The full transcript, unpublished by the Journal but obtained by POLITICO, is below.

The Wall Street Journal Interview with President Donald Trump

Location: Washington, D.C.

Date: Tuesday, July 25, 2017

GERARD BAKER: Yes, yes.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Tax, other things.

BAKER: Yeah. Economy, trade, fate of the world world economy, market

TRUMP: As we speak.

BAKER: Consumer confidence at a 17-year high.

TRUMP: What did you say?

BAKER: Consumer confidence at a 17-year high.

TRUMP: Can you believe it? Isnt that nice. Theres good reason for it, too, and I think were
doing pretty well on health care. Well see.

BAKER: Yeah, yeah.

TRUMP: I call it a motion to talk, you know. Its not a motion to proceed.

BAKER: The Senate view

TRUMP: Its not basically, its a motion to talk. But once you get that motion, its in pretty
good shape, once you get in. Its hard to get in, but once you get in. So were going to see. John
McCain was a great help, coming in as he did. And so it was something I very much appreciate,
and well see what happens. Were going to know in about two hours.

BAKER: What have you been doing, Mr. President, sort of behind the scenes?

TRUMP: A lot. A lot.

BAKER: I mean, what do you think the crucial conversations have been?

TRUMP: Many conversations. I just had one with a certain senator that was very convincing to
that senator. So Ive done a lot. I mean, last night last night it was amazing. I was at the
you know, I was in West Virginia doing certain things and making a speech to the Boy Scouts,
and that was some crowd. That was an incredible crowd.

But Ive been working hard, trying to get the senators to go along with it. And I you know, I
think I you know, look, just dont quote me on this unless it happens, but I think we have a
pretty good shot. And that votes taking place at about 2:00 today, right? 2:00?

WSJ: A little bit later, yeah, exactly.

TRUMP: A little bit later?

WSJ: All depending on McCains plane landing.

WSJ: If you get the vote if you get the vote today to go ahead, what will be the next hurdle
that you

TRUMP: Well, then you have to go and decide on what plan you want, which way youre going
to go. You want to decide on is it repeal or repeal and replace. If its repeal and replace, which
one do you want to go? Which form of existing conditions? I mean, theres many things. But
once youre in there, then you can really negotiate. This is actually the heart, though. Once
youre there, you can, you know, Gerard oh, say hello.

IVANKA TRUMP: Hi, Gerard. How are you?

BAKER: Oh, hey. How nice to see you. How are you doing?

IVANKA TRUMP: I heard you were here. I wanted to come by and say hi.

(Cross talk.)

IVANKA TRUMP: How is your Arabella (sp)?

BAKER: Oh, very (inaudible). She just got back from Costa Rica. She was there for two
weeks. And hows and hows yours?

IVANKA TRUMP: Oh, very good. (Inaudible.)

BAKER: It was nice to see you out in Southampton a couple weeks ago.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: So you do, you have a is it the same spelling?

BAKER: I have an exactly the same spelling, Arabella (sp). Yeah.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: How did that happen? I think you named your daughter after

IVANKA TRUMP: Its an English name, but its not particularly common, so.
BAKER: Its not very common, yeah, no. Actually, we were there first.

IVANKA TRUMP: Youre the first.

BAKER: Mine is mine is 15. How old is yours?

IVANKA TRUMP: Oh, OK.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: So hes I think you copied.

IVANKA TRUMP: So I copied that. (Laughter.)

BAKER: Yeah, yeah, no, its actually

IVANKA TRUMP: And I liked your editorial today, very nice. (Laughs.)

BAKER: Oh, good, good. Well, you see, you know, my colleagues write those, so theyll be
theyll be

PRESIDENT TRUMP: You did a good job.

IVANKA TRUMP: Yeah, you really did.

BAKER: Thank you very much. Thank you.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: You did a good job. Hes a good hes a good boy.

IVANKA TRUMP: They wrote a very nice editorial, so very good.

BAKER: Thank you.

WSJ: Thank you.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thanks, Honey. Stay around if you want.

IVANKA TRUMP: Yeah, yeah.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: So well have the vote today at probably 3:00 or so. And we have the
head of Lebanon coming in; thatll be interesting, a little a little change of pace. We keep it
interesting. But so well see what thats all about.

BAKER: Are you recommending to the people that you talk to a particular do you want
are you saying do this and then go for repeal, or are you going

TRUMP: Id rather see repeal and replace because I I can do either way. If you remember, it
was you know, it was an idea that I had very early on, repeal. Trouble with repeal is youll
have millions of people out there that well, its like we just got the highest confidence in
many years; you know, people out there that will say, well, you know, how do we know were
going to have health care? And I hate to do that to people.

WSJ: But youve been concerned about that, right

TRUMP: Ive always Im always concerned about that. I dont like it. I dont like it from that
standpoint. Now, with that being said, you might be able to make a very good deal because I
think theres a lot of pressure on the Democrats. But the Democrats are nothing more than
obstructionists. Thats all they can do. Thats all they seem to be good at. So theyre
obstructionists, so what they will do, even though its for the good of the country, they will
obstruct. They cant do anything about Obamacare, and I understand that. They dont want to
vote against it. But now, once its done it was my original theory: Once its begun, now they
can get together. They can do something. But they wont do that. Theres too much and this
isnt with respect to me; this is years. This is years, Gerry. I mean, if you look at whats been
going on over the last long period of time. I actually asked people that are political people I
could ask you people you know, is it the worst youve seen it? And Ive had every single
person, no, actually theres certain other times that were worse. There were certain times in
Obamas administration that were worse.

BAKER: The partisanship, you mean?

