July 3, 2024 - The Benny Show - Benny Johnson
01:20:49
| 
| Speaker | Time | Text |
|---|---|---|
| And we don't know what for. | ||
| So we have a live press conference, a live shot here right now. | ||
| What the hell is happening? | ||
| We don't know. | ||
| We don't know if Joe Biden will come out, if Kamala Harris will come out and announce that she's now the coconut dictator of the world, the world that has been unencumbered by what will become of the coconuts. | ||
| We don't know. | ||
| Will it be Joe Biden finally doing a press conference? | ||
| We don't know. | ||
| We await and see. | ||
| Cringe Jean Pierre did a press conference yesterday. | ||
| And she had a bad day. | ||
| She got asked multiple times about Joe Biden's dementia. | ||
| If she got absolutely blasted about the debate performance. | ||
| It was the first time that anybody from the administration has taken, quite frankly, any questions. | ||
| And Corinne Jean-Pierre got the hell out of there as fast as possible. | ||
| She was really angry, too. | ||
| So, again, what you are seeing here is 100% live. | ||
| A live feed from inside of the press room at the White House called the Press Pool. | ||
| Because it was, well, at one point a pool, actually. | ||
| And in moments, this was called at 1.30. | ||
| This was a shock to everybody. | ||
| This is a surprise live press conference. | ||
| In moments, somebody will take the podium. | ||
| We don't know. | ||
| Will it be Joe Biden resigning? | ||
| We don't know. | ||
| Right now, it has just been, you can hear the reporters mumbling in the background. | ||
| There is, as somebody who has actually been in this room and reported from this room, there will be a buzzer, and that buzzer will announce that the press conference will begin in two minutes. | ||
| Okay, so that's kind of what we're listening for here. | ||
| So you see all the reporters sitting there in their seats. | ||
| It's always a bad look to let reporters wait for hours on end. | ||
| So the reporters are at hand and ready to go. | ||
| But we haven't heard the announcement just yet. | ||
| So, ladies and gentlemen, the camera pans out that little blue door. | ||
| It will slide open and you'll see Cringe may be joined by Joe and Kamala. | ||
| It's desperate times. | ||
| We don't know what they'll do. | ||
| We don't know. | ||
| Again, you can see the doddering reporters shuffling around, getting their best seats, and ready to ask questions. | ||
| Okay, now some of the network people are sitting down. | ||
| The reason I'm talking through this is I don't want to cut away from a shot. | ||
| There is breaking news I want to talk through here about Joe Biden and his fate. | ||
| Apparently, Joe Biden's openly talking now about resigning, this according to the Daily Mail, and I want to get through that article. | ||
| I want to read through that article. | ||
| I don't want to miss the press conference. | ||
| In the front row there, what you can see is the network reporters, right? | ||
| So ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, they get to sit in the front row. | ||
| So when they get seated there, that means that the press conference is about to begin. | ||
| So that's what you're seeing there in the front row. | ||
| But everybody's still chattering. | ||
| So, ladies and gentlemen, we're, you know, we await. | ||
| We await and see. | ||
| What will happen next? | ||
| ALX, can we grab Cringe Jean-Pierre yesterday getting asked about Joe Biden's dementia? | ||
| I think that's worth noting that they... | ||
| You know, this is an important sort of subtext here for what Cringe Jean-Pierre got yesterday. | ||
| Okay, great. | ||
| This is ready to go. | ||
| Again, ladies and gentlemen, we have an obligation to you live to not miss what's going on. | ||
| Trust us. | ||
| Oh, here we go. | ||
| Here we go. | ||
| Here we go. | ||
| It's Cringe. | ||
| Hi, everyone. | ||
| All right. | ||
| Here we go. | ||
| I have a couple things at the top. | ||
| So I want to begin by sharing that Biden-Harris administration is announcing a significant new security assistance package for Ukraine as the United States continues to support Ukraine's defense against Russia's invasion. | ||
| This announcement is the seventh security assistance package that President Biden has authorized to help Ukraine since he signed the National Security Supplemental in April. | ||
| It includes missiles for Ukraine's air defense systems, ammunition for high-mobility artillery, rocket systems, artillery rounds, and other critical capabilities that are being drawn down from U.S. stocks using presidential drawdown authorities. | ||
| It also includes new funding that the Department of Defense will use to purchase interceptors for Patriot and NASEM air defense systems to help Ukraine defend its troops and its cities against Russia's aerial attacks. | ||
| The United States support over the last few months has been critical in helping Ukraine defend their territory against Russia's advances. | ||
| Thanks to the bravery of the Ukrainian forces and weapons deliveries from the United States and our allies and partners, it is increasingly clear the Russian offensive Iran Kharkiv has been a failure. | ||
| And as President Biden has been clear, we are committed to continuing to stand with Ukraine until they prevail against Russian aggression. | ||
| So I want to share a bit of additional updates for all of you before we start. | ||
| I know some of you have been trying to confirm some of this information that I'm about to share, so I'll do it right now at the podium. | ||
| The president has connected with Leader Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Schumer. | ||
| Representative Clyburn, former Speaker Pelosi, and Senator Coons. | ||
| Today, President Biden taped two Black radio interviews that will air tomorrow morning. | ||
| One is with Earl Ingram on Civic Media Network, which airs across Wisconsin, and one with Andrea Lawful Sanders on WURD's The Source in Philadelphia. | ||
| And as Governor Walz of Minnesota announced today, the president will meet with more than 20 Democratic governors. | ||
| Now, as you know, And so the president certainly looks forward to meeting with them. | ||
| And with that, I am happy to take your question. | ||
| So I'm in. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you. | |
| Okay. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Last night at the fundraiser, the president blamed jet lag for his debate performance, but he was back stateside for well over a week. | |
| Does he really need more than a week and a half to recover? | ||
| Yeah, just a couple of things. | ||
| I do appreciate the question because the president has certainly spoken to this many times about the debate. | ||
| And so he had an opportunity to do that in front of supporters. | ||
| And as you just stated, he did that. | ||
| He talked about, he owned that the debate was not his best night. | ||
| And he said himself, it's not an excuse, but it's an explanation. | ||
| I was standing here yesterday and many people were asking why and what's the explanation. | ||
| And that's what you heard from him. | ||
| Look, the two, I think, in addition to the two major trips, he was also continuing to do his presidential duties. | ||
| He worked late in doing that, and he also prepared for the debate. | ||
| And on top of that... | ||
| There was obviously the jet lag, as you just asked about. | ||
| And also he had a cold. | ||
| And you all heard directly. | ||
| You heard from him during the debate. | ||
| He had a hoarse voice. | ||
| Many of you reached out to me and my team and some other members of the White House asking what was going on. | ||
| We confirmed that he had a cold. | ||
| And so I think those two things continuing, obviously, to do his duties as commander in chief, as the president. | ||
| And so I think some of you here in this room can certainly relate to, you know, What could happen when you're having an important moment and you're not feeling well? | ||
| And also you wish you could have done better. | ||
| And so he took ownership. | ||
| I think that's important. | ||
| And he's going to continue to make a strong case for his agenda. | ||
| And that's what you're going to see. | ||
| And he was given an explanation. | ||
| And that's what he wanted to do. | ||
| He wanted to get that out there and for people to hear directly from him. | ||
| He was given an explanation? | ||
| Friday of last week. | ||
|
unidentified
|
I know you're calling it an explanation, not an excuse, but it does seem like there are new excuses since the debate of what went wrong there. | |
| I would say I don't think it's a new excuse. | ||
| I think some of you, some of your colleagues reached out to us about the schedule. | ||
| Some of your colleagues asked if the schedule was too strenuous or was it because of the jet lag. | ||
| We are laying out and explaining exactly what happened. | ||
| You heard from the president. | ||
| You've heard from me. | ||
| And it was, you know, indeed a schedule where, you know, the president traveled six time zones forward to G7 in Italy, nine time zones back to L.A., and three time zones forward again to D.C. That's something that when the print pooler on that day... | ||
| Laid out for all of you and those who read the cool notes. | ||
| And on top of that, he did have a cold. | ||
| So it is an explanation. | ||
| I don't think it is an addition. | ||
| We certainly don't want to explain this away. | ||
| But you all asked me for an explanation yesterday. | ||
| The president gave that directly yesterday to his supporters. | ||
| He wanted to make sure, knowing that all of you would get that information as he's speaking to his supporters last night. | ||
| Sure. | ||
| He took a week off. | ||
| I mean, look, I was asked a similar question by one of your colleagues yesterday. | ||
| And look, you know, the president, obviously, right after the debate, he visited. | ||
| Four states in two and a half days, gave a couple of remarks. | ||
| He met with supporters, whether at the Waffle House or in Atlanta at a watch party or in North Carolina, where there were hundreds of supporters there in Raleigh. | ||
| And so he was busy dealing with his schedule and also... | ||
| Speaking directly and engaging with his supporters and then spend time with his family. | ||
| I think what's important is that he has done this outreach. | ||
