Donald Trump has given his first press conference since winning the 2024 election in November.
The United States President-elect covered a range of topics during his address, hosted in his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, from media lawsuits and drones to the polio vaccine.
He spoke on matter closer to home, addressing the strange sightings of drones of New Jersey and saying that “something strange is going on”.
“The government knows what is happening,” Trump said. “And for some reason, they want to keep people in suspense.”
Addressing a slew of lawsuits, current or planned for the future, against media outlets and publishing houses, he said that it “costs a lot of money to do it, but we have to straighten out our press.”
"Our press is very corrupt, almost as corrupt as our elections."
In direct response to the Biden administration and employees at the Social Security Administration recently extending current remote work policies for certain employees at the Social Security Administration, Trump confirmed that he would be planning to fire federal employees who don’t return to the office.
“If people don’t come back to work, come back into the office, they’re going to be dismissed,” Trump said.
The president-elect said he would go to court to block the SSA contract agreement that included the remote work extension, though on what grounds is unclear.
Reaching further abroad he touched on his relationships with two key global figures, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Netanyahu and Trump spoke on a phone call over the weekend but Trump said that the “real conversations will start” when he assumes the presidency on January 20.
"As you know, I gave warning that if these hostages aren't back home by that date, all hell is going to break out," Trump said. "We had a really good conversation, and I think we're going to be in a good place in the Middle East."
Trump emphasised that he and Xi maintained a strong relationship prior to the pandemic which was “a bridge too far”.
During the end of his first term, the president-elect frequently blamed China for the COVID-19 global outbreak, causing division.
Speaking on tariffs Trump was joined by his Commerce secretary nominee, Howard Lutnick.
The pair confirmed their upcoming administration would use tariffs to level the playing field with nations imposing high tariffs on American goods.
“We’re going to make great deals, and we have all the cards.” Trump said.
The President-elect also confirmed he will be planning to reverse the Biden administration’s decision to allow Ukraine to fire long-range missiles into Russia, which is something Ukrainian officials spent months lobbying Washington to allow.
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