Biden Bits: Hello, Northern Ireland!…

Biden Tweets Logo. Image by Lenny Ghoul.

President Biden’s public schedule for Wednesday 04/12/2023:

5:00 AM Out-of-Town Pool Call Time (10:00 AM Local)
Grand Central Hotel, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom Out-of-Town Pool
6:15 AM The President meets with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom (11:15 AM Local)
Grand Central Hotel, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom Open Press
8:00 AM
Remarks
The President delivers remarks marking the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and underscoring the readiness of the United States to support Northern Ireland’s vast economic potential to the benefit of all communities (1:00 PM Local)
Ulster University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom Open Press
9:20 AM The President departs Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, en route to Dublin, Ireland (2:20 PM Local)
Belfast International Airport, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom Out-of-Town Pool
10:00 AM The President arrives in Dublin, Ireland (3:00 PM Local)
Dublin International Airport, Ireland Open Press
10:50 AM The President departs Dublin, Ireland en route to County Louth, Ireland (3:50 PM Local)
Dublin International Airport, Ireland Open Press
11:15 AM The President arrives in County Louth, Ireland (4:15 PM Local)
Cooley Kickhams GFC, Carlingford, County Louth, Ireland Out-of-Town Pool
11:50 AM The President visits Kilwirra Cemetary (4:50 PM Local)
Kilwirra Cemetary, County Louth, Ireland Out-of-Town Pool
12:20 PM The President tours Carlingford Castle (5:20 PM Local)
Carlingford Castle, County Louth, Ireland Out-of-Town Pool
1:45 PM
Remarks…
The President visits Dundalk, Ireland and participates in a community gathering (6:45 PM Local)
Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland Out-of-Town Pool
4:05 PM The President departs County Louth, Ireland en route to Dublin, Ireland (9:05 PM Local)
Dundalk, County Louth, IrelandOut-of-Town Pool
4:30 PM The President arrives in Dublin, Ireland (9:30 PM Local)
Deerfield Residence, Dublin, Ireland Out-of-Town Pool

The Community Gathering Live Feed:


The Economy Tweets

From Tuesday…

In economic news…

President Biden’s full statement:

Today’s report shows continued progress in our fight against inflation with the 12-month inflation rate at the lowest level since May 2021. This progress follows last week’s news that our job market remains historically strong.  Inflation has now fallen by 45% from its summer peak. Gas prices are down more than $1.40 from the summer, and grocery prices fell in the month of March for the first time since September 2020.  In recent months, we have also seen price declines for items like used cars, smart phones, and other electronics. While inflation is still too high, this progress means more breathing room for hard-working Americans – with wages now higher than they were 9 months ago, after accounting for inflation.

My administration is continuing to fight to lower costs for families. That includes historic action to lower prescription drug costs for seniors, capping insulin at $35, and allowing Medicare to negotiate lower prices. My Investing in America agenda is bringing good jobs to communities throughout the country, and building a stronger and more dynamic economy for the long haul. We should build on that progress with policies to grow our economy, lower costs, create jobs, and reduce the deficit. And we must reject reckless proposals from Congressional Republicans to take our economy hostage in order to cut taxes for the wealthy and large corporations, and bring back failed trickle down policies that would ship jobs overseas and gut programs that are lowering costs for seniors, middle-class families, and hard-working Americans.

White House.gov. 04/12/2023.

The Ireland Tweets

From Wednesday…

The YouTube is 25 minutes and 23 seconds long. His full remarks can be found here.

The White House posted an On-the-Record Press Gaggle by NSC Senior Director for Europe Amanda Sloat Previewing the President’s Trip to Northern Ireland (04/12/2023):

MR. SAVETT:  So, thank you everyone for your — your patience.  We’ll go ahead and get started. 
 
For those who don’t know me, I’m Sean Savett from the National Security Council.  This is Amanda Sloat, our senior director for Europe. 
 
As a brief reminder of the ground rules, we’ll do this on the record with no embargo. 
 
We appreciate everyone joining today. 
 
I will try to alternate questions between the room and then get a couple in from the Zoom as well, since we have a good crowd on Zoom.  And so, I’ll kind of go back and forth.
 
With that, Amanda, they’re over to you. 
 
MS. SLOAT:  Hi, great.  Thanks.  Good morning, everybody.  It’s great to be back in Belfast, and nice to see sunshine this morning as opposed to the cold and rainy weather we had on arrival last night. 
 
As everybody knows, the President has been very excited about this trip for quite some time and is glad to be here to mark the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, which has brought peace and stability in Northern Ireland after decades of violence. 
 
President Biden cares deeply about Northern Ireland and has for many decades dating back to his time in the Senate, and has long been an advocate for how the U.S. could play a constructive role supporting peace and prosperity. 
 
I have to say, as a personal note, I lived in Northern Ireland for three years — moving here in 1998 — or, sorry, moving here in 2001, three years after the Good Friday was signed and a week before 9/11.  So, it’s a particular honor for me to be back in a place I care deeply about and also with a President who cares very deeply about the place as well.
 
As I said, as a U.S. senator, Joe Biden visited Northern Ireland, met with leaders of its political parties as well as with British and Irish leaders.  He advocated for the U.S. to provide economic assistance in support of the peace process and alleviate the high economic cost of the Troubles. 
 
