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CNN International: U.S. Senate To Hold Crucial Vote On Avoiding Government Shutdown; Putin Reacts To U.S. Proposal For Ukraine Ceasefire; Mark Carney Sworn In As Canada's Prime Minister; Hamas: Prepared To Release U.S.-Israeli Hostage; Former Philippine Leader Charged With Crimes Against Humanity; Tariffs, Layoffs & Funding Cuts Spook U.S. Investors; Trump Speaks On "Law And Order" At Justice Department. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired March 14, 2025 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:43]
MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to viewers all around the world. I'm Max Foster. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
Keeping a close eye on the U.S. Department of Justice for you. U.S. President Donald Trump expected to speak there soon. This just hours before what could be the first government shutdown of his second term. The U.S. president will likely talk about his administration's strategy for restoring their vision of law and order.
This visit will further highlight Mr. Trump's hands on approach to the Justice Department, where he's installed loyalists whilst removing numerous officials. We'll go live to that once it is underway.
We're also watching, as I say, Capitol Hill, where senators are getting close to a vote that could avoid a government shutdown. The deadline is midnight tonight, and U.S. Democrats have been fuming at each other over whether to advance a Republican bill that would stop the shutdown from happening. We'll bring you the latest as soon as we have that.
Two top U.S. officials, meanwhile, striking a somewhat optimistic tone about the prospects for peace in Ukraine that despite a mixed message of sorts from the Kremlin on the U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire. Russian President Vladimir Putin calling the plan great and correct, but he's also questioning how a ceasefire would be monitored.
Earlier, Russia's leader claimed that Ukrainian troops in Kursk will be guaranteed life if they lay down their arms and surrender. That was in response to a social media post from U.S. President Donald Trump calling to spare their lives as Russian forces retake that area.
President Trump says the U.S. will know a little bit more about the ceasefire negotiations on Monday. Earlier, he said he believes there's a very good chance there'll be an agreement to bring the fighting to an end. His national security advisor says there's some cautious optimism about a possible deal.
He had this to say about the Ukrainian delegation during talks in Saudi Arabia earlier this week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE WALTZ, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: They are very forthcoming. We had very good conversations. At one point, we even broke out a map and started drawing on it, on how we're going to end this war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: On the campaign trail, Donald Trump vowed he would end the war in Ukraine on the first day back in office. But nearly two months later. That, of course, hasn't happened.
Though the White House is, however, pushing for an immediate ceasefire. Not everyone is happy with President Trump's approach so far.
A new CNN poll reveals that 50 percent of Americans think the way President Trump is handling Russia's war in Ukraine is bad for the U.S., and most Americans are skeptical about whether it will bring long term peace to the region. Meanwhile, about 54 percent of those surveyed say Mr. Trump's foreign policy moves have hurt Americas standing in the world.
Our international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, joins me now with more perspective.
And, you know, when we talk about this being in Russia's court, it really is, isn't it?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, it's interesting, isn't it, because we heard Marco Rubio today saying that, you know, when journalists were asking him, this was wrapping up at the G7, which incidentally, the U.S. did sign up to the G7 declaration, which does give unwavering support for Ukraine, for its sovereignty, for not a strong perhaps, as the G7 might have wanted.
But what -- what Rubio was saying was the real diplomacy is happening behind the scenes because he was being asked questions. Well, Putin's already sort of negotiating this. And he said, no, no, that's not the case.
But the reality is what we're seeing today already, Putin is negotiating this. After those talks wrapped up in Jeddah, the next thing that happened in Russia, even before they got official information officially informed about what happened at the talks in Jeddah, Putin went to visit his troops in Kursk and then played on TV. That clip of were almost there, were almost taken it.
Then the next day in a press conference says, actually, what should we do about the troops in Kursk? And now, President Trump says, oh, I told him today it would be very good if he'd saved, spared the lives of those Ukrainian troops in Kursk.
And then what does Putin do? Putin says I could spare their lives if they surrender and put down their weapons. This is public negotiations. It is, I think, in the eyes of many
European diplomats, folly to try to play it as otherwise. Yes, there are important conversations going on behind the scenes.
[15:05:04]
And I think there's this concern in Europe and that's being expressed by President Zelenskyy this evening, who's saying that he sees Putin as playing for time, something he says his negotiators warned U.S. officials about that, that Putin is playing for time. Trump is talking about following up and having more conversations. We'll see on Monday.
Yet there was so much pressure and this was a decide now moment in Europe. This is seen very much as the U.S. dithering while Putin plays for time. And there's frustration with that.
FOSTER: You can see why he is playing for time because he's making progress on the battlefield. He could potentially retake Kursk. And then the you know, the lines of that negotiation move.
ROBERTSON: Well, he's setting that is trying to set the terms. He does it piece by piece by piece.
