>> ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states. [applause]

pres. trump: thank you very much. please sit down. great to see everybody on this beautiful, beautiful day in washington d.c. --e people say the small, say the swamp, but i will not say that. this is the most important trade deal we have made so far. i want to thank senator joni ernst. thank you very much. we will be doing something very important in iowa. i want to thank you for being here. congressman holding, congressman

row, congressman newhouse, thank you all for being here. you have been very instrumental. thank you. [applause] pres. trump: i am thrilled to speak to the american people to share truly historic news for our nation. and indeed, for the world. i want to thank vice president pence for joining us this morning. it is my great honor to announce that we have successfully completed negotiations on a brand-new deal to terminate and replace nafta and the nafta trade agreement with an incredibly new u.s., mexico, a.nada agreement called mc u.s. mca. [applause] pres. trump: that will be the

time wet 99% of the will be hearing. it has a great ring to it. i have long contended that nafta was the worst trade agreement ever made. since nafta's adoption, the u.s.'s racked up trade deficits at $2 trillion and it is higher than that with canada and mexico losing vast amounts of money, and lost 1.4 million manufacturing jobs and 25% of our auto jobs. throughout the campaign, i promise to renegotiate nafta, and today, we have kept that promise. but for 25 years as a businessman, how could anybody have side a deal like nafta? and i watched new england and so many other places where i was, the factories and jobs were leaving in people were being

fired. and we cannot have that. so we have negotiated this new agreement based on theso we havw agreement based on the principle of fairness and reciprocity. to me it is the most important word in trade because we had been treated so unfairly by so many nations. but we are changing that. we just signed a much better deal with south korea. we had a horrible, horrible deal and we just signed that at the united nations and they are happy to we are happy in it is good for jobs and good for a lot of things. given byobs will be signing this transaction. and they were right. i have said it before. 250,000 jobs to south korea, not to the u.s., so that is changed and very much for the better in this one is a brand-new deal. the agreement will govern nearly $1.2 trillion in trade, which makes it the biggest trade deal and the united states -- trade

deal in united states history. i want to thank bob white house r -- i want to thank bob lighthauser. [applause] no matter when you called him, he was in the office or somebody else's office. he is great. i have heard it for years, if i ever do this, i want to get him to represent us because he felt the way i did. me the entire team behind and some of the audience, i want to thank you. peter navarro, everybody. thank you all. [applause] pres. trump: thank you. fantastic group of people who love our country. i also want to thank secretary mnuchin, secretary ross,

secretary nielsen, secretary pair, jared kushner, peter navarro, and the united states ambassador to canada, kelly crawford. thank you. i also want to thank president piña netto of mexico -- pena nieto of mexico. i think he may like me, i am not sure, but i think he is a terrific person, he will be leaving soon, but he has done a great job and a wonderful, wonderful person. and the mexican president-elect who has given his support to agreement, we are developing a really good relationship, which i think is very important for our country and for mexico. so, they agreement worked togets and this was done by both. i said look, i don't want to sign an agreement and the new president comes in and does not like it and there is difficulty.

they worked together on it and i appreciate it from both. i have to certainly give the highest regards to prime minister of canada, justin trudeau. a lot of stories came out about justin and i having difficulty together, as we did over the trader, but i will tell you it has turned out to be a very, very good deal for both and a very, very good deal for all three, putting us in a position we have never been in before. when you look at the world is doing and the unfair trade practices that countries are using against the united states, this is a terrific deal for all of us. once approved by congress, this new deal will be the most modern, up-to-date, and balanced trade agreement in the history of our country with the most advanced protections for workers ever developed. if you look at the reviews,

people who would normally not, under any circumstances, say good things because automatically, they have to say that. even some democrats say that is amazing. they have not been given the soundbites yet, but you had some democrats say, this is really amazing if he really got all of that. but by tomorrow, i would suspect they will change their tune, but that would change because papal -- because people know how good it is and it is an amazing deal for a lot of people. it will be the most advanced trade deal in the world with ambitions provisions on the , veryl economy, patents important, financial services, and other areas where the united states has a strong, competitive advantage. toico and canada have agreed strong, new labor protections, environmental protections, and new protections for intellectual property. so important. this new deal is an especially

great victory for our farmers. are farmers have gone through a lot over the years -- our farmers have gone through a lot over the years. they have been taken advantage and prices have gone way down. we are working on new deals that will make them very happy, but this is a very, very big deal for our farmers. mexico and canada will bethey he and prices have gone way down. opened up a lot more than they are right now, and i think there will be a better spirit between the three countries, which is important for our farmers. the agreement will give our farmers and ranchers far greater access to sell america-grown produce in mexico and in canada. the deal includes a substantial increase in our farmers' opportunities to support american wheat, poultry, dairy, and including milk, butter, cheese, and ice cream, to name a few. i want to be very specific. [applause] pres. trump: i want to be very specific, all right. right?

