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The Situation Room

President Trump Blasts 'Epstein Hoax'; Jeffrey Epstein Survivors Speak Out. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired September 03, 2025 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

LISA PHILLIPS, JEFFREY EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: So, that's the list that we're compiling. We're not quite sure how we're going to release that, or even if we're going to.

The Department of Justice needs to release the list.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) For folks at home, they might be confused. Survivors know the names. You have seen these powerful people. Why can't you say the names? Could you just explain?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why do we have to?

PHILLIPS: Why do we have to say the names, when the government knows the names? And we're also scared to do so. Look what's happened to so many of the survivors that have revealed names.

(CROSSTALK)

BRAD EDWARDS, ATTORNEY FOR JEFFREY EPSTEIN SURVIVORS: I think it's also worth saying that, having represented, I think, between our firm and Boies Schiller, hundreds of victims, and we have talked to them about the various people that they were farmed out to.

So we have created somewhat of a list. Most of these individuals, the victims, are very scared to say these names because they could get sued, they're going to get attacked, and nobody protected them the first time. And that was against one person. So is there a list? There is a list.

But just to dispel kind of the common theme here, every one of these women was abused by Jeffrey Epstein, and his scheme was to personally abuse women. When they reached a certain age, he did farm a section of them, some of them, out to some of his friends.

That doesn't mean all of his friends. With that said, I'm more than happy to assist in helping create the list behind the scenes and see what we do with it.

(CHEERING)

EDWARDS: Go ahead. BRITTANY HENDERSON, ATTORNEY FOR JEFFREY EPSTEIN SURVIVORS: I think, if someone's interested in prosecuting, I think if someone's interested in prosecuting, they may have something different to say about sharing a list. But they're not sharing a list for nothing to happen. And that's the experience that they have had for all of these years.

EDWARDS: Yes, go ahead.

QUESTION: We're waiting to see the fate of this discharge petition right now as we're here.

The speaker and others have said that the people he met with yesterday had concerns about your names being released if this bill were passed. And some people I talked to today are not signing the discharge petition because they say you don't want them to. Can you clarify if that is accurate?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do any of the survivors here not want the bill to pass?

REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY): First of all, our legislation, Ro Khanna and I went through this. We talked about this and we were very careful to make sure that there is an exception so that personally identifiable information, not just their names, but anything they could be identified by, would not be disclosed.

QUESTION: And can you speak to that as survivors yourself, just...

EDWARDS: I think all of them are on the same page, that they want everything released.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pass the bill. Pass the bill.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... want the bill to pass.

EDWARDS: Yes, unequivocally, redact personally identifying information and release everything else.

OK.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE).

EDWARDS: Yes, Sure..

QUESTION: Marina, you have stayed silent for so many years. Today, this is the first time, if we understand correctly. You have never before gone public with your story and to share this. Can you help us understand why today, why now, and why here?

MARINA LACERDA, JEFFREY EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: Well, it is not OK for us to be silenced, and it's not OK for Jeffrey Epstein and everybody else to be put on a pedestal. I think everybody needs to hear from us because we know what went on,

right? And there is not only me who has been silenced. There are hundreds of women that are silenced. My hope is to stop this abuse for the future, right, for people that are coming up, for women, my daughter, for example.

These people have -- these women have daughters. They most definitely don't want that anymore. And I think mainly it is -- this is therapy for all of us too. We want to be heard. Nobody also has never asked me to speak. That's also another thing. So I can say, for all of us here, we are here. We want this bill to pass. It is very important, OK? And we need transparency.

We are tired of looking at the news and seeing Jeffrey Epstein's name and saying that this is a hoax. We are tired of it. We are done. We are not going to be silenced. And I hope that my voice will bring other survivors and other victims to come along and speak up, so that we can be more of a stronger voice and louder.

QUESTION: So what is your message to President Trump on this?

LACERDA: Listen, I don't like to -- I don't want to send a direct message to him.

(LAUGHTER)

LACERDA: I'm already scared enough.