Today it's Kursk. Next it'll be about where NATO can be after a ceasefire agreement. Next, it'll be the detail on who monitors the ceasefire agreement. He's already spoken about that, and he's already spoken about the idea that Ukraine shouldn't be able to get more weapons, that they'll just use this period to rearm and train.
The United States has guaranteed Ukraine. This deal is all about sovereignty. Sovereignty allows you to make decisions about your army and how to equip it and how to train it. Bring in the European perspective.
European perspective is Ukraine's security is our security. We want to be at the table. We're speaking to European diplomats today. They take that language by Putin saying essentially wanting to have a say over the strength of the Ukrainian army, how much they can train, how many weapons.
And they're saying, no, no, we've said Ukraine. And this was Ursula von der Leyen more than a week ago, saying Ukraine should be like a steel porcupine, something that Putin can't swallow. We're going to arm it. We're going to train their soldiers. We're going to continue.
So there's a disconnect between the European position, obviously, and Putin, and there is a disconnect growing between the Europeans who are pushing for Russia to give a quick answer. And the United States, who are saying, okay, well, we'll talk about this again on Monday.
This disconnect at some point between the U.S. and Europe will come more plainly into -- into the light, but its certainly perceived and understood and discussed by diplomats behind the scenes.
FOSTER: At what point does this become embarrassing to Trump? Because he agreed something with Ukraine, which Putin is trying to change. He'll put things in there which Ukraine will see as red lines.
So this urgency that Donald Trump was trying to add to it is going away. He's not -- he hasn't just presented something to Moscow that they had to agree. Putin is going back and saying, I don't like what you agreed.
FOSTER: And I think that's the genuine risk for President Trump at the moment. And he is absolutely smart enough to be able to see that. And -- and his advisors will certainly say, look, we don't believe Putin is playing is playing honestly with us here or not. They'll tell him something else, but he will be able to read if Putin is playing him.
And of course, the Europeans are. The Ukrainians have been saying from the get go, Mr. Trump, this is Putin's style. He will try to play you.
So how I think what were seeing at the moment by the fact that President Trump has said, we'll discuss this more on Monday. Marco Rubio was saying we need for Steve Witkoff, who was in Moscow talking to Putin almost 24 hours ago. Now we need to wait for him to get back, to have a proper discussion.
Well, there's almost 48, plus 72 hours. There's time for that discussion and much of it can be had on secure communications by phone. Okay. They wait for him to get back, but you very much get the sense at the moment. And also because President Trump said today, oh, that comment about getting this done on 24 hours -- in 24 hours, I was being sarcastic.
Well, that sarcasm cut weapons supplies to Ukraine to get them to sign up fast, but anyway, he's saying I was being sarcastic. So you get the sense now that the White House is now trying to -- trying to figure out their next steps because they are up against a potentially immovable object like President Putin's recalcitrant.
FOSTER: An arch negotiator.
ROBERTSON: Yeah, an arch negotiator. You know, President Trump will be aware of what is happening, but he's got to figure out how to deal with it. And as you say, save face.
FOSTER: Well, you might think about it over the weekend because we will expect an update on Monday because of what he said as well.
Nick, thank you so much.
As Nick was saying, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, addressing the U.S. position on the war in Ukraine. He was part of a G7 meeting in Canada.
Rubio said while a ceasefire hasn't been agreed by Russia, there is reason to be hopeful.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Suffice it to say, I think there is reason to be cautiously optimistic. But by the same token, we continue to recognize this is a difficult and complex situation. It will not be easy. It will not be simple.
[15:10:01]
But we certainly feel like were at least some steps closer to ending this war and bringing peace. But it's still a long journey.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Now, north of the border, it's the beginning of a new political era in Canada. Mark Carney has been sworn in as its newest prime minister. The change comes after Justin Trudeau formally stepped down. Some experts believe Carney, an ex-central banker, is perfect for the job as Canada grapples with difficult relationships in the Trump White House and a trade war.
Moments ago, the new prime minister shared his vision for Canada as he takes on his new role.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: Canada's new government will be action oriented, driven by a smaller but highly experienced team made to meet the moment we are in. Our leader cabinet will focus on two priorities in particular. First, protecting Canadian workers and their families in the face of unjustified foreign trade actions. And second, growing this great country by putting more money in Canadians' pockets, by ensuring that government spends less so Canada can invest more.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Paula Newton joins us with more.
Obviously, he's one of the most well-respected economists in the world. What he did, you know, in Canada, what he did here in the U.K., and, you know, no one's doubting his ability to manage an economy, but he's dealing here with emotion, isn't he? Once he gets into politics, particularly with Donald Trump, and that's completely untested.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's untested. And I think that is the issue, right? It is a departure from what we have seen before.
