Karine Jean-Pierre White House Press Briefing on 10/16/24

Hey, good afternoon everybody.

Good afternoon.

Oh, it’s chilly in here. I’m hearing comments in the back. But, okay.

(00:20)
So the Biden-Harris Administration’s response and recovery efforts continue to deliver for the people of North Carolina, Florida, and all communities affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Federal assistance for communities affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton has surpassed $1.8 billion. Over the weekend. The president visited Florida to personally survey the damage caused by Milton, speak with families affected by the storm, and meet with state and local officials to ensure they were getting the resources they need. And this afternoon at 4:15 PM Eastern Standard Time FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell will hold her daily press briefing to provide further details on our efforts to help communities respond, recover, and rebuild in the wake of these disasters.

(01:10)
As the President has said, we are in this for the long haul and we will be there as long as it takes. That said, we need Congress to do its job. Yesterday you heard from the President that the Small Business Administration’s Disaster Loan Program, which is a critical lifeline to small businesses, homeowners, renters affected by disasters has been exhausted. Americans should continue to apply for these loans and SBA will continue to process them and disperse assistance as soon as Congress does its job and provides the needed funding.

(01:48)
Tomorrow, President Biden will travel to Berlin, Germany where he will meet with German leaders, President Steinmeier and Chancellor Scholz, underscoring the strong relationship that the United States shares with Germany and the full range of global issues that we are tackling together. The close relationship routine President Biden and Chancellor Scholz have built as been critical to helping us make progress on behalf of the American people and to making the world a safer place. We have worked together closely to strengthen our economies for both our people and provide critical support for Ukraine as it continues to defend itself against Russian aggression. As Germany has been the second-largest provider of aid to Ukraine after the United States.

(02:37)
Chancellor Scholz’s bold decision to participate in the prisoner swap this summer, as you all know, which he did at President Biden’s request was vital to returning wrongfully detained Americans, including Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan and Germans to their families. And need to continue to work closely together to defend democratic values around the world.

(03:04)
On that note, president Biden will speak with President Zelenskyy shortly, if not already, and we’ll announce a significant new security assistance package for Ukraine to today as part of our ongoing effort to surge US support to Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression. The two leaders also will discuss the leader-level Ukraine defense contact group, which will be held next month to continue to get Ukraine the support it needs to prevail in this conflict. We will have a readout of that call soon, as well as more details on the military aid package.

(03:45)
Some additional news. In the first week of December, the President will travel to Angola where he will celebrate the transformation of the US-Angola relationship. Recognize Angola’s role as a strategic partner and regional leader and meet with President Lourenço about ways to increase our collaboration on security, health and economic partnerships. The value of strong alliances and partnerships in the defense of freedom has never resonated more in Europe, in Africa and beyond. These visits demonstrate the President’s unwavering commitment to revitalize these relationships for our shared security and prosperity.

(04:27)
With that, Omar, I’ll kick it off to you.

Yeah. On the Germany trip tomorrow, when will he be coming back? And I’m presuming the conversation with President Zelenskyy today, does that obviate the need for them to meet while he’s in Europe?

Well, that they’re not going to have an opportunity to meet while he is in Europe and this is one of the reasons the President is calling him ahead of time. What I will say is we’ll certainly have more details on the trip in the next several hours on what that looks like, what tomorrow’s going to look like and the specifics of the President’s engagement in Germany tomorrow, the next two days.

Can I ask concerns of the Secret Service being so stretched right now and the various security needs with the two assassination attempts, has the President considered maybe putting this trip off until after election day or perhaps even dialing back some of the Delaware travel just to help lighten the load on the Secret Service?

So I will say this, I’m not going to get into the specifics of the Secret Service and how it does its business and protecting obviously the principles. That’s not something for me to speak to from here. What I will say is that the President felt very strongly about this trip, about one of our partners, allies that has been a steadfast, certainly in partnership as it relates to Ukraine’s defense, and the President really wanted to make sure to go to Germany to thank Chancellor Scholz directly. And so that was one of the reasons to do that trip. I’m not going to get into specifics of Secret Service and how they move forward and how they go about protecting the principles. That’s not something that I’m going to speak from here.

Just one last one.

Sure.

President Biden yesterday spoke of Harris cutting her own path as president if she’s elected. Does he feel he’s held her back?

