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1 00:00:00,600 --> 00:00:02,268 Mr. Earnest: Good afternoon, everybody. 2 00:00:02,268 --> 00:00:03,336 Happy Friday. 3 00:00:03,336 --> 00:00:04,938 The Press: Yes! 4 00:00:04,938 --> 00:00:06,406 The Press: Finally. 5 00:00:06,406 --> 00:00:07,374 Mr. Earnest: Let me do a short statement, Mark, and 6 00:00:07,374 --> 00:00:09,376 then we'll go to your questions. 7 00:00:12,178 --> 00:00:15,081 Today actually marks the one-year anniversary of the 8 00:00:15,081 --> 00:00:20,619 commencement of airstrikes in Iraq against ISIL targets. 9 00:00:20,620 --> 00:00:26,259 You will recall, one year ago today, that ISIL had 10 00:00:26,259 --> 00:00:29,229 advanced unimpeded across Iraq. 11 00:00:29,229 --> 00:00:32,564 Fallujah and other parts of Anbar had already fallen 12 00:00:32,564 --> 00:00:33,800 earlier in the year. 13 00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:38,203 Mosul had fallen; Tikrit had fallen; Kirkuk had fallen. 14 00:00:38,204 --> 00:00:41,141 ISIL was advancing rapidly on Erbil and Baghdad, where 15 00:00:41,141 --> 00:00:43,143 U.S. government personnel were located. 16 00:00:43,143 --> 00:00:46,312 And ISIL forces were laying siege to Sinjar Mountain, 17 00:00:46,312 --> 00:00:50,516 threatening genocide against the Yazidi people. 18 00:00:50,517 --> 00:00:52,786 ISIL had committed -- and they still commit, by the 19 00:00:52,786 --> 00:00:55,622 way -- atrocities against all of Iraq's diverse 20 00:00:55,622 --> 00:00:58,158 communities -- Sunni, Shia, Kurd, Christians, 21 00:00:58,158 --> 00:01:01,928 Yazidis, Turkmen, Shabak and others. 22 00:01:01,928 --> 00:01:05,265 But in the last year, we have made considerable 23 00:01:05,265 --> 00:01:09,269 progress in our effort to degrade and ultimately 24 00:01:09,269 --> 00:01:10,370 destroy ISIL. 25 00:01:10,370 --> 00:01:14,274 The U.S.-led coalition has now hit ISIL with 26 00:01:14,274 --> 00:01:16,776 more than 6,000 airstrikes. 27 00:01:16,776 --> 00:01:19,244 The coalition has also taken out thousands of fighting 28 00:01:19,245 --> 00:01:21,247 positions, tanks, vehicles, bomb 29 00:01:21,247 --> 00:01:23,383 factories and training camps. 30 00:01:23,383 --> 00:01:25,919 In Iraq, ISIL has lost the freedom to operate in some 31 00:01:25,919 --> 00:01:29,923 30 percent of the territory that they held last summer. 32 00:01:29,923 --> 00:01:34,294 Overall, ISIL has lost more than 17,000 square 33 00:01:34,294 --> 00:01:37,163 kilometers of territory in northern Syria -- 34 00:01:37,163 --> 00:01:39,232 that's over the course of the last year. 35 00:01:39,232 --> 00:01:44,137 And they are now cut off from all but 68 miles of 36 00:01:44,137 --> 00:01:47,407 the more than 500-mile long border between 37 00:01:47,407 --> 00:01:50,009 Syria and Turkey. 38 00:01:50,009 --> 00:01:52,445 Coalition forces have repeatedly struck ISIL 39 00:01:52,445 --> 00:01:55,914 leadership targets, to an extent that ISIL leadership 40 00:01:55,915 --> 00:01:58,585 targets no longer have a safe haven. 41 00:01:58,585 --> 00:02:00,820 And the United States and our coalition partners are 42 00:02:00,820 --> 00:02:03,789 taking steps to interrupt ISIL's finances, and make it 43 00:02:03,790 --> 00:02:05,792 more different for the group to attract 44 00:02:05,792 --> 00:02:07,026 new foreign fighters. 45 00:02:07,026 --> 00:02:09,027 As the President has said, this campaign will take 46 00:02:09,027 --> 00:02:11,664 time and there will be setbacks along the way. 47 00:02:11,664 --> 00:02:13,799 But we and our coalition partners have made 48 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:17,470 progress and we will ultimately prevail. 49 00:02:17,470 --> 00:02:19,472 While our commanders continue this mission, 50 00:02:19,472 --> 00:02:21,674 there is one thing that Congress can do to support 51 00:02:21,674 --> 00:02:24,244 their efforts; they can vote on the authority for 52 00:02:24,244 --> 00:02:26,746 military force against ISIL that the President sent 53 00:02:26,746 --> 00:02:29,015 to Congress nearly six months ago. 54 00:02:29,015 --> 00:02:31,650 There is simply no excuse for members of Congress to 55 00:02:31,651 --> 00:02:34,153 continue to dodge this debate while our men and 56 00:02:34,153 --> 00:02:36,489 women put themselves in harm's way to support our 57 00:02:36,489 --> 00:02:39,492 effort to defeat and ultimately destroy ISIL. 58 00:02:39,492 --> 00:02:41,861 So, with that, let's go to questions. 59 00:02:41,861 --> 00:02:42,862 Mark. 60 00:02:42,862 --> 00:02:46,031 The Press: And I'd like to shift straight to Iran and 61 00:02:46,032 --> 00:02:49,302 the two very large-scale defections that you had -- 62 00:02:49,302 --> 00:02:50,904 Chuck Schumer and Eliot Engel. 63 00:02:50,904 --> 00:02:53,506 How big a blow is that to the administration's 64 00:02:53,506 --> 00:02:55,408 effort to avoid having Congress to 65 00:02:55,408 --> 00:02:58,011 (inaudible) of this deal? 66 00:02:58,011 --> 00:03:01,347 And do these otherwise loyal Democrats now join the group 67 00:03:01,347 --> 00:03:03,516 who the President thinks are pursuing a fantasy of a 68 00:03:03,516 --> 00:03:08,620 better deal, choosing a form of war over diplomacy, and 69 00:03:08,621 --> 00:03:11,758 who are, in some cases, making common cause with 70 00:03:11,758 --> 00:03:14,561 folks shouting "Death to America"? 71 00:03:14,561 --> 00:03:16,062 Mr. Earnest: Well, Mark, the President certainly stands 72 00:03:16,062 --> 00:03:18,064 by the arguments that he made in his speech at 73 00:03:18,064 --> 00:03:20,066 American University on Wednesday. 74 00:03:20,066 --> 00:03:25,071 You cited the two members of Congress that have come out 75 00:03:25,071 --> 00:03:27,472 in opposition to the deal since the President 76 00:03:27,473 --> 00:03:31,077 delivered his speech, but there are -- we're now up to 77 00:03:31,077 --> 00:03:33,079 -- let me just do the math here -- I think we're up to 78 00:03:33,079 --> 00:03:35,081 12 members of Congress that have come out 79 00:03:35,081 --> 00:03:37,250 in support of the deal. 80 00:03:37,250 --> 00:03:40,954 And that's seven in the House and five in the 81 00:03:40,954 --> 00:03:42,555 United States Senate. 82 00:03:42,555 --> 00:03:45,992 So certainly the two members that you mentioned are 83 00:03:45,992 --> 00:03:47,994 influential members of Congress, but 84 00:03:47,994 --> 00:03:49,128 they have one vote. 85 00:03:49,128 --> 00:03:51,831 And since the speech, we've gotten substantially more 86 00:03:51,831 --> 00:03:53,632 votes in support of the deal. 87 00:03:53,633 --> 00:03:56,703 And I think that's an indication of how persuasive 88 00:03:56,703 --> 00:03:59,973 the President's speech was and how persuasive a case it 89 00:03:59,973 --> 00:04:02,308 is that he is making to members of Congress and 90 00:04:02,308 --> 00:04:03,309 to the American public. 91 00:04:03,309 --> 00:04:05,511 The Press: It's not every day you lose a guy that's 92 00:04:05,511 --> 00:04:08,548 going to be the number one Democrat in the Senate. 93 00:04:08,548 --> 00:04:14,120 And again, does he, does Eliot Engel now -- are they 94 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:16,723 classified as these people who are rejectionists for 95 00:04:16,723 --> 00:04:19,392 reasons that the President has questioned? 96 00:04:19,392 --> 00:04:21,894 Mr. Earnest: Well, I think what the President took on 97 00:04:21,894 --> 00:04:25,465 directly in his speech is that the individuals who are 98 00:04:25,465 --> 00:04:29,402 advocating for the defeat of this agreement are the same 99 00:04:29,402 --> 00:04:34,039 people who made the same arguments in 2003 in the 100 00:04:34,040 --> 00:04:36,075 march to war against Iraq. 101 00:04:38,344 --> 00:04:40,513 So this includes people like Mitch McConnell and 102 00:04:40,513 --> 00:04:44,150 John Boehner and John McCain and more recent newcomers 103 00:04:44,150 --> 00:04:47,352 like Tom Cotton and Donald Trump. 104 00:04:47,353 --> 00:04:50,089 That's why, on the other side, the group of people 105 00:04:50,089 --> 00:04:52,959 who are supporting the agreement are those 106 00:04:52,959 --> 00:04:55,828 individuals who, like the President of the 107 00:04:55,828 --> 00:04:59,332 United States, opposed the Iraq war from the beginning 108 00:04:59,332 --> 00:05:02,602 or have since acknowledged that the congressional vote 109 00:05:02,602 --> 00:05:06,806 in support of that march to war was a mistake. 110 00:05:06,806 --> 00:05:08,808 And I mentioned some of their names already -- 111 00:05:08,808 --> 00:05:11,544 Senator Gillibrand and Senator Baldwin are two 112 00:05:11,544 --> 00:05:12,544 of the newcomers. 113 00:05:12,545 --> 00:05:15,281 But there are also people like Nancy Pelosi and Dick 114 00:05:15,281 --> 00:05:18,851 Durbin and Adam Schiff who have strong records 115 00:05:18,851 --> 00:05:21,721 on these matters. 116 00:05:21,721 --> 00:05:26,092 So anyone -- and Mark you would be in this category -- 117 00:05:26,092 --> 00:05:29,094 anybody who has been covering American politics 118 00:05:29,095 --> 00:05:32,098 for the last 12 or 13 years would recognize 119 00:05:32,098 --> 00:05:35,134 the fault lines of this political argument. 120 00:05:35,134 --> 00:05:36,135 It's not new. 121 00:05:36,135 --> 00:05:40,073 And this is a difference of opinion that President Obama 122 00:05:40,073 --> 00:05:42,275 and Senator Schumer have had dating all 123 00:05:42,275 --> 00:05:44,577 the way back to 2003. 124 00:05:44,577 --> 00:05:48,948 That all said, that's why I would describe this as an 125 00:05:48,948 --> 00:05:55,253 announcement that was not particularly surprising to 126 00:05:55,254 --> 00:05:57,223 anybody here at the White House even 127 00:05:57,223 --> 00:05:59,358 if it was disappointing. 128 00:05:59,358 --> 00:06:02,195 But it doesn't change our confidence that we'll be 129 00:06:02,195 --> 00:06:05,698 able to mobilize a substantial majority of 130 00:06:05,698 --> 00:06:09,568 Democrats in both the House and the Senate in support of 131 00:06:09,569 --> 00:06:11,571 the deal, and if necessary, to sustain 132 00:06:11,571 --> 00:06:12,572 the President's veto. 133 00:06:12,572 --> 00:06:13,573 The Press: All right. 134 00:06:13,573 --> 00:06:15,575 Since you've mentioned the Trump word, let me shift 135 00:06:15,575 --> 00:06:16,575 quickly to the debate. 136 00:06:16,576 --> 00:06:17,577 (laughter) 137 00:06:17,577 --> 00:06:19,812 Mr. Earnest: If you needed to know -- 138 00:06:19,812 --> 00:06:21,848 (laughter) 139 00:06:21,848 --> 00:06:24,383 The Press: Since the President wouldn't answer 140 00:06:24,383 --> 00:06:26,818 our questions about whether he watched the debate, can 141 00:06:26,819 --> 00:06:29,422 you tell us whether he watched the debate? 142 00:06:29,422 --> 00:06:31,090 What was his reaction to it? 143 00:06:31,090 --> 00:06:32,325 Mr. Earnest: I did have an opportunity to speak briefly 144 00:06:32,325 --> 00:06:34,026 with him this morning and he indicated that he did not 145 00:06:34,026 --> 00:06:36,829 watch the debate last night. 146 00:06:36,829 --> 00:06:41,467 I did have the opportunity to watch the debate. 147 00:06:41,467 --> 00:06:44,437 I was disappointed that it started so late. 148 00:06:44,437 --> 00:06:47,507 So there was a point where I did doze off for a little 149 00:06:47,507 --> 00:06:48,508 bit during the debate -- 150 00:06:48,508 --> 00:06:49,508 (laughter) 151 00:06:49,509 --> 00:06:52,011 -- but I woke up and thought I'd been transported back to 152 00:06:52,011 --> 00:06:57,150 2012, where we saw a variety of Republicans making 153 00:06:57,150 --> 00:07:00,986 outlandish and certainly outside-the-mainstream 154 00:07:00,987 --> 00:07:03,589 claims about the country and claims about their 155 00:07:03,589 --> 00:07:04,624 views and priorities. 156 00:07:04,624 --> 00:07:07,593 And I don't think that Republicans found that 157 00:07:07,593 --> 00:07:12,365 to be a particularly useful line of attack last time. 158 00:07:12,365 --> 00:07:15,568 But it appears they may be fixing to do it again. 159 00:07:15,568 --> 00:07:17,570 The Press: Were you surprised by any of what 160 00:07:17,570 --> 00:07:18,570 you saw? 161 00:07:18,571 --> 00:07:20,573 Or did you feel the need to fact-check anything? 162 00:07:20,573 --> 00:07:21,573 Mr. Earnest: Not particularly. 163 00:07:21,574 --> 00:07:23,576 The Press: And you said the President didn't see it, 164 00:07:23,576 --> 00:07:25,578 but you also indicated yesterday he might at 165 00:07:25,578 --> 00:07:26,578 least catch clips or something. 166 00:07:26,579 --> 00:07:28,581 So he's seen nothing of the debate? 167 00:07:28,581 --> 00:07:31,083 Mr. Earnest: Well, I think he has seen some of the 168 00:07:31,083 --> 00:07:33,085 coverage of the debate, but he did 169 00:07:33,085 --> 00:07:34,654 not watch it last night. 170 00:07:34,654 --> 00:07:35,655 Jeff. 171 00:07:35,655 --> 00:07:38,924 The Press: Josh, an Iranian official has confirmed that 172 00:07:38,925 --> 00:07:42,628 the head of its elite military Quds Force -- 173 00:07:42,628 --> 00:07:45,565 if I said that correctly -- traveled to Russia to hold 174 00:07:45,565 --> 00:07:47,767 talks with Russian officials, in violation 175 00:07:47,767 --> 00:07:49,569 of an international travel ban. 176 00:07:49,569 --> 00:07:51,537 Now that that's been confirmed from the 177 00:07:51,537 --> 00:07:54,239 Iranian side, what is the U.S. reaction to that? 178 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:57,844 And what sort of concerns does it raise about both 179 00:07:57,844 --> 00:08:00,813 Russia and Iran's respect for that ban? 180 00:08:00,813 --> 00:08:03,282 Mr. Earnest: Well, Jeff, I've seen those reports 181 00:08:03,282 --> 00:08:05,784 as well, I'm not able to independently 182 00:08:05,785 --> 00:08:07,186 confirm them, however. 183 00:08:07,186 --> 00:08:12,792 I think what I would remind you of is we have indicated 184 00:08:12,792 --> 00:08:15,861 from the very beginning that our expectation was that 185 00:08:15,862 --> 00:08:17,864 this effort to reach an agreement to prevent 186 00:08:17,864 --> 00:08:22,068 Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon would not address the 187 00:08:22,068 --> 00:08:25,404 longstanding and lengthy list of concerns that we 188 00:08:25,404 --> 00:08:27,106 have with Iranian behavior. 189 00:08:27,106 --> 00:08:29,308 You mentioned Mr. Soleimani. 190 00:08:29,308 --> 00:08:32,745 He, in particular, is someone who has 191 00:08:32,745 --> 00:08:35,248 been subject to U.S. 192 00:08:35,248 --> 00:08:40,253 sanctions for quite some time because of the effort 193 00:08:40,253 --> 00:08:42,288 that he has undertaken to support terrorist 194 00:08:42,288 --> 00:08:43,356 organizations around the world. 195 00:08:43,356 --> 00:08:51,163 And again, I can't confirm these specific reports, but 196 00:08:51,163 --> 00:08:57,603 it is an indication of our ongoing concerns with Iran 197 00:08:57,603 --> 00:09:00,006 and their behavior and, in the mind of the President, 198 00:09:00,006 --> 00:09:03,675 makes it all that more important that we pursue the 199 00:09:03,676 --> 00:09:06,512 best available strategy to prevent Iran from obtaining 200 00:09:06,512 --> 00:09:07,512 a nuclear weapon. 