This Is An Open Thread
Can you imagine?
Not too bad a version.
It was a slow day yesterday and appears it will follow that same pattern for today as everyone is probably prepping for tonight so we will jump to it and wrap up yesterday and today and turn everyone loose.
Monday, February 6, 2023
@POTUS Bits:
(There will be a separate thread posted tonight for Biden’s SOTU address.)
White House Briefing Room Bits:
Remarks by President Biden After Marine One Arrival
FEBRUARY 06, 2023
SPEECHES AND REMARKS
South Lawn
4:08 P.M. EST
Q Do you take any blame for mishandling classified documents, Mr. President?
THE PRESIDENT: No —
Q Mr. President —
THE PRESIDENT: To — to answer: Wait until you get the whole report.
Q Mr. President, does the balloon weaken U.S.-Chinese relations?
THE PRESIDENT: No. We’ve made it clear to China what we’re going to do. They understand our position. We’re not going to back off. We did the right thing. And there’s not a question of weakening or strengthening; it’s just the reality.
Q Mr. President, the balloon in Latin America — the balloon has been spotted over Colombia and Costa Rica. Is the United States worried? Have you talked to your partners in the region?
THE PRESIDENT: The Defense Department has. I have not talked to our partners (inaudible).
Q Is Kamala Harris is doing a great job at the border, Mr. President? Is Kamala Harris doing a great job with root causes —
THE PRESIDENT: She’s doing a good job.
Q — of migration?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, she is.
Q You’ve known about the balloon program for some time —
THE PRESIDENT: Say that again.
Q You’ve known about the balloon program for some time. Has it always been your view to shoot down a Chinese spy balloon? Or was it only because it became public?
THE PRESIDENT: Oh, no. It was always my position. Once it came over the Uni- — into the United States from Canada, I told the Defense Department I wanted to shoot it down as soon as it was appropriate.
Q Does this change —
THE PRESIDENT: They concluded — they concluded we should not shoot it down over land, it was not a serious threat, and we should wait until it got across the water.
Q Does this change your speech tomorrow night, sir? And your foreign policy message?
THE PRESIDENT: No.
Q Mr. President, why the Chinese would commit such a brazen act of floating across the entire continental United States?
THE PRESIDENT: (Laughs.) They’re the Chinese government.
Q Can you give us a sense of what you’d like to accomplish tomorrow night with the State of the Union address?
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah, I want to talk to the American people and let them know the state of affairs — what’s going on, why I — what I’m looking forward to working on from this point on, what we’ve done, and just have a conversation with the American people.
Q Why are you against sending F-16s to Ukraine?
THE PRESIDENT: Because we should keep them here. That’s a totally different situation.
Q Are you confident the U.S. can avoid a recession after the jobs numbers that we saw on Friday? What is the risk of a recession, do you think?
THE PRESIDENT: Still what it was: very low. I believed it all along.
As you noticed, every economist was telling me, every six months, “We’re going to have a recession.” So far, so good. But we have to be very careful.
Q Do you think the United States should ban TikTok?
THE PRESIDENT: I’m sorry?
Q Do you think the United States should ban TikTok?
THE PRESIDENT: Should ban TikTok?
Q TikTok, yeah.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, that — the answer, I’m not sure. I know I don’t have it on my phone.
Q If you can’t trust China on the balloon, can we trust it on other things, such as its official COVID count in China? Can you trust it on other things now?
THE PRESIDENT: The question of the balloon and attempting to spy on the United States is something that’s anticipated from China. The question is whether or not — when we asked China what they’re doing, they didn’t deny they had the balloon over — they just denied what it was.
And it’s not a question of trusting China, it’s a question of deciding where we should work together and where we have opposition.
Thank you.
4:12 P.M. EST
Statement by Press Secretary Kirsten Allen on Vice President Harris’s Travel to Germany
FEBRUARY 06, 2023
STATEMENTS AND RELEASES
Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and National Economic Council Director, February 6, 2023
FEBRUARY 06, 2023
PRESS BRIEFINGS
Readout of Principals Committee Meeting on National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism
FEBRUARY 06, 2023
STATEMENTS AND RELEASES
Tuesday, February 7, 2023
Official Presidential Public Schedule
| 9:00 AMOfficial Schedule | The President receives the Presidential Daily Briefing Closed Press |
| 10:00 AMPool Call Time | In-Town Pool Call Time In-Town Pool |
| 8:25 PMOfficial Schedule | The President departs the White House en route the United States Capitol South GroundsIn-Town Travel Pool |
| 9:00 PMOfficial Schedule | The President addresses the peoples’ representatives in Congress at the State of the Union; The Vice President, The First Lady, and The Second Gentleman attend Pre-Credentialed Media |
| 10:40 PMOfficial Schedule | The President arrives at the White House South GroundsIn-Town Travel Pool |
@POTUS Bits:
White House Briefing Room Bits:
FACT SHEET: In State of the Union, President Biden to Outline Vision to Advance Progress on Unity Agenda in Year Ahead
FEBRUARY 07, 2023
STATEMENTS AND RELEASES
President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Amends Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Disaster Declaration
FEBRUARY 07, 2023
PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS
The White House Announces Guest List for the First Lady’s Box for the 2023 State of the Union Address
FEBRUARY 07, 2023
STATEMENTS AND RELEASES
Quad Joint Statement on Cooperation to Promote Responsible Cyber Habits
FEBRUARY 07, 2023
STATEMENTS AND RELEASES
White House youtube bits:
President Biden’s State of the Union Address; Scheduled for Feb 7, 2023 9:00 pm EDT
On February 7, President Biden will speak directly to the American people about the historic progress we’ve made, the work that lies ahead, and his optimism for the future. Watch the State of the Union live on @WhiteHouse and @POTUS social media or visit whitehouse.gov/sotu.
Estado de la Unión en vivo este 7 de febrero – subtítulos en español
As I mentioned earlier, there will be a separate thread posted this evening for Biden’s SOTU address.
That is all for today. Stay groovy, peeps. See you in the comments.
This Is An Open Thread