TRUMP: You think yeah, the partisanship. So, anyway.

So Id rather see Id rather see replace. Id rather add the replace. And we have a very good
plan. Thats the one thing, we really have a good plan. Weve covered a lot of territory. Its a
very, very difficult situation because you move a little bit to the left and you lose four guys, you
move a little bit to the right all of a sudden you have a bloc of people that are gone. You have
about a one-inch road and it wheels through the middle of the valley, and if its even slightly off.
Its a very difficult its a very difficult thing, always has been.

You know, if you think, Hillary Clinton, smart person, she was the first lady of the country, her
entire life was spent her entire eight years was spent trying to get health care. Never even
came close. Obama and one thing I have to say, Im here now exactly six months. Obama
took would you say a year-and-a-half?

BAKER: Yeah.

WSJ: He took a year and a half, yeah.

TRUMP: Because people were saying, Trump has not produced. I honestly believe for six
months I have done more than just about any president when you look at all of the bills that were
passed, 42, 43.

BAKER: What are you most proud of in the first six months?
TRUMP: A lot of things. I think Im proud of the Supreme Court choice. And thats not just a
nomination, thats getting him through. Im very proud of opening up regulations. One of the
reasons you see optimism is because people can actually use their land. They can farm their land.
Ive had tremendous and tremendous look, I had 45,000 people there yesterday. Its the
biggest crowd theyve ever had, and they were they were going wild yesterday in West
Virginia. But people can actually use their land and they can build.

And I think one of the things that I have to be very proud of is the VA. I think we have a great,
great administrator, OK

WSJ: Shulkin.

TRUMP: ... and a great secretary, David Shulkin. Hes he was actually approved 100 to
nothing, by the way.

BAKER: What about your disappointments? Any disappointments in the first six months?

TRUMP: Well, Id have to let you know. I have to see where we are with this. Lets see. Maybe
it doesnt work, but I think its going to. And, you know, it is it would have been easier to
start with taxes, but this is better if it works, OK? If it works, this is better.

WSJ: More general generally.

TRUMP: But I think, you know, depending so if you asked me that question in a month or
really at the end of the year, because we hope to get this. We hope to get taxes and then
infrastructure. And then Im going to do a very big were doing very big trade deals, and
were looking forward to that. But we want to do, ideally, this first.

You know, a lot of people said you should have started with taxes or you should have started
with infrastructure. Well, infrastructure, Ill actually have bipartisan support, and I can use
infrastructure to carry other things along. So I dont want to waste it at the beginning, if that
makes sense.

WSJ: Can I ask on that? I mean, are you confident? When you say the Democrats are
obstructionists, and obviously theyre looking ahead to the midterms next year, it doesnt seem
like politically for Democrats theres a lot of incentive, even on a bipartisan thing like
infrastructure, that might be popular [inaudible]. How tough a road is it going to be? In any
case, its hard

TRUMP: Well, they tried they tried it with me. She spent hundreds of millions of dollars on
negative ads. She didnt do a positive ad, virtually. And she lost easily, you know, 306 to 223 I
think, right 223, something like that. ...

I mean, honestly, they the ads were coming at me. Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of
negative ads. And when people went into the voter booth, they didnt know what she stood for. I
always said that. I said if I can take this onslaught personally, its going to be a great thing
because nobody knew what she stood for. So now, theyre trying to change their message a little
bit, you know. I mean, its its one of those things, but now theyre trying to change their
message and well see what happens.

But I think that were doing very well. Every indication is that in every one of our swing states
were substantially up, like Ohio. Tonight Im going to Ohio Youngstown, Ohio and well
be up were way up. You know, I won the state by 9 or 10 or something, by 9 or 10 points,
without any governor support, OK? So you have the governor of Ohio not supporting you and
you win by almost 10 points, which is pretty good because Ohios not if you remember, you
guys were always saying you have to win Ohio, right?

BAKER: No Republican has ever won the presidency without winning Ohio.

TRUMP: No, right, no, its it was and we won, you know, by a landslide.

WSJ: [Inaudible.]

BAKER: Yeah. [Laughter.]

TRUMP: But were up. We have now are you going tonight? Are you going to the speech in
Ohio tonight?

WSJ: We were in West Virginia yesterday.

TRUMP: Oh, you did? Was that a scene, though? Huh?

WSJ: That was a scene, yes. (Laughter.)

TRUMP: Biggest crowd theyve ever had. What did you think?

WSJ: I thought it was an interesting speech in the context of the Boy Scouts.

TRUMP: Right.

WSJ: They seemed to get a lot of feedback from former scouts and

TRUMP: Did they like it?

WSJ: It seemed mixed.

TRUMP: They loved it. [Laughter.] It wasnt it was no mix. That was a standing

WSJ: In the you got a good you got a good reaction in

TRUMP: I mean, you know, he writes mostly negative stuff. But that was a standing ovation
WSJ: You got a good reaction inside the arena, thats right.

TRUMP: ... from the time I walked out on the stage because I know. And by the way, Id be
the first to admit mixed. Im a guy that will tell you mixed. There was no mix there. That was a
standing ovation from the time I walked out to the time I left, and for five minutes after I had
already gone. There was no mix.

WSJ: Yeah, there was a lot of supporters in the arena.

TRUMP: And I got a call from the head of the Boy Scouts saying it was the greatest speech that
was ever made to them, and they were very thankful. So there was there was no mix.

BAKER: Sir, can I ask you about taxes?

TRUMP: Yes.

BAKER: So, you know, were awaiting the outcome of health, well get a vote. I know you want
to get tax reform done. Gary, you talked about it.

TRUMP: Yes, very much. Very important.