[applause] pres. trump: and many other products, but those products were not being treated fairly as far as those that worked so hard to produce them. and now they are going to be treated fairly. these measures will support many hundreds of thousands of american jobs. win foralso a historic american manufacturers and american autoworkers will have been treated so badly. we have lost so many jobs under the years under nafta. under the current, new deal, and if you look at the current nafta is takingnew deal care of all of these problems because nafta, foreign companies, have been allowed to manufacture many of their parts to mexicoshipped them and canada for assembly, and in theeir foreign cars u.s. with no tax, so we let all of our people go, we fired

everybody, they make cars, they make progress, they make everything in another country. they send them into the u.s., no tax. very little is difference, and sometimes it is more for those who like to talk about cost. with this agreement, we are closing all of these terrible loopholes. they are closed, they are gone, and they were a disaster. we are requiring a large portion of every card made by high wage workers, which will reduce foreign outsourcing, which was a tremendous problem. that means more auto-parts and automobiles of the manufactured inside the u.s. we will be manufacturing many more cars. companies will not be leaving the united states, firing their workers, and building their cars elsewhere. there is no longer that incentive. before under the nafta deal, they had that incentive.

the still rule requires 75% of every automobile to be made in north america in order to qualify for free access to our markets. we don't take it is a privilege. it's a privilege for them to do business with us. mexico,talking about i'm talking about everybody. it's a privilege for china to business with us. it's a privilege for the european union who is treated us very badly. that's coming along. japan, every country, it's a privilege for them to come in and attack that the bank.

a result of much more happening right here in the united states. it means more than anything else far more american jobs. have strong provisions to the rules ofcalled origin requirement. this will incentivize billions of dollars of new purchases of u.s. made automobiles. this will be a new dawn for the american worker. they will understand. they voted for us in large numbers, even though their leadership always goes democrat. a couple of them said i don't know how i can do it again. the leaders went back democrats and tell me you're going to get most of the votes from union workers. we got most of the votes from workers.

the american auto worker was very much behind what we were doing. it will transform north america back into a manufacturing powerhouse. ministrations and were not going to have manufacturing jobs anymore. we are going to be a manufacturing powerhouse. -- supplyclaim a chai chain that has been offshore to because of unfair trade issues. we provide intellectual property protections for biologic drugs. it will make north america haven for medivation. getting drugs from foreign countries. we don't know how they are being made. it's too important. this agreement will send cash

and jobs into the united states and into north america. it's good for canada and mexico. instead of jobs leaving for overseas, they will return back home. , weave many car companies have sent many car companies to the united states. we have big expansions. he said many more are coming. they have an incentive now to be here. people want to be back in the united states again. the united states is respected again. a truly extraordinary agreement for the united states, canada, and mexico. it is so important. the president and i have bond, a man that

has done a very good job for mexico. trudeau, i just spoke to them a little while ago, they want to do right for their countries. we have really formed a great partnership with mexico and canada. i plan to cite the agreement. i will submit it for approval to congress where there should be no trouble. anything you send to congress's trouble. the single greatest agreement ever signed, they will say trump likes it so we won't approve it. it will be sent to congress pursuant to the trade promotion.

this agreement follows on the heels of our success, a new and balanced trade deal with south korea, a tremendous difference in that deal. deal, ite the old killed so many jobs. of allows our announcement new trade negotiation with japan. japan would never negotiate. they told the previous administration were not going to negotiate. we are going to put a substantial tax on your cars if you don't. without tariffs, we would be talking about bedroom -- deal. without tariffs, you wouldn't be here. we would be standing here. we are totally prepared to do that. japan wants to negotiate.

they called three weeks ago. manic, -- man, india is the tariff king. they say they want to start negotiations immediately. he said he would never do this. we want to keep your president happy. they've got to keep us happy. they understand that we are wise to what happening. india charges tariffs of 100%. that's not free trade. people say where did they come from? because of the power of tariffs and the power we have with tariffs, we won't even have to

use them. that's how good they are. we're not going to have to use them. in many cases, countries that arecharging massive tariffs eliminating those tariffs. billion at 25% interest with china right now. we could go more. china wants to talk. i said it's too early to talk. they are not ready. it doesn't happen that quickly. quickly, youce it won't make the right deal. china wants to talk. we want to talk to them. we want them to help us with north korea. that's very important. has been verynion tough on the united states.

lostany years, they've $150 billion. they have massive trade barriers. they didn't want to come. they didn't want to talk. a great business person that's had of the european business union, we are very happy. i'm not happy. we have one of the worst deals of any group. they did not want to come because they were happy with the deal. through after going process, we are going to put a tax of 20% on all the mercedes and bmws. they won't take over there. farm products that they won't take over there.

our farmers are not allowed to sell over there. i announced we're going to put a tariff on their cars coming in. they called and said we'd like to start negotiations. we will see what happens. who knows. we will see. a pillar of national security is economic trade. not losingcurity is hundreds of billions of dollars a year. we've averaged $800 billion a year loss on trade. how dumb is that? this group doesn't know about those numbers. lost oned states has average $800 billion a year. that's dealing with china,

european union, everybody. we are not going to allow that to happen. we have to have a strong sector.uring base and we need a thriving economy. ingredientssential to national security. happeningllow weston over the last 25 years to happen. we are building our military like ever before. ,ll of those jets that are made they will all be made in the united states. our economy is booming like never before. jobless claims are low. the stock market is at an all-time high. think of that.

