On Wednesday, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre & National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan held a White House Press briefing.
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NewsTranscript
00:00:00Hi, good afternoon, everyone.
00:00:08So I'm just going to be super, super quick.
00:00:10I'm going to turn things over to National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, who's here
00:00:14to talk about the national security supplemental that the President, as you all know, signed
00:00:19this morning, and our support for Ukraine, our continued support for Ukraine.
00:00:25Jake.
00:00:26Well, thank you.
00:00:28So Karine was very short.
00:00:29I'll be a little bit longer because I have a few things to lay out, but I wanted to start
00:00:34by saying that I'm sorry that we're late for the podium today, but it's for a good reason,
00:00:39which is I've just come from being with the President, where he got the chance to meet
00:00:44with Abigail Idan, the four-year-old American who was held hostage by Hamas in Gaza and
00:00:50was released last November as part of the first hostage deal that the President was
00:00:55able to help broker and negotiate.
00:00:57But it was also a reminder in getting to see her that there are still Americans and
00:01:03others being held hostage by Hamas, and we're working day in, day out to ensure all of them
00:01:08also are able to get safely home to their loved ones.
00:01:13The main reason I've come to the podium today, though, is to follow up on the President's
00:01:19remarks from earlier today and the very important consequential vote that was taken in the Senate
00:01:24last night and the bill that was signed by the President this morning.
00:01:27This morning, you heard President Biden speak about the critical importance of the National
00:01:31Security Supplemental, which came to the President's desk, as we said it would, with overwhelming
00:01:36bipartisan support from the U.S. Congress.
00:01:39I've stood at this podium numerous times and said the road may be full of twists and turns.
00:01:46I can't predict exactly when it will happen, but I always had confidence it would happen,
00:01:49and that's because of the deep reservoir of support there is for Ukraine, and that's
00:01:55true of Democrats, it's true of Republicans, it's true of independents, and that's what's
00:01:58shown through in the votes both in the House and the 79-vote, I-vote outcome we saw in
00:02:05the Senate last night.
00:02:07The passage of this bill sends a powerful message to the rest of the world about the
00:02:11enduring strength of American leadership, and believe me, the rest of the world has
00:02:15been and continues to watch closely.
00:02:18As you all know, getting this legislation through Congress has been a top priority for
00:02:22President Biden since he first submitted his supplemental request more than six months
00:02:26ago, and it gets to a core tenet of his foreign policy philosophy.
00:02:31When our friends and allies are stronger, we, the United States, and the American people
00:02:34are stronger, and when our friends are attacked or threatened, we, the United States, stand
00:02:39up for them, we do our part, we keep our word.
00:02:43And with that signature this morning, the President kept America's word that we would
00:02:46stand with Ukraine through thick and thin, and that's exactly what we will do.
00:02:51When Russia began massing troops on Ukraine's border, the President rallied the world to
00:02:55respond to Russia's aggression.
00:02:56He built a broad coalition that flowed critical aid to Ukraine as the Ukrainian people defended
00:03:03themselves and then won the battle for Kiev, the battle for Kharkiv, the battle for Kyrsan,
00:03:08and regained half the territory that Russia occupied since 2022.
00:03:12And the bill the President signed today, and the significant and immediate military
00:03:17aid package he approved one minute later, will send Ukraine the supplies that it needs
00:03:22to make a significant difference as they continue to fight for their sovereignty and territorial
00:03:27integrity.
00:03:28The bill will also help replenish Israel's air defenses, which is even more important
00:03:32following Iran's brazen and unprecedented attack ten days ago.
00:03:37And it will help ensure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself against the very
00:03:40real threats it faces from Iran as well as Iran's proxy groups.
00:03:45The supplemental will substantially increase humanitarian aid for Palestinian civilians
00:03:49in Gaza who are suffering so grievously.
00:03:52As we work to build on the progress of the last two weeks in terms of an increase in
00:03:57the amount of life-saving humanitarian assistance that has been and must continue to flow into
00:04:02Gaza and the quantities and the type of humanitarian assistance that we have seen increase over
00:04:08the last two weeks, we need to see continued increases and sustained increases as we go
00:04:12forward.
00:04:14The bill will also enhance and expand humanitarian aid for those who have been impacted by instability,
00:04:20by conflict, by disaster all over the world, including in Haiti and Sudan and Somalia.
00:04:26The bill makes important investments in our defense industrial base that will strengthen
00:04:30our own military.
00:04:31And of course, it provides timely support to our allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific
00:04:36as well.
00:04:37Getting this bill passed entailed months of advocacy, hands-on work by President Biden
00:04:42himself, by his White House team, by his national security team, and countless briefings, meetings,
00:04:50hearings by departments and agencies across our government for the Congress in both the
00:04:55House and the Senate.
00:04:57It was a long road to secure this funding, and I have to say standing here today it was
00:05:01too long.
00:05:02And the consequences of the delay have been felt in Ukraine.
00:05:06Over the past six months, Ukraine has had to ration ammunition, and that has resulted
00:05:12in the loss of some territory in the east, including the city of Avdivka.
00:05:17And while today's announcement is very good news for Ukraine, they are still under severe
00:05:21pressure on the battlefield, and it is certainly possible that Russia could make additional
00:05:26tactical gains in the coming weeks.
00:05:28Russia has tried to grind out very slow, costly progress on multiple fronts over the past
00:05:36few weeks.
00:05:37They are threatening the town of Chassibiar, they are threatening settlements to the west
00:05:41of Avdivka, and of course they're raining hell down on Kharkiv and other cities across
00:05:46Ukraine.
00:05:47The fact is that it's going to take some time for us to dig out of the hole that was created
00:05:52by six months of delay before Congress passed the supplemental.
00:05:56And that's why the minute the President signed the supplemental, he turned and signed a very
00:06:03substantial drawdown package that includes urgently needed artillery and HIMARS ammunition,
00:06:08more armored vehicles, javelins, stingers, and air defense interceptors, among other
00:06:13things.
00:06:14These capabilities are going to start moving immediately to make up for lost time.
00:06:18At this critical moment, this is a way to show in deed as well as in word that the United
00:06:23States stands with Ukraine.
00:06:26And despite the challenges that I've just described, I think it is very important for
00:06:31us to underscore that as we look ahead to the rest of 2024, our view is that Ukraine
00:06:37retains key advantages in this fight.
00:06:41Ukraine can and will prevail.
00:06:43And that will be thanks to the bravery of its people, but also the support of its friends.
00:06:48First, the Ukrainian military remains a resilient, brave, and effective fighting force.
00:06:53And even as Ukrainians waited for U.S. security assistance, they were able to impose significant
00:06:58costs on Russia.
00:07:00Since the start of 2024, we estimate that Ukraine has destroyed more than 700 Russian
00:07:05armored vehicles and roughly 250 Russian tanks.
00:07:09Russia, meanwhile, has had to continue to throw its soldiers into the fight without
00:07:14proper training and equipment.
00:07:16Second, our allies, as the President said this morning, have been mobilizing in support
00:07:21of Ukraine alongside us.
00:07:23Just yesterday, the UK announced a significant new package of military aid for Ukraine alongside
00:07:30of major investments that they are making in their defense industrial base, putting
00:07:34their defense budget on a path to reach 2.5 percent of their GDP by the end of the decade.
00:07:40And the United States welcomes these moves from a stalwart ally.
00:07:44Germany recently announced the donation of another Patriot system to Ukraine.
00:07:48The Czech government, whose prime minister was just here recently, has raised enough
00:07:52money to purchase half a million artillery shells for Ukraine, with hundreds of thousands
00:07:57more beyond that to follow.
