President Trump Participates in a Ceremonial Swearing In of Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick

Thank you very much. Today I'm honored to swear in our next Secretary of Commerce, Mr. Howard Lutnick. I've known him a long time, he's a great guy. I want to just congratulate Howard and Allison and Kyle, Brandon, Casey, Ryan and your entire family. Wonderful family, beautiful family. Howard is one of the most experienced and talented business leaders of our time. Done an amazing job on Wall street and far beyond. But more importantly, he's a patriot who loves our country and has shown tremendous courage and strength throughout his career. Howard began at the famed Cantor Fitzgerald in 1983 and by the age of 29 he rose to become the President and CEO and one of the hottest firms on Wall street, much like myself, Howard should not be here today. On September 11, 2001, Howard's company was at its, its absolute height, doing unbelievable, dominating Wall street and stocks and bonds and trading from its headquarters on the 101st to the 105th floor. He had the top three or four floors of the World Trade center, the north tower of the World Trade Center. And every day Howard got up and went to work early. He'd always go in and he'd go to work early and he'd be there 6 o' clock in the morning. And as you know, the, the hit was around 8:45 or something like that. So he would have been there on almost any day other than this because his wife was very angry at him because he wouldn't deliver his child to school. She said, you never take. Who is the child? Let me see. Where's the child? The Lou. You saved your father's life. You saved your father's life, huh? Should hold that against. You're going to leave him more than the other kids, right? Well, so he took, he took. What is your first name? Kyle. Kyle. He took Kyle. Kyle. Congratulations, nice job. But he took Kyle that one day to school. After years, he finally said, okay, I'll do it. And that's the only time. So he was actually riding down the west side highway and he saw the plane hit. And it's an amazing. And the rest is history. And your brother was in there too, I think, right? Yeah. And it was just a terrible. It's a big story. Every single Cantor Fitzgerald employee who was at work that day lost their lives, which is almost 100% of the company. And Howard lost more than 650 friends because they were all friends at a really well unified, just highly respected company. A lot of talent in that company, but the employees, loved ones, including his brother and best friend and most People would have been defeated. They would have probably gone on to not too much. But Howard rebuilt the company step by step. And as he did it, he gave a tremendous amount of the profits and other things to the families of his colleagues who were killed in the World Trade center on that horrible day. And it showed something about Howard that's really incredible, his resilience. It's a very, very few people could have done, even thought of doing it. But his resilience and tenacity have earned him the respect and admiration of everyone in the financial world. But more importantly, Howard understands from personal experience why we put America first. Because we love our families, we love our fellow citizens, and we love our country so much. And he really loves his country. And I wouldn't have done it if I didn't think so. And he's got so many friends in New York and Wall street and elsewhere, and he has just really. He's a relationship person, and they're always the best, and he's. He's the best at it. As Secretary of Commerce, Howard will work tirelessly to protect our workers and our wealth and grow our economy into the strongest in the history of the world. You know, when he rebuilt the company, it actually became much bigger and much stronger than the original company, which is almost impossible to do. It became hotter than even the original Canor Fitzgerald. But he's going to be unmatched as an emissary working to get jobs and investments. And his favorite word, and I'm going to move him down to fourth favorite word first is family. Love God. Not necessarily that order, by the way. I think let's put God first. All right, we'll put God first. You know why? Because we don't want to take any chances. That's why. But I did that once. I said. I put. I put tariff is my favorite word. Well, and the fake news went out, and they really got me. I'll tell you. They said, what about God? Family, relationship, A couple of words. And I said, you're right. And so I made it. Now, my fourth favorite word. And Howard, I think, is, you'll go along with me number four, maybe even number five or six. But he's. He really understands something about business. And we have been called by so many companies. Yesterday we had Tim Cook of Apple, and who's going to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the country because of what we're doing. And we have many, many companies, too many to even mention they're coming roaring back into this country. And it'll take maybe a little Time, but not that much time. You're going to see things that you've never seen before at a level that you've never seen before. And Howard's going to lead that charge. And he'll help oversee the tariff and trade agenda, along with many other things, will soon impose reciprocal tariffs, because that means they charge us, we charge them. It's very simple. Whatever a company or country, such as, let's say, India or China or any of them, whatever they charge, we want to be fair. So reciprocal. Reciprocal meaning they charge us, we charge them. We haven't done that. We've never done that. We were getting ready to do it until Covid hit. We had the greatest economy in the history of the world, and we were just getting started. But the tariffing and going to be very interesting. Howard's going to be in charge of it, and I think you're going to see jobs and money flowing into the country like never has been seen before. As we reduce inflation, unleash energy, bring down costs, bring back manufacturing, and lead the world in innovation, families will flourish and opportunities will skyrocket. We will skyrocket like people haven't seen. It's going to be a really big thing. And I wouldn't feel the same confidence if I didn't have this man on my left. And even though he spent a little bit of his time in life as a Democrat from New York, I'm okay with it because I knew him during his Democrat days, and that's okay. But I just want to say that he is going to help very strongly make America wealthy again, make America great again. And there's nobody that can do the job better. So, Mr. Secretary of Commerce, I just welcome you aboard. There's nothing you can do so big as this, There is no deal you can do that's bigger. Every deal. That's why you can never go back into business, because it seems like small potatoes, no matter how big it is, including even Cantor Fitzgerald. It's all small potatoes compared to what we're doing now. So it's a great honor to have you and your family aboard. Thank you very much. And thank you very much in particular. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Alex.