| He's having these conversations. | ||
| It is important to him to do so. | ||
| And the folks that I laid out that he spoke to are some of them have been his colleagues. | ||
| Some of them have been elected officials that he's known for some time. | ||
| Obviously, Leader Jeffries is a new relationship. | ||
| I think it's important to note that they were strong conversations. | ||
| That's something that the president told me and my team directly moments ago. | ||
| He was walking around and we happened to see the president and he said they were strong conversation. | ||
| And by the way, he looks great. | ||
| The vice president is great. | ||
| And they are ready to continue working on behalf of the American people. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Is President Biden considering stepping down? | |
| Absolutely not. | ||
| And you heard, I believe, directly from the campaign as well. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Given the groundswell of concern from fellow Democrats, from donors, from supporters, doesn't he owe it to the American public to reflect on whether he should step down? | |
| I mean, look, very much into Sung Min's question and my answer to her question where... | ||
| He had an opportunity to talk to supporters. | ||
| He's done it a couple times at this point and laid out what happened on that night. | ||
| Talked about how he understands and it was not his best night. | ||
| He understands that it is fair for people to ask that question. | ||
| But we cannot forget his record and what he's been able to do. | ||
| We cannot forget how he's been able to deliver for the American people for almost four years. | ||
| That matters too. | ||
| And he has the most Historic record administration, the most in modern politics. | ||
| And that should matter. | ||
| And he wants to continue to do that work. | ||
| And, you know, a lot of what's on his agenda is very much popular with the majority of the American people, whether it's continuing to build a strong economic... | ||
| economic policies. | ||
| He's done that. | ||
| Creating new jobs. | ||
| He's done that. | ||
| 15 million jobs. | ||
| He wants to work on that and continue to do that. | ||
| And so he wants to continue to deliver, expanding health care. | ||
| All of these things he believes is important. | ||
| Majority of Americans believe it's important. | ||
| And his record, he wants to make sure that people do not forget. | ||
| Is there anything, Karine, that would change his mind? | ||
| I cannot lay out something that would change the president's mind. | ||
| He has been very clear. | ||
| And he's going to continue to build on the unprecedented record that he's been able to lay out for the American people. | ||
| That's his focus right now. | ||
| Thank you, Karine. | ||
|
unidentified
|
What does the president do outside the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.? | |
| Well, you heard him speak to supporters yesterday outside of 4 p.m. | ||
| You saw the president land in North Carolina in the middle of the night at 2 o 'clock. | ||
| What was he doing? | ||
| He was greeting supporters, hundreds of supporters that showed up to cheer him on after the debate. | ||
| You saw him speaking at 9 o 'clock at night in New York in front of supporters. | ||
| So he's been pretty much out there. | ||
| After the hours of 4 p.m. and before, before 10 a.m. for sure. | ||
| And so that has been something he has consistently done over the past couple of days for sure, for certain. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Have an afternoon nap every day. | |
| For sure. | ||
| For sure. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Does he have an afternoon nap? | |
| This is a president that wakes up every morning and puts the American people first. | ||
| That's what he does. | ||
| He does that every single day. | ||
| That is his focus. | ||
| I am not going to speak to sources out there, unnamed sources out there. | ||
| That's not what I'm going to speak to. | ||
| I'm going to speak to what I know, what this president does, and how he is committed to the work of the president, of the commander-in-chief. | ||
| And his record clearly lays that out and speaks to it. | ||
| And that's what he's going to continue to do. | ||
| The American people first, the American people first, and delivering for them. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Can you also clarify Sundman's question? | |
| Sure. | ||
| How is it that the president was still tired 12 days after returning from Europe, had a cold, but then went to the Waffle House, and then the following day staged such a huge comeback that he gave those North Carolina remarks? | ||
| Like, help us understand. | ||
| Have you had a cold before? | ||
|
unidentified
|
Of course. | |
| Okay, so you probably... | ||
| Well, come on. | ||
| Come on, Jackie. | ||
| Let's be very... | ||
|
unidentified
|
You have 12 days after you return, though. | |
| And you played jet lag yesterday. | ||
| Hold on a second. | ||
| There's a cold. | ||
| There's a jet lag. | ||
| You combine that. | ||
| He continues to work for the American people day in and day out, around the clock. | ||
| Things happen. | ||
| Things happen. | ||
| And the cold thing is something that you all pointed out during his debate. | ||
| We didn't even point that out. | ||
| You all pointed out when you heard his voice being hoarse. | ||
| Because he knew he had to push through. | ||
| He knew he has to power through. | ||
| That's what presidents do. | ||
| If you care about this country and you don't care about yourself, you care about the American people, you care about delivering for this country, you care about how you're going to continue to work day in and day out, you push through. | ||
| We've all, we've all, we've all do that. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Because all these Democrats who are saying they want to see him, it speaks to that. | |
| But we're not, we're not, we're not, we didn't share that information ahead of time. | ||
| You all asked what was going on and then we shared that information. | ||
| We didn't use that before the debate. | ||
| You all asked, hey, is he under the weather? | ||
| And we confirmed that he was under the weather. | ||
| He pushed through. | ||
| That's what this president does. | ||
| He is going to continue to fight for the American people. | ||
| So he pushed through it. | ||
| I think anybody who does that, not just the president, should be commended. | ||
| And he also said, you heard him say this on Friday, when you get knocked down, you get back up. | ||
| That's what you saw. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Is there any discussion that if the president were to suspend his campaign, that he would also resign? | |
| Are there any discussions about the vice president assuming his duty? | ||
| Absolutely not. | ||
| Go ahead, Kelly. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Does the president have a duty to review data, like polling information that's coming in, donor information? | |
| The fears and concerns or anxieties expressed by Democrats, does he have a duty to review what's happening now? | ||
| When you say a duty, can you say more about the duty piece? | ||
|
unidentified
|
He's absolutely running. | |
| Well, he's saying that, and I'm sharing with you his view. | ||
|
unidentified
|
And we would invite the president to come here and tell us that directly. | |
| Noted. | ||
| Noted, Kelly. | ||
|
unidentified
|
But he's a wick. | |
| That's inappropriate. | ||
| As you heard from your colleague, the president of the WHA, that's inappropriate. | ||
| Thank you, Kelly. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Is he awake? | |
| My question is, information is coming in, an assessment is happening within the party. | ||
| Does he have a duty to review that? | ||
| Has he closed the door on reviewing the data? | ||
| So, I'm going to be really mindful, because obviously you're asking me about campaign numbers and data that's coming in. | ||
| And look, what I will note is that this is a president that... | ||
| Looks at everything, takes in all the information. | ||
| It's important to him to do so. | ||
| I don't want to get into hypotheticals here. | ||
| That's not what I'm here to do. | ||
| What I can say is, in this moment, we move forward on building on this unprecedented record that the president has been able to lay out for the American people, and that's going to be our focus. | ||
| I don't want to get into hypotheticals. | ||
| I don't want to get ahead of it. | ||
| What I can say is the president is moving forward. | ||
| He's moving forward as being president. | ||
| He's moving forward with his campaign, as his campaign has been very, very clear about that. | ||
| That's what I can speak to. | ||
| And that's what I can say. | ||
| And that is the president's focus. | ||
| The president's focus is how does he continue to do that work? | ||
| And anything else that we're hearing or that's being reported is absolutely false. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Is the president telling people he's evaluating? | |
| Absolutely false. | ||
| That is absolutely false. | ||
| I saw that reporting. | ||
| We were not given enough time to get back to that reporting. | ||
| Just a couple of minutes. | ||
| And we asked the president. | ||
| The president responded directly when asked about this question because we said that we would. | ||
| And the president said it is no. | ||
| It is absolutely false. | ||
| That's coming directly from him. | ||
|
unidentified
|
What steps would the president be taking or would you as a team plan to try to prevent? | |
| Another episode in public that would be deemed worrisome. | ||
| I would not call it an episode. | ||
| I would call it we had a bad night. | ||
| Right? | ||
| It was not his best night. | ||
| He had a cold. | ||
| He was jet lagged. | ||
| You heard directly from the president about this. | ||
| And when we get knocked down, when he gets knocked down, he gets right back up. | ||
| And that's what I would focus on. | ||
| Continuing to be very steady and continuing to work for the American people. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Do you think the president feels like these coming days are very critical for him? | |
