military. stronger than the last budget. we will be able to cut back, but we had to rebuild our military. we didn't have a choice. >> watch anytime online at c-span.org and listen wherever you are using the free c-span radio app. >> as he left the white house on his way to a campaign rally in cincinnati, the president took questions from reporters for about 20 minutes.

reporter: are you concerned about china and are you worried about the nosedive that the dow took today? pres. trump: no. people don't understand quite yet about what's happened. we've taxed china on $300 billion worth of goods and products being sold into our country. and china eats it because they have to pay it because what they do is they devalue their currency and they push money out. our people haven't paid as you know, we are also charging them 25% on $250 billion. so we're taking in many billions of dollars. there's been absolutely no inflation, and frankly, it hasn't cost our consumer anything. it costs china. what has happened is a lot of countries are moving out of china so they can avoid -- china has -- this is their worst year

in 27 years according to yesterday's "wall street journal." i don't want that, but when my people came home they said we're talking, we have another meeting in early september. i said that's fine. but in the meantime until such time as this we'll be taxing them, and we're getting very good numbers from the border. the 21,000 soldiers supplied by mexico, and i want to thank mexico. they are doing a great job. the numbers are way down at the border. reporter: [indiscernible] pres. trump: i think it's very much under control. very much under control. reporter: [indiscernible] pres. trump: let me ask you a question. right. sure. sure. what would you say when china for the last 20 years has been taking hundreds of billions of dollars out of our country and we had a president that would never do anything -- a number of presidents that never would do

anything about it. what would you say? for many years china has been taking money out by the hundreds of billions of dollars a year. we have rebuilt china. so now it's time that we change things around. if they don't want to trade with us anymore, that would be fine with me. it would save a lot of money. reporter: do you believe xi is slow walking this? pres. trump: no, i think president xi, someone i like a lot, wants to make a deal, but frankly he's not going fast enough. he said he was going to be buying from our farmers. he didn't do that. he said he was going to stop fentanyl from coming into our country. it is all coming out of china. he didn't do that. we're losing thousands to fentanyl. and very importantly, for many years, you know this better than anybody. you have been covering it for a long time. for many years china has been , taking out hundreds of billions of dollars a year and

rebuilding china. it's time that we rebuild our country. the one thing i have to say and have you to say this, what china is doing is they are devaluing their currency and pumping money out like they have never done before, and they are paying for these tariffs. we're not. reporter: are you concerned by reports that the chinese army may be preparing to intervene in hong kong against demonstrators? and what do you say to the accusation that the u.s. is somehow behind it? pres. trump: something is probably happening with hong kong, because when you look at what's going on for a long period of time, and i don't know what china has added to it. at some point they're going to want to stop that, but that's between hong kong and china because hong kong is part of china. they'll have to deal with that themselves. they don't need advice. reporter: you put a date of

september 1 on these tariffs. are you giving xi a chance to negotiate? pres. trump: no, no, no. september 1. the reason is it takes a long time for the ships to come over and it's a period of time. so i'm giving them like a four-week period of time before the tariffs go on, but we're now taking in tariffs on 10% on over $300 billion and 25% on $250 billion. and it's been proven that our people are not paying for those tariffs. reporter: [indiscernible] pres. trump: short range missiles, we never made an agreement on that. i have no problem. we'll see what happens. but these are short range missiles. they are very standard. go ahead, what? go ahead. reporter: mr. president, are you concerned about reports that your dni nominee, congressman

radcliffe, embellished his record at all? president trump: congressman radcliffe is an outstanding man and i'm sure that he'll be able to do very well. i think he's just outstanding. highly respected by everybody that knows him. reporter: what will you do on huawei? pres. trump: we have not changed on huawei. they're not allowed in our country. we can do business for aweiecurity things with hu because we'll do that but anything having to do with national security we're not dealing with huawei. reporter: what do you think about the decision not to prosecute james comey? pres. trump: i have not actually heard that. i know there's a lot of things going on. that's a piece of it i guess but i don't know at this time haven't spoken to them about that. i would frankly be surprised because what james comey did was illegal. so i would be surprised but i don't know anything about that. reporter: are you prepared to tell your supporters to stop if they begin chanting something problematic?

