{"id":81347,"date":"2019-06-05T15:50:41","date_gmt":"2019-06-05T22:50:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.46.6.243\/?p=81347"},"modified":"2019-06-05T15:50:41","modified_gmt":"2019-06-05T22:50:41","slug":"president-trump-and-prime-minister-varadkar-of-ireland-before-bilateral-meeting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=81347","title":{"rendered":"President Trump and Prime Minister Varadkar of Ireland Before Bilateral Meeting"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Shannon, Ireland&#8230;PRIME MINISTER VARADKAR: So, I just want to welcome all the members of the press who traveled here. And it\u2019s a great pleasure to be able to welcome President Trump to the Uni \u2014 to the United States \u2014 to Ireland. And certainly not the first time he\u2019s been here, or in County Clare. This is the first he\u2019s been here as President of the United States. Only, I think, the sixth time an American President in office.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/g40hEPae-Zs\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>PRESIDENT TRUMP: I think so.<\/p>\n<p>PRIME MINISTER VARADKAR: \u2014 has visited Ireland. So we\u2019re very pleased to have you here and look forward to meeting later on.<\/p>\n<p>PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, I appreciate it. The Prime Minister has done a fantastic job. And we\u2019ve become friends over the last very short period of time. And great relationship with Ireland. I think as good as it\u2019s ever been. Maybe better. Tremendous trade. We do a lot of business together. A lot of trade business together. A lot of tourism together.<\/p>\n<p>And maybe most importantly, you are certainly one of the leading countries in terms of people moving and living in the United States. We have millions of Irish. And I think I know most of them because they\u2019re my friends. We love the Irish.<\/p>\n<p>So, it\u2019s an honor to be here. We\u2019ll be discussing various things. Probably, you\u2019ll ask me about Brexit because I just left some very good people that are very much involved with Brexit, as you know. And I think that\u2019ll all work out. It will all work out very well. And also, for you, with your wall, your border. I mean, we have a border situation in the United States, and you have one over here. But I hear it\u2019s going to work out very well. I think it\u2019s both going to work out well. It\u2019s going to work out very well here.<\/p>\n<p>And, again, both the military and the trade is such a big factor, and we\u2019re going to be discussing that very much.<\/p>\n<p>So, it\u2019s an honor to be in Ireland with my friend, and he\u2019s doing a great job as your Prime Minister.<\/p>\n<p>PRIME MINISTER VARADKAR: The main thing we want to avoid, of course, is a border or a wall between both sides.<\/p>\n<p>PRESIDENT TRUMP: No, I think you do. I think you do. The way it works now is good. You want to try and keep it that way. And I know that\u2019s a big point of contention with respect to Brexit, is your border. And I\u2019m sure it\u2019s going to work out well. I know they\u2019re focused very heavily on it.<\/p>\n<p>Q Mr. President, can I ask you: Do you think Brexit will be bad for Ireland? You said it\u2019s good for the UK, but will it not be bad for Ireland?<\/p>\n<p>PRESIDENT TRUMP: No, I think it should be good. I mean, the big thing is going to be your border, and hopefully that\u2019s going to work out. I think it will work out. There are a lot of good minds thinking about how to do it, and it\u2019s going to be \u2014 it\u2019s going to be just fine. I think, ultimately, it could even be very, very good for Ireland. But the border will work out.<\/p>\n<p>Q Mr. President, what do you think of our President\u2019s comments, where he said your stance on climate change was \u201cpernicious\u201d and \u201creckless\u201d?<\/p>\n<p>PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, I haven\u2019t heard those comments. But, you know, we have the cleanest air in the world, in the United States, and it\u2019s gotten better since I\u2019m President. We have the cleanest water; it\u2019s crystal clean. And I always say I want crystal clean water and air. So I haven\u2019t heard his comments, but we do have \u2014 we\u2019re setting records, environmentally.<\/p>\n<p>Q Mr. President, are you concerned that Ireland is not sufficiently worried about the threat from Huawei? I know that issue came up in Britain. Some people worry about it in this country, as well.