00:07:59And Estonia recently announced its own ambitious effort to secure even more artillery and other
00:08:04forms of ammunition for Ukraine.
00:08:07And then third, the United States is building up our capacity to support Ukraine.
00:08:12For example, we're investing in our own domestic production of 155-millimeter artillery rounds.
00:08:18Since the start of this conflict, we've more than doubled our monthly production of 155.
00:08:23By the end of this year, we will have doubled it again, and as a result, we're going to
00:08:27be able to provide from our own production steady and significant supplies of artillery
00:08:33to Ukraine.
00:08:34We are also providing Ukraine with new capabilities.
00:08:38I'm able to confirm, as you've heard from others, that in February, the President directed
00:08:42his team to provide Ukraine with a significant number of ATAKMS missiles for use inside Ukraine's
00:08:49sovereign territory.
00:08:51That shipment started moving in March as part of the PDA that the President authorized on
00:08:55March 12th, and those missiles have arrived in Ukraine.
00:08:59This followed Russia's procurement and use of North Korea's ballistic missiles against
00:09:04Ukraine, as well as Russia's renewed and escalating attacks against civilian infrastructure in
00:09:08Ukraine.
00:09:10Until recently, as we've said on many occasions, we were unable to provide these ATAKMS because
00:09:15of readiness concerns.
00:09:17But behind the scenes, the administration across the board has worked relentlessly to
00:09:21address those concerns.
00:09:23We now have a significant number of ATAKMS coming off the production line and entering
00:09:27U.S. stocks, and as a result, we can move forward with providing ATAKMS while also sustaining
00:09:34the readiness of the U.S. armed forces.
00:09:37The path ahead will not be easy.
00:09:40Russia is going to continue to press its attacks against Ukrainian defenses, but for the reasons
00:09:45that I have laid out, over time, we assess that Ukraine's position in this conflict will
00:09:50improve and we believe that Ukraine can and will win.
00:09:54As I've said from this podium before, no one – no one in this room and no one anywhere
00:09:59else should underestimate the Ukrainian people, and no one should underestimate President
00:10:03Biden's resolve and the American people's resolve and a bipartisan majority in both
00:10:08in the House and the Senate's resolve to stand with Ukraine.
00:10:12And with that, I'd be happy to take your questions.
00:10:13Yeah.
00:10:14Thank you, Jake.
00:10:15How big of an impact will these long-range ATAKMS have on the battlefield in Ukraine?
00:10:20And will more long-range ATAKMS be sent to Ukraine as part of this $60 billion aid package?
00:10:26So we've – as I said in my opening comments, we've already sent some.
00:10:31We will send more now that we have additional both authority and money.
00:10:36I'm not going to get into specific numbers for operational reasons.
00:10:39I believe they will make a difference, but as I've said before at this podium and as
00:10:43you've heard from Secretary Austin, the chairman, and other senior military officials,
00:10:48there is no silver bullet in this conflict.
00:10:50One capability is not going to be the ultimate solution.
00:10:54It is an amalgam of capabilities that come together and combine with the bravery and
00:11:00skill of Ukraine's fighters that's going to make the difference in this conflict.
00:11:03So we think it's good that we're able to provide them, but I don't expect to stand
00:11:07before you and say one capability has been the silver bullet in this conflict.
00:11:12Are you worried that it could provoke Russia because they had said that sending these long-range
00:11:16missiles could be crossing a red line?
00:11:18What we have seen from the Russians is their willingness to accept long-range missiles
00:11:23from other countries, specifically North Korea.
00:11:25They have used those in the battlefield.
00:11:27They have used them to attack Ukrainian civilians as well.
00:11:30So from our perspective, now that we've resolved our readiness concerns, being able
00:11:35to step up and provide our own capabilities to Ukraine, as partners of ours have – the
00:11:40U.K., the French, others – we think it's appropriate to do at this moment.
00:11:44We think it is a good capability in this phase of the conflict for Ukraine, and we will stand
00:11:49behind that foursquare.
00:11:50Yeah.
00:11:51Jay, you know, on Israel, they've made a number of commitments in terms of what they
00:11:56need to do on the ground in order to receive the aid that they're getting from the United
00:12:00States.
00:12:01With the reports that we've seen of mass graves at two medical facilities in Gaza that
00:12:06they destroyed, is it your current view that they are living up to those commitments?
00:12:11Well, those reports were deeply disturbing.
00:12:13We have been in touch at multiple levels with the Israeli Government.
00:12:17We want answers.
00:12:18We want to understand exactly what happened.
00:12:20You've seen some public commentary from the IDF on that, but we want to know the specifics
00:12:25of what the circumstances of this were, and we want to see this thoroughly and transparently
00:12:29investigated so that the whole world can have a comprehensive answer and we, the United
00:12:33States, can as well.
00:12:34I can't speak beyond that because, of course, we're in the early days of fully understanding
00:12:38what happened.
00:12:39We also received a series of commitments from the Israeli Government with respect to the
00:12:43facilitation of humanitarian assistance.
00:12:46That's all for today, Jay.
00:12:47Time's up.
00:12:48That's what the, that's the gong show?
00:12:52You know, President Biden spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu a little more than two
00:12:57weeks ago.
00:12:58And in the time that has unfolded since his conversation with Prime Minister Netanyahu,
00:13:04we have seen a marked increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance that has gone into
00:13:10Gaza and, importantly, a very significant increase in the amount of assistance that
00:13:14has gone to northern Gaza, where the UN and others had told us the challenges of malnutrition
00:13:20and potential famine were most acute.
00:13:22So we think we have made a significant set of steps forward on this, but, and this is
00:13:28a very important but, it needs to be sustained and it needs to be increased even further.
00:13:33We've seen moves at Ashdod.
00:13:34We've seen initial moves through crossings in the north.
00:13:38Again, those are good steps, but we need to see that expanded, institutionalized, and
00:13:43ensure that on a steady basis, the level and intensity and scope of humanitarian assistance
00:13:49meets the need.
00:13:50And we're going to stay focused until we ensure that that is the case.
00:13:54Yeah.
00:13:55Thanks, Jay.
00:13:56What kind of mechanism does the U.S. have in place to ensure that these long-range attack
00:14:02weapons will only be used within Ukrainian territory and will not be fired into Russian
00:14:07territory?
00:14:08Well, we now have an extended period of time where we have tested these commitments from
00:14:13the Ukrainian government, which they have made with respect to other systems as well,
00:14:17including HIMARS, where they have said, we will only use these on Ukrainian sovereign
00:14:21territory.
00:14:22We won't use them beyond the borders of Ukraine.
00:14:25They have followed through on that commitment time and time again with respect to the systems
00:14:29that we have provided them.
00:14:31So we have confidence they will follow through on this commitment as well.
00:14:33And then on this new hostage video that was just released by HIMARS of Persh over in Poland,
00:14:40what's your understanding of why HIMARS is releasing this video now?
00:14:44Is it because the U.S. was insisting on some proof of life, or is this a provocation of
00:14:49some sort?
00:14:50We have insisted on proof of life.
00:14:51We have insisted on the release of all of these hostages from the beginning.
00:14:55And so there's been no change in our position with respect to proof of life.
00:14:59So I can't speak to what has caused them to choose to release the video at this time.
00:15:02All I can say is this is an innocent young man being held hostage by a terrorist organization,
00:15:09and he should be released immediately without condition and without delay.
00:15:13I have not had the personal opportunity to speak with his parents since this video was
00:15:17released.
00:15:18I'm intending to do that.