No, not at all. Look, the President has always been… Not going to speak to politics from here, but what I can say more broadly is that every president has the opportunity to cut their own path. And the President has been really clear about passing the torch and seeing Vice President Harris as a leader from day one, on day one, and he understands how this all works. He said this yesterday as well. He was loyal to Barack Obama, but he also got an opportunity to cut his own path as president, and that’s what he believes Kamala is going to do. And that’s his words, when calling her Kamala, the Vice President.

(07:20)
And so she’s been loyal to him and this is something that he shared and he understand that she will cut her own path and I think that’s just the way it goes. I think that’s the process that we’re seeing right now, that we’re living it, that you all are covering every day since the President decided to step aside from this election and pass the torch to the Vice President. And so I think that’s what you’re hearing from this president. He’s incredibly proud of her. He has supported her from day one. He has said many times the best decision that he made in 2020 was asking her to be his running mate. Okay, Nancy.

Thanks Karine. A couple questions about this letter from the Biden administration to the Israeli government suggesting that US aid to Israel may be at risk if they don’t change their posture on humanitarian aid into Gaza. Is there anything that we should know about the timing of this letter?

So look, I’m going to take a step back just for a second because, and I know my colleagues over at National Security Council spoke to this, if not yesterday certainly over the past couple of days, the administration did something similar back in April and that was received, that letter that we did back in April was received with a constructive response from the Israelis. And so this is very similar. What we have seen, the trigger, the reason why we’re doing this is we have seen a decrease in aid and very important critical aid in Gaza. And so we sent out the letter from obviously the Department of Defense and also the State Department that went to both secretaries’ counterparts and so we’re having those discussions. I would speak to them, I would speak to the DOD and State Department on their timing, but it is certainly connected to what we have seen, which is a decrease of humanitarian aid in Gaza, and so we wanted to address that with Israel.

Have you gotten any response from the Israeli government to this letter or any sign that they are taking it seriously?

So I don’t have anything right now to preview or to announce or to lay out for you at this time. What I can say is the last time we did this back in April, we did see a constructive response and so that’s what we want to see this time around.

Is the administration really willing to halt military aid to Israel if you don’t see a significant improvement in humanitarian aid flowing to Gaza?

I’m not going to get into hypotheticals from here. Like I said, we did it back in April, sent a letter very similar, a letter from both the State Department and the Department of Defense. We got a constructive response. That’s what we’re hoping to see. We wanted to address this. This is connected to a decrease of humanitarian assistance aid that is very much needed in Gaza, as you all know. We’ve done this before, it’s worked, and so we’re doing this again and so we want to see a constructive response. Kat.

Just one follow up there. Israelis have 30 days to make changes, a 30-day deadline that’s after the election. Doesn’t that take some of the bite out of this ultimately?

I’m not going to get into a timeline from here. I’m not going to get into those types of specifics. I would refer you to the State Department and Department of Defense. I think what’s important here is to not forget, we’ve done this before back in April. We’ve seen a decrease of aid and we certainly want to make sure that that is addressed. That is why the letter went out. That’s why we’re talking, we’re having those conversations with the Israelis and so I’m going to leave it there.

Yesterday, former President Trump seemed to leave open the possibility that he has in fact talked to Vladimir Putin since leaving office. What does the White House make of that?

I’m not going to get into specifics about conversations with world leaders from here. I’m not going to get into that still specifics from here at all.

Does the White House have any evidence that that could be true?

I think I’ve answered this question before. We don’t have anything to confirm that specific statement from the former president. I just don’t have anything else to add.

Can I ask-

Sure.

Domestically, President Obama seemed to indicate that he was worried some voters might be trying to make excuses for not voting for a woman. I’ve heard that myself from a lot of voters out on the campaign trail. I understand you can’t talk about politics in the campaign. But have you seen moments or do you believe that this has been a unique challenge for Vice President Harris in her role as vice president?

I mean, look, here’s the thing. Here’s what I can say. Both this president and this vice president are very much proud of what they have been able to deliver for the Black community and many other communities, historic results. Obviously, there’s always more work to be done, and that’s something that we say, whether it’s about the economy, whether it’s about healthcare, there’s always more work to be done. But we’re proud of what we have been able to see when we think about record wealth, including obviously record wealth, employment, small businesses, we’ve seen a boost in small business applications within the Black community and just more broadly, not just the Black community. And so we understand there’s more work to be done, we’re certainly going to continue to do that work. And that’s what I can speak to in that is something that I know both this president and the vice president are very proud of doing.

