbers — 11,000 robberies, 4,000 kidnappings, and 4,000 murders. Four thousand murders.

Yet, despite their heroic public service, ICE and Border Patrol are subjected to relentless partisan attacks from those on an extreme edge of the political spectrum. It’s called the radical left. And they’re going further and further left all the time, and that’s not good. It’s not good for what you do.

We condemn these attacks on law enforcement, and we salute the heroes who keep us safe. Uncontrolled borders not only endanger our communities, they endanger the men and women who protect our communities.

America will never forget the heroes we’ve lost, like Corporal Ronil Singh, who was ruthlessly gunned down by an illegal alien on the day after Christmas. He left behind a wife and a beautiful 5-month-old son. I got to know his brother, and his brother is a fantastic young man who is totally devastated.

Not one more American life should be lost because our nation failed to secure its borders.

Every American, in every community and from every walk of life, has a right to live in security and to live in peace. That is my highest priority as President, and that is the sacred calling and noble mission of every leader in this room. Nobody does a better job.

Here with us today is Sheriff John McMahon from San Bernardino, California. Ever since he was a young boy, John wanted to follow in his great-grandfather’s footsteps and become a law enforcement officer. In 1985, he started out as a patrol deputy. Today, John is the Sheriff of San Bernardino County.

We all remember the dark day in December of 2015 when terrorists opened fire at an office holiday party in San Bernardino. I’ve spoken about that often. These were people that worked in the office with other people. They thought they were all friends. But one day, they came in shooting. Incredible.

Immediately, John worked with the local police chief to respond. Their brave officers chased down the terrorists and brought their sinister rampage to a rapid end.

Sheriff, we thank you and your officers for your service. I’d like John — where’s John? Where is John? Where is John? Come up here, John. Come up here. (Applause.) I don’t know if we can get you past Secret Service, John, but we’re going to try, right? Come on. That’s great. That was a terrible tragedy. I remember it so well. Come up. (Applause.) Thank you, John.

SHERIFF MCMAHON: A little bit taller than I am. Thank you so much for your kind words, Mr. President. And I will tell you, your support for law enforcement is incredible, and we all in this room thank you for what you’ve done for us.

The relationships we have with our federal law enforcement partners are absolutely incredible. Better than they’ve been in my 34-year career.

But I think the true heroes — and we have to remember this — are the men and women who we all get to work with each day that put on the uniform and go do the job of protecting and serving all of the communities we’re responsible for. Thank you so much, Mr. President.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much, John. Congratulations. (Applause.) He did a good job. He didn’t know he was going to do that. It’s always dangerous to have somebody come up and speak. You never know. (Laughter.) It can be very dangerous. Thank you very much, John. Great job. We’re very proud of you.

As first responders, our nation’s police and law enforcement officers race to the scene in times of tragedy, including natural disasters, giving everything they have to protect the lives of others. And I’ve often heard — because I think it’s an incredible statement to protect the lives of people they don’t know, in many cases. They don’t know these people. But they love these people and they want to protect their lives. It’s pretty incredible.

During Hurricane Harvey, the Houston Police Department led six consecutive days of 24-hour shifts to rescue thousands and thousands of stranded citizens. Saved their lives. Their officers formed a human chain to pull people out of the rushing floodwaters. They worked through long nights of pouring rain. You remember that one well; that was a big one. I don’t believe we’ve ever had a hurricane that’s dumped that much water on land. It went out; it came back in. Went out; came back in. Then a third time: Came back in. It was terrible. But using flashlights, ropes, small boats, and the Cajun Navy. That’s what it was. It was incredible.

Even though 650 officers had their own homes flooded, with their own families being in danger, they kept on serving and they kept on coming. And people gained even more respect for what you do.

Earlier, I introduced Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo. Thanks, Art. (Applause.) Joining him today are 10 leaders. Come on. Stand up, Art. Come up on here, Art. Get up here, Art. Come on. (Applause.)

John, I think we’ll have him up here, too. What do you think? Okay? John says “yes.”

Joining Art today are 10 leaders from the Houston Police Department: Executive Assistant Chief Troy Finner. Tony? Where’s Tony? Tony? Hello, Tony. Hi, Tony. Thanks, Tony. You have a good representative up here, Tony? Huh? Thanks.

