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Trump Gaggles with Press at Mar-a-Lago, Feb. 1, 2026

February 1, 2026 · The White House · 0:02:52

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

What happened

President Donald Trump took questions from reporters at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida on February 1, 2026. Asked about Iran’s Supreme Leader warning that a U.S. attack could spark a regional war, he said: “Of course he’s going to say that. But we have the biggest, most powerful ships in the world over there, very close, a couple of days — and hopefully we’ll make a deal. If we don’t make a deal, then we’ll find out whether or not he was right.”

On Cuba, he said the island “is a failing nation” that “now doesn’t have Venezuela to prop it up,” and that “we’re talking to the people from Cuba, the highest people in Cuba — we’ll see what happens. I think we’re going to make a deal with Cuba.” Asked about a Democrat’s special-election win in a Texas state senate district he had carried by 17 points, he said he was not involved in the local race and that results without him on the ballot may not be transferable.

Why it matters

The gaggle dates two of the chronicle’s standing foreign-policy threads in the President’s own words at the start of February 2026: coercive pressure on Iran paired with a stated hope for a negotiated deal, and an opening toward Cuba following the change in Venezuela.

Sources: The White House, “President Trump Gaggles with Press at Mar-a-Lago, Feb. 1, 2026” (official upload, Palm Beach, FL, embedded above). All characterizations as stated by the President in the gaggle.