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Trump Gaggles with Press Before Departing the White House, Mar. 20, 2026

March 20, 2026 · The White House · 0:12:11

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

What happened

President Donald Trump brought Secretary of State Marco Rubio out with him before departing the White House on March 20, 2026 — “I thought I’d bring our great secretary of state out… he is doing a fantastic job. So, we have Marco” — and took questions dominated by Iran.

Asked about Iran’s execution of three protesters, he said: “I don’t know if you can possibly get hit harder, but these are thugs and animals and horrible people… They executed three young people for protesting.” On escorting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, he argued the burden belongs to its users: “We don’t use the strait. The United States, we don’t need it. Europe needs it. Korea, Japan, China, a lot of other people. So, they’ll have to get involved a little bit on that one.” Opening the strait, he said, “is a simple military maneuver… but you need ships, you need volume, and NATO could help us, but they so far haven’t had the courage to do so.”

He declared the military question settled: “I think we’ve won. We’ve knocked out their navy, their air force. We’ve knocked out their anti-aircraft. We’ve knocked out everything. We’re roaming free. From a military standpoint… they’re finished.” Asked whether Israel would end the war when he is ready, he said, “The relationship’s a very good one… we want more or less similar things. You know what we want? We want victory, both of us.” On Ukraine, he said talks with Russia continue “almost every day” and “I think it’ll get done.”

Why it matters

The March 20 gaggle is where the President first states the two positions that define the weeks after it: the war is already won militarily, and the Strait of Hormuz is a bill for the nations whose energy moves through it — the burden-sharing ask he pressed on NATO and Asian allies through the spring. It is recorded on the Foreign Policy & Defense hub.

Scoreboard watch

The President’s Hormuz burden-sharing ask and his “militarily won” characterization of the Iran war, as stated by the President, are recorded here for the weekly scoreboard.

Sources: The White House, “President Trump Gaggles with Press Before Departing the White House,” The White House, March 20, 2026 (official upload, embedded above). All characterizations as stated by the President at the gaggle.