Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and Chair of the Council of Economics Advisers Jared Bernstein
2:01 P.M. EDT
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: (Laughs.) That’s very sweet.
Hi, everybody. Good afternoon. It’s good to see everyone.
Okay. I have a couple things at the top. So, we have, as you can see, CA- — CEA Chair Jared Bernstein, which I’m really excited about, with us today to talk about some great news for our economy.
Today, we learned inflation fell 3 percent and wages have risen faster than prices for 17 months now. We’ve also seen a record 19 million new business applications under the Biden-Harris administration, with a record number of businesses opened by Black, Latino, and women entrepreneurs. And we’ve more than doubled SBA loans to underserved businesses.
We will continue our fight to lower costs, from negotiating lower prescription drug prices to building more homes by cutting red tape.
There’s more to do, and the president and the vice president will keep fighting for the future and the middle class.
I’ll turn it over to Jared to discuss that data in more detail.
And I’ll do that right now.
CHAIR BERNSTEIN: Well, thank you so much.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All right. Okay.
CHAIR BERNSTEIN: A pleasure to be here with you and with you as well, Karine, of course.
Today’s CPI report is a story of twos. First, we have monthly inflation for July that came in right at expectations at 0.2 percent for both headline and core. And, by the way, if you want to get nerdy with me, which I’m sure you do, those were soft — we call those soft 0.2s, meaning 0.15 and 0.17 respectively. So, they round up to two, but that’s — sometimes we call that a soft 0.2.
Second, we have, for the first time in over three years, a two-handle, as we call it, on yearly inflation, which is up 2.9 percent over the past year. We haven’t seen a rate that low since March of 2021, and that’s slightly below what was expected.
And third, I think there are two important messages from today’s CPI report. First, we’re moving in the right direction on inflation and doing so with some momentum.
I say that because when we look at some of the more near-term indicators of inflation’s growth rate, we see a six-month annualized rate of 2.5 percent and a three-month annualized rate of 0.4 percent, so those more near-term rates give a bet- — us a better sense of where inflation is headed.
The second message from today’s report is that while the trend is our friend, our work is far from done. Our cost-cutting agenda on behalf of American households is as urgent and important as ever.
We will continue to aggressively push to lower the cost of prescription drugs and health coverage; housing; childcare; energy — I’d note that the price of gas at the pump is down 2.2 percent over the past year, that’s in this morning’s report; junk fees; groceries; and any other areas where we can help family budgets.
Finally, we take great care at CEA to look at what these inflation reports mean for workers’ paychecks. In July, nominal wages went up 3.8 percent for lower- and middle-wage workers. And as I’ve said, inflation rose 2.9 percent.
That’s the 17th month in a row — 17th month in a row that wages beat prices for this group, which is 80 percent of — of employment.
This is important for both the buying power of working families as well as the overall economy. Consumer spending is just — just under 70 percent of GDP, and it continues to help generate steady growth, as shown in this slide — which I don’t have because we weren’t able to do slides.
But I will put this — I will put this on the CEA blog later — or on my Twitter account, EconJared46. (Laughter.)
With that — with that, I’ll take your questions. (Laughter.)
Q Go ahead, Selina. (Laughter.)
CHAIR BERNSTEIN: It’s like a —
Q It’s not “GetNerdyWithMe.gov”? (Laughter.)
CHAIR BERNSTEIN: No slides — it’s like kryptonite for me. But, you know.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: “It’s not ‘GetNerdyWithMe.’” That’s funny.
Q Mr. Bernstein, (inaudible) —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead. No. No, wait.
Q — (inaudible) —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No, no, no, sir. Sir. Sir.
Darlene, go ahead.
Q Tha- — thank you. Does the White House, at this point, think that the inflation problem is solved, or —
CHAIR BERNSTEIN: The momentum is certainly in the right direction. Inflation is reliably coming down. We have a record of disinflation, meaning slower inflation, that is now, you know, 60 percent or a little bit more than that off of its peak.
And so, this is a consistent trend that’s moving in the right direction. No victory laps. As I tried to assert in my comments, our work is not done, because even as we get inflation back down to pre-pandemic levels, we still have to be mindful that too many families are facing too many high costs.
And in the area of health care, childcare, housing, junk fees, drug — prescription drugs, health care coverage — in every one of those areas, the president and vice president are taking aggressive action not just to keep inflation on this lower path but also to ensure that we’re cutting costs wherever we can.
At the same time, we’re very mindful of the fact that as inflation has come down as far as it has — over six percentage points on the CPI — that the job market remains solid and that real wages are growing not just this — this month but on a year-over-year basis for 17 months in a row for middle- and lower-wage workers.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahea- —
Q Thank you.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh —
Q Oh, g- — (inaudible)
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Weijia, sorry. (Laughs.)
Q Thank you. It was raised, just not —
Thank you very much for being here. So, is that how you would explain why when I talk to voters in the field, when my colleagues talk to people, they still don’t think the economy is in a better shape than it was when President Biden first took office?
CHAIR BERNSTEIN: Well, I don’t know about that in terms of the broader economic, you know, assessment of — of where the — you know, the economy is, because, you know, I think people do know that the job market has been strong. Sixteen million jobs. That’s record job growth. The unemployment rate has been historically low. GDP growth has been strong.
But I think your question is — it’s a valid one, which is: Okay, people, I think, are aware of many of those — many of the elements of that progress, but they’re still discomforted by the high prices.
Now, you know, I hate to give you a reading assignment, but I gave a speech about a week ago where I really dove into this deeply. It’s — again, it’s on the CEA website. And one of the things I talked about is the important difference between inflation and price levels.
Inflation is coming down, as I just said to the first questioner. We think it’s on a reliable track to get back to where it needs to be, but there are too many prices that are still too high, and I think that’s one of the reasons for the disconnect that you described, for some of the negative vibes that you described.
