{"id":86283,"date":"2019-09-04T15:17:12","date_gmt":"2019-09-04T22:17:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.46.6.243\/?p=86283"},"modified":"2019-09-04T15:17:12","modified_gmt":"2019-09-04T22:17:12","slug":"president-trump-in-briefing-on-hurricane-dorian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=86283","title":{"rendered":"President Trump in Briefing on Hurricane Dorian"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;We thought we\u2019d give you an update on the hurricane.  We got lucky in Florida \u2014 very, very lucky indeed.  We had \u2014 actually, our original chart was that it was going to be hit \u2014 hitting Florida directly.  Maybe I could just see that, Kevin.  It was going to be hitting directly, and that would have affected a lot of other states.  But that was the original chart.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ysLQSsc4qkU\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>And you see it was going to hit not only Florida, but Georgia.  It could have \u2014 it was going toward the Gulf.  That was what we \u2014 what was originally projected.  And it took a right turn and ultimately \u2014 hopefully, we\u2019re going to be lucky.  It depends on what happens with South Carolina and North Carolina.  But it\u2019s heading up the coast, and Florida was grazed.  Mostly wind.  And we\u2019re going to have a report on that.<\/p>\n<p>We have been sending, through the United States Coast Guard \u2014 who have been incredible.  They are on the Bahamas right now and they\u2019re helping with the Bahamas.  The Bahamas was \u2014 a big section of the Bahamas was hit like few people have seen before.<\/p>\n<p>But we\u2019re helping in a humanitarian way.  We\u2019ve been asked to help by the government of the Bahamas.  And we have numerous helicopters, and we\u2019re sending some \u2014 some people to give them a hand, and they need a big hand.  What\u2019s going on over there is incredible.  Few people have seen anything like that, although, I must tell you, over the years, there have been some hurricanes that were bigger and stronger and more powerful that hit us very hard also.<\/p>\n<p>But I\u2019d just maybe like to start \u2014 Kevin, if you could just say a few words about where we are.<\/p>\n<p>ACTING SECRETARY MCALEENAN:  Sure.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  And then I\u2019ll ask the Admiral to talk a little bit about what you\u2019re doing in the Bahamas.  And then we\u2019ll get back to South Carolina, North Carolina, and what we expect.<\/p>\n<p>Okay?  Thank you, Kevin.<\/p>\n<p>ACTING SECRETARY MCALEENAN:  Yes, sir.  Mr. President, we have Acting Administrator Pete Gaynor, from FEMA, on the line as well.  He\u2019s been in Florida yesterday.  He\u2019s in Georgia right now, headed up to South Carolina, touching base with the emergency managers in all of the states that are on the path of Dorian.<\/p>\n<p>Obviously, the hurricane remains a Category 2 \u2014 a very powerful, very large storm.  We are worried about significant impacts to South Carolina, from Charleston to Wilmington, as well as the Outer Banks.  And it\u2019s that triple threat of potentially hurricane-force winds, certainly tropical storm force; as well as a storm surge \u2014 four to seven feet; and then a significant rain event, up to 10 inches or more in parts of the Carolinas.<\/p>\n<p>So we\u2019ve been very well prepared.  Coordinated fully with the states.  A lot of pre-deployed assets ready to come in and fully respond after the storm.  *311 are repositioning some of the assets that were further south in Central Florida.<\/p>\n<p>So we\u2019re ready for the storm, Mr. President.  FEMA and the interagency partners, supporting the states, have done a tremendous job, and we\u2019re on our toes, looking forward to responding effectively.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  That\u2019s great.<\/p>\n<p>I think we want to also say we were really well prepared in Puerto Rico.  It \u2014 we got lucky in Puerto Rico, where it missed it by quite a bit, actually.  But we were ready just in case.  And tremendous supplies, people.  A lot of things going on in Puerto Rico.  And they were very happy, and it worked out very well \u2014 the optimum \u2014 because they didn\u2019t get hit.  But it took a different path and it hit the Bahamas very hard.<\/p>\n<p>So, again, we\u2019re working with the government of the Bahamas at their request.  And we have a lot of \u2014 a lot of people helping.  And we have, most importantly, the United States Coast Guard, which has done so incredibly well in Texas and Florida and in Puerto Rico on the last hurricane \u2014 the last big one.<\/p>\n<p>Admiral, if you could say a few words about that.<\/p>\n<p>ADMIRAL SCHULTZ:  Yeah.  Thank you, Mr. President.  Just to reinforce the Secretary: We\u2019re ready, domestically, here, from Florida up through the Carolinas.  We\u2019re Coast Guard, part of the DHS\/FEMA team, sir.  So we\u2019re 100 percent ready to roll there.<\/p>\n<p>In the Bahamas, it\u2019s been challenging.  