President Trump speaks to reporters in a Cabinet Room meeting with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.
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00:00I'm going to get a cap.
00:30Thank you very much.
00:55It's a real honor to have the highly respected, the great Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Norway with us today, who, as you know, has been doing a fantastic job and truly respected throughout the world as a leader.
01:11And thank you very much for being here.
01:12We appreciate it.
01:13And we're going to be having a meeting in the Oval Office in a little while where you'll be invited back and you can ask some questions.
01:22It's also a pleasure to have my friend who did such a good job at NATO, my great friend, right?
01:29So you really did.
01:32We started off, they had no money, and they ended up having a lot of money after we said, you got to pay, you got to pay up.
01:39But you did a fantastic job, and thank you very much.
01:42And I'm glad you're here.
01:44Glad we meet each other again under these circumstances.
01:47So we'll be meeting in a little while at the Oval Office, and if you have maybe one or two questions, we'll do it now.
01:55And after that, we'll go to the Oval.
01:59Mr. President, on Russia, do you still believe that Putin is serious about peace, given the events overnight in Ukraine?
02:05And if that bombing doesn't end, are you considering new sanctions on Russia?
02:09So we are thinking that very strongly that they both want peace, but they have to get to the table.
02:17We're waiting a long time.
02:18They have to get them to the table, and I think we're going to get peace.
02:22We want to save 5,000 young people.
02:24I used to say 2,500.
02:27I used to say 5,000.
02:30We have, Mr. Prime Minister, we have about 5,000 young people a week that are dying in that ridiculous war.
02:37And, you know, I started out because I didn't like all the money that we were paying, and then I realized how many people were dying.
02:45And that's by far the more important element right now.
02:48I'm saying we can save thousands of people.
02:51I don't like that it takes long at all, but I think they both want to make peace.
02:56I do believe so.
02:58There's a lot of hatred there.
02:59There's a lot of very bad blood, a lot of disgust.
03:02But I think we're going to – I hope we're going to get there, for the sake of a lot of young people that are dying.
03:08Mr. President, do you have a deadline for when the parliament –
03:11I have my own deadline.
03:13I have my own deadline, and we want it to be fast.
03:16And the Prime Minister is helping us.
03:18He wants it to be fast, too.
03:20And I think everybody in this – you know, at this time in NATO, they want to see this thing happen.
03:25And so we have a deadline, and after that, we have a – we're going to have a very much different attitude.
03:32But I think that there's a very good chance of getting done.
03:36What can Norway do to prove that they're an important ally to the U.S.?
03:40What can Norway do to do?
03:41Just keep doing what they're doing.
03:43We have a very good relationship with Norway.
03:46Great leader, great people.
03:48I know many of the people in Norway.
03:50And it's truly a – it's an incredible country.
03:53So all they have to do is keep doing what they're doing, I think, is probably the best answer I can give.
03:59Yes, sir.
04:00As we pointed out, the former Secretary General of NATO is here, Mr. Stoltenberg.
04:05How important is the NATO Defense Alliance, Mr. President?
04:09Is it sacrosanct from your perspective?
04:12Well, it's a very interesting question.
04:14It's certainly very important for Europe.
04:16And I think without us, it wouldn't be as – nearly as powerful.
04:20And as the former Secretary General, who did a great job, can tell you, we played – I played, when I was there – a very big role in making sure that NATO is funded by the 28 – at that time, they had 28 countries, including us.
04:38Because many of the countries weren't paid, and they ended up being paid, you would say.
04:43And the Secretary General was very nice about it, as far as I was concerned.
04:50Other presidents went in, they made a speech, and they left.
04:53And that kept going on.
04:55And, you know, in the meantime, they had no money.
04:57And the United States was paying far more than its fair share.
05:01You could say that they were paying – I actually said sometimes it looked like 100 percent, and it was unfair.
05:07And the two of us worked very well together, and we took care of the situation.
05:13There are some – I'm not sure, Mr. President.
05:16Yeah, please, go ahead.
05:16The region statistics are showing that the U.S. actually has a trade surplus with Norway.
05:23Are you going to be looking into that and see which of the countries are actually in a trade surplus?
05:29Yeah, well, with the United States, almost everybody has a surplus.
05:33But not to me.
05:34It's really an amazing – it's an amazing phenomenon.
05:37Now, there is a surplus of a couple of billion dollars, I think, you have with it.
05:41I congratulate you.
05:42That's very good.
05:43We've got to get a little bit of that for ourselves, maybe.
05:46But they do have a surplus.
05:48Norway has a surplus.
05:49Mr. President, in the current tariff situation, analysts have pointed out that the U.S. actually need allies.
06:00Do you consider Norway as a possible ally in this situation?
06:04I think Norway has always been an ally.
06:05They've been somebody we've been very close to, very friendly with.
06:08Maybe more so now with me than other people.
06:11But I think Norway has always been a great ally, yeah.
06:14Norway has been a friend.
06:16That's a very strange question, actually, because the U.S. is our lead ally, and we build on a relationship with which we will talk about now, Mr. President.
06:25But it's of high relevance, and I'm very happy that we have Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense.
06:30So this is a very strong tie.
06:32But it was a question about an ally in the tariff situation specifically.
06:37Tariff situation?
06:38Yes.
06:39Well, that's – we're talking about a little bit different subject then.
06:43We're talking about a different type of ally now.
06:46In this case, he would be very much inclined to be an ally of Norway because he wants to make the best business deal possible.
06:55And Norway and the Norwegians are great business people.
06:58They're great traders.
06:59They're great, very smart nation, very well-managed nation.
07:03It has been for a long time, and in particular now with this leadership.
07:08But we'll be talking about trade and other things, and I think we're going to come to a conclusion very quickly.
07:16Mr. President, Mr. Prime Minister, I was wondering whether you think that all of Trump for his efforts in Ukraine, and otherwise, deserves to be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
07:29Well, I salute President Trump for having been taking very important initiatives to get this conflict towards an end, which both parties deserve.
07:40We need to have a ceasefire, save lives, and move towards something which is more secure for Europe, for the people concerned.
07:49And on that we work together.
07:51And I look forward to, you know, going into some details because we are at the critical moment.
07:55But on that price, you know, that is a committee taking care of that, which is completely working on its own terms, and I cannot comment on that.
08:03Mr. President.
08:05But thank you very much for that question.
08:07Can I ask you the question on China?
08:07I like that question.
08:10Yeah, please.
08:10A question on China.
08:11Can you clarify with whom the U.S. is speaking with China?
08:14They're saying it's fake news that trade talks are happening.
08:18Well, they had a meeting this morning, so I can't tell you.
08:21It doesn't matter who they is.
08:22We may reveal it later, but they had meetings this morning, and we've been meeting with China.
08:29And so I think you have, Jeff, as usual, I think you have your reporting wrong.
08:34Thank you very much.
08:35We'll see you inside.
08:37Thank you, Pastor President.
08:40Everybody else.
08:43We're waiting for everybody.
08:45We're waiting for you to hear out.
08:47I would go.
08:50We'll all go together to know.
08:51I want to go skiing.
08:55I love Norway.
08:57I love Norway.
08:58It's beautiful.
09:00And beautiful people.
09:03Thanks, guys.