President Trump discusses Iran, economy at defense conference in Pennsylvania
President Donald Trump tells FOX Business' Ed Lawrence his thoughts on personal threats from Iran, expressing security concerns and more, as a new round of US strikes in the region is reported on 'Claman Countdown.'
In his first public appearance outside the White House since a NATO summit amid threats to his life from Iran, President Donald Trump said Wednesday he was “not thinking about it” and that he was focused on taking out the Iranian regime's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which he said had lost about 90% of its weapons to ongoing strikes.
Trump said this on Tuesday during an exclusive interview with FOX Business before the annual Defense and Innovation Conference in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he again highlighted the advantages of US defense and economy and announced a secret investment of 10 billion dollars in the defense industry.
The president said he was not interested in threats from Iran, revealing that the US had carried out another strike in the country in the past 24 hours. He also suggested that he could eliminate the IRGC the way he defeated ISIS during his first administration.
“Well, we're going to be in good shape,” Trump told FOX Business reporter Edward Lawrence. “They're down. Their weapons are down 91%. Their drone capacity is very low. They still have them, but not much. Their production capacity is low. Their rocket and missile launchers are very low. Their missiles are very low.”
OIL PRICES DIFFER AS TRUMP IRAN MAY FULLY WITHDRAW HORMUZ DEAL
President Donald Trump speaks with Secretary of the Army Pete Hegseth as he arrives at the US Army War College Field Landing Zone on Wednesday on his way to the Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit in Carlisle, Pa. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Trump said that the US is “building up” its military through the Defense Production Act and the companies that work to replenish supplies and replenish the US forces.
“We have to look at ourselves. You know, it's called America First. And we're building our storage facilities very quickly. And as you probably know, the big companies we have now are building plants, although they're not just taking one plant that they've been using for a long time and doing it overtime,” he said.
“We have four or five, six plants by each major company that are being built, new plants in different areas to be made, for example, you can say Patriot. [missile]the most wanted, or Tomahawk arrow.
“So, we want to have it now. We have to wait a year to get something or a year and a half or two years. We want to have it when you wait a week or maybe less, and we will have it very soon.”
OIL PRICES CONTINUED TO LOWEST LEVELS SINCE BEGINNING OF MARCH AFTER TRUMP SAID IRAN COSTS.
President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he speaks at the Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit at the US Army War College on Wednesday in Carlisle, Pa. (Photos by Alex Wong / Getty Images)
The president reiterated his call for lower interest rates, saying the US “should have the lowest interest rates in the world by far.”
He said he supports Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh to help achieve that goal, while predicting resistance from what he described as a “hostile” Federal Reserve board.
Trump also highlighted what he described as an increase in US manufacturing investment, saying more than $19.2 trillion is flowing into the country from foreign allies and investors, including Saudi Arabia, as defense companies step up construction of new factories and stockpile equipment.
President Donald Trump arrives to speak at the Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit at the US Army War College in Carlisle, Pa. (Photos by Alex Wong / Getty Images)
The president also asserted that the trade deficit fell by 68% last year, setting his tax policies in the face of legal challenges.
“Our trade deficit is down 68% in one year,” Trump said. “That's because of spending, and I wish I could spend it sooner. The Supreme Court said you can't spend it as quickly as I've spent it, but I can actually spend it more efficiently the way we're doing it.”
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Looking ahead, Trump said he expects monetary strength to continue to decline until the end of 2026, saying oil prices will eventually fall after a period of volatility.
“I think what's happening is oil is going to yo-yo for a while,” he said. “It goes up a little, it goes down a little. And if this [conflict with Iran] is finished, the oil will drop like a stone.”
