WEBVTT

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Hello , good afternoon everybody .

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Happy friday , I'm gonna get right to

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it . Um , today we have john Kirby in

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the room , who is going to from

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National Security Council , who's going

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to be talking about a couple of

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products and announcements from our

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national security space . So Kirby the

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room is yours and then I'll come back

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and take questions . Thanks everybody

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see you in a second afternoon ,

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everybody . Yeah ,

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today , uh , I want to take a little

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bit of time to discuss some new actions

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that we are going to be taking to

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counter the Russian private military

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company known as Wagner , which is

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committing atrocities and human rights

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abuses in Ukraine and of course

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elsewhere around the world . But first

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I want to be able to write some

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additional information about Wagner's

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operations in Ukraine . Now , as his

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military continues to struggle in

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Ukraine , President Putin is

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increasingly turning to Wagner which is

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owned by Yevgeny Precaution for

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military support . We are seeing

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indications include

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is searching for arms from foreign

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countries , including through bug . In

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recent weeks we have seen North Korea ,

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sorry , we have seen North korean

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officials falsely deny that they have

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provided arms to Wagner as we have said

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publicly , North Korea delivered

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infantry , rockets and missiles into

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Russia for use by Wagner toward the end

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of last year . So today we are

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releasing some imagery of this initial

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delivery . This imagery shows that on

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November 18,5 Russian rail cars

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traveled from Russia to North Korea On

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the next day , November 19 , North

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Korea loaded those railcars , which

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railcars with shipping containers and

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the train returned to Russia while we

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assess that the amount of material

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delivered to Wagner has not changed

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battlefield dynamics in Ukraine , we do

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expect that it will continue to receive

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North Korean weapons systems . We

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obviously condemn north Korea's actions

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and we urge North Korea to cease these

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deliveries to Wagner immediately and we

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are going further by taking action

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against Wagner itself . Last month ,

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the Department of Commerce designated

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Wagner is a military end user , which

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means we expanded the entity listing of

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Wagner to ensure that it cannot access

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equipment anywhere in the world based

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on US technology or production

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equipment . Today , we are announcing

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additional actions that we are taking

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to help Ukraine defend itself against

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Russian and Wagner forces . First , the

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Department of Treasury will be

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designating Wagner as a significant

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transnational criminal organization

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under Executive order 13581 . As

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amended in coordination with this

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designation , we will also impose

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additional sanctions next week against

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Wagner and its support network across

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multiple continents . These actions

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recognize the transcontinental threat

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that Wagner poses , including through

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its ongoing pattern of serious criminal

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activity . With these actions and

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there'll be more to come . Our message

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to any company that is considering

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providing support to Wagner is simply

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this Wagner is a criminal organization

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that is continuing wide , I'm sorry ,

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committing widespread atrocities and

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human rights abuses and we will work

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relentlessly to identify disrupt

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exposed and target those who are

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assisting Wagner Second , as we have

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stated previously , the arms transfers

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from the D . P . R . K . Are in direct

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violation of United Nations Security

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Council resolutions ? So today we

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shared information on these violations

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with the Security Council's Dprk

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sanctions Committee panel of experts .

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We will continue to raise these

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violations at the Security Council

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alongside our allies and partners . And

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third , of course , and I think you saw

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Secretary Austin and Chairman Million

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in Ramstein today at the eighth

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iteration of the Ukraine Defense

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Contact Group . We are continuing to

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provide Ukraine with the weapons and

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equipment that it needs to defend

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itself . So , and you saw today the

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significant new package of security

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assistance which included five more

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than 500 armored vehicles including

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Bradley's striker combat vehicles ,

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mine resistant ambush protected

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vehicles otherwise known as M raps and

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of Humvees all in addition to the

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armored vehicles that we have already

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announced . This package also contains

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critical additional air defense

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capabilities including both more air

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defense systems and more surface to air

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missiles , as well as more ammunition

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for the artillery systems and the high

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MARS the advanced rocket systems that

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the U . S . Has already previously

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provided to Ukraine . Look , we've been

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clear and the president has been

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consistent . We're going to continue to

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support Ukraine for as long as it takes

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to defend itself to defend its

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sovereignty and to defend its

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territorial integrity . You saw those

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actions today and everything we're

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doing as well with respect to North

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Korea and Wagner also reinforces those

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efforts . Thank you . Okay , take a

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couple of questions . Thank you . Can

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you explain what the practical effect

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is of this designation of a

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transnational criminal organization ?

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It will open up additional avenues for

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us to continue to not only

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sanction Wagner and put more squeeze on

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their ability to do business around the

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world , but will assist others

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in doing the same . It will broaden the

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network of of of nations and

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institutions that will be able to stop

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doing business with you . Can I just

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ask one other question on Ukraine ?

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What is the level of frustration here

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at the White House over Germany's

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position on giving thanks to Ukraine ,

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especially since Germany doesn't have

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to give their own tanks , they just

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have to allow another country to

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we're working not only in lockstep with

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the Ukrainians but with allies and

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partners all over the world . And and

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uh and these are all decisions that

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each nation makes for itself .

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Sovereign decisions . We aren't arm

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twisting uh and nobody's arm twisting

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us . We are working uh inside

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what what you could consider a

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coalition of the willing here to

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provide Ukraine with the defense and

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security assistance that it needs um ,

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Germany obviously a strong NATO ally ,

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but they have they have stepped up ,

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they have provided a lot of equipment

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including some air defense and some

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armored vehicles of their own uh , to

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to Ukraine and they have as we have

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evolved their support to Ukraine over

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time as the war has evolved and changed

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and we are just in a different phase

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now in this war . And so we're all

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talking about what kinds of collective

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capabilities can be provided .

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And uh and asked this question many

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times when you say you will continue to

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support you , Okay , as long as they

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want , what do you mean by that ? As

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long as they need , What do you mean by

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that ? What win winning looks like for

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you in the U . K ? Well as long as it

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takes means as long as it takes and it

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means that I'm unable uh to give you a

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date certain on the calendar for , you

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know , when uh you know when that

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support won't be necessary anymore .

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It's necessary now it's gonna be

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necessary in coming weeks and months

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for certain . And we want to make sure

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that we're meeting the needs as best we

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can for Ukraine and you and what is

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winning look like President Zielinski

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gets determined , gets to determine

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what victory looks like . We're not

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dictating that to him either . Um what

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we've said is we're going to continue

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to help them defend themselves , defend

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their sovereignty , win back their

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territory as they should as they must

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uh and to defend their citizens and

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their infrastructure .

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Crimea is Ukraine and decisions

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about um parts of Ukraine

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that Ukraine , Ukrainian armed forces

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are going to fight over or fight in

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or or strike . That's up to President

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Zelensky and his and his military

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leaders . Thank you very much .

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Uh I have a question about brazil .

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President lula said he's coming to the

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White House february 10 . So my first

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question is can you confirm the date ?

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I can confirm that we look forward to

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seeing President lula early next month

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and this week . President biden said

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that the institutional structures in

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brazil are collapsing . Is the White

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House concerned that the risks remain

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high in Brazil and democracy in Brazil

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is still a danger . The President said

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at the time of those violent protests ,

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that we have confidence in Brazil's

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democratic institutions and we

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certainly have confidence um in the way

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the President has been handling himself

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throughout that time and afterward .

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And and again we look forward to

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welcome him here at the White House and

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having more and deeper disk about

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improving and deepening the

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relationship between the United States

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and brazil comes to investigations that

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are taking place in brazil . Did the

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administration offer any kind of

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assistance assistance to brazil ?

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Either cooperation from U . S . Law

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enforcement or intel agencies ? I think

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we made it clear at the time that we'd

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be happy to support in any way that we

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can leave it to Brazilian officials to

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talk about their investigation ?

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Thank you .

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First on can

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you uh can you talk about what

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sanctions are on the table against

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North Korea , Given the fact that

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you've already identified them as

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supporting . you don't have anything to

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report right now , in terms of specific

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sanctions , that's why today we brought

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it up to the panel of experts on the on

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the on the U . N . S . C . Resolutions

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committee , um and we'll see where that

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conversation goes , but we're certainly

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not going to rule out the possibility

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for additional sanctions if that's

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deemed fit inside the U . N . And then

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secondly , on the on the tanks , can

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you just help us understand how badly

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Ukraine needs these advanced battle

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tanks right now , or is it not time

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sensitive ? No , it's absolutely uh ,

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we recognize that it's a a need

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relevant and critical need for

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Ukrainians . Um , so pardon me

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for repeating myself , but I think it's

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important to remember what kind of

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fighting we're talking about here .

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It's it's it's rough terrain and it's

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open ground , a lot of it in the Donbas .

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I've described it a bit like Kansas , a

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lot of farmland , um , and uh , and and

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mostly towns and villages that are not

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that big , not major industrial cities .

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And so when you're fighting in an area

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like that , and we fully expect the

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Ukrainians fully expect that the

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fighting in the Donbas will continue

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here for weeks and months ahead . Um ,

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uh , combined arms maneuver , which is

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a fancy way of saying that you want to

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be able to maneuver on the ground

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quickly effectively with enough

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firepower against adversary ground

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forces . Um , and so these vehicles ,

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all of them . I know we're fixated on

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tanks and I get that , but it's not

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just tanks . I mean , the Bradley

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fighting vehicles , which are tracked

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vehicles , they kind of look like a

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tank , but they're but they're not they

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don't have the same firepower as a tank .

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And these strikers , which are eight

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wheeled vehicles , but also they're

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very nimble , they're very fast and

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they can deliver infantry troops on an

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open battlefield with much greater

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speed than if they didn't have those

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kinds of vehicles and they are

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protected their armored . That's why ,

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you know , we stress the armor

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capability here , tanks also provide an

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ability to move efficiently around a

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battlefield . But of course they have

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much more firepower . And so it's

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perfectly understandable why President

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Zelensky facing what he's facing in the

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Donbas and expecting to face those same

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threats going forward in coming weeks

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would want , you know , some tanks ,

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additional tanks , it's not like he

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doesn't have any but additional tanks

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to support his offensive and defensive

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operations in that particular part of

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the country . You know , because the

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talks in Germany does that change the U .