201 00:09:07,513 --> 00:09:10,016 And that's exactly what the President believes this 202 00:09:10,016 --> 00:09:11,516 diplomatic agreement is. 203 00:09:11,517 --> 00:09:14,186 The Press: Does it raise any concerns about Russia? 204 00:09:14,186 --> 00:09:17,423 Mr. Earnest: Well, again, we have found over the course 205 00:09:17,423 --> 00:09:21,627 of this diplomatic engagement in the context 206 00:09:21,627 --> 00:09:25,298 of the P5+1 negotiations that Russia has been 207 00:09:25,298 --> 00:09:30,703 an effective partner, and the international community and 208 00:09:30,703 --> 00:09:34,040 the citizens of Russia have benefited from their 209 00:09:34,040 --> 00:09:36,041 willingness to cooperate with the broader 210 00:09:36,042 --> 00:09:41,347 international community in reaching an agreement that 211 00:09:41,347 --> 00:09:43,348 would prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. 212 00:09:43,349 --> 00:09:47,386 And we hope that Russia will continue to act 213 00:09:47,386 --> 00:09:49,121 cooperatively with the international community 214 00:09:49,121 --> 00:09:50,456 moving forward. 215 00:09:50,456 --> 00:09:53,125 The Press: But you're not worried that they would be 216 00:09:53,125 --> 00:09:55,194 holding meetings with Iranian military official? 217 00:09:55,194 --> 00:09:57,195 Mr. Earnest: I'm not in a position to confirm the 218 00:09:57,196 --> 00:10:00,299 individual reports. 219 00:10:00,299 --> 00:10:02,901 The Press: Going back briefly to Iran. 220 00:10:02,902 --> 00:10:06,472 Does this development, which you've characterized as not 221 00:10:06,472 --> 00:10:10,009 surprising, but disappointing, change the 222 00:10:10,009 --> 00:10:13,779 calculations for a lobbying campaign going forward over 223 00:10:13,779 --> 00:10:14,880 the next few weeks? 224 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:16,382 Does it change your answer to my question yesterday 225 00:10:16,382 --> 00:10:17,650 about the President's engagement while 226 00:10:17,650 --> 00:10:19,084 he's on vacation? 227 00:10:19,085 --> 00:10:21,787 Mr. Earnest: No, I do not anticipate that the 228 00:10:21,787 --> 00:10:23,990 President will spend a lot of time 229 00:10:23,990 --> 00:10:25,825 making calls on vacation. 230 00:10:25,825 --> 00:10:27,793 I think it's possible that the President would make 231 00:10:27,793 --> 00:10:29,795 some one-off calls, but I think most of the 232 00:10:29,795 --> 00:10:31,796 President's time on Martha's Vineyard will 233 00:10:31,797 --> 00:10:36,335 be spent with his family, or on the golf course, 234 00:10:36,335 --> 00:10:37,303 or a little bit of both. 235 00:10:37,303 --> 00:10:40,006 The Press: And overall, are you still confident about 236 00:10:40,006 --> 00:10:41,339 support for the deal? 237 00:10:41,340 --> 00:10:44,577 You listed the people who have come out in favor of 238 00:10:44,577 --> 00:10:47,213 it, but it's still got a ways to go. 239 00:10:47,213 --> 00:10:50,149 Mr. Earnest: Well, I think, Jeff, what's clear is that 240 00:10:50,149 --> 00:10:53,085 there are still a number of people who have not 241 00:10:53,085 --> 00:10:55,087 announced a position on this issue. 242 00:10:55,087 --> 00:10:57,089 And that's why you can expect that there will be 243 00:10:57,089 --> 00:11:01,227 continued discussions between senior 244 00:11:01,227 --> 00:11:03,228 administration officials and members of Congress even 245 00:11:03,229 --> 00:11:07,800 over the next several weeks that Congress is out of town. 246 00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:13,606 And we do continue to be confident in our ability to 247 00:11:13,606 --> 00:11:19,078 build strong majorities in both the House and the 248 00:11:19,078 --> 00:11:22,281 Senate among the Democratic caucus. 249 00:11:22,281 --> 00:11:30,021 And one of the reasons that that is the case is that 250 00:11:30,022 --> 00:11:33,125 there continue to be -- there's ample public data to 251 00:11:33,125 --> 00:11:36,362 indicate that this is an agreement that 252 00:11:36,362 --> 00:11:39,665 Democrats across the country support. 253 00:11:39,665 --> 00:11:41,634 And there's even some polling data to indicate 254 00:11:41,634 --> 00:11:47,473 that there are majorities of American Jews who 255 00:11:47,473 --> 00:11:49,909 support this agreement. 256 00:11:49,909 --> 00:11:55,581 And that continues to give us confidence that as people 257 00:11:55,581 --> 00:11:57,950 consider the terms of this agreement and as they 258 00:11:57,950 --> 00:12:00,252 consider the strategy to prevent Iran from obtaining 259 00:12:00,252 --> 00:12:03,122 a nuclear weapon, we've got a strong case to make in 260 00:12:03,122 --> 00:12:06,092 terms of persuading members of Congress and the American 261 00:12:06,092 --> 00:12:08,294 public that this is, in fact, the best approach. 262 00:12:08,294 --> 00:12:09,295 Justin. 263 00:12:09,295 --> 00:12:13,232 The Press: One more on Senator Schumer. 264 00:12:13,232 --> 00:12:16,334 A number of former senior administration officials, 265 00:12:16,335 --> 00:12:19,939 including Dan Pfeiffer and Jon Favreau, last night 266 00:12:19,939 --> 00:12:24,477 tweeted suggesting that between this and what 267 00:12:24,477 --> 00:12:27,847 Senator Schumer said about Obamacare in the past, that 268 00:12:27,847 --> 00:12:30,816 the base might not support him as the 269 00:12:30,816 --> 00:12:32,818 Democratic leader in the Senate. 270 00:12:32,818 --> 00:12:35,654 I'm wondering if Senator Schumer's position on this 271 00:12:35,654 --> 00:12:38,657 issue has brought that question to any doubt 272 00:12:38,657 --> 00:12:40,126 at the White House. 273 00:12:40,126 --> 00:12:42,161 Mr. Earnest: Well ultimately, this is a 274 00:12:42,161 --> 00:12:46,332 question for Democratic senators, and this is a vote 275 00:12:46,332 --> 00:12:50,903 that they will cast in early 2017 -- I believe that's the 276 00:12:50,903 --> 00:12:51,904 way the system would work. 277 00:12:51,904 --> 00:12:57,376 So this was a line of questioning that came up in 278 00:12:57,376 --> 00:13:00,312 this context when Senator Reid announced 279 00:13:00,312 --> 00:13:04,450 his retirement, and I said at the time that the 280 00:13:04,450 --> 00:13:07,486 White House did not anticipate -- this White House, at least 281 00:13:07,486 --> 00:13:12,324 -- would not take a position on those future leadership 282 00:13:12,324 --> 00:13:16,328 elections in the Senate Democratic caucus. 283 00:13:16,328 --> 00:13:18,531 That continues to be true today. 284 00:13:18,531 --> 00:13:20,532 But I certainly wouldn't be surprised if there are 285 00:13:20,533 --> 00:13:25,070 individual members of the Senate Democratic caucus 286 00:13:25,070 --> 00:13:29,441 that will consider the voting record of those who 287 00:13:29,441 --> 00:13:31,443 say they would like to lead the caucus. 288 00:13:31,443 --> 00:13:34,380 The Press: Earlier this week, a draft memo of an 289 00:13:34,380 --> 00:13:36,715 executive order that would require federal contractors 290 00:13:36,715 --> 00:13:39,718 to provide their employees with a week of paid sick 291 00:13:39,718 --> 00:13:41,719 leave was circulated on the Hill. 292 00:13:41,720 --> 00:13:44,490 I know that the Labor Department has said that no 293 00:13:44,490 --> 00:13:47,159 final decisions have been made, and you guys haven't 294 00:13:47,159 --> 00:13:50,162 commented so far, but I'm wondering, is this at a 295 00:13:50,162 --> 00:13:52,531 point where it's kind of getting through the 296 00:13:52,531 --> 00:13:54,934 regulatory language and crossing the t's and dotting 297 00:13:54,934 --> 00:13:58,204 the i's, or is there any reason that the White House 298 00:13:58,204 --> 00:14:00,305 wouldn't support and doesn't plan to implement 299 00:14:00,306 --> 00:14:01,507 such an executive order? 300 00:14:01,507 --> 00:14:04,175 Mr. Earnest: Well, Justin, I don't have any comment 301 00:14:04,176 --> 00:14:07,046 on the consideration of possible executive actions 302 00:14:07,046 --> 00:14:09,315 that the President or the administration might take 303 00:14:09,315 --> 00:14:11,850 in pursuit of priorities that we have laid out. 304 00:14:11,850 --> 00:14:14,587 The President has certainly made clear that he believes 305 00:14:14,587 --> 00:14:17,256 that middle-class families and our broader economy 306 00:14:17,256 --> 00:14:21,126 would benefit if more families had access to paid 307 00:14:21,126 --> 00:14:27,132 leave; that those kinds of policies help middle-class 308 00:14:30,135 --> 00:14:32,238 workers better balance the obligations they have at the 309 00:14:32,238 --> 00:14:35,040 office with the obligations that they have at home. 310 00:14:35,040 --> 00:14:37,943 And when those polices are effectively implemented, 311 00:14:37,943 --> 00:14:44,216 they have a way of improving productivity and bolstering 312 00:14:44,216 --> 00:14:46,285 loyalty to the employer. 313 00:14:46,285 --> 00:14:49,988 That's why we've seen so many private sector 314 00:14:49,989 --> 00:14:53,058 companies take action on their own to implement 315 00:14:53,058 --> 00:14:54,193 these kinds of policies. 316 00:14:54,193 --> 00:14:57,863 And I know that -- I believe it was Netflix earlier this 317 00:14:57,863 --> 00:15:01,934 week got a lot of attention for a paid-leave policy that 318 00:15:01,934 --> 00:15:05,704 they're implementing at that company. 319 00:15:05,704 --> 00:15:08,674 And they're not doing it out of charity; I'm confident 320 00:15:08,674 --> 00:15:10,675 they think it's good for their business. 321 00:15:10,676 --> 00:15:12,711 And the President has made no secret of the fact that 322 00:15:12,711 --> 00:15:16,615 he believes this would be good business for companies 323 00:15:16,615 --> 00:15:18,183 all across the country. 324 00:15:18,183 --> 00:15:20,419 But I don't have any announcements to make at 325 00:15:20,419 --> 00:15:22,688 this point about executive actions that may be under 326 00:15:22,688 --> 00:15:24,723 consideration in pursuit of that goal. 327 00:15:24,723 --> 00:15:27,358 The Press: A last one on Syria. 328 00:15:27,359 --> 00:15:30,362 In a meeting with columnists earlier this week, it's 329 00:15:30,362 --> 00:15:32,564 reported that the President said that he saw a glimmer 330 00:15:32,564 --> 00:15:36,035 of opportunity for a political transition in 331 00:15:36,035 --> 00:15:38,904 Syria that hadn't existed previously because the 332 00:15:38,904 --> 00:15:42,841 governments of both Iran and Russia were starting to 333 00:15:42,841 --> 00:15:45,644 worry about the stability there. 334 00:15:45,644 --> 00:15:50,516 So I'm wondering what the President is basing his 335 00:15:50,516 --> 00:15:53,886 assessment of positions of Russia and Iran on. 336 00:15:53,886 --> 00:15:58,457 Was this an issue that came up during the nuclear talks? 337 00:15:58,457 --> 00:16:01,360 Has the President or have administration officials 338 00:16:01,360 --> 00:16:03,829 had conversations with the Iranian government 339 00:16:03,829 --> 00:16:04,829 about Syria? 340 00:16:04,830 --> 00:16:08,000 And secondly, what is the U.S. doing to 341 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:10,903 seize advantage of this window that you 342 00:16:10,903 --> 00:16:15,040 perceive -- are there any policy changes that you are 343 00:16:15,040 --> 00:16:19,211 trying to undertake to sort of take advantage of this 344 00:16:19,211 --> 00:16:21,280 moment that the President sees? 345 00:16:21,280 --> 00:16:24,149 Mr. Earnest: Well, Justin, it sounds to me like an 346 00:16:24,149 --> 00:16:26,318 accurate characterization of what the President said 347 00:16:26,318 --> 00:16:27,519 in the interview. 348 00:16:27,519 --> 00:16:32,591 And the view that he was expressing was based on his 349 00:16:32,591 --> 00:16:34,860 own analysis of what's occurring on the ground. 350 00:16:34,860 --> 00:16:39,098 I think that many analysts with some expertise in this 351 00:16:39,098 --> 00:16:45,103 area have concluded that President Assad's grip on 352 00:16:47,139 --> 00:16:50,743 power is not as strong as it once was. 353 00:16:50,743 --> 00:16:53,278 And I don't have any specific conversations to 354 00:16:53,278 --> 00:16:58,083 tell you about, but there's reason to believe that it's 355 00:16:58,083 --> 00:17:01,219 not just analysts in the United States that have made 356 00:17:01,220 --> 00:17:06,458 this observation, but other interested parties in the 357 00:17:06,458 --> 00:17:09,995 region have also reached this conclusion as well. 358 00:17:09,994 --> 00:17:12,464 It's unclear exactly how that is going to change 359 00:17:12,464 --> 00:17:14,433 anybody's strategy or anybody's actions 360 00:17:14,433 --> 00:17:16,300 in the region. 361 00:17:16,300 --> 00:17:19,637 But as the President pointed out, it does offer at least 362 00:17:19,637 --> 00:17:25,077 a little bit more hope that our long-sought political 363 00:17:25,077 --> 00:17:28,347 reconciliation in Syria might be 364 00:17:28,347 --> 00:17:29,415 slightly more attainable. 365 00:17:29,415 --> 00:17:34,686 The Press: If he sees a window that's unique from a 366 00:17:34,686 --> 00:17:39,224 previous time, shouldn't he consider maybe some of the 367 00:17:39,224 --> 00:17:42,127 options about either arming more rebels, 368 00:17:42,127 --> 00:17:44,062 or backing them financially? 369 00:17:44,062 --> 00:17:47,933 Or maybe some additional U.S. intervention that 370 00:17:47,933 --> 00:17:50,836 -- whether it's airstrikes against the Assad 371 00:17:50,836 --> 00:17:53,772 regime or some sort of military 372 00:17:53,772 --> 00:17:55,206 effort against them? 373 00:17:55,207 --> 00:18:00,279 Mr. Earnest: I don't think that any of the steps that 374 00:18:00,279 --> 00:18:04,883 you just named would logically make some of the 375 00:18:04,883 --> 00:18:07,586 countries that you named in your original question more 376 00:18:07,586 --> 00:18:08,887 likely to be constructive. 377 00:18:08,887 --> 00:18:12,991 But I think it is safe for you to assume that the 378 00:18:12,991 --> 00:18:16,495 President and his national security team have been and 379 00:18:16,495 --> 00:18:18,764 continue to watch the situation in Syria quite 380 00:18:18,764 --> 00:18:26,138 closely and to consider a range of policy options that 381 00:18:26,138 --> 00:18:32,845 could improve what is just an awful situation. 382 00:18:32,845 --> 00:18:34,847 I had an opportunity to refer to it earlier this 383 00:18:34,847 --> 00:18:37,416 week of just the terrible humanitarian toll that this 384 00:18:37,416 --> 00:18:39,551 conflict has taken on that country. 385 00:18:39,551 --> 00:18:41,653 And the United States has committed significant 386 00:18:41,653 --> 00:18:44,490 resources to try to alleve some of that human suffering 387 00:18:44,490 --> 00:18:46,792 and to try to ease the burden on other countries in 388 00:18:46,792 --> 00:18:50,329 the region that have taken on so much responsibility 389 00:18:50,329 --> 00:18:54,633 for some Syrian refugees fleeing the conflict. 390 00:18:54,633 --> 00:18:56,635 So there are a variety of reasons to be concerned 391 00:18:56,635 --> 00:18:58,637 about the situation in Syria, and it's one that 392 00:18:58,637 --> 00:18:59,638 we continue to watch closely. 