Assistant Chiefs William Dobbins, Wendy Baimbridge, and Larry Satterwhite. Commanders Michael Skillern, William Staney, Daryn Edwards, Milton Martin, Yasar Bashir, and Deputy Director Ann Spiegel. Come on up. Come on up. Get up here. Right? (Applause.)

I like these people. I feel very comfortable with these people. I feel very safe with these people. Come on up. (Applause.) Why don’t you say something?

To each of you, thank you for helping to save countless American lives. And I’d like to have you say a couple of words, please.

SHERIFF ACEVEDO: Sure. You are spontaneous, Mr. President. I think you’re off script here. But on behalf — (laughter) — yeah.

So on behalf of all of us that are up here, this is just a — it just speaks as to the, I think, the professionalism, the commitment of our men and women, but also our partnership with our federal partners. And we could not have survived that event without the Coast Guard, the FBI, the DEA, and all of our partners that came and supported us.

So on behalf of all us, thank you for the recognition and thank you for spending time with America’s chiefs and sheriffs. We really appreciate it. Thank you, Mr. President. (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you very much.

PARTICIPANT: Back to work!

THE PRESIDENT: Back to work, right? They just said “back to work.” That’s true. Thank you very much.

Every police and sheriff’s department here today is a family, it’s a team. You form an unbreakable bond that carries you through every challenge that comes your way — very dangerous challenges.

From Phoenix to Philadelphia, from Austin to Atlanta, from Tulsa to Tampa, you prevent crime, you get violent offenders off of our streets, and you make sure the innocent are rescued from incredible danger.

You train your deputies and officers to be the very best, you give them the support they need, and you inspire them to never give in, to never back down, to always stand proud as America’s brave men and women in blue.

You represent the very best among us: the Americans who get up in the morning, put on that great uniform, and walk out the door to protect and to serve. On dangerous street corners, in dimly lit squad cars, on difficult beats and demanding calls, you wear the badge, you defend the law, and you stand faithful, courageous, and so very strong.

So to every police chief and sheriff here today, and to every officer and deputy across America — to all of law enforcement: We will never forget your service, and we will never, ever let you down. We will never let you down. (Applause.)

We greatly respect you, we love you, and we thank God for you each and every day.

Thank you very much. God bless you. And God bless America. Thank you all.

Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you, everybody.

[END]

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the latest consumer price information today which shows overall low inflation at 1.6 percent (with energy price deflation, and flat food prices).

Excluding food and energy costs the total CPI remains low at 2.2%.   This low inflation is the exact opposite of what financial media were predicting when President Trump began the series of import tariffs in 2017, which continued throughout last year.

(data link)

When President Trump began the tariffs against global Steel and Aluminum imports; and when President Trump began the first set of tariffs against Chinese imports; almost all financial media went into fits of apoplexy claiming we would see massive increases in prices.   Reality shows their doomsday predictions were completely over-hyped.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross using a can of Campbells soup to deconstruct the ridiculous predictions of a massive price increases over tariffs.

Back in 2015 and 2016 CTH outlined the potential if Candidate Trump could initiate his economic program; we now call that MAGAnomics:

No other economy in the world innovates like the U.S.A, Trump sees this as a key advantage across all industry – including manufacturing.  The benefit of cheap overseas labor, which is considered a global market disadvantage for the U.S., is offset by utilizing innovation and energy independence.

The third highest variable cost of goods beyond raw materials first, labor second, is energy. If the U.S. energy sector is unleashed -and fully developed- the manufacturing price of any given product will allow for global trade competition even with higher U.S. wage prices. (more)

What we are seeing in 2019 are the benefits of that exact program Donald Trump was campaigning with.

Real earnings are rising at a much more rapid rate than inflation, which means more spending money in the hands of American workers.  Additionally, it is the foreign manufacturers, and multinational corporations, who are absorbing the costs from U.S. tariffs while the U.S. manufacturing base is reestablished.

This inflation data follows on the heels of the BLS latest numbers showing significant decreases in trade deficits in November 2018.

The U.S. monthly international trade deficit decreased in November 2018 according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the U.S. Census Bureau.