BAKER: So can whats I mean, youve outlined the principles of tax reform. Can you tell us
what you you know, what you want to achieve fundamentally in tax reform?

TRUMP: Sure. I want to

BAKER: What are the what are the main goals?

TRUMP: I want to achieve growth. Were the highest-taxed nation in the world, essentially, you
know, of the size. But were the highest-taxed nation in the world. We have nobody knows
what the number is. I mean, it used to be, when we talked during the debate, $2.5 trillion, right,
when the most elegant person right? I call him Mr. Elegant. I mean, that was a great debate.
We did such a great job. But at that time I was talking $2.5 trillion. I guess its $5 trillion now.
Whatever it is, its a lot more. So we have anywhere from 4 [trillion] to 5 or even more trillions
of dollars sitting offshore.

We want to get that back, No. One, at a very reasonable cost. And that cost is going to be 10
percent. And right now, its so high that, No. One: You would never do it on a business basis.
But, No. Two: Bureaucratically its impossible. Did you know that? I have friends that try and
get their money back. They say they have to go through years of writing out forms and this and
that to bring money back into the country. Were going to make that one like a half-a-page
document. Its going to be very easy to bring your money back in. And its going to be taxed at
10 percent, which is a rate thats its within reason. And so thats one of the things we want to
do. Thatll be an easy one. Thats one that you know, its when you talk about a country
thats broken or a system thats broken, theres something the $5 trillion, lets call it that
the Democrats and the Republicans agree should come back in. Its been out there for years.
Nobody ever did anything about it. I mean, Obama ...

WSJ: Well

TRUMP: Obama could have gotten that money back in very easily, even if they did a separate
bill. But nobody ...

BAKER: Right. But a 10 percent corporate rate, thats ...

TRUMP: Ten percent.

WSJ: Ten percent repatriation.

BAKER: Repatriation rate.

WSJ: A repatriation rate. A 10 percent repatriation rate.

WSJ: What do you think is a reasonable corporate rate? Weve heard 20 percent, but

TRUMP: Well, you know, were going for 15 [percent]. Were going to see, and well see. But,
you know, I dont want to say anything about negotiation. I mean, we are asking for 15 percent,
and we think were going to grow tremendously.

So I deal with foreign countries, and despite what you may read, I have unbelievable
relationships with all of the foreign leaders. They like me. I like them. You know, its amazing.
So Ill call, like, major major countries, and Ill be dealing with the prime minister or the
president. And Ill say, how are you doing? Oh, dont know, dont know, not well, Mr. President,
not well. I said, well, whats the problem? Oh, GDP 9 percent, not well. And Im saying to
myself, here we are at like 1 percent, dying, and theyre at 9 percent and theyre unhappy. So,
you know, and these are like countries, you know, fairly large, like 300 million people. You
know, a lot of people say they say, well, but the United States is large. And then you call
places like Malaysia, Indonesia, and you say, you know, how many people do you have? And its
pretty amazing how many people they have. So Chinas going to be at 7 [percent] or 8 percent,
and they have a billion-five, right? So we should do really well.

But in order to do that you know, its tax reform, but its a big tax cut. But its simplification,
its reform, and its a big tax cut, 15

BAKER: And on the personal side, the Treasury secretary back way back at the start of the
administration said

TRUMP: Yeah, we want to do personal.

BAKER: Yeah, want to do personal taxes and want to make so whatever cuts in the rates that
there are the marginal rates there are will be balanced by the reduction in deductions, so that
the people who benefit from especially at the high end would not overall would not be net
beneficiaries of tax cuts, right?

TRUMP: Right. Yeah, thats we dont want

BAKER: And thats still the aim? Thats still very much the aim?

TRUMP: So I shouldnt say it with everybody in the room, especially Gary, but (laughter)
this is

MR. : Yeah, lets all worry about me.

TRUMP: The truth is the people I care most about are the middle-income people in this country
who have gotten screwed. And this upward revision, its going to be on high-income people.

You know, I was with Bob Kraft the other night. He came to have dinner with me. Hes a friend
of mine. And as he left, he said, Donald, dont worry about the rich people. Tax the rich people.
You got to take care of the people in the country. It was a very interesting statement. I feel the
same way.

BAKER: Well, Garys a middle-income (inaudible). (Laughter.) He works for the White
House. Hes on a

TRUMP: He had to pay 200 million (dollars) in tax, Gary. Gary wrote a check for 200 (million
dollars).

(Cross talk.)

WSJ: There was some focus Steve Bannon was saying that maybe you want a higher income
tax than the 40 percent, you know, that you might be

TRUMP: No, that was not right. That was not a correct statement, no.

MR. : That was not a that was not a correct

WSJ: OK. OK.

TRUMP: We want look, the job producers were going to take great care of, but we have to
take care of middle-income people in this country. They built the country, they started this whole
beautiful thing that we have, and we have to take care of them. And people have not taken care
of them, and were going to.

And I mean, I have wealthy friends that say to me I dont mind paying more tax. And Ill tell you
what I sort of dont like, is when they you know, youll do your charts in The Wall Street
Journal and theyll be brilliantly done, very nice, and theyll show that a rich guy who made, you
know, $25 million last year is going to pay less than he was. In a certain way, I dont like that.
Id rather take that difference and put it into the middle-income and put it into corporate.

BAKER: You should be able to get Democrat support for that, right? I mean, you can reach
across the aisle

TRUMP: Yeah, except theyre obstructionists. If they werent obstructionists, I would normally
get Democratic support. So we dont anticipate that. We dont

WSJ: How would you rate your chances of being able to make those permanent as opposed to
temporary?

