THE PRESIDENT: No, because I have great people, including these two. But I have great people. And it wouldn't make any difference in that sense. But I would like to be seeing what's going on. We want to get down there as soon as possible.
At the same time, I don't want to go down where we're interfering with the people - first responders, the FEMA people. I want them to focus on the storm, not me. So we'll probably look to Sunday or Monday to go down and meet with the governors, meet with everybody, and do what we have to do, like we did in North Carolina, South Carolina, where that worked out really well.
Now, they're going to get hit also. I mean, North Carolina and South Carolina are going to get a lot of water. Nothing like they had two weeks ago. But they're going to get a lot of water also, and that water is still draining out. So this is a pretty big problem. I really worry a little bit about South Carolina and North Carolina, from the standpoint they're already saturated, and they're going to get a reasonable hit. Right?
ADMINISTRATOR LONG: Right, yeah. They will, sir. You're going to see as much as eight - you know, possibly eight inches in isolated areas through South Carolina and North Carolina. And as I said, it's all about the rivers being able to process the water from Florence. And some of them haven't had the time to do that, so this doesn't help.
Q President Trump, should Saudi Arabia release the journalist (inaudible)?
THE PRESIDENT: I will have to take a look at it exactly. When you say release the journalist, who are you talking about?
Q They have imprisoned a journalist named (inaudible).
THE PRESIDENT: That I'd have to look into. I'm not familiar with it.
Q Can I ask you about Jamal Khashoggi?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes.
Q Are you concerned that he's dead? And do you hold the Saudi government responsible?
THE PRESIDENT: I would be certainly concerned. In fact, we have a call in to his wife.
Q Do you think he's dead, Mr. President?
THE PRESIDENT: His wife wrote us a letter, and addressed it to my wife and myself. And we're in contact with her now, and we want to bring her to the White House. It's a very sad situation. It's a very bad situation. And we want to get to the bottom of it.
Q Do you think he's dead, Mr. President?
THE PRESIDENT: I don't want to make - I don't want to say that. I hope he's not. I hope he's not.
Q Would you hold the Saudi government responsible?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I have to find out who did it. But people saw him go in but they didn't see him come out, as they understand it. And we're going to take a very serious look at it. It's a terrible thing.
Q Have you spoken to the Saudis?
THE PRESIDENT: I'd rather not say. But the answer is yes. (Laughter.)
Q Can you give us a sense of when his wife, fiancée, might be coming to the White House, and your message to her?
THE PRESIDENT: I would say fairly quickly. I would say fairly quickly. They're in touch. You may speak to First Lady's folks because they're in touch, and she'll be most likely coming to the White House. We'll work on it together. It's a terrible thing.
Q Lindsey Graham says there will be hell to pay if the Saudis are, in fact, responsible. Do you share that view?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, Lindsey can speak for himself. But this is a bad situation. We cannot let this happen to reporters, to anybody. We can't let this happen. And we're going to get the bottom of it. Okay? But you may want to speak to the First Lady's office about it.
Q Mr. President, who did you talk to in the Saudi government?
THE PRESIDENT: I'd rather not say, but at a very high level. The highest level. Let me say this: It's the highest level.
Q (Inaudible) last couple days about this?
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah. And more than once.
Q You had mentioned that you spoke with King Salman. So, I mean, the highest level -
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I do anyway. And I've always found him to be a fine man. We've had a very good relationship. I'm not happy about this. We have to see what happens. We have to see what happens. Nobody knows what happened yet. They don't know over there. But it's a very serious situation, and it's something we're taking very seriously. Okay?
Q Mr. President, several countries, like India and China, are planning to buy oil from Iran, even after the (inaudible). What is the message to those countries?
THE PRESIDENT: We'll take care of that. We'll take care of that.
Q There's a report out of Seoul today that the South Korean government is considering lifting some sanctions against - the South Korean government is considering lifting -
THE PRESIDENT: Well, they won't do it without our approval. They do nothing without our approval.
Q Have they been in contact with you?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. They do nothing without our approval.
Q President Trump, do you plan to release more people like Alice Johnson?
THE PRESIDENT: We'll talk to you about that later.
