Karine Jean-Pierre (00:00):
And it will reunite the hostages, including Americans with their families after more than 15 months in captivity experiencing unimaginable, unimaginable suffering.
(00:14)
Over the past few days, President Biden spoke with the leaders of Israel, Qatar, and Egypt to continue to push negotiations forward and reach the resolution we announced today. The process has been steered out of the West Wing at the direction of the President by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, and driven to completion through relentless diplomacy by Middle East Coordinator Brett McGurk, who has been actively negotiating day and night in Doha. I will note that Brett is currently in meetings with foreign leaders and when he emerges the National Security Council is going to host a background call to answer more of your questions.
(00:54)
Secretary Blinken, Director Burns have traveled regularly to the region in recent months and throughout the past year and been in close touch with the key players in the region to advance negotiations forward. President Biden has also directed his team to work closely with the incoming administration to ensure all spoke with one voice on the need to secure a deal. As the President said, we have reached this point because of the pressure Israel has put on Hamas while with the backing of the United States. Sinwar was killed, Iran's attacks against Israel failed, thanks to the support from the United States. We have built a coalition of nations to defend against Houthi attacks. We negotiated a ceasefire after Hezbollah was significantly weakened, and Iran is weaker today than it has been in decades. These developments which the United States helped shape have created new conditions in the region, conditions that have led to the outcome we are seeing today.
(01:56)
Today, even as we welcome this news, we remember all the families, all of the families whose loved ones were killed in Hamas's horrific October 7th attack and the many innocent people who have been killed in the war that followed. It is long time for the fighting to end and the work of building peace and security to begin. The families of the American hostages are at the forefront of our hearts and minds today. They have been through a terrible ordeal that I cannot begin to imagine.
(02:32)
Under this deal, President Biden is determined to finally bring their loved ones home. Now again, Brett McGurk is the best equipped to answer the specific implementation questions as he has been directly involved in extensive negotiations obviously on the ground. In the meantime, we wanted to come out here to speak to the news and also answer any other questions that you may all have.
(02:55)
But before I even move forward to taking your questions, I want to do one of those as former Senator now, President Biden would say, one point of personal privilege here. Today is the 537th briefing of the Biden-Harris administration. This is my 306th briefing and the final briefing of the administration. Before I get to all your questions, I just want to say a few things and also just give out a few thank yous, if that's okay?
(03:28)
So we had the first briefing of this administration on Inauguration Day because President Joe Biden wanted to make clear the importance of daily press briefings and the vital role that the press plays in our democracy. President Biden believed in returning the norm of regular briefings and communicating to all of you and the American people about what we are doing and why it was important. The President and all of us in this administration understand that a free press is a cornerstone of our nation, and that the job you do questioning leaders and holding the powerful accountable is important.
(04:09)
And as I said during my first briefing when I took over this role, we might not see eye to eye here in this room all of the time, and that is okay. The give and take that happens here is incredibly healthy and it is part of our democracy. I have been honored to partake in it with all of you. Well, most of the time I've been honored to take it. But in all seriousness, I also said at the first briefing I would not be here today if it were not for generations of barrier-breaking people before me. I have stood on their shoulders, I benefit from their sacrifices, I have learned excellence, and I am eternally grateful to them.
(04:54)
And now I will pass the torch. It is my sincere hope that I, while I may be the first for many things at this podium behind this lectern I am not the last. I hope my presence at this podium has served as inspiration to many young girls out there who look at me and look at this job and look at what we've been able to do and have a similar background as me. And hopefully they can follow their dreams and never give up and know that you can achieve great things if you put your heart and mind and be passionate about it, no matter how many barriers you may need to overcome.
(05:37)
Progress is not always a straight line, but we all must do our part. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. whose birthday is indeed today, bend it towards justice and pay it forward. I hope that and I and many barrier-breaking colleagues in this administration have played a small role in doing just that. Standing here and having served in this role for this administration and this president has truly been the honor of a lifetime. One I am grateful for and I will never forget. But it is a job I could never have done alone. And so finally, I do want to say a few thank yous to a few people in this room that I've gotten the pleasure to work with.
(06:20)
I want to start off by thanking the best team in the business, Emily, Andrew, Kelly, Robin, Angelo, Jeremy, Sonia, Chloe, Jacob, Chris, you are simply, simply the best. And thank you so much for having my back at doing this job and having the President's back and doing it so well. Truly the best. You work tirelessly, passionately, and with utmost professionalism. You serve the President and this nation well. I am proud to call you all my friends and colleagues. None of this would be possible without all of you. I also want to acknowledge some of the former team members who are with us today. They're spread about here in the back. And as you all know, they, many of them left to continue to do some impressive work outside and obviously continue to do some work within the administration.
