Return to Transcripts main page
Isa Soares Tonight
Trump, Japanese PM Speak To Reporters At White House. Trump Meets with New Prime Minister of Japan Ishiba at the White House; Trump Expected to Slash 97 Percent of USAID Workforce; Democrats Push Back Against Moves to Dismantle USAID. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired February 07, 2025 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
ISA SOARES, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: Hello, and a warm welcome, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, a controversial week in Washington will likely end with
more executive orders. We are waiting for the U.S. President Donald Trump, as you can see there, to sign those documents at any moment. We'll bring
you that when it happens.
We are also waiting critically, and this is the shot that you are seeing right now on your screen. Mr. Trump has been welcoming and has welcomed
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to the White House, though we're likely to hear from them any moment now. Mr. Ishiba says he hopes to build
trust with America's President.
The two leaders are set to hold a joint news conference any moment now as you can see that room there in the White House starting to fill up. Take a
listen, though in the meantime, some of Trump's remarks from earlier today focused on NATO.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Europe is putting up much less money than us, much. NATO, Europe, call it whatever you want and we're
at probably $300 billion plus, and they're at probably -- the real number is $100 billion. That's a lot of money, but it's $200 billion less than us,
and there's an ocean in-between. They need it more than us. So, we're asking them to equalize and get even.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Let's get more from this. Let's get straight to CNN's Kevin Liptak, who joins us now from the White House. So, Kevin, give us a sense
of where we're likely to hear between these two leaders.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, certainly, I think President Trump has invited Prime Minister Ishiba here to the White House
to try and reaffirm the U.S. Japanese alliance. But I think that there are a lot of questions about exactly how he sees that partnership going
forward.
And certainly for Prime Minister Ishiba, he wants to get a better sense of what President Trump is thinking, for example, on trade. You know, you
haven't heard President Trump mention Japan when he's talking about tariffs, that's something I think the Japanese would like to see continue
going forward.
There's also questions about the U.S.-Japan security alliance. You know, during the last administration under Joe Biden, there was an incredible
amount of attention paid to Tokyo, whether it was trying to bolster ties between Japan and South Korea after the decades of animosity or trying to
reinvigorate the QUAD alliance, they really did view Tokyo as a linchpin of their strategy in Asia.
And I think the question now is whether President Trump places quite the same premium on that alliance or if he is looking to go in another
direction. Really, I think the thing that's hanging over this visit, and it is kind of interesting because you heard President Biden -- or I'm sorry,
President Trump mention it, is the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who developed quite a close and warm relationship with Trump when he was in
office the first time around.
He was kind of the one foreign leader who really sort of figured out how to deal with Trump from the get-go when he brought a set of gold-plated golf
clubs to Trump Tower before he was even sworn into office, and then throughout the first Trump presidency, he really did work extraordinarily
hard to try and put himself in front of Trump face-to-face every time he possibly could.
And now that Prime Minister Ishiba is in office, you do see him trying to sort of emulate the same thing. In fact, over the last two weeks in Tokyo,
he had been convening what was called Trump strategy council to try and sort of strategize about how to approach this most mercurial of American
Presidents.
You also heard them consulting with the widow of Shinzo Abe, Akie Abe who is here for the President's inauguration about three weeks ago. And so, you
see all of that coming together in this meeting today in the Oval Office.
SOARES: I would love to be a fly on the wall of that council to see what they say. Stay with us, thanks very much for that. Let me go to Hanako
Montgomery in Tokyo. And Hanako, we heard there from Kevin Liptak from the U.S. side, looking to see what the U.S. wants out of this. What does the
Prime Minister Ishiba want to get out of this relationship?
HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Isa, it's good to see you. Yes, I think the Japanese side is really looking to emphasize how
important the U.S.-Japan alliance is, not only for Japan, but also for the United States and for much of the entire world.
Of course, Japan and the U.S. have enjoyed really good relations over the past several decades. But as you heard Kevin describe there, Trump is known
to be quite mercurial. He is unpredictable, and there's really no way of knowing what he might say next.
[14:05:00]
I mean, we saw that earlier this week during his summit with the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, when he discussed his plans to create
Riviera in the Middle East out of Gaza, so on the Japanese side, there is some concern that he could do the very same thing again, that he could make
some unduly demands of Japan.
But I will say during that Q&A you saw right after their first initial part of the summit, you heard Ishiba talk about how he was close to Shinzo Abe
and how Donald Trump was able to really create a good relationship with Japan because of the former Japanese Prime Minister's actions. Also, as
Akie Abe visited Japan, I mean -- sorry, visited the United States, she is also seen as kind of a way for Japan and the U.S. to develop even better
relations.
And during this Q&A, Isa, Ishiba did say, and I want to quote here, Japan and the United States have an extremely close relationship today, and that
foundation was laid entirely during President Trump's first term by him and the late former Prime Minister Abe. So again, really just emphasizing how
important Abe was to the U.S.-Japan alliance.
But of course, now, Ishiba must take on the helm. He must be the one to develop the relationship even further, and to make sure that the stable
relationship continues for many years further and further. Now, also during this short Q&A we saw, they discussed tariffs, and Ishiba said that it's
important that the arrangement benefits both sides.
So again, there is some concern on the Japanese side that Trump could potentially slap tariffs on the country, as he's done with other major
trading partners. But Ishiba did point out that Japan is the top investor in the United States for the past five consecutive years. So, really just
emphasizing how crucial Japan is to the United States.
Also, I will say that a senior Japanese official also told me that he believes that this meeting will really be key to deepening their
understanding of each other, and hopefully will be essentially a building block for the next step in their relationship. Isa?