I mean, some of what we learned in terms of the phone calls between Justin Trudeau and Donald Trump were full of emotion, even expletives, if you can believe that on a so-called diplomatic call, this is a completely different man. It won't be a completely different government in terms of policy, but certainly style is different.
Max, he wore a very dark blue suit, and you can see him there with a gray tie. He was very much roll up your sleeves down to business. There will be no more virtue signaling here, but very clear. You're going to hear from me a lot over the next few weeks, as Canada goes into an election campaign, that this is a man running, certainly against his main opponent, opponent, conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, but also running as well against Donald Trump and his threat -- the threat that irks the most for this new prime minister, the one of being the 51st state.
I want you to listen to him now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARNEY: I've been clear. Personally, I've been clear, the ministers behind me, I think to an individual, when asked, have been clear that we will never, ever in any way, shape or form be part of the United States.
America is not Canada. Look at the ceremony. We just have. You could not have had that ceremony. You would not have that ceremony in America.
Look at the cabinet behind me. You would not have that cabinet in America. You do not have that cabinet in America. We are very fundamentally different country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: And given what you heard there, Max, I mean, look, he did go out of his way as well to make sure that people understood that he respected Donald Trump in terms of his positions, the fact that he is fighting against something like fentanyl, something that he acknowledged is also a problem in Canada, but made it clear he wants to begin a different relationship.
Now, Max, it is over to you. He will be in the UK and in France over the next few days. He is not going to the White House. Does not have a phone call scheduled yet with Donald Trump, but we do expect it hopefully within the next day or two.
FOSTER: And you know what we'll be talking about when he's over in the UK. We'll be talking about this idea that you know, this is actually the second time that he's been appointed by King Charles, right? Or the British monarch, let's say, first, as the governor of the Bank of England, now as prime minister of Canada, he knows King Charles really well. He's going to no doubt get an audience when he comes over.
And then this whole debate about whether or not Donald Trump will, you know, when he comes over, say to King Charles, can't you just sign over Canada? To us, just put us straight on this, Paul. I know it's a very annoying question for you.
NEWTON: Listen, Canada is looking for backup. Let's be clear here. There is a reason he is going to the U.K. and France, because this is a question that has been asked in Canada as well.
So, whether it's the economic or the political relationship, yes, Canada wants and needs backup. He was asked that directly in the press conference. Seemed to say, hey, listen, we got this. Not true. Do not listen to him.
He wants these allies. He wants it on display. He wants it in photo opportunities. It sends a direct message to the White House. And, Max, it is going to be interesting to see where Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron really come down on that in terms of how forceful their language is, both economically and politically.
Again, all eyes on the tariff threats that all allies are facing.
[15:15:03]
But Canada faces another one in particular. And that is the fact that Donald Trump has even come up with, you know, the fact that he doesn't understand the border. Why is there an art -- he calls it an arbitrary border.
So much to deal with here. Certainly something that no one had predicted. I do want to point out, Mark Carney is a man that needs to toughen up for this election. He is not ahead in the polls. His party and he are still behind. And there will be a lot to watch out for in the coming weeks.
FOSTER: Paula Newton, as ever, thank you so much for joining us.
Still to come on the show, a former president of the Philippines makes his first appearance at the International Criminal Court. We'll have the latest on Rodrigo Duterte's hearing.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Turning to Gaza, where Hamas says it is willing to release U.S.-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander. The militants say they'll also return the remains of four dual nationals.
Alexander is believed to be the last living American held in Gaza.
CNN's Jeremy Diamond has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, Hamas says that it is willing to release the last living American being held hostage in Gaza. That's 21 year old Israeli soldier Edan Alexander, who is also an American citizen.
Hamas also offering to release the bodies of four dual national hostages who have been held hostage since October 7th. It is not clear which nationality those four would be from, but it is important to note that we know there are the bodies of four Americans still being held in Gaza.
Hamas said that it was responding positively to an American proposal unveiled this week in Doha, Qatar, to try and extend the ceasefire currently underway in Gaza, and a Hamas leader telling CNN that this counter proposal was designed to open up a pathway for negotiations to get to phase two of this ceasefire, which would lead to an end of the war within the next 50 days.
[15:20:03] But it's important to note that Hamas's response to this American proposal is quite different from the one that U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff unveiled to the parties just earlier this week. That's because that American proposal actually calls for the release of a handful of living Americans, of living hostages, as well as an unspecified number of deceased hostages, in exchange for an extension of the ceasefire, the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and the release of an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners as well.
Now, the Israeli prime ministers office says that it has accepted the Witkoff proposal and is accusing Hamas with this counter proposal of engaging in, quote, manipulation and psychological warfare. That Israeli negotiating team returning Friday night from Doha and on Saturday night, the Israeli prime minister is indeed set to convene a small team of ministers and security cabinet officials to receive a detailed report from those negotiators and to decide on next steps.