And the — you know, I have three words for people who feel the way you just said, which is: We hear you. The president hears you. The vice president hears you. We will never stand here and say, “Oh, no, you’re wrong. Look at the GDP statistics.” You know, that’s not the way it works. That’s not President Biden’s orientation.
We believe that people are the best arbiters of how they experience this economy, and that’s why we’re working so aggressively on agenda — on an agenda to help them cut costs in all the areas I ticked through before, to make investments in key areas, particularly in places that have long been left behind and hollowed out by irresponsible trade policy, and you see this president working very hard to reverse that.
So, we hear you. We’re working hard to address those issues. And we’re having some success, particularly in some of the areas that we’ve legislated — if you look at prescription drugs; if you look at health coverage, obviously, the junk fee agenda; even on groceries, where the president has leaned hard into nudging companies who have achieved some savings on their input costs to pass those savings forward to consumers in the form of lower costs.
And, you know, if we were here talking a year and a half ago, we would have had grocery inflation that was double digits. This morning, it was about 1 percent year over year. And there are a number of items within there where we actually have deflation, falling prices of some groceries.
So, more work to do there. But I think that’s the essence of the disconnect.
Q Thank you.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Selina.
Q Thank you so much. How worried are you right now about the slowdown in the jobs market?
CHAIR BERNSTEIN: So, I am the chair of the CEA. Any question that starts “How worried are you right now,” the answer is probably yes — you know, worried — because I’m charged to watch every banana peel that could be slipped on.
The job market remains solid, and I think that’s the important observation. Yes, we saw a cooler-than-expected report in July. We were very upfront about that. But the other thing we did — and, again, CEA has been absolutely firm on this. We never over-torque on one month report, because we know that one month’s data is noisy. It’s what we call “high frequency” data. It comes in a lot, so it has a wide sort of margin of error around.
So, what we do is we average over a few months. And over the past three months, payroll employment is up 170,000
per month. Okay? So, that’s really the underlying trend. And that’s a solid number. That’s a good number. That’s a number that’s strong enough to support consumer spending, ongoing growth, and a steady — and a steady transition to — to continued growth in the overall economy.
At the same time — and I said this a minute ago — this job market is generating wage gains that are beating prices — not just in July but for the past 17 months — for the 80 percent of the workforce that’s blue collar and manufacturing or non-managers and services. That’s a really important number. It helps keep the economy moving forward.
So, yes, we’re aware of the cooling. Certainly, some of that was expected. But one month does not a new trend make. And I think, you know, what — one thing you will see very — I can assure you that you will see very, you know, extensive analysis of the next jobs report to see where that fits in this picture.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Jeff.
Q This is kind of following up — up on that, Jared. Last week, there was some — a little bit of market turmoil, but markets have come back up again since then. But connected to that, there was discussion of a recession and other economic, sort of, doomsday scenarios coming. What’s your take on that?
CHAIR BERNSTEIN: Specifically on the recession question?
Q Yes, sir.
CHAIR BERNSTEIN: Well, I think the most helpful thing we can do at CEA and here the White House economics team is to look at where we are and the conditions that define the current economy.
So, we most recently saw a GDP growth rate that was 2.8 percent. Of course, that’s very strongly non-recessionary. If you believe the trend GDP growth is something in the 2 percent neighborhood, that’s actually the forecast of what GDP growth will be in the current quarter, in Q3. If you look at the shops that try to back that out, they’re right around 2 percent. Some are higher; some are a little lower. That’s about trend GDP growth.
We have ongoing wage growth supporting ongoing consumer spending. Now, we’ll look at retail sales tomorrow to see where that is. But all of these numbers are clearly non recessionary.
So, the idea that we’re in a recession now, I think, is very, I think, thoroughly dis- — disproved by any set of indicators you want to look at.
But, of course, you know, that asks us to look forward, look around a corner. And, you know, that’s particularly hard to do right now. And from this — at this podium, you know, I’m not going to make probability suggestions about — about that. There are lots of market shops you can turn to for that.
What I will say is that, so far, in this economy, the fact that the strong job market, which has maintained job gains — 170,000 jobs on average over the past three months — and real wage gains in an — in an economy that’s 70 percent consumer spending has been doing a great job of keeping the economy moving forward.
As long as we’re seeing easing inflation, steady wage growth — it’s beating prices — by the way, lower gas prices seem, to me, important in that regard. They’re down something like 30, 35 cents relative to a year ago. That also helps on the consumer side.
I think all of those help in terms of forward motion. And so, I — I would say that, you know, current conditions, non-recessionary, looking around a corner, you know, we’ll — we’ll watch very closely where we’re going, but these indicators have been consistently positive.
Q Just briefly, to follow up, I don’t think people were saying we’re in recessionary conditions right now. I think they were talking about that around-the-corner piece, saying that it’s coming.
CHAIR BERNSTEIN: Yeah. Well, you know, I think that the — the point I was just trying to make is that if you look at the factors that have gotten us to where we are right now, those factors continue to propel the economy forward.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, M.J.
Q Thank you. Thanks, Jared. So, just to confirm, when the president says, as he just did, “We’re going to have a soft landing. My policies are working,” do you share in that confidence on a soft landing, particularly given what you just said about the jobs market?
CHAIR BERNSTEIN: Well, I think what I just said is very much consistent with the president’s comment. That is, the president was essentially underscoring the baseline forecast. And the baseline forecast is very much what I just described.
You can hear, you know, the Fed talk about — Chair Powell talk about similar kinds of numbers. If you look at some of the market shops we follow, similar kinds of dynamics, similar probabilities.
The president was saying that, you know — in my language, what the president was saying is that the baseline forecast is that we will most likely continue on a steady, stable path based on easing inflation, rising real wages, a job market that remains solid.
Q And just to follow up, one other thing he also just said was, “My policies are working. There’s going to be a soft landing. Start writing that way.” Do you know if he feels that the economic coverage has generally been off or wrong?
Well, what do you think he meant by “Start writing that way”?
