The following is the full transcript of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s press conference, May 19, 2025.
Listen to the audio version here:
KAROLINE LEAVITT: Thank you for joining us early today. We have a very busy day, so we wanted to kick off the week right this morning after a great trip last week. It’s good to see all of you back in Washington.
Take It Down Act Signing Ceremony
This afternoon in the Rose Garden, President Trump, alongside First Lady Melania Trump, will sign the Take It Down Act into law. First Lady Melania Trump was instrumental in getting this important legislation passed.
The Take It Down Act will protect victims of digital exploitation, hold internet platforms accountable by requiring them to remove such imagery from their platforms, and provide justice for victims by allowing prosecutors to go after those who publish non-consensual explicit images online.
The First Lady met with members in the House and the Senate, survivors and their families, and advocates throughout the process to get this bill across the finish line. We are grateful for the First Lady’s hard work and dedication to this issue. And moving forward, she will continue to champion the well-being of our nation’s children through her Be Best agenda. I know the President looks forward to signing that bill into law later this afternoon, and we will see you all there.
One Big Beautiful Bill Update
In other news, the One Big Beautiful Bill passed the House Budget Committee last night, bringing it one step closer to final passage. The One Big Beautiful Bill is perfectly named because it represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver on the Make America Great Again agenda responsible for President Trump’s landslide victory on November 5th.
The America First policies in this bill are the reason why Republicans currently have the majority in Congress right now. Passing this bill is what voters sent Republicans to Washington to accomplish. And that’s why it’s essential that every Republican in the House and the Senate unites behind President Trump and passes this popular and essential legislative package.
This bill will be the single most pro-small business, pro-family, and pro-American worker legislation ever. This bill will give Americans the largest tax cuts in our nation’s history. When Republicans pass the bill, Americans will be keeping more of their hard-earned money and taking home much bigger paychecks.
Tax Cut Benefits
The One Big Beautiful Bill will deliver some of President Trump’s central campaign promises:
– No tax on tips for our hard-working waiters, waitresses, and service workers
– No tax on overtime for our law enforcement officers, our firefighters, and all those Americans who are putting in extra hours to make ends meet
– A large tax deduction on interest payments for Americans who purchase American-made cars
Despite desperate Democrat lies, the biggest beneficiary of this tax cut will be working-class Americans and their families. Americans earning between $30,000 and $80,000 per year will pay about 15% less in taxes after this legislation is passed.
According to a brand-new paper from the White House Council of Economic Advisers, the average family with two children’s take-home pay will be up to $13,000 higher because of the increase in wages and reductions in tax obligations. The CEA study also said that the average overtime worker receives a tax cut of roughly $2,000. Again, this is great news for our nurses, our police officers, and all those who work overtime to make ends meet across our country.
Put simply, President Trump’s One Big Beautiful bill will be a boon for working-class America.
Family Benefits and Senior Relief
This One Big Beautiful bill is also pro-family. It will increase the child tax credit to $2,500 per child, establish optional savings accounts for newborn babies with a $1,000 credit added, and strengthen paid family leave.
This bill also delivers historic tax relief to America’s seniors by allowing middle- and low-income Social Security recipients to deduct an additional $4,000 in payments from their taxable income.
If Democrats get their way and the Trump tax cuts are not extended, Americans will face the largest tax hike in history to the tune of $4 trillion. Republicans must not side with Democrats in helping them raise taxes.
Medicaid Protections
The One Big Beautiful bill also provides critical protections of Medicaid, which will strengthen and preserve the program for decades to come through common-sense efforts to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse.
Medicaid will no longer be used to pay for barbaric gender mutilation procedures on minor children. And the 1.4 million illegal aliens who are currently improperly receiving Medicaid benefits will be kicked off the program to preserve it for hard-working American citizens who need it.
President Trump and Republicans are protecting Medicaid benefits for pregnant women, children, disabled individuals, low-income seniors and families, and the most vulnerable Americans in our society. And that’s what Democrats are so angry about. Basic Medicaid protections that will stop the funding of transgender insanity and illegal aliens from ripping off American taxpayers.
Border Security and Immigration
As you all know, over his first four months in office, President Trump ended the previous administration’s open border crisis and secured our homeland in record time, all using executive authority. Now Congress needs to act.
The One Big Beautiful bill is the most significant investment in our nation’s border patrol and law enforcement agents in our nation’s history. The bill ensures that President Trump’s popular and successful border security measures are made permanent.