So first, I'd like to thank you, President Trump. It is the greatest honor to work for you, to be with you, to carry your name, your leadership, and your flag throughout the world. The press has no idea who the gentleman to my left is. They portray him, he in all sorts of ways, but I know him as the smartest, most thoughtful and most intuitive person I've ever met. And it is really, it's amazing to be in this room and to work for him. I have to my right. My friend JD Vance, who was kind enough even to introduce me to the Senate. And he gave me the greatest compliment. He called me a good dude. So I have really the most wonderful family. I have. My wife, Allison, we've been married for 30 years. And I always, when I come home, because I come home late at night, I walk in the door and I yell, hello, greatest wife. She's just an amazing girl. My four children, Kyle, who you know, has saved my life. So now this is going to cost me dearly. My son Brandon, my daughter Casey, my son Ryan, and my sister Edie. My two brothers in law, Gary and Rick. My sister in law, Abby. I mean, this is as beautiful a day as you could have. The opportunity that the Trump administration is going to bring to America is so extraordinary. You know, people think the golden age is a statement. It's like saying, maga, make America great again. This is the greatest country on earth. It is such a great country that we can take care of our citizens and give them their Social Security. We can take care of everyone and give them their Medicaid, but we are going to get rid of so much waste, fraud, and abuse. We're not going to hurt anybody, but we're going to get rid of it. And then we are going to grow this economy in a way that people have never seen. And under the Trump administration, my goal, and I'm happy to wear it on my shoulders, is, is we are going to balance the budget of the United States of America because Donald Trump understands global business. It's the first time you put in that chair the greatest businessman in the United States of America. And I just for one, I have to tell you, I cannot be more proud to serve my great friend and the greatest president in America, Donald J. Trump.

So now we get to swear Howard in. Now where we need the actual.

We need to sign the commission first.

Sign the Commission first. Okay. Mr. President, we have signed the commission first. I can't swear Amen, I guess, until you sign the commission. Yes, sir.

You ready? You sure the last time change your.

Mind, I get to work for you right here. I mean, what's better than this room?

Never looks so beautiful. By the way, how do you like the new look? The desk is a different desk. It's one of seven. But the Resolute desk is being renovated and refurbished after many, many years of service. It'll be back in four Weeks, in case anybody gets there. Okay, you're in.

All right. Now, Howard, come. Come next to your beautiful wife and your beautiful family here. Put your hand on the Bible. Raise your right hand and repeat after me. I, Howard Lutnick.

I, Howard Lutnick.

Do solemnly swear.

Do solemnly swear.

That I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States.

That I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all.

Enemies, foreign and domestic.

Against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

That I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same.

And I will bear truth, faith and allegiance to the same.

That I take this obligation freely.

I will take this obligation freely.

Without any mental reservation.

Without any mental reservation.

Or purpose of evasion.

Or purpose of evasion.

And that I will well and faithfully discharge.

And I will well and faithfully discharge.

The duties of the office on which I'm about to enter.

The duties of the office in which I am about to enter.

So help you God.

So help me God.

