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White House Holds Press Briefing Amid Market, Tariff Turmoil. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired March 11, 2025 - 13:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[13:30:00]

LEAVITT: ... will have an opportunity to witness this very exciting moment later this afternoon. But Tesla -- a -- a Tesla is on its way here now and we'll see if the President likes it when he checks it out.

QUESTION: So they're bringing him a Tesla to look at, and if he likes it, he's just going to buy it?

LEAVITT: He -- no, he's intent on -- he's definitely going to buy one, but he'll take a look at it when it gets here later this afternoon.

QUESTION: Full retail?

(LAUGHTER)

LEAVITT: Yes, full market price.

Kelly?

QUESTION: Can we talk about Canada? What is the status of President Trump having a conversation with Mark Carney? We have seen the President use the term "Governor" to refer to Justin Trudeau. Will that moniker also go to Mr. Carney going forward?

And is -- the decision to increase the tariffs, is that based on a specific economic metric that he looked at? Is it impulse? How would you describe his reaction to Canada...

LEAVITT: The President has not yet spoken to Mr. Carney, not until -- not since I checked, which was just moments ago. But certainly, his phone is always open to -- to leaders who wish to speak with him.

As for the tariffs, the President made his position on this quite clear with the statement that he put out, and it was a retaliatory statement due to the escalation of rhetoric that we've seen out of Ontario, Canada. The President saw the Premier Doug Ford make an egregious and insulting comment threatening to shut down electricity for the American people, for hardworking American families. He made that threat.

The President saw that and has an obligation and a responsibility to respond accordingly and in -- and represent the interests of the American people. So he has made the decision to add a 25 percent tariff. So now, steel and aluminum tariffs will come into effect tomorrow at the rate of 50 percent.

And our steel and aluminum industries have -- have actually applauded these tariffs because, again, they know it's going to grow their industry here, it's going to allow them to export more steel that is made right here in the United States with American workers.

QUESTION: "Egregious" and "insulting" are your words here, but that's what many Canadian leaders have said about the actions President Trump has taken toward Canada.

And what do you think the timeline is for speaking to Mr. Carney? Because normally, a sitting president speaks to a close ally very quickly when there's new leadership.

LEAVITT: Well, the President is, again, responding to the fact that Canada has been ripping off the United States of America and hardworking Americans for decades.

If you look at the rates of tariffs across the board that Canadians have been imposing on the American people and our workers here, it is egregious. In fact, I have a handy dandy chart here that shows not just Canada but the rate of tariffs across the board. If you look at Canada, since you brought it up, American cheese and butter, nearly 300 percent tariff. You look at India, 150 percent tariff on American alcohol. You think that's helping? Kentucky bourbon be exported into India? I don't think so. Hundred percent tariff on agricultural products from India. Look at Japan, tariffing rice 700 percent.

President Trump believes in reciprocity, and it is about dang time that we have a president who actually looks out for the interests of American businesses and workers. And all he's asking for at the end of the day are fair and balanced trade practices, and unfortunately, Canada has not been treating us very fairly at all over the past several decades.

To the woman in the purple, because I saw you were making a face at my previous answer. So, what's going on?

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Well actually, I have a couple of questions. At the core of pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses and elsewhere is a demand to end the war in Gaza. A goal that this administration actually supports and has pursued. So why did -- why has not, has this not been acknowledged or highlighted even?

LEAVITT: Because these colleges and these protests have again put out Hamas propaganda. The flyers that have been distributed call for violence. The flyers that have been distributed have the logo of an organization that has held Americans hostage. That murdered innocent babies, that murdered men, women, and children. They are a designated foreign terrorist organization, and we are not going to tolerate non- citizens, foreigners who come here on a visa engaging in such behavior, siding with terrorists.

And the Secretary of State reserves the authority to revoke the, the green card or the visa of an individual who serves as an who actually it says right here, reasonable grounds to believe that the aliens presence or activities in the United States would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences to the United States. And I think siding with Hamas makes that quite clear.

Secretary Rubio exercised that authority and we fully believe that we are going to move forward with more arrests, as President Trump previewed in his statement yesterday.

[13:35:00]

Ed (ph).

QUESTION: Yeah, thanks.

LEAVITT: Go ahead.

QUESTION: So, are there conversations between the administration and the Canadians going on over this tariff? Because the Ontario Premier says the next step is to cut off electricity to the U.S.