He vocally supported the adoption of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.  In 2000, he nominated Senator George Mitchell to receive the Nobel Prize for his work to bring together Northern Ireland’s leaders.
 
President Biden, as I think you’re all tracking, will be meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak later this morning.  So it’ll be an opportunity for the two of them to discuss the tremendous progress that’s been made here in Northern Ireland, as well as to how the United States can continue working with the UK government as well as the Irish government, the European Union, and Northern Ireland’s leaders to continue to be a partner for peace and to support continued economic development in Northern Ireland.
 
I expect the leaders will also have the opportunity to touch base on the latest developments in Ukraine, including our continued joint efforts to support the people of Ukraine as they defend themselves from Russia’s continued aggression. 
 
For those of you that are counting, this will be the third in-person meeting between President Biden and Prime Minister Sunak.  They met for the first time at the G20 meeting in Bali at the end of last year.  They saw each other last month with the AUKUS announcement in San Diego, at which time the President invited Prime Minister Sunak to visit him in Washington in June.  And of course, they’ll have the opportunity to see each other next month at the G7 meeting in Hiroshima as well.
 
So, following that meeting, the President will head to Ulster University, which is going to be the main event that the President is doing here in Northern Ireland.  Ulster University is the largest university here in Northern Ireland, and the President will have the opportunity to deliver remarks that will focus on underscoring the readiness of the United States to support the gains of the last 25 years and to support Northern Ireland’s vast economic potential to the benefit of all communities. 
 
The audience will include a mix of young entrepreneurs, young leaders, business leaders, civil society, representatives of the UK government, as well as members of Northern Ireland’s government. 
 
I expect the President will talk about how the last 25 years were focused on peace but the next 25 years should be marked by economic growth and prosperity. 
 
At Ulster University, the President will have the opportunity to engage with the leaders of the five main political parties of Northern Ireland, who he also saw when they were in Washington for the St. Patrick’s Day reception and other events last month. 
 
After his speech, the President will be heading down to the Republic of Ireland.  He will be starting in County Louth will have — where he will have the opportunity to dig a little deeper into his family’s Irish roots and the story of how they immigrated to the United States.  His ancestors from Louth are the Finnegans, who are on his mother’s side. 
 
So the President will have the opportunity to take a guided tour of Carlingford Castle.  And from a viewpoint at the castle, the President will be able to see Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland, which is where Owen Finnegan departed the Port of Newry for New York.
 
President Biden will end the day with a walking tour of Dundalk, where he may even encounter some distant cousins. 
 
On Thursday, President Biden will do a number of political engagements in Dublin.  He will start by meeting with President Higgins of Ireland, who he also met with on his visits in 2016 as Vice President and in 2017 when he came in a personal capacity.  There he will participate in a tree planting ceremony and the ringing of the Peace Bell. 
 
Following that ceremony, he’ll meet with the Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, who he of course hosted last month in Washington for St. Patrick’s Day. 
 
In both meetings, the President will have the opportunity to discuss the close bilateral cooperation between our two countries, as well as our cooperation on a shared — a range of shared global challenges. 
 
The President will then address a joint session of the Irish Parliament, where I assume he will talk about, again, the strong bilateral ties between the United States and Europe and our close cooperation to advance peace, security, and prosperity, as well as the deep and enduring historical, cultural, political, and economic ties between our countries. 
 
On Thursday night, the President will attend a banquet dinner hosted by the Taoiseach at Dublin Castle.
 
On Friday, President Biden will travel to County Mayo, which will include stops at the world-renowned Knock Shrine and the North Mayo Heritage Center.  At the latter site, the President is expected to meet with experts who will share further research about the ancestry of the Blewitt side of President Biden’s family.
 
The trip will then culminate with the speech in front of St. Muredach’s Cathedral in Ballina, which is the very cathedral where, in 1828, President Biden’s great-great-great-grandfather Edward Blewitt’s bricks were used to conduct — to construct 12 pillars that support the nave.
 
One thing you will hear and to have long heard the President talk about in Ireland is how much his Irish heritage means to him and how closely linked the United States and Ireland are.  Today, 1 in 10 Americans have Irish ancestry.  Irish Americans are proudly represented in every facet of American life. 
 
And beyond those close personal ties, Ireland, of course, is a key economic partner of the United States, and our two countries are working closely together to make the global economy fairer. 
 
It’s worth noting that the Irish government has been a very strong supporter of Ukraine, providing vital non-lethal assistance, including medical supplies, body armor, and non-lethal assistance, as well as support for Ukraine’s electric grid and agricultural sector.  They’ve supported sanctions within the EU on Russia.  And notably, the people of Ireland have welcomed approximately 80,000 Ukrainians, offering refuge to those who were forced to flee the violence. 
 
And I expect the President to recognize all of this and more in his address to the Houses of Parliament and as well as when he speaks in in County Mayo on the last evening of the trip.
 
So hopefully that gives you a good broad overview of what we have planned today and in the next couple of days.  And happy to take questions.
 
MR. SAVETT:  Great.  And we’ll start with a couple here in the room, then we’ll go to Zoom.  And for those of us here — those of you who joined a couple minutes late on Zoom, you will have a transcript of Amanda’s opening at the top. 

White House.gov. 04/12/2023.

I omitted the Q&A session due to it’s length.

The White House has not posted a readout of their meeting, yet.


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About Tiff 2519 Articles
Member of the Free Press who is politically homeless and a political junkie.

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