WEBVTT 00:05.430 --> 00:08.420 Good afternoon everybody . Uh we are 00:08.420 --> 00:10.830 very thrilled to have our National 00:10.830 --> 00:12.997 Security Advisor jake Sullivan with us 00:12.997 --> 00:15.640 today who is going to give a preview of 00:15.640 --> 00:17.529 the Africa Leaders summit that is 00:17.529 --> 00:19.640 happening later this week . With that 00:19.640 --> 00:21.196 jake this podium is yours . 00:23.370 --> 00:25.259 Thanks Corinne and good afternoon 00:25.259 --> 00:27.880 everybody . I'll uh take a few minutes 00:27.880 --> 00:30.102 to discuss the summit which will unfold 00:30.102 --> 00:32.269 over the course of the next three days 00:32.269 --> 00:34.213 and then I'd be happy to take your 00:34.213 --> 00:36.350 questions tomorrow marks the start of 00:36.350 --> 00:38.517 the US Africa Leaders Summit , a three 00:38.517 --> 00:40.683 day summit hosted by President biden . 00:40.683 --> 00:42.628 That will highlight how the United 00:42.628 --> 00:44.350 States and African nations are 00:44.350 --> 00:46.239 strengthening our partnerships to 00:46.239 --> 00:48.461 advance shared priorities , delegations 00:48.461 --> 00:50.970 from all 49 invited African countries 00:50.980 --> 00:53.060 and the African Union will attend 00:53.080 --> 00:55.440 alongside members of civil society and 00:55.440 --> 00:57.860 the private sector . The President Vice 00:57.860 --> 00:59.916 President and members of the cabinet 00:59.916 --> 01:01.916 will have extensive engagement with 01:01.916 --> 01:04.082 leaders throughout the summit Tomorrow 01:04.082 --> 01:06.027 we'll kick off with a focus on the 01:06.027 --> 01:08.027 vital role of civil society and the 01:08.027 --> 01:09.860 strength of our African diaspora 01:09.860 --> 01:11.971 communities in the United States . It 01:11.971 --> 01:13.916 will feature a range of sessions , 01:13.920 --> 01:16.140 topics from trade and investment to 01:16.140 --> 01:17.980 health and climate , to peace , 01:17.980 --> 01:19.924 security and governance to space , 01:19.924 --> 01:23.050 cooperation on Wednesday . The focus 01:23.050 --> 01:25.272 will be on increasing two way trade and 01:25.272 --> 01:27.770 investment at the US Africa business 01:27.770 --> 01:30.150 forum ceo . S and private sector 01:30.150 --> 01:33.200 leadership from over 300 american and 01:33.200 --> 01:35.520 African companies will convene with the 01:35.520 --> 01:37.810 heads of delegation to catalyze 01:37.810 --> 01:39.643 investment in critical sectors , 01:39.643 --> 01:41.643 including health , infrastructure , 01:41.643 --> 01:45.010 energy , agribusiness and digital . The 01:45.010 --> 01:47.232 president will close the business forum 01:47.232 --> 01:50.150 on Wednesday with public remarks later 01:50.150 --> 01:52.372 in the day , he will host a small group 01:52.372 --> 01:54.372 of leaders at the White House for a 01:54.372 --> 01:56.372 discussion on upcoming presidential 01:56.372 --> 01:59.660 elections in 2023 . In Africa and us 01:59.660 --> 02:02.070 support for free , fair and credible 02:02.070 --> 02:05.050 polls across the continent . He will 02:05.050 --> 02:07.940 then host Wednesday evening all 50 02:07.940 --> 02:10.230 heads of delegation and their spouses 02:10.240 --> 02:12.296 for a dinner here at the White House 02:12.760 --> 02:15.090 thursday is dedicated to high level 02:15.090 --> 02:17.330 discussions among leaders with 02:17.330 --> 02:19.520 President biden . Opening the day with 02:19.520 --> 02:23.200 a session on partnering on agenda 2063 02:23.330 --> 02:25.497 The African Union strategic Vision for 02:25.497 --> 02:27.860 the continent , a working lunch by Vice 02:27.860 --> 02:29.749 President Harris will follow that 02:29.749 --> 02:31.749 session and then the president will 02:31.749 --> 02:33.971 close the day with a discussion on food 02:33.971 --> 02:36.150 security and food systems resilience , 02:36.160 --> 02:38.470 which as you all know , is a critical 02:38.470 --> 02:40.790 issue for our African partners who have 02:40.790 --> 02:43.012 been disproportionately impacted by the 02:43.012 --> 02:45.360 rise in food and fertilizer prices and 02:45.360 --> 02:47.770 disruptions to global supply chains as 02:47.770 --> 02:49.603 a result of Russia's war against 02:49.603 --> 02:52.380 Ukraine throughout the next three days 02:52.390 --> 02:54.501 and then beyond the next three days , 02:54.501 --> 02:56.668 we look forward to leveraging the best 02:56.668 --> 02:59.200 of America , a truly unrivaled set of 02:59.210 --> 03:01.130 tools across our government , our 03:01.130 --> 03:03.990 private sector and civil society to 03:03.990 --> 03:05.823 partner with and support African 03:05.823 --> 03:08.210 institutions . African citizens and 03:08.210 --> 03:10.450 African nations to advance our shared 03:10.450 --> 03:12.950 goals . The summit , just to take a 03:12.950 --> 03:15.117 step back is rooted in the recognition 03:15.117 --> 03:17.260 that Africa is a key geopolitical 03:17.260 --> 03:19.590 player . The continent will shape the 03:19.590 --> 03:22.360 future , not just of the African people , 03:22.370 --> 03:24.770 but also the World President biden 03:24.770 --> 03:26.830 believes that US collaboration with 03:26.830 --> 03:28.941 African leaders as well as with civil 03:28.941 --> 03:31.010 society and business leaders and the 03:31.010 --> 03:34.510 diaspora women . Youth is essential to 03:34.520 --> 03:36.750 unlocking the potential of this 03:36.760 --> 03:39.750 decisive decade . As you know , the 03:39.750 --> 03:41.583 president intends to announce US 03:41.583 --> 03:44.120 support for the African Union to join 03:44.120 --> 03:46.780 the G 20 as a permanent member . It's 03:46.780 --> 03:48.947 past time for Africa to have permanent 03:48.947 --> 03:50.947 seats at the table in international 03:50.947 --> 03:53.169 organizations and initiatives . And the 03:53.169 --> 03:55.430 president also plans to underscore his 03:55.430 --> 03:57.597 commitment to U . N . Security Council 03:57.597 --> 03:59.890 reform , including support for a 03:59.890 --> 04:01.779 permanent member from the African 04:01.779 --> 04:04.120 continent . Working closely with 04:04.120 --> 04:06.640 Congress . The us will commit $55 04:06.650 --> 04:07.150 billion 04:07.150 --> 04:24.760 security 04:24.770 --> 04:26.992 in Africa over the past three decades , 04:27.460 --> 04:29.127 you'll be hearing a number of 04:29.127 --> 04:31.349 announcements over the coming days , uh 04:31.349 --> 04:33.460 specific deliverables and a number of 04:33.460 --> 04:35.520 different areas , new projects and 04:35.520 --> 04:38.380 initiatives , new funding streams . But 04:38.380 --> 04:40.491 our commitment to Africa extends well 04:40.491 --> 04:43.060 beyond all of that to it's reflected in 04:43.060 --> 04:45.810 our decades of meaningful engagement , 04:45.820 --> 04:47.653 people to people , ties and high 04:47.653 --> 04:49.542 quality investments in our shared 04:49.542 --> 04:52.250 future . And really the spirit of this 04:52.250 --> 04:55.390 summit is not what we will do for 04:55.390 --> 04:57.557 African nations and peoples , but what 04:57.557 --> 04:59.690 we will do with African nations and 04:59.700 --> 05:02.990 Peoples and I will say one other thing 05:02.990 --> 05:05.680 in in the intensive consultations we've 05:05.680 --> 05:08.030 had with African leaders and African 05:08.030 --> 05:10.141 civil society and other voices in the 05:10.141 --> 05:12.420 run up to the summit . A key question 05:12.420 --> 05:14.440 has been followed through . Okay , 05:14.440 --> 05:16.551 you're gonna have the summit , what's 05:16.551 --> 05:18.718 gonna happen once the summit concludes 05:18.718 --> 05:20.884 to that end we will have a new special 05:20.884 --> 05:23.051 representative for us africa Leaders , 05:23.051 --> 05:25.030 summit implementation . The State 05:25.030 --> 05:27.197 Department plans to appoint Ambassador 05:27.197 --> 05:28.863 johnny Carson for this role . 05:28.863 --> 05:32.000 Ambassador Carson is very well known to 05:32.000 --> 05:34.222 people across the continent of Africa . 05:34.222 --> 05:36.444 He brings a wealth of experience to the 05:36.444 --> 05:38.667 position , having dedicated his 37 year 05:38.667 --> 05:41.360 career to diplomacy in Africa . And we 05:41.360 --> 05:43.582 are looking forward to working with him 05:43.582 --> 05:45.693 to ensure that the announcements that 05:45.693 --> 05:47.804 get made over the next three days are 05:47.804 --> 05:49.860 translated into durable actions that 05:49.860 --> 05:52.330 last well beyond the summit a last 05:52.330 --> 05:54.441 point and thank you for your patience 05:54.441 --> 05:56.552 as we as we approach the new year . I 05:56.552 --> 05:58.663 just want to take a moment to reflect 05:58.663 --> 06:01.040 on the depth and breadth of President 06:01.040 --> 06:04.460 biden's foreign engagements over 2022 . 06:04.470 --> 06:06.930 From the quad summit in Tokyo to the 06:06.930 --> 06:09.270 historic NATO summit in Madrid . To 06:09.270 --> 06:11.740 consequential G seven and G 20 summits 06:11.740 --> 06:14.150 at critical geopolitical moments to 06:14.150 --> 06:16.520 hosting in separate summits . The 06:16.520 --> 06:18.631 leaders of the Americas , the pacific 06:18.631 --> 06:21.440 Islands Asean and now of course , the 06:21.440 --> 06:23.920 leaders of Africa this year has marked 06:23.920 --> 06:26.310 one of the most high paced substantive 06:26.310 --> 06:28.477 periods of presidential engagement and 06:28.477 --> 06:30.643 foreign policy in recent history . And 06:30.643 --> 06:32.699 it's a profound demonstration of the 06:32.699 --> 06:34.921 president's approach to the world and a 06:34.921 --> 06:36.866 powerful expression of the ways in 06:36.866 --> 06:39.032 which a broad and diverse community of 06:39.032 --> 06:41.143 nations are working together to uh to 06:41.143 --> 06:43.366 solve our shared challenges with that . 06:43.366 --> 06:45.820 Be happy to take your questions april a 06:45.830 --> 06:48.430 couple of questions . The same topics , 06:48.440 --> 06:51.170 Trade , health , to the security and 06:51.170 --> 06:53.770 national security have been the topics 06:53.770 --> 06:55.826 of presidents , from Bill Clinton to 06:55.826 --> 06:57.992 George W . Bush , Barack , Obama . And 06:57.992 --> 07:00.940 now why are these same issues still on 07:00.940 --> 07:02.996 the table after all of these years ? 07:02.996 --> 07:06.005 And what has been the heart of success ? 07:06.015 --> 07:08.585 If you can measure it from the clinton 07:08.585 --> 07:10.895 years when Africa was put on the table 07:10.895 --> 07:13.117 and then George W Bush being considered 07:13.117 --> 07:15.062 the president who did the most for 07:15.062 --> 07:17.062 Africa . And then also , if you can 07:17.062 --> 07:18.975 talk about the lack that happened 07:18.985 --> 07:20.818 during the last four years , not 07:20.818 --> 07:23.175 focusing in on Africa , are you behind 07:23.185 --> 07:26.030 uh in some areas on africa ? Well , 07:26.030 --> 07:28.086 first , the topics you mentioned are 07:28.086 --> 07:29.919 the essential building blocks of 07:29.919 --> 07:32.141 healthy societies , healthy economies , 07:32.141 --> 07:34.197 healthy countries , the world over , 07:34.197 --> 07:36.308 not just in Africa , but everywhere , 07:36.308 --> 07:40.090 health , economics , climate , uh 07:40.100 --> 07:42.190 peace and security . These are not 07:42.190 --> 07:44.357 topics that get resolved in four years 07:44.357 --> 07:46.860 or 40 years . They are the topics upon 07:46.860 --> 07:48.916 which durable partnerships get built 07:48.916 --> 07:51.138 that a government to government level , 07:51.138 --> 07:53.193 business , to business and people to 07:53.193 --> 07:55.027 people . So it should come as no 07:55.027 --> 07:57.082 surprise that the things that matter 07:57.082 --> 07:58.971 most to the people in communities 07:58.971 --> 08:00.971 across the continent and frankly to 08:00.971 --> 08:03.082 people and communities across America 08:03.082 --> 08:05.138 are going to be the top agenda items 08:05.138 --> 08:07.249 for the summit . And in each of these 08:07.249 --> 08:09.416 areas , we feel that we do have a very 08:09.416 --> 08:11.638 record to stand on as the United States 08:11.638 --> 08:13.749 dealing with Africa , whether it's in 08:13.749 --> 08:15.693 health and the remarkable advances 08:15.693 --> 08:17.360 we've made against HIV aids , 08:17.360 --> 08:19.205 tuberculosis and malaria , or as 08:19.205 --> 08:21.255 President biden will talk about the 08:21.255 --> 08:23.385 support that we flow to Africa during 08:23.385 --> 08:25.496 the covid 19 pandemic and the work we 08:25.496 --> 08:28.245 are now doing to help Africa stand up , 08:28.255 --> 08:30.465 its own capacity to manufacture 08:30.465 --> 08:32.798 vaccines and therapeutics going forward . 08:32.798 --> 08:34.965 I could walk through each of the other 08:34.965 --> 08:37.555 areas uh economics and trade , 08:37.565 --> 08:40.540 investment , climate tackling the 08:40.540 --> 08:42.762 climate crisis . The president was just 08:42.762 --> 08:45.410 at an African cop in Sharm El Sheikh 08:45.410 --> 08:48.350 Egypt , where he laid out a series of 08:48.360 --> 08:50.471 initiatives relating to adaptation in 08:50.471 --> 08:53.840 Africa , but I will just say that um 08:53.850 --> 08:57.370 we didn't set this agenda in a 08:57.370 --> 08:59.580 vacuum . We didn't send it set it for 08:59.580 --> 09:01.802 the topics that matter the most to us . 