Transcript - Press Gaggle: Donald Trump Speaks to the Press After Air Force One Arrival #1 - September 14, 2020 | Factba.se

Donald Trump

00:00:00 - 00:00:07 (8 sec)

I hear a lot of people over there, I just don't see them. They're behind the hangar.

Donald Trump

00:00:07 - 00:00:44 (36 sec)

So thank you for being here. We have meetings with FEMA, and we have meetings with a lot of people, having to do with California, Washington State, and Oregon. And I think they'll go very well. They're doing an incredible job. This is one of the biggest burns we've ever seen, and we have to do a lot about forest management. Obviously, forest management in California is very important. And now it extends to Washington and extends also to Oregon. There has to be good, strong forest management, which I've been talking about for three years with this state. So hopefully they'll start doing that.

Donald Trump

00:00:44 - 00:01:03 (20 sec)

In the meantime, we're helping them up -- out in a very big way. We have the best people in the world doing this. We have all of our people from FEMA. We have law enforcement here. We have the Army Corps of Engineers. We have, basically, some other military and military operatives that do this.

Donald Trump

00:01:03 - 00:01:14 (11 sec)

And I'm going to meet with the governor right now, Gavin Newsom. We've worked very well together. I've approved the emergency declaration, as you know. And I think we'll have a very good meeting.

Donald Trump

00:01:14 - 00:01:29 (15 sec)

I think you're going to be able to go in, take a few pictures -- a shot. We may or may not keep you there. As far as I'm concerned, I'd be okay with it, but maybe -- maybe the state would rather not have that, and that's okay with me too. So we're going to go in right now.

Donald Trump

00:01:29 - 00:02:01 (32 sec)

Then we're going, as you know, to Arizona. We're meeting with a very great group of people -- Hispanic people who have done really well and they understand exactly what's happening. And we've had tremendous support, as you know and you can see from, probably, everything, including polls. I don't give a lot of significance to polls, even though we've been getting very good polls. We just got a very good one from Rasmussen, as you probably saw. And we certainly got a very good one from within the Republican Party: 95 to 96 percent.

Donald Trump

00:02:01 - 00:02:06 (6 sec)

So we're going to do our meeting now with the state officials, including the governor, and then I'll see you in a little while.

Donald Trump

00:02:06 - 00:02:20 (13 sec)

And then ultimately -- and we're also giving seven medals to seven great, really, heroes -- really, truly heroes. And I look forward to doing that. We'll be doing that. We're going to have a little bit of a press conference inside. Okay?

Question

00:02:20 - 00:02:28 (8 sec)

What would you like to see, specifically, done on the issue of forest management? And is it possible that it's also forest management and climate change -- it's both of things at the same time?

Donald Trump

00:02:28 - 00:02:31 (4 sec)

Well, I think something is possible. I think a lot of things are possible.

Donald Trump

00:02:31 - 00:02:51 (20 sec)

But with regard to the forest: When trees fall down, after a short period of time -- about 18 months -- they become very dry. They become, really, like a matchstick. And they get up -- you know, there's no more water pouring through, and they become very, very -- well, they just explode. They can explode.

Donald Trump

00:02:51 - 00:03:01 (10 sec)

Also, leaves -- when you have years of leaves -- dried leaves -- on the ground, it just sets it up. It's really a fuel for a fire. So they have to do something about it.

Donald Trump

00:03:01 - 00:03:15 (14 sec)

They also have to do cuts. I mean, people don't like to do cuts, but they have to do cuts in between. So if you do have a fire and it gets away, you'll have a 50-yard cut in between so it won't be able to catch to the other side. They don't do that.

Donald Trump

00:03:15 - 00:03:47 (32 sec)

If you go to other countries -- you go to Austria, you go to Finland, you go to many different countries, and they don't have -- I was talking to a head of a major country, and he said, "We're a forest nation. We consider ourself a forest nation." This was in Europe. I said, "That's a beautiful term." He said, "We have trees that are far more explosive... " -- he meant "explosive" in terms of fire -- "... but we have trees that are more explosive they have in California, and we don't have any problem because we manage our forests." So we have to do that in California, too.

Donald Trump

00:03:47 - 00:03:53 (6 sec)

So I'll go do this, and we'll see you in a little while. Thank you. Thank you.