We accessed the Bahamas \u2014 the Abaco \u2014 which is in the northeastern reach of the Bahamas.  On Monday, the first flight crews \u2014 those were rotary-wing helicopters \u2014 got in there.  We\u2019ve rescued probably, you know, 50 folks to date.  We\u2019re just starting to get a site picture on Grand Bahama Island in Freeport, which is the center of gravity, population-wise, in the northern Bahamas.  So today, we\u2019ll start to have a much fuller picture.  That\u2019s the region where Dorian sat almost 36, 48 hours, and just pounded the region.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Right.<\/p>\n<p>ADMIRAL SCHULTZ:  So we expect the impact to be severe, sir.  We\u2019re rendering, you know, lifesaving support here, humanitarian assistance.  We\u2019re working with USAID and the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, who is the lead agency here on providing, you know, urgent support.  Our CBP Air and Marine counterparts are there with helicopters.  And, you know, we\u2019ll see where this evolves to in the next 24 hours and what type of additional support, possibly from DOD, may be warranted, sir.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Good.  Will you be using some of the supplies from Florida and even from Puerto Rico, where \u2014 to areas that will definitely get hit?  If you look at North Carolina, South Carolina \u2014<\/p>\n<p>ADMIRAL SCHULTZ:  Yes, sir.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  \u2014 Georgia.<\/p>\n<p>ADMIRAL SCHULTZ:  So, Office of \u2014 the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, under AID, has a warehouse in South Florida.  So we\u2019re working on an air bridge of supplies into the Bahamas, a maritime bridge, aboard Coast Guard cutters.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s challenging right now, sir \u2014 because we haven\u2019t gotten into Freeport, Grand Bahamas, and there\u2019s no open airports there.  The airports are under water.  Those airports that are accessible are not accessible from roads.  So most of the stuff has got to come in rotary-wing.  AID has got to get, you know, sort of a network in place to start distributing supplies, sir.<\/p>\n<p>But we\u2019re working diligently with our partners on that, on trying to bring some relief to the Bahamas, sir.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  And I guess the other problem is we don\u2019t know how hard South Carolina and North Carolina; Georgia, to an extent, could be \u2014 to a big extent \u2014 we don\u2019t know yet.  We don\u2019t know where the hurricane is turning, I guess.<\/p>\n<p>Admiral, would you like to say something about that?<\/p>\n<p>ADMIRAL BROWN:  Certainly, Mr. President.<\/p>\n<p>Secretary McAleenan discussed the major risks \u2014 the storm surge, the heavy rainfall, and the tropical storm- and the hurricane-force winds.  The other aspects of this storm that make it particularly troublesome are the duration of it.  It\u2019s going to be yet another two days before we clear the North Carolina coast.  On it\u2019s current track, there is a potential for landfall.<br \/>\nBut even without landfall, the heavy rain that\u2019s going to impact South Carolina and North Carolina is coming right on top of areas that were damaged in Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Florence in 2018.<\/p>\n<p>So FEMA is well prepared for what they\u2019re calling \u201cresponse on top of recovery.\u201d  These are communities, families, who have already been affected by previous hurricane seasons.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  That\u2019s pretty amazing.  This is the original path that we thought.  And everybody thought that this was about a 95 percent probability, and it turned out to be not that path.  It turned out to be a path going up the coast, and we\u2019ll see where that happens now.  There\u2019s even a chance that it could start going further right.  That could happen.  That would really be luck.<\/p>\n<p>But we certainly got lucky in Florida.  Now, if we can get lucky in Georgia and \u2014 if you look at South Carolina, North Carolina, but it could even extend even beyond that.  So we\u2019re talking about Virginia.  Hard to believe.  So we\u2019ll see what happens.<\/p>\n<p>But it\u2019s a very erratic, a very slow, very powerful hurricane, so that it\u2019s built up tremendous water and water supply like few have seen.  Texas had something similar, where the water was tremendous \u2014 the water dump was tremendous.  And we have that here.<\/p>\n<p>But again, it looks like Florida is going to be in fantastic shape by comparison to what we thought.  We thought it was going to be a direct hit.  We were thinking in terms of Andrew \u2014 Hurricane Andrew \u2014 from many years ago, where it went right through the middle of Miami, and that was a disaster.  And so we\u2019re very happy about, so far, Florida, and we\u2019ll see how it comes with respect to other states.<\/p>\n<p>But it\u2019s starting to move up along the coast.  