The deficit decreased from $55.7 billion in October to $49.3 billion in November, as imports decreased more than exports.

The previously published October deficit was $55.5 billion.

The goods deficit decreased $6.7 billion in November to $71.6 billion. The services surplus decreased $0.3 billion in November to $22.3 billion.  (read more)

This is important data because the import values are deducted from our economy when calculations of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) are announced.   Lower imports means higher GDP growth rates.  [The fourth quarter GDP figures are not out yet]

Inflation is low; wages are up; workers have more disposable income in their pockets.

Add that to lower import purchases during the holidays when shopping was high and you get lower overall durable good inventory…. Which means more manufacturing demand to fulfill orders….. Which means the U.S. economy is simultaneously self-sustaining and expanding.

The MAGAnomic plan is working.

Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Robert Lighthizer are currently leading another round of trade negotiations in China.  Recent reporting indicates the U.S. team will meet with Chairman Xi Jinping at the conclusion of this round of discussions.

At the conclusion of the previous round of discussions in Washington DC, President Trump invited the Chinese delegation to the Oval Office. The surface panda-face diplomacy appears to be based on reciprocity; however, there is no indication President Trump and Chairman Xi are making any efforts for a meeting.

BEIJING – China’s President Xi Jinping “is scheduled to meet” key members of the US trade talks delegation, including US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, in Beijing on Friday, according to sources close to the matter.

“Xi is scheduled to meet both Lighthizer and Mnuchin on Friday,” one source briefed on the arrangements told the South China Morning Post.

A second source said Xi was expected to meet the US delegation in Beijing this week, although the specific time had not been confirmed.

In addition, a banquet would be hosted for the US delegation in “a Chinese cuisine restaurant” in downtown Beijing later this week, with Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He expected to toast the US delegates, the first source added.

[…] Trump told reporters on Tuesday that he would consider pushing back the March 1 deadline for trade negotiations with China if both sides were close to making a deal.

He said he could see himself “letting that slide for a little while”, referring to the looming deadline, at which point US tariffs on US$200 billion of Chinese imports are scheduled to increase from 10 to 25 per cent.  “But generally speaking, I’m not inclined to do that,” he added.  (read more)

President Trump delivers remarks from the oval office while introducing Colombian President Iván Duque Márquez.  The primary topic between the two leaders is the ongoing crisis in Venezuela.  President Trump praised interim Venezuelan president Juan Guaidó for being “brave”, and answered a variety of media questions.  [Video and transcript]:

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[Transcript] Oval Office – PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much. It’s a great honor to be with President Duque of Colombia. We’ve been working very closely. And it’s so nice to meet your wife, First Lady. And you have a brilliant reputation. And thank you for coming. We very much appreciate it. I think, Melania, you’re both going to have lunch afterwards and get to know each other.

MRS. RUIZ: We are. And I’m sure we’re going to enjoy it.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: I know you’re going to enjoy it. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much.

We’re working on many things together: the eradication of drugs in Colombia and outside of Colombia; and obviously, Venezuela and the military. So many different elements including trade. But I think, today, a lot of it will be devoted to discussing Venezuela and what’s happening in Venezuela. We have a very close picture. It’s in turmoil right now. People are being treated very badly. And it’s a very sad thing to witness, especially since we’re so close.

We fight all over the world, and then you look at what happens right at our front door. So I don’t like seeing it; I’m not happy about it. Let’s see how it all ends up.

But the President has been very helpful. A lot of people from Venezuela have gone to Colombia and you’re treating them well. We’re sending a lot of supplies because, in many cases, these people are starving or close to starving. And the people within Venezuela themselves are, in many cases — I mean, they’re in bad shape. They’re very hungry. I’ve seen what’s going on and they’re very hungry.

So I just want to thank the President for working with us. And we’re working together. Our militaries are very focused and working together. And let’s see how it all turns out. We’re going to make things turn out well. That’s what we do. We make things work.

So thank you very much for being here with us.

PRESIDENT DUQUE: Thank you so much, Mr. President. And I would also like to, first of all, express our gratitude for being here. The U.S. and Colombia have been long-term friends and we have received a lot of support from your administration in the tasks that we have before us: to fight drugs, to fight terrorism, to promote economic growth, and obviously, to strengthen trade.

