It’s Friday.
Today’s mood…
As I mentioned in the comment section yesterday, my parents have the rona. I’m still pissed, but I slept more than 2 hours and got no late night phone calls or texts, so we will call this “good news,” and keep on keeping on…
When Biden Bits was posted for Thursday, President Biden had tweeted 5 times and retweeted 1 time. He added 5 tweets giving him a Thursday Tweeting Total of 10 tweets and 1 retweet…
The video snip shared by the White House is 28 seconds long.
I’ve tried to find out who the woman that speaking is, so for no joy.
Unnamed Woman: I’d like to share with you my feelings about the Biden-Harris Administration and the wonderful work they’ve been doing and strong messaging about what is necessary to us past this pandemic. That we should all get vaccinated, that we should get boostered, that we should wear our masks. And so I’m heartened and grateful for this strong messaging that this administration is committed to doing to be able to get us past where we are today.
There was a pool spray of President Biden’s meeting with the Cabinet Infrastructure Implementation Task Force. The YouTube is 5 minutes and 29 seconds long. His full remarks can be found here.
He opened the meeting with adding further clarification to remarks he made during his press conference regarding Ukraine and Russia…
President Biden: Well, let me start by, first, saying a few words about Russia and Ukraine. I’ve been absolutely clear with President Putin. He has no misunderstanding. If any — any — assembled Russian units move across the Ukrainian border, that is an invasion. But — and it would be met with severe and coordinated economic response that I’ve discussed in detail with our allies, as well as laid out very clearly for President Putin. But there is no doubt — let there be no doubt at all that if Putin makes this choice, Russia will pay a heavy price. It is also not the only scenario we need to be prepared for: Russia has a long history of using measures other than overt military action to carry out aggression in paramilitary tactics, so-called “gray-zone” attacks, and actions by Russian soldiers not wearing Russian uniforms. Remember when they moved into the Donbas with “Little Green Men”? They weren’t — they were dealing with those who were Russian sympathizers and said that Russia had no — nobody in there. Well, that includes “Little Green Men” in uniforms, as well as cyberattack. We have to be ready to respond to these as well — and decisively — in a united way, with a range of tools at our disposal. The Ukrainian Foreign Minister said this morning that he’s confident of our support and resolve. And he has a right to be.
The White House video snip is 25 seconds long. He says in the clip that he is President of the UAW Local 5960.
Union President says: For my union, the infrastructure bill that passed has given us hope because it directly supporters American jobs, especially in the auto industry. As president of UAW Local 5960, our member are on the forefront of GM’s plan on being an an all-electric vehicle company by 2035. Thank you, Mr. President, for all your hard work on this infrastructure bill, and what it means for working America.
The video snip is 38 seconds long.
Samir Idnani co-founder of Naan Stop says: My name is Samir Idnani, on of the founders at Naan Stop. When we met with President Biden last year, it was a really trying time for our business. Because of COVID, our business had declined 70 percent overnight and you know, frankly, in the restaurant industry there wasn’t an end in sight at the time. But President Biden took the time to listen to what we were experiencing, the challenges that we were facing. And told us about the American Rescue Plan and what he had planned for recovery for small businesses. And that really gave us hope into the next year and for the future.
The above YouTube is 1 hour and 51 seconds long. His full remarks can be found here.
President Biden: Thanks to the American Rescue Plan and other actions we’ve taken, we’ve seen record job creation and record economic growth in the past year. Now, thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, we’re about to make a record investment in rebuilding America to take us to be the number-one best infrastructure in the world. Well, now we’re way below that. We’ll be creating better jobs for millions of people modernizing our roads, our bridges, our highways, our ports, our airports — everything from making clean water; lead — removing lead pipes that every American can turn on — every American can turn on a faucet and drink clean water — urban and rural and suburban communities. It’s going to make affordable high-speed Internet available to every American in urban, rural, and suburban areas. We’ve never done that before. Now we are. We’re in the process of that getting that done.
For Friday, January 21st, 2022, President Biden has met virtually with the Prime Minister of Japan, Kishida Fumio. He has received his daily brief. He is currently (11:40 a.m. D.C., time) offering remarks on work to increase the supply of semiconductors. This afternoon he will offer an address at the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ 90th Annual Winter Meeting.
On Tuesday I shared my amusement at Daniel Dale politely dunking on Mark Bednar…
Well, guess who came back for another round of Dunking with Dale…
What I skipped mentioning on Tuesday was the above jackass who is leaving us not doubt that he is a jackass, is the communications director for Kevin “I hate him,” McCarthy…
Why do you suppose I used precisely the same disclaimer – literally the exact same words – on the tweets of Trump’s schedule I began doing in 2018? (Pro-Trump code, I suppose?) pic.twitter.com/MXA5peS2Km
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) January 21, 2022
As I said last time for more Twice Impeached 45 schedule fun, you can view them here…
I’m gonna add a little disclaimer of my own; There are days that Dale doesn’t even post the dang schedule; not only when he’s on vacation either.
