2025 10 06 Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Briefs Members of the Media, Oct. 6, 2025 part002 (14 28min)

not deploy other states' national guards to Portland. Basically said that it was untethered his argument to what is actually happening on the ground. Which local officials in Portland have said that the National Guard is needed there? With all due respect to that judge, I think her opinion is untethered in reality and in the law. The President is using his authority as Commander-in-Chief U.S. Code 12406, which clearly states that the President has the right to call up the National Guard in cases where he deems its appropriate. And if you look at what has happened in Portland, Oregon, for more than 100 nights, I was talking to our law enforcement team about it this morning. For more than 100 days, night after night after night, the ICE facility has been really under siege by these anarchists outside. They have been disrespecting law enforcement. They've been inciting violence. We saw again a guillotine rolled out in front of this federal building. And so the President wants to ensure that our federal buildings and our assets are protected. And that's exactly what he's trying to do. And ultimately, in the case in Los Angeles, that judge ruled, and the Ninth Circuit, that panel of judges ruled that those troops could remain, and that the President was well within his authority to do so. So we are appealing that decision, as you know. We expect a hearing on it pretty quickly, and we're very confident in the President's legal authority to do this, and we're very confident we will win on the merits of the law. But no local officials that you can point to that have said, we need the National Guard. Because I spoke to the police chief of Portland last week. He said that the President's claims just don't match up with what's happening on the ground. I would encourage you as a reporter to go on the ground and to take a look at for yourself because there's been many members of the press, not press in this room, but independent journalists, some of whom will be inviting to the White House very soon to share their stories. Because they have been in the middle of these riots, and they have witnessed the anarchy that is taking place night after night. It's on video. You should play it on your show. You have a great opportunity on primetime on CNN to show your audience, but you're probably talking to partisan Democrat officials who are opposed to everything this President does. You should also ask the people who live in Portland. We've actually heard from many members of the community who have said that this is complete civil disobedience. It's a mess. It's been loud. It's been troubling for neighbors in the community who are just trying to live peacefully. And these people are not there to peacefully protest. They are there to cause mayhem and havoc. The Democrats are there. Steve, go ahead. Thank you, Caroline. Two questions. First, do you have a reaction to reports that thousands of Cuban troops are deployed alongside Russia, providing a Ukraine? I don't know. A very different matter. The President, last week, floated in an interview with our colleague Daniel von Amerika, a rebate for terrorists to $2,000 per person. Is that planned contingent on the Supreme Court's upcoming ruling on the legality of the tariffs? And is the White House preparing for legislation to make that happen? Sure. On the first point, I have not seen that report, Stephen, but I'll check in with our national security team after this and we'll get you an update to your second point about the tear of rebates. I think it's an idea that the President has discussed and floated with his team of advisors, but no decision has been firmly made at this point in time. Why don't we go to the back? Owen. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. A few days ago, President Trump demanded J. Jones and Virginia get out of the race for condoning political violence and a text message against a Republican politician a few years ago. He hasn't left the race. He hasn't dropped out. What's the President's reaction? Well, as you know, I'm not at liberty to discuss political races from the podium. I think the President himself made his position very clear. And I think anyone could agree the messages that were sent by this Democrat nominee for Attorney General in Virginia are really shocking, alarming, and completely unacceptable. He was threatening to kill his opponent and his opponent's children. And that type of rhetoric has zero place in our country, and the President was absolutely right to condemn that. Well, let's listen. Sure, go ahead. Thank you. The Democrats have questioned and scrutinized President's comments about using potentially the military, American cities, its training grounds for the military. And when you look at Portland, Chicago, local and state officials say that their local enforcement is able to handle the situations, these protests on the ground, the President says that Portland is burning, using that as justification for the National Guard in Portland. But when you look here in Washington, D.C., the President just last week said it is now a completely safe city, and there are still National Guard members on the streets that are not involved in ICE activities. Can you provide the justification for the White House here in Washington, D.C.? Why the National Guard members continue to be out on the streets? Because Washington, D.C. has invited the National Guard here. Why? Because the mayor is doing the right thing, unlike mayors in other cities, like Portland, as Caitlin and others have pointed out, who refuse to see that there are positive results from when local law enforcement works with federal law enforcement to do the right thing on behalf of their citizens. And Washington, D.C. is no doubt a safer city right now today than it was a few months ago when President Trump started this initiative to make D.C. safe again. And the National Guard is still here because the President and the mayor agree that it's a good thing for the city. Just like you're seeing in Memphis, for instance, we'll have National Guard deployed to Memphis. We have federal agents who are on the ground working with state and local law enforcement. The state police in Tennessee are part of this effort. The local metropolitan police and Memphis are part of this effort. State and local law enforcement and federal law enforcement should be working together. And it's a shame that we see in some cities across the country that their mayors are just simply refusing to cooperate because they don't like Donald