From: David Boyer
Date: January 14, 2019 at 2:32:45 PM EST
Subject: Travel pool 7 -- Farm Bureau remarks
Motorcade arrived at the New Orleans convention center at 12:27 p.m. local time. As the president noted, gasoline was selling for about $1.75 per gallon along the highway into the city.
President Trump addressed the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 100th Annual Convention. His speech was shown on some cable networks.
The event came about three weeks after the president signed into law the five-year, $867-billion farm bill, which got a standing ovation at his mention of it. Crowd count unofficially around 6,000.
Some highlights (please compare with transcript, much of it was familiar talking points about the border wall dispute):
“We’re doing trade deals that are going to get you so much business, you won’t believe it. A lot of great things are going to happen.”
He congratulated the New Orleans Saints, who beat the Philadelphia Eagles yesterday.
He talked about the humanitarian and security “crisis” on the southern border.
“Women and children are being ruthlessly exploited at our southern border by vicious coyotes and human traffickers.”
“We’ll get that stopped. We’re going to have a wall, we’re going to have a barrier,” he said to cheers and applause. “It’s common sense.”
Of the drug smuggling, he said, “We can’t stop it if we’re going to play politics.”
“This is the defense of our nation. When it comes to keeping the American people safe, I will never, ever back down. I didn’t need this fight.”
of congressional Democrats, he said, “They think it’s a good thing for 2020, because they’re not going to win. It’s one of the many things that I’ve promised. I’ve actually done more than I promised.”
Spoke of his trip to Texas last week to the border.
“When we have proper security, people aren't going to come—except for the people we want to come, because we want to take people in to help our farmers...because you need these people."
"We're keeping the wrong ones out, okay?"
He got a standing ovation when he noted that farmers need people to come to the U.S. to work for them.
“For the people that work the farm and have been here .. it’s going to be easier for them to get in.”
He mentioned the request to Congress for "cutting-edge technology" to enhance border security, to detect drug smuggling, and more money to hire more Border Patrol agents.
The president criticized, as he has previously, chain migration and the visa lottery system.
"These are sick, demented laws that have to be changed," he said. "I hope common sense and people like this [convention] can persuade them."
He invited a rancher, Jim Chilton of Arizona, to come to the podium to speak.
"Mr. President, we need a wall," he said to cheers and a standing ovation.
The president said the government remains shut down because Democrats won't fund border security.
"They will not approve the measures we need to keep America safe," Mr. Trump said. "Other people went on nice, wonderful vacation over the weekend" while he was in the White House.
He mentioned that the USDA is doing everything it can to help farmers during the shutdown, and thanked them for their support.
He urged them to call Democrats to support border security.
"As soon as they (Democrats) do that, we reopen our government. You would think that would be a simple task."
The president recited several actions that have benefited farmers and ranchers, including cutting regulations and reducing the so-called death tax.
Pool is being hustled back to motorcade before speech has ended....
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Dave Boyer
White House correspondent
The Washington Times
202-xxx-xxxx (c)
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