393 00:18:59,638 --> 00:19:00,639 Jim. 394 00:19:00,639 --> 00:19:03,242 The Press: Did Senator Schumer call the President 395 00:19:03,242 --> 00:19:04,943 to inform him of this decision? 396 00:19:04,943 --> 00:19:07,412 Mr. Earnest: The President was given a heads-up in 397 00:19:07,412 --> 00:19:09,915 advance of Senator Schumer's announcement. 398 00:19:09,915 --> 00:19:11,884 The Press: But you can't say whether or not it was a call 399 00:19:11,884 --> 00:19:12,885 from the Senator himself? 400 00:19:12,885 --> 00:19:14,887 Mr. Earnest: I don't have any specific 401 00:19:14,887 --> 00:19:15,888 conversations to readout. 402 00:19:15,888 --> 00:19:17,889 The Press: And you said you wouldn't be surprised if 403 00:19:17,890 --> 00:19:21,393 Democratic caucus members in the Senate were to take this 404 00:19:21,393 --> 00:19:23,395 into consideration, deciding who their 405 00:19:23,395 --> 00:19:24,863 next leader should be. 406 00:19:24,863 --> 00:19:26,865 How provocative would it be, do you think, if 407 00:19:26,865 --> 00:19:30,502 Senator Schumer were to start whipping against this deal. 408 00:19:30,502 --> 00:19:32,504 Coming out against it is one thing; whipping against 409 00:19:32,504 --> 00:19:34,005 it is another, I suppose. 410 00:19:34,006 --> 00:19:36,842 Mr. Earnest: Well, again, I think ultimately that will 411 00:19:36,842 --> 00:19:38,977 be a decision that individual members of the 412 00:19:38,977 --> 00:19:41,680 Senate will have to make. 413 00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:46,184 And I'm not sure that my opinion on that 414 00:19:46,184 --> 00:19:47,185 matters too much. 415 00:19:47,185 --> 00:19:48,186 The Press: Okay. 416 00:19:48,186 --> 00:19:49,187 And can you -- 417 00:19:49,187 --> 00:19:51,188 Mr. Earnest: I recognize that hasn't stopped me from 418 00:19:51,189 --> 00:19:52,190 weighing in on other things. 419 00:19:52,190 --> 00:19:53,191 (laughter) 420 00:19:53,191 --> 00:19:54,192 But in this case, I'll defer. 421 00:19:54,192 --> 00:19:55,527 The Press: Case-by-case basis. 422 00:19:55,527 --> 00:19:56,528 Mr. Earnest: Exactly. 423 00:19:56,528 --> 00:19:59,831 The Press: Can you measure the frustration level inside 424 00:19:59,831 --> 00:20:04,235 the White House right now in response to 425 00:20:04,236 --> 00:20:05,871 Senator Schumer's decision? 426 00:20:05,871 --> 00:20:09,074 Mr. Earnest: Well, again, I think I would stick with my 427 00:20:09,074 --> 00:20:11,076 description before as disappointing 428 00:20:11,076 --> 00:20:12,044 but not surprising. 429 00:20:12,044 --> 00:20:14,580 Again, this is a -- the fault lines of this argument 430 00:20:14,580 --> 00:20:17,349 date back more than a decade and this is a difference of 431 00:20:17,349 --> 00:20:19,985 opinion that President Obama and Senator Schumer have had 432 00:20:19,985 --> 00:20:21,553 for quite some time. 433 00:20:21,553 --> 00:20:23,555 Senator Schumer, in his announcement, made a strong 434 00:20:23,555 --> 00:20:30,529 case for the President of the United States seeking to 435 00:20:30,529 --> 00:20:32,931 impose the will of the United States on a sovereign 436 00:20:32,931 --> 00:20:35,133 country in the Middle East. 437 00:20:35,133 --> 00:20:39,805 And previous efforts to do that, like those that 438 00:20:39,805 --> 00:20:43,275 occurred in 2003, have not served the interests of the 439 00:20:43,275 --> 00:20:44,276 United States very well. 440 00:20:44,276 --> 00:20:50,315 And that is the essence of the disagreement that was 441 00:20:50,315 --> 00:20:51,316 brought to light last night. 442 00:20:51,316 --> 00:20:53,885 The Press: And getting back to the debate last night, 443 00:20:53,885 --> 00:20:57,222 was there one comment that was made that you would 444 00:20:57,222 --> 00:20:58,490 take most exception to? 445 00:20:58,490 --> 00:21:01,326 What struck you as being something that you really 446 00:21:01,326 --> 00:21:04,796 had a problem with last night in terms the way these 447 00:21:04,796 --> 00:21:06,798 candidates were talking about the President's 448 00:21:06,798 --> 00:21:07,799 record? 449 00:21:07,799 --> 00:21:10,168 Mr. Earnest: Jim, I think I'm going to resist the 450 00:21:10,168 --> 00:21:13,004 urge to choose just one, there were so many. 451 00:21:13,005 --> 00:21:14,006 (laughter) 452 00:21:14,006 --> 00:21:16,008 The Press: You are the President's spokesman. 453 00:21:16,008 --> 00:21:18,410 Mr. Earnest: Thank you for giving me the opportunity. 454 00:21:18,410 --> 00:21:19,411 (laughter) 455 00:21:19,411 --> 00:21:21,380 The Press: And I'll try another one -- I probably 456 00:21:21,380 --> 00:21:22,381 won't be successful. 457 00:21:22,381 --> 00:21:26,585 It's a Friday and he's leaving for vacation, but 458 00:21:26,585 --> 00:21:28,587 I'm going to give it one more try. 459 00:21:28,587 --> 00:21:30,589 Mr. Earnest: Maybe the third try is the charm. 460 00:21:30,589 --> 00:21:32,591 The Press: Third try is the charm. 461 00:21:32,591 --> 00:21:34,592 If I'm not mistaken, Secretary Clinton will 462 00:21:34,593 --> 00:21:36,595 likely be in Martha's Vineyard roughly the same 463 00:21:36,595 --> 00:21:37,596 time that the President will. 464 00:21:37,596 --> 00:21:38,563 Their vacations may overlap. 465 00:21:38,563 --> 00:21:40,565 That did happen last year, as a matter of fact. 466 00:21:40,565 --> 00:21:42,567 There was some news, as I recall, when that occurred. 467 00:21:42,567 --> 00:21:45,404 Do you think that it's possible that the two will meet? 468 00:21:45,404 --> 00:21:46,638 It's a small island. 469 00:21:46,638 --> 00:21:48,639 Mr. Earnest: Yes, it is a small island. 470 00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:50,642 The Press: The ferry service is limited. 471 00:21:50,642 --> 00:21:51,643 (laughter) 472 00:21:51,643 --> 00:21:55,047 Mr. Earnest: I don't know precisely what 473 00:21:55,047 --> 00:21:58,450 Secretary Clinton's vacation itinerary will be, 474 00:21:58,450 --> 00:22:01,853 but I wouldn't rule out that they may cross paths. 475 00:22:01,853 --> 00:22:06,725 If they do, we'll be in a position to let you know. 476 00:22:06,725 --> 00:22:07,726 April. 477 00:22:07,726 --> 00:22:09,528 The Press: Josh, I want to go back to 478 00:22:09,528 --> 00:22:10,996 a couple of subjects. 479 00:22:10,996 --> 00:22:13,665 First, I want to ask you about the Iran deal 480 00:22:13,665 --> 00:22:16,568 and the vote -- well, potential vote. 481 00:22:16,568 --> 00:22:18,537 You gave a glimmer of the tally. 482 00:22:18,537 --> 00:22:21,573 Do you have more insight on the tally you gave us -- 12 483 00:22:21,573 --> 00:22:23,108 members of Congress have come out in support -- 484 00:22:23,108 --> 00:22:24,476 7 House, 5 Senate. 485 00:22:24,476 --> 00:22:27,612 What's the overall number that you have so far? 486 00:22:27,612 --> 00:22:28,814 Mr. Earnest: I don't have an overall number 487 00:22:28,814 --> 00:22:29,648 in front of me. 488 00:22:29,648 --> 00:22:30,982 And even if I did, I'm not sure that I would share it. 489 00:22:30,982 --> 00:22:32,617 The Press: Well, why did you share this one? 490 00:22:32,617 --> 00:22:37,322 Mr. Earnest: To illustrate the persuasive power of the 491 00:22:37,322 --> 00:22:38,590 speech that the President delivered on Wednesday -- 492 00:22:38,590 --> 00:22:41,459 that these are just the -- and, again, the tally that 493 00:22:41,460 --> 00:22:51,837 I gave you, those are individuals who have 494 00:22:51,837 --> NaN:NaN:NaN,NaN publicly announced their support. 495 00:22:45,130 --> 00:22:48,834 So merely as a service to you, I highlighted -- I 496 00:22:48,834 --> 00:22:50,836 collated the public statements that have been issued and tallied them up for you. 497 00:22:53,105 --> 00:22:55,841 But, again, just the raw numbers here -- because 498 00:22:55,841 --> 00:23:00,411 we're talking about one vote per member of Congress -- 499 00:23:00,412 --> 00:23:02,414 the 12 members of Congress that have come out since the 500 00:23:02,414 --> 00:23:04,483 President's speech on the Democratic side is an 501 00:23:04,483 --> 00:23:07,985 indication of the momentum we hope to build on to build 502 00:23:07,986 --> 00:23:12,624 the strong majority in the Democratic caucus in both 503 00:23:12,624 --> 00:23:13,959 the House and the Senate that we expect 504 00:23:13,959 --> 00:23:15,193 in support of the deal. 505 00:23:15,193 --> 00:23:18,730 The Press: And you say, the support and non-support runs 506 00:23:18,730 --> 00:23:19,898 along obvious fault lines. 507 00:23:19,898 --> 00:23:22,501 But what do you say to someone like a Dave Scott in 508 00:23:22,501 --> 00:23:26,471 Georgia, who is a Democrat, who is going against it? 509 00:23:26,471 --> 00:23:30,275 Mr. Earnest: Well, I haven't seen Mr. Scott's statement. 510 00:23:30,275 --> 00:23:31,376 The Press: It came out -- 511 00:23:31,376 --> 00:23:32,677 Mr. Earnest: Okay. 512 00:23:32,677 --> 00:23:35,746 Well, it's hard for me to evaluate his opposition 513 00:23:35,747 --> 00:23:36,848 without having seen his statement. 514 00:23:36,848 --> 00:23:37,783 The Press: Okay. 515 00:23:37,783 --> 00:23:40,785 All right, on another subject -- the debate 516 00:23:40,786 --> 00:23:42,053 last night. 517 00:23:42,053 --> 00:23:46,458 There was verbal fisticuffs over this hug between 518 00:23:46,458 --> 00:23:49,961 Chris Christie and President Obama. 519 00:23:49,961 --> 00:23:51,730 Were you awake for that piece? 520 00:23:51,730 --> 00:23:52,697 Mr. Earnest: I was awake for that part. 521 00:23:52,697 --> 00:23:55,300 (laughter) 522 00:23:55,300 --> 00:23:56,635 The Press: It woke you up. 523 00:23:56,635 --> 00:23:58,970 (laughter) 524 00:23:58,970 --> 00:24:02,007 The Press: In your opinion, what was the essence 525 00:24:02,007 --> 00:24:03,208 of that hug, really? 526 00:24:03,208 --> 00:24:05,577 Because I mean, Republicans are really 527 00:24:05,577 --> 00:24:06,945 upset about that hug. 528 00:24:06,945 --> 00:24:09,748 It was the time of Sandy and a lot of emotion. 529 00:24:09,748 --> 00:24:12,651 What does the White House think about that hug, and 530 00:24:12,651 --> 00:24:14,052 what -- was the President surprised 531 00:24:14,052 --> 00:24:15,687 that there was a hug? 532 00:24:15,687 --> 00:24:17,923 Mr. Earnest: Well, we did have the opportunity to talk 533 00:24:17,923 --> 00:24:20,559 about this in 2012, shortly after that public display 534 00:24:20,559 --> 00:24:22,460 of affection occurred. 535 00:24:22,460 --> 00:24:26,565 And I think what it symbolized to a lot of 536 00:24:26,565 --> 00:24:29,968 people is the willingness of leaders in this country to 537 00:24:29,968 --> 00:24:33,038 set aside their own partisan identity and political 538 00:24:33,038 --> 00:24:37,275 ambition, particularly in a time of crisis, to ensure 539 00:24:37,275 --> 00:24:40,345 that the interests of the people they were elected to 540 00:24:40,345 --> 00:24:43,014 serve are protected. 541 00:24:43,014 --> 00:24:45,950 And here you had an instance of, shortly before an 542 00:24:45,951 --> 00:24:48,820 election, a Democratic President and Republican 543 00:24:48,820 --> 00:24:51,590 Governor working effectively to try to meet the needs of 544 00:24:51,590 --> 00:24:57,262 the people of New Jersey that were significantly and 545 00:24:57,262 --> 00:25:01,198 negatively affected by the storm. 546 00:25:01,199 --> 00:25:03,935 And I think that's the expectation that people have 547 00:25:03,935 --> 00:25:07,606 for their government, is that we expect to have 548 00:25:07,606 --> 00:25:10,275 robust debates in this democracy and we're going to 549 00:25:10,275 --> 00:25:14,112 have differences of opinion even occasionally within our 550 00:25:14,112 --> 00:25:18,216 political parties, but when the chips are down and when 551 00:25:18,216 --> 00:25:20,584 we're in the midst of a crisis and American lives 552 00:25:20,585 --> 00:25:23,188 are at stake, the American people have an expectation 553 00:25:23,188 --> 00:25:25,190 that their elected leaders are going to put aside their 554 00:25:25,190 --> 00:25:27,459 political differences and focus on the best interests 555 00:25:27,459 --> 00:25:28,460 of their constituents. 556 00:25:28,460 --> 00:25:32,364 And I think that this particular situation got 557 00:25:32,364 --> 00:25:35,467 outsized attention because it occurred just days before 558 00:25:35,467 --> 00:25:37,569 a significant national election. 559 00:25:37,569 --> 00:25:43,475 But this is the kind of governing style that the 560 00:25:43,475 --> 00:25:46,110 American people rightly expect, and it certainly is 561 00:25:46,111 --> 00:25:51,449 the kind -- it's the approach that President Obama has 562 00:25:51,449 --> 00:25:56,221 prioritized even in less high-profile or less 563 00:25:56,221 --> 00:25:57,889 scrutinized situations. 564 00:25:57,889 --> 00:26:00,758 It's not uncommon for the President to travel to other 565 00:26:00,759 --> 00:26:02,761 areas of the country that have sustained a natural 566 00:26:02,761 --> 00:26:07,032 disaster, for example, and even when it's clear that 567 00:26:07,032 --> 00:26:09,567 the vast majority of the local population didn't 568 00:26:09,567 --> 00:26:14,639 support his election, the American people in those 569 00:26:14,639 --> 00:26:16,975 communities appreciate that the President of 570 00:26:16,975 --> 00:26:17,976 the United States is there. 571 00:26:17,976 --> 00:26:19,978 And having had the opportunity to travel with 572 00:26:19,978 --> 00:26:25,116 the President to visit communities in both Oklahoma 573 00:26:25,116 --> 00:26:31,456 and Arkansas that had been affected by tornadoes, and 574 00:26:31,456 --> 00:26:32,690 even I was struck by it. 575 00:26:32,691 --> 00:26:34,960 It was clear to me that there weren't a lot of Obama 576 00:26:34,960 --> 00:26:37,162 voters in the crowd as the motorcade was passing by, 577 00:26:37,162 --> 00:26:41,533 and certainly not a lot of Obama voters necessarily 578 00:26:41,533 --> 00:26:43,534 picking through the rubble of a neighborhood that had 579 00:26:43,535 --> 00:26:45,203 been destroyed by a tornado. 580 00:26:45,203 --> 00:26:48,740 But at each turn, we've seen the President 581 00:26:48,740 --> 00:26:50,875 very warmly received. 582 00:26:50,875 --> 00:26:53,144 And again, I think that's the expectation the American 583 00:26:53,144 --> 00:26:55,647 people have for their political leaders, and it 584 00:26:55,647 --> 00:26:58,249 certainly is one of the reasons that the President 585 00:26:58,249 --> 00:26:59,351 is so proud to lead this country. 586 00:26:59,684 --> 00:27:02,520 The Press: And lastly, I know waning -- 18 months 587 00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:06,691 left -- but in this time, and because this is such a 588 00:27:06,691 --> 00:27:10,628 hot topic -- and this is one of the reasons why the 589 00:27:10,628 --> 00:27:13,331 President and other Presidents, I guess, have 590 00:27:13,331 --> 00:27:15,033 been elected, because they were thought to be people 591 00:27:15,033 --> 00:27:17,068 who can reach across the aisle. 