Department Press Briefing – July 8, 2025

2:38 p.m. EDT

MS BRUCE: Hi, everybody. I love those cabinet meetings. I do. (Laughter.) I love them. The transparency is always fabulous.

Thank you for being here. I appreciate it. I see some new faces. Some of your colleagues are traveling today with the Secretary. I think they’re – because you don’t look like Matt Lee at all, but that – I’ve seen you before. It’s all right. That’s all right. Thank you all for being here.

I do have, of course, a couple of announcements here as we begin. In my own voice, not AI – not that you have some questions about that. Alrighty.

So of course, as we know, as we have all been following the situation in Texas, of course, the horrible catastrophe there for everyone – to begin, our hearts break following the tragedy in Texas earlier this week. President Trump did sign a major disaster declaration for Kerr County. During this time, we are moved by the many countries around the world who have expressed their condolences. We are thankful to our regional partners, including our friends and neighbors in Mexico who generously have sent brave firefighters and members of their civil protection water rescue teams to support the search and rescue efforts in Kerrville, Texas.

We tend to take each day for granted as we focus on the minutiae of each day. The pain and suffering of the families who’ve lost their loved ones, including the children who have died or who remain missing, is beyond comprehension and shocks the soul. Everyone here at the State Department is keeping all those affected in our prayers and in our hearts.

And now, today, Secretary of State Marco Rubio joined President Trump for a cabinet meeting at the White House. During the meeting, Secretary Rubio described the historic accomplishments of this administration under President Trump’s leadership. We have seen unprecedented progress in advancing our national interests and in the pursuit of peace. To quote Secretary Rubio, “e prevented and ended a war between India and Pakistan; NATO is now at 5 percent for the first time ever, the highest numbers ever; a peace deal between the and Rwanda; a 12-day war that ended with an American operation that we’re the only country in the world that could have done; hopefully, pretty soon a peace deal between Azerbaijan and Armenia; the entire Middle East and the infrastructure of it has the potential now to change because of Syria and Lebanon; and it hasn’t even been six months.”

In addition, this evening Secretary Rubio will travel to Kuala Lumpur to participate in the ASEAN-United States Post-Ministerial Conference, the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, and the ASEAN Regional Forum Foreign – Forum Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. He is also scheduled to meet with senior Malaysian Government officials. In his first trip to Asia as Secretary of State, Secretary Rubio is focused on reaffirming the United States commitment to advancing a free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific region. During this trip, the Secretary will highlight the strength of our comprehensive strategic partnership with ASEAN in delivering results for the American people and the people of Southeast Asia, as well as our commitment to building on our comprehensive partnership with Malaysia.

And with all of that, I will take your questions here. Andrea Mitchell.

QUESTION: Thank you so much. Well, in your own voice, can you explain – (laughter) – how it could happen that someone – was it some imposter? – tried to get access via a fake Signal ID of the Secretary of State, reaching out to officials, foreign officials as well as domestic officials? And how could it happen? And can you explain? Did they get in and did they get any access?

MS BRUCE: Well, there’s a few things I can say to you here. The State Department, of course, is aware of this incident and is currently monitoring and addressing the matter. The department takes seriously its responsibility to safeguard its information and continuously take steps to improve the department’s cyber security posture to prevent future incidents. For security reasons, we do not have any further details to provide at this time. The State Department, of course – when we think about the reports that have occurred, we – and the details that we would like to provide become problematic, obviously, when it comes to investigations and the nature of the actions that we’re taking. So that’s what I have for you right now.

QUESTION: Well, can you say anything – can you tell the American people that there was no damage, no violation of security?

MS BRUCE: I – well, I will not, whether that’s the case or not, go into any of the details. This, of course, is the State Department; it’s the United States Government. We live in a technological age that we are well enmeshed in, and I’ll leave it at that. But when there is something to report, everyone here will hear it first.

QUESTION: Can you say whether it was discovered by State or by another government agency or by an outside provider?

MS BRUCE: No, I cannot go into any details regarding discovery or the actions that have been or are being taken or will be taken. But it will be something that you will hear.

All right. Yes, Humeyra, Reuters.

QUESTION: Hi, Tammy. Thank you. Can you – what can you tell us about Gaza ceasefire talks? Prime Minister Netanyahu is here. He’s going to meet with President Trump again tonight. Is it close? What are the remaining sticking points?

MS BRUCE: So many – I mean, that’s seven questions so far.

QUESTION: No, it’s only two, actually.

