White House Fires Back At Criticism Over VP Harris Skipping Netanyahu’s Congressional Address

3 months ago

During a White House press briefing on Wednesday, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked about Vice President Kamala Harris not attending Netanyahu’s Congressional address.

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Transcript

00:00Just switching gears a little bit to Netanyahu's remarks on Capitol Hill, we've heard Republicans

00:06voicing serious criticism against the Vice President for not being there, her team insisting

00:11that it was a scheduling conflict, but how do you respond to that?

00:14What does it say about her priorities, the administration's priorities, that she was

00:18not there?

00:19So let me just first say that the Vice President has been unwavering in her commitment to security

00:25of Israel.

00:26As you know, she's been a partner with this President for the past four years, not just

00:30domestic issues, but obviously also foreign policy issues.

00:34She's going to meet with the Prime Minister, Bibi Netanyahu, when he's here, and so, again,

00:41has been a critical partner in ensuring that Israel can defend itself and to secure a hostage

00:47deal.

00:48As you know, the President, we've been talking about that for some time, making sure that

00:51we have this hostage deal.

00:52She's been a partner in that.

00:55And that's what I can certainly say, that she continues to be supportive to Israel,

01:03making sure that Israel's security is ironclad, as we have been, as the President has been,

01:10and she's going to meet with the Prime Minister.

01:11Given the historic nature of Kamala Harris being the top of the ticket, does the President

01:18have any regrets about the way that he handed this enormous responsibility off in such an

01:26unusual, shortened, kind of truncated fashion, not having her have a normal ascendancy to

01:32that top position?

01:33I mean, the President has no regrets.

01:35Has no regrets.

01:37Let's not forget, the Vice President obviously has been Vice President for more than four

01:42years.

01:43I don't see anyone who is more qualified to step in in this moment, right?

01:50She was a senator.

01:52She was an attorney general.

01:54She's been a partner to this President, a critical partner, as I've said.

01:57I've listed out what we've been able to accomplish in the last three and a half, almost four

02:01years, an unprecedented record.

02:04She was a partner in that to the President.

02:07And so, look, this is, again, a decision that this President made.

02:13And I think he is proud to have made that decision.

02:16I know so.

02:18You saw it in what he has been able to say since Sunday.

02:23He's going to be on camera later today, obviously, to address the American people from the Oval

02:28Office because of this moment and how big this moment is.

02:31He wants to do that.

02:32He wants to make sure that Americans hear directly from him again after putting out

02:37the letter on Sunday.

White House Fires Back At Criticism Over VP Harris Skipping Netanyahu’s Congressional Address

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