Post-signing Q&A: president reiterates election and immigration claims, responds to Epstein-file question

Following the signing ceremony, the president took questions from reporters and made several high-profile assertions and policy suggestions.

On election administration the president suggested the federal government could intervene where "a state can't run an election," saying "If they can't count the votes legally and honestly, then somebody else should take them." A questioner cited the Constitution's allocation of election administration to the states during the exchange.

On immigration, the president and several lawmakers praised steps they said the package would support for deportations and enforcement. One lawmaker urged ending sanctuary policies and said the matter should be taken to the floor for a vote. The president repeatedly described removal operations and large numbers of removals, and he tied those actions to claimed drops in crime in cities including Washington, D.C., Memphis and New Orleans.

Reporters also asked about newly released files connected to Jeffrey Epstein and about a journalist's missing family member. The president said he intended to follow up with the journalist and repeated a claim that Epstein and others had conspired against him politically.

These exchanges included multiple contested factual claims and large numeric figures presented by the president and others; those claims are reported here as statements made during the Q&A and were not independently verified at the event.