MS BRUCE: Yes. All right.

QUESTION: You can handle it.

MS BRUCE: I think I can. I think I can. It’s an important question, obviously. This is something that the President and this administration has been focused on, as has the Secretary, from day one. I can tell you that, I think as has been clear, the President has been optimistic from the start, and his optimism holds. He is very hopeful for progress. There was some commentary made, of course, at the cabinet meeting, which I do want to share with you.

The – Witkoff had also made some remarks. Is this in the book or in the paper here when it comes to the commentary? Think we’re going to get that. You might see one of my specials coming up here in a moment, because I want to get you specifically what, of course, the special envoy has said as well. Let’s get that. That was what was fun, and with a lot of people here at the State Department taking furious notes as the commentaries went around the table for the cabinet meeting, but we have from both the special envoy and the President. God, on so many issues, but yes, let’s get this.

On the Netanyahu meeting, there will be another meeting this evening with Prime Minister Netanyahu. And the President has noted, of course, Gaza is a tragedy, and everyone wants to get it solved. Ambassador Steve Witkoff says we are “in proximity talks now… we had four issues, and now we’re down to one after two days of proximity talks. So hopeful by the end of this week have an agreement that a 60-day ceasefire.” Ten live hostages will be released. Nine deceased will be released. We’re in – we’re meeting with all the hostage families to let them know, and we think this will lead to a lasting peace in Gaza.

So I think that’s what we have with the state. Yeah.

QUESTION: Right. Do you know much about the sticking points? Because Palestinian sources had said on Monday that there has been like – progress has been held up by Israel’s limits on allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza. And in the text it says the aid will be delivered by United Nations, Red Crescent, and other agreed channels. Does the U.S. want and Israel want for GHF to be one of these channels?

MS BRUCE: Well, we’re focused on still getting a ceasefire. We’re still at the talks of that. It has not been signed; it’s not been established. We believe it will be. We had a ceasefire once before that was broken early on in this dynamic. On October 7th there was a ceasefire that was also broken by the same monsters who continue to make statements – which I would suggest anything you hear or receive from Hamas, that terrorist group that is responsible for this suffering and the carnage for generations, you should look at with a side-eye, with suspicion. And many of the reports you hear are from that perspective, still certainly detached from what’s best for humanity and from the reality of the situation.

So it’s – we’re focused on – the President is focused on the ceasefire itself. Nothing is given until it’s done, and that is what we’re looking at. I think that for those who are – it’s – thinking about more aid – that’s fabulous, of course. The State Department and certainly Secretary Rubio and the President have made comments throughout this process about the importance of aid, about the importance of assisting the people who are the first victims of Hamas, which are the people of Gaza, and we have stayed true to that principle, and we remain committed to it.

So however many are going to participate in the rebuilding and in an end to the suffering, those are – it’s great news, but it has to be new ideas that can actually succeed. And we’re on our way, of course, to accomplishing that. All right.

Yes, Gillian.

QUESTION: What was the Secretary’s reaction to finding out that he was being impersonated and represented to allies and adversaries through this AI mechanism?

MS BRUCE: We are not at a point here where I will discuss or portray what’s being – what actions are being taken or his reaction. The Secretary – great news is, of course, he is very transparent, quite transparent, and he’s direct with everyone. I think that any description of his reaction, of course, belongs to him, and I would suspect that at some point we’ll have that for you.

QUESTION: On – there was this press conference today. The Secretary of Defense and Agriculture were talking about the threat that the Chinese Government poses here in the United States with the strategic acquisition of farmland that’s near military bases. What is the State Department prepared to do to hedge against those kinds of intrusions?

MS BRUCE: Well, the – it’s an interagency kind of decision, and discussions that go on, also negotiations, the nature of a full, whole-of-government dynamic. When you’re dealing with agriculture, you’re dealing with homeland security certainly, and their – the equities that the State Department might hold, I won’t discuss what our actions would be or what the specifics would be. I’m sorry, I have a lot of not-answers for you today, at some point. But I would say that as soon as we have some kind of action, we’ll let you know. But it’s not something I can remark on today.

QUESTION: Can you talk at all about if the sort of – like, writ large, if the department sees this as an ongoing threat as well from the Chinese?

MS BRUCE: Well, I – that would require me to speculate or talk about an opinion framework, which I can’t do certainly at this point. But we’ll have something for you soon.

Yes, ma’am.