Republicans have the backs of border patrol and ICE agents who were put through hell over the past four years and have quickly worked to secure our southern border. And that’s why this bill gives them more resources to do their jobs, including a $10,000 much-needed bonus to ICE agents and border patrol agents over the next four years.
To provide those brave agents with desperately needed reinforcements on the ground, the bill allows for the hiring of thousands of new ICE personnel, customs officers, and border patrol agents.
These significant hirings will empower President Trump to continue delivering on his promise to carry out the largest mass deportation in the history of our country.
Again, that is a promise that Republicans made to American voters, it’s a promise they were elected on, and it’s a promise Republicans on Capitol Hill need to keep, secure our border.
To supplement those efforts, the bill’s funds will fund the completion of President Trump’s signature border wall. As a result, 701 miles of primary wall, 900 miles of river barriers, 629 miles of secondary barriers, and 141 miles of vehicle and pedestrian barriers will be constructed when this bill passes, along with cutting-edge technology to secure our homeland from dangerous, illegal alien invaders.
National Defense and Air Traffic Control Modernization
This bill also advances our national security and defense interests by ensuring the United States military has the necessary resources to remain the strongest and most lethal fighting force in the world.
The bill will provide resources for the construction of President Trump’s Golden Dome to safeguard Americans from potential attacks, give the Coast Guard resources to build more modernized ships, and the Air Force resources to acquire better planes.
If all of those incredible things were not enough, the big, beautiful bill also finally modernizes air traffic control in America, a bipartisan issue. The bill will allow President Trump to deliver on his promise to overhaul and update our air traffic control systems to keep Americans flying as safe and efficiently as possible.
The previous administration failed to act and do this themselves despite repeated warnings from the GAO, which has resulted in unacceptable delays at major airports like Newark that the Trump administration is working hard to address.
When the one big, beautiful bill passes, we will replace the current antiquated system, the FAA will enhance safety in our skies, reduce delays, and power the future of air travel in the United States.
That’s just some of what this historic legislation will accomplish. It is absolutely essential that Republicans unite behind the one big, beautiful bill and deliver on President Trump’s agenda. There is no time to waste. Americans gave Republicans a once-in-a-generation opportunity to course-correct our country over many wrongs over the past four years. And Americans are counting on Republicans to work as hard as President Trump is in this White House every day on Capitol Hill. Send this legislation to his desk as soon as possible for his signature.
Here in our new media seat today, we have Liam Crosgrove, the White House correspondent for Zero Hedge. With that, Liam, please kick us off.
REPORTER: Thank you, Karoline. So, first question is on foreign policy. The President has made several moves towards peace in multiple fronts, India, Pakistan, with the Houthis, talking with Iran, talking with Putin. Biden didn’t even talk to Putin for the entire span of the war, which is crazy, considering two nuclear powers were engaged in a proxy war. So, I do admire these moves by the current President, I’ll be honest. However, as of today, we are still funding both Israel’s and Ukraine’s wars. So, can Americans expect to finally be done financing foreign wars at some point? Would you consider that one of the President’s goals?
KAROLINE LEAVITT: Well, I think I can summarize…
KAROLINE LEAVITT: The President’s foreign policy agenda can be described with two words: America first. And that means putting the American people and the American taxpayer first. And that’s why the President is moving as quickly as he possibly can and working overtime to end these conflicts in both Israel and Gaza and also the Russia-Ukraine war.
As you all know, the President will be speaking with Putin at 10 o’clock. He plans to call President Zelensky when that call concludes. I spoke to the President about that call at 10 o’clock. I don’t want to get ahead of those very important conversations. But, of course, you will hear directly from the President or me after those calls conclude today. So, you can expect that.
As for Israel and Gaza, the President continues to not only himself but his national security team engage in talks on both sides of this conflict. The President made it very clear to Hamas that he wanted to see all hostages released. And last week, when we were flying out of town, there was great news on that front with the return of Edan Alexander, who is the last remaining hostage in Gaza.
So, to answer your question, the President is always thinking about the American people, the American taxpayer first. He wants these conflicts to end, not just to save money but, most importantly, to save lives.
Epstein Files and Clinton Questions
REPORTER: My only other question for you is, so, over the weekend, President Trump posted on Truth Social, a video highlighting what most people call the Clinton body count, which is the strange number of suicides that seem to happen in Clinton circles. I have a headline here from The Washington Post that said, “Trump Peddles False Conspiracy Theories Tying the Clintons to Several Deaths.”