Now, as this back and forth drags on, nothing has been getting into the Gaza strip for nearly two weeks now. No humanitarian aid, no food, no fuel. And that is risking greater consequences for the people of Gaza in the coming days and weeks.
The World Food Program now says that its food stocks to support kitchens and bakeries in Gaza will run out within the next month. But already six out of the 25 bakeries that they were supporting have been forced to close, not because of a lack of flour, but due to a shortage of cooking gas, a consequences that will likely compound in the coming days and weeks.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Now former president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, has made his first court appearance at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. He's charged with crimes against humanity, his crackdown on drugs in this country. He's suspected of killing thousands, including civilians caught in the crossfire whilst he was in office.
Melissa Bell has more on today's proceedings at The Hague.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The first appearance by the former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte this Friday at The Hague. He's accused of crimes against humanity relating to his time both when he was the mayor of a southern Filipino city from 2011 and then when he became president from 2016.
The prosecution alleges that his brutal war on drugs involved extrajudicial killings, and for which he will now be tried.
Now, this court hearing, the very first what's likely to be a long trial, say legal experts, was simply about hearing him state his name, his age. He appeared frail, appeared by video link because of his poor health. He also had the opportunity to hear more about the charges that have been being investigated by the ICC, and that he will now have to answer for.
There were supporters and critics of the former president outside the court at The Hague to make their anger, in the case of his supporters, clear about the fact that he should be at the ICC at all. But supporters of the move are very happy to see, they say this president, who was responsible for officially this is, according to police figures, the killing of 6,000 people during as part of that war on drugs.
What critics of Duterte and human rights organizations say is that, in fact, the number of victims could be into the tens of thousands, and not just drug pushers or drug users, but many say people simply caught in the crossfire.
So for those who were outside the court celebrating his presence, it is an important moment, not simply the first time that a former Asian leader is tried by the International Criminal Court, but also, say Rodrigo Duterte's detractors an opportunity, finally, for justice to be done.
Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Still to come, Democrats divided a deep cracks within the party as it tries to decide whether to block a Republican spending bill and in turn, shut down the U.S. government.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:27:34]
FOSTER: A critical vote soon on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers are racing to avoid a government shutdown ahead of a midnight deadline. Democrats are having to vote on a Republican spending bill that was crafted without their input and has them deeply divided. Some say the government is already shutting down whether this bill passes or not. And yes, a yes vote would signal their approval of President Trump's agenda and his efforts to dismantle federal agencies.
But Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer says he'll vote in favor of the bill, calling it the best of bad options.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): I knew I'd get criticized, but I felt obligated for the country, for my Democratic Caucus, to the people to explain how bad a shutdown would be and if we had -- if we went into a shutdown and everything bad happened, I had to give people this warning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: CNN's Arlette Saenz is on Capitol Hill with the very latest on the vote.
Arlette, this is complex for people outside the country, but just explain the very basic terms what's happening this hour.
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are waiting right now for the Senate to hold that key procedural vote that would allow for this government funding bill to advance. This funding bill is set to fund the government through September 30th. It was passed by Republicans in the House with only one Democratic supporting over there. So, really had a Democratic opposition in the House.
Now we are waiting for the Senate to hold their vote. It's unclear. We had expected this to start a little bit while ago, but we think that there could be negotiations to try to get a time agreement to speed up the subsequent votes. That would have to happen.
But it all comes as we are seeing some very serious divides within the party really spill out into the open. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had reversed his position first, saying that Democrats were united in opposition to this measure and then shifting course and saying that he himself would vote to avert the government shutdown.
Now Senate Republicans need three or, sorry, eight Senate Democrats to get on board for to clear this key procedural hurdle. So far, three Senate Democrats have said that they would do that. That is Chuck Schumer, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada. And then we're still waiting to hear what other Democrats might side with the Republicans on this matter.
[15:30:05]
But there has been a lot of open frustration directed towards Minority Leader Schumer for his decision, especially amongst House Democrats. Now, a bit earlier today, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries was asked by our colleague Annie Grayer if he still had faith in Chuck Schumer's leadership. And he said, next question. Not exactly giving him any backup there.
But it comes as there have been these very active debates in the Democratic Party about what they need to do to try to stand up to president Trump. Some Democrats had felt this was their first real leverage point, that they could try to push back on Trump's actions, and they're frustrated in their views that Schumer has essentially caved in this situation. So we will see how this all plays out in the coming hours, whether that vote happens, it is expected to happen soon. It's just a matter of when. And of course, it all comes as that government shutdown deadline is barreling towards us at midnight tonight.
