President Trump Holds a Press Conference with President Emmanuel Macron of France on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Trump expressed hope for an endgame, while Macron warned against Ukraine's surrender. Their talks highlighted deep policy differences, with Trump suggesting Putin may accept European peacekeepers. The U.S. and France remain divided on Russia's role in resolving the war. Trump
#Trump #Macron #UkraineWar #Russia #Putin #EuropeanPeacekeepers #France #USForeignPolicy #UN #PeaceTalks #NATO #UkraineCrisis #Biden #WarInUkraine #Geopolitics #Diplomacy #RussiaUkraineWar #WorldNews #GlobalPolitics #TransatlanticRelations
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NewsTranscript
00:00Well, thank you very much, everyone.
00:16Great honor to be here with my friend.
00:22I'm delighted to welcome President Macron back to the White House.
00:28We've been together quite often, but not that often in the White House.
00:33We honored the President, the First Lady of France, not so long ago.
00:40That was a beautiful evening, and we will not soon forget it.
00:43It was a beautiful day and evening and many fond memories.
00:48I also want to thank Emmanuel for hosting me in Paris last December after a historic
00:54election win, to witness the reopening of the spectacular Notre Dame Cathedral, where
01:00you did an outstanding job in bringing it back together.
01:03That was a sad day watching that burn.
01:06And five years later, you had it up, and it was, they say, more beautiful than it was
01:11before.
01:12So I think that's a great achievement.
01:13That was not easy.
01:16France is America's oldest ally.
01:18Our cherished partnership has been a force for freedom, prosperity, and peace from the
01:23very beginning.
01:24We're now working on some very interesting developments, one in particular, as you know,
01:29the war between Russia and Ukraine.
01:31In the American Revolution, French support helped us to seize our destiny as an independent
01:37nation.
01:38In the First and Second World Wars, our citizens shed blood together on the battlefields of
01:43Europe.
01:45And I'll never forget joining President Macron six years ago on the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
01:51That was some day.
01:53The purpose of our meeting today is to end another battle, a really horrible one, a war,
02:00something that we haven't seen since the Second World War, that is ravaging European soil,
02:06the deadliest and most destructive conflict that one can imagine.
02:10I've seen the pictures.
02:11I've seen the satellite photos and lots of other photos.
02:14And it's a horrible thing that's happening.
02:17Thousands of people are dying a week.
02:20This very day is the third anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine, which would never
02:24have happened if I was President.
02:26That was not going to happen.
02:28The horrors of this gruesome and bloody war can scarcely be overestimated.
02:34Hundreds of thousands of people, Russians and Ukrainians in particular, have needlessly
02:40died.
02:41An entire generation of Ukrainians and Russian men has been decimated.
02:46One thousand-year-old cities have been turned into rubble.
02:52Those beautiful spires that you used to see there — they were most beautiful in the
02:57world, they say — are lying in heaps of rubble, blasted to smithereens.
03:05It's time to end this bloodletting and restore peace, and I think we're going to do it.
03:10We've had some great conversations, including with Russia.
03:14Since my return to the White House, we've made more progress toward that goal in one
03:18month than occurred in the past three years.
03:22And I've spoken with both President Putin and President Zelensky.
03:28And again, a lot of — a lot of good things toward peace are happening.
03:33Moving it, I think, pretty quickly.
03:36Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Michael Walz and
03:42Special Envoy Steve Whitkoff conducted successful talks in Saudi Arabia with the delegation
03:50from Russia.
03:51And I'd like to thank the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the King and Mohammed.
03:59Great people.
04:00They're really working hard to get this done.
04:02Our focus is on achieving a ceasefire as soon as possible and, ultimately, a permanent peace.
04:09My meeting with President Macron today was another important step forward in that — in
04:15that sphere, because he's been very much involved right from the beginning in trying
04:19to get it over with, and we're going to get it done.
04:22I believe that Emmanuel agrees with me on many of the most important issues.
04:26Chief among them is this is the right time.
04:30It may be the only time.
04:32You know, that's a very interesting and horrible situation, and that could evolve into a third
04:38world war.
04:39We've got to let that happen.
04:40It should have never started, but it did.
04:43And what a mess.
04:45What a horrible, bloody mess.
