Karine Jean-Pierre White House Press Briefing on 9/12/24

Hey, good afternoon, everybody.

Good afternoon.

Hi. Okay. So for over 30 years, combating gender-based violence has been the cornerstone of President Biden's career. When Joe Biden was growing up, his father used to say to him that the cardinal sin was abuse of power, and that includes a man raising his hand to a woman or a child. When he was a young man and serving as a U.S. senator, he saw how society looked away from violence against women. Few police departments had special victims unit. Many states had laws on the books that protected the abusers rather than the victims. More often than not, marital rape wasn't considered a crime. There was no national hotline to call. Women's shelters were referred to as indoctrination centers. All of this was completely unacceptable to Joe Biden. It's why in 1990 then Senator Biden wrote the landmark legislation the Violence Against Women Act, VAWA, to protect women from domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault. (01:21) But we knew that wasn't enough. So as chairman ... or he knew that wasn't enough. So as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he held public hearings on violence against women, where courageous survivors shared stories of horrific, horrific violence. And his committee published groundbreaking reports on the impact of violence against women, documenting this tragedy in a way that policymakers could not ignore. It took years of building awareness, legislative expertise, and perseverance. Perseverance by Senator Biden, by then Senator Biden, in 1994. VAWA passed Congress. For decades, he has worked across the aisle to strengthen it. As president, he continued to expand his signature legislation, using every legislative and administrative avenue to address gender-based violence during his presidency. And today, to keep building on his proudest legislative achievement, Joe Biden is announcing new actions to combat gender-based violence. (02:36) A total of more than $690 million in new funds to support survivors of gender-based violence, guidance on new protections to meet the housing needs of survivors of domestic violence, sexual violence, dating violence, and stalking, a new national resource center on cyber crimes against individuals to help law enforcement and community-based organizations prevent, enforce, and prosecute cyber crimes, new private sector commitments to take on the non-consensual sharing of intimate images and cyber crimes against individuals, and new actions to support law enforcement in removing guns from domestic abusers. The president is proud that between 1993 and 2022, annual domestic violence rates dropped by 67%, and the rate of rapes and sexual assault declined by 56%. It is one of the reasons why Joe Biden calls it his proudest legislative achievement. But he knows there is more work to do, so it is why today his new actions are so, so important. As the president said, and I quote, "Today, as we mark three decades since we passed into law the Violence Against Women Act, we celebrate our progress while recommitting to the work ahead." (04:09) Also, the president and his senior team are closely monitoring the impacts of Francine as it moves to the Southern United States. FEMA Administrator Criswell is currently in Louisiana. She will meet with state and local officials, survey damages, and provide an update on our response efforts. Before Francine made landfall, the president approved Governor Landry of Louisiana's request for an emergency declaration, which unlocked federal assistance to help support life-saving and life-sustaining efforts. Over 700 federal personnel, including 128 urban search and rescue personnel are in Louisiana and ready to support any emergency response requests from the state. FEMA has also pre-positioned more than 750,000 meals, 1.2 million liters of water to support the needs of survivors. We continue to encourage those who are in the path of Francine to stay alert, visit ready.gov for tips on how to stay safe, and follow the recommendations of state and local officials. The Biden-Harris administration stands ready to provide additional support to impacted areas as necessary. (05:21) And as I'm sure you guys already have heard this, but over the course of this administration and during his time as vice president, President Biden's approach to foreign policy in the Western Hemisphere has been based on his belief that democracy is fundamentally vital for sustained economic prosperity and security. Now, Venezuela is no exception and the blatant electoral fraud following the July 28 presidential elections must continue to be condemned and those obstructing democracy held accountable. That is why, to that end, today we took two important actions to hold Nicolas Maduro and his cronies accountable for their blatant electoral fraud, obstruction of a competitive and inclusive election, and violation of the civil and human rights of the people. (06:11) First, the Department of Treasury sanctioned 16 Maduro-affiliated officials. Second, the Department of State imposed new visa restrictions on a significant number of Maduro-aligned officials who have undermined the electoral process in Venezuela and are responsible for acts of repression. To date, the U.S. government has sanctioned over 140 current or former Venezuelan officials and taken steps to impose visa restrictions on nearly 2000 individuals. The United States does not stand alone here in expressing our concerns with Maduro's anti-democratic actions. This morning at the UN headquarters in New York, we stood beside Panama and more than 50 other countries from across the region and globe to express our continued commitment to Venezuelan-led democratic norms, as well as our deep concern with the politically-motivated arrest warrant issued by Venezuelan authorities, Edmund Gonzalez Urrutia. (07:12) The United States will continue to work with our international partners to encourage Venezuelan-led constructive and inclusive dialogue to restore democratic norms, ensure Maduro and his representatives are held accountable for their actions, and support the people's aspirations for democracy and a more prosperous future. In the meantime, we cannot stand by while Maduro and his representatives blatantly commit electoral fraud and use violent, indiscriminate repression to silence opposition to Maduro's rule. Hence, our actions today. At the beginning of this administration, President Biden made the decision to take the Quad to the leader level and next weekend, President Biden will host the fourth in-person Quad Leader Summit in Wilmington, Delaware. (08:01) The president looks forward to welcoming prime minister of Australia, prime minister of India and the prime minister of Japan. This will be President Biden's first time hosting foreign leaders in Wilmington as president, a reflection of his deep personal relationships with each of the Quad leaders and the importance of the Quad to all of our countries. The Biden-Harris administration has made elevating and institutionalizing the Quad a top priority, and this leaders summit will focus on bolstering the strategic convergence among our countries, advancing our shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region, and delivering concrete benefits for partners in the Indo-Pacific in key areas. We will have more of the Wilmington-specific base details in days ahead of this particular Quad summit that's happening next weekend. (08:57) And lastly, this is a fun thing for all of us here. I wanted to take a moment to congratulate ... we're about to embarrass her wholeheartedly and I'm really happy about that because she should be, she's such a great person, and celebrate Kelly Scully. While Kelly's been supporting our team and working with many of you on healthcare and education stories, and she's not leaving, but she's also been working on her own story on love.

