Speaker 1 (00:00):
(silence)
Speaker 2 (00:00):
I'd love that, yeah. [inaudible 00:22:30].
Speaker 3 (00:00):
He's good. [inaudible 00:22:32].
Speaker 5 (00:00):
I texted one of my neighbors [inaudible 00:22:43].
Speaker 6 (23:44):
Oh, thank you. [inaudible 00:24:12].
Karine Jean-Pierre (23:44):
Hi. Good afternoon, everyone.
Josh (23:44):
Good afternoon.
Karine Jean-Pierre (24:44):
Good to see everybody. Today, the President, the Biden-Harris Administration is approving student loan relief for more than 150,000 borrowers, bringing the total number of Americans who have had their student debt approved to be canceled by the Administration to over 5 million people. These 150 borrowers include almost 85,000 borrowers who attended schools that cheated and defrauded their students, 61,000 borrowers with total and permanent disabilities, and 6,100 public servant workers. This announcement builds on the historic actions our administration has taken to reduce the burden of student debt, hold bad actors accountable, and fight on behalf of students across the country. Today's milestone isn't just a number, it's life-changing debt relief for 5 million people and their families who now have more breathing room to buy homes, start small businesses, save for retirement, and much more.
(25:48)
Now, turning to the latest in California wildfires, President Biden and Vice President Harris convened their team over the weekend to receive the latest updates on the firefighting and how federal resources are supporting the state and local efforts. Local, state, and federal firefighters continue their fire suppression and containment efforts across Los Angeles. They're making progress, but to be clear, the situation remains extremely active, especially as winds pick up again. These firefighters and other emergency personnel are heroes. Many have lost their own homes and belongings and are working day and night to protect communities that remain at risk. At the president's direction, hundreds of federal personnel, including aerial and ground support, are in California to assist with firefighting efforts and to help communities. Hundreds of firefighters from neighboring states, including Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, and Texas have also traveled to Los Angeles to help.
(26:56)
Amidst the devastation, we are also seeing bright pockets of hope and community as neighbors help neighbors by donating food, clothes, coffee, hygiene products, diapers, formula, and much more. Volunteers are working around the clock to organize donations old and new, and Americans across the country are coming together to help those in need. The best of America shines through even in the darkest moments. Later this afternoon, the president and the vice president will be briefed by key federal officials. Our administration remains laser-focused on helping those impacted and we will continue to use every tool available to support the firefighting efforts.
(27:41)
And finally, before I turn it over to our national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, I just want to acknowledge April Ryan, who has been covering the White House for 28 years as of today. Thank you for your service and congratulations on this milestone as one of the longest-serving Black White House correspondents. I always appreciate-
April Ryan (28:00):
The longest serving.
Karine Jean-Pierre (28:01):
Okay. Yes, ma'am. Correct. Correction made at the podium, the longest-serving Black White House correspondent. Congratulations. We always appreciate your tough questions, our back-and-forths, and your persistence in this room, and so congratulations. And with that, I have our National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, to speak more about the foreign policy speech today and any of your questions.
Jake Sullivan (28:29):
Thank you very much and good afternoon. April, congratulations on being the longest-serving Black White House correspondent. I also appreciate your tough questions, but I especially appreciate your easy questions, so if you have any of those today, I'd be happy to take them. As Karine just noted, later today, President Biden will deliver an address at the State Department on the United States' position in the world as he hands it off to the incoming administration. The State Department, as many of you know, is where President Biden delivered his first foreign policy address in February of 2021, and it was a very different world then. We were still in the midst of a devastating health and economic crisis with our alliances fraying and fragile and our competitors and adversaries on the march growing stronger.
(29:15)
And the President spoke at that time about the urgency of meeting the challenges of this world in a period of profound transition and change. The post-Cold War era had ended, the United States was in a contest for what comes next economically, technologically, and with respect to our values and vision for the world. A time of change in transition like that has brought geopolitical turbulence, technological disruption, the pressures of an energy transition, and more. We've had a lot thrown at us, but as we pass the baton to our successor, the president will report with confidence that America is winning that contest for the future.
(29:58)
If you look around the world today and you ask the question, "Which country is the most dynamic and innovative, the most attractive to partners and friends, the most capable of marshaling solutions to the big challenges we face, who's leading the world in technology, who's had the strongest economic recovery?" The answer to all of these questions is clear, indisputable, and the same, it's the United States of America. So in his address this afternoon, you'll hear the President lay this out. And basically it boils down to a series of simple questions. Are our alliances stronger? Yes. Are our adversaries weaker and under greater pressure even as they align more closely? Yes. Did we improve our strategic position in the long-term competition with China, and did we do so while stabilizing the relationship so that we're not tipping over into conflict? Yes. Did we begin to reverse a long-term and revitalize our defense industrial base and diversify our supply chains for critical goods? Yes. Did we strengthen the engines of American economic and technological power? Yes. And did we do all of that while keeping America out of war? Yes.