04:47I'm also pleased that President Macron agrees that the cost and burden of securing the peace
04:53must be borne by the nations of Europe, not alone by the United States.
04:59And Europe must take that central role in assuring long-term security of Ukraine, which
05:05they want to do.
05:07And that's not a very big step.
05:08A big step is what's going to happen over the next few weeks.
05:13The United States has put up far more aid for Ukraine than any other nation — hundreds
05:19of billions of dollars.
05:20We've spent more than $300 billion, and Europe has spent about $100 — $100 billion.
05:26That's a big difference.
05:27And at some point, we should equalize.
05:31But hopefully, we won't have to worry about that.
05:33We have other things happening that maybe take that out of the realm of necessity.
05:38And while we've given vast amounts of military aid and money in the form of grants, much
05:44of Europe's contribution has been economic relief structured as loans, for which they'll
05:50be repaid.
05:52Like the Europeans, I believe that taxpayers and the United States also deserve to recoup
05:58the colossal amounts of money that we've sent.
06:02The previous administration never even thought of that.
06:05They didn't think of a lot of things, like why did they let it start in the first place.
06:11That is why we must have an agreement with Ukraine on critical minerals and rare earths
06:18and various other things as security.
06:20And I think that that's happening.
06:21I think we've made a lot of progress.
06:23I had a report just given to me before walking in that we've made, Emmanuel, a great deal
06:29of progress toward getting that.
06:31I've been elected by the American people to restore common sense to Washington and, indeed,
06:38to the world.
06:40And I believe strongly that it's in the best interest of the United States, the best interest
06:45in Europe, the best interest of Ukraine, and, indeed, the best interest of Russia to stop
06:49the killing now and bring the world to peace.
06:53My administration is making a decisive break with the foreign policy values of the past
06:59administration and, frankly, the past.
07:02I ran against a very foolish foreign policy establishment, and their recklessness has
07:07led to the death of many, many people.
07:10Under our administration, we're forging a new path that promotes peace around the world.
07:16And when I left office for the first administration, first term, we had no wars.
07:21We had no problems.
07:22We didn't have October 7th with Israel.
07:25We didn't have Russia and Ukraine going at it.
07:28We didn't have the problems in other parts of the Middle East.
07:32We didn't have inflation.
07:33It was a whole different world.
07:36And you know what else?
07:38We didn't have millions of people pouring through our borders, many of them criminals
07:41released from other nations and put right into our land.
07:45Murderers and drug dealers, gangs.
07:48We didn't have any of that.
07:50It's a different time.
07:51But now we have it and we're fixing it.
07:53We'll fix it all up.
07:54We'll get it done as quickly as possible.
07:57And we've made a great deal of progress.
07:59People are saying it was the best month for a President in our country's history.
08:03I hope that's right, but I feel it's right.
08:06We've done a lot of things in a very short period of time, four weeks.
08:09As I've said before, it's my hope that my greatest legacy, however, will be as a peacemaker
08:15and a unifier.
08:17I want to bring peace, not war.
08:18I thank President Macron for joining us today in this urgent work we're doing.
08:26We have some wonderful people up front right here that have worked so hard.
08:30Steve Whitkoff, thank you very much.
08:31Michael Walz, thank you.
08:33Scott, thank you very much.
08:35And J.D., thank you.
08:37They've really done a job.
08:39They worked very hard.
08:40It's like it's a real passion to get this war ended.
08:45And I'd like to now invite Emmanuel to say a few words, and then we'll take questions.
08:52And again, Emmanuel, it's a great honor to have you with us at the White House.
08:55Thank you very much.
08:56Please.
08:58Thank you, Mr. President.
08:59Thank you, dear Donald.
09:00Ministers, ladies and gentlemen, mesdames et messieurs, je vais dire quelques mots.
09:03Ladies and gentlemen, I'll be saying a few words in French.
09:08Thank you very much, Mr. President, dear Donald, for your hospitality and for this visit.
09:15As you mentioned, we have had the opportunity to meet over the past few years.
09:20Since your first term, we've been able to discuss matters in Paris and also here at
09:26the White House.
09:27And it has always been a great joy to do that.
09:32And I would like to commend you.
09:35And thank you, Mr. President, for extending this friendship to France and taking part
09:41in the ceremony at Notre Dame that you mentioned before.