Aw.

Aw. I didn't know how I was going to deliver that one. Anyway, Kelly and her fiance, Joe, who is here in the back of the room, Kelly does not know this, hi, Joe.

She thought she was here for VAWA.

She thought she was here for VAWA. They will tie the knot just outside of Florence, Italy next week. None of us were invited. Maybe she invited you guys. But I'm so proud that Kelly was able to find love and she is the fourth spokesperson in the Biden's press office to get married during his term. So maybe I should take some credit for that. I don't know. But maybe, probably not. But anyway, Kelly, you are an indispensable member of our team. There's a lot of internal jokes happening.

Subtext.

Yeah, subtext here happening. And so we could not be happier for you and Joe. Hi, Joe.

Hi, Karine.

Hi. Please join us in wishing them, in all seriousness, a lifetime of love and happiness, and we can't wait to have you back, Kelly, and congratulations to you, Joy. Joe. I was about to call you something else. Joe. All right, guys. Thank you for being here. I know you had a busy day, so thank you for stopping by, Joe.

Thank you.

Okay. Are you fully embarrassed?

No.

No? Oh, you want more? You want more embarrassment?

Another one?

All right, let's get to it. I know it's late. Colleen.

Yes. Hi.

Hi.

Okay, so a couple things. Can you tell us how the president thought the debate went? Where did he watch it? How did he consume the details of the debate?

Yeah. So as you know, he was in New York ahead of September 11, so he watched it at the hotel in New York. I'm going to be careful, I'm going to give you an answer, but I'm going to be careful because it is a 2024 campaign, so just have to say that at top. But what the president saw directly for himself is he saw a commanding, optimistic performance from the leader who he's been working with for the past three and a half years side by side. He heard a powerful case for shared values that they have and shared policy goals that they have, standing up for our rights against dangerous abortion and IVF bans, tax cuts and lower costs for families to keep us on the strong economic growth trajectory instead of MAGAnomics. You hear me talk about this, the $4,000 increase in taxes and cuts for working people. (12:13) He also saw her, again, demonstrate her commitment to keeping us more secure and safe, not just here, but obviously around the world, and he saw someone who continues, continues, to put the American people first, and she did it in an optimistic way. In an optimistic and dominant and powerful way. I think you saw his tweet that he put out, that his team put out that night, and so he's very, very proud of her.

On September 11th, the president and Donald Trump were together and standing near each other. Did they have any conversations? Did they speak about anything?

I don't have any conversations to read out. I think you saw everything was pretty much being recorded in real time. Outside of what you saw yourselves by looking at the video, I don't have anything else to add.

Okay. One other thing, I'm sorry. Really quick.

No, go ahead.

On the Wilmington summit, I just wondered if you could share anything about ... is the president going to have the leaders to his house for a barbecue, or what are the plans for how he's going to entertain the leaders [inaudible 00:13:31]?

Yeah, he did say it was personal, right? Politics is personal, and he believes politics and obviously, in this case, foreign policy is personal. I don't have anything else to share beyond what I gave at the top of the briefing here, but he's looking forward to doing this. It is the first time hosting foreign leaders in Wilmington, as I just said at the top, and I think it's going to be an opportunity for him to reflect certainly on his deep personal relationships that he's had with each of the Quad leaders, and certainly we'll have more soon to share.

Okay, thanks.

Go ahead, Risha.

Thank you, Karine. There is a woman named Laura Loomer who recently tweeted that if the vice president wins the election, the White House will smell like curry and White House speeches will be facilitated via call center, among other things. She recently traveled with the former president, and I wonder if President Biden has read these remarks and his response.

Let me tell you our response from here. It is repugnant, these types of comments. It is un-American to say these types of things, exactly the kind of hateful and divisive rhetoric that we should denounce and we should not ... should not be part of the fabric of this country. It doesn't matter what your political views are, you should stand and condemn, and condemn these types of just repugnant,

... Repugnant words. No leader should ever associate with someone who spreads this kind of ugliness, this kind of racist poison. That's what this is. And who continues to fan these types of dangerous and insulting conspiracy theories like the false notion. Like the false notion that the tragic 9/11 attacks were an inside job. We were all with... You all saw leaders and family members tell their stories yesterday, especially at Ground Zero in New York City. I'm sure many of us have personal stories of that day, 9/11 of 2021 and more than 2000 lives were lost. 2000. (15:46) And to say that, that it's an inside job and to spread that is insulting. Insulting. And we should not... No leader should be connected to that or spreading that. And as the President Biden has always said, it's our duty. It is our duty as Americans to give hate no safe harbor and to bring the country together around our shared values and to recognize and appreciate the unique strength that our diversity gives us as a nation. He says this all the time. Our diversity is our strength and that's what we should be following.