So, I just wanted to highlight, real quick, this wasn’t in Trump’s video, but this is from the Arkansas Times. And it’s the death of Mark Middleton, who was a former Clinton White House aide, who was found dead on a Clinton Foundation property. And I’ll just quote from the Arkansas Times: “Middleton apparently shot himself in the chest with a shotgun and also hung himself from a tree with an extension cord.”
So, I have no idea how somebody commits suicide that way, but if The Washington Post is here, maybe you can enlighten us as to how that was actually a suicide. So, anyway, that’s just a lead-in to my question about the most famous Clinton-related suicide, which is that of Jeffrey Epstein. There’s still a lot of questions around that case. You’ve released phase one of the Epstein files. What was missing from that is any connection to his ties to intelligence agencies. And that’s really the whole story, that not just trafficking young girls, but doing it on behalf of intelligence agencies, and even potentially as part of a blackmail ring with potential ties to the Israeli government. So, for phase two, when can we expect it? Will it have information pertaining to those aspects of the Epstein case?
KAROLINE LEAVITT: I know the Attorney General has committed to releasing those files. I would defer you to the Department of Justice on her timeline. But when she has made a promise in the past, she has kept it, and I’m certain that she will in this case as well.
Ukraine-Russia Negotiations Timeline
REPORTER: Thanks so much, Karoline. The President set a two-week deadline for Ukraine and Russia to negotiate a deal. That time is now up. Does the President intend to set a new deadline on this call with President Putin? And how much longer is he willing to give these talks?
KAROLINE LEAVITT: I don’t want to get ahead of the specifics of the conversation the President will be having with President Putin in less than an hour this morning. But he has made clear throughout the entirety of this conflict, since he inherited it from Joe Biden, don’t forget this is a war that began because of the previous administration’s incompetence and weakness, and President Trump is working very hard to fix it. He has made it clear to both sides that he wants to see a peaceful resolution and a ceasefire as soon as possible. But as for specifics on a timeline, I won’t get ahead of the President.
REPORTER: And just on the goals for this call in particular, is the goal to get Putin to agree to a ceasefire? Is the goal to lead to some sort of in-person negotiations with Putin and the President?
KAROLINE LEAVITT: Well, I think, again, we’ll see how the call goes. And the President has made it clear his goal is to see a ceasefire and to see this conflict come to an end. And he’s grown weary and frustrated with both sides of the conflict. The President and his team have put an enormous amount of effort in solving this very complicated war that, again, began because of the last administration’s weakness.
REPORTER: Does he still want to meet Putin personally?
KAROLINE LEAVITT: I think the President would certainly be open to that, but let’s see how this call goes today.
REPORTER: What’s the status of the secondary sanctions package? The President’s been talking about that. You haven’t imposed them yet, but is that still on the table?
KAROLINE LEAVITT: I think everything’s on the table, yes. And, again, I won’t get ahead of the President in any commitments or decisions, but certainly it’s something he’s been looking at and discussing.
House Budget Bill and Medicaid Work Requirements
REPORTER: I want to ask you about the House bill, budget bill. So does the President agree with Republicans on this bill that Medicaid work requirements should be implemented as soon as 2026?
KAROLINE LEAVITT: The President wants to preserve and protect Medicaid for Americans who this program was intended for, the most vulnerable in our society, pregnant women, low-income families, seniors, those who truly need these benefits. And it should be going to people who physically cannot work. We want to see able-bodied Americans at least working 20 hours per week, whether that’s part-time or full-time, whether that’s even looking for work or volunteering for 20 hours a week if they are receiving Medicaid.
These are common-sense provisions. These are common-sense changes that were actually introduced by former Democrat President Clinton. They’ve been supported by every Democrat president since, including the previous president, Joe Biden. But, again, these are common-sense reforms to ensure that those that this program was intended for receive those benefits.
REPORTER: And then just a quick follow-up. Is the President okay with this bill adding to the deficit?
KAROLINE LEAVITT: This bill does not add to the deficit. In fact, according to the Council of Economic Advisers, this bill will save $1.6 trillion. The President understands and hears the concerns of fiscal conservatives and of Americans who want to get our fiscal house in order. That’s what the intention of this bill is. There’s $1.6 trillion worth of savings in this bill. That’s the largest savings for any legislation that has ever passed Capitol Hill in our nation’s history. The next bill that even comes close was $800 billion. That’s less than half of the savings that we see in the one big beautiful bill. The goal of this bill is to produce economic growth, to cut taxes, and to get our fiscal house in order, and this is the right step in the right direction towards doing that.