09:44It was a great honor for the French people to reopen the cathedral to the rest of the
09:49world.
09:50And your presence was a testament to that friendship.
09:54As the President said, this friendship dates back to the Revolutionary War, since the beginning
09:59of the United States.
10:01And whenever we've needed to, we've been able to come together and be on the right
10:06side.
10:07We've been able to be united to defend peace and sovereignty, namely, in the two World
10:14Wars that marked the 20th century, from Lafayette to Pershing and to the many Americans who
10:25landed on Omaha Beach.
10:27And we spoke earlier before, and you mentioned that one of those gentlemen was able to visit
10:36you here, one of the veterans.
10:40This is part of history, which puts us in the world that we are in today.
10:46And as the President just said, there are many challenges in this world.
10:50And over the past few days, we have one main objective, which is the geopolitical situation.
10:59Mr. President, I really wish to thank you for making changes to your schedule to meet
11:07with us so quickly.
11:10I think we've made very substantive steps forward during our discussions, and this is
11:16a major step in what we're experiencing today.
11:21We had a videoconference with all of the G7 leaders, which was an opportunity for us to
11:26discuss this matter three days after the Russian war in Ukraine and to express our support
11:35for President Zelensky to the Ukrainian people, but also to speak and share about our desire
11:42for a lasting peace.
11:45This is what we have spoken about very forcibly over the past few weeks.
11:52We thought that this war was only going to last a few weeks when it broke out in 2022.
11:59We admire greatly the courage of the Ukrainian people.
12:03And Mr. President, I wish to thank you for this.
12:09You mentioned that there are responsibilities on Europe's side, and indeed we have invested
12:18$128 billion in aid to Ukraine and the Ukrainians.
12:24Ukraine has been able to hold the front of our collective security.
12:27It's fought over these past few years for its independence and for its sovereignty,
12:32but also for our collective security, because I think that no one in this room wants to
12:36live in a world where it's the law of the strongest and international borders can be
12:42violated from one day to the next by anyone.
12:47Over the past few hours, and as you mentioned this, Mr. President, we've been able to see
12:52a few things take shape.
12:54First of all, allow me to commend you on your decision to work with President Zelensky and
13:01to conclude this agreement that's so important for the U.S. and Ukraine on rare earths, critical
13:07minerals, but also having substantive conversations with President Zelensky during this key phase
13:14of achieving this deal, which is a major commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty, and I think that's
13:20very commendable.
13:23We also have a shared desire to build peace.
13:32We will have this responsibility.
13:35This is 10 years after the war started in Crimea, and then we saw the events in the
13:41Donbas region and along the northern part of the country.
13:45We want to save lives.
13:46We want to bring prisoners back and bring back families and children, because there's
13:51also humanitarian tragedy affecting the Ukrainian people.
13:56We had lengthy discussions with the President, and we spoke about our desire to bring an
14:03end to conflicts, to have a truce that is measurable, verifiable, and that enables
14:10negotiation of a lasting peace.
14:12What we will discuss is not only Ukraine's reconstruction, its territories, but also
14:17the security guarantees, meaning maintaining peace over the long term.
14:24As I said to the President, we've experienced peace accords that were only ceasefires without
14:31ensuring security guarantees, Minsk I and II, and we want to make sure this doesn't
14:36happen again.
14:37I know that the President has expressed the desire to be a player for peace in the region.
14:46I've spoken with some 30 European leaders and allies in recent days.
14:50We want to bring together these allies and share the same vision.
14:57This peace must not mean a surrender of Ukraine.
15:00It must not mean a ceasefire without guarantees.
15:04This peace must allow for Ukrainian sovereignty and allow Ukraine to negotiate with other
15:10stakeholders regarding the issues that affect it.
15:16But it is also a country in which we need to shoulder our responsibilities so that we
15:22ensure security and stability for Ukraine and for the entire region and for us Europeans.
15:27This is an existential issue.
15:30We also spoke about these issues at length with the President.
15:36We've worked with President Zelensky and gotten to some of the details of the various
15:41phases of the negotiation, and we've also been able to speak about some of this work
15:46with our British partners to talk about deployments of peace forces on Ukrainian soil, which are
15:57part of these security guarantees.
16:00Other countries are ready to join in this effort.