SOARES: Hanako Montgomery for us in Tokyo. What a treat. Thanks very much, great to see you, Hanako. And of course, as soon as we have that press
conference gets underway, do we have the images to show our viewers? We will, of course, bring that to you. The podiums are set up, the room is
starting to fill up, of course, as soon as it gets underway, we will bring that to you.
So, do stay right here for that. Meantime -- and staying in the United States, President Trump's efforts to dismantle the U.S. agency for
international development are moving at a quite frenetic pace. Nearly 10,000 workers are bracing to be put on administrative leave or be fired by
the end of the day, and that is about 97 percent of the humanitarian agency global workforce.
We're told fewer than 300 are deemed essential and expected to survive the mass layoffs. A pair of labor groups representing USAID employees have
sued, but it's unclear if a federal court will intervene before the day ends. Critics say USAID programs are wasteful and promote a liberal agenda.
But former USAID Administrator Samantha Power says it serves a critical purpose. Here's what she told our Anderson Cooper.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAMANTHA POWER, FORMER USAID ADMINISTRATOR: If we did this to military families, just summarily told them to pack their bags and leave a place
that they had been deployed, there would be broad bipartisan outrage. And that is what we are doing to public servants who have also given their
lives serving alongside our military in really hazardous places. This is no way to treat public servants, and it is no way to advance America's
interests.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Let's get more now from CNN chief national security correspondent Alex Marquardt. And Alex, I might have to interject, of course, we see this
press conference from the President and Prime Minister Ishiba. But first, give us a sense, give our viewers a sense as this deadline of course,
approaches what you are hearing from these USAID staffers.
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, this deadline is essentially a foregone conclusion that at midnight tonight,
that almost the entire USAID workforce of what they called direct hires. So, these are U.S. government employees as opposed to contractors will be
put on administrative leave.
My colleagues and I have spoken to a lot of USAID officials, both here in Washington and around the world. And the sense that we are getting is that
some 300 USAID staffers will be kept on because they have been deemed essential. Now, we do have an administration source that is claiming that
the number is actually double, that, it's closer to 600.
We have some indications that perhaps more people are being added to this list of essential personnel. But Isa, as you pointed out, this is a global
workforce of around 10,000 people. So, even if it goes up to about 600, that is still a fraction of the overall workforce. We've heard stories from
USAID officials around the world who say that there could be as few as one diplomat or one official remaining in each of these stations.
So, projects are grinding to a halt. There's all kinds of concern, not just for the officials themselves who have now essentially been ordered to come
home, but of course, the people who they have been serving, the local staffers on the ground.
[14:10:00]
And so, that's why we have this lawsuit that has been filed on behalf of USAID staffers by these two labor groups filed in federal court here in
Washington D.C. There's a hearing in just about an hour to try to put a stop to what they call this illegal slashing, gutting of USAID. We've heard
of that a lot from members of Congress as well, Democratic members of Congress who say what's being done here is illegal because USAID status as
an independent agency was created by Congress.
It can only be changed by Congress. It's very unclear what exactly a court could do to try to stop this, but what we're hearing is a lot of despair
from USAID officials today. Isa?
SOARES: I can only imagine, Alex, appreciate it, thank you very much. And we want to stay with USAID and really, the global perspective that Alex was
talking about there. Sub-Saharan Africa could suffer more than any other region during the USAID pause, the U.S. gave the region more than $6.5
billion in humanitarian assistance last year.
Our Larry Madowo joins me now from Kampala in Uganda. And Larry, just for perspective, you know, we know the U.S. oversea aids makes up just over 1
percent, I think it's 1.2 percent of U.S. federal spending. But speak to the impact that it has on countries like Kenya.
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That 1 percent makes a huge difference all across the continent. About a third of USAID funding in 2023 came to
Africa. The top nine countries or so, each got about a billion dollars. Here in Uganda, for instance, USAID is the largest donor to the
humanitarian health sectors. It keeps a lot of people alive.
More than a million people who are on antiretroviral therapy, so these are HIV patients that need regular drugs to keep them alive. And all of these
got-funding from USAID to do so. A lot of them can't afford it especially for the rest of their lives. And we've met some of them who are distraught.
They're distressed about the possibility that they could not have drugs. Some of them already running out, and they just can't imagine a future
where their lives depend on their ability to get drugs. The Ugandan government being able to afford that or some other partners stepping in,
and that's just one case here.
There are so many others who are staff members or direct hires of USAID in Uganda or across the African continent, or contractors who don't know what
their future is going to be, Isa.
SOARES: Larry Madowo there, he has a --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WINNIE BYANYIMA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, UNAIDS: Profits. They make money, the AID connects them to markets, and markets benefit American companies and
American jobs are created at home.
MADOWO: So, USAID is not just charity to African countries?
BYANYIMA: No, it's mutually beneficial. One country has been shouldering quite a big part of the global response, but the solution is not to cut and
go right away, but to put countries on notice, to work with them, to move towards self-sufficiency.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MADOWO: And Dr. Winnie --
SOARES: There are --
MADOWO: U.N.'s global response to the AIDS epidemic. So, she knows what she's talking about. A lot of Americans depend on USAID, but it also keeps
a lot of people alive around the world. Isa.
SOARES: Larry, appreciate it. Larry there from Kampala, thank you very much. Well, Elon Musk has led the Trump administration's push to lay off
nearly all of USAID's workforce. But Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE, have not stopped there. They have encouraged
federal workers to resign, offering buyouts to staff at the CIA and NSA, among others.