TRUMP: Well, do you mean 10 years versus? So it hasnt really come up. I mean, the last time it
was 10 years. When George Steinbrenner died, like with the estate taxes, the estate paid nothing.
And if he would have died like two weeks later, they would have paid 50 percent of the Yankees.
That would have been the end of the team, right? He had very fine tax planners. But it hasnt
come up. Wed like

WSJ: Or doctors. (Laughter.)

TRUMP: We would like to make them permanent, but I assume youre talking about like a

MR. : So if it balances in the 10-year window, its permanent. The only way you have to end the
tax plan is at the end of 10 years if it creates a deficit. We are working towards a plan that is
permanent. To get the capital investment that the president wants and thats how you create
jobs, and thats how you create economic growth businesses have to know its a permanent tax
change. So that is our objective.

WSJ: Does that [inaudible] for businesses?

MR. : We think weve spent an enormous amount of time working as a group to make sure that
we get permanent tax change, simplification, and lower rates.

TRUMP: We think were going to have tremendous growth. We think moneys going to come
pouring into the country.

Look, were losing companies. People dont even realize how bad it is, but were losing
companies every single day where theyre leaving because the taxes are too high. When we do
this, well have companies I know companies that have left. They go to Ireland, they go to
other I own a lot of property in Ireland. They go to Ireland because of these incredible tax
rates, and other places, right? Well have companies pouring back into our nation. I mean, its
going to be you know, its going to be beautiful.

I hope we can I hope we can do the 15 percent, actually. By the way, 15 percent is not by any
means the lowest, but at least we would go from the highest to one of the lower, lower taxes.
MS. : Another area of real focus has been skill training, as well, to ensure increased workforce
participation and ensure that people are trained with the skills necessary for the jobs
(inaudible).

BAKER: Weve read a fair bit about that.

MS. : So youve been covering that a lot, but its so important. Its one of the number one things
we hear from the private sector, that they dont have people to fill the jobs they have and they are
looking to fill. So were working to close that gap.

BAKER: Which is what makes immigration

TRUMP: But one of the things were doing that, so Gary and I are working because I said, you
know, Gary, were going to have Foxconn come in. Were going to have a lot of companies that
are coming in. Foxconns coming in with a big plan. We have Tim Cook I spoke to, and hes
promised me three big plants big, big, big. I said, you know, Tim, unless

WSJ: Really? Where?

TRUMP: Well have to see. You can call him. But I said, Tim, unless you start building your
plants in this country, I wont consider my administration an economic success, OK? And hes
called me and he says, you know, theyre going forward, three big, beautiful plants. Youll have
to call him. I mean, maybe he wont tell you what he tells me, but I believe he will do that. I
really believe it.

But I said to Gary, I said, you know, Gary, you go to certain sections and youre going to need
people to work in these massive plants that were getting, that are moving in. Where do we have
the people? You know where we have the people? In New York state that cant get jobs, in many
other places that cant get jobs. And people are going to have to start moving. Theyre going to
move to Colorado and theyre going to move to Iowa and Wisconsin and places where like if
Foxconn goes to Wisconsin, which is one of the places theyre very strongly considering but if
Foxconn goes to Wisconsin and they have a very low rate and the governors done an excellent
job, youre going to have a situation where you got to get the people. But theyre going to start
moving. And Im going to start explaining to people when you have an area that just isnt
working like upper New York state, where people are getting very badly hurt and then youll
have another area 500 miles away where you cant you cant get people, Im going to explain
you can leave, its OK, dont worry about your house.

You know, a lot of them dont leave because of their house. Because they say, gee, my house, I
thought it was worth 70,000 (dollars) and now its worth nothing. Its OK. Go, cut your losses,
right?

BAKER: While were on the economy, can I ask you, were coming up very soon to the time to
decide whether or not to reappoint Janet Yellen as the

TRUMP: Yes.
BAKER: chair of the Federal Reserve or to appoint somebody else. Are you have you
reached a decision?

TRUMP: I have a lot of respect for her, and I like her. Ive met her just a couple of times, but I
like her. Its early to make the decision. She doesnt come up until February/March?

MR. : End of June.

WSJ: February. February 1st is

WSJ: Yeah, yeah.

TRUMP: No, I have a lot of respect for her. I like her. She is

BAKER: Does that mean its possible you would keep her?

TRUMP: I do like low interest rates. I mean, you know, Im not making that a big secret. I think
low interest rates are good. I like a dollar thats not too strong. I mean, Ive seen strong dollars.
And frankly, other than the fact that it sounds good, lots of bad things happen with a strong
dollar.

BAKER: So shes definitely shes definitely in the running to be replaced this time?

TRUMP: I would say you mean to stay?

BAKER: To stay.

TRUMP: I would say yes, she is in the running to stay.

WSJ: Is Gary a candidate? (Laughter.)

TRUMP: He doesnt know this, but yes, he is. (Laughter.)

WSJ: Are there other candidates?

TRUMP: I actually think he likes what hes doing right now.

BAKER: Thats what he tells us.

TRUMP: Dont tell Gary what I just said.

WSJ: Are there other candidates?

TRUMP: Yeah, there are two or three. But she is she is in the running, absolutely. I like her. I
like her demeanor. I think shes done a good job. Id like to see rates stay low. Shes always been
you know, shes historically been a low-interest-rate person, a believer.
WSJ: Do you have a time frame for announcing a decision?

TRUMP: I would say sometime by the end of year, probably.

WSJ: So youre going to wait till its pretty

TRUMP: I think so.

WSJ: So youre not

BAKER: It would need a confirmation process, which will take time.