pres. trump: i don't know what's going to happen. i can tell you this. i'm going to cincinnati. the arena is a very large one, and we've sold it out. we can sell it out probably ten times from what i hear. the applications for seats, as you know never had an empty seat. the applications are very big. i have no idea. we have a great group of people. they love our country. they love the job we're doing. and when they see the kind of people that want to represent us from the last two nights, that's not what they want. i don't know, i can't tell you or not if they are going to do that chant. if they do that chant we'll have , to see what happens. reporter: will you stop it? pres. trump: i don't know that you can stop people. i don't know that you can. i mean we'll see what we can do. i prefer that they don't, but if they do it, we'll have to make a decision then. reporter: do you have a message for them now like before they go in? pres. trump: i do. it's for the people i'm going to. we had over 100,000 applications

for whatever the size of the -- i think it is a 14,000 seat arena. but we're way over 122,000 applications for those seats. you know what my messages? i love them. and i think they love me. i actually think they love me. reporter: [indiscernible] pres. trump: have they accepted the offer or not? reporter: they have not. that's up to prime minister modi and i met with prime minister khan. i got along great with them. i think they're fantastic people. khan and modi. i imagine they can get along very well, but if they wanted somebody to intervene, or to help them and i spoke with pakistan about that, and i spoke frankly to india about it. that has been going on, that battle, for a long time.

if i can, if they wanted me to, i would certainly intervene, yeah. reporter: was the u.s. government involved in the death mzacomes up bin laden -- ha bin laden? pres. trump: i can't comment on that, but he was very threatening to our country. i will say he was very threatening to our country and he cannot do that. as far as anything beyond that i have no comment. , reporter: robert moeller said russia is interfering with u.s. elections now. with vladimirthat putin? pres. trump: you don't really believe that, do you? i spoke with president putin yesterday. they are having massive fires in their forests. i have never seen anything like

it. i am offering our assistance. we are very good at putting out forest fires and if they should need it, i offer my assistance. we had a good talk and i think he would appreciate it. i think we would be able to help them. these are massive fires like i have never seen. that would be the primary importance of the country, and i think they very much appreciated it. reporter: robert mueller says he believes russia is interfering in the election. pres. trump: i'm not sure robert mueller knows what is going on. all i know is he believes no collusion with us, no collusion. ultimately, no obstruction. as far as robert mueller's performance, you would have to say it is maybe not so good. not so good. reporter: [indiscernible] pres. trump: our country is doing very well.

we are setting records in every way. including employment, unemployment. we have now more people working in the united states than ever before. the stock market, it will take a hit, but it will be phenomenal because ultimately it will be better because of what i am doing. someone should have done this with china a long time ago. they decided not to do it. they made a big mistake. i will say this. there has never been a time in the history of our country like we have right now. the highest number of people employed. the best employment numbers for african-americans, hispanic, women. for everybody. i mean, the best numbers we've ever had. our military is being rebuilt and it is almost fully rebuilt. it is going to be at a level in a very short time, stronger and better with the new aircraft, missiles, new everything. hopefully we do not have to use it. go ahead. reporter: what did you think of

,he democratic debate, biden and specifically the charge from congresswoman gabbard that you are assisting al qaeda? pres. trump: no one knows what she is talking about. i think you probably didn't even like that statement, john. she doesn't know what she's talking about. if you remember, a short while ago, i defeated isis. we have 100% of the caliphate. you are always going to have somebody around. right now we have captured over 10,000 --we have 2005 hundred isis fighters that we want europe to take. they were going back to france in europe. we have right now 2500 isis that we captured. we have captured 100% of the caliphate, and we have done a big job on al qaeda and everyone else. for her to make that statement is ridiculous, frankly. for her to make that statement is so ridiculous. she has taken a lot of heat on

