podesto and erskine boles. c-span 3, review of the at sea.aval collisions in her first briefing of the new year, white house press sarah sanders took questions from reporters on a range of issues. tweets from tied to the president. including protests in iran, u.s. korea, owards north pakistan and afghanistan. immigration. retirement hatch's announcement. this is 25 minutes. >> good afternoon. happy new year. with all to be back of you. start by wishing everybody a but you guys kind of stole my thunder a little bit on that. the president would like to start by congratulating two teams from two great states, both in the heart of trump country. fantastic ward to a national championship between georgia and alabama next week. nd we know for certain that a

lot of american workers are starting and having a very happy ew year thanks to the wage increases and bonuses they got as a result of the president's tax cut bill. exactly what doing the president said they would. ncreasing investment and raising wages and the workers are the big beneficiaries. we will be talking a lot more about that in the the coming days. with the new year, we also have a renewed appreciation for the we enjoy here in the united states. unfortunately, millions of world are not he so fortunate. in recent days, we have watched widespread protests erupt in cities, years of corruption and foreign venturism have ee readed he iranian's people in their leaders. the regime spends their people's wealth on spreading military ensuring her than prosperity at home. prices for everyday staples and uel are rising while the revolutionary guard spend the ation's wealth on foreign

militant groups and enrich themselves in the process. the iranian people are angry at the rising tide of corruption in their daily lives. the people are tired of paying the price for their violent and corrupt rulers. a result, we are now seeing uprising popular organized by brave iranian citizens on the largest scale 2009. but the international community cannot sit silent as it did then. supports states iranian people and call on the regime to respect its citizen's right to peacefully express their desire for change. america longs for the day when will take their alongside the free people of the world. as the president said in october, we stand in total iranian y with the regime longest suffering victims. its own people. paid aizens of iran have heavy price for the violence and extremism of their leaders. iranian people long to reclaim their country's proud civilization re,

and its cooperation with its neighbors. on an even more somber note, we sad to have to announce a brave american service member ied in afghanistan and we are going through the notification process and d.o.d. will provide updates on that situation as available. and our thoughts and prayers are with that individual's family friends. with that, i'll take your questions. major? >> the iranian protest, has that created an opening or renewed to president's desire reimpose sanctions as part of the iran nuclear deal? i have a follow-up. certainly keep our options open. terms s of sanctions, in of signing a waver later in the president hasn't made a final decision on that. he'll keep all of his options on regard.le in that >> have the iranian protests hanged the calculation about that? created a situation which the president who is already nclined to be moving in that

direction more rapidly in that direction to send a signal not just to the iranian regime but world. >> not necessarily. i think the president has been very clear what his position is peopleort of the iranian and in terms of what decision he'll make on that waiver. yet.sn't made a final one he's going to keep every option on the table with regard to that. > on pakistan, what specifically did the president's tweet about threatening to withhold future u.s. aid, is there something in particular that he was either briefed upon because it's iced not necessarily a secret that there's been a long running dispute between the united government and pakistan about how cooperative pakistan has been in counterterrorism other issues. >> look, the president outlined new strategy for afghanistan and south asia earlier this past year in august. time, he laid out that pakistan is not fulfilling its obligations. the president is simply through on a commitment that he made because this is a president who does do. he says he's going to

we know that pakistan can do more to fight terrorism. nd we want them to step up and do that. > what did the president mean when he said the deep state does thispartment and administration believe that the deep state is a real thing? that there is this shadow there actively plotting to sabotage him? >> look, the president finds very f those actions disturbing. and he thinks that we need to ake sure if there is an issue that it's looked at. but if there was anything beyond that, i would refer you to the justice.nt of that would look into it. >> does he believe the entire justice department and it's more employees are part of this deep state? >> obviously, he doesn't believe the entire justice department is that.f you know, one of the things that he president has done is appoint christopher ray at the f.b.i. because he wants to change the culture of that agency. thinks he's the right person to do that. >> what does the president see iran? end game in

does he like -- would he like to see regime change? the ultimate hink end game would be that the iran ns and the people of are actually given basic human like and he'd certainly to see them stop being a state sponsor of terror. i think that's something the to see.rld would like >> is there a rifshg by encouraging these demonstrators that there could be a backlash them from the iranian government? >> no, and you know, i think one and i think ings even hillary clinton outlined this when she said that the administration was too restrained. the 2009 protests and said that won't happen again. once, she's right. and we agree with her because president trump is not going to silently like president obama did and he certainly supports the iranian people and to make that clear. matthew? >> thanks, sarah. another question on one of this tweets.s is the president requesting that the department of justice huma abideen.