LEAVITT: And the President put out a statement after seeing those comments and said that it would be there would be grave consequences imposed on Canada if they think about shutting off electricity for the United States. of America and our citizens, and the President is also determined to ensure that we are depending on American electricity, not the electricity production of foreign nations, including our allies in Canada.

As for conversations, there is continued correspondence between the President's team, particularly Secretary Lutnick, and the Canadians as well.

QUESTION: (Inaudible) how do you sell to the American people then, after looking at what's happening in the markets this week, and say that the tariff policy long term is something good?

LEAVITT: Well, just think about what the tariff policy long term will do for our country. I think many of us probably grew up in small towns, I know at least I did, and the main street in my small town looks a heck of a lot worse than it probably did decades ago before I was alive, at least my parents and grandparents tell me so, and I know many Americans feel that same way.

What the President envisions for this country is for the United States of America to be a manufacturing superpower, where there are American factories and businesses, owned by Americans producing goods that we are exporting to the rest of the world. Those revenues will stay here. It will increase wages for people here in our great country. It will ensure our national security and it will boost the morale of the American people to have thriving industries again.

Think about Detroit, Michigan think about North Carolina, as I mentioned, that used to have a thriving furniture industry that no longer exists because of the globalist trade policies of previous and past administrations. And the American people gave the President a tremendous opportunity to restore American greatness and restore our manufacturing dominance and he's intent on doing just that.

John (ph).

QUESTION: Thanks, Karoline. Two questions for you. First on the CR, you put up on the screen the President's message to Republicans to support this continuing resolution. Is their outreach to Democrats because what we've seen since the beginning of the fiscal year is that in order to get a continuing resolution, you need bipartisan support and you need compromise.

LEAVITT: Well, right now we are focused on House Republicans and on the House, because that's the first step, as you know, John (ph) and so the President has engaged in correspondence with House Republicans whipping votes and getting them to a yes, which I understand has been pretty successful this morning thus far.

And so again, the President is encouraging Republicans especially, but again, as I said, all members of Congress to vote to continue funding this government so we can continue the business of the American people, which elected President Trump to do.

QUESTION: (Inaudible) financial markets, we've seen this decline yesterday, we see it today as well. It seems that the read on the President's policies is one in which they do not have confidence in his trade tariffs policy. They do not have confidence in what the President said to Fox News over the weekend that he didn't rule out the idea of a recession.

What is your read in terms of the decline that we've seen over the last week and a half in financial markets?

LEAVITT: Well, I think there's actually a lot of reason to be confident, and many people do feel confident. Just look at the nearly $2 trillion in private investment that this president has secured. Look at the comments made by the CEO of Apple, one of the biggest companies in this world, who said that he is bullish on the future of American innovation under the leadership of President Trump. Look at CEO Confidence. According to the conference board measure of CEO confidence in Q1 2025 under the leadership of this president, it jumped to its highest level in three years from cautious optimism to confident optimism.

If you again look at the $2 trillion in investments from some of the biggest companies in the world. Look at the jobs report last Friday. As I also cited in my opening remarks, Fox Business reported that Trump sees a manufacturing boom in first fulls jobs report of his second term. Look at the auto jobs that have already poured back into America. We added 9,000 new auto jobs. Those are sticky jobs. Those are good paying jobs. That's 9,000 American families who will now be able to live the American dream because of the policies of this administration.

You also look at small business optimism. The NFIB put out a report this morning. Small business optimism continues to be far higher than it ever was under the previous administration.

There's a lot of reason to be optimistic. And again, the American people CEOs and people on Wall Street and on Main Street should bet on this president. He is a deal maker. He is a businessman, and he's doing what's right for our country. He wants to restore wealth to the United States of America.

[13:40:00]

Michael (ph), good to see you.

QUESTION: Hey Karoline, thank you. Two questions if I may. Will the administration be providing any relief to states affected by the Ontario power tariff?

LEAVITT: Well, the President has made it very clear that Canada would be very wise not to shut off electricity for the American people, and we hope that that does not happen. As for what would happen if that does take place, I'll leave it to the President to make those decisions.

QUESTION: Does President Trump share the Justice Department's concern over rising egg prices and possible collusion of big eggs?

LEAVITT: Well, we definitely -- we definitely do share the concerns of the American people when it comes to the price of eggs. However, good news, the average cost of a dozen eggs is actually down since Secretary Rollins and President Trump announced their plan. It's down $1.85. So, that's good news on the cost of eggs.