09:01.802 --> 09:03.780 We set it in consultation with our 09:03.780 --> 09:05.780 African partners on the issues that 09:05.780 --> 09:08.370 matter most to them and to our shared 09:08.370 --> 09:11.600 future . And I would say that um we're 09:11.600 --> 09:14.080 never satisfied with the progress we've 09:14.080 --> 09:16.191 made because there's always more work 09:16.191 --> 09:19.260 to do more security to help uh bring 09:19.260 --> 09:22.770 about uh more mitigation of 09:22.780 --> 09:25.820 uh of climate , of carbon emissions , 09:25.830 --> 09:28.280 more adaptation to the ravages of 09:28.280 --> 09:31.280 climate change , more lives to be saved 09:31.280 --> 09:33.480 through health initiatives . But we 09:33.480 --> 09:37.250 feel we do enter the summit Um with 09:37.260 --> 09:40.930 some significant momentum around major 09:40.940 --> 09:43.051 investments that we have already made 09:43.051 --> 09:45.107 and will continue to make . And with 09:45.107 --> 09:47.162 this announcement that over the next 09:47.162 --> 09:49.162 three years we will be devoting $55 09:49.162 --> 09:51.273 billion dollars to help address these 09:51.273 --> 09:53.051 top priorities in very specific 09:53.051 --> 09:55.300 tangible ways in partnership with 09:55.300 --> 09:57.800 African nations . So I think by the end 09:57.800 --> 09:59.633 of this , what you will see is a 09:59.633 --> 10:01.700 genuine energy and a spirit of 10:01.700 --> 10:04.350 cooperation that will reflect the fact 10:04.350 --> 10:06.239 that the United States has unique 10:06.239 --> 10:08.239 assets and capabilities to bring to 10:08.239 --> 10:10.461 bear . And we're gonna do everything to 10:10.461 --> 10:12.794 bring those to bear in this time period . 10:12.794 --> 10:14.961 Follow up though . Um One what I asked 10:14.961 --> 10:17.350 you did the United States lose ground 10:17.360 --> 10:19.530 with the continent , particularly sub 10:19.530 --> 10:22.190 Saharan Africa in the past four years . 10:22.190 --> 10:25.650 When Africa was not a focus look any 10:25.650 --> 10:29.140 time , uh an administration 10:29.150 --> 10:31.810 chooses not to put as much energy or 10:31.810 --> 10:33.866 emphasis into a place . It obviously 10:33.866 --> 10:36.290 has some ramifications , but I have to 10:36.290 --> 10:38.660 say that Since the president , since 10:38.660 --> 10:40.827 President Biden has come into office , 10:40.827 --> 10:42.882 whether it's through the partnership 10:42.882 --> 10:44.549 for global infrastructure and 10:44.549 --> 10:46.549 investment or it's through the work 10:46.549 --> 10:48.716 we've done on COVID-19 or it's through 10:48.716 --> 10:50.660 the significant announcements that 10:50.660 --> 10:52.604 we've made in both of the last two 10:52.604 --> 10:52.120 conferences of parties on climate 10:52.120 --> 10:55.420 change . We believe that we are not 10:55.420 --> 10:57.642 coming into this summit from a standing 10:57.642 --> 10:59.753 start , we're coming into this summit 10:59.753 --> 11:01.809 with a head of steam around a set of 11:01.809 --> 11:03.753 issues that this summit I think is 11:03.753 --> 11:05.809 going to kick into a higher gear and 11:05.809 --> 11:07.920 that is going to put us in a position 11:07.920 --> 11:10.087 um not just for us to succeed over the 11:10.087 --> 11:12.087 course of next year , the following 11:12.087 --> 11:14.142 year , but really over the course of 11:14.142 --> 11:16.309 this decisive decade . And I think you 11:16.309 --> 11:18.420 will see a certain buoyancy a certain 11:18.420 --> 11:20.198 momentum , a certain enthusiasm 11:20.198 --> 11:22.087 emanating from the course of this 11:22.087 --> 11:24.380 summit because um this isn't all just 11:24.380 --> 11:26.158 emerging out of thin air . It's 11:26.158 --> 11:28.510 emerging out of a very hard very very 11:28.510 --> 11:30.621 much hard work over the course of the 11:30.621 --> 11:32.790 past two years . Yeah . Uh questions 11:32.790 --> 11:35.760 about your deputies engagements in Asia 11:35.770 --> 11:38.560 right now . Um first of all , just with 11:38.570 --> 11:40.514 the china meetings that are taking 11:40.514 --> 11:42.848 place um with the Vice Foreign Minister . 11:42.848 --> 11:45.010 Um was there was there any discussion 11:45.010 --> 11:47.177 about any support that the U . S . Can 11:47.177 --> 11:50.120 provide to china as they unravel the 11:50.130 --> 11:52.720 zero covid policy around vaccines 11:52.720 --> 11:55.380 around support for um for their medical 11:55.380 --> 11:58.620 system generally ? So the topic of 11:58.620 --> 12:00.760 COVID-19 and the ways in which all 12:00.760 --> 12:02.871 countries including China are dealing 12:02.871 --> 12:05.093 with this pandemic was on the agenda at 12:05.093 --> 12:07.038 these meetings . But I am going to 12:07.038 --> 12:09.093 refrain from getting into details of 12:09.093 --> 12:11.316 what those discussions entailed because 12:11.316 --> 12:13.538 I want to give an opportunity for us to 12:13.538 --> 12:16.100 be able to have those conversations um 12:16.110 --> 12:18.210 in sensitive diplomatic channels and 12:18.210 --> 12:20.432 we'll see what if anything comes out of 12:20.432 --> 12:22.488 them and one more on that trip . I I 12:22.488 --> 12:24.710 understand that Laura Rosenberg is also 12:24.710 --> 12:26.877 meeting with the Japanese delegation . 12:26.877 --> 12:29.370 Um was there any discussion about an 12:29.370 --> 12:31.537 agreement between the US Japan and the 12:31.537 --> 12:33.440 Netherlands , about restrict chip 12:33.440 --> 12:35.910 making equipment from going to china ? 12:35.920 --> 12:38.087 I'm gonna be your favorite person ever 12:38.087 --> 12:40.253 at the podium because I'm gonna give a 12:40.253 --> 12:42.420 very similar answer , which is that of 12:42.420 --> 12:44.587 course , uh we have consultations with 12:44.587 --> 12:46.420 all of our allies and partners , 12:46.420 --> 12:48.531 especially those with a deep interest 12:48.531 --> 12:50.198 in the issue of semiconductor 12:50.198 --> 12:52.890 technologies , about the logic behind 12:52.890 --> 12:55.240 our own tailored restrictions and about 12:55.240 --> 12:57.351 what the landscape looks like . We've 12:57.351 --> 12:59.573 had those conversations with both Japan 12:59.573 --> 13:01.518 and the Netherlands and with other 13:01.518 --> 13:03.629 countries as well . And I'm not gonna 13:03.629 --> 13:03.460 get ahead of any announcements . I will 13:03.460 --> 13:07.260 just say that we are very pleased with 13:07.260 --> 13:09.440 the candor , the substance and the 13:09.440 --> 13:11.551 intensity of the discussions that are 13:11.551 --> 13:13.607 taking place across a broad range of 13:13.607 --> 13:15.662 countries who share our concerns and 13:15.662 --> 13:17.884 would like to see broad alignment as we 13:17.884 --> 13:19.718 go . Do you have an agreement in 13:19.718 --> 13:19.590 principle with those countries ? Again , 13:19.600 --> 13:21.711 I'm not gonna get ahead of anything , 13:21.711 --> 13:24.180 I'm just going to say that um it is of 13:24.180 --> 13:27.390 course the case uh that a hallmark of 13:27.390 --> 13:29.279 the biden administration has been 13:29.279 --> 13:31.390 alignment with allies and partners on 13:31.390 --> 13:33.279 every key foreign policy issue we 13:33.279 --> 13:35.446 confront . This is a priority for us , 13:35.446 --> 13:37.612 alignment is a priority for us . We're 13:37.612 --> 13:39.834 working towards that and I'll leave any 13:39.834 --> 13:42.001 announcements to when they're right to 13:42.001 --> 13:44.001 be made publicly from this podium , 13:44.001 --> 13:46.168 there's a meeting today about the next 13:46.168 --> 13:48.223 steps in trying to bring paul Whelan 13:48.223 --> 13:50.334 home . Are you part of that meeting ? 13:50.334 --> 13:52.668 What can you tell us about that meeting ? 13:52.668 --> 13:54.668 And the State Department said today 13:54.668 --> 13:53.705 that the U . S . Is going to be 13:53.715 --> 13:56.975 creative in finding ways to get paul 13:56.975 --> 13:59.197 Whelan released . What does that mean ? 13:59.197 --> 14:02.965 So members of my team and the State 14:02.965 --> 14:05.485 Department met with Elizabeth Whelan 14:05.485 --> 14:07.855 this morning virtually over zoom . I 14:07.855 --> 14:10.022 wasn't a part of it today , although I 14:10.022 --> 14:12.244 did participate in the conversation the 14:12.244 --> 14:14.466 president had with Elizabeth a few days 14:14.466 --> 14:16.688 ago , where they too were brainstorming 14:16.688 --> 14:18.855 and talking through ideas about how to 14:18.855 --> 14:22.630 go forward . Um you'll understand 14:22.640 --> 14:24.950 that I can't get into the specifics of 14:24.960 --> 14:26.738 the kinds of things that we are 14:26.738 --> 14:28.904 contemplating to try to ensure that we 14:28.904 --> 14:30.904 get paul home as soon as we can . I 14:30.904 --> 14:32.960 will just say that the conversations 14:32.960 --> 14:34.960 with Paul Whelan's family have been 14:34.960 --> 14:37.990 substantive . Um They have had a number 14:38.000 --> 14:41.210 of very good questions and also a 14:41.210 --> 14:43.377 number of suggestions that they've put 14:43.377 --> 14:45.377 forward and we have been working to 14:45.377 --> 14:47.800 figure out what it is going to take to 14:47.800 --> 14:50.160 ultimately secure his freedom and how 14:50.160 --> 14:52.560 we can go about getting that . Um and 14:52.560 --> 14:54.338 being able to sit down with the 14:54.338 --> 14:57.350 Russians and work out a deal . Um the 14:57.350 --> 14:59.406 specifics of that are something that 14:59.406 --> 15:01.670 really have to be kept in the sensitive 15:01.670 --> 15:03.837 channels , the sensitive conversations 15:03.837 --> 15:05.948 we have with the wheel and family and 15:05.948 --> 15:07.948 then the sensitive channels that we 15:07.948 --> 15:10.114 have with the Russian government , but 15:10.114 --> 15:12.226 we are bound and determined to ensure 15:12.226 --> 15:14.281 uh that we work through a successful 15:14.281 --> 15:16.520 method securing his release at the 15:16.530 --> 15:18.752 earliest possible opportunity , doesn't 15:18.752 --> 15:20.641 have a prisoner in custody , that 15:20.641 --> 15:22.863 Russia would be willing to make a trade 15:22.863 --> 15:25.086 for . What else could you do ? Is there 15:25.086 --> 15:27.197 a policy that the US would be willing 15:27.197 --> 15:30.630 to change in order to get Russia to 15:30.630 --> 15:34.560 accept some kind of a deal ? I can't 15:34.560 --> 15:37.250 really answer a question as general as 15:37.250 --> 15:39.361 that . I mean , if the implication is 15:39.361 --> 15:41.194 are we going to take a different 15:41.194 --> 15:43.306 approach to Ukraine or something like 15:43.306 --> 15:42.840 that ? The answer is no , we're not 15:42.840 --> 15:44.951 going to take a different approach to 15:44.951 --> 15:47.007 Ukraine . Um , we believe that there 15:47.007 --> 15:50.980 are uh plays that we 15:50.980 --> 15:53.147 can continue to try to run things that 15:53.147 --> 15:55.369 we have had in motion that we are still 15:55.369 --> 15:57.160 working on um that that could 15:57.160 --> 15:59.880 potentially lead to a positive result 15:59.880 --> 16:03.550 here . Uh again , because of the 16:03.550 --> 16:05.661 sensitivity of these issues , I don't 16:05.661 --> 16:07.717 want to go into detail on them , but 16:07.717 --> 16:09.828 we're going to keep working at this . 16:09.828 --> 16:11.717 The big challenge we had over the 16:11.717 --> 16:13.772 course of the past several months is 16:13.772 --> 16:15.717 that what Russia was asking for to 16:15.717 --> 16:17.772 secure paul Leland's release was not 16:17.772 --> 16:19.772 something that we had to be able to 16:19.772 --> 16:21.661 give , that is a problem , we are 16:21.661 --> 16:24.100 trying to solve . We have various ways 16:24.100 --> 16:27.230 that we are working through solutions 16:27.240 --> 16:30.560 and we will be endeavoring on a daily 16:30.560 --> 16:33.220 basis from the President on down to 16:33.220 --> 16:36.740 finally develop a formula that works 16:36.750 --> 16:39.270 and that's as far as I can go today . 16:39.270 --> 16:41.214 But I will just reinforce that our 16:41.214 --> 16:43.600 commitment to this is absolutely rock 16:43.600 --> 16:46.430 solid , intense and this is as high a 16:46.430 --> 16:48.597 priority as the President has . Yeah , 16:48.597 --> 16:50.097 follow on that because the 16:50.097 --> 16:52.263 administration has said that this deal 16:52.263 --> 16:54.910 to get Brynner home was . So if you're 16:54.910 --> 16:56.854 saying that what the Russians were 16:56.854 --> 16:59.540 asking for him to come home , that was 16:59.540 --> 17:01.707 there ever a push by the United States 17:01.707 --> 17:04.900 for that one to be Wheelin , not Griner 17:04.900 --> 17:06.980 in exchange for victor , as the 17:06.980 --> 17:09.680 president said , when he announced 17:09.690 --> 17:12.430 Brittney Griner is release for totally 17:12.440 --> 17:15.160 illegitimate reasons . The Russians 17:15.160 --> 17:17.680 treat paul Whelan's case differently . 