Biden Bits: If That’s Your Dream…

Biden Tweets Logo. Image by Lenny Ghoul.

President Biden’s public schedule for Friday 02/10/2023:

9:00 AMThe President receives the Presidential Daily Briefing
The White House Closed Press
9:30 AMIn-Town Pool Call Time
The White House In-Town Pool
11:15 AMThe President and The Vice President welcome the nation’s Governors to the White House during the National Governors Association Winter Meeting
East Room In-House Pool Spray
1:30 PMPress Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
3:30 PMThe President and The First Lady welcome President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Ms. Janja Lula da Silva of Brazil to the White House to further strengthen the close relationship between the United States and Brazil
South Lawn Open Press
3:50 PMThe President holds a bilateral meeting with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil
Oval Office In-House Pool Spray

The Governors welcome is scheduled for 11:15 a.m. D.C., time. It’s unlikely I will post early; but maybe…


The press briefing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. D.C., time.


President Biden has tweeted…

He’s got 4 tweets so far for Friday. The first one will be shared down thread.

Friday’s 2nd Tweet:


Friday’s 3rd Tweet:


Friday’s 4th Tweet:

The event started at 11:35 a.m. D.C., time.


When the post was posted for Thursday, President Biden had tweeted 3 times. He added 11 tweets giving him a Thursday Tweeting Total of 14 tweets and 0 retweets.

I posted the following fact-sheet; Congressional Republicans’ Many Proposals to Cut Social Security and Medicare, and Increase Prescription Drug Prices and Health Care Premiums in full in yesterday’s Biden Bits.

Opening snip: During his Tampa visit, the President will contrast his commitment to protecting and strengthening Medicare and Social Security and lowering prescription drug prices, with Congressional Republicans’ plans to cut these programs


The YouTube is 28 minutes and 20 seconds long. President Biden begins his remarks at the 3 minute and 55 second mark. His full remarks can be found here.


The video snip is 13 seconds long.

President Biden: Look, I know that a lot of Republicans, their dream is to cut Social Security and Medicare.  Well, let me say this: If that’s your dream, I’m your nightmare(Laughter and applause.)

President Biden: If Republicans in Congress have their way, the power we just gave Medicare to negotiate lower — lower prescription drug prices goes away.  The $2,000 cap next year on prescription drugs goes away.  The $35-a-month insulin limitation goes away. And, by the way, I was able to get enacted an $800-a-year in savings for Americans to get their health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. But guess what?  They want that to go away, too.  They’ve been trying to get rid of the Affordable Care Act for years, and millions of people are on it.

President Biden: And, look, when I called the Republicans out on this on the State of the Union, they sounded — and they started yelling, “Liar” — not all — but started yelling, “Liar! Liar!” And I said, “That means you all are for keeping Social Security?”  And they all stood up and said, “Yeah.”  I said, “Well, we got a deal.”  (Laughter and applause.) Sounded like they agreed to take these cuts off the table.  I sure hope so.  I really mean it.  I hope so.  Because they stood up; the vast majority of them said, “Yes, we will not cut Social Security or Medicare.”  Now, granted, I’ll believe it when I see it.  (Laughter.) But we’re going to both lay down our budgets very soon. 

President Biden: Too many Americans lay in bed at night, staring at the ceiling, wondering, “What happens if I get sick, if I get — if I get cancer or my wife gets breast cancer or we — or the kids get really sick?  What happens?  What happens?  Are we going to have to sell the house?  What are we going to do?  How are we going to pay our bills?” I know my dad did that when he lost insurance at the company he worked for. Look, I get it.  I signed the Inflation Reduction Act and took on the most powerful interests we’ve been fighting for years — pharma — to bring down healthcare costs so you can have a better night’s sleep. 

President Biden: It’s clear our overall economic plan is working, but there’s much more work to do.  Now, let’s build on the progress we made.  Let’s protect lower prescription drug costs for seniors.  Expand health coverage for more who need it and can’t get it.  Defend and strengthen the Social Security and Medicare system.  Keep building the economy from the bottom up and the middle out.  We know we can do this. 

President Biden: Look, the Affordable Care Act also includes this offer: If a state expands Medicaid — not Medicare — Medicaid for the poor, for low- — so low-income folks can get healthcare, the federal government picks up 90 percent of the cost.  That’s the deal.  Ninety percent. Well, guess what?  The state only pays 10 percent.  It’s a great deal. Thirty-nine states said, “Yeah, send it to us.”  Only — only in Flor- — 11 states, including Florida, said, “No, no.  We don’t want Medicaid.”  No, I’m serious. [Audience Boo’d] Over 1.1 million people in Florida would be eligible for Medicaid if Governor DeSantis just said, “I agree to expand it.”

“American Rescue Plan” appears two times in his remarks…

President Biden: But in addition, we passed the American Rescue Plan, the Inflation Reduction Act.

President Biden: Twelve-point American Rescue plan.  One of the points: “All federal legislation sunsets every five years.  If the law is worth keeping, the Congress can pass it all over again.”

Friday’s 1st Tweet:

President Biden: It costs drug companies roughly $10 a vial to make, $13 total to package it.  Yet, Big Pharma has been unfairly charging people hundreds of dollars more and making record profits.  But not anymore.  (Applause.) We’ve capped the cost of insulin at $35 for seniors on Medicare.  (Applause.)  But there are millions of Americans not on Medicare — millions — millions — including 200,000 young people with Type I diabetes who need this insulin to save their lives.  Let’s finish the job — (applause) — and cap insulin at $35 a month for everyone who needs it.