They have moved to shut down diversity efforts and end program -- support programs for transgender people, and they have tried to stop certain
payments from the Treasury Department. All of this has sparked protests across the country this week with Americans taking to the streets from
Minnesota to South Carolina.
Then back in Washington, Democrats also piled on the criticism, questioning Musk's role as an unelected official.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ED MARKEY (D-MA): The courts, if they interpret the constitution correctly, are going to stop Musk, are going to stop Trump.
SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): Elon Musk is running our foreign policy today. He's running his foreign policy in order to enhance his personal financial
interests.
REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): We don't have a fourth branch of government called Elon Musk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Meanwhile, Republicans have come to the billionaires defense, arguing its business as usual.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE TURNER (R-OH): I believe there are checks and balances in place. It's not as if like, you know, the bank vault door is open and Elon Musk is
sitting in there as the "Wizard of Oz".
REP. BRANDON GILL (R-TX): I've been talking to my constituents for months and months and months about Elon Musk coming in, having a serious business
person coming in and using his team to go through the federal budget with a fine tooth comb. There is nothing that's surprising about what's happening
right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[14:15:00]
SOARES: Well, my next guest has called Musk's action an illegal power-grab and warned the USAID shutdown is just a test case for what may come.
Joining me now is Senate Democrat Chris Van Hollen from Maryland. And Senator, really appreciate you being with us, apologies in advance if I
have to interject. We are waiting to hear from Prime Minister Ishiba of Japan and from President Trump.
But let me just ask you for your reaction to what we have been seeing out of Washington, and this -- and this administration just plowing forward
with plans to purge the federal government, as we heard there from our correspondent, so many employees facing fear and uncertainty this hour.
SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D-MD): Well, Isa, this is an illegal power-grab because the President does not have the authority to take these actions by
executive order, and he can't just hand over the keys to the government, to Elon Musk. And so, that's why you're seeing this flood of litigation
including the case that you mentioned, filed last night against their illegal actions at the agency for international development.
If the President and Elon Musk want to reform a government agency like AID, they can come to Congress, they can make the proposals they want, but they
can't just put it in the wood chipper -- wood chipper as Elon Musk has said.
SOARES: And why he may not have the authority, Senator, we heard President Trump, I think it was earlier this week saying he doesn't need Congress to
scrap USAID, and Republicans, it seems, seem to agree with him, with many saying that USAID was created by executive order, so it can be undone by
executive. Your thoughts on that, senator?
VAN HOLLEN: Well, actually, while it was originally created by executive order, it was later ensconced into federal law. So, they're just wrong
about that. In addition, Congress in a duly-elect -- in the process of both Houses of Congress have enacted laws providing funding for AID. And the
President can't just come along and say, I'm not going to spend that money.
That's in violation of what we call the Anti-Empowerment Act, right? Presidents don't get to pick what laws they're going to follow and which
they want to ignore. We've had that debate in this country before. So, in addition to the huge damage that's being done across our country to
communities and across the world, the reality is the courts are going to be stepping in. They've already issued temporary --
SOARES: Yes --
VAN HOLLEN: Restraining orders against some of his domestic activities, and I very much hope that today, they will issue them with respect to AID's
actions -- the actions of AID --
SOARES: Yes, and we are seeing checks and balances in place, as you said in the -- in the last few days. But, you know, the man leading this
dramatic slash of the federal government is, as we mentioned, is Elon Musk. Viewers, many people here know right around the world who he is, a man who
is not worth reminding our viewers, not an elected official, federal employee, and who hasn't even been approved by the Senate to a leadership
role.
And this week, senator, a leading -- anonymous, pardon me, White House official told the "New York Times" that Elon Musk, quote, I want to quote
him here, "was widely seen as operating with a level of autonomy that almost no one can control." So, senator, who can control Elon Musk? What
can the Democrats do at this point?
VAN HOLLEN: Well, there's also a lawsuit that goes directly at the question of whether he has the authority to take on these responsibilities
the way they did it. And I think that was illegal as well the way it's set up. Look, we just need to point out that this is really the most corrupt
bargain in American history.
So, Elon Musk spent $280 million to help Donald Trump get elected. And now Donald Trump has handed Elon Musk the keys to the United States government
to gather information, including sensitive information, at the Treasury Department information on people's Social Security, information on banking
accounts.
And really doing this to empower himself and the billionaires, frankly, who were standing behind Donald Trump during his inauguration. So, this is a
great betrayal by Donald Trump of what he promised during the campaign. He said he'd look out for the regular people, and all he's doing is looking
out for the Elon Musks of the world.
SOARES: And as you were talking, senator, I want just to draw our attention if we can bring those live pictures up from Washington, where
maintenance workers are putting signs up over USAID just right there. That gives you a sense, really, of the mood right now in Washington.
And staying in Washington this week, we also saw senator, protests across America against Trump and Musk, and many people have been asking, I've had
these questions also try to be answered this week on my show. Where are the Democrats here? What can you realistically do with the GOP and the majority
in both Houses, Senator?
[14:20:00]
VAN HOLLEN: Well, we can do a number of things. One is, we can continue to raise the alarm and protest. I led a group of members of Congress along
with Don Beyer, to the AID building to try to get in to essentially insist that we be allowed into that building. Elon Musk stopped us. We are using
the powers we have in the United States Senate to try to slow down the work and stop the nominations.
But the first line of defense are the courts in the United States. That's the fastest way to get relief. So, I have spent a lot of time on the phone
with lawyers over the last week supporting their efforts.
SOARES: Senator, I'm going to have to interrupt you and apologies. The President of the United States and Prime Minister Ishiba are about to
speak.