| You laid out all these events that he's going to be doing. | ||
| Are these events very important for him to show to the American people that he still has the ability to be the nominee? | ||
| I would say that this moment is critical regardless of the debate or not. | ||
| We are living in an important moment right now. | ||
| Everything is at stake. | ||
| And I've got to be mindful because this is all connected to what's happening in November. | ||
| And I think any leader would say they always have to prove to themselves, to their constituents, right? | ||
| It is a day-in and day-out work. | ||
| And yes, the president's going to have engagement. | ||
| He's going to be out there speaking to the American people. | ||
| Obviously, we mentioned Wisconsin. | ||
| He's going to do an interview in Wisconsin as well. | ||
| He's going to do an interview. | ||
| But the president was also out last week. | ||
| Atlanta, North Carolina, New York, where he saw supporters. | ||
| This is a president that has been consistently out there talking directly to the American people. | ||
| He understands, as you all asked me about the economy. | ||
| And what people are feeling. | ||
| He understands that they have to hear directly from him and he has to continue to do that so that he can lay out his agenda. | ||
| He can lay out what he wants to continue to do. | ||
| It's always going to be part of You know, the calculation, right? | ||
| To continue to prove to the American people that he can continue to do the work and deliver on behalf of the American people. | ||
|
unidentified
|
And Jeff had the staff meeting today. | |
| Can you just give us a rundown of really what he tried to get across? | ||
| And is there a morale issue? | ||
| It's a fair question. | ||
| And I do have a couple of things I want to say. | ||
| As you just said, the chief of staff, Jeff Science, did have an all-staff call. | ||
| He wanted to gather the team across the building and acknowledge what... | ||
| But the President has said himself, right, that the last few days have been challenging. | ||
| We've been very, very clear in acknowledging that. | ||
| But we have had an extraordinary record to be proud of, and we know we have more work to do. | ||
| The President says that all the time. | ||
| He conveyed the importance of executing on our mission. | ||
| He talked about the importance of coming together as a team and also having each other's backs. | ||
| He also said, which I think was really important, I think every staff wants to hear that the Chiefs of Staff door is open and is open to hearing directly from them any questions or any concerns. | ||
| And, you know, I think that's what you do as a leader. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thanks, Kareem. | |
| If there are so many questions right now about whether President Biden can do this job, why are we not seeing the president out there every single day in an unscripted way without teleprompters? | ||
| Well, you're going to see him today, certainly, and I know you're asking about the teleprompter. | ||
| You're going to see him tomorrow. | ||
| Good question. | ||
| You'll have an opportunity to welcome active duty military and their families and certainly their loved ones here on the South Lawn, as he does every year. | ||
| And I think that's going to be important. | ||
| He'll be able to engage with them and thank them directly. | ||
| And you'll see him in Wisconsin, and you'll continue to see him, obviously, in the upcoming weeks. | ||
| Look, it is not unusual for a president to use a teleprompter. | ||
| It is not unusual. | ||
| That is something that presidents have done in the past. | ||
| I think what we also have to remember, and I'll keep saying this because I think it's important to not forget that he has the strongest economic recovery in modern history. | ||
| He has led a historic midterm win when everybody was talking about a red wave and he's been able to defy that and deliver by being a leader. | ||
| She's reading! | ||
| Reading our notes! | ||
| As a Democratic leader. | ||
| And he's going to continue to work to get lower costs. | ||
| I think that matters. | ||
| I think his record certainly matters. | ||
| And you are going to see him, continue to see him, you know, having interviews. | ||
| He's going to do ABC, as you know, with George Stephanopoulos, one of your colleagues. | ||
| That's not scripted. | ||
| And he has done more than 40 interviews that have not been scripted. | ||
| Interviews do not have a script. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Forty? | |
| So, you'll see him. | ||
| But again, we're now almost a week after the debate. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Why doesn't the president just come here right now and answer for himself at this briefing room all the questions that we have? | |
| Well, you asked me a couple things. | ||
| You asked, when is he going to be unscripted? | ||
| He has been. | ||
| When he went to visit a diner in... | ||
| A couple of days ago at the Waffle House when he met with supporters in Atlanta, North Carolina, where hundreds of supporters showed up. | ||
| He certainly had an opportunity to engage. | ||
| On Friday, he's going to be taking some questions from one of your colleagues. | ||
| I think that's going to be important. | ||
| And we're going to continue to engage with all of you. | ||
| We're going to certainly... | ||
| Looking forward to doing that. | ||
| He'll have a press conference next week at NATO press conference, a big boy press conference, as Justin from Bloomberg stated yesterday. | ||
| And so we'll do that. | ||
| And he's looking forward to it. | ||
|
unidentified
|
And President Biden has always promised to tell the American people the truth. | |
| So can you be straight with us and the American people? | ||
| Is the president clear-eyed about what it takes to stay in the race and what it would take for him to drop out? | ||
| The president is clear-eyed, and he is staying in the race. | ||
| I don't have anything else beyond that. | ||
| He is staying in the race. | ||
| That is what the president has promised to do. | ||
| That is what he wants to continue to work on the successes that he's had. | ||
| His record is unprecedented record, and that is what the president is focused on, continuing to deliver for the American people. | ||
| And he looks forward to doing that. | ||
|
unidentified
|
The NATO summit is coming up next week. | |
| Is the president frustrated that this debate over Presidential election could cast a shadow over your goals for the NATO summit. | ||
| Has he made any effort to reach out to the NATO leaders that are coming to sort of assure them that... | ||
| This isn't going to derail that agenda. | ||
| So look, as you stated, next week, the president's going to host a NATO summit here in Washington, D.C. It is also the 75th year anniversary of NATO. | ||
| And let's not forget, NATO has become stronger. | ||
| And has gained two more countries because of this president's leadership. | ||
| And all very much important in doing so is very much important in stopping and helping to stop Putin's aggression as Ukraine continues to fight, certainly for their freedom and democracy. | ||
| Look, foreign leaders have seen the president close up. | ||
| They have. | ||
| And, you know, close up and personally for the past three years. | ||
| And I think that's important to know. | ||
| They know who they are. | ||
| And how effective he has been. | ||
| I just talked about how NATO has expanded because of his leadership, how NATO is stronger because of his leadership. | ||
| And I think that's important to note as well. | ||
| And so, look, you're going to see the president You know, being a leader in front of these world leaders, you're going to see the president continue to bring these world leaders together. | ||
| And as it relates to what's happening currently, you heard directly from this president. | ||
| He understands. | ||
| The criticism, he gets the criticism. | ||
| He has owned up to it. | ||
| But he also wants to move forward and continue to deliver on really critical, important issues that the American people care about. | ||
| When you think about NATO, you think about foreign policy, it's important to continue our world leadership on that, being leaders, and strengthening our national security as well. | ||
| And that is how the president thinks about this day in and day out. | ||
|
unidentified
|
I just want to follow up on the kind of questions about the outreach from the White House. | |
| Does the president intend to make any other comments on the ones that he's made today to the congressional leadership? | ||
| And then, you know, Representative Doggett said he reached out to the White House before he made his comments and did not hear back. | ||
| He said he wanted to speak to President Biden personally about his Yeah, look, I can't speak to the outreach that he made. | ||
| I have not spoken to the Office of Ledge Affairs, so I can't speak to that. | ||
| What I can say is the President certainly has looked forward to working with Democratic leaders and congressional members over the past three years. | ||
| I keep talking about his record, certainly his record when it comes to legislation and getting things done. | ||
| He couldn't have done it without Democrats like Doggett and appreciates, obviously, his support and his partnership. | ||
| I can't speak to outreach. | ||
| It's not something that I've spoken to the Office of Large Affairs about. | ||
| And look, the president... | ||
|
unidentified
|
What? | |
| A dumpster fire! | ||
| You brought me up in a briefing room. | ||
| I have something to say. | ||
| I would also note that... | ||
| I don't have any additional calls to read out or to lay out. | ||
| One of the reasons that I mentioned it at the top, because I know some of you were trying to confirm and wanted to make sure that we got back to you, all of you, about that. | ||
| And as you know, he's going to meet with Democratic governors, as I just stated at the top. | ||
| So he's going to continue to do engagement. | ||
| It is important, again, some of these leaders, he could not have delivered on this record accomplishment that he's been able to get done without them. | ||
| And so I'll just leave it there for them. | ||
|
unidentified
|
I think the question that we're all asking in different ways is, has the president and has the White House, have you sort of missed the boat in terms of responding quickly enough? | |
