Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre | Eastern North Carolina Now

    MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I'm not going to get ahead of the President.

    I just laid out: It's going to be an optimistic speech. It's going to be about how - where our country is currently in fighting for our democracy, how we're going to move forward, and also how Americans can also participate in making sure that we protect what's important to us as a country.

    Q But you did mention there's going to be autocracies and democracies -

    MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah. And he'll - he'll - I said he'll talk about that. But you're asking me specific things. I'm just not going to get ahead of the President. I just laid out what he believes he wants to talk about tonight, what he believes this moment is all - is all about.

    Remember, we're going to do this at Independence Hall, which is a historic - which is a historic place to do this speech. So this is an important moment - doing it in primetime, making sure that he connects with the American people.

    And again, this is something that we believe a majority of Americans care about. And so you'll hear from the President tonight.

    Q And just another follow-up on Afghanistan from my colleagues. I understand the focus now is on the SIV program. But just to follow up on a more brief note: I think earlier this month - I believe August 5th - you said that the withdrawal anniversary is an opportunity to honor the lives that we lost and recognize the lives that we saved and how we are on a stronger strategic footing now that we've ended the war.

    And so, it seemed at that time that the administration was at least - I mean, to me, and correct me if I'm wrong - planning to mark the event in a way that would highlight those issues that you mentioned at that time.

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    But instead, we have this narrow statement from the President not on the withdrawal itself, but on the anniversary of the Kabul Airport attack.

    So can you explain the thinking behind the - that messaging strategy? And could you please respond to the criticism that the administration's goal here is to downplay the withdrawal anniversary and kind of just "put it in a rearview mirror" as soon as possible?

    MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So I'll - I'll say a few things:

    We remain committed to supporting the Afghan people. And we are proud to be the largest single provider - just to remind you all - of humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.

    We are working closely with the United Nations and other partners to provide the assistance directly to the Afghan people without benefit to the Taliban.

    We will remain vigilant against any terrorist threats, as we demonstrated in July when we took down - or took out the - the leader of al Qaeda.

    We will continue to prioritize relocation effort for our Afghan allies, and welcome our Afghan allies to the United States since our commitment to them is enduring.

    And we will continue to press the Taliban for the safe release of Mark Frerichs, and to respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Afghans, including women and girls.

    That is our goal. That is our commitment. That has been our commitment for more than a year now.

    And - and, again, we are committed to supporting the Afghan people, and we will do everything that we can in what I just listed.

    Q Karine, what are you -

    MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I'm going to keep going. I'm going to keep - I'm going to keep going.

    Q Why won't the President say that in his speech tonight?

    MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I'm gong to keep going.

    Go ahead.

    Q Yeah, thanks, Karine. So, you read at the top of this about the President's statement on manufacturing and announcement of those new jobs. When will those jobs materialize?

    And when the government subsidies go away - like the CHIPS Act and the American Rescue Plan - will those jobs also go

    away?

    MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, the reason that we announced these - why - we announced what Micron is doing - First Solar, Toyota, Honda, and Corning - if you think about Micron, they're going to - a $15 billion investment over the next 10 years. That is going to create a lot of jobs. And that's going to be in Idaho.

    Look, they're going to - I'm sure they'll share more on what that process is going to look like. But the point that we're making is, because of the work that we've done - the CHIPS Act - let's remember, that was actually a bipartisan piece of legislation. The fact that we were able to come together to work on this important manufacturing bill - right? - that's going to help by - make sure that we create semiconductors here.

    That's what this - but what - that's what this manufacturing facility is going to be about: making sure that we strengthen our supply chain, making sure that we strengthen our national security, making sure that we're doing the "Made in America." That is an important step forward.

    And so, they'll provide more information. But certainly, $15 billion that they're saying that they're going to invest and create their first manufacturing to deal with semiconductors - that's an important step forward. And that's because of the work that this administration has done. And that's why we highlighted it.

    Q And then one more quick one. So I want to ask about campaign promises. While candidate Biden said that he would end the fossil fuels industry - then went back and said that he's not going to end all fossil fuels. We've seen increased regulations and restrictions in that industry. Pennsylvania is the third-largest coal producer in the United States. In the past year, we've only seen about 1,600 jobs in net added to mining and lodging in that state. So why not just change the energy policies, help out Pennsylvania with jobs and energy security?

    MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, we just passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which is going to - which is going to do - which is going to change people's lives and is the most - which is the most historic investment that we'll see - that we have seen in this country to deal with climate change - right? - to deal with - to deal with energy. And so, that is important there.

    And let's not forget the Bipartisan Infrastru- - Infrastructure Law as well that's going to deal with climate change.

    And so, look, we're going to continue to do the work. This is a commitment that the President has. He has created, as you know - you've heard me say this - almost 10 million jobs - new jobs since he's gotten into office.

    The Bipartisan Infratur- - Infrastructure Law - Infrastructure Law is going to create jobs where you're not going to need a college degree. That's important. Ninety percent of those jobs you won't need a college degree. That's going to be important to Pennsylvania. That's going to be important to many communities across the country.

    And he's going to do this in a way that he's mit- - he's - he's going to meet his campaign promises.

    And so, when it comes to the climate - the climate change and fighting climate change, when it comes to making sure that we're creating jobs, when it comes to building up the - the economy from the bottom up and the middle out, that's what he's committed and that's what you see from all of the pieces of legislation that has come out of this legislation when it deals with the economy.

    Q Thanks, Karine.

    MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay. All right, I'll be back tomorrow, guys.

    Thank you. Thanks, everybody.

END  •  3:42 P.M. EDT


    KARINE JEAN-PIERRE

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