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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here’s Graham:

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

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

UPDATE: Video and Transcript

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nickolas Justice. (Applause.) Thanks, Nickolas.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

END 2:57 P.M. EDT

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

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

UPDATE: Video and Transcript Added

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yes, sir.

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

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

Q Was it because of this disagreement?

Q Secretary Pompeo, about Syria —

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

Q Go ahead.

Q Was it because of this disagreement?

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

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

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

SECRETARY POMPEO: Sure.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yeah, go ahead. Go ahead.

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

SECRETARY POMPEO: Sure.

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

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

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

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

Q Well, let me ask it this way —

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

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

Q Well, I’m just curious —

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

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

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

SECRETARY POMPEO: Yes, ma’am.

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

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

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

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

Yes, go ahead.

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

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

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

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

Yeah. Go ahead.

Q Mr. Secretary —

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

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

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

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

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

Go ahead, Steven.

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: Yeah. You, yes.

Q Can I?

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: Yes.

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

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

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

Go ahead.

Q Is this national security team a mess?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Q Thank you, sir.

SECRETARY POMPEO: Yes.

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

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

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

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: Thank you, everybody.

END 1:43 P.M. EDT

It was always just a matter of time…

The Beijing/Wall Street lobbyist Robert Zoellick has taken an attack posture on behalf of his U.S. corporate clients and their investments in China.

White House director of trade policy Peter Navarro appears on FOX Business’ Lou Dobbs to rebuke Zoellick and Beijing claims about Trump’s trade policy:

The Wall Street Journal Trade Policy…

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.President Trump Trade Policy…

…Any Questions?

Tonight President Donald J. Trump is holding a MAGA-KAG campaign rally at Crown Expo Center in Fayetteville, NC. President Trump is expected to speak at 7:00pm EDT.

UPDATE: Video Added

RSBN Livestream Link – Fox News Livestream Link – NBC Livestream Link

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Chopper pressers are the best pressers. President Trump delivers remarks to the media departing the White House for a rally in North Carolina. The President answered a litany of questions from the press poll on a variety of subjects and current events.

[UPDATE – Video and Transcript Added]

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[Transcript] THE PRESIDENT: So, thank you very much everybody. Gianni Infantino is the head of FIFA. He’s the biggest man in soccer. And we are, as you probably know, getting the World Cup in 2026 for the United States. Some of it is a partnership with Mexico and Canada. And it’s coming into the United States for a large percentage of the games, and we’re very excited about it. Plus, Gianni and I just had a meeting on women’s soccer and what everybody is going to do to make that even better and more equitable, et cetera, et cetera.

So, Gianni, thank you very much. We had a great meeting. Very big, though — we’re getting the World Cup in 2026, so that’s a big thing. Gianni, thank you for being here.

MR. INFANTINO: Thank you very much. Thank you.

Thank you. Well, indeed, it’s fantastic to be here and to boost even more soccer in this country. Soccer, which is the number one global sport. World Cup 2026 taking place here. But we start already now. It’s the biggest event ever. It’s more than 4 billion viewers all around the world. And we will make it the biggest not only sports event, but the biggest social event that we can think of.

Soccer, which is a big part of this country as well. And women’s soccer, where you are world champion, there is much more to do. The President was saying this to me and he is right. And we are working on that and we will announce very soon some new initiatives.

Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, Gianni, we’re going to have to extend my second term because 2026 — I’m going to have to extend it for a couple of years. I don’t think any of you would have a problem with that. But I hope you’re going to remember me in 2026.

MR. INFANTINO: For sure. Oh, for sure. (Laughs.)

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much, Gianni.

MR. INFANTINO: Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT: You take care of yourself. Thank you.

MR. INFANTINO: Thank you.

Q Mr. President, are peace talks with the Taliban dead?

THE PRESIDENT: Say it?

Q Are peace talks with the Taliban dead? And why did you —

THE PRESIDENT: They’re dead. They’re dead. As far as I’m concerned, they’re dead.

They thought that they had to kill people in order to put themselves in a little better negotiating position. When they did that, they killed 12 people. One happened to be a great American soldier — a wonderful young man from Puerto Rico. Family is from Puerto Rico. And you can’t do that. You can’t do that with me.

So they’re dead, as far as I’m concerned. And we’ve hit the Taliban harder in the last four days than they’ve been hit in over 10 years. So that’s the way it is.

Q Did you get talked out of that meeting with Taliban?

THE PRESIDENT: Say it? What?

Q Did your administration, did your advisors, talk you out of that meeting with the Taliban?

THE PRESIDENT: No. Actually, in terms of advisors, I took my own advice. I liked the idea of meeting. I’ve met with a lot of bad people and a lot of good people during the course of the last almost three years. And I think meeting is a great thing. I think that meeting with — you know, you’re talking about war. There are meetings with war. Otherwise, wars would never end. You’d have them going forever.

We had a meeting scheduled. It was my idea, and it was my idea to terminate it. I didn’t even — I didn’t discuss it with anybody else. When I heard, very simply, that they killed one of our soldiers and 12 other innocent people, I said, “There’s no way I’m meeting on that basis. There’s no way I’m meeting.” They did a mistake.

And, by the way, they are telling people they made a big mistake. They’re saying it loud and clear that they made a big mistake.

John.

Q Mr. President, why did you want to have them at Camp David? And what will you do about Afghanistan now?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, Camp David has held meetings with a lot of people that would have been perceived as being pretty tough customers and pretty bad people. There have been plenty of so-called “bad people” brought up to Camp David for meetings. And the alternative was the White House, and you wouldn’t have been happy with that either.

So Camp David would have been a good place, but I don’t want to meet under circumstances where they go around and try and make themselves a little bit more important by killing a soldier; by killing, actually, also a great NATO soldier, in addition to our soldier; and also a total of 12 people. I don’t want that.

But, you know, Camp David has had many meetings that, I guess, people would not have considered politically correct.

Yes, Steve.

Q Are you still going to draw down troops there? Or what’s the status of that?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, we’re looking at that, and we’re thinking about it. You know, as I’ve said, we’ve been policemen there for a long time. And the government is going to have to take responsibility or do whatever it is they do.

I’ve been saying, from the campaign, that we want to get out at the earliest possible time. We’re doing a very good job. Our soldiers are incredible, but they’re serving as policemen, to a large extent. I just made a statement on it. Yeah, we’d like to get out, but we’ll get out at the right time.

Q (Inaudible.)

THE PRESIDENT: What?

Q Can I ask a question on India and Pakistan, sir? Can I ask a question on India and Pakistan? Do you intend to (inaudible — Prime Minister Modi?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, India and Pakistan are having a conflict over Kashmir, as you know. I think it’s a little bit less heated right now than it was two weeks ago, and I’m willing to help them. I get along with both countries very well. I’m willing to help them if they want. They know that that is out there.

David.

Q Mr. President, are you willing to debate the Republicans who are running against you?

THE PRESIDENT: You know, I don’t even know who they are, other than I know that —

Q Joe Walsh, Mark Sanford.

THE PRESIDENT: I guess — I guess you could say — no, but I don’t know them. I don’t know them. I would say this: They’re all at less than 1 percent. It’s a — I guess it’s a publicity stunt. We just got right — a little while ago, 94 percent popularity or approval rating within the Republican Party.