00:15:19I don't want to speak further on this because of the sensitivity of the issue, other than
00:15:22to say I was just sitting with the President of the United States going through all of
00:15:27the Americans being held hostage and what we can do about them, what their status is.
00:15:30It's something he's personally very focused on, even as he celebrates Abigail's release.
00:15:36So this is something we will continue to make a paramount priority for President Biden and
00:15:40for the United States.
00:15:41And I don't want to detail it much further, but just for clarity, can you assess, is there
00:15:44any assessment of how recent this video was made, if this was made just days after?
00:15:48He does have sort of a date stamp, and how long, he says, he's been held.
00:15:51What is the U.S.'s understanding on that?
00:15:52And separately, can you pull back the curtain on the visit with Abigail, Adam, and her family?
00:15:56You were there.
00:15:57How is she?
00:15:58Her spirits?
00:15:59Her family?
00:16:00What was the moment like?
00:16:01What were the interactions like?
00:16:02If you can invite us into that room.
00:16:03The moment that we got the video that showed Hirsch, we gave it to the FBI hostage fusion
00:16:10recovery cell.
00:16:12Those are the experts who have the technical capacity to actually look at that video and
00:16:18discern or at least assess with as much specificity as possible the answers to your questions.
00:16:24They are in the process of doing that.
00:16:26I'm not going to get ahead of that assessment to make any judgments about time, recency,
00:16:33et cetera.
00:16:34I will let them make those judgments, and then when we have something we can share publicly
00:16:37in light of all the sensitivities, we'll share it with you.
00:16:43President Biden will speak to this himself because this was his meeting, his opportunity
00:16:47to see Abigail, to see her family, to see her siblings.
00:16:54Abigail and her two siblings had their parents killed on October 7th, so they're still living
00:17:01with the tragedy and the trauma of that.
00:17:03Abigail, of course, is living with the trauma of being held captive for many weeks.
00:17:10This was a moment of joy as well because she was able to be returned safely to her family.
00:17:19I think for the president, the most important thing was it was a reminder of the work still
00:17:23to do and how important it is for him personally and for the government to do all that we can
00:17:30to secure a ceasefire and hostage deal so that everybody can come home.
00:17:34Yeah.
00:17:35Thanks, Jake.
00:17:36This bill also authorized the president to seize Russian dollar assets.
00:17:40Is that something he's prepared to do unilaterally or will he have to consult with allies before
00:17:45making any kind of decision?
00:17:47Well, the G7 has said collectively that Russia's assets are going to remain immobilized until
00:17:52they are put to use for recovery in Ukraine.
00:17:55The precise way in which that happens, the mechanism, is still a matter of consultation
00:18:04with their European partners.
00:18:05Look, the ideal is that we all move together, that Europe and the United States, especially
00:18:10since the bulk of the assets are held in Europe, come up with a common way forward for how
00:18:14we ensure that these sovereign assets actually go to work rebuilding and reconstructing Ukraine.
00:18:20I will not go further than that today because we are in the middle of intense consultations
00:18:25with our European partners.
00:18:27I can tell you this is going to be an important subject of conversation at the G7 summit in
00:18:32June, but I will leave it at that for today.
00:18:35Can you provide us with an update on the latest on the Rafah invasion?
00:18:39What's the latest that the Israelis have told the administration and on timing do you expect
00:18:44them to hold off as these talks continue?
00:18:47I will say that you hear a lot of different public comments from different Israeli officials,
00:18:53different media reports, some on the record, some off the record, some on background circling
00:18:57dates stating what's going to happen definitively, changing what's going to happen definitively.
00:19:02So I will be entirely out of the business of commenting, predicting, or representing
00:19:08what exactly Israel will do when it comes to Rafah.
00:19:11What I can tell you is the U.S. position has been clear on this.
00:19:14I've stated it from this podium.
00:19:15The President has spoken to it.
00:19:17And we've had very detailed discussions with the Israelis as recently as last week by secure
00:19:23video to talk through not just our concerns, but our view that there is a different way
00:19:27to go about dealing with the Hamas-threatened Rafah and succeeding in ensuring the long-term
00:19:33defense and security of Israel.
00:19:35We are still in those conversations and we will still continue to press our perspective.
00:19:40And I will leave it at that for today because that conversation is midstream and has not
00:19:43been concluded.
00:19:44Yeah.
00:19:45Thanks, Jake.
00:19:46This bill gets ByteDance 270 days to sell TikTok due to those national security concerns,
00:19:51which could lead to a national ban.
00:19:53In the meantime, is it safe for President Biden's campaign and any other political entity
00:19:57to be on TikTok?
00:19:59So I'm going to let campaigns decide for themselves what they're going to do.
00:20:02The terms of the bill are straightforward.
00:20:04TikTok continues to operate as it is right now until such time as either there is divestment
00:20:09or the time that you referred to elapses.
00:20:12And so what we're focused on right now in implementing the bill is working through that
00:20:16divestment in a way that is consistent with the intent of the law and consistent with
00:20:22the national security concerns that brought the law into force in the first place.
00:20:26Yeah.
00:20:27The war will stretch far beyond the $61 billion in aid.
00:20:31So can the Ukrainians have any confidence that the fight over money in Congress won't
00:20:37repeat itself next year?
00:20:39And has Putin planned for these skirmishes in the U.S. Congress as he continues the invasion
00:20:48of Ukraine?
00:20:49Well, look, I've said this before, and maybe it's even an understatement to say it again,
00:20:55that democracy is messy.
00:20:58There's a lot of to-ing and fro-ing, a lot of twists and turns.
00:21:01But I think really what this weekend showed is that at the end of the day, despite substantial
00:21:06effort by a lot of parties, including the Russians, to figure out a way to not have
00:21:13this bill pass, it has passed.
00:21:16And I think the message that that sends is that at the end of the day, when push comes
00:21:21to shove, the United States is going to be there with the resources necessary for Ukraine.
00:21:25I believe that today.
00:21:26I believe that one year ago.
00:21:28And I believe that will be true one year from now.
00:21:30Yeah.
00:21:31Thanks, Jake.
00:21:32You referred to the hole that was dug because of the six-month delay in Congress.
00:21:35How deep is that hole?
00:21:37How much did Ukraine lose on the battlefield as a result of inaction?
00:21:41And secondly, how long does the U.S. expect this $61 billion to last before it is completely
00:21:47withdrawn?
00:21:48So you can measure the impact in different ways.
00:21:53With respect to actual territory, we're talking about tactical losses in the east, not some
00:21:58fundamental structural shift in the underlying dynamic of the conflict.
00:22:02But you can also measure it just in terms of the wear and tear it places on a frontline
00:22:08unit who has to ration ammunition because they're not getting the steady flows.
00:22:13And that's a bit more incalculable.
00:22:17And the President referred in his remarks earlier today to the reports of Ukrainian
00:22:22troops literally cheering in the trenches, watching on their phones as the House passed
00:22:27the bill over the weekend.
00:22:28That goes to show you how closely they are following the U.S. Congress because it means
00:22:35the difference between having the tools they need to put up that fight effectively and
00:22:39not having those tools.
00:22:41So our view is that that has caused, obviously, some significant wear and tear on the forces,
00:22:48as well as some tactical losses on the battlefield, and has also created the existing pressure
00:22:55that we see even today with Russian units pushing forward in places they were not previously
00:23:00pushing forward.
00:23:01But we also believe, as I laid out maybe in too much detail for some of you, that there
00:23:06are fundamental structural drivers that favor Ukraine here.
00:23:10And part of that is about what the U.S. industrial base can produce.
00:23:13Part of it is about what the Europeans have stepped up to do in really significant ways
00:23:17over the course of the last six months.