TRUMP: Thank you very much. It's a great honor to be with the Prime Minister. We had a picture taken a little while ago, and it was so nice, I
thought I present it to you on stage, and here's the picture.
(APPLAUSE)
I wish I was as handsome as him, but I'm not.
SHIGERU ISHIBA, PRIME MINISTER, JAPAN: Thank you. OK, thank you, oh --
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Remember that day? Thank you very much, everybody. Appreciate it. I'm delighted to welcome Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru to the
White House for the first time. And Prime Minister, it's an honor to have you with us, a great honor. Japan is a great country. Thank you very much.
Japan is strong and proud. It's a nation that is home to one of the great civilizations in the history of the world. For nearly 80 years, the
American-Japanese people have enjoyed a friendship like few others. We've had a great friendship across the vast ocean, and we found ourselves united
by bonds of history, commerce, culture, mutual admiration and great respect.
After our meeting today, I'm confident that the cherished alliances between our two countries and others also will continue to flourish long and into
the future. The military cooperation between the United States and Japan is one of our closest security partnerships, and it's one of the closest we
have anywhere in the world.
Our service members work together every day to defend our common interests. Japan is committed to double its defense spending by 2027 compared to my
first term, they've invested a lot of money -- because of my first term, we worked on that very hard with Shinzo, you know, the great Shinzo Abe, and
we look forward to seeing even more.
So, Shinzo and I worked very long and hard, and those numbers are very reflective after my first term. And now they're going up very substantially
based on our conversations today. In addition to being vital for our shared security, Japan is one of the top purchasers of U.S. military exports and
equipment, and I'm pleased to say that this week, my administration approved nearly a billion dollars in foreign military sales to Tokyo.
The United States is totally committed to the security of Japan. We will extend the full strength of American deterrence, capabilities in defense of
our friend and ally, 100 percent. In the years to come, the Prime Minister and I will be working closely together to maintain peace and security. And
I also say peace through strength and all over the Indo-Pacific.
And to that end, we also remain committed to the effort I began in my first term to ensure safety and stability on the Korean peninsula. Prime Minister
Ishiba and I spoke long and hard about a vital economic relationship between our two countries and the continuance of that relationship.
The United States and Japan trade over $300 billion in goods and services each year. Japan has invested nearly $800 billion, and that's going to go
up very substantially in the coming months, more than any other country. And they're going to have some competition. We have a lot of people coming
in and investing in the United States.
I think our -- the feeling throughout the world has never been stronger about this country. As a result of our victory in 2024, the presidential
election, the Japanese investment and technology giant Softbank announced plans to invest between $100 billion and $200 billion.
[14:25:00]
And we have many other companies investing that number higher than that number, some a little bit less. But we have trillions of dollars of
investment pouring into our country now that you didn't have just a short while ago. Today, our teams discussed how our two nations can do even more
to stay on the cutting edge of artificial intelligence, along with the quantum computing, semiconductors and other critical technologies.
And they're coming out. The problem with technology, that kind, it's an obsolete in about two days. So, we have to start all over again. Doesn't
last long. We agreed to cooperate even more closely to combat the Chinese economic aggression, which is quite aggressive. I'm also pleased to
announce that Japan will soon begin importing historic new shipments of clean American liquefied natural gas in record numbers. It will be record
numbers.
With our Secretary of the Interior, we were talking -- I think Doug is here, hello, Doug, please stand up, Doug. Doug Burgum, everybody. We were
talking about the pipeline in Alaska, which is the closest point of major oil and gas to Japan by far, less than half the distance of any other
location.
We're talking about a joint venture of some type between Japan and us, having to do with Alaska oil and gas, and that's very exciting. They're
very excited about it, so are we. As we deepen our economic relationship, I made clear that the United States will be conducting trade with all
countries based on the principle of fairness and reciprocity, chronic trade deficits not only undermine our economy, they really do.
And we're going to get rid of the trade, we have a trade deficit with Japan of over a $100 billion. But we're going to work that out, and I think very
quickly, frankly, we can do it just on oil and gas. We can work it out. So, we intend to do it very quickly. We both understand that. And as America
welcomes new foreign investment, we also want to ensure that companies build their products and factories here in America, not simply buy the
assets that we have.
And Japan is going to be opening up auto plants, new auto plants are being built currently as we -- as we speak. They've just been started. Toyota is
one and Nissan is going to be doing something very exciting about U.S. steel. They'll be looking at an investment rather than a purchase.
So, we didn't like the idea, U.S. Steel is a very important company to us. It was the greatest company in the world for 15 years, many years ago, 80
years ago, and we didn't want to see that leave, and it wouldn't actually leave. But the concept psychologically not good. So, they've agreed to
invest heavily in U.S. Steel as opposed to own it.
And that sounds very exciting, and we're going to meet with Nissan next week, the head of Nissan, very great company, and they'll work out the
details. I'll help. I'll be here to mediate and arbitrate. Then I had the privilege of working closely with the great Prime Minister, as you know,
and you knew him very well, Shinzo Abe, the longest-serving Prime Minister in Japan's history.
Likewise, I expect that this Prime Minister is going to be a great one. I really believe that he's going to be a great one. I've gotten to know him
for not long, but I can see what they have. He's got -- he's got -- he's got the qualities of greatness. He's going to do a fantastic job for Japan
and for the Japanese people.
And I'd like now to invite the Prime Minister to say a few words, and then we'll take some questions. Mr. Prime Minister, thank you. Thank you very
much.
