President-elect on Monday held a wide-ranging news conference in which he said he would preserve access to the polio vaccine but equivocated on other vaccines, pledged to look at bringing down the costs of pharmaceuticals and expressed doubts that his daughter-in-law might be Florida's next senator.
Trump held forth for over an hour, the first time he took questions from reporters since winning the election. The event harkens back to his long-winding news conferences from his first term and is a stark contrast from President Joe Biden, who doesn't often take questions from reporters.
Here's a look at some of what he touched on:
Trump provides some assurances on polio vaccine
Trump defended his choice for health secretary, prominent vaccine skeptic , but said he personally is a 鈥渂ig believer鈥� in the polio vaccine and would preserve access to it.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e not going to lose the polio vaccine," he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 not going to happen.鈥�
Over the weekend, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who had polio as a child, after a recent report disclosed that one of Kennedy's advisers filed a petition to revoke approval for the polio vaccine in 2022.
Kennedy has long advanced the debunked idea that vaccines cause autism, and Trump has questioned whether there's a link, something he repeated as he remarked on the rising cases of autism being diagnosed.
鈥淭here鈥檚 something wrong, and we鈥檙e going to find out about it," he said.
There are no blood or biological tests for autism; instead, a doctor bases the diagnosis on a child鈥檚 behavior. While the autism diagnosis has been available for at least 80 years, the definition gradually expanded to include milder cases, which are more common. A study last year found that about a quarter of kids with autism 鈥� about 110,000 in the U.S. 鈥� have the most severe version of the developmental disability, which has left them unable to speak or with an IQ below 50 or both.
Of Kennedy, 鈥淗e鈥檚 going to be much less radical than you would think," he said. "I think he鈥檚 got a very open mind, or I wouldn鈥檛 have put him there.鈥�
Trump blames middlemen for high price of pharmaceutical drugs
Trump described a dinner he had this month with Kennedy; Dr. , a celebrity heart surgeon turned talk show host and lifestyle guru whom he's tapped to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; and top pharmaceutical executives in which they discussed drug prices.
Trump said he's going 鈥渢o have a big conversation鈥� on drug prices and 鈥渒nock out the middleman鈥� he blamed for driving up costs.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know who these middlemen are, but they are rich as hell," Trump said.
Trump appearance is a clear break from Biden's style
The press conference was Trump鈥檚 most extensive public appearance since his victory six weeks ago 鈥� a rare absence from the public stage for the former reality star.
But it also underscored how even while still president-elect, Trump has seized the spotlight from Biden, who still has a month left on his term in office. Biden has not held a press conference in months and has had a limited public schedule.
While Trump was addressing some of the top-of-mind issues of the day -- including sightings of drones flying over the Northeast -- Biden himself has been silent, leaving it to aides to try to calm the public.
鈥業 don't know' if Lara Trump will be a senator
Trump seemed skeptical that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis would appoint his daughter-in-law to be a Florida senator, taking the seat held by Marco Rubio, who has been nominated for secretary of state.
Asked whether he expected DeSantis to name Lara Trump to replace Rubio, Trump said, 鈥淚 probably don鈥檛, but I don鈥檛 know.鈥� Trump recently spoke with DeSantis at a memorial for Florida law enforcement officers.
Trump's allies have been Lara Trump, who is married to Trump's son, Eric, and served as co-chair of the Republican National Committee this year.
鈥淩on鈥檚 doing a good job with his choice," Trump said, without elaborating.
He lavished praise on Lara Trump, including for her work at the RNC, where part of her duties involved focusing on 鈥渆lection integrity,鈥� a priority of Trump's after he falsely claimed fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
Trump open to intervening in potential TikTok ban
Trump indicated he would look at intervening in the in the U.S. The popular social media platform must cut ties with its China-based parent company or be banned by mid-January under a federal law.
He didn't offer specifics, but Trump credited the platform with helping him win the election. His campaign saw it as a bridge to reach younger, less politically engaged voters, particularly when clips circulated showing him with celebrities at UFC fights.
鈥淲e鈥檒l take a look at TikTok,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou know, I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok."
Trump tried to ban TikTok during his first term but changed his mind and pledged to 鈥渟ave鈥� TikTok. Once he takes office, his Justice Department would be tasked with enforcing the new federal law against TikTok.
'Everybody wants to be my friend,鈥� he says
Trump noted the differences between the first time he was to take office eight years ago and today, saying executives now want to meet with him.
He said they were 鈥渉ostile鈥� back then.
鈥淓verybody was fighting me,鈥� he said about his first term. 鈥淭his term, everybody wants to be my friend. I don鈥檛 know. My personality changed or something.鈥�
While he left office in 2021 ostracized and angry, Trump has had a stunning turnaround leading to his election win. Last week, he was honored by being named Time magazine鈥檚 Person of the Year and ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange.
Since he became president-elect, Trump has met with Silicon Valley billionaires including Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. He revealed he had also met with Google co-founder Sergey Brin. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos will meet with him this week, Trump said.
鈥淲e have a lot of great executives coming in 鈥� the top executives, the top bankers, they鈥檙e all calling," he said. "It鈥檚 like a complete opposite from the first one.鈥�
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Associated Press writers Adriana Gomez Licon in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Zeke Miller and Amanda Seitz in Washington contributed to this report.
Michelle L. Price, The Associated Press