00:23:20And we are urging them to keep that going even as the U.S. has delivered $60 billion.
00:23:26Part of that is about the Ukrainian capacity itself.
00:23:28And then, of course, we are adding new capabilities like the ATACM.
00:23:32So you put all that together, and I think the calculus of the Russians or the critics
00:23:37of Ukraine who say time is on Russia's side, they've got it wrong.
00:23:40We believe that the structural dynamics of this conflict favor the country defending
00:23:45its own territory.
00:23:46We believe that occupation and invasion saps the will and vitality of a nation over time.
00:23:52And as long as Ukraine gets the tools that it needs to defend itself, it can do so effectively
00:23:57and it can win.
00:23:59And we have now taken a major step forward in giving it the tools that it needs to defend
00:24:03itself, and we insist that we will continue to do so.
00:24:05And then that second question in terms of how long it'll last.
00:24:07I mean, how – until it's completely drawn down.
00:24:10Is there any – should it last the rest of this year?
00:24:12I mean, how long are we talking?
00:24:13I do anticipate that with the amount of resources we have right now, we can continue to supply
00:24:18Ukraine with what it needs through 2024.
00:24:19Yeah.
00:24:20Thanks, Jake.
00:24:21There's been some satellite imagery of tents popping up near Khamenets and Rafa as well.
00:24:27Do you have an assessment of what these were built for?
00:24:29Is this related to Israel's potential invasion in Rafa imminently?
00:24:35So I've seen the reports.
00:24:37I don't know actually exactly what they refer to.
00:24:40It is certainly the case that UN organizations, NGOs, other governments are working to actually
00:24:47build out shelter, sanitation, distribution points for humanitarian assistance in Khan
00:24:54Yunus now that major military operations there have abated.
00:24:58So sort of setting aside the question of Rafa for the moment, which is a hard question to
00:25:02set aside, there's going to be a significant amount of humanitarian activity in Khan Yunus
00:25:06regardless, as there can and should be in Gaza City as well as we get more aid to the
00:25:12north.
00:25:13So I can't speak specifically to these reports, how they relate to Israel's future military
00:25:19operations because I've only seen them kind of written in the newspaper.
00:25:22I haven't yet seen what exactly they're referring to.
00:25:26But we'll stay in close touch, not just with the Israelis, but with the United Nations.
00:25:30In fact, on a daily basis at senior levels, we're talking to the UN as they try to coordinate
00:25:34the humanitarian element of this.
00:25:36And frankly, for those people, innocent civilians who are not in Rafa, they too need and deserve
00:25:43shelter, support, food, medicine, and everything else.
00:25:47And we are insisting that that happen in addition to ensuring the safety and protection of the
00:25:52people of Rafa.
00:25:53And quickly on the in-person talks that were scheduled to happen, I know you guys have
00:25:56been meeting virtually with Israeli counterparts.
00:25:59Is there anything planned upcoming for an in-person conversation?
00:26:03So we had an in-person one planned.
00:26:05And then, as you all may have noticed, there was a series of events related to Israel over
00:26:10the course of the past two weeks that made it difficult, frankly, for anybody to leave
00:26:14their desks.
00:26:15I couldn't leave my desk.
00:26:16My counterparts in Israel couldn't leave their desk because we were hunkered down trying
00:26:20to put together the coalition that helped defend Israel against that unprecedented Iranian
00:26:24attack and then deal with the aftermath of it.
00:26:26I expect we will get together in person relatively soon, but we don't have a date circled on
00:26:31the calendar right now.
00:26:32Thank you, Jake.
00:26:33Thanks so much, Jake.
00:26:34Back to the structural dynamics in Ukraine that you talked about earlier, Ukraine is
00:26:39facing a very severe troop shortage at the moment.
00:26:43Is there anything in this package that will address the fact that Ukraine needs more troops
00:26:48on the front lines and have been struggling to get the numbers that they need over the
00:26:52past several months?
00:26:53It's a very good question.
00:26:54Obviously, this package does not include troops.
00:26:56It includes the capabilities that troops will need, but Ukraine itself will have to supply
00:27:00the troops.
00:27:02Now, as we were working day in, day out to get this bill passed, President Biden was
00:27:07also working with President Zelensky to talk through how President Zelensky was thinking
00:27:13about the issue of mobilization and getting enough forces forward to the fight.
00:27:16And actually, as you know, just in the last couple of weeks, Ukraine has passed a new
00:27:20mobilization law.
00:27:22And also, the new Commander-in-Chief, General Sierski, has put in place, along with the
00:27:26Defense Minister Umarov, a series of protocols to increase the number of forces that are
00:27:34being mobilized each month so that Ukraine has the manpower it needs to go along with
00:27:39the capabilities it is now getting.
00:27:41And we will start to see the impact of that month by month as they implement the new mobilization
00:27:47law and as they implement the new directives from the Minister of Defense and the new Commander
00:27:53of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
00:27:56Jake, the North Korean envoy has recently sent to Iran.
00:28:03And considering the fact that both ballistic missiles and the Shahed drones have been sent
00:28:08to Ukraine to fight against the Ukrainian forces, can I get your comment on that, please?
00:28:12Well, the President today made a comment that I'll just repeat, which is, for the six months
00:28:18that we were not actually passing the necessary resources for Ukraine, Putin was looking to
00:28:24his friends.
00:28:25He was getting those drones from Iran.
00:28:27He was getting those missiles from North Korea.
00:28:29And he was getting support for the Russian Defense Industrial Base from China.
00:28:33And that is not lost on us.
00:28:34It's something that we are dealing with on all three fronts.
00:28:38And we will continue to do that.
00:28:39You've heard Secretary Blinken, obviously, who's now in Beijing, speak to our concerns
00:28:44with respect to the PRC and its support for Russia's Defense Industrial Base.
00:28:49And we have been vocal from this podium about both North Korea and Iran and will continue
00:28:53to be.
00:28:54Yeah.
00:28:55Go ahead.
00:28:56Go ahead, Jake.
00:28:57Israeli government officials are saying that the President has backed down on possibly
00:29:02sanctioning the IDF Nitsa Yehuda unit battalion.
00:29:08Is there any truth to that?
00:29:09Is that still under consideration?
00:29:11And if not, why not?
00:29:13On this one, I've got to refer you to the State Department because they run a rigorous,
00:29:18detailed analysis of what's called the Leahy Law, which looks at gross violations of human
00:29:23rights by particular units.
00:29:25It has been taking a look at these questions from multiple countries.
00:29:30And I can't – it wouldn't be appropriate for me to speak on their behalf.
00:29:33So the State Department will ultimately have to speak to this.
00:29:36I would only point out that the nomenclature of sanction is not accurate.
00:29:41What we are talking about here is if the Leahy Law is implemented, it has implications for
00:29:46how we deal with a particular unit.
00:29:48But it's not, in the classic sense, a sanction.
00:29:52It's something well known and applied in multiple jurisdictions around the world.
00:29:57But this really is something that we take care to separate from politics, to separate
00:30:03from decisions taken at the White House.
00:30:06It is a State Department analysis with a State Department outcome.
00:30:09And they can speak to what is going to happen at the time that they're ready to speak
00:30:14to it.
00:30:15Having said that, a number of State Department officials, including some recently departed
00:30:21former officials, have told my colleagues that their understanding of the situation
00:30:25is that the President's views on Israel have been a roadblock to applying the Leahy
00:30:33Law, as you have just described.
00:30:37Can you tell us right here whether the President would intervene in that State Department process
00:30:43that you alluded to, to prevent Leahy Law restrictions being placed on Israel?