So, to be honest, I’m not looking to give them any credibility. They have no credibility. One was a person that voted for Obama, ran as a Vice President four years ago, and was soundly defeated. Another one got thrown out after one term in Congress and he lost in a landslide. And the third one — Mr. Tallahassee Trail or Appalachian Trail — he’s the Appalachian Trail, right? The Tallahassee Trail is nice, too, but I think he was the Appalachian Trail. But he wasn’t on the Appalachian Trail; he was in Argentina.

Yeah, go ahead.

Q Are you okay with using the military as the police force on our southern border?

THE PRESIDENT: Say it louder.

Q Are you okay with using the military as a police force on our southern border?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, right now, Mexico has been doing a great job for us. And, frankly, we’re very appreciative. But we’ve also been very — pretty rapidly changing the regulations, the rules, winning in court. We’ve had a lot of wins.

We did it early on, but we’re having a lot of wins in court right now. The courts are backing us up, and that has a lot to do with our success on the southern border.

In addition, a lot of wall is being built. And every time we put up a mile of wall, that helps us a lot.

Q Are you prepared to offer temporary protected status to people from the Bahamas?

THE PRESIDENT: So, we’re talking to a lot of different people on that. You know, we’re recovering from the hurricane also. Florida did get hit — not as hard as we anticipated. And you look at Georgia. You look at South Carolina, North Carolina. I’m going to North Carolina right now — North Carolina — to have a rally for Dan Bishop. But before I go to the rally, we’re going to be stopping at one of the sites that got hit very hard by the hurricane.

So we’re also recovering from a hurricane. But we have to be very careful. Everybody needs totally proper documentation because the — look, the Bahamas had some tremendous problems with people going to the Bahamas that weren’t supposed to be there. I don’t want to allow people that weren’t supposed to be in the Bahamas to come into the United States, including some very bad people and some very bad gang members and some very, very bad drug dealers. So we are going to be very, very strong on that.

Let me — let me just explain. Large sections, believe it or not, of the Bahamas were not hit. And what we’re doing is bringing the people to those sections of the Bahamas that have not been hit. We’ve done a lot of the USAID. We’ve done a lot of work with our Coast Guard, with our FEMA people, who have been phenomenal. I mean, they have been phenomenal.

So we’ll see what happens. We’ll see what happens.

Q On North Korea, sir — on North Korea, when’s the last time you heard from Chairman Kim?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I saw a statement was just put out having to do with North Korea, and that’ll be interesting. We’ll see. It just came out over the wires a little while ago. So, we’ll see what happens.

In the meantime — in the meantime, we have our hostages back, we’re getting the remains of our great heroes back, and we’ve had no nuclear testing for a long time.

Q Mr. President, on the Ninth District Court judge that continues to issue nationwide injunctions —

THE PRESIDENT: Yeah.

Q The Ninth District Court Judge — Judge Tigar. Do you think it’s constitutional for a judge —

THE PRESIDENT: Again. What was the beginning?

Q With the judge in the Ninth District Court — the San Francisco judge that continues to issue nationwide injunctions on immigration policy, do you think that’s constitutional?

THE PRESIDENT: I think it’s very unfair that he does that. I don’t think it should be allowed, and we’ll see what happens. There’s a lot of new law being made on that, but we don’t think that should be happening.

Now, with that being said, we’re starting to do very well in the Ninth Circuit. We’re starting to do well all over. We won the lawsuit on the wall. We won the lawsuit on a lot of different things having to do with illegal immigration. That’s why a lot of our very strong points are coming out.

And in addition to Mexico helping us, we’re ending up with some great legal victories now on illegal immigration. That’s one of the reasons we’re doing so well.

Q Are you going to impose tariffs on Mexico if it doesn’t do more on illegal immigration?

THE PRESIDENT: Go ahead. Go.

Q (Inaudible.)

THE PRESIDENT: What? Go ahead. What?

Q Mr. President, yesterday you tweeted that there are — the prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine was the first — perhaps the first giant step towards peace. So, do you think the United States should join these talks and should join Germany, France, Russia, and Ukraine within the talks called Normandy Format?

THE PRESIDENT: I think the fact that the prisoner swap took place yesterday with Russia and Ukraine is a very big step and that’s a very positive step. If they needed me to get involved, I’d get involved, but that’s really a very, very positive event that took place yesterday.

Q Are you concerned that the significant drop in illegal border crossings is only temporary and, as Mark Morgan said —

THE PRESIDENT: Well, you’re always concerned that it’s temporary. But we now have much better legal protection. And we’d have total protection if the Democrats would get rid of the loopholes which are there. They could do it in, as I say, 15 minutes if they would get rid of the loopholes and fix asylum. But they don’t want to do that. They don’t want to do it.

The Democrats want open borders. It means crime. It means drugs. It means human trafficking. And that’s what they want. And if they want to run on that, they can run on it.

But our people — a lot of the people in this country — and, I would say, a very large percentage of people — they don’t want to have crossings illegal. They don’t want to have open borders. They want to have a strong border.

And I’ve always said: Without a border, we don’t have a country. And without a country, I’ll tell you what: We wouldn’t be — without that border being strong — we are securing the border like it hasn’t been before. And when the wall is built — and it’s moving rapidly right now. It’s moving very rapidly. The lawsuit wins, the legal wins. We’ve won a lot.

And we’ve won a lot in the courts over the last year. You know, if you look at the beginning, where we were losing, we will have about 180 judges approved over the next three or four weeks — 180.

When I came in, President Obama gave us a beautiful gift. He gave us 138 judges that he wasn’t able to get in or didn’t pick anybody, or couldn’t get them approved. One hundred and thirty-eight. I took that. And now, when you add the other that came through attrition and other things that have happened, we’ll have about 180 judges approved very, very quickly.

Q Tomorrow’s special election — tomorrow’s special election in North Carolina, how important is it for your reelection?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, Dan Bishop is a great gentleman, a great man. He’s going to be a great — I think he’s going to be a great congressman. It was a very close race. I think it’s getting less close. If you look at the numbers from two weeks ago — and I got involved about two weeks ago — and the numbers have gone way up. I think Dan has a very good chance of winning the election.

Again, I’m not running, but I have a lot of respect for Dan Bishop. I’m going there now to help him campaign. We’re going to be doing a big rally tonight; totally sold out as always. Every single one totally sold out. There will be a lot of people outside trying to get in. But it’s all in honor of Dan Bishop. North Carolina, I hope they’re going to go out and vote.

Q On Iran, sir. On Iran, will you — will you meet with Rouhani? Would you meet with Rouhani — President Rouhani?

THE PRESIDENT: It could happen. It could happen. Yeah. No problem with meeting. Iran should straighten out because, frankly, they’re in very bad position right now and they should straighten it out, because they could straighten it out very easily.

Q Will you respond to the reports today that say that you have mishandled classified information to Russia?

THE PRESIDENT: No, I know nothing about it. I see the CIA responded perfectly. So whatever the CIA said is fine with me. But I heard they responded perfectly. I know nothing.