| I mean, I spoke to someone today who said it was too little, too late. | ||
| Quickly enough on what specifically? | ||
|
unidentified
|
In explaining and discussing what happened at the debate and reassuring donors and other people that he intends to keep running. | |
| Look, as it relates to donors or anything political like that, obviously that's something that the campaign should respond to. | ||
| But I would remind you that the day after in North Carolina... | ||
| The president spoke to his debate performance. | ||
| He did. | ||
| He talked about it. | ||
| He gave his thoughts. | ||
| He also stated that, look, I'm not a young man. | ||
| He said that. | ||
| I'm not as smooth talker as I used to be. | ||
| I don't walk easily as I used to be. | ||
| And I said, I don't debate as well as I used to. | ||
| He said this. | ||
| And so he owned up to it on Friday, the day after the debate, that afternoon. | ||
| And so we didn't wait. | ||
| Now, as far as engagement, look, that is something certainly the campaign can speak to more. | ||
| But the president, in front of hundreds of supporters in North Carolina, talked about his debate performance. | ||
| Go ahead, MJ. | ||
|
unidentified
|
I just wanted to clarify one thing. | |
| I know you got a lot of questions about this issue yesterday. | ||
| Has the president had any medical exams since his last annual physical in February? | ||
| And we were able to talk to his doctor about that, and that is a no. | ||
|
unidentified
|
We haven't had any kind of medical exam. | |
| No. | ||
|
unidentified
|
So the White House has said no to releasing the full results of that annual, said no to making Dr. O 'Connor available for questions from us, no to releasing any other information that would shed some more light on the president's health. | |
| I guess I'm just wondering if now is not the time for full transparency, when is? | ||
| So I would say, MJ, to your question, that What we have released over the past three years, every year since he's been in office, has been transparent and it has been comprehensive. | ||
| It has been one of the most transparent. | ||
| We have been one of the most transparent administration when it comes to medical records. | ||
| That is what we've been able to do. | ||
| And I would add that it is not the norm. | ||
| To bring the doctor to the podium. | ||
| That is not the norm. | ||
| And we have owned up. | ||
| This president directly has owned up to what happened at the debate last Thursday. | ||
| He's talked about it multiple times. | ||
| And directly to supporters. | ||
| Directly to the American people. | ||
|
unidentified
|
And what we want to do is continue to certainly deliver on the Real questions. | |
| These are real questions. | ||
| We'll continue to be transparent, and that's what I can share with all of you at this time. | ||
|
unidentified
|
And I did want to follow up on what Sung Min brought up, I think others as well. | |
| You did get numerous questions yesterday about the president's today performance. | ||
| Travel, the jet lag, the foreign trip. | ||
| So I think you can understand why it was a little bit puzzling to hear the president mentioning that as his explanation for the first time last night. | ||
| Can you clarify whether, when you took the podium yesterday, did you not know that that was a good factor? | ||
| And I want to say that is my bad. | ||
| That is part of... | ||
| Definitely part of the explanation of what had occurred. | ||
| I did know that. | ||
| I did. | ||
|
unidentified
|
I did know that. | |
| But we were so focused. | ||
| I was so focused on the cold. | ||
| And that's what I kind of leaned into and talked about. | ||
| But yes, his schedule did have something to do with it. | ||
| It was the schedule and the cold. | ||
| And I was aware of that yesterday. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Can I just ask one other broader question? | |
| The president, and I know you will remember this, back in 2020, referred to himself as a transition candidate. | ||
| He also said back then that he would be a bridge to the next generation of Democratic leaders. | ||
| Does he still believe that? | ||
| Yes. | ||
| I mean, I think his statement stands. | ||
| I mean, one of the reasons why he picked the vice president, President Kamala Harris, is because she is indeed the future of the party. | ||
| And he's very proud, partnered with her, and continued to partner with her in delivering an unprecedented record for the American people. | ||
| Did you hear that? | ||
| And I think he's going to continue, certainly, to do that. | ||
| They're going to do that as partners. | ||
| Like I said, I just saw them before walking into the briefing room. | ||
| They stopped by to talk to me and my team, and they're ready to go. | ||
| They're ready to continue. | ||
|
unidentified
|
So the transition would happen in eight years? | |
| I'm not going to get into speculation from here. | ||
| But you ask me if his remarks and statements still stand. | ||
| Yes, it still does. | ||
|
unidentified
|
If President Biden was fatigued during the debate because of overseas travel that was 12 days beforehand, like he said he was last night, doesn't that raise questions about his ability to effectively serve another second term until he's 86 years old? | |
| Great question. | ||
| I think there's multiple factors here to consider. | ||
| There was the travel. | ||
| The travel led to a cold. | ||
| And I think that matters as well. | ||
| And I think we've all been there. | ||
| We've all been there. | ||
| It is not unusual. | ||
| And what the president did is he pushed through. | ||
| He did. | ||
| He pushed forward and he pushed through. | ||
| And that's what you saw him do. | ||
| And look, you know, you heard me say this yesterday, and you heard directly from the president say this multiple times. | ||
| When you get knocked down, you get back up. | ||
| Joe Biden is someone who has faced, you know, tragedies, and he's taken them on. | ||
| And when he does that, he gets right back up. | ||
| And that's how we see that day. | ||
| That's how we see that night. | ||
|
unidentified
|
What was his message to congressional leaders today? | |
| I mean, is he trying to instill confidence in them that he can run? | ||
| So look, I'm not going to get into certainly private conversations. | ||
| He shared with me those conversations were strong, and I think that's important to note. | ||
| I'm not going to go into details, but the president's going to continue to have those direct conversations with leaders, with supporters, and he believes that's important to do. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Were they united with him in the call? | |
| They continue to be united, and some of them have spoken to this. | ||
| They've been very clear, have spoken, have gone on television, spoken to some of you in your reporting. | ||
| And said that very clearly. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Can you share any details on President Biden's and Vice President Harris's lunch today? | |
| Do you know if they discussed Vice President Harris potentially taking over? | ||
| Do you know if that came up today? | ||
| I mean, I just stated that the president is not... | ||
| Dropping out. | ||
| That's something that the campaign has shared. | ||
| I'm just repeating what the campaign has shared. | ||
| They regularly have lunch, and I'm not going to get into private conversation. | ||
| And I would also say that the vice president spoke to CBS just yesterday, and you could see what she said herself, and I think that's important to note as well. | ||
|
unidentified
|
I just want to also ask, you mentioned that President Biden got the cold because of traveling. | |
| So is cold is directly tied to him traveling or is it just he got the cold? | ||
| What I can tell you is he traveled, then he got a cold. | ||
| That's what happened. | ||
| And then he got dementia. | ||
|
unidentified
|
You mentioned a few times that the president's proud of his record. | |
| He wants to continue his work and building on that record. | ||
| I'm trying to understand how that's relevant to an assessment, self-reflection by him on whether or not he's physically capable I think it is an assessment. | ||
| I think the fact that he's able to work across the aisle, get really big bipartisan legislation done. | ||
| He's been able to get us out of the pandemic, able to get the economy back on its feet. | ||
| I think that shows leadership. | ||
| And I think that's important, right? | ||
| He is making these decisions on behalf of the American people. | ||
| And he's able to do that. | ||
| Because of his experience. | ||
| Because of his wisdom. | ||
| And I think that's all connected as well. | ||
|
unidentified
|
We can't forget that. | |
| Building on, you know, Kelly Kent's question on self-reflection by the president. | ||
| You've mentioned as well that he understands the stakes in the election and that the data is showing that he may be meeting a party toward, you know, electoral disaster. | ||
| Is there not? | ||
| It's going to be reflection. | ||
| Look, right now, I've got to be really mindful. | ||
| You're asking about a campaign. | ||
| You're asking about data that's connected to the campaign. | ||
| I want to be really mindful here. | ||
| And it's also hypothetical. | ||
| And so I also want to be really mindful here. | ||
| What I can say is, right now, and... | ||
| Where the president is, he is continuing to fight for the American people, continue to build an economy that works for all, continue to create good-paying jobs, expand healthcare. | ||
| That is the president's focus. | ||
| That is the president's focus. | ||
| Anything else related to the campaign, I would refer you to the campaign to speak to that directly as it relates to data. | ||
| That is not something that I can't be a pundit from here. | ||
| Disaster! | ||
|
unidentified
|
Olivia Morales and also Argentine president Javier Milley have accused President Luis Arce of staging a self-cru. | |
| Oh, my God. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Does the administration believe in any evidence if this was the case? | |
| What is this? | ||
| Who let this guy in there? | ||
| I want to be really mindful here. | ||
