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Jan. 24, 2025 10:06-10:28 - CSPAN
21:56
President Trump Signs Executive Orders
Participants
Main
d
donald j trump
admin 12:16
Appearances
w
will scharf
01:12
Clips
d
david sacks
00:11
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Speaker Time Text
unidentified
President Trump continues to sign executive orders during the first week of his administration.
Yesterday, he signed executive orders related to cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence, and the declassification of files pertaining to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr.
This is 20 Minutes.
donald j trump
We're going to sign some executive orders.
They were very important in just about every case.
And we'll go through the first one, please.
unidentified
Sure.
Do you want to?
Yeah, Mr. President, this is an executive order on crypto.
We're going to be...
Oh, sorry.
Sorry, I just read it.
This is an executive order on AI.
david sacks
We're basically announcing the administration's policy to make America the world capital in artificial intelligence and to dominate and to lead the world in AI.
donald j trump
Do you want to say your name, your phone?
unidentified
David Sachs.
AI and CryptoZAR.
donald j trump
David is one of the greatest in the world at AI.
Most respected probably there is.
So that should take us to the forefront, right?
unidentified
Absolutely.
We got to win.
Okay.
donald j trump
Thank you.
unidentified
Thanks, sir.
donald j trump
And this David is?
unidentified
Yeah, this is the crypto EO.
We're going to be forming an internal working group to make America the world capital in crypto under your leadership.
donald j trump
Which is really going up, right?
unidentified
Absolutely.
donald j trump
David, that's for you.
You find them exciting?
They might not be excited, but they're going to make a lot of money for the country.
unidentified
Thank you, sir.
donald j trump
And so is David.
You have to check him out.
There's nobody like this guy.
He said, how did you get David Sachs?
How did you do that?
unidentified
And he's doing it for the country more than anything else.
donald j trump
So we appreciate it, David.
Thank you very much.
will scharf
This is an executive order establishing a presidential commission, an advisory commission on science and technology.
donald j trump
Do you want to explain that a little bit?
will scharf
The basic idea is to get together and talk people from government, the private sector, technology, industry, as well as educational institutions to make sure that America maintains its leadership position with respect to science and technology development in the years ahead.
unidentified
Good.
donald j trump
That's great.
will scharf
Next, sir, we have a presidential memorandum encouraging departments and agencies in your government, including the Department of the Interior, to promote federal recognition of the Lumbee tribe of North Carolina.
donald j trump
I love the Lumbee tribe.
So this is their first big step, right?
will scharf
This would be a huge step for them.
donald j trump
Yeah, they were with me all the way.
They were great.
North Carolina, Lumbee Trail.
Okay, we'll send, you'll send them a copy of that?
unidentified
Yeah.
will scharf
Yes, sir.
donald j trump
They were great.
unidentified
Okay.
will scharf
And if you'd like, I could cut them that pen, sir, as well.
donald j trump
Yeah, let's do that.
will scharf
Next, we have a set of pardons for peaceful pro-life protesters who were prosecuted by the Biden administration for exercising their First Amendment rights.
donald j trump
Do you know how many?
will scharf
I believe it's 23, sir.
donald j trump
23 people were prosecuted.
They should not have been prosecuted.
unidentified
Many of them are elderly people.
donald j trump
They should not have been prosecuted.
This is a great honor to sign this.
They'll be very happy.
So they're all in prison now.
will scharf
Some are.
Some are out of custody.
donald j trump
Ridiculous.
Okay.
will scharf
Lastly, sir, we have an executive order ordering the declassification of files relating to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
donald j trump
That's a big one, huh?
A lot of people are waiting for this for along for years, for decades.
And everything will be revealed.
unidentified
Okay.
donald j trump
Give that to RFK.
will scharf
Yes, sir.
unidentified
Okay?
donald j trump
Okay.
Thank you.
unidentified
Mr. President, Mr. President.
Mr. President, a U.S. judge temporarily blocked the birthright citizenship order.
Do you have any reaction?
donald j trump
No, obviously we'll appeal it.
They put it before a certain judge in Seattle, I guess, right?
And there's no surprises with that judge.
unidentified
So, Mr. President, Senators Collins and Murkowski have now said they will vote against Pete Hankset.
Are you worried about his confirmation and your reaction?
donald j trump
And no surprises there.
It's too bad.
The way it is, too bad.
unidentified
And when would you adjourn Congress to make recess appointments, Mr. President?
donald j trump
Well, I'd take a look at that.
I've listened to John Thune.
