Remarks transcript, Jul 24, 2026 (Donald Trump)

Well, thank you very much. This is going to be very interesting because we're going to be talking about nuclear. It's a wave of the future.

We have the most brilliant people in the world standing behind me that were big into the world of nuclear, like my uncle was at MIT. My uncle was very big into nuclear for 41 years at MIT, but they've advanced somewhat since those days, I think—I hope.

So today we're celebrating a historic milestone for civilian nuclear energy and the incredible renaissance of nuclear power in America.

I want to thank Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum—they're fantastic, two incredible people—Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy Michael Kratsios, Director of the National Energy Dominance Council Jarrod Agen, U.S. Chief Technology Officer Ethan Klein, and Director of Idaho National Laboratory John Wagner.

Thank you very much for being here, everybody. It's a big day.

I also want to recognize and congratulate CEO of Antares Nuclear, Jordan Bramble; CEO of Valar Atomics, Isaiah Taylor; CEO of Deployable—not "deplorable." [ Laughter ]

Remember—remember Hillary? [ Laughter ] "Deplorable." Hopefully, your company is going to work out a little bit better.

Thank you, sir.

Deployable—good luck. Deployable Energy, Bobby Gallagher. And CEO of Aalo Atomics, Matt Loszak. Thank you all for being with us.

Last year, I signed four historic Executive orders to reignite a wave of progress in America's nuclear power production and promote this abundant, affordable, unlimited supply of energy for the American people.

As part of this effort, I directed Secretary of Energy Chris Wright to establish a pilot program for advanced reactors and see at least three cutting-edge reactors started up safely by the Fourth of July. And what we've done has been pretty much of a miracle.

Most believed the goal was impossible, but I'm delighted to say that four companies succeeded in meeting that deadline. Four of the greatest in the world at this subject.

So these are the first new privately funded advanced reactors to turn on the United States in over four decades. And making sure that these groundbreaking designs were safe to build and test so quickly was a challenge that required a historic partnership between these innovative companies and our administration.

We have brilliant nuclear people—we have a lot of brilliant people, but we have brilliant nuclear people on our staff.

In the past, it often took 6 years or more to approve a reactor design, if they were ever approved at all. Most of them didn't get approved, and maybe rightfully so.

But now America is building again. America is dreaming again. And we're leading the world in pioneering the next generation of nuclear power.

There's nobody even close. We've taken a lead over the last 2 years that has been, I hope, insurmountable. We'll see.

But let me ask Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy Michael Kratsios, who's been absolutely fantastic in the administration, to say a few words, followed by a few other people. Let's see, Chris Wright will go and Jordan Bramble and Isaiah Taylor, then Bobby Gallagher and Matt Loszak.

And if you could, don't spend too much time. [ Laughter ] That's a lot of people.

But go ahead. And do you want to start it off, Chris? Please.

We have Michael Kratsios first.

Sure.

Go ahead, Michael.

Mr. President, you signed a Executive—four Executive orders last year, and you set one of the most ambitious goals in civil nuclear history to essentially have three reactors go critical by the Fourth of July. This is an accomplishment that many thought would not be possible.

The last time that a privately funded new reactor design went critical was in 1974. So it was over, you know, 50 years ago. And we were able to achieve that and surpass it by having four, and these are the great four American companies that—they got it done.

That's great.

Go ahead, please.

In the last 30 or 40 years, the American nuclear industry has been quiescent. Most of the reactors built around the world have been built by Russia and China, both in their countries and abroad.

President Trump said: "Enough of that. America is going to be back as the leader in the nuclear space, in large reactors, and in next-generation small reactors." He set a bold goal. It's been exceeded. And I'm incredibly proud to be standing here with these fabulous entrepreneurs next to me.

And brilliant science people too, really.

Please, go ahead.

Mr. President, thank you so much for your leadership. It was really your Executive orders that catalyzed this nuclear renaissance. You know, when they first came out, people scoffed at them. They said it couldn't be done, and now there's not only three companies but four companies here that really met the moment.

Us, at Antares, we look forward to being a resilient energy source for Golden Dome to power high-powered assets in space and eventually undersea autonomy.