over 50% since my election. 401(k)s, they were dying with them for years. now they are so happy. i was telling the story i often tell. a policeman came up. his wife was in set -- upset with him because he wasn't doing well with the 401(k). now she thinks she's a genius. you heard me say this many times. isican american unemployment at record lows. young people without high school diplomas at his stork lows. historictork -- the

lows. this is helping people to get out of prison. people come out of prison and they can't get a job. the economy is so good they are hiring them. they are turning out to be incredible workers. they are given a third chance in some cases. say had numerous employers i have taken people that were in prison and we've hired them. he wouldn't have done this in a normal economy. now he's the biggest fan. most of them have been unbelievable. most of them have been unbelievable. that's a great thing. it gives them a chance. before we take questions, i want

to send our condolences to the country of indonesia. we are going to be calling up the leader. hit by a giant synonymy. you look at the tornadoes, hurricanes, all of the different natural disasters. a friend of mine who studies natural disasters says this in nami is the worst of all. they get hit very hard. thousands of people killed. we have sent a lot of first responders and military and others to help. it's a bad bad situation. before closing, i was to send our thoughts and prayers to the

victims of the las vegas shooting. that was a horrible time. it took place one year ago today. all of america is grieving for the lives lost and for the families they left behind. to all of those families and to the people of las vegas, we are with you. we are working with you very hard. it was a terrible terrible event. thank you very much for that. lighthizer, ibob terrific individual as well as a man who knows a lot about this subject to come up and say word about the mca. if you have questions, we will take some questions after that.

bob: before i start, i would , on august 16, we started this process. people were waiting to have the introduction of myself and my two counterparts. the president starts talking. he is going through what he wants to get done. he finally said two things i thought were telling. he said i will back you up. thing, he said go out there and have fun.

i thought it's probably not going to be as much fun from my side. as you have said, this agreement is his story in many ways. $1.2 trillion, the biggest agreement in history. we have done this in 14 months. terms, thatotiating his work speed. when we began these negotiations, the president wanted to be more precise and to protect american workers and fight for our farmers and ranchers. i think we have succeeded with this agreement.

the agreement will accelerate the manufacturing renaissance our country has enjoyed. it will bring our trading relationship from mexico and canada into the 21st century. it will protect the competitive edge. the new agreement will also serve as the template for our trade agreements under the administration in the future. this paradigm shifting model rests on three pillars. the first is fairness. we have negotiated strong will rules of origin for automobiles with will bring it manufacturing back to america. we have secured greater market access for farmers. we have agreed to labor standards that will help level the playing field for workers. to a review agreed

and termination. it will ensure that the agreement will not become unbalanced and out of date. the second pillar will be a host of ambitious provisions on digital will actual property, protecting our competitive edge. the third pillar is new provisions to eliminate unfair trade practices, including new disciplines on currency manipulation, relations with nonmarket economies. we wouldn't be here today if it were not for several people who contributed so much. advisor andt's key my good friend jared kushner was my partner.

agreement would not have happened if it was not for him. thank you very much. i would like to thank my other mexican and canadian government officials. i would also like to thank the wonderful staff come many of whom are on here. i like to think of us like the marine corps. about 250 people and they are all exceptional and worked around the clock. they spent more than one night in the office over the last few weeks. they have a normal stability. i would like to thank the

president for leadership and grit. no other person could have done it. millions of americans will benefit for years to, because of this vision and this grit. thank you. donald trump: questions? withu've had tensions prime minister trudeau. how did that affect the deal? donald trump: i don't think it did. he is a professional. it was an unfair deal, whether it was mexico or canada. now it's a fair deal for everybody.

it's not nafta redone. i spoke with him. forget, the rest of the world is looking to take advantage of us. region, we are going to work very closely together because we will be able to compete with anybody. we have energy that nobody else has. we have timber that nobody else has. we have things no other part of the world has. we will do very well together. there was a lot of tension between he and i more specifically. it's all worked out. it ended about 12:00 last night. he's a good man. he loves the people of canada. tariffs onioned more china.

lost $375mp: we billion in trade deficit. they have a surplus. it's been that way for years and years. we rebuilt china. they took that money and they built fighter jets and bridges and more bridges and we've built in the last 100 years probably. big ones like the george washington bridge. take -- i don't blame china. i blame our leadership. i told that to president she. .- xi i don't really blame you. i blame our leadership for allowing this to happen. we had no deal with china.

i talked to one of the top people. i said let me ask you, how did this happen? anythingobody ever did from the united states. a tariff on every car that comes from the united china, we thought we would be rebuked. nobody ever called. nobody did anything. that was years ago. we charged them nothing. we don't collect the 2.5. how did that happen? nobody ever called. we do have a deal with china. they do whatever they want. problema tremendous with theft and intellectual

property. we have primarily trade problems. they are having a much more difficult time. we are doing better than we've ever done. tariffs ended in 1913. they went to a different system. in 1928, you had the depression. we need money in our country again. i will tell you are steel industry will be stronger than it's been in 25 years. i charge for the dumpers. they were dumping aluminum into our country. that's a lot.