He's doing a fantastic job.
unidentified
We're moving along.
donald j trump
The Democrats are trying to delay government, as they always do.
They can't help themselves.
Even John Rutcliffe, who's very, very strong, very popular, and liked by the Democrats.
I guess he gets a lot of Democrat votes.
That's taking a long time, and it shouldn't be taking a long time.
They're maxing everything out so they can delay everything as much as possible.
unidentified
So our president support an effort to use recess appointments if you choose to do that?
donald j trump
I'd be willing to use recess appointments.
It's up to John.
We'll see.
And John Thun's a great guy, great senator, knows his stuff inside out and backwards.
But I would use recess appointments if he wants to do that.
Absolutely.
The Democrats are just delaying.
They always delay.
unidentified
Mr. President, you spoke with the Saudi Grand Prince yesterday.
Who?
The Saudi Grand Prince.
How was the call that they said $600 billion they can invest?
donald j trump
$600.
I'll ask him for a trillion.
unidentified
You said you can ask him for a trillion.
Will Saudi Arabia be the first foreign country you would visit since they invest in that much money?
donald j trump
Well, if they do that, I would, yeah.
I would be glad to do that.
I did it, as you know, four years ago.
We did $450 billion, meaning the money all goes to American companies, and they purchase jets and they purchase computers and everything else.
And we did $450 billion, and I guess we're at $600, $650.
I'll see if I can talk him into it.
unidentified
Mr. President, please, again, you showed great confidence in Steve Whitcock.
Why you said that you doubt that the ceasefire in Gaza will hold since you appraised his...
donald j trump
Oh, no, I think he's great.
But it's a very tricky place.
It's very tricky.
Yeah, we'll see.
And if something does happen, they will not be happy.
unidentified
Sir, if I'm looking at that one.
In terms of Steve Witkoff, are you going to put him in charge of Iran's strategy?
And do you want him talking directly with the Iranian?
donald j trump
No, but he's certainly somebody I would use.
He's done a fantastic job.
He's a great negotiator.
He's a very good person, a very popular person.
Gets along with people.
I have great negotiators.
They have no personality whatsoever.
And then I have some that do.
Steve has a wonderful way about them, and people like him.
And even in this case, both sides like him.
And he was able to make a deal.
That deal would have never been made without Steve.
The Biden people couldn't make the deal.
They were working on it for a year and a half.
They couldn't make a deal.
We got it done prior to the inauguration.
We said it has to be before the inauguration.
I mean, the deal should hold, but if it doesn't hold, there'll be a lot of problems.
unidentified
The IEO, just hours after you made that big Stardate announcement, Elon Musk tweeted that they don't actually have the money.
Is that true?
donald j trump
I don't know if they do, but, you know, they're putting up the money.
The government's not putting up anything.
They're putting up money.
They're very rich people, so I hope they do.
unidentified
i mean elon doesn't like one of those people so is going to replace many american jobs No.
donald j trump
No, no, it's going to create tremendous numbers of jobs.
It's going to also create a lot of benefits medically for cancer research and other things.
It's going to have a huge positive impact.
And, you know, we want to be ahead of China.
We're right now way ahead of China.
David Sachs is one of the all-time experts.
People are amazed that you just met him.
I don't know if he's still here.
There he is.
But one of the most respected people in that world.
It's a world.
It's a whole different world.
And we're ahead of China now because of what I'm doing.
And I think it's going to be very successful.
unidentified
Mr. Erman, please, you just asked the Davos Forum again that NATO countries should spend 5% of GDP on defense.
The United States don't spend 5%.
It should also apply to the United States.
donald j trump
We're protecting them.
They're not protecting us.
We're protecting them.
So I don't think we should be spending.
I'm not sure we should be spending anything, but we should certainly be helping them.
But they should up their 2% to 5%.
unidentified
Mr. President, you said earlier during your speech at Davos that you would like to see interest rates come down.
How much would you like to see them come down?
donald j trump
I'd like to see them come down a lot, and oil prices will come down.
And when oil prices come down, everything's going to be cheaper for the American people, and actually for the world, but for the American people.
I'd like to see oil prices come down.
And when the energy comes down, that's going to knock out a lot of the inflation that's going to automatically bring the interest rates down.
unidentified
Are you worried that you're too much?
You said that you would demand.
Are you worried that there's too much going on at once if you're trying to bring interest rates down and get the economy five dollars?
donald j trump
It just works that way.
I mean, it just economically works that way.