U.S. Credit Rating and Foreign Investments
REPORTER: I want to get the President’s reaction to Moody’s downgrading the credit rating of the United States.
KAROLINE LEAVITT: Well, look, the President talked about this over the weekend. The Secretary of Treasury also talked about it. When you look at the world, the world has confidence in the United States of America and our economy once again. The President just last week secured trillions of dollars in investments from countries in the Middle East. We have seen trillions of dollars of investments flowing into our economy since the President took office. That is because people around the world have confidence in the United States of America.
If you also just look at the raw economic data that we’re seeing last week when we were out of town, inflation dropped once again. Oil prices are dropping, gas prices are dropping. The President has added nearly a half million jobs to the American economy already. So there’s a lot of optimism in this economy and the President disagrees with that assessment.
REPORTER: I want to ask you one more thing if I could. On your Middle East trip, the United Arab Emirates is getting some of the most advanced AI chips and there’s agreement there. The UAE is the newest member of BRICS. Is there a concern from the President that those chips and the technology will pass through to China, India, Russia and Iran?
KAROLINE LEAVITT: Part of going to the Middle East was to ensure that this part of the region, our Gulf partners, know that the United States of America is there for them again and that they should…
KAROLINE LEAVITT: …be investing in the United States, not in China. These AI agreements, particularly the one the Secretary of Commerce signed in the UAE, has security guarantees to ensure that China is not getting the advantage but the United States is getting the advantage when it comes to AI and that the UAE and the US are working hand-in-hand together to invest in this space. So, the agreements have security guarantees and this was a great trip for the country, no doubt. Go ahead.
REPORTER: Thanks Karoline. Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel has said today that Israel will take control of all of Gaza. Is that a goal that President Trump is comfortable with or that he supports?
KAROLINE LEAVITT: I’ll have to talk to the president about those comments as they just came, I believe, from the Prime Minister this morning and I’ll let him speak on that. The president has made it very clear he wants to see this conflict in the region end. He wants all hostages to be released. He was pleased that Edan Alexander was returned home safely to his loving family. The president spoke with Edan directly while we were traveling to the Middle East last week. As for the Prime Minister’s comments, I’ll let the president himself respond to those.
REPORTER: Two questions. One, how involved does the president intend to be directly in talking to House members about the bill over the next couple of weeks or the next week?
KAROLINE LEAVITT: Sure. Well, over the weekend, the president was in direct conversation and communication with the Speaker of the House. He’s been very involved. He always is. He’s willing to pick up the phone when he is asked to. So, he’ll continue to be very engaged in this process with both House members and his friends on the Senate side as well.
President Biden’s Health and White House Medical Care
REPORTER: And on former President Biden’s cancer diagnosis, the president put out a very nice message on Truth Social. Has he talked to President Biden directly? Does he intend to call? What does he intend to say directly?
KAROLINE LEAVITT: Not to my knowledge. I don’t believe they have spoken, but I’m sure the president would be open to doing that. I spoke to him last night about the former president’s cancer diagnosis and the statement that he put out was the initial reaction he had with me on the phone as well.
REPORTER: A follow-up on former President Biden. White House doctors may have missed the early stages of his prostate cancer. So, is President Trump worried about the quality of care that presidents get here?
KAROLINE LEAVITT: Not as far as President Trump is concerned. The White House position we have here is phenomenal and the team of physicians that take care of the president, particularly at Walter Reed Medical Center, are great. The president had his physical recently. As you know, he had perfect results. He’s in very good shape. I think those of you who traveled to the Middle East with us last week could attest to the president’s endurance. And by the way, I will add, we returned home from a very long, tiring trip last week. And on Saturday, where was the president? In the Oval Office working all day. He doesn’t stop. He doesn’t quit. He’s in great health and he trusts his physicians.
REPORTER: Two more things. Putin ghosted everybody at these peace talks last week. As President Trump phones him today to try to figure out an end to the Ukraine war, does he think that Putin is the good guy or the bad guy?
KAROLINE LEAVITT: I’ll let the president speak on that conversation later. He’s made his feelings about both sides of this war quite clear throughout it. He wants to see it end.
REPORTER: And the last one, what does President Trump mean when he says that Taylor Swift is no longer?
KAROLINE LEAVITT: Look, he is speaking about Taylor Swift’s political views and how perhaps it has impacted the support of the American public for her work. And I will leave it at that.