QUESTION: Hi. GHF had said that it was going to – that it was undergoing an independent audit as a condition of getting U.S. Government funding. Has it – and that it would turn over that audit to State in July. Has it turned over that audit, and will the State Department make that public?

MS BRUCE: Well, I can tell you that for any aid, of course, there are requirements. In this case, there’s ongoing benchmarks, et cetera. So this is something that we follow and we’ll expect certain details, to say the least. At this point, what I can tell you is that we’re looking at their track record now, which is now at 66 million meals to date at three distribution centers, which they hope of course to expand. And whatever our requirements are regarding aid, this aid and any other aid, I won’t discuss here at this podium, but it certainly is a standard that is worthwhile and matters, based on – as you know, we’ve done a huge revamp of our foreign aid framework, and it’s based on making sure that what happens meets our standards, our vision for what’s best for America, and our values. And at this point, it’s clear that we believe GHF has the potential for that, and we’re moving forward. So as soon as there’s more details, we’ll get that to you.

QUESTION: On that topic, does the State Department disagree with the counts of international bodies and aid groups that hundreds of Palestinians have been killed trying to – have been shot trying to receive the aid? And if not, what is the State Department assessment of what is Israel saying about how many, if any, Palestinians have been killed?

MS BRUCE: Well, we know Israel has some investigations ongoing regarding what has transpired in a war zone – a war zone they did not want, a war zone they did not expect, a war zone created exclusively by Hamas, which now is thinking about a ceasefire and looking at it, which is nice. But this could end in a moment, as we all know, by releasing all of the hostages and by putting down their arms. They’ve chosen not to do that.

In the meantime, in a war zone – and this is what the drama has been, and why humanitarian aid has been so difficult – it’s dangerous. It’s a dangerous thing. People have weapons, terrorists have weapons, there’s – they shoot people. They’re holding hostages. They are – they’re maniacs. And we have endeavored to push through that, to get aid to the people of Gaza without it being stolen by Hamas, which has used it – which has weaponized it, essentially, to enrich themselves, to purchase more weapons, to build more weapons, and to terrorize local residents. They’re not stealing it because they care about the lifestyle or the quality of life of the people in Gaza. If they did that, they wouldn’t be a terrorist group and they wouldn’t have attacked and murdered 1,200 Israelis on October 7th.

So it’s about getting the aid where it belongs, to the people who need it, without putting it into the coffers effectively of the terrorist group causing all this death and destruction.

Yes, Tom.

QUESTION: On the future of Gaza, I mean, we know – you’ve been very clear, so has the President and the Secretary, that Hamas can’t be a part of that.

MS BRUCE: Correct.

QUESTION: What is the administration’s vision for the future governance of Gaza?

MS BRUCE: Well, the President has made clear, Secretary has discussed as well the fact that Hamas cannot be a part of Gaza, of any power framework. It “cannot exist,” is the word that the Secretary used. This – however, as the President has also stated, the future of Gaza should be in the hands of the Gazan people and in that region. So this is not just our vision or a dictation of what will happen. This is about countries, our partners in the region, who have been – have actively been working to implement the new ideas that the President has asked for.

So I won’t speculate on what that will look like, but if this moves as we hope it would – which is always quickly under President Trump’s direction – is that we’ll see that sooner than later. And one thing I can tell you is that it will not involve Hamas.

QUESTION: But just to follow up on that, I mean, that suggests that the U.S. doesn’t have a sort of clear vision for what the best future governance is rather than —

MS BRUCE: Well, no, it suggests that there’s some things that I won’t exactly tell you today.

QUESTION: But so there is a vision, but you’re not setting out what it is?

MS BRUCE: Well, clearly we have multiple nations dealing with an issue that has gone on for generations, where people have said that they want it to end, they want it to be solved. The results have been not good, ending up in Hamas in this kind of dystopian dynamic. And then President Trump comes back and says: I want new ideas, this can’t continue, working with all those nations in the region hand in hand to come up with a new idea.

What that new idea will be I can’t describe, but it’s – they’re not playing tiddlywinks.

QUESTION: But just to clarify, did —

MS BRUCE: They’re actually making – having a vision for the future of how this constructively could work.

QUESTION: But just to clarify —

MS BRUCE: Yes.

QUESTION: — does that include the possible, as the administration terms it, relocation of Palestinians from Gaza?

MS BRUCE: I won’t discuss the details.

QUESTION: Because when the – when the President was asked about this in the White House last night, his first reaction was to defer to the Israeli prime minister about that very question. I mean, he didn’t answer it.