, they look at u.s. steel just announced a billion-dollar plant. they are building eight or nine plants. i don't think there's any industry like what happened to steal in the last nine months. it's been pretty amazing. we need steel for defense. are we going to get our steal from another country? it for steel and we need defense. i'm very proud of what happened to the steel industry. you said it's incorrect to

say you are limiting the scope of the fbi investigation. it has to do with the other headline in the news. do you think the trade deal will pass through congress? trump: i think if they are fair, industry loves it. if it's fair, it will pass. any other questions? let's do that later. you have described india as the tariff king.

sendd trump: when we harley-davidson motorcycles to india, they charge high tariffs. i've spoken to the prime minister and he will reduce them. nobody ever spoke to these people. leaders, i'm not trying to be overly dramatic. we have had presidents of the united states that never spoke to india or brazil. brazil is another one. sayou ask companies, they brazil is among the toughest in the world. we don't call them and say you are treating our companies unfairly. -- they charge very high tariffs. you send a motorcycle into

india, there is a 100% tariff. it's like a barrier. who is going to buy it? they have already reduced that. isrelationship with india great. they have called us to make a deal. we didn't even call them. that is shocking to people. >> i do have a second question on the brett kavanaugh thing. on trade, does this mean the end of tariffs? donald trump: the steel is staying where it is. we won't have to use tariffs unless we are unable to make a deal with them.

if we can't make a deal with the european union, we will put tariffs on cars. takenited states will billions of dollars. it will taken billions and billions of dollars. what is going to happen is they will make the cars in the united states. that way they don't have to pay the tax. there will be cases where you are countries that absolutely not willing to do what fair. be doingd states will very well. >> to you think it will pass in canada and mexico? trump: they are satisfied with the deal. it's good for all three of us.

this is good for all three. this is good for this is a much different teal than nat -- deal than nafta, and a much better deal. >> [indiscernible] theident trump: we will do kavanaugh questions. you talk about being treated harshly. want to run over to "the wall street journal" and start writing. >> [indiscernible] president trump: i cannot hear you. >> question from a mexican journalists. president trump: sure. >> so you will keep the tariffs on mexico and canada -- president trump: until sometime when we can do something different like quotas so our industry is protected. we are not going to allow hours deal industry to disappear.

it was almost done. if our country kept going the way it was going, within two years you would not have had a steel industry. steele to have a industry. we have to have aluminum. we are working on that now that was not part of this, but we will do something. you steelbob, you may want to tk about something like that. two separater: things. we know they are of great interest to both countries. we are engaged in talks to preserve the effectiveness of our program and take care of our needs. we will hopefully be able to work that out. and really take care of the needs of our steel companies. they are hiring thousands of workers all over the country. i am not giving that up. but the president-elect will

keep his word -- president trump: we have a good understanding. really good. >> just hoping you can reiterate on the terrorists -- tariffs. what would it take for canada and mexico to be exempt, and did you consider dairy the dealbreaker? yes, and formp: farmers it has substantially opened up much more. they cannot open it up -- we have farmers also. we cannot be overrun. and i tell them that. i understand you have limits, they could do much better. we have opened it up to our farmers. so the folks up in wisconsin -- i went to wisconsin, iowa. joni knows better than anyone, and scott walker, who i think is a fantastic governor, talks about it all the time that our farmers were not treated properly by canada. now they are going to be treated

with respect. they are going to be treated fairly. or, as i said, in that reciprocal way. yes, sir, go ahead. >> thanks. there was give and take on both sides for this deal. what would be your biggest concession to canada and why you decided to make the concession? to if you could dive in more your thoughts on justin trudeau. you talked about tensions. iroughout this process, wonder what you have learned about him and what the state of the relationship is with him today and going forward. president trump: i think my biggest concession would be making the deal, because we are the one that people come and from.o take i am talking about every country. and that gives us a tremendous advantage in the go shading that we never from. used before with past administrations. we never used it. every deal we had was a loser.

you can look at almost every country in the world, almost every country, we have trade deficits. we lose with everybody. so i think my biggest concession was making the deal because we could have done it a different way, but it would have been nasty and i would not have been nice. we have a great relationship with canada. now i think it will be better than ever. the only problem with justin is he loves his people and he is fighting hard with his people. we have always had actually good relationships. it got a little bit testy in the last couple of months. but that was over this agreement, and i understand that. but i think justin is a good person who is doing a good job. he felt very committed to his people, and that is what he did. and again, this is good for everybody. this is good for canada. it is good for mexico, also. yes, please, guide. >> thank you.