16:04Solidarity and support from the U.S. will be crucial to this, and I thank you, Mr. President,
16:08for beginning to work with us on this issue and the agreement that you are preparing to
16:14sign with Ukraine and with all these discussions we've had are very solid guarantees that
16:21we are understood, that we have the same wish, peace as soon as possible, lasting, solid
16:28peace for everyone.
16:32And the renewal of an international situation where we are all able to shoulder our responsibilities
16:38– Europeans shouldering their responsibilities alongside their American allies who will
16:43shoulder their own responsibilities.
16:46I also wanted to be very clear, Mr. President, about Europe's commitment.
16:51We have committed to building a lasting peace.
16:55As Europeans, we have committed to being stakeholders in these security guarantees.
17:03And we are also well aware that Europeans need to do more for security in Europe, for
17:11defense in Europe, and to more fairly share the security burden that your country has
17:17been carrying for so many years.
17:20Mr. President, you know how much friendship I show towards you and I have towards you
17:27since your first term.
17:29Europe is very clear-eyed about this.
17:32We know what we need to do as Europeans, given the threats surrounding us and the responsibilities
17:38that we must shoulder.
17:41We spoke about the Versailles Agenda, which allowed the Europeans to take a historic step
17:48and increase their investments.
17:50Europeans are ready to do even more and to go even farther.
17:55And several leaders said that to me before I came here to meet you.
17:59Mr. President, dear Donald, you spoke about this peace through strength.
18:05We fully share that, because we must recognize the sacrifices made by the Ukrainian people
18:11and what we owe to them.
18:13The President and I also spoke about economic matters and our desire to see more prosperity
18:20in the United States and in Europe.
18:23We had discussions, which will be carried on by our teams, our ministers and secretaries,
18:28to flesh out some of those ideas.
18:31But the idea is to have fair competition and no bias within competition between our industries.
18:41Now, the American and European economies are extremely intertwined.
18:51Some 1.5 trillion in goods and services, and I know you've spoken about wanting to
19:03look at the balance of payments.
19:06We also have a trade deficit, and I know that we need to look not only at goods, but also
19:15digital items and goods which you export.
19:19And we want to make a sincere commitment towards fair competition where we have smooth
19:27trade and more investments.
19:29You already invest a great deal in France, and France is the fifth largest investor in
19:37the United States.
19:38And I would like to recognize here all of the American investors who announced investments,
19:48some $120 billion that were announced at the AI Summit.
19:54This is our wish.
19:55We want to have more prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic.
19:59We have a shared agenda in that regard.
20:01We also spoke about the Middle East, among other subjects.
20:05And here, again, we have the same desire.
20:08We don't want to see Iran obtain nuclear weapons.
20:11We want an approach with partners in the region that we can trust.
20:22Given Iran's nuclear activities, we want to limit its ballistic capabilities and avoid
20:27any type of regional destabilization.
20:30With respect to Syria and Iraq, we also share the same desire.
20:34We don't want to see Islamic terrorist groups resume any of their activities, because for
20:40some time, our armies have very bravely been engaged in the Gulf, as you have led, and
20:48contributions have been significant and helped stability in the region.
20:53And I say this with great sincerity.
20:58France was affected by a terrorist attack in 2015, which was linked to the terrorist
21:02activity in Syria.
21:04And we are in that region, at your side, to work for more security.
21:10Ladies and gentlemen, we had extremely productive discussions this morning during the conference.
21:18And we spoke with our ministers and counselors and advisors.
21:22And I wish to say, after speaking with President Trump, I fully believe that there is a path
21:30forward.
21:31We share the same beliefs.
21:32We know what work needs to be done.
21:35And in the weeks to come, we will work on that.
21:37Our teams will come together in various formats to make sure that we have this solid, lasting
21:44peace with great strength.
21:49Mr. President, thank you so much for welcoming me here today.
21:53Thank you so much for these productive discussions and for your commitment.
21:56Thank you, dear Donald.
21:58Thank you very much.
22:04Okay, thank you very much.
22:06Brian, would you like to ask a question?
22:08Go ahead.
22:09Thank you, Mr. President.
22:10Welcome, President Trump.
22:11I just want to touch upon, real quickly, the Harvard poll that came out that had — thank
22:17you very much — the Harvard poll that came out had you up nine-plus points.