MS BRUCE: Well, that – yeah, I think that when I refer people to other agencies or to other people, it’s either because it’s more appropriate or because it’s something that is not correct for me to speak about, or I don’t have the details. When speaking about another nation’s approach with something, it’s appropriate to refer to that friend who’s sitting there with you.

President Trump has not just the desire to ask for new ideas, he asks for them because he gets them. He knows new ideas are possible. His life is a new idea. The nature of what he’s accomplished politically is a new idea. He knows that if you put your mind to it and you need to accomplish something very specifically, you must determine what that will be as opposed to being carried along by a system or a machine or the wind.

So when he lives his life that way and he knows that it works, it’s not always easy, but that sometimes it’s the only way – if not most of the time – if you want real success and real progress, is to have the new ideas.

QUESTION: But that —

MS BRUCE: And that’s what we’re waiting for, and it will not look like what’s happened before.

QUESTION: But that isn’t a new idea.

MS BRUCE: Yes, the other Tom. Yes, sir.

QUESTION: Thank you, Tammy. Just going back to Gaza, can you tell us what that one remaining issue is that Special Envoy Witkoff described or referenced earlier?

MS BRUCE: No, but I’m sure we’ll find out.

QUESTION: And another sort of simple question.

MS BRUCE: Of course.

QUESTION: By the end of the week – does that mean by Friday, by Saturday, or by Sunday?

MS BRUCE: I think generally it could be the collection of the days at the end of the week. (Laughter.) I can’t – I can’t – I’m not going to specify because we know how things can happen. The President is leaving on a trip today that originally he was going to be leaving on a couple days earlier. The world happens. These are men and women who are at the forefront of deliberate change, and they’re determined to be managing it.

So I would – these are the people who have – who understand and they’re – that’s a very specific thing to say, even though it was kind of “end of the week.” I would say – to clarify a little bit more, I would say probably the end of the week.

Yes.

QUESTION: Thank you, Tammy. Two separate topics, most on Ukraine. But before that, just to clarify, you meant the President leaving today for trip? Or the Secretary?

MS BRUCE: Oh, no, the Secretary.

QUESTION: Okay, yes.

MS BRUCE: Obviously the Secretary. Did I say the President?

QUESTION: The public records reflect —

QUESTION: Yes.

MS BRUCE: Well, I – Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Yes. But both men are on my mind.

QUESTION: On Ukraine, I would appreciate if you help us understand whether the President’s latest assessment of Putin will lead to any real policy change when it comes to arms shipment issue. Are we back to pre-July 11? Or is this administration now committed to deliver on all the previously made commitments?

MS BRUCE: Well, I mentioned in our last briefing when there was some concern and hubbub about arms shipments stopping from the United States to Ukraine. And my warning then was wait a minute, that this is one situation, that you should not extrapolate it as a new policy or position, that we have been and remain Ukraine’s biggest supporters. We care about those people. We care about making sure that they have what they need. The President has been very vocal about the wholesale slaughter that has been going on and how it has to stop, how there has to be a ceasefire, and how it’s – it has to be between the two parties.

Within that, I noted that, of course, wait. And here we do now have – besides a phone alarm – we have, of course, the resumption of weapons shipments to Ukraine. The President has been vocal about this. Without the details of exactly what, the President feels obviously very passionate and determined regarding the ability of Ukraine to defend itself. That is – that’s the commitment. And Karoline Leavitt, my colleague, noted just yesterday the shipment’s pause was part of a standard review of all weapons and all aid the U.S. is providing all countries and all regions around the world, not just Ukraine. And a few days before that President Zelenskyy noted about his phone call with the – President Trump: “We had a very good call, I think a very strategic call… We’ve been helping them, and we’ll continue to help them.” This is the President speaking about Zelenskyy. “It’s a pretty tough situation.”

So again, we’ve been helping them, we’ll continue to help them. It’s a pretty tough situation. And so that is – that’s our position. It’s what it has always been, and I am glad that there’s some clarity here after last week.

QUESTION: I do have follow-ons, but I’ll leave it for another day.

MS BRUCE: Yeah. Well – yeah.

QUESTION: Second topic: Going back to your opening statement on the Secretary’s speech during the cabinet meeting.

MS BRUCE: Yes.

QUESTION: He talked about Azerbaijan and Armenia. I’m just curious whether there is any active U.S. involvement involved, a U.S.-led mediated process right now going on. What makes the Secretary believe that there is a happy ending there?