you will be signing this agreement and your counterpart will be signing this agreement in the next 60 days. then it is up to congress. you are confident. president trump: not at all confident. i am not. >> why do you think -- president trump: i think -- >> congresses controlled by democrats -- president trump: it could happen. they might be willing to throw the great deal for the people and the workers, they may be willing to do that for political -- you know, political purposes, because frankly, they will have 2020 in mind. so far i dream about 2020 when i look at what is going. they have 2020 in my. they want to do as well as they can come and trying to reject great deals -- like this is a great deal could for our country, great deal for other countries, but it is a great over our country and great deal for it are workers. i cannot tell you whether they will obstruct or resist. their whole campaign is

resistant. i see their science, resist. what he resisting? they cannot think about it. they had something on this weekend, what are you resisting? and they were unable to answer the question. so i cannot tell you about resists,struct, because right after this election -- and i think they are going to do well, although history is not on our side. i guess history generally, whoever has the white house does well in the midterms, but we are the greatest economy in the history of our country. i think that is a big difference, and another was one of our problems because people went out and voted for me, and they would be voting for me if i was on the ticket, but i am not on the ticket, but congresses on the ticket, and i tell people that is the same thing as me come in a sense. as the same thing as me. i think we will do well. we have senate races that were not even in play six months ago.

closing, ied at a will not mention names, but there were senators not even in play, and you know the ones i'm talking about. they were not in play. let's not go here, let's not go to this sick. now they are even races. in one case, they are up two points. who knows? there are a lot of repression polls or polls that are not very accurate because i see polls that i know are false, having to do with certain of the races. but we had area and we test areas and we had congressional seats where i know it is going to be a positive outcome, but you look at what is going on and it does not seem to be broadcast that way. what i certainly had that with my election. they were telling me i was in trouble in certain states and i and up winning in a grand -- in a landslide, and i knew i was going to win them in a landslide, but they would not

reported that way. and you know whay -- take news. >> the trade agreement will be a big issue in the midterm elections? president trump: they have no idea about business. just extend nafta -- that would have been a disaster. we are losing $100 billion a year in deficits, at least, at least, to mexico under nafta, but just look at the result, at a substantial amount to canada, although people say it is pretty much even. it is not even. we lose a substantial amount. it is a hard thing to defend. i understand the world of politics as well as anybody. i have not been doing it that long, but i actually have been because i have been doing it on the other side, and i do understand. and they can't take the greatest thing ever done -- they can take the greatest thing ever done and make it sound false. people are coming out for this one and saying that is

incredible what we have been able to do. yes, behind you, please. >> thank you. now that you have answered questions on trade, i would like to turn to judge kavanaugh -- president trump: excuse me, do you have a question on trade? that is not nice. somebody is before you -- excuse me, do not do that it do you have a question on trade? >> thing you answer questions -- my question is on judge can walk. the thirdinclude accuser, and can you promise to release the -- president trump: give me your question, please. >> [indiscernible] president trump: give her the mike, please. with border security, funding for the wall, and who will pay for the wall? president trump: we are getting $1.6 billion for the walker we .2 billion for the

wall. i can go to quickly -- but over the last year and half with $3.2 billion, that we now have another 1.6, and i have to make a big decision after the election whether we go forward. because you know what? border security for the people for our country, very important. the wall is a big factor for border security. i believe the people in our country -- they want the wall and port security. they do not want open borders like democrats want to have. i do not want crime pouring into our country. they do not want ms 13 pouring into our country. i have a big decision to make some right after the election, very quickly, the cause you know what comes new after the election. do i want to do it before the election? personally, but i do not because i had five people running in close races and it may affect them. i have anything it will be good for them.

border security for our country -- are people with security. the women of our country, they want security. they do not want to have thousands of people pouring across the border. and i will tell you what, they want to have ice, because i was into ms 13-- walks and these gangs and they treat them like it is another day in the office. they are rough and they are tough and they love our country, and i and treating ice good and i am treating law-enforcement good, and the democrats do not want to take whatever law-enforcement and our military. we will have a decision to make sometime close to after the election is over, and that will be on border security and the wall, but border security. the wall is a big factor. ok, -- >> but the conversation and the negotiation -- president trump: yes, we talked about it. with mexico, we talked about it, and certain things, certain understandings. at the same time we do not want to mix it up too much. this is a good deal and a good

deal for everybody, but border security and security generally is a very big factor. sometimesve drugs, that some people would say it is a similar thing, but we talked about drugs with mexico. that is a very, very big factor, very, very big. we have a lot of good understandings, and we will be discussing that with him. >> thank you. president trump: but it was a factor and in. ok, let's go. people are falling asleep. to me it is the most exciting thing you can talk about, right, joni? [applause] president trump: right. >> a few things that are incorrect, to say you are limiting the scope of the fbi investigation to judge kavanaugh, but your own statement on friday committee clear, you said this investigation must be limited in scope. so which is it? president trump: i didn't say that. what i said was -- [no so which is it? audio]

have to do to get the answer -- at the same time, just so we understand, for a man that has accusation, i think he was number one in his class at yale. he was number one hit in his law school at yale. and then what he has gone through over the last three weeks is incredible. the fbi -- this is now the seventh investigation. so it is not like they are just starting. i want them to do a very comprehensive investigation. whatever that means according to the senators and the republicans and the republican majority.

