Trump Lays Out Agenda at First Post-Election Press Conference
Rachel del Guidice /
Nine days away from the inauguration, President-elect Donald Trump held his first press conference Wednesday after winning the presidential election.
Here are six takeaways from Trump’s press conference.
1. Trump Will ‘Repeal and Replace Obamacare’
Trump said that Obamacare is a “disaster” and that the easy road to take would be to “let it implode.” However, Trump said that as soon as the Senate approves his pick for secretary of health and human services, Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., his administration will unveil a plan to repeal and replace Obamacare.
“We’re going to be submitting, as soon as our secretary is approved, almost simultaneously—shortly thereafter—a plan,” Trump said. “It will be repeal and replace. It will be, essentially simultaneously.”
2. The Wall ‘Will Happen’
Trump firmly reiterated his intention to build a wall along the border and said that Vice President-elect Mike Pence is “leading an effort to get final approvals through various agencies and through Congress for the wall to begin.”
Trump said that Mexico, not American taxpayers, will pay for the wall. “Mexico, in some form, and there [are] many different forms, will reimburse us and they will reimburse us for the cost of the wall,” Trump said. “That will happen.”
3. A ‘Replacement for the Great, Great Justice Scalia’
Filling the Supreme Court seat of the late Justice Antonin Scalia is also high priority for the president-elect. Trump said a nomination will likely come within two weeks of Inauguration Day.
Trump added that recommendations from conservative policy organizations such as the Federalist Society and Heritage Foundation President Jim DeMint have been influential in the selection process. Trump said that the 20 candidates he has considered are “outstanding,” and that his team “will put up for justice of the United States Supreme Court—a replacement for the great, great Justice Scalia.”
4. ‘No Conflict of Interest’
Trump assured the country he would have “no conflict of interest” because of his business interests while serving as president.
“I could actually run my business and run government at the same time,” Trump said. “I don’t like the way that looks, but I would be able to do that if I wanted to … but I don’t want to do that.”
After stating that he would not continue to run his business while serving in the White House, Trump invited lawyer Sheri Dillon of the firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius to detail the steps he will be taking to ensure that his business ties will be severed during his tenure in office.
Some of the steps the president-elect will be taking, according to Dillon, include Trump relinquishing his management position at the Trump Organization, creating a new ethics position to approve business deals that “could potentially raise ethics or conflicts of interest concerns,” and banning foreign deals made by the Trump Organization during his time in office.
5. Claims Made About Russian Involvement ‘Fake News’
Trump dismissed allegations that the Russian government had information on his personal dealings. He called articles published by BuzzFeed and CNN that propagated this claim “fake news.”
CNN reported that “Russian operatives claim to have compromising personal and financial information about Mr. Trump, multiple U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the briefings tell CNN.”
Trump said that these accusations are not substantiated, and expressed appreciation to Russian President Vladimir Putin for addressing the statement about the claim.
“President Putin and Russia put out a statement today that this fake news was indeed fake news. They said it totally never happened. Now somebody would say, ‘Oh, of course he’s going to say that’—I respected the fact that he said that,” Trump said.
6. Putin an ‘Asset’
Trump said that he is happy with being viewed positively in the Russian president’s eyes.
“Well, if Putin likes Donald Trump, I consider that an asset, not a liability,” Trump said.
Trump added that Putin could be a beneficial partner in fighting the Islamic State, or ISIS, while still choosing not to promise that the two countries would be tight allies. He emphasized that America would benefit more from him dealing with Russia rather than his defeated election opponent, Hillary Clinton.
“Now I don’t know that I am going to get along with Vladimir Putin,” Trump said. “I hope I do, but there is a good chance I won’t. And if I don’t, do you honestly believe that Hillary would be tougher on Putin than me? Does anybody in this room really believe that? Give me a break.”