TRUMP: Yeah, but itll go quickly. Were starting to get them much quicker. You know, theyve
been really holding up I mean, nine months, they have really been thats all they can do well.
You know how many people I have in there? I have I have a lot of people in there, and they
complain to me. Like Woody Johnson. Hes the ambassador to the Court of St. James, which is
England, you know, et cetera, et cetera. And I mean, he said what they did to him was
unbelievable. The process was so ugly. Ive had three or four people to be ambassadors,
tremendous people, very successful people. They called me and they their whole life they
wanted to do this, and they gave up. Its, you know

(Cross talk.)

WSJ: Are there other names?

WSJ: Are there other names you might offer who are in the mix for the Fed?

TRUMP: Id rather not do that.

BAKER: Kevin Warsh has been mentioned. Can we [inaudible]

TRUMP: I havent Id rather not get involved. But I would say she is, certainly. And Gary is
somebody that Ive gained great Ive known Gary for a long time but Ive gained great
respect for Gary working with him. So Gary certainly would be in the mix. I just dont know if
hed like this is off the record if he wants to sit down. Interest rates will be moving up one-
eighth of a point

BAKER: Thats the exciting stuff. (Laughter.) Thats the exciting stuff.

TRUMP: Right? Yeah, exactly. And then you leave. By the way, then the market crashes and it
goes through the roof. You know, what you say. And then he goes off and hell play golf and
relax for the next 30 or

BAKER: So, Gary, Yellen, and there are other contenders youre thinking of?
TRUMP: Yeah, there are people that are highly respected that I would certainly think about. I
dont know that Gary would want it. I think Gary loves what hes doing, you know, and hes
doing a very good job.

WSJ: Who else

WSJ: (Inaudible.)

WSJ: Sometimes needs to get a comment from Gary. (Laughter.)

TRUMP: You want to comment? (Laughs.)

WSJ: On the record. On the record.

MR. : This is an interview with the president. This is an interview with the president.

WSJ: Well call your office.

WSJ: This is an interview with the president.

WSJ: Can I ask another economics question, while were on the subject?

TRUMP: Yeah.

WSJ: You tweeted this morning about trade talks with Britain.

TRUMP: Yes.

WSJ: Can you tell us more about whats going on?

TRUMP: No, but I can say that were going to be very involved with the U.K. I mean, you dont
hear the word Britain anymore. Its very interesting. Its like, nope.

WSJ: I work with a Brit.

BAKER: Im English. We always make that point. Youre right, yeah.

TRUMP: Is Scotland going to go for the vote, by the way? You dont see it. It would be terrible.
They just went through hell.

BAKER: (Inaudible) but theyre going to be

TRUMP: They just went through hell.

BAKER: Besides, the first ministers already made it clear she

TRUMP: What do you think? You dont think so, right?

BAKER: I dont.

TRUMP: One little thing, what would they do with the British Open if they ever got out? Theyd
no longer have the British Open.

BAKER: [naudible.]

TRUMP: Scotland. Keep it in Scotland.

BAKER: We just had a (inaudible).

TRUMP: By the way, are you a member there?

BAKER: No. Ive played there, but I

TRUMP: I thought that course showed well.

WSJ: Its a gorgeous, gorgeous course.

BAKER: Did you see Jordan Spieths amazing

TRUMP: I well, I saw his first four holes. And I said, man, thats the end of that, because you
know?

WSJ: Yeah.

BAKER: Yeah.

TRUMP: So for a guy to go you know, to me, thats almost worse than, like, a triple bogey,
because but for a guy to go through these horrible holes, hit a bad drive like Ive never seen I
mean, he was 150 yards right. I dont know what that

WSJ: Come on, you and I have hit worse drives. You and I have hit

TRUMP: No, no, but for I know, but for a tour pro it was very unusual. But for a guy to then
go birdie, eagle, birdie, birdie, thats a special

BAKER: He could he could be a career major he could be the youngest guy to do the career
major

TRUMP: Well, hes actually sort of hes in with Tiger and Jack. Hes essentially even, you
know, with a number of terms and a number of majors.

BAKER: Anyway, are you looking forward to doing a trade deal with the U.K.?
TRUMP: Yeah. I have a great relationship

WSJ: It would be after, right? They have a time frame.

BAKER: Yeah.

TRUMP: Yeah.

WSJ: The one thing is theres a the one thing is theres a ticking clock with Brexit, so.

WSJ: Well, yeah. Your tweet made it sound like youre really talking and so you have
(inaudible)

(Cross talk.)

TRUMP: We have a very good relationship. I have a very good relationship with the prime
minister. And we are absolutely looking to do a major trade deal.

WSJ: Would the idea be that the trade deal will kick in pretty much as soon as Brexit happens?

TRUMP: As soon as its appropriate to have it kick in, absolutely. And itll be a big trade deal
much, much more business than we do right now, many, many times.

WSJ: Are there keys that would be the important pieces of it? What would can you highlight
specific

TRUMP: Therell be certain pieces. Its not therell be certain pieces. I mean, one of the things
that I have a very good relationship with the EU people and all, but they are very, very
protectionist. You know, our farmers and others cant even deal with you know, you cant sell
in. Its very unfair. And thats what Ive been talking about for a long time. Its so stacked
against the United States. Now, the EU was conceived to the point that they wanted to do
something to compete with the United States. Well, you know, you could say thats a friendly act
or an unfriendly act. But its very protectionist. Among the most, we have farm products that you
just cant get into the EU. And we dont do that to them.

BAKER: So youd include an agriculture deal with the U.K.?