i wants them to do that. i wanted to become rancid. i actually think it is a good thing for judge kavanaugh. i think it is actually a good thing, not a bad thing. i think it is a good thing. i would like it go quickly, and the reason i would like and go quickly, very simple -- it is so simple -- because it is unfair to him at this point -- what his wife is going through, what his beautiful children are going through is not describable. it is not describable. it is not fair. i think it is fair to do it to me come up have been going from day one i have -- long before i got to office, human -- it always became -- for me it became a part of my job description to handle this crap. but as far as -- this is a man -- this is not from his world. and you know what -- if they are not going to want him, and i think that would be a shame -- i am with him all the way -- i mean, a charge made or said to

have occurred 36 years ago and nothing happened since then, and , look, i feel badly for all parties. i feel avidly for our country. this is so bad for a country, but i will tell you, i watched those senators on the democrat'' side, and i thought it was a disgrace, and partially because i know them. i know them too well, and you know what -- they are not angels -- single white house has put no limitations that-- president trump: no, no, you cannot understand what i'm saying. you do understand it. you just do not want to report it. my white house will do whatever the senators want. i'm open to whatever they want. one thing i want is speed. i believe oned friday. it could have been earlier than that, but they started -- they

have worked round-the-clock on saturday, sunday, they are working right now. they are covering a lot of territory. this is the seventh investigation of judge kavanaugh. number seven. this is not number one. they started on friday. they worked all weekend. they have gone late into the evenings. the fbi is really working hard, and they are putting in a lot of hours. so hopefully they can come up with what everybody is looking guided by thei am senate. i want to make the senate have a, because ultimately they are making the judgment. i am not making that judgment. i have already made by judgment. the scent is making a judgment on judge kavanaugh. that is a very important thing to do. >> [indiscernible] president trump: it is up to me. but i am instructing them as for what i feel the senate wants.

the senate is making this decision. >> my question -- >> will you instruct the white house counsel, don mcgann, to give the fbi free reign to interview anyone they feel is necessary? i have sotrump: instructed him, and i did over the weekend, because i see the press -- i do not want to say the word misleading -- it is a much more complex subject that anybody would understand, and most people understand. but essentially, i have done that, but i did also say within the bounds of what the senate wants. we do not want to go on a -- to use an expression, often used by me, we do not want to go on a witchhunt, do we? >> so typically, should the fbi interview all three of brett kavanaugh's accusers? president trump: it were not bother me at all. it depends -- certainly i imagine they will interview two. knowhird one, i do not much about. it would not bother me at all. i mean, i have heard that the

third one has -- i have no idea if this is true -- has very little credibility. if there is any credibility, interview the third one. but i want you -- i wanted to be done quickly, because it is unfair to the family and to the judge -- it is so unfair to his kids -- his wife -- >> how about for the accusers? has the process been fair to them? president trump: certainly, we gave the doctor a tremendous time, which is great. she spoke well. but there is some questions that have not been answered, like what year was it, what day was it, where was it, do you know the location, you know the house? people are saying what is going on? with all of that we have done anything but the respectful. and i do, and i respect her position very much. i respect her position very

much. -- again, this is republican senators and this is the senate -- i believe they have been very respectful to the doctor, dr. ford. why the fbi should interview all of them to exonerate judge kavanaugh? president trump: i think the fbi should interview anybody they want within reason, but you have to say within reason. guidedy should also be -- and i am being guided -- by what the senators are looking for, because they have to make the choice. the head. now you can go. >> judge brett kavanaugh be interviewed by the fbi? president trump: i think so. that is up to them. i think that he spoke very inclusively and very well. i think it has been a very well period of time. i'm sure he has never had a period of time like this. years ago that10 brett kavanaugh was going to be a supreme court justice, because

of his intellect, because of his career, because of the fact there are no games. now they talk about out the hall, all of the things that you hear, and frankly, you take a look. they are bringing up -- we would not know about this over the last 20 years, 30 years of his career. what happened? they are going back to high school and they are saying he drank a lot one evening in high school? you know, i take what, i happen to know some united state senators, one who is on the other side, who is pretty aggressive. i have seen that person in very bad situations, ok? i have seen that person in very, very bad situations, somewhat compromising, and you know, i think it is very unfair to bring up things like this. however, whatever the senators want is ok with me.

they are going to be making a decision. whatever they want is ok with me. go ahead. that is enough, peter, go, please. >> [indiscernible] president trump: say it. >> you set i have been dealing with this crap for years -- president trump: the press has been dealing with me very unfairly. the good thing is now the press finally gets it. they will treat me fairly. a got worse. they are worse now than ever. they are loco, but that is ok, i will put up with it. no head. i used that word because of the fact we made a deal with mexico -- no, no, please sit down. >> i thought you were talking -- >> there are no concerns that judge kavanaugh may have lied or r mischaracterized districting. did, will that affect his nomination?

president trump: i was a press about how vocal he was about how he liked beer, and he had a little bit of difficulty. i mean, he talked about things that happened when he drank. this is not a man that said alcohol was -- that he was perfect with respect to act all. no, i thought he was actually going back so many years, i thought he was excellent. the interesting thing is nobody asked him about what happened in the last 45, 30 years from it during his professional career, because there were no bad reports. i mean, there were armed bad reports on everybody in here. most of the people sitting are bad except for mike pence, by the way. [laughter] president trump: if they find one on him, then that is going to be. that will be the greatest shock all. no, there are bad reports on everybody. i am looking at people. i'm sort of -- look at some of these people asking the questions, ok? look at blumenthal. lied about vietnam.