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S . Position on sending the M . One

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Abrams at all ? I don't know that I

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would describe talks is failing in

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Germany . I mean , if you're

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talking about the Ramstein meeting . I

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mean , my goodness , there was an awful

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lot of contributions coming out of

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today's contact group and a lot and a

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lot of it had to do with the kinds of

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capabilities armored included uh , and

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artillery that the Ukrainians have been

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asking for for the fight that they're

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in . Um uh look , when it comes to the

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Abrams tank , uh , we've said we're

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going to continue to talk to the

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Ukrainians about their needs and we're

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gonna we're gonna continue to meet them

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as best we can . Um , and we'll do that .

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I don't have any decisions with respect

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to additional capabilities or systems

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like the Abrams to talk to today , but

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we're in constant communication with

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the Ukrainians about that . The Abrams

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is a a powerful system . There's no

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doubt about it . It's also very

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expensive to operate , very expensive

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to fuel , very expensive to maintain .

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And it requires a lot of training . Uh ,

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so there's a lot that goes in to that

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when , when we are talking about what

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we're gonna do to support Ukraine .

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Thank you , john , I have two questions .

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First one on what's your assessment on

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efficiency ? Success on the ground is

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Vagner better than the traditional

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Russian forces ? Well , Wagner would

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have you believe that if you listen to

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Mr and read his press releases , he

15:04.217 --> 15:06.439
would have you believe that he alone is

15:06.439 --> 15:08.661
achieving all the military victory uh ,

15:08.661 --> 15:11.280
in uh , in Ukraine . I will say this ,

15:11.290 --> 15:15.040
they have uh , they have been

15:15.040 --> 15:18.920
largely um , in uh ,

15:18.930 --> 15:21.300
responsible for and in command of

15:21.310 --> 15:24.710
efforts in black mood uh , in that town

15:24.720 --> 15:27.050
north of Baghdad called Solid are both

15:27.050 --> 15:30.210
mining towns go figure . And um

15:30.220 --> 15:33.180
uh and that has caused , again ,

15:33.180 --> 15:35.347
consternation with the Russian Defense

15:35.347 --> 15:37.458
Ministry , I will also say , and I've

15:37.458 --> 15:39.347
said this before , they have made

15:39.347 --> 15:41.291
incremental progress in both those

15:41.291 --> 15:43.291
areas . Now we hold today that both

15:43.291 --> 15:45.458
towns are still contested . Ukrainians

15:45.458 --> 15:48.540
haven't given them up , but the there's

15:48.540 --> 15:50.596
no doubt that the Russians have made

15:50.596 --> 15:52.707
some incremental progress there , but

15:52.707 --> 15:54.818
they have done it at an extraordinary

15:54.818 --> 15:56.651
cost . And I'm not talking about

15:56.651 --> 15:58.707
Russian soldiers , I'm talking about

15:58.707 --> 16:01.110
Wagner convicts mean greater than 90%

16:01.110 --> 16:03.332
of the , of the thousands of casualties

16:03.332 --> 16:05.554
that Wagner , Wagner alone , forget the

16:05.554 --> 16:07.277
Russian army for a minute have

16:07.277 --> 16:09.388
sustained , have been convicts , have

16:09.388 --> 16:11.388
been ex prisoners that they've just

16:11.388 --> 16:13.499
plucked out of jails and put into the

16:13.499 --> 16:15.610
fight with little or no training , no

16:15.610 --> 16:17.777
organizational capability whatsoever .

16:17.777 --> 16:19.945
So it has come at a cost . The last

16:19.945 --> 16:22.190
thing I'll say on this is , and I don't

16:22.190 --> 16:24.301
want to predict where it's gonna go .

16:24.301 --> 16:27.540
But even if they are successful in bomb

16:27.690 --> 16:29.770
or so it's not gonna strategically

16:29.770 --> 16:32.048
change the dynamics on the battlefield .

16:32.048 --> 16:34.214
It's not gonna set the Ukrainians back

16:34.214 --> 16:36.159
to a degree where they're all of a

16:36.159 --> 16:38.270
sudden on their back foot and they're

16:38.270 --> 16:40.492
and they're losing . Now , ob obviously

16:40.492 --> 16:39.910
the Ukrainians don't want to give up

16:39.910 --> 16:42.077
either town and who could blame them .

16:42.077 --> 16:44.243
Their Ukrainian towns , they should be

16:44.243 --> 16:46.466
fighting for them and we were trying to

16:46.466 --> 16:45.960
help them do that , but I think we need

16:45.960 --> 16:49.150
to keep in perspective what

16:49.160 --> 16:51.860
significance there there may be or in

16:51.860 --> 16:54.050
this case may not be to either town

16:54.190 --> 16:56.640
falling . They are both mining towns ,

16:56.640 --> 17:00.290
gypsum in back and salt up in solid R .

17:00.300 --> 17:02.640
And we think that that also has a role

17:02.640 --> 17:04.980
to play and why Mr precaution is so

17:04.980 --> 17:08.220
adamant on pouring just literally

17:08.220 --> 17:10.387
throwing bodies into a meat grinder to

17:10.387 --> 17:12.609
get these two towns . It's very much in

17:12.609 --> 17:14.553
keeping with his modus operandi in

17:14.553 --> 17:16.664
places like Africa , where he's going

17:16.664 --> 17:16.550
after , you know , mining rights and

17:16.550 --> 17:19.860
mining capabilities . Any progress on

17:19.860 --> 17:22.440
the internationally respected forces on

17:22.440 --> 17:24.440
the ground . Any discussion further

17:24.440 --> 17:26.607
with Canada ? After the year , we were

17:26.607 --> 17:28.607
still discussing with our certainly

17:28.607 --> 17:30.773
with our Canadian counterparts and you

17:30.773 --> 17:32.940
saw the President Prime Minister to do

17:32.940 --> 17:35.107
talk about this in Mexico City . Those

17:35.107 --> 17:34.620
conversations are continuing not just

17:34.620 --> 17:36.676
with Canada , but but multilaterally

17:36.676 --> 17:38.620
with the other allies and partners

17:38.620 --> 17:42.520
about the concern uh sorry , I don't

17:42.520 --> 17:44.687
have a list of all the countries we're

17:44.687 --> 17:46.853
talking to . But clearly we're talking

17:46.853 --> 17:48.798
to other allies and partners about

17:48.798 --> 17:50.853
about the situation in Haiti . We're

17:50.853 --> 17:53.020
looking for additional ways to hold to

17:53.020 --> 17:55.076
account the criminal organizations ,

17:55.076 --> 17:57.076
the thugs , the gangs that are that

17:57.076 --> 17:59.298
that continue to propagate violence and

17:59.298 --> 18:01.242
instability there in Haiti . But I

18:01.242 --> 18:03.242
don't have anything specific with a

18:03.242 --> 18:05.187
multinational force to to speak to

18:05.187 --> 18:07.520
today . Those conversations are ongoing .

18:08.930 --> 18:10.930
Thank you . Admiral . Thank you . I

18:10.930 --> 18:12.930
have two questions about the Middle

18:12.930 --> 18:14.986
East . The first uh is focused on US

18:14.986 --> 18:17.440
Saudi relations . The decision on

18:17.440 --> 18:19.730
production levels by opec plus that so

18:19.730 --> 18:22.150
incensed . The administration was

18:22.150 --> 18:25.150
announced on october five uh that

18:25.160 --> 18:27.690
prompted the administration to vow that

18:27.700 --> 18:29.811
there would be a recalibration of the

18:29.811 --> 18:31.978
US Saudi relationship and as a feature

18:31.978 --> 18:33.978
of that , that some kind of adverse

18:33.978 --> 18:36.033
consequences would be imposed on the

18:36.033 --> 18:37.922
Saudis . We are now closing in on

18:37.922 --> 18:40.144
february . It seems to me that whatever

18:40.144 --> 18:42.550
consultations the administration would

18:42.550 --> 18:44.606
have wanted to pursue internally and

18:44.606 --> 18:46.661
with members of Congress on the hill

18:46.661 --> 18:49.110
have had ample time to unfold at this

18:49.110 --> 18:52.970
point and no such um consequences have

18:52.980 --> 18:55.410
been announced . Do you want the Saudis

18:55.410 --> 18:57.670
to understand that there will be no

18:57.680 --> 19:00.090
consequences . Made two different games .

19:00.270 --> 19:03.120
I mean , you saw shortly after that

19:03.120 --> 19:06.290
decision that that Congress even put

19:06.300 --> 19:08.730
put more more restrictions on arms

19:08.730 --> 19:10.674
sales to Saudi Arabia . So there's

19:10.674 --> 19:12.619
already been just in terms of arms

19:12.619 --> 19:14.960
sales um an effect on Saudi Arabia .

19:14.970 --> 19:18.270
And the discussions continue . We

19:18.270 --> 19:20.326
didn't say we we're going to do some

19:20.326 --> 19:22.326
sort of homework assignment and get

19:22.326 --> 19:22.180
back to you in two weeks . We said we

19:22.180 --> 19:24.180
were gonna continue to look at this

19:24.180 --> 19:26.180
relationship to make sure that it's

19:26.180 --> 19:28.402
best serving the american people in our

19:28.402 --> 19:28.080
national security interests and the

19:28.080 --> 19:30.080
President's gonna keep doing that .

19:30.080 --> 19:32.080
That said , and I've said this many

19:32.080 --> 19:33.913
times before . Saudi Arabia is a

19:33.913 --> 19:36.024
strategic partner . It's an important

19:36.024 --> 19:38.247
relationship for both our countries and

19:38.247 --> 19:40.413
so we have to we have to be mindful of

19:40.413 --> 19:42.580
the shared interest in common security

19:42.580 --> 19:45.210
challenges that we both face . Can

19:45.430 --> 19:48.770
attest on Iran .