TRUMP: Well, Ill tell you, you know, I did I did thing that nobody even wrote about
although, you did. (Laughter.) But when I was with President Xi, who I have a very good
relationship with, I said: Do me a favor. Would you allow cattle, please, to come in? I was last
night in West Virginia, and I had farmers coming up to me and hugging me and kissing me
because of the cattle stuff. They actually werent from West Virginia; they were from other
places. (Laughter.) But, you know, it was the Boy Scouts, so they came from all over the
country, but

BAKER: Could you do a services deal with the U.K.? Could that include services?
TRUMP: Yeah. It would include everything.

BAKER: Including financial services?

TRUMP: Oh, no, it would be very it would be it would be very all-in with

BAKER: Thats a big deal.

WSJ: Because we have a lot of financial companies already paring back their numbers, moving
people to Frankfurt, already clearing out of London some. Do you think thats a good idea right
now, ahead of this?

TRUMP: Thats up to them. But were going to have a very good relationship with the U.K. And
we do have to talk to the European Union, because its not a reciprocal deal, you know.

The word reciprocal, to me, is very important. For instance, we have countries that charge us 100
percent tax to sell a Harley-Davidson into that country. And yet, they sell their motorcycles into
us, or their bikes, or anything comparable, and we charge them nothing. There has to be a
reciprocal deal. Im all about that. And you know, its very interesting, at the border people
may have problems with border, but when you say reciprocal, everybody says, oh, thats fair. So
people have a problem with charging a 10 percent tax, which they shouldnt have but they do.
But when you say youre going to charge reciprocal charge in other words, what they charge
were going to charge all of a sudden these same people it might be much more money but
these same people, all of a sudden theyre OK with it. So we have got to be much smarter.

You know, our country was built, to a large extent, on protecting our manufacturers. If you go
back to Jefferson, you go back to all of these great, great people that ran the United States
properly, it was really based on a certain form of tariff and a certain form of protection. Were
just the opposite now. Were the people that are getting beat up one of the reasons I think Im
talking to Im sitting behind this beautiful desk as opposed to somebody else.

BAKER: What about just, very quickly, on tariffs. On steel tariffs, you committed to imposing
steel tariffs. You havent done that, but you still

TRUMP: Well, were waiting were waiting till we get everything completed. We dont want
to do at this moment. Were going to were going to wait till we get everything completed here.
Were going to see. Its a very unfair situation. Theyre dumping steel in our country. Its
extremely unfair. But we like to keep it as simple as we like to keep very complicated subjects
as simple as possible. So were waiting till we get everything finished up between health care
and taxes and maybe even infrastructure. But were going to be addressing the steel dumping at a
very fairly soon.

We just so you understand we have massive reports. You know, a lot of this stuff you cant
just walk in and say Im going to do this. You have to do statutory studies. And then you have to
wait 90 days. And then you have to do another. And you have to wait another 20 days. It doesnt
go that quickly. Its like NAFTA. You know, you have a six-month termination. I was ready to
terminate NAFTA. I was looking forward to it, frankly, because NAFTAs a horrible deal for the
United States. And then I got a call from the president of Mexico, whos a terrific guy, and I got
a call from the prime minister of Canada. And they heard I was getting ready to terminate it. And
they said: Would you have a meeting with us first? I said, yes. And if you look at my speeches,
Ive always said, either renegotiate it or terminate it.

Now, renegotiating it is easier. And were in the midst of a renegotiation right now. So well see.
And maybe well have to terminate it. I happen to think NAFTAs one of the truly bad deals I
mean, outside of the Iran deal, which is one of the worst deals in history

WSJ: Do you think its salvageable? Do you think NAFTAs salvageable?

TRUMP: It may be salvageable.

WSJ: What do you need for that?

TRUMP: I would say I would say it may be salvageable. But certainly, I have an obligation to
give it a shot.

WSJ: What are you looking for specifically

TRUMP: Im looking for fairness.

WSJ: But what does that can you give an example?

TRUMP: No, it means look, our automobile industry has just left us and gone to Mexico I
mean, a big chunk of it. And its very unfair for them to take our companies, built their cars, and
then sell the car back into our country with no tax. Its very unfair. They fire all our people in
Michigan and Ohio, and they take it, and they build a car. And now they sell the car back in with
no tax. Its not fair.

WSJ: Do they get that

TRUMP: We have a $70 billion trade deficit with China, as an example.

WSJ: What does the president of Mexico say when you say that?

TRUMP: Hes not thrilled. But thats OK. I wasnt thrilled about what he said to me.

WSJ: Does he but does he disagree with you about that view, or does he

TRUMP: Oh, theres not much to disagree with. Look, we have a $70 billion we have a $70
billion trade deficit. What is anybody saying? With China, we have 350 to 504. Nobody can
really define it, deficit. We have a trade deficit of $350 to $504 billion each year. Were not
going to be its just not going to happen that way anymore.
WSJ: You mentioned the Iran deal, but its been certified as in compliance twice now. It comes
up again in September. Would you is there going to come a point where you just

TRUMP: Well, were doing major studies. Oh, I would be very surprised if they will be look,
weve been extremely nice to them. Weve been extremely nice to them in saying they were
compliant, OK? Weve given them the benefit of every doubt. But were doing very detailed
studies. And personally, I have great respect for my people. If it was up to me, I would have had
them noncompliant 180 days ago.

WSJ: Do you expect them to be declared noncompliant the next time?

TRUMP: Personally, I do. I do.

WSJ: In September?

TRUMP: I think theyll be noncompliant. I think theyre taking advantage of this country.
Theyve taken advantage of a president, named Barack Obama, who didnt know what the hell
he was doing. And I do not expect that they will be compliant.