conclusion each the that she should be in jail given she hasn't been indicted of any crime? of that sly, the facts case are very disturbing and i think the president wants to make clear he doesn't feel that the law ould be above in terms of any investigation that would be something the department of justice would need to decide and i would refer you to them on whether or not they move forward. thanks, sarah. was the president disappointed not senator hatch decided to seek re-election and is he committed to campaign for whoever the republican nominee would be in 2018? obviously, i don't think we made a determination in terms of campaigning. but the president certainly has the greatest and deepest amount hatch.ect for senator and his over four decades of experience in the senate. thankful for rly the senator's leadership and played infort that he the role that he played in reform the tax cut and package passed and the president

certainly praises his service senator ry sad to see hatch leave. and knows that he will certainly be missed. lot, sarah. korea has n of south reached out to north korea of a possible meeting between north and south with officials as early as next week. this a meeting that the administration supports? any way upset your strategy for dealing with north korea? policy on north korea hasn't changed at all. the united states is committed to put still continue maximum pressure on north korea to change and make sure that it denuclearizes the peninsula. our goals are the same and we share that with south korea but policy and our process has not changed. >> would such a meeting be helpful? >> go ahead. >> would such a meeting be helpful, though, in terms of that ing the situation exists now in the region? >> again, our policy hasn't very d and we've been

clear about the fact of what our priority is and that's a peninsula and there's nothing new to update on that front. trey? >> thanks, sarah. on iran, the president tweeted over the past weekend that the u.s. is watching very closely violations.ghts what actions are being considered by the trump administration should these occur?ons >> we'll keep you posted on any actions that we plan to take. lot of e keeping a options on the table at this time. steve's can follow up on question about regime change, there are protesters who are calling for regime change in the country. does the trump administration support regime change in iraq? >> we support them giving basic rights to the people of iran. and we support them stopping being a state sponsor of terror. actionsant to see those take place. francesca? >> thank you, sarah. haley, the u.s. ambassador to the u.n. said the was not or pakistan

tied to the united nations vote on jerusalem. what is happening to the country did not vote with the president es and trump made threats against those countries and i wanted to ask you about what the president's for the rest day of the week and what he's been up to lately. we know that he had a lunch today. we know that he's had his intelligence briefing and we saw him tweeting. what is else on the president's agenda? lot of questions from a lot of different angles. i'll try to make sure i cover them all. pakistan, as s of itsed, our goal is that we know stop terrorism and we want them to do that. that seems pretty simple in of specific actions, i think you'll see some more details come out on that in the 24 to 48 hours. and we'll be sure to keep you guys updated on that front. in terms of of the president's schedule, he's had a number of meetings today. e'll keep you guys posted on that. he met with the vice president, secretary of labor, and a number staff members talking about

goals and priorities as we move into the new year. and we're excited about having a successful 2018 as we did 2017. ashley? sarah, this morning the president tweeted that hispanics and activists will soon be with him and the republicans. what protection did the president, if any, prepare to to dreamers and would any protection for dreamers have tangible to a physical wall at the border? >> the president wants to have reform.ible immigration he said before that he would like to include a daca process.n in that and we hope to be able to work with members of congress to get that done. big hat's certainly a priority for the administration in 2018. we've laid out what our principles are on immigration reform look like and that will any package rt of that includes daca. sir? folks on capitol hill that are under the impression that the white house another to combine

document, smaller list, more of policy proposals for foreign exchange for protections for dreamers. they're expecting some other of document. is that coming? is that something you'll talk about tomorrow? > certainly keep you posted if it does. right now, we're still focused n helping achieve those principles that we laid out at the end of last year. and we want to continue to work with congress to get those done. >> can i ask one more quick question? there are a couple -- mood today.good >> there are a couple of folks were nominated last year that did not get confirmed by the senate. you -- will the white house renominate them or looking -- are you looking for other people? >> i don't have any personal announcements on that front. posted.ep you >> go back to north korea for a second. the president on his tweet this morning said the sanctions and pressures are having a big impact on north korea. but we learned this afternoon he is apparently making

