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Jan. 28, 2026 17:49-18:31 - CSPAN
41:55
Public Affairs Events
Source
Participants
Main
d
donald j trump
admin 24:30
Appearances
b
brad gerstner
04:41
j
john mcardle
cspan 02:25
n
nicki minaj
01:40
Clips
k
kevin oleary
00:26
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Speaker Time Text
Permits and Burned Homes 00:02:13
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼
As opposed to empty fire hydrants, you would have had water in most of the houses had the sprinklers on top.
There was no water in their sprinkler in their living room.
All those fires wouldn't have started.
But they did start, and I will say that Lee, the most difficult permit, was Lee.
I went there a couple of days after the fire, met so many people on the streets who were in many cases fairly wealthy people, some very rich people, some of the best houses in California burned down.
And I said to him, so what do you want to do?
They said, sir, we want to start immediately, immediately.
Well, we'll get your permits.
Now, the hardest permit, Lee, was the federal permit.
Is that right?
He got everything done in 20 days, right?
The whole thing?
Is that a correct statement or less?
20 days.
So he got everything done 100% ready to go.
And I went for a meeting, and this mayor, who's a grossly incompetent person, she said, we're going to try and have the permits done within two years.
Remember that?
I got into an argument.
I said, you mean within two days, right?
She said, no.
And I'm meeting all these people as I'm walking along the streets with the fire departments and the policemen, and they're all devastated.
You know, they're still smoldering.
But they weren't even allowed to go in their property.
The Environmental Protection Agency, local, said, don't go on your property, okay?
We said, okay, don't worry about it.
Any problem is gone.
Any problem is burned.
Any germs are burned.
They're burned.
They were burned.
Nobody's ever seen anything like it.
But all so unnecessary that it happened.
But we got it all done in 20 days, the whole place.
And yet now, still, more than a year later, they don't have permits.
Almost nobody is building.
So I haven't told this to Lee Zeldon yet, but I'm going to put you in charge of getting permits.
I think we're going to override the local authorities because they're never going to have it.
And when I was told that there's a provision where you can override the local authority to get things done, case of, because it's really, to me, it's a national emergency.
What they've done to these people is horrible.
It's just horrible.
And they'll still vote Democrat.
Governing Permits 00:07:54
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼
Can you believe it?
After all, it's just, they get used to it.
Although I must say we converted many.
We'll probably convert a lot more.
But I just want them to get into their houses.
And I don't want a big section of the area built into low-income housing.
They want to put low-income housing right smack in the middle of it.
And that's not the American dream.
You know, you didn't do that.
And low-income housing is great.
I built a lot of low-income housing, but you don't put it there.
This is one of the richest neighborhoods in the world.
And we're going to let those people, and I recommend it strongly that everybody gets the approval, immediate approval to build a house, and you give them a 10% bonus so they can build a house 10% larger than they had before if they want for all the suffering they've been caused so they can build a little bit bigger house.
So Lee, if you want, will you accept the job?
He's under a lot of stress.
Okay.
All right?
Override those people.
Those people are incompetent.
Between the mayor and the governor, they're incompetent.
They'll never get approved.
They'll never get approved.
So do whatever you can, Lee.
There's a provision that you're allowed to do it.
And I'll sign it in two seconds, frankly.
They'll never, ever, it'll never happen.
I also want to introduce a man, Frank Pesigno.
Now, if you met Frank and if you knew Frank, he's quiet, but he's actually a stone-cold killer.
He was one of the biggest people in business.
He would have been sitting with you.
In fact, now he's got a better seat because he's working for the government.
He's the head of a lot of things.
But the job he's done in this country is great.
And he's working on Social Security and a thing called the IRS.
He's working with Scott on both of them, really, but the IRS in particular.
And he is a fantastic man.
Where are you, Frank?
Took the biggest pay cut in history.
He went from being paid $35 million a year to being paid about $35 a year.
I think you may have taken the biggest pay cut in history.
He'd be close.
He'd be one of the top five.
Because a few people have done that.
A few billionaires have sort of left.
But Frank has gone from one of the most successful people.
He worked with Jamie Diamond.
I don't think Jamie likes me too much nowadays.
That's okay.
