CNN
—
In his first news conference since his victory, President-elect Donald Trump downplayed concerns that his administration would rescind the approval of the polio vaccine, hinted at the possibility of pardoning New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and discussed Ukraine and other issues. He said he intended to pressure Russia to end the war.
The president-elect on Monday took a cautious approach to Mar-a-Lago’s wide-ranging comments, criticizing the Biden administration for not responding positively to possible drone sightings and calling out executives from pharmaceutical and tech companies. We also discussed meeting with. We talk about the future of the TikTok app and invite world leaders to the upcoming inauguration.
President Trump has described himself as a “big believer” in the polio vaccine, amid concerns that his nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., may seek to revoke the approval of the vaccine. He told reporters that the public will not lose the polio vaccine. .
“We’re not going to lose the polio vaccine. That’s not going to happen,” President Trump told reporters.
His comments about the polio vaccine came as Kennedy was heading to the Capitol to meet with senators ahead of a potentially contentious approval battle. CNN previously reported that a lawyer associated with Mr. Kennedy had petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to revoke the approval of the polio vaccine being used in the United States.
“Everything needs to be considered, but I am a strong believer in the polio vaccine,” President Trump said.
He said autism rates are much higher now than they were decades ago and that his administration would “investigate” why. He added that he would like President Kennedy to “come back with a report on what he thinks.” We’re going to know a lot. ”
But he also described Kennedy, a former Democrat who left the party to run as an independent candidate for president in 2024 and who eventually left the party to support Trump, as a “very reasonable person.”
Other important lines from President Trump’s press conference include:
President Trump doubted that “drone sightings” across the Northeast in recent weeks were the work of a foreign power, but criticized President Joe Biden’s administration for not providing details.
“Look, our troops know where they took off from. If it’s a garage, they can get into that garage right away. They know where it came from and where it went. I know. And for some reason they don’t want to comment. And I think they better say what it is,” Trump said.
He added: “Something strange is happening. For some reason they don’t want to tell people, but they should.”
Federal agencies are under intense pressure from the public to reveal more details about weeks of unexplained sightings in residential areas, restricted areas and critical infrastructure in the New York City metropolitan area and beyond. facing. Federal officials said many of the sightings appeared to be manned aircraft that were mistaken for drones.
President Trump said he would consider pardoning New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat who he said was “pretty unfairly treated” when he was indicted on federal corruption charges earlier this year.
Mr. Adams was accused, in part, of illegally accepting free travel to foreign countries. President Trump compared paying for the alleged illegal travel to receiving an award upgrade on airfare.
“I think he was treated pretty unfairly. I don’t see the severity of it now, but I think it’s like he got an upgrade on the plane years ago. Maybe everyone here got an upgrade. “I know it was done,” he said.
Trump also suggested that the indictment of Adams, who has criticized Biden’s immigration policies, was politically motivated. Trump said he personally predicted that Adams would be indicted “when he made some pretty strong statements about essentially opposing the influx of immigrants and saying this is not sustainable.”
Adams has also claimed without evidence that the investigation was triggered by his criticism of Biden’s handling of the border crisis, although the investigation into his fundraising activities began long ago.
Mr. Adams has maintained his innocence and denied any wrongdoing.
President Trump said he knows both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin well and would push for a deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
He said the two leaders “should be prepared to strike a deal.”
President Trump said, “We’re trying to stop the war.” That horrible, horrible war going on in Ukraine. ”
“People are being killed at a level that no one has ever seen before. It’s a very flat field and the only thing stopping the bullet is the body, the human body,” the president-elect said.
What kind of deal does President Trump want countries to reach to end the war that Russia started by invading, or whether he expects Ukraine to give up territory to the Kremlin? Details were not disclosed.
President Trump said, “There are cities where no buildings are being built.” “This is a demolition site. There are no buildings. People can’t go back to those cities. It’s just rubble.”
President Trump has said he expects he may face challenges in the primaries from Republican senators who have “unfairly” opposed his Cabinet picks.
“If they’re irrational and they’re against someone for political reasons or stupid reasons, I would say, I don’t care, they’re probably going to take precedence,” Trump said himself. I stated this separately from the opposing opinion. Determine what is “reasonable” or “fair.”
The comments came as pressure mounts on Republican senators, including some with controversial backgrounds, to support Trump’s picks.
“We’ve made great progress over the past week,” President Trump said after his pick for defense secretary, veteran and former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, met with Republican lawmakers at the Capitol.
