WASHINGTON — Walking out of the White House with Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday afternoon, President Donald J. Trump stopped on the South Lawn to tell reporters exactly where America stands: stronger, richer, and rebuilding its might. “We’re opening a big shipyard today. We’re opening really a lot of shipyards over the next year,” he said. “Our military is building like we’ve never built before. We have 17 different factories being built and munitions factories, and we’re doing very well.”
Then he turned to Iran, and the contrast could not be sharper. “Iran is doing very poorly. Their economy is gone. They have inflation of almost 300 percent. Their oil minister just quit,” the President said. Meanwhile, the oil is moving: “Tremendous amounts, millions of barrels of oil, has been delivered just over the last couple of days” through the Hormuz Strait, he said. “We’re getting it through at levels that were now even and sometimes exceeding prior to the war. And we’ve done very well.”
Asked whether the dollar has gotten too strong against the euro, he did not hesitate. “No, we have a very strong dollar. That’s because we’re doing well,” he said. “A strong dollar gives you a lot of life. And by the way, you know what a strong dollar does? Gives you no inflation.” He added: “We have numbers the likes of which our country has never had anything like we have right now. We’re building hundreds of factories and plants all over.”
On the midterms, the President said the momentum is real. “I think we’re going to do very well. I think that the rallies I’m doing are really changing around… I’m doing them every night,” he said. “This is the opening of a shipyard, but the rallies have changed things around. We’re letting people know what the Republicans have done, and it’s incredible. And prices are now coming way down. And oil, as soon as the war is over, which will be soon, will be coming way down.” He also cheered the Paramount and Warner Bros. merger: “It’s going to be a great company. They’re terrific people.”
Before boarding Marine One, the President waved to Gold Star families standing on the Truman Balcony after meeting with them inside. “That was the most beautiful meeting. These are the most incredible people,” he said, adding that he had invited them to see the new helipad, the new ballroom, and the new helicopter. Watch the Official White House video of Tuesday’s South Lawn departure.