REPORTER: Thanks so much, Karoline. I’m just going back one more time to the White House Medical Office, because there seems to be some question about this with regard to President Biden’s screening. Can you say whether or not President Trump is screening for prostate cancer as part of his physical?
KAROLINE LEAVITT: To the best of my understanding, he is. But we can certainly check in with the White House physician and go back and look at that physical report.
REPORTER: And there’s one other question. Recently, Stephen Miller at the White House made some comments about considering suspending habeas corpus. And I’m curious if there’s any update on how the White House is exploring that option to enact the president’s agenda.
KAROLINE LEAVITT: I don’t have any update at this time, but I can check in with our deputy chief of staff.
REPORTER: Thanks, Karoline. Given the ongoing revelations about former presidents’ mental acuity and how staff and media covered that up, especially with the release of this book last two days, I think. Is there any interest in further scrutiny of Kevin O’Connor as a former president’s physician?
KAROLINE LEAVITT: I’ll let the president speak on that. I spoke to the president again about the former president’s health diagnosis last night, and he wanted to extend his warmest wishes to the former president and his family. But as for any further action, I’ll let the president speak on that first.
Foreign Relations: Ukraine, Iran, and South Africa
REPORTER: Vice President Vance’s meeting with Zelensky. Can you share any more information on that?
KAROLINE LEAVITT: My understanding was it was a good meeting, a productive meeting, and we’re grateful that the vice president did it, and that he also went to the pope’s first mass in Rome. I also have an update on that. The vice president passed along a letter to the pope from the president and from the first lady, extending their warm wishes and inviting them to the White House as soon as they possibly can come.
REPORTER: On Iran, he would comment yesterday that continued enrichment is a red line for the US. The Iranian foreign minister says that’s going to continue no matter what. How committed is the US to that red line, and what’s the next step for the next round of talks?
KAROLINE LEAVITT: We are 100% committed to that red line. The president, Special Envoy Whitkoff, Secretary Rubio have made that incredibly clear, not just to the American public, but also in those discussions that Special Envoy Whitkoff has had directly with the Iranians.
REPORTER: And the next round of talks?
KAROLINE LEAVITT: I don’t have an update for you, but we can get one. To the back row. Go ahead.
REPORTER: Thank you, Karoline.
KAROLINE LEAVITT: You’re welcome.
REPORTER: South Africa’s president says he’s going to come to the White House to meet with President Trump on Wednesday. What are the president’s expectations for that trip? And South Africa’s president recently said he believes the folks that have been resettled here recently are cowards, running away from the problems in South Africa. Does the White House have a response to that?
KAROLINE LEAVITT: So I did see the South African president put out that statement. I want to confirm on our end with our Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, and we’ll get back to you on that.
Take It Down Act and MAGA Baby Savings Account
REPORTER: Thanks, Karoline. You mentioned the president and the first lady are signing a sort of take it down act this afternoon. I’m curious to know what are some of the repercussions or consequences for these online platforms or perpetrators that will comply with the act?
KAROLINE LEAVITT: Well, what this bill does, it takes the initial step to ensure that prosecutors are able to take down, that’s why it’s called the Take It Down Act, platforms that are allowing this sexually explicit content on their platform. So it gives them more leeway to go after them as they see fit. But as for specific repercussions, I would defer you to the Department of Justice of how they plan to implement this bill once it is signed later today.
REPORTER: Yes, thank you. You said in your opening statement, you talked about this MAGA baby savings account. Exactly how would that work? Who would be eligible for it? I’m assuming women would be eligible for that.
KAROLINE LEAVITT: Yes. So they’re one of the provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill. As I said, this is a very pro family piece of legislation. Not only does it increase the child tax credit, but it also includes MAGA baby savings accounts for Children that are born before January 1st, 2024, under eight years old, U.S. citizens and have at least one parent with a valid social security number. And when this tax provision becomes law, the child, if the parents seek to do this, will be set up with a savings account. Essentially, it’s a 401K for a newborn baby. The child’s relatives, their parents can contribute up to $5,000 per year.
REPORTER: President Trump and his top economic aides have repeatedly said that Americans will not pay the cost of tariffs. In fact, last week, Lutnick said people have to drop the quote “silly arguments” that consumers would pay the cost. But over the weekend, as you know, the president posted that Walmart should eat the tariffs and not charge the valued customer anything. “I’ll be watching and so will your customers.” So does this acknowledge that if companies don’t absorb the full cost, Americans will have to pay?