| We've seen the false allegations of U.S. involvement in the events of Bolivia on June 26th. | ||
| I know that's something that has come up a couple times. | ||
| And so I want to make sure that it's clear that the U.S. had no involvement in that. | ||
| We certainly condemn, strongly condemn, the deployment of army units in Bolivia in any attempt to subvert a constitutional order. | ||
| And we are going to continue. | ||
| We're going to continue, or the week before, stand by democracy and the people of Bolivia. | ||
| And that is where we're going to continue to stand. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Sure. | |
| With the U.S. government and the Venezuelan government resuming negotiations today, I wanted to get, if you can give us a clearer picture of what it entails and how far the U.S. government is willing to go. | ||
| So two questions on that. | ||
| Would the U.S. government be willing to alleviate sanctions? | ||
| Is there any plan for Maduro to sit down from power without fear of continued legal prosecution? | ||
| So to your question about the dialogue that's happening, we certainly welcome that. | ||
| In good faith, right? | ||
| The dialogue in good faith. | ||
| So we welcome that. | ||
| We're clear-eyed that democratic change will not be easy and requires serious commitment. | ||
| So we remain committed to supporting the will of the people of Venezuela and a path to our democratic governance via competitive and also inclusive elections. | ||
| Any specific details about that, I don't have any to share about the diplomatic engagement, but we certainly welcome it in good faith, and that's what we want to see. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you so much, Karin. | |
| I just also want to focus on the remarks that was made yesterday at the fundraiser. | ||
| He said that he didn't listen to his staff. | ||
| So what kind of advice did they get? | ||
| Because it gives the impression that his staff is asking me to, you know, slow down or maybe cancel some trips or have a lighter schedule. | ||
| I didn't get into the president specifically about what he meant by that, so I want to be really mindful. | ||
| I don't want to get into that. | ||
|
unidentified
|
So mindful. | |
| But I think what the president was trying to say is that he had a schedule that was rigorous. | ||
| You know, the travel that he had to do. | ||
|
unidentified
|
He spent 10 days in a cabin in the woods! | |
| Napping! | ||
| Going from Italy all the way to the West Coast. | ||
| And I think, as you know, that can have a toll on anyone, whether you're 20 or 80. That could have a toll on you. | ||
| And so I think that's what he was alluding to, speaking to. | ||
| I don't want to go beyond that because I haven't spoken to him on the other component of when he was speaking about his staff. | ||
| But as it relates to certainly the travel, it was rigorous. | ||
| He had a rigorous travel. | ||
| We talk about it sometimes. | ||
| I think I've mentioned this to some of your colleagues, that he has a, especially when he travels abroad, it's a pretty rigorous travel. | ||
| Abroad? | ||
| Doing his meetings and traveling. | ||
| And so I think that's what he was speaking to. | ||
| And I don't think it has a toll on, regardless of what age you are, it has a toll on that type of travel. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you. | |
| There's no question that international travel can be rigorous. | ||
| I think the confusion is that he's still suffering from the effects of that nearly two weeks later. | ||
| So can you articulate a little bit about, like, do you guys usually have accommodations for him after he does a trip? | ||
| Look at her face! | ||
| So when you say two weeks later, what do you mean? | ||
|
unidentified
|
He arrives back in the United States 12 or 13 days before the debate. | |
| So his explanation for a poor debate performance is jet lag. | ||
| So what I want to say is it's the jet lag and also the cold, right? | ||
| It is the two things that occurred. | ||
| And you all heard it in his voice when he did the debate. | ||
| And it is not even something that we shared ahead of time. | ||
| You heard it in his voice and we confirmed it. | ||
| And I think that's important to note as well. | ||
| It is the jet lag and the cold. | ||
| But I want to be really clear. | ||
| This is not an excuse. | ||
| This is not an excuse. | ||
| You all asked for an explanation. | ||
| And we're giving an explanation. | ||
| It is not an excuse. | ||
| I don't want that to be the leading piece of this. | ||
| As for the only reason we're sharing this, because it was asked of me here, and the president certainly wanted to give an explanation himself, and that's what he did yesterday. | ||
| We want to, we understand that it wasn't his best night. | ||
| It wasn't a great debate. | ||
| We understand that, and we understand what... | ||
| Supporters saw, what the American people saw, and what you all saw. | ||
| And so we wanted to give an explanation. | ||
| So I don't want to get into this, oh, are you giving this excuse? | ||
| Not an excuse. | ||
| We're giving you what our explanation was. | ||
| We want to continue to make sure that we do everything that we can to deliver for the American people. | ||
| That's what we're going to continue to do. | ||
|
unidentified
|
I also want to ask just about the schedule again. | |
| Because a lot of high-level Democrats, I think, were concerned with the debate performance, but they've also been almost just as or more concerned about the response since then, that he hasn't done more. | ||
| He spoke for four minutes in public on Monday evening on the Supreme Court decision. | ||
| And he spoke for about 10 minutes in public yesterday with the emergency weather situation. | ||
| And he's going to speak today. | ||
| He's going to go to Wisconsin. | ||
| He's going to go to Pennsylvania. | ||
|
unidentified
|
This truly is an emergency situation. | |
| It's taking almost a week for him to sort of address it. | ||
| When there's natural disasters, when there's other things happening, he wants to get in front of the cameras and speak to it. | ||
| In this case, there seems to be multiple days. | ||
| Matt, I would disagree with you. | ||
| He did address it. | ||
| He addressed it on Friday. | ||
| In North Carolina, in front of hundreds of supporters. | ||
| He addressed it. | ||
| And he talked about an issue that you all ask me about all the time. | ||
| His age. | ||
| Like, he took it head on. | ||
| Literally head on. | ||
| He didn't run away from it. | ||
| He didn't hide from it. | ||
| He said, I am not a young man, obviously. | ||
| I'm not as a good debater as I used to be. | ||
| I don't talk as smooth. | ||
| I don't walk as easily as I used to. | ||
| He said it himself to hundreds of supporters in North Carolina. | ||
| So I would disagree that he didn't take this head on. | ||
| He did. | ||
| He did. | ||
| He talked about it in front of supporters. | ||
|
unidentified
|
He's had one instance with that, and he's called six people. | |
| But by the way, that matters, right? | ||
| Engaging with the American people and standing in front of them and being honest about that. | ||
| And talking about age. | ||
| Again, something that you all ask me about all the time. | ||
| He took that right on. | ||
| Now, he is talking and engaging with leaders. | ||
| That is something that he's doing. | ||
| He's having good conversations with them. | ||
| He's going to meet with Democratic governors, governors who he believes have been really strong partners with him in delivering on some of these historic accomplishments. | ||
| Disagree on him not taking this head on. | ||
| I mean, being in North Carolina and taking that head on, obviously that's not the speech that he was going to give on Thursday, right? | ||
| Before the debate. | ||
| So he understood, right, when he got to North Carolina, that he needed to address it. | ||
| And he decided to do it in front of supporters. | ||
| And he talked about it. | ||
| I'm going to go to the back. | ||
| I'm going to come. | ||
|
unidentified
|
I want to go back to the NATO meeting, if I could. | |
| Polling this week shows the President losing more ground in the American eyes over immigration, over economy and foreign policy. | ||
| So does that, with everything else, diminish the position of the President as these NATO leaders are coming in for those meetings? | ||
| No, I don't think so. | ||
| I don't think so. | ||
| And I said this moments ago when I was answering a question of one of your colleagues. | ||
| These foreign leaders have seen the President personally, up close, for the past three years. | ||
| They have talked about his leadership. | ||
| They have commended his leadership. | ||
| They have been proud to see him as the president of the United States after what they experienced in the last administration. | ||
| Some of them have been even quoted about what the president has been able to do during his past three years. | ||
| German Chancellor Schultz. | ||
| I think that Joe Biden is someone who is very clear, who knows exactly what he is doing, and who is one of the most experienced politicians in the world, especially when it comes to international politics. | ||
| The Prime Minister of Israel, Bibi Netanyahu, I have had more than a dozen phone conversations, extended phone conversations with President Biden. | ||
| He also came on a visit to Israel during wartime, which is a historic first. | ||
| I found him very clear and very focused. | ||
| I mean, these are leaders that he has had extensive engagement with over the past three years. | ||
| They have seen him up close and personal. | ||
| The president very much looks forward to him. | ||
| Let me ask you about the Supreme Court quickly. | ||
|
unidentified
|
So the comments that the president made on Monday, does the president respect the authority of the Supreme Court? | |
| Here's what I will say. | ||
| The president has spoken often, very powerfully. | ||
| About the events of January 6th. | ||
| He has. | ||
| And his views on what happened on that day. | ||
| And what you heard from the president Monday night, he wasn't supposed to speak. | ||
| He came back. | ||
| He felt so strongly about the decision from the Supreme Court that he came back early and wanted to speak directly to the American people. | ||
| And that's what he did. | ||
| It was that significant. | ||