So this is a strategic technology for our Nation, and what we look forward to doing is putting reactors on our military installations before 2028.

That's great. Great job——

Thank you, sir.

——you're doing.

Okay. Please, go ahead.

And, Mr. President, thank you so much for your leadership in this moment. I think that the United States has been a leader in nuclear energy since the very beginning.

We were the first ever to turn on an advanced reactor in the world. We were all the—also the first to turn on any type of nuclear reactor in the world. But over the last 30 years, we became more interested in PowerPoint than in power plants, and it's your leadership that is changing that.

The Executive orders that were signed last year—I think if you look forward in 50 to 100 years when we are—when we have nuclear power of every kind that's allowing us to make steel again, to make aluminum again, to actually be able to go to outer space and all the places that humanity wants to go, you could trace it back to the Executive orders that started last year.

So we're honored to serve our country and be a part of this. And thank you again for your leadership.

Thank you. Great job.

Go ahead, please.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Thanks for setting such an audacious, bold goal. As some of the other CEOs have said, most people thought this was impossible, but the American spirit was unlocked through your vision and through the—you know, through the Department of Energy and the Secretary and through the INL and John's team.

We couldn't be more proud to be part of this moment. I do think this is going to be historic. I do think people are going to look back and believe that this is when the tide turned on nuclear and how we unlock cheap and abundant energy.

Well, thank you. It's a great job you're doing too, by the way.

Thank you, sir.

Anybody else that'd like to say——

Yes. One more. [ Laughter ]

Please, go ahead.

We cut it close, but we went critical at 12:20 a.m. on the Fourth of July.

Wow.

So thank you again so much for setting these Executive orders. Like everyone else said, we would not be here without those Executive orders. So thank you so much. And what it's unlocking for us is, this year we are going to be raising a billion dollars, moving into a million-square foot facility, and our target market is data centers. So we're making the ideal nuclear product to power——

That's right.

——AI data centers with bring-your-own power. That's our whole goal. So thank you once again for unlocking this, and we really, really cannot be here without you.

That's great. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.

You have anything to say?

Sure. Or—you want to go ahead?

No, no.

Go ahead. Please.

No, I would just say, I mean, this is exactly why you created the Energy Dominance Council, that you wanted to unlock new forms of energy. People ask us all the time about green energy. And I say, "If you want to invest in green energy, invest in nuclear." That's the kind of energy that's going to solve the energy demand that's out there. And that's baseload energy that's going to solve our solutions, and that's the energy of the future.

It's true. Thank you.

I would just add: We invented nuclear power in this country. At Idaho National Laboratory first demonstrated nuclear power in 1951.

After that, 52 different reactors were designed and tested there. But it's been—prior to the last couple of months, with these gentlemen, it has been more than 50 years since we had a new reactor go critical on our site. And I have to say that in all my years—and I've been around for a while—I've never seen Government, private industry, and the laboratories working together this effectively, and it's all driven by the bold goals in your Executive orders. So thank you, sir.

Thank you very much. Congratulations.

So, first of all, maybe you have some questions for the people behind me.

Please, go ahead.

Hi, Mr. President. I want to ask about the Saudi nuclear deal. This man over your shoulder announces a big deal after 18 months of negotiating——

Yes.

with the Saudis, seems like it's all done, it's signed. And then you come out, throw some new conditions on top of it, the whole thing blows up. So did he get out ahead of you? Or what happened there?

No, nobody got out ahead. I mean, I just say that, in order to do it, they have to be a member of the Abraham Accords, which have been very successful. But it's time now that they do it. They and others didn't want to do it because of the problem that they had with Iran. You don't have that problem anymore.

You don't have a great power there anymore. You have a problem, but the problem is disappearing day by day. They were the bully of the Middle East. They were—not going to be that much of a bully anymore. They'll probably, I think, instinctively want to be.

But you don't have the same problem that you would have had 4, 5 months ago before they had no navy, no military, no anti-aircraft, no leaders. I mean, their leaders are gone. A lot of things have changed with respect to that country.

So, no, we want them to—it's a two-way street. And we think it's very important for the future of the Middle East. The Abraham Accords have been incredibly successful the—for the countries, as you know—for the countries in them. And I think it's very important.

