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President Trump Holds Cabinet Meeting. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired May 27, 2026 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:01]

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We had it -- when I was in Iowa, we had -- driving by, and we saw gas stations; $1.90 a gallon, $1.85, $1.87 were the three that we saw.

We had it down in some places below -- now, we can't help a California, where they charge so much tax that, you know, you lower it and they charge tax. They've got to straighten the act out in California.

But we had oil, we had gasoline down to a very low number. I think we'll be hitting that number shortly after that whole excursion ends.

QUESTION: Does that give you more urgency?

TRUMP: But regardless of anything, regardless of anything, as Marco said better than anybody can say, you can't let them have a nuclear weapon. They would use it instantly.

They wouldn't think about it. They would use it instantly. I've gotten to know them. They would use it instantly.

QUESTION: Does that give you more urgency, Mr. President? You have said that you're in no rush to make a deal. But with gas prices that are still high across the country, people are paying more for travel, does that give you more urgency to make a deal? Why doesn't it?

TRUMP: Well, I will tell you, the primary urgency, and I said this -- it wasn't covered properly, but the primary urgency is that we can't let Iran have a nuclear weapon.

But at the same time, we have a tremendous amount of oil, gas, coal. We have tremendous amounts of energy. We have -- we're blessed with something very special. Those prices are going to come down. They're going to come down fast.

I think that you will see -- actually, Todd, I think you're going to see the lower prices that we had even before we did this. Now, I knew there'd be an increase. I said, we have a choice. We don't have to do anything.

And in two years, or one year, or two months, because Iran would have had a -- if we didn't hit that with the B-2 bombers, Iran would have had a nuclear weapon within two weeks from that date, because they were ready to go. And if they had a new weapon -- a nuclear weapon, it would have been used already.

It also would have been used had I not terminated the Obama deal, the Iran nuclear deal, as we call it. That was in my first term. Had I not terminated that, they would have had a nuclear weapon a long time ago. I would say it was a guarantee that it would have been used.

And it would have blown up Israel. It would have blown up the entire Middle East. And that's never going to happen.

Yes, please.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: On Iran, would you be comfortable with Russia or China taking their stockpile of highly enriched uranium? And have they offered to do so?

TRUMP: No, I wouldn't be comfortable.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: That would not make me comfortable.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Is the U.S. considering easing sanctions on Iran to allow Iran to sell its crude to market?

TRUMP: No. We're not talking about any easing of sanctions or giving money, no sanctions, no money, no nothing. We have control of money that they claim is theirs. We will keep control of that money.

When they behave properly and when they do what's right, we will let them have their money. But, right now, we're not doing that. And it's not -- one thing is not contingent on the other.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Mr. President, on the shooting last weekend, it came barely a month after the third assassination attempt against you during the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

What was your reaction when you first heard about the latest shooting? And what gives you the courage to keep doing your job effectively without thinking about these threats every day?

TRUMP: Well, I can't think about it, because if I thought about it a lot, I wouldn't be a very good president. I wouldn't be here, probably. I'd be up in some room with a locked door and say, just leave me alone.

(LAUGHTER)

TRUMP: So I can't really think about it. It says something that's a sad part of life. It's a dangerous business. What I'm doing is a dangerous business. And they say -- and, look, we have been maybe the most consequential,

but we certainly have been one of the most consequential -- this group has been a very consequential administration. And they say, if you're not consequential, you don't have so much problem. If you are consequential, you do.

So you have to look at that. But it's a shame. It's a sad -- it's a sad -- it's a very sad fact of life. Look, anybody in office, not only in this country, in other countries too. But when you are a consequential president, your life is in grave danger. I knew that.

Yes.

QUESTION: Mr. President, how would you characterize the current state of the talks with Iran? I guess, if it were a football field, what yard line would you be on?

TRUMP: Well, I think we're doing very well.

They are starting to give us the things that they have to give us. And if they do, that's great. And if they won't, then the man on my left is going to finish them off.

QUESTION: Is there a time frame in your mind?

TRUMP: What?

QUESTION: Is there a time frame in your mind, sir?

TRUMP: I mean, it happens quickly. The problem is, every time I mention a time frame -- for instance, I see -- we have been doing this for a few months.

Vietnam lasted 19 years. Korea lasted eight years. Afghanistan lasted many years. They were all many, many years. And we're into it for a few months. And I read about you people like you, what's taking so long? But we're in it. We lost -- between two wars, two big wars, Venezuela and Iran, we lost 13 souls, 13 great people. Met the parents, great people. And it's a terrible thing, but 13.