FOSTER: We'll be watching closely. Arlette, back with you when you get an update. Thank you.
President Trump's erratic tariffs have made for a volatile week on Wall Street. In case you hadn't noticed, let's take a look at where the markets are right now as they try and work their way through this. And they are up. So, some profit-taking clearly going on and some pretty positive results there.
Nasdaq up more than 2 percent now. The Dow fell 500 points on Thursday. This is how erratic it is. The S&P notched up its first correction in more than a year there.
Here to discuss is CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich.
I mean, it's trying to figure out where -- where government policy is going. And, you know what it will mean for companies, right?
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it's essentially investors are trying to understand what the business forecast or outlook is right now. And it's just impossible to figure it out.
People feel paralyzed, they feel confused and they feel uncertain. And that's what you've seen playing out on Wall Street all week. You see today obviously the markets clawing back some of those losses. That is really because investors are feeling confident that the government will not shut down tonight, that they'll avoid a government shutdown.
But really it's been a tumultuous two weeks on Wall Street. We saw the S&P and we saw the Nasdaq in correction, which means that they lost both lost 10 percent of their value off their record highs, which just happened a couple of weeks ago. The Dow flirting with this correction territory as well.
And of course this is all because of this trade war. What is now a global trade war. And the president has made it very clear that he is not backing off. And other countries leaders have made it very clear that they are not backing off their threats.
Earlier today, we heard from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. He is someone who has been very much out in front of media talking about what this trade war would mean. He was asked about April 2nd. That is a date that President Trump says retaliatory tariffs on other countries will go into effect. He was asked what that meant for the auto industry. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD LUTNICK, U.S. COMMERCE SECRETARY: That would be fair, right? If you're going to tariff cars from anywhere, it's got to be tariffing cars from everywhere. That's the whole point. It's bring it home. Don't make it so that Japan has an unfair advantage over Korea or Germany or anywhere. The idea is Donald Trump is focused on fairness.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YURKEVICH: Now, the whole reason that president Trump says that he is putting tariffs on other countries is to try to bring companies and U.S. manufacturing back here, really, to America. The problem with that, Max, is that so much of, for example, the auto industry here in the U.S. is very critically tied to other countries such as Canada, Mexico and even China, and to try to disrupt that entire supply chain would make it very expensive to produce a car here in the U.S. some estimates suggest anywhere from an increase of $3,500 to $12,000.
So if the cost to produce that vehicle goes up, you imagine that those costs get passed down ultimately to the consumer. And so while the intention may be good, it's not really realistic.
And you can see there on your screen just what the last 72 hours of a trade war have looked like. You have steel and aluminum tariffs going into effect. You have the E.U. retaliating on U.S. whiskey. You have Trump saying that he's going to put a 200 percent tariff on wines and champagne from Europe.
And then the E.U., of course, saying that they're going to retaliate on that. So it's just tariff upon tariff on tariff. And that is why you have Wall Street very nervous about what is going on.
And you have also folks on main street, everyday Americans wondering what that ultimately, ultimately means for prices, and of course, their bank accounts -- Max.
[15:35:09]
FOSTER: Okay, Vanessa, thank you so much.
A lot for investors to soak up at the moment.
Still to come, another scary incident in in the skies. All the details about a terrifying escape from a plane on fire.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: NTSB investigators are in Denver, Colorado. We're going to go to that story a bit later on, but we're going to go to the Justice Department.
President Trump is speaking there about law and order.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- crime-fighting agencies on the face of the Earth. People ask me, what am I going to do about law enforcement all the time?
The fake news back there, they're asking me that all the time. What am I going to do? And when are you going to do it?
And I answer them by saying, I've already done most of it by appointing the people that I've appointed. They're sitting right here. They've done most of it. I don't do it. They do it.
Right, Pam? I think -- oh, you are so tough. They just don't know yet.
Let me begin by congratulating the incredible people who will lead these historic reforms. And we start with somebody that you just saw, Pam Bondi. She's extraordinary. And I've known her very well for a long time.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: I watched her for a long time in Florida, for years in Florida and highly experienced. She seems so young, but she's highly experienced that I can tell you. She was a phenomenal attorney general in Florida, and she's going to do a really amazing job. Also, our new director of the FBI, Kash Patel. Kash, right?
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: A man that I'm very proud of, I've known him and Emil for a long time under a tremendous pressure.
[15:40:02]
I saw these guys under some of the most corrupt judges. I've -- it's not even imaginable how corrupt they were. And these guys never wilted. They never -- they were not shy. They fought, they weren't afraid, and they were brilliant.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and Principal Associate Deputy Attorney Emil Bove. And thank you both very much.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: They're great people. They are great people.
The chief of staff who's so highly respected, Chad Mizelle, thank you, Chad.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Chad, thank you, Chad.