<\/p>\n<p>PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, I know that. And we deal very closely, as you know, with your intelligence and your security. And we\u2019re working on that together, and I know you\u2019re concerned like we\u2019re concerned. We\u2019re all concerned about it. So we\u2019ll have it \u2014<\/p>\n<p>PRIME MINISTER VARADKAR: Well, that\u2019s something \u2014<\/p>\n<p>PRESIDENT TRUMP: Right.<\/p>\n<p>PRIME MINISTER VARADKAR: That\u2019s something that the Irish government is concerned about as well, and we\u2019ve been offered some further briefings, information, from the U.S. side, just to give us a security briefing on that. And we\u2019ll do our own security analysis first, and then a (inaudible). But it is something that we\u2019re also concerned about.<\/p>\n<p>PRESIDENT TRUMP: We\u2019re working on that together, very much, with not only Europe but with Ireland.<\/p>\n<p>Q Mr. President, you\u2019ll be spending a few days in Doonbeg. What\u2019s your plan? What will you be doing in Doonbeg?<\/p>\n<p>PRESIDENT TRUMP: So, we\u2019ll be going there, and then, as you know, I\u2019m making a trip tomorrow to Normandy. We had an incredible time today. This was just something that \u2014 the likes of which few people have seen anything like it. We were with the Queen and the Royal Family, and we were with the Prime Minister, and it was something very special. And many of you were there. I think almost all of you were there. But it\u2019s been very well covered, and it was truly beautiful.<\/p>\n<p>And tomorrow we go to where it all took place; we go to Normandy. And I\u2019ll be leaving from Doonbeg. I\u2019m staying here overnight, and I thought this would be the best place. I\u2019d love to come to Ireland and stay at Doonbeg, and tomorrow we\u2019ll be leaving and going to Normandy. So, many of you will be coming with us.<\/p>\n<p>Q Is this trip about promoting your golf club?<\/p>\n<p>PRESIDENT TRUMP: Say it?<\/p>\n<p>Q Mr. President, is this trip, for you, just about promoting your golf club?<\/p>\n<p>PRESIDENT TRUMP: No, this trip is really about great relationships that we have with the UK. And I really wanted to do this stop in Ireland. It was very important to me because of the relationship I have with the people and with your Prime Minister.<\/p>\n<p>Q (Inaudible) the E3 visa?<\/p>\n<p>PRESIDENT TRUMP: Yeah, we\u2019re looking at that. We almost made it last time. It was one vote; you know that. And we\u2019re looking at that, and I\u2019m sure that\u2019s something we\u2019re going to discuss. And I spoke to the one vote, who\u2019s a great senator, by the way. And \u2014 he really is; he\u2019s a great senator. And we think we\u2019re going to be successful. He\u2019s a terrific person. He doesn\u2019t mean to do any harm \u2014 that, I can tell you. He was telling me he loves Ireland, actually. So I think we\u2019re going to be in good shape.<\/p>\n<p>We had just about a unanimous vote. And \u2014<\/p>\n<p>PRIME MINISTER VARADKAR: Yeah. (Inaudible.)<\/p>\n<p>PRESIDENT TRUMP: And if we get a unanimous vote, we do something that they\u2019ve been trying to do for a long time. So I want to do that for the people of Ireland, but I want to do it for the people that are in the United States that want this vote to happen, that happen to be of Irish descent.<\/p>\n<p>Q President Trump, as USA is co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement, what assurances can you offer the government in helping to protect peace in Northern Ireland and avoid a hard border?<\/p>\n<p>PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, I think what\u2019s going to happen is, over the next period of time \u2014 first, they\u2019re going to have to see who\u2019s going to be Prime Minister. And I think it\u2019s a very important decision. We\u2019ll see what happens over in the UK, because that\u2019s going to be decision number one: who is going to be Prime Minister. And once that happens, that person will get in and try and make a deal. And maybe if they don\u2019t make a deal, they do it a different way.<\/p>\n<p>But I know one thing: Ireland is going to be in great shape. Ireland is, you know, a special place. It\u2019s going to be in very good shape. I don\u2019t think the border is going to be a problem at all.<\/p>\n<p>Q Sir, did you see those reports of executions in North Korea of the folks who were involved in your summit? Does that worry you at all that Kim would execute these people?