years and he said he was a war hero. da nan years and he said he was ag richard. he never went to vietnam. and he says we need honesty and we need integrity. this guy lied. when he was the attorney general of connecticut, he lied. i do not mean a little bit. he dropped out of the race and won anyway, because the press always win in connecticut. close, the closest ever, but here is a guy that lives and now he is up there talking that he is holier than now. look at his record come and when he got out and his apology -- he was crying, the tears were all over the place, and only asked why, how dare you. take a look at the judge who has led an exemplary life. i mean, you go back to high school, because he had beer?

i think the judge has been pretty amazing about describing his situation with alcohol and with beer. -- coryook at booker. he ran new work, new jersey to the ground. and in high school he was in statements, and now he is talking about judge kavanaugh, and i can go through a whole list of stuff for him. look at dianne feinstein. thise feinstein knew about two months earlier. if she wanted a really thorough investigation, we had all the time in the world. she did not have to wait until after the hearing was closed, essentially. she says that, listen, i have a problem. i have this report. i would like the fbi to look at it while we are doing the hearings. we had two months. no, she did not do that.

she waited until we were closed, and then she probably leaked it, but, you know, you might to say? but you probably leaked it tasted a bad body language the other day. more importantly, in a sense, for her to have waited -- and now for you democrats -- and i guess i am including you, too, the media. i consider you a part of the democrat party. for the democrats to be talking about we want more time to the fbi -- if you wanted more time for the fbi, why didn't dianne feinstein bring this up? you know she should this other democrats read she is not the only one. she showed this other democrats. there were more than just her new about this big confidential thing. it was confidential until the hearing was over. after the hearing was over, they went public. why did not they deal with this in the hearing? you know why, because they are dishonest people. yes, please. >> you did not answer my

question. so if he did lie about history, does that mean you will pull his -- president trump: i do not think he did. ook, i am not a drinker. i can honestly say i have never had a beer in my life. one of my good traits, i do not drink. [laughter] president trump: i have never had alcohol. for whatever reason. can you imagine if i had what a mess i would be? worst?be the world's i never drank. and i watch that hearing. i watched a man saying he had difficulty as a young man with drink. the one question i do not ask is, how about the last 20 years? have you had difficulty in the last 20 years, because nobody said meeting bad about him in many years. they go back to high school. i graduated from high school, and while i did not drink, i saw a lot of people drinking. they would drink beer and go

crazy, and they were in high school. 17 years old, and i saw a lot of that. does that mean they cannot do something they want to do with lives? it is a very tough thing. i really believe that he was very strong on the fact that he drank a lot, so i do not know whether there would be a big discrepancy -- >> to wrap up -- president trump: you know what? you have really had enough. go ahead please. >> since caught in all -- kavanaugh said he was targeted by democrats, has he made the process overly political, and how are you sure that he can be sure to make impartial decisions? has been trump: he treated horribly. i think he has been treated hardly. lindsey graham was i thought day, day, and her brought up one point that is now

being discussed by a lot of people. and that is, who is going to want to run for office, be in office, take it for not just to the supreme court, but many positions. i have right now 360 people that not -- that are very qualified. nobody says they are not qualified. but senator schumer is not considering them because of resist and obstruct. it doubles the time almost. in the history of our country. most of these people are routine approvals. jobs, their their life to come and serve our country, and schumer and his groove will not approve them. it is slow walking them. the personhem out -- that is going to be approved, it is going to be a disgrace. brings up whetherbrings it is politics or not, i do not know, you have to ask him. but he has been treated horribly. reporter: are you concerned --

pres. trump: you know what i'm concerned about, that we have great people for the u.s. supreme court, that is what i am concerned, and i want to have great people. i do not want to have to call people for any court and have them say it is such a great honor, but no thank you, i cannot do it. that would be a sad day for our country. and we will come close to that, because i know people and now that say, i do not know how he does it, why he would have taken and nobody knew anything like this could happen. now, when justice gorsuch got approved, it was rough, but nothing like what they are doing to this man and where they are coming up with. in many cases, fabricating. certain stories will pull back that were horrible. what they are doing this man and his family is very sad and bad for our nation. reporter: you said some senators are not angels,

could you tell us who and exactly what -- pres. trump: i think it will save it for a book like everybody else. [laughter] pres. trump: i am not giving it to you. reporter: mr. president, if the fbi find other witnesses that can cooperate the account of other -- corroborate the account for other -- pres. trump: i am open. i think he is a great scholar, a fine man. what he said and did, he focused on being number one at yale, at number one in high school, at law. i can so understand that. i mean, it is so important, the way that he said that, it made an impact on me. he was so focused on the number one at yale. and i believe he was number one at yale. but i understood that very well. reporter: i wanted to ask about something else, the las vegas shooting, there is frustration more has not been done in the