[13:05:03]

If you look at the war casualties and the deaths in wars from Vietnam and all that, they lost hundreds of thousands of people in numerous of these wars. We want -- we're very cognizant of that. We want to lose very few. We want very few to be injured. We're very careful.

But war is war. War is dangerous. But we have lost 13. I saw the Democrats took an ad putting into 13 people that were lost. And when you look at hundreds of thousands of people that were lost in the Middle East, Iraq, all the different wars we were in, we have done an amazing job.

With that being said, I hate to lose 13. I hate to lose one. But we have been very -- we have been very -- we have been very capable. And when you think of it, we took over Venezuela in one day. We have done a similar job. But we said, we will give them a little chance, at the request of somebody that we greatly respect from Pakistan, the field marshal, and the prime minister.

They have been great. They asked us, would we pause the war for a little while, because they'd like to -- so, we will do that. But we had them beat. They're no better now. We could close that out very quickly. If we can do it in a different way, that would be good, if we get everything we want. But we could close that out very, very quickly.

And we may have to. I don't think so, but we may have to.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Mr. President, can I ask you about the World Cup, if I could.

(CROSSTALK) .

QUESTION: The U.S. spent a lot of money getting the World Cup here and increasing the infrastructure. Does the economic benefit outweigh the cost?

TRUMP: No, the World Cup is great. It's the most successful they have ever had ticket-wise. It's -- they have never had anything that sold so quickly. It's amazing, because it's the United States.

You don't think of...

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: ... benefits?

TRUMP: We -- I call it soccer. It's just easier to do, because we have football. And they have two footballs, right? They call it football.

But I never -- most people never thought they'd see anything like that. The World Cup, it's turned out to be the most successful World Cup from the standpoint of what's happening than they have ever had.

Yes, please.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Thank you so much (OFF-MIKE) Turning Point USA. I have one question for you and one question for Vice President J.D. Vance on fraud.

What's your message to the New Jersey leaders pushing back against ICE operations at the Delaney Hall? And...

TRUMP: About ICE?

QUESTION: Yes.

TRUMP: Or about NICE, as I call it, NICE, the NICE facility?

I'd love to change the name, call it NICE. They do a great job. And it's all paid-for protesters. You can see by the signs. The signs are all made by the same beautiful factory. It's a printing plant. In fact, I'm thinking about using it. They do such a nice job.

(LAUGHTER)

TRUMP: These aren't protesters. These people are fake. They're all paid for. And I will tell you, Tom Homan and that whole group, and now Markwayne is so incredible.

Markwayne, do you want to just respond to that?

MARKWAYNE MULLIN, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Sure.

TRUMP: We run the finest facilities anywhere in the world of their type.

But we have some horrible killers. We have killers. We have guys that have murdered numerous people in there. And these are the people they're trying to protect. There's nobody that runs a facility like we do.

Markwayne, please.

MULLIN: Yes, it shows that this radical left Democrats' priorities when they decide to go out and protest a detention center where we're housing rapists, child predators, murderers, drug dealers.

And they choose Memorial Day, of all the day, of all the time to go protest something that they say that they're -- that it's because they're on a hunger strike, when there was only a handful of individuals that was refusing to eat because they want their ethnic group or their ethnic right food.

Well, they can go back to the country and get whatever food they want. The fact is, we're giving them the calories they want. This isn't Holiday Inn. We're giving them sanitation. But for the Democrats to -- and the governor, like Governor Sherrill, and Senator Kim and Senator Booker to go out and do something like this, of all the days, is very frustrating.

And there -- and we see Antifa signs are literally out there, the local police refusing, literally refusing to respond. They barricaded, not allowing our employees to come in and out. ICE has to go out there and remove the barricade. And then you have one of the senators complained because he got splattered with a -- with a pepper ball.

I'm sorry. You probably shouldn't have been there.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: And one thing I will say about that, the local police.

I know a lot of the New Jersey police. They're phenomenal. They love us, but they're told not to do anything.

MULLIN: That's right.

TRUMP: They love us. They love him. They even love me a lot. And they -- I'm in New Jersey a lot. It's great. I mean, I think it's a great place. It's got a group of people running it now that are having a hard time.

