Return to Transcripts main page

One World with Zain Asher

Trump Holds First Cabinet Meeting Since War with Iran Began. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired March 26, 2026 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[11:00:00]

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: And now what I'm talking about is not the people of Iran. The people that run this country are radical Shia

clerics. These are religious fanatics. Look what they are doing now, at their weakest point.

This is the weakest Iran has ever been. And look at what they're doing. They're attacking embassies. They're embassies. They're attacking hotels.

Imagine what these people would do if they had a nuclear weapon. That is an unacceptable risk for the world. By the way, the president is not just

doing a favor to the United States and to our people.

This is for the world. He defined very clearly on the first night of this operation what the goal was. We were going to destroy Iran's navy. And that

is happening. We were going to -- if it hasn't already happened. I'll let Pete speak to the specifics of it. We were going to destroy their missile

launching capabilities.

We're well on our way to achieving that goal. We were going to destroy the factory so they couldn't make more missiles and more drones. And that is

moving forward. Every single objective the president clearly laid out on the first night of this operation is being effectuated.

Again, Pete will speak to the specifics of it. This has been an incredibly successful operation. Every day, it may not get covered because, you know,

we're unlike them, we're not bombing embassies and hotels. We're hitting military targets. But every day, the Department of War lets the drummer get

wicked over every portion of Iran that has these military capabilities.

And the results are going to bear fruit for the world. The world is going to be a safer and a better place when President Trump's mission here is

achieved. And frankly, I think countries around the world, even those that are out there complaining about this a little bit, should actually be

grateful that the United States has a president that's willing to confront a threat like this and not allow it to continue to persist.

Because these people will kill as many Americans as they have a chance to do, and if they have a nuclear weapon, as the vice president pointed out,

they could kill millions of Americans in the future, and that is a risk that was not going to continue to exist as long as we had this president.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Thank you, Marco - - very interesting, because yesterday I was watching is it Antony Blinken, and he was saying that they should have done it, but they didn't do it.

Nobody did it. Nobody did it for 47 years, Marco, that's the number 47.

I guess now it's 48 because we've been saying 47 for long time. It's probably 48 but for 47, 48 years, every president should have done this.

And some are saying now that they made a big mistake in not doing it, but we're taking care of business. Steve Witkoff --

STEVE WITKOFF, WHITE HOUSE ENVOY: Mr. President, it is my distinct honor to be a member of the cabinet and to report to you and your team on our

negotiations with Iran. Mr. President, you directed Jared and I to pursue a diplomatic resolution with Iran prior to Operation Epic Fury, which we did.

However, it became quite clear during these meetings with the Iranian negotiating team that we could not make a deal that fulfilled your

objectives of the following, no enrichment whatsoever, no chance of weaponizing whatsoever. De commissioning of Fordow, the times and Isfahan,

which you destroyed in Operation Midnight Hammer.

No stockpiling of any material, which they flagrantly had violated, turning all enriched material over to us and a cut back in Iran's missile inventory

and range capability of those same missiles. Throughout our meetings with the Iranians, we heard the following from them.

The Iranians have the inalienable right to enrich. Then we heard they possessed enough, 60 percent enriched material, 460 kilograms, to make 11

atomic bombs. Finally, we heard the following statement. They would not give up diplomatically what we could not win militarily.

In other words, they were again miscalculating the success of Midnight Hammer, which was a total success. These are incontrovertible signs, among

many other signs, sir, that their regime had not given their negotiating team, authority to make a deal required by you.

We conferred with you and all the other members of your foreign policy team. Susie Wiles, Pete Hegseth, the Chairman, Marco Rubio, JD, Scott

Bessent, Chris Wright, John Ratcliffe, throughout all of these negotiations and we were repeatedly rebuffed on everything we asked for.

[11:05:00]

I have no doubt that we exhausted all efforts on behalf of a peaceful resolution, as you directed. Jared and I both agreed that the Iranians were

there to buy time until a weaker president arrived. This was a flawed strategy, as your clear direction was to never allow Iran to obtain a

nuclear weapon today or any time in the future.