Our next administrator of the DEA, Terry Cole. Terry -- thank you, Terry.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Good luck. Going to do great.
Senior counsel to the assistant attorney general for civil rights -- boy, I've been watching him on television last couple of weeks. He is really a tough one and he's a great one. Leo Terrell, you watch how good he's going to be. He's going to be so good.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Thank you, Leo. Great guy.
Assistant attorney general of the antitrust division who's got an incredible reputation. She'll do very, very well, Gail Slater. Thank you, Gail. Good luck. Great job.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: And we're joined by many, many great friends and terrific friends. And I won't be able to -- too many to name, but some that I just see very quickly.
General Flynn, thank you for being here.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Here's a man who went through hell, by the way, and he shouldn't have. It was -- he's a patriot. He went through hell.
We're all so pleased to be joined by Senator Chuck Grassley and House majority whip -- oh was -- hi, Chuck.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: House Majority Whip Tom Emmer. Tom, great job you're doing.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Representative Guy Reschenthaler, one of the toughest names to say, but I got it. I got it perfectly. I think.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: And State Attorney General Ken Paxton, thank you very much. Thank you very much.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Somebody who was with us early on. And she's really become a big star and very popular, Brenna Bird. Thank you, Brenna, thank you very much.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Steve Marshall (ph), Alan Wilson (ph), James Arthur Meyer (ph), Chris Carr (ph), Dave Sunday (ph), Marty Jackley (ph), as well as White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: What a man. Stephen is. Become a big star, right, Emil? Steve Miller.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Steve has been something very special.
For generations, the federal Department of Justice was one of America's most revered institutions. The men and women of the DOJ brought down the mafia, hunted down the killers, kingpins and spies, tracked down terrorists and traitors, and tore down corrupt political machines all across America. This department commanded the respect and admiration of the entire world.
And with Pam and Kash and all of the people I introduced, and far more big numbers and all of you sitting back there, I recognize so many of you. But with you leading the way, it will soon be the most admired and most respected of all. You're going to be more respected.
And I really believe that this. There's also a lot of things to solve, a lot of problems to solve, but that's going to put you in the upper tier and maybe the top tier. And I believe that's going to happen.
I'm so proud of the people in this room. But first, we must be honest about the lies and abuses that have occurred within these walls. Unfortunately, in recent years, a corrupt group of hacks and radicals within the ranks of the American government obliterated the trust and goodwill built up over generations. They weaponized the vast powers of our intelligence and law enforcement agencies to try and thwart the will of the American people.
You remember the 51 intelligence agents that said, as an example, that Hunter Biden's laptop from hell came from Russia when they knew it came right from his bedroom. They knew that. It was a big lie, and they knew it so well.
They spied on my campaign, launched one hoax and disinformation operation after another, broke the law on a colossal scale, persecuted my family, staff and supporters, raided my home Mar-a-Lago and did everything within their power to prevent me from becoming the president of the United States.
[15:45:02]
With the help of radicals like Marc Elias, Mark Pomerantz, and these are people that nobody's ever seen anything like it, and so many others. But these are people that are bad people, really bad people.
They tried to turn America into a corrupt communist and third world country, but in the end, the thugs failed and the truth won. Freedom won, justice won, democracy won, and above all, the American people won. There could be no more heinous betrayal of American values than to use the law to terrorize the innocent and reward the wicked. And that's what they were doing at a level that's never been seen before.
And it's exactly what you saw with Joe Biden, Merrick Garland and their cronies to do the bidding of the last four years. They ripped -- what they've ripped down is incalculable. But what you're going to build up is likewise something that will be breaking all sorts of records.
They set loose violent criminals while targeting patriotic parents at school board meetings. They dropped charges against Antifa and Hamas supporters while labeling traditional Catholics as domestic terrorists. The Catholics, we did very well with the Catholic vote, so I want to thank them for that.
They imported, they really did it in record numbers.
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TRUMP: I would say, what's with the Catholics? They're really after the Catholics, so I don't know. They were after a lot of people. Maybe they didn't even know why.
They imported illegal alien, murderers, drug dealers and child predators from all over the world to come into our country while putting elderly Christians and pro-life activists on trial for singing hymns and for saying prayers. They went to jail for that.
Our predecessors turned this Department of Justice into the department of injustice. But I stand before you today to declare that those days are over and they are never going to come back. They're never coming back.
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TRUMP: So now, as the chief law enforcement officer in our country. I will insist upon and demand full and complete accountability for the wrongs and abuses that have occurred. The American people have given us a mandate, a mandate like few people thought possible.
We won every single swing state. We won the popular vote by millions and millions of people. We won districts, 2,750 -- think of that, 2750 districts compared to 505.