Do you think she had to overcome sexism as the first female vice president?

Look, I’m not going to get into it from here. What I can say is that we are all very proud of what the Vice President has been able to accomplish with this president as a critical partner over the past four years. And you don’t just have to look at her career, as almost four years I should say, as vice president, but you look at her record as senator, as Attorney General of California. I think she’s had an impressive record and she’s done that with everything, all the headwinds that come at her she’s been able to get that done. Ken.

You were talking about, just to go back to the Germany trip, is there any update on the Ramstein Summit? Is it postponed? Is it canceled?

I don’t have an update for you on that. I’ll be sure to check with the team, but I just don’t have anything on that.

Is the President expected to have any meetings with any other foreign leaders during the trip?

We’ll certainly have more to share. Obviously a big part of this meeting of this trip, travel that he’s doing is going to be around Ukraine, the continuing support of Ukrainians as they continue certainly to beat back Russia’s aggression, and we’ve been very proud, the President’s been very proud to do that and continue… And obviously one of the reasons we’re going to Germany, as I mentioned, which Chancellor Scholz as a partner in that. And so we’ll certainly we’ll have more to share. But just a little bit more broadly, I would state, I mentioned Russia’s War in Ukraine, managing the crisis in the Middle East, maintaining stability in the Indo-Pacific region, strengthening the Transatlantic Alliance, illustrating that the relationship is both dynamic and also enduring. And so I think that’s important to note.

(14:31)
And the President, as I stated at the top, he wanted to make this trip. This is a trip that he wanted to do to thank the Chancellor for his support. And so that’s what you’re going to see from the two leaders and we’ll certainly have more to share. I will also state that at 4:00, National Security Council will have a press call, so certainly you should join that.

Just one more to follow up on Omar’s question on the President’s comments about the Vice President last night. Ron Klain told us in August that the White House could have done more to promote the Vice President. He said, “We were all united behind the idea she should be successful. We just didn’t find the path to do it.” Does the President agree?

What I will say is, and I think certainly the first part of your quote is something that I know to be true, the President has always wanted the Vice President to be successful and she has been successful and he could not be more proud of her as he is today. I think what he laid out yesterday, obviously that was a political event that he spoke at, but I think lays out his thinking, how he sees the Vice President, not just now, but moving forward in what she’s trying to accomplish at this moment. And I think she has had a lot of successes to point to over the last three and a half years. And I also stated her record as a senator, her record as attorney general as district attorney in San Francisco. She’s had an impressive record. And so anything else beyond that? I certainly will leave it to the Vice President and her team to speak specifically on.

Just back to Ukraine, it’s been more than a month now since the President told us that there were discussions about allowing Ukraine to fire long-range missiles deeper into Russian territory. Is he heading into this conversation with Zelenskyy today and to this trip to Germany with a decision made on that?

What I will say is, look, the United States policy on that has not changed. It has not changed. But I think what’s important here is that we are committed. We’re continue to be committed to Ukraine, to the Ukrainians having everything that it needs, especially on the battleground as they’re fighting against Russia’s aggression. That is our commitment. I just made an announcement, right, just moments ago about an assistance, how much more we’re going to be providing as we understand what’s needed on the ground on the battlefield. And so the President’s probably talking to the President Zelenskyy right now, we are going to continue to show that support and I just don’t have anything to say. Our policy has not changed beyond that.

So he’s decided against allowing that capability?

Look, I’ll say this. In May, the President directed his team to ensure that Ukraine is able to use US-supplied weapons for cross-border strikes. So Ukraine can hit back against Russia, Russian forces that are attacking them or preparing to attack them as part of their current Russian offense. It’s common sense. It’s common sense that they should be able to hit back against what’s hitting them and to deny Russian forces that are using staging locations just across the border, a safe haven. That was what we were able to do back in May.

(17:44)
Our policy with respect, with respect, to prohibiting the use of attack guns or long-range strikes inside of Russia has not changed. That is not going to change. It has not changed at this moment. Don’t have anything else to preview. But we will continue to have conversations with the Ukrainians providing what they need on the battlefield. That is a commitment. We want to be there for the Ukrainians as they continue to beat back Russia’s aggression.