Yes. Just pass the vote. Listen to us. This is not a hoax. It's not going to go away. And like I said on my speech earlier, we are not going to be silenced anymore. We will be speaking, moving forward. Wherever we need to be, we will be, and we need to pass this.

EDWARDS: Go ahead.

QUESTION: Thank you, sir. (OFF-MIKE)

For years, we have heard that there was an Epstein client or some kind of a list. And now we hear from the DOJ that there's no list. (OFF- MIKE) What do you guys think? I know you're working on your own list. But you believe that Jeffrey Epstein had a list?

EDWARDS: So, there's not a list. So here's what it was.

Just like you heard everybody today, Jeffrey Epstein created, through an organization, that -- of enablers, of people that were on his payroll, it was a complicated scheme, where others should still be investigated because they helped to enable him and operate this scheme.

[11:35:10]

Without those people, he could not have done this. But the purpose was for him to personally abuse people. With that being said, certain of his friends, he farmed out certain of the women that he was exploiting too. But that wasn't the primary purpose of that scheme. And I don't think he wrote the names of those people down.

There's not a list of, hey, here's all of the people that I sent females to. That's just not how that organization worked. Agreed?

QUESTION: Mr. Edwards, is there any evidence that Jeffrey Epstein was involved with or tied to the CIA or a foreign intelligence operation?

EDWARDS: I think that the safest thing for me to say is all files should come out, whether it is with the CIA, FinCEN, SEC, FBI. I'm not just making these up haphazardly. I'm giving you a road map where to look.

(CROSSTALK)

EDWARDS: Go ahead.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

EDWARDS: I will go first and then I will let them -- they're much more important than me, but I don't understand why it's a hostile act.

I can tell you that I talked to President Clinton -- I'm sorry -- President Trump back in 2009 and several times after that. He didn't think that it was a hoax then. In fact, he helped me. He got on the phone. He told me things that were helping our investigation.

Now, our investigation wasn't looking into him, but he was helping us then. He didn't treat this as a hoax. So, at this point in time, I would hope that he would revert back to what he was saying to get elected, which is, I want transparency. This about-face that occurred, none of us understand it.

In fact, I don't understand how this is an issue that's even up for debate. How do you not stand behind these women after you have heard their stories and know that hundreds of them were abused, and it was only because files are being kept in secrecy? The world should know who he is, who protected him, and the other people that are out there to be investigated need to be investigated.

EDWARDS: Go ahead.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) people who are currently serving in government who are named, who you know of are in these files, who you had relations with, anything of that sort who Jeffrey Epstein connected to (OFF-MIKE) Are you willing say yes or no?

EDWARDS: I don't think I can answer that.

(CROSSTALK)

EDWARDS: Sorry.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think she's referring to my speech.

EDWARDS: Go ahead.

ANOUSKA DE GEORGIOU, JEFFREY EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: Hi, Anouska De Georgiou.

I have been threatened. I was threatened by phone. My daughter was threatened when I was volunteering to participate by means of being a witness in a civil lawsuit that Virginia Giuffre was bringing against Ghislaine Maxwell. I have been followed. I have been stalked.

I have been followed not only by journalists, but by people who do not get out of the car and do not try and talk to me and just drive behind me as I drive my daughter to school. So the fear is very real for us.

I have also been in multiple situations with both Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell where they have been direct and indirect about implying and saying that, if I was to talk, if I was to bring any kind of trouble, then there would be severe consequence including death.

ANNIE FARMER, JEFFREY EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: Just to add to that, Maxwell also threatened my sister Maria Farmer. When the FBI did nothing about her initial report, we did -- she reported individually at that time and then in 2002 we spoke to a reporter at "Vanity Fair," telling our stories, fearful that perhaps other people were being harmed.

We were not -- we believed that was going to make a difference. We believed that would be put in print. And that story was crushed. And it was because of their power. And the message that we got from that was direct threats from Maxwell to my sister about her well-being and her safety and that of our family.