| He believed as president of the United States to speak directly to the American people. | ||
| And he said this is a dangerous precedent. | ||
| It is. | ||
| It's a dangerous precedent. | ||
| He also said and laid out that the Supreme Court has continued to take away long-established freedoms and norms, including a woman's right to choose, and now threatening the fundamental American principle that no one is above the law. | ||
| And so this is why the president came back. | ||
| And that's what he spoke out about. | ||
| And he fears for our democracy. | ||
| He knows we must do everything that we can to fight. | ||
|
unidentified
|
But he can disagree with the ruling. | |
| Does he respect the authority? | ||
| He respects the authority of the Supreme Court. | ||
| And like you just said in your question, he disagrees with the ruling. | ||
| Absolutely. | ||
| It is unprecedented. | ||
| It is dangerous. | ||
| And that's why the president wanted to make sure that the American people heard directly from him. | ||
| Go ahead, Raquel. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you, Karine. | |
| I want to talk a little bit about the lines that you were just reading on foreign leaders, because it seems like this perception has changed after the debate. | ||
| You mean the quotes that I was laying out for all of you from Chancellor and the Prime Minister? | ||
|
unidentified
|
Because talking to diplomats here in D.C., they're telling me that the world... | |
| Diplomats or leaders of countries? | ||
|
unidentified
|
Diplomats who work for these leaders. | |
| Okay. | ||
| No, I know. | ||
| I just wanted to make sure. | ||
| I mean, I was talking about the leaders. | ||
| No, I hear you, but I'm talking about the leaders who have been on the record. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Yeah, but after the debate, what you're saying, that after the debate, a lot of countries are worried about the future of the U.S. and that it is a scary and embarrassing time for the country and that the U.S. leadership is at stake. | |
| And one said, imagine the watch party in Beijing and Moscow. | ||
| So are they right to be worried? | ||
| Look, there's a lot at stake. | ||
| There's a lot at stake right now. | ||
| There is. | ||
| And I think that's why the president fights day in and day out on behalf of the American people. | ||
| I got to be careful because they're worried about, I'm assuming, the election and what's going to happen. | ||
| So I don't want to speak to that. | ||
| But what I can say more broadly, there is a lot at stake. | ||
| And we see that. | ||
| We see that with Roe being overturned, the Dobbs decision. | ||
| We see that with what happened on January 6th. | ||
| Our democracy and freedoms are at stake. | ||
| And not only do diplomats and moral leaders care about that, Americans here at home care about that. | ||
| That is something that they worry about. | ||
| And that is something that the president's going to continue to fight for. | ||
| Going to be careful. | ||
| I can't, you know, get into hypotheticals, what will happen. | ||
| There's obviously an election going on. | ||
| But there is indeed a lot at stake. | ||
| And we talk about this all the time. | ||
| Democracy, freedoms, a woman's right to choose. | ||
| That is important. | ||
| That is important to fight for. | ||
| And what Republicans are trying to do, extreme Republicans in Congress are trying to do, put three national bans on abortion. | ||
| That's what the type of legislation that they want to push forward. | ||
| So we disagree with that. | ||
| We're going to stand with the majority of Americans. | ||
| Go ahead, Paris. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you, Karim. | |
| Two questions. | ||
| One on NATO. | ||
| So on the Swiss summit, does President's schedule any... | ||
| The second question is: White House reaction to those comments. | ||
| So on the fish boat, we're obviously closely monitoring the incident, so we're going to continue to do that. | ||
| And as far as any bilateral meetings, I don't have anything to read out to you at this time. | ||
| I believe NSC is going to do a call on Friday to talk through what next week is going to look like with the NATO summit being here in D.C. So I would say, you know, stay tuned. | ||
| Look out for that. | ||
| And we'll have more to share. | ||
| And obviously, when there is a bilateral meeting, we certainly share that with all of you. | ||
| I just don't have anything to preview at this time. | ||
|
unidentified
|
A follow-up, has the U.S. reached out to Japan and Taiwan offer support over those incidents? | |
| Well, I don't have any calls, obviously, to speak to at this time, but we encourage both sides to maintain open lines of communication so they can get to a resolution here, and that's what we call for. | ||
|
unidentified
|
I just wanted to get To your answer to Raquel a few moments ago, you talked about there being a lot at stake. | |
| I'm trying to be mindful. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Mindful! | |
| So mindful! | ||
|
unidentified
|
But I think millions and millions of Americans would agree with that assessment, that there's a lot at stake. | |
| Yeah, and I agree. | ||
| I agree. | ||
| That's what I said. | ||
| It's not just diplomats, but it's also Americans here. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Right. | |
| And the president and you and others in the administration have acknowledged he didn't have a good night at the debate. | ||
| Within his reaction to his own performance, does he think he let people down? | ||
| Look, this is certainly a president that I will say, and if you know Joe Biden, you know him as a senator and as a vice president, he's very sensitive to how people feel, right? | ||
| And he's very aware. | ||
| I think he has that IQ that is certainly incredibly important as a president to be able to feel people's pains, feel people's concern, and be able to listen to them directly. | ||
| And you see that. | ||
| You see him do that anytime you see him engage with everyday people, Americans. | ||
| And I think that's what makes this president so unique. | ||
| And I think also because he's dealt with so much tragedy and knows what that feels like. | ||
| Like abandoning his own granddaughter? | ||
| I have not asked him specifically that question. | ||
| But he understands the concerns. | ||
| He understands what people saw. | ||
| And that's why he's spoken to it multiple times. | ||
| And he's spoken about his age, for example, multiple times. | ||
| Not just this past Friday. | ||
| And he gets it. | ||
| He gets it. | ||
| We get it. | ||
| And so what we're going to do is continue to look forward. | ||
| Continue to work on behalf of the American people. | ||
| And there is a record here. | ||
| There is a record here that we can speak to. | ||
| There is a record here that matters to majority of Americans. | ||
| We were able to turn some things around, whether it's the pandemic, the economy, expanding health care. | ||
| All of those things matter to the American people. | ||
| And so that's going to be certainly our focus. | ||
| But, you know, the president gets it, guys. | ||
| He does. | ||
| He gets what people saw and how people felt. | ||
| I can't. | ||
| No, but I can't. | ||
| I really, really can't. | ||
|
unidentified
|
I gotta continue taking questions from the back. | |
| And I'm already being pulled. | ||
| Go ahead, Phil. | ||
| I'm already being pulled. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you. | |
| I wanted to ask you about some of the things the President said last week. | ||
| Last week? | ||
|
unidentified
|
Yes. | |
| Okay. | ||
| Obviously, 13 U.S. service members died at Abbey Gate during the Afghanistan withdrawal. | ||
| And then this year, three U.S. service members died in a drone attack in Jordan. | ||
| And yet the president said, quote, he's the only president this century, this decade, that doesn't have any troops dying anywhere in the world like he did, end quote. | ||
| I get having a bad night, but how did the president get that so wrong? | ||
| So I appreciate the question. | ||
| I really do. | ||
| And I was asked about this, I believe, in the gaggle on Friday, I believe. | ||
| And I said this, and I'll just reiterate this. | ||
| Now, and again, I appreciate the opportunity. | ||
| Look, the president cares deeply about our service members. | ||
|
unidentified
|
He does. | |
| And their families, their immense sacrifices that they've made to take on the... | ||
| And he takes on his responsibility as a commander-in-chief, and that is something that certainly he will continue to do. | ||
| I mentioned moments ago that tomorrow, on July 4th, he's going to have active military members here and their families to thank them personally. | ||
| And obviously, their families make sacrifices as well. | ||
| And as you know, he attended the dignified transfer of the 13, as you just mentioned, brave service members who lost their lives in Afghanistan on August 26th in 2021, and as well as the three who lost their lives in Jordan earlier this year. | ||
| I was there with the president, and you can see how much it... | ||
| How important he understood it was for him to be there for that moment, to be there for the families. | ||
| And so I just want to be really clear about that because he has so much gratitude. | ||
| And we know that as a country, we can never repay them for their courage. | ||
| But to your question... | ||
| The president was making a comparison between how many service members have died under his leadership versus in previous years. | ||
| That's what the comparison that he was making, and he was doing that because he cares so deeply. | ||
| He cares so deeply about them and their families and wants to keep troops safe. | ||
| And that's what he certainly wants to continue to do. | ||
| Let's not forget that for some time he carried a card in his pocket about how many service members were wounded and killed in Iraq and in Afghanistan. | ||
| That's how much it was a reminder to him, you know, the times that we live in. | ||
|
unidentified
|
I mean, this president said this century, this decade. | |
| But setting that aside, maybe on a different front here, what was the president trying to say when he said that he beat Medicare? | ||
| He meant to say he beat Medicare. | ||
| I mean, that's what he meant to say. | ||