On a related note, during the debate, Trump spread false claims and lies about immigrants eating pets in Springfield, Ohio. The city manager disputed those false claims and today, City Hall was evacuated after a bomb threat was sent to city agencies and media outlets. Does President Biden believe Trump's words and rhetoric contributed to those threats today?

So look, I want to be super mindful. We are aware of the reports of a bombing threat, as you just stated, in Springfield, Ohio, at City Hall. Local police obviously is investigating the situation and we encourage everyone to follow the public safety guidance. I don't want to speculate from here the source of the bomb threat, but I do want to take a step back. I think it's important that all of us take a step back here and just lean on the facts here. The Springfield Ohio Police Department has debunked this very bizarre and very hateful smear that's out there. What is happening here is an attempt to tear apart communities and disrespect. Let's not forget also disrespecting law enforcement. And that is the opposite of what our country deserves. It is undignified and an insult to all of us as Americans, not just one community, but to all of us as Americans. (17:52) And it is spreading filth that makes the lives of the communities that are being smeared here, it puts their lives in danger. And it is just hate speech. That's what it is. And some of the news organizations here have reported that some Haitians, Haitians-American, Haitian immigrants are fearing, fearing for their safety right now because a result of conspiracy theory. This is what this is. So instead of leaders trying to bring us together around our shared values, which is something that the president believes and says all the time, as I just stated, and the president and the vice president, that's what they want to see. They want to see us come together in our shared values in a respectful way. And I'll say one more thing and I think if you guys could hear me out for one second, maybe we should not have leaders who fall for fake internet conspiracy theories. We should think about that. Maybe we should not have leaders who do that. Our country deserves better. Okay.

Thanks, Karine.

A follow up there. Any message from the White House specifically to the residents of Springfield, Ohio?

Because of the bomb threat or-

And all that's been going on on social media and the conversation around it, how the city manager has had to reply.

Yeah, well we certainly appreciate the Springfield, Ohio Department police debunking this, again, very bizarre, hateful, hateful smear. And that is something that we appreciate. We should continue to come together as a country. We should not be tearing our communities apart. I'm sure that the community is dealing with a lot of incoming on this. It's unfortunate and certainly not... I can't speak to the bomb threats and get behind that. There's an investigation that the local police are looking into. But we appreciate certainly the Ohio Police Department coming out right away in Springfield and saying, this is false. This is not true. Debunking, debunking this hateful, very hateful smear.

I wanted to ask you actually about another one from the debate. Former President Trump refused to say plainly whether he wanted Ukraine to win the war. Has the White House fielded any calls from allies about this? What this could mean if he wins? A change in U.S. policy, has it impacted any of the White House's work with counterparts in Ukraine?

So here's what I'm going to say. Look, I'm not going to answer specifically to what happened at the debate. What I will say is President Biden is president right now, and you have seen what he has done over the last more than three and a half years. And he's always made sure that when it comes to foreign policy, we have diplomatic conversations. We tried to rebuild those relationships that were pretty much soured by the last administration. We saw what the last administration did to our relationships across the globe. (21:10) And as it relates to Ukraine and the war that they're fighting because of Russia's aggression, you've seen the president's commitment, continued commitment to making sure that Ukraine has everything that they need to fight for their democracy, to fight for their freedom. And that's going to be continued. Obviously the President's commitment and the vice president's commitment as well. They've done this as partners over the past two years, more than two years now. And so that is what matters right now in this moment. The signal that we're sending has been very clear to the Ukrainian, the brave people of Ukraine to our allies and partners that we are standing behind them and continue to do just that.

Is there any update you give on the negotiations in [inaudible 00:21:58]? There was a new statement from Prime Minister Netanyahu that definitely suggests that things are not going well.

So what I'll say is that we are going to continue to work on this agreement. This is an agreement that will bring hostages out of Gaza. That's what we want to see. And obviously as you know, some of those hostages include American hostages. And we're going to continue to do that under the terms of the deal that's now on the table. That's what we're focusing on as you know, and we say this all the time, we're just not going to negotiate in public. Okay.

Thanks, Karine. The president has both the Wilmington Summit and the meeting tomorrow with the British Prime Minister. I'm wondering if we can anticipate a press conference, either or both since... Traditionally both would be kind of forums that we'd get to hear from-

So I don't have anything to share on the Quad Summit as far as a press conference component. I believe there is not one scheduled for tomorrow, but I can say that the president obviously is going to continue to take questions from all of you, and I just don't have anything to share beyond tomorrow at this time.

Then there was a meeting today at the White House with leading AI companies. I'm wondering if you could give a readout of what was discussed, but also if there were any agreements or plans headed forward for what the companies and the administration want to do together.