17:17.700 --> 17:19.980 And so their demands related to paul 17:19.980 --> 17:22.500 Whelan are different from their demands 17:22.500 --> 17:24.611 from other americans to include , for 17:24.611 --> 17:26.611 example , Trevor Reid , who we were 17:26.611 --> 17:28.833 able to secure his release earlier this 17:28.833 --> 17:31.056 year , even as Brittney Griner remained 17:31.056 --> 17:33.056 in custody and Russia and similarly 17:33.056 --> 17:35.111 they treat his case differently from 17:35.111 --> 17:37.278 Britain grinders case . That creates a 17:37.278 --> 17:39.444 different challenge for us in terms of 17:39.444 --> 17:41.556 what it will take to get paul Wheelin 17:41.556 --> 17:43.760 home , but it is a challenge that we 17:43.760 --> 17:45.927 believe we are up to . We are going to 17:45.927 --> 17:48.038 figure out a way to do it and that is 17:48.038 --> 17:50.038 just going to require us to come up 17:50.038 --> 17:52.650 with the right formula , as I said 17:52.650 --> 17:55.590 before to be able to present to the 17:55.590 --> 17:57.423 Russian Federation to secure his 17:57.423 --> 17:59.646 release , were determined to figure out 17:59.646 --> 18:01.757 how to do that . That is what we were 18:01.757 --> 18:03.868 working on . That was the subject and 18:03.868 --> 18:06.090 substance of the conversation with Paul 18:06.090 --> 18:06.040 Whelan's family today and that will be 18:06.040 --> 18:08.760 the work ahead on grindr . Can you give 18:08.760 --> 18:11.210 us an update on her condition ? When do 18:11.210 --> 18:13.377 you expect that she might be departing 18:13.377 --> 18:15.640 for Sam Houston in texas and has the 18:15.640 --> 18:17.862 president spoken with her or her family 18:17.862 --> 18:20.620 since she's gotten back ? So I would 18:20.630 --> 18:23.370 defer to the State Department officials 18:23.370 --> 18:25.740 who are working closely with her at 18:25.740 --> 18:28.060 Fort Sam Houston for an update on her 18:28.060 --> 18:30.060 condition or directly to her or her 18:30.060 --> 18:32.338 family . I don't want to speak to that . 18:32.338 --> 18:34.393 Um The reports we have indicate that 18:34.393 --> 18:37.110 she is in good spirits and and that she 18:37.110 --> 18:39.166 is in good condition . But again , I 18:39.166 --> 18:41.221 cannot speak authoritatively to it , 18:41.221 --> 18:43.443 nor can I speak authoritatively to when 18:43.443 --> 18:45.499 she will depart because ultimately , 18:45.499 --> 18:47.443 it's up to her how she wants to go 18:47.443 --> 18:49.443 through this transition from having 18:49.443 --> 18:51.610 been in confinement and in a harrowing 18:51.610 --> 18:53.777 circumstance of the course of the past 18:53.777 --> 18:55.999 several months back into her , her life 18:55.999 --> 18:57.999 here in the United States . So that 18:57.999 --> 19:00.166 would be up to her President has not , 19:00.166 --> 19:02.277 I had a chance to speak with Brittany 19:02.277 --> 19:04.388 again since he spoke with her shortly 19:04.388 --> 19:06.554 after her release . But he's of course 19:06.554 --> 19:08.554 following her case very closely and 19:08.554 --> 19:10.721 continuing to pray for her for Sharell 19:10.721 --> 19:12.888 and for the entire grinder family that 19:12.888 --> 19:16.050 she had this opportunity and this space 19:16.060 --> 19:18.060 to heal as she comes back from this 19:18.060 --> 19:20.410 awful situation that she found herself 19:20.410 --> 19:23.870 in in Russia . Yeah I'm going to 19:23.880 --> 19:25.713 talk a little bit more about the 19:25.713 --> 19:28.047 possible deliverables out of the summit . 19:28.047 --> 19:30.047 Um One thing that's been floated is 19:30.047 --> 19:32.102 presidential travel to the continent 19:32.102 --> 19:34.158 and whether that's a possibility , I 19:34.158 --> 19:36.380 know that you mentioned um specifically 19:36.380 --> 19:38.436 food shortages and the problems that 19:38.436 --> 19:40.658 have sort of emanated out of the war in 19:40.658 --> 19:42.824 Ukraine . If there's anything specific 19:42.824 --> 19:46.010 preview on that . And then um if not I 19:46.020 --> 19:48.242 know some of it is building up suspense 19:48.242 --> 19:51.530 for the actual announcement . But uh to 19:51.530 --> 19:53.641 kind of echo april's question I think 19:53.641 --> 19:55.530 that there is concern that's been 19:55.530 --> 19:58.440 voiced by african delegates and leaders 19:58.450 --> 20:00.672 that the U . S . Kind of swoops in once 20:00.672 --> 20:02.783 every four or eight years does one of 20:02.783 --> 20:04.783 these summits and then uh exits the 20:04.783 --> 20:06.728 stage . And so if you could talk a 20:06.728 --> 20:08.839 little bit about how you're trying to 20:08.839 --> 20:10.506 reverse those perceptions and 20:10.506 --> 20:12.339 specifically the perception that 20:12.339 --> 20:14.394 there's kind of a great power battle 20:14.394 --> 20:16.617 between us and china and one that we're 20:16.617 --> 20:18.760 less submitted to than me . So I've 20:18.760 --> 20:21.440 given kind of the very headline number 20:21.440 --> 20:23.580 which is is 55 billion over the next 20:23.580 --> 20:26.210 three years . Um over the course of the 20:26.210 --> 20:28.620 next three days the president himself , 20:28.620 --> 20:30.787 the vice president and various cabinet 20:30.787 --> 20:32.898 members will lay out deliverables and 20:32.898 --> 20:35.650 we will shower you with details about 20:35.650 --> 20:37.770 those deliverables that involve , you 20:37.770 --> 20:39.890 know , real mobilization of resources 20:39.900 --> 20:41.990 towards concrete objectives . So I'm 20:41.990 --> 20:44.140 not gonna get ahead of that today and 20:44.140 --> 20:46.307 traveled to the continent , I will say 20:46.307 --> 20:48.251 the President the Vice President , 20:48.251 --> 20:50.418 members of the Cabinet , there will be 20:50.418 --> 20:52.770 an announcement about broad based 20:52.780 --> 20:54.891 commitment to travel to the continent 20:54.891 --> 20:58.240 in 2023 but the precise specifics of 20:58.240 --> 21:00.550 that , I will also leave and then we 21:00.550 --> 21:02.800 are very mindful of this argument that 21:02.800 --> 21:05.010 says , okay , you hold the summit and 21:05.010 --> 21:07.250 then everybody goes home and doesn't it 21:07.250 --> 21:09.250 just go back to business as usual . 21:09.250 --> 21:11.310 That's why in my opening remarks , I 21:11.310 --> 21:14.020 made a point of stressing that we are 21:14.020 --> 21:17.870 in fact going to appoint uh a special 21:17.880 --> 21:19.440 representative for summit 21:19.440 --> 21:21.607 implementation , that will be his full 21:21.607 --> 21:23.940 time responsibility just to implement 21:23.950 --> 21:26.172 what comes out of the summit . And this 21:26.172 --> 21:28.283 is not just somebody off the street , 21:28.283 --> 21:30.061 this is johnny Carson who is an 21:30.061 --> 21:32.690 absolute legend of diplomacy , uh 21:32.700 --> 21:34.644 coming out of the United States on 21:34.644 --> 21:37.320 africa and he brings , as I said before 21:37.320 --> 21:39.560 nearly four decades of experience and 21:39.560 --> 21:42.580 relationships across the continent . So 21:42.590 --> 21:45.140 we think there is not a better signal 21:45.440 --> 21:48.800 or a better person in terms of the fact 21:48.800 --> 21:50.633 that we are going to have a real 21:50.633 --> 21:52.689 genuine follow up than the fact that 21:52.689 --> 21:54.800 johnny Carson is gonna be riding herd 21:54.800 --> 21:56.856 over that day in day out . And if he 21:56.856 --> 21:56.450 puts his mind to something , he will 21:56.450 --> 21:58.617 get it done and he will do so with the 21:58.617 --> 22:00.394 full authority of the President 22:00.394 --> 22:00.380 Secretary of State , 22:06.160 --> 22:10.040 nothing to announce today . Although as 22:10.050 --> 22:11.939 the two presiden , it's indicated 22:11.939 --> 22:14.050 coming out of the summit in bali , we 22:14.050 --> 22:16.161 have an expectation that that will be 22:16.161 --> 22:18.106 coming in the relatively near term 22:18.106 --> 22:20.328 future . One question on the summit and 22:20.328 --> 22:22.494 one on another comic on the summit . I 22:22.494 --> 22:24.494 wanted to ask about the invite list 22:24.494 --> 22:24.270 earlier this year for the summit of the 22:24.270 --> 22:26.381 Americas . The administration did not 22:26.381 --> 22:28.510 invite countries cuba Venezuela and 22:28.510 --> 22:30.510 Nicaragua because of concerns about 22:30.510 --> 22:32.732 human rights and democracy , but on the 22:32.732 --> 22:34.899 invite list this year or this week for 22:34.899 --> 22:36.954 the summit , you have countries like 22:36.954 --> 22:38.899 Ethiopia , Zimbabwe and Equatorial 22:38.899 --> 22:40.899 guinea where the administration has 22:40.899 --> 22:42.899 also expressed concerns about human 22:42.899 --> 22:42.840 rights or democracy issues in those 22:42.850 --> 22:45.430 countries . So can you walk us through 22:45.440 --> 22:47.440 sort of the discrepancies there and 22:47.440 --> 22:49.496 does the administration have a lower 22:49.496 --> 22:51.496 bar for human rights in africa than 22:51.496 --> 22:53.551 countries closer to here ? We have a 22:53.551 --> 22:55.773 common bar for human rights , the world 22:55.773 --> 22:57.884 over the way that we went through the 22:57.884 --> 23:00.051 invites for the African Leaders summit 23:00.051 --> 23:02.273 was to do so in close consultation with 23:02.273 --> 23:04.496 the African Union and uh there are four 23:04.496 --> 23:06.662 countries that are currently suspended 23:06.662 --> 23:08.773 for membership in the African Union . 23:08.773 --> 23:10.773 They were not invited . There's one 23:10.773 --> 23:12.662 country with whom we don't have a 23:12.662 --> 23:14.773 normal diplomatic relations Eritrea , 23:14.773 --> 23:16.996 they were not invited and everyone else 23:16.996 --> 23:19.218 was invited and we will of course speak 23:19.218 --> 23:21.440 to the universal values of human rights 23:21.440 --> 23:23.384 democracy , good governance , anti 23:23.384 --> 23:25.329 corruption over the course of this 23:25.329 --> 23:27.329 summit . But that's how we ended up 23:27.329 --> 23:29.384 with the invite list for the African 23:29.384 --> 23:31.551 Leaders summit . It was because of the 23:31.551 --> 23:31.460 institutional engagement we had with 23:31.460 --> 23:33.920 the African Union in designing not just 23:33.920 --> 23:35.976 who would be invited to the summit , 23:35.976 --> 23:38.031 but what the substance of the agenda 23:38.031 --> 23:39.976 would be for the summit . So , for 23:39.976 --> 23:41.920 example , The president's uh first 23:41.920 --> 23:44.031 session on Thursday will be on agenda 23:44.031 --> 23:46.870 2063 . The African Union's vision uh 23:46.880 --> 23:49.630 for the continent , not on something 23:49.630 --> 23:51.852 the United States is putting forward as 23:51.852 --> 23:53.930 its as its own vision , but um 23:53.940 --> 23:56.910 nonetheless , you will see commitment 23:56.910 --> 23:59.077 over the course of three days to civil 23:59.077 --> 24:01.299 society , to lifting up civil society , 24:01.299 --> 24:03.410 to lifting up the voices of those who 24:03.410 --> 24:05.188 are seeking human rights , good 24:05.188 --> 24:07.299 governance , democracy and so forth . 24:07.299 --> 24:09.188 And then of course he will have a 24:09.188 --> 24:11.690 session on elections in 2023 to speak 24:11.690 --> 24:13.634 to the importance of free and fair 24:13.634 --> 24:15.710 elections in africa as part of this 24:18.720 --> 24:19.470 about 24:23.550 --> 24:25.772 Well , first , I would just say it is , 24:25.772 --> 24:27.828 it is a very good thing . Today is a 24:27.828 --> 24:31.210 good day because Massoud will be facing 24:31.220 --> 24:33.640 facing justice for his alleged role in 24:33.640 --> 24:36.990 the 1988 Lockerbie bombing . Um I will 24:36.990 --> 24:40.260 say that this was done in a lawful 24:40.260 --> 24:42.038 manner according to established 24:42.038 --> 24:44.093 procedures and for more specifics on 24:44.093 --> 24:46.260 how it happened . I would refer you to 24:46.260 --> 24:48.316 the Justice Department because their 24:48.316 --> 24:50.371 best position to be able to speak to 24:50.371 --> 24:52.316 that , uh , your term question and 24:52.316 --> 24:54.538 longer term questions related to the uh 24:54.538 --> 24:57.790 administration's ability to secure home 24:57.800 --> 24:59.578 near term . Have there been any 24:59.578 --> 25:01.356 discussions related to with the 25:01.356 --> 25:03.411 Russians through the tables you guys 25:03.411 --> 25:05.633 have been operating through in the last 25:05.633 --> 25:05.610 five days ? And if not , is there a 25:05.620 --> 25:07.787 timeline for that ? And more broadly , 25:07.787 --> 25:09.787 there's very clear mismatch between 25:09.787 --> 25:11.953 what was alleged to have done and what 25:11.953 --> 25:14.260 victor did do was proven to do because 25:14.260 --> 25:16.270 the minister trying to address that 25:16.280 --> 25:18.700 other channels , ramp up pressure 25:19.120 --> 25:22.050 Russia against Russia because of that 25:22.060 --> 25:24.060 mismatch or these separate tracks . 