Trump. And that's what this boils down to. And I don't think any American would disagree that Chicago needs more law enforcement reinforcements, that they need more resources. Look at this headline from over the weekend, at least 30 people shot during the weekend in Democrat-run Chicago. Five of them were killed in one weekend. This is completely unacceptable and the President wants to make American cities safer and he's willing to work with anyone to do it. If the courts allow you to ultimately send in the National Guard into Chicago in Portland, do Democrats not have reason to be concerned that there are long-term plans by this administration to keep U.S. military or the National Guard in American cities like what we're seeing here in Washington? Why should they be concerned about the federal government offering help to make their cities a safer place? They should be concerned about this. They should be concerned about the fact that people in their cities right now are being gunned down every single night and the President all he's trying to do is fix it. And there has been a complete smear campaign by the Democrats and the media quite frankly. I was reading political playbook this morning, one of the most inside the beltway newsletters you can find. And you guys are framing this like the President wants to take over the American cities with the military. The President wants to help these local leaders who have been completely ineffective in securing their own cities. And we have already seen, there's a positive formula for that. Look at Washington, D.C., the murder rate has declined significantly. Our streets are safer. People who live here feel safer. All of you in this room, I know you do. You just won't admit it. And it's a proven system that works and the President wants to make America cities safe again. And I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Michael. Thank you, Caroline. Two questions if I may. Because the mayor wants them. Michael. He's talking in Egypt. If Hamas does agree to relinquish power and give it up, see power to this transitional technocratic government, if that does happen, would the Trump administration then recognize some Palestinian statement? Look, I don't want to get ahead of the technical talks right now, Michael. They're extremely sensitive. They're taking place again as we speak. And there's many things to discuss. Of course, this is, hopefully, we expect and we hope going to be one of the greatest peace deals this world has ever seen. And the Trump administration is working diligently and working very hard to get there. And as I said, Friday, all terms agreed. We have the Arab countries who are working with us. Of course, Israel has been incredible in cooperating with the President's plan and agreeing to it. And we're very hopeful. And we expect that to continue. You tweeted about this over the weekend. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I was going to you in the blue shirt and tie. Thank you, Caroline. You're welcome. I'm going to go to the Daily Mail. Today, this Supreme Court did a line to hear Jolaine's axles, the peel. Will Trump rule out granting her clemency? Is that something the White House is considering? It's not something I've heard discussed. And we don't comment on clemency requests that may or may not have been made, but I'm certainly not tracking that one at this point in time. Caroline, Caroline. Jordan, ahead. Thank you, Caroline. So we're talking about these radical groups in Portland and Chicago. I know the President has spoken about potentially going after George Soros with Rico Charges and for funding all of this violence. Has there been any update on that? And also, is the administration looking into the other non-profits, maybe taking away their 501C3 status for funding this violence in one more question? Sure. The financial backing of these groups, particularly Antifa, is certainly something the administration is looking into aggressively. And the federal government has never really been mobilized or tasked with doing that. So we're kind of kick-starting that into gear. The FBI is working on it alongside the White House's Homeland Security Task Force. We have our intelligence community looking into this as well, and even the Secretary of Treasury is involved with these matters since they are financial and nature. And we will continue to get to the bottom of who is funding these organizations and this organized anarchy against our country and our government. It's a question the American people have been begging the answer for for many years. And we're committed to uncovering it, and when we do, I'm sure you'll be one of the first people to know. So I hope we carry on. Thank you, thank you. So Gaza, under the President's plan, is going to be governed by a transitional governance of a technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee made up of qualified Palestinian international experts. And given how radicalized the Palestinian population is in Gaza and in the West Bank, can you offer some insider guidance into who are some of these Palestinians that are going to be considered for leadership roles in Gaza and where are you going to be fighting them and do you have any name? We're not quite there yet, Jonathan. The President believes peace is possible in Gaza, and that's why he presented this detailed and comprehensive plan. The first step of that is securing a ceasefire and releasing the hostages. And then those conversations about ensuring a durable and lasting peace can continue. But what do you need to have peace in a region like Gaza that's been a war-turned-torn for far too long? You need security guarantees, and you need good governance. And so those will be two of the priorities that this administration is focused on. The President has said he wants the government to reopen this week in a deal. What's going to happen by the end of the week if there's no deal? So why not prepare to do that? No deal with what? Look, as I said, unfortunately there's going to be a lot of pain inflicted. There already is on the American public, on our troops who are not being paid, again, on women and young children who depend on critical food assistance. We hate to see this. And in fact, the Office of Management and Budget is trying to do everything they can to find funds to get out the door for these vulnerable populations in our country. Again, we shouldn't be having to do that. The Democrats have a chance to change course tonight. I believe the vote's taking place at 6.30, and we urge Democrats senators to vote to reopen the government and to do the right thing. Thanks, guys.