Biden to hold first press conference in months on Wednesday: LIVE UPDATES
President Joe Biden will address reporters at the White House at 4 p.m. ET. Biden has faced criticism for appearing to avoid taking questions from reporters. The AP found that he has held fewer press conferences than his five predecessors. Watch Fox News for live coverage.
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"I didn't overpromise, but I have probably outperformed what anybody thought would happen," Biden said during his press conference Wednesday. "The fact of the matter is that we're in a situation where we have made enormous progress. You mentioned the number of deaths from COVID – well, it was three times that not long ago. It's coming down. Everything's changing. It's getting better.
"But one of the things that I think is something that one thing I hadn't been able to so far is get my Republican friends to get the game of making things better in this country," he said.
On the subject of Russia, Biden signaled that a “minor incursion” of Ukraine would only prompt further discussion.
“It's one thing if it's a minor incursion and then we end up having a fight about what to do and not do, et cetera,” the president said. “But if they actually do what they are capable of doing with the forces amassed on the border, it is going to be a disaster for Russia if they invade Ukraine.
“Our allies and partners are ready to impose severe cost and significant harm on Russia and the Russian economy,” he added. “And we're going to fortify our NATO allies.
"Covid-19 has created a lot of economic complications, including rapid price increases across the world economy," Biden said during his press conference Wednesday. "People see it at the gas pumps, the grocery stores and elsewhere."
"A critical job in making sure that the elevated prices don't become entrenched rests with the Federal Reserve, which has a dual mandate: full employment and stable prices," he added.
The president said he supports Fed Chairman Powell pulling back on efforts to stimulate the economy.
U.S. President Joe Biden waves to journalists as he returns to the White House on January 17, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
"We're working on it."
That's what White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said last month when asked about President Biden's campaign promise to "shut down" COVID-19.
On the anniversary of the Biden's inauguration, that effort is still a work in progress amid a massive spike in cases with the omicron wave.
President Biden faced criticism from over soaring gas prices, inflation and his policies as his approval rating sank to 35% in a recent poll.
"I give him a minus 10," Stuart, of Tucson, said when asked to grade Biden on a scale of 1-10. "If you like inflation, you like illegal criminals coming across the border, if you like where he killed the gasoline."
Arland, of San Francisco, gave Biden a seven and said, "I think he’s got his heart in the right place, but his policies don’t have that much effect."
The Senate will vote to advance the Democrats' voting rights bill at 6:30pm this evening, soon after the president is expected to give his first press conference in months.
If the 60-vote threshold is not reached, which it is not expected to, Democrats are expected to attempt to change the filibuster rules to allow the bill to pass with a simple majority, which is also expected to fail.
President Biden speaks with members of the press, Jan. 16, 2022, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
President Biden's decision to burst out of the gate in 2022 with something he spent most of 2021 running from — a press conference — suggests the White House is attempting to learn from the mistakes made in its first year with a shiny new approach to running the country.
Wednesday afternoon's East Room press conference is emblematic of a White House attempting to reconstruct itself into a less-cloistered outfit that embraces the public.
And so, at the podium Wednesday, the press and the nation will behold Biden 2.0.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-2-0-attempts-an-upgrade-polling
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy accused the Biden administration of "downplaying" a "terrorist attack within our borders" following a deadly hostage standoff at a Texas synagogue over the weekend.
"Over the past 48 hours, President Biden’s Justice Department has gone from denying the clear and religious, anti-Semitic implications of this attack to now backtracking to what we all already knew to be true," the California Republican said in a Tuesday statement, explaining the actions of the Biden administration’s response to the synagogue standoff.
Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Honduras to lead the American Presidential Delegation for the inauguration of President-elect Xiomara Castro."
Harris' visit will further the commitment she and Castro made during their Dec. 10 phone call to deepen the partnership between the U.S. and Honduras and work together to advance economic growth, combat corruption, and address the root causes of migration," Harris' office said in a statement Tuesday.
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