25:24.200 --> 25:26.510 Well from our perspective , if you look 25:26.510 --> 25:29.430 at the full spectrum of pressure that 25:29.430 --> 25:31.152 we've imposed upon the Russian 25:31.152 --> 25:33.319 federation over the course of the last 25:33.319 --> 25:35.263 year , from financial sanctions to 25:35.263 --> 25:37.580 export controls to are very strong and 25:37.580 --> 25:39.747 sustained support for the Ukrainian in 25:39.747 --> 25:41.691 defense of their own homeland . We 25:41.691 --> 25:43.802 think that our record on pushing back 25:43.802 --> 25:45.747 on the Kremlin in all respects and 25:45.747 --> 25:47.580 particularly insofar , as Russia 25:47.580 --> 25:49.691 represents a threat to Ukraine and to 25:49.691 --> 25:52.600 our allies and partners is unmatched in 25:52.600 --> 25:54.950 recent memory . So we take a back seat 25:54.950 --> 25:57.280 to no one when it comes to standing up 25:57.280 --> 25:59.113 against and pushing back against 25:59.160 --> 26:01.327 Russian aggression , we'll continue to 26:01.327 --> 26:03.327 do so , but we'll continue to do so 26:03.327 --> 26:05.549 with a single question , is it going to 26:05.549 --> 26:07.827 make people in the United States safer , 26:07.827 --> 26:09.660 more secure , and is it going to 26:09.660 --> 26:11.827 advance our interests and values ? And 26:11.827 --> 26:11.540 if there's any move we can make that 26:11.540 --> 26:13.818 will do those things , we will do them . 26:13.818 --> 26:15.984 We have proven that over the course of 26:15.984 --> 26:18.151 2022 . With respect to the question of 26:18.151 --> 26:20.262 whether we've had engagement with the 26:20.262 --> 26:22.484 Russian Federation on the wheel in case 26:22.484 --> 26:24.540 we will have an engagement with them 26:24.540 --> 26:26.651 this week . I won't say more about it 26:26.651 --> 26:28.929 because we're trying to keep that , uh , 26:28.929 --> 26:31.040 insensitive channels , but that's the 26:31.040 --> 26:33.040 timetable . And we have had regular 26:33.040 --> 26:35.207 engagement of course along the way and 26:35.207 --> 26:37.318 the next conversation at a high level 26:37.318 --> 26:39.484 will take place this week . Real quick 26:39.484 --> 26:41.484 victor has said that he wants to be 26:41.484 --> 26:43.651 involved with the Russian Federation's 26:43.651 --> 26:45.484 efforts against Ukraine with the 26:45.484 --> 26:47.373 administration's plans to respond 26:47.373 --> 26:49.596 should do something like that . Whether 26:49.596 --> 26:51.373 either types of weapons for his 26:51.373 --> 26:53.429 political activities , anything like 26:53.429 --> 26:55.429 that from our perspective , what we 26:55.429 --> 26:57.429 want to do is make sure that we are 26:57.429 --> 26:59.596 blunting any Russian effort to be able 26:59.596 --> 27:01.762 to gain advantage in Ukraine , whether 27:01.762 --> 27:03.818 it's military advantage or advantage 27:03.818 --> 27:05.762 through brutalizing and destroying 27:05.762 --> 27:07.929 civilian infrastructure . So our focus 27:07.929 --> 27:09.873 is gonna be upon Those things that 27:09.873 --> 27:12.040 actually represent a genuine threat to 27:12.040 --> 27:14.318 Ukraine and the people of Ukraine , uh , 27:14.318 --> 27:14.050 not to comments that are made on 27:14.050 --> 27:16.020 television shows . Uh , and we'll 27:16.020 --> 27:17.964 continue to focus on that as we go 27:17.964 --> 27:20.076 forward . And for example , just last 27:20.076 --> 27:21.909 Friday we announced another $275 27:21.909 --> 27:24.130 million dollars in military support to 27:24.130 --> 27:25.852 Ukraine ? We will have further 27:25.852 --> 27:27.963 announcements in the coming days . So 27:27.963 --> 27:29.963 we're gonna look at what's actually 27:29.963 --> 27:32.130 happening in the air and on the ground 27:32.130 --> 27:34.074 in Ukraine . Not so much as what's 27:34.074 --> 27:35.852 happening on the other air , on 27:35.852 --> 27:38.220 television stations in Russia . Yes , 27:38.230 --> 27:41.950 thank you . Uh in 27:41.950 --> 27:44.480 Africa we have the perception that the 27:44.490 --> 27:47.490 US look down africa . So with this 27:47.490 --> 27:50.730 summit uh what makes you feel so 27:50.740 --> 27:53.220 comfortable or confident that it will 27:53.230 --> 27:55.440 be different ? So comparing to the 27:55.450 --> 27:58.410 preview summit which did and bring much 27:58.410 --> 28:00.880 results for African countries , what 28:00.890 --> 28:03.980 are you seeing in this new summit that 28:03.990 --> 28:06.220 you can transmit to the african ? 28:06.230 --> 28:08.620 People that are watching every african 28:08.630 --> 28:11.210 now are looking on this summit and 28:11.210 --> 28:14.380 expecting that the U . S . Really at 28:14.390 --> 28:16.900 this time , look in Africa in a 28:16.910 --> 28:18.632 different way . What makes you 28:18.632 --> 28:20.466 confident that this time will be 28:20.466 --> 28:22.750 different ? I would say three things 28:22.760 --> 28:24.871 make me confident that we will have a 28:24.871 --> 28:26.982 positive result from the summit . The 28:26.982 --> 28:29.149 first is we are bringing the resources 28:29.149 --> 28:31.260 to the table in significant numbers . 28:31.260 --> 28:33.204 And if you compare what the United 28:33.204 --> 28:35.149 States is committing over the next 28:35.149 --> 28:37.260 three years to what any other country 28:37.260 --> 28:39.260 is committing . I think we stack up 28:39.260 --> 28:41.482 extremely favorably second . How did we 28:41.482 --> 28:43.482 design the agenda for this summit ? 28:43.482 --> 28:45.649 It's not a dictation from Washington . 28:45.649 --> 28:47.704 It's not lecturing or preaching from 28:47.704 --> 28:51.040 Washington . We went to African nations 28:51.040 --> 28:53.040 themselves in the African union and 28:53.040 --> 28:55.207 said , what are your priorities ? What 28:55.207 --> 28:57.690 is your vision And in fact the as I 28:57.690 --> 29:01.070 mentioned earlier , the entire first 29:01.070 --> 29:03.237 substantive session that the President 29:03.237 --> 29:05.510 will chair at the summit is on agenda 29:05.510 --> 29:08.150 2063 . That is not an american document . 29:08.160 --> 29:10.216 It is not an american vision , it is 29:10.216 --> 29:12.216 the African Union's document in the 29:12.216 --> 29:14.160 African Union's vision . So we are 29:14.160 --> 29:16.271 lifting up African voices and African 29:16.271 --> 29:18.271 priorities and what we are doing at 29:18.271 --> 29:20.327 this summit and the entire summit is 29:20.327 --> 29:22.493 designed around that basic ethos . And 29:22.493 --> 29:24.271 if you look at the dinner , the 29:24.271 --> 29:26.493 President's gonna host , it is going to 29:26.493 --> 29:28.604 be him with the leaders of Africa and 29:28.604 --> 29:30.716 their spouses , that small group in a 29:30.716 --> 29:32.870 room together for hours being able to 29:32.870 --> 29:35.400 engage on the issues of the day . And 29:35.400 --> 29:37.622 then the third reason is what we talked 29:37.622 --> 29:39.733 about earlier here , which is that we 29:39.733 --> 29:41.900 have put an emphasis on implementation 29:41.900 --> 29:44.122 coming out of this summit , like nobody 29:44.122 --> 29:44.120 has seen from previous summits , 29:44.360 --> 29:46.416 meaning we will actually put someone 29:46.416 --> 29:48.910 forward who is well known to Africans 29:48.920 --> 29:51.620 respected , somebody who has a history 29:51.620 --> 29:54.220 of delivering on the major issues that 29:54.230 --> 29:56.640 are of interest to African people 29:56.750 --> 29:59.120 everywhere . That's johnny Carson . And 29:59.120 --> 30:01.342 so we have not just a plan for the next 30:01.342 --> 30:03.342 three days , but for the years that 30:03.342 --> 30:05.564 follow at the end of the day though , I 30:05.564 --> 30:07.787 agree with you , it's not about what we 30:07.787 --> 30:10.009 say , it's about what we do and part of 30:10.009 --> 30:08.850 the reason that I have so much 30:08.850 --> 30:10.961 confidence about this summit and what 30:10.961 --> 30:12.794 will follow is because I do have 30:12.794 --> 30:14.906 confidence that this president , this 30:14.906 --> 30:16.850 vice president , this secretary of 30:16.850 --> 30:18.683 state we are intending to follow 30:18.683 --> 30:20.906 through were mobilizing the resources , 30:20.906 --> 30:23.017 the people and the process to be able 30:23.017 --> 30:25.300 to make that happen . And I think you 30:25.300 --> 30:27.600 will see in the months that follow uh 30:27.610 --> 30:30.380 the results of all of this actually 30:30.380 --> 30:33.850 reflected In reality Angolan 30:33.850 --> 30:36.530 investment . Recently President Biden 30:36.530 --> 30:38.697 announced $2 billion dollar investment 30:38.697 --> 30:41.120 for Angola . Will Debbie , will there 30:41.130 --> 30:43.240 be any more investment coming from 30:43.250 --> 30:45.620 Angola or what the president really 30:45.630 --> 30:47.760 expect from this investment that he 30:47.760 --> 30:50.690 announced many times for Angola . So he 30:50.690 --> 30:52.670 really expects that you will see a 30:52.680 --> 30:54.980 major deployment of solar power in 30:54.980 --> 30:58.450 Angola . That was a significant uh 30:58.460 --> 31:01.260 project that was facilitated by funding 31:01.270 --> 31:03.620 uh and mechanisms from the United 31:03.620 --> 31:05.620 States government . So he's looking 31:05.620 --> 31:07.842 forward to seeing that actually come to 31:07.842 --> 31:10.064 fruition at the summit . He will have a 31:10.064 --> 31:12.009 series of other announcements that 31:12.009 --> 31:14.064 benefit a wide range of countries in 31:14.064 --> 31:16.176 Africa , some of which also will come 31:16.176 --> 31:18.398 to the benefit of Angola . I will leave 31:18.398 --> 31:20.620 those to the specific sessions in which 31:20.620 --> 31:22.620 each of these announcements will be 31:22.620 --> 31:24.842 laid out . But you will see projects in 31:24.842 --> 31:26.787 health , in climate , in trade and 31:26.787 --> 31:28.953 investment in infrastructure uh and in 31:28.953 --> 31:31.080 many other areas including security 31:31.080 --> 31:34.360 cooperation uh that range from , you 31:34.360 --> 31:36.304 know , every significant region of 31:36.304 --> 31:38.940 Africa benefiting from different parts 31:38.940 --> 31:41.162 of what the president and his team will 31:41.162 --> 31:42.996 lay out over the next few days , 31:42.996 --> 31:45.980 pictorial jake will finally the U . S . 31:45.990 --> 31:49.350 Say something about the more than 31:49.350 --> 31:53.080 $19 million that equatorial guinea paid 31:53.080 --> 31:55.358 to the U . S . Government for vaccines . 31:55.358 --> 31:57.469 But those vaccines were never sent to 31:57.469 --> 31:59.691 equatorial guinea will this time the US 31:59.691 --> 32:01.747 government says something about this 32:01.747 --> 32:03.900 money that is already in the U . S . 32:03.900 --> 32:06.180 Government but they never sent the 32:06.190 --> 32:08.370 vaccines to equatorial guinea and the 32:08.380 --> 32:10.713 people still waiting for those vaccines . 32:10.713 --> 32:12.824 We will have the opportunity to speak 32:12.824 --> 32:16.190 with the delegation from equatorial 32:16.190 --> 32:18.790 guinea about any misunderstandings or 32:18.790 --> 32:20.734 misconceptions that may lie at the 32:20.734 --> 32:23.470 heart of your question . Yes . Thanks 32:23.470 --> 32:25.414 for talking about Africa with us . 32:25.414 --> 32:27.526 First of all , as you know , a lot of 32:27.526 --> 32:29.581 African countries have held the line 32:29.581 --> 32:31.748 against condemning Russia . Um has the 32:31.748 --> 32:33.359 us communicated any possible 32:33.359 --> 32:35.692 consequences of maintaining that stance ? 32:35.692 --> 32:37.748 Does any of that $55 billion dollars 32:37.748 --> 32:39.414 play into that ? What are the 32:39.414 --> 32:41.637 consequences if they continue to to not 32:41.637 --> 32:44.740 choose a side in this ? And we're not 32:44.750 --> 32:46.750 we're not putting a gun to anyone's 32:46.750 --> 32:48.639 head . We believe that the war in 32:48.639 --> 32:50.694 Ukraine is a matter of principle and 32:50.694 --> 32:52.917 it's not an american principle . It's a 32:52.917 --> 32:54.972 principle we all signed up to in the 32:54.972 --> 32:57.139 United Nations charter , its principle 32:57.139 --> 32:56.980 of sovereignty and territorial 32:56.980 --> 32:59.070 integrity . So we will make the case 32:59.070 --> 33:01.181 with passion and persistence to every 33:01.181 --> 33:03.292 country in the world that they should 33:03.292 --> 33:05.126 speak out against these flagrant 33:05.126 --> 33:07.348 violations of the U . N . Charter . But 33:07.348 --> 33:09.514 we're not imposing conditionality from 33:09.514 --> 33:11.514 the point of view of this summit on 33:11.514 --> 33:13.737 decisions that sovereign countries make 33:13.737 --> 33:15.737 in this regard . We believe that we 33:15.737 --> 33:17.570 have actually been successful in 33:17.570 --> 33:19.792 pressing this case . In fact , from the 33:19.792 --> 33:22.014 first significant General Assembly vote 33:22.014 --> 33:23.792 of 141 countries condemning the 33:23.792 --> 33:25.737 invasion To the second significant 33:25.737 --> 33:27.626 General Assembly vote , where you 33:27.626 --> 33:29.792 actually had an increase 143 countries 33:29.792 --> 33:31.903 even after uh several months in which 33:31.903 --> 33:33.990 people were describing uh you know , 33:34.000 --> 33:35.944 flagging international support for 33:35.944 --> 33:38.111 Ukraine . The numbers went up . Uh and 33:38.111 --> 33:40.333 we think that that is because countries 33:40.333 --> 33:42.444 recognize there are deeper principles 33:42.444 --> 33:44.667 at stake . That's how we're approaching 33:44.667 --> 33:43.940 this . We're not approaching this from 33:43.940 --> 33:45.940 the point of view of coercing other 33:45.940 --> 33:48.051 countries , that's not how the United 33:48.051 --> 33:50.273 States is going to operate with respect 33:50.273 --> 33:52.384 to countries in Africa , it's not how 33:52.384 --> 33:54.496 we have operated elections jake . You 33:54.496 --> 33:56.496 mentioned the 20 three elections in 33:56.496 --> 33:58.551 africa . You just highlight the ones 33:58.551 --> 33:58.220 that you're concerned about how the U . 