The Other Tweets:

The Statement Department said on Thursday:

The February 6th earthquakes that struck southeastern Türkiye and northern Syria have devastated millions.  Within hours of the first quake, the United States, at the direction of President Biden, quickly mobilized federal agencies and partners to urgently provide life-saving assistance in close coordination with our Turkish Allies and partner organizations in Syria.

Since Monday, supplementing the excellent work of our Embassy and Consulate teams, hundreds of additional U.S. personnel have arrived in the region to help save lives and assist those in need.  Today we announced $85 million in urgent humanitarian assistance to support these efforts.  USAID’s Disaster Assistance and Response Team is already hard at work in southern Türkiye.  Two of our most highly trained Urban Search and Rescue Teams are conducting operations in support of Turkish rescue efforts in Adiyaman, one of the hardest hit areas.  These teams have specialized equipment and canines for search and rescue operations.  Joining them are emergency managers, hazardous materials technicians, engineers, logisticians, paramedics, and planners.

Our existing humanitarian partners in both Türkiye and Syria are providing critical emergency relief, including food, water, shelter, medical care, and support staff for search and rescue efforts.  U.S. helicopters are conducting airlift operations, transporting rescue personnel to sites where they are needed most.

We are grateful to the Government of Türkiye for re-opening the border so aid can flow into northwest Syria, and we welcome news today of the first UN aid convoy arriving via the Bab al-Hawa crossing.  We call on the Assad regime to immediately allow aid in through all border crossings; allow the distribution of aid to all affected areas; and to let humanitarians access all people in Syria who are in need, without exception.

In both Türkiye and Syria, the United States will remain committed to doing whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, to provide necessary assistance to those impacted by these earthquakes. The United States will continue to support the people of Türkiye and Syria, and we welcome and encourage support from our international partners in this time of great need.

State.gov. 02/09/2023.

USAID released the following statement also on Thursday:

The United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), will provide $85 million in urgent humanitarian assistance as the Agency continues to lead the U.S. government response to the worst earthquake to hit the region in nearly a century. USAID’s Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) mobilized hours after the earthquakes, and our top priority is ramping up search and rescue operations for those trapped in the rubble. 

This new funding is supporting USAID’s humanitarian partners to deliver urgently-needed aid for millions of people in Türkiye and in Syria. USAID is providing emergency food and shelter for refugees and newly displaced people, winter supplies to help families brave the cold, critical health care services to provide trauma support, safe drinking water to prevent disease, and hygiene and sanitation assistance to keep people safe and healthy.

Today’s new assistance is part of USAID’s broader contribution to help people affected by the devastating Türkiye/Syria earthquakes. It builds on the DART’s ongoing efforts on the ground which is determining priority needs, coordinating U.S. government response efforts, and delivering assistance to millions of people.

Hours after the earthquakes, the United States government rapidly mobilized to assist the Government of Türkiye and humanitarian partners in Syria after the February 6 earthquakes, at the direction of President Biden. The same day, USAID Administrator Samantha Power announced the deployment of the DART. The DART is currently operating out of Adiyaman, Adana, and Ankara and comprises nearly 200 people, including disaster experts from USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, as well as 159 search and rescue members and 12 canines. This includes locally-based USAID disaster experts who continue to assess needs in coordination with local authorities to inform response efforts.

USAID commends the outpouring of support from around the world, and we welcome contributions of other donors to continue scaling up assistance to reach the people who need it most.

The United States remains committed to supporting the Government of Türkiye’s response and providing life-saving assistance to the Syrian people in responding to this devastating disaster.

USAID.gov. 02/09/2023.

On Monday, President Biden issued the following statement:

Jill and I were deeply saddened by the news of the devastating earthquakes that have thus far claimed thousands of lives in Turkiye and Syria. My Administration has been working closely with our NATO Ally Turkiye, and I authorized an immediate U.S. response.  At my direction, senior American officials reached out immediately to their Turkish counterparts to coordinate any and all needed assistance. Our teams are deploying quickly to begin to support Turkish search and rescue efforts and address the needs of those injured and displaced by the earthquake. U.S.-supported humanitarian partners are also responding to the destruction in Syria. Today, our hearts and our deepest condolences are with all those who have lost precious loved ones, those who are injured, and those who saw their homes and businesses destroyed.

White House.gov. 02/06/2023.

BBC News via YouTube offered a heartbreaking look at the rescue and recovery efforts that still continue following two massive earthquakes the struck Monday. There are over 22,000 people confirmed dead.


From the State of the Union 02/07/2023:

President Biden: Second, let’s do more on mental health, especially for our children.  When millions of young people are struggling with bullying, violence, trauma, we owe them greater access to mental health care at their schools. We must finally hold social media companies accountable for experimenting they’re doing — running [on] children for profit.  (Applause.) And it’s time to pass bipartisan legislation to stop Big Tech from collecting personal data on kids and teenagers online, ban targeted advertising to children, and impose stricter limits on the personal data that companies collect on all of us.


This is an Open Thread.

Happy Superbowl Weekend, Everyone!

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About Tiff 2521 Articles
Member of the Free Press who is politically homeless and a political junkie.