Joe Biden talks election, economy and West Asia crisis in surprise news briefing
The Hindu
President Joe Biden surprises White House press corps with first briefing room appearance, addressing jobs report and Middle East conflict.
After 1,080 days as U.S. President, Joe Biden on Friday (October 4, 2024) decided to pop in and take questions in the White House briefing room for the first time, striding in with a grin after a strong monthly jobs report and the temporary settlement of a strike by ports workers.
The President has been less available than his recent predecessors to questions from White House press corps, making his surprise appearance welcome to the gathered reporters. Mr. Biden responded to questions about comments on the 2024 presidential election, the latest jobs numbers and the escalating conflict in the West Asia.
The 81-year old stepped aside from the Democratic nomination this summer, backing Vice President Kamala Harris instead. He acknowledged doubts about whether the November election would be peaceful, given comments by former President Donald Trump that the results could be rigged.
"I am confident it will be free and fair. I do not know whether it will be peaceful," Mr. Biden said. "The things that Trump has said, and the the things that he said last time when he did not like the outcome of the election, were very dangerous."
Mr. Biden has tried to rebut a political movement that has at times openly trafficked in conspiracy theories, with the latest revolving around the government reporting on Friday that employers added 254,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1 per cent.
"Another fake jobs report out from Biden-Harris government today," Senator Marco Rubio, R-Fla., posted on social media. "But all the fake numbers in the world aren't going to fool people dealing with the Biden-Harris economic disaster every day."
The jobs reports are legitimate and have capped a solid run for the U.S. economy. Growth has stayed solid even as the inflation rate has dropped from a four-decade high in 2022 to an annual rate of 2.5%.
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