So we are going to have a readout if it hasn't gone out yet, it will go out shortly of that particular meeting that happened this morning. As you just stated, it included White House officials from across the campus, Jeff Zients, Lael Brainard, Jake Sullivan, Bruce Reed, and Secretaries of Commerce and Energy were all there. And we'll have a full readout, hopefully momentarily that should hit your inboxes. And so I think what you can take from this particular meeting is the continued commitment from the president and the vice president to deepen our leadership as it relates to AI and by ensuring the data centers are built in the United States while ensuring the technology is developed responsibly. And so that is part of what was discussed in the meetings today. (24:11) And we're talking about AI companies, hyperscalers, utility companies, and all of this was to talk about again, the data center development of AI. The meeting focused on accelerating public-private collaboration in advance of U.S. leadership... In advancing U.S. leadership in AI and how to meet the workforce permitting and infrastructure needs associated with technology, the industry leaders, so you have this. And again, it'll be a more fulsome readout that'll go out to all of you was Anthropic, OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, and a few others. And this has been the President's commitment or the Biden-Harris commitment and trying to make sure that we get ahead of this really important technology and make sure that we continue to show our leadership. As you know, this is something that we've been focused on for more than a year, since July of 2023. (25:05) [inaudible 00:25:07].

Karine, what we saw yesterday with the president briefly wearing a MAGA hat since the pool wasn't in the room for that. Can you share a little bit more about how that happened and just what kind of message you think it sent?

So a couple of things for those... Like you said, the pool was not in the room, so I just want to make sure I lay this out so folks get the context of what happened. So the president was in Shanksville Fire Station, one of the locations obviously, of where the plane was taken down on September 11th of 2001. So the president gave an impromptu remarks about bipartisan unity. That's what he was talking about. And he talked about it in the moment of September 11th. That's what we experienced after 9/11, and said that we needed to go back to that bipartisan unity as a country. And so he made those remarks, impromptu remarks to some of the folks who were there on that day. And he offered a presidential hat to a man who was wearing a Trump hat. (26:13) He was wearing a Trump hat and he offered it to him as a gesture. And in return, the man said that in the same spirit, the president should put on his Trump cap. And so the President did very briefly and that's what happened. It was truly a back and forth about unity and the president remembering a moment in time after a horrific incident on that day and how the country did come together. It didn't matter what political party you were part of, it didn't matter. You came together as a country because we lost so many souls, thousands of souls. More than 2000 that day. That's what you saw.

Did the president and vice president have an opportunity to talk about the debate yesterday throughout their travels?

I'm not going to... Obviously they saw each other, spent some time with each other. I'm just not going to get into their private conversation. As I said, he's very proud of her. He continues... What you saw and be mindful what you saw on Tuesday was what he has said. The best decision that he made and has said this many times was when he was in 2020 and selecting his running mate was selecting her. And he looks forward to continuing to work side by side in the next several months of his tenure.

Just finally, is there anything you can preview on UNGA specifically? President Zelenskyy said he does expect to meet with President Biden, he hopes there... Is that something you can confirm of what should we expect from his time in New York?

So at this time, I can't confirm any details or specifics of UNGA week. As we get closer, we'll have more to share. We'll have more to share. (27:58) Hi.

Thanks, Karine. Boeing workers are voting on a waiver contract today. Does the president support Boeing workers going on strike after management's proposed contract did not meet workers' demands for 40% pay rise?

Yeah, so I've said many times here when we get these types of questions is that we support this, president supports a collective bargaining and believe it is the best way for American workers and employers to come to an agreement that works for all parties and do it in a good faith way. And so that's what we believe. That's what this administration believes. And so we are going to encourage both parties to negotiate in that way in good faith and reaching a strong contract. And so we've said this many times when we hear companies and unions and these types of disputes and just leave it there.

When was the last time a member of the administration spoke to the negotiators at this?

I will say that the administration are definitely in touch with the parties, which is not unusual. Something that we've done many times before. And again, we continue to believe that the collective bargaining is the best way to reach a solution here for all parties involved as long as it's done in good faith.

If I could add one more. Dozens of state and local election officials raise concerns this week about the Postal Service's ability to get ballots delivered on time. Can you elaborate on what the administration is doing to ensure that the USPS is going to be able to get ballots?

So I would refer you to the USPS on this one. Obviously the president thinks it's incredibly important. Voting is a sacred right and it should be something that Americans are able to do that and able to make sure they're able to access that important sacred right. That's one of the reasons why very early on in his administration, he signed an executive order to make it easier for people to be able

... able to cast their votes. I would refer to the US Postal Service on specifics on that. Okay. Okay.

Thank you, Karine. The White House has maintained that the Vice President has had a seat at the table and voiced in all major decisions that President Biden has made during his term. At the debate on Tuesday, she distanced herself from the president saying, "I am not Joe Biden. What I do offer is a new generation of leadership for our country."