It\u2019s a little bit further away, I think, than we would have projected right now.  But it can rapidly turn left, or west.  And we hope that doesn\u2019t happen, but we\u2019re very well prepared.  Everybody has been incredible.<\/p>\n<p>I have, actually \u2014 Peter Gaynor is on the phone listening to what we\u2019re saying.  Peter, do you have anything you\u2019d like to add?<\/p>\n<p>ACTING ADMINISTRATOR GAYNOR:  Yes, sir.  Sorry I couldn\u2019t be there with you today.  You know, more than two weeks ago, when we started planning for this storm, our guidance was: big storm, big response.  And we are ready to go today.  And really, this is a whole-of-government effort.  Federal resources are positioned throughout many states and we\u2019re ready to respond to any response from multiple states or a single event.  And again, we followed the storm up the coast.  We\u2019ll continue to do that until Dorian is not a threat.<\/p>\n<p>Just to give you a quick overview of some of these resources that are in the field right now: 4,000 federal responders are deployed to \u2014 and that does not include the 6,000 National Guardsmen that have been mobilized.  We also have National \u2014 or, excuse me, American Red Cross spaces for 65,000 potential evacuees, and 40,000 line workers that are ready to do restoration of electrical lines.<\/p>\n<p>We are ready to go.  And again, we\u2019ll follow Dorian up the coast until it is not a threat to the U.S.  Thank you, sir.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Great job.  Tell you\u2019re people at FEMA, \u201cFantastic job.\u201d  But we\u2019ll hold it until the very end, okay?  We\u2019ll hold congratulations until the end.<\/p>\n<p>But we\u2019re very well prepared for North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia.  And again, we\u2019re helping the Bahamas at the request of the government of the Bahamas, okay?<\/p>\n<p>Thank you all very much.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Mr. President, there was some concern that was voiced last week about reprogramming $115 million from the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund base budget to address the crisis on the border.  Are you still comfortable with that?  Is there still \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Oh, yeah.<\/p>\n<p>Q    \u2014 enough money in that base budget?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, first of all, we\u2019re using much less here than we anticipated.  We thought this was going to be a direct \u2014 originally, this was going to be a direct hit into Miami.  And we\u2019re \u2014 we would have been satisfied anyway.<\/p>\n<p>No, we need \u2014 we need help on the border.  The numbers are really good.  I want to thank, again, the country of Mexico.  They have 25,000 soldiers right now protecting our border.  And they\u2019ve done a fantastic job.  So we appreciate that very much.  Mexico has never helped us on the border and they are now \u2014 25,000 soldiers.<\/p>\n<p>And you may want to talk about the numbers are down in half, I guess.<\/p>\n<p>ACTING SECRETARY MCALEENAN:  Yes, sir.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Do you want to mention that?<\/p>\n<p>ACTING SECRETARY MCALEENAN:  Yeah.  We\u2019re compiling the August numbers now.  We\u2019ll be releasing those early next week.  But we\u2019re looking at a reduction of over 50 percent from May to today.  Continued partnership with Mexico \u2014 I just got back, Mr. President, from El Salvador last week, where we signed a new agreement to continue to work together on irregular migration.<\/p>\n<p>So we\u2019re getting a lot of partnership from the countries in the region, with your leadership, and, again, applying those resources at the border to enhance our security.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  And the wall is being built.  It\u2019s going up rapidly.  It\u2019s \u2014 I guess, most of you have been able to see it.  We\u2019re building very large sections of wall.  It\u2019s \u2014 I guess a big factor was we just won the big Supreme Court case, as you know.<\/p>\n<p>And we have \u2014 we\u2019re building in different sections.  We\u2019re building different sections simultaneously.  And we think by the end of next year, which will be sometime right after the election, actually \u2014 but we think we\u2019re going to have close to 500 miles of wall which will be complete.  That\u2019ll be \u2014 what we wanted to do is about 500 miles.  That will take care of all of the areas that we wanted, including some of the marginal areas that we didn\u2019t necessarily need, but if we could \u2014 could have gotten it done.  We were looking to do about a 500-mile stretch.  We should have it almost complete, if not complete, by the end of next year.  So we look forward to that.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Mr. President, you consulted with members of Congress about reprogramming $3.6 billion.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yes, we have.