00:30:48I think I did just tell you he will not, the White House will not intervene in that.
00:30:52That is a process run out of the State Department and you should go there.
00:30:55And my strong guess is that the State Department officials you're referring to have never
00:30:59sat in a meeting with President Biden on Israel and are merely speculating based on whatever
00:31:03their own perspective is.
00:31:05But I've said it to you, plain and simple, the State Department will make these judgments.
00:31:10They'll make them according to the analysis and the timeline they deem appropriate.
00:31:14And the questions about how that all plays out are best directed to their podium.
00:31:18Just on Ukraine, now that the United States is sending long-range missile systems to Ukraine,
00:31:28do you expect that Germany would follow?
00:31:31Would you welcome such a step from them?
00:31:33I would refer you to Berlin on that.
00:31:35Yeah.
00:31:36You've been talking about a very detailed discussion with the Israeli government about
00:31:43a possible invasion in Raqqa.
00:31:46Does this administration still consider Prime Minister Netanyahu as a viable partner?
00:31:52As a what?
00:31:53Viable partner.
00:31:54I'm not sure I understand what you mean by that.
00:31:57As a partner that you can trust.
00:31:59He's the Prime Minister of Israel.
00:32:01We deal with whoever is sitting in the chair as the Prime Minister of Israel because ultimately
00:32:05the decisions that are taken are taken under his leadership of his cabinet.
00:32:09And so we will continue to engage with the Prime Minister, the President will continue
00:32:13to engage with his team in an effort for them to fully understand our perspective and
00:32:18where we think the right steps forward are and to listen to them as well.
00:32:24And ultimately, the President will make his own decisions about U.S. policy consistent
00:32:27with U.S. interests and values.
00:32:28Thank you very much, Jeff.
00:32:29On Iran, North Korea, and Russia, it was reported that North Korea's economic delegations will
00:32:39be dispatched to Iran to discuss nuclear and missile cooperation with Iran.
00:32:47As you know that Iran used North Korea made missiles in an airstrike against Israel.
00:32:56What impact do you predict that military cooperation between Iran, North Korea, and Russia will
00:33:06have on the Middle East situation and the Korean Peninsula?
00:33:12Well, episodically over the course of many years and many administrations, we've seen
00:33:16various linkages and defense cooperation between North Korea and Iran.
00:33:23That's come and gone, ebbed and flowed.
00:33:27What is new, what is different over the course of the last two years has really been the
00:33:32cooperation between Iran and Russia with this massive provision of drones and North
00:33:37Korea and Russia with a massive provision of many different capabilities including artillery
00:33:43but also including ballistic missiles that go quite a long range, pack a punch, and are
00:33:49being used to terrorize cities across Ukraine.
00:33:53And we believe that this is a matter of grave concern to the security of Europe, way beyond
00:33:59the borders of Ukraine.
00:34:00And to your question, we're also concerned about what may happen in the other direction.
00:34:04What is Russia going to provide to North Korea or Iran that will destabilize the Indo-Pacific
00:34:09or destabilize the Middle East?
00:34:11That's something that we're watching very closely.
00:34:13Tomorrow is the funeral service for the seven Central Kitchen A workers who were killed.
00:34:19Why is the President not going?
00:34:21Well, the President will have a letter from him read at the service and you will see the
00:34:25second gentleman there.
00:34:26The President, of course, has had a longstanding plan to go up to Micron, the facility up in
00:34:33Syracuse.
00:34:34He will continue with that.
00:34:35But he has spoken directly with Chef Jose Andres about this tragic event.
00:34:42And of course, in the immediate aftermath of it, he picked up the phone, he called Bibi
00:34:45Netanyahu, and what we have seen since then, as I was speaking about before with respect
00:34:49to the provision and facilitation of humanitarian assistance, has been a significant difference.
00:34:55But the administration will be well represented at that event.
00:34:57Yeah.
00:34:58Thank you.
00:34:59Two questions.
00:35:00One on Iran.
00:35:01Part of the bill that was signed by the President today had a collection of sanctions on Iran,
00:35:07on the Islamic Republic, namely human rights, drones, their dealings with China, the oil
00:35:14export.
00:35:15What is the administration trying to achieve with this set of sanctions that has not already
00:35:21achieved in the past three years?
00:35:24And my second question is about this National Security Memorandum 20, which is an independent
00:35:31task which they called for the suspension of the U.S. arms transfer to Israel because
00:35:37they are accusing Israel Defense Forces of a systematic pattern of war crimes.
00:35:43What does the administration say about this?
00:35:46So on National Security Memorandum 20, which the President signed some weeks ago, we have
00:35:52a report that will be sent up to the Congress in early May.
00:35:56That report will analyze the elements of National Security Memorandum 20, and obviously then
00:36:00we will present the findings of that to all of you as well.
00:36:04And I'm not going to get ahead of that report.
00:36:05I think we should let them work through rigorously the analysis, which will be done on an interagency
00:36:10basis by the U.S.
00:36:12Government.
00:36:13And your first question was about Iran sanctions.
00:36:14Look, I think the moment we're in right now that's quite different from where we were
00:36:18just a few weeks ago.
00:36:19You've actually had the G7 come out together and say that we need to impose additional
00:36:23economic measures, additional sanctions, additional pressure on Iran for this brazen and unprecedented
00:36:28attack against Israel with more than 300 missiles and drones fired at Israeli territory.
00:36:34The EU has moved, the U.K. has moved, the United States has moved, and we will continue
00:36:38to move.
00:36:39And extra authorities from Congress can help add to the types of forms of pressure that
00:36:43we can place and the type of isolation we can generate with respect to Iran, which is
00:36:49acting in ways that are fundamentally irresponsible and destabilizing to peace and stability in
00:36:54the Middle East.
00:36:55I'll take one more question.
00:36:56Yeah.
00:36:57I wanted to follow up on – I know you had to not go to Riyadh to Saudi Arabia.
00:37:00I hope you're feeling better, by the way.
00:37:02Thank you.
00:37:03But has that been rescheduled first?
00:37:05And secondly, can you give us an update on sort of what movement there has been on these
00:37:09normalization talks between Saudi Arabia and Israel?
00:37:12I do expect to get to Saudi Arabia in the next few weeks.
00:37:15We haven't literally scheduled it because things have been a bit in flux, but we will
00:37:19get it back on the calendar in the near term.
00:37:21I'll let you know when I plan to get out there.
00:37:23Thank you for your concern.
00:37:24I do feel quite a bit better.
00:37:26But as any of you who've cracked a rib know, it takes a long time, so call me at 80 percent
00:37:34right now.
00:37:35Meanwhile, I'm physically deteriorating in all other ways, but that's a matter for
00:37:40another time.
00:37:42And then in terms of where we are in normalization talks, I really want to have the opportunity
00:37:47to sit with the senior Saudi leadership, get their perspective in person, be happy to report
00:37:52back to you after that.
00:37:53It's something that we want to continue to work on, although every week or so I read
00:37:56a new story about how there's a renewed initiative, a different initiative, a new
00:38:01– you know, this is steady, consistent diplomacy aiming at an endpoint that we've been quite
00:38:08clear about.
00:38:09But there haven't been any kind of dramatic developments over the course of the past few
00:38:12weeks.
00:38:13It's something we continue to work at.
00:38:14We'll talk with the Saudis.
00:38:15We'll see where we are.
00:38:16And obviously, we have to talk with the Israelis as well, because they would be a part of the
00:38:21larger outcome here if we could generate it.
00:38:23And with that, I'll turn it over to Corrine.
00:38:25Thanks, everybody.
00:38:26Thank you.
00:38:27All right.