33:58.220 --> 33:59.998 S . Is going to work with these 33:59.998 --> 34:02.220 countries . I'm thinking of Congo Sudan 34:02.220 --> 34:04.442 and South Sudan that are having been on 34:04.442 --> 34:06.553 this next year . So we're going to do 34:06.553 --> 34:08.609 to make space for them to have these 34:08.609 --> 34:10.609 elections . I want to be clear that 34:10.609 --> 34:12.609 having a meeting about elections in 34:12.609 --> 34:14.776 2023 is not about us raising the alarm 34:14.776 --> 34:16.998 bell or claiming , you know , we've got 34:16.998 --> 34:18.942 concerns and then solutions . It's 34:18.942 --> 34:20.831 rather to say there are important 34:20.831 --> 34:23.160 elections coming up , We would like to 34:23.160 --> 34:25.271 do everything we can to support those 34:25.271 --> 34:27.549 elections being free fair and credible . 34:27.549 --> 34:29.771 And that goes for every election taking 34:29.771 --> 34:31.938 place in 2023 not picking and choosing 34:31.938 --> 34:33.960 certain ones and setting other ones 34:33.960 --> 34:37.150 aside . So the meeting is designed Uh 34:37.160 --> 34:40.010 to indicate that the United States is 34:40.010 --> 34:42.700 focused on being supportive of free 34:42.700 --> 34:44.867 fair and credible elections everywhere 34:44.867 --> 34:47.580 they are taking place in Africa in 2023 . 34:48.050 --> 34:52.000 Sorry , I've got thank you 34:52.000 --> 34:55.670 jake . Another protester was executed 34:55.670 --> 34:58.350 in Iran this time in a public square . 34:58.360 --> 35:00.620 He was hanged and his trial was 35:00.620 --> 35:02.850 described as a sham . His accusation 35:02.850 --> 35:05.460 was he was waging a war against God . 35:05.600 --> 35:07.544 What can the U . S . Do to support 35:07.544 --> 35:10.420 these protesters bravely participated 35:10.430 --> 35:12.660 in those demonstrations . But they're 35:12.670 --> 35:15.010 being held or arrested . And second , 35:15.010 --> 35:16.954 can you update us on any potential 35:16.954 --> 35:19.010 meeting between you or the President 35:19.010 --> 35:21.080 with the families of the American 35:21.080 --> 35:23.024 Iranian hostages have been held in 35:23.024 --> 35:25.080 Tehran and they've been asking for a 35:25.080 --> 35:27.600 meeting with you . So I have had a 35:27.600 --> 35:29.933 chance to meet with the new Masi family . 35:29.933 --> 35:32.100 I have had a chance to meet with Murad 35:32.100 --> 35:34.570 Tabas family and in just the next few 35:34.570 --> 35:36.980 days I will also have a chance to meet 35:36.980 --> 35:39.320 with the charges family . So , I've 35:39.320 --> 35:42.520 already in the past through zoom in 35:42.520 --> 35:46.140 person on the phone engaged deeply with 35:46.150 --> 35:49.190 uh many people who have been personally 35:49.190 --> 35:51.700 affected by their family members being 35:51.700 --> 35:54.730 detained unjustly unlawfully detained 35:54.740 --> 35:58.030 in Iran . Um and this is something that 35:58.030 --> 35:59.919 I personally as National Security 35:59.919 --> 36:01.808 Advisor , I'm deeply committed to 36:01.808 --> 36:03.974 across the board . I've spent dozens , 36:03.974 --> 36:06.086 if not hundreds , of hours working on 36:06.086 --> 36:07.919 these cases , meeting with these 36:07.919 --> 36:10.141 families . And I will continue to do so 36:10.141 --> 36:12.086 as we go forward . And I make it a 36:12.086 --> 36:14.086 policy that any family , it seeks a 36:14.086 --> 36:16.141 meeting at the White House with me . 36:16.141 --> 36:18.141 We'll get one . Sometimes there are 36:18.141 --> 36:20.363 scheduling issues . But over the course 36:20.363 --> 36:20.170 of the past year , I have had the 36:20.170 --> 36:22.920 opportunity to meet with so many 36:22.930 --> 36:26.840 families from hostages and detainees in 36:26.840 --> 36:29.118 Russia and Afghanistan , and Venezuela , 36:29.118 --> 36:32.250 Iran , uh in china and other places as 36:32.250 --> 36:34.472 well . And and I'll continue to do that 36:34.472 --> 36:36.780 on the on the question of what we're 36:36.780 --> 36:38.836 doing with respect to supporting the 36:38.836 --> 36:41.570 protesters in Iran . Um we have had a 36:41.580 --> 36:45.340 drumbeat of announcements relative to 36:45.340 --> 36:47.118 sanctions against those who are 36:47.118 --> 36:49.720 perpetrating these gross human rights 36:49.720 --> 36:52.310 abuses and this repression uh we 36:52.310 --> 36:54.310 haven't just done so ourselves . We 36:54.310 --> 36:56.532 have coordinated and aligned with other 36:56.532 --> 36:58.643 countries around the world , building 36:58.643 --> 37:00.866 an international chorus of condemnation 37:00.866 --> 37:03.199 against what is happening . In addition , 37:03.199 --> 37:04.866 we have taken steps to try to 37:04.866 --> 37:06.990 facilitate the ability of Iranians to 37:06.990 --> 37:09.120 communicate both among themselves and 37:09.120 --> 37:11.064 then to communicate to the outside 37:11.064 --> 37:12.898 world what is happening in their 37:12.898 --> 37:15.009 country so that we can shine a bright 37:15.009 --> 37:17.231 light on and hold accountable those who 37:17.231 --> 37:19.342 are responsible . We will continue to 37:19.342 --> 37:19.240 do these things and right from the 37:19.240 --> 37:21.018 President , who has spoken very 37:21.018 --> 37:23.073 directly clearly and passionately on 37:23.073 --> 37:25.184 the subject , on down this government 37:25.184 --> 37:27.184 has made clear where it stands . It 37:27.184 --> 37:30.630 stands on the side of the rights of 37:30.640 --> 37:32.800 peaceful protesters , the rights of 37:32.800 --> 37:36.480 women to seek to vindicate their 37:36.480 --> 37:38.647 human dignity and the rights of people 37:38.647 --> 37:40.813 everywhere to speak out on behalf of a 37:40.813 --> 37:42.924 better life . And we will continue to 37:42.924 --> 37:44.980 do that , pull your punches on china 37:44.980 --> 37:47.036 and you won't say the same thing for 37:47.036 --> 37:49.036 the protest . Well , we have spoken 37:49.036 --> 37:51.202 about the protests in china and called 37:51.202 --> 37:51.000 for peaceful protests , we have spoken 37:51.000 --> 37:53.000 about Xinjiang , we've spoken about 37:53.000 --> 37:55.000 what's happened in Hong kong and in 37:55.000 --> 37:57.167 fact what's just happened with respect 37:57.167 --> 38:00.410 to jimmy lai uh is a in our view of 38:00.410 --> 38:02.354 violation of the basic law and the 38:02.354 --> 38:04.188 commitments that china made with 38:04.188 --> 38:06.520 respect to autonomy for Hong kong . So 38:06.540 --> 38:08.596 this administration does have a very 38:08.596 --> 38:11.530 strong uh set of principles and actions 38:11.530 --> 38:13.752 that we've taken over the course of the 38:13.752 --> 38:15.697 past two years with respect to the 38:15.697 --> 38:17.752 People's Republic of China . And the 38:17.752 --> 38:19.752 question of human rights christians 38:19.752 --> 38:21.752 wanted to ask you about the African 38:21.752 --> 38:23.752 Leaders Summit , but first , just a 38:23.752 --> 38:25.919 quick follow up , I'm curious does the 38:25.919 --> 38:28.086 administration consider victor to be a 38:28.086 --> 38:30.460 terrorist ? Well , he's not listed as a 38:30.460 --> 38:32.682 specially designated national , what we 38:32.682 --> 38:34.571 consider him to have been , was a 38:34.571 --> 38:36.738 convicted criminal , convicted of arms 38:36.738 --> 38:38.682 trafficking and other crimes um to 38:38.682 --> 38:42.130 serve a sentence . He served 12 years 38:42.140 --> 38:44.090 in detention . He was set to be 38:44.090 --> 38:47.830 released in 2029 . And of course , 38:47.840 --> 38:50.040 before we make any determination about 38:50.040 --> 38:52.940 whether to send somebody back as part 38:52.940 --> 38:55.190 of a deal to get an american home . We 38:55.190 --> 38:57.412 make a determination about the national 38:57.412 --> 38:59.579 security implications of that . We did 38:59.579 --> 39:01.468 that assessment . In this case we 39:01.468 --> 39:03.634 believe we can manage those challenges 39:03.634 --> 39:05.900 but we will remain constantly vigilant 39:05.900 --> 39:08.122 against any threat that victor boot may 39:08.122 --> 39:10.289 pose to americans to the United States 39:10.289 --> 39:12.233 going forward . We also would just 39:12.233 --> 39:14.930 point out uh that there is no shortage 39:14.930 --> 39:17.097 of arms traffickers and mercenaries in 39:17.097 --> 39:19.263 Russia who pose challenges and threats 39:19.263 --> 39:21.152 to the international order to the 39:21.152 --> 39:23.208 United States and otherwise . And we 39:23.208 --> 39:23.000 are vigilant about that as well . Which 39:23.000 --> 39:25.010 is why we have built alongside our 39:25.010 --> 39:27.010 allies and partners . Such a robust 39:27.010 --> 39:28.954 policy in dealing with the threats 39:28.954 --> 39:31.066 posed by Russia and about the African 39:31.066 --> 39:33.177 Leaders summit . Um as china looks to 39:33.177 --> 39:34.899 increase its influence on that 39:34.899 --> 39:36.732 continent . I'm curious will the 39:36.732 --> 39:38.899 president seeks to deliver any kind of 39:38.899 --> 39:41.570 message or word of warning uh these 39:41.570 --> 39:43.920 african leaders that Beijing whether 39:43.920 --> 39:45.790 it's through their financing or 39:45.790 --> 39:49.440 economic or military aid um is not in 39:49.440 --> 39:53.050 fact uh faithful ally or 39:53.050 --> 39:55.350 partner . This is gonna be about what 39:55.350 --> 39:57.572 we can offer . It's gonna be a positive 39:57.572 --> 39:59.739 proposition about the United States is 39:59.739 --> 40:01.683 Partnership with Africa . It's not 40:01.683 --> 40:03.683 going to be about other countries . 40:03.683 --> 40:05.628 It's not going to be attempting to 40:05.628 --> 40:07.850 compare contrast . It's rather going to 40:07.850 --> 40:09.906 be about the affirmative agenda that 40:09.906 --> 40:13.030 the United States . Thank you . Thank 40:13.030 --> 40:16.540 you . I went around yesterday to see 40:16.550 --> 40:18.606 how much African leaders were paying 40:18.606 --> 40:20.640 for the hotel for this trip and I 40:20.640 --> 40:22.862 realized that some of the hotels in D . 40:22.862 --> 40:26.000 C . were charging them up to $22,000 a 40:26.010 --> 40:28.420 night . So it's an expensive trip . 40:28.420 --> 40:30.480 Some of them we spent $50 million 40:30.490 --> 40:34.260 US dollar . 40:34.920 --> 40:37.150 And so my question is if they have to 40:37.150 --> 40:39.060 spend all these money and travel 40:39.070 --> 40:41.490 thousands of miles , why wasn't the 40:41.490 --> 40:43.546 White House White in the White House 40:43.546 --> 40:45.890 plan one on one meeting with those 40:45.900 --> 40:47.880 african leaders ? Well first the 40:47.890 --> 40:50.112 president will have the chance to greet 40:50.112 --> 40:52.279 every single African leader and engage 40:52.279 --> 40:54.390 with them as they come for the dinner 40:54.390 --> 40:56.501 tomorrow night . Second , if you look 40:56.501 --> 40:58.612 at the substance of this summit , the 40:58.612 --> 41:00.723 sessions that he is going to sit with 41:00.723 --> 41:02.946 those leaders around the table and deal 41:02.946 --> 41:02.560 with it is the things that they have 41:02.560 --> 41:04.560 asked to talk about that he will be 41:04.560 --> 41:06.449 talking about with them and those 41:06.449 --> 41:08.504 leaders will have the opportunity to 41:08.504 --> 41:10.560 speak in those sessions to President 41:10.560 --> 41:12.782 biden and to one another so that we can 41:12.782 --> 41:14.727 collectively come up with a common 41:14.727 --> 41:16.890 strategy to deliver for the people of 41:16.890 --> 41:19.220 africa . And if you look at what 41:19.230 --> 41:21.119 substance this summit is going to 41:21.119 --> 41:23.341 deliver from the business forum all the 41:23.341 --> 41:25.508 way through to the leader sessions . I 41:25.508 --> 41:27.563 believe that it is going to be three 41:27.563 --> 41:29.750 days where you will see put on display 41:29.830 --> 41:32.950 real tangible deliverables and results 41:33.170 --> 41:35.114 that are going to improve people's 41:35.114 --> 41:37.059 lives . And ultimately , as I said 41:37.059 --> 41:39.281 before , I will ask you judge us on the 41:39.281 --> 41:41.559 record of how that ends up playing out , 41:41.559 --> 41:43.670 but I'm confident that it is going to 41:43.670 --> 41:47.230 play out well . Is 41:47.240 --> 41:49.430 expiring ? Do you see a national 41:49.430 --> 41:51.510 security ? Are there national 41:51.510 --> 41:53.677 conservative concerns over the title ? 