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Can I \u2014 can we ask what you told those members of Congress \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I didn\u2019t tell them anything.<\/p>\n<p>Q    \u2014 about that reprogramming?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  The Secretary of Defense spoke with members of Congress and explained it to them.  And I think he felt very good about it.  He feels it\u2019s a national security problem; I do, too.  It is \u2014 when you have thousands of people trying to rush our country, I think that\u2019s national security.  When you have drugs pouring into our country, I view that as national security.  And he had very good conversations with various members of Congress.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Sir, if this storm stays on track, going through Georgia and the Carolinas \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.<\/p>\n<p>Q    \u2014 it will hit farmland.  Many farmers are already having problems there.  What do you have in place to help them if there is devastation \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Good question.<\/p>\n<p>Q    \u2014 as there has been in the past?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  We\u2019re very well prepared for that.  Last time, if you remember, when it hit Mexico Beach, we \u2014 wiped out a large, large farm areas \u2014 and not only Florida, but in Alabama and in Georgia.<\/p>\n<p>And what we did is we were able to help the farmers a lot.  As you know, we sent aid to the farmers.  They lost their crops.  They lost \u2014 in some cases, they lost almost everything.  We were able to help them \u2014 get them back on their feet.  We\u2019ll be doing the same thing now.<\/p>\n<p>You will have, probably, some hit on farms up along the coast, and we\u2019re going to be able to go in with Secretary of Agriculture.<\/p>\n<p>We have a lot of money because of the tariffs we\u2019ve taken in.  We\u2019ve taken in tremendous \u2014 many billions of dollars of tariffs from China.  And we will have a lot of money to be helping our farmers along the coast if they get hit.<\/p>\n<p>They may not get hit.  There\u2019s a real chance that this could veer out the other way.  But there\u2019s also a chance that it goes straight or it goes left.  If it goes left, that\u2019s an even different subject.  But our farmers will be helped.  We\u2019re going to help our farmers.<\/p>\n<p>Q    How much are you talking about, sir?  You say you a lot of money from the tariffs.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, it depends.  It depends what you\u2019re talking about.  It depends who\u2019s hit, which state is hit.  Right now, we don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Coastal Carolinas, Georgia?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  We can predict the path, but so far, the predicting has been very tough with this particular hurricane.  But we have a lot of \u2014 we\u2019ve taken in tens of billions of dollars in tariffs from China.  Prices have not gone up, or they\u2019ve gone up very little.  China has paid for most of that, and I say paid for all of it.  China has now had the worst year that they\u2019ve had in 57 years.  This is the worst year they\u2019ve had in 57 years.  And they want to make a deal; we\u2019ll see what happens.<\/p>\n<p>But in the meantime, we\u2019re taking a lot of money.  We haven\u2019t taken 10 cents in from China.  If you look back over the years, it\u2019s been the other way around.  They\u2019ve taken from us; we never take from them.  Now we\u2019re taking from them.  So we\u2019ll see what happens.<\/p>\n<p>But we have a lot of money to help our farmers.  Last year, I gave the farmers $16 billion out of tariffs.  The year before that \u2014 because they were targeted by China.  The year before that, I gave our farmers $12 billion.  And the way we figured that \u2014 I said, \u201cHow badly have our farmers been hit by targeting from China?\u201d  And I was told they were hit to the tune of $16 billion.  And I made up that 16, dollar-for-dollar, to the farmers.<\/p>\n<p>So the farmers are extremely happy, and they also know \u2014 they\u2019re warriors \u2014 they also know we have to do this with China.  We can\u2019t let this go on.  They were taking out $500 billion a year out of this country, including intellectual property theft, which was rampant.<\/p>\n<p>So, our farmers will be helped.  Nobody that we\u2019ve done more for than our farmers.  And they understand you have to win the war with \u2014 this is a trade war, trade battle; you can call it anything you want.  But \u2014 and this should have been done by Presidents before me, not just President Obama.  This should have done by President Bush and President Clinton.  This should have been done a long time ago.<\/p>\n<p>China has been absolutely \u2014 the World Trade Organization has been a disaster for the United States.  China has taken advantage of it and us, and that\u2019s not happening anymore.  But the farmers have been taken care of.  Sixteen billion dollars and twelve billion dollars, each year.  