Against that backdrop and our compelling military successes in epic fury, we have had multiple reach outs from the region and others who want to play

a role in ending this conflict peacefully. I can report to you today that we have, along with your foreign policy team, presented a 15-point action

list that forms the framework for a peace deal.

This has been circulated through the Pakistani government, acting as the mediator. And this has resulted in strong and positive messaging and talks,

as you just indicated to the press. But these are sensitive diplomatic discussions, and you have directed us to maintain confidentiality on the

specific terms and not negotiate through the news media as others do.

I can say this, we will see where things lead, and if we can convince Iran that this is the inflection point with no good alternatives for them, other

than more death and destruction. We have strong signs that this is a possibility, and if a deal happens, it will be great for the country of

Iran, for the entire region and the world at large.

Your policy of peace through strength is the most effective tool for a diplomatic resolution here, just as it was as this policy was an effective

tool in each and every one of all of the other conflicts you settled in your first year. Iran is looking for an off ramp, following your powerful

threat on Saturday.

Your indications that you are willing to listen to peace, proposals have been well received. You have instructed us that your preference is always

peace and that we should make that our priority. We have delivered that message, sir, along with the 15 points for peace. Finally, we have told

Iran one last thing, don't miscalculate again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much.

TRUMP: Good job. Doing a great job. Everybody around this table is doing a great job. Pete Hegseth, please.

PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Mr. President, I'll start kind of where you left off, Mr. President. Thank you for doing the work of the free

world and having the courage to step up and stop the Iranian terror regime from holding the world hostage, that's really what it is.

And 27 days ago, Iran had a modern military. Never in recorded history has a nation's military been so quickly and effectively neutralized. Operation

Epic Fury is not an endless war. It's a decisive campaign with clear objectives to destroy Iran's military offensive military capabilities and

ensure they never obtain a nuclear weapon.

This is stuff for the history books. This is stuff for legacy. Mr. President, you are acting now to ensure future generations do not have to

live under the threat of a nuclear armed Iran. However, you wouldn't know it if you listen to the dishonest hate Trump media, as you referenced.

The folks here in the room, these cameras, they have a choice. You're either informing the American people of the truth, or you're not, because I

hear it from my people every day. Behind every headline you write, there's a helicopter crew in the air, and behind every news banner you write,

there's a battalion on the move.

And behind every fake news story, there's an F-35 pilot executing a dangerous mission. My message to the media is, get it right. This actually

isn't something new to me. Maybe a young guy, Mr. President, but I'm not a rookie in this realm. In 2007, I helped lead the surge, the public fight

for the Iraq surge.

Stood and watched people stand in the Senate and declare the war is lost before even started. Who was that? It was Harry Reid. That was the

Democrats and the media working hand in glove. Back then, it was three years into a war. Now we're three weeks into an operation. But see, unlike

Iraq, this isn't a tie, this is not parity, this is not chaos.

[11:10:00]

This is success. Pure American success on plan, and as the president said, ahead of pace, over 10,000 enemy targets destroyed, over 140, I think now

you're right, Mr. President, over 150 naval vessels sunk. Underground facilities destroyed, their defense industrial base in shambles.

And overnight, not only do they not have a navy, Mr. President, they no longer have a navy commander. IRGC's Navy Commander was killed overnight in

operation, so no navy, no navy leader. Now that here's the thing about the media though, if President Trump had not acted, you'd be screaming, why

not?

And now that he has taken decisive action you're asking. Well, why did you? It's the same old, tired playbook, TDS in your DNA, but the hard working,

God fearing patriotic Americans out there know better. And you alluded to this, President Obama, Mr. President.

Here's a fact that you don't hear on your networks, that we know, many of the Iranian military factories and bases that we're systematically

destroying were paid for by the pallets of American cash that Barack Obama flew into Tehran under the Iran deal, not you might call it an inconvenient

truth.

Iran took our money and turned it into weapons and bunkers and ammo, and now we're destroying those weapons, and we're writing, your writing, Mr.

President, that grievous wrong. And make no mistake, we had to act. And our objectives are clear, no nukes, no navy, and a complete dismantling of

their missile program and defense industrial base.