But they really -- they really like this administration. They love this administration more than any administration they have ever had. And they're thanking me all the time. And I see those -- I see those guys going up and down the Jersey Turnpike with their big beautiful hats on. I say, I'd like to look like that someday.

(LAUGHTER)

[13:10:03]

TRUMP: You know? They're great.

No, these are great people. And they love him. And they love ICE and they love the Border Patrol. And they're not allowed to talk to anybody. It's like -- but it all comes from the top. They have to follow orders. They want to keep their jobs.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Are you expecting Congress to pass a federal gas tax holiday?

TRUMP: A gas tax holiday?

QUESTION: Yes. (OFF-MIKE)

TRUMP: Well, it's something we might talk about. Let's see what happens over the next week, two weeks.

A lot of good things are happening.

QUESTION: President Trump...

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Sir, are you going to the Knicks game next week?

TRUMP: No, I was invited to the -- I was going to go on Wednesday, but they closed it out very quickly.

They -- and Jim Dolan is a great guy. He's -- as you know, owns and in charge of Madison Square Garden. He's having a good year. Boy, what a team. They won all their games. They really they have some great players. I think I will be going to one of the games.

Yes, I was invited by numerous people and Jim, and I think I will be going. It's great. Great to see it.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: The Knicks have really -- they have really suffered for years.

(LAUGHTER)

QUESTION: What's your prediction?

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: They're doing right now very...

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Do you accept an agreement with Iran that just calls for further talks on the uranium?

TRUMP: No.

QUESTION: Or is the only option...

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: No, I would for some of it, because it's a memorandum of understanding for speed.

And one of the things that will happen is the strait will open immediately, immediately. But it's got to be perfect. I'm not going to do the -- I didn't do this to get a crummy agreement. The worst agreement ever signed was by Barack Hussein Obama. What a horrible agreement that was.

It was a setback for this country, for the whole world. The Middle East would have blown itself up. No. I would like to have the countries we were talking about, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, and the others. We would like to have them immediately join the -- and Steve Witkoff is working on that with Jared and some others, but would like to have them join the Abraham Accords.

It'll be historic if they do it. And we would -- I think they owe that to us, to be honest. I think, because that really would be a tremendous sign. And I think those countries owe it to us.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Steve, are you going to get them to sign?

STEVE WITKOFF, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY TO THE MIDDLE EAST: We're definitely pushing it, Mr. President.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: I'm not sure -- I'm not sure we should make the deal if they don't sign, you want to know the truth.

If they don't sign to join the Abraham Accords, I don't know that we -- we have countries in there already, UAE, great, great countries, bold countries. And it's turned out to be so good, so effective. And so we're requesting strongly that they join.

It'll be great. It would be great for Saudi Arabia. It would be great for Qatar, Kuwait, the whole group.

QUESTION: So, the Iran deal might be contingent on more countries joining the Accords?

TRUMP: I don't know. I don't want to say that. I'm not going to give what's contingent, what's not.

I can say that we can make a good deal right now, but maybe not a great deal. And if it's not a great deal, we're not making it, because we can make a great deal with this guy right here. And -- but it's a lot nastier. Probably wouldn't go as quickly. We wouldn't be talking about as quickly.

But it would be foolproof. But I think we're doing very well. Steve, I think we're doing pretty well in terms of the negotiation. But we will see. If it's not going to be a real deal -- because Obama had that horrible JCPOA, whatever it was. It was the worst deal.

It was a path for Iran to have a nuclear weapon very quickly. Years ago, they would have had a nuclear weapon. We might not be here talking about it right now. They would have had a nuclear weapon. And, frankly, Obama picked the wrong country. He should have picked another country. I won't tell you what it was, but he picked the wrong country when he picked Iran.

But we have things understood now with Iran. It's been nasty. They have lost their leaders. They have lost -- and it really is regime change. We didn't set out for regime change, but by the fact that we're dealing with a totally different group of people than we were at the beginning.

And, frankly, I find them to be much more reasonable. I actually find them to be smarter. But I find them to be much more reasonable. This is regime change. One regime is gone. Another regime is gone. We're dealing with the third, pieces of them, because some of them are gone too.

And I find them, I think -- how can you have a stronger regime change than that? You know, so I do find that -- I'd like to thank you all very much. We're doing great. Our country is doing fantastically well.

And this group of people is outstanding. Thank you all very much.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Thank you.

QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, press. Thank you, press. Thank you.