(APPLAUSE)
ISHIBA (through translator): Mr. President Trump, I would like to sincerely thank you for inviting me to the White House today, immediately
following your inauguration. I also thank you for your very warm hospitality. I have come to Washington D.C. with the hope of having a face-
to-face meeting and deepening our mutual understanding at this early date with President Trump, who is now leading the United States.
The most important country for Japan's diplomacy and security, and aligning our perspectives and visions that Japan and the United States should
pursue. What should we do to advance the national interests of both of our countries in synergy, and to realize peace and prosperity in the Indo-
Pacific?
I am convinced that the answer lies in further strengthening the strong and unwavering Japan-U.S. alliance to achieve a free and open Indo-Pacific.
President and I concurred to strengthen the deterrence and response capabilities of the alliance and to work closely in addressing strategic
challenges that both countries are facing in this region.
I conveyed to the President that Japan, as an ally of the United States, is ready to share responsibilities and to play its own role. I also reiterated
Japan's unwavering commitment to fundamentally reinforcing its defense capabilities and we confirmed the unwavering commitment by the United
States to the defense of Japan.
We reaffirmed that Article 5 of the Japan-U.S. Treaty of Mutual Corporation and Security applies to the Senkaku Islands. With half of the world's
population in approximately 60 percent of the world's GDP, the Indo-Pacific serves as the engine of growth and vitality for Japan, the United States,
and the world.
The President and I also concurred that the United States and Japan will make further efforts in a wide range of areas working hand in hand together
to realize the free and open Indo-Pacific. In this context, we also concurred to further advance cooperation of the multi-layered networks of
the like-minded countries, including the quad and trilateral cooperation with the Republic of Korea and the Philippines.
We also discussed Japan-United States cooperation to bring about growth and prosperity, economic cooperation, including on economic security, is
important from the perspective of strengthening alliance cooperation. Japan is the closest economic partner of the United States and has been the
world's largest investor in the United States for five consecutive years.
Also, with the inauguration of President Trump, the momentum for Japanese companies to invest in the United States is growing even stronger. Today, I
conveyed my willingness to cooperate together to elevate Japan's investment in the United States to an unprecedented amount of $1 trillion.
President Trump and myself also concurred to elevate the Japan-U.S. partnership to an even higher level through improving business environment
and increasing bilateral investment in employment, strengthening each other's industries, leading the world in developing advanced technologies
such as A.I., and leading edge semiconductors and strongly promoting efforts to harness the energy of the growing market in the Indo-Pacific
region.
We also confirmed that we will cooperate to strengthen energy security between the two countries, including increasing exports of the United
States liquefied natural gas to Japan in a mutually beneficial manner regarding foreign exchange. As in the first Trump administration, close
discussions will continue between Japanese and the U.S. finance ministers who are experts in this field.
We also held candid discussions on challenges that the Indo-Pacific region is facing. We confirmed that we are resolved not to allow unilateral
attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion and to oppose such attempts in the East and South China Seas in order to fully defend a free
and open Indo-Pacific.
We also reiterated the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. Regarding North Korea, we affirmed the need to address its nuclear
and missile program, which poses a serious threat to Japan, the U.S. and beyond, and that Japan and the U.S. will work together toward the complete
denuclearization of North Korea.
As the abductees and their families continue to age, I conveyed my strong sense of urgency and determination directly to President Trump and gained
his renewed strong support for the immediate resolution of the abductions issue. While this was my first face-to-face meeting with President Trump,
we were able to openly and frankly exchange views, and our meeting turned out to be very productive and meaningful.
[14:35:06]
As a result of today's meeting, which marked a new departure for the Japan- U.S. relations, we are issuing a Japan-U.S. joint leader statement. This document will serve as a compass for further cooperation between our two
countries. On the basis of these deliverables, I look forward to working together with President Trump who I respect immensely to usher in a new
golden age of Japan-U.S. relations.
I look forward to welcoming you to Japan. And I am very excited about that prospect. Thank you, Mr. President.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you. Thank you. Any questions, please? Peter?
PETER DOOCY, CORRESPONDENT, FOX NEWS CHANNEL: Peter President Trump, I have two. Elon Musk today, I love Donald Trump as a straight man and love
another man. What does the First Lady think of it?
TRUMP: Oh, I think she'll be OK with it somehow.
DOOCY: So, Democratic lawmakers are really upset. They still -- engineers have access to these Treasury's (INAUDIBLE) systems They're saying that
these systems are used to disperse millions of dollars each year in continuing everyday Americans' personal information like Social Security
numbers, all the addresses, bank accounts. Why does DOGE need all of that?
TRUMP: Well, it doesn't, but they get it very easily. I mean we don't have very good security in our country, and they get it very easily. And what
we're doing, if you look at what has just taken place with respect to some of the investments that have been made on another agency that people have
been talking about for years but nobody did anything about it, it's absolutely obscene, dangerous, bad, very costly.
I mean, virtually every investment made is a con job. There's nothing of value to anybody unless there's a kickback scheme going on, which is
possible. And we're going to be doing more and more of that. We're going to be looking at Department of Education. We're going to be looking at even
our military. We're going to be looking at tremendous amounts of money, Peter, being spent on things that bear no relationship to anything that
have no value.
We're talking about trillions of dollars. It will be in the end trillions of dollars being absolutely wasted and perhaps illegally. I would say
certainly in many cases illegally, but perhaps illegally overall. And I'm very proud of the job that this group of young people, generally young
people, but very smart people, they're doing. They're doing it at my insistence. It would be a lot easier not to do it, but we have to take some
of these things apart to find the corruption. We found tremendous corruption.
DOOCY: You mentioned the Department of Education (INAUDIBLE) Democratic lawmakers trying to get into the Department of Education earlier today.