So there have -- I think many people have similar stories of threats. That has been a very real part of this case.

EDWARDS: Go ahead, over here.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

FARMER: I just want to say, one thing that's very clear, when people say please share names, there are names that are very well-known, like that of Les Wexner, who everyone knows supplied an enormous amount of Epstein's financial wealth and allowed this operation to happen.

So it's, I think, confusing to many of us why there have not been more ramifications for him and he's been seen as a victim, when, clearly, I believe there's more to it.

[11:40:00]

EDWARDS: Go ahead. Yes.

QUESTION: So you represented Virginia Roberts (OFF-MIKE) She eventually had to recant the allegations that she made against Alan Dershowitz. She alleged that (OFF-MIKE)

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't answer him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't answer him. All right, next question.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Next question.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

EDWARDS: Who's next?

QUESTION: Why isn't that (OFF-MIKE)

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, we're not answering your question. Anybody else?

EDWARDS: Go ahead.

QUESTION: How did the victims feel about the interview that was given to Ghislaine Maxwell?

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think there's a woman trying to say something.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's better.

HENDERSON: OK, ma'am, I think that you had a question.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

EDWARDS: I don't know that we're able to reveal what we have seen and what we have not seen by way of protective order, but my point being in that circumstance was, if anybody wants answers, there's an easy place to get it.

I told you where to get it. I said the estate of Jeffrey Epstein has it. Serve a subpoena on them. They will turn it over. And if we had served a subpoena on them in the past, they would have turned it over and we would have seen it, which I don't usually miss subpoenas like that. So there we go.

(CROSSTALK)

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): To your question about the allegations, there's a simple answer. Release the files. Let the American public decide. Instead of harassing -- instead of -- I gave you your say.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're hired by Dershowitz.

KHANNA: But even -- you have been heard. You have been heard. And even Alan Dershowitz -- even Alan Dershowitz says release the files. Release the files. That is the answer. And that's what we're here for. And that is... (CHEERING)

(CROSSTALK)

(CHEERING)

EDWARDS: Yes.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Mr. Edwards, following up, you said that Donald Trump gave you help in 2009. Can you elaborate on your interactions with Donald Trump back in 2009?

And for any of the victims, they didn't ever see the president -- well, then not president yet, but they didn't ever see Trump with Epstein in any way?

EDWARDS: I don't think that we can answer that question, did anybody see Trump with Epstein back then?

This is really not a political thing. We want the passage of the bill, and this is not to call out President Trump.

(CROSSTALK)

RAJU: But what about your interactions with Trump?

(CROSSTALK)

EDWARDS: My point was that he was friendly back then, did not think that it was a hoax, and was trying to help. And now it seems like all of the sudden somebody's in his ear and he's not.

So I'm hoping he will come back to where he was back in 2009, be on the side of the victims and stand with us.

(CROSSTALK)

EDWARDS: Go ahead.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

EDWARDS: Do you want to answer it? Teresa will step up.

TERESA HELM, JEFFREY EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: I would -- Teresa J. Helm.

Happy to speak on that, because what I will say is, she got this airtime and platform. Her voice was elevated way before our voices were elevated here today. And that same calm, manipulative voice that she had so polite there that day with Todd Blanche was the same polite, coercive, manipulative voice that I heard as she was grooming me to then send me off to the home of Jeffrey Epstein, where he would assault me.

So that's what she was doing for hours, speaking with me, building relationship with me, building trust with me, allowing me to believe that I was going to get this job, a dream job that I had been recruited from my college, flown across the country from Los Angeles to New York City to interview, so I thought.

So her voice that day was the same voice that sent me off to a monster. So believe -- nothing can be believed from what she says, because she's been charged with perjury. I myself could sit there and listen and, as I did. I sat there and listened to this woman's voice lie. And there was no pushback from Todd Blanche, because does he even have the facts to be able to push back on her?

We could sit there and push back. Why didn't we get to attend that? Why weren't we there that day? Or why wasn't even one of us consulted prior to that day in that meeting? And why on earth has she been moved from Florida to her -- it basically is prison spa? I mean, let's be real.