22:21And all of your agenda that you ran on, you're accomplishing that.
22:25You've got the support of the American people, including stopping the war in Ukraine.
22:29If you can comment on the latest Harvard poll, I'd appreciate that.
22:32Well, I was honored by it.
22:33It was a big poll.
22:34And it's usually a poll that leans on the other side of things — the other side of
22:39the world, so to speak.
22:41But the Harvard poll is a respected poll, and it has us not only leading, but leading
22:46by a lot and leading on every single issue that we've talked about.
22:51And as I said, we've become the party of common sense.
22:55And I think that's a very important element now, common sense, because what's happening
22:59in the world and even in this country, some of the things that took place, many of them
23:03are now canceled and the rest are being canceled as we speak.
23:06But we've moved very rapidly and, I think, very effectively.
23:09So I was honored by that poll.
23:11Thank you very much.
23:12Appreciate it.
23:13Mr. President.
23:14Go ahead.
23:15Please, go ahead.
23:16Mr. President, you said before that you would like to see Russia —
23:17Yes.
23:18Go ahead.
23:19Are there any conditions that you want Russia to meet with President Putin?
23:20And you're meeting in Saudi Arabia with President Putin.
23:21Will that happen regardless of any progress on the Ukrainian side?
23:22Yeah, I think the meeting in Saudi Arabia was a fantastic one.
23:46We met with the Crown Prince, who is a fantastic young guy.
23:52He's young, but with great imagination and tremendously respected all over the world.
23:58And he goes right to the king, and the king is incredible.
24:01I've gotten to be friends with both of them very much.
24:04And they want to see this ended, and they're going all out to make sure that it is ended.
24:09I think Russia, likewise.
24:11I've spoken to President Putin.
24:14And my people are dealing with him constantly, and his people in particular.
24:20And they want to do something.
24:21I mean, that's what I do.
24:22I do deals.
24:23My whole life is deals.
24:24That's all I know, is deals.
24:26And I know when somebody wants to make it and when somebody doesn't — I will say this.
24:31Before I came here, there was no communication with Russia whatsoever.
24:35And Russia wasn't answering calls.
24:37They were not talking to anybody.
24:39They wouldn't talk to anybody.
24:40And people sort of accepted that as being — that they want to go forward and just
24:47keep going without stop.
24:49But when I got here, one of the first calls I made was to President Putin.
24:54And we were treated with great respect.
24:56And they want to — they want to end this war.
24:59So that's a big thing.
25:00Because I didn't know if I could say that, but it's a big thing.
25:02They want to do it.
25:03And the group in the front row that I introduced, they're very — all very active in it.
25:07And we're working on deals right now, transactions right now.
25:11And in particular, the big one is to get the war stopped, whether it's ceasefire or direct
25:18to an agreement.
25:20I'd like to go directly to an agreement, but ceasefire will always happen a little bit
25:24quicker.
25:25And every day, you're saving thousands, or at least hundreds, but thousands, in some
25:29cases, lives.
25:30So we want to see if we can get that done very quickly.
25:33Yes, for the President, please.
25:39Cindy Calder, MIT correspondent based in Paris.
25:43Question for both of you, actually.
25:45Mr. Macron, you were one of the last Western leaders to speak to Putin before Ukraine's
25:51invasion.
25:52What advice, what recommendation could you make to President Trump to make sure that
25:59this time, you can get strong enough guarantees from Putin to get a peace deal that last this
26:10time?
26:11And Mr. President Trump, what makes you think you can trust Putin in those negotiations?
26:19Look, I will never give any advice to President Trump.
26:24We have friendly and trustful discussion, but my experience with President Putin is
26:30the following.
26:31Number one, I always think it's good to have discussion with other leaders, and especially
26:35when you disagree.
26:37I stopped my discussion with President Putin after Butsha and the war crimes because I
26:43considered that, I mean, we had nothing to get from him at the time.
26:47Now, there is a big change because there is a new U.S. administration, so this is a new
26:53context.
26:54So, there is good reason for President Trump to re-engage with President Putin.
26:59But, my experience is the following, and I shared it with President Trump and the team.
27:05In 2014, our predecessors negotiated peace with President Putin.