TRUMP: Oh, I see the same ones. I see Maxine Waters, a low life. I see, you know, all these people. They don't -- they don't love our country. They
don't love our country. We want great education. So, they rank 40 countries in education. We're ranked dead last, dead last. But the good news is we're
number one in one category. You know what that is? Cost per pupil.
We spend more per pupil than any other country in the world. You look at Norway, Denmark, Sweden, various countries all up and down -- Finland,
China does very well in education, and then you look at us. We spend much more money than they do per pupil, or any other way -- but we spend much
more money than they do, and yet we're ranked this year -- Biden's last year, congratulations, Joe. We're ranked dead last.
So, what I want to see is education -- number one, I like choice. We all like choice. But beyond choice, long beyond choice, I want to see you go
back to the states where great states that do so well have no debt, they're operated brilliantly. They'll be as good as Norway or Denmark or Sweden or
any of the other highly ranked countries.
They'll probably have 30 -- I figure 35 to 38 states will be right at the top, and the rest will come along. They'll have to come along
competitively. And by the way, we'll be spending a lot less money, and we'll have great education.
DOOCY: As far as DOGE's cost-cutting effort, one of the DOGE's engineers was fired for some inappropriate posts, the vice president says, bring him
back. What do you say?
TRUMP: Well, I don't know about the particular thing, but if the Vice President said that -- did you say that? I'm with the Vice President. Thank
you, Peter.
Yes, go ahead, please. Yes, red dress.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you so much, Mr. President. Just how strong do you want Japan's military to be? And do you specifically hope that their
increased military spending will deter China and North Korea? What did you talk about that?
[14:40:11]
TRUMP: Well, I want our military to be the strongest. I also don't mind spending so much money on the military because we built it here. It's made
in the USA. All made in the USA. We have -- you know, I rebuilt our military during my first term. We did a great job. We left some of it
behind in Afghanistan, stupidly. There was no reason for that, but it was still as much as it was. It was billions and billions of dollars, but it
was a small part of it.
But we're going to have the strongest military by far. We have great people. I want to congratulate Pete Hegseth for having gone through the
gauntlet. He went through a lot, but he got through, and he's going to be a tremendous -- I have no doubt he's going to be a tremendous leader. And
other of the leaders sitting here, they're -- in their own fields, they're going to -- we're going to do something very, very, very great, and we
expect great things.
But I expect the strongest military by far in the world, far stronger than China, far stronger than anybody. And that's the way it is. Thank you very
much.
Would you like to ask a question, please? Go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Mr. President.
TRUMP: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Hiramoto from Nipon Television. My question is - - two -- let me ask a two quick question.
TRUMP: Sure.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First, this is the first meeting between Mr. President and Prime Minister Ishiba. So, what kind of impression do you have on him?
And number two, do you have an idea or do you have a prong to impose tariff against Japan so far? Thank you.
TRUMP: I think that he is going to be a great Prime Minister. I think he's a very strong man, very, very strong. I have great respect for him. I've
known him for a long time through a reputation. Shinzo Abe thought the world of him, and I think he's going to do a fantastic job as Prime
Minister -- a very strong person.
I wish he wasn't so strong. I wish he was a little bit weaker than that, but that's what I got. I have to get strong guys all the time. He's going
to be a great Prime Minister.
I also, in terms of tariffs, I mean, we're going to have tariffs, mostly reciprocal tariffs, where we go with -- and I'm going to be probably
meeting on that Monday or Tuesday. I'll have an announcement, probably a news conference, but probably reciprocal tariffs, where a country pays so
much, who charges us so much, and we do the same. So, very reciprocal, because I think that's the only fair way to do it. That way, nobody's hurt.
They charge us, we charge them. It's the same thing. And I seem to be going in that line as opposed to a flat fee tariff. OK?
Yes, go, please. Please, go ahead. Why don't you go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This is Ota from Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper. I have a question for Prime Minister Ishiba. So, this is your
very first summit meeting. What was your impression of President Trump? Were you able to build a good relationship with trust and confidence?
In Northeast Asia, there are many challenges, China, North Korean, and so forth. And with President Trump, what did you appeal to him? And what kind
of understanding were you able to obtain?
On the economic field, there is the acquisition of U.S. Steel to buy Nippon Steel, and there are expansion of import of LNG. What were the
communication discussion did you have with President Trump? For the $1 trillion of investment from Japan investment, what was his reaction? What
about your communication on tariff front?
ISHIBA (through translator): This is the first time that I met with President Trump in person. So, this was the first time meeting face to
face. But for many, many years, I have watched him on television. So, it was quite exciting. I was so excited to see such a celebrity on television,
to see in person.
On television, he is frightening, and he has the very strong personality. But when I met with him, actually, he was very sincere and very powerful,
and with strong will for the United States as for the whole world. I was able to feel that. This is not the sort of polishing or trying to suck up
to him.
For the world peace and for the regional stability that both of our countries need to play our role and make our endeavors and responsibility.
[14:45:10]
As for the increase of our defense expenditures, it is not that we are told by the United States to do so. Japan, on our own decision, on our own
responsibility, we need to increase our defense expenditures. But of course, we need to communicate and consult with the United States. But the
responsibility is with Japan, and the decision is with Japan.
Now, on the tariffs, that if it is mutually beneficial, tariffs need to be set. And as for Japan, as Mr. President has introduced to us, an
unprecedented investment will be made from Japan to the United States, and so many jobs will be created. So, $1 trillion is the target. And this will
be to the benefit of the United States, but also to the benefit of Japan as well.