(07:13)
Chris Vadant is here as well, who just had a baby girl. Congratulations, Vadant. I had to call you out for that, which is wonderful. You and your wife brought in a beautiful little girl. Alexandra, Silas, Allison, Angela, Natalie, it's all good to see you. And thank you for all that you have done, thank you for your service. And Jen Psaki who is in the back, thank you so much. I see you. I see you, and I'm so grateful that you took the time to be here. And so thank you for your kindness, thank you for your friendship, and we've missed your around here and it's so good to see your face.
(07:50)
I also want to thank my parents. Growing up as an immigrant family in New York, they never imagined their daughter would be standing here today. They worked day and night to give me every opportunity possible. I can't thank them enough. And to my parents, sorry I didn't become a doctor, but hopefully this is okay. And to my lovely, amazing daughter. You have gone too many nights without me being around and without me being there for school drop-offs and without your mom around. And I can't wait to spend more time with you. I call her my pudding. So I can't wait to spend more time with you, Pudding. Thank you for your love and support and your patience.
(08:33)
And finally, I do want to say thank you to President Biden and First Lady Dr. Biden for this incredible opportunity. As I said earlier, standing at this podium, behind this lectern, serving the American people and this administration has been an honor of a lifetime and I will be forever grateful to the President for his trust and this amazing opportunity. And with that, thank you for your patience all. I appreciate that. With that, Zeke.
Zeke (09:08):
Thanks, Karine. When will the American hostages who are being held by Hamas be released? Will they be released in phase one? Or will that come in subsequent phases?
Karine Jean-Pierre (09:15):
And so, the President answered this a little bit when he was speaking earlier today. He mentioned phase one. That's when we're going to be seeing that. And-
Zeke (09:25):
All the American hostages will come out in phase one?
Karine Jean-Pierre (09:27):
So there will be more details that Brett McGurk will share right after this briefing. But what I will say is just to give you a little bit of how it will work. So during the first phase, which will begin on Sunday, the fighting will stop. Hostages will be begin to be released and aid will surge into Gaza. During these weeks, the second phase of the deal will continue to be negotiated to bring a permanent and an end to this war. If negotiations take longer than six weeks, the ceasefire will continue to hold as long as negotiations continue.
(09:59)
This deal was developed by the President and his team about eight months ago back in May. You heard the President talk about that so this was the framework. And once he was able to put out the framework it was endorsed by the world. And so we are certainly, as the President started off in his remarks to the American people, to all of you as well. This is a good day. This is a good day and this is a good step forward. And so Brett McGurk, after this briefing will have a call to give more details of how this is going to move forward. But again, this is a very good step forward.
Zeke (10:35):
And as you mentioned, the President announced this framework back in May of last year, and now a deal's been reached five days before this administration's term ends. It will go into effect a day before the next president is sworn in. Is it clear? Does the President want to give some credit to his successor and that there's a forcing mechanism by that transition that's helping push this deal towards the finish line?
Karine Jean-Pierre (11:03):
So a couple of things, and you said this in your question to me, this is a framework that the President put forth about eight months ago back in May. Again, it was endorsed by the world when he put out this framework. His team has worked because of the direction of the President, obviously, has worked 24/7 night and day to get this done. You're going to hear directly from Brett McGurk, who's been on the ground, who has been in Doha at the direction of the President, obviously with the leadership of National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan.
(11:33)
And what we see this day as, this is a good day. This is a good day. Hostages are going to be able to go home, including American hostages to their families. And after, what? 15 months since Hamas did something so unimaginable, launched an attack that was so dreadful, we lost so many lives because of that attack on October 7th. And we have been working around the clock to get this done.
(12:08)
And so that's how we look at it. We're going to continue, we're going to speak with the Trump transition. You heard even from National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, on Monday, talk about how they have been coordinating with the Trump team, keeping them abreast, having regular conversations with them about this. And now we understand that this is going to be implemented by the next team. And so we're going to continue to work until then, until January 20th, we're going to continue to work closely with the Trump transition team. We have to remember what we have seen from this president over the last eight months, since 15 months as we were talking about this particular matter, that's what American President does. That's what they do. And that's what we've seen from this president and his leadership.
Zeke (12:58):
And you mentioned that this deal will be implemented
Zeke (13:00):
… To the next president, there's coordination between the White House and the incoming administration. Has the President spoken at all with his successor and outside of the very brief ceremonial tea that they will have on the morning of the 20th, does he plan on having a more substantive conversation with him about his strategy and the briefing and the relationships that went into this briefing?
Karine Jean-Pierre (13:18):
Well, Zeke, I will remind you, when he invited President-elect Trump to the White House, they met for more than 90 minutes, and that's a pretty long time, a significant time to have a heart-to-heart, a bit of a conversation. So that happened, as you know, right after the election. I don't have anything to read out at this time of upcoming conversation or conversations that's happened since their meeting in the Oval Office. But again, the Trump transition team and our team have been in constant communication, having these conversations, keeping them abreast. This president made a commitment. He made a commitment that he wanted to see a peaceful transfer of power, something that he didn't get four years ago, but he wanted to make sure to continue that tradition and do a peaceful transfer of power. That's what you have seen. He wanted to make sure that transition was effective, efficient, and that's what we have provided. And like I said, we're going to be in close touch with our team and their team in the next couple of days.