Q I’m asking you (inaudible).
CHAIR BERNSTEIN: I mean, I — I — that’s the first I’ve heard that he said that. I can only interpret it, you know, to mean that he thinks that that’s not being done.
Q Do — do you think that?
CHAIR BERNSTEIN: Do I think what specifically?
Q That coverage about the economy has —
CHAIR BERNSTEIN: Yeah, so —
Q — generally been off or wrong?
CHAIR BERNSTEIN: You know, I don’t know one way or the other. I read a lot of your work, and I see stuff I like and stuff that doesn’t resonate with me as much.
There’s been some nice research on this over at the Brookings Institute. My former colleague Ben Harris and others have looked at the extent to which reporting has been increasingly negative on the economy. And they find — and they’re crunching some real numbers — that that’s been the case.
There was another study that I found — pretty well looked to me that it was pretty rigorous — that suggested that the media tends to write about the gas price when it goes north of $3.50 and not when it goes south of $3.50.
So, the gas price, as I looked this morning, was, I think, $3.45. And if you haven’t written about it, you know, maybe you want to. (Laughter.)
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay. He’s actually been called by the president, so I’m going to do this real quick. Go ahead.
Q Thank you. What are your thoughts on the stubbornness —
CHAIR BERNSTEIN: He’s probably saying, “Stop talking about me.” (Laughter).
Q What are your thoughts on the stubbornness of shelter inflation in the wake of today’s report —
CHAIR BERNSTEIN: Yeah —
Q — specifically (inaudible).
CHAIR BERNSTEIN: — important question. So, shelter inflation was, I believe, 0.2 percent in June and 0.4 percent in July.
Again, on the CPI tweet thread this morning, we go into this in greater detail. And we show that, again, there the trend is moving in the right direction, but it’s been, you know, more stubborn than many of us would like.
Look, here at the White House — I’m sure you know if you’ve been following the work that we’ve done in this space — that we are very much concerned and activated around the 10-year-in-the-making shortage of affordable housing.
We have a deep set of plans. The president and the vice president are all in on building millions of units of affordable housing to chip away at this — at this decade-long shortfall that is so crucial if people are going to achieve, you know, the — the American Dream.
And that’s something, again, that the president and vice president are deeply committed to. But we can’t — and Congress needs to work with us on that. Okay? That is not a blue, red, or purple issue. The housing shortage exists in every state. So, that’s something there should be bipartisan cooperation on.
If you think about a policy like LIHTC, Low Income Housing Tax Credit, this is a policy that’s admired by bankers, by builders, and by low-income housing advocates for multifamily housing that should — that’s a rare triumvirate. That should be a — kind of a no-brainer in this cli- — in this context.
But we’re not waiting for Congress to get on board. We’re doing all we can, including an announcement earlier this week on ways we think we can help increase the supply of affordable housing, which I probably don’t have time to go into right now —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: You don’t. (Laughs.)
CHAIR BERNSTEIN: But there was a factsheet yesterday that was, I thought, very good.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay. We got to go really quick. Go ahead, Asma.
Q Yeah. Thanks for doing this. Hey. I — I wanted to know, given that the year-over-year inflation rate fell down below 3 percent, according to the data we got, for the first time since the spring of 2021. We’re talking about three years. With the benefit of hindsight, do you feel like there’s anything the administration could have done differently over the course of the last three years?
CHAIR BERNSTEIN: You know, I think the most important thing we did, when I see a trend like the one I would show you if I had a slide behind me is — is get to work in 2021 on the clear factor that was so causally linked to the uptick in inflation, and that was the snarling of global supply chains.
In 2021, this president started something called the Supply Chains Disruption Task Force. Now, you may wonder why are we talking about this nerdy little group that got to work lo these many years ago. Well, because that group, we’re sending our port envoy out to Long Beach and LA to deal with the snarl-ups there, working hand in hand — we never could have done this ourselves — hand in hand with the private sector to unsnarl supply chains.
And as our work has shown, if you look at the contribution of supply snarl-up and non-snarl-up, and especially if you interacted with the strong demand that was in place over that period, that explains over 80 percent of the run-up in inflation and 80 percent of the disinflation we’ve experienced.
So, you know, you could always look back and say things, you know, maybe you could have done differently. But one thing I’m very proud of — and I give the president a lot of credit for — was recognizing early on that by working to un- — working with the private sector to unsnarl supply chains, we were going to make a big difference in pulling forward the disinflation that we’re seeing even as of this morning.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All right. Ed, we got to wrap it up. (Inaudible.)
Q Thanks. Thanks, Jared. Thanks, Karine. So, you said, “We hear you.” But, you know, we’ve been hearing that message s- — in some form over the past three years. And the fact is that prices are not coming down; they’re going up. Debt is also rising. That’s going up. So, why should Americans believe the president and vice president?
CHAIR BERNSTEIN: Well, there’s some prices that are definitely coming down. So, there are pri- — airfares. Airfares —
Q (Inaudible) President Biden —
CHAIR BERNSTEIN: Hold on. Airfares —
Q — came into office —
CHAIR BERNSTEIN: Hold on. Hold on. Yes, airfares are lower now than when President Biden took office. So, airfares are lower now than they were pre-pandemic. And airfares have been falling for about 15 months in a row, year over year.
But — and, of course, prescription —
Q Food —
CHAIR BERNSTEIN: — prescription drugs — if you look at prescription drugs, that’s an area where we’ve taken firm action to lower prices.
I would also say the following: We have more work to do. Prices are still too high. You have a point. Prices are still too high, and that’s why you will hear the president and the vice president continue every — al- — I — I feel like we make announcements every week on this, including this week with housing supply and forthcoming announcements I’m not allowed to talk about that are coming on — Friday?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: To- — tomorrow.
CHAIR BERNSTEIN: Tomorrow. Tomorrow.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yes. (Laughter.)
CHAIR BERNSTEIN: But I wish I could say something about them.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: You can’t. (Laughs.)