When the oil comes down, it'll bring down prices, then you won't have inflation, and then the interest rates will come down.
unidentified
You said they only demand that the interest rates come down.
donald j trump
I would put in a strong statement.
unidentified
Do you expect the Fed to listen to you?
donald j trump
Yeah.
unidentified
Are you going to talk to Powell about this and bringing the rates down?
donald j trump
At the right time, I would.
unidentified
Sir, do you understand any of the people you pardoned that were participating in the January 6, 2021 Fed?
Do you plan to meet with any of them or meet with them at the White House?
I don't know.
donald j trump
I'm sure that they probably would like to.
I did them something important, but what they did is they were protesting a crooked election.
I mean, people understand that also.
And they were treated very badly.
Nobody's been treated like that.
So I'd be open to it, certainly.
I don't know of anything like that, but I think they're going to meet in some of the congresspeople, congressmen, women want to meet.
But I'd certainly be open to it.
unidentified
Have you spoken to them since you issued the pardons?
donald j trump
I haven't spoken to any of them yet, but I know they're very happy.
Mr. President, I gave them their life back.
Their life was taken away from them unnecessarily and unfairly.
I gave them their life back, so I can imagine they probably would like to.
unidentified
Mr. President, when you said that Biden took bad advice in not pardoning himself yesterday, well, he did.
donald j trump
I think he did, because he pardoned all these people that are crooked as hell.
Look, the congressmen, they're crooked.
What they did is they destroyed evidence.
When you destroy evidence, especially criminally like that, they did it criminally.
And the reason they destroyed the evidence is because it proved that I was right.
They didn't destroy evidence for no reason.
They destroyed it because they found many documents saying that I offered 10,000 soldiers.
If they had 500 soldiers or National Guard, there would have been no problem.
If they had 200, that would have been, I offered 10,000 if they needed them.
There would have been no problem.
That's been now totally disproven.
And it's also been disproven by Nancy Pelosi's daughter, who has her on tape saying it was her fault that she has full responsibility for this.
And they have all that stuff.
They destroyed everything.
And they go through a year and a half, two years of nonsense.
They come up with tremendous evidence and they destroyed evidence.
And Schiff knew about it.
That's why he's on there.
He knew all about the destruction of evidence.
A lot of people said he's the one that got him to do it.
And he's a crooked guy, you know, totally crooked politician.
And so he's pardoned, and some other people are pardoned.
And these are crooked politicians.
Every one of them.
Benny Johnson, what he did is incredible.
I mean, he was the leader of the committee, and he did it.
Cheney, Crying Adam, Kinzinger, all of them.
They destroyed evidence and deleted everything.
There's nothing.
There's no evidence now.
They're crooked politicians and they should be punished.
You know, that's even in a civil trial, you go to jail for a thing like that.
They destroyed every document, from what I understand, every document, because it proved that I was totally innocent.
unidentified
Presidential Nazi troops to the southern border something?
Yeah.
donald j trump
Oh, southern border?
unidentified
Yes.
donald j trump
When you say southern border, when I said 10,000 troops, I was referring to the Capitol.
unidentified
Oh, I see.
donald j trump
And when you plan to get out of the way, I offered 10,000 troops for the Capitol before January 6th.
unidentified
And as for the 1,500 at the southern border, sorry to clarify, what exactly do you want them to be doing right now?
donald j trump
Making sure that the border is safe and secure and that criminals don't come into our country.
unidentified
Mr. President, do you think that sanctions on Russia will force President Putin to negotiate?
donald j trump
I don't know, but I think he should make a deal.
unidentified
Mr. President, does it bother you that Elon Musk criticized a deal that you made publicly, that he said that he tweeted that?
donald j trump
No, it doesn't.
He hates one of the people in the deal.
unidentified
Have you spoken to them since then?
donald j trump
No, no.
Well, I've spoken to Elon, but I've spoken to all of them, actually.
No, no, the people in the deal are very, very smart people.
But Elon, one of the people he happens to hate, but I have certain hatreds of people too.
unidentified
Sir.
Sir, China, what do you think Xi Jinping can do on the Ukraine-Russian war?
donald j trump
Which one?
unidentified
Ukraine-Russia-Russia war.
What can Xi Jinping do about that?
China?
Yeah.
They have a lot of power over Russia.
donald j trump
They supply energy to Russia.
And Russia supplies energy to them.
They supply other things to, you know, it's really a very big trade.
It's a very big trading partner.
But Russia supplies a lot of energy to China.
China pays them a lot of money for that.
And I think they have a lot of power over Russia.
