The White House has launched a weekly speech by President Biden, reviving a presidential tradition that was interrupted under the previous President Trump
Donald Trump Chamber of Commerce CEO to Leave: Reports Fox News Media Cancels Lou Dobbs Show GOP Lawmakers Call on Pelosi to Be Fine for New Screenings MORE which aims to provide another tool to advance the administration’s agenda.
The first episode was released on social media Saturday morning, with the president taking the opportunity to tout the $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package he’s trying to get through Congress.
“We are developing a plan that provides emergency relief to people who are in desperate need of it now,” he said in the recorded segment. “Everything from mortgage payments to unemployment insurance and housing benefits to food security for children. It allows small, medium-sized businesses to open. “
Biden’s inaugural address included a conversation between the president and a woman, identified as Michele Voelkert, 47, who lives in Roseville, California, who lost her job at a start-up clothing company due to the pandemic. She had written to Biden to discuss her dismissal, which she said was the first time she had ever been fired.
“Working is part of who you are,” Biden said in a clip of the couple’s conversation spread on social media. “The idea that we think we can keep businesses open and moving and thriving without tackling this pandemic is just a non-starter.”
“I admire your sense of responsibility and your desire to work,” he added.
Biden later spoke to Voelkert’s daughter and told her she should be “very, very proud of your mother.”
Last year, Michele lost her job due to the pandemic. I recently called her to hear her story and discuss how my American bailout plan will help families like hers. pic.twitter.com/SAqM2GytPf
– President Biden (@POTUS) February 6, 2021
It’s unclear what format the conversations will take, but not every episode is expected to be the same as the phone conversation between Biden and Voelkert.
“We expect it to take different forms,” Jen Psaki
Jen Psaki The Hill’s 12:30 Report: Senate Dems Negotiate 0.9 Trillion COVID Embossing Details CDC Says Schools Are Safe But Biden Continues To Ignore Science, Doctors Watch Live: White House Holds Press Briefing MORE, the White House press secretary said Friday.
The project is another way for Biden, known for his use of retail politics, to maintain his communication with voters even as the coronavirus pandemic forces Americans to stay in and out.
Such a program had been maintained during previous Presidencies. Trump initially continued the tradition of a weekly speech, which began under former President Reagan, but ended after about six months.
Former President Franklin Roosevelt was the first to make the addresses famous with his fireside chats, and they were later used by former President Carter as well. The speeches became a more regular part of the presidency, starting with former President Clinton in the 1990s, and were taken up by former Presidents George. W. Bush and Obama.