CHAIR BERNSTEIN: That are very much in this spirit.
So, you know, I think the question is — to me, the question is, are you — I mean, your question is — is — you think — you’re thinking about it sort of the way I’m thinking about it, which is: Okay, we hear you. Are we taking action? Yes. I think the answer there is a strong yes.
We are taking action to cut costs. Housing, which you saw this week. Other things which I can’t talk about, which you’ll see tomorrow. Of course, prescription drugs. Of course, health care, junk fees, airlines, airfares.
Now, groceries is something the president has used the bully pulpit to nudge grocers, saying — or food producers: If your input costs are coming down, which they are, then instead of padding your profit margins, how about passing some of those savings forward to consumers?
We’ve seen a lot of grocers who have gone into the newspapers and said, “Yeah, we’re doing that.” Now you can say, you know, that’s because the president said so or for other reasons, but that’s, you know, a good coincidence.
Q But still, the energy prices, too. I mean, it went from — when the date President Biden came into office to today, the stuff that people need is up. The multi- —
CHAIR BERNSTEIN: So, the — you know, the price of gas is down. Over the past year, is the price of gas, you know, higher than when the president took office? Sure. That’s going to be the case over many presidents, because, you know, that’s a — that’s a price — it’s a global price. It tends to go up over time.
I think the question — again, the question you always have to ask yourself in this is twofold. One, are we taking action to help lower costs? I think, on energy, the president has a great record. He oversaw the great- — the — the largest release of barrels of oil from the Strategic Reserve — not just ours, but he coordinated — something you can do if you have a responsible foreign policy — he coordinated with other countries to release their own barrels of oil from their strategic reserves. So, he did something on this.
That’s point one. Are you taking action? Unequivocal yes.
Part two, don’t just look at the price side of the equation. You asked — somebody was asking me about newspaper articles that are negative. So, one of the things that I will say gets under my skin is when reporters say this price is up 10 percent, this price is up 20 percent, and they end the piece there. You also have to look at the income side of the equation. How much have wages gone up? How much has income gone up?
You know, I think it’s the Joint Committee — the Joint — Joint Economics Committee — De- — Democrats on the Joint Economics Committee did a study of this, and they found that for the average household, you know, their — their income is up, you know, $3,000 pre-pandemic, because you have to factor in both job gains and wage gains. And when you do that, you get a much more complete picture.
So, please look at both sides of the ledger — not just the price side of the ledger but the wage side of the ledger.
Wages have been beating prices for 17 months in a row. That has to mean something.
Q But the president has been in office 42 months. And I know this a — the president —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: He’s literally — the president is calling him.
Q — has been in office 42 months —
CHAIR BERNSTEIN: Speaking of the president.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: (Laughs.)
Q — and — and wages are down 1.3 percent from the month President Biden got into office.
CHAIR BERNSTEIN: So, I — I have to — I — I think that if you look at the wages of production on supervisory workers, I’ll have to check that out on a — at least pre-pandemic, yes. So, pre-pandemic, I know that those wages are up.
Now, when the president took office — hold on a second, sorry. (Laughter.)
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Not me. (Laughs.)
CHAIR BERNSTEIN: When the president took office, there was a real spike in wages — around the time the president took office, a real spike in wages. This had nothing to do with the president, okay? And you never heard him take credit for it. The reason why it happened is because, in the pandemic, a large group of low-wage workers dropped out of the labor force, and that mechanically pushes up that number.
So, what you have to do — and we have tables and graphs, and they’re in my speech that I gave at EPI a couple of weeks ago, so I’ll make sure you have them — you have to control for that. And when you do that, you see that — that compensation is up. You see that disposable personal income — real, controlling for inflation — is up.
So, do me a favor, whenever you’re writing about prices, look at the other side of the ledger and write about wages and incomes as well and the pace at which, in many cases — you know that’s — this does depend on your starting point. In many cases, they’re going to be beating prices, and that’s — that’s a good development.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: All right. I would love for you to stay here much longer, but the president is actually asking for you. (Laughter.)
Thank you so much, Jared.
Q Thank you.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: We appreciate you. Thank you. Come back.
Okay, I have a couple things at the top, and then we’ll — we’ll get going.
So, today, President Biden dropped by the first-ever White House Creator Economy Conference — a convening of 100 digital creators and industry professionals to discuss the most pressing challenges and opportu- — opportunities facing the creator economy.
Participating creators work, produce, and publish content across the digital media landscape. The Biden-Harris administration has taken historic steps to engage digital creators and works hard to meet Americans where they are.
Officials at the highest level of this White House have engaged creators extensively, hosting regular virtual and in-person briefings with digital creators on policy issues, hosting State of the Union watch events for creators at the White House, and, last year, hosting the first-ever White House holiday party for digital creators. This engagement will continue.
On Friday, President Biden will be joined by civil rights leaders, community members, and elected officials in the Oval Office to sign a proclamation to designate the Springfield 1909 [1908] Race Riot National Monument.
This week, we mark the 116th anniversary of the Springfield 1908 Race Riot, a horr- — a horrific attack by a white mob on a Black community that civil rights leaders highlighted to spark national action on civil rights. We will share additional information soon regarding this particular designation.
Now, when the president and the vice president took office, they inherited the biggest increase in the murder rate on record. They went to work immediately, passing the biggest investment in public safety, including historic law enforcement funding through the American Rescue Plan, which every Republican in Congress voted against.
President Biden and Vice President Harris also passed the most significant gun reform law in almost 30 years. And now, we’re seeing the results of that action. Violent crime has plunged to its lowest ever in almost 50 years.
And today, Axios reported, “Ne- — new preliminary data from major U.S. cities shows that homicides were down during the first full six months of President Biden’s last year in office — more than 70 percent in some places — compared to the same time of President Trump’s — Trump’s last year.”
The historic declines in crime mean that America is safer, and we remain focused on building on this progress.