592 00:27:17,068 --> 00:27:19,471 Do you think that this President, in the midst of 593 00:27:19,471 --> 00:27:22,907 all that he has to do in 18 months, that he will try to 594 00:27:22,907 --> 00:27:24,408 have more of an effort to reach across the aisle 595 00:27:24,409 --> 00:27:27,612 before he leaves office? 596 00:27:27,612 --> 00:27:29,581 Mr. Earnest: I think at least some of you saw the 597 00:27:29,581 --> 00:27:33,118 President just sign a piece of legislation into law 598 00:27:33,118 --> 00:27:37,054 creating a wilderness area in the state of Idaho, and 599 00:27:37,055 --> 00:27:39,858 standing over his shoulder was one of the Republican 600 00:27:39,858 --> 00:27:41,693 members of Congress from Idaho. 601 00:27:41,693 --> 00:27:44,095 I think that's at least one example of the President 602 00:27:44,095 --> 00:27:45,830 trying to find some common ground with Republicans, 603 00:27:45,830 --> 00:27:48,233 and, in this case, Congressman Simpson trying 604 00:27:48,233 --> 00:27:51,536 to find some common ground with President Obama despite 605 00:27:51,536 --> 00:27:53,505 the significant political differences that I'm sure 606 00:27:53,505 --> 00:27:54,472 that they have. 607 00:27:54,472 --> 00:27:58,510 And again, I think that's another illustration of not 608 00:27:58,510 --> 00:28:01,879 just the President's effort to reach out and try to find 609 00:28:01,880 --> 00:28:05,550 common ground when it's most important, but also a 610 00:28:05,550 --> 00:28:07,085 manifestation of the expectations of the American 611 00:28:07,085 --> 00:28:12,424 people that even in some of the darkest-red 612 00:28:12,424 --> 00:28:17,228 congressional districts in the country, that there's -- 613 00:28:17,228 --> 00:28:19,597 the expectation of even those people is that their 614 00:28:19,597 --> 00:28:21,166 member of Congress is going to work effectively with the 615 00:28:21,166 --> 00:28:23,868 Democratic President to advance the interests of 616 00:28:23,868 --> 00:28:25,136 their community. 617 00:28:25,136 --> 00:28:27,305 And that's what happened at least in this case. 618 00:28:27,305 --> 00:28:28,406 The Press: As they hug? 619 00:28:28,406 --> 00:28:29,274 (laughter) 620 00:28:29,274 --> 00:28:30,207 Mr. Earnest: I don't believe so. 621 00:28:30,208 --> 00:28:31,543 I wasn't in there, so maybe you should tell me. 622 00:28:31,543 --> 00:28:32,377 Lesley. 623 00:28:32,377 --> 00:28:33,244 The Press: Thanks, Josh. 624 00:28:33,244 --> 00:28:34,779 I wanted to go back to Senator Schumer. 625 00:28:34,779 --> 00:28:37,449 You called his decision disappointing but not 626 00:28:37,449 --> 00:28:38,683 surprising. 627 00:28:38,683 --> 00:28:41,686 But as recently as Tuesday I think it was, you said that 628 00:28:41,686 --> 00:28:43,855 the White House was in very close contact with him. 629 00:28:43,855 --> 00:28:44,856 Mr. Earnest: That's true. 630 00:28:44,856 --> 00:28:47,492 The Press: Have you been under the hope or 631 00:28:47,492 --> 00:28:51,029 expectation that he -- even if he was leaning no, that 632 00:28:51,029 --> 00:28:53,098 he would have waited until after the President gets 633 00:28:53,098 --> 00:28:55,733 back from vacation, until after September, until you 634 00:28:55,733 --> 00:28:59,104 had a chance to build up a campaign for votes? 635 00:28:59,104 --> 00:29:02,373 Mr. Earnest: It's not clear to me what expectations 636 00:29:02,373 --> 00:29:05,610 anybody had here about the timing of Senator Schumer's 637 00:29:05,610 --> 00:29:09,080 decision. 638 00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:13,150 What the administration sought to do was to work 639 00:29:13,151 --> 00:29:17,555 closely with him to help him understand the facts of the 640 00:29:17,555 --> 00:29:20,325 agreement and understand the details of what had actually 641 00:29:20,325 --> 00:29:22,861 been agreed to that gives the President so much 642 00:29:22,861 --> 00:29:24,863 confidence that this is the best way for us to prevent 643 00:29:24,863 --> 00:29:26,865 Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. 644 00:29:26,865 --> 00:29:31,102 And I mentioned on Tuesday that the efforts by the 645 00:29:31,102 --> 00:29:33,872 administration to engage Senator Schumer actually 646 00:29:33,872 --> 00:29:37,041 predated the completion of the agreement, that Senator 647 00:29:37,041 --> 00:29:39,144 Schumer had indicated an interest and a willingness 648 00:29:39,144 --> 00:29:42,981 to interact with the President's national 649 00:29:42,981 --> 00:29:47,852 security team to understand the details here. 650 00:29:47,852 --> 00:29:49,954 And it would have been foolish for the 651 00:29:49,954 --> 00:29:56,127 administration to rebuff his interest merely because of 652 00:29:56,127 --> 00:30:02,133 his widely known views as it relates to the Iraq war in 653 00:30:04,435 --> 00:30:08,907 2003; that we were going to engage him in pursuit of an 654 00:30:08,907 --> 00:30:11,842 opportunity that we might be able to succeed in 655 00:30:11,843 --> 00:30:14,946 persuading him to support the deal. 656 00:30:14,946 --> 00:30:16,947 But ultimately, it didn't turn out that way. 657 00:30:16,948 --> 00:30:19,250 I don't think anybody was surprised, but I think that 658 00:30:19,250 --> 00:30:21,252 would account for the disappointment that you've 659 00:30:21,252 --> 00:30:22,253 heard me express. 660 00:30:22,253 --> 00:30:24,656 The Press: But it sounds like the timing may have 661 00:30:24,656 --> 00:30:27,625 surprised you and more disappointed you, because 662 00:30:27,625 --> 00:30:30,528 you said Tuesday, as well, I think, that the President 663 00:30:30,528 --> 00:30:34,399 was not going to do anything on vacation but to vacation, 664 00:30:34,399 --> 00:30:35,733 and now there's a suggestion that maybe 665 00:30:35,733 --> 00:30:37,802 he will be making some calls. 666 00:30:37,802 --> 00:30:40,605 Mr. Earnest: Well, I think I was a little flippant in 667 00:30:40,605 --> 00:30:42,574 answering Jeff's question earlier in the week saying 668 00:30:42,574 --> 00:30:43,575 that I doubt it. 669 00:30:43,575 --> 00:30:47,278 I think that was my intent to try to convey to you that 670 00:30:47,278 --> 00:30:50,248 there would not be much time spent making phone calls. 671 00:30:50,248 --> 00:30:52,250 But I certainly wouldn't rule out that he might make 672 00:30:52,250 --> 00:30:54,552 some one-off calls, but that would have been true 673 00:30:54,552 --> 00:30:57,155 regardless of either the timing or ultimate 674 00:30:57,155 --> 00:30:59,157 conclusion that was reached by Senator Schumer. 675 00:30:59,157 --> 00:31:01,158 The Press: So there's no ramping up of what 676 00:31:01,159 --> 00:31:02,827 he plans to do? 677 00:31:02,827 --> 00:31:03,394 Mr. Earnest: No. 678 00:31:03,394 --> 00:31:04,262 Jim. 679 00:31:04,262 --> 00:31:05,663 The Press: A couple on the debate. 680 00:31:05,663 --> 00:31:07,832 Obviously President Obama is not on the ballot, but his 681 00:31:07,832 --> 00:31:12,337 policies were certainly under attack. 682 00:31:12,337 --> 00:31:14,504 Did it sting at all that what the Republicans seemed 683 00:31:14,505 --> 00:31:18,176 to say is that, while you're saying that the reason why 684 00:31:18,176 --> 00:31:21,145 the Middle East is such a mess now and because we've 685 00:31:21,145 --> 00:31:24,215 been led into this situation is because we went into war 686 00:31:24,215 --> 00:31:26,751 in 2003, what they're saying is because 687 00:31:26,751 --> 00:31:28,753 we gave up the war. 688 00:31:28,753 --> 00:31:33,858 And it's because -- they said that because 689 00:31:33,858 --> 00:31:35,260 President Obama ordered the troops out of Iraq, that's why 690 00:31:35,260 --> 00:31:37,729 -- that's led to the ISIS revival. 691 00:31:37,729 --> 00:31:40,465 Can you at least comment on that, if that was a direct 692 00:31:40,465 --> 00:31:41,899 attack on an Obama policy? 693 00:31:41,899 --> 00:31:44,034 Mr. Earnest: Well, Jim, I think it does serve to 694 00:31:44,035 --> 00:31:46,304 illustrate the starkly different approaches that's 695 00:31:46,304 --> 00:31:49,007 pursued by some Republicans and the approach that's 696 00:31:49,007 --> 00:31:50,208 pursued by President Obama. 697 00:31:50,208 --> 00:31:53,278 President Obama has made clear that he does not 698 00:31:53,278 --> 00:31:57,749 envision a scenario in which U.S. military personnel 699 00:31:57,749 --> 00:32:00,318 will be engaged in a sustained offensive 700 00:32:00,318 --> 00:32:03,921 ground combat operation in Iraq or in Syria. 701 00:32:03,921 --> 00:32:05,923 I know there are many Republicans who were on the 702 00:32:05,923 --> 00:32:08,426 stage last night who either, on the stage or previously, 703 00:32:08,426 --> 00:32:12,030 have articulated their support for a strategy that 704 00:32:12,030 --> 00:32:15,099 would include significant commitment of U.S. 705 00:32:15,099 --> 00:32:17,435 boots on the ground in Iraq and in Syria. 706 00:32:17,435 --> 00:32:20,405 The President does not believe that that would be 707 00:32:20,405 --> 00:32:22,407 the best way to advance the national security interest 708 00:32:22,407 --> 00:32:23,640 of the United States. 709 00:32:23,641 --> 00:32:25,643 But that's a disagreement that we've known about for 710 00:32:25,643 --> 00:32:26,644 some time. 711 00:32:26,644 --> 00:32:28,646 And ultimately, the American people will have to render 712 00:32:28,646 --> 00:32:30,982 their own judgment about the wisdom of starting another 713 00:32:30,982 --> 00:32:32,083 ground war in the Middle East. 714 00:32:32,083 --> 00:32:34,085 The President doesn't support that approach, but 715 00:32:34,085 --> 00:32:35,086 that's a well-known difference. 716 00:32:35,086 --> 00:32:37,288 The Press: But did the trouble start when President 717 00:32:37,288 --> 00:32:41,926 Obama ordered the troops start going down in Iraq, 718 00:32:41,926 --> 00:32:43,928 or had it started already before that? 719 00:32:43,928 --> 00:32:46,898 Mr. Earnest: Well, Jim, I think that what we have been 720 00:32:46,898 --> 00:32:52,337 clear about is tracing the genesis of this situation 721 00:32:52,337 --> 00:32:53,604 back to 2003. 722 00:32:53,604 --> 00:32:55,940 There has been extensive discussion about the fact 723 00:32:55,940 --> 00:33:00,178 that al Qaeda in Iraq -- al Qaeda was not in Iraq until 724 00:33:00,178 --> 00:33:02,246 the invasion occurred. 725 00:33:02,246 --> 00:33:04,415 And since then, we've been dealing with the 726 00:33:04,415 --> 00:33:07,752 consequences of that invasion and the 727 00:33:07,752 --> 00:33:11,589 infiltration and propagation of those extremist 728 00:33:11,589 --> 00:33:13,057 forces in Iraq. 729 00:33:13,057 --> 00:33:15,960 And we are dealing with these consequences even today. 730 00:33:15,960 --> 00:33:18,863 The Press: On the Iran deal, the criticism over and over 731 00:33:18,863 --> 00:33:22,233 on the Republican stage was that the United States got 732 00:33:22,233 --> 00:33:23,868 nothing in this deal. 733 00:33:23,868 --> 00:33:26,137 What did the United States get? 734 00:33:26,137 --> 00:33:30,675 Mr. Earnest: Well, Jim, what the United States got out of 735 00:33:30,675 --> 00:33:35,079 this deal is something that Republicans and even 736 00:33:35,079 --> 00:33:38,816 Prime Minister Netanyahu have long said is the 737 00:33:38,816 --> 00:33:43,254 top priority, which is verifiably preventing Iran 738 00:33:43,254 --> 00:33:45,255 from obtaining a nuclear weapon. 739 00:33:45,256 --> 00:33:47,759 That's the benefit of this particular agreement. 740 00:33:47,759 --> 00:33:51,162 That is a goal that Democrats and Republicans 741 00:33:51,162 --> 00:33:54,432 and even Prime Minister Netanyahu all agree that 742 00:33:54,432 --> 00:33:57,335 they had set. 743 00:33:57,335 --> 00:34:00,872 And this is, in the President's mind, the best 744 00:34:00,872 --> 00:34:02,874 way for us to accomplish that goal. 745 00:34:02,874 --> 00:34:05,276 The Press: On the other -- another subject, on 746 00:34:05,276 --> 00:34:06,544 immigration, if I could. 747 00:34:06,544 --> 00:34:10,648 DHS has, in fact, responded to the court about the 748 00:34:10,648 --> 00:34:13,551 detention centers along the border. 749 00:34:13,551 --> 00:34:14,951 Is this a change in policy? 750 00:34:14,952 --> 00:34:18,423 It does, when you read it, say that -- it sounds as 751 00:34:18,422 --> 00:34:23,660 though DHS is changing its policy of calling this even 752 00:34:23,661 --> 00:34:27,264 a detention center, but more of a processing center. 753 00:34:27,264 --> 00:34:29,866 Mr. Earnest: Well, Jim, as you and I discussed 754 00:34:29,867 --> 00:34:32,370 yesterday, this is something that the administration and 755 00:34:32,370 --> 00:34:35,540 the President have long acknowledged is a very 756 00:34:35,540 --> 00:34:38,275 difficult policy challenge and one that we have -- 757 00:34:38,275 --> 00:34:41,044 that's been difficult to confront. 758 00:34:41,045 --> 00:34:44,514 For the details of the policy and the way that it's 759 00:34:44,514 --> 00:34:47,018 described to the judge, I'd refer you to the Department 760 00:34:47,018 --> 00:34:48,019 of Homeland Security. 761 00:34:48,018 --> 00:34:50,020 I certainly wouldn't want to inadvertently describe it in 762 00:34:50,021 --> 00:34:52,590 a different way and cause a little interference or 763 00:34:52,590 --> 00:34:54,759 confusion in that ongoing court case. 764 00:34:54,759 --> 00:34:57,662 But this is a challenging issue and one that the 765 00:34:57,662 --> 00:34:58,763 administration takes seriously. 766 00:34:58,763 --> 00:35:00,765 The Press: But if I could just follow up. 767 00:35:00,765 --> 00:35:05,036 In the response, DHS says that in the two-week period 768 00:35:05,036 --> 00:35:08,973 from June 28th to July 11th, more than 60 percent of 769 00:35:08,973 --> 00:35:13,110 those at the detention centers were released. 770 00:35:13,110 --> 00:35:15,680 Is this because the White House is to begin changing 771 00:35:15,680 --> 00:35:18,716 the policy of how these processing or these 772 00:35:18,716 --> 00:35:20,718 detention centers are being used? 773 00:35:20,718 --> 00:35:22,687 Mr. Earnest: For those specific enforcement 774 00:35:22,687 --> 00:35:24,055 decisions, I'd refer you to DHS. 775 00:35:24,055 --> 00:35:25,256 The Press: Okay. 776 00:35:25,256 --> 00:35:26,223 Mr. Earnest: Margaret. 777 00:35:26,224 --> 00:35:26,991 Nice to see you. 778 00:35:26,991 --> 00:35:27,925 The Press: Nice to see you. 779 00:35:27,925 --> 00:35:32,230 Yesterday we saw the announcement that the U.S. 780 00:35:32,230 --> 00:35:36,033 had transferred the Umm Sayyaf, as she's known -- 781 00:35:36,033 --> 00:35:39,203 the wife of a senior ISIS leader -- 782 00:35:39,203 --> 00:35:42,607 to Iraqi Kurdish custody. 783 00:35:42,607 --> 00:35:45,343 And in the statement from the White House it said that 784 00:35:45,343 --> 00:35:48,846 she was complicit in the detention of an American, 785 00:35:48,846 --> 00:35:50,348 Kayla Mueller. 786 00:35:50,348 --> 00:35:53,451 I want to know -- because DOJ is saying that she will 787 00:35:53,451 --> 00:35:54,952 not face U.S. 788 00:35:54,952 --> 00:35:58,022 charges -- why there was, or if there was a policy 789 00:35:58,022 --> 00:36:01,792 decision not to more aggressively pursue that 790 00:36:01,792 --> 00:36:04,962 avenue of trying her, bringing U.S. charges. 