He ‘Has Done A Significant Amount For This Country’: Austin Responds To Biden Ending His 2024 Bid

3 months ago

During a press briefing on Thursday, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin answered reporters questions on President Biden pulling his bid for the 2024 election.

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Transcript

00:00Okay, let's go to NBC.

00:01Thanks.

00:02Mr. Secretary, when and how did you find out that President Biden was deciding not to run?

00:08I guess, could you just, when, how, and by who or whom, I'm not sure actually what that

00:11is, who, by whom, did you find out that he was stepping down?

00:15Have you spoken with him since or the Vice President since?

00:18And can you give us any sense of like, I know you're not going to want to give us transcripts

00:22or quotes from any meetings that you've had that the Vice President has participated in,

00:26but in some of these bigger decisions that have happened as you've been Secretary, like

00:29the withdrawal from Afghanistan, strikes against the Houthis, can you give us any sense

00:33of the role that the Vice President has played in those meetings, like your impressions?

00:39And General Brown, you mentioned at the top that there are still active challenges today,

00:43including violent extremists.

00:46So I wonder, with this talk about the potential for the mission in Iraq to change, and the

00:52U.S. military presence there to really decrease by a significant amount in the coming year

00:56or so, what is the U.S. military assessment for ISIS in Iraq and Syria, and how they could

01:03reconstitute over what timeline?

01:05Thanks.

01:06SECRETARY TILLERSON.

01:07Thanks, Courtney.

01:08I found out when the President made the announcement.

01:13This is a very – this is a significant issue, a very personal issue for the President, and

01:19he made his decisions on his own timeline.

01:21And in terms of whether or not I've spoken with him or seen him, we were in the same

01:29NSC meeting yesterday, and then I spoke with him again separately by phone.

01:38So again, I think the President has done a significant amount for this country and the

01:47international community.

01:49And I am absolutely convinced that he is committed to doing everything he can for as long as

01:56he can to build upon many of the successes that you heard me talk about earlier today.

02:04So I think in terms of – your second question was about Vice President Harris and her contribution

02:15to decision-making processes.

02:20I won't get involved in any kind of political commentary or political processes, but what

02:26I will tell you is what I know.

02:28Having sat in meetings with her for three and a half years, having observed her provide

02:35input to some very complex decision-making processes, she is always prepared.

02:41She is always – she always provides meaningful and very helpful input.

02:51And again, I've seen her help the team, help the President work through some very,

02:58very complex issues.

03:00As – the President is the major player in the process, but she is a key player.

03:09So – and again, has always been engaged and involved, is always prepared to – for

03:16whatever discussion that we're going to have.

03:19She's represented this country in the international arena, on the international stage a number

03:23of times, and done so in a very, very professional and effective manner.

03:31She's met with key leaders around the globe.

03:37She even met with President Xi.

03:39And so she understands national security, international affairs, and again, she's

03:49been a vital asset to the overall team throughout this.

03:53Again, that's what I know from sitting in a room with her over three and a half years.

03:58Sorry.

03:59I didn't mean to limit you.

04:00If you did want to give quotes or transcripts from meetings, you could do that.

04:03I was just trying to –

04:04Sure.

04:05See me later.

04:06I'll –

04:07That's on the record.

04:08Yeah.

04:09Mr. Chairman.

04:10Thanks, Courtney.

04:11Any questions regarding ISIS?

04:12You're probably aware that we had our Iraqi partners here this week to talk about the

04:16transition from Operation Inherent Resolve to the bilateral security relationship.

04:20I had a chance to sit down with my counterpart and talk a bit about that transition, but

04:25also talk about the security environment and the – in relation to ISIS.

04:30I'm not going to – I can't predict for you what might happen, but we are both focused

04:35on making sure there's not a resurgence of ISIS.

04:38And so as we make that transition, it's something – a topic that we did talk about

04:42in how we posture ourselves for U.S. military, how we work the bilateral relationship, and

04:47where the Iraqi security forces are, where – very broadly.

04:51Now, we'll continue to work through the details of how that transitioned in a number

04:55of forces, but we both understand the importance of us working together to ensure that there's

05:01not a resurgence of ISIS.

05:03Okay, let's go to Reuters.

He ‘Has Done A Significant Amount For This Country’: Austin Responds To Biden Ending His 2024 Bid

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