Finally, more than two weeks after the elections in Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro has yet to come clean about the July 28 presidential election results.
Yesterday, the U.N. panel of experts that was in Venezuela recently published their interim results. And I encourage you all to — to take a look at the report online when you have a moment, but I wanted to take this time to read one of their conclusions:
“The results management process of the CNE fell short of the basic transparency and integrity measures that are essential to holding credible elections. It did not follow national legal and regulatory provisions, and all stipulated — and all stipulated deadlines were missed. In the experience of the panel, the announcement of an election outcome without the publication of its details or the release of tabulated results to candidates has no precedent in contemporary democratic — democratic elections.”
It is abundantly clear to the majority of the Venezuelan people, the United States, and a growing number of countries that the CNE has not provided full, detailed tallied votes because they would show that Emun- — Edmundo González Urrutia won the most votes. Maduro must recognize it and engage in a constructive, inclusive dialogue in good faith with the opposition to restore democratic norms peacefully in accordance with Venezuelan electoral law and the wishes of the people.
With that, Darlene.
Q Thank you. Two questions. A top Hamas official told AP in an interview today that the group is losing faith with the ability of the United States to broker a ceasefire in Gaza.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So —
Q How do you restore that faith?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, we expect — just to give an update on what we expect to see tomorrow — obviously, this week. We expect these talks to move forward as planned. Director Burns and Brett McGurk will both travel to Qatar for these discussions.
There is always a lot of public posturing in advance. We’ve seen that before. It’s not — it’s not new of these talks. And I’m not going to certainly weigh in on any of that, just like I’m not going to discuss the details of the negotiation from this podium. That’s not — we do not negotiate in public, so I’m not going to do that.
Our view continues to be that it is critical that we reach a deal. It is important that we do so. The resumption of talks on Thursday is an important step. It is an important step to continue that.
We need to release the hostages. We — as you all know, some of those hostages are American hostages. We need to make sure that lasting relief delivered to Palestinian civilians in G- — in Gaza and lower the tension in the region. And we’ve said this many times before: This hostage deal, this ceasefire deal, this end of war will help lower tensions in the region.
And so, that’s — that’s what the deal is going to do, and that’s what we want to see. The United States is going to be there tomorrow, and we are ready. We are ready to continue these — these discussions.
And as you — as I’ve said before, and as have my colleagues from NSC have said many times before, we are working 24/7 around the clock to get this done — to get this deal done.
Q And on the Springfield monument that you just mentioned the president will designate on Friday. Did the death of — by police of Sonya Massey have any role in that? Was that —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah —
Q Was that a factor?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: And so, look, we appreciate that question, obviously. And so, we’ve been eyeing this for some time now. This week’s anniversary has been on our rado- — radar for a very long time. And so, members of the community have been working — working toward this monument designation for years.
And this is something that the Biden-Harris administration is — thinks it’s critically important. We released statements on Sonya Massey’s tragic murder. You also heard from me speak about that just in this room — about her murder just a few weeks ago when it occurred.
And, look, as the president has said, we have made great strides to — to march toward full equality, but America has — has never lived up to it — it in its entirety.
And so, we’re committed — this administration is committed to both telling the full story of — of America and ensuring that justice system certainly works for all. And — and we will continue to work on the future, on both of those goals. And you could be sure that this is something that the Biden-Harris administration is going to be steadfast about.
Q Thank you.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Go ahead, Selina.
Q Thanks, Karine. The New York Times is reporting that Hunter Biden sought help from a U.S. ambassador on behalf of Burisma while he was on the company’s board and while Biden was vice president. So, what’s Biden’s reaction to this? And is he concerned about what this looks like to the American public?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, I’ll just report what I’ve said before is that the president has never — has never done business with his son, and he was not aware of this. And — and for anything further, I would have to refer you to Hunter Biden’s representative — personal representatives. I can’t speak beyond that.
But, again, I’ve said this before: The president was not in business with his son, and this is the first time — as I — the first time he’s — he was not awor- — aware of this. And for anything further, you would have to reach out to Biden —
Q And you’ve —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: — Hunter Biden.
Q You’ve said for the podium that President Biden would not pardon his son. If Vice President Harris is elected, would he tell her also to not pardon his son?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I — I mean, that’s a hypothetical that I — look, the president — I can speak for the president, and he said he would not pardon his son. And I’m just going to leave it there.
Go ahead.
Q Thanks, Karine. Two days ago, John Kirby said that it was the U.S.’s assessment that it was increasingly likely that an attack by Iran and/or its proxies could unfold perhaps in the coming days. Since then, has the assessment changed at all?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I would say the assessment has not changed. What my colleague said — what the admiral said is — still stands.
But, look — and I’ve said this many times before, he has said this, NSC has said this: We have — we are working pretty diligently on the diplomatic efforts here. You heard me talk about my colleagues who will be in — in the region — right? — to — to continue to have those diplomatic conversations.
And this is why tomorrow, we believe, is important. We believe getting to a ceasefire deal, ending this war will lead to bringing down the tensions in the Middle East.
And diplomacy is critical. Diplomacy is important. This is something that the president, as you know, when it comes to foreign policy, believes at his core. And it is not for me to speak to what Iran and its proxies are going to do. I can’t speak to that. And I don’t have anything to say beyond what the admiral shared with all of you a couple days ago.
Q Okay. So, is that why Secretary Blinken postponed his trip because of this assessment?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, you would have to reach out to the secretary’s office to get the reasoning behind it. I just laid out the CIA director is going to be there. Brett McGurk from NSC is going to be there. And so, that travel — obviously, travel continues.
And I talked about Amos Hochstein who was — who was also in the region. I mentioned that yesterday during the gaggle.
So, you see many of our — of my colleagues are in the region. And diplomacy, diplomacy, diplomacy is what we see as the way forward here.
And you — also, we’ve given you readouts of the president talking to heads of state — whether Egypt, Qatar, and Jordan — over the past week or so to continue those conver- — and his — and European counterparts as well, very recently this week, because we — we — he believes in having those diplomatic conversation is important.