Congratulations, Mr. Secretary.

Thank you very much, Mr. President.

Mr. President, there are reports that you are considering merging the United States Postal Service with the Commerce Department. Can you elaborate on if this is something you're considering?

Well, we want to have a post office that works well and doesn't lose massive amounts of money, and we're thinking about doing that.

And.

And it will be a form of a merger, but it will remain the Postal Service. And I think it will operate a lot better than it has been over the years. It's been just a tremendous loser for this country. Tremendous amounts of money are being lost, and we think we can do something that will be very good and keep it a very similar way. But whether it's a merger or just using some of the very talented people that we have elsewhere so it doesn't lose so much. It's losing a tremendous amount of money. Mr. President.

Some members of Congress in red districts are facing pushback from voters in town halls. We know that Americans. Americans voted for you on the immigration and the economy. But these voters say they're angry and frustrated by these firings. They don't like the work of Elon Musk and these other actions. What do you say to them?

Who do you work for?

I work for ABC News, sir.

Who?

AB Seniors.

No wonder. Let me just tell you. Let me just tell you that I have today the highest poll numbers I've ever had. I have today the highest poll numbers of any Republican president ever. We haven't even checked the Democrats, but that's what I was just told. And they like the job that we're doing. They like the job that Elon's doing. He's doing something that a lot of people wouldn't have the courage to do. We want to streamline our country. We want to streamline because you know why? Because we want our country to survive and thrive. And we're finding billions and billions of dollars of waste, fraud and abuse. Billions. And I mean numbers like you wouldn't believe. And we haven't even started yet. So it's actually just the opposite. We've polled it and people are thrilled. They can't even believe it's happening. And it won't affect many people. It'll only affect the people that get caught stealing. The waste, fraud and abuse is at a level like nobody has ever seen. It's been going on for years. And all you have to do is look at the Social Security roles, look at some of the things, look at where the money is going. The attorney General is looking into something. Environmental protection. $20 billion, and it's out and out fraud. So I think the people are very happy. Yes. Mr. President, I want to ask you about the. This week, the secretary spent four hours with the European Union trade representative. The European Union has signaled that they would lower tariffs and do a trade deal with the United States. Yeah, the European Union wants to come back. They've treated us very badly. And the European Union wants to lower their tariffs because of the fact we were paying fortunate tariffs. We couldn't sell a car there. We couldn't sell our farm products there. They wouldn't take anything. Now all of a sudden, they're being very nice. And that's going to happen with a lot of others, too. The European Union is wanting to lower its barriers at very low levels. They want to now bring their car number, which was extremely high, down to 2.5%, which is the same thing that we charge. That's reciprocal. See, that's what is happening. Reciprocal. And I think it's a big start in the right direction with the European Union. You called President Zen Zelensky of Ukraine a dictator. Do you think that President Putin of Russia is also a dictator? I think that President Putin and President Zelensky are going to have to get together, because you know what? We want to stop killing millions of people. You have young soldiers being killed. If you saw the pictures that I saw of the battlefield from satellite, you've never seen any pictures like that. Soldiers are being killed by the thousands a week. Thousands of soldiers a week. As we speak, they're being killed. That's Why? I want to see a ceasefire and I want to get the deal done. I think we have a chance to get the deal done. I had to make sure that Russia wanted to do it. It's a war that would have never happened if I was president, but it did happen, so I got stuck with it. And I want to stop people from being killed. You know, it doesn't affect the United States very much. It's on the other side of the ocean. It does affect Europe, and we put in three times more money. We're in for 300 billion, they're in for 100 billion billion. And, you know, Europe is also doing it in the form of a loan. Biden just gave him money. There was no loan, there was no security, there was no anything. So we're going to either sign a deal or there's going to be a lot of problems with them. So we're going to sign a deal to get security, because we have to do that. We're spending our treasure. They're spending their blood. They are, and they're very brave and, you know, in every way you can imagine. But we are spending our treasure on some. A country that's very, very far away. And it's okay, but we have to be treated the same as Europe is being treated. Europe gets their money back. Europe is basically giving nothing because they get it back in the form of a loan, and it's a guaranteed loan. We don't get our money back and we're losing. I mean, we don't want to do that anymore. So we're signing an agreement, hopefully in the next fairly short period of time that will assure us that we'll get 4 or $500 billion back. We're in there for $300 billion. Now. One other thing. Europe is at 100, we're at 300. We think it has to equalize. In other words, they have to come up with more money because it has a big effect on Europe. It doesn't have much of an effect on us because we have a big, beautiful ocean in between. But it does affect. And Biden should have never gotten us into this mess. We had an incompetent president who got us into a mess, but we're going to get you out of it. The same thing in the Middle East. We're going to have some good news in the Middle East. What happened yesterday, the sight of those babies was not acceptable to anybody. Nobody has seen anything like it.

