President Donald Trump took part in an extended question-and-answer session with reporters Thursday at his New Jersey golf course Thursday, fielding inquiries on the Russian probe, North Korea, transgender troops and more.
Speaking before and after a meeting with Vice President Mike Pence, national security adviser H.R. McMaster and new White House chief of staff John Kelly, Trump took more than a dozen questions from the gathered press.
Here are some of the top quotes from the President’s back-and-forth with reporters.
1. “Maybe it wasn’t tough enough.” — Trump restated his ultimatum to North Korean leadership to stop threatening the US or “face fire and fury like the world has never seen.”
2. “We’ll see what happens.” — Trump declined to say whether he would rule out a preemptive military strike against North Korea, saying: “We don’t talk about that. We never do. I don’t talk about it.”
3. “I’m very thankful that he let go of a large number of people because now we have a smaller payroll. There’s no real reason for them to go back. I greatly appreciate the fact that we’ve been able to cut our payroll of the United States. We’re going to save a lot of money.” — Trump’s response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order that 755 US diplomats leave Russia.
4. “You know, they do that very seldom, so I was surprised to see it. I was very, very surprised to see it.” — Trump described his reaction to the news that the home of his one-time campaign manager Paul Manafort’s home had been raided by the FBI.
5. “We’re getting close. We’re getting very close.” — Trump said that his administration was getting close to an updated military strategy in Afghanistan.
6. “I haven’t given it any thought. I’ve been reading about it from you people. You say, ‘Oh, I’m going to dismiss him.’ No, I’m not dismissing anybody.” — Trump said he does not have any current plans to fire Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller, who’s investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
7. “I think I’m doing the military a great favor.” — Trump on his decision to ban transgender service members. “I have great respect for the community. I think I’ve had great support, or I’ve had great support from that community. I got a lot of votes,” he said. “But the transgender, the military’s working on it now … As you know, it’s been a very complicated issue for the military, it’s been a very confusing issue for the military, and I think I’m doing the military a great favor.”