So we won it at levels that have, I don't believe, ever seen before. That's the one where you see the map of the United States and it's all red -- red for Republican, not for communist, red for Republican. They would like it to turn red for communist. But it didn't work out that way.
The American people have given us a mandate and really a far reach -- just a far reaching investigation is what they are demanding into the corruption of our system. And that's exactly, I'm sure, what Pam and Kash and everyone else mentioned here and not mentioned is going to be doing.
We will expel the rogue actors and corrupt forces from our government. We will expose and very much expose their egregious crimes and severe misconduct of which was levels. You've never seen anything like it.
It's going to be legendary. It's going to also be legendary for the people that are able to seek it out and bring justice.
We will restore the scales of justice in America, and we will ensure that such abuses never happen again in our country. And that's why on day one, I signed an executive order banning all government censorship and directing the removal of every bureaucrat who conspired to attack free speech and many other things and values in America.
My administration stripped the security clearances of the disgraced intelligence agents who lied about Hunter Biden's laptop from hell. We revoked the clearances of deranged Jack Smith, Alvin Bragg, Letitia James and the crooked law firms that aided their partisan prosecutions. And I went through it.
These are state and city courts and the corruption is unbelievable.
We also terminated the clearances of the Biden crime family and Joe Biden himself. He didn't deserve it. In fact, he was essentially found guilty. But they said he was incompetent. And therefore, let's not find him guilty I guess.
Nobody knows what that ruling was, but I didn't want any part of it. I think I would have rather been found guilty than what they found with him. They said he didn't know what the hell he was doing, and therefore he's let him go.
I said, you know, I'd rather be convicted, pam. I think then that that was not good. I said, please convict me. Don't say that.
I pardoned hundreds of political prisoners who had been grossly mistreated. We removed the senior FBI officials who misdirected resources to send SWAT teams after grandmothers and J6 hostages.
And it was a great honor for me to fire. I will tell you this a great honor to fire James Comey, a great, great honor. That was nothing.
There was no better day. A lot of people said, oh, that's too bad you did that. And they said, that's going to be. And you know what? They -- a year later, they said that actually saved the administration because the level of corrupt things that we learned after that turned out to be that they were doing, in fact, really bad things.
He was a terrible person, did terrible things and persecuted people and all in the guise of being an angel. But he wasn't an angel.
We created a brand new DOJ task force and anti-Christian bias, and under Director Patel, we're getting the FBI agents out of the headquarters in Washington, D.C. and back on the streets in pursuit of dangerous criminals where they belong and where they want to be. And, you know, you have that big FBI building, and it's a very big building. And they were going to build an FBI headquarters three hours away in Maryland, a liberal state. But that has no bearing on what I'm about to say, but we're going to stop it. I'm not going to let that happen. We're going to build another big FBI building right where it is, which would have been the right place, because the FBI and the DOJ have to be near each other.
You can't every -- that's one thing I did learn from this persecution. The FBI and the DOJ worked together. Now in my case, they worked together for bad purposes. But they do. They were always together.
So how can you have one that's three hours away? But one thing I said to Kash -- well, we're going to get a great building built. It's going to be a magnificent building.
He said, sir, we don't need that kind of room. I said, what do you mean? He said, I'm just going to take a old Department of Commerce building that's about 25 percent the size, and that's what I need. We're going to have the best staff that you've ever seen, and that's what I need. It's in a nice location, but I don't need that big building. Why don't you just sell the site to somebody and were going to be very happy. And they -- they want to have far fewer people, but we also want to have them in D.C.
And if for no other reason, we like having law enforcement walking the streets of our capital, because when the bad guys are out there and they see there's an FBI agent, that's the ultimate in law enforcement, and they're not going to be acting so bad. We're cleaning up our city. We're cleaning up this great capital, and
we're not going to have crime, and were not going to stand for crime, and we're going to take the graffiti down, and we're already taking the tents down, and we're working with the administration.
And if the administration can't do the job were going to take -- we're going to have to take it back and run it through the federal government. But we hope the administration is going to be able. So far, they've been doing very well. The mayor has been doing a good job.
We said there are tents galore right opposite the State Department. They have to come down and they took them down right away. And so, so far so good.
But we want to have a capitol that can be the talk of the world. When Prime Minister Modi of India, when the president of France and all of these people, the head of prime minister of United Kingdom, they all came to see me over the last week and a half.
And when they come in, I like to I had I had the route run. I didn't want to have them see tents. I didn't want to have him see graffiti. I didn't want to have him see broken barriers and potholes in the roads. And we had it looking beautiful.
And we're going to do that for the city, and we're going to have a crime free capital. When people come here, they're not going to be mugged or shot or raped. They're going to have a crime free capital again. It's going to be cleaner and better and safer than it ever was, and it's not going to take us too long.