As we know, under the Biden administration, egg prices went up 22 percent. This is another example of an economic mess that President Trump inherited. And the Secretary of Agriculture and the President are focused on fixing it. Secretary Rollins put out a five-point plan or four-point plan rather to address this crisis.

And she has been honest and realistic with the American people, as this administration always is. It will take about three to six months to get the egg supply back to where it should be. But she's focused, and this administration is focused on doing that every day.

Karen?

QUESTION: Thanks, Karoline. Just back on the markets, you said that what we're seeing this week right now on Wall Street is a snapshot of a moment in time. But does the President think he bears any responsibility for the turmoil in the stock market this week?

LEAVITT: Look, the President is unwavering in his commitment to restore American manufacturing and global dominance. And I think he doubled down on that this morning with his new statement, and the tariffs that will be implemented tomorrow on steel and aluminum.

QUESTION: And he has said recently, he's not looking at the market. He said, "You can't really watch the stock market." But all of the gains since Election Day have been erased in the S&P 500. At what point -- how far do stocks have to fall before the President considers it a factor and changes course?

LEAVITT: Again, as I just said, the President will look out for Wall Street and for Main Street just like he did in his first term. And people on Wall Street and Main Street should bet on this President. He's doing what's right for this country.

Nick, good to see you.

QUESTION: Good to see you too. Thank you, Karoline. So, is the President prepared like what we saw with Congressman Massie to pressure other Republican lawmakers into supporting this continuing resolution?

LEAVITT: Well, he is very much, as I said, engaged in this process. He's been making calls to lawmakers on Capitol Hill. And I think his statements against Congressman Massie speak for themselves. And I will let the President put out any additional statements if he chooses to, but he fully expects all House Republicans to vote for this continuing resolution.

QUESTION: And just to follow up, can we start to anticipate seeing more of the President weighing in on upcoming 2026 races like we saw this morning?

LEAVITT: I'm not sure about that. I'm not even sure if I'm allowed to speak about that from this podium. I would check in with our outside political team for guidance on future races and the President's involvement.

Elena?

QUESTION: Thank you. I wanted to ask about some comments Elon Musk made yesterday. He said that there is $500 billion to $700 billion in waste and fraud and entitlement spending. He called it, quote, "The big one to eliminate."

Earlier this month, he also referred to Social Security as a Ponzi scheme. Should Americans expect changes, big changes, to Social Security and Medicare?

LEAVITT: President Trump has been unequivocally clear on this. He is going to protect Social Security and Medicare benefits and Medicaid for hardworking Americans who paid into these entitlement programs and deserve those hard-earned benefits.

And, unfortunately, the mainstream media has taken Mr. Musk out of context. I saw a Bloomberg headline that our team actually worked on getting updated and fixed because it was so wrong, and it took Mr. Musk out of context. What he was specifically referring to cutting was the waste and the fraud and abuse that does exist in these programs.

According to an IG report from the Social Security Administration, there's more than $170 billion of fraud in the Social Security program alone that we know of. And so, the President will continue to protect these programs for hardworking Americans. And, actually, cutting the waste, fraud, and abuse out of these programs will protect it for hardworking Americans.

QUESTION: Put it on exactly, he said around $500 billion to $700 billion. There was no evidence to claim that. And also, if that is the case, that would represent more than a third of what Social Security paid out last year, maybe 20 percent of Social Security and Medicare.

LEAVITT: Well, again, if you read his full quote, he said, "We think," so it's an estimate based on what he's seen. He's not saying definitively, he's saying that's what DOGE suspects and thinks.

And that's exactly why DOGE was created, to ensure that we are investigating the fraudulent spending, the wasteful abuse across our federal government. And I would remind everybody in this room that 77 percent of the American people support this effort by Elon Musk and DOGE to identify such waste, fraud, and abuse.

[13:45:06]

QUESTION: Karoline?

LEAVITT: Go ahead.

QUESTION: Thanks, Karoline.

LEAVITT: You're welcome.

QUESTION: If we could just step back for a second. When President Trump last addressed the BRT when he was on the campaign trail, his big push was on tax cuts. He's going there today as he's proposing tax hikes in the form of tariffs.

LEAVITT: Not true.

QUESTION: And I'm curious...