Okay?  Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Huawei is accusing the United States of trying to infiltrate its company, snoop around.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Who is?  Who?<\/p>\n<p>Q    Huawei.  Do you have any comment on that?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  No.  It\u2019s a national security concern.  Huawei is a big concern of our military, of our intelligence agencies.  And we are not doing business with Huawei.  It\u2019ll stop almost completely in a very short period of time.  And we\u2019ll see what happens with respect to China.  But Huawei has been not a player that we want to discuss, we want to talk about, right now.  We\u2019re not going to be doing business with Huawei.  We\u2019re going to do our own business, you know, the old-fashioned way.  We\u2019ll do right from within the United States, which is what I\u2019ve been saying for a long time.<\/p>\n<p>And, by the way, speaking of tariffs, there are no tariffs.  If you want to build or make these products in the United States, there are no tariffs whatsoever.  And people are coming back now to the United States in large numbers.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Mr. President, Senator Daines and Senator Perdue just returned from a visit to China where they met with the Vice Premier, Liu He.  Did you approve that meeting?  And was it helpful?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I approved it, and my people approved it. China asked for the meeting.  They have a lot of respect for Senator Daines and for Senator Perdue; so do I.  They\u2019re friends of mine, and they\u2019re great senators doing a fantastic job.  I knew about the meeting.  I approved of the meeting.  And all they did is say that we really have bipartisan support.<\/p>\n<p>If you look at it \u2014 and the support is very serious.  So we\u2019re not playing games.  And that was the message that was given by Senator Perdue and Senator Daines, and it was given very strongly.  They absolutely had my permission, and they also spoke to Ambassador Lighthizer and Secretary Mnuchin about the trip, before they went there.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Was it helpful?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, they told me the attitude of China, and I think, basically, they said that China would like to do something.  Like \u2014 I know they\u2019d like to do something.  Look, they\u2019re having their worst year in, you know, many, many decades, as I said.  They\u2019re having a supply chain that\u2019s being absolutely fractured and broken, which is very bad for them.  They\u2019ve lost 3 million jobs, and the jobs are moving to Vietnam and other places, including the United States, by the way.  Some people are just making the product here.<\/p>\n<p>But they\u2019re moving all over Asia and some here.  And, you know, if I were China, I\u2019d want to make a deal.  I can\u2019t tell you, but I want to make a deal.  And I can tell you, they do want to make a deal.  We\u2019ll see if we can do a real deal, not a fake deal, like the fake media.  A real deal.  Okay?<\/p>\n<p>What else?<\/p>\n<p>Q    Do you plan to travel to the Bahamas?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, it\u2019s \u2014 again, I guess you would call it a British protectorate.  But I will do a lot.  We just \u2014 have a call.  We\u2019re waiting for the call \u2014 they\u2019re having a lot of trouble with the telephones over there, as you can imagine \u2014 from the Prime Minister.  And we\u2019re helping a lot.  And the Admiral just said \u2014 we\u2019re sending a lot of resources over there to help people on a humanitarian basis.<\/p>\n<p>But I would do that.  If we think it\u2019s appropriate, I would stop there, yeah.<\/p>\n<p>Q    We know the actions that \u2014 I\u2019m sorry, Admiral.<\/p>\n<p>ADMIRAL SCHULTZ:  I was just going to say, John: Mr. President, we had the Prime Minister onboard a Coast Guard aircraft with our Atlantic Forces Commander, the charge d\u2019affaires, the U.S. senior \u2014 the U.S. diplomat there, and many folks of the Bahamian government, to a get a site picture.  Again, we couldn\u2019t access parts, but we\u2019re working very closely with the government and Commonwealth of the Bahamas, sir, to help them understand the extent of the damage.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  They\u2019ve got a situation in the Bahamas like few have seen before.  It\u2019s a tough, tough thing.<\/p>\n<p>Q    We know the actions that Treasury took against the IRGC-Qods Forces \u2014 oil deal that it was running, particularly with Syria \u2014 there was some thought that this may be part of a precursor to talks between you and President Rouhani.  What\u2019s your thinking on that front?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, we\u2019re going to see what happens.  They want to talk.  They want to make a deal.  Iran is not the same country is was two and a half years ago, that I can tell you.  Getting to be three years.  Hard to believe.  