19:48.780 --> 19:51.610
Can you attest that since President

19:51.610 --> 19:53.880
biden took office , Iran has not

19:53.880 --> 19:56.047
diminished its breakout time , I'm not

19:56.047 --> 19:58.158
gonna talk about intelligence matters

19:58.158 --> 20:01.060
that I am not allowed to talk about uh

20:01.070 --> 20:04.010
here at the podium with respect to uh

20:04.020 --> 20:06.680
specific breakout time for the Iranians .

20:06.680 --> 20:08.580
What I can tell you James is that

20:08.590 --> 20:12.330
uh we continue to believe that their

20:12.330 --> 20:15.780
breakout time is shortening because

20:15.780 --> 20:19.190
there's no deal in place . Um and uh

20:19.200 --> 20:21.422
were the President's been clear that we

20:21.422 --> 20:23.589
are not going to allow Iran to achieve

20:23.589 --> 20:25.589
a nuclear weapons capability . He's

20:25.589 --> 20:27.756
serious about that . So you're telling

20:27.756 --> 20:30.033
us that absent a renewed J . C . P . O .

20:30.033 --> 20:32.033
A , you have no options for keeping

20:32.033 --> 20:31.600
their breakout time . Where it was that

20:31.600 --> 20:33.767
is not what I'm saying at all . I said

20:33.767 --> 20:35.933
the President said we're going to make

20:35.933 --> 20:35.850
sure that Iran cannot achieve a nuclear

20:35.850 --> 20:38.017
weapons capability . We're not focused

20:38.017 --> 20:40.072
on the Iran right now , Iran decided

20:40.072 --> 20:41.906
that they were going to take the

20:41.906 --> 20:43.850
negotiations seriously and instead

20:43.850 --> 20:45.961
decided to brutalize their own people

20:45.961 --> 20:48.239
and to support Russia's war in Ukraine .

20:48.239 --> 20:47.850
And so that's where our focus is . But

20:47.850 --> 20:50.017
we also have to make sure that we have

20:50.017 --> 20:51.961
all the capabilities and resources

20:51.961 --> 20:53.850
available to us in the region and

20:53.850 --> 20:56.017
beyond to defend our national security

20:56.017 --> 20:55.700
interests . That's what the President

20:55.700 --> 20:57.700
said . That's what we're focused on

21:00.450 --> 21:03.210
citizen . Um uh They they were

21:03.210 --> 21:05.099
suspected of gathering biological

21:05.099 --> 21:07.266
intelligence , spend a day now has the

21:07.266 --> 21:09.488
administration able to make contact and

21:09.488 --> 21:11.488
touch anything . You can say that I

21:11.488 --> 21:13.654
don't have an update for you on that .

21:13.654 --> 21:12.910
Let me take the question and see if we

21:12.910 --> 21:15.132
can get you something . I don't have an

21:15.132 --> 21:17.132
update for you can ask you one more

21:17.132 --> 21:17.100
rush related question that Coast Guard

21:17.100 --> 21:19.322
yesterday off why I said that they were

21:19.322 --> 21:21.378
they were keeping track of a Russian

21:21.378 --> 21:23.656
spy ship , intelligence gathering ship .

21:23.656 --> 21:25.878
At what point does that concern you ? A

21:25.878 --> 21:28.100
point ? Is that so unusual that we need

21:28.100 --> 21:30.044
to figure out exactly what they're

21:30.044 --> 21:31.933
doing ? It's not unusual . I mean

21:31.933 --> 21:34.156
obviously we're mindful of it and we're

21:34.156 --> 21:36.322
going to continue to monitor . I think

21:36.322 --> 21:38.378
you saw uh our commanders out in the

21:38.378 --> 21:40.156
pacific talk about that , we'll

21:40.156 --> 21:42.267
obviously monitor that . But um it is

21:42.267 --> 21:45.010
not completely atypical behavior for

21:45.010 --> 21:47.270
the Russians . Uh and you know the fact

21:47.270 --> 21:49.381
that we see it , we talked about it .

21:49.381 --> 21:51.603
We know they're there I think tells you

21:51.603 --> 21:53.603
that obviously we take it seriously

21:53.603 --> 21:55.659
seriously . But I didn't say that at

21:55.659 --> 21:57.548
all . I mean of course we take it

21:57.548 --> 21:59.548
seriously . I mean uh we understand

21:59.548 --> 22:01.659
that the Russians are going to try to

22:01.659 --> 22:03.826
collect intelligence through a variety

22:03.826 --> 22:03.460
of different . That's not new . What

22:03.460 --> 22:05.127
I'm saying is it's it's not a

22:05.127 --> 22:07.182
completely new phenomenon . It's not

22:07.182 --> 22:09.404
something we haven't seen before and we

22:09.404 --> 22:11.516
know how we know how to treat it . we

22:11.516 --> 22:13.516
know how to deal with two questions

22:13.516 --> 22:15.793
done . First on the north Korea aspect ,

22:15.793 --> 22:17.960
how do you judge where they're getting

22:17.960 --> 22:20.450
money to help Russia ? It's a country

22:20.450 --> 22:22.540
that report show is having trouble

22:22.550 --> 22:25.780
feeding its own citizens . Yeah ,

22:26.480 --> 22:30.410
not every country

22:30.410 --> 22:33.720
that should uh observes the sanctions

22:33.720 --> 22:35.664
regime , so they are still able to

22:35.664 --> 22:38.490
trade with countries like Russia and

22:38.490 --> 22:42.450
with china . Um and obviously that's

22:42.450 --> 22:44.672
a whole different set of problems , but

22:44.672 --> 22:47.400
they are able to to skirt sanctions to

22:47.400 --> 22:51.130
continue to to funnel money into their

22:51.130 --> 22:53.720
economy . Um but let's keep it in

22:53.720 --> 22:55.887
perspective , this is not a burgeoning

22:55.887 --> 22:58.109
economy , this is not a country that is

22:58.109 --> 23:01.670
um that is wealthy by any stretch or uh

23:01.680 --> 23:05.110
is um um necessarily

23:05.120 --> 23:08.020
viable and flexible on in the in the

23:08.020 --> 23:10.580
global economy and want to follow up on

23:10.590 --> 23:14.020
Darlene questioning what what does

23:14.020 --> 23:16.131
Germany from your perspective need to

23:16.131 --> 23:18.310
hear now either from the United States

23:18.320 --> 23:20.350
or from the rest of the NATO allies

23:20.360 --> 23:22.416
before giving a green light to those

23:22.416 --> 23:24.527
lover tanks . I don't think they need

23:24.527 --> 23:26.770
to hear anything specific from the

23:26.770 --> 23:28.770
United States other than what we've

23:28.770 --> 23:30.714
been saying , Jeff , which is that

23:30.714 --> 23:32.659
these are sovereign decisions , we

23:32.659 --> 23:34.826
respect them , we we welcome them . We

23:34.826 --> 23:36.937
we do ba believe that there is a need

23:36.937 --> 23:38.881
for armored capability , including

23:38.881 --> 23:41.430
tanks inside Ukraine and the leopard

23:41.430 --> 23:44.410
tank is a terrific system , very , very

23:44.420 --> 23:48.380
modern , very effective . Um and so

23:48.380 --> 23:50.436
I think we've been nothing but clear

23:50.436 --> 23:52.750
privately and publicly with Germany and

23:52.750 --> 23:54.861
all our allies and partners that if ,

23:54.861 --> 23:56.639
if you can meet a need that the

23:56.639 --> 23:58.806
Ukrainians have , then , you know , we

23:58.806 --> 24:00.917
obviously want to see you do that and

24:00.917 --> 24:03.028
again . And I point you back to today

24:03.028 --> 24:05.194
in Ramstein , I mean , so many nations

24:05.194 --> 24:07.361
showed up to , to to contribute and to

24:07.361 --> 24:09.694
offer additional capabilities including ,

24:09.694 --> 24:11.639
you know , in the armored space to

24:11.639 --> 24:13.861
Ukraine . So , I mean , I think again ,

24:13.861 --> 24:16.083
we've been very consistent on , on this

24:16.083 --> 24:18.560
guys . We don't have a lot of time . So

24:18.570 --> 24:20.950
thank you so much , john have a good

24:20.950 --> 24:23.140
weekend . Alright , happy two year

24:23.140 --> 24:26.570
anniversary to us . Uh Fine .

24:27.310 --> 24:29.254
Anyway , Alright , today marks two

24:29.254 --> 24:31.470
years since President biden and Vice

24:31.480 --> 24:34.060
President Harris were sworn in to

24:34.070 --> 24:36.270
office . As you all know in the past

24:36.270 --> 24:38.214
two years we have seen significant

24:38.214 --> 24:40.260
economic growth and President biden

24:40.260 --> 24:42.450
built the most historic legislative

24:42.460 --> 24:45.400
record since the johnson administration .

24:45.550 --> 24:48.080
In fact , over the last 24 months ,

24:48.090 --> 24:50.280
nearly 11 million jobs have been

24:50.280 --> 24:52.650
created , including 750,000

24:52.660 --> 24:55.770
manufacturing jobs . The unemployment

24:55.770 --> 24:59.740
rate is near a 50-year low . Nearly

24:59.740 --> 25:02.180
10.5 million Americans have applied to

25:02.180 --> 25:04.980
start a new small business inflation is

25:04.980 --> 25:08.190
now at its lowest . Since since October

25:08.200 --> 25:11.920
of 2021 We funded 7900

25:11.920 --> 25:13.770
projects through the bipartisan

25:13.780 --> 25:16.320
infrastructure law reaching over 4000

25:16.320 --> 25:18.376
communities all across the country .

25:18.376 --> 25:22.090
And um private companies have announced

25:22.100 --> 25:24.520
nearly $300 billion dollars in

25:24.520 --> 25:26.687
investments across the United States .

25:26.930 --> 25:28.708
The president will mark today's

25:28.708 --> 25:31.350
anniversary with nearly 200 bipartisan

25:31.350 --> 25:33.540
mayors from across the country , which

25:33.540 --> 25:35.596
will be happening very , very soon .