no one has done more on that war than i have. we have thousands of isis fighters that we want europe to take, and let's see if they take them. if they don't take them, we will probably have to release them to europe. reporter: can you still negotiate with kim jong-un after the tests this week? pres. trump: oh sure, because those are short-term missiles. we never discussed that. what we talked about was nuclear. a lot of other countries test that kind of missile also. reporter: [indiscernible] that is funny. everyone was saying you are too tough, now it is you should have done more in. i did more than anyone thought and the 10% is for a short-term and i can do much more and much less, depending on what happens

with respect to a deal. i'm happy with the way it is now. my people will meet in september and i said if you meet, that's great. in the meantime, we are going to paint -- they are going to pay a tariff, and it is going to be a very substantial tariff. if you remember, when i did the 25%, and i did it in stages. this can also be lifted ultimately in stages or it can be taken off. it can be lifted in stages. we are starting at 10%, and it can be lifted up well beyond 25%. we are not looking to do that necessarily. this would be done in stages. i put 10% on approximately $350 billion. we already have a 25% tariff on the first $250 billion. the 10% follows the $250 billion at 25%. reporter: are you considering a blockade or quarantine of

venezuela, given the amount of foreign involvement from russia, china, and iran? pres. trump: yes, i am. reporter: you are? pres. trump: yes, i am. yes, i am. reporter: since the mueller hearing, 168 house democrats so they want to launch a house inquiry. pres. trump: no one has mentioned this question to me. until last night it was not even mentioned in the debate. people are already thinking it is a hoax. you know it is a hoax, right? nobody has mentioned it to me. one thing i will say that you haven't covered, two days ago, a highly respected judge in the southern district of new york , in manhattan, came out with the decision on the whole russia hoax and he said exactly that. it is a hoax. you want to read the decision.

this is a decision by a judge who is highly respected, appointed by bill clinton. he said it is a hoax. this was a case brought by the democrats against me, and nobody wants to talk about it because it is fake news. reporter: what did you tell putin about the imf treaty? pres. trump: we did not discuss the imf. mostly we discussed the forest fires in siberia. i said we have the greatest equipment. we have large sections of burning. i will say, russia would like to do something on a new treaty. -- on a nuclear treaty. that's ok'd with me. they would like to do something, and so when i. reporter: [indiscernible]

pres. trump: i have watched elizabeth warren, sometimes referred to as pocahontas with her phony ancestry that she and she does not have credibility. it is possible -- it is possible i will have to run against her. everything she did was a fraud. she got into colleges, she got teaching jobs, says she was of indian heritage. it turned out to be a lie. elizabeth warren has a lack of credibility. reporter: [indiscernible] pres. trump: i did not really. i think kamala did not do well last night. i think biden did ok. he came through. he came limping through, as they say about limping joe.

he got through it. he really did. i think he was ok. i think kamala had a bad night. it is boiling down to four or five of them. let's face it. reporter: do you have a message for poland on the anniversary of the warsaw uprising? pres. trump: i have a lot of respect for poland. the people of poland like me. and i like them. i will be going to poland fairly soon. i will be i know they are putting in an installation, they are putting in 100% of the money. so they are building something very nice for the united states. what? reporter: [indiscernible] reporter: do you think your son-in-law bears in the responsibility? pres. trump: no. i think the people who have run baltimore for so many years.

obviously headed up by elijah cummings. they have run baltimore into the ground. we have given billions and billions of dollars to baltimore. the people of baltimore appreciate what i have done for them by bringing this up. it is the number one city proportionately in the united states for crime. i saw a statistic where it is worse than honduras. i think with the people of baltimore, what they really appreciate what i am doing. the money was stolen, misspent, or wasted and a lot of bad things. the government has been very good to baltimore. we have to help the people. elijah cummings has not helped the people, but maybe at some point we will get together and we will get it straightened out. what happened in baltimore is disgraceful. it is not only baltimore, but other democrat-run cities. you ought to report on it sometime. thank you.