And as Marco pointed out, that mission and the VP as well, has not changed since day one. Yet two days ago, they shot two failed missiles on a target

4000 kilometers away. For years, they told the world that their missiles could only range two kilometers. Surprise. Yet again, Iran lied.

And to the world, I say London is 4000 kilometers from Iran. Washington, D.C. is 3300 kilometers from Venezuela, another country. President Trump

did something about that, partnered for a long time with Iran. So, you're telling us that Iran is not a threat to the world or to the U.S. President

Trump knows better.

And here's what success actually looks like right now. You mentioned it, Mr. President, A-10 Warthogs, if you know them, you love them. And Apache

helicopter gunships are flying strike missions inside Iranian airspace and throughout the Strait of Hormuz at will. See, you only send these slow, low

flying close air support platforms when the enemy has no meaningful air defenses left.

Their presence is proof that Iran's air defenses are gone. Their command and control have shattered. Their top leaders hiding in underground bunkers

while their mid-level commanders are being crushed in the field. The morale of their fighters plummeting, and we see that disconnect daily.

They're privately admitting, as you said, Mr. President, very heavy losses. We know that. President Trump has given us a clear mission. Our

capabilities are only going up, and Iran's are plummeting. We are here to win, and we're full speed ahead. So, Steve, we appreciate your efforts.

We pray for a deal, and we welcome a deal, and we have the ultimate deal maker to make it happen. But in the meantime, as I said yesterday, the

Department of War will continue negotiating with bombs. War is negotiation by other means. And finally, I want to thank our incredible troops, our

pilots, crews, sailors, refuelers, air defenders, the absolute best of America, the real 1 percent of our country.

This president, President Trump has your back, and I know this cabinet prays for you every single day. We ask the American people to do the same

as they continue in this mission. God bless. Thank you.

TRUMP: Thank you very much. It's great. I think, before I ask Scott to say a couple of words, it would be great if people like the Mayor of Chicago

and the Governor of Illinois would say, please come in and stop the crime. A beautiful young lady was killed the other day, and the father was a very

good friend of Dan Scavino, and he took it very hard.

Dan took it very hard, like the father friends. They grew up together. And it's a young lady who whose life would be saved if we had -- if we did what

we did. As an example in Washington, D.C., which is now a safe city.

[11:15:00]

All the time, people come up to me in the building. People are working. They say, thank you so much. I know immediately what they're talking about.

They're able to walk to work. They walk to work. You all walk to work. Some of you were mugged. I know you told me stories. Some of you were mugged.

One person in particular was viciously mugged in the group right here. Not happening anymore. You have a safe city, Louisiana. The Governor of

Louisiana called me. Can you help me with New Orleans? They just had the money grow. He said it was the safest money grow we've ever had.

Sounds terrible to say no murders. You know, it sounds like who would say this, no murders, but they always had murders. They had a lot of crime

during Mardi Gras. He said, virtually no crime. We had the troops down there, Memphis, Tennessee. I just got back. We were there.

Crime is down 75 percent in a short period of time. We're there five months. We could do that for Chicago, we could do that for New York, we

could do that for L.A. and we could do that for frankly, San Francisco, I know they have a mayor who's trying very hard. He's a Democrat, but he's

trying very hard, but we can do it much more effectively, because he can't do what we do.

He can't take people out from the city and bring them to back to the country, from where they came, where they were in prisons. They were

allowed to go in prisons, there were drug dealers, the highest-level drug dealers, murders, 11,888 murders. We do things that they can't do.

I had friends calling me up from San Francisco, could you give him a chance? I said, absolutely, if you want to go, give him a chance. He's

trying. He's doing OK, but we could do much better. We could make it a lot safer than it is. San Francisco a great city, was a great city could

quickly become a great city again, but, you know, they're going very slowly.

I tell my friends, they're very substantial people. They're in a certain business where people have made a lot of money -- I hope that lasts, but

they have a tremendous potential. It was one of the greatest cities in the world. Now it's got a lot of crime, and the mayor is really trying it

again, a Democrat trying, and I spoke to him, he just wants to have a chance.