And let’s not forget, there was the military as well — working with the military to deter the escalations as well. You’ve — you’ve seen the statements from the Department of Defense and what they’re doing to bolster forces in the region as well to be — to be ready.
Q On another topic, just now, the president in contrasting content creators with the press, he said, “The biggest thing you’ve got going for you, and I hope you keep it, is you’re trusted. You’re trusted. And it makes a difference.” Does the President believe everything influencers and content creators post is accurate and nonpartisan?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I mean, look, I — I don’t have the full context. I haven’t — didn’t see the back-and-forth of what exactly the president was saying there.
I think what he is saying — they are influencers, right? And — and — and I would say, even as you all — right? — you all are important — critic- — critically important, providing information to the American people. And we certainly respect the platforms that creators have and the pra- — the platforms you all have, and it plays an important role in informing the American people.
And that’s what — that’s as far as I can go is the platform that you have and how important it is — the platform that they have specifically, as you’re asking me about creators, and making sure that that information gets to the American people.
I can’t speak to specifically of what the president meant. I have to talk to him and get more info of what he was thinking about and — at that moment. And I haven’t — just I haven’t had a chance to do that.
Q Thank you.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah. Go ahead.
Q Thank you, Karine. Happy belated birthday.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Thank you. I appreciate that. (Laughter.) I don’t know if — there’s always — I appreciate that. Thank you. Thank you, Peter.
Q When did you guys learn that Vice President Harris wants to distance herself from Bidenomics?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Why do you think that?
Q Axios is now reporting that she is hoping to distance herself from President Biden’s unpopularity on the economy. Can you blame her?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Do you know this is the Biden-Harris administration? Are you aware that this is the Biden-Harris administration? And she is indeed the vice president.
Q But if the president’s policies on the economy were working or if they were popular —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I mean, you just —
Q — wouldn’t he still be the candidate?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: You literally just had this — the chair of the CEA here, who laid out a pretty, pretty robust point-by-point about the economy and what has happened under the Biden-Harris administration. And I thought it was pretty convincing.
Look, as far as anything that the vice president wants to do or as she’s talking about her policy, that’s campaign related. You would have to speak to her.
One thing that I can — that I know for sure — that I know for sure is that this president, this vice president are fighting very hard to make sure that the middle class is stronger. They wanted to make sure that we’re working to cut taxes for the middle class, for working people, slashing costs for working families, as you have seen them do over and over again. This is something that we believe in.
You heard — you heard Jared talk about announcements this week about lowering costs, and that is something that they believe in.
And the contrast could not be more stark between — if anything, the contrast is between what Republicans want to do — MAGAnomics — you’re talking about Bidenomics — MAGAnomics supercharge inflation. That’s what they want to do: raise taxes on the middle class by thousands of dollars, send tax cuts through the roof, protect corporate price gouging, cut Social Security, cost millions their health care, and heap tax giveaways on billionaires and big corporations.
That’s the division there. That’s where there’s really night and day — night and day.
Q But would you admit at least that if Bidenomics was more popular, President Biden would still be the candidate?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m not going to get into polling. What I will tell you is Bidenomics has been something that both the president and the vice president has worked on.
You guys come up — you guys have called it Bidenomics. We talk about how the president is trying to put forward an economic policy, building the economy from the bottom up, middle out that does not leave behind the middle class and make sure it has equity at the center of it.
MAGAnomics, which is very different, which is something that neir- — neither of them believe in, wants to do the opposite of what we’re trying to do on behalf of the American people.
Q And —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: That’s the difference.
Q — something that we’ve noticed over the last few days.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh, you’re noticing a lot over the last few days.
Q The vice president’s team is not holding any press briefings. You are left to answer everything for her, even though you are not the vice president’s press secretary.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t think so.
Q Is that getting old?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No. Let me tell you something. I’m the White House Press Secretary, as you all know, obviously, for the president, for this administration, for the Biden-Harris administration. It is an honor and a privilege — you hear me say this all the time — honor and privilege to stand before you to be able to do that job. And I will do it as long — as long as I can, right to the end of this term.
And as — you know, as it relates to the vice president, she certainly has been on the road. She has taken questions from some of you in doing her gaggles. You have seen her.
That is something as — anything specific about interview, you certainly would have to reach out to her campaign. But I am proud to be standing here at this podium, behind this lectern, on — on behalf of the Biden-Harris administration.
Go ahead, Kelly O.
Q The Hunter Biden document seeking State Department help came out after the president was no longer a candidate. Is the president bothered by that at all?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, what I can say is what I’ve said before. He’s not — he was not in business with his son. He’s certainly not aware of — of — aware of this. And this is something that Hunter Biden has to speak to. He’s a private citizen. It is something for him to focus on, and I’m just going to have to leave it — leave it there.
Q Now that he is aware, is he satisfied with how his son conducted himself in seeking help from the State Department?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I — I mean, look, I — I can’t speak to this. This is something that is an ongoing process. I got to let Biden, who’s a private citizen, b- — Hunter Biden, who’s a private citizen, speak to this.
What I can say is the president has never been in business with his son, he was not aware of this, and this is something for Hunter Biden to speak to.
Q Should the documents have come out more quickly, though, given that it’s been years of litigation?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I — I really can’t speak to timeline, the process here. It’s not something that I can speak to from
the podium.
Go ahead.
Q M- — me?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah, go ahead. (Laughter.)
Q Thank you so much.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Or not. Whatever —
Q Happy birthday, too, Karine.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Thank you so much. I appreciate you guys. It’s very kind.
Q Karine, about the World Health Organization — just declare a global health emergency as a new form of mpox is spreading fast in Africa. Is the White House concerned or implementing any measures?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, that is something I have to talk to our team. I have to be honest with you, I’ve not had that conversation.
And so, obviously, we always keep close track of these things. There’s always concerns.