25:35.596 --> 25:37.651
And you will hear more from both the

25:37.651 --> 25:39.820
president and some of our nation's

25:39.830 --> 25:42.290
mayors who are here today after the

25:42.290 --> 25:44.780
briefing really quickly . I have one

25:44.780 --> 25:47.120
thing that I want to share with all of

25:47.120 --> 25:49.120
you which is the week ahead . It is

25:49.120 --> 25:51.176
Friday today , the president will be

25:51.176 --> 25:53.287
traveling to our home with Delaware .

25:53.287 --> 25:55.453
He will return to Washington , D . C .

25:55.453 --> 25:57.509
on Monday on Tuesday . The president

25:57.509 --> 25:59.453
will host Democratic congressional

25:59.453 --> 26:01.342
leaders at the White House in the

26:01.342 --> 26:03.509
evening . The president will also host

26:03.509 --> 26:05.731
a White House reception for new members

26:05.731 --> 26:07.630
of Congress . On thursday , the

26:07.630 --> 26:09.800
president will deliver remarks on our

26:09.810 --> 26:12.660
economic progress since taking office

26:12.670 --> 26:14.670
that evening . The White House will

26:14.670 --> 26:17.340
host a lunar New year reception in the

26:17.350 --> 26:20.130
East Room . And of course per usual we

26:20.130 --> 26:22.380
will have more to share as the days go

26:22.380 --> 26:24.660
by . Okay early and welcome . I haven't

26:24.660 --> 26:26.771
seen , I feel like I haven't seen you

26:26.771 --> 26:28.827
in a long time . Okay . I always say

26:28.827 --> 26:30.716
that to josh and he's like , no ,

26:30.716 --> 26:32.660
that's not true question about the

26:32.660 --> 26:34.660
chart , but it disappeared . Okay ,

26:34.660 --> 26:36.980
maybe it'll magically appear until it

26:36.980 --> 26:39.220
reappears . Can you talk a little bit

26:39.220 --> 26:41.442
about what what message the White House

26:41.442 --> 26:44.180
is trying to send on sunday by having

26:44.180 --> 26:46.790
the vice president deliver a speech on

26:46.790 --> 26:49.200
abortion rights in the state of florida

26:49.210 --> 26:51.432
and specifically in the state capital .

26:51.570 --> 26:53.940
So , as you know , that florida is a is

26:53.940 --> 26:56.051
an important state , as we're talking

26:56.051 --> 26:58.162
about fighting for women's healthcare

26:58.162 --> 27:00.384
for a few reasons . And let me just run

27:00.384 --> 27:02.218
through them , florida has an an

27:02.218 --> 27:04.440
abortion ban , which is which is on the

27:04.440 --> 27:06.607
books . So that's number one in the it

27:06.607 --> 27:09.040
is the third largest uh state in the

27:09.040 --> 27:10.984
country . As you all know , and is

27:10.984 --> 27:13.151
surrounded by several states , several

27:13.151 --> 27:15.373
states around its border with even more

27:15.373 --> 27:17.373
restrictive abortion laws and those

27:17.373 --> 27:19.950
excuse me bands , which are in place as

27:19.950 --> 27:22.340
well . And because florida's ban is

27:22.340 --> 27:24.507
less stringent than in the neighboring

27:24.507 --> 27:26.507
states , the state has increasingly

27:26.507 --> 27:29.910
become a place where women can go to to

27:29.920 --> 27:32.830
access care there yet . Right now , the

27:32.830 --> 27:34.719
state is considering an even more

27:34.719 --> 27:36.886
extreme ban on the books , which would

27:36.886 --> 27:38.886
be devastating not just for florida

27:38.886 --> 27:41.052
women , but if you think about again ,

27:41.052 --> 27:42.997
the southern region , if you think

27:42.997 --> 27:45.219
about the states that florida borders .

27:45.219 --> 27:47.330
And so it is important in this moment

27:47.330 --> 27:49.441
that we are currently in . And also ,

27:49.441 --> 27:51.497
it was the first state that the Vice

27:51.497 --> 27:53.497
president visited visited after the

27:53.497 --> 27:55.552
devastating situation uh , that we ,

27:55.552 --> 27:57.774
that we received uh , just , you know ,

27:57.774 --> 27:59.890
a couple of months ago . Uh , And so

27:59.900 --> 28:02.122
again , you know , this is uh , this is

28:02.122 --> 28:04.456
something that after the Dobbs decision .

28:04.456 --> 28:06.622
So we felt she felt it would be a good

28:06.622 --> 28:08.789
state for the 50th anniversary , which

28:08.789 --> 28:11.011
would have been the 50th anniversary of

28:11.011 --> 28:13.122
roe v wade . And on the chart , there

28:13.122 --> 28:15.011
are two headings there . That's a

28:15.011 --> 28:17.011
record health care enrollment . One

28:17.011 --> 28:19.122
says 11 million . Nearly 11 million .

28:19.122 --> 28:21.570
The other says nearly 15.9 . That's a

28:21.570 --> 28:23.792
good question . I would have to ask our

28:23.792 --> 28:25.959
team . I'm gonna be very , very honest

28:25.959 --> 28:28.070
with you on that . Let me get back to

28:28.070 --> 28:30.014
the team and then we'll be able to

28:30.014 --> 28:32.126
decipher the question . The president

28:32.126 --> 28:35.080
going to have anything to do with

28:35.090 --> 28:36.790
classified documents found at

28:36.790 --> 28:40.520
Wellington as it

28:40.520 --> 28:42.770
relates to classified documents

28:42.770 --> 28:44.992
information , which the president takes

28:44.992 --> 28:47.103
very , very seriously . And you heard

28:47.103 --> 28:49.159
him speak to it when he was asked by

28:49.159 --> 28:51.270
your colleagues yesterday when he was

28:51.270 --> 28:53.492
traveling in California . I would refer

28:53.492 --> 28:55.603
you to the White House Counsel office

28:55.603 --> 28:57.714
for any statement coming from here or

28:57.714 --> 29:00.500
or or anything new developments coming

29:00.500 --> 29:03.070
from here . But as , and as it really

29:03.070 --> 29:05.370
specifically to the investigation , I

29:05.370 --> 29:07.203
would refer you to Department of

29:07.203 --> 29:09.259
Justice . So I'm not going to uh not

29:09.259 --> 29:11.481
going to comment on that piece at all .

29:11.481 --> 29:13.648
From here . I'm just going to continue

29:13.648 --> 29:15.759
to be prudent uh , and consistent and

29:15.759 --> 29:17.648
respect the Department of Justice

29:17.648 --> 29:19.759
process as it relates to his travel .

29:19.759 --> 29:21.648
As you know , he often travels to

29:21.648 --> 29:23.870
Delaware on the weekends . I just don't

29:23.870 --> 29:25.648
have anything else to share but

29:25.648 --> 29:27.760
anything related to uh , the legal

29:27.760 --> 29:29.816
process . I would refer to the White

29:29.816 --> 29:31.982
House Counsel's office ? I'm gonna try

29:31.982 --> 29:34.410
and go around here thinking what was

29:34.410 --> 29:36.577
the White House's reaction to Governor

29:36.577 --> 29:38.720
Ron santos education department

29:38.720 --> 29:41.180
blocking the ap african american

29:41.180 --> 29:43.820
studies saying it violates florida's

29:43.820 --> 29:46.790
new state law and quote , significantly

29:46.790 --> 29:49.490
lacks educational value . Does the

29:49.500 --> 29:51.556
White House have concerns about this

29:51.556 --> 29:53.667
action by the santos administration ?

29:53.667 --> 29:55.722
So , first , I want to be very clear

29:55.722 --> 29:57.944
the administration and does not dictate

29:57.944 --> 30:00.167
any curriculum for local schools . That

30:00.167 --> 30:02.333
is not something that we do here , but

30:02.333 --> 30:04.444
there is something that we do want to

30:04.444 --> 30:05.944
comment . It is um , it is

30:05.980 --> 30:09.480
incomprehensible that to see

30:09.480 --> 30:12.870
that this is what this band or this

30:12.870 --> 30:15.280
block to be more specific that de

30:15.280 --> 30:17.391
Santis has put forward . If you think

30:17.391 --> 30:19.447
about the study of black americans ,

30:19.447 --> 30:22.050
that is what he wants to block . Uh ,

30:22.050 --> 30:25.400
and again , these types of actions

30:25.410 --> 30:27.410
aren't new , they're not new from ,

30:27.410 --> 30:29.410
from what we're seeing , especially

30:29.410 --> 30:31.577
from florida , sadly florida currently

30:31.577 --> 30:33.790
bans teachers from talking about who

30:33.790 --> 30:35.901
they are and who they love . As we've

30:35.901 --> 30:37.957
talked about many times here in this

30:37.957 --> 30:40.068
briefing room . They have banned more

30:40.068 --> 30:42.012
books in schools and libraries and

30:42.012 --> 30:44.346
almost every other state in the country .

30:44.346 --> 30:46.623
And let's not forget , they didn't ban ,

30:46.623 --> 30:48.734
they didn't block more clear . I want

30:48.734 --> 30:50.846
to make sure I'm using the right word

30:50.846 --> 30:50.530
here . They didn't block ap european

30:50.530 --> 30:52.940
history . They didn't block our music

30:52.940 --> 30:54.960
history , they didn't block our art

30:54.960 --> 30:57.660
history , but the state chooses to , to

30:57.660 --> 30:59.771
block a course that is meant for high

30:59.771 --> 31:01.993
achieving high school students to learn

31:01.993 --> 31:04.290
about their history of arts and culture

31:04.300 --> 31:07.260
and it is , you know , it is

31:07.270 --> 31:10.300
incomprehensible again and I will just

31:10.310 --> 31:12.532
leave it there , leave it there to make

31:12.532 --> 31:14.254
your own uh , to make your own

31:14.254 --> 31:16.421
determination of why this occurred and

31:16.421 --> 31:18.643
why this happened again . It is not our

31:18.643 --> 31:21.760
place to , to direct or to be involved

31:21.760 --> 31:24.150
in any local school curriculum . But

31:24.150 --> 31:27.820
this is concerning . Thanks . Um , you

31:27.820 --> 31:29.931
mentioned lawmakers back in town next

31:29.931 --> 31:32.380
week , there's a speaker of the house .