Here \u2014 we\u2019ve been here almost three years now.  I\u2019ve been saying two and half years, and it\u2019s almost three years.  We\u2019re getting very close.<\/p>\n<p>But Iran is not the same country.  When I came into office, Iran was absolutely a terrorist organization, all over \u2014 from 14 to 18 sites of confliction, and they were behind every one of them.  And now you\u2019re not hearing so much about that.  We\u2019ll see what happens.<\/p>\n<p>Look, Iran is a country with tremendous potential.  We\u2019re not looking for regime change.  They have tremendous potential.  And I think they\u2019re going to want to take advantage of that potential.  I really believe that.  I think North Korea is a country with tremendous potential, and I think they\u2019re going to want to take advantage of it.  So we\u2019ll see what happens.<\/p>\n<p>But Iran has tremendous potential, and I can\u2019t imagine they\u2019re going to want to go through what they\u2019re going to have to go through if they want to do it the hard way.  So we\u2019ll see what happens.<\/p>\n<p>Q    You, Rouhani, and Macron will all be at the General Assembly in New York, later this month.  Could a meeting potentially happen then?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I don\u2019t know.  I mean, I very much appreciate President Macron \u2014 his involvement.  But we\u2019re not dealing through President Macron.  People are dealing with us directly.  We don\u2019t have to go through another country.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Could there be a meeting?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  We have actually \u2014 we\u2019ve had a lot of help, if we wanted, from Japan.  Japan is one of their biggest \u2014 possibly their biggest buyer of oil.  They have a big relationship.  That\u2019s Prime Minister Abe.<\/p>\n<p>So we don\u2019t need anybody to deal.  We can deal directly, if we want.  But other countries are offering help.  They\u2019d like to see it straightened out.  But they also agree with me.  We had a great G7, and they all agreed: no nuclear weapons for Iran.  They all agree: no nuclear weapons for Iran.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Sir, but the Iranians have said that they don\u2019t want to talk to the U.S. until the U.S. rejoins the JCPOA.  So how do you square \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  No.  Well, that\u2019s not their last statement, actually.  But they did say it in a different form.  They said until we do certain other things, like drop sanctions.  And that\u2019s not happening.  Okay?  That won\u2019t be happening.  They \u2014 they didn\u2019t say it quite the way you said it, but they said it with the same end result.  And that won\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Is it possible that there could be a meeting between you and Rouhani at the UNGA?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Sure.  Anything is possible.  They would like to be able to solve their problem.  They\u2019ve got a big problem.  They\u2019re getting killed, financially.  Their inflation is at a number that few people have ever seen inflation at.  And it\u2019s a very sad situation.  They could solve it very quickly.  We could solve it in 24 hours.<\/p>\n<p>But we\u2019ll see what happens.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Will the Chinese delegation come to Washington this month, Mr. President?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I can only say this: When you hear they have their worst year in over half a century \u2014 this is the worst year they\u2019ve had in \u2014 that anybody can even remember \u2014 but over 50 years, over half a century.  I would think they want to solve the problem.<\/p>\n<p>People have no idea.  You know, we\u2019ve created tremendous wealth in this country, in our country, since I\u2019ve been elected \u2014 well over $12 trillion.  They\u2019ve lost, probably, $20 trillion.<\/p>\n<p>When I assumed office, had my opponent won, within two years, in my opinion \u2014 maybe less \u2014 China would\u2019ve been a bigger economy than the United States.  Would\u2019ve been bigger.  Now we\u2019re so far ahead of them, it\u2019ll take them years to catch.  And if we always have competent people sitting here, they\u2019ll never be able to catch us.<\/p>\n<p>We have a springboard.  It\u2019s amazing what\u2019s happened.  And let me tell you: if I wanted to do nothing with China, my stock market \u2014 our stock market \u2014 would be 10,000 points higher than it is right now.  But somebody had to do this.  To me, this is much more important than the economy.  Somebody had to do this.  We had to do it with China.  It had to be done.<\/p>\n<p>And I\u2019m not even talking about purely economically; I\u2019m talking about in other ways also.  And they were \u2014 it was out of control.  And they were out of control.<\/p>\n<p>So we\u2019ll see what happens.  If they want to make a deal, they\u2019ll make a deal.  If they don\u2019t want to make a deal, that\u2019s fine.  