And I would remind you that the President also said many times, well, I'll point you to the Oval Office address, that he was handing, passing the torch over to a new generation. And he was proud to do that. He did it in a incredibly patriotic way, in a selfless way, and that's what he was doing. And he said it himself. Look, what I will say is that all you have to do is look at what the president and the vice president has done together. And that is something that she continues to support what we did to turn the economy around, what we did to make sure that we lower costs when it comes to... Whether it's healthcare, whether it's energy costs, she was the deciding vote on the Inflation Reduction Act that mattered. Now, Medicare is able to be able to negotiate with big pharma. We beat big pharma. And so she was able to lay out her agenda with the President's supports. We believe they have a shared agenda. That's what we heard. That's what we saw from this vice president. (31:40) And I'm, again, going to be really mindful on saying too much, going too much into the debate, but I can speak to the-

But you do believe that she shares responsibility for the agenda of this administration?

Yeah.

Yeah.

But yes, they are partners in this. She is a critical partner in what we have been able to do over the last four years. But we cannot forget. We cannot forget what they inherited going in, right? We can't forget the economy that was in tailspin. COVID was taking over. More than 3000 people were dying each day. There was no comprehensive plan on how to deal with COVID. This president and this vice president got to work and put shots in arms and checks in pockets. That matters.

And on the optics of the last couple of days, President Biden has made a personal decision when he has encountered former President Trump not to share a handshake with him, which Vice President Harris did twice in the span of 24 hours. Does he agree with that decision? Does he believe that that was-

She's her own person. The vice president is her own person. She is allowed to do what she feels is the best thing to do. I cannot speak for how she engages with the former president. She's her own person. And the president has his reasons. I'll leave it there.

And quickly, just a clarification on the President's comments on Ukraine. He said earlier this week, when asked about the possibility to change the policy for Ukraine to use long-range weapons into Russia, he said, "We're working on it." A US official later clarified that there was no change in policy. Can you say what exactly is being worked on?

So I'm not going to get into policy deliberations here in public. What I can say is basically what I said in answering another one of your colleagues' questions about Ukraine specifically, obviously, which is that we want to make sure... Our focus is making sure that Ukraine has what its needs to defend itself, to win back their territory, their sovereign territory, to win that back. And so that's what our focus is, and that's what we're going to continue to do. We have shown, and this president has shown and continues to show, a tremendous amount of support for Ukraine. His leadership has been very clear, clear and out front, making sure that NATO is stronger. Adding two more NATO members, that was because of the President's leadership, more than 50 countries he was able to bring together to support Ukraine as they continue to bravely fight for their freedom. And that's our commitment. I'm not going to get into policy deliberations from here. Go ahead, Fraser.

Thanks, Karine. I want to-

I know last time, I think I called you Michael.

I'll forgive you. Don't worry about it.

I apologize.

It's fine. Water under the bridge.

Thank you. Oh, you're so kind. Thank you.

Anytime. I want to continue asking about Ukraine, if possible. Putin today said about these alleged plans to change the idea about long-range missiles, he said that it would mean that NATO countries, the US, European countries are at war with Russia. How concerned is the US about that statement?

I'm not going to get into hypotheticals. I'm not going to get into internal policy deliberations from here. I will say what you've heard from my NSC colleagues at this podium, you've heard from this president. This war can end today if Mr. Putin will end the war that he started. It is his aggression. It is his war that he started. He can end it. He could end it. I'm going to leave it there.

His forces have also reclaimed part of the Kursk region that the Ukrainian forces took in the last couple of weeks. What's the white House's reaction to the Russian advances back into the Kursk region?

We are going to do everything that we can so that Ukraine has what it needs to defend itself. That is our commitment. I think you have seen this, a very much focus, a tremendous amount of support from this administration, and also from our partners and allies in doing just that. And that's what you could expect to see.

Thanks, Karine.

Okay. Go ahead.

Thank you so much, Karine. Following up on Springfield, you said that these-

On Springfield.

Springfield, yeah.

Yeah. Ohio, yeah.

About migrants put lives in danger. So how concerned are you about a potential rise in threats or even hate crimes targeting migrants?

When you have a national leaders spewing hateful or lifting up hateful rhetoric and bizarre smear that has been debunked, as I just stated when I answered this question moments ago, that is dangerous. Yes, we are concerned. It is dangerous. You all have reported how communities, specifically Haitian communities are fearing for their life because of how this is being lifted up. And this is about tearing communities apart. And we deserve more. Our country deserves more than that. So there is a concern. Anytime you see this type of rhetoric, this hateful rhetoric, these types of smears, yes, it could lead to dangerous scenarios. And that's why if you are a national leader in this country, if you're a leader of any kind, you should condemn, condemn this type of rhetoric. You should condemn it. We deserve more. And again, I talk about our shared values. That's what the president wants. He wants to be able set people to get together around our shared values. And that is what matters, and that is what is important for our country. Good ahead, Jackie.

Thanks, Karine. One more on the Trump hat. What did the president do with it? Did he keep it?

I have no idea.

Is he saving it for a Christmas present for his least favorite staffers?

Oh wow.

I'm just-

Well, you've thought about that one.

I'm just curious [inaudible 00:37:22]

Least favorite staffer. I don't know. Maybe it's on my desk right now. I don't know.

Okay. On a heavier note about the economy,-

Sure.

... there's a new analysis by the Republicans who are on the Congressional Joint Economic Committee. They looked at seven battleground states.

Okay.