And I said, we'll give you a chance, but we can solve it very quickly. This young lady would be around today if we were around, because we have nobody

coming through our border. I mean, literally for nine months, it's zero. It's hard to believe that, that number can be possible, because millions of

people came in through Biden, but nobody even tries.

We don't have the caravans of thousands, 25, 30,000 people pouring into our border. They come up in caravans. We don't have caravans anymore. There's

no such thing anyways. The name that I think I developed, but somebody developed it, but I think was me. I thought it was an appropriate.

And thousands of people would come up and just barge into our country, totally unchecked, totally unvented. And this man came in, Dan, right? And

he came in through the ridiculous open border of Biden. If we were there, the election was rigged, what are you going to do?

Came back, big come back. But if we were there, we wouldn't have had people coming through. It's amazing, you know, it's so easy now, because everyone

knows they're not getting through. We don't have any caravans once they know that, when it was easy to come through.

When I heard that they had an open border policy, I said -- this is going to be. I couldn't believe it. But when it was actually, you know, Dan done

me, because I had built 1000 miles of wall, and we were finishing up some, and he didn't want to finish it up. Biden has said, they really do want to

have an open border.

And we got it finished. But that young lady would be alive today. And she'd be alive for another reason, because we would have the National Guard in

Chicago and in New York and in other places, and they love doing it. It's like training -- This is actually training. I never want to take them out

of D.C.

I mean, maybe somebody later on will do it, but I never want to take, you know, people. They look, they say, we feel so good. We feel so safe. We see

these beautiful, strong people. And they they're so nice. They help. They open the doors for people. They carry bags. They pick up paper when they

see paper on the ground.

I looked at D.C. the last night I drove to make a speech, and I drove through and I said, take me this way. Take me that way. The city is clean.

The fences are down. You don't have homeless all over your parks. I mean, we had park. She couldn't -- there was no room for anything else other than

homeless.

It's all clean and nice. It's going to and it'll be even more beautiful than a year from now. And we have some projects that are great. This

ballroom is going to be something that's so beautiful for the city, so desperately needed by presidents.

[11:20:00]

I mean, now it's no secret. The military wanted it more than anybody. It was supposed to be secret, but it became un-secret because of people that

are really unpatriotic saying things but doesn't matter. Doesn't matter. It's going to be great. We're building an arc, a triumphal arc, which will

be incredible for the city, incredible.

We're fixing up the what was the Kennedy Center. I was honored when the board changed the name a little bit. Actually, it shows that the Republican

and the Democrats, they work together. It's really something we work together. So, I think it's a great symbol, actually, but we're doing a lot

of work.

That bill is ready to fall down. It's a terrible shit. We're closing it. We're going to open it with a bang in less than two years. It'll come in

under budget, ahead of schedule. That's what I do. It won't be like the Federal Reserve that's costing $4 billion or something there about think of

it, $4 billion, you know, it's amazing.

I said to the group before I said, everything I do, I get sued. I build under budget, ahead of schedule. I get sued over a ballroom that's going to

be the most beautiful ballroom in the country, so desperately needed. You won't have to have tents sitting on the wet White House lawn if it rains,

you get wiped out.

To honor the President of China or the President of France or the president of somewhere, could have the greatest we get sued by the National Trust for

Historic Preservation. They don't know what they're doing. Then I just found out we got sued by that group and another group, I guess on the

fixing up of again, I'll use the old name Kennedy Center, because they're not fixing up.

Trump can and what it's going to be beautiful when you add the name Trump, but you get sued, and all I'm doing is fixing it up. We're fixing broken

marble. We're putting on a roof because it leaks like a sieve. We're fixing steel that's broken. It's the same building, same exact building.

We're fixing. It's going to be beautiful. It's going to be so beautiful and safe. It's actually unsafe. You had some of those columns on the outside

that were painted a fake gold. Now we painted of a beautiful white color. Beautiful, cream white. It's beautiful. Everyone said, so much more

beautiful.

Now, instead of a cheap you can't imitate gold. See, I'm a gold person. It's all real stuff. You can't imitate it. They've someday, they'll

discover a paint that will look like gold, and the guy is going to be the richest man in the world. But you can't imitate real gold, just as its 24-

karat, which is what this building deserves.