791 00:36:04,962 --> 00:36:07,431 Mr. Earnest: Well, Margaret, I think there are a couple 792 00:36:07,431 --> 00:36:10,568 of things that factor in here. 793 00:36:10,568 --> 00:36:13,437 The decision to transfer Umm Sayyaf to the Iraqi 794 00:36:13,437 --> 00:36:16,374 government was based on a unanimous interagency 795 00:36:16,374 --> 00:36:20,310 consensus that the detainee's transfer would be 796 00:36:20,311 --> 00:36:23,447 appropriate with respect to legal, diplomatic, 797 00:36:23,447 --> 00:36:25,983 intelligence, security and law enforcement 798 00:36:25,983 --> 00:36:27,552 considerations. 799 00:36:27,552 --> 00:36:31,489 And I think that the large number of adjectives there 800 00:36:31,489 --> 00:36:33,891 should give you an indication of how many 801 00:36:33,891 --> 00:36:37,929 agencies were consulted about this particular decision. 802 00:36:37,929 --> 00:36:40,464 The determination of Umm Sayyaf's disposition has 803 00:36:40,464 --> 00:36:42,433 been conducted in full coordination with the 804 00:36:42,433 --> 00:36:44,602 government of Iraq, and both the United States and the 805 00:36:44,602 --> 00:36:46,770 Iraqi government are fully supportive of this transfer. 806 00:36:46,771 --> 00:36:48,906 Though, one other thing that I will add to 807 00:36:48,906 --> 00:36:56,581 that is that U.S. personnel did have an opportunity 808 00:36:56,581 --> 00:37:00,251 to interrogate Umm Sayyaf for an extended period 809 00:37:00,251 --> 00:37:05,690 of time to maximize the collection of available 810 00:37:05,690 --> 00:37:08,225 and useful intelligence. 811 00:37:08,225 --> 00:37:13,364 She was married to a senior ISIL leader, Abu Sayyaf, 812 00:37:13,364 --> 00:37:17,201 who was killed in a special operations raid in Syria 813 00:37:17,201 --> 00:37:19,270 earlier this year. 814 00:37:19,270 --> 00:37:25,843 And we do suspect that Umm Sayyaf was a member of ISIL 815 00:37:25,843 --> 00:37:28,279 and played an important role in ISIL's terrorist 816 00:37:28,279 --> 00:37:32,917 activities, and we do believe that she and her 817 00:37:32,917 --> 00:37:36,886 husband are complicit in the captivity of a U.S. 818 00:37:36,887 --> 00:37:37,888 citizen, Kayla Mueller. 819 00:37:37,888 --> 00:37:40,758 We believe they were also complicit in the captivity 820 00:37:40,758 --> 00:37:44,729 of a young Yezidi woman, who was rescued at the time of 821 00:37:44,729 --> 00:37:47,298 Umm Sayyaf's capture. 822 00:37:47,298 --> 00:37:51,736 We have a firm believe that in the context of the Iraqi 823 00:37:51,736 --> 00:37:55,106 criminal justice system that she will be held to account 824 00:37:55,106 --> 00:37:56,107 for her crimes. 825 00:37:56,107 --> 00:37:58,509 The Press: But given everything you just laid 826 00:37:58,509 --> 00:38:02,179 out, is there frustration, is there disappointment that 827 00:38:02,179 --> 00:38:07,451 now someone so complicit and engaged at a fairly senior 828 00:38:07,451 --> 00:38:11,689 level of ISIS now is outside the reach of U.S. 829 00:38:11,689 --> 00:38:13,957 justice and won't face U.S. charges? 830 00:38:13,958 --> 00:38:16,894 Mr. Earnest: Well, again, the decision to press 831 00:38:16,894 --> 00:38:17,895 charges in a U.S. 832 00:38:17,895 --> 00:38:21,799 court is made by prosecutors at the Department of 833 00:38:21,799 --> 00:38:24,101 Justice, and that's a decision that they would 834 00:38:24,101 --> 00:38:26,671 make, and they may be able to give you more of an 835 00:38:26,671 --> 00:38:29,272 explanation for the decision that they have made. 836 00:38:29,273 --> 00:38:32,843 At the same time, the reason that you had broad 837 00:38:32,843 --> 00:38:38,315 interagency consensus that this was the right approach 838 00:38:38,315 --> 00:38:41,052 is that the United States has confidence that Umm 839 00:38:41,052 --> 00:38:47,191 Sayyaf will face justice in the Iraqi criminal justice system. 840 00:38:47,191 --> 00:38:49,794 The Press: And lastly on that, you've talked a fair 841 00:38:49,794 --> 00:38:53,096 amount about a review of hostage policy that the 842 00:38:53,097 --> 00:38:54,965 United States has undertaken. 843 00:38:54,965 --> 00:38:56,867 How was this communicated to the family? 844 00:38:56,867 --> 00:39:00,104 Was there communication from the White House to the 845 00:39:00,104 --> 00:39:02,038 family of Kayla Mueller in regard to this? 846 00:39:02,039 --> 00:39:04,408 Mr. Earnest: Yes, it was communicated to 847 00:39:04,408 --> 00:39:08,179 Ms. Mueller's family prior to this public announcement. 848 00:39:08,179 --> 00:39:11,949 The Press: By the newly created structure? 849 00:39:11,949 --> 00:39:13,284 Mr. Earnest: That's a good question. 850 00:39:13,284 --> 00:39:15,152 I don't know exactly how that communication occurred, 851 00:39:15,152 --> 00:39:20,091 but it was communicated to Ms. Mueller's family here in 852 00:39:20,091 --> 00:39:23,194 the United States before any public announcement of this 853 00:39:23,194 --> 00:39:24,562 decision was made. 854 00:39:24,562 --> 00:39:25,930 Andrew. 855 00:39:25,930 --> 00:39:27,665 The Press: Another question on Umm Sayyaf. 856 00:39:27,665 --> 00:39:31,000 She was captured in Syria; her alleged crimes took 857 00:39:31,001 --> 00:39:33,404 place in Syria; she was living in Syria. 858 00:39:33,404 --> 00:39:34,905 Why is she being sent to Iraq? 859 00:39:34,905 --> 00:39:36,307 Mr. Earnest: She's an Iraqi citizen. 860 00:39:36,307 --> 00:39:38,341 The Press: Has she committed a crime in Iraq? 861 00:39:38,342 --> 00:39:42,646 Mr. Earnest: Well, I'd refer you to the Iraqi criminal 862 00:39:42,646 --> 00:39:45,416 justice officials about that. 863 00:39:45,416 --> 00:39:48,152 Obviously there's some reason to be a little 864 00:39:48,152 --> 00:39:50,121 skeptical of the effectiveness of the Syrian 865 00:39:50,121 --> 00:39:54,458 criminal justice system at this point. 866 00:39:54,458 --> 00:39:58,596 But for the charges that she'll face and where they 867 00:39:58,596 --> 00:40:00,197 took place, I'd refer you to Iraqi 868 00:40:00,197 --> 00:40:01,599 criminal justice officials. 869 00:40:01,599 --> 00:40:03,434 But the reason for her transfer to Iraqi criminal 870 00:40:03,434 --> 00:40:05,636 justice officials is because she is a citizen of Iraq. 871 00:40:05,636 --> 00:40:06,971 The Press: And also on Syria. 872 00:40:06,971 --> 00:40:09,673 Does the President think that it would be useful to 873 00:40:09,673 --> 00:40:12,176 have a poll or a rethink in the train-and-assist 874 00:40:12,176 --> 00:40:15,645 mission, given the cohorts of U.S. fighters that 875 00:40:15,646 --> 00:40:19,016 have been deployed have either been 876 00:40:19,016 --> 00:40:20,217 captured, killed, gone underground, or are refusing 877 00:40:20,217 --> 00:40:22,820 to fight Nusra? 878 00:40:22,820 --> 00:40:24,021 It seems like that's more than just a setback -- it 879 00:40:24,021 --> 00:40:26,857 seems like a failure of the program. 880 00:40:26,857 --> 00:40:28,993 Mr. Earnest: Well, Andrew, I think we've been pretty 881 00:40:28,993 --> 00:40:31,295 forthright and candid about the significant challenges 882 00:40:31,295 --> 00:40:34,398 that we've faced in trying to implement this 883 00:40:34,398 --> 00:40:37,268 train-and-equip strategy when it comes to recruiting, 884 00:40:37,268 --> 00:40:43,941 training, and supporting moderate Syrian opposition 885 00:40:43,941 --> 00:40:45,942 fighters to take the fight to ISIL on the 886 00:40:45,943 --> 00:40:48,212 ground inside of Syria. 887 00:40:48,212 --> 00:40:50,214 One of the most significant challenges that we face is 888 00:40:50,214 --> 00:40:52,283 actually conducting background checks of these 889 00:40:52,283 --> 00:40:54,919 individuals; that there is a priority that's placed 890 00:40:54,919 --> 00:40:57,621 on making sure that the individuals who go through 891 00:40:57,621 --> 00:40:59,957 this training program and receive significant military 892 00:40:59,957 --> 00:41:01,959 equipment from the United States and our coalition 893 00:41:01,959 --> 00:41:04,395 partners are not individuals who are prepared to turn 894 00:41:04,395 --> 00:41:06,663 right around and use that training and equipment 895 00:41:06,664 --> 00:41:12,503 against coalition forces or other moderate Syrian 896 00:41:12,503 --> 00:41:15,873 opposition elements operating in Syria. 897 00:41:15,873 --> 00:41:18,242 So this has been a difficult challenge. 898 00:41:18,242 --> 00:41:20,978 And as I mentioned yesterday, the President 899 00:41:20,978 --> 00:41:26,684 has been briefed on the current state of this mission. 900 00:41:26,684 --> 00:41:30,454 And I've often said that the United States -- that the 901 00:41:30,454 --> 00:41:33,924 President and his team is interested in working 902 00:41:33,924 --> 00:41:36,694 closely with our coalition to make sure that we are 903 00:41:36,694 --> 00:41:39,930 constantly reviewing the policies that we have in 904 00:41:39,930 --> 00:41:44,801 place and updating and improving and refining them 905 00:41:44,802 --> 00:41:46,804 when necessary to better accomplish our goal. 906 00:41:46,804 --> 00:41:49,406 The Press: Are you still deploying U.S.-trained 907 00:41:49,406 --> 00:41:51,208 fighters into Syria? 908 00:41:51,208 --> 00:41:53,377 Newly deployed -- 909 00:41:53,377 --> 00:41:55,645 Mr. Earnest: For an update on the current status of the 910 00:41:55,646 --> 00:41:56,714 train-and-equip mission I'd refer you to the 911 00:41:56,714 --> 00:41:57,915 Department of Defense. 912 00:41:57,915 --> 00:41:59,283 The Press: I'm sorry, just one final question on 913 00:41:59,283 --> 00:42:01,018 Senator Schumer. 914 00:42:01,018 --> 00:42:06,724 He voted for the Iraq war, described passing health 915 00:42:06,724 --> 00:42:09,126 care as a mistake, and now he's going to vote against 916 00:42:09,126 --> 00:42:10,261 the Iran deal. 917 00:42:10,261 --> 00:42:13,464 Does the White House have confidence in his judgment? 918 00:42:13,464 --> 00:42:17,401 Mr. Earnest: Well, there are a variety of other areas 919 00:42:17,401 --> 00:42:20,169 where I could cite that Senator Schumer has been 920 00:42:20,170 --> 00:42:24,141 supportive of other Democrats in pursuit of the 921 00:42:24,141 --> 00:42:29,880 President's agenda, but there's no denying that this 922 00:42:29,880 --> 00:42:31,916 disagreement -- this difference of opinion that 923 00:42:31,916 --> 00:42:38,188 emerged overnight is one that has existed between 924 00:42:38,188 --> 00:42:40,190 Senator Schumer and President Obama for 925 00:42:40,190 --> 00:42:42,359 more than a decade. 926 00:42:42,359 --> 00:42:44,061 Nadia. 927 00:42:44,061 --> 00:42:45,930 The Press: I just want to follow up on Jeff's question. 928 00:42:45,930 --> 00:42:49,433 So in the reports that you said you cannot confirm, one 929 00:42:49,433 --> 00:42:52,069 American official said that Qasem Soleimani 930 00:42:52,069 --> 00:42:53,771 has visited Russia. 931 00:42:53,771 --> 00:42:55,773 And actually there are details of the visit, that 932 00:42:55,773 --> 00:42:58,742 he spent three days and he met with President Putin and 933 00:42:58,742 --> 00:43:01,178 other defense officials, et cetera. 934 00:43:01,178 --> 00:43:03,681 So he did not just violate your own travel ban, but he 935 00:43:03,681 --> 00:43:07,751 also violated the U.N. Security Council ban 936 00:43:07,751 --> 00:43:10,754 that was imposed on him in 2007. 937 00:43:10,754 --> 00:43:13,089 So at least aren't you asking for some kind of 938 00:43:13,090 --> 00:43:16,560 investigation from the U.N.? 939 00:43:16,560 --> 00:43:19,863 Mr. Earnest: I'd refer you to our mission at the 940 00:43:19,863 --> 00:43:22,732 United Nations for information about any kind of requests 941 00:43:22,733 --> 00:43:24,735 that we're making of the United States. 942 00:43:24,735 --> 00:43:26,737 Nadia, I think I'd just remind you that we have been 943 00:43:26,737 --> 00:43:29,540 very clear that we do not anticipate that even the 944 00:43:29,540 --> 00:43:32,776 successful implementation of this nuclear accord that 945 00:43:32,776 --> 00:43:35,245 would prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon 946 00:43:35,245 --> 00:43:37,580 is going to resolve the long list of concerns that we 947 00:43:37,581 --> 00:43:41,251 have with Iran's behavior, including the behavior of 948 00:43:41,251 --> 00:43:44,555 this individual. 949 00:43:44,555 --> 00:43:46,190 The Press: Let me go at it differently. 950 00:43:46,190 --> 00:43:50,060 So if this report is true, doesn't it concern you that 951 00:43:50,060 --> 00:43:54,163 this person who has been in the forefront of the 952 00:43:54,164 --> 00:43:57,801 accusation or your opponent against the deal, that 953 00:43:57,801 --> 00:44:00,938 actually he is then going to be given more money and he 954 00:44:00,938 --> 00:44:03,073 would have more of a carte blanche to operate in the 955 00:44:03,073 --> 00:44:04,741 Middle East that should worry you, should raise 956 00:44:04,742 --> 00:44:07,044 some kind of red flag? 957 00:44:07,044 --> 00:44:08,645 Mr. Earnest: The opponents who are making 958 00:44:08,645 --> 00:44:10,280 that argument are wrong. 959 00:44:10,280 --> 00:44:13,217 The sanctions against Mr. Soleimani through the 960 00:44:13,217 --> 00:44:15,886 United Nations will remain in place once the deal is 961 00:44:15,886 --> 00:44:18,122 implemented for 10 years. 962 00:44:18,122 --> 00:44:20,257 And the President has been clear that the 963 00:44:20,257 --> 00:44:26,130 U.S. sanctions against Mr. Soleimani are unaffected 964 00:44:26,130 --> 00:44:29,099 by the deal, that there are sanctions against 965 00:44:29,099 --> 00:44:32,669 Mr. Soleimani because of his support for terrorism that 966 00:44:32,669 --> 00:44:34,337 will remain in place. 967 00:44:34,338 --> 00:44:40,677 So we certainly are mindful of his activities and our 968 00:44:40,677 --> 00:44:43,480 level of concern about them has not changed. 969 00:44:43,480 --> 00:44:45,516 I will tell you that our level of concern about his 970 00:44:45,516 --> 00:44:50,988 activities would be greater if he had access 971 00:44:50,988 --> 00:44:52,356 to a nuclear weapon. 972 00:44:52,356 --> 00:44:54,391 And that's why we're working so hard to prevent Iran from 973 00:44:54,391 --> 00:44:55,392 obtaining a nuclear weapon. 974 00:44:55,392 --> 00:44:57,394 The Press: Just on the breaking news. 975 00:44:57,394 --> 00:44:59,462 CNN just confirming that actually he did visit Moscow 976 00:44:59,463 --> 00:45:01,098 when he went to Russia. 977 00:45:01,098 --> 00:45:03,100 Mr. Earnest: That sounds like CNN's got some 978 00:45:03,100 --> 00:45:04,101 excellent sources. 979 00:45:04,101 --> 00:45:05,269 (laughter) 980 00:45:05,269 --> 00:45:06,270 Mark. 981 00:45:06,270 --> 00:45:08,605 The Press: Josh, as President Obama readies to 982 00:45:08,605 --> 00:45:13,043 leave on vacation later today, would you say that he 983 00:45:13,043 --> 00:45:17,114 regards the past seven months as especially tough 984 00:45:17,114 --> 00:45:20,217 and that this is a vacation he really needs badly? 985 00:45:20,217 --> 00:45:21,385 (laughter) 986 00:45:21,385 --> 00:45:26,390 Mr. Earnest: I think it is true that the -- those of 987 00:45:26,390 --> 00:45:29,493 you who have been closely following the President 988 00:45:29,493 --> 00:45:31,895 would note that his schedule has been especially 989 00:45:31,895 --> 00:45:35,466 demanding in the last several weeks. 