And according to their analysis, the average household is paying, for the same basket of goods and services, on average, about a thousand dollars more per month compared to January of 2021. And the numbers are pretty stark in places like Nevada and Arizona. It's almost $1,200 a month. Georgia, it's 1,075 a month. North Carolina, 1,017. Has President Biden's policies positioned the vice president poorly in these states to win this election?

So I'm not going to get into the election. I'm just not, I'm not going to get into her path to victory and what it does for... It's just not something that I'm going to speak to from here. What I can speak to is where we are now. Inflation, core inflation has gone down, that is important to note, because of the work that they've been able to do. You see gas prices going down almost 50%. That's important. You see wages are rising faster than prices are, nearly 16 million jobs created. And what I will say, so we have done the work to see progress, progress in fighting inflation and lowering costs, but we do understand. We're not... I hear the numbers that you're telling me. We do understand that there is more work to be done. There is. There's more work to be done. And that's why we're going to do what we can to lower costs by investing in record energy production, for example, building 3 million new homes, capping prescription drugs, cutting taxes for the middle class, middle class. (39:19) This is a president that talks about building an economy from the bottom up, the middle out, and not leaving anybody behind. And we have to talk about what Congressional Republicans are trying to do, raise costs by nearly $4, 000 for the middle class. That's what they're doing. They want to cut Social Security and Medicare while giving breaks to billionaires and corporations. That is such an unpopular thing to do, and they continue to want to push that forward. They won't stop talking about it. They want to... No.

Social Security and Medicare. We went through all of that during the-

Yes, we did. We went-

Yeah. This was-

In the midterms, we went through-

Right. Yeah.

... all of it. We saw flyers and plans from leaders of the Senate Republicans. We saw that. We saw the back and forth with the president at two state of the Unions where, certainly, he pushed back on that and made them say that's not what they wanted to do. But that's what they were saying they wanted to do. They wanted to cut Social Security and Medicare. They've been very clear. This is not just the last three and a half years. This has been for some time now. And they want to get rid of the Inflation Reduction Act that none of them, by the way, voted for, that beats big pharma. They want to get rid of that. That's going to lower cost for Americans. We're talking about important drugs, cancer drugs, diabetes. We're talking about tapping insulin at 35 bucks a month for seniors that pay more than 400 bucks a month.

You had [inaudible 00:40:48] say that we've turned the page on inflation, but American families aren't feeling that to the point where the vice president didn't even directly answer the question in the debate. Do you believe the Americans feel are better off than four years ago?

Look, we have made progress in fighting inflation. That is something that we have seen from the numbers, from the data. That is in truth, right? I believe that the VP highlighted on how we are better off on now, as well as her plans to build on that progress. That is something that she talked about. How are we going to build on that progress? And I said this moments ago, we can't forget what this administration inherited, an economy that was in a tailspin. That's what we inherited. It was paralyzed because the former president did nothing, did nothing during one of the once-in-a-century pandemic. He did nothing. Donald Trump did nothing. We took action on that. And now, our economy is stronger than ever. We're out competing China. That's something that we did. Let's not forget, when we took over, violent crime was... We saw a violent crime, murder at its highest in the former president's last year, and now it's at a 50 year low because of the work that we did. (42:12) And it started with the American Rescue plan. Again, no Republicans voted for it. They didn't want to vote for something that had money for local communities, local police enforcement to actually have the funding they needed to get more police officers. They didn't vote it.

Why couldn't the Vice President just say yes to that question?

You're going to have to speak directly to her team. What I saw is she laid out how to build on the progress that we've made. That's what we saw. That's what she's talking about. That's what she talks about, building on the progress that we have made. We had to fix what the Trump administration did. Go ahead.

Thank you, Karine. Israel's UN mission said today that the six UNRWA workers that were killed at the IDF strike yesterday at the UN School and Shelter were members of Hamas. The UN is neither confirming nor denying this. I was hoping you could give us the US position on whether they are indeed Hamas members. Has Israel shared any evidence that they are members of Hamas?

So what I can say is obviously we're aware of the IDF strike in Gaza, and we are indeed concerned about their reports of civilian casualties. So we are concerned about that. We are in touch with our Israeli counterparts to get more information in what happened. As you just said, IDF said they were targeting Hamas officials, including those who were directly involved with the horrific attacks that we saw on October 7th. And so we've been clear that Israel has a right and responsibility to go after Hamas, but we also have been clear that Israel must do this in a way that there is precaution in a way that we protect, do everything that they do to protect more civilian lives. And so his is especially the case in declared humanitarian zones in Gaza. And that is something that we want to see, and so we're having certainly conversations about that. We mourn, we mourn, and you hear us say this all the time, every Palestinian civilian lost in this conflict, including children. And far too many, far too many lives have been lost and continue to be killed and wounded. (44:27) And so we're having those conversations with Israeli counterparts.

Okay, so you don't have a position right now?

I don't have a... I know the question's about... Your asking me about specifically about Hamas leaders, officials. I'm not going to speak to that. What I can say is we're in direct conversation with our Israeli counterparts.

And moving on still on the Middle East, is the administration involved in bringing the remains of Turkish-American, Aysenur Eygi, who was killed by IDF in the West Bank? Is the administration involved in bringing her remains

... With respect with Turkey. And how do you respond to Turkish anger, both from the government and the citizens, to President Biden calling the shooting "an accident?"

