Remarks by President Biden in Briefing on Severe Winter Weather

Oval Office

10:31 A.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Okay, this is going to be brief, folks. 
 
The storm — extreme cold weather — you can see it on the map the estimated areas where they’re at the — you know, as low as 50 degrees; where it’s that dark red, it’s below zero.  You know, it’s dangerous and threatening.  This is really a very serious weather alert here.  And it goes from Oklahoma all the way to Wyoming, and Wyoming to Maine.  And it’s of real consequence.
 
So I encourage everyone — everyone, please heed the local warnings.  We’ve contacted — we’ve tried to contact 26 governors so far in affected regions. 
 
And — and go to Weather.gov — Weather.gov for more information.
 
And I know this is — you know, it’s like — this is not like a snow day, you know, when you were a kid; this is serious stuff. 
 
And my team is prepared to help communities weather this — no pun intended — this storm, this — this freeze, and — because we need to cope.  They need to be able to cope if it’s necessary. 
 
I’m going to, shortly, be briefed by — by both FEMA and the National Weather Service, and we’re going to start that briefing.
 
And — but in the meantime, please take this storm extremely seriously.  And I don’t know whether your bosses will let you, but if you all have travel plans, leave now.  Not — not a joke.  I’m tell- — sending my staff — my staff, if they have plans to leave on — tomorrow — late tonight or tomorrow, I’m telling them to leave now.  They can talk to me on the phone.  It’s not life and death.  But it will be if they don’t — if they don’t get out, they may not get out.
 
So, any rate, thank you all for coming in, and I’m going to do the briefing now.  Thank you.
 
(Cross-talk.)
 
Thank you.  If I don’t see you, Merry Christmas.
 
10:34 A.M. EST