31:35.200 --> 31:37.250
So I know there's been reporting on

31:37.250 --> 31:39.361
this . I don't have a date to confirm

31:39.361 --> 31:41.361
from here about a potential meeting

31:41.361 --> 31:44.220
with speaker speaker , the new , newly

31:44.220 --> 31:46.120
minted as you just try and say ,

31:46.130 --> 31:48.600
Speaker McCarthy the president has , as

31:48.600 --> 31:50.822
I just mentioned at the top as you just

31:50.822 --> 31:52.933
said , fill a series of meetings with

31:52.933 --> 31:55.044
is going to have a series of meetings

31:55.044 --> 31:57.044
with leadership in Congress to talk

31:57.044 --> 31:59.710
about in a a range of issues that

31:59.710 --> 32:02.080
matter to the american people . Again ,

32:02.080 --> 32:04.191
don't have anything to confirm here .

32:04.191 --> 32:05.913
And one of the things that the

32:05.913 --> 32:08.024
president is looking forward to do is

32:08.024 --> 32:10.247
talking about issues that matter to the

32:10.247 --> 32:12.413
american people as I just stated , but

32:12.413 --> 32:14.469
also to continue to develop and grow

32:14.469 --> 32:16.413
their relationship , their working

32:16.413 --> 32:18.580
relationship together . I don't have ,

32:18.580 --> 32:20.802
again , I don't have a specific date to

32:20.802 --> 32:23.810
announce from here . If

32:24.390 --> 32:27.570
happens with the debt limit the

32:27.580 --> 32:30.660
President reiterated . Well , I'll say

32:30.660 --> 32:32.716
this , look , it's a range of issues

32:32.716 --> 32:34.716
and I just said , the President has

32:34.716 --> 32:36.938
been very clear about where we stand on

32:36.938 --> 32:39.049
the position of default . Really very

32:39.049 --> 32:41.104
clear . I've said that the President

32:41.104 --> 32:43.327
has said it uh it is uh it is something

32:43.327 --> 32:45.438
that has been repeated when you think

32:45.438 --> 32:47.438
about dealing with the debt limit ,

32:47.438 --> 32:47.270
when you think about what the what

32:47.270 --> 32:49.600
Congress has been able to do the last

32:49.600 --> 32:51.090
three times with the last

32:51.170 --> 32:53.720
administration and it's it's a

32:53.730 --> 32:56.040
responsibility that they have . It is a

32:56.040 --> 32:58.207
basic responsibility that Congress has

32:58.207 --> 33:00.373
to deal with the debt ceiling . And so

33:00.373 --> 33:02.207
we have been clear on this . The

33:02.207 --> 33:04.318
President has been clear on this . It

33:04.318 --> 33:06.207
should not be used as a political

33:06.207 --> 33:08.318
weapon . Political , we should not be

33:08.318 --> 33:10.790
putting it in a hostage situation . We

33:10.790 --> 33:13.110
should be dealing with this in a way

33:13.110 --> 33:15.166
that is responsible . We think we're

33:15.166 --> 33:17.166
talking about the american people ,

33:17.166 --> 33:18.999
we're talking about job and more

33:18.999 --> 33:21.054
broadly this is a president that has

33:21.054 --> 33:23.221
just went talked through the first two

33:23.221 --> 33:25.277
years of this presidency and what he

33:25.277 --> 33:27.110
has been able to do with the the

33:27.110 --> 33:29.277
economy , building an economy from the

33:29.277 --> 33:31.388
bottom up in the middle out . And the

33:31.388 --> 33:31.360
President wants to continue to to

33:31.360 --> 33:33.990
continue to uh to continue to build on

33:33.990 --> 33:36.320
our successes . And that's what

33:36.330 --> 33:38.552
republicans in the Congress should want

33:38.552 --> 33:40.719
to do , continue to build on that work

33:40.719 --> 33:42.800
with us , not take us back . And so

33:42.800 --> 33:44.856
that's going to be the phone of this

33:44.856 --> 33:46.856
President as he has been focused on

33:46.856 --> 33:48.078
this past two years .

34:04.320 --> 34:06.320
The president is looking forward to

34:06.320 --> 34:08.542
meeting with Speaker McCarthy . We just

34:08.542 --> 34:10.709
don't have a date to share with all of

34:10.709 --> 34:12.764
you at this time . But he is looking

34:12.764 --> 34:12.500
forward to meeting with Speaker

34:12.500 --> 34:14.200
McCarthy . Uh , and

34:14.200 --> 34:18.040
uh , I

34:18.050 --> 34:20.050
mean , look , it's gonna be about a

34:20.050 --> 34:22.217
range of issues , right ? And when the

34:22.217 --> 34:24.328
president speaks to members , when he

34:24.328 --> 34:24.290
has meetings with members , he talks

34:24.290 --> 34:26.457
about a range of issues . I don't want

34:26.457 --> 34:28.623
to get ahead of a meeting that has not

34:28.623 --> 34:28.490
been locked in . It's a little bit of a

34:28.490 --> 34:31.030
hypothetical here . But again , when

34:31.030 --> 34:33.190
the president normally talks to

34:33.200 --> 34:35.200
congressional members , when he has

34:35.200 --> 34:37.367
meetings with them , there are a range

34:37.367 --> 34:37.250
of issues that are talked about , but

34:37.250 --> 34:39.250
we have been very , very clear from

34:39.250 --> 34:41.620
here about Where we stand . When it

34:41.620 --> 34:43.842
comes to the debt ceiling . I have been

34:43.842 --> 34:46.009
clear , the president has been clear ,

34:46.009 --> 34:48.064
it should not be used as a political

34:48.064 --> 34:50.064
football . But again , he's looking

34:50.064 --> 34:52.287
forward to meeting with the speaker and

34:52.287 --> 34:54.564
continue to build on that relationship .

34:59.490 --> 35:02.420
We think that Congress should deal with

35:02.420 --> 35:04.500
this in a bipartisan fashion as they

35:04.500 --> 35:08.220
have 78 times in the past . This is

35:08.220 --> 35:10.331
something that Congress has done . It

35:10.331 --> 35:11.942
is there , it is their basic

35:11.942 --> 35:13.831
responsibility as a congressional

35:13.831 --> 35:16.053
member . And that's what we want to see

35:16.053 --> 35:17.942
anything else about the specifics

35:17.942 --> 35:19.942
that's up to Congress . But this is

35:19.942 --> 35:22.164
something that needs to be dealt with .

35:22.164 --> 35:24.109
We're talking about jobs , right ?

35:24.109 --> 35:26.387
We're talking about seniors . You know ,

35:26.387 --> 35:26.160
we're talking about veterans ? We're

35:26.160 --> 35:29.470
talking about real life potential , uh ,

35:29.480 --> 35:31.424
issues that could affect americans

35:31.424 --> 35:33.536
across the country . So it should not

35:33.536 --> 35:36.280
be used in a way to put to hold the

35:36.280 --> 35:38.730
debt ceiling in hostage , right ?

35:38.860 --> 35:40.900
Because they want to cut Social

35:40.900 --> 35:43.178
Security , right ? Because republicans ,

35:43.178 --> 35:45.289
Maga republicans in the House want to

35:45.289 --> 35:47.511
cut Social Security or they want to cut

35:47.511 --> 35:49.678
Medicare that that should not be where

35:49.678 --> 35:51.678
we are right now . We should not be

35:51.678 --> 35:53.789
moving forward in conversations about

35:53.789 --> 35:55.678
the debt ceiling in that way they

35:55.678 --> 35:57.789
should be dealing with it . What does

35:57.789 --> 35:59.733
the president mean when he said no

35:59.733 --> 36:01.810
regrets ? Because he's also said he

36:01.810 --> 36:04.700
takes very seriously the handling of

36:04.710 --> 36:06.900
classified documents . So I'm unclear

36:06.900 --> 36:09.370
what he means about , no regret . So

36:09.380 --> 36:11.840
I'm not going to comment further from

36:11.840 --> 36:14.140
what the President has said yesterday .

36:14.150 --> 36:16.410
I think he , uh , he laid out his

36:16.410 --> 36:18.521
thoughts . He was asked about it . He

36:18.521 --> 36:20.410
laid out his thoughts of whatever

36:20.410 --> 36:22.521
question he was asked . I'm not going

36:22.521 --> 36:24.354
to get I'm not going to get into

36:24.354 --> 36:26.577
specifics or I'm not going to go beyond

36:26.577 --> 36:28.577
what the President has said , but I

36:28.577 --> 36:30.820
will reiterate from here . Uh , that

36:30.830 --> 36:33.000
basically what he said to all of you

36:33.000 --> 36:35.111
many times at this point that he does

36:35.111 --> 36:37.300
indeed take classified information and

36:37.310 --> 36:39.088
seriously , he does indeed take

36:39.088 --> 36:41.310
classified documents seriously I'm just

36:41.310 --> 36:43.421
not going to go beyond that . I would

36:43.421 --> 36:45.588
refer you to the White House Counsel's

36:45.588 --> 36:47.643
office for any specifics on on on on

36:47.643 --> 36:49.699
the President's comments or what how

36:49.699 --> 36:51.977
the process is moving forward light on .

36:51.977 --> 36:54.199
Was he referring to sort of the rollout

36:54.199 --> 36:55.977
of the information or about the

36:55.977 --> 36:58.470
timeline or I'm just unclear about what

36:58.470 --> 37:01.070
he's not and kelly . Oh , I totally

37:01.070 --> 37:03.070
understand the question . I totally

37:03.070 --> 37:05.070
understand why you may want clarity

37:05.070 --> 37:07.126
here , but I'm going to be prudent .

37:07.126 --> 37:09.237
I'm going to be consistent here . I'm

37:09.237 --> 37:12.830
not going to comment on on on the on

37:12.830 --> 37:15.100
going process the legal process from

37:15.100 --> 37:17.310
here . I will just let the President's

37:17.310 --> 37:19.710
words stand for itself . I'm gonna go

37:19.710 --> 37:23.710
around here um quickly .