Zeke (14:24):
Just lastly on a different topic, you've said the President has been weighing preemptive pardons for all sorts of officials, or who he fears may be targeted by the incoming administration. Has he made a decision and given that this is the last briefing, if he were to decide to issue those pardons, could you commit now that there'll be an opportunity to ask questions of the outgoing administration before noon on the 20th, about any of the President's actions?
Karine Jean-Pierre (14:47):
Look, I don't have anything to announce. You are correct. You could expect more pardons. I'm not going to go into details of what that's going to look like. It is not unusual for a president to do that. And so you should expect that from this president. I am not going to make any commitments right now. I'm not going to lock ourselves into another opportunity to ask questions about the pardons. But what I can say is stay tuned and there'll be more to share. And I'm sure the President's going to want to continue to engage with all of you in the next couple of days. Ayesha, haven't seen you in a while. Good to see you.
Ayesha (15:24):
It's good to see you. And thank you so much for taking our questions so often.
Karine Jean-Pierre (15:29):
Thank you. I appreciate it. Thanks Ayesha.
Ayesha (15:31):
So in terms of implementing the terms of this agreement, how confident is President Biden that the incoming administration will do that, and have they offered any assurances that they will carry them out?
Karine Jean-Pierre (15:44):
Look, I think there's a commitment to move forward with this deal. I think there's a commitment to make sure that there's an end to this war. Obviously, hostages are going to be coming home. Obviously, we've been in very close touch with the Trump transition, and the President was asked some variation of that question moments ago after he spoke, and he said he is very much indeed confident.
(16:08)
So look, we understand this is going to be implemented by the next team, as I just stated. We are going to work closely in close coordination with the Trump team as the President has said and I have said also moments ago. We want this to be in one voice, right? I think that's what you have seen in the past couple of weeks, how we have moved forward in one voice. And this is what's important for the hostages to get them home, to make sure that we're getting that humanitarian aid into Gaza and to ending this war, ending this war that has taken a lot of innocent lives. And so that is the commitment. That is the commitment that you can see from us, and that's what the President believes, that he is confident in how we're going to move forward.
Ayesha (16:54):
Tonight, President Biden is going to be delivering a farewell address. Ahead of that speech we got a long list of what he views as his greatest accomplishments-
Karine Jean-Pierre (17:04):
Over a hundred pages, I believe. Right? Did you read, did you have every word?
Ayesha (17:08):
We have every, yes. Can you talk about what he thinks his greatest failures are and whether he will address those tonight to the American public?
Karine Jean-Pierre (17:18):
So look, this is an important moment for the President. He has been working on the speech because obviously these are farewell remarks, but he is obviously going to be talking directly to the American people. It is not going to be partisan. This is something that, and not just forget, it's not just about the last four years of his administration, he is stepping down from his career, more than 50 years of public service that this president has done as senator, as vice president, as president. So you can imagine the President has a lot to say, a lot of thoughts that he wants to share, really touch on the moment that we're in right now. And so that's what you're going to hear from the President. What he wants to do, obviously, is also be positive. Talk about what we have been able to do. This is a president that speaks about possibilities and how he sees this country moving forward.
(18:15)
And so that's what I could speak to. I'm not going to get ahead of specifically what the president's going to say. I'm not going to go into line by line, but I can say, and I love to say that from here, is stay tuned and I will leave it there.
Ayesha (18:30):
And then finally, for you, because you've clearly reflected on your role as Press Secretary, is there anything you wish you had done or said differently during your time?
Karine Jean-Pierre (18:40):
Well, I will have a lot of time to reflect. I got to catch me up here, Ayesha, today, but I will have a lot of time to reflect on my time here. As you know, this is, and I think you've gotten to know a few press secretaries during your career, this is a job nonstop. There's not a lot of time to reflect. It's always we have to do the job. We have to speak on behalf of the President. We have to make sure that we're communicating with all of you. But what I can say with full heart is that this has been an honor and a privilege to do this job. And I have done it to my best of abilities on behalf of this President and the best job that I will ever have. I truly believe that.
Ayesha (19:27):
Thank you.
Karine Jean-Pierre (19:27):
Okay, Mary.
Mary (19:27):
Thank you Karine. You and the President have stressed that this is the framework that he put forward last spring. But the President also made clear it was important to him to work with the incoming administration, that they be speaking as one team as he put it. Even the Qatari Prime Minister in his remarks personally thanked Steve Witkoff, the incoming administration's Middle East envoy. So do Donald Trump and his team deserve any credit for this?
Karine Jean-Pierre (19:50):
I mean, look, everyone is going to want some credit. Everybody's going to want some credit. Get that. That's how this goes. When something good happens, not unusual, it is not unusual at all. What I can say is the President got it done. That's what I can say. And what I could also say is that, and you said it in your question to me, is that there was a framework that was put forward and it was put forward by the President back in May 31st of last year. And it was endorsed by the world. And you see a president that has done everything that he can. This is someone who has foreign policy experience, decades of foreign policy experience. He understands what it means to bring people together. He understands what it means to get a deal done.