(31:11)
The President fundamentally delivered on his promise to invest in America, including in our manufacturing base to produce the world's most advanced semiconductors and other strategic technologies. In fact, our cutting-edge technologies, AI, biotech, quantum, and others, are the envy of the world. When the president took office, many of you were writing that China's economy was on track to surpass America's economy by the end of the decade or shortly thereafter. Now, on current course and speed, they're unlikely to ever surpass us.
(31:43)
America's alliances meanwhile have actually never been stronger in Europe and in Asia. NATO is bigger, more unified, and our allies are stepping up to pay their fair share. Our Asian alliances are more robust and now more tightly linked than at any point in history. Russia tried to conquer Ukraine to wipe it off the map, but thanks to Ukrainian bravery and our support, Russian forces are bogged down in Ukraine at enormous cost with over 700,000 casualties in the war. And Ukraine stands free, Kyiv stands free, and Ukraine will emerge from this war a strong sovereign independent nation rooted in the West. This has been made possible by the unity of the alliance that President Biden built and rallied and a massive effort led by the United States on a scale not seen since the Second World War to equip a partner with the military capability it needed to defend itself against a brutal invasion by a much bigger neighbor.
(32:41)
Even as we competed fiercely with China, the President actually opened and deepened diplomatic channels with Beijing, including new military-to-military channels that help us manage this competition and prevent it from veering into confrontation or conflict. In the Middle East, we've stood in defense of our friends and we've stood up to our enemies. We built and acted alongside an unprecedented coalition to directly defend Israel in the face of Iranian aggression. Iran is now at the weakest point since 1979. There is a ceasefire in Lebanon and the possibility of a new political future with a new president. Russia and Iran's lackey in Syria, Assad is gone, and we are now at a pivotal point in the negotiations for a hostage deal and ceasefire in Gaza. The president spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday and just got off the phone with the Amir of Qatar. He'll be speaking soon also with President Sisi of Egypt. We are close to a deal and it can get done this week. I'm not making a promise or a prediction, but it is there for the taking and we are going to work to make it happen.
(33:49)
Now, there are serious and ongoing challenges in the world. The Houthis continue to represent a clear and present danger. ISIS is trying to use the fall of Assad to regenerate after years of sustained pressure and the degradation of its networks, North Korea remains the same menace it has been for many years across many administrations, China's cyber attacks are a continuing threat and more, but we have the capacity and the wherewithal and the friends and allies to meet these challenges. Finally, there are also important initiatives that the next team should carry forward in our view, that have a strong bipartisan foundation in order to cement America's position of strength in the world and our current lead in key areas.
(34:33)
The work we've started to revitalize our defense industrial base, the steps we've taken to protect America's foundational technologies from being used against us by our competitors, the major global infrastructure initiative that provides a long-term alternative to China's belt and road. Suffice it to say it's been an action-packed four years, but if you take stock of where America stands today, I believe deeply that the incoming administration is starting with a very strong hand. So as we pass the baton, we are doing so thanks to the leadership of President Biden and his team from a position of profound American confidence and capacity. And when you look around the world, there is no other country that has what we have to bring to both the competition we face and the challenges we need to marshal the world to help solve. And with that, I'd be happy to take your questions. Yeah.
Josh (35:26):
Thanks for doing this, Jake. With regard to the hostages in Gaza, what is it that you've been able to make progress on that makes you feel more confident, and what is it that you still need to figure out how to address to get that deal finalized this week?
Jake Sullivan (35:40):
Well, to answer that question, let me just take a step back. President Biden laid out a framework for a ceasefire and hostage deal last June. That framework was endorsed by the UN Security Council and remains the operative framework for a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza. It is the deal that the parties right now are working off of to try to close. So that broad framework includes the phases, it includes prisoner exchange for hostages, it includes a surge of humanitarian assistance once the guns go quiet, which we'll be able to move trucks much more rapidly. Since June, we've had multiple efforts to close the deal. We've come close and haven't been able to get across the line. There have been some details, particularly around the formulas with respect to prisoner releases, formulas around the exact disposition of Israeli forces, and other things along those lines. Those details we have been hammering away at week after week, month after month.
(36:38)
And now in the last period, just over the course of the last several weeks, we have accelerated that effort to try to bring this to a close. I was in Israel in December and then I was in Qatar and Egypt and I met with the leaders of all three countries basically to try to help put this on a track to get it across the line. President Biden sent Brett McGurk out to Qatar more than a week ago. He has been camped out in Doha day in day out, 24 hours a day working to tighten up these details and try to get this done. We have also coordinated very closely with the incoming administration to present a united message to all the parties, which says it is in the American national security interest regardless of party, regardless of outgoing or incoming administration, to get this deal done as fast as possible. And now we think those details are on the brink of being fully hammered out, and the parties are right on the cusp of being able to close this deal.