41:55.130 --> 41:57.297 So the team has been working very hard 41:57.297 --> 41:59.410 to ensure that we are taking steps to 41:59.410 --> 42:02.160 be able to manage the expiration of 42:02.160 --> 42:04.990 title 42 to put in place a process that 42:04.990 --> 42:07.130 will be orderly and humane . And we 42:07.130 --> 42:09.370 believe that in doing so we can protect 42:09.370 --> 42:11.600 our national security concerns . Uh 42:11.680 --> 42:13.902 that is a process that others can speak 42:13.902 --> 42:15.880 to better than I can . But from my 42:15.880 --> 42:19.590 perspective , the uh issues related to 42:19.590 --> 42:21.646 ensuring an orderly humane migration 42:21.646 --> 42:23.423 process at the border are being 42:23.423 --> 42:25.534 persistently and constantly addressed 42:25.534 --> 42:27.701 through the interagency process and we 42:27.701 --> 42:29.479 are working through what Uh the 42:29.479 --> 42:31.660 procedures will be in place at the 42:31.660 --> 42:34.340 moment of expiration on the 21st . Any 42:34.340 --> 42:36.340 sense of how many people are coming 42:36.340 --> 42:38.507 across that they have that there is no 42:38.507 --> 42:40.396 visibility on how many people are 42:40.396 --> 42:42.451 crossing that . You have no idea who 42:42.451 --> 42:44.673 they are ? I'm sorry , I'm not sure . I 42:44.673 --> 42:46.896 understand the question how many people 42:46.896 --> 42:49.118 crossing the border um that the U . S . 42:49.118 --> 42:51.229 Government has no idea , um estimates 42:51.229 --> 42:53.173 of how many people crossing aren't 42:53.173 --> 42:55.118 giving their names , aren't giving 42:55.118 --> 42:57.173 ideas aren't able to verify who they 42:57.173 --> 42:59.229 are . So we do have estimates of how 42:59.229 --> 43:01.451 many encounters there are at the border 43:01.451 --> 43:03.507 on a daily basis . We have processes 43:03.507 --> 43:05.507 and procedures in place to identify 43:05.507 --> 43:07.729 those individuals to process them in an 43:07.729 --> 43:09.896 orderly fashion and then to do what is 43:09.896 --> 43:12.062 appropriate based on that processing . 43:12.062 --> 43:14.530 And we have believed that that system 43:14.540 --> 43:18.450 uh is a system that does an 43:18.450 --> 43:20.172 effective job of being able to 43:20.172 --> 43:22.117 determine who is coming across the 43:22.117 --> 43:24.228 border and what the right way to deal 43:24.228 --> 43:26.460 with their cases . Yes , particularly 43:26.470 --> 43:29.930 on the IR issue last time , 43:30.000 --> 43:32.800 since I have confidence , you mentioned 43:32.810 --> 43:35.680 that you will have some kind of 43:35.690 --> 43:38.770 solution for the I . R . A . But you 43:38.770 --> 43:41.770 haven't heard regarding the issue of 43:41.780 --> 43:45.350 subsidy exclusive for South korean 43:45.360 --> 43:49.320 electric vehicles under the I I A 43:49.330 --> 43:52.740 what kind of talks are going on with 43:52.750 --> 43:56.280 South Korea now and what solution does 43:56.290 --> 43:58.900 the United States have for mutual 43:58.900 --> 44:02.220 benefit as an economic alliance with 44:02.230 --> 44:05.040 South Korea . So , we have had 44:05.050 --> 44:06.883 extensive consultations with the 44:06.883 --> 44:08.828 Republic of Korea on the inflation 44:08.828 --> 44:11.570 reduction act and in particular the the 44:11.580 --> 44:14.110 relevant provisions related to electric 44:14.110 --> 44:16.580 vehicles . Those have been constructive 44:16.580 --> 44:18.580 conversations , they've happened at 44:18.580 --> 44:20.247 multiple levels , including a 44:20.247 --> 44:22.358 discussion between our two presidents 44:22.358 --> 44:24.470 and we feel confident that we can get 44:24.470 --> 44:27.110 to a place of understanding and where 44:27.110 --> 44:28.832 both of our country's economic 44:28.832 --> 44:30.888 interests will be taken into account 44:30.888 --> 44:32.999 and we will see that unfold in the in 44:32.999 --> 44:35.110 the coming days and weeks . This is a 44:35.110 --> 44:37.277 big complex piece of legislation . Not 44:37.277 --> 44:39.277 everything gets resolved in a day a 44:39.277 --> 44:41.388 week or a month , but we believe that 44:41.388 --> 44:43.388 we will ultimately have a long term 44:43.388 --> 44:47.110 approach that vindicates the economic 44:47.120 --> 44:49.342 interests and needs of american workers 44:49.342 --> 44:51.880 and businesses and of our ally in the 44:51.880 --> 44:53.936 republic of Korea . I'll leave it at 44:53.936 --> 44:55.102 that . Thanks guys . 44:57.500 --> 45:01.400 Thank you jay . Alright , I know we're 45:01.910 --> 45:04.021 kind of running out of time . So I'll 45:04.021 --> 45:06.188 take I'll do two things at the top and 45:06.188 --> 45:08.299 take a few more questions for folks . 45:08.299 --> 45:10.410 Uh many of you have been asking about 45:10.410 --> 45:12.299 plans for tomorrow's bill signing 45:12.299 --> 45:14.354 tomorrow . President biden will sign 45:14.354 --> 45:16.577 the bipartisan respect for Marriage Act 45:16.577 --> 45:18.743 into law at a celebration on the south 45:18.743 --> 45:21.100 lawn with thousands in attendance in 45:21.100 --> 45:24.090 May 2012 . Then Vice President biden 45:24.090 --> 45:26.423 made history when he said , and I quote , 45:26.423 --> 45:28.710 this is all about a simple proposition . 45:29.200 --> 45:32.040 Who do you love ? Who you love and who 45:32.040 --> 45:35.000 you , who , who you'll be loyal to in 45:35.000 --> 45:37.056 person to the person you love , Will 45:37.056 --> 45:39.230 you be loyal to the person you love ? 45:39.240 --> 45:41.760 And quote , the respect for Marriage 45:41.770 --> 45:44.470 act helps ensure that proposition is 45:44.470 --> 45:46.820 fully realized in the United States . 45:46.830 --> 45:49.080 It will give peace of mind to millions 45:49.080 --> 45:50.860 of L G . B . T . Q . I plus and 45:50.870 --> 45:53.430 interracial couples who will finally be 45:53.430 --> 45:56.150 guaranteed the rights and protections 45:56.150 --> 45:58.206 to which they and their Children are 45:58.206 --> 46:01.660 entitled to the legislation also enjoys 46:01.660 --> 46:03.716 support from a majority of americans 46:03.716 --> 46:06.380 across party lines and faiths tomorrow . 46:06.380 --> 46:08.269 The president will be joined by a 46:08.269 --> 46:10.380 bipartisan group of lawmakers as well 46:10.380 --> 46:13.090 as advocates and plaintiffs in marriage 46:13.090 --> 46:15.420 equality cases across the country . To 46:15.420 --> 46:18.040 sign this critical legislation into law . 46:18.460 --> 46:20.293 There will be musical guests and 46:20.293 --> 46:22.710 performances to celebrate this historic 46:22.720 --> 46:25.350 bill . And the President will also note 46:25.360 --> 46:27.582 that there is much more work to be done 46:27.582 --> 46:30.020 to protect LGBT Q I plus individuals 46:30.030 --> 46:32.840 across the country to protect and 46:32.850 --> 46:36.530 including passing the Equality act as 46:36.530 --> 46:39.320 well . And before we go into questions , 46:39.320 --> 46:41.376 I have one more thing that I want to 46:41.376 --> 46:44.830 address from here is um , is about what 46:44.830 --> 46:47.052 the president , you've heard , what the 46:47.052 --> 46:49.219 president has been focusing on , which 46:49.219 --> 46:51.386 is rallying the world diplomatically . 46:51.386 --> 46:53.850 You heard that from uh from uh national 46:53.850 --> 46:55.930 security advisor , jake Sullivan and 46:55.930 --> 46:57.790 continue to reestablish american 46:57.800 --> 47:00.022 leadership . American leadership abroad 47:00.022 --> 47:01.967 protecting people's constitutional 47:01.967 --> 47:04.330 rights by codifying marriage equality 47:04.330 --> 47:07.870 as I just discussed . But what is in 47:07.870 --> 47:10.540 the incoming house , Republican 47:10.540 --> 47:13.320 majority , doing one of their leaders ? 47:13.330 --> 47:15.441 Majority , taylor Greene , marjorie , 47:15.441 --> 47:17.497 Taylor Greene is saying , quote , if 47:17.497 --> 47:19.552 steve Bannon and I organized january 47:19.552 --> 47:22.170 six , we would have won not to mention 47:22.180 --> 47:24.402 it would have been armed . This is what 47:24.402 --> 47:28.160 is coming from a member of Congress 47:28.170 --> 47:31.500 and what's more she said to a group 47:31.500 --> 47:33.490 that lashed out against condemning 47:33.500 --> 47:36.660 holocaust denial . They were giving her 47:36.670 --> 47:39.150 an award . You have all heard the 47:39.150 --> 47:41.372 President warned about awful conspiracy 47:41.372 --> 47:43.594 theories and violent rhetoric that used 47:43.594 --> 47:45.390 to be undermined , which which 47:45.400 --> 47:47.289 undermined the rule of law in our 47:47.289 --> 47:50.510 democracy . It is just antithetical to 47:50.510 --> 47:52.800 our values as a country for a member of 47:52.800 --> 47:55.290 Congress to wish that the carnage of 47:55.290 --> 47:58.500 January six had been even worse . And 47:58.500 --> 48:00.667 to brag that they would have succeeded 48:00.667 --> 48:02.970 in an armed insurrection against the 48:02.970 --> 48:05.390 United States government . Violent 48:05.390 --> 48:07.446 rhetoric like this is also a slap in 48:07.446 --> 48:09.723 the face of the capitol police , the D . 48:09.723 --> 48:12.010 C . Metropolitan Police , the National 48:12.010 --> 48:14.290 Guard and the families who lost loved 48:14.290 --> 48:17.080 ones as a result of the attack on the 48:17.080 --> 48:20.140 capitol . And this is someone who is 48:20.140 --> 48:21.973 expected to have their committee 48:21.973 --> 48:25.830 positions restored . So we should let 48:25.830 --> 48:27.830 that sink in again . This is coming 48:27.830 --> 48:30.850 from a member of Congress . All leaders 48:30.850 --> 48:33.230 have a responsibility to condemn these 48:33.240 --> 48:36.620 dangerous vile remarks and stand for 48:36.630 --> 48:39.320 our constitution and also for the rule 48:39.330 --> 48:42.140 of law with that sunday 48:43.040 --> 48:44.330 for the musical guests 48:44.340 --> 48:48.820 I'm 48:48.820 --> 48:50.876 not gonna share . Don't want to take 48:50.876 --> 48:53.098 away from the excitement but it's going 48:53.098 --> 48:55.320 to be a celebrated , a celebrated event 48:55.320 --> 48:57.376 as the president signs this historic 48:57.376 --> 48:59.542 piece of legislation into law and as I 48:59.542 --> 49:01.431 stated , there'll be thousands of 49:01.431 --> 49:03.542 people there . Uh and of course we'll 49:03.542 --> 49:05.542 have musical guest and it will be a 49:05.542 --> 49:09.390 bipartisan also um um bipartisan event 49:09.400 --> 49:12.530 and attended by um lawmakers who helped 49:12.540 --> 49:14.540 to make this happen . And this is a 49:14.540 --> 49:17.440 reminder if I may add how when when we 49:17.440 --> 49:19.440 do reach across the aisle there are 49:19.440 --> 49:21.607 things that we can get done . Historic 49:21.607 --> 49:23.718 pieces of legislation that we can get 49:23.718 --> 49:25.829 done and we have seen that under this 49:25.829 --> 49:28.051 president . So I think that's important 49:28.051 --> 49:30.273 to notice ? Yeah , I just wanted to get 49:30.273 --> 49:32.329 the White House's perspective on the 49:32.329 --> 49:34.273 current government funding talks . 49:34.273 --> 49:36.384 Schumer talked about doing a one week 49:36.384 --> 49:38.329 cr democrats were going to release 49:38.329 --> 49:40.496 their own legislation . But hell off . 