(20:36)
He also said in his remarks how difficult it was to negotiate. Negotiating is incredibly hard, and this wasn't easy, but we got it done. And so this is someone who speaks from experience. And this is, again, not an easy thing to get done. But as we've said, and I've said multiple times, and I think Jake Sullivan said this obviously recently, when he was here on Monday, we were able to work closely with the Trump transition team and coordinate with them. But again, this is a framework that the President put out. And negotiations aren't easy. And this was one of the toughest negotiations that he experienced. And this was something that the President shared with all of you.
Mary (21:25):
And does the president have any plans to talk to the families of the hostages or has he talked to them today?
Karine Jean-Pierre (21:29):
So as you know, the President and this administration has been in regular touch with the hostage's family, hostage family, and have obviously always communicated with them that how much we're with them and the work, everything that we're doing to try to bring their loved one home. And we have stayed in constant communication with them. I don't have anything to read out as a call to any of the American hostages or the families at this time, but I can say that the President is, as he said, this is a really good afternoon. And our hearts go out. Our hearts go out to the families who have been waiting 15 months to get their loved ones home. And so this is a big deal. This is a big deal.
Mary (22:17):
And just on a slightly more personal note, on this your 306th briefing, what advice do you have for your successor?
Karine Jean-Pierre (22:24):
So I was asked this question, I think, when my successor was announced, and it's pretty much the same, which is obviously I wish her the best of luck. This is a great job, an amazing opportunity to be standing at this podium, behind this lecture and to go back and forth with all of you and speak on behalf of this president, the President of the United States. There's nothing like it. And I hope she enjoys the job. I hope she continues to do this, what we've been doing for the past almost four years. And really, I truly wish her well. Hey Steve.
Steve (23:02):
The decision the president made to include Steve Witkoff, how did that come about?
Karine Jean-Pierre (23:06):
Look, that is, I'm not going to-
Steve (23:09):
Why did the President do it?
Karine Jean-Pierre (23:11):
Well, look, this goes back to what the President said right after the election. A peaceful transfer of power. Again, something that he didn't get four years ago. And wanting to make sure that we had an effective, efficient transition. That's what it looks like. The President is basically leading by example. That's what he's doing. This is a president who understands norms, who understands institutions and understands how important that is. And he wanted to respect the outcome of the election, the will of the people. And that is what you've seen this president do.
Steve (23:46):
At any point, did the President think maybe this deal will not be reached on his watch?
Karine Jean-Pierre (23:52):
The President was hopeful. He was optimistic. This is, as you know, I think you know this, Steve, this is a president that tends to be optimistic and hopeful, but not just that. Does the work, leans in, has the experience to get things done, which is what we saw from this president today. I think this is a great example of that. And he never, never gave up hope, never gave up hope, and to your point until the last minute, and we were able to get this done. Thank you.
Karen (24:21):
Thank you Karine. This is the second negotiated pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas. The first, as you know, was reached more than a year ago in November 2023. Fighting then resumed just a few weeks later. So what confidence does the U.S. have that this time will be different?
Karine Jean-Pierre (24:35):
We are going to have to have confidence. I think it's important, stepping back. Negotiations are hard. They're difficult. This was a difficult one. This took multiple sides to come together. The President, as you know, spoke to Qatar, the leader of Qatar, Egypt, and even Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu recently. And this is what diplomacy looks like. Having those continued conversations, making sure that voices are heard and having those tough, tough back and forth. And so we have to be, I think it is important to also be confident in that we can continue to get this done. And Steve just asked me, why did we bring in Witkoff? Why did we bring in the Trump admin? This is why, because we know that there has to be a continuation of this. We know that this first phase is about to start. There's going to be a second phase, and it's going to continue.
(25:34)
We got to get to a place where this war is done permanently, ends permanently. And so bringing in the Trump administration, coordinating with them and making sure that they're having the information that we all have, we are hopeful that this will continue
Karen (25:50):
Under the framework, negotiations for that phase two would need to begin within a matter of days after phase one begins. What is the White House's
Karen (26:00):
… view of the commitment of the incoming Trump team and the competency of the Trump team to go through those negotiations and get a phase two and beyond.
Karine Jean-Pierre (26:09):
So I would refer you to the National Security advisor. Jake Sullivan talked about his relationship and back and forth with his counterpart and how that has gone very well, and so I think that's a good sign of how this is going to certainly move forward. Again, we have been in close coordination with their team and we're going to continue to do that. We're going to continue to talk through with them on the next steps. Really what you have seen in the past, certainly couple of days, couple of weeks, is one voice coming together in one voice to get this deal done. You know, I think a lot of your questions obviously go to the transition team and they can certainly answer and speak for themselves. But what we can speak to, what I can speak to is what we've been doing, what we have actively done for the past couple of weeks to get this done in unison, to get this done in a way that when the transition happens, we have that confident that we can continue to move this forward.