37:23.720 --> 37:25.553
Um do you have any update on the

37:25.553 --> 37:27.442
president getting a physical ? He

37:27.442 --> 37:29.664
hasn't had one a year . I don't know if

37:29.664 --> 37:31.664
you guys if he intends to get one .

37:31.664 --> 37:33.831
Yeah , I've spoken to this a couple of

37:33.831 --> 37:35.998
times . He will have one before the by

37:35.998 --> 37:38.220
the time the end of this month is out .

37:38.220 --> 37:40.387
And so we will do the same that we did

37:40.387 --> 37:42.790
the last time and back in 2021 . We

37:42.790 --> 37:45.400
were where we uh provide with full

37:45.400 --> 37:48.350
transparency , his his medical uh

37:48.360 --> 37:50.780
physical and so again , we're going to

37:50.780 --> 37:52.724
do the same thing . We're gonna be

37:52.724 --> 37:54.502
transparent . We will share the

37:54.502 --> 37:56.447
information . We will have more to

37:56.447 --> 37:58.502
share about that before the month is

37:58.502 --> 38:02.220
over . I want to ask without

38:02.230 --> 38:05.130
speaking about the investigation or the

38:05.130 --> 38:07.241
Special council specifically . If you

38:07.241 --> 38:09.352
could walk us through a little bit of

38:09.352 --> 38:11.770
what the process in general is supposed

38:11.770 --> 38:14.220
to be when classified documents are

38:14.230 --> 38:16.310
improperly found . And if the White

38:16.310 --> 38:18.230
House has any role in those

38:18.230 --> 38:20.980
circumstances , if the if they refer

38:20.980 --> 38:23.091
anything to the Office of Director of

38:23.091 --> 38:25.202
National Intelligence or sort of what

38:25.202 --> 38:28.730
that process should be . Again , not

38:28.730 --> 38:31.900
necessarily referencing , I hear the

38:31.900 --> 38:34.011
question that's been asked to me many

38:34.011 --> 38:36.122
different ways , many different times

38:36.122 --> 38:39.560
and I appreciate the effort . Again , I

38:39.560 --> 38:41.190
am going to refer you on the

38:41.200 --> 38:43.890
particulars of the process and how it

38:43.890 --> 38:46.057
goes down and how it works . I'm gonna

38:46.057 --> 38:48.112
refer you to the White House Counsel

38:48.112 --> 38:50.112
office , my colleagues there , they

38:50.112 --> 38:52.400
will be happy to engage with you and

38:52.410 --> 38:54.521
listen to your question and answer it

38:54.521 --> 38:56.688
the best that they can . I am just not

38:56.688 --> 38:58.854
going to be speaking it from here from

38:58.854 --> 39:01.077
here and my colleagues who have already

39:01.077 --> 39:02.854
been engaging with many of your

39:02.854 --> 39:02.680
colleagues and probably you over the

39:02.680 --> 39:05.200
last two weeks . Let them take care of

39:05.200 --> 39:07.680
that . Thanks . Thanks . Um could you

39:07.680 --> 39:09.847
just speak a little bit more about why

39:09.847 --> 39:11.902
Vice President Harris is going to be

39:11.902 --> 39:15.070
giving a speech on sunday ? Does the

39:15.080 --> 39:17.302
President have a message for the people

39:17.302 --> 39:20.440
of the right the March for Life March ?

39:20.450 --> 39:22.450
So , so as you know , the March for

39:22.450 --> 39:25.500
Life March happens every year . And so

39:25.500 --> 39:29.210
we support peaceful , free uh even when

39:29.210 --> 39:31.690
we disagree with it . Clearly it is not ,

39:31.700 --> 39:33.970
it is not an issue and their point of

39:33.970 --> 39:36.192
view , we do not agree with . Uh look ,

39:36.192 --> 39:38.359
because the President believes that it

39:38.359 --> 39:40.860
is it is critical uh it is a critical

39:40.860 --> 39:43.140
pillar of democracy to do that in a

39:43.140 --> 39:45.730
peaceful way to March . And so of

39:45.730 --> 39:48.990
course we support that , but that said ,

39:49.000 --> 39:51.840
you know , we uh you know , we want to

39:51.840 --> 39:53.507
make sure that we continue to

39:53.507 --> 39:55.396
underscore the ongoing attacks on

39:55.396 --> 39:57.396
women's rights to make their health

39:57.396 --> 39:59.618
their own healthcare decision . This is

39:59.618 --> 40:01.729
something that the biden biden Harris

40:01.729 --> 40:04.062
administration has taken very seriously .

40:04.062 --> 40:06.007
Uh this is something that you have

40:06.007 --> 40:08.118
heard us take action executive action

40:08.118 --> 40:10.284
on and this is something that an issue

40:10.284 --> 40:09.430
that we're going to continue to ask

40:09.430 --> 40:11.710
Congress to make sure that they take

40:11.710 --> 40:14.320
actions on this as well as we go into

40:14.320 --> 40:16.450
the next couple of days uh into the

40:16.450 --> 40:18.117
what would have been the 50th

40:18.117 --> 40:20.283
anniversary of roe v wade . So this is

40:20.283 --> 40:22.506
an important issue , a critical issue .

40:22.506 --> 40:24.450
Let's not forget in the during the

40:24.450 --> 40:26.617
midterms , voters made themselves very

40:26.617 --> 40:28.783
clear , they want us to make sure here

40:28.783 --> 40:30.950
in Congress and at the White House and

40:30.950 --> 40:33.117
the federal government that we protect

40:33.117 --> 40:35.330
our people's rights and they want to

40:35.330 --> 40:38.830
see that . And so that is how we see

40:38.830 --> 40:40.941
the march march for life . Again , we

40:40.941 --> 40:44.490
support peaceful , peaceful uh speech

40:44.490 --> 40:46.980
free of speech , peaceful march , even

40:46.980 --> 40:49.091
though we don't agree with their with

40:49.091 --> 40:50.869
their particular policy issue .

40:55.040 --> 40:57.096
And if anybody wants to go and cover

40:57.096 --> 40:59.262
the President , you're free to do . So

40:59.262 --> 41:03.210
do not feel if you are confirmed . Yeah ,

41:03.210 --> 41:05.210
I know if there's like if folks are

41:05.210 --> 41:07.321
have been registered and confirmed to

41:07.321 --> 41:09.266
go , please please feel free . I'm

41:09.266 --> 41:11.321
sorry , go ahead . President . She's

41:11.321 --> 41:13.266
giving a speech . Yeah . So look ,

41:13.266 --> 41:15.266
you've seen the Vice President be a

41:15.266 --> 41:17.377
leader on on this issue over the last

41:17.377 --> 41:19.599
several months since the Dobbs decision

41:19.599 --> 41:21.766
came down this past summer . It is not

41:21.766 --> 41:23.766
unusual . I had just mentioned that

41:23.766 --> 41:25.821
after the it was the florida was the

41:25.821 --> 41:27.988
first state that she visited after the

41:27.988 --> 41:29.988
Dobbs decision . And so she's going

41:29.988 --> 41:32.154
back and and the importance of florida

41:32.154 --> 41:34.377
right . The importance of where it is ,

41:34.377 --> 41:36.321
where it is located and the border

41:36.321 --> 41:38.488
states around it and why we think it's

41:38.488 --> 41:40.599
important . Uh and she thinks clearly

41:40.599 --> 41:42.766
is important to go make that speech in

41:42.766 --> 41:45.770
Tallahassee on sunday . But again , the

41:45.770 --> 41:47.770
Vice President has been a leader on

41:47.770 --> 41:49.881
this . So it has the President you've

41:49.881 --> 41:52.159
heard from both of them multiple times .

41:52.159 --> 41:54.103
You've seen her bring round tables

41:54.103 --> 41:56.159
together to really try to figure out

41:56.159 --> 41:58.381
how to deal with this critical issue of

41:58.381 --> 42:00.548
protecting a woman's right to make her

42:00.548 --> 42:02.603
own decision about her health care .

42:02.603 --> 42:05.290
And so you'll continue to see that from

42:05.300 --> 42:07.133
from this White House for sure .

42:07.250 --> 42:10.580
Uh

42:10.590 --> 42:13.750
yesterday the former President

42:13.760 --> 42:16.470
President trump called for the jailing

42:16.480 --> 42:19.370
of a pair of reporters from politico

42:19.380 --> 42:21.680
who published that the Supreme Court

42:21.680 --> 42:24.540
opinion last year as well as the editor

42:24.550 --> 42:26.810
who supervised them and the publisher

42:27.020 --> 42:30.490
of And I know there was a White House

42:30.490 --> 42:33.330
statement earlier today , but I was

42:33.330 --> 42:35.280
hoping you could weigh in a little

42:35.290 --> 42:37.840
further on how the President feels

42:37.840 --> 42:40.440
about that sort of talk and his

42:40.450 --> 42:42.450
commitment to press freedom . I can

42:42.450 --> 42:44.506
tell you that the President believes

42:44.506 --> 42:46.506
the freedom of press is part of the

42:46.506 --> 42:48.728
bedrock of american democracy . That is

42:48.728 --> 42:50.783
something that he truly believes and

42:50.783 --> 42:53.006
that we should be , you know , continue

42:53.006 --> 42:55.660
to fight for and calling for egregious

42:55.660 --> 42:58.290
abuses of power in order to suppress

42:58.290 --> 43:00.457
the constitutional rights of reporters

43:00.457 --> 43:02.623
is an insult . It is a complete insult

43:02.623 --> 43:04.512
to the rule of law and undermines

43:04.512 --> 43:06.860
fundamental american values and

43:06.860 --> 43:09.300
traditions . So instead it's the

43:09.310 --> 43:11.780
instead it's the responsibility , it's

43:11.780 --> 43:14.370
the responsibility of all leaders to

43:14.370 --> 43:16.314
protect First Amendment rights and

43:16.314 --> 43:18.481
that's what the President believes and

43:18.481 --> 43:20.592
that's what he's going to continue to

43:20.592 --> 43:22.703
do to make sure that we protect those

43:22.703 --> 43:26.180
rights . He sat for very ,

43:26.190 --> 43:28.290
very few interviews since he took

43:28.290 --> 43:30.200
office , particularly with print

43:30.200 --> 43:33.640
publications . Can you commit to making

43:33.640 --> 43:36.870
him more available for one on ones with

43:36.880 --> 43:39.640
both print and other outlets this year .

