Trump holds Cabinet meeting at Camp David, seizing on Spain's crisis - EUROPE SAYS
By SEUNG MIN KIM, DARLENE SUPERVILLE and JACQUELYN MARTIN, Associated PressCAMP DAVID, Md. (AP) — PresidentDonald Trumptook Friday’s Cabinet meeting on the road toCamp David, using the historic rustic. . .
, DARLENE SUPERVILLE and JACQUELYN MARTIN, Associated PressCAMP DAVID, Md. (AP) — PresidentDonald Trumptook Friday’s Cabinet meeting on the road toCamp David, using the historic rustic backdrop of the presidential retreat to boast of his administration’s achievements while seizing on a migrant crisis in Spain to make his case for why voters should keep the Republican Party in power. The Cabinet meeting, the 13th such gathering of Trump’s second term, came just three months before the November midterm elections that could serve as a check on his power if Democrats take control of one or both chambers of Congress. His warnings about Spain echoed language he used ahead of the 2018 midterms, when hewarned of caravans of migrantsheaded to the southern U. S. border. “You know, I saw Spain yesterday, and I watched the catastrophe that took place. It looks like an invasion of a country by hundreds of thousands of people,” Trump said. “And that same thing is going to happen to us if the Republicans don’t get elected. Except worse, much bigger. ”Some 60,000 migrants crossedfrom Moroccointo Spain’stiny Ceuta territoryover the past 24 hours. Roughly half of them have already made their way back voluntarily, according to the Spanish government, but at least 57 have died on the journey. Separately, he deflected blame for a series of cyberattacks that targeted 30 water systems in Minnesota on the state’s “grossly incompetent” Democratic leadership. Officials have not publicly identified who was behind the attacks, though the FBI, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and other agencies warned in an advisory last week that Iranian hackers have been targeting water and wastewater systems and the operational controls of other critical infrastructure sectors. “They blame it on Iran,” Trump said, without offering evidence. “I don’t think so. I think I blame it on Minnesota because they’re grossly incompetent. ”The president regularly convenes his Cabinet throughout his terms as a setting to promote his administration’s policies while fielding questions on the news of the day, but what made Friday’s unusual was that it was at Camp David, the government-owned retreat nestled in Maryland’s Catoctin Mountains where Trump held one Cabinet meeting during his first term. Trump began the meeting by noting it was “something very unique. ” The White House called it the first-ever televised Cabinet meeting from thepresidential retreat. “It’s Camp David, and this room is a very, very special room,” Trump said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were among the Cabinet officials who spoke before Trump took questions from journalists. The public portion of the meeting ended after about an hour. President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting, Friday, July 31, 2026, at Camp David, the presidential retreat, near Thurmont, Md. , Friday, July 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)President Donald Trump, seated center, joined by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, from left, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling, attends a cabinet meeting, Friday, July 31, 2026, at Camp David, the presidential retreat, near Thurmont, Md. , Friday, July 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)FILE – A sign for Camp David, the presidential retreat, is pictured near Thurmont, Md. , Aug. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)President Donald Trump, from right, joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and from bottom row left, Vice President JD Vance and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaks during a Cabinet meeting, Friday, July 31, 2026, at Camp David, the presidential retreat, near Thurmont, Md. , Friday, July 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting, Friday, July 31, 2026, at Camp David, the presidential retreat, near Thurmont, Md. , Friday, July 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)President Donald Trump speaks as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listen during a cabinet meeting, Friday, July 31, 2026, at Camp David, the presidential retreat, near Thurmont, Md. , Friday, July 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)President Donald Trump, center, joined by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, from left, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling, listens as reporters raise their hands to ask a question during a cabinet meeting, Friday, July 31, 2026, at Camp David, the presidential retreat, near Thurmont, Md. , Friday, July 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)President Donald Trump, seated center, joined by Energy Secretary Chris Wright, from left, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling, and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner, attends a Cabinet meeting, Friday, July 31, 2026, at Camp David, the presidential retreat, near Thurmont, Md. , Friday, July 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)Show Caption1 of 8President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting, Friday, July 31, 2026, at Camp David, the presidential retreat, near Thurmont, Md. , Friday, July 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)ExpandTrump fields questions on Iran, Hamas deal and Blanche confirmationIn the lengthy question-and-answer session, Trump commented on the latest developments regarding the war in Iran and adeal he announced Thursdaythat would lead to the disarmament of the Palestinian group Hamas. He also lamented that a $1. 8 billion anti-weaponization fund to compensate his allies was “dead” and appeared to back off a pledge he made earlier this month to grant Ukraine a license to manufacture Patriot air defense systems. “I don’t think this would ever happen, but, you know, there’s people that, you give that technology, they can someday turn on you,” Trump added. “You look at war, that’s happened a couple of times over the years, right? So we have to be very careful. ”On the Hamas agreement, Trump acknowledged that the agreement that would also lead to Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza will have “ups and downs. ” Still, he called it a “great breakthrough” that has been helped along by the U. S. and Israel’s war with Iran, which has served as Hamas’ prime backer. Trump also remarked on the anti-weaponization fund that isholding up the confirmation of Todd Blancheas his attorney general, saying the pot of money is “dead” and that “I wish it weren’t, to be honest with you. ”The president continued to defend the people who could potentially benefit from the fund, mainly those who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to stop the certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s victory over him. “Their families have been ruined,” Trump said. Those people “wanted to go to a rally or an event and ended up spending the rest of their lives in horror. ”Trump said Blanche has been a “pawn in this whole thing. ” Blanche, who was present, did not speak in the public portion of the Cabinet meeting. Camp David has been a retreat for presidents since FDRThe camp’s primary purpose is to provide presidents a place to rest, relax and recharge. It was established in 1942 during Franklin Roosevelt’s presidency and has been used by every president since. Roosevelt had enjoyed relaxing aboard a presidential yacht, but the military and the U. S. Secret Service began to worry about his safety on open water during World War II. As a result, Roosevelt asked the National Park Service to find sites within 100 miles of the White House that he could use for rest. He chose what is now known as Camp David. He gave it the original name of Shangri-La, from James Hilton’s novel “Lost Horizon. ” President Dwight Eisenhower renamed it Camp David, after his grandson and father. Trumpspent more weekends at the retreatin his first term but has visited sparingly in his second, most recently in June for Father’s Day. In 2019, during his first term, Trump announced on social media that he had canceleda secret weekend meetingat Camp David with Taliban and Afghanistan leaders — scheduled for just days before the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks — after a bombing in the capital of Kabul killed a dozen people, including a U. S. soldier. Presidents throughout history have turned to Camp David when they needed security and privacy for sensitive diplomatic talks with foreign leaders. Jimmy Cartertook the leaders of Egypt and Israel there in 1978 for talks that produced the Camp David Accords, a peace agreement between the two countries. The 180-acre retreat, which is run by the Navy and guarded by Marines, has a cabin named Aspen that’s reserved for the president, plus about a dozen other cabins for guests. A main lodge has conference rooms, a dining room and an office for the president. Superville and Kim reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Collin Binkley, Will Weissert and Aamer Madhani contributed to this report from Washington.