Karen (27:15):
Can you shed any more light on other officials from the incoming administration that you and your colleagues in the West Wing have been hosting for meetings and conversations and what those have looked like?
Karine Jean-Pierre (27:25):
So I can't shed any light on that. What I can say is that we have been working closely with the transition team. We want this to be efficient, we want this to be effective. We are doing this, the president wants to do this on behalf of the American people, and that's what you can count on. I'm not going to list out names of folks who we've been talking to.
Karen (27:45):
And just finally, Karine, a new CNN poll that's out this morning shows that just 36% of US adults say they approve of the way that Biden has handled the presidency. To what do you attribute that?
Karine Jean-Pierre (27:58):
Look, I've been very careful in talking about polls and not speaking to every poll. I understand this is a CNN poll. What I can speak to is what the president has done to get things delivered for the American people. If you think about beating big pharma, if you think about lowering healthcare costs, bringing manufacturing jobs back or manufacturing back here more broadly. If you think about insulin, capping the insulin at 35 bucks a month for seniors, all of those things that I just listed out are very popular with the American people. They are. That has always been at the forefront of the president's mind. What can he do to deliver for the American people on the needs that they care about? That's the type of economic policy that he put forward. That's what he wanted to make sure we didn't leave anybody behind and many communities have felt that they've been left behind. That's why we talk about building an economy from the bottom up, middle out. That's been his focus.
(29:09)
You can see the results. More than 16 million jobs created. When you think about more than 20 million small businesses started. People don't start small businesses unless they feel confident about the economy and those two go hand in hand. Look, we're going to continue to do the work, continue to make sure that we do everything possible in the last couple of days to deliver for the American people and that's the president's focus.
(29:35)
Let's not forget when he walked in, there was a pandemic, once-in-a-generation pandemic, and he turned that around. He turned that around. The president's going to address the American people later today, federal address, and he'll certainly have a lot to say.
(29:52)
Go ahead, Jojo.
Jojo (29:53):
Thanks, Karine, yeah.
Karine Jean-Pierre (29:53):
Last time I'll be able to say that.
Jojo (29:55):
I know. Thanks for taking questions these last couple of years.
Karine Jean-Pierre (29:58):
No, no problem, thank you.
Jojo (29:59):
Yeah, president- elect Trump in a social media statement today said the ceasefire deal could only have happened as a result of his election victory. What's your response to that-
Karine Jean-Pierre (30:11):
Yeah.
Jojo (30:12):
… assessment? Do you agree with that? Disagree?
Karine Jean-Pierre (30:14):
Look, I think the president was asked some version of that question. I think that was the first question that he got after he spoke. I said this, "Everyone's going to want to take credit. That's how these things work." But the fact of the matter is, in order for this deal to have been done, there needed to be a framework. The person who provided that framework was President Joe Biden. We have been working on this for some time. It didn't just come together in the last couple of days. It didn't just start the last couple of days. Not only that, he put together a framework, it got endorsed by the world. That's not an easy thing to do. That's part of the first thing that he was able to do.
(30:58)
The second part thing that he was able to do was support Israel, and by supporting Israel that badly weakened Hamas. You saw what happened to Hamas's leadership and what we were able to do to the backers of Hamas. All of those things mattered. Our support and what we were able to do, how this president stepped in, matters. Now we are in a situation where we're going to pass this over to the incoming administration. A lot of this is going to be implemented by the incoming administration. That is why we worked very closely with the incoming administration. Again, that is what an American president makes.
Jojo (31:43):
And secondly, President Biden's going to be spending his final full day of his presidency in Charleston, South Carolina. Can you discuss what he's going to be doing there?
Karine Jean-Pierre (31:51):
We'll have more to share on that and I don't want to dive into that right now, but we'll certainly have more to share on what that will look like, his last couple of days. Go ahead, Karen.
Karen (32:00):
That's great, just two quick ones. Does the president intend to leave a letter for President-elect Trump before he leaves office as Trump did for him?
Karine Jean-Pierre (32:09):
Well, I guess we'll see. We'll see. We'll see. That is going to be up to the president, don't have anything on that. But it's a good question, I'm curious too.
Karen (32:20):
And after Monday, what is the president's plan? What are he and the first lady doing when they leave Washington on Monday?
Karine Jean-Pierre (32:28):
Certainly we'll have more to share on that as well. Okay. Okay.
Peter (32:31):
Thank you for serving as press secretary, answering our questions for the last couple of years.
Karine Jean-Pierre (32:35):
Thanks. Thanks, Peter.
Peter (32:35):
A couple quick ones just to clarify some things, probably a yes or no. I know you have no readout of any calls between President Biden and President-elect Trump. Just declaratively can you say, "No, there has not been a call between them or in any of the last two weeks on this specific topic of Israel?"
