Donald Trump spent about 20 minutes talking to reporters on the White House lawn before departing for the G7 Summit. Everyone from Vladimir Putin to Dennis Rodman came up. Here are some of the topics he touched on.
Whether he can pardon himself:
@realDonaldTrump this morning at the White House: "Yes. I do have an absolute right to pardon myself”
— Tony Capra (@tcapra) June 8, 2018
And who else he might pardon:
Pres says he will be granting more pardons. He says there are 3000 names seeking grants of clemency from him. Says he's not thinking about OJ Simpson, but is thinking about Muhammad Ali. @POTUS says its more thrilling granting pardons to people nobody knows.
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) June 8, 2018
On Russia:
“I have been Russia’s worst nightmare…I think Putin is probably saying ‘Man I wish Hillary had won.’” — Donald Trump
— Chris Cillizza (@CillizzaCNN) June 8, 2018
On South Lawn before departing for Canada, Trump calls for Russia to be reinstated in G-8 (which has been the G-7 since the annexation of Crimea)
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) June 8, 2018
On the summit with Kim Jong Un:
“I’ve been preparing for this all my life,” Trump tells reporters on White House south lawn, referring to the negotiations with North Korea.
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) June 8, 2018
President Trump asked about Dennis Rodman possibly attending NKorea summit: “Dennis was a great rebounder and he wasn’t relatively speaking that tall”
— David Wright (@DavidWright_CNN) June 8, 2018
Speaking of basketball players. Trump also talked about whether the NBA Champions will get an invite to the White House:
Trump on NBA champion visiting the White House (LeBron and Curry both said their teams wouldn't visit): "I didn't invite LeBron James, and I didn't invite Steph Curry. We're not gonna invite either team. But we have other teams that are coming." pic.twitter.com/xh7PYUhCWM
— Axios (@axios) June 8, 2018
And it looks like he is still standing by EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt (for now):
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt “is being attacked very viciously by the press. I’m not saying that he is blameless but we’ll see what happens,” President Trump says https://t.co/gPokHDkAxK pic.twitter.com/8YlHKoGeUX
— CBS News (@CBSNews) June 8, 2018
Watch everything he said above.