(37:35)
Whether or not we go from where we are now to actually closing it, the hours and days ahead will tell, but I believe it is there for the taking and we're going to do everything we can to push it to get it across the line. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (37:47):
Thanks, Jake. Historians one day will write the history of the Biden-Harris policy and probably end up summarizing it in two to three sentences. How would you write those two to three sentences?
Jake Sullivan (37:59):
I would say that
Jake Sullivan (38:00):
We made our alliances stronger, we made our enemies weaker, we made America's sources of strength stronger, and we did all of that while keeping America out of war.
Speaker 7 (38:09):
And I didn't hear you mention Afghanistan in your opening at all. How is that going to be addressed in the speech? How would he explain to defend it at this time?
Jake Sullivan (38:15):
He will address Afghanistan in the speech, and it was in a sense reference because I said we kept America out of war. In fact, President Biden ended America's longest war after 20 years. It had been passed from president to president sending American men and women to fight and die in a foreign land year after year after year. President Biden was not going to hand that off. And he believes that history will judge his decision to end that war as being the right decision for the United States, that America is better off today, that we are not entering now our 25th year of war of Americans fighting and dying of billions and billions of dollars spent in Afghanistan. And what we have been able to do instead is refocus that effort and energy and attention on the challenges of the future.
(38:59)
Now when you end a war after 20 years with all of the decisions that have piled up over that time, there are going to be challenges and difficulties and there were challenges and difficulties in the period of the drawdown, but people predicted once we left Afghanistan, it would harm our alliances. Our alliances are at historic highs. They predicted that we would have a safe haven in Afghanistan for plotting terrorist attacks against the American homeland.
(39:29)
Terrorism remains a very real concern, but President Biden pointed out before he pulled out that it's a more diffuse and metastasized threat, including the kind of homegrown violent extremism that we saw on display in New Orleans in January. In fact, over the course of these four years, we have seen President Biden, that was the first terrorist attack that has happened on American soil. It was not connected to Afghanistan as far as we know. It was connected to inspiration from ISIS. And so President Biden believes that the decision he took has left America in a profoundly stronger position. And he will explain in his speech today why he thinks that's the case. Yeah.
Speaker 8 (40:09):
Can you talk at all about this unified US approach between your administration and the incoming and 40 plus years ago when President Reagan took over, there was this perception that there had been an intention to deny President Carter the announcement of the US hostages. These are different times, different circumstances, but were there lessons from that or a different approach to try to avoid that kind of a repeat? What is the unity piece?
Jake Sullivan (40:40):
So I don't think that that was primarily the thing on President Biden's mind when he directed us to start working intensively of the incoming administration. What was on his mind is we're in this period of change in transition and we can't have anything missed between the cup and the lip in the handoff between our administration and the incoming administration. So he told us, he told me, " Sit down with your successor as soon as you possibly can and start working through and mapping out what they need to know and how we can work together in this period of transition to put ourselves in the best position possible." And in fact, we've seen in the context of the Middle East that we have coordinated on common messaging around the ceasefire in Lebanon. And we are coordinated, very closely coordinated, including with Steve Witkoff and Brett McGurk around trying to bring this hostage deal to a close.
(41:29)
And it's because there is a spirit being brought to this work which says, these are not partisan issues, these are American national security issues. And it's the kind of spirit that President Biden has brought to this job from the very beginning that set the politics aside, do what's right for the country and have our team work with the incoming team in that regard. And I have to say, our coordination thus far, the engagement we've had, it's been professional, it's been deep and substantive. And yes, we disagree on a lot of things and I'm sure that in the months ahead I'll have my share of criticisms just as Mike Waltz has had his share of criticisms of me.
(42:07)
And this is not about us seeing everything exactly the same way or coming at things from the same perspective, but it is about a shared view that a time of transition is a time of risk and that it is critical that we close ranks as Americans to say no one can take advantage of us, but we will try to take advantage of every opportunity available to us in this critical period. Yeah.
Speaker 9 (42:30):
Are there any assurances in the latest iteration of what's being discussed in this hostage and sea fire deal? Are there assurances that the Americans who are alive will be released as part of this phase of releases?
Jake Sullivan (42:43):
So obviously we have been focused on ensuring that all of the Americans ultimately come home. That is part of the objective that President Biden set forth. It is part of the phases of this hostage deal that all of the Americans come home. Now what they are working through and hammering out are the details of the precise sequencing of people coming out over the course of the weeks and months of this deal. That's getting hammered out as one of the final details. But a paramount priority for President Biden as for the incoming team, is ensuring that we ultimately get all of the Americans reunited with the families and the remains of those Americans who have tragically passed away are also brought home so that they can get the proper burial that they deserve.
