During a recent White House press briefing, KJP was stumped by a shrewd question from a Fox News correspondent, Mark Meredith, who questioned President Joe Biden’s pro-union sentiment following the widespread firing of Democratic National Committee staffers. Meredith also called out the ostensibly poor public perception of Vice President Kamala Harris taking a vacation in Hawaii simultaneously.
During the press conference, Meredith said, “The President has talked so much about being the most pro-union president ever. This week, the DNC staff union put out a pretty scathing note, saying that so many DNC staffers have gotten laid off, no severance. They were shocked. I’m just curious, from an optics perspective, the Vice President left town to go to Hawaii on vacation. Does the President think that’s appropriate with so many DNC staffers are literally wondering what they’re going to do for work?”
KJP responded, maintaining that Biden still has a strong reputation among unions, despite a historical shift among blue-collar workers toward the Republican Party under President-elect Trump. “Ahhhh. All right, let’s not twist this in so many knots here. First of all, to your first part of your question, it’s not the President who called himself the most pro-union President,” she said.
Continuing, the press secretary added, “It’s other unions that have called him that, and he is proud to be called the most pro-union President ever. That is something that he — was given to him, and he is proud to own that and it’s not because he’s — it’s — it’s a frivolous statement. It is because he has shown he’s not just spoken, but taken action — uh — and has had the back of union members and union workers throughout his presidency. As it relates to the DNC, I would have to refer you to the DNC.”
The Fox News correspondent asked another question addressing the vice president’s vacation. “Does it look bad for the Vice President to go Hawaii while DNC staffers are just wondering what they’re going to do for work?” he asked. KJP stated that there is nothing wrong with Harris taking time to relax following the election.
She replied to Meredith, “The Vice President — the Vice President has taken time off — uh — to go spend time with her family. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I think she deserves some time to be with her family and to have some down time. She has worked very hard over the last four years and her taking a couple of days to be with her family.? Good for her. Good for her.”
The American Tribune reported on another pressing question KJP received from CNN correspondent MJ Lee, who wondered why the administration’s former hostile rhetoric toward Trump seems to have changed. “It’s been, you know, more than two weeks since the election. This was an election that elected a man that President Biden has repeatedly referred to as an existential threat. So why is it that the American people have not heard President Biden talk about this threat since the election?” Lee asked.
Watch KJP address the union concerns below:
Watch KJP when asked about Harris’ vacation below:
In her lengthy response, KJP said in part, “His thoughts, and what he said is his thinking on that has not changed. It has not and I think he was very clear about what he believes should have been done or how we should move forward. How you know, he was very clear knowing those moments that he spoke about it, right now, right now he wants to leave by example and talk and show the American people what it looks like to have an efficient, effective, transfer of power and he believes that is what the American people deserve.”
Watch KJP respond to that question below:
Note: The featured image is a screenshot from the embedded video.
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