There's a new phenomenon that is taking place where these violent, vicious lawyers that we have all over, they play the ref. You know what playing the ref is like the great Bobby Knight basketball coach. He'd scream and scream at the ref. He'd scream.
I watched -- by the way, I love Bobby Knight because he endorsed me. And having -- having Bobby Knight's endorsement in Indiana was an extremely good thing.
A friend of mine said I was running in Indiana at the time. This was the early on 2016, and I was doing great, but friend came up and said, do you know Bobby Knight? I said, no, I don't, but I hear he was a tough cookie.
[15:55:03]
He said, not only tough, he was beyond tough, but he's the most popular guy you can imagine. It turned out he wanted to endorse me. He called me about two years before he said, sir, I'd like to endorse you. I said, is this really Bobby Knight? I said, it's me. I could tell it was Bobby Knight.
He had been known for throwing the chair across the court and slapping a player. Can't do things like that, right? And the man that came in fired him. He was a new administrator for the college. That -- that guy didn't last very long.
They were like 14-0, and they fired Coach Knight. That was not good. But he had a little chip on his shoulder. But he loved Trump, and he came in and he -- he said, I'd love to endorse you. He said, have you ever run? Please call me.
So he said, do you know Bobby Knight? I said, well, I don't know him, but he called me a couple of years ago. It was an amazing phenomenon. I took his number and on each side of my desk in New York, I had stacks of paper like nice and neat, but about two feet high each.
And I said, you know, I wrote his number down and I put it here two years ago, and I said, let me see if I can find it. It was almost like a miracle.
I had other miracles that happened, too. My ear is still throbbing. That was a miracle.
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TRUMP: That was a miracle also, wasn't it? That was a miracle. Also, how are you?
Thank you, thank you, Leo. Thank you. Thank you.
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TRUMP: That was a miracle.
Anyway. Okay. That's -- that's very nice. Thank you.
But -- so he said Bobby Knight. So I said, you know, I put his name down and I wrote it down. It's in one of these stacks. Let me I lift it up.
It would have to be 2,000 or 3,000 pages in each stack. I lifted it up. The first one had no idea, and there was his name on a little card. Bobby Knight with his number. It was like, incredible.
I tell that story all the time, and I called him and dialed the number. He said, I've been waiting for you to call. And he went out and he made a speech for me in a packed arena in Indiana.
And it was over. It was over. He was -- he was a tough guy. He actually went a little far, you know, if you were -- if you remember, he made a great speech because he was actually a motivational type guy, to put it mildly.
But he left the stage and then -- I'm talking and he walks back onto the stage. I said, oh, this is trouble. Why is he coming back?
He was a big guy, too. Why is he coming back? He said, may I say a few more words? I said, yeah, go ahead, Bobby, stay a few more. It's a little different.
And he said, and let me tell you something about this guy Trump. This guy, if he has to, will use the nuclear weapons that we have, he will use the -- he has no fear. He's going to use. And that's the kind of guy. And he walked off the stage.
I said, I think I'm -- I think I'm in big trouble. Pam. That was not good. But it worked out okay. In the meantime, in the meantime, we won the state in a landslide and it was great. And it was just an amazing period of time.
But -- but this is the most amazing period of time. I think this is more amazing. What's -- what's taking place is more amazing. I think it's more consequential.
And if we do the job, you know, one of the big media outlets said what we did was the most consequential election in the last 129 years -- well, if we do the job that we're all capable of doing, I think it's going to be -- it's going to prove to be that and -- and then some. And that's what we want to do.
We have a real big shot at making this country so great, so great. What happened to our country was so sad. What they've done in four years to our country, with the borders, with Afghanistan, the embarrassing, most embarrassing period of time allowing the Russian situation. It was never going to happen with Ukraine.
Allowing October 7th to happen -- would have never happened, because under me, Iran was totally broke. They had no money. They weren't given any money to Hamas or Hezbollah. It was totally broke.
But allowing inflation -- look at what inflation has done to people, been so devastating. And now you see that, by the way, the price of eggs is down 35 percent in the last week and a half. We're doing a good job.
Brooke is doing a good job. Brooke Rollins and everybody.
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TRUMP: And inflation is down. Interest rates are down. Gasoline has come down, down to a level that we haven't seen in a long time.
All things that we wanted to do, because then everything else is going to be coming down. We want it to come down. We want bacon to come down and groceries, a term I used to use.
It's sort of an old fashioned term, but I used to use it on the on the campaign trail. Those last 90 perfect beautiful days. We just hit it.
And I want to thank Susie. You have done a great job. Susie Wiles. Great job, Susie.
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TRUMP: A big magazine just named her the most powerful woman in the world. And that's okay with me. She is the most powerful woman. If you think about it, John, right?