past year, more on bump stocks. pres. trump: you are wrong about that. in order to eliminate or terminate the bump stocks, we have to go through a procedure. we are now in the final stages of that procedure. the lawyers were just telling me, over the next but weeks it will be able to write it up, but you cannot just write it up. the rules and regulations in this country are very tough, even for something like that, so we are knocking out bump stocks. they are gone. to do it, you have to go to public hearings, which we have had, you have to go through all sorts of regulatory control systems. and we are in the final couple of weeks. is the attorney around someplace please? he said, we are in the final two or three weeksand i will be able to write them out, but it takes statutory, about a year to do it properly. reporter: any other actions you

are planning to help prevent -- pres. trump: yakima we are working on both sides in -- yeah, we are working on both sides in congress. that was a horrible thing, but we are working on both sides of that question. the bump stocks are almost gone. to do it so it is meaningful, the lawyer just said it, we have gone through a whole procedure. if you look, you could call derek, do you know very well, he has gone through the full procedure. we have done a by the book. in a short time, they will be rolled out. -- yes? go ahead. please, please, sit down. reporter: a final trade question. steel and aluminum tariffs will not be coming down from canada and mexico, was their discussion of ending the retaliatory tariffs? pres. trump: they are not retaliatory, they are trying to get some really bad things from

happening. they were dumping in our country. and it was china and various others dumping massive amounts of dead steel. it is also imperfect steel. and inside that steel was a lot of bad things that make for a weaker steel. when we are building bridges and you have that steel or other quantities of other material in that steel, that is a very bad thing and unsafe. so it is not just economic. you know, we have, the miners have been very thankful, you saw it in west virginia the other night. we have met allergic coal -- and other materials. we have mines opening up to get that incredible stuff. this is used not only for heating and cooling, this is used in electric, to make steel. those mines are opening up and we are making steel and the

price will end up being less because we do not have the shipping problems when you ship it from places far away. we will have hundreds of new plants and are they will compete against each other. and outsiders will not be able to compete. so you understand what was going to happen, they were going to knock out every still plant we had, and then double and triple the price and we couldn't have done anything about it. it is a dangerous thing. we have employed a lot of people in billions of dollars is now flowing into our treasury. in the back, please. reporter: staying on trade, the stock market has like to the announcement today, the dow was up to it or 50 points when we walked in, but some are worried because of the threat of future tariffs, it could potentially stifle an economy that is hot, a stock market that is hot, yet today you have once again said, as it relates to china more tariffs could be coming down the line. are you worried that potentially you are somewhat suppressing the economy from running further? pres. trump: i am using them to

negotiate and hopefully we can make a great deal with china, a fair deal. and a reciprocal deal. but a great deal and a fair deal. we have a lot of catching up to do with china. when they drain us for $500 billion a year, which is probably the real number and that does not include the theft of intellectual property and other things. and a lot of people say it is hard to value, but it could be $300 billion a year. that is a tremendous amount. you cannot let that happen. no, we are using tariffs very successfully to negotiate and if we are unable to make a fair deal, we will use the tariffs. if you look at mexico and canada, we have a deal that really works. the nice part is it is not as a specific for a product, it is all across the line, whether it is dairy or a lot of products, it is a list of products, many products, and they are all

included. reporter: with china, one more if you do not mind. therter: mr. president, if fbi finds a something and brett kavanaugh folds, is there a plan b? pres. trump: i do not want to talk about plan b, because i hope he gets approved, i hope the report comes out like it should, like a really think it should and that think it -- and i think it will. but i am waiting like you. if they find something, i will take into consideration. absolutely. i am a very open mind. the person that takes that position is going to be there for a long time. i have a very open mind. i think he is an outstanding person. i think he has been treated horribly. even if you are going to bring up some of the subjects that were brought up, they did not have to treat them so viciously and violently as they have treated him. reporter: on trade -- pres. trump: thank you all very

much. thank you. [applause] reporter: -- the assault victims? [background chatter] announcer: we will have more from president trump later today at 3:00 p.m. eastern, a congressional medal of honor ceremony from a former staff charge it who was -- sergeant

who critically -- he treated quickly wounded soldiers in afghanistan. and senator jeff flake will be speaking later today in manchester, new hampshire, live at 6:30 p.m. eastern on c-span. senate action on the nomination of brett kavanaugh to the supreme court is on hold during an fbi investigation into allegations of sexual assault, but the senate floor debate on the nomination continues. you can watch the senate live on c-span2. tonight, david radel, the administrator of national commission's task medication administration discusses policy. interviewed by a senior editor, howard busker. >> i want to shift gears to spectrum, because we all love to talk about spectrum. 5g is a headline almost every day now. is the u.s. going to win the race to five g? -- 5g?

>> we are in it. we are spending a lot of time looking at the data to see what we can do to help the private sector get to where it needs to be to make sure that america retains its leadership in wireless. we are the undisputed leader in 4g. we deployed it nationwide in a way that was holistic and brought broadband the multiple -- to six covers around the country. now we are trying to do the same with 5g, but we have competition. china and korea are trying their best to be first to have nationwide 5g as well it will be a race, but we are confident -- we are confident that we are doing the things we need to do to go forward. announcer: watch "the communicators" tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span2. debate in up next, a

the oklahoma governors' race. from the oklahoma newspaper in oklahoma city, this is 50 minutes. >> good evening. i want to thank a couple of people. the museum of art and the beautiful auditorium here. [applause]