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nicole: at bdo i feel like a true individual, people value me for me, they care about what i want, my needs, my career path, i matter here. ♪ ♪ narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation, the judy and peter blum kovler foundation, upholding freedom by strengthening democracies at home and abroad. announcer: and now, bbc news. happening right now as we speak. i can give an answer go back to my office. the beautiful oval office. >> you're watching bbc news as we continue to watch the press conference right now being given by president trump white house. pres. trump: you can come up with a new trip but it is obsolete a minute later. that's why he's the only one that is successful in his business. >> russia saying your foreign policy is roughly in line with their vision. should that be concerning to americans? pres. trump: say what?

read the statement. >> russia said that your administrations foreign policy is, quote, largely in line with their vision. pres. trump: well, i will tell you what, it takes two to tango. you're going to have to make do with pressure and going to have to make a deal with ukraine. you're going to have to cap -- have the consent from the european nations because i think that is important, and from us. i think everybody has to get into a room, so to speak, and we have to make a deal. and the deal could be made very fast. it should not be that hard to deal to make. it could be made very fast. and maybe somebody doesn't want to make a deal. and i think it somebody doesn't want to make a deal, that person will not be around very long. that person will not be listen to very long because i believe that russia wants to make a deal. i believe that certainly the people of ukraine want to make a deal. they have suffered more than anybody else. we talk about suffering, they have suffered. but if you think about it, under president bush, they got georgia, right?

russia got georgia. under president obama, they got a nice big submarine base, a nice big chunk of land where they have their submarines. you know that, right? crimea. under president trump, and under president biden they tried to get the whole thing. they tried to get the whole big ukraine, the whole thing. if i didn't get in here, they would have gotten the whole thing. so i can only say, you can go back to bush, obama, and biden. they took a lot. the only one they didn't get -- you know what i gave them? i gave them antitank missiles. that's what i gave them. i gave them sanctions on russia, on russia. i gave them javelins. you know the javelins? you know when they took out all those tanks? you know the tanks were heading to kyiv by the hundreds, and

they were unstoppable. and i gave them javelins. so, you know, i really -- putin is the one that will tell you, this is not been so good for them. the fact is that i just want fairness. i want fairness. but think of it. i gave russia nothing except grief. i gave them nothing. i gave them sanctions and javelins, that's what i gave them. obama gave them sheets, and you heard that statement before. and then they say how close i am to russia. and let me tell you, we have to make a deal because there are a lot of people being killed that shouldn't be killed. remember, trump gave them nothing and the other presidents gave them a lot. they gave them everything. >> he wants to sign a free-trade agreement with united states. is that something you would consider? pres. trump: i will consider

anything. i think he is a great leader, by the way. he's doing a great job, fantastic job, brought it back from oblivion. yes, we are looking at the u.k. with things. it doesn't have to be tariffs. tariffs are easy, they are fast, they are efficient, and they bring fairness. for instance, when people kill their dollar, the equivalent of the dollar, whether it's the won or -- the won are the yen in japan or china, that puts him in a very fair disadvantage. so i'll have to do is say, howard, we are going to have to raise the tariffs a little bit. of called president xi and the leaders of japan to say can continue to reduce and break down your currency because it is unfair to us. it's very hard for us to make tractors, caterpillar, here, when japan, china, and other places are killing currency, meaning driving it down. so all of these things add up.

in the way you solve it very easily is with the terrace. instead of having to make own calls every day like i used to do with certain leaders, president xi a little bit, a lot of phone calls. talking about the fact that they are lowering their won, and that makes it very, very hard for us. so this way i just say look, let them do that and we make up for it with the tariffs. i have a lot of respect for her. >> mr. president, 20% on china now. how high are you willing to go against china? pres. trump: i can't say. it depends on what they do with their currency, what they do in terms of a retaliation, with some kind of economic retaliation, which i don't think they're going to retaliate so much. look, the united states has been taken advantage of 40 years, the united states has been a laughingstock for years and years. that's why this gentleman has

built in taiwan, it would've been better to build here. if we had a president that knew what they were doing, and we had a lot of them, very bad entree. i'm a huge fan of ronald reagan, but he was very bad on trade. he allowed a lot of business to be taken. i say that with due respect because he was so great on other things, but he was bad entree. we are setting records right now. records like nobody has ever seen before. when you have companies like this coming in and almost 40% of their company, in one signature, is going to be devoted to what he does, which is one of the most important businesses in the world. that is an unbelievable thing. when apple now is going to start building all of their plants here, all because of what we've done in terms of -- it's not because he likes me or they like me. they don't probably like me at all. i don't know, i think he liked me a little bit at least.

