President Joseph Biden is giving his first official press conference since taking office, and it will serve not only to show Americans and the world his intentions for his next steps in a troubled and difficult time, but also to silence critics who have accused him of avoiding to talk to journalists, reports bg-voice.com.
The President commented on most topical issues in the United States – the crisis, vaccination, migration issues and some domestic issues. Biden also shed some light on his position on US relations with China and North Korea.
The coronavirus crisis and mass vaccination
At the very beginning of his long-awaited event, the head of state announced his new goal on one of the most important points in his management program – mass vaccination. Biden, who set the goal of vaccinating 100 million Americans in his first 100 days in office when he took office, has now announced the next, even more ambitious level: 200 million doses for the first 100 days.
“I know this is ambitious. Double the original goal. But there is no other country in the world that comes close, even to what we are doing. I believe we can achieve it, “the president said.
Regarding aid to deal with the crisis, Biden stressed that his administration has made 100 million payments of $ 1,400, which are already in American bank accounts.
Biden also cited a report released this week by the Ministry of Education, which shows that almost half of schools up to 8th grade are open – a step towards its goal of achieving full school opening in the first 100 days.
“We are really close and I believe that in the remaining 35 days we will achieve this goal,” the president said.
Infrastructure
Biden said he expects to announce his next big initiative in Pittsburgh on Friday. It will aim to restore “both the physical and technological infrastructure in this country so that we can compete and create a significant number of really well-paid jobs.”
Overcoming the Senate’s political blockade (“filibuster”)
The president commented on the problems with blocking decisions on party encapsulation. He gave no clear indication of how he intended to overcome the “Filibuster,” a powerful tool Republicans use to block certain Senate policies. He expressed hope that his “Republican colleagues” would determine whether they could work together on a number of issues or decide to divide the country.
Biden insisted that national unity was at the heart of solving the problems:
“I can’t unite Congress if I can’t unite the nation.”
According to the president, the filibuster is being abused and that needs to change.
The problems on the border with Mexico
Biden said the current influx of migrants at the southern border of the United States is not unprecedented.
“The truth is that nothing has changed. … Because many people came, 28% increase in children at the border in my administration, 31% in the last year, in 2019, before the pandemic, in the Trump administration. This happens every year, “he said.
Biden said he wanted to restore the immigration system, adding that the United States was sending back the “vast majority” of families arriving at the border.
The president was pressured by journalists to comment on conditions at the Donna, Texas border security facility.
“There are children sleeping on the floor. They are packed in these pods. I’ve talked to lawyers who say some of these kids haven’t seen the sun in days. What is your reaction – what is your reaction to these photos that came out of the particular facility? Was the question to the president.
Biden said he thought the conditions were “completely unacceptable” and added that his administration was trying to find other places for the children.
“Is this a serious question?” Is it acceptable to me? No way. That is why we will move thousands of these children quickly. That’s why I opened Fort Bliss. That is why I have been working since this started to try to find additional access for children so that not only children can be accommodated safely, but especially children can be accommodated safely while we monitor the rest, which happens. That’s completely unacceptable, “Biden said.
He vowed to help journalists gain access to crowded detention facilities for migrants on the Mexican border.
Republican efforts to impose voting restrictions are “non-American” and “sick”
Asked to comment on attempts by many state-level Republicans to impose voting restrictions, Biden called them “non-American” and “sick” and compared the effort to Jim Crowe’s laws imposing racial segregation in the south.
“What I’m worried about is how un-American this whole initiative is,” Biden said of enforcing rules that would make voting more cumbersome for many voters, and especially for minority voters.
“It simply came to our notice then. It hurts, “he added.
Warning to North Korea
The US president waved a finger at Pyongyang, warning it that if it continued to test ballistic missiles, it would not go unnoticed.
He revealed that consultations are underway with US partners and allies and that the North Korean leadership must expect a reaction if tensions continue to escalate, as it did yesterday with the launch of two ballistic missiles.
Biden reaffirmed his support for President Barack Obama’s view that North Korea poses the biggest foreign policy threat and problem.
He declared that his administration was ready for “some form of diplomacy”, but provided that the end result would lead to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
China will be held “responsible for compliance”
“I met with our allies and discussed how we would hold China responsible for its actions in the region – Australia, India, Japan and the United States, the so-called Quartet. Because we need to have democracies working together. “I will soon invite the Alliance of Democracies to come here to discuss the future, so that it is made clear that to deal with these things, we will hold China accountable if it does not follow the rules,” Biden said.
Biden also spoke about human rights issues in China. He was adamant that Americans valued the idea of freedom.
“And as long as you and your country continue to violate human rights so drastically, we will continue to draw the world’s attention in a relentless way and to point this out, to explain what is happening,” he said today, addressing the Chinese leadership in absentia.
Biden said he was aware that Chinese policy was aimed at stripping the US leadership of the world and making China the dominant power, but warned that he would not allow it.
“It simply will not happen. Not in my time, “the president said.
At the press conference, President Biden also shared his intentions to run in the 2024 presidential race.
President Joe Biden said Chinese President Xi Jinping “has no democratic bone in his body.”
“He’s one of those people, like Putin, who thinks authoritarianism is the wave of the future,” Biden said.
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