All right. And on the SBA funding, it sounded last week when the President was talking about this that he wanted Congress to come back early to pass more funding for the Small Business Administration. But he didn’t mention that in his statement last night, has he given up on [inaudible 00:18:26]-

Well, what I’ll say, well, he did mention in his statement last night is that Speaker Johnson has said and is committed and promise that he was going to fund not just that but other disaster programs. And so he said that it will be replenished by Congress. And so that’s the commitment that he made. That’s what we want to see. And we want to also make sure that people out there who need these particular resources, they continue to apply for loans and the SBA is going to continue to process those applications. But Speaker Johnson made a commitment and certainly we want to see that commitment follow-through.

(19:07)
Go ahead, Danny.

Thanks Karine. Back to the Middle East, the US, specifically the State Department, said yesterday that the US was opposed to the Israeli bombing of Beirut as it was being carried out at the moment, hours after that there were fresh Israeli airstrikes on Southern Beirut. Again, what gives you any confidence that Prime Minister Netanyahu is listening to what Washington is asking him to do?

So look, and you’re right, we have told Israel directly that we oppose any Israeli’s campaign to certainly of near daily strikes in densely populated area in Beirut. You are correct. That is something that we have been very clear about. We also understand that what they’re conducting, the operations that they’re conducting, to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure is targeted. And so we’ll continue to have those conversations with the Israeli government and that is something that we will continue to do. And we have been really clear. It is critical. It is critical that these operations be conducted in a way, in a way that does not threaten the lives of civilians. Conversations that we will continue to have with the Israeli government, let’s not forget peacekeepers and also members of the Lebanese Armed Forces. We’ve been clear we’re going to continue to have those diplomatic discussions with Israelis.

And in the White House’s view, how did the yesterday’s strikes, what category did they fall into? Acceptable?

Look, I’m not going to get into characterizing each of these strikes, it’s not what I’m going to do from here. We’ve been very clear what we want to see. We’ve been very clear about that from here, as you stated from the State Department and Department of Defense as well. And we will continue to have these discussions. Go ahead.

Thanks so much, Karine. Does the White House have any indication or explanation on why the tension is escalating in the Korea Peninsula and is the White House concerned about that?

Say that last part.

Korea, the peninsula of Korea, the tension growing over there.

I mean, look, obviously we’re always going to have concerns and we’re always going to watch and monitor closely. I don’t have anything specific to read out on the current situation there. We are going to always, as I said, monitor, watch closely and certainly be in coordination with our South Korean allies. And so look, we’re going to also continue to urge the North Korea to reduce tensions and seize any actions that could increase the risk of conflict, and that is something that we’ve been pretty consistent here.

A follow-up and then I have one more. Because there are reporters that North Korea is sending soldiers to fight with Russia in Ukraine, some are suggesting that there are around 3 to 7,000 soldiers already a few miles from the Ukrainian border. Does the White House have any response or concern about it?

Look, we’ve always said we’ve been concerned when we’ve always asked about other countries providing aid or assistance to Russia. We’ve been very clear about that. This is why the President took it very seriously on making sure that NATO was stronger and bringing more than 50 countries together to make sure that Ukrainians had the support that they need. You just heard me speak about another assistance package that we are going to be speaking more about delivering and that is a conversation that the President Biden is having with President Zelenskyy and that is going to be a really important part of the conversation that the President has when he’s in Germany. So we’re going to continue to provide assistance, show our support for Ukraine, stand by the Ukrainians, and so that’s going to be our focus in the next couple days and continued focus obviously since the past almost two years now.

And just the last one. You were announcing international trips for the next few months. Is President Biden going to Brazil for the G20s and does the White House believe that Vladimir Putin should be arrested if he goes to Brazil?

I don’t have anything to share on either of those questions that you ask me. Go ahead, Jared

On the call with Zelenskyy. I know earlier today Zelenskyy made public, parts of that victory plan. I assume he’d already shared it with President Biden. But one of those elements is an immediate invitation to NATO. Does the White House, the President have a response to that proposal?

Look, what I will say, and I’ve been very clear about this. We’re going to let the Ukrainians speak to their victory plan. That’s their plan. We’ll let them speak to it. What we’re going to continue to do is show off support for the Ukrainians on the battlefield as they have continue to beat back Russia’s aggression. I don’t have anything else to share beyond that, but we’ll let them speak to their plan directly. Go ahead.

