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Trump Gaggles with Press Upon Departure from the White House, Oct. 19, 2026

October 19, 2026 · The White House · 0:19:47

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

What happened

President Donald Trump took questions from reporters as he departed the White House on October 19, 2026, in a gaggle carried in full on the White House channel. He said he was traveling to Kansas, praised Senator Roger Marshall, and said he expected Marshall to do well there.

On foreign policy, the President discussed the state of negotiations with Russia over Ukraine, saying he was in the midst of negotiating a deal and was not looking to break up negotiations in the middle. He said Russia had, in his account, “been very well behaved on Iran,” described the United States as hitting Iran hard economically and militarily, and said he was working to secure the release of a hostage the country had sought for a long time — adding that the outcome would be seen soon.

Why it matters

Departure gaggles are where this President most often states negotiating positions in his own words, and this one put his Ukraine and Iran posture on the record on the same day: talks with Moscow continuing, pressure on Tehran continuing, and a hostage effort he described as near resolution. Foreign policy is the portfolio of Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, whose records this site tracks against statements like these.

Sources: The White House, “President Trump Gaggles with Press Upon Departure from the White House, Oct. 19, 2026” (official upload, embedded above). All negotiating characterizations as stated by the President in the gaggle.