Remarks #3 transcript, Jun 17, 2026 (Donald Trump)

Hello, everybody. We had an amazing day, and now we're going to Versailles for dinner with some of Europe's great people, and we'll see how that works out. I think it will be very good.

The President will be there with Madam, and I think we're going to have a good time. The press conference seems to have gone well. You shot your load, pretty much, Steve [Steve A. Holland, Reuters]. Right? Pretty much.

But going well. Seems like the agreement is very well undertow. Are you coming to Versailles with us?

Yes, sir.

I hope—I'm going to try and get you to do the tour, because, honestly, it's unbelievable.

Did you see—did you see the Fed——

Do you know any more about the signing ceremony?

Say it?

Did you see the Fed decision? They held rates today. Did you see that?

It's all right. Whatever.

And it looks like they might even raise them later this year. It's not clear. Do you have any comment on that?

It could happen. I mean, I—it's hard to believe. It just keeps a country down, you know. So—it's so unusual, but we have a very good guy over there now. So I'm guided by what he wants to do.

Do we have any clarity on — do we have any clarity on——

Was this his first time?

It is, yes.

Yes, I don't know. I saw a statement. It just came out.

Do we have any clarity on when the deal will be signed, when the memorandum——

Over the next——

is it tomorrow, maybe Friday?

——I'd say, 48 hours.

Forty-eight hours? And it's going to be Vance in——

I'd say 48 hours.

Is it still in Geneva or is it——

We haven't determined yet. It's in final form. We haven't determined.

How long will you leave the U.S. military in the Gulf?

What?

How long will you leave the U.S. military in the Gulf?

Good question. We haven't thought of it. We're really—probably a while. It's a good place to stay. The question was, "How long will you leave the military in the Gulf?" I would say a little while. See how it all goes. I think it's going to go well, but we'll see.

So I will see you guys at Versailles.

Can I follow up quickly on something you said——

Yes.

in the press conference? You said you "don't mind" Iran having ballistic missiles. Can you elaborate on that? I don't—I want to make sure we understand your position on that.

No, I want to—I'm saying that if other countries have them, it's a little bit unfair for them not to have some. A ballistic missile is not the same thing as what we're talking about when we talk nuclear. But if Saudi Arabia and Qatar—and they all have some—I would say, in relative proportion, I think it's okay. That's what I mean. Okay?

Mr. President, how important is it in the MOU, which just came out, that Iran commits not only to not pursue nuclear weapons, but also resolve the "nuclear dust," as you call it?

It's great. Much less important, because it's very hard to get at that. Very—I don't think anybody could get it. And we could get at it with great work and a lot of time. But the B–2 bombers and those great pilots—now you understand they did their job. So, much less important than not having a nuclear weapon.

What are you—what are you expecting tonight at the dinner? Is this kind of a part of the long farewell to President Macron?

No, it's not really for that. It just—I think he's just honoring our country. And you have the biggest people from Europe. Great people. You might have a list. Do you have a list of the people? A very impressive group of people.

There was a hot mike moment at the G–7 where the Canadian Prime Minister was talking to you about their Chinese car cap, and he said you said you like it. Can you comment on that?

I like what?

The cap that China—that Canada put on Chinese car imports. You were talking about it with Carney. What do you think of that?

Well, I don't—I don't know that I said I like it, but I could understand that. Yes.

Is that a factor?

A cap—would I rather see a cap than no cap? Yes, I would, on Canada.

Would the U.S. ever consider allowing Chinese cars?

Well, we haven't. They pay over a hundred-percent tariff. So we don't have the problems that Europe has or Canada has.

How long do you hope USMCA negotiations or review go on?

Well, it's not something that's—to me, I think it's better without it, I mean, to be honest with you. Okay? I'm not a big fan of it. I liked it because it got us out of NAFTA.

In other words, after 6 years, you had a clause that got us out of NAFTA. That's the thing I liked about it most. We do better without an agreement.

Do you want to just leave it in rolling review?

I would rather leave it unsigned. I'd rather have it terminated.

You'd rather have it terminated? Those are different things, sir. I just want to be clear.

I would rather not have the agreement——

Okay.

——but it—I may sign it.

Right.

But I would rather—we do better as a country if we don't have an agreement.

So are you thinking of—you want to——

Yes, I'm thinking about maybe we won't be able to make a deal. I would rather not have the USMCA. The primary reason I wanted it was because there was no way out of NAFTA, which was the worst trade agreement ever made, like, ever.

And they had no termination. And it was very hard to get USMCA for that reason. And I had a 6-year clause. Who would have thought I would have been here in the 6 years? They got it 6 years because they hoped I wouldn't be here. My term was supposed to be over with.

So, on top of everything else, it comes to—I would prefer not having an agreement, but I'm open to doing it. We'll see what happens.

So, as of now, just going to stick around for 10 years. You're okay with that?

We're not—no, it's not sticking around. It will be terminated. In other words——

After a decade?

It expires.

Yes, in a decade.

It expires.

Got it.

I prefer that.

In the first paragraph——

I view it as possibly expiring immediately.

In the first paragraph of the Iran memorandum, it says no use of force, but also no threat of a use of force. You talked about bombing Iran if they didn't comply. Is that a threat, and would the Iranians see that as a breaking of—[ inaudible ]?

If they don't—if they don't come through, is it a threat that we bomb?

You'll threaten them.

You could call it whatever you want, but it will probably happen. Thank you.

I will see you at Versailles, and you're going to go back and tell the New York Times you're going to change your whole way of life, okay?

Do you see the 60 days as a hard deadline for a final agreement?

No, I don't. No. I—could take longer.

So you could extend?

You could extend this phase?

I don't view it as hard, no.

You don't think of it as a hard deadline for a final——

No. Just as long as they're behaving, I really don't care that much.

Did you talk to leaders about Greenland, sir?

About who?

Greenland. Did you talk about Greenland?

No, we didn't discuss Greenland.

Not at all?

I should discuss Greenland, but we didn't.

Does Ukraine now have the advantage on the battlefield? What's the situation like?

Well, they're doing pretty well. Russia is a big country, big—you know, much bigger military. But they're doing pretty well. They're holding their own. They have great equipment with our equipment, don't forget. But they're doing pretty well.

Are you going to send in any more U.S. military help or——

Well, they pay for it

Yes.

I send it to Europe. Europe pays for it. NATO pays for it. Unlike Biden, where he gave $300 billion worth of equipment away.

Sanctions on Russia. What are you going to do about that? Sanctions on Russia, like the oil waiver.

Yes, I may put them back on. Yes. I wanted to make sure that oil stayed as low as possible. Now that the oil price is way down, wait until you see those numbers, but it's way down. I may put it back on, okay?

Thank you.