Trump on France's decision to recognize the State of Palestine: It will change nothing

U.S. President Donald Trump answered questions from reporters at the White House before his visit to Scotland. Addressing the Epstein files, Trump stated that he is not currently considering pardoning or commuting the sentence of Ghislaine Maxwell, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for complicity with Epstein, saying, "I have the authority to do that, but I haven't thought about it."

When asked again whether the issue of a pardon was on the table, Trump replied, "I cannot talk about that right now. It is a very sensitive subject."

Speaking about Maxwell's meeting yesterday in Florida with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, U.S. President Trump said, "I don't know anything about the meeting. I just know it happened," and added regarding Blanche, who is also a former criminal defense attorney, "He is a great guy. He is an excellent lawyer."

"SOMEONE MAY HAVE WRITTEN A LETTER AND USED MY NAME"

Commenting on the Wall Street Journal report alleging that Trump sent an obscene letter to Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003, Donald Trump said, "I don't even know what they are talking about. Someone may have written a letter and used my name; this has happened very often." Trump said the media should turn its attention to former President Bill Clinton, who was among those reported to have sent letters to the birthday book.

"HAMAS DID NOT REALLY WANT TO MAKE A DEAL"

Touching on the ceasefire negotiations in the Gaza Strip, U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that Hamas did not want to make a deal regarding a ceasefire and hostage exchange in Gaza, saying, "They withdrew from Gaza. They withdrew in terms of negotiation. Unfortunately, Hamas did not really want to make a deal. Remember, we saved a large number of hostages. Now we have reached the last hostages, and they know what will happen after the last hostages are saved. Essentially, that is why they did not really want to make a deal."

Arguing that Hamas would not make a deal when the number of hostages dropped to 10 or 20, Trump said, "Because that means they have no protection left. And that is basically what happened; Hamas did not want to make a deal. Now they will have to fight, they will have to clean this up."

TRUMP'S REMARKS ON OBAMA

Speaking about the US Supreme Court's ruling last year that "presidents have immunity for official acts performed while in office," Donald Trump said he "helped" former President Barack Obama, whom he accused of orchestrating a conspiracy to undermine his own administration's first presidency. Claiming that Obama "committed criminal acts, there is no doubt about that," Trump stated, "But he has immunity, and that probably helps him a lot. He owes me a lot. Obama owes me a big favor."

Responding to a question about an episode of the US animated series South Park that targeted him, Trump said, "No, I have never watched South Park. I know nothing about South Park, I have never watched it."

Announcing that the US has contributed $60 million in aid to the Gaza Strip, Trump emphasized that they would do even more.

"50 PERCENT CHANCE OF REACHING A DEAL WITH THE EU"

Speaking about the possibility of reaching a trade deal with the European Union (EU) before the deadline for imposing customs duties, Trump said, "I think there is a 50 percent chance we will make a deal, maybe even less. But they want to make a deal very badly."

Having said earlier this week that he saw only a 25 percent chance of reaching a trade deal with Tokyo before signing an agreement with Japan, Donald Trump stated that the EU still has "a pretty good chance of making a deal." Emphasizing that the 27-member bloc must "lower customs tariffs" as part of the agreement, Trump said, "The biggest part of the Japan deal, maybe we can get that with the EU, maybe we can't, is that we have the right to go in and trade. To me, that is the most important part of the deal."

"THEY WILL PAY THE CUSTOMS DUTY"

Referring to the tariff letters sent to countries, Trump said, "Basically, it will mean this: You will pay 10 percent, you will pay 15 percent, maybe less, I don't know. When these letters are sent, it is a deal, it is over, they will pay that tariff." Trump also added that trade negotiations between the US and Canada had effectively stalled and that they were no longer focused on reaching a deal.

Trump stated that Australia had offered to lift its import ban on US beef, saying, "Clearly, they want to do something." Touching on tariff negotiations with China, Donald Trump noted that he had "the framework of a deal" with China.

Trump told reporters, "A lot of money is coming in from tariffs, so we think a small refund for people at certain income levels might be nice."

"WHAT MACRON SAID HAS NO IMPORTANCE"

Making a statement regarding France's decision to recognize a Palestinian state, Donald Trump said that the recognition decision would have no impact on the war and that this move was "meaningless." Regarding French President Emmanuel Macron, Trump said, "He is a very good person. I like him. He is almost a complete team player. But this statement has no weight. It will change nothing."

News Source: İHA