President Biden has tweeted 2 times so far for Friday…
The White House posted the following readout:
President Biden met virtually today with Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan to highlight the strength of the U.S.-Japan relationship and to advance our shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region, which is critical to the lives of the American and Japanese peoples. President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida agreed that the U.S.-Japan Alliance has never been stronger or more necessary.
The President commended Prime Minister Kishida’s strong commitment to the U.S.-Japan Alliance, and his determination to fundamentally strengthen Japan’s defense capabilities to reinforce deterrence against common threats. He welcomed the Prime Minister’s intent to revise Japan’s National Security Strategy and other key guiding documents. In particular, President Biden welcomed the Prime Minister’s decision to increase spending on defense, and underscored the importance of sustaining these vital investments over time. The President applauded the Prime Minister’s leadership on issues related to nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament, and they welcomed the U.S.-Japan Joint Statement on the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The two leaders also affirmed the importance of strengthening cybersecurity, as a critical enabler of alliance cooperation. President Biden applauded Japan and Australia’s signing of the Reciprocal Access Agreement that will enable closer trilateral defense cooperation.
As Indo-Pacific powers, the United States and Japan are united in shared purpose to sustain and enhance our commitment to the region. The two leaders resolved to push back against the People’s Republic of China (PRC)’s attempts to change the status quo in the East China Sea and South China Sea; underscored the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues; they shared concern about PRC practices in Xinjiang and Hong Kong. The President resolutely affirmed that Article V of the Mutual Security Treaty applies to the Senkaku Islands, and affirmed the United States’ unwavering commitment to the defense of Japan, using its full range of capabilities. The two leaders condemned the recent ballistic missile launches by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), which are in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions. Toward the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, both leaders committed to maintain close coordination on DPRK issues moving forward, in lockstep with the Republic of Korea (ROK). The President also expressed support for the immediate resolution of the abductions issue.
The leaders committed to work closely together to deter Russian aggression against Ukraine, and Prime Minister Kishida pledged to continue close coordination with the United States, other Allies and partners, and the international community on taking strong action in response to any attack. President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida affirmed the importance of close cooperation among the United States, Japan, and the ROK in addressing common challenges, and underscored the imperative of a strong trilateral relationship between Japan, the United States, and the ROK, on security and more broadly.
The two leaders remain committed to working closely with allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond. President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida reaffirmed their support for ASEAN centrality and resolved to strengthen our cooperation in Southeast Asia. The two leaders highlighted the importance of the Quad – Australia, Japan, India, and the United States – as a critical forum for promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific region, and resolved to ensure the Quad delivers practical results in areas such as COVID-19 response, climate and clean energy, and infrastructure. President Biden welcomed Prime Minister Kishida’s invitation to visit Japan for the next Quad Leaders Meeting in the first half of 2022. Noting the critical situation in Tonga after the recent volcanic eruption and tsunami, the two leaders reinforced the importance of working together – and with other partners of the Pacific including Australia, France, and New Zealand – to provide any support necessary to this and future humanitarian disasters in the region.
The two leaders resolved to enhance economic ties between the United States and Japan. Noting the progress made under the Competitiveness and Resilience (CoRe) Partnership announced in April 2021, President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida established a new ministerial-level Economic Policy Consultative Committee (the Economic “2+2”), to track and drive economic cooperation and to strengthen the rules-based economic order in the Indo-Pacific region and the world. The two leaders affirmed the importance of U.S. economic leadership in the Indo-Pacific, which President Biden committed to intensify. To that end, Prime Minister Kishida expressed strong support for President Biden’s proposed Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, and pledged to work closely with the United States to build support for the initiative in the region. The President and Prime Minister Kishida agreed on the importance of economic policies that are sustainable and inclusive, and benefit the middle class. The two leaders also expressed their desire for the swift resolution of trade issues.
President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida reaffirmed their steadfast commitment to partner in advancing global efforts to end the COVID-19 pandemic and prevent the next. The two leaders agreed to continue working closely together to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and new variants, including by aligning our efforts in and around U.S. facilities in Japan. President Biden reaffirmed his intent to host the next Global COVID-19 Summit in the first quarter of 2022 and relayed the importance to follow through and increase collective commitments, including doses and efforts to vaccinate the world, support to save lives now, and sustainable financing for health security and pandemic preparedness. The leaders also agreed that people-to-people ties, including through the Mansfield Fellowship Program, form the bedrock of our friendship and resolved to strengthen our bonds still further.
White House.gov. 01/21/2022.
The address has concluded and the White House will upload the YouTube and post his remarks later this afternoon.
The daily press briefing was scheduled to start at noon D.C., time. As of 12:10 p.m. D.C., time it had not started.
The address to the Mayors’ conference is scheduled for 1:45-1:50 p.m. D.C., time.