Q Mr. President — Mr. President, how soon will you reveal your gun control proposal? How soon? This week? Next week?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, we’re dealing with Democrats. We’re dealing with Republicans. We’re talking about a lot of different things having to do with, as you call it, gun control. But we are talking about a lot of different things. But at the same time, we have to protect our Second Amendment very strongly, and we will always do that.

Steve.

Q Aren’t there some internal divisions among your team about how to go forward on Afghanistan?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, my decision was to have a meeting. And I said, “You know what? I don’t like the concept of having it at the White House. That would be a step too far.” There have been many very powerful meetings at Camp David having to do with enemies — real enemies, very big enemies, war — and I thought Camp David would be good, and I still do.

The only reason I canceled that meeting is because they killed one of our soldiers and they killed a total of 12 people, trying to build up their importance, because they think that’s important — except, to me, it backfired. And they’re very upset. They feel that they blew it. And they said it loud and clear. They feel they made a big mistake by doing what they did.

Q Is your administration still looking at designating human smuggling operations at the border as foreign terrorist organizations?

THE PRESIDENT: We’re looking very much at human smuggling. And if you look at “trafficking,” they call it — if you look at what’s going on with the human trafficking, we’re bringing it down to a much lower level. This should have been done for years and years. But we’re bringing the human trafficking, as you can see by the numbers, we’re bringing it down. Mostly affects women and children. It’s a terrible thing. It’s been going on for many years, and we’re bringing it down.

Q Are you concerned about Kim Jong Un’s — are you concerned about Kim Jong Un — he will not keep the promise?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, it just came out over the wires that he’d like to have a meeting. I have a very good relationship with Chairman Kim — Kim Jong Un. And it just came out; I just saw it as I’m coming out here — it just came out that they would like to meet. We’ll see what happens. But I always say having meetings is a good thing, not a bad thing.

Q On the Bahamas — are you concerned about China’s relief efforts in the Bahamas?

THE PRESIDENT: No, I’m not. Let people go in and help. The Bahamas got hit like no thing that I’ve ever seen. I’ve never seen a hurricane with — it was like a massive tornado, more than a hurricane. It got hit like nothing I’ve seen.

Anybody who wants to help, that’s okay with me. I think it’s a good thing.

Q Mr. President, how do you define — how do you define victory in Afghanistan?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, that’s always the question: How do you define victory? We beat them militarily, but as soon as leave, it seems to form again. We would beat them very easily, militarily, if we wanted to, by doing certain things. And I’m not talking nuclear. We could have that over with very, very rapidly. But you’d lose millions and billions of lives, and I don’t want to do that.

Afghanistan is a very interesting situation. We’ve been there for 19 years. Nineteen years. And we’re now really policemen in Afghanistan.

So what’s happening is this: We’re talking. We’re talking to the government. We’re talking to a lot of different people. And we’ll see. But I canceled Camp David on the basis that they did something that they sure as hell shouldn’t have done.

Q Mr. President, do you see tomorrow’s election in North Carolina as a bellwether for next year’s election?

THE PRESIDENT: No. I don’t see it as a bellwether. They always ask that question. I mean, you never see talk about the fact — as an example, in ’18 — that we won the Senate. Nobody ever talks about that. The Senate being very important, because that’s how I’m getting all the judges approved. It doesn’t go through the House; it goes through the Senate.

So I’m getting all these judges. We’ll be up — as I said, we’ll be up to 180 judges, plus two Supreme Court judges. And I don’t know if there has ever been a record like that.

President Obama gave me a beautiful birthday present when he gave me 138 judges that weren’t approved. And, frankly, how do you consider that being a great President when you hand to the opposition 138 slots of federal judges, including appellate court judges and one Supreme Court judge?

So that’s the story, where we got two Supreme Court justices and we’ll have, in a very short number of weeks, 180 judges approved, including appellate. And that number, from 180, will easily and rather rapidly go over 200.

And I don’t think there’s been anything like it.

Q Mr. President, what specific number of troops — what specific number of troops should remain in Afghanistan? What do you want to see now?

THE PRESIDENT: I would never tell you. I’ll tell some people, but I’d never tell you. But we have — we have a very specific number. We have a very specific number.

Q So, to follow up what John asked: For 2020, you don’t see as a bellwether, the election tomorrow.

THE PRESIDENT: No, I don’t see it as a bellwether.

Q But are you concerned about the Senate races in 2020?

THE PRESIDENT: Look, I have to run. Here’s what it is.

Q Do you think you’ll hold on to the Senate?

THE PRESIDENT: I think we did great in ’18, because the congressmen — like Andy Barr in Kentucky and others — that I campaigned for, they won. Andy Barr was behind. I went to Kentucky. I campaigned for him. I held one or two rallies, and the great state of Kentucky brought him.

And, by the way, the same person that we defeated there is now running against Mitch McConnell for the Senate. And he’s going to win. He’s going to win. Kentucky is an incredible place. They know. They don’t give up the most powerful man in the United States Senate for a freshman senator. You just don’t do it. Kentucky is very smart. They know exactly what they’re doing.

But I campaigned for senators. We were supposed to lose the Senate, according to some of you. We ended up picking up two seats, which was fantastic. I get no credit for that. If we didn’t pick up those two seats — I just told you we’re going to have 180 judges approved — we wouldn’t have had almost any judges approved, from the point of the election.

So we’re very happy with the way we’ve done. The ’18 election — the big thing was, I was not running. You know, people say, “Oh, it was a referendum on Trump.” It wasn’t. I’m not running; people are running.

But I will go and help Dan Bishop. I’m going to be there in a little while. And I assume some of you, I’ll be seeing.

Q Mr. President, on Turnberry: Will you discourage the Pentagon from having troops stay overnight at your properties?

THE PRESIDENT: I haven’t found out — other than when a plane stops at a massive international airport and gets fuel — I don’t own the airport. When pilots stay — I own a lot of different places. Soon you’ll find that out because I’ll be, at some point prior to the election, I’m going to be giving out a financial report of me. And it will be extremely complete. I’m going to give out — I’m going to give or my financial condition. And you’ll be extremely shocked that the numbers are many, many times what you think. I don’t need to have somebody take a room overnight in a hotel.

What is happening is the following: Every time you find a person landing an airplane within 500 miles of something I own — Mike Pence, as an example, his family lives in Doonbeg, Ireland. And he’s actually told me that he stayed there many years ago at the same — I bought it years ago — but he was there before I bought it, I believe, he said. A long time ago. But he was in Ireland, so he said, “You know what I’ll do? I’ll see my family.” I didn’t know about that, but I can say he has good taste.

Q Mr. President, what do you make of states canceling Republican primaries?

THE PRESIDENT: Of who?

Q Of states canceling Republican primaries.

THE PRESIDENT: I have nothing to do with that.

Q Are you worried that you might lose some of those primaries?

THE PRESIDENT: No. Because, look, the three people are a total joke. They’re a joke. They’re a laughing stock. And I have nothing to do — the four states that canceled it don’t want to waste their money. If there was a race, they would certainly want to do that. But they’re considered to be a laughing stock. They’re considered to be a joke. And those four states don’t want to waste their money. Having primary campaigns and having a primary election is very expensive.