27:12But, because of the lack of guarantees, and especially security guarantees, President
27:17Putin violated this peace.
27:20And, I had several discussions, especially at the beginning of 2022, several times, seven
27:25hours with President Putin, 15 days before the launching of the attack.
27:35He denied everything, but we didn't have security guarantees.
27:40So, this is why being strong and having deterrence capacities is the only way to be sure it will
27:48be respected.
27:49And, I insisted on that, and this is why I believe that the U.S. has the capacity to
27:56do so.
27:57And, this is why I think we should never say, I will never send an inbuilt on the ground
28:01because you give a blank check to violate any type of commitment.
28:08So, I think it's good to have discussion.
28:11I think it's useful to have negotiation.
28:13I think it's super important to go to the peace.
28:17But, my strong point was to say, let's try to get something first which can be assessed,
28:25checked and verified.
28:27And, let's be sure that we build sufficient guarantees in the short run.
28:31And, this is where we are ready to be engaged.
28:34As for France, a lot of my European colleagues are ready to be engaged.
28:38But, we do need this American backup because this is part of the credibility of the security
28:44guarantees.
28:45And, this is our collective deterrence capacity.
28:48And, I have the feeling that the President has this capacity.
28:52I think it's very much to the benefit of Russia to make a deal.
28:58And, I feel that we will do that.
29:02It is what it is.
29:03Again, it's a war that should have never been started.
29:06It's a war that would not have been started if I were President.
29:09But, it did start.
29:10And, it's at a terrible level where cities are burned down and shot down to the ground.
29:17It looks like demolition sites.
29:19A whole big pile of demolition sites.
29:21And, we got to get it stopped.
29:23Too many people.
29:25Too much agony.
29:26The whole culture is destroyed when you rip down some of those ancient, really ancient
29:31or near ancient buildings.
29:33It's so sad to see.
29:35But, I think it's very much to the benefit of this tremendous distrust on both sides.
29:40That's why it's good that I'm coming in now.
29:42But, I think it's to the very much benefit of Russia to make a deal and to go on with
29:50leading Russia in a very positive way.
29:54That's what you have to do.
29:56But, I really believe that he wants to make a deal.
29:58I may be wrong, but I believe he wants to make a deal.
30:01Yeah, go ahead, please.
30:04Mr. President, next week there's a key deadline for your Canada and Mexico tariffs.
30:10Do you believe those countries have done enough on the border to stop those from taking effect?
30:16And, for President Macron, I'm wondering if you believe that this critical minerals deal
30:21with Ukraine represents a de facto security guarantee by the United States since the U.S.
30:26would have an interest in protecting those reserves in Ukraine.
30:30We're on time with the tariffs, and it seems like that's moving along very rapidly.
30:35We've been mistreated very badly by many countries, not just Canada and Mexico.
30:40We've been taken advantage of.
30:42We were led by, in some cases, fools, because anybody that would sign documents like they
30:47signed where they were able to take advantage of the American people, like has happened
30:51over the last long period of time, except for a little four-year period that took place
30:57four years ago.
30:59But anybody that would agree to allow this to happen to our country should be ashamed
31:05of themselves.
31:06No, the tariffs are going forward on time, on schedule.
31:12This is an abuse that took place for many, many years.
31:16And I'm not even blaming the other countries that did this.
31:19I blame our leadership for allowing it to happen.
31:22I mean, you know, who can blame them if they made these great deals with the United States,
31:26took advantage of the United States on manufacturing, on just about everything?
31:33Every aspect that you can imagine they took advantage of.
31:36I look at some of these agreements, I'd read them at night, and I'd say,
31:39who would ever sign a thing like this?
31:42So the tariffs will go forward, yes.
31:44And we're going to make up a lot of territory.
31:46All we want is reciprocal.
31:48We want reciprocity.
31:50We want to have the same.
31:53So if somebody charges us, we charge them.
31:55It's very simple.
31:56But it'll be very good for our country.
31:59Our country will be extremely liquid and rich again.
32:03Plus, we're doing other things, as you know.
32:05We're finding tremendous waste, fraud, and abuse at levels that nobody thought possible.
32:12You're seeing what's going on.
32:13And that was also part of the Harvard poll.
32:15Do you agree with what President Trump is doing with Elon and others that are looking
32:20for the waste, fraud, and abuse?
