LIVE: White House holds press briefing | NBC News
White House Press Briefing: August 10, 2023
Good afternoon, everybody. Come on, good afternoon, everybody. Thank you. I was going to say "oua" but you’re not "oua" yesterday she was said good afternoon anyway, and hello, and welcome. No, it’s 2:46, not evening. Okay, so we continue to pray for the people of Florida and those along the Southeast coast who are being impacted by Tropical Storm Debbie, including those who have tragically lost their lives.
The President and his team continue to monitor the storm, and yesterday, the President approved an emergency declaration request from the Governor of North Carolina, which will provide additional resources to support the state’s response efforts. This is in addition to emergency declaration requests the President has already approved from the Governors of Florida, South Carolina, and Georgia.
The Biden-Harris Administration remains in close touch with officials from affected states, and FEMA has over 600 staff in the region to assist as needed. FEMA’s National Response Coordination Center here in Washington and their Regional Response Coordination Center in Atlanta remain activated to further support the local response and coordinate federal efforts.
Additionally, personnel from the DoD, HHS, US Army Corps of Engineers, and US Coast Guard have deployed and are prepared to support as well.
I want to remind people out there that this storm isn’t over yet, so we continue to urge everyone in its path to remain cautious, heed the warnings of local officials, and visit Ready.gov for tips on how to stay safe.
Economy and Prisoner Swap
Regarding the economy, as you know, the stock market is up today. The US Stock Market… So, I was wondering if the White House thought the selloff on Monday was just a blip or if it signaled any sort of broader turmoil in the economy. Well, look, we’re very mindful of the stock market, and our economy is indeed resilient. The data shows this. Unemployment is still low at 4.3%, created nearly 16 million jobs, including more than 170,000 jobs per month over the last three months. Inflation is down 2.5%, wages are up, and they’re rising faster than the prices for 14 months in a row. That’s important.
We’re going to continue to do what we’re doing, which is making sure that we continue to build on those successes for middle-class families, working families, and that is incredibly important.
Regarding the prisoner swap, I can say that it’s incredibly difficult to make decisions like this. These are not easy decisions to make. The President values human life, and he has said from the beginning of this Administration that he wants to get innocent Americans wrongfully detained Americans back home to their loved ones. And you’ve seen this, as you know, with the receipts and delivering on that.
Other Topics
Regarding the Federal Reserve, we believe that the Federal Reserve has the right and should have their independence, unlike the last Administration. We’ve been consistent with that. We are continuing to do that. The Federal Reserve will make their own monetary policy decisions when they choose, and that is something for them to decide on.
Regarding the Middle East, the President has been engaged in efforts to deescalate tensions in the Middle East. Has he persuaded Iran not to retaliate against Israel? Look, I’m not going to speak for what Iran will or won’t do. It’s up to them to decide on their plans. What we are going to do is continue to have those conversations with Middle East partners, Middle East leaders, and urge deescalation. That’s what we want to see.
Regarding the rally with Kamala Harris, I don’t have anything to share on if the President watched or not. I shared yesterday that the President spoke to Governor Waltz yesterday and congratulated him. I think we shared that the President spoke to the Vice President before the announcement was made, and so we’ve been very clear.
Regarding the study of reparations, we believe that Congress has the power to study reparations. We’ve talked about this multiple times in here. That is our belief, and we want to make sure that our commitment continues to be the advancement of racial equity.
Regarding the new title 9, we believe that every student deserves the right to feel safe, and every student deserves the right to feel safe in schools. That’s what the rule is all about, strengthening and restoring vital protections that the previous administration took away.
Regarding the concern about biological men competing in women’s sports, I want to be careful here. It’s an ongoing litigation, and I’m not going to say anything beyond that.
Regarding Cory Bush, I think it’s important to be mindful of what we say and how we say it. We cannot have this type of inflammatory, divisive language in our political discourse.
Regarding the President’s advice to the Vice President on her decision, I can say that the President has always been very clear and very recently after the assassination attempt of the last President about low rhetoric, right, low political rhetoric, and the importance of doing that.
Regarding the Secretary of Defense’s decision to revoke the plea deal for the 9/11 defendants, I can say that the President has the full confidence of the Secretary, and it was his decision to make.
Regarding the former President’s suggestion that the current President may still want to be the Democratic Presidential nominee, the President is proud of his decision to drop out of the race.