Karine Jean-Pierre (32:50):
Look, I have not asked that question, so I don't want to get ahead of myself here.
Peter (32:54):
So Press Secretary, [inaudible 00:32:56] give us a yes or no [inaudible 00:32:58]
Karine Jean-Pierre (32:57):
You always give me homework, Peter. Every time I come, you always tell me, "Can you come back and tell," okay.
Peter (33:01):
24/7 job offer.
Karine Jean-Pierre (33:03):
24/7. Yeah, good.
Peter (33:04):
If I can ask you briefly about tonight's address, if you can take us into that room.
Karine Jean-Pierre (33:10):
Yeah.
Peter (33:11):
Who is going to be in attendance? I trust the first lady. Will family members be there?
Karine Jean-Pierre (33:14):
Yeah.
Peter (33:14):
Who else will be there and is there anything else surrounding it?
Karine Jean-Pierre (33:16):
It's a very good question. We'll have more color for you later on in the evening. What I can say is the president is certainly very much looking forward to this moment, speaking directly to the American people. It's not every day you get to do an Oval Address. He gets to do another Oval Address, obviously his last one in prime time. We will certainly have more color of who's going to be in the room and what that will look like as we get closer.
Peter (33:41):
And then last question I'll leave it to my colleagues is it's tradition that at the end of the year of the present would do a news conference in advance of departure. The president would take questions on a variety of different topics. What was the decision-making, why did this president decide not to do either of those before his departure?
Karine Jean-Pierre (34:00):
Well, I think the president, especially in the past couple of days, has been very much engaging with all of you, taking questions, he did it today. He himself wanted to stand up a moment to talk about the economy, but also take your questions just a couple of days ago. That is something that he wanted to do. Your colleagues took, wait, let me finish. Your colleagues asked some really important questions that he was able to answer, an array of questions. What I can say is I don't have anything to preview at this time, but certainly he's going to continue to engage with all of you. He's been very much involved in going back and forth with all of you in the past couple of days. That is something that he wanted to make sure that he did that. He-
Peter (34:51):
Were there any concerns about his public performance in a setting like that?
Karine Jean-Pierre (34:54):
Well, I think the issue that I have with that question, Peter, is that he literally did a press conference with all of you days ago with some of your colleagues and took multiple-
Peter (35:08):
Right, I know, but that's different you know than an hour-long press conference. That's why I asked the question.
Karine Jean-Pierre (35:11):
Look, but he took questions. He took questions on an array of issues, went back and forth, and he took questions today. He's been pretty consistent over the past couple of days in doing that. That shows his performance. Those are questions that he doesn't know what you guys are going to ask and he takes them and he answers them. I think that is something that is important to him. This goes back to the freedom of the press, understanding how important you all are to our democracy and understanding how having that continuation of a back and forth, even when we don't agree is important. I'm pretty sure you all will continue to hear from him in the last couple of days of his administration and he certainly looks forward to it.
Peter (35:56):
Thank you.
Karine Jean-Pierre (35:56):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (35:58):
Karine, we're sort of dancing around who gets to take credit for this deal.
Karine Jean-Pierre (36:02):
No one's dancing around here.
Speaker 1 (36:04):
Your colleague at the State Department briefed our colleagues that President Trump was critical in getting this deal over the line. Do you not agree with that statement?
Karine Jean-Pierre (36:12):
Look. I'm not going to speak to a random person-
Speaker 1 (36:17):
It's literally your colleague.
Karine Jean-Pierre (36:18):
I don't know who this person is. I'm not going to-
Speaker 1 (36:20):
Matt Miller.
Karine Jean-Pierre (36:20):
Oh. What I can say is, look, obviously Matt Miller will speak for himself. What I can say is there are steps that were taken here that is really important and critical and that started with this president's starting a framework that was agreed upon by the world back in May. That was because of this president. That was because he was able to lay out his thoughts, his thinking on how to move forward with this negotiation. What I said before, this is someone who understands foreign policy as I'm talking about the president. He understands how difficult it is and this was not an easy one. He has the experience, he was able to get that going, to get that started. So this has been going on for some time. It has. That's just the reality of it. That is just the facts of it.
(37:12)
Have we been coordinating and working closely with the incoming Trump administration, their transition team? Yes. We've been very forthcoming about that. But the fact of the matter is it took someone who has the experience that this president had to get this going, to get this moving, to understand what negotiations look like. That's what this president was able to bring to the table and it got done under his watch. It got done today.
Speaker 1 (37:42):
And then secondly, obviously this is a really a big day on the foreign policy national security front. This is the administration's last briefing. Is there a reason why John Kirby isn't here to take your questions?
Karine Jean-Pierre (37:53):
Look, I just mentioned that Brett McGurk is going to be holding and National Security Council is holding up a call. I think that's going to be really important. They will talk more about the implementation of this. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was just here two days ago on Monday, and I think kind of laid out a really good framework for all of this, the thinking process, how this was going to move forward. Brett McGurk, he is on the ground. He has all of the information. He has been there at the direction of this president, certainly with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan leading that effort. He's going to have a lot more information than any of us here will have because he's been on the ground understanding, working with the negotiators, and understanding how this process has worked. So that's how this works.