32:23The numbers were staggering.
32:24It was like 70 percent to 2 percent.
32:27Everybody wants to find out.
32:29They don't like it.
32:30And, you know, the radical left or whoever it may be starts screaming about the Constitution.
32:35But it has nothing to do with the Constitution.
32:37It has to do with fairness to this country.
32:39It has to do with being ripped off.
32:41And when you read the things that all of these billions, and I mean many billions,
32:46hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent on,
32:50that's all you have to do is stand up here and read them.
32:52I could stand up all day and read the kind of things where we're spending all of this money.
32:56The good news is that when you think of how rich a nation we can be when we get rid of this,
33:02you know, sometimes you'll buy a company and you'll see it was really well run.
33:06They accounted for every penny.
33:09Well, not much you can do there.
33:11You got yourself a bad deal.
33:13This one is the exact opposite.
33:15Tremendous fraud.
33:16Tremendous waste.
33:18And when you think of what it is, you know, Elon uses the expression caring.
33:23If we had people that cared, just cared a little bit when they did contracts,
33:27when they negotiated with outside vendors on behalf of the United States.
33:32That's what I'm doing now.
33:33I'm negotiating for the people of the United States.
33:37So we're doing a great job of it, I will say.
33:39We found it'll be hundreds of billions of dollars of waste and fraud and abuse.
33:45Please.
33:46Look, I think this discussion is a very important one.
33:48First, because it's important for the U.S.
33:50and it will be a good occasion for a first very important meeting between President Trump and President Zelensky.
33:58Second, I think there is a lot of economic upside on both sides.
34:04And third, de facto there is a recognition of Ukrainian sovereignty,
34:08a recognition of the Ukrainian interests,
34:11and this is de facto a very important alignment of interests.
34:15Now the security guarantees will be negotiated in due time in a full-fledged package of a peace security.
34:21But this peace, as it is now written and negotiated,
34:27and as this meeting is scheduled, is an important step forward, full-fledged peace agreement.
34:35Okay, please, go ahead.
34:39Mr. President Trump.
34:42President Trump, President Macron.
34:45To make a deal with Putin.
34:47So when you do a deal, it's a win-win deal,
34:51what are you giving to him and what is he going to give you to America?
34:56And I was impressed by the way you referred to Notre Dame
34:59and that you were impressed by the reconstruction of Notre Dame.
35:03A lot of Americans have sent money to Paris to participate in the reconstruction of Notre Dame.
35:10As a President of the United States, are you going to contribute to the reconstruction of Ukraine?
35:16And Mr. President Macron?
35:19President Macron, what for you is the main area of progress in your meeting with President Trump?
35:26Can you confirm that there is an agreement to send European peacekeeping troops?
35:32Will France participate in that?
35:34How many troops? What would they be doing?
35:36Would this represent a great danger to send French and European troops to Ukraine?
35:42Well, I guess it's a little strange question because you ask whether or not we're going to,
35:47on behalf of the United States, contribute to Ukraine.
35:51I mean, we're in there for about $350 billion.
35:54I think that's a pretty big contribution.
35:56I do appreciate the first part of your question, however,
35:59because I think they've done an incredible job with the Cathedral of Notre Dame.
36:04I think the President has done.
36:06I know he headed it up, and I know how hard he worked.
36:09And it took a period of time, but really not a long period of time,
36:12considering what that was, so delicate, so beautiful.
36:15And I was there, and I saw the work, and I'm very good at construction.
36:19I know good construction. I know bad construction.
36:22They did a beautiful job, and this man has to be given a lot of credit for that.
36:26It's an incredible cathedral.
36:28Most people thought it couldn't be saved, and if it was, it would have to be built in a different form.
36:32And we didn't want to see a different form.
36:34We wanted to see the same form that you built.
36:37So I just want to congratulate you. That was an amazing job.
36:40I don't think you've gotten enough credit for it.
36:42Someday you will. Someday you will.
36:46Thank you, Donald. Merci beaucoup.
36:50Thank you very much.
36:52To go back to your question, today's discussion showed several areas of progress.
36:58First, we have been working a great deal with President Zelensky
37:05to have a proposal that's acceptable to Ukraine.