but you know what, is see incentive we created, or the negative incentive. it's going to be very costly for people to take it vantage of this country. they can't come in and steal our money and steal our jobs and take our factories and take our businesses and expect not to be punished. and they are being punished by tariffs. it's a very powerful weapon, that politicians haven't used because they were either dishonest, stupid, or paid off and some other form. and now we are using them. say it? >> have you spoken with president xi about this? pres. trump: i don't want to tell you that. thank you very much, everybody. >> donald trump leaving the white house after taking questions again from the media. earlier he had said the u.s. will not put up with the -- with bilotta mere zelenskyy's position on a cease-fire much longer.

you might remember he said the end of the war with russia was far off and mr. trump said this was come on truth social, the worst president present -- the worst time president zelenskyy could've made. but he said a few things in the past few minutes. he crucially said he hasn't talked about halting military aid yet to ukraine, and in praise for europe, he said europe has acted very well, they're going to make deals with everyone including europe and european nations, they've acted very well, they are very good people, said mr. trump. he said he has spoken to four prime ministers and five presidents from europe in recent days, but something we've heard from him frequently, he wants to end the war in ukraine fast. this is a deal that would never have happened, referring to the lighter american involvement in ukraine and this -- said i want

to see an end to the war fast, said president trump. he also addressed taiwan, trade, tariffs, and lots of other things in the press conference we just hired and we are going to bring all those details on bbc news. let's bring in our north american correspondent he was also watching and listening. it was a wide-ranging press conference. take us through what you think the key statements were from the president in the last 15 minutes. >> i think certainly what he had to say about ukraine was significant. we saw that post that he put up on his truth social network platform where he criticized president zelenskyy over the comments that he made when he said that the war was not over with vladimir putin. over the weekend, donald trump top aides really doubled down, and backed mr. trump as you would expect them to do, and that big row in the oval office. they were even suggesting that

zelenskyy should stand down, should resign. mr. trump, some of the things that he said that i think were really key, he was asked if the ukraine mineral still is dead. he said no, it it's not, it's a great deal for us. but he went on to say, because one of the questions was what can zelenskyy do to redeem himself? it essentially said, i think you should be more appreciative. this is a criticism they've level, that he's not thankful or grateful enough and he has not said thank you for the help that america has given him which is not true. zelenskyy has said thank you any, many times, including at the start of that meeting on friday, which ended in disaster. as you mentioned there, the crucial thing was, are you considering canceling military aid to ukraine? mr. trump said they have not talked about suspending military aid to ukraine. so i think it looks like donald trump still wants to get the deal, he still wants to bring the war to an inch. he mentioned that they will

update everyone on tuesday night, which is not a coincidence, because also tuesday is when he addresses congress. it's not a state of the union address, but it is quite similar, in which he will probably go into more details about ukraine and lots of other issues as well. >> great to get that update from you, thank you so much. president trump also addressing the issue of tariffs and there's no room left for canada and mexico to avoid terrace. we will talk more about what that means. let's talk about the conflict in ukraine, because the fighting there continues. more than 1000 drones, almost 1300 bombs, and 20 missiles have been launched against ukraine in the past week and there was another wave of drone strikes on monday. those efforts by european leaders to craft a collective response to the war are also ongoing, and president trump just reference them in the white house. british prime minister telling parliament is involved in

intense discussions with the french to end the conflict. he said a number of options were being discussed and britain would play a leading role. >> we must proceed with strength. that does now require only a coalition. easter speaker, we agreed on sunday that those willing to play a role in this will intensify planning now and as this house would expect, britain will play a leading role. >> let's speak to a former commander of the u.s. army in europe, retired general hodges, very good to see you. we've heard a few things in the past few minutes from president trump, most of which we already knew. he did say the u.s. at the moment wasn't considering halting military aid, although we did hear from mike waltz earlier in the day refusing to rule that out. that is the real fear of people in ukraine at the moment, that the u.s. would just pull the

