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Trump Gaggles with the Press on Air Force One, May 4, 2025

May 4, 2025 · The White House · 0:12:28

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

President Donald Trump spoke with the traveling press aboard Air Force One on May 4, 2025, in a gaggle carried on the White House channel, days after Mike Waltz’s move from National Security Advisor to his nomination as Ambassador to the United Nations.

Asked whether Waltz’s reassignment reflected a mistake, the President rejected the premise: “I actually think it’s a higher position. I want you to know that. I think it’s an upgrade,” he said. “He didn’t resign. I just moved him. There was no resignation.” Asked about trade negotiations, he said the terms would be his: “We’re negotiating with many countries, but at the end of this, I’ll set my own deals because I set the deal. They don’t set the deal,” adding that talks were underway with almost every country, including China, though he had no plans to speak with President Xi that week.

Why it matters

The gaggle is the President’s own on-record account of the Waltz succession — a move he insisted was a promotion, not a dismissal — and an early, plain statement of his tariff negotiating doctrine days before the first trade deal was announced.

Sources: The White House, “President Trump Gaggles with the Press on Air Force One, May 04, 2025” (YouTube, May 4, 2025) — official description and broadcast transcript as aired.