37:09President Trump has confirmed that he will be meeting with President Zelensky very soon
37:14to finalize the agreement on critical minerals and rare earths
37:19and to speak together about that matter.
37:21That's a very important step forward.
37:23The second thing is that during our discussions,
37:26we were able to go into some of the details about the proposal that we have just made
37:33to have a truce, a peace, and be able to measure that
37:38and then structure our discussions on that basis.
37:42France and several other European countries, along with Ukraine,
37:46are hard at work to build this lasting peace with very specific points,
37:52including security guarantees, the territories that belong to Ukraine,
37:58the issue of reconstruction, the economy, and critical minerals.
38:03We've been able to go into the details of those proposals.
38:07The third area of progress, which really marked a turning point,
38:13is the fact that we were able to talk about the details of the security guarantees.
38:19The President has shown this over the past few days, and he said so a moment ago.
38:24We want peace. He wants peace.
38:26We want peace swiftly, but we don't want an agreement that is weak.
38:32The fact that there are Europeans that are ready to engage,
38:35to provide for these security guarantees, and now there's a clear American message
38:41that the U.S., as an ally, is ready to provide that solidarity for that approach.
38:47That's a turning point in my view, and that is one of the great areas of progress
38:52that we've made during this trip and during this discussion.
38:56When it comes to troops, in the past, a year ago specifically,
39:02we saw a reason to talk about sending troops for strategic regions.
39:12Today, when we talk about troops, we're talking about sending them in
39:15after we've negotiated a lasting peace.
39:18And once we have that solid, lasting peace that's part of an agreement signed by Ukraine,
39:23signed by Russia, and for which we will provide the guarantees,
39:28then at that point, and recently Francis worked with the U.K. to provide its contributions.
39:36We've worked on plans. We've worked with our militaries not to go to the front lines,
39:41not to go into occupied territories,
39:44but as a show of support to show that we have a negotiated peace signed by both sides,
39:51and that is a peace we will preserve.
39:54So these would be peaceful deployments of troops, not for combat.
39:59These would be deployments of an assurance force.
40:04They would be limited, but they show solidarity.
40:08I've also spoken with all of our allies,
40:10and there are European and non-European allies who are ready and willing to take part in that effort.
40:16Countries have helped Ukraine maintain its military capabilities
40:21in terms of the number of soldiers it has, equipment,
40:25whereas others have provided logistical support on the ground.
40:31The question is whether or in what form the U.S. will contribute,
40:38and during our discussions and during the discussions with Russia,
40:42we've understood that this would be acceptable to Russia,
40:45and that's a very important area of progress,
40:47and that means that in this context the Europeans will shoulder their part of the burden,
40:54their share of the burden.
40:56We have a strong alliance that we've built over the decades.
40:59We have our solidarity, and we have deterrence capacities.
41:05What does it mean? Would it be dangerous?
41:09If there is an agreement signed by Ukraine and Russia,
41:13thanks to the efforts of President Trump,
41:16and if we provide the guarantees and Russia violates the agreement,
41:21then it would be in conflict with everyone who is engaged in the peace process,
41:26and that is a change.
41:28That was something we did not see in the past.
41:30That's not what we saw in 2014.
41:32So that is the real change that we're marking.
41:36We have this deterrence capacity on the American side.
41:40We have the capacity for engagement on the European side,
41:45and that's something we're going to continue working on together.
41:47It's not dangerous, but it's credible.
41:50It's less dangerous than things that could happen in the long term,
41:54and I think this is what we need to do to ensure security.
41:57And I say this very clearly.
41:59We're also talking about security for Europeans.
42:02I've been saying this for weeks now.
42:04If we do not guarantee the security of this territory within Europe,
42:09then how can we guarantee our own security for one and all?
42:14We live just 1,500 kilometers from Ukraine,
42:22and the Germans and Polish are even closer.
42:25So our collective security is important.
42:28We need to answer this call for Europeans to be more engaged,
42:32and Americans will be there still in solidarity.
42:36Europeans are working for their collective security,
42:39but I really think this was a turning point today in our discussions.
42:43Emmanuel, thank you very much.
42:45Great job, and it's been wonderful being with you.
42:48Say hello to your beautiful wife, and we will see you again soon.
42:51We'll be speaking often. We'll get this thing worked out.
42:54We're going to get it done. So important, and great job.