plug. do you think that's possible? >> well, of course it's possible, but i hope they don't do that. the problem is that the administration keeps talking about ukraine as if it's an island and that this is all american charity. they never, ever talk about the strategic objective. what do we want this whole thing to look like when it is all said and done? that was also a problem for the biden administration. the clarity of these to -- of the strategic purpose for what we're doing. stopping the fighting is not a strategic outcome. what do we want to achieve their? i think it's worth for your viewers to remember that europe has actually provided more to ukraine then has the united states. and so, yes, it will be terrible if we stop, that i think european leaders, led by your prime minister, recognize that they may have to fill that gap. >> president once again says

that it's the u.s. that has done more, in that press conference. but this european strategy that is emerging, is based on a coalition of the willing, and frankly, most people feel there aren't enough countries that are willing at the moment, particularly with its on the ground, and president zelenskyy talking about possibly 200,000 troops needed. where they come from? >> before you can talk about the surprise of any -- the size of any force, you have to talk about what are they supposed to do, what is the mission, the purpose? 30,000 is the number, more likely to something bigger than that. imagine if you were a sent to ukraine and they are asked what do you mommy to accomplish, and then i can tell you what we need in terms of capabilities, number of troops, etc. so this is very important that we get the mission right first. and also that this force has the

correct rules of engagement. this is not a bunch of guys wearing lube arrays and flip lobs sitting in western ukraine. it has to be a real combat force that can punish russia and russia inevitably begins to violate the cease-fire, as they always do. >> there is one issue with the force and the men and women that would be provided. what about the weaponry? if the u.s. start to pull back in europe -- and europe is expected to jump in, where does the weapon, the ammunition, the technology come from in europe? because that is a gap that just cannot be plugged. >> i don't agree that it can't be plugged. there may not be a one for one replacement, but there is only one patriot in all of europe. it's not like europe has to backfill a huge amount of patriot systems. i think it is also worth understanding that about 50% of the ammunition that is produced in europe today actually goes to

customers in africa and the middle east. so it's not about industrial capacity, it's about political will and priorities. so i think what your prime minister, the french prime minister and others are starting to grip is the political will required to identify what do we want to accomplish. look, russia is in big trouble. this is not the soviet union of the cold war. russia is in big trouble. they have not been able to defeat ukraine after 11 years, they cannot even breakthrough ukraine's defenses, and that's without us not committing to help ukraine win. so if i may say this as an american, my european friends have got to be more self-confident about the capabilities that you actually do have. >> i just returned from america myself, and one of the things you hear many times, and marco rubio reiterated this today, the

u.s. wants peace in a way to do it is to get russia back to the negotiating table. president trump is the only one who can do that. there won't be an end to this conflict unless russia is part of the negotiations. what do you say to that logic? >> well, i don't disagree with the idea that, yes, of course russia would have to be part of a negotiated outcome. the problem is, and secretary rubio knows much better because he was a senator for many years on foreign relations. he knows better than to say what he just said. this is russia. we are not talking about doing a negotiation with luxembourg or another nice european country. this is russia, that is never, ever lived up to any agreement unless they were forced to. >> we are hearing from france that there might be this one month truce. what would you expect or hope to see from russia in that one month which would show that they are genuine and also their

intention to bring some kind of end to the conflict? >> ok, so this truce, which i think the french have indicated it would be no stopping the land warfare but air, sea, and this sort of thing. this will be interesting to watch. i would give the russians about 30 seconds before drone start coming over, hitting targets inside ukraine. there is no evidence that russia would ever live up to anything. they didn't live up to any cease-fire that was agreed in minsk, and is president zelenskyy try to explain to vice president pence on friday, they have violated every time ukraine has agreed to anything. look, if it works and the russians actually do show they can be responsible, i'm all for it. but today, hundreds of russian drones are slamming into ukrainian cities. they believe they are winning, not because of what is happening on the ground, but because of

what is happening in washington. so the russians have no incentive to actually stop, because i think they're going to get what they want with this administration. >> as we engine, the fighting in the drones continue. it was another devastating night in ukraine last night. we really appreciate your insights and your analysis. thank you for joining us. around the world and across the u.k., this is bbc news. ♪ ♪

