Joe Biden holds first solo press conference, talks about China and US-Mexico border issues

United States President Joe Biden held his first solo press conference on Thursday afternoon at the White House. President Biden took longer than his predecessors to formally address the press, however, he did make news on several issues. His last four predecessors Donald Trump, Barack Obama, George W Bush and Bill Clinton have had their first press briefings in the first two months of their Oval Office tenure. Biden, as opposed, has only limited conversational occasional briefings. 

President Biden teased that there is a need to change the Senate rules that would allow bills to pass with fewer votes, as this may be necessary for him to achieve some of the goals. He said, “If there is complete lockdown and chaos, as a consequence of the filibuster, then we’re going to have to go beyond what I’m talking about”. He further added, “I want to get things done. I want to get them done consistent with what we promised the American people. I am going to say something outrageous: I have never been particularly poor at calculating how to get things done in the United States Senate”.

US-Mexico border issue 

On being repeatedly pressed about the situation at the US-Mexico border, Biden promised better media access to the camps, once his administration has a better handle on things. He also ensured improvements to the nation’s immigration system. He said, “I can’t guarantee that we’re going to solve everything, but I can guarantee that we’re going to make it better”.

200 million vaccine shots in the first 100 days 

He opened the news conference by setting an ambitious goal of administering 200 million COVID vaccine shots in his first 100 days in office. He said, “I know it’s ambitious, twice our original goal. But no other country in the world has even come close. Not even close to what we're doing. I believe we can do it”. His original goal was to administer 100 million shots in his first 100 days.

President Xi Jinping “doesn’t have a democratic bone in his body”

He vowed that China’s ambition of becoming the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world is “not going to happen under my watch”. He said that the Chinese President Xi Jinping “doesn’t have a democratic bone in his body” as he talked about “holding China accountable to follow the rules”. “He’s one of the people, like Putin, who thinks autocracy is the wave of the future”, Biden said. He recalled having a two-hour phone conversation with Xi when the Chinese leader called him after he won the election. He said that he made clear to Xi that he foresees “stiff competition with China”.

(Image Credits: AP)