SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
It's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Scott Detrow in Washington.
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
And I'm Mary Louise Kelly at United Nations headquarters in New York. We're just inside the main front doors. Behind me is the main General Assembly Hall. I'm watching people coming and going, and it's either heads of state or they're wearing an earpiece - a lot of people guarding the heads of state and delegations here today. Speech after speech after speech from world leaders. They kicked off with U.N. Secretary General António Guterres this morning.
But probably even more highly anticipated was President Trump, who addressed the U.N. in a speech that was interesting both for what he said and what he didn't say. I have questions, so I want to put them to a member of the administration. We have invited Tommy Pigott, who is spokesperson for the State Department, to take those questions, and he is waiting on us a few blocks from here at his hotel. So let's walk over.
(SOUNDBITE OF DOOR CLOSING)
KELLY: Can we give you the seat of honor? Tommy Pigott, good to see you. Welcome back to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.
TOMMY PIGOTT: Thanks for having me on.
KELLY: All right. So we heard a lot from President Trump today about Iran. He defended his record on the war there, said Iran was the bully of the Middle East, that they are a bully no more. I'm paraphrasing. I want to know we're not playing that sound because NPR is not using audio from White House events until further notice in solidarity with our fellow journalists, following, as you know, several news outlets being barred from White House grounds.
On Iran and the defense of his record, how do we square that with Iran has cost $38 billion and counting? Its nuclear program is where it was. Regime change didn't happen. Iran has proved it can shut the Strait of Hormuz and keep it shut. And anybody who's put gas in their car lately knows that gas is now at - pushing $4.50 bucks a gallon.
PIGOTT: Well, a few important points. Operation Midnight Hammer obliterated several of their nuclear sites. We saw Operation Epic Fury decimating their military capability.
KELLY: But that was before this war that the U.S. started in February.
PIGOTT: Well, I think it's important to look at this in context, and that the president's actions have taken concrete steps to prevent the Iranian regime from obtaining a nuclear weapon. If the Iranian regime had a nuclear weapon, people would be paying gas prices three or four times higher than they are now because the Iranian regime could act with impunity to shut down the strait entirely. What we're seeing now, because of the U.S. military, is the clearing of mines. We're seeing the ability of oil to move through the strait at approximately 60- to 70% of where it was before this began. But ultimately, the Iranian regime having a nuclear weapon was an untenable threat that needed to be addressed.
KELLY: The president renewed his threat to annihilate the entire country today - to blow it up. Is that helpful to diplomatic efforts to try to end the war?
PIGOTT: Well, he made the choice clear to the Iranian regime. They can continue their malign activities, but there will be consequences. The president has been clear from the beginning that he wanted a diplomatic solution. The door for diplomacy was opened again and again and again. And yet the Iranian regime has continued to refuse to make that deal, continued to pursue malign activities.
KELLY: I guess what I'm getting at is we're seven months in - I didn't hear anything new in the president's speech today that suggests we won't be in the same place another seven months from now.
PIGOTT: Well, I think part of what he was pointing to, in addition to the kinetic military action we've discussed, is the fact that we have seen oil move through the Strait of Hormuz at levels that are increasing, the fact that we have Operation Economic Outcast, which is costing the regime every single day. So the president has all the cards here, and he was laying out a clear vision, a clear path here in terms of what the situation is and the fact that, fundamentally, the Iranian regime has a choice either to become a prosperous nation that is at peace with its neighbors or to continue its malign activities and suffer the consequences.
KELLY: I don't know if you got to hear the very first speech this morning from outgoing U.N. Secretary General António Guterres. His final speech - he's coming to the end of his second term. He warned about fault lines in our world. He says they are widening. He said cracks have become canyons. And he also warned that events of this past year show that even superpowers should recognize, and I quote, "that their power isn't so super." Did you hear that as being aimed at the U.S.?
PIGOTT: I don't want to necessarily put words in his mouth, but what I can say is what the president's accomplish. And I think he has accomplished really historic things for the betterment of the United States, which is always the primary goal of president of any country but also for our partners and allies around the world in terms of win-win deals that we've seen. I think the important issue, and I think something to stress, is that fact that the president is not afraid to raise hard conversations. The president has put that to an end, and we've seen concrete progress in addressing those, whether that's NATO spending, whether that's in Greenland, whether that's addressing mass migration, and the entire world is better because of it.
KELLY: I guess the question is, you know, we've been talking - you and I - about how President Trump likes to raise hard conversations. He's there at the United Nations giving, as the administration sees it, constructive criticism to that body. When constructive criticism is given to the U.S., is the U.S. willing to listen?
PIGOTT: Well, look, I think we have continued conversations with our allies and partners around the world. The president is a dealmaker. So when he goes out and raises these issues, he has shown, again and again, that he is able to make a deal that is a win-win. The Greenland example is a perfect example of this.
KELLY: But the reaction to the secretary general's words this morning - even a superpower isn't so super.
PIGOTT: Well, I think President Trump is showing that the United States can still accomplish historic and unprecedented things. I think that's been clear from this administration. What he has been able to accomplish, I think, has shown that America is only stronger and more prosperous than it's ever been.
KELLY: Since you work for this administration, and since I'm a reporter trying to cover this administration, I have to ask - are you comfortable with the decision to bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico from White House grounds?
PIGOTT: Look, President Trump is speaking to this very clearly. The president clearly has concerns in terms of what he has clearly expressed on Truth and other avenues. And he fact that...
KELLY: Are you comfortable with that decision?
PIGOTT: I mean, it's a decision based off of accessing very sensitive and secure spaces. It's not saying that CNN and other entities can't continue to operate, but it's about access to certain spaces. And that's something that's always a continued conversation. Under the Obama and Biden administrations, there were many conversations with reporters about who was able to access White House grounds. That's a routine part of that, and the president making a very clear case here about his concerns and really speaking quite transparently about this.
KELLY: Just for the record, do you believe freedom of the press is essential to a healthy democracy?
PIGOTT: I think that's a separate question than what we're having here. Freedom of the press is something that we strongly abide by. That's part of why we've opposed so many censorship elements, both elements that we viewed the previous administration doing that we reversed, but also foreign countries in terms of extraterritorial censorship. So we don't take a backseat to anyone on freedom of the press. What this is a discussion of is access to certain buildings and sensitive grounds, and that's always a constant conversation. It was a conversation under Biden, under Obama, with reporters, as well, and the president making his concerns very clear.
KELLY: I didn't hear a yes to that, though, that freedom of the press is essential to a healthy democracy.
PIGOTT: Oh, yes. No, I mean, I didn't - we take a backseat to no one on freedom of the press. We abide by freedom of the press. We defend freedom of the press internationally. That's part why I brought up the censorship issue, because we have seen elements of censorship, which we strongly oppose in order to defend freedom of the press.
KELLY: Are those outlets - MS NOW, CNN, Politico - are they welcome at your department, at the State Department?
PIGOTT: Well, look, right now, we have no announcements to make in terms of changes to our press coverage. But fundamentally, again, it's a conversation of access to certain spaces, and it's not about covering the administration. In terms of CNN and MS NOW and Politico - still have the ability to do that, still the ability to operate, and we continue to defend freedom of the press around the world.
KELLY: Well, I appreciate you taking our questions today. Tommy Pigott, thank you.
PIGOTT: Thank you.
KELLY: Tommy Pigott is the State Department spokesperson speaking with us from the hotel where the State Department has set up camp this week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
(SOUNDBITE OF HERMANOS GUTIERREZ'S "LOW SUN") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