I never minded that.
But Frank, you are fantastic and you're doing a great job.
We appreciate it.
Thank you.
And thank you to the family.
The director of National Economic Council, a man who's in the news a lot.
You know, my only problem is I don't want to lose him.
I will tell you, he's working from a big deficit because I don't want to lose him.
He's so good.
Kevin has it.
Thank you, Kevin.
Thank you, Kevin.
A friend of mine, a senator who has been unbelievable.
She's a tremendous woman, a tremendous married to a great football player.
Her husband is a massive man.
This guy, he played in the NFL, I guess, for 11 years.
He was a top-of-the-line player.
I met him.
I said, that's not a normal situation.
Look at this guy.
This guy was seriously powerful, big, and he's as nice as he is big.
And she is one of our best senators, Senator Katie Britt.
Thank you, Darling.
From Alabama.
I love Alabama.
We love Alabama.
Marcia Blackburn is an incredible person.
Unfortunately, she's running for governor.
She's running for governor of Tennessee.
I'd love her not to.
I begged her.
I said, Marcia, we don't want to lose you in the Senate.
But I have to say, they're lucky.
They're lucky to get you because you are a talent and a great person.
And you've been with me all the way, and I appreciate it.
And you're a very special person.
Marcia, stand up, please.
And a senator who is a friend of mine, you wouldn't believe that because we went through a rough campaign together.
It was nasty.
We got along so well.
And everybody, we actually did joint rallies.
Can you believe it?
He wanted to get somebody actioned, so he's smart.
He said, Would you do a rally with me?
But we did joint rallies, and the press used to say, Will you ever, you know, start fighting?
I said, Don't worry, it'll come.
He said the same thing.
Don't worry, it'll come.
He's a very tough guy, very brilliant guy.
In fact, when I said, you know, because I had never gone into a debate before officially, my whole life was a debate, but I'd never debated before officially.
And I said, let me find out about my competition.
Who are these people?
Because many of them, you know, they were senators and mostly senators and governors.
And I said, well, why don't we start with this guy named Ted Cruz?
Let me, you know, give me, well, he was the best student at Harvard, number one in his class.
He was the best student at Princeton or something.
And he was the national debate champion for three years.
And I said, well, I don't like that.
I didn't know that.
I don't like that.
And he was a very good debater.
I will tell you that.
He's a smart guy.
But I'll never forget, because he was the first one I looked at.
You know, I just joined the ranks of politics.
And the first famous was the Rosie O'Donnell.
Remember that?
Only Rosie O'Donnell?
Ireland, you can keep her.
Ireland has done a tremendous.
The head of Ireland said, Are all your people this way?
We don't want that.
But Ted Cruz has one thing that I love.
If I ever have problems, because it's hard to get people to prove, he's a brilliant legal mind.
He's a brilliant man.
If I nominate him for the United States Supreme Court, I will get 100% of the vote.
The Democrats will vote for him because they want to get him the hell out.
And the Republicans will vote for him because they want to get him the hell out, too.
Where's Ted?
Where are you, Ted?
And with all of that being said, he's a great guy, too.
He's a great guy.
We've become friends, and he's a very effective person, too.
Thank you, Ted, very much.
The man knows more about tax than anybody that I know.
Jason Smith, congressman, wonderful person.
Thanks, Jace.
Thank you, Jason.
Great job.
Idaho Governor Brad Little, terrific guy.
Thank you, Brad.
Georgia Lieutenant Governor Bert Jones, who hopefully will be the governor of Georgia very shortly.
They have a big race.
He's leading by a lot in the polls.
He was outstanding as a lieutenant governor.
He's great everywhere, and I've endorsed him fully, so I don't want to do anything that you don't know about.
I have given him my complete and total endorsement.
Bert Jones, where are you, Bert?
Thank you, Bert.
Great guy.
Chief Design Officer of the United States, Joe Gebia.
Joe, thank you.
Great idea.
Great ideas.
Also, we have Mr. Wonderful Kevin O'Leary.
I like Kevin O'Leary.
Where's Kevin O'Leary?
Come on.
Kevin, it's so nice.
He's with me 90% of the time.
But when he's with me, he's really with me.
Great.