49:40.496 --> 49:42.496 Does the White House is encouraging 49:42.496 --> 49:44.662 signs for being able to get a broad on 49:44.662 --> 49:46.662 the end of the month ? So look , we 49:46.662 --> 49:48.773 continue to encourage Congress to get 49:48.773 --> 49:51.290 the to get a bipartisan deal done . We 49:51.290 --> 49:53.457 believe on the government funding , we 49:53.457 --> 49:55.512 believe there's still enough time to 49:55.512 --> 49:57.679 get that done . This is something that 49:57.679 --> 49:59.820 clearly Congress was able to do this 49:59.820 --> 50:02.240 time last year and a bipartisan way , 50:02.250 --> 50:04.194 but if they need extra days to get 50:04.194 --> 50:06.306 there , so be it . We got to remember 50:06.306 --> 50:08.250 this is not a partisan issue . The 50:08.250 --> 50:10.472 issues that we're talking about . We're 50:10.472 --> 50:12.528 talking about national security . We 50:12.528 --> 50:14.750 just had Jake Sullivan here , as I just 50:14.750 --> 50:14.300 noted a second ago , we talked about 50:14.300 --> 50:16.467 public education . We're talking about 50:16.467 --> 50:18.890 health care . These are veteran veteran 50:18.900 --> 50:21.470 veteran health services to be more even 50:21.470 --> 50:23.526 more specific . These are priorities 50:23.526 --> 50:25.526 for the american people . These are 50:25.526 --> 50:27.880 bipartisan issues that are critical 50:27.890 --> 50:30.810 critical to american individuals just 50:30.810 --> 50:32.790 across the country . So again , we 50:32.790 --> 50:34.457 encourage Congress to reach a 50:34.457 --> 50:37.880 bipartisan deal . Yeah , might another 50:37.880 --> 50:40.370 africa summit question . Um Borders has 50:40.370 --> 50:42.203 reported in recent days that the 50:42.203 --> 50:44.780 Nigerian army has been running a secret 50:44.780 --> 50:47.220 systematic and illegal abortion program 50:47.220 --> 50:49.890 in the country since 2013 . Do you 50:49.890 --> 50:52.112 expect that to be a topic of discussion 50:52.112 --> 50:54.279 with the Nigerian delegation ? Again , 50:54.279 --> 50:56.223 Jake , it's Jake laid out how each 50:56.223 --> 50:59.170 individual um African leader will have 50:59.170 --> 51:01.830 an op opportunity to talk and discuss 51:01.830 --> 51:03.830 and and have conversations with the 51:03.830 --> 51:05.663 president who he very much looks 51:05.663 --> 51:07.774 forward to doing that . I'm not going 51:07.774 --> 51:09.886 to get ahead on what may come up . We 51:09.886 --> 51:12.108 may not come up . We've laid out pretty 51:12.108 --> 51:14.219 extensively at least the top lines as 51:14.219 --> 51:16.330 you've just heard from Jake . What we 51:16.330 --> 51:18.552 believe our goals are , we talked about 51:18.552 --> 51:20.719 the $55 billion that we in new funding 51:20.719 --> 51:22.552 that we will be providing to the 51:22.552 --> 51:24.750 continent the next 33 years , which we 51:24.750 --> 51:26.806 believe is incredibly important . We 51:26.806 --> 51:28.806 talked about johnny Carson , who is 51:28.806 --> 51:31.420 going to be the leader in making sure 51:31.420 --> 51:33.780 that what comes out the deliverables 51:33.780 --> 51:35.740 that come out of this summit is 51:35.750 --> 51:38.820 actually delivered if you will . And so 51:38.820 --> 51:40.764 look , we're committed to this not 51:40.764 --> 51:42.876 going to get ahead of that particular 51:42.876 --> 51:44.876 conversation , but certainly that's 51:44.876 --> 51:48.030 something that we're monitoring . Um 51:48.040 --> 51:50.520 Jamie mentioned a little bit about the 51:50.530 --> 51:53.500 discussion um trying to free paul 51:53.500 --> 51:56.330 Whelan . Um is this administration 51:56.340 --> 51:59.110 drawing a line in trading any type of 51:59.110 --> 52:01.660 sanctions relief to secure paul 52:01.660 --> 52:03.549 Whelan's release when it comes to 52:03.549 --> 52:05.438 Ukraine . Look , when it comes to 52:05.438 --> 52:07.493 Ukraine . And Jake said this when it 52:07.493 --> 52:09.493 comes to Ukraine . We are pretty uh 52:09.493 --> 52:11.716 we've been , you know , pretty emphatic 52:11.716 --> 52:13.938 about this pretty steadfast that we are 52:13.938 --> 52:16.960 going to uh as a matter of of , you 52:16.960 --> 52:18.960 know , the right thing to do . As a 52:18.960 --> 52:21.170 matter of protect uh countries 52:21.170 --> 52:23.210 democracy and lifting up and making 52:23.210 --> 52:25.266 sure that the people of Ukraine have 52:25.266 --> 52:27.154 what they need to fight for their 52:27.154 --> 52:29.377 freedom , fight for their sovereignty . 52:29.377 --> 52:31.599 This is something that we've been doing 52:31.599 --> 52:31.580 clearly with our allies and partners 52:31.590 --> 52:33.646 that won't change . And Jake kind of 52:33.646 --> 52:35.812 laid that out , I think pretty clearly 52:35.812 --> 52:37.923 when it relates as it relates to what 52:37.923 --> 52:39.757 we're discussing , what is being 52:39.757 --> 52:42.350 negotiated , when it uh as you know , 52:42.350 --> 52:44.294 as it relates to paul wheeling and 52:44.294 --> 52:46.517 getting him home . I'm not going to get 52:46.517 --> 52:48.572 into negotiation from here . I'm not 52:48.572 --> 52:50.739 going to get into specifics as as jake 52:50.739 --> 52:52.572 laid out as well . Look , we are 52:52.572 --> 52:54.794 committed to getting americans who were 52:54.794 --> 52:56.739 being wrongfully detained and held 52:56.739 --> 52:58.961 hostage abroad home . That is a promise 52:58.961 --> 53:01.128 that this president has made . We have 53:01.128 --> 53:03.239 seen that across the almost two years 53:03.239 --> 53:05.128 of his presidency , with Brittney 53:05.128 --> 53:08.290 Griner would Trevor uh Trevor Reed just 53:08.290 --> 53:10.512 in april And so we're going to continue 53:10.512 --> 53:12.734 that and and have those conversations , 53:12.734 --> 53:14.957 but in private . Certainly not going to 53:14.957 --> 53:17.179 lead them out from here . Okay , I have 53:17.179 --> 53:18.901 to ask about the attack on the 53:18.901 --> 53:20.734 substation in north Carolina and 53:20.734 --> 53:22.846 whether the White House believes that 53:22.846 --> 53:25.012 the federal government should regulate 53:25.012 --> 53:28.180 substation substation security . Let me 53:28.180 --> 53:30.402 take my mask off . I said , I wanted to 53:30.402 --> 53:32.450 ask about the substation attack in 53:32.450 --> 53:34.670 north Carolina and whether the White 53:34.670 --> 53:36.448 House believes that the federal 53:36.448 --> 53:38.559 government should regulate security , 53:38.559 --> 53:40.781 etc . Stations instead of leaving it up 53:40.781 --> 53:42.837 to states and the individual utility 53:42.837 --> 53:44.837 company . So look I'm not gonna , I 53:44.837 --> 53:46.670 know the Department of Energy is 53:46.670 --> 53:48.892 looking into this Department of Justice 53:48.892 --> 53:50.948 is looking into this . There is a uh 53:50.948 --> 53:53.003 they're reviewing this process . I'm 53:53.003 --> 53:52.540 not gonna get ahead of that . I would 53:52.550 --> 53:55.190 uh certainly refer you to those two 53:55.190 --> 53:57.301 agencies but just not gonna get ahead 53:57.301 --> 53:59.301 as they're reviewing that process . 53:59.301 --> 54:01.357 Okay what's the president's thinking 54:01.357 --> 54:03.500 right now about the National Defense 54:03.500 --> 54:06.260 authorization Act and the vaccine 54:06.270 --> 54:10.120 requirement ? And clearly his position 54:10.120 --> 54:12.342 on vaccines is well known and there's a 54:12.342 --> 54:15.260 long history of signing and passing the 54:15.260 --> 54:17.427 N . D . A . Where is he at with that ? 54:17.427 --> 54:19.593 So we've been very clear about what we 54:19.593 --> 54:23.330 saw happen with the vaccine mandate uh 54:23.340 --> 54:25.750 basically being removed or from the N . 54:25.750 --> 54:27.861 D . A . We thought it was a mistake . 54:27.861 --> 54:29.972 We think that republicans in Congress 54:29.972 --> 54:32.083 have decided that they'd rather fight 54:32.083 --> 54:34.139 against the health and well being of 54:34.139 --> 54:36.194 our tubes than protecting them . And 54:36.194 --> 54:38.306 again it was um mistake as it relates 54:38.306 --> 54:40.417 to the N . D . A . We're not going to 54:40.417 --> 54:42.528 get ahead the Senate is going to take 54:42.528 --> 54:44.528 this up . So we're not going to get 54:44.528 --> 54:46.694 ahead of the Senate process . But I've 54:46.694 --> 54:48.920 said this before in the past every year 54:48.920 --> 54:51.000 when when the NBA comes up , there's 54:51.000 --> 54:53.530 some provisions we support some that we 54:53.530 --> 54:55.830 do not the President will judge the 54:55.830 --> 54:58.180 bill in its entirety , so not going to 54:58.180 --> 55:00.069 get ahead of what the President's 55:00.069 --> 55:02.236 action is going to be . But we've been 55:02.236 --> 55:04.402 very clear about how we how we see the 55:04.402 --> 55:08.310 vaccine mandate . Can I ask you , do 55:08.310 --> 55:10.199 you think they just check in on a 55:10.199 --> 55:12.421 couple of big policy issues ? One is on 55:12.421 --> 55:14.643 friday , the administration should have 55:14.643 --> 55:16.866 fairly strong rebuke of the W . T . O . 55:16.866 --> 55:19.088 Decision . That essentially is that the 55:19.088 --> 55:21.088 steel and aluminum tariffs in place 55:21.088 --> 55:23.900 violated international rules . I just 55:23.900 --> 55:26.067 wanna make sure I understand where the 55:26.067 --> 55:28.011 administration stands on steel and 55:28.011 --> 55:30.178 aluminum tariffs . Um And does it mean 55:30.178 --> 55:32.178 that essentially you all attend for 55:32.178 --> 55:34.150 those tariffs to remain in place 55:34.160 --> 55:37.490 indefinitely . So um I saw that 55:37.490 --> 55:39.880 reporting and so what we what we say 55:39.880 --> 55:43.130 from here . Um So we we strongly 55:43.130 --> 55:46.650 reject the flawed interpretation 55:46.850 --> 55:49.300 and conclusions in the in the World 55:49.300 --> 55:51.750 Trade Organization panel reports that 55:51.750 --> 55:53.861 we saw that you're laying out there . 55:53.861 --> 55:55.917 The United States has held the clear 55:55.917 --> 55:58.350 and unequivocal position for over 70 55:58.350 --> 56:00.530 years . That issues of national 56:00.530 --> 56:03.010 security cannot be reviewed in W . T . 56:03.010 --> 56:05.410 O . Dispute settlement . The biden 56:05.410 --> 56:07.132 administration is committed to 56:07.132 --> 56:09.354 preserving U . S . National security by 56:09.354 --> 56:12.020 ensuring the long term viability of our 56:12.020 --> 56:14.242 steel and aluminum industries and we do 56:14.242 --> 56:17.970 not intend to remove the section 2 32 56:17.970 --> 56:21.120 32 duties as a result of these disputes . 56:21.140 --> 56:23.770 Again , we reject the false the flawed 56:23.770 --> 56:25.992 interpretation that's been laid out . I 56:25.992 --> 56:28.048 know there was a lot of talk earlier 56:28.048 --> 56:30.103 this summer about the broad sweep of 56:30.103 --> 56:31.826 china tariffs and there's some 56:31.826 --> 56:33.548 expectation that this might be 56:33.548 --> 56:35.770 revisited after the President's visit . 56:35.770 --> 56:37.881 Do you have any update or timeline on 56:37.881 --> 56:40.810 what's going on with china tariffs ? No , 56:40.810 --> 56:42.699 I I appreciate the question and I 56:42.699 --> 56:44.643 understand as it relates to this , 56:44.643 --> 56:46.699 don't have anything to preview on on 56:46.699 --> 56:50.080 that particular topic . Many members of 56:50.090 --> 56:52.312 Congress sent a letter to the President 56:52.312 --> 56:54.479 on friday asking him to take executive 56:54.479 --> 56:56.812 action to peer into the real world real ? 56:58.020 --> 57:00.380 Is it clear that that there are steps 57:00.380 --> 57:02.380 that can be taken through executive 57:02.380 --> 57:04.380 action or the White House determine 57:04.380 --> 57:04.170 that this is something that Congress 57:04.180 --> 57:07.530 has . So first , I want to say , you 57:07.530 --> 57:09.530 know , the President is grateful to 57:09.530 --> 57:12.120 Congress for taking action to avert a 57:12.130 --> 57:13.940 rail shutdown and implement the 57:13.940 --> 57:16.410 benefits he helped secure for rail 57:16.410 --> 57:18.632 workers in the tentative agreement . So 57:18.632 --> 57:20.743 we are grateful to Congress for doing 57:20.743 --> 57:22.799 that . He's also grateful to Senator 57:22.799 --> 57:24.799 Sanders and Representative Bowman's 57:24.799 --> 57:27.210 continued advocacy for paid paid sick . 57:27.440 --> 57:29.551 The President has pressed Congress to 57:29.551 --> 57:31.607 advance the cause of paid sick leave 57:31.607 --> 57:33.718 throughout his administration . We've 57:33.718 --> 57:35.829 had many debates and discussions from 57:35.829 --> 57:37.996 from the podium about that , about his 57:37.996 --> 57:40.970 efforts in that realm . He's exploring 57:40.980 --> 57:44.090 all options here while working to build 57:44.090 --> 57:45.979 on existing bipartisan support in 57:45.979 --> 57:48.160 Congress to make paid sick leave a 57:48.170 --> 57:50.680 reality for all workers , all workers , 57:50.690 --> 57:52.968 including rail workers as well . Again , 57:52.968 --> 57:54.990 we are going to look at all options 57:54.990 --> 57:55.990 here . 57:59.820 --> 58:02.820 I don't have anything to announce or 58:02.820 --> 58:04.780 layout on how we're going to move 58:04.780 --> 58:06.724 forward . What I can say is we are 58:06.724 --> 58:08.947 going to look at all options and we are 58:08.947 --> 58:11.220 very , very grateful to Congress for , 58:11.230 --> 58:13.286 you know , for helping to avert this 58:13.286 --> 58:15.341 rail shutdown , which would , as you 58:15.341 --> 58:17.397 all know , would have had and really 58:17.397 --> 58:19.397 disturbed our economy in a way that 58:19.397 --> 58:22.920 would have been not , not great , not 58:22.920 --> 58:25.031 helpful clearly for american families 58:25.031 --> 58:27.280 across the country . Uh , and uh , and 58:27.280 --> 58:29.113 look , this is an issue that the 58:29.113 --> 58:31.336 president has been fighting for when it 58:31.336 --> 58:33.447 comes to paid leave for all americans 58:33.447 --> 58:35.502 throughout the last two , almost two 58:35.502 --> 58:37.613 years of his administration and we're 58:37.613 --> 58:37.220 going to continue to look at all 58:37.220 --> 58:40.480 options . Has the president been 58:40.480 --> 58:42.860 briefed on the news coming out of the 58:42.860 --> 58:44.916 Department of Energy tomorrow on the 58:44.916 --> 58:47.590 fusion development ? So , um , just a 58:47.590 --> 58:49.868 couple of things on that . As you know , 58:49.868 --> 58:52.050 the Department of Energy's analysis is 58:52.050 --> 58:54.570 still ongoing . So I'm unable to 58:54.570 --> 58:56.870 provide details of confirmation at this 58:56.870 --> 58:59.190 time . Secretary of Grand Home will 58:59.190 --> 59:01.190 have more details to share tomorrow 59:01.190 --> 59:03.357 when the process is complete . I'm not 59:03.357 --> 59:05.690 going to get ahead of that at this time . 