Speaker 9 (43:25):
So would they be in the first base?
Jake Sullivan (43:27):
So like I said, the details of how exactly this is going to play out are being hammered out in the end game, and I can't report to you exactly how it'll play with each of the Americans. Yeah.
Speaker 10 (43:36):
Jake, thanks for being here. So just real quickly on the Gaza hostage situation, how many of the 98 hostages that are still held are believed to be alive? All 98?
Jake Sullivan (43:46):
I have to refer you to the Israelis who have been taking the lead in terms of characterizing their best assessment, which is combined with our best assessment of the answer to that question. We have a good sense, we believe with respect to the Americans, but in terms of that broader universe, particularly the Israeli hostages, they'd be in the best position to answer your question.
Speaker 10 (44:06):
I'm sorry, Jake, I just wanted to ask you another question that has to do with the timing and the sequencing of some of the things that the administration has been announcing. We've seen oil prices jump as a result of the tightened sanctions. And then we've got other things happening now, sort of new restrictions on AI and chips that are all coming in the final days of this administration. Can you say a word to your thinking about the timing and then also whether you expect from where you sit right now that oil prices are going to stay high and that American consumers will bear the brunt of that decision?
Jake Sullivan (44:46):
Well, first remember that when the Ukraine war kicked off, started in those early months in 2022, oil prices spiked way above $100. The price environment for us to put sanctions on Russia's oil sector at that time would've meant a really significant hit to the American pocketbook and the American consumer. The price environment today is profoundly different. You said spiked. Actually, oil prices today are significantly lower than they have been over an average in the past few years.
(45:18)
So actually we have just a fundamentally different price environment, and that is the reason for why now, because President Biden was not going to impose sanctions on Russia's oil sector if it meant an undue burden on American working families. He does not believe that the action he took places such an undue burden on them. And he believes as you project out over the course of 2025 on supply and demand, that the oil market is very well supplied, that oil prices will stabilize in a place that does not impose undue burdens on American consumers. And that on the one hand we can hit Putin's pocketbook without, on the other hand, taking too big a whack out of the American people's pocketbook. That was not an opportunity available to us one year ago. It is now an opportunity available to us, and that is why the president took this decision.
(46:09)
The other point that I would make is that the new team is setting up for a negotiation. And in a negotiation you need leverage and part of that leverage has to come from the kind of economic pressure that makes Putin see he's going to continue to pay a significant price economically. And so this is also in service of an effective diplomatic outcome that will produce a just and sustainable piece for Ukraine. With respect-
Speaker 10 (46:34):
I mean, did you coordinate that with the incoming team?
Jake Sullivan (46:37):
I'm not going to say we coordinated it, but we informed them of what we intended to do because we are trying to maintain transparency through the transition and share with them the actions that we are taking in advance so that they aren't surprised by any of them. That also goes for the AI diffusion rule. Again, not coordinated and I don't want to suggest that, but we were transparent with them about the steps in that regard.
(47:02)
We have been working on that issue for going on a year now. It is a complicated question because we're trying to strike the right balance between ensuring that the frontier of AI stays in the United States of America and our close allies while also ensuring that the rest of the world can benefit from AI and get the hardware that they need to power AI applications going forward. So that balance required a huge amount of work and back and forth in many principles, meetings, conversations with the president.
(47:33)
It ultimately came together towards the end, but we had been telegraphing for some time that this rule was coming, and the key for us was making sure that we had it in place. But we also set up 120 day comment period so that we're not putting the next administration in a position where they immediately have to start moving out. They can take comments and they can make judgments at that point about what the best way forward is. We think this is in a bipartisan spirit the way to best preserve and protect America's lead when it comes to artificial intelligence. Yeah.
Speaker 12 (48:08):
Jake, I have two questions. First, can I go back to something Josh asked at the outset, which is why you all believe that this ceasefire deal is near its ending point, near the finish line. Can you offer some additional specificity about what has changed? Because I feel that we have heard you all express a level of optimism many times at various points of these last several months.
Jake Sullivan (48:32):
I'd have to go back and check the record about my level of optimism, at least in recent months because in fairness to your question, there has been a little bit of a loosey in the football quality where we thought we got really close and then it just didn't happen. But I haven't stood at this podium and said anything particularly optimistic about a hostage deal in quite some time. And that's because we haven't been in the position that I find I think we are in today. Why is that? It's because the gaps have fundamentally narrowed on the key issues. The formulas over prisoner exchanges, the formulas over the details of how Israel's forces will be postured in their pullback in the Gaza Strip, the details over how to conduct the humanitarian surge in the wake of the guns going silent. These things now on paper, the gaps between the two sides are slowly getting removed one by one and issues are closing.