[11:45:04]

None of us were consulted. I found out just like everyone here found out, through the media, through all of you. We found out about Ghislaine's transfer. So we are all -- I'm very angry. To sit there and listen -- the feelings that come up listening to this woman's voice is repulsive.

Yes, I would say it's triggering. We all work very hard on healing. And it still gets to us after two decades. It's a very long answer, but that -- it's repulsive to sit there and listen to her voice in her interview.

EDWARDS: Can we take -- can we take two more -- two more questions? One over here.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

EDWARDS: I think that there's nobody that's immune from us going after them if there's a legitimate action to take. So, to the extent that evidence exists, then show it to us and we will help in every way we can. We stand with the victims.

OK. One more.

QUESTION: Can the survivors speak to, speaking of being threatened and being afraid to come with this to the story, to the case of Katie Johnson, who alleged that Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein...

(CROSSTALK)

EDWARDS: I don't think we can talk about -- I don't think we can talk about that case.

I do think it's worth saying, though, despite the comments that he made, Virginia Roberts Giuffre is an American hero. She is somebody -- she is somebody without whom we would not be able to have this voice.

(APPLAUSE)

EDWARDS: She was the one who had courage to name names, speak out against people. And she was standing up against everybody at one time with an enormous amount of pressure.

HENDERSON: And most of these women are here because of Virginia Roberts Giuffre.

(APPLAUSE)

EDWARDS: All right, last one.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

EDWARDS: Clearly not us. I don't think anybody knows, but I can tell you that in the Oversight Committee meeting yesterday, they indicated that they were all for transparency, releasing the files and asked us to hold them accountable. Is that right?

They said hold them accountable. So we intend to hold them accountable. We're going to show them where to go with it. And as long as they're doing their job, they should.

I'm going to turn it back over to Ro Khanna. Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

KHANNA: Let me just say this. Let me say this.

I think the people back who are testifying here today, are speaking out today, they are American heroes. Let's give them another round of applause.

(APPLAUSE)

KHANNA: And you say, look, Thomas, Marjorie and I, we're huge believers in the First Amendment, and we believe in free speech, and we take abuse all the time.

But you see -- you see why it's so hard to do what they have done, because they come forward, and you subject yourself to national scrutiny and national questioning. And I just want to say from the bottom of my heart how appreciative I am and how proud I am of what you have done today. You made a big difference.

(APPLAUSE)

KHANNA: Before I bring on Marjorie, and then Thomas will have the last word...

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: All right, we have been listening to survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse. They have been speaking out up on Capitol Hill.

It's been so emotional, so powerful, so moving. They're pushing for the release of all of the Epstein files right now. And it's just heartbreaking to hear these women, these survivors speak out. And I know you have been heartbroken. All of us have been heartbroken. They were 14-, 15-, 16-year-old little girls who were abused by Epstein and his friends. PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Yes.

Yes, and we actually heard from one survivor we hadn't heard from before. It takes a lot of courage to come out and talk about that. You heard many of the women talk about the threats that they have received by speaking out. But they are making it clear they want these Epstein files released. They want the floor vote.

They want the files to be released. They are not satisfied what is happening so far. And they say there's different reasons, right? For some of them, it's to help them heal. One woman, you heard say it's to help her piece together what happened. She said it's hard to remember, and she hopes that some of the files will help her better understand.

And it's a call for justice. They said, look, why was the government protecting Epstein and Maxwell more than the survivors like us? So this is certainly a big moment.

And we have a panel here to discuss all of this. We have CNN senior justice correspondent Evan Perez, CNN chief national affairs correspondent Jeff Zeleny, former federal prosecutor and CNN legal analyst Elliot Williams, and CNN chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju, who is at that news conference.

Elliot, to start with you from the legal perspective, what really stood out to you?

[11:50:05]

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes.

