During a lengthy roundtable held at the White House, President Donald Trump and members of his cabinet provided updates on his administration’s crime and drug crackdown.
The president also took questions from the media on a range of topics.
Here’s some of what he said:
Military strikes: Trump insisted that he could continue to launch strikes against alleged drug traffickers without Congress first passing an official declaration of war. He also suggested his administration would soon begin targeting those deemed as cartel members within countries like Venezuela, in addition to continuing to strike alleged drug boats in international waters.
Rising tensions with Venezuela: He denied however that the US sent the American B-1 Lancer bomber that flew near the coast of Venezuela today. He noted though that America is “not happy with Venezuela for a lot of reasons,” citing drug trafficking and illegal immigration.
Crime crackdown: The president touted a federal court’s ruling that clears the way for his administration to deploy National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, saying demonstrations in the city are “like an insurrection,” despite reports to the contrary. Oregon, with Portland, is pushing for an appeals court to reconsider the ruling.
Defense of pardons: Trump defended his decision to pardon Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who pleaded guilty to a money laundering charge in 2023, telling CNN’s Kaitlan Collins he issued the pardon “at the request of a lot of very good people. He also said he was was “very proud” of his mass pardon of those charged with crimes related to the January 6 Capitol riot as he professed to be unaware that one man who received clemency was charged with threatening a top Democratic lawmaker.
Schiff probe: The president declined to weigh in on media reports that his administration has opened a probe into Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff over allegations of mortgage fraud, telling reporters, “I hope it’s true, but I don’t know anything.”
Ballroom project: Trump said he’s raised $350 million to fund construction of his new White House ballroom, more than he says he’ll need to complete the massive project that will go where the East Wing once stood.
CNN’s Donald Judd, Adam Cancryn, Avery Schmitz, Maureen Chowdhury, Natasha Bertrand, Kevin Liptak and Kit Maher contributed reporting.
