(NEW YORK) -- President-elect Donald Trump said Monday that the Biden administration knows more about the drones that have raised alarms over parts of the country than it's sharing with the public.
"They know where it came from and where it went. And for some reason, they don't want to comment. And I think they'd be better off saying what it is. Our military knows and our president knows. And for some reason, they want to keep people in suspense," Trump said.
Trump took questions for more than an hour on a number of subjects. He started his remarks with an announcement that SoftBank will make a $100 billion investment in the U.S. that will create 100,000 jobs focused on artificial intelligence and emerging technologies. SoftBank plans to complete the work before Trump leaves office in 2029, according to a person familiar with the matter.
TikTok and election results
Asked about a potential ban on TikTok unless it finds new ownership, Trump said he has "a warm spot in my heart for TikTok," because of its effect on his winning a larger share of the youth vote than he did in 2016.
A federal appeals court last week rejected TikTok's attempt to stop the pending ban and pause the Jan. 19 deadline for a sale.
"TikTok had an impact," Trump said. "And, so we're taking a look at it. I don't know why, but we ended up finishing, we were, there was one poll that showed us down about 30. We were 35 or 36 points up with young people. So I have a little bit of a warm spot in my heart."
Considering a pardon for Eric Adams
Trump also said he would "take a look" at a pardon for New York Mayor Eric Adams, who was indicted in September on bribery charges.
"I think that he was treated pretty unfairly," Trump said, and suggested the charges were retribution for Adams speaking out against migrants flooding into the country.
"It's very interesting when he essentially went against what was happening with the migrants coming in," Trump said. "And, you know, he made some pretty strong statements like 'This is not sustainable.' I said, 'You know what? He'll be indicted soon.' And I said it. That is a prediction, a little bit lightheartedly, but I said it. I said, 'He's going to be indicted.' And a few months later he got indicted. So I would certainly look at it."
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and vaccines
Following reports last week that the personal attorney for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, had previously lobbied the Food and Drug Administration to revoke its approval of the polio vaccine, the president-elect said he had no plans to ban the vaccine.
"You're not gonna lose the polio vaccine. That's not gonna happen," he said. "I saw what happened with the polio. I have friends that were very much affected by that. I have friends from many years ago, and they have obviously, they they're still in not such good shape because of it."
Trump's selection of Kennedy, known an anti-vaccine crusader, to lead HHS has raised concerns about what effects his activism might have on the agency's mission. Trump said Monday those concerns are unfounded.
"I think you're going to find that Bobby is much -- he's a very rational guy. I found him to be very rational," Trump said.
"But we're going to look into finding why is the autism rate so much higher than it was 20, 25, 30 years ago," he said. "I mean, it's like it's 100 times higher. There's something wrong. And we're going to try finding that."
Ending the war in Ukraine
Asked if Ukraine should cede territory to Russia to end the war, Trump didn't give a straight answer, instead saying cities there are a “demolition site” and there’s “nothing there” for Ukrainians.
“But, a lot of that territory, when you look at what's happened to those, I mean, there are cities that there's not a building standing. It's a demolition site. There's not a building standing. So people can't go back to those cities. There's nothing there. It's just rubble,” Trump said, hinting that there isn’t a reason for Ukraine to keep the land.
Auctioning off the border wall
While calling the transition from the Biden administration to his incoming one “friendly,” Trump called for a policy change on the border wall, claiming the White House was attempting to auction off border wall material.
“That has nothing to do with a smooth transition, that has to do with people really trying to stop our nation, and all it means really is that we're going to spend hundreds of millions of dollars more, not even talking about the time,” he said.
“It's almost a criminal act,” Trump claimed as he lamented that border wall materials are being sold for “5 cents on the dollar.”
A deadline of Israeli hostages
In recounting his discussion on a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump repeated his threat that Israeli hostages held by Hamas and others in the Middle East should be released by Inauguration Day.
"We discussed what is going to happen and I'll be very available on January 20th," he said. "And we'll see. I, as you know, I gave warning that if these hostages aren't back home by that date, all hell is going to break out and very strong."