(49:26)
I think there's a couple of reasons for why this is happening. The biggest one of which is that Israel has achieved its substantial military objectives in Gaza and Hamas has suffered catastrophic losses, military losses over the course of the conflict. And when you put those two factors together, we believe that the time is ripe to get a deal and to have it close. And our hope is that it will happen here in the near term. Now, I cannot predict to you it will. I cannot promise you it will. And if in five days it hasn't happened, I will be the person who is probably least shocked by that. But I think there's a good chance we can close this. And I think because of that good chance we have to use every ounce of our diplomatic effort to try to get it across the finish line because that would be good for everyone. And it's also profoundly in the national interest of this country. Yeah.
Speaker 13 (50:26):
Thanks, Jake. How do you view Donald Trump's reelection in the context of President Biden's foreign policy legacy, and how in your view is it not a rejection by voters of the Biden administration's, both worldview and its robust engagement with multilateral institutions, which by your own admission has been a cornerstone of President Biden's presidency?
Jake Sullivan (50:48):
Look, I'll leave it to others to judge the reasons for why the election went the way it did. I am not in a good position to be a political pundit up here, but I do not believe that the evidence bears out that foreign policy or questions of multilateralism were the central driving issue in the outcome of the election. American people are complex beings. Human beings, we're all complex beings. So we can think one thing about inflation and another thing about alliances. And a vote doesn't mean that it's a rejection of everything President Biden has done by any stretch of the imagination. So there will be time for us to sort all of that out. President Trump will make his own decisions about how he wants to pursue his foreign policy. The question for us is, are we putting him in the best possible position where the United States is actually standing with confidence and capacity in the world?
(51:41)
And I think if you look at the health of our alliances, you look at the fact that we are not bogged down in war. You look at the state of our competitors and adversaries, and then you look at these fundamental underlying sources of strength. I mean, whether it's in manufacturing or it's in technology or the reversal of the slide in our defense industrial base, these are the things we can give to the incoming team. What they do with that is fundamentally up to them. And then the American people will judge whether they like that or don't like that. We are just going to do the best we can. And then I think when history judges, the baton as we pass it off the hand, as we pass it off, I think it will judge that we are leaving things to Trump in terms of America's core strengths better than we found them.
Speaker 14 (52:30):
Jake, as you wrap up your time as National Security Advisor, what do you consider to be the greatest geopolitical threat facing the United States right now?
Jake Sullivan (52:40):
Look, I think one way of answering that question is to point to the potential for China's aggression in the coming years to point to Russia's continuing challenge. But I'm going to answer the question in a little bit of a different way, which is I genuinely believe the most consequential thing happening in the world right now is the scale, pace, and breathtaking speed with which AI is going to transform the global landscape. And it's either going to work for us or it's going to work against us. And in order for it to work for us, we have to stay ahead and we have to shape the rules of the road.
(53:20)
Biden administration put forward the first international set of standards on artificial intelligence codified by the UN General Assembly. There's more work to be done on that front. The Biden administration has made the investments to ensure we have the lead in AI right now. But if it's China, not the United States, determining the future of AI on the planet, I think the stakes of that are just profound. And so I hope that the new administration, because this shouldn't be a partisan issue at all, sees that challenge and that opportunity and seizes it so that it's America making technology work for us rather than adversaries make technology work against us. Yeah.
Speaker 11 (53:56):
Thank you, Jake. When President Biden spoke at the State Department four years ago, he said that American leadership must meet this new moment of advancing authoritarianism, including the growing ambitions of China's rival, the United States, and the determination of Russia to damage and disrupt our democracy. Now, four years later, President Biden will be leaving office and handing the reins to a man who he is repeatedly characterized as an authoritarian, as a threat to American democracy. How can you say that by President Biden's metric, his administration has met those goals if he's handing the reins off to someone who he's described in those terms?
Jake Sullivan (54:43):
Well, first of all, American democracy includes elections, and there was an election in 2024. President elect Trump won that election. Unlike in past circumstances, the outgoing administration is not challenging the democratic legitimacy of that victory. President-elect Trump won the election. So that's point one. Point two. You mentioned China and Russia. I'm obviously biased, but I just think an objective read on the situation from when we come in to today about the position of the United States in the long-term competition with China. If you look at 2021 and you look at 2025, we are much better positioned than we were four years ago, and we are supporting our friends and allies in the same way in both the Indo-Pacific and Europe as well as elsewhere.
(55:33)
And when you look at what we have rallied to push back against Russia's desire to remove a major country from the map in Europe, we have said we are going to stand up to Russian aggression in a serious way. Now what comes in the period ahead with respect to America's democratic institutions, the choices of the incoming team, we will have to see. I can't judge that in advance. All I can say again is what we are giving that team and what there is to be able to work with, and that's what the President will reflect on today.