KAROLINE LEAVITT: Well, first of all, the CEO of Walmart made those comments about the tariffs on an early earnings call where CEOs, I believe, are legally obligated to give the most dire warnings and forecast to their investors and stakeholders. The reality is that the president has always maintained that Chinese producers will be absorbing the cost of these tariffs, and that is why China was so quick to hustle to the negotiating table with the United States of America. They need our markets. They need our consumers. And I would again point you to the inflation report that came out last week, showing that inflation is declining in large part because energy prices are dropping across the board in this country because of the president’s robust energy agenda that he has taken since January 20th. So the president is committed to ensuring that prices remain low for American consumers, and he maintains the position that foreign countries will absorb these tariffs.
REPORTER: What does he mean by “I’ll be watching” Walmart?
KAROLINE LEAVITT: He’ll be watching, seeing what they’re doing.
Questions on Qatar’s Airplane Gift
REPORTER: On the gift plane from Qatar, three things. Is there a timeline for the U.S. receiving that plane? Do you know how long it will take to retrofit the plane to presidential standards? And thirdly, has the intelligence community, security folks, have they weighed in on whether that plane can actually be secured to presidential standards?
KAROLINE LEAVITT: I’m glad you brought up this question because I was watching the American press spew a lot of misinformation about the plane donation last week when we were abroad. Let’s be very clear. The government of Qatar, the Qatari family, has offered to donate this plane to the United States Air Force, where that donation will be accepted according to all legal and ethical obligations. It will be retrofitted to the highest of standards by the Department of Defense and the United States Air Force. This plane is not a personal donation or gift to the President of the United States, and everyone who wrote that last week should go and correct their stories because this is a donation to our country and to the United States Air Force. As for a timeline, because it is the United States Air Force that is accepting the plane, I would defer you to them for specifics because the President, frankly, has nothing to do with it. It’s the Air Force’s project to take on.
Questions on Domestic Policy and International Relations
REPORTER: Thanks so much. Did the President call fiscal conservatives who are hesitant to vote for the Big Beautiful Bill, and if so, what did they say? What did he say?
KAROLINE LEAVITT: I don’t reveal the President’s private discussions unless he gives me the liberty to, but he has been engaged in this process. He spoke to the Speaker of the House, and he will continue to make those phone calls if it’s necessary for him.
REPORTER: Thank you, Karoline. Any updates on Greenland? Will the President be making any trips, and do we have any details you can share with us?
KAROLINE LEAVITT: I don’t have any future foreign trips to read out for you. We just returned home from one, but the President maintains the reasoning for Greenland’s strategic purposes in the Arctic, and he continues to remain committed to the idea of obtaining Greenland in whatever means we can to advance our national security interests in the region.
REPORTER: Thanks, Karoline. I have a question. Was Lebanon part of the discussion during the Middle East tour, and did you meet with any Lebanese representatives?
KAROLINE LEAVITT: To my knowledge, the President did not meet with any representatives from Lebanon, although he did talk about the election that they recently had there and how he hopes that Lebanon can come to a more peaceful place in their country and that we drive out Hezbollah, Iranian-backed Hezbollah proxies in Lebanon to ensure peace and prosperity in that country and also for the greater Middle Eastern region.
Concluding Remarks on Middle East Trip
KAROLINE LEAVITT: And I would just add to that before I wrap up, because the President’s call will begin in a few minutes. The President’s historic tour to the Middle East last week truly reset our foreign policy agenda in that region. I think actually, in fact, the Washington Post had a headline, “President Trump remakes U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East,” and that’s absolutely true. He took a courageous and bold step to lift sanctions on Syria. He strengthened our ties with our Gulf partners, and he put Iran into a very difficult position because the United States of America is back.
And I will summarize the President’s trip with an anecdote that I heard directly from a member of one of the foreign delegations. I asked him how hopeful their country was when they learned President Trump won the election. And he told me, “When President Trump won the election, it was like the lights turned on in a dark room. For the past four years, to the rest of the world, America was dark. We were unresponsive. We did not pick up the phone. We did not return calls.” All of that has changed under the leadership of this president. And I think the world saw that last week with this historic and wildly successful trip.
And the work continues. The president will be speaking to President Putin at 10 a.m., and we’ll have a readout for you after that call. And we’ll see you in the Rose Garden at 3 o’clock. Thanks, guys.