But think of it. I get sued because I'm fixing up the Trump Kennedy Center. We're going to make it gorgeous and safe. We're fixing new windows, new

this, but just all fix up. I get sued by preservationists. But you know who they didn't sue? The man that took this beautiful Federal Reserve building

that's small, much smaller than the hotel I built.

I built the Waldorf Astoria Hotel down the road, and it was a beautiful job for 200 million $201 million it's bigger, I think, than the Federal Reserve

building, and it's got rooms and bathrooms, and it's not like just an open office space, which is much cheaper to build.

Think of this. I hear is going to be over $4 billion for a little building. He doesn't get sued by anybody but me. I sue because it's either somebody

is very crooked, which has to be, because what happened to all that money? You can't -- I would have done that building for $25 million it's going to

cost maybe 4 billion.

And we have a great new person coming in to take over the Fed. And Kevin may not ever have an office because I don't know they're going to be able

to bill. I passed that building the other day. It's a see through. You know what see through means there's no walls up and they're going to spend but

the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which is a joke, by the way.

They didn't sue that building. They didn't sue anybody, but they sue me and I build. And by the way, my building is, it's all donations. Rich people,

and people are putting up the money, zero taxpayer dollars. Is that right, Scott? Zero taxpayer dollars. Stuff is all done for free, and I get sued.

This could only happen to Trump, but they don't sue the guy whose interest rates are too high. That's why we call him too late. His name is Jerome

Powell. We call him Jerome too late Powell and done a terrible job.

[11:25:00]

He suffers from Trump derangement syndrome, as he probably should, because I hit him pretty hard, because -- I don't blame him, but they don't sue a

man who has taken this gorgeous building, ripped it down from the inside, taking ceilings that are as beautiful as you've ever seen, taking the

ceilings down instead of leaving them, taking walls down that were two feet thick of solid concrete and plaster, replacing them with six inch walls

with no insulation.

I said, let me ask you, are you going to put insulation in? No, it's not in the budget. Insulation cost $5. Now you're going to hear the guy next door.

If he's next door to me, I'll be able to hear his military plan -- know exactly. If Lutnick is in there, I'll say, oh, I know exactly what Lutnick

got planned.

It's the craziest thing I've ever seen. They've ripped this gorgeous building apart, and you can never build it again. You can -- I could, but

it costs a lot of money, but a normal person can never build. So, you can have crummy little walls, a flat little ceiling eventually, but right now,

you don't have anything, and nobody sues this guy.

And then when Jeanine Pirro, working with Pam and others, has the courage to sue to find out what happened to maybe $4 billion and a building that

may never be occupied by Kevin Warsh, you may never get there. We're going to have to find him some space in the White House.

We'll put him in the basement of the ballroom. But when now think of it, when Jeanine Pirro and Pam in the group, when they bring a suit, it's like,

oh, this tar, terrible thing. And then we have a judge that attacks us -- attacks us. So, we've got to get our priorities straight. You know, it's a

very sad thing that's happened with the Fed.

And then just one other thing, very quickly you have Gavin Newsom in California railroad that's 100 times over budget. It's out of control. It

was supposed to go from the middle of San Francisco to the middle of L.A. Well now it stops way short of both. It now goes into areas that nobody

ever heard of.

It's billions and billions of dollars over budget, years and years, maybe decades late. And that's why we have a country that has a lot of problems.

You know, we have incompetent people. It's all people. Think of the Federal Reserve. I would have had that building done for $25 million.

I would -- if I did it, somebody else would have done it for more, so maybe 50. But you could have done that building, if it was properly done and

planned, you would have done that building for. I would have done it to 25 million and it would be better. It would be better. See this pen right

here.

This pen is an interesting exam. It's the same thing. So, this pen is very inexpensive, but it writes, well, I like it. They can't have the pen the

way it was. You know what it is. I don't want to give too much publicity, but they do treat me well sharpie. So, I came here --

(CNN U.S. SIMULCAST)

[11:30:00]

END