So let me just say that what the family and her loved ones, Aysenur's loved ones, are going through right now, is unimaginable, and I can't imagine the pain that they're going through with losing a child, a loved one. Their loss has certainly been on the president's mind, and so you saw the president release a statement on her death. And the president said there must be a full accountability. Her killing was indeed an outrage. And just to reiterate what I said moments ago, Israel must do more. They must do more to make sure that incidents like these never happen again. (46:06) And again, the pain of losing a child is something that I can ... Certainly that we can't even imagine.

But is the US helping Turkey- (46:16) Sorry. Is the US helping to bring the remains?

I don't have anything to share with you on that. I would refer you to the State Department specifically on that question.

And just one last one. At the Quad Summit in Delaware later this month, President Biden will be meeting with Prime Minister Kishida of Japan. What would his message be on US deal acquisition by Nippon Steel?

Look, I don't have anything as it relates to Nippon Steel. I don't have anything to share on that. [inaudible 00:46:41] obviously is going through their process. When they share their end of the process report, they'll do that for the president, then the president will make obviously a decision. I just don't have anything to share. There's no news to be made at this time and the process continues.

Okay.

Yeah.

[inaudible 00:47:07] same question.

Sure, sure. Go ahead, Nadia.

Thanks. (47:07) The statement that the president released yesterday described the killing of Aysenur as a tragic error. I'm just wondering how the White House came to this conclusion considering that she was shot by a sniper to a bullet in the head execution style. The Washington Post did an investigation. It showed that she was shot 20 minutes after the clashes ended and all the protesters had moved from the main road. So how did you come to this conclusion it was an error?

And I want to say her killing was an outrage and should never have happened. It should have never happened. That's what the president believes. It should never have happened. (47:46) To answer your question, I'm aware of the analysis, the various analysis that are out there and have been published. Aware of it. And as we have said, we're going to continue to stay in close touch with the Israeli and the Palestinian authorities regarding the circumstances that led to Aysenur's death. We're going to continue to have those conversations. And the president has been clear, he has been clear as well, that there needs to be full accountability as well. We need to see full accountability here.

But in all the previous incidents, whether it's Palestinian civilians or even Israeli hostages who are carrying white flags and shot by the IDF or American citizens, whether it's Shireen Abu Akleh or Aysenur or others, is the White House satisfied that Israel ever came to you and they found actually the people who did it responsible and be held accountable? Are you satisfied with all this investigation?

I'm not going to go into every investigation. I'm not ... Know I hear you, but I just am not going to do that. (48:51) This should have never happened. This awful, awful killing should have never happened. It's an outrage. And just to what the president was referring to, and we've said this, is that the initial findings, the initial findings that were released by IDF, they also briefed the US government on this. And so, look, the president also said there must be full accountability to what happened, and that's what we want to see.

Karine-

Karine.

... Red Cross workers were killed in Ukraine today.

Oh, go ahead, go ahead, go ahead, go ahead, go ahead.

Thanks, Karine. (49:25) I just wondered, why has the president not spoken with members of her family who've said that they've been interested in hearing from him?

Yeah. Yes, we're aware of that. US officials have been in touch with the family members, and so we are working on additional calls. I don't have anything to share outside of that.

Are those with the president? Is he planning-

We are working on additional calls, and I just don't have anything else to share beyond that.

Karine-

Go ahead, Karen.

... Three Red Cross workers- (49:55) Can I ...

Go ahead, Karen.

January 6th is going to be designated a national special security event by DHS and the Secret Service, which makes the counting certification of electoral votes the highest security designation the federal government makes available. (50:09) We've heard the president give many speeches talking very passionately about what happened on January 6th back in 2021. But what does it say now that something that is a routine part of the election process is now getting this level of the security designation?

And you're right. This president has spoken very passionately about January 6th and what happened on that day, and how it was an attack on our democracy. He has shared his views. And he's also said the importance of making sure that never happens again. He has said that many times, again in a passionate, powerful way. (50:45) As it relates to this designation, this is something that DHS and the Secret Service, they can speak specifically to this designation. They made this designation, so don't want to get ahead of them. (50:56) But you're right. The president has spoken powerfully about this. He's been very clear that this cannot happen again. And we know, look at 2022, the elections from '22, 2022, we know that Americans care about their democracy, they care about their freedoms, and that's where the majority of Americans are. (51:15) But I'm not going to get into specifics of what we heard from DHS and Secret Service today. (51:22) Go ahead, Jared.

Karine, three Red Cross workers killed-

Jared.

UN Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield announced the US's backing of two permanent African seats on the UN Security Council. What more can the White House share about the importance of this and what insight and leadership Africa can provide to advancing international peace and security? And how likely does the administration believe that this resolution can be voted on at the General Assembly?