But I don’t have anything specific to share with you all at this time. Happy to talk to our team here. We have a, obviously, you know, pandemic office here. I’m happy to talk to them about that.
Q Thank you. And on Venezuela, couple of questions.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.
Q Brazil is weighing this idea of suggesting another election in Venezuela to solve this crisis. How does the White House see this suggestion?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, as — as you know, look, we respect our partners here. Our partners are sovereign countries, and so we have a huge amount of respect for them. And so, we would have to defer to them, let them speak for themselves on whatever next steps that they’re proposing.
That said, we have been in close touch and — and coordinating. This — this is our shared hemisphere and is a critical moment for democracy in it. And we are monitoring all of this very, very closely.
It is important to note that the vast majority of us — including Brazil, Mexico, Colombia — have asked for transparency and release of the details by tally that — the tally votes, to be more specific. And so, we are — we are ready to support an inclusive Venezuelan-led process to restore democratic norms in coordination with our international partners.
But as it relates to what Brazil and — and Mexico and Colombia are s- — are saying, that is something for them to speak to. We respect our partners in — in this process.
Q And does the White House recognize Edmundo González as the president-elect of Venezuela?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, as you know, this is something that we — we don’t — we’re not going to put terms on this or — or do anything like that. What we know is what the tally shows us, and we’ve been very, very clear about that. I’m not going to get into specifics on — on that.
Q And then, just a quick one on the Middle East.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Sure.
Q Is Netanyahu also to blame for the blockage of the ceasefire deal or not helping (inaudible)?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m — I — I was asked this question, I think, in the gaggle yesterday. I’m not going to get into negotiations from here. I know there’s been some reporting out there. Just not going to get into negotiations.
Tomorrow is going to be an important day. We want to see a ceasefire. We want to see an end to this war. We want to see hostages come home, including American hostages. We want to see in- — increase of humanitarian aid going into Gaza. And we believe the way to de-escalate the tensions that we’re seeing in the Middle East is to get to this deal.
I’m not going to negotiate from here. That is just not something I’m going to do.
Go ahead, Danny.
Q Thanks, Karine. On the ceasefire talks. How — how can you have proper ceasefire talks if one of the parties, Hamas, is probably not going to be there?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look — and I said this when I was answering the questions — the question earlier — there’s always political posturing. We see this all the time and — in advance of talks. That’s not new. I’m just not going to weigh in on that.
And what I will say: the importance of getting this done. We want to see the ceasefire deal. We want to see an end of the w- — end of this war.
We are ready tomorrow. We will be there. The U.S. will be there, and we will be ready to continue these discussions.
But there’s always public posturing. I’m not going to get into it from here.
Q And if I may, on Ukraine. There’s been reports that Russia is redirecting some troops from Eastern Ukraine to reinforce the Kursk area, where Ukraine is currently carrying out an incursion. Have you got any confirmation of that?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Here’s what I will say. And I know this question has come up a lot about what’s happening in that region. I will say this. This war can end today — it could — if Russia would stop the war, the war that they started. Mr. Putin could move on out — right? — and end this war today. He started this war. And so, I’ll — I’ll leave it there for now.
Go ahead, M.J.
Q Just to follow up on Weijia’s question. Does the administration have a theory on why there has not been retaliation yet against Israel by Iran or Iran-backed groups?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I can’t s- — I can’t speak to the reasoning behind Iran and its prox- — I c- — that’s not something that I can — can do from here.
What we can say is continue — we want to continue to de-escalate the tensions. We want to continue to have diplomatic conversations.
You see what we have done militarily to prepare. We are ready to defend Israel, as we had — as we did back in April. And that is our commitment. And you see — not just us. Our partners in the region have — have also been very involved and engaged in these diplomatic conversations.
And so, I cannot get in the heads of — in the head of Iran or its proxies. That is not something for me to do from here. I can only speak to our efforts and what we’re trying to do. And the ceasefire deal, which is part of the conversations — obviously, a conversation we’re having tomorrow in — in Doha is really incredibly important, and we will be there. We will be there to continue those conversations.
Q And just as we get closer to next week, how is the president’s convention speech coming along?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’ve been asked this question a lot as well.
Look, the president certainly looks forward to addressing the Democratic National Committee — Convention. This is something that he certainly is — is going to be focused on in the upcoming days.
Since this is a campaign event, I — I would refer you to them on the specifics of the speech and, obviously, the schedule for next week.
But what I can say more broadly is the president is looking forward to it. He sees it as an important moment to talk directly — not just to the party — the Democratic Party and delegates — but also, obviously, to the American people. And so, you’ll hear from him. Stay tuned.
Go ahead, Jeff.
Q Thanks, Karine. Just to follow up on Ukraine. And you may have addressed this broadly before, but does the United States have any lingering or ongoing concerns about Ukraine using U.S. weapons as it does this incursion into Russia?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, obviously, I’ve seen the reportings. We’ve all seen the reportings. There’s nothing here that I — I can’t confirm any of that.
What I will say is, obviously, the — this is an administration that has been very focused on making sure that Ukrainians continue to have what they need to beat back against Russia’s aggression. That is something that we’ve been focused on for more than two years, and that’s going to be continuing –our — certainly, our commitment — not just us, the more than 50 countries that the president was able to come together to — to make sure that Ukraine is able to fight for their democracy. That includes making sure that NATO is stronger than it’s ever been before. That is a commitment that this administration, this — that United States has had.
I’m not going to speak to — to speak to that. What I can say: Our policy has not changed. And I’m going to leave it to the Ukrainians to speak to their military operations.
But, again, as I said to Danny, it is up to — this could end. This could literally end today if Russia would stop the war that they started.
Q I guess the question is just if — if you have any distinction between U.S. support for Ukraine defending itself or going on the offense?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t have anything more beyond what I just stated. We are, obviously, going to continue to talk to our Ukrainian partners here to speak about their — to speak — continue to have those conversations, as we normally do. But I just don’t have anything beyond that.