|
unidentified
|
And then finally, you have more interaction with the president than most folks. | |
| You know him better than most anyone else. | ||
| Can you say... | ||
| Do you believe that the president is as sharp today as he was when he took this job? | ||
| Have you seen any slowdowns? | ||
| What I can say is this is a president who is strong and resolute in delivering for the American people. | ||
| That's what I see. | ||
| I see a president when I'm sitting in front of him. | ||
| You know, going through the day or talking about what he's doing next. | ||
| He is someone that engages with us. | ||
| He wants to know. | ||
| He pushes us. | ||
| He probes us, wanting to figure out, like, the bigger picture of whatever we're trying to explain to him. | ||
| Or even granule details. | ||
|
unidentified
|
So he's as sharp as ever? | |
| He is as sharp as ever, as I have known him to be in my engagement, in my experience with him. | ||
| And I know when I walk into the Oval Office or see him on Air Force One, I have to be on top of my game. | ||
| I do. | ||
| I mean, that's just kind of my engagement with him and how it's been for the past couple of years. | ||
| I know I have to wrap it up. | ||
| I know. | ||
| Go ahead. | ||
| Go ahead, Emily. | ||
|
unidentified
|
I just wanted to ask, how is the president's health today? | |
| Does he still have his cold or is he feeling better? | ||
| And then on the medical exam, because you said he hasn't had one since his last physical. | ||
| He was on the way to the debate. | ||
| The doctor was with him. | ||
| He had a cold. | ||
| He's 81. Does he not get checked out by the doctor? | ||
| Well, I can tell you he did not get checked out by the doctor. | ||
| It's a cold, guys. | ||
| It's a cold. | ||
| And I know that it affects everybody differently. | ||
| We have all had colds. | ||
| And so, though, he was not checked by the doctor. | ||
| What was your other question? | ||
|
unidentified
|
How was his look today? | |
| Does he still have the cold? | ||
| Well, I saw him today. | ||
| My team and I saw him today. | ||
| He looked great. | ||
| And he was with the vice president. | ||
| They both look great. | ||
| I was asked yesterday if he still had a cold. | ||
| I think if he still has a lingering cold. | ||
| But he is ready to go. | ||
| He's ready to go. | ||
| I kind of have to wrap it up. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Go ahead. | |
| Sources have told ABC that the president recognizes how difficult his political predicament is. | ||
| How has his mood been as of late? | ||
| Has he been down? | ||
| Is he frustrated? | ||
| I mentioned, I think, multiple times at this point that I got to see him. | ||
| My team and I got to see him in the vice president. | ||
| He's great. | ||
| He's in a great mood, ready to get things going. | ||
| He's going to do the Medal of Honor later today. | ||
| He's going to meet with Democratic governors. | ||
| And that's kind of what you want to see from your leader. | ||
| What I can say is that he wants to move forward. | ||
| That's what he wants to do. | ||
| He wants to move forward. | ||
| Acknowledge, right? | ||
| Acknowledge what happened. | ||
| Be very clear-eyed about it and very forthcoming and honest about what you all saw. | ||
| But he also knows that he's the president of the United States. | ||
| He has to continue to work and deliver on behalf of the American people. | ||
| That's what he has to continue to do. | ||
| And that's how he's going to move forward. | ||
| All right, everybody. | ||
| Thanks everyone. | ||
| Thank you for the next room today. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Karine, I just got some news that Hamas has given the proposal. | |
| What? | ||
| What? | ||
| Hey! | ||
| Dumpster fire! | ||
| Okay. | ||
| So here's what we got from that. | ||
| I'm glad we were live because that actually broke a lot of news. | ||
| What we got from that is that there's absolutely no way. | ||
| No way! | ||
| That Joe Biden is driving out of the race. | ||
| Now, could this all be a lie? | ||
| Yeah, cringe Jean-Pierre's paid to lie. | ||
| And they're probably lying to us right now. | ||
| I mean, according to reports, Joe Biden is actively talking about whether to drop out of the presidential race and stalking admission is only a matter of time. | ||
| This is the top of the Daily Mail right now. | ||
| Joe Biden told key allies considering whether to drop out of the race. | ||
| There's other reports that Kamala Harris is picking her vice president. | ||
| Right now. | ||
| And that other get-out-the-vote operations for Democrats are pausing in order to rebrand for a Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket. | ||
| This according to the Daily Mail. | ||
| President Joe Biden privately told a key ally that he's weighing whether or not to drop out of the presidential race. | ||
| Shocking admission. | ||
| Biden coming off last week. | ||
| He knows he has... | ||
| He knows he has... | ||
| Two more events like that were in a different place by the end of the weekend, the ally told the New York Times. | ||
| This comes from the New York Times. | ||
| The White House strongly denied this. | ||
| The claim is false, they said. | ||
| Hmm, okay. | ||
| This is not a great headline. | ||
| And these are not great headlines from across the country. | ||
| The staggering numbers of voters who now say Joe Biden must have dementia. | ||
| The Daily Mail. | ||
| It's not dementia. | ||
| It's a cough! | ||
| There's the other thing. | ||
| So two big pieces of news. | ||
| One, it's a cough. | ||
| All right? | ||
| So Joe Biden, let me tell you, he was traveling a lot of time zones. | ||
| He was in Europe. | ||
| Europe's five hours away. | ||
| Europe's effectively going from the East Coast to the West Coast. | ||
| Yeah, there's a little bit of a change. | ||
| Do you know that there's beds on Air Force One? | ||
| You can sleep and nap all day. | ||
| Joe Biden sleeps and naps all day. | ||
| ALX put up, there's beds on Air Force One. | ||
| So Joe Biden was in a five-hour time difference, time zone. | ||
| I want to get this completely 100% straight. | ||
| This is really important. | ||
| So what Cringed Jean-Pierre was trying to tell us was that because Joe Biden went to the NATO meeting in a five-hour away time zone and then came back. | ||
| 12 days before the debate and then went into hiding 10 days before the debate where, according to reports, Joe Biden started his days at 11 and then took naps for his debate prep. | ||
| Napping all day, starting at 11, holed up inside of a cabin in the woods called Camp David. | ||
| It's a military base where nobody can have access to him. | ||
| Cringe Jean-Pierre is trying to make the point. | ||
| That that is what accounted for the dementia that we saw on Thursday night. | ||
| And the Alzheimer's and the Parkinson's all rolled into one. | ||
| Uh, no. | ||
| Hmm, no. | ||
| That and a cold. | ||
| Ooh, man. | ||
| I mean, it's hard. | ||
| You gotta at some point feel bad for her. | ||
| At some point you gotta feel bad for her. | ||
| Based on the most recent polls, this is the most likely outcome right now in the country. | ||
| Although it could get worse. | ||
| It could potentially get worse for Joe Biden. | ||
| There is the potential for possibly a 120 electoral vote route by Donald Trump. | ||
| I mean, you're looking at places like Colorado in play, New Mexico in play, Minnesota in play, Washington in play. | ||
| This has Trump winning Virginia and New Hampshire. | ||
| This according to the New York Times polling. | ||
| The panic is here. | ||
| So, what's going to happen to the 25 Democrats that are calling for Joe Biden to end his election effort? | ||
| According to recent reporting, there are dozens more that are going to be demanding Joe Biden drop out. | ||
| So, you're talking full-blown civil war now in the Democrat Party. | ||
| Oh, man. | ||
| And cringe Jean-Pierre. | ||
| Cringe Jean-Pierre. | ||
| Effectively just saying, you know what? | ||
| It was a cold. | ||
| Not only that, not only that, we finally beat Medicare. | ||
| She's really excited about that. | ||
| She was so excited. | ||
| He meant Big Pharma. | ||
| Cringe Jean-Pierre saying the quiet parts out loud. | ||
| We picked Paris because she's the future of the party. | ||
| Well, oh, okay. | ||
| I wonder. | ||
| Reporter, when you mentioned travel and jet lag, it was a bit puzzling to hear the president mentioning that in his explanation when you took the podium. | ||
| Why not say that? | ||
| That's my bad. | ||
| My bad. | ||
| My B. Says Cringe. | ||
| Oh, there is one clip that was really funny. | ||
| I don't know if we have this clip, but the guy, dude goes, is he napping? | ||
| You know, a reporter goes, Reporter goes, you know, why doesn't Joe Biden just walk up to the podium and prove to us that he's fine? | ||
| And James Rosen of Newsmax, I believe. | ||
| I think that's the outlet that James Rosen is with. | ||
| He's a great reporter. | ||
| James Rosen goes, because he's napping. | ||
| And then the White House Correspondents Association lady snaps at him. | ||
| Do you remember when Jim Acosta... | ||
| I've been in the room with Jim Acosta and this... | ||
| Absolute sociopath. | ||
| I can't remember what her... | ||
| April Ryan? | ||
| Was that her name? | ||
| She's so irrelevant now and she's so utterly pointless. | ||
| She's such a deeply, deeply unintelligent, loathsome individual. | ||
| But she was this lady that would always scream at Sarah Sanders or Kayleigh McEnany. | ||
| Do you remember when the White House Correspondents Association were fighting in court for these people to scream as loud as possible and at the top of their lungs during the Trump... | ||
| White House press briefings. | ||
| And now they're getting chastised in real time. | ||
| Incredible. | ||
| We have the clip. | ||
| Let's go. | ||
|
unidentified
|
And we would invite the president to come here and tell us that directly. | |
| Noted. | ||
| Noted, Kelly. | ||
|
unidentified
|
But he's a wig. | |
| That's inappropriate. | ||
| As you heard from your colleague, the president of the WHA, that's inappropriate. | ||
| Thank you, Kelly. | ||
| These scum. | ||
|
unidentified
|
They're such scum. | |
| Despicable. | ||
| Do you ever see anything like that happen? | ||
| Do you ever see anybody protecting Sarah Sanders? | ||