♪ >> back -- welcome back. benjamin netanyahu has threatened unimaginable consequences if it doesn't police always israeli hospital still held in -- hostages still held in gaza. the cease-fire deal has halted 15 months of fighting between hamas and the israeli military, allowing room the release of 33 israeli hostages and about 1900

alice any prisoners and detainees. the first phase of the truce ended on sunday. what happens next are now remains unclear. israel has suspended all eight into gaza after hamas rejected a plan to extend the first phase. i've been speaking to a unicef communications specialist and she has more for us on what the suspension of a has meant for the service provision in gaza right now. >> the need inside gaza remains staggering. the halting of aid into the gaza strip will have a devastating effect on children and their families here. families in gaza remain in need of everything. the first phase of the cease-fire in the preceding six weeks have allowed unicef and other humanitarian organizations to scale up aid supplies. we haven't been able to significantly increase the aid supplies brought into gaza, but because families have been

deprived of literally everything for 50 long months, the knees are just immense and within the time span of six weeks, we can just undo that, and unitarian aid on its own is actually insufficient to properly address the needs of the people here. >> when it comes to food aid, we've just had a comment from the israeli government spokesperson who says that hamas has for months been hoarding supplies. he says they have enough food to fuel an obesity epidemic in gaza. the only people we are seeing getting fat is hamas. what would you say to that? do hamas ordered food and do they deprive dawsons from getting it? >> just a clarification here, unicef is not the agency that distributes the food arsenals. what i can tell is that malnutrition in gaza is real.

i've seen it myself in various hospitals that i visited, malnutrition, i've seen children who are acutely malnourished, who urgently need support and so to their moms who are often breast-feeding. what i can also tell when it comes to our distribution, unicef distributions, those are not blanket distributions. the aid that we get in, we are not putting it out there for people to serve themselves. those are highly controlled distributions, and whether it's for winter close, hygiene kits, soap, shampoo, the way that we work is that we go through local partners who have lists of names of the most vulnerable families, families are almost lists because of vulnerability criteria. for instance, a member in their household with disabilities,

because they are single head of household, there are other reasons. these beneficiaries, these recipients of aid have to go to the distribution point with their id and that is checked against a list. i have seen that happening over and over again with all the unicef distributions that i have documented, i have participated in. the only distribution that was a blanket distribution was the polio vaccination campaign, because there we were targeting kids under age 10 across gaza. families in gaza are in need of everything. they cannot afford to wait for aid. they that we have been bringing in over the past six weeks, we try to distribute that as soon as possible because for the preceding 15 months, hardly a trickle has come into gaza. aid supplies in the private sector, hardly anything has come in, and the needs are staggering, as i said. in this year alone, at least

60,000 children are estimated to require urgent treatment for malnutrition, just to give one example. >> benjamin netanyahu today said it was time to give palestinians the freedom to leave gaza. he is praising donald trump's plan as a visionary and initiative to forcibly remove people from gaza. do you get any sense when you talk to gazans that they want to leave? >> all the families i come across, and that includes children, are actually extremely fearful of what the future might hold for them. just today as i was walking around the tent cap -- can't hear around the unicef days, a few small girls walked up to me. i think there were probably eight or nine years old. they saw the unicef logo on my sleeve and asked about the cease-fire, the ask of the fighting would start again. the ask why we are not stopping

the fighting from happening again, why aren't we ensuring there is peace, why aren't we bringing more assistance? so this is something that is very much present in the minds, not just of parents, but also of children. parents and children are worn out. they are exhausted, physically they've been displaced multiple times. >> narrator: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... bdo, accountants and advisors, funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation, the judy and peter blum kovler foundation, upholding freedom by strengthening democracies at home and abroad. ♪ ♪ usa today calls it "arguably the best bargain in streaming" that's because the free pbs app let's you watch the best of pbs anytime, anywhere.

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