But Hegseth faces a difficult confirmation battle amid intense scrutiny over allegations related to his treatment of women and conduct at work, including sexual assault allegations that surfaced in 2017. Hegseth has denied the allegations and has not been charged.
“From the first day I met him, all he wanted to talk about was the military. He’s just a military man. I think that’s natural,” Trump said.
Additionally, Hegseth said, “I gave up a lot of things because I was aiming for a big position at Fox. A big, big place, a lot of money. And when I said, ‘Do you want to do this?’ he hesitated. I didn’t. He said, “Of course.” ”
Trump continued, “I said, ‘If it doesn’t work out, in entertainment, in business, whatever you want to call it, you’re never going to have the opportunity that you have now. “You’ll never get that chance again.” In fact, it could be the other way around because it’s so bad outside.” He said, “I don’t care.” I have to do it for my country. ”He gave up a huge amount. ”
President Trump has hinted that he may reverse course on the impending ban on social media app TikTok in the United States.
“You know, I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok because I won the youth division by 34 points. And anyone who says TikTok had anything to do with it. “There are some,” he told reporters. (According to exit polls, Trump lost an 11-point lead to Vice President Kamala Harris among voters ages 18 to 29.)
Trump also acknowledged that interviews with podcasters like Joe Rogan helped attract young Republican voters, but said TikTok “has had an impact and we’re looking at it.”
Trump met with TikTok CEO Shou Chu at Mar-a-Lago on Monday afternoon, a person familiar with the meeting told CNN.
In other upcoming meetings, Trump is scheduled to meet with Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday, a person familiar with the meeting told CNN. Ta.
In his remarks Monday, Trump also said he plans to meet later this week with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who plans to donate $1 million to Trump’s inauguration.
“I’m looking forward to it,” the president-elect said.
He also mentioned recent meetings with several prominent technology figures, including Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Apple’s Tim Cook, as technology leaders prepare for a second term in the White House. This shows how close he is trying to build a relationship with Trump ahead of his term in office.
President Trump said federal employees who do not work in person will be “fired,” attacking an agreement between the Social Security Administration and unions representing workers that allows telework to continue through 2029.
“If people don’t go back to work, if they don’t go back to the office, they’re going to be fired. And somebody in the Biden administration waived that for five years so that people wouldn’t have to go back to public office for five years. ” he said. “They just signed something outrageous, so it was like a gift to the union.”
Mr. Trump and his allies have previously floated the idea of eliminating telecommuting for federal workers. President Trump has appointed Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswami to lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, which the agency views as a tactic to reduce the federal workforce.
President Trump said his administration “obviously intends to go to court to block” the Social Security Administration’s agreement with labor unions.
President Trump said world leaders “have been calling me and some really want to meet with me” and that he has spoken with representatives of more than 100 countries.
“I’m trying my best to respond to everyone, but there are so many countries and every country, literally every country, has called me and they’ve been so kind,” he said.
CNN previously reported that President Trump has personally invited some foreign leaders, including asking Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend his swearing-in ceremony, which is a major geopolitical move for the U.S. This was an unusual offer to a communist leader who was one of his rivals.
CNN reported last week that a delegation of senior Chinese officials was expected to attend in place of Xi.
President Trump’s nomination of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio as Secretary of State will likely open up a Senate seat in Florida. But while President Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, has been publicly floated as a candidate by prominent Republicans, the president-elect is putting pressure on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who will ultimately make the decision. I was careful not to overdo it.
Trump said he doesn’t expect DeSantis to appoint Lara Trump, but added that he doesn’t know what the governor will do.
“Ron is doing a good job. It’s his choice. It has nothing to do with me. Lara is unbelievable,” Trump said.
President Trump said it was “really awful” that some social media users seemed to be praising the man accused of shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
“It was cold-blooded. Just a cold-blooded, horrific murder. And how this man is liked by people, it’s actually a disease. It’s really terrible,” Trump said of suspect Luigi Mangione. I mentioned Mr.
President Trump said he believed the allegation that a Duke University lacrosse player raped a woman in 2006 was “a fabrication at the time.”
His comments came after Crystal Mangum, the former exotic dancer who accused three Duke University men’s lacrosse players of rape, said on a web show that she had lied.
“They destroyed children’s lives,” Trump said. “Their lives were destroyed. Their lives were cut short by what happened. And now the woman has admitted that it never happened.”
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Aaron Perish, Michael Williams, Antoinette Radford, Elise Hammond and Caitlan Collins contributed to this report.