990 00:45:35,466 --> 00:45:37,500 I think he would also be quick to tell you that the 991 00:45:37,501 --> 00:45:42,406 last several weeks have been especially rewarding for him. 992 00:45:42,406 --> 00:45:45,576 They've included a historic trip to Africa. 993 00:45:45,576 --> 00:45:51,148 They've included the completion of negotiations 994 00:45:51,148 --> 00:45:53,550 on an agreement to prevent Iran from obtaining a 995 00:45:53,550 --> 00:45:55,552 nuclear weapon that eventually got the unanimous 996 00:45:55,552 --> 00:45:58,922 support of the United Nations Security Council. 997 00:45:58,922 --> 00:46:05,829 It included the -- after a couple of snafus -- the 998 00:46:05,829 --> 00:46:08,932 passage of Trade Promotion Authority legislation that 999 00:46:08,932 --> 00:46:12,336 we're hopeful will allow the United States and a dozen 1000 00:46:12,336 --> 00:46:16,506 other countries in the Asia Pacific to complete a trade 1001 00:46:16,507 --> 00:46:19,676 agreement -- to say nothing of the Supreme Court rulings 1002 00:46:19,676 --> 00:46:24,948 that once again uphold the constitutionality of the 1003 00:46:24,948 --> 00:46:31,087 Affordable Care Act, and affirmed a right for 1004 00:46:31,088 --> 00:46:33,190 everyone in this country to marry who they love. 1005 00:46:35,259 --> 00:46:37,895 So it's been a rather rewarding, satisfying 1006 00:46:37,895 --> 00:46:41,465 several weeks even if the pace of those 1007 00:46:41,465 --> 00:46:43,467 accomplishments and the pace of that progress 1008 00:46:43,467 --> 00:46:44,468 has been rapid. 1009 00:46:44,468 --> 00:46:48,105 The Press: But he did move up the departure by a day. 1010 00:46:48,105 --> 00:46:50,807 Was he anxious to get out of town? 1011 00:46:50,807 --> 00:46:52,808 Mr. Earnest: Well, I think he took a look at the 1012 00:46:52,809 --> 00:46:58,448 schedule and recognized that he'd be able to fulfill all 1013 00:46:58,448 --> 00:47:01,118 of his immediate responsibilities at a decent 1014 00:47:01,118 --> 00:47:03,520 hour today -- that would allow him to spend the night 1015 00:47:03,520 --> 00:47:06,256 in Martha's Vineyard and get started on his vacation 1016 00:47:06,256 --> 00:47:07,424 first thing tomorrow morning. 1017 00:47:07,424 --> 00:47:10,494 And I know that the President is looking forward 1018 00:47:10,494 --> 00:47:13,530 to spending some time with his family when he gets up 1019 00:47:13,530 --> 00:47:14,531 there. 1020 00:47:14,531 --> 00:47:16,833 The Press: And, Josh, did you ever find out what he 1021 00:47:16,833 --> 00:47:21,138 was talking about when, at the start of his AU speech, 1022 00:47:21,138 --> 00:47:23,740 he said, even President have trouble with toner. 1023 00:47:23,740 --> 00:47:25,741 Do you know what he was talking about? 1024 00:47:25,742 --> 00:47:27,744 Mr. Earnest: I think there might have been a little bit 1025 00:47:27,744 --> 00:47:31,215 of a snafu when it came to the backstage printer at 1026 00:47:31,215 --> 00:47:32,282 American University. 1027 00:47:32,282 --> 00:47:35,552 The Press: No wonder he needs to get out of town. 1028 00:47:35,552 --> 00:47:36,553 (laughter) 1029 00:47:36,553 --> 00:47:39,189 Mr. Earnest: If it's not one thing, it's another, Mark. 1030 00:47:39,189 --> 00:47:45,596 The Press: Given the attack in Kabul today, in the last 1031 00:47:45,596 --> 00:47:48,865 24 hours this is the second major one after the new 1032 00:47:48,865 --> 00:47:52,202 Taliban leadership has engaged in more strikes 1033 00:47:52,202 --> 00:47:53,737 inside Afghanistan. 1034 00:47:53,737 --> 00:47:56,106 Do you think this is still the right time for having 1035 00:47:56,106 --> 00:47:58,842 peace talks with the Taliban? 1036 00:47:58,842 --> 00:48:01,445 Mr. Earnest: Well, let me start by saying that the 1037 00:48:01,445 --> 00:48:04,615 United States condemns in the strongest terms last 1038 00:48:04,615 --> 00:48:07,383 night's bombing in Kabul, which reports indicate 1039 00:48:07,384 --> 00:48:12,356 killed more than eight people -- I think latest 1040 00:48:12,356 --> 00:48:14,925 reports have increased that to 14 or 15 and there could 1041 00:48:14,925 --> 00:48:18,161 be more -- and wounded as many as 400 civilians 1042 00:48:18,161 --> 00:48:21,164 including women and children. 1043 00:48:21,164 --> 00:48:23,634 This heinous attack demonstrates once again the 1044 00:48:23,634 --> 00:48:29,373 ever growing gulf between extremists and the people of 1045 00:48:29,373 --> 00:48:31,008 Afghanistan. 1046 00:48:31,008 --> 00:48:34,011 And it certainly shows the blatant disregard for human 1047 00:48:34,011 --> 00:48:40,717 life on the part of those extremists. 1048 00:48:40,717 --> 00:48:42,919 The fact is, in recent years the Afghan people have 1049 00:48:42,919 --> 00:48:48,125 endured much, but they are resilient and are resilient 1050 00:48:48,125 --> 00:48:51,561 even in the face of a brutal insurgency. 1051 00:48:51,561 --> 00:48:57,267 We continue to believe and continue to urge the Taliban 1052 00:48:57,267 --> 00:49:02,506 to heed President Ghani's call for reconciliation and 1053 00:49:02,506 --> 00:49:05,241 make genuine peace with the Afghan government. 1054 00:49:05,242 --> 00:49:09,012 Let me hasten to add that in terms of who is responsible 1055 00:49:09,012 --> 00:49:11,448 for the attack, I'd refer you to the government of 1056 00:49:11,448 --> 00:49:12,449 Afghanistan. 1057 00:49:12,449 --> 00:49:17,354 I can't confirm that from here. 1058 00:49:17,354 --> 00:49:20,524 But what is clear is that there does appear to be an 1059 00:49:20,524 --> 00:49:26,529 opening, and we are hopeful that the Taliban will take 1060 00:49:28,865 --> 00:49:33,002 advantage of that opening to try to pursue a genuine 1061 00:49:33,003 --> 00:49:35,005 peace with the Afghan government. 1062 00:49:35,005 --> 00:49:37,274 President Ghani has made clear that he would nurture 1063 00:49:37,274 --> 00:49:38,842 and support that effort. 1064 00:49:38,842 --> 00:49:41,044 And we hope that those overtures will be 1065 00:49:41,044 --> 00:49:42,846 reciprocated by the Taliban. 1066 00:49:42,846 --> 00:49:45,382 The Press: And secondly, several times from this 1067 00:49:45,382 --> 00:49:48,785 podium you have said that countries like India, Japan, 1068 00:49:48,785 --> 00:49:52,556 South Korea are not going to be part of any additional 1069 00:49:52,556 --> 00:49:55,459 sanctions against Iran if this deal is not 1070 00:49:55,459 --> 00:50:01,464 (inaudible) Is this based on a reduction of -- 1071 00:50:01,465 --> 00:50:04,167 Mr. Earnest: Well, I think it's both. 1072 00:50:04,167 --> 00:50:06,036 And let me explain to you why. 1073 00:50:06,036 --> 00:50:09,005 You'll recall that when these sanctions were 1074 00:50:09,005 --> 00:50:14,711 originally put in place three or four years ago that 1075 00:50:14,711 --> 00:50:17,814 the United States traveled around the world including 1076 00:50:17,814 --> 00:50:22,152 to India, sat down with the Indian government and asked 1077 00:50:22,152 --> 00:50:25,188 them to curtail the amount of Iranian oil that they 1078 00:50:25,188 --> 00:50:26,390 imported into the country. 1079 00:50:26,390 --> 00:50:32,095 And we acknowledged in the context of those discussions 1080 00:50:32,095 --> 00:50:36,066 that this would be an economic sacrifice that the 1081 00:50:36,066 --> 00:50:38,201 people of India and that the economy of 1082 00:50:38,201 --> 00:50:40,904 India would have to make. 1083 00:50:40,904 --> 00:50:45,842 But Indian leaders agreed to it by saying that this is 1084 00:50:45,842 --> 00:50:48,645 something that they were willing to do if they can 1085 00:50:48,645 --> 00:50:51,815 advance our effort to prevent Iran from obtaining 1086 00:50:51,815 --> 00:50:55,252 a nuclear weapon through diplomacy. 1087 00:50:55,252 --> 00:50:57,854 In essence, that was the agreement -- that countries 1088 00:50:57,854 --> 00:51:02,692 like India had agreed that they would take these steps, 1089 00:51:02,692 --> 00:51:06,696 even at their own expense, to try to reach this broader 1090 00:51:06,696 --> 00:51:08,265 international agreement. 1091 00:51:08,265 --> 00:51:10,467 And the good news is that that agreement 1092 00:51:10,467 --> 00:51:12,135 has been reached. 1093 00:51:12,135 --> 00:51:14,137 And it is an agreement that is supported by the 1094 00:51:14,137 --> 00:51:17,474 international community -- 99 percent of the world, 1095 00:51:17,474 --> 00:51:21,645 as the President has described it. 1096 00:51:21,645 --> 00:51:24,948 And that's why it would be so damaging to the standing 1097 00:51:24,948 --> 00:51:28,919 of the United States for the United States Congress to 1098 00:51:28,919 --> 00:51:32,556 act unilaterally to kill this deal. 1099 00:51:32,556 --> 00:51:35,425 No longer would countries like India, who have been 1100 00:51:35,425 --> 00:51:39,196 making a substantial sacrifice over the years, 1101 00:51:39,196 --> 00:51:44,000 have any interest or incentive to continue to 1102 00:51:44,000 --> 00:51:46,403 enforce those sanctions against Iran. 1103 00:51:46,403 --> 00:51:49,638 There is no basis, there is no credible claim for why 1104 00:51:49,639 --> 00:51:52,576 they would be willing to do that. 1105 00:51:52,576 --> 00:51:58,615 And there is no denying the significant negative impact 1106 00:51:58,615 --> 00:52:01,484 on United States credibility for the United States to be 1107 00:52:01,485 --> 00:52:02,953 isolated in this way. 1108 00:52:02,953 --> 00:52:04,988 That's why the President has said if Congress were to 1109 00:52:04,988 --> 00:52:10,527 move forward to kill this deal or kill this agreement, 1110 00:52:10,527 --> 00:52:15,065 it would, in fact, yield a better deal for Iran. 1111 00:52:15,065 --> 00:52:17,067 Because what we would see is that Iran would get 1112 00:52:17,067 --> 00:52:19,069 sanctions relief; they would have the ability to sell oil 1113 00:52:19,069 --> 00:52:24,241 to India and get the proceeds of doing so without 1114 00:52:24,241 --> 00:52:26,409 having to reduce their nuclear stockpile by 98 1115 00:52:26,409 --> 00:52:29,779 percent, without having to put 13,000 centrifuges in 1116 00:52:29,779 --> 00:52:33,517 storage, without having to gut their heavy-water 1117 00:52:33,517 --> 00:52:37,620 plutonium reactor, and without having to submit to 1118 00:52:37,621 --> 00:52:39,623 the most intrusive set of inspections that have ever 1119 00:52:39,623 --> 00:52:41,625 been imposed on a country's nuclear program. 1120 00:52:41,625 --> 00:52:43,627 That's why I've long said that the case before 1121 00:52:43,627 --> 00:52:47,464 Congress is that Iran is going to get sanctions relief. 1122 00:52:47,464 --> 00:52:49,466 The question is whether or not the United States and 1123 00:52:49,466 --> 00:52:51,433 the international community is going to 1124 00:52:51,434 --> 00:52:52,602 get anything for it. 1125 00:52:52,602 --> 00:52:54,604 And that is ultimately the choice before members of 1126 00:52:54,604 --> 00:53:00,410 Congress right now, and it's why we continue to be 1127 00:53:00,410 --> 00:53:04,814 confident that we'll be able to build substantial support 1128 00:53:04,814 --> 00:53:06,816 -- at least in the Democratic caucus -- in both 1129 00:53:06,816 --> 00:53:10,352 the House and the Senate in support of this agreement. 1130 00:53:10,353 --> 00:53:11,354 Rich. 1131 00:53:11,354 --> 00:53:14,691 The Press: Josh, in the past, the administration has 1132 00:53:14,691 --> 00:53:16,692 charged Republicans with opposing certain 1133 00:53:16,693 --> 00:53:20,263 administration initiatives with a personal sense -- 1134 00:53:20,263 --> 00:53:23,533 that it was the President's support for something that 1135 00:53:23,533 --> 00:53:26,136 led Republicans to oppose it. 1136 00:53:26,136 --> 00:53:28,204 Do you think, or does the President think, that that's 1137 00:53:28,204 --> 00:53:30,040 the effect here with the Iran deal? 1138 00:53:30,040 --> 00:53:31,541 And if, let's say, a Republican President were 1139 00:53:31,541 --> 00:53:34,210 to produce the same document, would Republicans oppose 1140 00:53:34,210 --> 00:53:36,079 it as they do now? 1141 00:53:36,079 --> 00:53:39,282 Mr. Earnest: That's an interesting hypothetical. 1142 00:53:39,282 --> 00:53:40,984 I think there are a couple of things going on here, Rich. 1143 00:53:40,984 --> 00:53:45,055 I think the first one is there's no denying the fact 1144 00:53:45,055 --> 00:53:48,924 that senior Republicans in the United States Congress 1145 00:53:48,925 --> 00:53:52,028 appeared on television two days before the agreement 1146 00:53:52,028 --> 00:53:57,267 was reached to announce their opposition to the deal. 1147 00:53:57,267 --> 00:54:00,736 Senator McConnell appeared on Fox News Sunday two days 1148 00:54:00,737 --> 00:54:03,373 before the agreement was reached, and proclaimed 1149 00:54:03,373 --> 00:54:05,241 the deal "a bad deal." 1150 00:54:05,241 --> 00:54:07,243 This was even before the deal was reached, even 1151 00:54:07,243 --> 00:54:08,678 before the deal was announced. 1152 00:54:08,678 --> 00:54:12,882 So now the question is, why did he do that? 1153 00:54:12,882 --> 00:54:16,386 Does he have remarkable powers of clairvoyance? 1154 00:54:16,386 --> 00:54:18,021 That's possible. 1155 00:54:18,021 --> 00:54:25,095 It seems more likely that he is committed to the kinds of 1156 00:54:25,095 --> 00:54:28,964 arguments that he and other Republicans made in 2003 in 1157 00:54:28,965 --> 00:54:32,235 the run-up to the Iraq war, that he's committed to this 1158 00:54:32,235 --> 00:54:36,139 idea that diplomacy is not worth the effort, that war 1159 00:54:36,139 --> 00:54:39,442 in the Middle East is easy and that we can easily work 1160 00:54:39,442 --> 00:54:41,978 our will, and that the opinions of some of our 1161 00:54:41,978 --> 00:54:45,782 closest allies and partners in the world aren't worth 1162 00:54:45,782 --> 00:54:46,783 paying attention to. 1163 00:54:46,783 --> 00:54:49,685 Those were exactly the arguments that were made in 1164 00:54:49,686 --> 00:54:53,890 the march to war in 2003, and these are exactly the 1165 00:54:53,890 --> 00:54:55,892 kinds of arguments that we hear from Republicans, 1166 00:54:55,892 --> 00:54:59,462 including Senator McConnell, as they 1167 00:54:59,462 --> 00:55:01,931 advocate against the deal. 1168 00:55:01,931 --> 00:55:03,233 The Press: But does the President think that it's 1169 00:55:03,233 --> 00:55:05,335 also a matter of him, that were someone else 1170 00:55:05,335 --> 00:55:09,039 negotiating -- it's his -- the fact that he has 1171 00:55:09,039 --> 00:55:11,741 negotiated -- or his administration has 1172 00:55:11,741 --> 00:55:13,309 negotiated this deal is what's led to a bulk of the 1173 00:55:13,309 --> 00:55:14,511 opposition? 1174 00:55:14,511 --> 00:55:16,379 Mr. Earnest: Again, I think it's hard to tell. 1175 00:55:16,379 --> 00:55:19,015 I think there are a variety of motives that could be 1176 00:55:19,015 --> 00:55:21,283 ascribed here. 1177 00:55:21,284 --> 00:55:25,121 I think the clearest one is, again, that Senator McConnell 1178 00:55:25,121 --> 00:55:26,690 is making the same argument that 1179 00:55:26,690 --> 00:55:28,024 he made in 2003. 