At a White House press briefing, Stephen Miller defended President Trump's comments about the price of dolls.
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00:00Thank you. Peter, we'll take a couple more questions.
00:04A couple questions on Doge, of course, because that's the topic that you're here to speak about.
00:07But I want to ask you one other question about the topic of prices.
00:09We heard from the President on this just yesterday right now,
00:11and prices and the risk that there could be some short-term, as he said, shortages.
00:15He was referring specifically to dolls.
00:17What do you tell Americans right now, Stephen, who say they can't afford to,
00:21in the President's words, be patient?
00:23Americans who voted for President Trump on his promise that he would lower prices across the board on day one.
00:30But he did lower prices across the board on day one.
00:33Well, grocery prices last month went up 0.4%, of course.
00:35So I mean across the board, not exclusively eggs.
00:37Inflation, as you would acknowledge, is down substantially.
00:41Gas prices are down substantially.
00:43The new GDP report showed a 22% record increase in investment in the United States of America.
00:49So all of the – and don't even – egg prices, of course,
00:52which was all you guys talked about for a few days, I think are down like 80%.
00:56The reality is that we can either surrender economically to China
01:00or we can reclaim and reshore our manufacturing base and our industrial needs.
01:06And it's not just China.
01:07In the event of any national emergency – this is the President's first duty as Commander-in-Chief.
01:11In the event of any national emergency, we cannot be reliant on foreign countries
01:16for steel, aluminum, energy, technology, any of the essential components that we need to keep this country running.
01:25He is fulfilling his duty as Commander-in-Chief that every president before him had failed to fulfill
01:32or even actively betrayed.
01:34And despite inheriting all of this, as I mentioned, inflation down, jobs up,
01:39and particularly, by the way, jobs for American workers.
01:41So for the first time you look at these jobs reports, the government workers are going down,
01:47which artificially, of course, increased previous job totals.
01:49The employment of non-citizens is going down.
01:53The employment of American citizens is exploding.
01:57Remember, all the job gains during the Biden administration, so-called gains, on net were for foreign workers.
02:03So if you look at the stock of American workers over his whole administration, they lost jobs on net.
02:08So if you're an American worker, you lived through four years of a Biden depression.
02:12That was the economic reality that now we are – that President Trump is rescuing.
02:17And, again, if you make your product in America, there's no tariff.
02:21And as we develop advanced manufacturing techniques, increased AI, increased robotics,
02:26it will be cheaper and cheaper and cheaper to manufacture in America.
02:29But to be clear, you said that prices have gone down across the board.
02:32The president himself acknowledges that on toys you may end up paying – on dolls he was referring to –
02:36you may end up paying a little bit more right now.
02:39So in terms of –
02:40He was making the point that I think almost every American consumer agrees with,
02:43but if they had a choice between a – and I'm a parent of young children –
02:47if they had a choice between a doll from China that might have, say, lead paint in it
02:52that is not as well constructed as a doll made in America
02:56that has a higher environmental and regulatory standard
03:00and that is made to a higher degree of quality.
03:03And those two products are both on Amazon that, yes,
03:05you probably would be willing to pay more for a better-made American product.
03:09But here's the key point – with the tax cuts, the regulation cuts, the energy price decrease
03:15and everything else that President Trump is doing to unleash this era of American prosperity
03:20and prevent the road we were on to get off that road of financial ruin and doom
03:26means that it will be cheaper than ever to make a manufacturer in America.
03:30I think that answers your question.
03:31One more.
03:32Steven, can I just –
03:33Steven, can I just –