So just to take a step back, two years ago at UNGA, the president was able to announce the US commitment to expand on the council with permanent representation for countries from Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as countries we've long supported for permanent seats. And so he did that two years ago. And what you saw today, to your point in your question, you saw the US UN Ambassador announce our support for two permanent seats for African countries. (52:23) That's something that African leaders called for, and certainly obviously this is something that the president supported. So it shows, I believe, our commitment, the US' commitment to supporting reforms to the Security Council. I think that's how you should see this and view this. And by doing that, it makes the Security Council more effective. You have representation. And more credible. (52:46) And so any specifics beyond that, I would have to refer you to the State Department. But this is a commitment that you saw from this president two years ago at UNGA back then.

And one other question. (52:59) The venture capital firm, the Fearless Fund, closed its grant program for Black women-owned businesses to settle a lawsuit that claimed the grant was discriminatory. Doing so avoided it going to the Supreme Court that could have ruled in having implications for race-based initiatives in the private sector. (53:20) Does the White House have any reaction to this decision, this lawsuit?

So anything specific to the litigation, it's an ongoing litigation, I would have to refer to Department of Justice. (53:31) But I will say, and this is something I think I said moments ago and the president has said, I'm just repeating what the president has said many, many times during this administration, that diversity is our greatest strength and that is important. You see that in the policies that Biden-Harris has moved forward. You've seen that, whether it is schools or militaries or our businesses, even in government; this is the most diverse presidential administration in history because the president and the vice president believes in that. They believe in making sure that when you talk about policy, you're talking about all the communities and you're bringing them together, and no community is left behind. (54:12) This is an ongoing litigation that I can't speak to. That's something for DOJ to speak to. I know I have to get going.

Karine, three Red Cross workers killed in Ukraine today.

Go ahead, Ed.

Can you address that?

Go ahead, Ed.

Thanks, Karine. (54:24) I'm going to ask you about the new census data that came out. It shows that childhood poverty went to 13.7%. That's more than double childhood poverty in 2021. So why aren't things getting better with all the programs and the money that's been spent or signed into law under the Biden-Harris administration?

I am really glad that you brought this up. If you think about the first year, and I kind of spoke about this a little bit in the past 40 minutes or so, being at the podium, is that what we were able to do because of the American Rescue Plan, is that we were able to cut child poverty by nearly half, and that's a record low. And that's because we were able to expand on the child tax credit. (55:07) Again, the American Rescue Plan; not one Republican voted for that plan. Not one. Not one. Especially what was ... If you think about ... Just think back what was going on during that time and they decided not to vote for it. Again, economy was in a tailspin. And to this day, Republicans have refused. They continue to refuse; repeatedly blocked our attempts to restore that expanded child tax credit. Again, you're talking about poverty? That's what it was able to do. And what it did is lift millions of children out of poverty. (55:41) And this just happened as recently as last month. Senate Republicans blocked a bipartisan bill to expand the child tax cut. So we can build on what we were able to do the first year. Republicans are getting in the way. They are. They're getting in the way,

But we had 904 billion dollars in non-defense spending in 2024, and you're telling me that only the child tax credit is the way to fix child poverty?

We saw what passing the American Rescue Plan, which expanded the child tax credit within. It was a provision. It was part of the American Rescue Plan. And because we were able to expand the child tax credit, the data showed that the poverty, child poverty was cut down by nearly half. (56:22) And one of the ways, obviously, when you see that, what you want to do is continue to expand the child tax credit. That's what Democrats wanted to do. That's what Republicans don't want to do. That's what the president wanted to do. If you see something that works, as a legislator, don't you want to continue it? Don't you want to continue something that works? They got in the way. (56:44) So if you're talking about child poverty, we know how to deal with it and they refuse to move forward with it. They refuse to move with the legislation that they just blocked just last month.

On another subject, the Treasury monthly statement came out today and it showed that we still have a deficit, we're going to have a deficit of $1.9 trillion this year. The focus on the president and the vice president has been raising taxes. They want to raise tax on corporations and others and spending on programs. What's the plan for the debt?

So we got to step back here for a second. (57:19) The last administration increased, they increased the debt by a record $8 trillion. I hope you wrote about that. They didn't sign a single law to reduce the deficit. I hope you wrote about that. The president, President Biden, the current president, signed a $1 trillion of deficit reduction into law. He's taking action to deal with our deficit, $8 trillion deficit in the last administration. I really hope you wrote about that. (57:47) And his budget would lower the deficit by another 3 trillion by making millionaires and the biggest corporations pay their fair share. To your question, that's what it would do. Cutting spending on special interests. That's what he wants to do. Republicans want to ... Again, they want to increase the deficit by expanding the Trump tax cut, which would cost $5 trillion. That's what they want to do. (58:15) So I really hope you wrote about in the past what the Trump administration did when it came to the deficit and what we've had to deal with and fix.

But we still have [inaudible 00:58:26].

And every question that you ask me ... I mean, there's some irony. Every question that you ask me is something that we are trying to fix and Republicans get in the way of. Literally every question that you ask me.

I'm talking about the debt, the actual ...

I-

Deficit spending is still deficit spending. How do we reduce the debt?

And I'm telling you what the president has done. $1 trillion is not a small number in signing a legislation to deal with the deficit. (58:52) Now, 8 trillion, a record number in debt, that's what the Trump administration did. (58:58) I'll see you guys tomorrow. Thank you.

Thank you. (58:59) Thank you.

Is the president aware of the Red Cross-