Remarks by President Biden in Press Gaggle

The Crossing at Tahoe ValleySouth Lake Tahoe, California 12:41 P.M. PDT Q Mr. President, are you concerned about a potential UAW strike, sir? Q Mr. President - THE PRESIDENT: I’ve been talking to the UAW. Obviously, I’m concerned. I think that there should be a circumstance where the jobs that are being displaced and replaced with new jobs, they should go to the - the first choice should go to the UAW members that have had the job and the salary should be commensurate. Q Mr. President - Q Have you seen Donald Trump’s mugshot yet? THE PRESIDENT: (Laughs.) Q Mr. President, are you worried at all about the - THE PRESIDENT: I - I did see it on television. Q What did you think? THE PRESIDENT: Handsome guy. Won- - wonderful guy. Q With Prigozhin, what - what brought down his airplane? Have you gotten any solid information about that? THE PRESIDENT: I’m not at liberty to speak to that precisely. But as you know, because you and I have talked about this - Q Yes, sir. THE PRESIDENT: - I find no surprise in what happened. But we’re trying to nail down precisely. I don’t have anything to say to you about that right now. Q Okay. Q Mr. President, can you say anything about the uptick of COVID cases and the new variant? THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I can. As a matter of fact, I signed off this morning on a proposal we have to present to the Congress a request for additional funding for a new vaccine that is ne- - necessary - that works. And tentatively - not decided finally yet - tentatively, it is recommended that - it will likely be recommended that everybody get it no matter whether they’ve gotten it before or not. Q What was your take of the Republican debate on Wednesday night? THE PRESIDENT: Let me choose my words. I - I don’t - I don’t remember them speaking to any of the issues. I mean, there was a lot of talk, but what are they going to do to deal with economic growth? What are they going to do to deal with the notion that - maintaining the job pace that we have now? What are they going to do deal with education? They talk about education like it was a - I mean, (inaudible) getting rid of the Department of Education, cut 100,000 teachers. I mean, I don’t - I don’t quite get where they’re going. I kept trying to figure out - I didn’t watch the whole debate. I was on a phone call for part of it. But I - I didn’t learn much. Q Did you watch Trump’s speech with Tucker Carlson? THE PRESIDENT: No, I didn’t. I didn’t have - (laughs) - I didn’t have an interest or an inclination. Q Mr. President, on your - on your supplemental request to Congress, there are some Republicans who want to split up the disaster aid and Ukraine aid. Is that a possibility to you at all to make sure some sort of money passes Congress? Because they have a concern with the Ukraine aid. THE PRESIDENT: None. Q Mr. President, are you planning to sit for an interview with the special counsel looking into the documents matter? THE PRESIDENT: I have - there’s no such request and no such interest. MS. DALTON: Thanks, guys. Q Thank you. THE PRESIDENT: Okay. Q How much of the debate did you see, Mr. President? THE PRESIDENT: I probably di- - Q An hour or so? THE PRESIDENT: I mean, I was in and out, getting a call. But probably what I saw consecutively - I probably saw at least an hour and 20 minutes of it. Q Well, that’s about most of it. You got the gist of it. THE PRESIDENT: Well, you know what I mean. You know - no, I got the gist. (Laughter.) MS. DALTON: Thanks, guys. Q How are you liking Tahoe, sir? How are you liking Tahoe? THE PRESIDENT: I tell you: If I had your biceps, I would feel better. (Laughter.) MS. DALTON: Okay. Truly, thank you. THE PRESIDENT: I’ve been to Tahoe before. Not here, but I’ve been out here a number of times when Harry Reid was the Leader and a senator campaigning for a lot of the candidates. It’s magnificent. It’s magnificent. Thank you all so very much. Q Thank you. 12:45 P.M. PDT The post Remarks by President Biden in Press Gaggle appeared first on The White House.