President Biden said Thursday the ball is in the GOP’s court when it comes to confronting some of the biggest challenges facing the United States.
In his first formal press conference since getting elected, Mr. Biden told reporters in the East Room at The White House that he has “been hired to solve problems — not to create division.”
“Here is the deal,” Mr. Biden said. “I think my Republican colleagues are going to have to determine whether or not we are going to work together or they are going to have to decide whether the way in which they want to proceed is just to divide the country — continue the politics of division.”
The press conference served as a public reset for a president that invested most of his early political capital on getting coronavirus vaccinations to Americans and passing the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Act to help the nation recover from the pandemic.
The package has been well-received by the American public, and polls show that more than half the country approves of Mr. Biden’s performance so far.
Mr. Biden sought to add to the optimism at his presser, announcing he was doubling his vaccination goal, moving the target to 200 million over his first 100 days in office.
“That’s right 200 million shots in 100 days,” he said.
Mr. Biden’s victory lap, though, appears to be coming to an end amid mounting concerns over the surge of migrants at the southern border and increasing pressure to combat violence following the recent deadly shootings in Colorado and Georgia.
It remains to be seen whether Mr. Biden can move lawmakers beyond some of the traditional political battle lines that have frustrated past presidents.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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