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Trump Gaggles with Press Before Departing the White House, Apr. 16, 2026

April 16, 2026 · The White House · 0:26:18

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

What happened

President Donald Trump took questions from the press before departing the White House on April 16, 2026; the available broadcast begins partway into the gaggle, with a question about the Pope’s criticism of those who manipulate religion for political or military ends. The President answered: “It’s very important that the Pope understands… Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. If they did, every country, including Italy, where he’s stationed, every single country in the world would be in trouble.” As he stated the underlying figure, “Iran killed 42,000 people that were totally unarmed. There were protesters.” Asked whether he would meet the Pope to settle the differences, he said: “I don’t think it’s necessary.”

On the coming Lebanon meeting, he said he had “a great talk” with both Prime Minister Netanyahu and the president of Lebanon that day, expected a ceasefire that “will include Hezbollah,” and added: “I think it could be number 10 for me.” On Iran he said the blockade “is holding up very strong, very powerfully,” that a deal would carry “no nuclear weapons,” and that on enrichment “we have a statement, very powerful statement, that they will not have beyond 20 years that they will not have nuclear weapons. That’s beyond — there’s no 20-year limit.” He also reported a “very good talk” with Prime Minister Modi of India days earlier and said of Attorney General Todd Blanche, “I think Todd Blanche is doing a very good job.”

Why it matters

The April 16 gaggle is the President’s public answer to the Vatican’s criticism and his preview of the Lebanon ceasefire diplomacy concluded a week later, on the Foreign Policy & Defense hub. The broadcast begins mid-gaggle; the record here covers the portion the White House published.

Scoreboard watch

The Lebanon ceasefire preview (“it could be number 10”) and the beyond-20-years no-nuclear-weapons statement as described by the President are recorded here, checkable against the April 23 Lebanon–Israel meeting and the Iran text that follows.

Sources: The White House, “President Trump Gaggles with Press Before Departing the White House, Apr. 16, 2026,” The White House, April 16, 2026 (official upload, embedded above). All figures and characterizations as stated by the President at the gaggle.