Speaker (unidentified): hand Loop thank you very much so beautiful look at nice be careful could be a littleit you don’t want to SC yeah that would be it that would be somebody else very special very special very fair very very fair is it a Russian prisoner we’re going to announce it tomorrow very fair

Reporter: Mr President why did you not use the government plane to go pick

President: save the government money a lot we save the government a lot of money are you concern mother

Mark Fogel: very difficult to articulate how proud I am you I am what done and came back in my country and it’s the most I’m in in total my thanks is for you and your Administration and people that have brought me home and I just will spend the rest of my life in to you and I’m so excited pleasure to meet you and you know what I got about 10 cards and one of them my lawyer snuck asked hello F pleasure to meet you sir this right yeah and it is a pleasure to meet you Mr Squirrel Hill I had a Steeler hat on when I got off the plan I don’t know where it is but you know it’s great to meet another your mom came to our house she told me that and uh I just talked to Vicki and I know she was there and at the I’m a proud PSB russan you’ve been an absolute star for me and my family and again uh you know like I said for me for me to articulate all this in this particular time after what I’ve been through and it’s not the three and a half years but the last 6 days has been quite you weren’t sure they came and pulled me out and had a mask on I couldn’t see where I was going and they were moving me and uh there was a point I think it was today what is but they brought me my clothes

President: that’s that’s fantastic let’s get you out of the cold

Mark Fogel: I’m not one bit of cold I can’t from Russia and you know what of the 10 letters I got one from you as well and uh I had that in a uh scrapbook I was keeping and they took that scrapbook from me today and I want it back I want those journals back in that scrapbook your picture was in it and as they were you know giving me the Shakedown they’re looking through and I have the picture of you and my mom

President: oh that’s

Mark Fogel: and you should have seen these guys their their eyes lit up like in like heart from every ounce of my energies I thank you and I will for the rest of my life to have you ho

President: me the I felt soad stop it’s all cold in Russia yeah yeah a little cold everybody knows Mark he’s become a very famous guy he’s a very happy guy tonight so it’s it’s just a real honor an honor to have you at the white us

Mark Fogel: I feel like the luckiest man on Earth right now and uh I want you to know that I am not a hero in this at all and president Trump is a hero these men that came from the Diplomatic service are heroes the Senators and and representatives that pass legislation in my honor to get me home are the heroes uh I am in awe of what they all did uh my family has been a force

President: true

Mark Fogel: I think my 95-year-old mother is probably the most dynamic 95y old on earth right now and uh I am so indebted to so many people I I think I remember a a Churchill quote that he said when the RAF was fighting the lift off and he said that uh never have so many owed so much to so few and I put myself fortunately in unfortunately into that category and I said never has one owed so much to so many that this super organism of people that came to my support and the love that I was given sustain sustained me for three and a half years in a prison that had me in hospitals for more than 100 days I was given more than 400 injections in that time and knowing I had the support of my fellow pennsylvanians my family my friends uh it was so overwhelming that uh uh it brought me to my knees and it brought me to tears but it was uh it was my energy it was my being that that kept me going that whole time and I will forever be indebted president Trump to Steve over there what a dynamic man this guy is

President: that’s true

Mark Fogel: when I met him the energy the can do attitude just exudes from his body and when he smiled at me and introduced me and I got the feel for what has happened you know it’s not just me it’s it’s everybody and and secretary Rubio who met my son a while back uh I’m I’m a middle class school teacher who’s now in a a dream world

President: we’re going to show you the Lincoln bedroom in a little while it’s a very special special place appropriate for tonight very appropriate

Mark Fogel: and um thank you all and I love our country and I’m so happy to be back here and I wish I could articulate it better

President: you’ve done beautifully and U he’s got a great mother and want I show the mother at a rally she said would you if you win will you get my son out and I promise she’s 95 years old and I said we’ll get him out out and we we got him out pretty quickly she told me that ex that EXA that exact words I remember she made quite an impression and you also did and uh I’m in all of what you’ve done and your team it’s great to have you back oh going to have a great life

Reporter: president did you speak directly to President Putin about

President: well I don’t want to say that I just want to say that I appreciate very much what they did in uh letting Mark go home and uh I appreciate Steve witkoff the job he did and Marco behind the scenes was unbelievable and so many of these people were unbelievable they they represent him they’re from his area uh and uh we we just wanted to get him back home I I had to get him back home because I would had big trouble with his mother and and we’re going to take him for a little tour of the Lincoln bedroom which nobody gets to see and it’s very special you want to see it

Mark Fogel: I would love to and I I also should make mention that that President Putin was very generous and statesmanlike in granting me a pardon

Reporter: I I mean what were the terms of this deal Mr President

President: uh very fair very very fair very reasonable not like deals you’ve seen over the years they were very fair and I think that’s going to lead and where somebody else is being released tomorrow that you will know of uh but we wanted to get this done very important and Steve wanted to actually fly over and get Mark and get him home properly because it could be a pretty tough trip

Reporter: so is this so is this the beginning of a deal sir is this is this the start

President: I think there’s Goodwill in terms of the war you know a million and a half soldiers young people have been killed I’ve met many of them yeah and it’s uh it’s a terrible thing going on so we want to get that done I think I think this could be the very important element you could be a big part of it actually because it could be a big uh important part of getting the war over with Ukraine and we appreciate President Putin’s what he what he did he was able to pull it off for you right he was able to pull it off we we think and you’re here and here so it was great uh we’ll tell you a little bit more about it tomorrow but I think we’ve made great progress progress on the war also getting the War I want to get the war ended that war should not have been it would have never happened if I was President it would not have happened happened and it did happen and now you have all blown up cities and dead people so many dead people should have never ever happened and uh you could be a big Catalyst for just this evening it’s a very important evening for ending that war and I think they all want to see it ended

Reporter: how does it change how does it change your perspective on Putin and your attitud

President: well I don’t want to get into that I only can say this uh we got a man home whose mother and family wanted him desperately whose State wanted him he’s he’s become a big symbol and uh it’s an honor to have played a small role in that and I just I want to tell you these people they they all played a role and we got him home and he’s he’s healthy it looks good actually to me you look damn good I’ll tell you that I think when expectations are low maybe maybe that helps a little bit go plunk right

Reporter: can you tell us about the conditions of the prison that you were in sir

Mark Fogel: uh you know I think I need a little bit of time to sort of digest all of that there were times when it was extremely trying there were times when I could manage it but I I think I need some more time to you know it wasn’t it wasn’t easy right it wasn’t easy every second every minute every day had a challenge but you’re but you’re in good shape I mean compare that to what we saw two days ago come home they were very very ill those people are very ill they were treated really badly

Reporter: Mr President your predecessor left to almost $4 billion in unused uh aid for Ukraine to Ukraine are you going to use those money are you going to send

President: but myor should have had this gentleman out a long time ago you know we did it in two and a half weeks he’s he had four years to do it you should have had Mark out a lot earlier it’s uh it’s a a shame it’s a shame it was very should have had never had the war to start off with should have never had that war would have never happened but he should have had him back three and a half years ago so it was it was too bad but he didn’t do it but we did it thank you all very much thank you very much come on

Reporter: Mr President are reciprocal tariffs still coming tomorrow or are you waiting until you meet

President: we’ll see what happens have you spoken with President G so B

Source(s)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KznS2KtGPo