Trump holds joint news conference with Swedish prime minister
President Trump hosted Prime Minister Stefan Lofven of Sweden on Tuesday where the two discussed their respective country's ongoing efforts in opening dialogue with the North Korean regime as North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un said he would be willing to start talks about ending the North's nuclear weapons program.
Earlier Mr. Trump said the U.S. has made "progress" with regards to talks with the North Koreans and credited Sweden for aiding in the return of once-detained American student Otto Warmbier.
Warmbier, who was arrested on theft charges, died following his release from injuries he sustained while in North Korean captivity. Mr. Trump said the U.S. was "grateful" for Sweden's ability to advocate on behalf of Americans in North Korea.
Lofven meanwhile stressed the importance of finding dialogue with the North Koreans, calling it a "very dangerous situation."
When asked what he might owe the sudden sense of openness of North Korea to, the president joked, "Me."
He added that the North Koreans appeared sincere in their efforts for talks due aggressive sanctions. He also credited the "great help we've been given from China."
While the two appeared in agreement on denuclearizing the Korean peninsula, the leaders were at odds over Mr. Trump's proposed steel and aluminum tariffs, a move Lofven considered a negative impact on the European Union.
"Increased tariffs will hurt us all in the long run...I of course support the efforts of the European Union to achieve trade with fewer obstacles," said the prime minister.
Mr. Trump argued that the United States has been taken advantage of by "friendly and not-so-friendly countries" saying the EU has been particularly tough on the U.S.
He added, "If we're able to make a deal with Canada and Mexico on NAFTA then there will be no reason to do the tariffs with Canada and Mexico.
Mr. Trump once again repeated his stance on potential trade wars over his proposed tariffs saying,"when we're behind every single country, trade wars aren't so bad." He added, "The trade war hurts them it doesn't hurt us."
Lofven responded by saying it was "crucially important" to have free trade.
"I think its important for us to try to find a way to cooperate between the EU and the U.S.," said Lofven.
The president has since insisted his policy, which could be rolled out this week, would not start a trade war with global allies, despite calling such trade wars "good" this past weekend.
Follow live updates of Trump and Lofven's press conference below:
Trump on Russian influence in elections
"The Russians had no impact on our votes whatsoever, certainly there was meddling but I think you have to be really watching very closely, you don't want your system of votes to be compromised in any way and we wont allow that to happen," Mr. Trump said in response to questions of how the U.S. intends to deter Russian efforts in the upcoming election.
"We're doing a very deep study and coming out with strong suggestions in the 18 election," he added.
The president suggested that it's "always good to have a paper back up voting system" and vowed to counter act any future influence "very strongly."
Trump on White House staff
"Everybody wants to work in the White House, they want a piece of the Oval Office, they want a piece of the West Wing," the president touted of his White House staff.
He called it a "great place to work" adding it has "tremendous energy." The president said with regards to rumors of internal disputes, "I like conflict, I like people with two points of view."
Trump, Lofven on North Korea
Mr. Trump again credited the Swedish for helping in the return of American Otto Warmbier, saying he was "brought home largely with the help of Sweden."
Lofven meanwhile stressed the importance of finding dialogue with the North Koreans, calling it a "very dangerous situation."
When asked what he might owe the sudden sense of openness to North Korea, the president joked, "Me."
He added the North Koreans appeared sincere in their efforts for talks due aggressive sanctions. He also credited the "great help we've been given from China."
"They can do more but I think they've done more for our country than ever before."
Trump on Sweden's immigration policies
Asked where Mr. Trump stands on immigration with regards to Sweden, he said "certainly you have a problem with immigration."
"I was one of the first people to say it, I took a little heat for it but I was right," he claimed.
He added, "I know the problem will slowly disappear, hopefully quickly disappear."
Trump on steel, aluminum tariffs
Mr. Trump said the United States has been taken advantage of by "friendly and not-so-friendly countries" saying the EU has been particularly tough on the U.S. when responding to Lofven's comments on tariffs.
He added, "If we're able to make a deal with Canada and Mexico on NAFTA then there will be no reason to do the tariffs with Canada and Mexico.
Mr. Trump repeated his stance on potential trade wars over his proposed tariffs saying,
"when we're behind every single country, trade wars aren't so bad." He added, "The trade war hurts them it doesn't hurt us."
Lofven responded saying it was "crucially important" to have free trade.
"I think its important for us to try to find a way to cooperate between the EU and the U.S.," said Lofven.
He added that while he understands and and respects Mr. Trump's view that he has to look after his own country, "for me leading a small country, depending on open trade, the best way for us is to do that with others."
Lofven highlights economic impacts of U.S. relationship
The prime minister said the U.S. is "our most important foreign employer" adding that many U.S. companies play a vital role in providing investments and jobs in Sweden.
Lofven said that increased tariffs, however, were a negative impact on the economy, saying he supported the efforts of the European Union.
"Increased tariffs will hurt us all in the long run...I of course support the efforts of the European Union to achieve trade with fewer obstacles," said the prime minister
His comment comes amid widespread debate over Mr. Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs.
Trump thanks Sweden for Warmbier release
Mr. Trump said Sweden was instrumental in aiding in the release of once-detained student Otto Warmbier from North Korean custody.
Warmbier, who was arrested on theft charges, died following his release from injuries he sustained while in North Korea captivity. Mr. Trump said the U.S. is "grateful" for Sweden's ability to advocate on behalf of Americans in North Korea.
Trump welcomes Lofven to White House
Mr. Trump welcomes Lofven to the White House calling Sweden one of America's "oldest and closest partners."
He joked that his daughter Ivanka enjoyed watching the U.S. Men's Curling team beat Sweden in the Winter Olympic Games.
Trump and Lofven to take podium
Mr. Trump and Prime Minister Lofven are due to arrive for their remarks shortly. CBS News' Mark Knoller reports that this will be will be the president's 23rd joint news conference with a foreign leader.
Trump, Lofven break for meetings
Following their Oval Office meeting, Mr. Trump and Prime Minister Lofven now are expected to hold a bilateral meeting behind closed doors as well as a meeting with Swedish business leaders before their joint remarks.
During remarks to reporters, Mr. Trump praised the U.S. relationship with Sweden, calling them "very competent" and vaguely mentioning that Sweden was "recently helpful with respect to something else."
Trump on North Korea: "We have made progress"
President Trump addressed potential talks with the North Koreans while welcoming Sweden's prime minister in the Oval Office. He told reporters that hopefully it will go in a "very peaceful and beautiful path" and it would be "a great thing for the world."
He called the situation in the Korean peninsula "very tenuous" and said it's "going to be very interesting to see what happens" with regards to possible talks with the regime. He credited the Winter Olympic Games as a being stepping off point for the negotiations, saying the U.S. "had a lot to do" with North Korea's inclusion making the games "very successful."
"I thought North Korea was terrific, they went into the Olympics, they went in with good spirit, they did well, let's see if we can carry it over," he said.
While Mr. Trump called the statements out of North and South Korea "positive", he said "one way or the other we have to do something, we can not let that situation fester."
Asked if he was optimistic for a positive result in the talks, Mr. Trump said he'd like to be, adding "I think maybe this has gone further than anyone's taken it before."
"This should have been handled over many years by many administrations," Mr. Trump added of his predecessors inability to broker such negotiations with the North Koreans.
"These are the cards we were dealt, we're handling it properly," said Mr. Trump.