00:38:28Thanks, everybody.
00:38:29Thanks, Jake.
00:38:30I do have something at the top for all of you, and then we can get into Q&A.
00:38:44Over the last two days, our administration took several new steps to protect workers
00:38:50and consumers.
00:38:51The FTC banned non-compete agreements, which currently keep 30 million workers, nearly
00:38:57one in five, from changing jobs.
00:39:00This rule will increase wages by at least $400 billion over the next 10 years.
00:39:05The Labor Department raised the salary threshold for overtime, extending overtime protections
00:39:11to millions of workers.
00:39:13As the president put it, if you work extra hours, you deserve extra pay.
00:39:18The Labor Department is also protecting retirement security by requiring financial advisors to
00:39:25act in the saver's best interest, not their own.
00:39:29This will save millions of Americans thousands of dollars for their retirement accounts.
00:39:34The Transportation Department is helping consumers get what they are owed by requiring airlines
00:39:40to provide passengers with cash refunds when flights are canceled or significantly changed,
00:39:47checked bags are significantly delayed, or services like Wi-Fi are not provided.
00:39:52The Transportation Department is also cracking down on surprise junk fees by requiring airlines
00:39:58to tell consumers up front what they are being charged for, checked bags, carrying
00:40:03on bags, and changing or canceling a reservation.
00:40:07These are just the latest parts of President Biden's agenda to protect workers and lower
00:40:13costs.
00:40:14The president is building an economy that lifts up working Americans and middle-class
00:40:19families.
00:40:20With that, Colleen.
00:40:21Thanks, Brady.
00:40:22Yep.
00:40:23So the backlash is growing at Morehouse College over the president's upcoming address, and
00:40:27it sort of mirrors all these other college protests over Gaza.
00:40:31I wondered how the president is going to manage increasing student concerns as the violence
00:40:35wears on.
00:40:36So, look, we know it's an incredibly painful time for many communities.
00:40:40You hear us say that often.
00:40:43You have heard us mention the president meeting with different community leaders and community
00:40:49members, obviously, from the different communities, obviously the different groups, to be more
00:40:57precise, whether it's Arab Americans, Muslim Americans, Palestinian Americans, to have
00:41:01those difficult conversations, to have those honest conversations.
00:41:04And you've heard the White House, you've heard us talk about the White House staff, officials
00:41:08having regular ongoing meetings with these different groups.
00:41:12Look, as it relates to commencements, they're about the graduates, right?
00:41:15They're about their families.
00:41:17They're about their loved ones.
00:41:18It's about celebrating accomplishments, and the president's certainly looking forward
00:41:22to doing that.
00:41:23He's going to do that at Morehouse.
00:41:24He's going to do that at West Point, where those are graduates where he's going to be
00:41:29thanking them for their service and defending, obviously, for defending our nation.
00:41:34So the president is going to look, is looking forward to being part of that.
00:41:38He has always, this is not the first time, obviously, that he's given commencement speeches.
00:41:42I understand this is a different moment in time that we're in, but he always takes this
00:41:46moment as a special time to deliver a message, an encouraging message, a message that's hopefully
00:41:53uplifting to the graduates and their families, and we're going to continue to have these
00:41:57conversations that I've just mentioned with the different communities about what's happening
00:42:02right now.
00:42:03We get it.
00:42:04It's painful.
00:42:05We get that.
00:42:06We understand that.
00:42:07Is there concern that he would be, I don't know, disinvited from Morehouse or anything?
00:42:10Is he planning to go?
00:42:11So, look, I'm certainly not going to speculate or go into hypotheticals.
00:42:15The president is certainly looking forward to these commencements, these two upcoming
00:42:19commencements.
00:42:20Morehouse and the United States Military Academy next month, and he has done these many times
00:42:26before, understanding the important critical, not critical, but important moment and how
00:42:30special that moment is for the graduates and their families, and he is going to do his
00:42:36best to meet that moment as it relates to what's going on, the pain that communities
00:42:41are feeling.
00:42:42We're going to continue to have those conversations and be sensitive to that, understanding what
00:42:46people are going through.
00:42:47On the Supreme Court, the court appears pretty skeptical that federal law, Trump state law
00:42:53in Idaho over the abortion ban there.
00:42:58I just wondered, you know, that EMTALA was a major part of the administration's efforts
00:43:04to sort of protect women or give additional healthcare to women, so if that is on the
00:43:08chopping block, what else can the administration do?
00:43:11So I'm going to be careful because it's ongoing, so parts of this, especially because it's
00:43:17an ongoing litigation, I have to refer you to the Department of Justice.
00:43:19More broadly, the administration is going to continue certainly to defend women's ability
00:43:25to access emergency care that they need, that they should have under federal law, and so
00:43:31that is a commitment that this administration is going to continue to ensure, and so we're
00:43:40going to stay focused on that.
00:43:41We're going to let the litigation process continue, so I'm just not going to get beyond
00:43:46that, but more broadly, we believe that women should not be denied the access of healthcare
00:43:52that they need.
00:43:53We've been very clear in the Biden-Harris administration about how important it is that
00:43:58women get that emergency care.
00:44:00We're talking about lives.
00:44:01We're talking about women's lives here and being able to make those all-important decisions
00:44:06on their healthcare.
00:44:07We've been consistent about that.
00:44:08We're going to continue that fight, and so we remain focused on ensuring that we prevail
00:44:13in the courts, and that's our commitment to women.
00:44:16Okay.
00:44:17Thanks, Karine.
00:44:18The House Speaker is heading to Columbia today.
00:44:21He's calling on the president of Columbia to resign.
00:44:25Does the president share that view, and what does he think of the way that the administration
00:44:30at Columbia has been handling this?
00:44:32So I'm going to be really mindful.
00:44:34Columbia's a private institution.
00:44:36We've been very consistent here about not commenting on personnel matters.
00:44:40That's something for Columbia University, obviously the board to speak to, and the president,
00:44:44to make that decision.
00:44:46So I'm not going to comment on that.
00:44:48That is obviously the speaker's privilege to speak for himself and what he sees.
00:44:55So look, I would say more broadly, and I said this moments ago, this is a deeply painful,
00:45:03painful moment for many communities, and we understand that.
00:45:06The president believes that free speech, debate, and nondiscrimination on college campuses
00:45:11are important.
00:45:12They're important American values, and so he'll always be very clear.
00:45:18We will always be very clear about that here, but protests must be peaceful.
00:45:24Students must be safe.
00:45:26When we see violent rhetoric, we have to call that out.
00:45:29When we see physical intimidation or grotesque, anti-Semitic remarks, we have to speak that
00:45:35out.
00:45:36We saw that from the president's statement on Passover.
00:45:41He talked about that.
00:45:42He talked about action, taking action, and making sure that we're calling that out.
00:45:46So we're going to continue to do that forcefully, condemn anti-Semitism from this administration.
00:45:52We're going to continue to do that.
00:45:53We're implementing, as you know, the first ever national strategic effort to counter
00:45:59anti-Semitism because there should be no place in this country when it relates to that type
00:46:05of hate.
00:46:06We saw what happened in 2017, Charlottesville.
00:46:08That was one of the reasons that this president decided to run in 2020.
00:46:12Oh, he ran in 2020 because of what he saw in Charlottesville and what was happening
00:46:17in the streets of Charlottesville, the vile, just hateful rhetoric that we're seeing there.
00:46:23So I think Columbia's going to have to speak to their personnel issues, and what we will
00:46:30speak to is more broadly what we expect and what we want to see and how painful it is
00:46:35for many communities here.
