TRANSCRIPT: President Trump Speaks to Reporters on Board Air Force One, 11.25.25
[Video]
Question: Mr. President.
President Trump: Okay. Hello, everybody.
Note: [Crosstalk]
Trump: How are you?
Question: Hello sir. Hi.
Trump: How are you?
Question: Hi. Good.
Trump: What would you like to know today?
Question: Could you start off by telling us the latest? What's with Russia and Ukraine? Are you expect --
Trump: Well, we're having --
Question: Are you expecting Zelensky to come visit you?
Trump: We're having good... I don't know. He would like to come, but I think we should get a deal done first. Uh, we're having good talks, and we started with Russia. We're having some talks with Russia. Uh, Ukraine is doing well. I think they're pretty happy about it. They'd like to see it end. And, uh, we won't know for a little while, but, we'll... We're making progress.
Question: What are the big sticking - --
Trump: We settled eight wars, and I thought this would be one of the easier ones because of my relationship with President Putin. But, uh, this is probably one of the more difficult ones. There's a lotta hatred.
Question: Mr. President, you said there were a few points of disagreement, um, that were still left to be --
Trump: Yeah, a few.
Question: Can you tell us what those are? What the points of dis --
Trump: Some standard things, but people are starting to realize it's a good deal for both parties. They gotta stop the war. They're losing a lotta people, lotta soldiers. Mostly soldiers.
Question: In that 28-point plan that was originally leaked, there was, uh, portions of that that said that Ukraine needed to cut --
Trump: That was an original proposal. And then from there, we went back and --
Question: So when it comes to ceding land to Russia, is that still on the table, or has that changed?
Trump: Well, they're talking about going land both ways and trying to clean up a border. You know, you can't go through the middle of a house; you can't go through the middle of a highway. So they're trying to work -- it's a complicated process. Doesn't go that quickly.
Note: [Crosstalk]
Question: What about security guarantees and Ukraine joining NATO?
Trump: Well, we're working that out with Europe. Europe will be largely involved in that. We're working that out with Europe. Europe really wants to see an end if possi --
Question: There were a lot of Republicans who felt that the first plan, the first 28-point plan, was too favorable to Russia. Have you changed that?
Trump: Well, that was just a map. All that was is a map. That was not a plan. It was a, a, a concept. And from there, they've taken each one of the 28 points, and then you got down to 22 points. A lot of them were solved, and actually, very favorably solved. So we'll see how... We'll see what happens.
Note: [Crosstalk]
Question: Do you think that Russia, that Ukraine was being asked to give too much land back to Russia? I know, at one point, you said they --
Trump: W --
Question: -- shouldn't have to --
Trump: Yeah.
Question: -- give any back.
Trump: It's really, yeah. Look. Uh, the way it's going, if you look, it's just moving in one direction. So eventually, that's land that, over the next couple of months, might be gotten by Russia anyway. So do you wanna fight and lose another 50, 60,000 people, or do you wanna do something now? Uh, in some cases, the land is going in the other direction.
So, uh, they're negotiating, they're trying to get it done. Uh, you wanna have a border? You can't have a border that goes through a highway or bor- -- border that goes through the middle of a town. So, and it doesn't work? So it's a long, it's a long, complicated process. They're very, very sad 'cause so many people are being killed.
Question: What's the next step?
Trump: They're gonna keep talking. They're talking to Russia now. Uh, Steve Witkoff is going over, maybe with Jared. I'm not sure about Jared going, but he's involved in the process. Smart guy. And, uh, they're gonna be meeting with President Putin, I believe, next week, in Moscow.
Question: What kinds of -- Next week in Moscow?
Trump: I think so, yeah.
Question: What kinds of concessions are the Russians going to have to make?
Trump: Well, they're making concessions. Their big concession is they stop fighting, and they don't take any more land. Again, it's a war that would've never happened if I was president. This was not anything that was going to happen. This happened because of, uh, stupidity. It's too bad.
Question: [inaudible] So if Witkoff is going to Russia next week, does that mean that Thanksgiving deadline doesn't stand anymore for Ukraine to agree to this deal?
Trump: See what happens. They set up a date. Uh, the date is gonna be sometime in the very near future.
Question: Did you have a new deadline for a deal to be reached?
Trump: No deadline. I just, you know what the deadline for me is? When it's over. And I think everybody's tired of fighting at this moment.
Question: Mr. President -- Have you --
Trump: They're losing, they're losing too many people.
Question: Have you heard this audio that Bloomberg has of Witkoff coaching the Russians on how to appeal to you and get on your good side?
Trump: Well, I, I haven't heard it, no, but I, that's a standard thing. You know, 'cause he is gotta sell this to Ukraine. He's gotta sell Ukraine to Russia. That's what he's, that's what a deal maker does. You gotta say, "Look, they want this." You gotta convince him with this. You know, that's a very standard form of negotiation.
I haven't heard it, but I heard it was standard negotiation. And I would imagine he's saying the same thing to Ukraine. 'Cause each party has to give and take.
Question: Sir, what's --
Question: So you're not worried that he's too pro-Russian?
Trump: I think, look, uh, this war could go on for years, and Russia's got a lot more people, got a lot more soldiers, you know. So I think, if Ukraine can make a deal, it's a good thing. I think it's great for both. Frankly, I think it's great for both. But Ukraine's got a, you know, it's much smaller. It's a much smaller group of people. They've lost a lotta people. Russia's a lotta people. But Russia has a much bigger pool of people.