LEAVITT: He's not doing that.

QUESTION: ...why he's prioritizing that over the tax cuts.

LEAVITT: He's actually not implementing tax hikes. Tariffs are a tax hike on foreign currency that again has been ripping us off. Tariffs are a tax cut for the American people, and the President is a staunch advocate of tax cuts.

As you know, he campaigned on no taxes on tips, no taxes on overtime, no taxes on Social Security benefits. He is committed to all three of those things, and he expects Congress to pass them later this year.

QUESTION: I'm sorry. Have you ever paid a tariff? Because I have.

LEAVITT: That's it..

QUESTION: They don't get charged on foreign companies. They get charged on the importers.

LEAVITT: And, ultimately, when we have fair and balanced trade, which the American people have not seen in decades -- as I said at the beginning, revenues will stay here, wages will go up, and our country will be made wealthy again.

And I think it's insulting that you're trying to test my knowledge of economics and the decisions that this President has made. I now regret giving a question to the Associated Press.

Mary, go ahead.

QUESTION: Hi, Karoline. I have two if that's okay. The first one was on Russia-Ukraine. I know Special Envoy Witkoff said yesterday that Zelenskyy apologized in his letter to Trump. Can you share any more about that letter and what else might be interesting from it that we don't know?

LEAVITT: Yes. The President did reference that letter, as you're saying, in his joint address to Congress. And I do have an update.

As you know, Secretary of State Rubio and our National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz, have been negotiating with the Ukrainians today in Saudi. They will be providing a full readout of that meeting very soon.

But I can assure you and everybody here and the American people that the news we've received from that meeting throughout the day and the President has been briefed on is positive. This meeting has been productive.

I will let Secretary of State Rubio and our National Security -- the Secretary of State Rubio and our National Security Advisor speak to the specifics of what has taken place today when they are ready to do so when the meeting concludes.

Lindsay, go ahead.

QUESTION: Thank you, Karoline. (Inaudible) deal, the President has said this is the first of many arrests like this. Does the administration have a rough estimate of how many arrests you're planning to make similar?

LEAVITT: I don't have an estimate. I do know that DHS, based on very good intel that they have gathered at the direction of the President's executive order, which made it very clear to the Department of Homeland Security that engaging, as I said, in anti-American, anti- Semitic, pro-Hamas protests will not be tolerated.

So, since the President signed that executive order and since Secretary Noem has taken the oath at DHS, they have been using intelligence to identify individuals on our nation's colleges and universities, on our college campuses, who have engaged in such behavior and activity, and especially illegal activity.

LEAVITT: And so I don't have a readout on how many arrests will come, but I do know that DHS is actively working on it, and I also know that Columbia University has been given the names of other individuals who have engaged in pro-Hamas activity, and they are refusing to help DHS identify those individuals on campus. And as the president said very strongly in his statement yesterday, he is not going to tolerate that, and we espe- -- expect all America's colleges and universities to comply with this administration's policy.

(CROSSTALK)

LEAVITT: Jasmine?

QUESTION: Thank you so much, Karoline. A question: On Canada, after all of these threats to increase tariffs or turn off electricity, I wonder, does this administration still consider Canada to be a close ally of the United States?

LEAVITT: Well, I think Canada is a -- a pa- -- a neighbor. They are a partner. They have always been an ally. Perhaps they are becoming a competitor now. But as the president also laid out in his Truth Social post today, he believes that Canadians would benefit greatly from becoming the 51st state of the United States of America.

And I actually looked into some of the research about the cost of living in Canada, and the cost of living is much higher than it is here in the United States of America. The average cost of a home in Canada is much higher. In Quebec, the highest tax rate for an income of $150,000 or more is 53.3 percent, more than half of Canadians' incomes they are being taxed on. So the president has made it clear that he believes Canadians would be better served economically, militarily if they were to become the 51st state of the United States of America.

Reagan (ph)?

QUESTION: Thank you, Karoline. A week ago, Attorney General Bondi said a truckload of Epstein files have been delivered to her office from the SDNY. When can we expect those files to be released to the public?

LEAVITT: I would defer you to the Department of Justice. I don't have a timeline here.

[13:50:00]

QUESTION: Do you have any update on the JFK files?

LEAVITT: I don't at this moment. Again, I would defer you to our DNI director, Tulsi Gabbard, and also the Department of Justice. I know that they are working on that diligently, as the president requested them to do.