But I can tell you: They\u2019re having one of the worst \u2014 I guess, the worst on record, and they want to make a deal.  And if I were them, I\u2019d want to make a deal, too.  But we\u2019ll see what happens.<\/p>\n<p>Okay?  Anything else?<\/p>\n<p>Q    Have you been following the situation in London with Boris Johnson and the Brexit vote?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, Boris is a friend of mine.  And he\u2019s \u2014 he\u2019s going at it.  There\u2019s no question about it.  He\u2019s in there \u2014 I watched him this morning.  He\u2019s in there fighting.<\/p>\n<p>And he knows how to win.  Boris knows how to win.  Don\u2019t worry about him.  He\u2019s going to be okay.<\/p>\n<p>And he\u2019s also got \u2014 you know, they have a big stake in the Bahamas.  When you mention that, they have a very big stake in the Bahamas.  So I know they have one ship that\u2019s on its way \u2014 had a hard time getting there with the weather, but it\u2019s on its way.  And they have a lot of people over there, so they have big stake.  Okay?<\/p>\n<p>Q    What was the rationale for rolling back the regulations on energy-efficient lightbulbs?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  On what?<\/p>\n<p>Q    Energy-efficient lightbulbs.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  We\u2019ll give you a report on that.  We\u2019re doing a report on all of that.  But there\u2019s a very good rationale when you hear it.  And what\u2019s saved is not \u2014 is not worth it.  For the little they save, and what people were going through, it is not worth it.  And price was another thing.  Okay?<\/p>\n<p>Same thing with cars.  In California, they have a standard where the cars are going to have to be much more expensive and won\u2019t be as good.  So we\u2019re giving an option to car companies to create a better car for less money \u2014 meaning less money to the consumer.<\/p>\n<p>So if the consumer can save $3,000 on a car and have a very energy-efficient car, but not energy-efficient so that the car doesn\u2019t work well \u2014 which is happening \u2014 we\u2019re giving them a tremendous option, if they want the option.  We\u2019re giving it to the consumer, but we\u2019re giving it to the car company to pass \u2014 companies to pass along.  And we\u2019ll see how that one works out.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re doing that.  We\u2019re doing a lot of that.  We want to make it good for the consumer.  If we can build a less expensive car that\u2019s better, we like that.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Since we likely won\u2019t be able to ask you questions in this afternoon\u2019s event, what impact do you think this $2 billion in opioid grants will have?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  So we\u2019ve done a great job with drugs, generally.  But it\u2019s a tremendous worldwide problem.  But we\u2019ve done a very good job with opioids and getting fewer people to use them and prescribe them.  And we\u2019re about 17 percent down from a little more than a year ago.  That\u2019s a big number, when you think 17 percent.  But we\u2019re about 17 percent down.<\/p>\n<p>And one of the things we are doing is we\u2019re funding different projects where we come up with a painkiller that\u2019s not addictive.  You know, you have \u2014 people go into a hospital with a broken arm.  They come out; they\u2019re drug addicts after three days.  The opioid stuff is bad.  And when they get used to it \u2014 once they get hooked, it\u2019s a very hard thing to get off of.<\/p>\n<p>So we\u2019re down 17 percent.  We\u2019re going to be doing a conference today, as you know.  And we\u2019ll talk a little bit about it.  But we\u2019ve worked very, very hard on opioids and all of the problems that they\u2019re causing \u2014 tremendous problems.  Okay?<\/p>\n<p>Q    Sir. Lay out your healthcare plan, sir.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Okay?  Thank you.  Thank you, everybody.  Thank you, everybody.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;We thought we\u2019d give you an update on the hurricane. We got lucky in Florida \u2014 very, very lucky indeed. We had \u2014 actually, our original chart was that it was going to be hit \u2014 hitting Florida directly. Maybe I could just see that, Kevin. It was going to be hitting directly, and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":86285,"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-86283","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\/09\/Fullscreen-capture-942019-31508-PM.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86283","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=86283"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86283\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/86285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=86283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=86283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=86283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}