But there’s something very important to highlight today, and is that we share values on democracy. And we want to work together to put an end to the brutal dictatorship that has been affecting the Venezuelan people. I am very happy that the diplomatic blockade is working like no time before it, and I think the days for this dictatorship are about to end. We have to continue working in those lines.

So thank you, Mr. President, for hosting us. Thank you, Madam First Lady, for inviting us to your house. And I’m very pleased that we will continue strengthening the relationship between Colombia and the U.S.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much, Mr. President. I appreciate it. Thank you.

One thing I might add: We have tremendous support — Colombia — but we have tremendous support all over South America, all over the world, really. We have a tremendous number of countries, not only that have joined, but want to do whatever they can do to help with the situation in Venezuela. So we’ll be seeing a lot over the next few weeks. Let’s see what happens. Okay?

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Q How much longer is the United States will be able to tolerate the presence of Nicolas Maduro in the Palacio de Miraflores?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Right, yeah. Sure.

Q Because currently there is a new president that you recognized as official president. But he’s living in Miraflores. How much longer will you —

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, I have great respect for the man that most people — many people think is the real President of Venezuela. He’s very brave. It’s a very brave situation what’s he doing, as you know. I’ve seen what’s happened in the streets and I’ve seen what’s happened with executions, so I really give him a lot of credit. And I think it’s going to work out very well.

Q Do you still consider any military solution for Venezuela?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, I think there are a number of solutions, a number of different options. And we look at all options.

Q And are you thinking sending troops to Colombia, like —

PRESIDENT TRUMP: I never talk about that.

PRESIDENT DUQUE: Let me add something on the first question that was raised by Vanessa.

President Guaidó, who is the person about to lead this transition in Venezuela, has a strong support. And we need to give him even stronger support. I think what happened with the EU has been very important. We will host the Lima Group next week in Bogotá, and we will — all the countries in the hemisphere — give him the stronger support he needs to lead the transition in Venezuela.

Q President Trump, if President Maduro stays in power, do you have a plan B?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: I always have plan B — and C, and D, and E, and F. I have great flexibility. I probably have more flexibility than any man that’s ever been in this office. So we’ll see. But there are many plans, and we’ll see where we go.

Right now, we’re in an incredible period. I saw the tremendous numbers of people yesterday. You know, you’re talking about during the week, just these were just numbers that you rarely see anything like it — the protests.

So we’ll see what happens. A lot of things are happening in Venezuela that people don’t know about. And there’s a lot of support for what we’re doing and for the people that we’re talking to. A lot of support. Tremendous support.

Q (Inaudible.)

PRESIDENT TRUMP: What?

Go ahead.

Q (Inaudible) aid at the border now with Venezuela, what is the plan? How is it going to get into the country?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, they have to be able to let the food in. And, in many cases, it’s getting in. They blocked one of the bridges, but they haven’t been able to block the others. They’d like to try. I think he’s making a terrible mistake by not allowing that to happen. It’s showing bad things.

And, really, we’re trying to get food to people that are starving. You have people starving in Venezuela, and it just shows what can happen with the wrong government. You have the wrong government; bad things happen. But you have many, many people that are in, really, trouble for just hunger.

And so we are delivering, and we’re sending tremendous amounts of food and other things — supplies.

PRESIDENT DUQUE: Mr. President, if I may add to that, I think we have to give a very strong message to the dictatorship: Obstructing the access of humanitarian aid is a crime against humanity. And we have to ensure that the humanitarian aid gets to the Venezuelan people. And Colombia is highly committed to receive humanitarian aid from the U.S. and other countries so that it can access Venezuela and help the Venezuelan people face (inaudible).

Q Mr. President, the congressional legislation, will you sign it? On the border —

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, we haven’t gotten it yet. We’ll be getting it. We’ll be looking for landmines — because you could have that, you know. It’s been known to happen before to people. But we have not gotten it yet. It’ll be sent to us at some point, and we’ll take a very serious look at it.

We have a lot of things happening right now. We’re building a lot of wall right now, with money that we already have. And when people see what we’re doing, I think they’ll be very surprised. We’re doing a lot of work, and we have planned to do a lot of work, but I have not seen it yet.