TRUMP: Thank you very much.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: All right, we are listening to President Trump as he's been taking questions during this Cabinet meeting, almost entirely about Iran here, but very interesting, a couple of things.

[13:15:06]

First, he was asked repeatedly if gas prices and obviously economic considerations of Americans are weighing on him as he is looking to wrap up this war in Iran. He insisted that his primary urgency is that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, which he has said before, I think in sharper terms than he said here today.

But, also, he's not letting go of this demand that regional allies normalize relations with Israel. He said they owe that to us, I think those countries owe it to us, meaning if the U.S. signs a deal with Iran to end the war. And he said if they don't sign to join the Abraham Accords, I don't know if we should sign the deal, meaning with Iran.

He was asked by a reporter with a quick follow-up there if that then was contingent, the joining of the Abraham Accords, on signing the deal with Iran. And he sort of demurred on that even after sort of making it clear that he thought it should be contingent.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Yes, in real time. He said, I'm not -- I don't want to say that. I'm not going to give you what is contingent and what is not.

So, in real time, the president floating this idea and then seeming to walk it back. He did lay out a red line when it comes to negotiations with Iran, specifically on the Strait of Hormuz and its future.

Based on what was released today by Iranian state media, this draft of the memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran, it outlines that Iran would maintain control of the strait and transit through the strait, charging an environmental fee, is the phrase that the Iranians have used.

Notably here, the president saying that that will not happen. That is a nonstarter, the president saying -- quote -- "It's international waters. Nobody's control it -- going to control it. We're going to watch over it. They would like to control it. Nobody's going to control it."

He also said that if Iran doesn't give the U.S. what it wants, then "the man to my left" will finish them off, speaking of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

We're joined now by Alayna Treene, who's at the White House for us, as well as Jeff Zeleny.

Alayna, let's start with you.

What did you hear from the president's Cabinet meeting there in that session answering reporters' questions that stood out to you?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, look, I think, at first, before the Q&A with the president, you actually didn't hear Trump talk a lot about Iran, beyond really this reluctancy to seem overeager to wanting to reach a deal.

That's despite, of course, us hearing just a couple of days ago from the president that they were kind of just finalizing this memorandum of understanding, this framework between Washington and Tehran, now trying to suggest that he is not in a rush and wants to ensure that they get the deal that they want.

He even added that he wasn't satisfied with where things stand at this moment. I want to listen to that part specifically.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Iran is very much intent, they want very much to make a deal. So far, they haven't gotten there. We're not satisfied with it.

But we will be. We will be. Either that, or we will have to just finish the job. But their navy is gone, as I have said 1,000 times. Their navy is gone. Their air force is gone. Everything's gone. And they're negotiating on fumes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: So that's kind of what you heard from the president.

But then, once you got into the question-and-answer, a lot of interesting things really, with many of those questions from reporters focusing on what the state of play is in these negotiations, one of them being that he said he is not comfortable with the highly enriched uranium that Iran still possesses going to a country like China or Russia.

We know that the president has said in recent days, almost in a small departure of where he had stood previously, that he'd be open to this idea of a third country retrieving that uranium from Iran, but said he doesn't want it going to allies -- Iranian allies, I should say, like China and Russia.

So that was interesting. He also said there will be no sanctions relief for Iran. He said, instead, if Iran agrees to all of the terms that the Trump administration is demanding, then the U.S. will likely unfreeze some of the funds that Iran believes are in their possession, and so a little bit of clarity there.

You mentioned this, but I think what he's saying on the strait is very important, particularly after we heard Iran kind of summarize what they believe the memorandum of understanding is through Iranian state TV. He said there is no way that he would allow Iran to continue having control over the strait, even if they do agree to reopen it to prewar levels, saying that it belongs to international waters.

And then, lastly, you mentioned it as well, but I think his insistence right now on the Abraham Accords and getting Middle Eastern allies and regional partners to agree to it is fascinating. We know that this is something that has been very, very controversial for many countries, like the Saudis, for example, who insist that there has to be a pathway for a Palestinian state in order for them to agree to that.

But I would also note that part of the reason that the Trump administration has felt so optimistic in recent days that a framework is much farther along than they had been previously -- previously throughout the cease-fire is because so many of these Middle Eastern countries have really stepped up and joined these negotiations as mediators alongside the Pakistanis.

[13:20:18]

So, a lot of interesting things we heard from the president here, but, overall, I think the takeaway is still a lot that is being worked out when it comes to this framework deal with the Iranians, Boris and Brianna.