1180 00:55:28,024 --> 00:55:30,393 And it's the President's view that those arguments 1181 00:55:30,393 --> 00:55:33,496 and the policy that resulted from those arguments did not 1182 00:55:33,496 --> 00:55:36,499 advance the interest of the United States in terms of 1183 00:55:36,499 --> 00:55:39,334 going to war in Iraq in 2003, and he does not 1184 00:55:39,335 --> 00:55:41,604 believe that they would serve well the interests of 1185 00:55:41,604 --> 00:55:44,073 the United States if they were used to 1186 00:55:44,074 --> 00:55:47,911 successfully kill an agreement that 99 percent 1187 00:55:47,911 --> 00:55:48,912 of the world agrees with. 1188 00:55:48,912 --> 00:55:51,147 The Press: Does the White House fear a multiplier 1189 00:55:51,147 --> 00:55:55,418 effect from Schumer, Engels, senior Democrats opposing 1190 00:55:55,418 --> 00:55:57,454 this, perhaps that they would sway other Democrats 1191 00:55:57,454 --> 00:55:58,455 on the fence? 1192 00:55:58,455 --> 00:55:59,689 Mr. Earnest: Not particularly. 1193 00:55:59,689 --> 00:56:02,591 And I'll say a couple of things about that. 1194 00:56:02,592 --> 00:56:07,897 The first is that there was a story in Politico -- just 1195 00:56:07,897 --> 00:56:09,899 looking for a Politico reporter today -- 1196 00:56:09,899 --> 00:56:10,900 The Press: They're watching. 1197 00:56:10,900 --> 00:56:13,002 Mr. Earnest: Yes, they're watching I'm sure, carefully 1198 00:56:13,002 --> 00:56:17,474 covering our words as we have this discussion. 1199 00:56:17,474 --> 00:56:20,810 Politico did do a story sort of about the competing 1200 00:56:20,810 --> 00:56:25,749 political pressures on Senator Schumer -- and now 1201 00:56:25,749 --> 00:56:27,750 that I've embarrassed them I'm going to say something 1202 00:56:27,751 --> 00:56:29,786 nice about them -- because of their diligence in 1203 00:56:29,786 --> 00:56:32,856 reporting out that story, they interviewed a couple of 1204 00:56:32,856 --> 00:56:36,659 Democratic United States senators who continue to be 1205 00:56:36,659 --> 00:56:39,262 undecided, at least publicly, about whether 1206 00:56:39,262 --> 00:56:41,331 or not to support this agreement. 1207 00:56:41,331 --> 00:56:44,300 And both Senator Tester and Senator McCaskill were 1208 00:56:44,300 --> 00:56:48,538 quoted in the story saying that Senator Schumer's 1209 00:56:48,538 --> 00:56:51,174 eventual decision would have no impact on theirs. 1210 00:56:51,174 --> 00:56:54,778 And I think it was even Senator Tester who hoped 1211 00:56:54,778 --> 00:56:57,613 that the reporter wouldn't tell Senator Schumer that 1212 00:56:57,614 --> 00:57:00,784 his vote wouldn't factor into his own decision-making 1213 00:57:00,784 --> 00:57:01,785 on this. 1214 00:57:01,785 --> 00:57:05,687 I think the other data point that I can point out to you, 1215 00:57:05,688 --> 00:57:10,660 Rich, is that Senator Schumer is the senior 1216 00:57:10,660 --> 00:57:13,529 Senator from New York. 1217 00:57:13,530 --> 00:57:15,832 The junior Senator from New York also came out 1218 00:57:15,832 --> 00:57:19,803 yesterday, and she announced her support for the deal. 1219 00:57:19,803 --> 00:57:24,973 And since Senator Schumer made his announcement, at 1220 00:57:24,974 --> 00:57:26,976 least based on my tally -- and I don't know if anybody 1221 00:57:26,976 --> 00:57:29,546 has made any statements since I walked out here -- 1222 00:57:29,546 --> 00:57:31,548 but as far as I can tell, there's one Democratic 1223 00:57:31,548 --> 00:57:33,982 senator who has announced an opinion since then, and it's 1224 00:57:33,983 --> 00:57:35,985 Senator Tammy Baldwin, who came out in support 1225 00:57:35,985 --> 00:57:36,986 of the agreement. 1226 00:57:36,986 --> 00:57:38,988 So I think there is a preponderance of evidence to 1227 00:57:38,988 --> 00:57:42,292 indicate that Democrats are going to make up their minds 1228 00:57:42,292 --> 00:57:45,060 not based on Senator Schumer's conclusion, 1229 00:57:45,061 --> 00:57:47,530 but based on their own conclusions about the merits 1230 00:57:47,530 --> 00:57:50,667 of this agreement and the strategy to prevent Iran 1231 00:57:50,667 --> 00:57:52,669 from obtaining a nuclear weapon. 1232 00:57:52,669 --> 00:57:54,671 And as long as they do that, we're going to continue to 1233 00:57:54,671 --> 00:57:57,906 feel quite confident about our ability to build support 1234 00:57:57,907 --> 00:57:59,475 for this agreement in the Democratic caucus. 1235 00:57:59,475 --> 00:58:00,877 The Press: And quickly on the debate from last night. 1236 00:58:00,877 --> 00:58:02,846 The President missed the debate. 1237 00:58:02,846 --> 00:58:05,748 How engaged would you say is the President in the 1238 00:58:05,748 --> 00:58:07,350 Republican primary process? 1239 00:58:07,350 --> 00:58:10,553 I mean, one of these folks might meet him on 1240 00:58:10,553 --> 00:58:12,055 Inauguration Day in 2017. 1241 00:58:12,055 --> 00:58:15,591 Isn't he at least a little curious to see what the 1242 00:58:15,592 --> 00:58:16,593 debate produces? 1243 00:58:16,593 --> 00:58:18,595 Mr. Earnest: Well, the President is certainly 1244 00:58:18,595 --> 00:58:21,531 following the terms of the debate -- 1245 00:58:24,734 --> 00:58:27,103 just not in real time. 1246 00:58:27,103 --> 00:58:30,039 So the President is aware of the broader political debate 1247 00:58:30,039 --> 00:58:32,542 that's ongoing, and I'm confident that he will be 1248 00:58:32,542 --> 00:58:36,011 more than just a casual observer in the 16 months or 1249 00:58:36,012 --> 00:58:38,014 so between now and Election Day -- I guess it's 15 1250 00:58:38,014 --> 00:58:41,251 months between now and Election Day. 1251 00:58:41,251 --> 00:58:44,254 And there have already been a couple of occasions where 1252 00:58:44,254 --> 00:58:48,124 the President has been asked directly about some of the 1253 00:58:48,124 --> 00:58:50,993 outrageous claims of those who are running to replace 1254 00:58:50,994 --> 00:58:54,063 him ,and on at least one or two occasions, the President 1255 00:58:54,063 --> 00:58:55,832 hasn't shied away from responding. 1256 00:58:55,832 --> 00:58:57,500 Chris. 1257 00:58:57,500 --> 00:58:58,534 The Press: I want to just follow up. 1258 00:58:58,534 --> 00:59:01,604 Do you think that Senator Schumer's influence, 1259 00:59:01,604 --> 00:59:03,306 particularly on matters relating to Israel, 1260 00:59:03,306 --> 00:59:06,376 has been overstated? 1261 00:59:06,376 --> 00:59:09,545 Mr. Earnest: Well, I guess it's hard to measure exactly 1262 00:59:09,545 --> 00:59:12,081 what kind of influence he has on these matters. 1263 00:59:12,081 --> 00:59:14,617 He clearly is somebody who is very focused on these 1264 00:59:14,617 --> 00:59:19,155 issues, but he's also somebody who has arrived at 1265 00:59:19,155 --> 00:59:21,157 a starkly different conclusion than the 1266 00:59:21,157 --> 00:59:22,158 President has. 1267 00:59:22,158 --> 00:59:24,160 And I don't think anybody, including all of you, who 1268 00:59:24,160 --> 00:59:26,296 have had an opportunity to interact with the President 1269 00:59:26,296 --> 00:59:28,998 when he is talking about this issue would suggest 1270 00:59:28,998 --> 00:59:31,434 that the President has not paid a lot of attention to 1271 00:59:31,434 --> 00:59:32,435 these issues as well. 1272 00:59:32,435 --> 00:59:36,005 So I think it's hard to quantify. 1273 00:59:36,005 --> 00:59:39,642 We continue to be confident that the vast majority of 1274 00:59:39,642 --> 00:59:42,278 Democrats in the United States Congress will make a 1275 00:59:42,278 --> 00:59:45,281 decision based on their own conclusions and not on 1276 00:59:45,281 --> 00:59:46,282 Senator Schumer's. 1277 00:59:46,282 --> 00:59:48,284 The Press: So the President may or may 1278 00:59:48,284 --> 00:59:49,285 not make some calls. 1279 00:59:49,285 --> 00:59:51,620 But what will be going on during this period? 1280 00:59:51,621 --> 00:59:54,524 Because obviously early September they're going to 1281 00:59:54,524 --> 00:59:57,327 start looking at this, start voting on this, and even 1282 00:59:57,327 --> 01:00:00,229 though I think the analysis would say the numbers are on 1283 01:00:00,229 --> 01:00:02,332 your side, given that they have to get more than 1284 01:00:02,332 --> 01:00:06,935 two-thirds, you only have to get a third, you could still 1285 01:00:06,936 --> 01:00:09,272 feasibly lose this, so what's the strategy 1286 01:00:09,272 --> 01:00:10,540 between now and then? 1287 01:00:10,540 --> 01:00:12,976 Mr. Earnest: Well, Chris, as we talked about yesterday, I 1288 01:00:12,976 --> 01:00:16,479 believe this deal does not require congressional 1289 01:00:16,479 --> 01:00:18,848 approval, but there's no doubt that Congress can play 1290 01:00:18,848 --> 01:00:20,416 the spoiler here. 1291 01:00:20,416 --> 01:00:25,621 And we continue to be confident of our ability to 1292 01:00:25,621 --> 01:00:27,023 prevent that from happening. 1293 01:00:27,023 --> 01:00:29,025 But we certainly don't take any of these 1294 01:00:29,025 --> 01:00:30,026 votes for granted. 1295 01:00:30,026 --> 01:00:33,462 And while Congress was in session, you saw senior 1296 01:00:33,463 --> 01:00:35,465 members of the President's national security team 1297 01:00:35,465 --> 01:00:38,501 spending a lot of time on Capitol Hill in a classified 1298 01:00:38,501 --> 01:00:42,038 setting, in private meetings and even testifying under 1299 01:00:42,038 --> 01:00:44,507 oath, to help members of Congress understand exactly 1300 01:00:44,507 --> 01:00:45,575 what's included in it. 1301 01:00:45,575 --> 01:00:48,810 I would anticipate that even when Congress is out of 1302 01:00:48,811 --> 01:00:51,681 session that there will be a number of private 1303 01:00:51,681 --> 01:00:53,683 conversations that occur between senior members of 1304 01:00:53,683 --> 01:00:55,685 the President's national security team 1305 01:00:55,685 --> 01:00:56,686 and members of Congress. 1306 01:00:56,686 --> 01:00:59,222 And I'm confident that when the President returns to the 1307 01:00:59,222 --> 01:01:02,692 White House in a couple of weeks that he also will 1308 01:01:02,692 --> 01:01:08,931 reengage in that effort and will also be making a number 1309 01:01:08,931 --> 01:01:10,933 of calls and having a number of conversations, too. 1310 01:01:10,933 --> 01:01:14,771 The Press: A person close to the decision suggested -- 1311 01:01:14,771 --> 01:01:17,740 well, didn't suggest, told NBC, and I believe Politico 1312 01:01:17,740 --> 01:01:22,745 as well, that this announcement by Chuck Schumer 1313 01:01:22,745 --> 01:01:24,913 was to be made today but that the White House 1314 01:01:24,914 --> 01:01:29,152 leaked it last night deliberately because it 1315 01:01:29,152 --> 01:01:31,587 would get buried with all of the attention on the 1316 01:01:31,587 --> 01:01:33,256 Republican debate. 1317 01:01:33,256 --> 01:01:34,824 Did the White House leak this? 1318 01:01:34,824 --> 01:01:38,194 Mr. Earnest: No, the White House did not leak this. 1319 01:01:38,194 --> 01:01:42,231 And I'm not sure who thought that leaking it on Thursday 1320 01:01:42,231 --> 01:01:44,534 night would bury it. 1321 01:01:44,534 --> 01:01:46,536 Anybody who has been in this business for a few days 1322 01:01:46,536 --> 01:01:49,105 would understand that announcing this at 4:00 p.m. 1323 01:01:49,105 --> 01:01:53,476 on a Friday, particularly a Friday before the President 1324 01:01:53,476 --> 01:01:55,645 and I assume many of you are prepared to head out on 1325 01:01:55,645 --> 01:01:58,047 vacation, might have been a more effective strategy. 1326 01:01:58,047 --> 01:01:59,415 (laughter) 1327 01:01:59,415 --> 01:02:01,484 The Press: Just one more thing. 1328 01:02:01,484 --> 01:02:04,787 Since the President did not spend his leisure time last 1329 01:02:04,787 --> 01:02:08,591 night watching the debate, perhaps Jon Stewart? 1330 01:02:08,591 --> 01:02:10,726 Mr. Earnest: I don't know if he watched Jon Stewart's 1331 01:02:10,726 --> 01:02:13,329 final show. 1332 01:02:13,329 --> 01:02:16,699 It definitely started too late for me to stay up 1333 01:02:16,699 --> 01:02:17,733 and watch it. 1334 01:02:17,733 --> 01:02:18,501 But hopefully I'll be able to catch up on it 1335 01:02:18,501 --> 01:02:20,203 over the weekend. 1336 01:02:20,203 --> 01:02:21,204 Alexis. 1337 01:02:21,204 --> 01:02:22,271 The Press: Josh, can I just follow up? 1338 01:02:22,271 --> 01:02:25,608 Because the President gave an interview to CNN that 1339 01:02:25,608 --> 01:02:28,878 will air on Sunday and he had a quote related to this 1340 01:02:28,878 --> 01:02:31,314 -- I wanted to just follow up because events, of 1341 01:02:31,314 --> 01:02:34,317 course, have overtaken what he said yesterday. 1342 01:02:34,317 --> 01:02:36,385 So on Senator Schumer, can you just clarify, does the 1343 01:02:36,385 --> 01:02:39,055 President believe that Senator Schumer is making 1344 01:02:39,055 --> 01:02:42,825 common cause with the hardliners in Iran by 1345 01:02:42,825 --> 01:02:45,828 feeling that he is going to vote against supporting the 1346 01:02:45,828 --> 01:02:47,763 Iran deal? 1347 01:02:47,763 --> 01:02:49,265 Mr. Earnest: Alexis, I think what the President did say 1348 01:02:49,265 --> 01:02:51,299 in his interview does directly apply even to this 1349 01:02:51,300 --> 01:02:54,103 case, that the concern that the President had with the 1350 01:02:54,103 --> 01:02:56,839 actions of the Republican conference that he described 1351 01:02:56,839 --> 01:03:00,209 as making common cause with hardliners in Iran is that 1352 01:03:00,209 --> 01:03:02,145 they announced their opposition to this agreement 1353 01:03:02,145 --> 01:03:04,280 before the agreement was even reached, before the 1354 01:03:04,280 --> 01:03:06,349 agreement was even announced, before the 1355 01:03:06,349 --> 01:03:08,851 agreement was even available for those members of the 1356 01:03:08,851 --> 01:03:10,753 Congress to read. 1357 01:03:10,753 --> 01:03:18,161 And that's an indication of their ideological 1358 01:03:18,161 --> 01:03:19,162 opposition to this deal. 1359 01:03:19,162 --> 01:03:21,163 Hardliners in Iran are also ideologically opposed to 1360 01:03:21,164 --> 01:03:23,166 this deal, and that's the point that the President 1361 01:03:23,166 --> 01:03:24,167 was making. 1362 01:03:24,167 --> 01:03:27,336 I'd also point out that the other thing, the other way 1363 01:03:27,336 --> 01:03:30,305 in which Republicans in at least the Senate were making 1364 01:03:30,306 --> 01:03:33,075 common cause with hardliners in Iran is they wrote a 1365 01:03:33,075 --> 01:03:36,444 letter to the Supreme Leader of Iran, tracking closely 1366 01:03:36,445 --> 01:03:40,082 with the arguments that were made by hardliners in Iran, 1367 01:03:40,082 --> 01:03:42,884 trying to convince the Supreme Leader of Iran not 1368 01:03:42,885 --> 01:03:45,721 to engage in the agreement. 1369 01:03:45,721 --> 01:03:50,393 So that's the essence of the President's case. 1370 01:03:50,393 --> 01:03:53,696 And Senator Schumer reached a conclusion that we 1371 01:03:53,696 --> 01:03:56,365 strongly disagree with, but the essence of our 1372 01:03:56,365 --> 01:03:59,634 disagreement is vigorous but it's different. 