| Do you remember the Sarah Huckabee Sanders press conferences? | ||
| You know those press conferences were broadcast live on every cable network because they did such incredible ratings? | ||
| Sarah Sanders was great. | ||
| Sarah Sanders went scorched earth. | ||
| She was fantastic. | ||
| But also because, well, people were just like generally interested in Donald Trump saving the country. | ||
| Did you ever see... | ||
| Anybody defend Sarah Sanders from the briefing room? | ||
| Like, Jim Acosta was wailing and hollering like he had some type of condition. | ||
| Right? | ||
| Like he had Tourette's. | ||
| Jim Acosta screaming. | ||
| Screaming. | ||
| Spit coming out of his mouth. | ||
| I remember being there. | ||
| I saw Jim Acosta. | ||
| I sat in that room. | ||
| I've asked questions in that room. | ||
| I saw Jim Acosta spit. | ||
| Let's talk about getting a cold. | ||
| He would just spittle, shoot out of his mouth. | ||
| He was screaming so loudly at the press conferences. | ||
| It's on film. | ||
| It's all on camera. | ||
| You can see it. | ||
| He's like a ravenous animal. | ||
| And did you see anybody? | ||
| Did anybody ever say, shut up, Jim Acosta? | ||
| It's incredible, these clips. | ||
| So don't feel sorry for these people. | ||
| It's a complete racket. | ||
| It's going to be so exciting to... | ||
| It's going to be so exciting to win again. | ||
| Can't wait to have it back. | ||
| Get ready! | ||
| Get ready! | ||
| As soon as Trump's back in the White House, it'll be the same thing. | ||
| Just ravenous animals, like, spitting and screaming and barking. | ||
| Incredible. | ||
| But I will say this. | ||
| Actual questions from the White House press corps. | ||
| How is it that the president is still tired 12 days after returning from Europe? | ||
| Right? | ||
| He's in Europe. | ||
| He wasn't in Australia. | ||
| There are some places that are really far away from America. | ||
| Japan, China, and Australia. | ||
| Like, Europe's not terribly far away from Washington, D.C. Sure, it's like four or five hours ahead. | ||
| It's not an insane... | ||
| The idea that he's jet-lagged from that after 12 days? | ||
| Have you ever had a cold before, is what Cringe says? | ||
| You know what, dude? | ||
| You know what? | ||
| They deserve all of it. | ||
| It's incredible. | ||
| They deserve it all. | ||
| Okay? | ||
| Joe Biden finally responds to report that he's stepping down. | ||
| Joe Biden says he will not step down. | ||
| Good. | ||
| Good. | ||
| That's what we've been waiting for. | ||
| Good. | ||
| Now, what happens next? | ||
| Just a real quick cruise through here. | ||
| I think it's very important. | ||
| Nancy Pelosi says that Joe Biden has a condition. | ||
| That's what she said last night. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Okay? | |
| We're going to go blazing fast here. | ||
| Sources inside of Barack Obama's orbit say that Obama is pretty pissed off right now. | ||
| And he's angry about Joe's shaky debate. | ||
| Oh boy. | ||
| James Clyburn, all of the power brokers are saying, James Clyburn's saying, yeah, totally, bring on Kamala Harris. | ||
| Jamie Ratskin saying, it's happening very quickly. | ||
| I don't know what'll happen. | ||
| You know, it'll be a messy process. | ||
| What? | ||
| Dude, you have an incumbent president. | ||
| So you have your first member of Congress, Lloyd Dodgett, who's called for Joe Biden to resign. | ||
| Reading to you directly from his letter, I'm hopeful that he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw. | ||
| I respectfully call on Joe Biden to withdraw from the race. | ||
| And dozens of other... | ||
| Joe, I won't go. | ||
| Dozens of other Democrats have now called for Joe Biden to resign. | ||
| 25 House Democrats preparing to call on Joe to resign. | ||
| 25? | ||
| Holy smokes. | ||
| Donors saying that we've been systematically effed over. | ||
| It is unforgivable. | ||
| They're saying it's unforgivable what Joe Biden has done. | ||
| Unforgivable, ladies and gentlemen. | ||
| It's crazy. | ||
| Donors are furious. | ||
| But donors are also saying that we're screwed with Kamala. | ||
| Kamala Harris is more threatening to those swing voters than dead Joe Biden or a comatose Joe Biden. | ||
| I love that quote. | ||
| Oh man, I love it. | ||
| I love it. | ||
| It's so good. | ||
| So yeah, it's just nightmare. | ||
| Nightmare on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. | ||
| The polls have collapsed and it's getting worse. | ||
| Joe Biden is down six points according to CNN. | ||
| And once again, it's really, really worth noting. | ||
| There is a betting market. | ||
| Here, on Real Clear Politics. | ||
| Real Clear Politics, straight as an arrow, okay? | ||
| Rings like a bell. | ||
| These people just take the data, okay? | ||
| Here was the presidential election. | ||
| This starts what looks like last fall through 2024 to today. | ||
| What the hell? | ||
| Oh, man. | ||
| Ooh, baby. | ||
| What a poll. | ||
| ALX, am I up on the news? | ||
| Is that it? | ||
| Anything else break? | ||
| Let me know if there's anything else that broke. | ||
| But ladies and gentlemen, that is just a remarkable piece of data. | ||
| Now, I have one prop here. | ||
| I didn't want to bring you this. | ||
| I wanted to make a quick announcement that we didn't get to on the morning show, but we will be putting up on X, which is that we love America. | ||
| And we love America so much. | ||
| And that we've had terrible leaders in this country. | ||
| Really bad leaders. | ||
| We have a really bad leader right now. | ||
| We've had really bad leaders in the past. | ||
| I mean, we've had, like, borderline Marxist leaders. | ||
| I mean, if you look at what Woodrow Wilson did, right, or LBJ, so much of the problems we face today is because of these cretinous, long-dead American presidents who just, like, betrayed the Constitution, betrayed our founding. | ||
| Actually, I have the Constitution. | ||
| Hold on. | ||
| I have the Constitution, actually, right here. | ||
| So let's, like, Brass tacks. | ||
| This thing. | ||
| This country is an incredible country. | ||
| And it's the greatest nation on earth. | ||
| It's the greatest nation on earth because of the principles that it was founded upon. | ||
| And it is worth reminding yourselves that sometimes, you know, this process is messy. | ||
| These guys, the guys who had this old colonial flag, all of them were felons. | ||
| Some of them died penniless. | ||
| Some of them died in prison. | ||
| Some of them were executed. | ||
| Some of them went on to be presidents. | ||
| These felons. | ||
| The people who started this country, they did so on the principles that all men are created equal and endowed by their creator, by God, with certain inalienable rights. | ||
| And those rights among them are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. | ||
| And ladies and gentlemen, we hope and pray that you are happy on your 4th of July. | ||
| That you know that America has survived really bad leaders before and will survive really bad leaders again. | ||
| We hope you wave your American flag and know that it always falls to us, the American people, to save this place. | ||
| And we're gonna with God's providence. | ||
| Remember Benjamin Franklin's prayer from the Constitutional Convention? | ||
| Here's how Ben Franklin, who was agnostic at best, but really understood, I think, the nature of God and nations. | ||
| He prayed this. | ||
| He said, if a sparrow cannot fall from the sky without God's notice, then how can a nation rise without his aid? | ||
| Ben Franklin said that America will continue to be America as long as we have God on our side and as long as we call out to God, as righteous nations must do. | ||
| Sodom and Gomorrah, are we living in it? | ||
| Yeah, probably. | ||
| I mean, yikes. | ||
| Yeah. | ||
| Okay. | ||
| Yeah. | ||
| I mean, like, are you living in Sodom? | ||
| Yeah, totally. | ||
| Right? | ||
| Totally. | ||
| But what was asked of Sodom and Gomorrah? | ||
| Like, show me righteous men. | ||
| Show me righteous women. | ||
| Show me people who actually believe. | ||
| Show me people that believe. | ||
| Life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness. | ||
| Show me people that believe. | ||
| And so that's what we should do on 4th of July. | ||
| Just want to, like, stay that out there. | ||
| Because we're not going to be live tomorrow, obviously, to, like, spend time with our family, watch firework, grill. | ||
| And we're making a decision sort of on Friday. | ||
| Right? | ||
| Depending on the news cycle. | ||
| Depending on what happens. | ||
| Okay? | ||
| But the chances are we won't be live. | ||
| So I did want to, like, state this. | ||
| I did want to, like, say that from our perspective and from where we are and from our vantage point and the way that we look at life and the way that we look at this country, most importantly, that this is a great place. | ||
| This is a wonderful place. | ||
| This is a good place to live. | ||
| America is filled with good people and we, the people, We're the ones who are going to save this place from these monsters. | ||
| We've done it before and we'll do it again. | ||
| And so cheers to you this 4th of July. | ||
| We'll see you in a few days. | ||
| We definitely won't let up off the gas pedal. | ||
| We're going to win. | ||
| God bless America. | ||
| Happy Independence Day. | ||
| It's your boy Benny. | ||
| Celebrate in this, the greatest country on earth. | ||
|
unidentified
|
See ya. | |
| He's going to hurry up. | ||
| I'm losing him. | ||
| Put him on the couch. | ||
| Put him down. | ||
| Can't just leave him like this, you know. | ||
| The Benny Show, where the truth gon' be. | ||
| Faith and freedom on your TV screen. | ||
| Stand up strong, battle through the night. | ||
| The Benny Show's here bringing liberty to life. | ||
| From the speeches to debates, Benny Sharp like a blade. | ||
| Cover through the lies, watch the truth cascade with the warrior's heart. | ||
| This man never fades You know it's primetime when Benny invades From saving the nation to stories untold The Benny Show's a storm, see the truth unfold Stay in the loop, let freedom take hold Salt on all the libs, soul never sold It's the Benny Show, where the truth gon' be Faith and freedom on your TV screen Stand up strong, |
Export Selection