<\/p>\n<p>PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, I don\u2019t know if the reports are correct because one of the gentlemen who we deal with is \u2014 this is North Korea they\u2019re talking about \u2014 is somebody that we know well. He\u2019s a strong man. He\u2019s a strong person. And they like to blame Kim Jong Un immediately. But they said he was killed, and he wasn\u2019t. He was at the theater the other night, so he wasn\u2019t killed. The other four people I know nothing about. But it is \u2014 it\u2019s an interesting situation.<\/p>\n<p>And I think that they would like to make a deal and we\u2019d like to make a deal with them. We\u2019ll see how it goes. It\u2019s been going pretty well because there hasn\u2019t been testing of anything major, and, frankly, there\u2019s been no nuclear testing in a long period of time.<\/p>\n<p>When I became President, and before that, as you know, it was all the time: nuclear testing, ballistic missile testing. And now there\u2019s nothing. I think that Chairman Kim would like to make a deal, and I\u2019d like to make a deal with him. I look forward to seeing him in the appropriate time.<\/p>\n<p>And, again, one of the people they were talking about that was supposedly executed wasn\u2019t executed at all.<\/p>\n<p>Q Corporation tax \u2014 Ireland\u2019s corporation tax over here \u2014<\/p>\n<p>PRESIDENT TRUMP: Say it?<\/p>\n<p>Q Are you going to talk about Ireland\u2019s corporation tax with the Prime Minister?<\/p>\n<p>PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, the corporation tax \u2014 you mean the fact that it\u2019s so low? It is a very low tax. I have to agree.<\/p>\n<p>You know, we have our tax very, very low, but they\u2019ve done a very good job in Ireland. And your Prime Minister has kept it there. And he\u2019s \u2014 they have a lot of great companies here.<\/p>\n<p>He should try \u2014 he should try keeping it low. I agree.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>Q (Inaudible) tariffs \u2014<\/p>\n<p>PRESIDENT TRUMP: Oh, it\u2019s true. They\u2019re having a meeting at 3 o\u2019clock today. And, look, I think Mexico has to step up. And if they don\u2019t, tariffs will go on. And if they go high, the companies are going to move back into the United States. That\u2019s all. It\u2019s very simple.<\/p>\n<p>The people aren\u2019t going to have to worry about paying the tax because the companies are going to move back into the United States. There won\u2019t be any tariff.<\/p>\n<p>As far as China is concerned, China wants to make a deal. I have no doubt about it. And the \u2014 every signal is they want to. And at the right time, probably that will happen. But right now, they\u2019re paying many billions of dollars to the United States. We never got that before from China. And we haven\u2019t even started. It\u2019s relative peanuts compared to the numbers that we\u2019re talking about.<\/p>\n<p>But I think China wants to make a deal, and Mexico, you know, wants to make a deal. They have their entire delegation right now going over to, probably, the White House location, but to negotiate with our people. It\u2019s headed up by Mike Pompeo and Bob Lighthizer, and Mike Pence is involved. So we have a great group.<\/p>\n<p>But Mexico \u2014 look, the drugs that are coming in, the people that are coming in unchecked, they\u2019re swamping our border. They\u2019re coming up by the millions. Mexico can stop it. They have to stop it. Otherwise, we just won\u2019t be able to do business. It\u2019s a very simple thing.<\/p>\n<p>And I think they will stop it. I think they want to do something. I think they want to make a deal. And they sent their top people to try and \u2014 we\u2019ll see what happens today. We should know something.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you very much.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Shannon, Ireland&#8230;PRIME MINISTER VARADKAR: So, I just want to welcome all the members of the press who traveled here. And it\u2019s a great pleasure to be able to welcome President Trump to the Uni \u2014 to the United States \u2014 to Ireland. And certainly not the first time he\u2019s been here, or in County Clare. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":81349,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-81347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-government","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/trumpirl.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=81347"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81347\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/81349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=81347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=81347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=81347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}