It’s Wednesday.
When Biden Bits was posted for Tuesday, President Biden had not tweeted. He ended up with a Wednesday Tweeting Total of 5 tweets and 0 retweets.
Tomorrow, I’m traveling to Europe to meet with our allies and partners exactly one month after Putin accelerated his brutal war in Ukraine.
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 22, 2022
My first stop is Belgium where I’ll meet with our NATO Allies, G7 Leaders, and European Union Leaders to discuss our efforts to support Ukraine and impose severe costs on Russia for its invasion.
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 22, 2022
Then I’ll travel to Poland to hold a bilateral meeting with President @AndrzejDuda. I look forward to discussing our response to the humanitarian and human rights crisis Russia has created in Ukraine.
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 22, 2022
On this trip we will make clear that the West is united in our defense of democracy. Putin thought he would divide us, but we are stronger than at any time in recent history. We stand with Ukraine and we will continue to ensure Putin pays a heavy economic price for his actions.
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 22, 2022
Ahead of yesterday’s daily press briefing White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki announced that she has tested COVID-19 positive.
Today, in preparation for travel to Europe, I took a PCR test this morning. That test came back positive, which means I will be adhering to CDC guidance and no longer be traveling on the President’s trip to Europe.
I had two socially-distanced meetings with the President yesterday, and the President is not considered a close contact as defined by CDC guidance. I am sharing the news of my positive test today out of an abundance of transparency.
The President tested negative today via PCR test.
Thanks to the vaccine, I have only experienced mild symptoms. In alignment with White House COVID-19 protocols, I will work from home and plan to return to work in person at the conclusion of a five-day isolation period and a negative test.
White House.gov. 03/22/2022.
She posted the above announcement to her Twitter account @PressSec.
In light of her testing positive the press briefing was conducted by Deputy Press Secretary Chris Meagher. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan still attended yesterday’s briefing.
The briefing was not very long the YouTube is 24 minutes and 4 seconds long. Their full remarks can be found here.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan offered a preview of President Biden’s travel:
Good afternoon, everybody. I’ll make a few comments, and then, as Chris said, I’d be happy to take your questions.
The President is heading to Europe tomorrow to reinforce the incredible unity we built with Allies and partners in response to Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine and to consult on next steps.
Let me take a moment to set the context for this trip. Russia intended to accomplish three basic objectives in launching its unprovoked attack against Ukraine: first, to subjugate Ukraine; second, to enhance Russian power and prestige; and third, to divide and weaken the West.
Russia has thus far manifestly failed to accomplish all three objectives. In fact, it has thus far achieved the opposite.
On the first, the brave citizens of Ukraine are refusing to submit. They’re fighting back. They’re defending their homes. They’re defending their cities. And although Russia may take more territory in these brutal military operations, it will never take the country away from the Ukrainian people.
On the second, Russian power and prestige has been badly depleted. The Russian military has dramatically underperformed. The Russian economy has been rocked by powerful sanctions. The Russian high-tech and defense sectors are being choked off from key inputs. And Russia is a pariah in the international community.
On the third, the nations of the free world are more united, more determined, and more purposeful than at any point in recent memory.
For our part, since President Biden and the United States began warning the world of impending Russian aggression back in November, we have clearly and consistently pursued three lines of effort: first, help Ukraine defend itself by supplying weapons and military equipment; second, impose severe and escalating economic costs on Russia through the application of unprecedented sanctions in close coordination with Allies and partners in Europe, the Indo-Pacific, and other parts of the world; and third, fortify NATO and the Western Alliance by enhancing our force posture on the eastern flank and making our allies more resilient against other forms of Russian aggression.
We’ve made decisive moves on all three fronts, and President Biden’s trip will involve further actions on each of these three fronts.
He will attend an emergency NATO Summit, joined by the leaders of the other 29 NATO Allies. He will join the G7 leaders. And he will address the 27 leaders of the European Union at a session of the European Council. He will have the opportunity to coordinate on the next phase of military assistance to Ukraine.
He will join our partners in imposing further sanctions on Russia and tightening the existing sanctions to crack down on evasion and to ensure robust enforcement.
He will work with Allies on longer-term adjustments to NATO force posture on the eastern flank. He will announce joint action on enhancing European energy security and reducing Europe’s dependence on Russian gas at long last.
He will announce further American contributions to a coordinated humanitarian response to ease the suffering of civilians inside Ukraine and to respond to the growing flow of refugees.
From Brussels, President Biden will travel to Poland, where he will engage with U.S. troops who are now helping to defend NATO territory, and he will meet with experts involved in the humanitarian response.
He will also hold a bilateral meeting with President Duda of Poland.
I’ll leave further details on the schedule and program for each of these aspects of the trip to our trusty Communications and Press team.
Let me close with this: There will be hard days ahead in Ukraine — hardest for the Ukrainian troops on the frontlines and the civilians under Russian bombardment. This war will not end easily or rapidly.
For the past few months, the West has been united. The President is traveling to Europe to ensure we stay united, to cement our collective resolve, to send a powerful message that we are prepared and committed to this for as long as it takes, and to advance our response on all three critical fronts that I’ve described: helping the Ukrainian people defend themselves, imposing and increasing costs on Russia, and reinforcing the Western alliance.And with that, I’d be happy to take your questions.
White House.gov. 03/22/2022.
The video almost “GIF” is 9 seconds long. There is no music or voice overs.
Today, is Day 3 of the 4 day confirmation hearing process for Judge Jackson.
Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, can be found here, here, and here.
For Wednesday March 23rd, 2022, President Biden is traveling; he has departed the White House and will land in Brussels, Belgium at 8:50 p.m. Central European Time (CET) which is 5 hours ahead of D.C., according to Google.
President Biden has tweeted…
President Biden has tweeted 1 time and retweeted 1 time so far for Tuesday.
It’s a 35 second overview of President Biden’s trip overseas.
FYI: in case something happens to the above tweet posting blank it can be found here @WhiteHouse.
The daily press briefing will be a press gaggle held from Air Force One. It’s audio only; National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will also address the press. YouTube tells me it will start at 1:00 p.m. D.C., time.
This is an open thread