(38:48)
Go ahead.
Speaker 2 (38:51):
You said that you wish your successor luck. Have you had any extensive conversations with her about how this job is done or …
Karine Jean-Pierre (38:59):
I haven't. I haven't. But
Karine Jean-Pierre (39:00):
I'm not the only White House Press Secretary, or soon-to-be former White House Press Secretary out there. So I'm sure there are many people for her to connect with and speak with, but I have not had a conversation with her. Yeah, Jen?
Ayesha (39:13):
Thanks, Karine. How many Americans are going to be in the first tranche, and when will they start coming out?
Karine Jean-Pierre (39:19):
It's a good question. That's why Brett McGurk is going to be holding this National Security Council call. He will have all of that information. The president even said the same thing when he was asked a similar question, that we will have more details to share. And so, at the National Security Council, Brett McGurk will share that with all of you, hopefully, momentarily once this is done.
Ayesha (39:37):
I'm just confused on why we're having the last briefing of the administration on what's been one of the defining wars of this presidency, without being able to answer those questions.
Karine Jean-Pierre (39:46):
I just said he's going to hold a press call, and he'll take your questions on that. I think that's important to hear directly from the person who's on the ground. I think that's an important thing to do, right?
Ayesha (39:58):
Okay. We were under the impression that there were folks here in the building who had these answers, who could tell us but-
Karine Jean-Pierre (40:05):
Well, Brett McGurk, well, the National Security Council is holding up a call so that Brett McGurk can get on that call and take your questions.
Ayesha (40:10):
Okay. Why is it that you seem unwilling to extend any credit to Trump for this deal? Couldn't he just have said, "Hold off until I'm in office"?
Karine Jean-Pierre (40:23):
What I will say is that, what we know to be true, what we know this process, how it has moved over the past eight months, this is a deal that happened under the framework that this president put forward, and was endorsed by the world. And this is also an administration that has had certainly the support, the back of Israel, that helped denigrate Hamas, their military, severely, weakened them. And we created because of also, in doing that, we created the conditions for this deal. That is what has happened over the last eight months. And we have talked closely, worked closely, coordinated closely, with the incoming administration, and that is how we've been able to get to this point. And the reason we were able to do that, having that conversation with the transition team, is because this president believed. He believed in the importance of having a peaceful transfer of power, of having a transition that worked for the American people, and had the American people at the forefront in trying to make sure that we got this done.
Ayesha (41:49):
I guess we've heard variations of that answer through the briefing, but I guess, more plainly, I'm wondering if you will just say your view, which seems to be that Trump gets no credit.
Karine Jean-Pierre (42:01):
I've shared my view. I don't have anything else to share. I've shared how we got to this point, the president shared that moments ago. He laid out in a very succinct way on how we got to got to this point. I've talked about Brett McGurk, who's on the ground talking to negotiators, has been there working at the direction of this president, the leadership, obviously, of the National Security Advisor. This has been something that has been in the works for months, for months, way before November. That is just how this has worked. I'm not here to talk about the transition. I'm not here to talk about who gets credit, not get credit. I'm here to talk about what this president has been able to do.
(42:45)
And here's what is also incredibly important here. We're going to get hostages who are going to go home to their family, after 15 months of… I don't even want to think the horror that they have gone through. I can't even imagine it. And I think that matters. We're going back and forth about credit, but people are going to go home to their families. And that is so important. And, hopefully, the phases will continue, and we'll get to an end of war here. And that is important. And let's not forget, increase that humanitarian aid into Gaza because there are people there who need that aid and the assistance. I'm going to move on. Go ahead, go ahead.
Ayesha (43:26):
One last question for you, Karine.
Karine Jean-Pierre (43:26):
No, no, no. I've just took three-
Ayesha (43:27):
How would you grade yourself on being the most transparent administration in history?
Karine Jean-Pierre (43:27):
I'm not going to.
Ayesha (43:27):
Have you achieved that goal?
Karine Jean-Pierre (43:31):
I'm not going to… Go ahead, go ahead. I've taken three questions. I'm going to move on. Go ahead.
Ayesha (43:36):
No answer there?
Karine Jean-Pierre (43:37):
Oh, go ahead. I've already taken three of your questions. I'm going to make sure some of your colleagues get an opportunity as well.
Speaker 3 (43:43):
Could you respond to the report released by the special counsel who prosecuted Hunter Biden, specifically talked about Biden's claims that his son was unfairly targeted, and said the president's characterizations are incorrect, based on the facts in this case, and on a more fundamental level, they are wrong? He also said that politicians who attack the decisions of current prosecutors is politically motivated, when they disagree with the outcome of a case, undermine the public's confidence in our criminal justice system.