00:46:36And then on TikTok, now that the president has signed the bill, does the White House
00:46:40have a preference as to whether TikTok gets sold and remains operational in the U.S.,
00:46:47or are you indifferent about whether it gets banned or sold?
00:46:51Well, first of all, we've been very clear, members of Congress have been very clear.
00:46:54We do not want to see a ban.
00:46:56This is not about a ban.
00:46:57This is about divestment, selling, being sold.
00:47:01This is about our national security.
00:47:03This is not concerns about Americans using TikTok.
00:47:06This is about PRC ownership.
00:47:08This is about the control of TikTok.
00:47:11And so I want to be super, super clear.
00:47:13And so that's what members of Congress moved forward with.
00:47:16That's what we supported.
00:47:18So we wanted to see a divestment.
00:47:19We wanted to see it being sold.
00:47:22And we do not seek a ban.
00:47:25That is not what this bill is about, or this now law is about.
00:47:29Yes, ma'am.
00:47:30Thanks, Karine.
00:47:31You say it's not about a ban, but the reality is that finding a buyer for TikTok will be
00:47:35incredibly difficult, and the Chinese government also could intervene and block a sale.
00:47:40So if it came to it, would the administration then support a ban as the legislation is written?
00:47:47So here's, I think I want to be, as it relates to China, they should allow it, right?
00:47:51They should allow it to be sold.
00:47:53That's what I'll say there.
00:47:55As it relates to the bill, the law now, there's time.
00:48:00We got to see how this plays out.
00:48:02We believe that it is possible.
00:48:03There are already American investors who are willing and are interested in buying TikTok.
00:48:11So the interest is there.
00:48:13It's not like there isn't any.
00:48:15And so we're going to see.
00:48:16There's time.
00:48:17There's time.
00:48:18There's certainly time on the books to see how this plays out.
00:48:21We do not.
00:48:23This is not a ban.
00:48:24This is about divestment, and that's what we want to see.
00:48:26Which American investors are interested?
00:48:28I mean, you all have reported on it.
00:48:31There's reports out there that is a number of interested buyers, a number of them.
00:48:35You guys have reported on that.
00:48:36I don't have a list to share.
00:48:38So we're going to let that process play out.
00:48:41But it's been reported by all of you.
00:48:43And just what's the president's personal reaction to what he's seeing play now on these college
00:48:48campuses?
00:48:50What would be his message to those who are peacefully protesting, those who feel targeted,
00:48:57all sides of the community?
00:48:58No, I hear your question.
00:48:59I think the president's been very clear.
00:49:01He put out a statement in his Passover statement.
00:49:04He talked about we can't be silent here.
00:49:08Silent is complicit.
00:49:10And we can't allow that.
00:49:13We believe in First Amendment rights.
00:49:15We believe in people being able to express themselves in a peaceful manner.
00:49:22But when we're talking about hateful rhetoric, when we're talking about violence, we have
00:49:27to call that out.
00:49:28We have to call that.
00:49:29And we've been consistent here throughout this administration.
00:49:32The president has been consistent about it, obviously, since 2017, but even before that,
00:49:37when he saw what happened in Charlottesville.
00:49:39We have to call out hateful, violent rhetoric.
00:49:45We want to make sure that people have the opportunity to peacefully protest, peacefully
00:49:51protest.
00:49:52Green, on that subject, President Biden once talked about the Vietnam War protest of his
00:49:58youth.
00:49:59And he said the reason why he didn't participate was because, quote, I wore sport coats.
00:50:04I am who I am.
00:50:05I'm not big on flak jackets and tie-dye shirts, and that's not me.
00:50:09Is that still his view about the protest movements, or does he see them as useful in
00:50:14shaping policy or shaping a discourse?
00:50:17Look, obviously, the president, when he was talking about the Vietnam War, that was a
00:50:22moment in time, a specific, you know, when he was younger and how he felt about that
00:50:30situation.
00:50:32And as president, you know, as commander in chief, where he sits right now behind that
00:50:37Resolute desk, and what he understands, it's important to speak out, and he understands
00:50:43that as a leader in this country, that when we see this type of anti-Semitic hate, this
00:50:51type of anti-Semitic vile, we have to be very clear.
00:50:57We have to show moral clarity.
00:50:59We have to call that out.
00:51:00And I said this at the beginning.
00:51:02Students should feel safe.
00:51:04Communities should feel safe.
00:51:06And we, you know, we can't stay silent.
00:51:10Obviously, it is a deeply painful moment.
00:51:13He sees that.
00:51:14He understands that.
00:51:16And he will always support and believes in free speech and debate and non-discrimination
00:51:21on college campuses, as I said moments ago.
00:51:25And so, but we have to be able to do this and protest in a peaceful way.
00:51:30I don't think that takes away from the comments that you just made, that you just gave back
00:51:35to me that the president made.
00:51:37I don't think that that's any different than what the president is saying right now.
00:51:42You have to be able to peacefully protest, but you got to call out hate.
00:51:47You got to call out hate.
00:51:48And then on TikTok, is there any expectation that China could retaliate against U.S. tech
00:51:54companies that are operating there?
00:51:56I mean, look, I can't speak for the Chinese government.
00:51:59I can't.
00:52:00I mean, that's a hypothetical.
00:52:01I can't speak to that.
00:52:02I can only speak to the importance of this law moving forward, this bill moving forward.
00:52:07Obviously, the president signed it today, so it's now law.
00:52:11And the importance of making sure that we move forward with that divestment of TikTok.
00:52:16We're talking about national security.
00:52:18We're talking about making sure we're protecting Americans' privacy.
00:52:22And that's what this is about.
00:52:24And we are not talking about Americans using TikTok.
00:52:27That's not what we're looking at here.
00:52:29We want to make sure that there is a divestment, that TikTok should not be owned, or Americans
00:52:36should not be having to worry about using a platform that is owned by a country that's
00:52:46trying to harm us.
00:52:48That's the national security concern here.
00:52:50And will this law survive a constitutional challenge?
00:52:52Look, not going to speak to that.
00:52:54I mean, I think that's something that, obviously, DOJ will deal with.
00:52:58I can't speak to challenges, but obviously, it's law now, so we're going to move forward
00:53:02with it.
00:53:03Thank you.
00:53:04We are seeing some of these on-campus protests really heighten tensions and escalation across
00:53:10the country, not just at Columbia, but at public universities, UT Austin, USC in California.
00:53:16Is there any concern about how law enforcement is handling these protesters?
00:53:20I mean, look, I can't speak to what's going on on the ground.
00:53:25I know what UT, what happened is just happening now, happening today, so I have no idea on
00:53:34how that's being dealt on the ground.
00:53:36But look, we've been very clear.
00:53:40We want to see this be peaceful.
00:53:42We understand it's deeply concerning.
00:53:45It is important that communities feel safe and important that students feel safe.
00:53:49That's what we want to see.
00:53:51It should not be violent.
00:53:53There should not be hateful rhetoric here.
00:53:56And so that's what we're going to keep saying, keep calling on, and we'll let the universities
00:54:02handle that process on how they're dealing on the ground.
00:54:05Thank you.
00:54:06And if I may shift back to Ukraine for just a moment, President Zelensky said he and President
00:54:10Biden discussed this Global Peace Summit coming up this June in Switzerland on their call
00:54:14this week.
00:54:15What is the White House view at this point on what that summit could achieve, and would
00:54:19the President consider attending?
00:54:20So nothing to share with you on the President's schedule.
00:54:24Obviously it's an important conversation that Ukraine should be part of.
00:54:28We have always been very clear about that.
00:54:30I don't have anything to share beyond that.