Question: Mr. President, uh, are you planning to unveil a healthcare plan anytime soon, and what, what do you expect to be in it?
Trump: Well, we're looking at different alternatives. I mean, I like my plan the best. Don't give any money to the insurance companies, give it to the people directly. Let 'em go out, buy their own healthcare plan. And we're looking at that, if, if that can work. We're looking at that. That's sort of taken off. That's what I like. Don't give the money to the insurance companies. They go out, they go out and buy their own plan. You give the money to the people. I like it the best.
Question: Are you planning to extend those subsidies, those affordable tax subs --
Trump: I'd rather not.
Question: Have you talked --
Trump: Somebody said I want to extend it for two years. I don't want to extend it for two years. I'd rather not extend them at all.
Question: Will you, will you do it - --
Trump: Maybe. Some kind of an extension may be necessary to get something else done because the unaffordable care act has been a disaster. It's a disaster. And I said it was when it first got put in. Unfortunately we lost a couple of Republican votes and the Democrats voted for it. It's a Democrat plan. And uh, the premiums are going up and it's the Democrat's fault. But you know, they are negotiating with 'em. It's very interesting. They wanna see something happen.
Question: Who are you talking to ib the Democrat's side?
Trump: I can't tell you who, but we have, a lot of Democrats want this plan to happen. They would love to see the money go to the people and the people go out and get their own healthcare and there would be nothing like it.
Question: Are you planning to replace Kash Patel as FBI Director?
Trump: No, he's doing a good job.
Question: This week we saw --
Trump: Kash Patel? No, he's doing a great job, I think.
Question: This week we saw those cases against James Comey and Letitia James tossed out. Uh, do you still have faith in Lindsey Halligan as --
Trump: No, she's great. I think she's great. They got out on the technicality and, but you'll see what happens from here on. But, uh, if you look at the actual charges, uh, I think anybody that looks at it very fairly would say, "Boy, are they guilty." So let's see what happens over the next week. You know, they, the court didn't say you couldn't bring the case, re-bring the case or appeal the case. So they have a lot of opp, they're gonna call the shot. I'm not calling the shot.
Question: Mr. President --
Trump: But Lindsey's a very talented lawyer, actually.
Question: Mr. President on, on Venezuela, sir, are you planning to talk to Nicolás Maduro?
Trump: I might talk to him. We'll see. But, uh, we're discussing that with their, with the different staffs. But we might talk with Venezuela.
Question: Interesting enough if, the US this week did of course, uh, name him the leader of a foreign terrorist organization. So why do you want to talk to him?
Trump: Say it again. What?
Question: Maduro, the US, uh --
Trump: Yeah.
Question: -- designated him the leader of this foreign terrorist organization. Why do you wanna talk to him if he's the leader?
Trump: Well, if we can save lives, if you can do things the easy way, that's fine. And if we have to do it the hard way, that's fine too.
Question: Mr. President, do you have any reaction --
Question: What's the goal? If you could, if you, if you carry out --
Trump: I'm not going to tell you what the goal is. You should probably know what the goal is. But, uh, they've caused a lot of problem and they've sent millions of people into our country. They had, I mean, they were probably the biggest abuser with Tren de Aragua and all the others that they sent in, the drug dealers, the drug lords, the people that they sent in, the jailbird thing.
They opened their jails and prisons and dumped them into the United States that, uh, we're not happy about it. Okay?
Question: Do you want to -- Do you want to -- Mr. President, do you have any reaction to Mayor Bowser announcing she's not running for re-election in DC?
Trump: Well, I got along with her very well. I liked her. We worked together. DC is now a safe community. It's a great community. You people know it better than I do 'cause you live there. But DC is now safe. The restaurants are booming, the place is booming. We have no crime. And we did that all in a period of three or four weeks and then made it better and better and better.
Trump: And now we're setting new records. I mean, literally, it's as safe as there is anywhere in the country now. And right, if you go back a year, it was a very unsafe place. Before I got here, DC was a very unsafe, and it's our capital. We have to make it safe. We're doing really well in Memphis, Tennessee, and we're doing well in other places. The one that is really troubling is what's happening in Chicago, the crime. It's a, it's a potentially great city again, but the governor's totally lost control. That's where you had the young lady burned. That's where you had a lot of killings over the last very short period of time. Killings. The governor has totally lost control of the state and the mayor is grossly incompetent.
Question: How was your call with the Japanese Prime Minister? Can you tell us about it?
Trump: Great. I had a great talk. I have a very good relationship with her. I also had a very good talk with President Xi of China, and I think that part of the world is doing fine.
Question: Can you tell us about the content of your talks?
Trump: Mostly trade.
Question: Trade?
Trump: Uh, I spoke to President Xi about a lot of things, but, uh, trade and buying our farm products and he said he agreed with me. He's gonna, I think he's gonna very much surprise you on the upside. I think he's gonna, I asked him, "I'd like you to buy it a little faster. I'd like you to buy more." And he's more or less agreed to do that. I think we will be pleasantly surprised by the actions of President Xi. I have a good relationship, great relationship with him. I like him. He likes me. I'm gonna be going there in April. I guess you'll all be going with me, but I'm gonna be going to China in April with Japan. Likewise, I just came back from Japan and, uh, we have a great relationship, the new Prime Minister and myself. She's very smart, she's very strong and she's gonna be a great leader. Thank you very much everybody.
Question: Thank you, sir. Happy Thanksgiving. Mr. President, what are you most thankful for in your first years –