preparations for another missile launch either this week or next. there was rhetoric over the a nuclear button on his desk. can you point out how these pressures are having a big as the president says and then a lot of people want to know if we stay on the current maximum pressure, are we moving further from war? or closer to war? >> again, the focus here is to you said to apply maximum pressure on north korea. nd we want all of the other countries, this is not just a united states threat. this is a global threat which is why we're calling on everybody and do more. and we're going to continue working with a lot of different leaders and other countries to that.o and we're going to keep all of our options on the table as we and time again. our policy on that front hasn't changed. mike? point.low-up on that if the policy is denuclearization and kim won't u.s. about that, why -- how can it be good news if the president suggested in his korea wants to

talk to south korea about the olympics? >> how can it -- i'm sorry. what was the last part? it may be good news that north korea wants to talk to olympics.a about the in what scenario is that good news for the white house? > look, our alliance and friendship with south korea remains stronger than it ever as been and we're in close contact with those people about a unified response. we'll continue to work with to put maximum pressure on north korea and work towards the ultimate shared goal that we both have. kristin? >> sarah, thank you. this is a follow-up. does the united states support korean athletes taking part in the olympics? >> we haven't made a final determination on that front. >> is this something that could -- >> i don't know there's a timeline we'll do that in the next 24 hours. we'll certainly keep you posted. >> let me try to drill down on president's tweet about iran earlier today. i know you've been asked a version of this question. very specific. the president said it's time for change in iran. did he mean in leadership or in

policy or both? > i think the -- again, the biggest thing is the change of iran that the people have basic human rights which their government frankly is not them to have at this time. and certainly, in large part, stop being a state sponsor of terrorism. i mean, i think those are the changes we're look for. do that through current leadership, if that's possible, ok. but those are our priorities making sure that those principles are met. >> i haven't asked him that question. kevin? >> happy new year, sarah. >> happy new year. >> let me ask you about some follow up s and i'll with a question about the budget. welfare reform, border security, which of these in the rimary focus early stages of 2018? or is this a buckshot approach nd you're simply going to go for them all and see which one you can stick the landing on first. >> the president was elected of his ambitious agenda.

and his desire to get a lot of things done. that.going to focus on the things that you listed are certainly going to be big priorities for us in 2018. meetings that the president has this week with leadership will help determine best strategy is on each of those individual areas welfare are certainly reform, infrastructure, responsible immigration reform all be top are will priorities for the administration this year. >> speaking of the meetings, coming uprow and even this weekend, for the american people who might be wondering, like appens in a meeting this, can you sort of lay out what the expectation might be rom the president's point of view? >> i think it would be to talk of t, again, the strategy the best way to accomplish maximum success in all of those that we've outlined. obviously, the budget is first biggest ost one of the priorities right now and certainly the big priority in the immediate term. two-year dent wants a

budget deal that provides realistic budget caps. nd provides certainty for our national security. that's our biggest and number one priority and that will be of focus front and center the conversations that are taking place this week. and then beyond that, it will be the four other priorities that i outlined and what the strategy to get maximum those would look like. jill? >> i want to go back to the orrin hatch retirement decision. president and mitt romney ave obviously traded some very harsh words against one another. would the president be open to supporting mitt romney? that going to have conversation with him. i think i would be prohibited to right now oo far given hatch on who we might or might not support in that race. about the questions president's tax plan. to be perfectly clear, there was no particular incident, nothing the public doesn't know about prompted that tweet yesterday? > this is something that the president has been following. and has talked about, again, back during august when he laid afghanistan and south

asia strategy. and this is something that the continues to watch on a daily basis and the -- ident receives daily daily updates and briefings and i can't go into any further detail beyond that. john? >> thank you, sarah. exile of the iranian haves in the united states praised the president's comments as have ments on iran former prisoners of the iranian them.nment, a pastor among is the president in touch either any tly or indirectly with of the exile groups notably the national council for resistance in iran? aware of any conversations certainly not directly between the president but i'd have to verify that no in the administration has had those conversations. conversations. i'm not prepared to answer that extensively. > another presidential tweet