Speaker 11 (56:08):
One follow up, Jean. AP reported recently that the incoming team under Representative Waltz is asking career civil servants detailees who they voted for in the last election. Is that an appropriate question that civil servants should be asked?
Jake Sullivan (56:27):
I have not heard that directly from Mike Waltz or from anyone on the incoming team, so I'm not going to answer what seems to be speculation in the media. What I will tell you is this, and I mean this from the bottom of my heart. The National Security Council staff is made up of career professionals by and large. There's a small number of political appointees who will leave when this administration leaves. But the overwhelming majority of the NSC staff are career professionals from the Defense Department, the intelligence community, the State Department, the energy department, the Department of Homeland Security, across
Jake Sullivan (57:00):
… the board. These are patriots, they are people dedicated to the national interests of this country, and they have served without fear or favor for both Democratic and Republican administrations. And many of them have raised their hands to say, "I'm ready to stay and keep serving." From my perspective, when we inherited the team from the Trump administration, I said, "I want those patriots. I want those people working for us regardless of their political affiliation." The incoming administration will have to make its own decisions. Yeah.
Speaker 15 (57:28):
Jake, going back to AI and a couple other questions, as you're saying that it's a huge national security issue, is there concern about how AI, on the national security part, is not accurately depicting or scanning people of color? Because we are understanding civil rights groups are very upset about that, how it's misidentifying. Is that a concern with national security as well?
Jake Sullivan (57:56):
Yes, it is, of course. If you think about the series of concerns that are raised by the advent of artificial intelligence, they range across economic, military and social risks. One of those is bias. And there have been a lot of studies to show that bias is a genuine challenge when it comes to artificial intelligence. And the ways in which that could undermine social cohesion in the United States and globally has national security-
Speaker 15 (58:28):
And terrorism, right?
Jake Sullivan (58:28):
And terrorism, has national security implications and is something that we have to contend with. It is part of the president's executive order on artificial intelligence alongside a number of these other risks.
Speaker 15 (58:41):
And also two other questions. One on hate. On a national security front, where do you see hate going in the next couple of months, next couple of years as we're seeing a change in administrations and a change in attitude?
Jake Sullivan (59:00):
I think hate fueled violent extremism of multiple stripes is something that when we came into office, we saw as a real challenge. And as we leave office, we've built a lot of tools to try to prevent and disrupt this kind of violence. And going forward, it remains a ongoing threat and it takes many different forms. But I think it's incumbent upon every leader to try to work on a bipartisan basis, on an American basis to address the root causes of this hate, to try to speak to how we turn our discourse in directions that reduce the oxygen that is given to it. And that's something that when I leave government, I will personally try to contribute to, to lowering the temperature and to increasing the degree to which people feel that they have a place and do not need to turn to this kind of violence to express themselves.
Speaker 15 (01:00:01):
And lastly, Sub-Saharan Africa has a large piece of national security connected to it. During the first term of then-President Donald Trump, Africa was not on the page. Do you believe that Africa needs to be on the forefront when it comes to national security for the incoming administration?
Jake Sullivan (01:00:24):
Absolutely, yes. And I will say that in my conversations with my successor, one of the things that he's asked a lot of questions about are the investments in infrastructure, physical, digital, energy infrastructure in Africa, the high standard investments we've tried to stimulate and that have gotten bipartisan support from the Congress. He's asked a lot of questions about how to carry that forward. So my hope is that in fact, just given the sheer significance and stakes at play with respect to the African continent over the coming years, that that is a priority for the incoming administration. I'll take one more. Yeah.
Speaker 16 (01:01:03):
Thank you. Our office in Jerusalem is reporting that the hostage deal is imminent and actually President Trump might go and get the American hostages on his plane. Do you believe that the threat by him of turning the Middle East into an open [inaudible 01:01:18] has pushed both Hamas and the Israeli government to deliver this? And second, what's your reaction to the election of Lebanon's new prime minister who's [inaudible 01:01:29] Hezbollah but also he's a judge on the ICJ that opened a case against Israel for crimes against humanity and war crimes?
Jake Sullivan (01:01:37):
So on the second question, president Biden had a good conversation with the new Lebanese president, President Aoun. I believe there's a huge opportunity for Lebanon to turn this ceasefire and the degradation of Hezbollah into a new chapter for Lebanon that is brighter and built not on terrorism, but on the future. President Aoun has made his selection of a prime minister. Now it's up to the parliament in Lebanon to take that forward. I'm not going to comment here today on the particular selection other than to say that we believe President Aoun can steward a new chapter for Lebanon, and he's making his selections of who will be a good partner for him in that regard.