Investment is mutually beneficial. So, be it with the U.S. Steel, as Mr. President says, it is not acquisition. It is investment. So, the Japanese
technology will be provided, and the better quality products will be manufactured in the United States, and the U.S. Steel will make products
which will contribute not only to the United States and Japan, but also to the whole world.
It is not one-sided. It will be reciprocal. It will be mutually beneficial. And I believe we were able to share on this, and that is the biggest result
that I have seen today.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President?
TRUMP: Thank you very much. Go ahead, please. Yes.
EDWARD LAWRENCE, CORRESPONDENT, FOX BUSINESS NETWORK: Thank you, Mr. President. I Edward Lawrence from Fox Business. I wanted to ask you about
that U.S. Steel deal. So, you're saying that -- is this a -- is this a restructuring of the deal that's happening? And then will you approve?
TRUMP: They're doing it as an investment, no longer a purchase.
LAWRENCE: OK.
TRUMP: I didn't want it purchased, but investment I love. And they're going to do a big investment subject to getting the deal done, and they'll be
doing a big --
LAWRENCE: And that's subject to being approved where the U.S. --
TRUMP: I'm OK with that, sure.
LAWRENCE: And to the Prime Minister, what was your argument to the President related to U.S. Steel? And one ore on tariffs, Mr. President, if
I could. You said on tariffs that you'd like them to have be reciprocal, back and forth. What was the reception from the Japanese Prime Minister
when you said that, or when you talked about it?
TRUMP: Well, we didn't discuss tariffs too much. We really discussed many other things, including the pipeline in Alaska, which I think is going to
be maybe the most exciting thing with Doug -- Chris. We discussed that at length, the pipeline. I mean, it seemed to be of great interest to them.
It's --.we have potentially more oil and gas than in Saudi Arabia, just in Alaska. We have the most of any country in the world. It's a big asset for
the United States, but we haven't used it. We go to Venezuela. We go to other places to take oil and gas, and we have more than anybody. It's an
amazing phenomenon that took place over the last four years. Nobody understands it, including the people that were in charge with it. They had
no clue what they were doing.
So, it was -- it was a big problem. They were surprised, actually, too. They were saying, why didn't they -- they wouldn't sell them, LNG. They
wouldn't sell. Japan wanted to buy LNG, and Biden wouldn't sell it. And I'm trying to figure that one out. Maybe it was the environment. He might
answer that question. He's curious about that himself, I think. Thank you very much.
If you want to answer that, you may, about LNG that the United States wouldn't sell you LNG.
ISHIBA (through translator): That was a really unfortunate thing, but the current administration -- I'm sorry, the previous administration was not
allowing the LNG to be exported to us. I believe that President Trump, on the day of his inauguration, allowed us to resume this importing. I think
this is something that is really wonderful for us.
And as the country of Japan, we are interested in importing not just LNG, but also bioethanol, ammonia, and other resources at a stable price, a
reasonable price from the United States. And we also want to improve the trade deficit that the U.S. has towards Japan. So, if we are able to buy
those at a stable and reasonable price, I think it would be a wonderful situation.
And for that, I am very appreciative to President Trump. And we also look forward to LNG and hope that it's a success.
[14:50:25]
TRUMP: I want to just say that on the ethanol, Iowa is going to be very happy, all of the -- Nebraska, all of our farm states are going to be very
happy. They want ethanol and will be able to provide it to our farmers who I like and they like me. I think they're going to be very, very happy.
We've opened the sale of LNG immediately, actually. We did it a few days ago. And China -- and right now, not only China, everybody wants to buy it.
We have more than anybody, and they're all buying it. But Japan in particular, we're very happy that they're going to start immediately. And
we can supply it to the world, but we're supplying it to Japan and they can always be right up in the front of the line.
Yes, go ahead, please. Go ahead.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Thank you so much. Mr. Prime Minister, I have a question for you as well, but Mr. President,
I'll start with you. Quickly, to follow up on what Peter was asking, have you directed Elon Musk to review Pentagon spending, given it's the biggest
discretionary spending in the federal budget?
TRUMP: Yes, I have Pentagon, education, just about everything. We're going to go through everything. Just as it was so bad with what we just went
through with this horrible situation we just went through, and I guess 97 percent of the people have been dismissed. It was very, very unfortunate.
You're not going to find anything like that, but you're going to find a lot.
And I've instructed him to go check out education, to check out the Pentagon, which is the military. And, you know, sadly, you'll find some
things that are pretty bad. But I don't think proportionally you're going to see anything like we just saw.
COLLINS: FBI has turned over a list to the Justice Department of the FBI agents who worked on the January 6 rioters cases. Are you planning to fire
the FBI agents who worked on those investigations?
TRUMP: No, but I'll fire some of them because some of them were corrupt. I have no doubt about that. I got to know a lot about that business, that
world. I got to know a lot about that world and we have some corrupt agents. And those people are gone or they will be gone. And it'll be done
quickly and very surgically.
Did you have a question for the Prime Minister?
COLLINS: Just a quick one. Are those who work on the January 6 investigation --
TRUMP: Talk up.
COLLINS: Are those who once worked on the January 6 investigation --
TRUMP: I don't know. I don't know. I know we have some that are very corrupt and we don't like it. We're going to bring back the reputation of
the FBI. Kash Patel is going to do a great job. And we're going to bring back the reputation of the FBI, which has been hurt very badly. It's been
devastated over the last four years.
COLLINS: I have a question for the Prime Minister. You have just been meeting for the first time with President Trump. The last administration
famously did not have hardly any, if at all, contact with North Korea. President Trump certainly did the last time he was in office. Would you
like to see him resume that contact and also that in person meeting that he had with the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un?
