Press Briefing by Press Secretary Sarah Sanders | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release:

    James S. Brady Press Briefing Room  •  July 2, 2018  •  4:11 P.M. EDT

    SANDERS: Good afternoon. This morning, the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Joint Terrorism Task Force announced the arrest of an Ohio man for providing material support to al Qaeda. On Sunday, the suspect explained to an undercover FBI agent that he was planning to conduct an attack in Cleveland on Independence Day, and a future terrorist attack in Philadelphia.

    President Trump commends the work of the DOJ and FBI for helping stop this would-be attacker.

    To continue the ongoing and important work of denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, Secretary Pompeo will be leaving for North Korea on July 5th to meet with the North Korean leader and his team. The State Department will release more details about his upcoming trip.

    One item that some of you may have missed last Wednesday in the midst of a busy news day was the confirmation hearing for VA Secretary Nominee Robert Wilkie.

    Mr. Wilkie has been twice confirmed by the Senate, most recently last fall by unanimous consent, for his current position as Undersecretary for Personnel and Readiness at the Department of Defense.

    During the hearing, Mr. Wilkie not only demonstrated that he has the leadership and experience to lead the VA; he also spoke in depth about how he shares the President's vision to put veterans first.

    Senators Isakson and Tester, the Committee Chairman and Ranking Member, respectively, have expressed their support. The White House expects the Senate to move quickly to confirm Robert Wilkie as the next VA secretary upon its return.

    And with that, I will take your questions.

    Kyra.

    Q Sarah, did you just call on me before my husband? (Laughter.)

    SANDERS: It's a tough battle.

    Q For the record, did you call on me before my husband?

    SANDERS: I did, for the record. Yeah, let the record show.

    Q Okay, does that mean the President will do "GMA Live" instead of "Fox and Friends"? (Laughter.)

    SANDERS: I'm not going to commit to that, but I will say I'll take a question.

    Q Yeah, you got it. Maybe two.

    Q Sarah, this is history. You realize that.

    SANDERS: Yeah.

    Q You realize this is history?

    SANDERS: I think this is a big moment, so I had to give it to the (inaudible).

    Q Understood.

    Q Now, if the President would tweet about it then it just changes the whole dynamic. All right, I digress.

    During the campaign, the President said, "I am pro-life and I will be appointing pro-life judges." Is the President still committed to appointing pro-life judges?

    SANDERS: As the President said last week, he's not going to talk to judges about specific cases. He's looking for individuals that have the right intellect, the right temperament, and that will uphold the constitution.

    Q Senator Susan Collins says that she wants a nominee that will respect precedent and that Roe v. Wade is settled law. Does the President agree that Roe v. Wade is settled law?

    SANDERS: Again, the President is not going to get into asking the candidates about specific cases, but he's looking for somebody that meets those qualifications that I just outlined.

    Go ahead, Major.

    Q Sarah, is there any concern the President has, based on - over the weekend - reports out of North Korea that it is either continuing on with its nuclear program, making efforts to enhance it, and in any way seeking to deceive this administration about its denuclearization intentions?

    SANDERS: We aren't going to confirm or deny any intelligence reports. What I can tell you is that we're continuing to make progress. Ambassador Kim had a meeting just yesterday with members of the North Korean delegation. And Secretary Pompeo, as I just mentioned, will be headed to North Korea later this week. And we're going to continue those conversations.

    Q When you say you're continuing to make progress, how can the public evaluate that progress? What's happened?

    SANDERS: Well, I think a number of things. One, in the last eight months you haven't seen missile launches. You haven't seen nuclear - you haven't seen the nuclear detonations. And again, these conversations are continuing to evolve. I'm not going to get into the details, but I can tell you that progress continues to be made.

    Dave.

    Q Thanks, Sarah. Who are the four judicial candidates that the President met today?

    SANDERS: Well, it wasn't me, so I can clear that up. I know you were really curious about that. Again, the President is being very thoughtful about this process. He's looking for certain characteristics, which we've outlined. And beyond that, I can tell you he met with four people today. The meetings lasted roughly 45 minutes. And he's going to continue -

    Q Each?

    SANDERS: Yes. And he's going to continue meetings through the rest of this week with a few other candidates.

    Q Can you comment on the CBS report today that judges Kavanaugh and Barrett are now at the top of his list?

    SANDERS: Again, I'm not going to get into any more of the process other than what the President stated.

    Matthew.

    Q Thank you, Sarah. The President last Thursday wrote on Twitter, "HOUSE REPUBLICANS SHOULD PASS THE STRONG BUT FAIR IMMIGRATION BILL, KNOWN AS GOODLATTE II, IN THEIR AFTERNOON VOTE TODAY..." And then on Sunday, he wrote on Twitter, "I never pushed the Republicans in the House to vote for the Immigration Bill, either GOODLATTE 1 or 2..." Why would the President lie about something like that?