MS BRUCE: Well, that’s a good question, and we’ll have some of that for you, but it was important enough, of course, for him to mention. And we’re excited about the multitude of arrangements and ceasefires and changes that we’ve been able to be involved in. The Secretary noted that for a reason, and when we have some more details for you I’ll get it to you.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MS BRUCE: All right. Yes, sir, in the back there.

QUESTION: Can I ask a question on Iran? The President mentioned yesterday that the Iranians have requested a meeting. Your Iranian counterpart today countered that and said there has been no request on the Iranian side. Where does this – is there a misunderstanding here? And are you still communicating via the Omani – the Omanis, or are there other countries involved here?

MS BRUCE: Well, I would say that I don’t have a counterpart in Iran. I’ll say that right now. But I would remind you that our commitment to all of these issues remains. The President has been very public in saying that he wants Iran to return to the normal collection of nations.

Our commitment has been steadfast through all of these conflicts, and now is a time for Iran to take advantage of that. But we’ve, of course, seen them do certain things that have not been helpful, like withdrawing from the IAEA, et cetera. But President Trump is determined to have success there for the Iranian people and for the world and for the region.

So I don’t have details for you now about what may or could happen, but I do know that the President remains committed to a world at peace and to doing everything he can to make that possible.

Yes, in the – yes. Yes, sir.

QUESTION: A follow-up on that. Thank you so much. Has any meetings with Iran been scheduled yet, or are you still discussing to set up a meeting with Iranian in somewhere in Middle East or in Europe?

MS BRUCE: You’re asking about the Kurds?

QUESTION: No. No, I’m asking about – this will be my second question, actually. My question is follow-up for my colleagues from BBC. Has any meeting scheduled with Iranian yet? Or you are still —

MS BRUCE: I can’t speak to that at this point.

QUESTION: Okay.

MS BRUCE: But – yes.

QUESTION: And a second question on the Kurds, yeah. Can you share the State Department’s comments regarding the recent meetings between the Kurdish-led delegation with the Syrian interim government in Damascus? And how does the department view Damascus apparent lack of response to the Kurdish delegation’s request to continue the dialogue?

MS BRUCE: That’s good – that’s a good question, but we have to take it back. I know there can be something. There’s a lot of, of course, action and change courtesy of Ambassador Barrack, our ambassador to Türkiye, who’s leading the reformation, if you will, and the assistance to Syria. The Kurdish position there, of course, is of interest to many, and so we’ll get that back to you.

QUESTION: And last – yeah, lastly about – how do you see the recent dispute between KRG and Baghdad over the budget and oil issue?

MS BRUCE: Is this about the salary payments still?

QUESTION: Yes, exactly.

MS BRUCE: Yes, well, as we know, that’s been a long-time issue. I appreciate you staying on it and many others staying on it as well. I can reiterate for those who are unaware of the situation – which, again, the Middle East changed a couple of weekends ago, right? It changed dramatically.

But I can tell you that we continue to urge Baghdad, in this case, and Erbil to resolve their issues through constructive dialogue. That has not changed. We still want that. Resolving this salaries issue sends a signal that Iraq is creating an environment in which U.S. companies would want to invest. That I think is even more heightened now than ever before with the potential.

Successful resolution would also send a positive signal on broader cooperation for the benefit of all Iraqis, such as the reopening of the Iraq-Türkiye pipeline and additional energy exploration, including with U.S. companies. I know that President Trump’s vision of a peaceful world is one where everything is possible. Iraq fits into that, obviously, as do the Kurdish people. Nothing is impossible, and we’ve got the leadership that I think can take us there.

QUESTION: Iran? On Iran?

MS BRUCE: And next to —

QUESTION: Me?

MS BRUCE: Yes, sir.

QUESTION: Thank you. As we know, after October 7th, 2003, always Prime Minister Netanyahu talking about the new Middle East, and President Trump is very concerned about the stability and peace. Can you update us? Now Prime Minister Netanyahu here in town. Do you continue to support Israel for peace and stability in the Middle East and fight terrorism and proxies in the region?

MS BRUCE: I think it’s pretty obvious with the relationship between President Trump and the Prime Minister of Israel Netanyahu, as well as the Secretary of State and his comments and his relationship as well. Our involvement in the issue of defense and supporting Israel’s defense of itself, it’s clear that now opportunities have opened up as terrorist death squads of the region, having been supported by Iran, remain on their heels. And it’s a very exciting time.