Q Have you ruled out a future meeting with the Taliban? Are there preconditions under which you would meet them?

THE PRESIDENT: We haven’t discussed it. I’m not looking to discuss it. We’ve hit the Taliban and our enemy in Afghanistan harder than we have in over 10 years. So I’m not discussing anything right now.

Q (Inaudible) recent GOP congressional retirements — does that concern you for 2020?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, one of the things is that I disagree with the Republican system. When you’re the chairman of a committee — we’ve lost chairmen because they can’t go from being a chairman, back to being a regular congressman or woman. When you’re the chairman of a committee, the Democrats, you can stay there forever, like Deny [sic] Hoyer and others. He’s a good man, by the way. But like a lot of them, they’re there forever. As a Republican, you get six years.

What happens after they’re finished, they leave. And I understand that. And, frankly, there is good to be said about both and there’s bad to be said about both, to use the famous expression. But let me just tell you, I agree — one of the only things I agree with the Democrats on: I really think it’s better to have a longer term.

Q On China, Mr. President, do you sense a real shift in the Chinese position on intellectual property theft, forced technology transfer?

THE PRESIDENT: We have to stop forced technology, international technology theft. If you look at what’s going on: Intellectual property theft with China — just so you understand, our country is doing phenomenally well. You know, there’s a chance — I don’t want to talk about it — but over a very short period of time that we’ll hit a yet new record. I think we have 118 records for hitting the top stock market.

Two weeks ago, the fake news was trying to convince people that maybe there’s a possibility for a recession. Well, a lot of things have happened, very positive. We’re doing very well against China and we could very well have a new high in our stock market. We have gained trillions of dollars of worth, and China has lost many, many trillions of dollars, including 3 million jobs, including companies that are leaving China. Yes, they want to negotiate very badly.

Thank you. Thank you.

END 3:01 P.M. ED

Acting Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Mark Morgan holds a press conference to update on the status of ongoing border security and immigration enforcement.  [Video and Transcript Below]

Border arrests fell to roughly 51,000 in August, a more than 60 percent decrease from 133,000 arrests in May, which was the peak of the recent surge. [CPB Press Release] However, Commissioner Morgan emphasized that Mexico must continue to do more to secure the border.  Morgan said Mexico has taken “meaningful and unprecedented steps” to stop migrants passing through its country, “but they need to do more.”

U.S. and Mexican officials are scheduled to meet tomorrow to discuss ongoing efforts and expectations from the Trump administration to continue avoiding tariffs. President Andres Manuel Lopez-Obrador deployed thousands of troops from a newly formed National Guard to intercept migrants and keep them from reaching the U.S. Southern border.  AMLO does not want to face U.S. tariffs on Mexican products.

[Transcript] ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: Good morning. And thank you all for being here today.

As the Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, I’m pleased to announce the official release of CBP’s southwest border migration statistics for the month of August. And I’ve said this many times: Since Congress has failed and continue to fail to pass meaningful legislation to address the crisis at the border — which would ultimately stop children from being used as passports and end the cartels’ ability to exploit this population, as well as our laws — the Trump administration has taken a number of unilateral actions, unprecedented actions, that we’re going to discuss today.

But, first, let’s discuss the results of the administration’s incredible efforts. During the month of August, CBP apprehended, or deemed inadmissible, a total of 64,000 individuals. For July, if you recall, that number was just over 82,000, which represents a decline of 22 percent.

Moreover, the August numbers reflects — and this is critical — the August numbers reflects a 56 percent reduction from the peak in May, which you recall was over 144,000 individuals.

And why? Why do we see, in 90 days, a 56 percent reduction? The President has made it very clear that he’s going to use every tool available to him and this administration to address this unprecedented crisis at the southern border. We have seen historic agreements and policies put in place by this administration; an unprecedented network of initiatives, from regulatory reforms, policy changes, interior enforcement efforts. The list goes on and on, what this administration has done that resulted in this 56 percent decrease.

In addition to that, let’s talk about the government of Mexico. The government of Mexico has taken meaningful and unprecedented steps to help curb the flow of illegal immigration to our border.

Now, let’s talk about a couple of numbers. Mexico has apprehended approximately 134,000 people so far this calendar year. Last year — 2018 calendar year — the entire year of 2018: 83,000. That’s a substantial increase of apprehensions that the government of Mexico has executed.

In addition, since June, Mexico has deployed thousands of troops. They’ve created a new national guard within their country: 10,000 troops to the southern border; 15,000 troops to the norther border with the United States. Again, unprecedented support and cooperation with the government of Mexico.

But I’m going to tell you, and I’m going to go into a little bit more what the government of Mexico has done, but they need to do more. And I’ll talk about that in a second.

The international outreach to the governments of Central American countries is also beginning to yield effective and positive results, particularly the efforts to stem the surge of illegal migrants crossing the southwest border and to disrupt alien smuggling organizations.

Additionally, the Northern Triangle countries specifically, along with the government of Mexico, have really joined the United States as true partners for the first time. They really are seeing this as a true, regional crisis that need continuing coordination, cooperation, and effort — that this is not just a United States problem; that this is a regional crisis that needs regional support and regional solutions.

(CBP Data Link Here)

Third, again — and this goes to the support that the government of Mexico is providing — the Migrant Protection Protocols — or, I’m sure most of you heard, “MPP” — have also helped. Tens of thousands of individuals arrive at our southwest border every month, many of them attempting to enter illegally.

Historically — we’ve talked about this — these individuals, because of our broken asylum laws, have been released into the interior of the United States as they wait for their asylum hearings. These proceedings can take years. A host of reasons: a shortage of immigration judges, backlogs, the list goes on.

Additionally, many never stick to the process and never continue to go through its final stages. And even when they receive a final order of removal, they still remain in the United States illegally. Those are facts.

Under the MPP, aliens who are entering or seeking asylum and admission to the United States from Mexico, illegally or without proper documentation, now may be returned to Mexico and required to wait outside the United States for the duration of their immigration proceedings, which take place in the United States. The government of Mexico has agreed to provide them, while they’re waiting in Mexico, with appropriate humanitarian protections for the duration of their stay.

Here’s a couple of key points on MPP. It discourages the abuse and exploitation of U.S. laws and non-meritorious or false asylum claims. MPP also helps promote a safer and more orderly process along the southwest border, freeing up limited resources and helps free up time of those implementing this process to devote to those migrants who may legitimately have a merit-based claim. As of September 1st of this year, CBP has returned more than 42,000 individuals to Mexico under the MPP.

Now, let me emphasize a point that I made to — a minute ago: Even though Mexico has stepped up unprecedented — they have joined the United States, as well as our Northern Triangle partners, and really stepped up as true partners and really are really seeing this as a regional crisis, and they have stepped up in unprecedented ways — we need them to do more. We need Mexico to do more.

We need to make sure that they’re sustaining the efforts right now; that the national guard — the 25,000 troops they have deployed — stay on target, stay on task. We need them to continue to join and expand the MPP, which is a game changer right now with respect to stemming the flow. Mexico needs to continue to work with our intelligence folks to use information, share intelligence, and develop target enforcement actions at strategic locations in their country.

So they are stepping up in unprecedented ways, but we need them to continue to sustain that, and we need them continue to do more.