today. he appeared to take credit for zero commercial airline in 2017. fact, there hasn't been a u.s. xhishl airline crash, fatalities crash in the country 2009. does president obama deserve credit for that long stretch 2009?dates back to >> the president has raised the bar for our nation's aviation security. he certainly is very grateful, ast year the president announced his initiative to modernize air traffic control and under his leadership, the homeland security released enhanced security measures to ensure safer commercial air travel. president is very happy that there were no commercial airline deaths in 2017. hope that that trend continues well into 2018 and beyond. >> just to follow up, the dministrator has had a successful run and obama holdover. will he extend him? >> i don't have any personal that front.s on >> started talking football. that will be in the

national championship game come from the state of georgia and the state of alabama. as you know well. alabama just elected a democratic senator you said. the right and the heart of trump country. does the president see the as trump country and the rest of the country? >> i was simply making a congratulations to two great the greatest in conference in the country. you i'm sure that most of will all agree even those that don't live in one of those lucky states. >> ask you specifically about, ask you if ing to you worked during the holiday because i think i know what you'll say there. >> there was a holiday? >> right? i wanted to ask you is will he breakdown prehensive of what he accomplished during the holiday season and specifically, he met with steve manuchin, his trade rep, his secretary, his treasurer secretary. did you accomplish anything during that break and could you let the american public know it was that you

accomplished. >> obviously, the president has trade.xtremely focused on he talked a lot about it during the campaign and talked a lot about it since he was sworn in. going to continue to be a big priority of the president in american e that workers and american companies are at the best end and have better trade deals. doesn't feel like we have very many of those right now and wants to make sure that we make effort to improve all of the trade deals that we have so we're benefitting our workers our companies and our country. and that was certainly a big part of that conversation and be so and nue to we'll keep you posted if we have specifics to roll out on that front. >> plans to hold, you said one press conference in a year. is there any chance to get him out here to answer some questions from him sometimes? you're ld make sure aware if he's going to make an appearance. the president communicates and he's one of the most accessible we've ever had. he gives feedback and answers questions in a variety of different ways. a press it's through

conference. sometimes it's chatting with you uys on the way to and from marine one. it's often through twitter where to the to speak directly american people and give exact information on what his thoughts are.feelings the purpose, if i understand correctly, is for you to get information about where the and we do that in a variety of different ways. hunter? >> thank you, sarah. year. new >> happy new year. >> so in less than a year in president trump has visited golf courses 91 times. there's confirmation that he played the game of golf at least 75 times. hawn, back in march, told me that this was different than of golf obama's use that he played far less than the president. rump was using the game differently. can you tell us the biggest single thing that the president has accomplished for the time an people during his on the golf course? >> it would be developing deeper and better relationships with congress in which

those relationships have helped push forward the president's specifically when it comes to helping get the tax reform and tax cuts passed. a lot of that, i think, and that uccess of that came from the strong relationships that the president has had and he's played golf with a number of enators and used that time certainly to accomplish that. >> so much has been accomplished during this time. a re seems to be a bit of transparency issue with his time on the golf course. we don't always get confirmation of what he's doing there despite a lot of requests. there was this incident with the box truck. though the seem as white house is a little bit, you issue as some kind of about his time on the course? >> i think it's the press that his time on with the course. president is extremely proud of the accomplishments we had 2017.g i don't think anyone can argue probably one of the most uccessful first years in office, to pass major legislation, he reworked this ourt system, and got a supreme

court justice nominated and approved. and on the bench in the first year. booming economy. massive gains against the war on isis. i think we've had an extremely successful 2017. and some of that is due to the relationship building that he there.le to do we'll take one last question. >> is there a reason for no readout or confirmation? when provide information it's pertinent to the day and we'll continue to do that. go ahead. >> earlier, the president reform saying ax companies are giving big bonuses on their workers because of the tax cut bill. really great. will the employees of the president's own companies be getting bonuses as a result of the tax cut bill? >> that's a question you have to ask the trump organization. involved in isn't that and something i'd refer you to them. >> companies that can afford to a bonuses this year as result of the tax bill should do that for their workers? >> i'm sorry, missed first part. the president feel the companies that should afford to pay bonuses should pay bonuses his employees?

>> he hopes that companies will either give bonuses on their reinvest or somehow and bring business back into this country. that was one of the big purposes tax cut bill he which we certainly have seen play out over the last couple of and expect to see a lot more good news come from that. guys. so much, >> some much questions at the white house were about the recent political protests in iran. u.s. ambassador to the united nations niki haley held a press new yorkat the u.n. in today saying "we must not be silent. iran are crying out for freedom."