And we got the TikTok deal done.
Who the hell thought we could do that, right?
I know.
I wish he wanted to buy TikTok so much, and I would have done it, but his price was slightly lower.
unidentified
Slightly.
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼
He's fantastic.
What a good, you're an entertainer businessman.
You had the whole quality, so I appreciate it.
I know what you did.
Having done the apprentice, I see you on television.
You have what it takes, right?
So I appreciate it.
And thanks for all the nice things you do.
Kevin O'Leary Appears! 00:15:29
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼
And Cheryl Hines, where's Cheryl?
unidentified
Wow.
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼
Married to a very, very powerful, important man.
And I said, I'll tell you, Bobby, she's strong.
I watched her in an interview.
I said, Bobby, you keep him in line, don't you?
She said, yes, I do.
She's got no choice.
He's doing a great job, and so are you.
Yeah, he's doing a great job.
He's doing a very different kind of a job, too, and he's doing things that people have wanted to do for a long time.
And they didn't have the courage, so say hello to Bobby, okay?
We're also pleased.
My daughter, she went crazy when she heard that this was, I want to go.
You know, she happens to be in the wrong state right now for that, but when she heard that there's a certain person that's here who's the greatest and most successful female rapper in history, Nikki Minaj.
Come on.
And, you know?
And Nikki makes a lot of cash.
Not as much as Michael Dell.
Not quite.
Not as much.
But that's okay.
But Nikki makes a lot of money and she's generously stepping up.
She's investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in Trump accounts to support the children and really the children of her incredible fans.
That's great.
Focus on that.
Why should you give to somebody else a fans?
Give to your fans.
I like that.
And I just think she's great.
You know, I've been hearing so much over the years because I didn't know Nikki and I've been hearing over the years she's a big Trump supporter and a Trump fan and she took a little heat on occasion.
Her community isn't necessarily, I tell you, we did pretty damn well with that, with your community as we say.
But Nikki has been an unbelievable supporter.
She gets more, she gets almost as much as Mr. Wonderful over here.
He's been another one.
It's been so good.
But I'd like to ask you to come up, Nikki.
Come on up.
Come on.
She's been such a great supporter and a great supporter of Trump accounts.
And I said, I'm going to let my nails grow because I love those nails.
I'm going to let those nails grow.
She's so good.
She's been MAGA.
What can I say?
She's been with us all the way, right, Alex?
She's been with us all the way.
Just want to thank her.
And it wasn't so easy.
For you, it was easier, right?
You want to come up?
You want to come up?
Mr. Wonderful, come on up here.
You've been terrific.
Come on up.
nicki minaj ▲ ● ▼
Well, I don't know what to say, but I will say that I am probably the president's number one fan.
And that's not going to change.
And the hate or what people have to say, it does not affect me at all.
It actually motivates me to support him more.
And it's going to motivate all of us to support him more.
We're not going to let them get away with bullying him and, you know, the smear campaigns.
It's not going to work.
Okay?
He has a lot of force behind him, and God is protecting him.
Amen.
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼
Thank you.
Mr. Williams.
kevin oleary ▲ ● ▼
On behalf of all the entrepreneurs in America, I'd like to thank you, Mr. President, because we create 72% of the jobs, companies, 500 to 500 employees, and all we care about is policy.
We love policy, pro-business policy, and these accounts are fantastic for independence and support.
I thank you very much.
It's all about the entrepreneur, and I think you know that, sir.
unidentified
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much.
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼
Well, that was great.
A little interlude.
unidentified
I don't know.
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼
That's better than getting Scott Besant up.
Thank you both very much.
Two terrific people.
When Trump Accounts officially launch on July 4th of this year, every parent will be able to activate their accounts and access the funds at the Trumpaccounts.gov.
So it's all set up, all ready to go.
It's beautiful.
The site is beautiful.
On that glorious day, we also expect to have commitments from generous private individuals in all 50 states, and they'll be making additional contributions for children in their own states.
Already, legendary investor Ray Dalio has pledged to adopt the entire state of Connecticut.
That's pretty good, Michael.
And thank you very much, Ray.
Great legend.
And today, one of the original advocates of this program has agreed to adopt his home state of Indiana, Brad Gerstner.