Q Are you any closer to picking a replacement for Ambassador Haley?
THE PRESIDENT: And, by the way, when we get - Alice Johnson is such a great person, such a great case. I'd like to find a lot of people like Alice Johnson. And there are a lot of people that are in a situation like that, and we are actively looking for those situations. She's a terrific woman. I've been watching her a lot. And what a great spokesman she is for that situation. And that's covering a lot of people. There are a lot of people like that that will unfortunately be locked up for many, many years. And there's no reason for it.
So we are looking for - we are actively looking for other situations exactly like that.
Q Would you consider Dina Powell the frontrunner to U.N. Ambassador?
THE PRESIDENT: No, but she's somebody we're talking to. We like Dina. Dina did great here. She then went back into the private sector for a while, but she always wanted to come back. She loves this administration. So we're certainly looking at Dina, and we're looking at others. There's some tremendously talented people. Nikki is going to be here until the end of the year. Nikki is our friend. She's been great. I want whoever it is to spend some time with Nikki before Nikki goes out and gets herself a job, and hopefully does - she's going to make a lot of money. And I think Nikki will come back in some form, too. But she's an extraordinary person, good person.
But we're looking at many people. Many people want that job.
Q Mr. President, any concern about the fact that she announced her departure before the midterms? Some here -
THE PRESIDENT: No, there's no good time. I mean, there will is no good time. She told me about this a long time ago. And, frankly, it's - you know, almost four weeks. So it's not that bad. No, I don't think so at all. I thought it was very elegantly done.
If she waited until after, then they'd say, "Oh, she..." You know, if we win, they'd say, why is she doing it. And if we lose, they'd say, oh, well that's obvious why she's doing it. Okay? So there's really no good time to do it.
But she and I had spoke at least six months ago. Maybe even a year ago we had conversations. She wanted to be here about two years. And I think the point really was, last week at the United Nations, she wanted to get through that and then go probably into the private sector for a while. And I'm sure she's going to come back into government because she's a terrific person.
Q What's the vetting process like, Mr. President? What are you looking for in your next -
THE PRESIDENT: Very strong vetting. But some of the people we've already vetted. Some of the people are with us. We're looking at people that were already with us. And we have some incredible talent in this administration. We have some great, great talent. And they've already been vetted. They were already approved.
Any other questions on this?
Q Mr. President, one more question. Last week, India signed an agreement with Russia to purchase the S-400 missile defense system -
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah, I know they did.
Q - $5.4 billion. Would CAATSA sanctions apply to India? Or are you planning to do (inaudible)?
THE PRESIDENT: India is going to find out, aren't they?
Q Are you planning to give them a waiver?
THE PRESIDENT: India will find out.
Q When?
THE PRESIDENT: You'll see. Sooner than you think.
Q Can I ask another question on this? You talked a lot about the size and the scope of it. Can you help us understand just how big it's going to be? Florence was a historic storm. Is it going to be bigger than Florence? How should we think about the size and the magnitude?
ADMINISTRATOR LONG: Well, for this area of the Florida Panhandle, it's going to be historic. I mean, this is the worst hit that they've had in recent history. You know, it's Cat 4 going in. What else can - what else can we say?
THE PRESIDENT: Very rare that you see a 4.
SECRETARY NIELSEN: That's about 150 miles per hour right now.
THE PRESIDENT: And these winds are - you know -
SECRETARY NIELSEN: I mean, this is a very serious storm.
THE PRESIDENT: - and much more in certain areas.
Q How many people are unable to evacuate? Is there an estimate?
THE PRESIDENT: Many. Many.
Q Like thousands?
THE PRESIDENT: You have poor people. It's very sad. And they are unable. More than we would like. More than we would like. And, you know, you have people that are stuck. They're just stuck there.
We're moving a lot of people out, but you have some people that don't want to go out. They own a home and they just don't want to go out. And you can't force them to go out.
But these are great people that - I love this area. I love it. There's something about the people in the area. And they will be okay. They are strong, smart, wonderful people. But you have certain sections where, really, you have pretty extreme poverty; you don't have money. And it's very hard for those people. But we're moving a lot out.
Q Do you have a message for those who are in the storm's path that haven't evacuated?