Well, it's just so powerful and heartbreaking watching the stories. One of the first people to come up said, I was a minor victim number one or whatever else, someone who was just literally a moniker in these court documents, being a face and a person who's now an adult struggling.

And it was just -- so it's moving to watch, to hear these stories. The question remains, if all files are released or whatever happens, what options does the Justice Department have? And to be clear, the Justice Department is quite limited in steps it can take.

Most crimes have a five-year statute of limitations. And so unless a crime was ongoing, someone's not likely -- a new person isn't likely to be charged with a crime. Now, any of these people can probably bring lawsuits if names are exposed. They can sue anyone who harmed them. And, frankly, I'm sure their lawyers are encouraging them to do that now.

But a lot of this, the pressure really ought to be on Congress to ask the questions about, why did the government fail? But in terms of new crimes, new charges that haven't been seen yet, I have a hard time seeing what else comes out of this.

BLITZER: Evan, you're our senior justice correspondent. What stood out to you from what we just heard over the past hour or so? EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think one of

the things that you saw repeatedly from the victims is that they were trying to stay out of the political fray of this.

But you also heard from a couple of them who were raising that very extraordinary interview that Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, had with Ghislaine Maxwell, which, over two days, if you look at the transcript, if you listen to what she was doing, they called him out. They said he didn't seem to push back.

They would have loved to have been in the room or participated in this because they would have pushed back. And they really feel -- we heard it from them again, that they felt revictimized by having Ghislaine Maxwell essentially use that platform to clear herself from the crimes that she committed, she's been convicted of, and also for essentially being used as a way to get exculpatory material for president of the United States, who wants to make sure that none of this ever comes back to him.

BROWN: And on that note, Jeff, in your view, how much has the administration's handling of this, for example, the Maxwell interview, led to this moment? How is it impacting...

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: It's led to all of it.

I mean, if you look at the rise of the president, he talked about this endlessly throughout his bids for the presidency. His supporters believed it, and, really, this became a calling card. This year, though, things have changed tremendously.

Now the White House is truly divided over how to handle this.

(CROSSTALK)

BROWN: Hold on. Right now, we're going to listen to President Trump, who is talking about Epstein. Let's listen in.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

QUESTION: That's why the Justice Department is reacting them and slow-walking their release? Is the Justice Department protecting any friends or donors, sir?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So this is a Democrat hoax that never ends. It reminds me a little of the Kennedy situation.

We gave them everything over and over again, more and more and more. And nobody's ever satisfied. From what I understand, I could check, but from what I understand, thousands of pages of documents have been given. But it's really a Democrat hoax, because they're trying to get people to talk about something that's totally irrelevant to the success that we have had as a nation since I have been president.

Even if you look at D.C. right now, D.C., it's a totally safe zone. It's called a safe zone. That's a term. It's a term of art. It's a safe zone because it's very safe. You can walk down the street now and nothing's going to happen, no crime, no murders, no nothing, because we had a lot of problems with certain places. And we still do, all run by Democrats or for the most part run by Democrats.

So what they're trying to do with the Epstein hoax is get people to talk about that, instead of speaking about the tremendous success, like ending seven wars. I ended seven wars. Nobody's going to talk about -- because they're going to talk about the Epstein whatever.

I understand that we were subpoenaed to give files and I understand we have given thousands of pages of files. And I know that no matter what you do, it's going to keep going. And I think it's -- I think -- really, I think it's enough, because I think we should talk about the greatness of our country and the success that we're having.

I think we're probably having, according to what I read, even from two people in this room, we're having the most successful eight months of any president ever. And that's what I want to talk about. That's what we should be talking about, not the Epstein hoax.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: I have no message to President Putin. He knows where I stand. And he will make a decision one way or the other. Whatever his decision is, we will either be happy about it or unhappy. And if we're unhappy about it, you will see things happen.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Can you give us a sense of what the U.S. policy or what you're trying to achieve with the aircraft carriers or the boats, I should say, near Venezuela? And also the boat that you mentioned yesterday where 11 people were killed, what was found in that boat, and why were the men killed, instead of taking...