And Brad's here someplace.
Where's Brad?
Come on.
I think, Michael and Brad, would you come up here, please?
Come up here.
I mean, this isn't exactly Mr. Wonderful and Nikki, but I think they might be worth more money than Mr. Wonderful.
These guys are worth a lot of money.
But Brad is donating, listen to this, $250 to Trump accounts for all children under five in Indiana.
So every children, all the children under five, 250.
And he'll be donating tens of millions of dollars more in matching contributions to millions of children all across the country.
He's going to make a massive donation already.
We know what it is.
Brad is not only one of the most successful business people, he's the founder of the Invest America Foundation, and he's been working on this idea for years.
And he was the one who went over to see Michael.
Michael loved it.
And those two were a hell of a team, along with Mrs. Dell, who's been so great, Susan.
I also delighted to report that dozens of major employers have signed up to add the Trump account contributions to the employee benefit packages, including Uber, Schwab, Charter Communications, and many, many others.
And just today it was announced that Intel, NVIDIA Broadcom, IBM, Stake and Shake, Coinbase, Continental Resources, and Comcast have all signed up for really big contributions.
So I want to thank them.
I want to have you two guys come on up.
Would you say a couple of words?
Brad and Michael, would you say a couple of words?
That's fantastic to see.
Only Indiana.
You can't do bigger.
We love Indiana, but you know, how about Indiana, Iowa?
We appreciate it.
Big numbers.
Thank you.
unidentified
Thank you.
brad gerstner ▲ ● ▼
Well, four years ago, we set off on a journey to reconnect every child in America with the American dream.
This president ran on a main street agenda that too many people had been left out and left behind.
And his articulation of no tax on tips, that doesn't help rich folks.
That helps those left out and left behind.
No tax on Social Security, no tax on overtime.
And when Ted Cruz authored the Invest America Act in the Senate, and Michael Dell partnered with me to bring the private sector to bear on this, we had the opportunity that this president was willing to sign.
He immediately understood the impact.
That this wasn't about the wealthy folks in America.
This was about the 50 million American families who will be lifted up and reconnected to the American dream because this is now the law of the land.
Forevermore, every child in America, from rural Missouri to rural Indiana, from Trenton to Compton, is going to start off life with an investment account at birth, seated with $1,000 where they privately own NVIDIA and Microsoft, all the greatest companies in this country, right?
Not dependent on government, independent from government, not more socialism.
The answer to more socialism is more capitalism.
This makes every child in America a capitalist from birth, and it would not have happened without the leadership of our Treasury Secretary, Scott Besant, without the leadership of the Speaker and Ted Cruz in the Senate.
But most importantly, and every business leader in America will tell you this: for too long they had no access in Washington to the White House.
People didn't want to hear their ideas.
This president is voracious in his desire to hear from America's leaders about how to make America better.
This is citizen democracy at its best.
An idea that started around a kitchen table in Silicon Valley makes its way to this day.
I'm humbled and honored to be here, and I'm grateful for your leadership.
Thank you, Mr. President.
You know, as you heard from Brad, you know, the fact that this bill got passed itself was a miracle.
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼
And it creates a platform for communities, for families, for corporations, for philanthropists to add to these accounts.
brad gerstner ▲ ● ▼
And in not too many years, essentially every child in America will have savings invested in the greatest companies in this country.
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼
And that will change the face of this country over the next 10, 20, 30 years.
brad gerstner ▲ ● ▼
We couldn't be more excited about this and the opportunity to make a difference.
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼
You know, the best investment a country can make is in its people, especially in its children.
And this creates an incredible platform for that to occur at enormous scale.
And we're excited to see it all come together.
Thank you all so much.
unidentified
Thank you.
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼
Those are two fantastic people.
I can tell you that.
I want to give a very special thanks to some of the CEOs here this morning.
Vlad Tenev of Robin Hood, what a job he's done.
Where's Vlad?
What a job you've done.
Young guy.
Nice young guy, too.
Arjun Seti of Kraken.
Arjun, thank you very much.
unidentified
Wherever you are.
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼
Thank you.
Anthony Noto of SoFi Technologies.
SoFi.
Thank you very much, Anthony.