Lastly: deterrence. President Trump is making it clear that if you come to the United States of America illegally, you will be removed. If you come here as an illegal alien in the United States, if you commit crimes or illegally take American jobs, you will face consequences.

Now, let me talk a minute about the border wall — just a little topic that’s been in the news. President Trump has made it very clear that we will build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. And that, as a CBP Commissioner, I can tell you that’s exactly what we’re doing every single day. Together with the United States Army Corps of Engineers, CBP has constructed more than 65 miles of new border wall. And it’s more than a border wall; it’s a border wall system.

And now that we have the Secretary of Defense’s authority to use an additional $3.6 billion, we’re hoping to build between 450 to 500 new miles of border by the end of 2020.

But I want to make sure that I emphasize something, as the CBP Commissioner: The Border Patrol field leadership — they want this wall. This is not a vanity project, as one of the false narratives out there has been, and I’ve heard it numerous times. This President has delivered to the experts, to the Border Patrol, to the leadership — asked what they needed. One of the key things that they said they needed was the wall. And this is not just a wall that’s being built right now; it’s a wall system. It includes access roads, lighting, technology.

And when asked, the leadership universally has said the wall works. Where it’s been used in the past, history has shown the numbers go down. Facts and history show that. And we’ve been saying for a very long time — the experts have been saying, when they were asked by the President, this wall is absolutely needed to help safeguard and secure our southern border, as part of what we’ve always been saying: a multi-layered approach of infrastructure, technology, and personnel.

And where that is implemented — an effective, a strategic location — it works. The experts say it works. The experts have asked for this, and this President and this administration has delivered and they’re going to continue to deliver. As we stated from the beginning, that wall is an integral part of that multi-layer strategy.

In closing, President Trump has used every tool available to address the humanitarian and security crisis at this border. The entire DHS family, including USCIS and ICE, are working together with CBP to secure and restore integrity to the immigration system.

And I, as the Commissioner, could not be more proud of the men and women of the Customs and Border Protection who — they support what they do, and their steadfast devotion to their mission and the rule of law, and doing so with humanity and compassion.

And let me summarize by reiterating that we are absolutely encouraged by the downward trend of apprehension numbers, but we know these numbers could always spike upwards. History has shown that. We’ve seen it happen in the past. We cannot rely solely on the government of Mexico or our Central American partners to solve the pull factors created by our broken system.

Unless the laws change, these numbers will rise again next year, just as we’ve seen in the past. We will again face the same kind of crisis we have for way too long. Congress must absolutely act to pass meaningful legislation to address the loopholes in our current system if we’re going to have a durable, lasting solution to this crisis.

I’ll take your questions. Yes, sir.

Q A couple of quick questions. First, can you address the complaints of reports and abuse of minors in U.S. custody? And secondly, are we giving up on — when this was sold — the wall was sold — we were told that Mexico would pay for the wall. So is that —

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: So let me take your first question.

Q Is that gone?

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: So, with allegations of abuse — and we’ve talked about this a lot — of one of the stints that I did with CBP a few years ago, in 2014 — I actually was the Acting Assistant Commissioner for, then, Internal Affairs, which is now OPR — and I can say, from my personal knowledge, that every single allegation — every single allegation that is brought forward with any type of abuse or violation of policy is absolutely investigated to its fullest.

And it’s not just investigated by CBP; there are multiple layers there. So the DHS IG, they have a take at it. If it’s appropriate, DOJ Civil Rights, Civil Liberties section takes a look at that as well. So I’m confident that I can say every single allegation is taken seriously and investigated thoroughly. And when appropriate, appropriate discipline is utilized.

Now, so for your second question: The wall, as far as who is paying for it — as the Commissioner of CBP, I don’t care. That’s political. That’s for politicians to decide. What I can tell you, as the CBP Commissioner, every single mile of wall that is built, this country is more safe. Every single mile of the wall that’s built, it allows the Border Patrol agents to exponentially increase their capacity to do their job. That’s what I can tell you. So —

Q Question.

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: Yes, sir.

Q Thank you, Mr. Commissioner. A federal judge in California has reinstated a ban on the administration’s policy that would restrict migrants’ ability to apply for asylum at the southern border. What is your reaction to that? And a follow-up, please.

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: So, my reaction is, I’m frustrated. The unprecedented judicial activism that we’ve experienced every single time that this administration comes up with what we believe is a legal rule or policy that we really believe that will address this crisis, we end up getting enjoined. It’s very, very frustrating. But, we’re just going to keep going. We’ll continue to work within the current legal framework to address this.

And here’s what should be frustrating to the American people: This President and this administration, we keep having to go outside the box within the current legal framework to come up with new initiatives, new policies, new regulations, because this Congress won’t do their job. This Congress — I’ve talked to multiple people on the Hill. I personally told them exactly that they need to do to pass meaningful legislation that would end 85 percent of this crisis. I think you could put it on one piece of paper and do it in a half an hour, and they refuse to do so. That’s what really should frustrate the American people.

Q And a quick follow. I want to ask you about using resources like personnel and finances related to the United States military. Is that making the, sort of, difference that you thought it would? And are you sensitive to the pushback that we’ve certainly heard from a number of people that, by engaging the military in this particular fight, is perhaps not the best use of their time and energy?

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: So, what I would say is, it would be way outside my lane to talk about the impacts of the use of the military or the funding. That really should be left up to the Secretary of Defense.

Here’s what I will say on this, is that I have full confidence in the Secretary of Defense that he would not approve either the utilization of resources or funding that he think would negatively impact his job to carry out his national security mission.

But what I will say is, CBP, we’re doing a national security mission too. The crisis at the southwest border is not just a humanitarian crisis; it’s also a national security crisis.

So again, every — every troop that’s assigned there, they are helping with the national security crisis along the southwest border. Every mile of wall is helping as well. So — in the back.

Q Hi. Alayna from Axios. You talked about needing Congress needing to do more. What’s the latest with Jared Kushner’s immigration plan? We’ve been told that he’s planning to roll it out into a formal bill in the coming weeks.

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: So, I think that’s a great question. Again, that shows this administration’s effort as Congress continues to fail to put anything out there. They haven’t even brought anything to the floor, any meaningful legislation to the floor. So Mr. Kushner, as well as a team, they are trying to put together a comprehensive plan that hopefully gets traction.

DHS is working on that. We have people — I personally am having dialogue and discussions with that. It would be great to be able to put something together that’s meaningful that we could get bipartisan support to actually end this crisis. I applaud his efforts. Absolutely.

Yes, sir.

Q Thank you, sir. Two questions. One —

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: I’ve been told I can only give people one question.

Q Well, one and a half then, sir.

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: (Laughs.) Okay.

Q The half a question, you attribute the drop in apprehensions to the President’s policies, but isn’t it also true that apprehensions always drop this period of the year during the heat?

And also, I —

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: Well, let me take that question. So I think that’s a good question, because that’s one of the false narratives out there.

So, the past five years, due to seasonal reasons, we’ve seen, on average, those numbers drop about 8 percent. So if you look from, you know, June to July, we saw those numbers drop by 40 percent. So it’s just not supported by the facts.

