Washington, DC - 22 February 2019

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, US President:

"Reporter question: What about the charges against (New England Patriots owner) Bob Kraft? He's a friend of yours.

Trump: Well it's very sad. I was very surprised to see it. He's proclaimed his innocence, totally, but I'm very surprised to see it.

Reporter question: Have you spoken to (Attorney General) Bill Barr about the release of the Mueller report? Have you spoken to him about that?

Trump: No. I have not.

Reporter: Do you expect to?

Trump: At some point, I guess I'll be talking about it. But you know the nice part? There was no collusion. There was no obstruction. There was no anything. So that's the nice part. There was no phone calls, no nothing. We have a, I won the race. You want to know why I won the race because I was a better candidate than she was and it had nothing to do with Russia. And everybody knows it's a hoax. It's one of the greatest hoaxes ever perpetrated on this country. So I look forward to seeing the report. If it's an honest report it will say that. If it's not an honest report it won't."

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, US President:

"Reporter question: Mr. President, on troops in Syria, why are you reversing course?

Trump: I'm not reversing course. I have done something that nobody else has been able to do. In another short period of time like hours, you'll be hearing, hours and days, you'll be hearing about the caliphate. It's 100 percent defeated. Nobody's been able to say that that. That doesn't mean there aren't some very bad people walking around and strapping on bombs and all of these things. But we've done a job that nobody else has been able to do. I heard Lindsey Graham this morning congratulating me on having defeated the, you know the caliphate. And frankly, I'm getting a lot of congratulations. At the same time, we can leave a small force along with others in the force, whether it's NATO troops or whoever it might be so that it doesn't start up again and I'm okay. It's a very small tiny fraction of the people we have. And a lot of people like that idea and I'm open to ideas. But the 2,500 people that we've had there will be going to different parts of the world. They may be going over to Iraq where we have a very powerful base, a base that cost billions of dollars to build frankly and that we'll be using. But we have had tremendous success in defeating the caliphate and now everybody's admitting I did more in the last three or four weeks than people have done in years and it's been very successful. But we want to make sure it stays that way."

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, US President:

"Reporter: Will you veto that resolution that was introduced today that would block the national emergency if it passes?"

Trump: On the wall? Will I veto it? 100 percent. 100 percent. And I don't think it survives a veto. We have too many smart people that want border security so I can't imagine it could survive a veto. But I will veto it. Yes."

4. Cutaway of Chinese delegation and Cabinet officials

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, US President:

"Reporter: We haven't gotten your response yet to Amazon pulling out of New York City, your home city, your home state...

Trump: I think it's a tremendous loss to New York City. I think it's a big loss. I think it's, if you look at the deal, the deal was not a great deal from the standpoint of they could have made a better deal than that, a much better deal. But still, I think it's a loss for New York City. And the three billion dollars wasn't a check, it was a form of taxes over a period of time that now they'll never see because you know, they were going to take in a lot of jobs, they were going to take in a lot of taxes. So I think it's a big loss for New York City. It's the kind of thinking that our country is going to on the left, on the radical left, but ultimately it's not good for jobs and it's not good for the economy but it was a big loss for New York City. I come from New York City, I love New York City. I think it was a big loss for New York City."

6. Wide shot of Trump listening to reporter question

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, US President:

"Reporter: On North Korea, your own administration officials say that Kim Jong Un has not actually decided yet whether he wants to denuclearize. So how can you meet with him if he doesn't even want to...

Trump: "We have had such a great relationship and China has helped us a lot with North Korea and with Kim Jong Un since I got to office. If I were not elected president, you would have been in a war with North Korea. We now have a situation where the relationships are good, where there's been no nuclear testing, no missiles, no rockets. We got our hostages back. We have many of the remains back and coming back rapidly, the remains of our great warriors from many, many years ago and the families are so thrilled and so happy. We've had a great relationship. The Singapore was a tremendous success. Only the fake news likes to portray it otherwise. We would have gone, we would have been, we would have literally been in a war with North Korea in my opinion had I not been elected."

8. Wide shot of Trump ending spray

President Donald Trump said Friday he is "not reversing course" in Syria with the decision to authorize about 200 U.S. troops to remain there.

In December, Trump announced he was pulling all 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria, but European allies insisted on some U.S. forces remaining on the ground.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office during a meeting with the Chinese trade delegation, Trump reiterated his claim that 100 percent of the Islamic State group's caliphate has been defeated and said his administration has "did more in the last three or four weeks than people have done in years."

He said the two-thousand-plus troops that have been stationed in Syria will now go to "different parts of the world," including Iraq.

Asked if he has spoken to Attorney General Robert Barr about Robert Mueller's special counsel report that many believe will be released soon, Trump said he has not, adding that the entire investigation is "one of the greatest hoaxes ever perpetrated on" the U.S.

Trump also pledged a veto if Congress passes a resolution blocking his use of a national emergency declaration to fund a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Trump told reporters he would "100 percent" veto the resolution introduced by House Democrats earlier in the day.

The Democratic-controlled House is sure to pass the measure, and the GOP-run Senate may adopt it as well despite Trump's opposition.

Any Trump veto would likely be sustained, but the upcoming battle will test Republican support for Trump's move.

Asked about Amazon's recent decision to drop its plans for a new headquarters in New York, the president called it "a big loss" for the city.

He also blamed what he's calling "radical left" thinking, which he says isn't good for jobs or the economy.

Amazon abruptly dropped plans last week to build one of its new headquarters in Long Island City, Queens, which could have delivered 25,000 jobs.

On his summit next week with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam, Trump said he expects a successful meeting, saying the U.S. and Pyongyang have "such a great relationship."

Trump said if he were note elected president, "you would have been in a war with North Korea. We now have a situation where the relationships are good."