(01:02:21)
With respect to the question about President Trump and his comments, he's talked about all hell to pay, all hell breaking loose and so forth. One thing I would observe is that if you're Hamas, all hell has been breaking loose on you for 14 months. The Israelis have destroyed their military formations, taken out their top leadership, removed their military capabilities in significant dimensions.
(01:02:53)
So the Israelis have not been holding back when it comes to going after Hamas, and I'm not quite sure what it would mean to add further military pressure to Hamas beyond what has already happened. But I do believe that the consequence of all of that degradation is that we are finally at the point, both from Israel's perspective and Hamas's perspective, where a deal could come together. And then deadlines matter, and trying to drive to do this towards the end of the Biden administration is focusing the minds of people, and we are coordinating closely with the incoming administration to make maximum use of this particular period to get this thing done. So I'll leave it there.
(01:03:31)
I just will say one last word, which is I hope this is my last time at this podium, at least for a little while. I don't mean that in a negative sense. I mean the only thing that would bring me back is an unexpected event in the next few days, which as you all know is totally possible given everything you've seen over the course of the past years. But if it is in fact my last time before you, I just want to say thank you for what you guys do every day. Thank you for putting up with me. It's been an honor to be able to really try to illuminate these issues through tough probing and penetrating questioning. And I've can't say I've always enjoyed every moment up here, but I certainly have been privileged to be able to do it. So thank you guys for everything.
Speaker 17 (01:04:12):
We appreciate you coming. Thank you.
Karine Jean-Pierre (01:04:14):
People clapping in the back. Thank you, Jake. Thank you for your service. And it's truly been an honor to serve in this administration with you. I wanted to give Jake as much time as possible. We do not have a lot of time because as you know, the president is going to be heading out to the State Department to give his final speech on the foreign policy. So trying to figure out what's the best thing to do here. I can take a couple questions, but we are going to have to end in about… Yeah. Okay. I apologize for that. Yeah, Josh, good to see you.
Josh (01:04:45):
Good to see you.
Karine Jean-Pierre (01:04:47):
Hopefully it's not my last time to see you at the podium.
Josh (01:04:50):
We can do a separate briefing later.
Karine Jean-Pierre (01:04:54):
Okay. Don't put anything out there please.
Josh (01:04:57):
Some Republicans are saying that wildfire aid should be tied to increasing the debt ceiling. What does the administration make of that and what are the plans for continuity for people that are wondering about what the next week could hold for them?
Karine Jean-Pierre (01:05:10):
Yeah. So look, I'm not going to get into these hypotheticals and potentials of policies and what's going to happen moving forward. We are very much focused on what's happening on the ground, helping local and state officials. And certainly we see what the brave firefighters are doing to trying to contain these wildfires, protecting lives and property. And it has been just amazing to watch this certainly unprecedented event. And so what we're going to do on the federal level, as you've heard this president, we've read out calls that he's done, briefings that he's done, you've seen him in person take questions from your colleagues about the federal response here, and what we want to do is ensure that we provide every resource available to firefighters, to first responders.
(01:05:59)
And so our commitment right now is to continue to support the communities on the ground through different disaster assistant programs and federal government that the federal government could certainly provide. And so that's our focus. Not going to get into what it could look like down the road. What we want to do is make sure that we are dealing with this unprecedented, again, unprecedented, horrific, catastrophic moment that we're seeing Southern California having to deal with. And we are very appreciative of firefighters, first responders, and obviously the community that we're seeing on the ground is certainly heartwarming. Hi.
Speaker 18 (01:06:43):
Thank you, Karine. If I don't see you again in the briefing, thank you, you could have stopped taking the hard questions years ago and you didn't, so we appreciate that.
Karine Jean-Pierre (01:06:54):
Over two years my friend. This is, let's say one last dance. I don't know how I'm going to fill my dance card now. How will I fill that void without you?
Speaker 18 (01:07:03):
You tell me. You tell me.
Karine Jean-Pierre (01:07:10):
Start some rumors in here, I guess.
Speaker 20 (01:07:13):
He's getting red too, look at him.
Speaker 18 (01:07:19):
So a week from now, it's all over.
Karine Jean-Pierre (01:07:22):
Yes.
Speaker 18 (01:07:24):
Between next Monday and 2028,-
Karine Jean-Pierre (01:07:28):
2028?
Speaker 18 (01:07:29):
Who's the leader of the Democratic Party?
Karine Jean-Pierre (01:07:30):
Oh my goodness. Wow. Honestly, that is for people much smarter than I to make that assessment, that decision. Obviously voters will decide. That is not something for me to decide. I could say right now in this moment, in this room, as I'm looking at the clock as it's counting down because we have to leave shortly, you have the President, President Joe Biden, who is obviously the President and the leader of the Democratic Party. I cannot predict the future, so that is not something that I'm going to do from here.