Mr. President, are you going to Moscow? There's a report out of France that you're going to Moscow on May 9.

No, no.

To join President Putin. And if I could, sir, just ask you about Cash, but who's going to be sworn in as soon as your FBI director talk to us about your reaction to him getting sworn in and the fact that many agents across the country are concerned that they will be fired en masse for simply just doing their jobs.

No, I think the agents are very happy about Cash. In fact, the agents led the charge for Cash. One of the reasons I loved Cash and wanted to put him in is because of the respect the agents had for him. I think he's going to be. I think he'll go down as the best ever at that position. And it turned out he was very easy to get approved. You know, I was not sure. He's tough guy, strong guy. He has his opinions, and I wasn't sure. He turned out to be very. He went very smoothly. I don't know if he's in the room now. He's going to be in the room very short. I'm saying the right thing. I can't speak too badly about him. I better be. I will say this about Cash, and Howard understands this. One of the reasons that I wanted him is because the agents love this guy and they respect this guy, and this is what they wanted. And even somebody like Trey Gowdy, who's a very good guy, but known as somewhat of a moderate person, he came out and he came out with a statement that was so incredible. He said, Cash is in an incredible person. People don't realize it. When he said that, there was no doubt left. It was really a big statement made by somebody that's respected and on the moderate side. And I will tell you, I think Cash is going to go down as maybe the best ever when it's all said and done. So, Mr. President, I'm glad he's willing to do it. Thank you. A little bit more. Say what? Can you speak a little bit more about your meeting?

Tim Cook?

You said that he was going to invest hundreds, billions of dollars. Specific projects that he spoke about. Yeah. All over the country. All over the country. He's going to start building. He doesn't want to pay tariffs and he's going to start building. But very big numbers. You have to speak to him. I assume they're going to announce it at some point, but very big numbers. He was here yesterday. I met with him at length. And Apple is coming here with tremendous dollars. They're going to be spending a lot of money in the United States, more than they've ever spent by a factor of probably 10.

You were reporting that you were signing amendment later to counter digital service taxes.

Will you speak? I mean, what are you doing reading it? Can't you just say it without having to read it?

My question.

Yeah.

Oh, sure. Bloomberg, we're reporting that you're expected to sign tariffs or a memo later on tariffs on digital taxes. Is there any idea how high you might go with.

We are going to be doing that digital. What they're doing to us in other countries is terrible with digital. So we'll be announcing that. Are we signing it maybe today? Today. And we'll be. So we'll talk about that in a little while.

Mr. President, are you going to put.

The secretary in charge of the postal Service? He's going to look at it. He's got a great business instinct, which is what we need and he'll be looking at it. And we think we can turn it around, but it is the Postal Service. I mean, we're leading the Postal Service, but we're losing so much money with the postal Service and we don't want to lose that kind of money. So the secretary and some others that have talent, that kind of talent will be looking at.

So can you agreement with Ukraine. Mr. President, what how close are you to striking a minerals deal?

I think we're pretty close. I think they want it. They feel good about it and it's significant. It's a big deal, but they want it and it keeps us in that country and they're very happy about it. But it's we get our money back. This should have been signed long before we went in. This should have been signed by Biden. Biden didn't know too much about what he was doing. The war should have never happened. Number one. When it did happen, it could have been settled the first week or two weeks after that it got bad. It got really bad. But it should have been. It should have never happened. And it should have been settled. And it could have been settled very easily at the beginning. Now it's tougher, but we'll get it settled. Germany has elections on Sunday. What are your thoughts? What do you expect to happen in the elections on Sunday? Who has elections, Germany or Germany? I wish them luck. We got our own prize.

Thank you, Press. Thank you, Press. Thank you, Price.