Excuse me. Thanks Karine. Yesterday, President Biden talked about Trump’s rally in which he stood up on the stage and listened to various musical tunes and said the former president has, “Snapped and become unhinged.” Can you elaborate what he’s concerned about there? Does he have concerns that Trump lacks the mental fitness to be able to go back to the White House?

I mean, I don’t have anything to add. I think the President was very clear on what he felt and saw and was sharing with all of you. I don’t think there’s anything more to add.

Does he have concerns about the former President’s mental fitness?

I don’t have anything else to add. I think the President speaks loud and clear and directly for himself, and so I’ll let his words stand.

Thanks, Karine. Senator Rick Scott and Senator Rubio have proposed $20 billion to replenish the Disaster Relief Fund. Has the President seen that proposal? Would he sign it if it did pass?

So look, as you know, when we tried to do originally the CR, we had a robust component in that CR to make sure that the Disaster Relief Fund was replenished. That didn’t go through. We were disappointed by that, obviously. And so what we want to see, I’m not going to put a number to it, that is something that’s going to be worked out. What we want to see is Congress when they come back to actually do that, to actually replenish the disaster relief funding. It’s important to do so. While we have the fundings right now to do the work that FEMA needs to do, that this administration needs to do to impacted areas, we know that there’s going to be a shortfall and we’re going to need more funding. I’m not going to get to a number. I have not spoken to the President or the Office of Ledge Affairs about this particular proposal that has been brought forth, but the President has been very clear.

(25:51)
I just talked about the SBA and how that funding is now exhausted. The Speaker made a promise. The Speaker Johnson made a promise that when Congress returns that they’re going to replenish the Disaster Relief Fund and also make sure that CBA has what it needs to really address the needs of Americans who’ve been impacted on the ground.

Is there a timeline for when FEMA would know how much the administration wants [inaudible 00:26:17]-

Say that one more time.

Is there a timeline for when FEMA would have an estimate for how much-

So I would refer you directly to FEMA about that specific timeline, a number that’s needed. What we are very clear about is we need to make sure that we have funding, additional funding for the Disaster Relief Fund. That’s why we included it in the CR. As you know, it was a robust number. We wanted to see that get through. It did not get through. And we are seeing these storms coming through and what they’re doing and how they’re devastating areas. The President was able to survey obviously what occurred in Florida after Hurricane Milton, and so we want to make sure those funds are there. Speaker Johnson made a promise. He said that that was going to happen, so that’s what we want to see. I know I think we have to start wrapping up soon.

Just to follow up on the President’s comments about the Vice President cutting her own path if elected. I know the two of them speak regularly. But just wondering if the two have specifically had conversations about how she would do that if elected, whether the President is offering advice or whether she’s asked for guidance in that arena.

So I don’t have any details to their specific conversations. As you know, the President and vice president worked closely together. As I just talked about, the two hurricanes that came through. You saw them working side by side and dealing with the impacts of the hurricane and making sure that we were responding to folks on the ground. And look, they’re going to continue to work closely together. The President knows what it’s like to be the vice president and knows what it takes to be the vice president and what’s needed there. And so he is certainly very proud of the work that she’s been able to do. I’m not going to get into details or specifics of private conversations that they have. Go ahead, Annie.

Thanks so much. The automaker Stellantis has said that they are considering expanding a factory in Mexico. I’m wondering if the White House has any response to this possibility and whether even addressed concerns that domestic jobs may be lost or moved overseas.

So look, last year, as you know, we applauded UAW and also Stellantis for coming together after hard good faith, which is what we always love to see negotiations. And also reaching a historic agreement that secured record raises greater retirement security and investment in the future. And so that included a commitment to reopen and expand production in communities that were devastated by previous plant closures.

(28:49)
And so, look, what we want to see is Stellantis certainly deliver on those commitments to the UAW and to the communities. And not just any communities, but communities that have long supported the industry. That’s what we want to see. And so we want Stellantis to keep their commitment. Again, we were very proud to see that very good faith negotiation that occurred and what was delivered. And so that’s what we want to see at the end of the day.

(29:18)
I know we have to go. Okay. We have to go. Sorry guys. Thanks everybody.

Thank you.

We have to rush.