Karine Jean-Pierre (44:10):
So a couple of things there. Let's not forget why the president came to his conclusion, how he got to this point of pardoning his son. And he talked about the circumstances of this prosecution, and how out of norm they were. And let's not forget there were legal experts that agreed with this president, who shared that conclusion of this president. And was one of those experts is a former prosecutor, as you all know, Attorney General Eric Holder. And he was very clear. I just want to quote him. "No US attorney would have charged this case given the underlying facts. Had his name been Joe Smith, the resolution would have been fundamentally and more fairly a declination. Pardon warranted."
(45:03)
And if you look at what happened here, and you look at paying your taxes, the vast majority of people who don't pay their taxes on time are not charged with criminal penalties. They're just not. They pay their penalties and fees, and that's what Hunter Biden did. And so the President wasn't alone in this, in making that… And when he made that determination, he had legal experts who also agreed with making this decision on pardoning his son, Hunter Biden.
Speaker 3 (45:37):
So no concern that he undermines the public perception of the justice system?
Karine Jean-Pierre (45:42):
I just answered that question. I don't have anything else for you. Okay, go ahead.
Speaker 4 (45:48):
Hey, Karine, thanks. I know that you said you don't have details on what the president will be doing on Sunday, but can you expound on why he chose to spend his last day in office in South Carolina?
Karine Jean-Pierre (45:57):
We will have more to share. I don't want to get ahead of that. We'll have more to share, and why South Carolina.
Speaker 4 (46:01):
One last thing, has the president spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu, or does he plan to do so in the coming days?
Karine Jean-Pierre (46:07):
Well, as you know, he recently just spoke to him, spoke to the Prime Minister. And if we have more calls to read out, we certainly will do that. I know I have to start wrapping up. Go ahead.
Speaker 5 (46:17):
Thank you so much, Karine. On Monday, President Biden said he was more optimistic than ever about the future. Isn't he afraid or concerned that part of his legacy could be, or is about to be erased by the incoming president?
Karine Jean-Pierre (46:33):
Look, when I answered this question about… I think it was a polling question from Kayla. I also talked about, in my answering that question, how popular some of the things that the president has done. CHIPS and Science Act, Bipartisan Infrastructure legislation, the PACT Act, and even the provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act. And I talked about the insulin at 35 bucks a month for seniors. Those are things, all of those things that I just laid out, are popular with the American people. And that is something that the incoming administration has to think about. Republicans on the other side of Pennsylvania has to think about. These are things that are incredibly popular. Some of them, the Bipartisan Infrastructure legislation, CHIPS and Science Act, the PACT Act were done in a bipartisan way. And so to undo those successes, some of the things, again, popular with the American people, that's something that they have to seriously, seriously think about. And what we have done in those historic pieces of legislation, that obviously is now law, will have lasting effects on people's lives, lasting effect. So he's very confident about that.
Speaker 5 (47:53):
And one about foreign policy, because President Biden said his presidency restored the US credibility in the world. Jen Psaki actually said that in her first briefing here that he was going to do this. But when we talk to foreign leaders or diplomats around, many say that the inconstancy of the US foreign policy is making it harder to work together and really trust that US can be a reliable ally.
Karine Jean-Pierre (48:21):
Wait, say that last part again? The inconsistency you said?
Speaker 5 (48:24):
Yeah. Yeah, of the US foreign policy. Make it hard to work and trust that US can be a reliable ally. So what message do you -
Karine Jean-Pierre (48:33):
And why are they saying that? What's the inconsistency?
Speaker 5 (48:35):
Well, one of the administration comment and do a lot of Cuba and Paris and all that, and then you put it back. And now, again, it's about to be-
Karine Jean-Pierre (48:43):
Look, I'm not going to get into what the next administration is going to do, not going to do. What I can talk about is what the president wanted to make sure that he got done in his four years here, which is restore the reputation of the United States, which he was able to do. Get things done on behalf of the American people, and make sure that we really mended our relationships with our partners and allies. And that's what you were able to do. You don't expand NATO if it wasn't for this president and his relationships and his experience. You don't support Ukraine the way that it was supported by more than 50 countries, the way that it was able to get what it needed to really be on the ground. Remember, Kyiv was supposed to fall within days. That didn't happen. That didn't happen because of this president's leadership.
(49:32)
I'm not going to get into what the next president's going to do or not do. And let's not forget today, today was a big day in the foreign policy space to get this hostage deal done. Hostages are going to go home. We're going to be able to get humanitarian aid surged into Gaza. And we're hopefully going to end this war, and that is incredibly important.
(49:53)
All right, guys, I have to go. Thank you.
Speaker 5 (49:55):
One more before you go. Have you been in touch with Caroline yet?
Karine Jean-Pierre (49:58):
I was just asked this question. I was just asked this question. I have not been in touch with her, but I certainly wish her luck. Thanks, everybody.
Speaker 6 (50:03):
Wait, why have you not in touch with her?
Karine Jean-Pierre (50:03):
Come talk to me in the back.
Speaker 6 (50:03):
Thank you.