So, you know, at some point they'll join. They'll join, and they'll do their civil. That's really—I call it "civil nuclear," but that's what it is. No enrichment. It's civil nuclear.

I have a question about Iran. You're talking about blowing up civilian power plants and bridges. Much of the civilized world would consider that a war crime. Do you?

I won't respond to that question. Who are you with?

The New York Times.

Yes, I figured. The failing New York Times.

Yes, please.

Javier Negre from Real America's Voice en Español. I just came back from Venezuela, and people there are very happy with you——

Right.

with Secretary Marco Rubio, with Secretary Wright. As——

I have good poll numbers in Venezuela. [ Laughter ]

Yes.

It's actually pretty amazing.

I know some new plans for there, and they are amazing. I want to give you "thank you."

I want to ask you one question, because some people there, they're asking the fact: When will there be election? Do you have a date in mind? Senator Bernie Moreno say that July 24, 2027, could be a good day, in honor of Simón Bolívar.

And my second question is: The football player who scored Spain's goal in the final at World Cup, Ferran Torres, celebrate the victory wearing a "Make Spain Great Again" cap. The Communists are attacking him because they say that it's a friend of you, and also they are attacking Argentinian players because of Milei. What do you think about that?

Well, he's a great player, and he was wearing essentially a "Make America Great Again" cap, you know. So it was a nice tribute, and I think he meant that very nicely. We appreciate it. And we have—we've made America great. We have the greatest country in the world now.

We were—I will say this: We were—a year and a half ago, 2 years ago, this country was in deep trouble. We had borders that were a disaster. We had everything you could possibly have, including men playing in women's sports. Even the Supreme Court's taken care of most of that problem. But we had a country that was in big trouble. It was being laughed at all over the world.

We have the hottest country. This is the hottest country anywhere in the world.

So I saw him wearing the, essentially, "Make America Great Again" hat, and I know that he meant it as a very great compliment. And we appreciate it.

As far as the elections in Venezuela. They're not really ready for them yet, but, boy, a lot of progress has been made. Delcy has been doing a fantastic job, as you know.

The amount of—the amount of oil coming out of Venezuela right now—even before the big companies—you know, Exxon, all the big companies are looking at it. They're going there. It's very fertile territory. But the amount of money being made by Venezuela now is more than they've ever made before. And we're taking a lot also for our—you know, for our efforts.

And the money is being sent and the oil is being sent to Houston and Louisiana to be refined. And we've paid for the war many times over. It's been an amazing fact.

And as you say, you know, I'm very popular in Venezuela because we're bringing tremendous economics back to the country, and they were absolutely dying. They were in such trouble. And now Venezuela is becoming extremely successful.

They're taking in billions of dollars, selling millions and millions of barrels of oil, and we're getting some, and they're getting some, and everybody is making a lot. And it was dead before we got there.

So it's been a—it's been an incredible relationship. They're not ready yet for the elections, but at some point they will be, and we're going to be standing right on top of it.

Mr. President——

And say hello—say hello. I'm—I've known them—for a long time, I've known that country.

And you know, I owned the Miss Universe pageant, and Miss Venezuela always did very well in that pageant. [ Laughter ] So I know something about the country. But I've known it for a long time. They're great people. Say hello, okay?

Peter [Peter Doocy, Fox News].

About Iran. What is the exit strategy?

Well, I think there's a lot of them. There's a military exit where we just keep going just the way we are, and we can even make it a heavier dose, and it's knocking out everything they have. Or there's a smarter strategy, and that's: You make a deal. And they want to make a deal.

I just don't think they're ready yet, but they do want to make a deal. Sometimes they don't want to say they want to make a deal. They want to be the tough guys. But they do want to make a deal.

There's two ways. I mean, it's—you can just keep doing exactly what we're doing and take them apart piece by piece. We could do it in a more rapid fashion, which we might do. Or we can negotiate with them, which we're also doing right now. I mean, as we speak, we're talking to them.

And you said today that Russia and China are not helping. Earlier this week, the War Secretary, Hegseth, said that they are "enabling." So what is the difference?