It’s a time where people who perhaps felt that this was the only normal or the new normal are realizing – people around the world are – that things can change for the better. This kind of suffering is not perpetual. It can end. And that is what I know President Trump is focused on and why we have the friends that we have and the actions that we take, because a safer world for the United States, considering all that is asked of us, which we respond to with I think incredible generosity – it is our nature as a nation made up of people who wanted freedom and liberty – is that a peaceful world is the best thing for the United States and every other country. And that is our goal, and we search for that and work for that with our partners throughout the world.

QUESTION: Iran?

MS BRUCE: All right. Yes, in the yellow.

QUESTION: Thank you, Tammy. Ambassador Barrack was in Lebanon.

MS BRUCE: Yes.

QUESTION: And he received the response, the Lebanese response, on his proposal regarding the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel. What do we expect after this? And publicly he was positive regarding the response.

MS BRUCE: Yes.

QUESTION: Can you walk us through what happened? What were – what —

MS BRUCE: Well, Special Envoy Tom Barrack – also, again, the ambassador to Türkiye – is a remarkable individual. He’s got an assignment that is difficult. He – of course, he visited Beirut. He is not a man who pretends. And there – so you’re seeing a public explanation or a description of his attitude about what’s happening; you can believe in that. He has said that he was unbelievably satisfied, as one example, with the Lebanese Government’s response to calls to disarm Hizballah.

Now, he is – this – there is a transparency, I think, that President Trump has set for everyone that moves with him, that has aligned with him – and that’s because the American people deserve transparency, that we have for too long have not had it. And so yes, while I won’t – I won’t characterize private diplomatic conversations that any of our leaders have, the fact of the matter is you can listen to their own words. You’ll see the – and hear the honesty, and you’ll be able to make your conclusions from that.

Yes.

QUESTION: Iran?

MS BRUCE: Yes, sir, with the beard.

QUESTION: Thank you. We heard Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying that U.S. and Israel are getting closer to finding countries who will take in Palestinians. Can you tell us who are these countries? Are they in the Middle East or outside of the Middle East?

MS BRUCE: Well, we know that this has been, through conversations and discussions, part of the ideas that have been discussed or I suppose contemplated. There’s a realization that, as the President has noted as the situation became quite obvious, that that was not an environment – the Gaza Strip – where one can live peacefully or safely. And in order to rebuild and to remake, people have to be safe. Where we go with those conversations, I won’t discuss the end result. But we are at a point – this is – what is this, Tuesday? We’re dealing with, after everything we’ve experienced – think about it – in just five to six months, what has changed already.

The Secretary noted that a bit in his remarks at the cabinet meeting. It’s been an astounding shift, and to the future itself – not in a moment of a singular ceasefire, but changes in attitudes and what we expect. So I would say that there’s a belief in general that things can change, that the people themselves are what’s being considered first and foremost. And it’s the regional partners, the nations in that region who also have an overwhelming interest in the destruction and the carnage ending. And so we’ll have to wait and see who is going to participate in how we make this a better future for the people of the Gaza Strip.

QUESTION: Can I follow – can I follow up?

QUESTION: Okay.

MS BRUCE: All right. And yes, sir. Go ahead.

QUESTION: On Iran?

QUESTION: Yes, I wanted to —

MS BRUCE: Tell me your name, by the way. You’re in for someone.

QUESTION: Yeah, I’m James LaPorta from CBS News.

MS BRUCE: Great. Hi there. Hi, James. CBS.

QUESTION: Thank you for having me. I wanted to take us back to Russia-Ukraine for a minute and something the President said. And I’ll give you the quote. Quote, “We get a lot of thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth. He’s very nice to us all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.” How is the President going to negotiate a peace deal when everything that Putin says is meaningless? And to be fair, this is something that people have told the President for a while now, that what Putin largely says is meaningless. Even President Zelenskyy has said that and the President has largely dismissed those concerns until recently. So —

MS BRUCE: I would say I would urge you to be cautious about presuming the nature of the choice that the President makes, what informs his actions. Don’t project onto him that he has dismissed concerns or accepted them. There is – I have not been involved in high-stakes peace negotiations between nations, one of which is a nuclear-powered nation with nuclear weapons. Many of these issues are dealing with nations that could obliterate people in a flash.

So I am not going to presume – and none of us should – the nature of the choices that President Trump specifically makes in his determination to save people’s lives and to end the absurdity of what has happened in some of these situations. He tries. He doesn’t give up. He talks with people. He knows he can persuade people. He knows Vladimir Putin. There is an effort, and he was committed and remains committed to diplomacy first, but he must note that if there – when there is a limit to that.