And now, generally, from July to August — last year, from July to August, as an example, the numbers actually went up 16 percent. This is the season when they start going up. And what I just said, for this year, down 23 percent. Absolutely, it’s what this President and this administration is doing. It has nothing to do with seasonal trends.

Q And the second question: You just now complained about judicial activism and having policies enjoined by the courts. Isn’t it also just as possible that the policies that are being promulgated don’t comply with the law? I mean, isn’t that judge’s job to decide what’s legal and what’s not?

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: The judge’s job is to interpret law, not make law. And that’s what I think judicial activism means. That’s a big thing in this country. I believe it’s a big problem in this country. We can disagree on legal premises that have that argument. That’s what courts are there for: to interpret the law, not make the law. And judicial activists’ decisions like this, I think they’re trying to make law instead of interpret that.

So — yes, ma’am.

Q Thank you, Commissioner. We know that the primary drivers of the border crisis are Central American families. How specifically has the administration’s policies affected that demographic?

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: So, that’s great. So, at the height, in May, remember when we saw about 144,000 — just staggering, catastrophic numbers — we were ranging between 65 to 70 percent were families or unaccompanied minors. And, remember, because of our broken laws, that meant — those 65 to 75 percent, where they were being released into the interior of the United States never to be heard from again.

Right now, as these numbers not only continue to drastically decline — you know, 57 percent in 90 days — so has that demographic. This month, that demographic fell from 65 to 75 — I mean, 70 percent to 55 percent.

Q And a second question if I may. I understand that the administration says that there have been 65 miles of new border wall built, but that’s in areas where there have been vehicular barriers or smaller, more porous border systems. When can we expect the administration to break ground on border wall where there hasn’t previously been any barrier?

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: So I’m really glad you asked that question. So — because again, I think there’s a false narrative out there that goes, “No new wall has been built.” I’m here to tell you, as the Commissioner of CBP, that’s just a lie. Every mile of wall that’s being built, it is a new mile of wall. And again, I’ll reiterate: It’s not just a wall; it’s a wall system. Integrated lighting, integrating technology, and access road.

If you go to those areas where there was pedestrian barriers or their old landing mat, where they can just knock it over the car, or cut a hole in it in seconds — where new wall was going in, that’s exactly what it is. And if you go out there and you ask the agents, they’ll tell you that’s new wall.

The second part of the question is, is that I think is a fair way to categorize this, is where we’re building new linear miles. So it’s not just where there was some physical barrier already there, but new linear miles.

So I told you we’re anticipating, by 2020, about 450 to 500 miles. Right now, we have current projects that are slated in a couple areas, including RGV, which will easily reach 100 new miles of linear wall. So —

Q And when can we expect that —

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: Sorry, I already gave you two. So — yes, ma’am.

Q Is the administration considering offering TPS to the people of the Bahamas?

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: Yeah. So — yes. And I think that’s a good question right now, and there’s a little bit of a confusion out there. This is off the immigration, the southwest border, but Bahamas.

And I think it’s clear: CBP is an integral part of DHS National Response Framework. Part of that is, is when people are affected by an area or a crisis like this, like the hurricane, is how can we get them to the United States, if that’s the best decision.

CBP, along with an entire United States government effort to support the government of the Bahamas, is absolutely, first and foremost, life and safety of individuals. So we are — we’ve deployed — CBP — I’ve authorized a deployment of an enormous amount of resources to southern Florida to make sure that we can effectively receive people that are coming in from the Bahamas.

Already, we’ve received two cruise ships, thousands of folks that we have processed. Flights are coming in constantly. We’ve deployed additional folks out to even the small airports. We’re reaching out to the aviation companies and corporations to coordinate. We’re coordinating with the cruise ships every single day to make sure we can do that effectively and in a timely process.

But I want to be very clear, though — because I’ve already seen some false narrative out there — is: That doesn’t mean that we do this with a blind eye. We still have to balance the humanitarian need and assistance of those that need it versus the safety of this country.

So we still will go through the process, but we’re expediting that process, putting more resources down there. We’re waiving the normal fees. I could go on and on with what we’re doing to try to expedite the process. But keep in mind there are still people that are inadmissible to this country. There are still people coming here that could have criminal convictions. We are going to process them and handle them normally to make sure this country is safe.

Q You said “ma’am.” Did you say “ma’am”?

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: Yep, in the back, please.

Q Thank you. Just a quick question about Mexico’s role here. Have there been any concessions or pledges by the White House, financial or otherwise, to get them to continue their support?

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: So I think that’s a good question. The dialogue continues. The Vice President is going to meet with senior officials from the government of Mexico this week to have that exact dialogue, to talk through about what has been done, what still needs to be done, as we continue to go. So those negotiations are ongoing.

Q Are you going to be part of the meeting from Mexico with the VP?

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: If I’m asked, I will.

Yes, sir.

Q You said that every mile of wall makes the country safer. And you said, by the end of next year, you’re expecting 450 to 500 miles of wall. The Washington Post has reported that the President would like the wall to be painted black and that, by doing that, the extra costs would actually shorten the wall that you’re hoping to build by four miles. Have you objected to this to the President? Is the President, with this directive, making the country less safe?

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: No. So I think there’s a lot that goes into it. And that’s why I always say — I give an approximate, like 450 to 500 miles. Because there’s a lot of factors that go into that.

I’m on constant communication with the general — General Semonite — that’s leading the Army Corps of Engineers efforts. And there’s a lot of factors that go in there: the terrain; what they hit when they start digging. You know, the factors go on and on. I think it’s common sense.

And so there are a lot of factors that go into that, to include adding anti-climbing features to the wall as well. Painting is one of those. Sure, there will be a cost associated to that, and that may impact the number of miles. But again, the operational impact it will get through painting.

Q (Inaudible)? Or you support painting the wall, and that would shorten the amount of miles built?

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: I think we need to strike a balance between making sure that the miles we build is the most effective wall system we build with respect to also the number of miles. I think it’s a balance we need to strike, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.

Yes, ma’am.

Q Sir, yes. Can you detail how long in the process of the Bahamian persons who are leaving because of humanitarian crisis, how long are they allowed to stay? Can you give us a little bit more detail on that; get into the weeds on that? And also, where specifically is this new area of wall, the 65-mile stretch of wall, being built? Where specifically is that?

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: So, two questions. So, with respect to the Bahamians coming in, it really is dependent on the level of reconstruction and recovery, right? So we’ll make that determination as that goes on. Again, our first and foremost concern —

Q Would that be years? Would it be months?

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: Again, it depends on how long it takes them to recover and rebuild. Again, the United States government, including CBP, our first concern is the safety and wellbeing of those. So, now, we would not support returning people to a place where it’s not safe for them to be.

With respect to the wall, again, it’s being built in strategic locations along the southwest border: Yuma, California, RGV, Laredo. I mean, the list goes on. And we continually work with the Army Corps of Engineers to make sure that we’re striking that balance of our strategic needs and locations and where we can get the most mileage out of what we have.

Yes, sir.

Q Commissioner, in July, a border official testified before Congress that HIV status is being used to justify family separation at the border, which the CBP later clarified to say it occurs on a case-by-case basis. Is that policy still ongoing?