43:39.650 --> 43:41.483
Here's what I can tell you , the

43:41.483 --> 43:43.372
President is going to engage with

43:43.372 --> 43:45.539
reporters almost on a daily basis . He

43:45.539 --> 43:47.594
did it yesterday . He took questions

43:47.594 --> 43:49.761
from your colleagues yesterday when he

43:49.761 --> 43:51.928
was in California and he will continue

43:51.928 --> 43:54.094
to do that . Uh and he believes that's

43:54.094 --> 43:55.872
important , he believes it's an

43:55.872 --> 43:57.872
opportunity to when he communicates

43:57.872 --> 43:59.650
with all of you or answers your

43:59.650 --> 44:01.539
question , he he believes it's an

44:01.539 --> 44:03.761
important , uh , kind of your important

44:03.761 --> 44:03.400
vessel to the american people . Right ,

44:03.400 --> 44:06.420
pushing out what he is doing on behalf

44:06.420 --> 44:08.642
of the american people . He's , he does

44:08.642 --> 44:10.698
that almost every day , Almost every

44:10.698 --> 44:12.864
day when he's in front of all of you .

44:12.864 --> 44:14.698
He takes a question . That's the

44:14.698 --> 44:16.753
commitment that I can make from here

44:16.753 --> 44:18.753
from the president . I'm gonna move

44:18.753 --> 44:20.976
around Christina . Thank you for taking

44:20.976 --> 44:23.090
my question . Um , you were just

44:23.100 --> 44:25.720
mentioning a possibility of executive

44:25.730 --> 44:28.260
actions On behalf of the American

44:28.270 --> 44:30.326
people . I was just wondering if the

44:30.326 --> 44:32.530
administration is considering any help

44:32.540 --> 44:35.160
or relief for thousands of immigrants

44:35.170 --> 44:37.170
that were paroled into this country

44:37.170 --> 44:39.226
before the agreement of the 30,000 a

44:39.226 --> 44:41.700
month . They're they're here . They

44:41.700 --> 44:44.550
don't have jobs , they're depending on

44:44.560 --> 44:46.727
different communities , charity work .

44:46.727 --> 44:49.300
And some of them have told us that they

44:49.300 --> 44:51.467
don't have court dates for another two

44:51.467 --> 44:54.440
years . So , a couple of things , I'm

44:54.440 --> 44:56.607
not sure what executive action I think

44:56.607 --> 44:58.496
I was talking about may have been

44:58.496 --> 44:58.440
talking about something else . I'm not

44:58.440 --> 45:02.380
quite sure . Okay , Okay . Right .

45:02.380 --> 45:04.850
You're talking about . So , look , the

45:04.880 --> 45:07.047
whole program that the president biden

45:07.050 --> 45:09.630
announced is , um , because I know

45:09.630 --> 45:11.630
that's usually how this question is

45:11.630 --> 45:13.797
connected to is limited to individuals

45:13.797 --> 45:15.797
who are seeking to enter the United

45:15.797 --> 45:18.150
States in a legal orderly manner . The

45:18.150 --> 45:20.670
folks who got here before the program

45:20.680 --> 45:22.970
was announced , remain in immigration

45:22.970 --> 45:24.970
enforcement procedures , procedures

45:24.970 --> 45:27.081
under title eight . If an immigration

45:27.081 --> 45:29.200
judge determines they have a legal

45:29.210 --> 45:31.640
basis to stay in the country . They can ,

45:31.840 --> 45:34.007
if they don't , they will be subjected

45:34.007 --> 45:35.951
to removal as required by law . Of

45:35.951 --> 45:38.118
course , since day one , the president

45:38.118 --> 45:40.229
has taken this issue very seriously .

45:40.229 --> 45:42.451
That's why he put forth a comprehensive

45:42.451 --> 45:45.480
immigration reform and , and to fix the

45:45.480 --> 45:47.860
system that we currently have . And so

45:47.880 --> 45:50.220
that's why he continues to ask , uh ,

45:50.230 --> 45:52.286
he continues to ask Congress to take

45:52.286 --> 45:54.980
action . He continues to talk to and

45:54.990 --> 45:57.430
and ask republicans instead of doing

45:57.430 --> 45:59.540
political stunts . Like we have seen

45:59.540 --> 46:01.762
them do over and over again to actually

46:01.762 --> 46:03.818
come to the table and deal with this

46:03.818 --> 46:05.900
issue . Uh , this is a president who

46:05.900 --> 46:08.990
has done more on , on this issue than

46:09.000 --> 46:11.056
any other president . When you think

46:11.056 --> 46:13.278
about the record funding that he's been

46:13.278 --> 46:15.333
able to put forth and also trying to

46:15.333 --> 46:17.950
figure out multiple ways to deal with

46:17.960 --> 46:20.160
immigration , to deal with people too

46:20.170 --> 46:22.780
who want to come in and come through a

46:22.780 --> 46:24.910
legal process . He's offered many

46:24.920 --> 46:28.050
avenues to do that . And so look , he's ,

46:28.060 --> 46:30.282
he has used the tools that are in front

46:30.282 --> 46:32.390
of him to deal with immigration , to

46:32.390 --> 46:34.650
deal with border security . But again ,

46:34.650 --> 46:36.550
he needs Congress , especially

46:36.550 --> 46:38.772
republicans in Congress , to stop doing

46:38.772 --> 46:40.772
political stunts and to come to the

46:40.772 --> 46:43.010
table and actually deal with an issue

46:43.010 --> 46:45.177
that matters to the american people in

46:45.177 --> 46:47.800
a real concrete way , not in a way that

46:47.810 --> 46:49.643
we're doing political stunts and

46:49.643 --> 46:52.040
putting people's lives at risk ? Thanks

46:52.190 --> 46:54.380
on executive authority . The

46:54.390 --> 46:56.223
President's proclamation today ?

46:56.223 --> 46:58.168
Marketing what would have been the

46:58.168 --> 47:00.334
anniversary of world wade said that he

47:00.334 --> 46:59.880
would continue to use executive

46:59.880 --> 47:01.991
authority to protect women's rights .

47:01.991 --> 47:04.630
What other actions are on the table and

47:04.640 --> 47:06.751
if there are other possible action on

47:06.751 --> 47:08.973
the table , why has he taken them yet ?

47:08.973 --> 47:11.196
So look , we're gonna take a look of of

47:11.196 --> 47:13.140
the tools that the president as in

47:13.140 --> 47:15.307
front of him to take to see if there's

47:15.307 --> 47:17.307
any other executive actions clearly

47:17.307 --> 47:19.307
that he can take . But he took some

47:19.307 --> 47:21.307
right after the Dobbs decision came

47:21.307 --> 47:23.362
down , he took a couple of executive

47:23.362 --> 47:25.584
actions and he took them right away and

47:25.584 --> 47:28.620
in consultation with organizations who

47:28.630 --> 47:30.741
who really are fighting every day for

47:30.741 --> 47:33.120
women's women's rights . But again ,

47:33.130 --> 47:36.050
the way that we are going to um really

47:36.050 --> 47:38.630
deal with what we're seeing currently

47:38.630 --> 47:42.180
with with with Roe V wade and making

47:42.180 --> 47:44.250
sure that it's it becomes law is for

47:44.250 --> 47:46.139
Congress to act . And that's what

47:46.139 --> 47:48.250
you're going to continue to hear from

47:48.250 --> 47:50.250
this president . That's what you're

47:50.250 --> 47:50.000
gonna continue to hear from the vice

47:50.000 --> 47:53.120
president . And he's going to certainly

47:53.120 --> 47:55.580
and she will to use use their platform

47:55.580 --> 47:57.802
to make that very clear to the american

47:57.802 --> 48:00.850
people exhausted your options . You

48:00.850 --> 48:02.906
know , I'll just say this , I mean ,

48:02.906 --> 48:04.961
the proclamation pretty much laid it

48:04.961 --> 48:07.072
out very clearly . We're going to see

48:07.072 --> 48:09.239
what else we can do , but again , it's

48:09.239 --> 48:11.350
going to take congressional action to

48:11.350 --> 48:13.350
truly deal with this issue . Okay .

48:13.490 --> 48:15.490
Does the president have any concern

48:15.490 --> 48:17.601
about the number of job cuts that are

48:17.601 --> 48:19.712
happening in the tech sector alphabet

48:19.712 --> 48:21.934
announced that parent company obviously

48:21.934 --> 48:24.046
announced 12,000 job cuts today . All

48:24.046 --> 48:26.101
those Microsoft earlier this week um

48:26.101 --> 48:28.101
following several 1000 of them last

48:28.101 --> 48:27.890
year as well . Is this something the

48:27.900 --> 48:29.956
president is concerned about ? So of

48:29.956 --> 48:32.122
course we watched very closely when we

48:32.122 --> 48:34.210
hear these types of reports of

48:34.210 --> 48:35.988
americans losing jobs . That is

48:35.988 --> 48:37.766
something that the president uh

48:37.766 --> 48:39.988
certainly aware of and and and watching

48:39.988 --> 48:42.390
and clearly his team . But you know ,

48:42.390 --> 48:44.334
there are data that shows and I've

48:44.334 --> 48:46.223
mentioned this the other day that

48:46.223 --> 48:48.501
companies are still continuing to grow .