Christian?

QUESTION: Thanks, Karoline. Two questions. Since we've been talking about Ontario, so have there been any updates on standing up the External Revenue Service to collect revenue from them?

LEAVITT: Well, we need recip- -- reciprocal tariffs to go into effect first, and as you know, the president will be rolling those out on April 2nd, and then the next part of that process is collecting that revenue to ultimately create the External Revenue Service, which Secretary Lutnick is working very hard on and is quite enthusiastic about, if you have noticed from his media interviews.

QUESTION: Can the president do that through executive action, or will (inaudible) legislation?

LEAVITT: Well, the president already signed an executive order to direct the secretary of commerce to establish the External Revenue Service, or at least to identify ways in which it can be done. I would defer you to the Department of Commerce for more on specifics on that.

QUESTION: One more on that?

LEAVITT: Sure, in the back.

QUESTION: Thank you very much, Karoline. I have a few questions on South Korea and North Korea (inaudible). As you know, South Korean President Yoon has been released (ph) from (inaudible) detention. What is the reaction of the United States as an ally? Is there a possibility of a summit with President Trump when President Yoon returns?

Second question on North Korea: North Korea launched a ballistic missile -- several ballistic missiles into the West Coast (ph) yesterday. What is the White House's reaction on this (inaudible)?

LEAVITT: Sure. Yes, I'll start with your question on North Korea. We condemn these actions and we call on North Korea to stop their unlawful and destabilizing actions.

As for South Korea, the U.S. and Republic of Korea's alliance is ironclad, and the Trump administration remains in close contact with our South Korean counterparts as we work together to promote a free and open Indo-specific (sic).

Sure.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: (inaudible) answer with that release of South Korean president from jail (inaudible).

LEAVITT: I don't have anything on that, but I can certainly check in with the National Security Council and get back to you.

(CROSSTALK)

LEAVITT: Sure. Good to see you.

QUESTION: Press Secretary, many are concerned about the validity of...

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: All right, we're listening here to the White House briefing. And we just heard a number of things, including Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt justifying Trump's tariffs policy.

She cited, for example, Canada's tariffs on American cheese and butter, nearly 300 percent tariff, she noted. But we do have to be clear, those are not actually in effect.

They have not been triggered. They get triggered if American exports hit a certain quota, which they are far from hitting in almost every category. We've taken a very close look at this. Our Daniel Dale has.

And furthermore, these are tariffs. The ones she cites that she seems very animated by. They're actually tariffs that Trump himself left in place when he negotiated the USMCA during his first term, which he described, of course, as the best trade deal ever made.

And there was also some very interesting comments that she made about the arrest of protesters on campuses.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Yes, Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate student who was detained by ICE officials and is currently being held in a detention center in Louisiana over his organization of protests on that campus.

She cited handing out fliers as part of the reason that he may have been detained in support of Hamas is the allegation. The administration is suggesting that his activity on campus could have potentially adverse foreign policy consequences.

Her exact quote there was that the administration would not tolerate, quote, "anti-American, anti-Semitic, pro-Hamas protests."

The question, of course, is whether that kind of protest is protected under the First Amendment, whether you can actually stop someone for expressing what they believe versus actually supplying material or intellectual property to a terrorist group. The law there will be tested as a judge weighs in on that case.

She was also asked about the battle to keep the government running, the C.R. that's being debated by the House. She was asked specifically if the president had reached out to Democrats.

She essentially, through her words, said no, that Trump had spoken exclusively to House Republicans, saying that he is expecting every single Republican to vote in favor of the continuing resolution.

This is despite Thomas Massie, one House Republican, saying that he would vote against it, and then Trump threatening to primary him.

KEILAR: Yes, he is really twisting arms. That is what's very clear. We just had Congressman Tim Burchett on, who had been a no. Seems undecided. Seemed to admit that he actually is going to vote for the C.R.

[13:54:59]

We pressed him on that. He seemed to go back to undecided. But I think you could put some money on he'll be voting yes along with these other Republicans the president is putting pressure on.

We'll have much more ahead. Stay with CNN. We're moments away from an NTSB update on that deadly mid-air

collision between that American Airlines plane here in Washington, D.C., and an Army Blackhawk helicopter.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:02]

SANCHEZ: We have a brand new update on that deadly mid-air collision over the Potomac River. The NTSB releasing its preliminary report into what happened.