The White House accidentally uploaded President Trump’s candid remarks from a closed-press Easter lunch to YouTube on April 1, 2026, before hastily making the video private. The speech revealed the president fantasizing about seizing Iran’s oil, admitting federal healthcare funds are depleted due to war spending, and joking about wanting to be a king. Business Insider’s Bryan Metzger preserved the full video before deletion.

Trump Admits War Drained Healthcare Funds

During the lunch, Trump directly told attendees that federal resources for childcare and healthcare programs are exhausted due to military spending. “We’re fighting wars. We can’t take care of daycare. You got to let a state take care of daycare, and they should pay for it too,” Trump stated. He explained states would need to raise their own taxes while the federal government reduces contributions, claiming “It’s not possible for us to take care of daycare, Medicaid, Medicare, all these individual things” at the federal level. Trump insisted the government must focus solely on military protection.

Presidential Powers and Iranian Oil

Trump expressed frustration with constitutional limitations on his authority, telling the Easter gathering, “I can’t get a ballroom approved. It’s pretty amazing, right? If I was a king, we’d be doing a lot more. I’m doing a lot, but I could be doing a lot more if I was a king.” The president also lamented that Americans lack the patience for seizing Iranian oil reserves. “We could just take their oil. But, you know, I’m not sure that the people in our country have the patience to do that, which is unfortunate,” Trump said, adding he would prefer to remain in conflict zones to claim oil resources rather than withdraw. “I’d prefer just to take the oil. We could do it so easily.”

Candid Remarks Expose Presidential Thinking

Trump previewed his evening national address by telling the Easter lunch audience, “Tonight I’m making a little speech at 9 o’clock and basically I’m gonna tell everybody how great I am.” The entire incident appeared unintentional, with the White House removing the video after realizing the error. The speech provides a rare glimpse into Trump’s unfiltered views on executive power, international resource seizure, and the trade-offs between military spending and domestic social programs. At the same event, Trump’s spiritual adviser compared the president to Jesus during Easter celebrations.