President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he's working with Michigan leaders to keep Macomb County's Selfridge Air National Guard Base "open, strong, thriving" ― teasing the possibility of new fighter jets ― and separately promised "to save Lake Michigan" from the invasive Asian carp.

"I think we're going to be successful, Governor. I think we'll be very successful there," Trump said about Selfridge in remarks in the Oval Office with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Republican state House Speaker Matt Hall standing nearby the president's desk.

"We've gotten some good feedback from (Defense Secretary) Pete Hegseth and the Department of Defense, and talking about F-16s and talking about F-35s, and, you know, et cetera. It's a great piece of property. It's a great location, and it's a great state. So I think we're going to come back with a very good answer."

Trump made the remarks as he was scheduled to meet privately with Whitmer and Hall at the White House on Wednesday afternoon.

The president said he was "honored" to have Whitmer there, said she's done an "excellent job." He also said she was a "very good person" and that they are trying to "keep it open" in reference to Selfridge.

"We're working on that very hard, and I think we'll come home with a winner for Michigan," Trump said. "I just spoke with the Secretary of Defense. ... I think we're in great shape. We're going to be in great shape."

Trump made the remarks at the White House after signing executive orders including orders on naval shipbuilding, improving Pentagon procurement and the foreign military sales process.

Whitmer, bipartisan members of Congress and state lawmakers have been asking the Pentagon to send Selfridge another fighter mission to replace the A-10 squadron, which is being retired over the next few years, and could mean job losses for the area.

Hall stepped forward at the president's invitation and thanked Trump "for caring so much about Michigan."

"We've been working a long time. We couldn't get Joe Biden to do anything about either one of these issues, particularly Selfridge Air Force Base," Hall said. "It'll be critical to Michigan's economy and our security when you're able to deliver us another mission there."

Trump also raised the need to block Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes. Whitmer in previous meetings with the president has brought up the need to fund an Army Corps of Engineers project in Illinois at the Brandon Road Lock & Dam that would install several methods to serve as a barrier to prevent the carp from proceeding up the state's waterways and infiltrating Lake Michigan.

"We're also working on a certain fish that's taken over a beautiful lake called Michigan, right? And that's a tough one," Trump said in the Oval Office, calling them "powerful" fish.

"They jump out of the water. They jump at the fishermen. I mean, I've never seen anything like it."

Whitmer noted that Michigan is working with the Army Corps of Engineers to erect a barrier so that the Asian carp can't reach the lakes: "It'll devastate the ecosystem, the economy, tourism, and it's 20% of the world's fresh waters in the Great Lakes, Mr. President, which is why it's so important that as a nation, we protect the waters."

Trump replied, "We're going to work hard on that."

He said he spoke with the Army Corps of Engineers and noted they have a "pretty aggressive method" for blocking the fish, even if it's "expensive." The project is estimated to cost $1.15 billion.

The Brandon Road location is considered a choke point in the fight against invasive species reaching Great Lakes waterways, where scientists say the fish would pose a significant threat to the region’s native species and aquatic ecosystems.

"Thank you, Governor, very much. It's sort of a bipartisan thing. When you get it right down there, it's a very expensive thing," Trump said. "I said, 'Well, but we have to save Lake Michigan.' Because these fish ― they eat everything in the way, including the other fish. They eat everything."

When Hall thanked Trump again for taking action on the Asian carp and Selfridge, Trump tossed the credit to Whitmer and U.S. Rep. John James, a Shelby Township Republican whose district includes the Harrison Township air base.

"The governor, in all fairness, called me about it. I had seen it, and she called me, and John James called me," Trump said. "It really is bipartisan. It's great to see it, actually. It's great to see that, and that includes Selfridge, too. And we're going to get it done, and ... we'll all stand there together and cut a ribbon."

Trump then joked that Whitmer and Hall must "get along pretty well, right?" The remark prompted nervous laughter in the room, but the Michigan officials' reaction was off camera and not visible.

"About 70% of the time," Whitmer joked about her Republican rival in Lansing.

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