New Castle County Office Warehouse and Training Center
New Castle, Delaware

12:31 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  First-time voter.  (Pointing to voters.)

Q    Mr. President, do you want to —

Q    Mr. President, is this bittersweet for you today?

THE PRESIDENT:  Pardon me?

Q    Is this bittersweet for you?

THE PRESIDENT:  No, this is just sweet. 

Q    Do you think she will win?

THE PRESIDENT:  I think we will.  I think it’s a —

Q    Mis- — Mr. President, can you come here and comment on former President Trump’s rally yesterday?  He was saying a bunch of stuff about immigrant —

THE PRESIDENT:  Embarrassing.  Just simply embarrassing.  It’s beneath any president, but that’s what we’re getting used to.  That’s why this election is so important. 

You know, most of the presidential scholars I’ve spoken to talk about the single most consequential thing about a president is character.  Character.  And there’s — he puts that in question every time he opens his mouth.

Q    Mr. President, Egypt has a new proposal for a ceasefire — a two-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.  What do you think about it?

THE PRESIDENT:  I’m — my staff is talking to them right now.  I’m going to get out here, get on a secure line, and follow up on that. 

We need a ceasefire.  We should end this war.  It should end.  It should end.  It should end.

Q    Prime Minister Netanyahu stressed that negotiations under fire is better than negotiation during ceasefire.  What do you think about that?

THE PRESIDENT:  I’ll reserve that for my discussion with him.

Q    Mr. President, will we see you and Vice President Harris this week? 

Q    Mr. President, can you talk a little bit — are we going to see you with the vice president, Harris?  But also, do you wish more like candidates like Lisa Blunt Rochester were using you as a surrogate?

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I’ve done a lot of surrogate stuff.  And the fact of the matter is that I’ve also had to be president at the same time, so I’ve been in all the — all the battleground states.  I’ve been campaigning, but I also have to con- — continue my job as president. 

Q    Will you be on the trail with the vice president this week, sir?

THE PRESIDENT:  I’ve been on the trail.  What — there’s –we’ve — we talk all the time, and they’re asking me to — where they think I should be to help them the most.  I’m going to be in Pennsylvania.  I’m going to head to Scranton and a few other places.  So, (inaudible).

Q    Sir —

Q    Are you concerned about North Korea?  Ten thousand troops now.

THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.  And you got — I don’t even want to — it’s very dangerous.  It’s very dangerous.

And the idea that Kamala’s opponent is talking to Putin and discussing what should be done — I mean —

Anyway.  I — I’m not —

Q    Sir — sir, Elon Musk is handing out checks to registered voters —

THE PRESIDENT:  Tell him I registered. 

Q    — registered — 

THE PRESIDENT:  A million dollars. 

Q    Do you think that’s legal conduct?  Do you think that’s election interference?

THE PRESIDENT:  I think it’s totally inappropriate. 

Thank you.

12:34 P.M. EDT