WSJ: Will you overrule your staff on that, if they come back with a recommendation

TRUMP: Oh, sure. Sure. Look, I have a lot of respect for Rex and his people, good relationship.
Its easier to say they comply. Its a lot easier. But its the wrong thing. They dont comply. And
so well see what happens. I mean, well talk about this subject in 90 days. But, yeah, I would be
I would be surprised if they were in compliance.

STAFF: Mr. President? Im sorry. We just have time for a few more.

WSJ: Mr. President

BAKER: OK, if I may, can I ask you quick, Mr. President, weve talked about your
achievements and disappointments. I was reminded of President Eisenhower, when he left office,
said that his two biggest mistakes in officer were both sitting on the Supreme Court. From things
youve been saying in the

TRUMP: So far I cant say that, right?

BAKER: From the same from the things youve been saying in the last week or so, and
tweeting, it sounds as though you may think that maybe your biggest mistake is running the
Justice Department. Is that

TRUMP: Im disappointed in Jeff Sessions, yes.

WSJ: Do you want him to leave?

TRUMP: Number one, they should go after the leakers in intelligence. I dont mean the White
House stuff where theyre fighting over who loves me the most, OK? (Laughter.) Its just stupid
people doing that.

BAKER: Anthonys already taken care of that. (Laughter.)

TRUMP: I know, thats just and Anthony will handle that. [aughter.] I can Anthony can do
that out of his back pocket, OK? Im talking about intelligence leaks. Im talking like the story
about Syria that was in The New York Times the other day. Im which by the way, was a
decision made by people, not me. But, you know, they wrote it 100 it was in the

WSJ: The Post, I thought. It was in The Washington Post.

TRUMP: It was in The Washington Post. That was not something that I was involved in, other
than they did come and they suggested. It turns out its a lot of al-Qaida were giving these
weapons to. You know, they didnt write the truthful story, which they never do. So all of those
things are very important. But, no, Im very disappointed in the fact that the Justice Department
has not gone after the leakers. And theyre the ones that have the great power to go after the
leakers, you understand. So and Im very disappointed in Jeff Sessions.

WSJ: You can fire him.

TRUMP: Look, Jeff I could. But well see what happens. But I was I appointed a man to a
position. And then shortly after he gets the position, he recused himself. I said, whats that all
about? Why didnt you tell me that you were going to do that, and I wouldnt have appointed
you? But I appointed him. And shortly thereafter, he recused himself. So I think that is a

BAKER: You also suggested in Cleveland today they should be going or, yesterday they
should be going after Hillary Clinton. Is that

TRUMP: Well, I didnt I wouldnt have wanted to. But I see the way they go after us on a
witch hunt, you know? The Russian the Russian storys all an excuse for the Democrats losing.
In fact, if you read the book, Shattered, they have a whole chapter where they sat the day after
the election and they said: Yeah, Russia. It was Russia. And, you know, Trump was involved.
OK, the one thing interesting, you never heard me even associated with anybody. But, no, thats
a total witch hunt, the whole Russia story. Its a hoax. Its a hoax. We had no collusion with
Russia. We never dealt with Russia.

People that were on the campaign, like Corey, came in yesterday. It was very interesting. He was
being interviewed. He said I was watching, Corey Lewandowski he says: I was here from the
beginning. And I must be honest with you, I never dealt with any Russians. He was only the
campaign manager. I can even look at Hope. She was here from virtually the same day that
Corey started, those two. Hope, how many Russians have you seen involved in the campaign,
OK?

HOPE HICKS: None. (Laughs.)

TRUMP: OK? You know, I mean, its sad. So they do that. And I say, thats fine. But then we
should really look at real crimes, because real crimes are what Hillary did with 33,000 emails,
where she deleted them and bleached them after getting a subpoena. Real crimes are whats
happening and what happened with the uranium deal. And also I mean, you can say the
speeches made while she was secretary of state where they paid her a fortune, Podesta owning a
big company in Russia they talk about me. I have nothing to do with Russia.

You know, I put out a letter from a very from the biggest law firm saying Trump has no
involvement with Russia. I dont. I have no involvement. I mean, I had Ms. Universe there, like,
nine years ago, eight years ago, something like that. But I have nothing to do with Russia. So
and its very funny, because all of these people that have been on the campaign, some of them
right from the beginning Anthonys another example. Youve been there. You know

ANTHONY SCARAMUCCI (?): (Inaudible) I said from the podium on Friday thats theres
nothing to the Russia story. I said on the weekend there was nothing to the Russia story.

TRUMP: You know, Anthony came in to see me before it all began. And he said, I want to back
you for president. This was before the June 16th day. I said, Anthony, Im not really sure that Im
running. Im not sure. I may, but Im not sure. He said, you got to run, you got to run. I want to
endorse you. I said, but Im not sure. This was a few months earlier than when I ran. And he was
leaving and he was disappointed. I say, Anthony, what are you going to do? He goes, I got to
back somebody, because thats the way he is. Thats his personality. And he went to a very good
guy named Walker.

Then I came after the hedge fund business. So he wasnt in love with me for a short period of
time. And he backed Bush. And that was OK. But his first choice was Trump. I think its
important to say that because, you know. Is that a true story, by the way?

SCARAMUCCI (?): I was hitting you a little bit (inaudible) hedge funds first.

TRUMP: Give me those notes, Hope, come on, just give I cant read it. What do you think, I
have 20/20 perfect

HICKS: I was just saying, you self-funded.

TRUMP: Huh?

HICKS: You self-funded.