00:54:33I think this is something that the President of Ukraine, obviously President Zelensky,
00:54:40needs to lead on and speak, so I just don't have anything else to share.
00:54:44Obviously we have shown our commitment to the brave people of Ukraine as it relates
00:54:48to defending themselves against Russia's aggression.
00:54:51We've been pretty consistent about that, and we believe that we need to do everything that
00:54:55we can to make sure that they have what they need to fight for their democracy, to fight
00:55:00for their freedom.
00:55:01And we believe that they will prevail.
00:55:02I'm just not going to get ahead of a potential summit and what that might look like.
00:55:06Cancel this.
00:55:07Thanks, Marie.
00:55:08Two questions.
00:55:09First, the President expressed some regret about the border security bill not being a
00:55:14part of the supplemental, but he also said that he will address that another time, another
00:55:19place.
00:55:20Do you have any update on whether the President-
00:55:21And I also think Mitch McConnell made a statement about it as well, so I would certainly point
00:55:26you to what he said about the border security bill, and I think that's important, right?
00:55:32Because this is a bipartisan effort, and we need both sides.
00:55:36Look, the President has been very clear.
00:55:38We need that bipartisan border security bill, or the negotiation that came together on that,
00:55:46and we have to move forward with it.
00:55:47It came out of the Senate.
00:55:49It got bipartisan support.
00:55:50We heard from the former President, who said, don't move forward.
00:55:53He told Republicans to reject it.
00:55:55They did, and that's unfortunate.
00:55:57That's unfortunate, because it would have been the toughest, it would have been the
00:56:00fairest if the President had an opportunity to sign that into law, law that we had seen
00:56:06in some time.
00:56:07And it would have addressed a lot of the concerns that Republicans have, that we're seeing,
00:56:11the challenges that we're seeing at the border.
00:56:13So I mean, he had an opportunity, you all listened to the President, right?
00:56:18So he had an opportunity this morning, so he was going to take that opportunity to say
00:56:21how we need to continue to move forward with the border security negotiation, or the plan
00:56:29that came out of the negotiation.
00:56:31So he wants to see that.
00:56:32It's a concern that majority of Americans have, and so we want to see that move forward,
00:56:37and I think Mitch McConnell spoke for himself on that.
00:56:40Should we interpret him saying he's going to come back to it as a sign that he's going
00:56:44to do some executive action in the coming weeks?
00:56:46Well, look, we've always been very clear.
00:56:49No executive action is actually going to do what that border security plan would have
00:56:57done, right?
00:56:58We believe that was a, in order to move forward, to deal with the challenges at the border,
00:57:03in order to actually deal with what we've been seeing with immigration, a broken immigration
00:57:06system that's been, that we have seen for decades, that's the way to move forward.
00:57:11Obviously, we're always going to look at our options, but we believe there's still an opportunity
00:57:16here.
00:57:17There's still an opportunity here, and I think Leader McConnell was pretty clear about that
00:57:21too today.
00:57:22Go ahead.
00:57:23Go ahead.
00:57:24I have to-
00:57:25I have a quick one on taxes.
00:57:26The President earlier today said the 2017 tax bill that was passed under President Trump,
00:57:31if he is reelected, if President Biden is reelected, it would be dead and gone forever.
00:57:37Yeah.
00:57:38That bill, obviously, it included tax cuts for the wealthy, but it also included tax
00:57:40cuts across the board to the tax rates at various levels of income.
00:57:45Yeah.
00:57:46Is the President saying that he would get rid of the entire tax bill and not allow those
00:57:49tax cuts to-
00:57:50I think what the President was trying to say, he was trying to make very clear that that
00:57:54was the 2017 tax bill was something that was for billionaires and corporations, and that's
00:57:59not what he's for, right?
00:58:01He wants to make sure that the working class gets their fair share.
00:58:05He wants to make sure that the billionaires and corporations pay what they owe.
00:58:12He's talking about an economy, what type of economy that he wants to build.
00:58:14You hear him say it all the time.
00:58:16He says it all the time, an economy that's built from the bottom up, middle out, that
00:58:19doesn't leave out working people, that doesn't leave out the middle class, that builds into
00:58:23the middle class.
00:58:24I think that's what he was trying to speak to more broadly and how billionaires and corporations
00:58:29have to pay their fair share.
00:58:31He's always been very clear about that.
00:58:33The 2017 tax bill does not do that.
00:58:35It does the opposite of that.
00:58:38That's what we've seen from Republicans continuing, when they put out their budget recently, that's
00:58:42what they're doing.
00:58:43They want to give them a break.
00:58:45What the President wants to do is give the middle class a break.
00:58:47He wants to give working people a break.
00:58:49You've seen that from the legislation that's been passed in trying to make sure that we
00:58:55do not leave communities behind, communities that have been left behind for decades now.
00:59:00Okay, Peter, I have to go into the Oval Office.
00:59:02One that developed in the last hour, which is on the third attempt in the last three
00:59:06weeks, Arizona State House lawmakers just passed a bill that would repeal the near total
00:59:11ban on abortion in Arizona, the White House's view on that, and now, of course, moves to
00:59:15the State Senate.
00:59:16Okay.
00:59:17Look, you've heard us talk about the 1864 law and how it just sets us back.
00:59:231864.
00:59:24We're in 2024.
00:59:26There's a law that they wanted to move forward with that obviously would hurt women, hurt
00:59:33our reproductive rights, and hurt, obviously, women to make a decision about their healthcare.
00:59:40I have not seen that report, but if this is the case, that it has been repealed in one
00:59:44of the chambers, that's a good thing, right?
00:59:48We're moving forward in the right direction.
00:59:50We're moving forward to where we are today in 2024, where we should be protecting our
00:59:54freedom, protecting a woman's right to make a very personal decision about her body.
00:59:59And then last one quickly.
01:00:00I know you got to go, but the President didn't mention the words TikTok, or maybe that's
01:00:03one word, TikTok, with no space between the two, in his comments earlier today.
01:00:07It's so precise.
01:00:08If you had an elevator pitch, there was 170 million Americans who use TikTok right now.
01:00:13What is the simple statement to those Americans right now who are saying the President of
01:00:18the United States just proposed or signed legislation that could ban a platform that
01:00:22I rely on, in some cases, for my livelihood?
01:00:25I think I would just say what I've been repeating here from this podium for the past few minutes
01:00:30here, which is this is not a ban.
01:00:33This is about divestment.
01:00:34This is about our national security.
01:00:35We are not saying that Americans ... We do not want Americans to use TikTok.
01:00:39That is not what we're saying.
01:00:40We want to make sure that Americans are protected, are protected, and that is what this is about.
01:00:47And so we believe this law will get us there.
01:00:50We believe that we will be able to divest, that TikTok would be able to divest.
01:00:55We believe that there is interest in folks who want to buy TikTok, and we want to get
01:01:01there.
01:01:02We want to get there.
01:01:03The President wants to protect Americans, and he wants to protect American privacy.
01:01:08He wants to protect Americans from a country, in this instance, that wants to potentially
01:01:13do us harm, and that's what he believes is important.
01:01:16We're not saying we do not want TikTok to exist.
01:01:19We're not saying that we do not want Americans to use TikTok.
01:01:22We want to make sure that it's done in a way that we protect our national security and
01:01:26that we protect Americans.
01:01:27Thank you.
01:01:28All right.
01:01:29All right, everybody.
01:01:30I've got to go to the Oval.
01:01:31Thanks, everybody.
01:01:32Have a good week.
01:01:33I guess I'll see you in New York.
01:01:34Karina, are there any pictures of the President with the Don?
01:01:35If you would share those with us.