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: Yeah, so what the policy is, is that we’re going to look at, first and foremost, the health, safety, and wellbeing of the child. And we will use a totality of circumstances to make that decision to determine any type of separation. And that’s our policy. It has been and it continues to be.

Q Commissioner, specifically on the Bahamas, there was an incident where about 100 people fleeing the Bahamas got into a ferry and reportedly were kicked off the ferry, (inaudible) they didn’t have the proper documentation. The CBP has gotten a lot of criticism over that because they didn’t have — allegedly, they’re supposed to have these visas. I just wanted to get your reaction on that, sir. And I do have a follow-up question on a different topic.

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: So what I would say about the Bahamas is that you can imagine any type of natural disaster like this, where you have this huge disaster, a lot of resources going on and responding, there’s going to be some confusion. And so what I will say is, that’s what it was.

So, CBP, we’re not working and telling a cruise line that you cannot allow anyone without documents. That’s just not being done, okay? So there’s just some confusion there.

We will accept anyone on humanitarian reasons that needs to come here. We’re going to process them expeditedly. Again, though, if they are deemed to be inadmissible — for example, if they have a long criminal history and they’ve been denied entry in the United States previously, we’re not going to allow that person into the country to roam freely. We’re going to process them like we normally would.

So — yes, ma’am.

Q Commissioner, you said that if the Flores Agreement is revoked, that you think that families will be kept between 50 to 60 days and that it won’t be indefinite. Those were your words. Why should people trust that the Trump administration won’t keep kids and families indefinitely, given the reports of children being held in dangerous conditions? Why should people trust this administration?

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: So, first of all, I would probably object to the term that they’re being in held in “dangerous conditions.” We would need to do a little bit more deeper dive exactly what you mean in that.

But here’s two things that I would say. One is, history shows that. History shows — again, we’ve talked about this before, about a non-detained docket, which means those individuals that are released into the United States, its backlog takes years, versus a detained docket. History shows that, under a detained docket, it takes about 40 to 60 days to get through that process.

And then, if you think of it from a common-sense perspective, is: Why would we want to drag that process out? It’s more costly to the taxpayers. It ties up resources from all the agencies that could be doing more law enforcement action to safeguard this country. It serves nobody purpose to make sure and drag it out, to include the immigrants that are here, both on — if you’re here and your claim is found to be false or fraudulent, let’s determine that quickly and return you to your home country.

More importantly is, is if your claim is found to be merit — based on merit, then let’s get that process quickly so you can’t be returned, and released in the United States.

Yes, sir.

Q Can you give us any indication to whether there are talks ongoing for a safe third country agreement with other countries that the U.S. (inaudible)? Before, it was already announced (inaudible) Guatemala.

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: Yeah, so I think words matter, so I want to stay away from — I think that’s a colloquialism that we use in the United States, “safe third country.” But, yeah, so we are reaching across the aisle, just as we did with the government of Guatemala, to come up with a cooperative agreement to return individuals to Guatemala who had transitioned through other countries.

We are continuing to have those similar discussions for cooperative agreements with other countries as well.

Q Mexico specifically, sir?

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: Absolutely. Absolutely. We’re continuing —

Q Do you expect that will happen?

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: I’m not going to speculate. We’re still in negotiations. It’s still a little bit early. I’ll leave that up to maybe the Vice President in his discussion this week.

But what I can tell you — think about this from a pragmatic standpoint: If somebody is fleeing their country because they feel that they’re being persecuted for a list of legitimate reasons, it really is in their best interest to apply for asylum to the first country that they have entered outside of the country that they are being persecuted. That’s our design. We believe it’s in their best interest as well.

Q Thank you, sir. With the numbers going down, is there a point at which they’d be down far enough that the national emergency or crisis at the border will be over? And in a related question, they went up under Kevin McAleenan, who is now the Acting DHS Secretary. Why did he get promoted rather than fired?

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: So let me take the second one first. That’s way out of my lane or my pay grade. So the — what was the first question again?

Q When will the numbers go down far enough that the emergency is over?

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: Right. So what I would say is — that’s tricky. So I’ve been asked that a couple of times. And, you know, trying to just be honest and transparent with that. From CBP, hey, look, if I could see daily apps around 500 a day, that’s manageable, I think.

Would I say that that’s the magic number? The magic number is zero, right? But we have to be realistic. But even saying 500, saying a specific number, it’s not really that easy because it’s not just about the numbers, it’s also the demographics.

Now, one thing we’ve agreed upon — and it’s gets back to your question, ma’am, about dangerous conditions — here’s one thing we agree on: We’ve always said, from day one, that children — children should not be in Border Patrol facilities that were designed for single adults. We’ve said that to begin with.

So, when we’re talking about numbers, if the majority of those numbers — even 500 — are kids, you know what? No. I would not say that that’s manageable, because we still don’t have the proper conditions in Border Patrol — the current, hard structures — to do that. We’re still going to have to maintain soft-sided facilities to provide the conditions that we are providing now, which is what we should be.

Yes, ma’am.

Q Thank you. I want to clear up — or at least, from my understanding, clarify something you said to one of my colleagues here who asked about TPS status being granted to Bahamians. You said yes. Can you — are we specifically talking about all Bahamians who have been affected by Dorian who will be granted TPS status? Or are you talking about simply expedited entry to the U.S. for those who qualify?

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: Right now, we’re working through that. And thanks for following up. So we — there hasn’t been any formal grant of TPS.

Q Have you had that conversation with President Trump or with other officials in this administration?

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: Not yet.

Q Would you plan to? Do you think you will?

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: I think so. I think that would be appropriate to have that circumstance, especially depending — I mean, history shows we’ve done that before, right? And so if the history shows that it’s taken, you know, a lengthy time to get the Bahamas back to where these people can return to, I’m sure that that will be a discussion we’ll be having.

Yes, ma’am.

Q Thank you, Commissioner Morgan. So, just following up on this dangerous condition point, there are increasing reports of extortion and also kidnappings of MPP returnees. Is your agency tracking this trend? And are you doing anything to lessen the risk of migrants?

And then, a follow-up to that —

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: So you’re talking about those that are waiting in Mexico under MPP?

Q Returning to Mex- — yes.

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: Yeah. So let me address that. And I think that’s important.

So, I’ve read the same reports. I’ve heard the same anecdotal allegations. To this date, Mexico has provided nothing to the United States corroborating or verifying those allegations. But here’s what I would say: Is the mere fact that those allegations are here, this should really drive us to want to have intellectually honest conversations about the core drivers of this crisis. What is at the core, driving this crisis? And we know that, but we’re not talking about it enough.

The cartels, they start exploiting and abusing these vulnerable — this vulnerable population before they leave their home country. They’re selling the bill of goods. They’re promising, “Hey, you mortgage your home, you give us thousands of dollars, and we’re going to take you on this dangerous trek through multiple countries because we’re going to promise you, because of America’s broken laws, you’re going to be allowed in this country.”

The cartels are exploiting them from day one, taking their money. We’ve heard from independent sources that, on this dangerous trek, up to 33 percent are abused. Thirty-three percent. And once they get into the United States, that exploitation doesn’t start. They have to continue to extort them to pay off the bill for taking them through, whether it’s sex slavery, whatever that is.