    SANDERS: He didn't. The President has talked all along. We've laid out the priorities and the principles that we support that we wanted to see reflected in legislation. But at the same time, the President wasn't aggressively lobbying members because he knew that Democrats in the Senate still were unwilling to actually come to the table and focus on solutions rather than playing political games. We could have gotten it through the House, but that doesn't work if we can't get it through the Senate.

    And Democrats have made it abundantly clear that they don't actually want to fix problems; they just want to talk about this all the way - I guess, for some reason, they think this is a good issue for them, although it isn't. And, frankly, I think it's outrageous that Democrats have not come to the table and tried to help fix this problem.

    Margaret.

    Q Thank you, Sarah. There was a report that it's even kind of, maybe, on the table that President Trump would -

    SANDERS: Kind of, maybe? That sounds solid. (Laughs.)

    Q - invite Chairman Kim to New York around the U.N. And I just wanted to get on the record if you can put that in context for us. Number one, is that in play? Number two, it sounded - I mean, a number of conditions would have to be met, but is that really something he would consider doing (inaudible)?

    SANDERS: We don't have any announcements or plans to roll out at this point.

    Q And then, without getting into who all the four were, the President said that two of the five he's looking at for the Supreme Court, at least, are women. Were any of the people he met with today women?

    SANDERS: Again, I'm not going to get into those details.

    Jon.

    Q Thanks a lot, Sarah. Following up on that question, is this an important consideration for the President, getting a conservative woman on the U.S. Supreme Court?

    SANDERS: Again, the President would like to see somebody who meets the qualifications that I've laid out. And that's what he's focused on.

    Q And then just one more, Sarah, if I may, on trade. Canada responded to the steel and aluminum tariffs that the President has imposed already on imported steel and aluminum. What's the response from the White House, from the President, to that action by Canada?

    SANDERS: We've been very nice to Canada for many years, and they've taken advantage of that, particularly advantage of our farmers. And at the G7, the President actually proposed that they get rid of all tariffs and drop all barriers, and have really great trade. And they refused that. And escalating tariffs against the United States does nothing to help Canada, and it only hurts American workers.

    The President is working to fix the broken system, and he's going to continue pushing for that.

    Jordan.

    Q Thanks, Sarah. The National Security Advisor, John Bolton, appeared to leave the door open to the U.S. recognizing the Russian annexation of Crimea in his upcoming meeting with Vladimir Putin. Will you rule out the U.S. acknowledging that annexation? Or is that on the table?

    SANDERS: We do not recognize Russia's attempt to annex Crimea. We agree to disagree with Russia on that front. And our Crimea sanctions against Russia will remain in place until Russia returns the peninsula to the Ukraine.

    Q Would recognizing Crimea be a possibility in the future if Russia -

    SANDERS: I'm sorry?

    Q I said, would recognizing the annexation be on the table if Russia agrees to certain concessions?

    SANDERS: I'm not going to get into any negotiations at this point.

    Steve.

    Q Sarah, following up on North Korea, the President had declared on Twitter that there was no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea. And even putting aside these reports about the intelligence material, there's also commercial satellite imagery showing activity going on at these North Korean sites related to uranium processing, as well as the missile facilities. So does this administration believe that there is no longer a nuclear threat?

    Also, John Bolton yesterday, on "Face the Nation," said that the overwhelming bulk of the program could be dismantled within a year, while experts are saying it could take 10 to 15 years. So could we get a little bit of clarity on that, please?

    SANDERS: Again, we're continuing to make progress. We had good meetings yesterday. And as I said, the Secretary of State will be there later this week to continue those discussions. I'm not going to confirm or deny any of the intelligence reporting that's out there. And as far as the one-year timeline, Ambassador Bolton said if North Korea makes the decision to denuclearize, their ballistics programs could be dismantled in a year. There's great momentum right now for positive change, and we're moving together for further negotiations.

    Beyond that, I don't have anything for you.

    Q Sarah, on Friday, the President said that one of the topics up for discussion with President Putin would be elections and that we don't want election meddling. Does that mean he intends to raise the possibility of Russian interference in the midterm elections? And does he have any proposals or anything specific he would like to hear from President Putin about that?

    SANDERS: I'm not going to get ahead of the President's conversations. But we'll keep you guys posted and updated as things develop.

    Jill.

    Q Thanks, Sarah. I wanted to ask - firstly, the President said he'd spoken to the new President-elect of Mexico. Does the President believe that López Obrador's election is going to have any impact on NAFTA negotiations - improve or change the terms?

    SANDERS: They had a very positive and constructive first call. It lasted about a half hour. And they talked pretty extensively about trade and the willingness for both parties to come together to make a deal. And we're going to continue focusing on making sure we get a good deal for the United States.

    Q And then, just on a second topic, is the President worried, after his comments this morning, that Michael Cohen is going to flip? And has he considered at all paying Michael Cohen's legal fees?

    SANDERS: As you know, I'm not going to answer questions on this topic and would refer you to the President's outside counsel.