These are the ones you read about, and Bill Ackman is here, Pershing Square, and Hawk Tan of Broadcom, and so many others that if I name them, we'll be up here all day.
But I just want to say that what a job you've all done.
Incredible job.
Everybody, just about everybody in this room.
Not everybody.
I'm not in love with everybody.
A couple of them I don't like very much.
But if they're here, I'm starting to like them a lot better because they're here for a very good reason.
I'm officially calling on all employers all across America to follow the lead of many of these amazing companies and make matching Trump account contributions to benefit for the American worker, and they're going to benefit the American worker so much.
This morning, I'm also pleased to announce that Visa is creating a brand new platform which will allow credit card holders to deposit their cashback rewards directly into Trump accounts.
That's a big deal.
Visa, thank you.
Where's Visa?
Ahead of Visa.
Thank you very much, Visa.
These initiatives could not come at a better moment because there's never been a better time to invest in the United States of America than right now.
Who knew it would have happened this fast?
I inherited a mess.
We were a country that was laughed at a year and a half ago.
We were laughed at.
Now we're the hottest country anywhere in the world.
Nobody even close.
So, you know, who knew this was going to take place this quickly?
Red Michael, I didn't think it was going to go that fast.
I knew we were going to do it, but I thought it would take a couple of years at least.
Just a couple of days longer than the first year, so it's really amazing.
And just this morning as I'm running out, I see the S ⁇ P 500 hit 7,000 for the first time ever, ever.
So I say America is back.
America is back.
Since the election, the stock market has set 52 all-time record highs, adding $9 trillion in value.
And $18 trillion of investment is pouring into the country.
It's going to be higher than that.
Just over one year ago, we were a country that lost its way.
mocked and scorned and every American child will now be and have access to something that is really incredible and they can watch directly the economic boom that's taken place.
This is a boom that's taking place, the likes of which we've really never seen.
I don't think people get it yet.
Not a lot of people.
They don't get it.
They don't see the thousands of businesses being built, the hundreds and hundreds of massive factories that are going up all over.
But they're going to start to see it.
They're starting to see it.
I mean, if they're modestly intelligent, if they're very intelligent, they saw it about a year ago.
With us today is Craig Smith, a fourth-generation family farmer and volunteer firefighter from Culpeper, Virginia, along with his wonderful wife, Heather.
Craig and Heather have an 18-month-old son and a one-month-old that they also welcomed just recently, twin boys.
And they can't wait to activate Trump accounts for all three of their children this July 4th.
Craig and Heather.
Do you want to come up here, Craig and Heather?
Where are you, Craig and Heather?
Come on up.
Craig and Heather, come on up.
Come on up.
God Bless America 00:08:42
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼
It meant so much to them.
You know, people write letters.
Every once in a while, you get a letter, it just hits you.
Craig and Heather, come on up.
Thank you.
That's great.
Wow, look at this family, huh?
They're a rich family now.
The kids are richer than the parents.
That's the way we want it.
Thank you very much.
unidentified
We just want to thank President Trump for all of his hard work and dedication to American families and farm families like ours.
Farming is not always easy, and sometimes margins are tight.
So investments like this into our children really help us to buy diapers and formula and not have to worry about making financial decisions for them this early on.
So thank you very much, President Trump.
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼
Thank you very much.
unidentified
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
So nice.
Also joining us today is the Gowens family from Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Charlie works in manufacturing and he's here with his wife Savannah, his high school sweetheart.
In 2022, Charlie and Savannah opened their home to Foster Care, expecting, really expecting to take in one child, but soon they were taking in a family of three siblings and formally adopting them.
A short time later, Charlie and Savannah also welcomed a biological daughter.
Trump accounts will give each of these children a much better start in life.
And Charlie and Savannah, where are you?
Are you down there?
Do you want to come up?
Come on up here, Charlie, real fast.
We're holding up a lot of big business people.
We can't hold them up.
Michael will take back his donation.
Say what?
I want my money back.
Come on up here.
These are great families, but there's millions and millions of families that are going to be so amazed and so happy at what's taking place.
Sort of a miracle, I think.
Nice to see you.
How are you?