ISHIBA (through translator): That is something that the United States needs to determine on its own. And it's not something that we should request.
Having said that -- but for example, in Vietnam or Singapore, the President of the United States -- President Trump was able to meet with Kim Jong-un.
I think that's a very positive development.
So, now that President Trump is in power again, if we are able to move towards resolving issues with the North Korea, I think it would be great.
And of course for us, that includes not only denuclearization, but also resolving the abductee issue. And so, the -- not only the victims of the
abductees, but also their families too are aging. And so, our time is limited.
So, if the President of the United States, if President Trump is able to resolve this issue -- we do understand that it's a Japan issue, first and
foremost. Having said that, we would love to continue to cooperate with them.
TRUMP: It's actually a good question. And we will have relations with North Korea and with Kim Jong-un. I got along with them very well as you know. I
think I stopped the war. I think if -- I would have won that particular election, you wouldn't have ended up in a very bad -- a very bad situation.
But I did. And we had a good relationship. And I think it's a very big asset for everybody that I do get along with them. I like -- I mean, I get
along with them. He gets along with me. And that's a good thing, not a bad thing. And I can tell you that Japan likes the idea, likes the idea,
because their relationship is not very good with him.
And if I can have a relationship with not only him, but other people throughout the world, where there seem to be difficulties, I think that's a
tremendous asset for the world, not just the United States.
Go ahead. Go ahead.
[14:55:26]
GARRETT HAAKE, CORRESPONDENT, NBC NEWS: : I have a question for you and for the Prime Minister as well. Mr. President, I wonder what you make of the
criticism from Democrats that these staff reductions, the cuts that Elon Musk and DOGE are doing are an unlawful power grab. And is there anything
you've told Elon Musk he cannot touch?
TRUMP: Well, we haven't discussed that much. I'll tell him to go here, go there. He does it. He's got a very capable group of people. Very, very,
very capable. They know what they're doing. They'll ask questions and they'll see immediately as somebody gets tongue-tied that they're either
crooked or don't know what they're doing. We have very smart people going in.
So, I've instructed him go into education, go into military, go into other things as we go along, and they're finding massive amounts of fraud, abuse,
waste, all of these things. So -- but I will pick out a target and I say go in. There could be areas that we won't, but I think everything's fertile.
You know, we're a government. We have to be open.
And as an open government, I don't know, I guess you could say maybe some high intelligence or something, and I'll do that myself if I have to. But
generally speaking, I'll just say go. But he will be looking at education pretty quickly and he will be looking at military too.
HAAKE: Both of federal spending is Social Security, Medicare, programs like that. Would you like to see him look at those programs as well?
TRUMP: Well, they don't really have to be looked at by him. They can be looked at by us. Social Security will not be touched. It'll only be
strengthened. We have illegal immigrants on Social Security, and we're going to find out who they are and take them out. We have illegal
immigrants and other -- Medicare. We have -- we've found a lot of bad people, a lot of people that shouldn't be on, that were put on through
California. They come, a lot of them come out of California. We're not going to stand for that.
So, we're going to strengthen our Social Security, et cetera. We're not going to touch it other than to make it stronger. But we have people that
shouldn't be on and those people we have to weed out. Most of them or many of them so far have been illegal immigrants. They shouldn't even be in the
country.
Do you have a question for the Prime Minister?
HAAKE: I do. Mr. Prime Minister, the President's affinity for tariffs is well known. If the U.S. places tariffs on Japanese imports, would Japan
retaliate?
ISHIBA (through translator): I am unable to respond to a theoretical question.That's the official answer that we have.
TRUMP: That's a very good answer. Very good answer. Wow. That's very good. He knows what he's doing. Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you. Thank
you.
(CROSSTALK)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: You have been listening there to President Trump, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba of Japan, a broad
conversation that was had they talked about. You heard off the top from President Trump, a great friendship between both, great respect, mutual
admiration.
But what we had there from President Trump and from Prime Minister Ishiba is, you know, announcing -- him announcing several trade as well as
economic agreements with Japan. Japan says it will begin importing new shipments of American liquefied natural gas. We've also heard that Nippon
Steel is looking at investment in U.S. Steel. This is not a purchase. Initially, if you remember the conversations around the acquisition of
Nippon Steel, just over $14 billion. Now it's going to be focusing on that.
And President Trump talking about there, working out the trade deficit with Japan, with about $70 billion of goods, and this suggests that's exactly
what they are doing. We also heard President Trump taking various questions mostly related to Musk as he really swings his axe across the federal
government there. Listening into all of this is our Kevin Liptak from the White House.
Kevin, just give me a sense -- I mean, between President Trump and Prime Minister Ishiba, mostly economic agreements, mutual alliance, and mutual
respect, but these economic agreements will stand out here.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. And I think it's notable what the President said about the acquisition of U.S. Steel by
Nippon Steel. He miss -- referenced it as Nissan, but he meant Nippon. And he said that he was all in support of an investment rather than ownership.
And this is a notable step because President Trump had been opposed to the Nippon Steel takeover of U.S. Steel during the campaign. It was a political
stance that he took.
Now, he appears to be more open to that group taking some sort of investment stake in the company, and so that's significant. He said he
would mediate the deal, and he said he would meet with the CEO of that company next week. So, a significant step in the economic ties between
these two countries.
SOARES: Kevin, I appreciate it. Thank you very much. A very busy hour, but that does it for us. Thanks very much. "NEWSROOM" with Jim Sciutto is up
next. Have a wonderful weekend.
END