TRUMP: Oh, yeah, I self-funded much of my

WSJ: Just on Sessions, just one thing. Would you like to see him step aside? Would you like to
see him resign? Would it be in the countrys best interest just

TRUMP: Im just very disappointed in him. Im disappointed in, you know, a number of
categories. I told you, the leakers. He should have he should be after them. So many people say
to me: Why are they going after you on nothing and they leave Hillary Clinton alone on, you
know, really major things? And it is so Im disappointed in him. And dont forget, when they
say he endorsed me, I went to Alabama. I had 40,000 people, you may have been there,
remember, in Mobile?

WSJ: I remember.

TRUMP: I had 40,000 people. He was the senator from Alabama. I won the state by a lot,
massive numbers. A lot of the states I won by massive numbers. But he was a senator. He looks
at 40,000 people and he probably says, what do I have to lose, and he endorsed me. So its not
like a great, loyal thing about the endorsement. But Im very disappointed in Jeff Sessions.

WSJ: Are you willing for the status quo to continue, though? At what point do you say enough?

TRUMP: Im just looking at it. Ill just see.

WSJ: What about Bob Mueller?

TRUMP: Its a very important, very important thing.

WSJ: I mean, but, Bob Mueller is also really the one leading this investigation. Its his job to see

TRUMP: Well, were going to see.

BAKER: And hes investigating Russia your Russian connection

WSJ: Hes the Russian guy. So Sessions has recused himself, but is Bob Muellers job safe?
There is speculation

TRUMP: No, were going to see. I mean, I have no comment yet, because its too early. But
well see. Were going to see. Heres the good news: I was never involved with Russia. There
was nobody in the campaign. Ive got 200 people that will say that theyve never seen anybody
on the campaign. Heres another he was involved early. Theres nobody on the campaign that
saw anybody from Russia. We had nothing to do with Russia. They lost an election and they
came up with this as an excuse. And the only ones that are laughing are the Democrats and the
Russians. Theyre the only ones that are laughing. And if Jeff Sessions didnt recuse himself, we
wouldnt even be talking about this subject.

WSJ: Would you consider

TRUMP: You know, it was very interesting. Trey Gowdy said today again, hes a very straight
shooter, hes a good guy he said, no, I understand the president. He was on Fox. He said: I
understand the president. You put a man in office who really wanted that job. I actually said to
him and you know some of my lawyers, its not you know, off the record, its not exactly
right? You know some of them.
BAKER: I know Marc quite well.

TRUMP: Well, but a lot of them. But I put a man in office and he said this. And he goes in
office, then he immediately recuses himself. I fully understand the president. You know, and a
lot of people do, a lot of people. He you know, I dont go to loyalty. I think its disloyal to the
office of the presidency, not necessarily me. I think its very disloyal to the office of the
presidency. And if he didnt do that, you wouldnt have all this stuff. You know, you wouldnt
have it.

So, just a couple of things before we finish. Just Im sure you love Stuart Varney. But he just
came out, $4 trillion in value in the stock market. RNC has more than 80 million in cash,
whereas the Democrats owe money, OK, although theyre trying to come up with their new
campaign. Trust me, it wont work. And I said it the last time (and I was wrong ?). Immigration
went down 78 percent at the border 78 percent at the border. Kellys done a great job.

BAKER: You going to veto the Russian sanctions legislation?

TRUMP: Well, I havent seen them yet. I havent seen them in final form. I will say this,
Congress, if theyre going to negotiate, they make the worst deals Ive ever seen. They made
NAFTA. They made you know, they allowed the Iran deal to go through.

WSJ: You said youre opposed

TRUMP: I make good deals. I dont make bad deals. I make good deals. So, but, I havent made
my I have not seen them. I have to see.

By the way, a lot of things have taken place in that agreement that are a lot different from what it
was two weeks ago a lot of things.

BAKER: You also you brought in Anthony, obviously. Are you planning other changes are
you planning other changes in the White House? After you brought in Anthony, are you planning
other changes?

TRUMP: I mean, well see. Well see. I do say this, I believe weve done more than just about
any president of the United States in six months. And I was going to tell you before, so a lot of
times Ill turn on television or Ill read in The Wall Street Journal, right

WSJ: Thank you.

TRUMP: whats Trump doing? He hasnt produced health care. Im not even six months yet,
right? So these guys went eight years Hillary Clinton, eight years, got nothing. Obama went a
year and a half, almost two years, and they had to sell their soul. They had to give away the state
of Nebraska in order to buy that vote. And that was two years. Im six months. They got to give
me a little break, OK? And today were having a big vote, and well see what happens. But
todays vote is big, because once you get in once youre allowed to talk a lot of
BAKER: But we cant expect any more staff changes in the immediate in the immediate
future?

TRUMP: No, I dont think so.

BAKER: No?

TRUMP: But Im very happy with Anthony. I think Anthony is going to do amazing.

WSJ: Would you consider pardons, Mr. President, given the investigation is

TRUMP: You know what? I dont even think of pardons. Heres why, nobody did anything
wrong. Look at Jared, everybody we do appreciate the editorial but everybody said Jared
Kushner. Jareds a very private person. He doesnt get out. I mean, maybe its good or maybe its
bad what I do, but at least people know how I feel. Jareds this really nice, smart guy, whod love
to see peace in the Middle East and in Israel, OK?

WSJ: Gerry, yeah, Gary and are bouncers from (inaudible). (Laughter.)

BAKER: Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Mr. President.

WSJ: Thank you, Mr. President. Thanks.

WSJ: Tom Barrack as Mexican ambassador?

TRUMP: Im thinking about it. What do you think? Do you like him?

WSJ: Yeah.

TRUMP: Tom Barrack, yes? Call him up, tell him Im giving it to him. [Laughter.]