So nice.
unidentified
Hi.
brad gerstner ▲ ● ▼
Thank you, President Trump, for having my family and me here today.
My wife and I have spent the better part of our adult lives working to advance children in our community.
And it was our faith that first led us to open our home to foster care.
And it was God's plan that allowed us.
unidentified
Absolutely.
brad gerstner ▲ ● ▼
And it was God's plan that allowed us to adopt three amazing children out of foster care, to welcome so many more.
And of course, this past year, welcome our youngest daughter, Florence, into the world.
It's through our experience that we've seen how opportunity or the lack thereof can really impact a child at the very beginning stages of their life before they even get a chance themselves.
And that's why my wife and I, along with some of the work that the First Lady is doing, we are working to help foster families, foster and adopted families, and personally in our state with protections and support in our home state of Arkansas.
Every child deserves hope, stability, and a strong chance at a future, a strong future.
And for young families, especially like ours, that your first priorities are, of course, your diapers and your wipes and your car seats and all that stuff.
And so starting and investing into an investment account is not necessarily on the top of the priority list.
And we're so thankful to have this.
And I think this sends a powerful message that this administration believes that financial opportunity can start early, that it is intentional, and that it can impact every single family.
And my wife and I are so excited that this administration has placed families and children like ours at the forefront of economic policy.
And we're so excited for the future of children and for this country.
donald j trump ▲ ● ▼
Thank you. That's a great job.
I was wondering how much longer he could.
Did you notice it?
It's getting heavier.
It's still 50 pounds or something.
I said, how much longer is that?
And finally, it broke loose.
But you could see a loving father there, couldn't you?
The way he did that, right?
Wasn't that a loving father?
I watched that.
He was grabbing.
That's a great family.
Thank you very much both.
Beautiful.
So in conclusion, the ultimate success of the Trump accounts will be measured not just in the wealth created.
It will be seen in young people buying houses that they could never have even dreamed of buying.
It'll be seen in diplomas earned, companies founded, families formed, and more babies born.
It'll really be seen in something where you're given a chance.
You're given a chance at life, a very good chance.
Above all, Trump accounts will help bring the hope and prosperity to every community that every community wants to see.
And it'll bring back the American dream.
The American dream is so beautiful.
I would mention it all the time when I'm running.
Whenever I run, I talk about the American dream because that's what we want to create.
Others don't talk about it, but we have the American dream back, I think, now better than, maybe better than ever before.
For generations, Washington politicians have done nothing to take from the hardworking people of our country.
They take and take.
They do nothing but take.
They've made workers' lives harder, sent prices higher, pushed your dreams out of reach.
And both parties, I mean, they didn't do the job that they were supposed to do.
Some were fighting, and sometimes we fight against some of the great politicians we have here.
They fight with me, most of them.
And we fight to make things better.
But we run into walls of other politicians that either don't want to do something or they almost feel like it's a destruction of our country.
But now we're doing something much better than giving the next generation a handout.
We're giving them ownership of America's future so that they can grow up, chart their own destiny, and make our nation greater and stronger and better than ever before.
So I just want to thank all of the people that participated today, the great business leaders, the great celebrities, and all of the people that are in this room.
You've done so much.
And I just want to also give a little bit of a shout out to a lot of great politicians that are right now voting on some very important measures, plus the politicians in this room.
They have really worked hard on this.
This is something that it's amazing that it got done.
If you knew the political process, it was very complex, very hard to get done to get all of those votes together.
But we did it, and it's going to be great for America.
And Brad and Michael, thank you both very much.
Special, special people.
Thank you very much.
And God bless everybody in the room and God bless America.
Thank you very much for being here.
Thank you.
unidentified
Thank you.
I'll say you're men.
Cause you're in a new town.
There's no need to be unhappy.
Use of Force Continuum 00:07:34
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john mcardle ▲ ● ▼
A conversation now on use of force and federal law enforcement.
Jillian Snyder is our guest.
She's a retired New York City police officer, lecturer at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, senior fellow at the R Street Institute.
And Jillian Snyder, in the wake of the fatal shootings in Minneapolis, you posed this question in a column on R Street's webpage.
You asked, are federal immigration agents prepared for the unique challenges of enforcement operations in protest-filled urban environments?
