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Trump Gaggles with Press Upon Departure from Joint Base Andrews, Oct. 29, 2026

October 29, 2026 · The White House · 0:06:57

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

What happened

President Donald Trump took questions from reporters upon departure from Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on October 29, 2026, according to the White House. He opened with the morning’s economic release, saying gross domestic product “came out at a much higher number than any projections” at 3.4 percent, “almost double some projections,” and that the country is “doing unbelievably well,” all as he stated it.

Most of the gaggle concerned elections. On Alaska, the President called the Senate ballot listing there “a scheme” and “total election fraud at the highest level,” saying a second person with a similar name to Senator Dan Sullivan had been put on the ballot in a way meant to confuse voters, and attributing the arrangement to Senator Schumer and the Democratic Party, as he stated it. Asked about Senator Lisa Murkowski, who had criticized the administration’s lawsuit and endorsed the Democratic candidate for governor, he said “that’s her problem,” while noting that she also agreed the Senate-race listing was “a very bad thing,” as he stated it. Asked what would constitute an honest election, he said the Alaska listing would have to be corrected, as he stated it.

On California, asked about a judge’s denial of a lawsuit over what the reporter described as 20,000 votes, the President said “of course” the other side would try to take the race, called California’s elections “extremely corrupt,” said the ruling would be appealed, and put the number of bad ballots at “hundreds of thousands” and, in his opinion, “millions,” all as he stated it.

On Brazil, the President repeated that he thought its election was “a disgrace” and “a very great embarrassment to the people of Brazil,” said he had not taken sides at the request of Brazil’s current president, said he would talk to the president, and pointed to Brazil’s market falling as evidence, all as he stated it. Asked about Arab voters, he said he does “very well with the Arab vote” and won Michigan, as he stated it.

Asked about Democratic impeachment talk, the President said Democrats “talk about impeaching everybody” and defended Secretary Pete Hegseth as doing “a great job,” calling him “the best at his job in many, many years,” as he stated it. Asked what proof he had that a lieutenant general had leaked classified information at the Pentagon, he said: “She’s got problems. She’s going to have big problems. Long-term problems,” and that the administration is “very much looking for leakers,” as he stated it.

Closing, the President said his rallies are “unbelievable” and packed, cited a “99% favorable number with the Republican party,” said he was heading to a rally in South Carolina, and said he would like to see Senator Lindsey Graham’s sister win, calling her “very talented, very smart,” all as he stated it.

Why it matters

The departure gaggle puts the President’s election-integrity charges — on the Alaska Senate ballot and on California’s vote count — on the record in his own words five days before the November 3 midterms, alongside a headline economic claim and his continued refusal to bless Brazil’s election result. This chronicle files it on the Elections & Governance hub with every claim attributed to the President.

Scoreboard watch

Scoreboard watch: the President’s dated claims as stated in this gaggle — GDP at 3.4 percent, a 99 percent favorable rating among Republicans, hundreds of thousands to millions of bad California ballots, and a promised appeal of the California ruling — are checkable markers as stated. Noted for the scoreboard editor; no entry is published from this page.

Sources: The White House, “President Trump Gaggles with Press Upon Departure from Joint Base Andrews, Oct. 29, 2026,” Joint Base Andrews, MD, October 29, 2026 (official upload, embedded above; published October 29, 2026). Transcript via Supadata (private research store, paraphrased and attributed, not republished). All figures and characterizations as stated by the President in the gaggle.