48:48.501 --> 48:50.723
That is important and they're investing

48:50.723 --> 48:50.580
in the United States . So those data

48:50.580 --> 48:52.750
points exist . We're seeing that

48:52.750 --> 48:55.560
layoffs remain record low according to

48:55.560 --> 48:57.727
job opening data , the U . S . Economy

48:57.727 --> 48:59.282
continues to grow . Initial

48:59.282 --> 49:01.338
unemployment claims are historically

49:01.338 --> 49:03.282
low And the unemployment rate is a

49:03.282 --> 49:05.500
50-year low . So leading analysts have

49:05.500 --> 49:07.810
publicly stated that they do not

49:07.810 --> 49:09.977
believe the recent layoffs in the tech

49:09.977 --> 49:12.290
industry are indicative of trends in

49:12.290 --> 49:14.512
the border economy . But of course , of

49:14.512 --> 49:16.568
course , when we hear that Americans

49:16.568 --> 49:18.770
are losing jobs , we we uh certainly

49:18.770 --> 49:20.300
watch that very closely .

49:21.230 --> 49:24.380
Uh One clarification effect in on on

49:24.380 --> 49:26.602
the president's answer yesterday to the

49:26.602 --> 49:28.824
documents . He said in that answer that

49:28.824 --> 49:30.936
he is doing everything that attorneys

49:30.936 --> 49:33.047
are asking him to do so this protocol

49:33.047 --> 49:35.660
and everything was his answer through

49:36.040 --> 49:38.207
council or anything like that . I mean

49:38.207 --> 49:40.262
it's the same thing that he has said

49:40.262 --> 49:42.373
before , which is he and his team are

49:42.373 --> 49:44.610
cooperating fully . That's the same .

49:45.050 --> 49:47.272
The same , the same answer he has given

49:47.272 --> 49:49.620
many , many times and so has his White

49:49.620 --> 49:51.453
House Counsel's office . Is that

49:53.310 --> 49:56.740
again , he that's nothing new . He has

49:56.740 --> 49:59.120
said that before . But again , I'm not

49:59.120 --> 50:02.460
going to get into parse the words of

50:02.460 --> 50:05.550
the it is you heard him say what he

50:05.560 --> 50:07.980
gave his remarks and make his statement .

50:07.990 --> 50:10.046
I'm just not going to dive into that

50:10.046 --> 50:11.990
meeting on Tuesday with Democratic

50:11.990 --> 50:14.440
members . Can you characterize what

50:14.440 --> 50:16.218
that meeting is ? Is it sort of

50:16.218 --> 50:18.218
temperature taking ? Is agendas and

50:18.218 --> 50:20.218
priorities are set for the upcoming

50:20.218 --> 50:22.440
state of the Union speech . I mean , it

50:22.440 --> 50:24.551
is part of the new congress , right ?

50:24.551 --> 50:26.773
New leadership with the new congress as

50:26.773 --> 50:28.773
an opportunity clearly ahead of the

50:28.773 --> 50:30.662
state of the union to connect and

50:30.662 --> 50:32.884
continue to grow the relationships that

50:32.884 --> 50:34.829
he has with leadership and they're

50:34.829 --> 50:37.051
going to talk about a range of issues .

50:37.051 --> 50:39.162
It is not uncommon . I think somebody

50:39.162 --> 50:41.218
just pointed that to me . I think it

50:41.218 --> 50:43.440
was josh who said , you know how common

50:43.440 --> 50:45.662
it is to for the President to meet with

50:45.662 --> 50:45.440
leadership at this time . So again ,

50:45.450 --> 50:48.490
we're uh , we're we're doing . Uh what

50:48.490 --> 50:50.657
the president believes is important as

50:50.657 --> 50:52.712
he tries to deliver for the american

50:52.712 --> 50:54.157
people to try and do that

50:54.157 --> 50:56.157
bipartisanship that he talked about

50:56.157 --> 50:58.157
right after the midterms because we

50:58.157 --> 51:00.157
understand that's what the american

51:00.157 --> 51:02.379
people want to see . And so that's what

51:02.379 --> 51:04.546
you're going to see next week with the

51:04.546 --> 51:07.760
president josh

51:07.770 --> 51:11.730
about the question . Um ,

51:11.740 --> 51:13.520
the nonpartisan committee for a

51:13.520 --> 51:15.631
responsible federal budget set in the

51:15.631 --> 51:17.576
fall , that what the President was

51:17.576 --> 51:19.687
arguing in the leader of the midterms

51:19.687 --> 51:21.798
was that republicans would cut Social

51:21.798 --> 51:23.687
Security , cut Medicare , but the

51:23.687 --> 51:25.631
President was not offering his own

51:25.631 --> 51:27.631
specific plan for how to ensure the

51:27.631 --> 51:29.576
stability of those programs . Um ,

51:29.800 --> 51:31.967
there were a few sentences on the , on

51:31.967 --> 51:34.133
the campaign website three years ago .

51:34.133 --> 51:36.022
Does the president have a plan to

51:36.022 --> 51:37.800
ensure that Social Security and

51:37.800 --> 51:39.800
Medicare will remain solvent in the

51:39.800 --> 51:41.967
future ? This is now the halfway point

51:41.967 --> 51:41.100
of this administration . The

51:41.110 --> 51:43.277
President's plan is that he's going to

51:43.277 --> 51:45.499
protect Social Security , He's going to

51:45.499 --> 51:47.470
protect Medicare . And what he is

51:47.470 --> 51:49.581
saying very , very clearly here . And

51:49.581 --> 51:51.748
we have said this , you heard , as you

51:51.748 --> 51:53.803
mentioned , you had to say it during

51:53.803 --> 51:55.803
the fall is that , you know , we're

51:55.803 --> 51:55.480
going to continue to call out

51:55.480 --> 51:57.647
republicans who are threatening , they

51:57.647 --> 51:59.869
are threatening to force cuts on Social

51:59.869 --> 52:01.890
Security on Medicare and critical

52:01.890 --> 52:04.280
programs that benefit everyday

52:04.280 --> 52:07.140
americans because they want to play

52:07.150 --> 52:09.317
this political gamesmanship . And that

52:09.317 --> 52:11.317
is something that we we're going to

52:11.317 --> 52:13.940
call out as it relates to the debt

52:13.940 --> 52:16.162
ceiling . This is something that should

52:16.162 --> 52:18.218
be done in a bipartisan way . That's

52:18.218 --> 52:20.273
what the president believes . That's

52:20.273 --> 52:22.273
what he has been saying very , very

52:22.273 --> 52:24.218
clearly , we should not put on the

52:24.218 --> 52:26.218
chopping blocks . The very the very

52:26.218 --> 52:28.551
programs that matter to american people .

52:28.551 --> 52:30.662
Let's not forget they've already paid

52:30.662 --> 52:32.940
in to those programs . Social Security ,

52:32.940 --> 52:35.162
Medicare , Medicaid . This is some that

52:35.162 --> 52:36.773
americans have paid into and

52:36.773 --> 52:38.662
republicans want to cut that . My

52:38.662 --> 52:40.773
question though is you know what they

52:40.773 --> 52:42.829
say is that Medicare in 3 to 5 years

52:43.020 --> 52:44.670
will not be able to meet its

52:44.670 --> 52:46.614
obligations . Social Security , 12

52:46.614 --> 52:48.726
years will not be able to meet all of

52:48.726 --> 52:50.892
its obligations . The President's been

52:50.892 --> 52:50.740
president for two years . He hopes to

52:50.740 --> 52:52.907
be President for six more years . When

52:52.907 --> 52:55.184
is he going to lay out a specific plan ?

52:55.184 --> 52:57.351
We here at the State of the Union will

52:57.351 --> 52:59.462
come in 2023 . It's what we're saying

52:59.462 --> 53:01.462
is and I just said this , these are

53:01.462 --> 53:03.573
programs that the american people pay

53:03.573 --> 53:05.518
into . These are programs that are

53:05.518 --> 53:07.518
veterans that are seniors , right .

53:07.518 --> 53:09.550
Americans across the country really

53:09.550 --> 53:12.760
value and need and when you have

53:12.770 --> 53:15.830
a , you know , these mega republicans

53:15.830 --> 53:17.830
in the house who are saying they're

53:17.830 --> 53:20.720
gonna hold the debt ceiling Unless

53:20.720 --> 53:22.960
those things are cut . That is that is

53:22.960 --> 53:25.238
a problem . That is not how this works .

53:25.238 --> 53:27.349
I mentioned 78 times that this , that

53:27.349 --> 53:29.404
the debt ceiling has been dealt with

53:29.404 --> 53:31.404
three times three times in the last

53:31.404 --> 53:33.460
administration . So we should not be

53:33.460 --> 53:35.627
doing this with conditions , should be

53:35.627 --> 53:37.738
done without conditions and we should

53:37.738 --> 53:39.904
not be negotiating around it . And let

53:39.904 --> 53:42.127
me just give you a couple of validators

53:42.127 --> 53:41.510
because I think it's important this

53:41.510 --> 53:43.510
came from leader McConnell who said

53:43.510 --> 53:45.788
America must never default on its debt .

53:45.788 --> 53:48.500
It's never has and never will Neil

53:48.510 --> 53:50.600
Bradley who I think I talked about a

53:50.600 --> 53:52.711
little bit from Chamber of Commerce a

53:52.711 --> 53:54.767
couple of days ago . You're , you're

53:54.767 --> 53:56.656
talking about wiping out the very

53:56.656 --> 53:58.822
underpinnings of the U . S . Economy .

53:58.822 --> 54:00.933
I mean that is what they're trying to

54:00.933 --> 54:02.989
do . They're trying to hold programs

54:02.989 --> 54:05.100
that are critical and important again

54:05.100 --> 54:06.933
to our veterans , to our seniors

54:06.933 --> 54:08.656
because they're trying to play

54:08.656 --> 54:10.878
political games . And that is the thing

54:10.878 --> 54:13.100
that the president is going to continue

54:13.100 --> 54:15.100
to call out against . Oh , he is so

54:15.100 --> 54:17.211
sorry guys . The President's about to

54:17.211 --> 54:19.433
speak . I can't step on the president .

54:19.433 --> 54:21.378
Thank you . Everybody have a great

54:21.378 --> 54:24.620
weekend with your performance last week .