Well, I don't know that they're enabling. I mean, I will tell you that President Xi said he will not partake, and President Putin said the same thing. I think—you know, I trust them.

Do they—they've had a long-term relationship. There could be some things they do. But thus far, at least, it has not been major. I don't think they'd want to have me disappointed.

And just about a different story, not Iran. There's this nasty parasite that is giving people in nine States explosive diarrhea. When is it going to be safe to eat lettuce again?

I don't know. I haven't thought about it. It's first time I've been asked that question. Are you eating lettuce recently? [ Laughter ]

I should always have more lettuce.

Because if you are, get the hell out of here, Peter. [ Laughter ]

No, it's a very interesting question from you. I didn't think you'd ask that kind of a question. Nobody wants to ask that question, but it's——

Well, it's——

Well, it's exciting.

There's this food coming in, I guess, from Mexico. It's tainted. It's making a lot of people sick. That is the CDC's terminology that I was using.

Well, I think—I think what we're going to do is we're going to put a major tariff on—[ laughter ]—Mexico because of the lettuce, and we're going to put a big tariff on Canada because of the smoke. All right? We'll get a—which would you rather have? The lettuce or the smoke?

I—the smoke——

I think I'll take the smoke.

I—yes, the smoke wrecked my daughter's swim meet.

Well, it's closed up a lot of countries. I've told Canada they have to do something about it. You know, we've never had this problem. All of a sudden, we have this problem with Canada. So we'll have to talk to them about that.

Jeff [Jeff Mason, Bloomberg News].

A follow-up on Iran. Thank you, sir. A follow-up on Iran, have you made a decision about the major strikes——

No——

that you're——

——I haven't.

referring to?

Okay. Should we expect to see major strikes this weekend?

Look, we're talking to them right now. I think they're getting more and more serious as the days go by, for maybe the obvious reason. But we are talking to them right now. We'll see.

Look, there are two ways. I consider that the smarter way, but the other is probably the easier way—doing what we're doing. And we can take that to a much higher level if we want to. You know, we're prepared to do that, as you know. We're locked and loaded. We're locked and loaded and ready to go, but we're talking to them. So I think while we're talking, we'll see what comes of it.

Mr. President——

And just a quick follow-up——

I believe—I believe, Jeff, they're very serious. They should be. We're very serious.

And when you say that you're talking, is it Mr. Kushner and Mr. Witkoff? Or who—who's involved in those talks?

Sort of everybody. J.D. and Marco and a lot of people are talking to them. A lot of people to talk to. It's a big deal.

But really, when you get right down to it, it's not very complex. They cannot have a nuclear weapon, you know? Very simple, actually. But it's a big deal. They cannot have a nuclear weapon. If they have even a thought of a nuclear weapon, we will just continue to go at much higher levels.

But we are talking right now, and we'll see what comes of it. I'm not—you know, despite what everyone says about the election, I'm not in a hurry. I'm not in a hurry. We have to do it right. Elections take care of themselves.

When you—you know, when I went into Venezuela, everybody was against it. "Oh, you—what are you doing going into Venezuela?" And then 2 days later, they said: "Wow. That's fantastic." A lot of people are saying that with Iran already, because it would take them 25 years to rebuild already from what they have.

And, again, as you know: No navy, no air force, no anti-aircraft, no radar, no nothing. And then we—as you know, we just put up—reinstituted the, I guess you could call—I call it the "iron wall on the water." Nothing gets through. Nothing. Blockade. Nothing gets through. And they sort of have to make a deal.

But we are talking to them. I think they're being serious. I think they are being, by far, the most serious that we've seen them. But that doesn't mean we get there. We'll see what happens. But I always prefer that alternative.

Mr. President, I have an energy question. So, Burgum, you might be able to help with this. So you have criticized windmills for quite a long time. They're very ugly. They're not—they're—they tend to use more energy than they actually produce.

That's true. That's very——

A lot of people in——

You've done your homework.

A lot of people in middle America, they are so tired of seeing them continue to go up on farmland and stuff like that. Is there any way to—is our Federal Government still funding in any way——

No, we——