I appreciate all the work the Republicans have done, because they’re really going against a radical left. It’s a radical left. And they’re going against it very hard and they’re fighting. But we’re in very good shape. And we’re going to take a look at it when it comes.

I don’t want to see a shutdown. A shutdown would be a terrible thing. I think a point was made with the last shutdown; people realized how bad the border is, how unsafe the border is. And I think a lot of good points were made. But I don’t want to see another one. There’s no reason for it.

And we’re going to look at the legislation when it comes, and I’ll make a determination then.

Q (Inaudible) this time, and what was on the table a few months ago?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Actually, it will be — regardless of what I do — you know, we already have, as you know, a lot of money where we’re building existing wall with the existing funds. But I have a lot of options — just like we do with Venezuela, we have on the border. And we have a lot of options, and a lot of things are happening. Very positive things.

You know, the numbers are almost $23 billion, which you don’t report too often. It’s about an 8 percent increase over last year. So if you look at the total funding, it’s over — it’s almost up to $23 billion. It’s about 8 percent higher.

The border area is happening. It’s going to happen at a really rapid pace. We’re giving out contracts right now. And we’re going to have a great wall. It’s going to be a great, powerful wall. People will not be able to get through that wall very easily. And I think you see that. I think you see it happening. It’s very important.

It’ll also have technology. It’ll have drones. It’ll have everything else we have. If you look at the other elements — ICE funding will be complete. We have other things happening, which people aren’t talking about. But we’ve got a lot of funds for a lot of other things.

But, with the wall, they want to be stingy. But we have options that most people don’t really understand.

Q Mr. President, are you considering sending 5,000 troops to Colombia?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: You’ll see. You’ll see.

Q And would you be willing to go for the —

PRESIDENT TRUMP: You’ll see.

Go ahead, any other questions?

Q (Inaudible.)

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Say it?

Q (Inaudible) trips in the past. When are you visiting Colombia? Because you’ve cancelled —

PRESIDENT TRUMP: I’ll be visiting. I really want to. I want to visit Colombia. I look forward to visiting.

PRESIDENT DUQUE: We’re inviting you (inaudible) this year, Mr. President.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: We’re working very, very closely on the drug situation.

Q Mr. President, would you consider an amnesty to Maduro? For Maduro?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: It’s something we haven’t thought of. Something we haven’t thought of.

Q Your thoughts on Ted Cruz’s proposal to use El Chapo money to pay for the wall?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, it’s always interesting. (Laughter.) Anything Ted does is interesting. So, that’s certainly an interesting one.

Q Mr. President, (inaudible) Colombia’s drug policy?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Yeah. We’re working together so that Colombia eradicates some of what they’re growing in Colombia. I wouldn’t say that, at this moment, you’re ahead of schedule. But hopefully you will be at — sometime in the near future.

PRESIDENT DUQUE: But let me mention something to that question, Mr. President. In the first four months of our administration, we have eradicated 60,000 hectares — more than was eradicated in the previous eight months. We have a goal — and we will commit to that goal — because it is our moral duty to have Colombia free of illegal crops and free of narco-trafficking.

We have to deliver. We will deliver because it is our moral duty.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: I just want to say before you leave: The economy is doing incredibly well. Numbers are really high, really good.

We have a big team of people — very talented people — over in China right now negotiating on the China deal. It’s going along very well. We’ll see what happens, but I think it’s going along very well. They’re showing us tremendous respect and — something which a lot of countries didn’t used to show the United States. They’re showing us respect now. Big difference from the old days, I will tell you that.

So the deal with China is going very well. The economy is doing fantastically. You saw the Gallup poll that came out: Sixty-nine percent or so say they’re going to be in better shape next year than even this year. And they’re very happy right now. And that’s the best numbers they’ve had in 16 or 17 years. But the economy is strong. We have a lot of companies coming into the United States. They want to come into the United States. So we have a lot of good things happening. And the wall is being built as we speak.

Thank you all very much.

[Transcript end]

RECAP:

Earlier today U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump welcomed Colombia President Iván Duque Márquez and First Lady Ruiz Sandoval to the White House for an official state visit.

The continuing crisis in neighboring Venezuela was the primary focus for both presidents during the visit.