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Trump Gaggles with Press Before Departing Fort Bragg, Feb. 13, 2026

February 13, 2026 · The White House · 0:02:04

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

What happened

President Donald Trump took a short round of press questions at Fort Bragg, North Carolina on February 13, 2026, after addressing military families there (paged separately). “We had a great visit at Fort Bragg. We saw a lot of heroes,” he said. “And as you probably heard, we’re going to be giving one particular person the Congressional Medal of Honor for what just took place in Venezuela.”

Most of the gaggle was Iran. Asked what Iran could do to avoid attack: “Give us the deal that they should have given us the first time. They give us the right deal, we won’t do that. But you know, historically they haven’t done that. They want to talk, but so far they do a lot of talking and no action.” Asked whether he wanted regime change: “It seems like that would be the best thing that could happen. For 47 years, they’ve been talking and talking and talking. In the meantime, we’ve lost a lot of lives while they talk.” He noted that “additional power” was on its way — “another carrier is going out shortly” — and, asked what would remain to strike after the nuclear sites he had described as obliterated, answered: “You could get whatever the dust is down there.” Asked about Secretary Duffy and the El Paso airspace closure, he said he had not spoken to Duffy since the incident and that “he’s doing a great job.”

Why it matters

Two sentences in this two-minute gaggle carried the month: the first announcement of a Medal of Honor arising from the Venezuela operation, and the President’s plainest statement to that point that regime change in Iran “would be the best thing that could happen” — made a fortnight before the strikes began. It is recorded on the Foreign Policy & Defense hub.

Scoreboard watch

The Medal of Honor announcement and the President’s regime-change statement, both as made at this gaggle, are recorded here for the weekly scoreboard. The scoreboard entry itself remains review-gated.

Sources: The White House, “President Trump Gaggles with Press Before Departing Fort Bragg, NC, Feb. 13, 2026,” The White House, February 13, 2026 (official upload, embedded above; Fort Bragg, NC, per the official description). All characterizations as stated by the President and reporters at the gaggle.