Speaker 18 (01:08:05):
So no leader of the party?
Karine Jean-Pierre (01:08:08):
That's not what I said.
Speaker 18 (01:08:09):
Well, it's not President Biden and it's not Vice President Harris.
Karine Jean-Pierre (01:08:12):
I'm regretting this right now, I'm regretting all of this.
Speaker 18 (01:08:14):
So it's nobody.
Karine Jean-Pierre (01:08:16):
That's not what I said. You asked me about what's 2028 is going to look like, between now and 2028, or post obviously this president's tenure. That's not for me to decide. That's not for me to speak to. I could only speak about the here and now, and that's why I appreciate this job and what I'm doing right now.
Speaker 18 (01:08:35):
And President Biden says that he's not going to be out of sight, out of mind, but isn't that what voters basically said that they wanted, is him gone?
Karine Jean-Pierre (01:08:47):
So look, this is a president that has served more than 50 years, who has given all of himself, if you will, as a public servant, whether as a senator, as a local elected official, as a Vice President, and now as President. I think anybody who has served that long and does it from their heart and soul because they believe this country deserves so much more, they believe that the American people deserve more, and has worked day in and day out, and certainly as President in the last four years, I think deserves some respect. I think he deserves some respect. And so I'll leave it there.
Speaker 21 (01:09:29):
One quick one on the fires. Obviously 24 people so far we know of who've died in the fires. Has the president reached out or been in touch with any of their families directly?
Karine Jean-Pierre (01:09:38):
Look, our hearts obviously go out to the families who have lost a loved one in these devastating fires and certainly the victims and the community out there. It is again horrific. And as you know, and you all have been reporting this, local officials obviously confirmed additional deaths over the weekend. And so I don't have any calls to read out as the President has made to two families. Right now, the President's commitment, and you're going to hear him in a couple of hours when he returns from the State Department where he does wildfire briefing with his team, what we're trying to do is use every resource available so that we can help to respond and certainly save lives. And I'm going to let certainly Los Angeles County speak to the numbers and how any information that they may have. I don't have anything right now to share any conversations that the president may have done as it relates to families and victims. But it is devastating and we're doing everything that we can to offer up resources on the ground as you know. We've been talking about this. I know. One more. Go ahead.
Speaker 19 (01:10:50):
Thank you, Karine. The reports that the Biden administration this week was set to announce Medicare price negotiations, and Bloomberg is now reporting that Eli Lilly has asked the US government to pause its forward March with drug price negotiations. I was just wondering if you can provide any update to if those rollouts could be coming this week and kind of give an update to what's going on?
Karine Jean-Pierre (01:11:15):
I don't have any update to share at this time. Certainly not going to get ahead of any potential announcement that we may have. As you know, the Inflation Reduction Act was incredibly important in lowering in costs for Americans. If you think about, obviously climate change and what we're seeing with the wildfires certainly is the most proactive piece of legislation that we were able to get past to deal with climate change. But as you asked me about this particular question, look, we were able to beat Medicare. That is something that this president was able to. Now you see Medicare is able to make negotiations. I think you remember about a year or so ago, Eli Lilly was able to bring down their cost on insulin, and a lot of that was because of what this president did on capping insulin for seniors, which makes a big deal, is a life-changing effort for seniors.
(01:12:15)
And so look, not going to get ahead any potential announcement, don't have anything to share, but lowering costs on medical prescription drugs, making sure that we make things more affordable for Americans. That is something that the president has put at the center when he talks about his economic policy and certainly moving forward. I don't have anything beyond that. Guys, I will see you. I'll be back. I'll be back. I'll be seeing you.
Speaker 10 (01:12:40):
Karine, there's been a lot of disinformation and misinformation about the response for the California fires. In the case of the hurricanes Helene and Milton, there was some finding that Chinese and other foreign countries were amplifying messages. Do you have any evidence of that?
Karine Jean-Pierre (01:12:54):
So I don't have any evidence to share with you on that piece, but what I will say about misinformation and disinformation, it is incredibly dangerous, as we all know. As we're trying to provide resources, as folks on the ground, local officials are trying to make sure that they're keeping people safe who are dealing with these wildfires, it gets in the way of that. It puts people's lives in danger. And so certainly we're going to continue to call that out, and it is something that needs to stop. As far as if any entity countries that are behind that, I can't speak to that at this time, but certainly we need to continue to call out the misinformation and disinformation. It is dangerous. It puts people's lives at risk and it needs to stop. Thanks everybody.
Speaker 10 (01:13:43):
Thank you.
Speaker 17 (01:13:43):
We've got at least one more this week, right?
Karine Jean-Pierre (01:13:43):
Yeah.