Washington D.C., October 20: U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday hosted the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at The White House. While addressing a press conference, Trump said that he will be talking about lot of different things with the Australian PM. He said he will be discussing critical minerals and rare earths.
He also said that they will be signing an agreement that has been negotiated for over a period of 4 or 5 months. Apart from this, he also warned Hamas and asked them to be good or get eradicated. He also talked tough about China.
Trump also claimed credit for “settling eight wars in eight months” and said he expects to reach a resolution on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict soon.
Warns Hamas
Speaking about Hamas, Trump said, “...They’re violent people. Hamas has been very violent. But they don’t have the backing of Iran anymore. They don’t have the backing of really anybody anymore. They have to be good, and if they’re not good, they’ll be eradicated.”
Trump suggested that Hamas has lost regional support, particularly from Iran and warned that the group must change its approach or face destruction.
Meeting With Xi Jinping
Turning to China, Trump highlighted his trade policies and ongoing negotiations, saying, “I think China’s been very respectful of us. They are paying tremendous amounts of money to us in the form of tariffs. As you know, they are paying 55%, that’s a lot of money... A lot of countries took advantage of the US and they are not able to take advantage anymore.
He further said, "China’s paying 55% and a potential 155% come November 1st unless we make a deal. I am meeting with President Xi. We have a very good relationship, we are going to be meeting in South Korea in a couple of weeks... I think we are going to work out something which is good for both the countries.”
He reiterated his "America First" stance, crediting tariffs and trade power as tools that helped him resolve multiple global conflicts during his tenure.
8 Wars In 8 Months
“...I have settled eight wars in eight months. Not bad. I have one more to go. It’s Russia–Ukraine and I think we’ll get there. But it’s turned out to be nasty because you have two leaders that truly hate each other... We have become a nation that used the power of tariffs and the power of trade to settle five of the eight wars that I settled. I settled eight. I’m very proud of that... I don’t think there’s been an American President that settled one.”
Russia-Ukraine War
When asked whether Ukraine could still win the war against Russia, Trump offered a cautious response. He said, “Well, they could. They could still win it. I don’t think they will, but they could still win it. I never said that they would win it. I said they could win it. Anything can happen. You know, war is a very strange thing...”