How do you answer that question?
unidentified
Right now, I don't know how to answer that question.
We're still waiting for more reporting.
The investigation in this past weekend shooting is still very preliminary, but I think the main challenge here is we're taking officers and agents who are prepared for rural border operations and working to protect our borders, but yet have never really experienced what it's like to work in major cities where you already have active protests underway.
They don't get the same training that local police officers get.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼
So I think we really have to examine whether their training has prepared them for what they're encountering.
You worked in a major city, New York City, a former New York City police officer.
What sort of training did you receive for incidents like this?
NYPD, we have extensive training for large public gatherings, for parades, for New Year's Eve details, for the UN General Assembly, for civil unrest.
unidentified
We do scenario-based training.
The NYPD has an entire tactical village that they take us to yearly to make sure that we are prepared for any potential situation.
nicki minaj ▲ ● ▼
Of course, you can't prepare for everything, but they throw anything at you that they think you might face.
unidentified
So because we work in a huge urban populated area, we are trained accordingly, knowing that there's probably a couple of hundred, if not a couple of thousand people on the streets around us.
So all of our use of force decisions really have to factor that in.
nicki minaj ▲ ● ▼
We're not working in isolated areas where there are not innocent victims or citizens walking by.
unidentified
Every decision we make has to consider that there could be a couple of people walking or waiting for the bus.
So it's very different from what CBP agents are trained for.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼
Use of force rules vary across the country.
There's no standard rule for use of force, but what were you taught when it comes to use of force and specifically use of deadly force?
What are the rules here?
nicki minaj ▲ ● ▼
It's not that easy.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼
There is what's called a use of force continuum.
nicki minaj ▲ ● ▼
Most agencies do train their officers similarly.
Federal agents do receive similar training.
unidentified
I know it varies slightly, but you would generally, when you encounter someone, you give them a verbal request or a verbal order.
nicki minaj ▲ ● ▼
If they don't comply, you bring it up to the next level where it could be hand-to-hand combat.
unidentified
You could use your OC spray or pepper spray as it's more commonly used.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼
Then you would go to your straight baton or your expandable baton.
unidentified
If you are equipped with a taser, that would be your next level.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼
All of those are considered less than lethal or non-lethal uses of force.
unidentified
If in fact the situation turned volatile or an imminent threat of serious physical injury or death was pending, that would be when an officer would engage with their firearm.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼
So bring me to federal use of force training and specifically, and you get into this in your column, CBP, the Border Patrol, and what they're taught.
What are the incidents they are most likely to encounter?
Well, because they are stationed primarily at the borders or within 100 miles of the United States borders, their training is really focused on conducting car stops that have gotten past the border.
unidentified
They don't typically drive around and engage in random car stops.
They're targeted because they feel that that person has unlawfully entered the country.
nicki minaj ▲ ● ▼
Or as we saw in Arizona yesterday, there was an incident there where CBP agents did engage with a vehicle that allegedly was involved in human trafficking.
unidentified
And what we saw afterwards was the secondary car stop gunshots were fired by the assailant.
CBP agents, I believe, returned fire.
nicki minaj ▲ ● ▼
That is more typically the scenario that they are going to face.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼
They're not going to be doing routine car stops in major urban areas where there's hundreds or thousands of people walking around.
unidentified
They're very targeted and measured in what they do.
So putting them in these unpredictable situations, that's where I fear that their training might not give them all the resources and understanding that they need to conduct these safely for themselves or others.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼
Engaging with vehicles, go back to the Renee Good shooting and the use of force issues that came to your mind as you watch the many angles of that incident.
I will tell you firsthand, I have actually been involved in an incident where a driver tried to hit one of the officers I was working with.
This was back when I worked in Brooklyn.
nicki minaj ▲ ● ▼
We were trying to engage in a lawful car stop and the individual decided to attempt to ram their vehicle onto an officer.
One officer did return fire because the officer had no other means of getting out of the way before getting struck.
john mcardle ▲ ● ▼
That officer did get struck, did suffer serious bodily harm, several broken bones.
unidentified
The gunshot did not hit the assailant, but we were able to capture him.
So I've been in a situation where I've had a car coming at me or someone that I'm standing with.
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