[11:55:14]

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: On the boat, you had massive amounts of drugs. We have tapes of them speaking. It was massive amounts of drugs coming into our country to kill a lot of people.

And everybody fully understands that. In fact, you see it. You see the bags of drugs all over the boat. And they were hit, obviously. They won't be doing it again. And I think a lot of other people won't be doing it again when they watch that tape. They're going to say, let's not do this.

We have to protect our country, and we're going to. Venezuela has been a very bad actor. They have been -- as you know, they have been sending millions of people into our country, many of them Tren de Aragua, some of the worst gangs, some of the worst people anywhere in the world in terms of gangs.

And we had some in Washington, D.C. We took care of them very quickly, but they're out of here. They're gone. But Venezuela has been very bad, both in terms of drugs and sending some of the worst criminals anywhere in the world into our country. They emptied out -- you don't know this, but they emptied out their prisons in Venezuela, and they emptied them out into the United States of America.

And that's part of the problem we have. We're getting them out. We're getting them out rapidly. But it's caused a tremendous problem. And Pete and all of the people are working very hard to rectify the stupidity of the Biden administration, allowing these people to pour into our country with open borders.

We are paying a big price as a country for the incompetence of the Biden administration. But think of it, opened up prisons, drug dealers, drug lords, everything coming out of Venezuela they send. And we said, we're not going to put up with it anymore. So Venezuela has been one of the worst actors in the whole group, and we have a group of pretty bad actors.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Yes, thank you, Mr. President.

At the end of this month, the government or the Congress has to pass a budget. Do you think we can avoid a government shutdown?

TRUMP: Yes, I do. I think the Republicans will vote for an extension. We won't have any Democrat votes. We could give the greatest budget ever, tax cut of 50 percent, everybody taken care, perfect for women, perfect for men, perfect for minorities, perfect for everything, and we wouldn't get one vote from the Democrats because they have lost their mind.

They are so deranged. They have Trump derangement syndrome. And I don't want to burden the Republican Party with it, but they really are. They have become almost sick. They're -- they actually think there is a disease. It's called Trump derangement syndrome. They have got it.

No matter what we did, no matter how good, you could give them everything that they have ever dreamed of, and you wouldn't get one vote. These are sick people, and I think we're going to have a tremendous midterm. We just approved the largest tax decrease in the history of our country. We have things, when you think of it, no tax on tips, no tax on Social Security for our seniors, no tax on overtime, deductions when you buy a car and you borrow money to buy a car, first time they have ever seen a thing like this.

Middle-income people get deductions. You get a deduction when you buy a car. Nobody's ever seen. And, by the way, they're selling cars like crazy. Cars are pouring back because of the fact that we have tariffs. Cars are pouring back into our car plants, are pouring back into our nation. They're coming from all over the world. They're coming back.

You know, we lost about 54 percent of automobile manufacturing over a 30-year period, 35-year period. They're all coming back. I think they're coming back higher than ever before. We have A.I. going up. What we have done is amazing, and what we have passed is amazing.

But the Democrats, I don't believe we will get one vote. It's very anti-crime. We want anti-crime. They're in favor of crime. We're against crime. They gave us things like men playing in women's sports, open borders for everybody, transgender for everybody. I mean, they wanted transgender for all of the crazy things that they were saying.

And people would say they're 80/20 issues. I say they were 97 to 3. I would say 97 to 3. And nobody knows who the three are. This is the best issue of all. They are against preventing crime. They are fighting us. I want to go into Chicago and have this incompetent governor that doesn't want us.

Do you know that this weekend 72 people were shot in Chicago? I'm embarrassed to say it in front of the president of Poland. Eleven people were killed; 72 people were shot. Last week, seven people were killed in Chicago, a place which is probably your number one place. I hate to say it.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: But -- and we got to keep it safe. But seven people were killed. The week before that, five people were killed and 21 people were shot. This is in three weeks.

So, in three weeks, they lost almost -- almost 35 people were killed. It could have been stopped.