So I think Russia should want to make a deal.
Maybe they want to make a deal.
I think from what I hear, Putin would like to see me.
And we'll meet as soon as we can.
I'd meet immediately.
Every day we don't meet, soldiers are being killed in a battlefield.
And that battlefield is like no battlefield since World War II.
And I have pictures that you don't want to see.
Soldiers are being killed on a daily basis at numbers that we haven't seen in decades.
And it would be nice to end that war.
It's a ridiculous war.
unidentified
You said that Ukraine's ready to make a deal.
Did President Zelensky tell you that?
donald j trump
Yeah, sure.
He's ready to negotiate a deal.
He'd like to stop.
He's somebody that lost a lot of soldiers.
And so did Russia lost a lot.
Russia lost more soldiers.
They lost 800,000 soldiers.
Would you say that's a lot?
I'd say it's a lot.
unidentified
You said that you wanted to make Dr. King's dream a reality.
What's your response to his children and civil rights leaders who say that your DEI orders are a contradiction of his dream and could further drive racial?
donald j trump
Well, I haven't heard that.
unidentified
Mr. President, you put the Houthis back on the terror list.
How do you see the war in Yemen end?
donald j trump
Well, we'll see what happens, but they can't shoot down our ships, the Houthis.
unidentified
Yes.
donald j trump
And you can't shoot down our ships or any ships, and that's what they've been doing.
So they're on the terror list.
That's not good for them.
unidentified
So why does there help security protections for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Brian Hunt?
donald j trump
Well, the same reason they do.
When you have protection, you can't have it for the rest of your life.
Do you want to have a large detail of people guarding people for the rest of their lives?
I mean, there's risks to everything.
unidentified
So would you support striking Iran's nuclear facilities?
donald j trump
Say it.
unidentified
Would you support Israel, for example, striking Iran's nuclear facilities?
donald j trump
Well, maybe.
Obviously, I'm not going to answer that question.
We'll have to see.
I'm going to be meeting with various people over the next couple of days.
We'll see.
But hopefully that could be worked out without having to worry about it.
It would be nice.
It would really be nice if that could be worked out without having to go that further still.
unidentified
And who are you going to meet with someone?
donald j trump
Well, I'd rather not say that, but very high-level people.
But hopefully that could be worked out.
You know, look, Iran, hopefully we'll make a deal.
And if they don't make a deal, I guess that's okay, too.
unidentified
And Mr. President, just to follow up, you said you think the Fed should listen to you.
Can you elaborate on why you think it should have been a problem?
donald j trump
With regard to interest rates?
Correct, yeah.
I think I know interest rates much better than they do.
And I think I know it certainly much better than the one who's primarily in charge of making that decision.
But no, I'm guided by them very much.
But if I disagree, I will let it be known.
unidentified
Sir, your tariffs plans for China and Mexico are much tougher.
The ones for Canada and Mexico are much tougher than the one for China.
Why is it softer for China?
donald j trump
Well, China's already paying a lot of tariffs because of me.
And when you add them up, I would say, you know, they're paying a lot.
They paid hundreds of billions of dollars.
They never paid 10 cents until I came along.
When I came along, they pay hundreds of, they've paid hundreds of billions of dollars, never paid anything.
And so they've already started at a higher base.
unidentified
Is February 1st the date for Chinese tariffs as well, sir?
February 1, or was that just Mexico and Canada?
donald j trump
It's Mexico and Canada, but we're talking about China too.
Look, China's sending us tremendous amounts of bad drugs, fentanyl, really bad stuff.
unidentified
Most of it comes through Mexico.
donald j trump
And we're losing, I think, 300,000 lives a year because of that.
People say 150,000, 100, 120.
I think 300,000 lives a year.
Those are old numbers.
The lower number is a low number.
And we can't have that.
They've got to stop sending it.
I had a deal with President Xi, but it was a deal that wasn't followed up by Biden, of course, where they were going to issue the death penalty to people that make fentanyl, and that would have stopped it.
But we'll have to stop it with tariffs.
Thank you very much, everybody.
unidentified
Express.
donald j trump
Thanks for watching.
unidentified
Thank you, Sarah.
Thank you guys.
Thank you guys.
Express.
Let's go.
Thanks for having me.
President Trump is traveling to Asheville, North Carolina today to meet with those who were impacted by Hurricane Helene back in September.
This morning, he'll receive an update on recovery efforts.
We'll bring that to you live here on C-SPAN.
You can also watch on the free C-SPAN Now video app or online at c-span.org.
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