KEILAR: Alayna, he's under a lot of pressure to show that this war is not in vain. And he was talking about regime change, where he's saying, we know we didn't set out for the to be regime change, but he said this is regime change. That was his quote there.

He said one regime is gone, another -- this is the third we're dealing with. The supreme leader is Mojtaba Khamenei. The ayatollah is still Khamenei, his son. And yet it's important to note Iranians don't appear to be experiencing what has happened in Iran as regime change.

TREENE: No, I think that's exactly right.

And it has been an issue throughout this entire process, particularly when you look at the rhetoric from the president. I remind you that, on the first day, when the U.S. joined Israel in launching these strikes on Iran, the president was very clear in insisting that the war would not be about regime change.

But we have heard similar comments, I should say, from the president over the course of this war, Brianna and Boris, this idea that there has been a change in leadership in Iran and that there are other people now who the president argues are more realistic.

The problem with that, though, is, there's also so many hard-liners still in power, as you mentioned, the Ayatollah Khamenei, the former ayatollah's son, remaining atop that leadership structure. But I do think -- I agree with you that the president is under immense pressure, and he's continuously trying to prove in many of his comments that this war is justified.

He also makes a point almost every time he speaks now about the Iran war to argue that this is going to be completely different from the JCPOA, which was signed, of course, under the Obama administration. We will see how this actually shakes out, though.

SANCHEZ: Yes, a deal that he today called the worst deal, horrible. No matter what deal he strikes with Tehran, eventually, it is going to be compared to the JCPOA, so we will look forward to seeing the details as they come from the White House.

Alayna Treene, thank you so much for that.

Jeff, let's play some sound now, because amid the pressure that he's facing that Alayna laid out for us, he says he's not worried about November's midterm elections. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: They thought they were going to outwait me. We will outwait him. He's got the midterms.

I don't care about the midterms. Look what happened last night. That was the prelude to the midterms.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Obviously, last night was a primary in Texas, where Republican voters picked his candidate over a longtime incumbent Republican.

General elections are very different. And historically, during midterms, they don't go the incumbents way.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: No doubt.

I mean, the president is definitely conflating the two. He's riding high after a very strong political month in the month of May, where his revenge tour has taken out a few senators, a congressman.

But the reality is, it's an entirely different ball game, these primaries. Seven percent of the Republican electorate voted in Texas last night. That is not going to happen in November, an entirely different set of rules, et cetera.

However, the president clearly believes and is trying to make the case that he is not being pushed for political reasons on Iran. This is the second or third time he has said this: I'm not making my decisions based on politics.

Well, the biggest challenge facing the president and the White House comes in this poll that 75 percent of Americans in our poll last week said that the Iran war has had a negative impact on the finances. That is the weight that is hanging over every Republican candidate.

So, yes, he does not want to be looked like he's being pushed or guided by politics. But the reality is, that is the stage that -- on which he's playing on here. And I'm struck by his moving the goalposts a bit.

Even without the Iran war, the idea of the Abraham Accords expanding was a very tough sell. And the idea of -- he almost seems to be going backwards in terms of talking about to regime change. So that is not necessarily what the White House wanted him to talk about. But back to the midterm elections, so there's no doubt that, because

of the Texas primary, Ken Paxton, his candidate, winning, and beating John Cornyn by a landslide, it puts Texas in play. So the president, what he was not asked about, what I think many people would have liked to ask him, how much money are you going to put from your large MAGA piggy bank into Texas?

Because Republicans are going to have to make some tough decisions here. The battlefield is expanding, if you will. So that is the central question. But his primary strength does not mean very much for November in terms of a general election electorate.

[13:25:02]

SANCHEZ: In part because, as you put it, now with Paxton's win, a lot of Republicans are concerned they have to invest a lot more money in Texas than they would have otherwise.

Jeff Zeleny, appreciate the analysis.

ZELENY: You bet.

SANCHEZ: Thanks so much.

Still to come: See the moment the divers find five villagers alive after they were trapped for nearly a week in a flooded cave in Laos. The latest on the race against time to find two others still missing.

KEILAR: Plus: The American Cancer Society approves a new, far less invasive way to be screened for colorectal cancer. We have that and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Five of the seven people who have been trapped in a flooded cave in Laos for a week now have been found alive.

Cave diving specialists located them earlier today. And while they're still stuck in that underground cavern, the five are said to be safe, healthy, and in good spirits.