Q Just one follow-up on Venezuela. You mentioned the tallies. Just to clarify, is it the United States’ position that the opposition candidate won or is that not the position?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Our — our position is that, obviously, Edmundo has gotten majority of the tallies, and it is clear. It is clear. And so, what we have said over and over again and will continue to say is that Maduro needs to acknowledge that. He needs to acknowledge that.
Q Just wondering: Why not call him the president-elect, then?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: It’s just not something that we’re going to do from here. What I can say is that we’re going to continue to — to certainly consider a range of options to incentify — incentivize and pressure Maduro to recognize the election results, and we’ll continue to do so.
But the — the responsibility is Maduro and the Venezuelans’ electoral authorities to come clean on the election results, and that’s what we’re going to continue to call for.
I certainly laid out at the top the U.N. report, which we think is incredibly important. But besides that, it’s clear — it’s clear that Edmundo has — has obviously for — with the election results, has the most tallied. And so, Maduro needs to recognize that.
Go ahead.
No. No, go ahead. Right in front.
Q Thank you, Karine. There’s been a report that an American citizen was detained in Moscow. And I’m curious if the president has been briefed on this matter and if there’s anything more that you could share.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t have anything at this time about that. I would have to talk to the team and talk to the president. I just don’t have anything beyond — beyond the report.
Go ahead. Go ahead.
Q Thanks, Karine. German authorities have issued arrest warrants for the Ukrainian national suspected of being involved in blowing up the Nord Stream pipeline in the fall of 2022. Curious just if the U.S. was working with the Germans on this, sharing intelligence, aware of the warrants going out, and if there’s any, you know, sense or confidence that this is the — the correct person.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, no, we were — we did not know about it or — or in support of it. It’s not something that we were — we were aware of. I would have to refer you to the German authority to speak to their own investigation.
But we do condemn this apparent act of sabotage at the time — we did condemn it at the time. I don’t have anything beyond what the German authority is sharing, and I would have to refer you back to them.
Go ahead. Go ahead.
Q Other than the statement that went out this morning on Austin Tice, has there been any movement at all? Has there been any discussion negotiations on his release?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, a couple of things. I can’t go be- — I’m not going to go beyond the statement. We’ve always been very mindful on not negotiating at — from the podium or in public. As you know, these are incredibly sensitive matters.
And you’ve seen from this president more — very, very recently on when he was able to bring home hos- — American hostages home, his commitment — his commitment to making sure wrongfully detained American hostages come home — they come back to their loved ones and their families, and that is something that is a commitment from this president.
I’m going to be very, very careful here. I do not want to negotiate in public, because these matters are incredibly sensitive. We understand how important it is for their families — not just for us — to have their family member come home.
Q As a follow-up, is there any — has there been any discussion on added value on the part of Syria to holding Tice because he’s a former U.S. Marine?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Just not going to get into it from here. I’m just not. I’m just going to be super mindful.
Go ahead.
Q Hi, Karine. Thank you. I just wanted to join Peter and Raquel in wishing you a happy belated birthday as well.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh, thank you so much. Appreciate it.
Q Can I ask about Ukraine as well? I just wanted to know whether the U.S. is — whether the U.S. supports Ukraine’s incursion into the Kursk region.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t have anything else to share. I — I don’t. What I will say is that we’re certainly not engaged in any aspect of the planning or preparation of this operation.
But generally speaking, we’re going to continue to support Ukraine as they — as they defend themselves against Russia’s aggression, Russia’s attacks. Don’t have anything else to — to share beyond that.
We’re not going to speak to Ukrainians’ military operation. That’s something that they should do for themselves.
Q And yesterday, POTUS said that the incursion represents a, quote, “real dilemma for Putin.” What does he mean by that?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I think that’s very clear. (Laughs.) I don’t think I need to el- — elaborate from what the president said.
Go ahead. Go ahead, in the back. Go ahead, sir.
Q Thank you. On Venez- —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh, no, no. Go ahead.
Q Oh, behi- —
Q Thanks. The administration has asked the Supreme Court to lift a block on its student loan cancelation plans. How confident are you of a favorable ruling, given that the court previously ruled against a similar plan last year?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, I’ve said this before. When we put policies bef- — out, we believe on the legal merit of those policies. So, we’re always confident on — on that ground.
But I’ll say this as well. Look, when it comes to the student loan, making sure that we give borrowers a little bit of breathing room, this is something that the president has been committed in doing in — since 2022 — 2020, obviously, throughout his administration. He wants to make sure that we give Americans an opportunity to start their families — right? — to buy a home.
And we put forth a robust plan, and Republicans got in the way. They blocked it. They continue to block it. And the president continues to move forward in trying to make sure that we can do something that helps Americans — American families. $168 billion — we were able to give a — again, give a little breathing room to Americans and American families across the country. And that has helped millions — millions of Americans.
So, we’re going to be — we’re committed to that. We’re committed to moving forward.
Q Thanks, Karine.
Q Republicans got in the way, but the court also got in the way, ruling against that plan last year.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.
Q Is he usurping the separation of powers by pressing forward —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No.
Q — after that ruling?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No, absolutely not. Absolutely not. He made a commitment. Republicans continue to get in the way. We’re trying to make sure that Americans are able to have a little bit of a breathing room and are not crushed — are not crushed by some of these costs that they have to deal with.
And this is our commitment. We want to build an economy from the bottom up, middle out, making sure that middle class has an opportunity, has a chance — working families — hardworking families. And that’s a commitment that this president is going to continue to make.
Tomorrow, you’re going to hear from the president and the vice president as they continue their efforts to make sure that we’re lowering costs for Americans. You’ll have — you’ll hear more in a couple of hours about what that’s going to look like, what that announcement is going to be.
But it is — it is our commitment — the president and the vice president commitment to do just that.
All right. Thanks, everybody.
2:27 P.M. EDT