59:14.340 --> 59:15.340 I'm so sorry . 59:19.660 --> 59:21.882 I'm so sorry . End of your conference . 59:21.882 --> 59:25.200 You don't have anything to preview on 59:25.200 --> 59:27.630 that or to announce on an end of your 59:27.640 --> 59:31.640 press conference when we do and if 59:31.640 --> 59:33.807 we will certainly will share that with 59:33.807 --> 59:35.584 you . Okay , thank you for your 59:35.584 --> 59:37.807 question . I'll take a couple of more . 59:37.807 --> 59:39.696 Okay , Courtney , thank you . The 59:39.696 --> 59:41.918 foreign traveler vaccine requirement is 59:41.918 --> 59:44.140 set to expire at the end of the month . 59:44.140 --> 59:46.196 Is the president going to renew it ? 59:46.196 --> 59:48.418 Are you going to let it expire ? What's 59:48.418 --> 59:50.529 the next step ? I don't have anything 59:50.529 --> 59:52.751 to preview on the next steps on on that 59:52.751 --> 59:52.670 particular question . Once we do was 59:52.670 --> 59:54.892 certainly show that . And I also wanted 59:54.892 --> 59:56.503 to ask you about the ongoing 59:56.503 --> 59:58.448 negotiations in Congress about the 59:58.448 --> 01:00:01.050 child tax credit . Can you talk about 01:00:01.060 --> 01:00:03.227 where you are on that and what some of 01:00:03.227 --> 01:00:05.710 the sticking points have been ? So as I 01:00:05.710 --> 01:00:07.877 said over a month ago , I believe from 01:00:07.877 --> 01:00:09.766 from the podium , our position is 01:00:09.766 --> 01:00:12.050 simple . If Congress is going to extend 01:00:12.050 --> 01:00:14.480 tax cuts and tax breaks for business in 01:00:14.480 --> 01:00:16.860 the lame duck , they must include tax 01:00:16.860 --> 01:00:18.916 relief for working families . That's 01:00:18.916 --> 01:00:20.860 the way we see this process moving 01:00:20.860 --> 01:00:22.971 forward . Some sort of tax credit for 01:00:22.971 --> 01:00:25.082 Children is the most direct way to do 01:00:25.082 --> 01:00:27.249 that . And as as I have noted before , 01:00:27.249 --> 01:00:29.360 there are several proposals from both 01:00:29.360 --> 01:00:31.249 democrats and also republicans to 01:00:31.249 --> 01:00:33.360 provide such relief . It is not clear 01:00:33.360 --> 01:00:35.416 to us if Congress has an interest in 01:00:35.416 --> 01:00:37.638 pushing a tax bill in the remaining two 01:00:37.638 --> 01:00:39.693 weeks . Our point is simple . No tax 01:00:39.693 --> 01:00:41.638 breaks for businesses , businesses 01:00:41.638 --> 01:00:43.860 without tax relief for working families 01:00:43.860 --> 01:00:45.860 and Children and that's where we're 01:00:45.860 --> 01:00:47.971 going to continue to be on this , all 01:00:47.971 --> 01:00:49.971 of the numbers . Do you feel that I 01:00:49.971 --> 01:00:52.138 know that some of the conversation has 01:00:52.138 --> 01:00:54.193 been around limits for the child tax 01:00:54.193 --> 01:00:56.138 credit , on who qualifies based on 01:00:56.138 --> 01:00:58.471 income ? Do you feel that the I . R . S . 01:00:58.471 --> 01:01:00.638 And Treasury be prepared to administer 01:01:00.638 --> 01:01:02.527 such a tax credit , given all the 01:01:02.527 --> 01:01:04.582 different demands that they have and 01:01:04.582 --> 01:01:06.527 now adding on more restrictions as 01:01:06.527 --> 01:01:08.416 opposed to it was much more broad 01:01:08.416 --> 01:01:10.638 earlier , so I'm not going to get ahead 01:01:10.638 --> 01:01:12.804 of what of what the process might look 01:01:12.804 --> 01:01:14.749 like , what I can say , you know , 01:01:14.749 --> 01:01:16.971 definitively of how we see this process 01:01:16.971 --> 01:01:19.193 moving forward , at least in Congress . 01:01:19.193 --> 01:01:21.249 Uh , and again , we are , you know , 01:01:21.249 --> 01:01:23.249 we're not clear if this is going to 01:01:23.249 --> 01:01:25.304 happen , but we pretty much laid out 01:01:25.304 --> 01:01:27.670 our our our our belief or how we see 01:01:27.670 --> 01:01:29.726 this moving , which is no tax breaks 01:01:29.726 --> 01:01:31.837 for businesses without tax relief for 01:01:31.837 --> 01:01:33.892 working families and Children ? Just 01:01:33.892 --> 01:01:35.837 not going to get ahead of what can 01:01:35.837 --> 01:01:37.948 potentially how this process is going 01:01:37.948 --> 01:01:40.226 to work through the federal government . 01:01:40.226 --> 01:01:42.448 If if and when this were to happen , go 01:01:42.448 --> 01:01:44.559 ahead Alex . And um , you know , Elon 01:01:44.559 --> 01:01:47.480 musk launched a series of attacks on dr 01:01:47.480 --> 01:01:49.313 Anthony Fauci over the weekend , 01:01:49.313 --> 01:01:51.480 calling for his prosecution . And then 01:01:51.480 --> 01:01:54.690 he shared some other um , memes about 01:01:54.700 --> 01:01:56.880 him and suggested he lied about he's 01:01:56.880 --> 01:01:58.547 lying about the origin of the 01:01:58.547 --> 01:02:00.380 coronavirus . What's what's your 01:02:00.380 --> 01:02:02.960 response ? Uh , first of all to 01:02:02.970 --> 01:02:06.130 specifically to the attacks on Dr Fauci 01:02:06.130 --> 01:02:08.880 and second , how is your view of 01:02:08.890 --> 01:02:12.610 twitter as a sort of public forum and 01:02:12.630 --> 01:02:15.170 forum for yourself and the president 01:02:15.180 --> 01:02:17.402 and many other officials here . How are 01:02:17.402 --> 01:02:19.569 those views evolving ? So , we've been 01:02:19.569 --> 01:02:21.791 very clear about this . These attacks , 01:02:21.791 --> 01:02:23.791 these personal attacks that we have 01:02:23.791 --> 01:02:26.330 been seeing are dangerous on Dr Fauci 01:02:26.330 --> 01:02:28.441 and other public health professionals 01:02:28.441 --> 01:02:30.608 as well . They are disgusting and they 01:02:30.608 --> 01:02:33.580 are divorced from reality . And we will 01:02:33.580 --> 01:02:35.691 continue to call that out and be very 01:02:35.691 --> 01:02:37.747 clear about that . Again , these are 01:02:37.747 --> 01:02:39.890 incredibly dangerous . These personal 01:02:39.890 --> 01:02:42.260 attacks that we're seeing . Dr . Fauci 01:02:42.260 --> 01:02:44.410 has served under seven Republican and 01:02:44.410 --> 01:02:46.299 Democratic presidents . We cannot 01:02:46.299 --> 01:02:48.790 forget that . Uh , he has given he has 01:02:48.790 --> 01:02:52.050 given his almost entire career to civil 01:02:52.060 --> 01:02:54.750 civil service , public as a public 01:02:54.750 --> 01:02:56.980 servant . His work on infectious 01:02:56.980 --> 01:02:59.080 disease from HIV aids to Covid has 01:02:59.080 --> 01:03:02.200 saved countless lives . And , you know , 01:03:02.210 --> 01:03:04.543 it's unfortunate that he has , you know , 01:03:04.543 --> 01:03:06.766 we we are fortunate , I should say that 01:03:06.766 --> 01:03:09.020 he has devoted his career uh , and his 01:03:09.020 --> 01:03:11.800 life and his exceptional talent to the 01:03:11.800 --> 01:03:13.911 Americas public health , to America's 01:03:13.911 --> 01:03:16.078 public health . And that's what should 01:03:16.078 --> 01:03:18.300 be discussed right now . That's what we 01:03:18.300 --> 01:03:20.411 should be thankful to him about . And 01:03:20.411 --> 01:03:22.578 again , these are incredibly dangerous 01:03:22.578 --> 01:03:24.689 and should be called out . I'll leave 01:03:24.689 --> 01:03:26.800 it there . Thanks . I appreciate it . 01:03:26.800 --> 01:03:28.911 Uh , we know the respect for marriage 01:03:28.911 --> 01:03:31.022 act is going to be signed tomorrow on 01:03:31.022 --> 01:03:33.133 the south lawn . But in the president 01:03:33.133 --> 01:03:35.356 himself , he told me the other day that 01:03:35.356 --> 01:03:37.411 he disagrees with catholic bishops , 01:03:37.411 --> 01:03:39.578 the bishops , of course , believe that 01:03:39.578 --> 01:03:41.689 it will harm religious freedom . That 01:03:41.689 --> 01:03:43.744 said it's gonna be signed . It was a 01:03:43.744 --> 01:03:43.680 done deal . But what does the President 01:03:43.680 --> 01:03:46.290 say to religious organizations who fear 01:03:46.300 --> 01:03:48.010 they will now be targeted or 01:03:48.010 --> 01:03:50.232 discriminated against by the government 01:03:50.232 --> 01:03:52.066 for their beliefs in traditional 01:03:52.066 --> 01:03:55.860 marriage . So look , um you know , on 01:03:55.860 --> 01:03:58.030 his first day in in the White House , 01:03:58.030 --> 01:04:00.270 the President signed um and as an 01:04:00.270 --> 01:04:02.410 executive order on preventing the 01:04:02.410 --> 01:04:03.910 combating discrimination , 01:04:03.910 --> 01:04:05.966 discrimination against LGBT Q I plus 01:04:05.966 --> 01:04:09.380 americans . Uh and that E . O . Has led 01:04:09.380 --> 01:04:11.800 key agencies including hud H . H . S . 01:04:11.810 --> 01:04:14.032 E . D . D . O . J . And C . B . C . F . 01:04:14.032 --> 01:04:16.254 P . B . To strengthen nondiscrimination 01:04:16.254 --> 01:04:18.421 protections in housing , health care , 01:04:18.421 --> 01:04:20.643 education , criminal systems and credit 01:04:20.643 --> 01:04:22.810 and lending services . Uh and so I say 01:04:22.810 --> 01:04:24.921 that because he has been so committed 01:04:24.921 --> 01:04:27.143 to this issue from the beginning of his 01:04:27.143 --> 01:04:30.340 administration . Uh and when you when 01:04:30.340 --> 01:04:32.451 you look at this piece of legislation 01:04:32.451 --> 01:04:34.396 that has been passed , it actually 01:04:34.396 --> 01:04:36.284 address is also the question that 01:04:36.284 --> 01:04:38.440 you're asking uh and takes that into 01:04:38.440 --> 01:04:40.890 account . But look , this is going to 01:04:40.890 --> 01:04:42.779 be , tomorrow's gonna be a really 01:04:42.779 --> 01:04:44.612 important day for many americans 01:04:44.612 --> 01:04:46.446 millions of americans across the 01:04:46.446 --> 01:04:48.612 country . And I think we cannot forget 01:04:48.612 --> 01:04:50.557 that . But I'm gonna I'm gonna I'm 01:04:50.557 --> 01:04:52.779 gonna move on . I'm gonna move on . I'm 01:04:52.779 --> 01:04:54.557 gonna go ahead thank you have a 01:04:54.557 --> 01:04:58.490 question of African leaders . Um My 01:04:58.490 --> 01:05:00.712 colleague already asked this question , 01:05:00.712 --> 01:05:02.768 but I want to ask you about it is no 01:05:02.768 --> 01:05:05.360 secret that china has bigger influence , 01:05:05.370 --> 01:05:08.490 more investment , more trade with 01:05:08.500 --> 01:05:10.611 Africa . And I understand this summit 01:05:10.611 --> 01:05:12.980 is not about specific countries , but 01:05:12.980 --> 01:05:15.258 it's about sending affirmative message . 01:05:15.258 --> 01:05:17.780 I want to ask you , what kind of role 01:05:17.780 --> 01:05:21.250 do you expect for this summit to play 01:05:21.260 --> 01:05:24.570 in terms of competing the influence 01:05:24.580 --> 01:05:27.970 over Africa against china . Look , I 01:05:27.980 --> 01:05:30.147 want to be very careful here . I'm not 01:05:30.147 --> 01:05:32.330 gonna go beyond what the what the what 01:05:32.330 --> 01:05:34.720 Jake just stated , it's not gonna be 01:05:34.730 --> 01:05:37.063 about China is going to be about Africa . 01:05:37.063 --> 01:05:39.600 Uh We worked very closely with African 01:05:39.600 --> 01:05:41.711 nations that jake said , and also the 01:05:41.711 --> 01:05:43.822 African Union about what is important 01:05:43.822 --> 01:05:45.656 that they want to talk about and 01:05:45.656 --> 01:05:47.767 discuss with the President , not just 01:05:47.767 --> 01:05:47.410 the President , the vice President or 01:05:47.410 --> 01:05:49.790 cabinet secretaries . Uh and so that's 01:05:49.790 --> 01:05:51.901 going to be the focus , that's why we 01:05:51.901 --> 01:05:54.068 announced the $55 billion . That's why 01:05:54.068 --> 01:05:56.520 we announce uh someone who is going to 01:05:56.520 --> 01:05:59.060 make sure that over the next over the 01:05:59.060 --> 01:06:01.227 next couple of years as we continue to 01:06:01.227 --> 01:06:03.449 move forward with our relationship with 01:06:03.449 --> 01:06:05.616 Africa , that things that we discuss , 01:06:05.616 --> 01:06:07.838 our deliverables will occur will happen 01:06:07.838 --> 01:06:09.949 and showing our commitment . And so I 01:06:09.949 --> 01:06:12.004 think that's where we want to stay . 01:06:12.004 --> 01:06:14.060 That's what we want to focus , on on 01:06:14.060 --> 01:06:15.893 how we can move the relationship 01:06:15.893 --> 01:06:18.116 forward and what we can do uh to assist 01:06:18.116 --> 01:06:19.949 the continent . Alright , thanks 01:06:19.949 --> 01:06:22.910 everybody . See you tomorrow