And he believes, as I think we all should, that people, as they’re portrayed in the media, can be one thing, but also that over time people do change for the worse or for the better. And President Trump is going to make a decision based on the private conversations he’s had, the people that he knows, the other people involved in the negotiations, the advice he receives, the guidance from his cabinet, but also his own judgment – which has been remarkable – and his transparency.

So you hear his assessment when it comes to when you make a deal with someone or something is arranged – and the Secretary has noted this also – is that you don’t make a deal with someone because of trust; you make a deal with someone based on what they do and what they don’t do, ultimately, in the fashion of that deal. So otherwise, with people who cause death and destruction around the world, there would never be any arrangements because there are many people you can’t trust. But it’s about setting a stage where people must comply with a certain dynamic, or there is a price to pay.

You don’t need to be able to trust someone to do that. You need to be able to have an environment that someone – only, frankly, like Donald Trump and the United States – can set to put certain people in a line that is best for the world and their own countries.

Yes.

QUESTION: In February, he —

QUESTION: (Off-mike.)

MS BRUCE: One more.

QUESTION: Well, excuse me – in February, President Trump said he would keep his word —

QUESTION: (Off-mike.)

MS BRUCE: One more. One second, sir. Please, in the back, stop and we’ll get one more, and then I’ll move to you. Yes, go. One more, sir. Sir. James, one more for you.

QUESTION: Well, in February, the President did say, “I think he’ll keep his word. I’ve known him for a long time. I think he will. I don’t believe he’s going to violate his word.”

MS BRUCE: Well —

QUESTION: He said – so that – isn’t that based on trust?

MS BRUCE: Well, it is – he says that. He tells you what he’s thinking. And the whole point of negotiations and dealing with this kind of thing is based on time and actions that pass. And it’s not a static decision. You don’t decide that and then that’s the belief or the choice that lasts if something else occurs or you’re seeing some other behavior. We don’t do that in any relationship, right? We have expectations, and then you watch and you engage, and that’s the point of the engagements and the negotiations.

What the President has seen, I won’t comment on. I am not going to project what the nature of – how he’s making his decisions. What I do know is that he gets what he wants. He’s an open-minded man, but he is not naive. He is principled and clear in what he wants to achieve. That’s what we’re seeing. So keep that in mind as we move forward.

Now I will move to the back. Sir, in the glasses, and – no, not you in the blue shirt. In the tie, and then back to you after this.

QUESTION: Thank you so much, Tammy.

MS BRUCE: Yes. Yes.

QUESTION: This on the Quad meeting, actually. I was trying —

MS BRUCE: Great.

QUESTION: I have some —

MS BRUCE: Okay, that was fun. I enjoyed the Quad meeting, yes.

QUESTION: And last week I was trying to do this, so I have so many. I’ll put all – everything together for you to be impactful.

MS BRUCE: Oh, well, thank you.

QUESTION: At the recent Quad meeting, Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar said India has every right to defend itself against terrorism and expect Quad partners to understand that. Given the situation that India shares the longest border with Bangladesh, given the situation – last week, ammunition linked to the last year violent anti-government movement in Bangladesh was found in the baggage of Yunus interim government advisor Asif Mahmud at Dhaka International Airport.

MS BRUCE: All right, okay —

QUESTION: And under the Yunus-led interim government, last week Sri Sri Durga Mandir, Hindu mandir, was demolished by government bulldozer, Hindu barber was taken —

MS BRUCE: All right. Now – now you —

QUESTION: And last one —

MS BRUCE: I – we try to avoid soliloquies or —

QUESTION: And what is your reaction? Thank you.

MS BRUCE: — or the little history lessons. I understand it’s a complicated, detailed dynamic involving India and Bangladesh. We understand that. We – there is – and I would send you to state.gov. I don’t – I’m not being trite here in this suggestion. There is – there are two statements regarding the Quad meeting, one from Secretary Rubio and a joint statement from all the partners that is quite extensive – and that is what we are willing to share about what happened in those meetings. So those are the purpose of the readouts.

I will certainly not characterize not only the Secretary’s position about the United States – I’m not certainly going to characterize India’s or any other nation’s position or statements in what is a diplomatic meeting. But I would suggest you see those – that joint statement, and I think we’ll be in good shape.

Now, behind you, in the blue shirt.