So, the exploitation, it continues from day one. That’s the core issue. That’s what we want to stop. And MPP is doing just that. MPP —

Q And —

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: Let me finish this; this is important. MPP — one of the most significant thing that MPP is doing is, they’re telling the cartels and this vulnerable population the game has changed. If you come here, even with a kid — it used to be, you come here with a kid, that was your passport into the United States. MPP is saying, “That’s done. That’s a lie now. You can’t. You’re not going to be allowed into this country even if you bring a kid.” So don’t mortgage your home. Don’t pay the cartels. Don’t risk your life. Don’t risk the life of your family. When you get in here, don’t allow yourself to continue to get exploited. That’s what MPP is doing.

Q Commissioner Morgan, let me ask you about — the Office of Special Counsel recently found CBP in violation of DNA collection laws for individuals in their custody — in your custody. When will you start complying with these DNA collection laws?

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: So, remember, and I — so, I’m glad you asked this question, because I want to clarify one of the false narratives out there that DHS — because this really is a DHS issue — has violated some law by not doing this. And that’s just factually inaccurate. Is that, previously —

Q You are complying?

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: No, let me finish. I’ll explain why we’re not violating the law. Because, under the Department of Justice, the Attorney General —

Q I just want to know if you’re complying. That’s all.

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: — the Attorney General — I’m answering your question, if you’ll allow me too, all right?

So, the Attorney General has stipulated there’s a waiver, and he’s allowed the Secretary of DHS to decide whether they want to apply that waiver. And this was done under former Secretary Napolitano for a whole host of what I think are legitimate operational concerns and budgetary issues of why they granted that waiver.

So, now — so, I just want to make sure, there’s no violation of law. Now, let’s fast-forward to today. I believe, personally, that we need to take a look at this and we need to figure out a meaningful and thoughtful way of where we can begin to look at where it’s appropriate to start applying with CODIS. And we are currently under discussions with DHS and the Department of Justice to come up with a meaningful, thoughtful strategy to begin that.

Q So, what is the timeframe — what is the timeframe for you complying with it, then? What’s the timeframe for complying with it? Mr. Commissioner, what’s the timeframe for complying?

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: Go ahead.

Q Why can’t you just answer that simple question? What’s the timeframe for complying with it?

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: So, I don’t have a timeframe, because we need to make sure —

Q Months? Years?

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: It would be nice for you to let me actually answer your question without you interrupting me.

Q You didn’t answer (inaudible).

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: So — so I’m trying to answer a question right now, okay?

Q Thank you.

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: So — so, we don’t have a time because there’s a lot that goes into that. I mean, it’s not — it’s not just as simple as one day we say, “Okay, start sending out the kits and do it.” It’s not that simple. It’s very complicated.

And this is a DHS issue, and the force — in the continuum of the immigration process, there’s multiple agencies that are involved. We need to figure out where in that continuum would be the most appropriate. We got to talk about budgetary issues. We got to talk about the impact to operations. We have to coordinate with the unions with respect to that. It’s very complicated. And I answered your question, is that we’re going to do this in a very meaningful, thoughtful way. And when we’re ready to actually execute it effectively, then that’s when we’ll do it.

Yes, sir.

Q Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott have recently said that the policy, with respect to the Bahamas, is confusing. I’m not entirely sure, with respect to what you’ve said so far, is going to clarify that confusion. If you’re a Bahamian, if you’re trying to enter the country, you’re trying to evacuate, what is the visa requirement? You mentioned that there are fees that are going to be waived. Can you be specific?

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: Yeah. So, I thought I addressed that. So, this is a humanitarian mission, right? With respect to this. So, if your life is in jeopardy — you’re in the Bahamas, and you want to get to the United States — you’re going to be allowed to come to the United States, right? Whether you have travel documents or not. We’ve already allowed U.S. cits and non-U.S. cits in. We’ve already processed people that have travel documents and don’t have travel documents. And we’re trying to do that in the most expeditious way we can to support the humanitarian mission. But, again, as I stated before, we’re still going to go through the process.

And if you looked at the time that a process — I think the first ship that came in had over 1,400 individuals — we did that ship in a couple hours. Right? It was just amazing work that the folks at CBP did. But we’re still going to do our job. We still need to process you. We still need to vet them to make sure that we’re not letting dangerous people in, taking advantage of this.

And I’ll give you another example is: We’ve had some individuals that brought children with them from the Bahamas, who lost their mom and dad. So we need to make sure that — were they — was there any nefarious activity involved, or were they just doing it out of humanitarian reasons to pick the kid? And, so far, that’s what we’ve seen. But we still have to vet that out. So —

Yes, ma’am, in the back.

Q Thank you, Commissioner Morgan. You’re touting the successes of the administration’s policy changes, regulation, but also the help from Mexico, yet you also said you expect numbers to go up next year if Congress doesn’t act. Do you expect Mexico’s support to wane in 2020 or people to find workarounds for the new policies and rules? Why do you expect it to go up since you’ve seen so much success in the last few months?

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: So that’s a great question. So, I am skeptical. Again, make no mistake, Mexico has stepped up in an unprecedented way to be partners and really see this as a regional crisis. But as I said, we need them to do more. And there are specific targeted areas that we continue to talk to that they need to do more.

I am concerned whether the government of Mexico, including our partners in the Northern Triangle countries, are going to be able to sustain the level of commitment they have. But in addition to that, as a country, we cannot rely on other countries, no matter how great their support is, to fix our laws.

If you think about it, it just can’t be sustainable. So that’s why I stick to that, that we need Congress to act. They know what to do. And they have failed the American people by not doing so.

Yes, sir.

Q Yeah. So just to clarify, you said you’re going to vet the Bahamians coming in. Anyone who’s deemed a threat, are they going to just be dropped back off in the Bahamas and left to fend for themselves? What’s going to happen with them?

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: No, of course not. And that’s why I go with our normal procedures. So when we see somebody — normally, even outside the humanitarian process — we will bring them in. Again, we have that immigration continuum with multiple agencies involved. They can come in. They can — you know, they can claim fear. They can — the normal process. Everything will be available to them.

If we have someone that we deem is inadmissible that came from the Bahamas, obviously we’re not going to return them because it’s unsafe. But, for us, CBP, we will turn them over to ICE ERO who will take them and then detain them appropriately and continue out with the procedure.

Okay. One more question. Gentleman in the back.

Q Thank you. You just mentioned the agreement this administration reached with the government of Guatemala. The President-Elect of Guatemala, Alejandro Giammattei, was here last week, questioning this agreement and saying that he hasn’t seen the documents yet. That’s one question. What do you think about this agreement? Is it actually function — like a functional agreement? And also, what other countries in Central — are you talking to you, are you having talks, to reach agreement?

ACTING COMMISSIONER MORGAN: So, good question. So I’m glad you asked them for a moment of clarification. So we have the agreement ready to go, but it has not been ratified by the government of Guatemala, so you’re correct on that. Now, we hope it will be because I think it will be significant.

And then, we’re continuing to talk to not only the Northern Triangle countries — you know, obviously, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador — but also Panama. You know, any country that really can step up and is really a part of this immigration crisis that really is a regional issue.

So, thank you.

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