QUESTION: Thank you, Spokesperson Tammy Bruce. After President Donald Trump elected as the 47th president, in less than six months we saw two major wars between India and Pakistan and Iran and Israel, and President Trump mediated both. Pakistan first nominated him for Nobel Peace Prize.

MS BRUCE: Yes, they did.

QUESTION: And now Israel. How you see this?

And second, ma’am, you have been asked two times before what is —

MS BRUCE: He’s counting.

QUESTION: Yes, ma’am.

MS BRUCE: Okay, keep going.

QUESTION: In Pakistan, when there were elections here in the United States, there was much enthusiasm. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan is currently in jail. What is your official take on it? Do you see it as an internal matter of Pakistan? What’s the take of this administration on Imran Khan imprisonment in Pakistan?

MS BRUCE: Well, for the administration’s opinion regarding Mr. Khan’s situation, I would ask you to check with the White House and my colleague, Karoline Leavitt, on the issue of the fact that President Trump has been nominated now twice, certainly by – the latest by Prime Minister Netanyahu regarding our work for peace regarding Iran and Israel. We’ll see.

I think the President has made it clear that he doesn’t expect ever to win something of that sort, and yet the issue for him, the prize, is his success. The prize is the end result, and humanity will be the deciders and the judgment of the nature of what he has contributed with his life. I think that that, frankly in my opinion, transcends the Nobel Peace Prize. But he deserves every prize. He deserves this one for the Abraham Accords. He deserved it. There are many things he deserves, and I don’t know in this world whether he would get them.

But what he has received is the biggest prize of all, which is the presidency of the United States, brought to him by the freest people in the world in an election, returning him to this office after remarkably shocking and obscene attacks on himself and his family for years. He did not give up; the American people did not give up on him. He is now not giving up on the world, and the people of the world are going to decide and make a determination of the greatness of Donald Trump, and it’s going to be unavoidable. And I appreciate – I appreciate your question.

Yes, sir. In the glasses, yes.

QUESTION: Thank you so much. After the ceasefire between India and Pakistan, Pakistani Government and army chief appreciate the efforts of President Trump and nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. But on the other hand, Indian Prime Minister Modi and his cabinet members continuously saying that President Trump has no role in the ceasefire between India and Pakistan. Even Jaishankar, when he met Secretary Rubio last week, after that meeting he told media that President Trump has nothing to do with the ceasefire between India and Pakistan. So what are your thoughts on these lies and rogue behavior of Modi cabinet members?

MS BRUCE: (Laughter.) I think I – so many comments speak for themselves. That’s one of the good-news aspects of our modern world is people can see what’s really occurring. You’re not reliant on a comment to know what has really happened.

The world is playing out in front of us in real time on big screens and small screens. Everyone will have an opinion. That’s an opinion. Some opinions are wrong. Mine rarely are but other people’s opinions can be wrong. (Laughter.) But that’s what we get to do is analyze and judgment, and the fact is is that we understand in front of us every day the clarity of what’s transpiring in our world.

We’re the first generation of a couple generations here – so many of you are much younger than I am – we’re my generation perhaps, I would say, growing up with a big TV that had the turn dial, and I was the remote control. It was, “Tammy, go change the channel.” And you change it. You’ve got four channels. And the speed, the exponential speed, of change of technology that now I would watch television on my phone that is in my hand, is natural for so many, but it reminds many of us of how quickly things will change, how much information we can get, and the seriousness of making up our own minds when it comes to the things that the world puts upon us.

Donald Trump is here to help make that easier and to help use this to make things clearer. Secretary Marco Rubio is in the same position, the Vice President of the United States also involved in the negotiations with Pakistan and India, JD Vance. Same dynamic, fresh views, new ideas, understanding the world as it sits, and making sure that it’s better when they leave. And they will be recognized for that.

That’s it for today, you guys. I will be here all week, and I will see you on Thursday. We will get – with many things up in the air, we will have – keep an eye on state.gov and releases that I put out, and also the President’s Truth Social, the Secretary of State’s X account.

Andrea, what is your X account. You’ve got an X account. You keep in touch with Andrea Mitchell? What’s your X account? She’s not going to say it. All right, you all, you can look her up.

QUESTION: (Off-mike.)

MS BRUCE: And I am – what am I? @StateDeptSpox, S-P-O-X. Stay in touch; watch everything, make up your own mind, and I’ll see you on Thursday. Thank you, everyone.

(The briefing was concluded at 3:24 p.m.)

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