1373 01:03:59,635 --> 01:04:02,471 Senator Schumer is advocating an approach to 1374 01:04:02,471 --> 01:04:05,641 foreign policy that minimized the likelihood of 1375 01:04:05,641 --> 01:04:11,614 success in diplomacy and relies far too much on the 1376 01:04:11,614 --> 01:04:14,317 ability of the United States to unilaterally impose our 1377 01:04:14,317 --> 01:04:18,721 will through force, if necessary, on a sovereign 1378 01:04:18,721 --> 01:04:20,456 Middle Eastern country. 1379 01:04:20,456 --> 01:04:23,359 That's what Senator Schumer advocated in 2003. 1380 01:04:23,359 --> 01:04:26,729 The President does not believe that that served 1381 01:04:26,729 --> 01:04:29,631 well the interest of the United States in 2003, and 1382 01:04:29,632 --> 01:04:31,834 he doesn't believe it serves the interest of the United 1383 01:04:31,834 --> 01:04:32,835 States well to kill this deal. 1384 01:04:32,835 --> 01:04:34,837 The Press: Just to follow up, and then one more 1385 01:04:34,837 --> 01:04:35,838 question. 1386 01:04:35,838 --> 01:04:37,840 So what -- tell me if I'm correct what you're saying. 1387 01:04:37,840 --> 01:04:41,777 Even though the White House was disappointed in 1388 01:04:41,777 --> 01:04:45,948 Senator Schumer's -- not surprised -- disappointed, not 1389 01:04:45,948 --> 01:04:50,519 surprised -- the distinction here between his expression 1390 01:04:50,519 --> 01:04:55,258 of views and Senator McConnell is that Senator McConnell, 1391 01:04:55,258 --> 01:04:57,827 ideologically driven, expressed his views 1392 01:04:57,827 --> 01:05:00,997 in July and Senator Schumer expressed his views 1393 01:05:00,997 --> 01:05:02,131 on August 7th. 1394 01:05:02,131 --> 01:05:03,299 Is that what you're saying? 1395 01:05:03,299 --> 01:05:05,601 Mr. Earnest: What I'm saying is that the month on the 1396 01:05:05,601 --> 01:05:08,904 calendar is less significant than the timing of these 1397 01:05:08,904 --> 01:05:09,905 announcements. 1398 01:05:09,905 --> 01:05:12,308 Senator McConnell announced his opposition to the deal, 1399 01:05:12,308 --> 01:05:15,444 he referred to it as a bad deal, before the deal was 1400 01:05:15,444 --> 01:05:16,445 even reached. 1401 01:05:16,445 --> 01:05:18,447 He called it a bad deal while the negotiators were 1402 01:05:18,447 --> 01:05:21,183 still sitting around the negotiating table in Vienna 1403 01:05:21,183 --> 01:05:24,887 -- far before the deal was reached, announced or made 1404 01:05:24,887 --> 01:05:26,389 available for his review. 1405 01:05:26,389 --> 01:05:29,191 That's an indication that he was ideologically opposed to 1406 01:05:29,191 --> 01:05:31,593 this, in the same way that hardliners in Iran were 1407 01:05:31,594 --> 01:05:34,297 ideologically opposed to this agreement, even before 1408 01:05:34,297 --> 01:05:35,298 it was announced. 1409 01:05:35,298 --> 01:05:36,866 The Press: So you're maintaining that 1410 01:05:36,866 --> 01:05:39,502 Senator Schumer had an open mind about this, but the 1411 01:05:39,502 --> 01:05:42,337 President's persuasion was not effective? 1412 01:05:42,338 --> 01:05:46,342 Mr. Earnest: What I'm saying is that Senator Schumer at 1413 01:05:46,342 --> 01:05:49,445 least read the agreement, talked to the experts who 1414 01:05:49,445 --> 01:05:52,581 were involved in negotiating it, spent time talking to 1415 01:05:52,581 --> 01:05:56,052 experts to understand the nuclear basis for some of 1416 01:05:56,052 --> 01:05:58,054 the strategic conclusions that were reached by our 1417 01:05:58,054 --> 01:05:59,855 negotiators. 1418 01:05:59,855 --> 01:06:02,391 That at least demonstrates a willingness to consider the 1419 01:06:02,391 --> 01:06:04,226 arguments of the other side. 1420 01:06:04,226 --> 01:06:06,228 And, yes, we were disappointed that he didn't 1421 01:06:06,228 --> 01:06:08,864 ultimately reach the same conclusion that we did. 1422 01:06:08,864 --> 01:06:14,070 But given his well-known view on a range of foreign 1423 01:06:14,070 --> 01:06:18,174 policy issues, the result is not particularly surprising. 1424 01:06:18,174 --> 01:06:20,710 The Press: One other question about the debate. 1425 01:06:20,710 --> 01:06:24,747 Because the President as his AU speech encouraged the 1426 01:06:24,747 --> 01:06:27,750 American people to contact their members of Congress 1427 01:06:27,750 --> 01:06:30,653 and because the debate last night had a viewership of 1428 01:06:30,653 --> 01:06:33,189 something like 16 million -- regardless of political 1429 01:06:33,189 --> 01:06:36,359 party, right -- is the President concerned that the 1430 01:06:36,359 --> 01:06:40,696 viewership last night will in some way overtake his own 1431 01:06:40,696 --> 01:06:44,200 appeal earlier in the week while members are at home, 1432 01:06:44,200 --> 01:06:47,069 while members have gone home to talk to their 1433 01:06:47,069 --> 01:06:48,137 constituents? 1434 01:06:48,137 --> 01:06:48,804 Mr. Earnest: No, the President is not worried 1435 01:06:48,804 --> 01:06:49,839 about that. 1436 01:06:49,839 --> 01:06:50,606 The Press: Thank you, Josh. 1437 01:06:50,606 --> 01:06:51,707 Mr. Earnest: Jared. 1438 01:06:51,707 --> 01:06:52,908 I'll do a couple more just because we're not going to 1439 01:06:52,908 --> 01:06:54,610 do this for a while. 1440 01:06:54,610 --> 01:06:57,012 The Press: Thank you for that. 1441 01:06:57,012 --> 01:06:59,315 Just to follow up on the Schumer, -- 1442 01:06:59,315 --> 01:07:01,617 Senator Schumer head's up. 1443 01:07:01,617 --> 01:07:04,320 Did Senator Schumer indicate -- because his statement was 1444 01:07:04,320 --> 01:07:06,789 pretty clearly worded and there has been no follow-up 1445 01:07:06,789 --> 01:07:10,526 from his office -- did he indicate that he would both 1446 01:07:10,526 --> 01:07:14,330 vote to override the President's veto in addition 1447 01:07:14,330 --> 01:07:16,799 to vote to disapprove the Iran nuclear deal? 1448 01:07:16,799 --> 01:07:20,002 Mr. Earnest: I don't know the details of the 1449 01:07:20,002 --> 01:07:22,471 information that was transmitted from Senator 1450 01:07:22,471 --> 01:07:25,341 Schumer's office to the White House, so I'd refer 1451 01:07:25,341 --> 01:07:29,612 you to Senator Schumer's office for a detailed 1452 01:07:29,612 --> 01:07:31,781 explanation of whether or not he would vote to 1453 01:07:31,781 --> 01:07:33,282 override a Presidential veto. 1454 01:07:33,282 --> 01:07:36,118 The Press: You were pretty pragmatic yesterday when you 1455 01:07:36,118 --> 01:07:39,587 were asked about does the number matter, and you said 1456 01:07:39,588 --> 01:07:43,125 both yesterday and today that it's really -- in your 1457 01:07:43,125 --> 01:07:46,662 words "Congress, don't screw this up." 1458 01:07:46,662 --> 01:07:50,533 When Democratic senators are considering their 1459 01:07:50,533 --> 01:07:53,569 leadership, should they consider both the vote to 1460 01:07:53,569 --> 01:07:56,337 disapprove and the vote to override? 1461 01:07:56,338 --> 01:08:00,276 Or does one matter -- I guess does your pragmatism 1462 01:08:00,276 --> 01:08:01,810 -- should that leak into the Democratic Senate caucus? 1463 01:08:01,811 --> 01:08:04,280 Mr. Earnest: Well, I think ultimately they'll decide 1464 01:08:04,280 --> 01:08:06,916 based on the criteria that they themselves set. 1465 01:08:06,916 --> 01:08:09,518 So I don't have any advice to dispense. 1466 01:08:09,518 --> 01:08:12,888 Though I would predict -- I suspect they will apply that 1467 01:08:12,888 --> 01:08:17,091 test as they consider their vote for the next Democratic 1468 01:08:17,091 --> 01:08:18,093 leader in the Senate. 1469 01:08:18,093 --> 01:08:21,029 The Press: So you're saying that the White House remains 1470 01:08:21,029 --> 01:08:23,965 pragmatic about the utility of the vote, and that a 1471 01:08:23,966 --> 01:08:28,170 motion to disapprove is not necessarily as important as 1472 01:08:28,170 --> 01:08:30,139 the override vote, which would be obviously true? 1473 01:08:30,139 --> 01:08:31,373 Mr. Earnest: Well, no, no, no. 1474 01:08:31,372 --> 01:08:34,410 I think I may have misunderstood your question. 1475 01:08:34,410 --> 01:08:38,013 My point is I think Democrats in the Senate will 1476 01:08:38,013 --> 01:08:40,448 make up their own mind and apply their own criteria in 1477 01:08:40,448 --> 01:08:43,986 terms of how they choose their next leader. 1478 01:08:43,986 --> 01:08:47,389 I merely suspect that many of them will include in 1479 01:08:47,389 --> 01:08:50,926 their criteria the voting record of those who say they 1480 01:08:50,926 --> 01:08:52,661 want to lead the caucus. 1481 01:08:52,661 --> 01:08:54,697 But ultimately that's up for them to decide. 1482 01:08:54,697 --> 01:08:55,798 Maybe some of them won't. 1483 01:08:55,798 --> 01:09:01,804 That's their own decision to make. 1484 01:09:04,473 --> 01:09:06,709 In terms of the best way for members of Congress in 1485 01:09:06,709 --> 01:09:10,246 either party who wants to support the deal, we would 1486 01:09:10,246 --> 01:09:13,315 both encourage them strongly -- and in the mind of the 1487 01:09:13,314 --> 01:09:15,584 President, it's a close call -- in terms of making the 1488 01:09:15,584 --> 01:09:20,555 decision to both oppose a resolution of disapproval 1489 01:09:20,555 --> 01:09:24,460 and certainly oppose an effort to override the 1490 01:09:24,460 --> 01:09:27,897 Presidential veto if that resolution of disapproval 1491 01:09:27,897 --> 01:09:29,798 does pass. 1492 01:09:29,798 --> 01:09:30,799 Chris. 1493 01:09:30,799 --> 01:09:33,068 The Press: Josh, a question on the GOP debate last night. 1494 01:09:33,068 --> 01:09:36,872 A number of the Republican candidates pledged to take 1495 01:09:36,872 --> 01:09:38,908 unilateral actions if elected on behalf of 1496 01:09:38,908 --> 01:09:40,209 (inaudible) 1497 01:09:40,209 --> 01:09:43,112 seen to enable LGBT discrimination. 1498 01:09:43,112 --> 01:09:45,381 And Mike Huckabee objected to the Pentagon's plan on 1499 01:09:45,381 --> 01:09:46,515 transgender service. 1500 01:09:46,515 --> 01:09:48,884 And even though John Kasich expressed some nuance, all 1501 01:09:48,884 --> 01:09:51,587 17 candidates opposed same-sex marriage. 1502 01:09:51,587 --> 01:09:53,155 If any one of these Republican candidates are 1503 01:09:53,154 --> 01:09:55,291 elected to the White House, are the President's advances 1504 01:09:55,291 --> 01:09:58,928 for the LGBT community at risk? 1505 01:09:58,928 --> 01:10:00,296 Mr. Earnest: Well, Chris, I think that's a 1506 01:10:00,296 --> 01:10:01,330 hard thing to say. 1507 01:10:01,330 --> 01:10:05,800 I think that so much of the progress that has been made 1508 01:10:05,801 --> 01:10:11,907 is progress that a substantial number of 1509 01:10:11,907 --> 01:10:15,778 Americans have come around to supporting. 1510 01:10:15,778 --> 01:10:19,515 And I think that speaks to not just the critically 1511 01:10:19,515 --> 01:10:22,585 important political progress that's been made in this 1512 01:10:22,585 --> 01:10:24,587 country on some of the issues that you've just 1513 01:10:24,587 --> 01:10:27,022 cited, but in some ways I think you can make a pretty 1514 01:10:27,022 --> 01:10:31,393 persuasive argument that at least as important as that 1515 01:10:31,393 --> 01:10:34,396 is the social progress that's been made in 1516 01:10:34,396 --> 01:10:36,465 communities, large and small, across the country in 1517 01:10:36,465 --> 01:10:39,034 which discussions of these issues are taking place 1518 01:10:39,034 --> 01:10:43,705 outside the context of any sort of political election 1519 01:10:43,706 --> 01:10:46,375 or partisan debate. 1520 01:10:46,375 --> 01:10:52,147 And it's my view that at least some of that social 1521 01:10:52,147 --> 01:10:56,818 progress would not have been possible without some 1522 01:10:56,819 --> 01:10:58,954 political leadership. 1523 01:10:58,954 --> 01:11:01,290 And that's why the President is, justifiably, proud of 1524 01:11:01,290 --> 01:11:02,291 his record. 1525 01:11:02,291 --> 01:11:10,065 But the real power behind this change in the view of 1526 01:11:10,065 --> 01:11:16,804 so many Americans, as we perfect our union, is the 1527 01:11:16,805 --> 01:11:20,142 power of the American people and the significant change 1528 01:11:20,142 --> 01:11:22,911 that we've seen in a relatively short 1529 01:11:22,911 --> 01:11:23,912 period of time. 1530 01:11:23,912 --> 01:11:25,914 The Press: You can't deny, though, a lot of this change 1531 01:11:25,914 --> 01:11:29,418 is a result of the President taking action on these 1532 01:11:29,418 --> 01:11:32,353 issues -- for example, the executive order barring 1533 01:11:32,354 --> 01:11:34,623 anti-LGBT discrimination among federal contractors. 1534 01:11:34,623 --> 01:11:37,526 That could be -- the President signed that; a 1535 01:11:37,526 --> 01:11:39,028 subsequent President could undo it. 1536 01:11:39,028 --> 01:11:41,130 So isn't that in danger at all? 1537 01:11:41,130 --> 01:11:42,931 Mr. Earnest: Well, again, I think I alluded to this in 1538 01:11:42,931 --> 01:11:43,999 my first answer. 1539 01:11:43,999 --> 01:11:45,733 I do think that some of the social progress that's been 1540 01:11:45,734 --> 01:11:50,706 made can be attributed to some political leadership, 1541 01:11:50,706 --> 01:11:53,075 including political leadership by the President 1542 01:11:53,075 --> 01:11:54,076 of the United States. 1543 01:11:54,076 --> 01:11:57,946 And there's no doubt that we would have liked to have 1544 01:11:57,946 --> 01:12:00,149 seen Congress take some of the steps that the President 1545 01:12:00,149 --> 01:12:04,887 has been forced to take on his own to try to make our 1546 01:12:04,887 --> 01:12:06,889 country a little more just and a little bit more fair. 1547 01:12:06,889 --> 01:12:08,424 Congress has resisted. 1548 01:12:08,424 --> 01:12:14,396 But ultimately, those voters who prioritize these issues 1549 01:12:16,832 --> 01:12:22,705 I'm confident will look carefully at the views and 1550 01:12:22,705 --> 01:12:25,674 records of those who are running for President -- 1551 01:12:25,674 --> 01:12:28,610 because there's no denying the kind of authority that 1552 01:12:28,610 --> 01:12:33,715 they could wield sitting in the Oval Office on these issues. 1553 01:12:33,716 --> 01:12:34,917 Molly. 1554 01:12:34,917 --> 01:12:37,019 The Press: I want to just follow up briefly on Andrew 1555 01:12:37,019 --> 01:12:39,254 and Justin's questions. 1556 01:12:39,254 --> 01:12:43,791 Regarding the transfer of the Iraqi detainee, I had 1557 01:12:43,792 --> 01:12:50,199 asked you about her disposition a few weeks ago 1558 01:12:50,199 --> 01:12:51,299 and you seemed to hold up as an example -- you said the 1559 01:12:51,300 --> 01:12:54,103 record that the Obama administration has of capturing, 1560 01:12:54,103 --> 01:12:56,105 building a case, trying terrorist suspects in U.S. 1561 01:12:56,105 --> 01:12:59,141 courts was part of the decision in transferring her 1562 01:12:59,141 --> 01:13:01,643 to the Iraqis because there was insufficient evidence -- 1563 01:13:01,643 --> 01:13:04,346 there was reporting that DOJ was building a case. 1564 01:13:04,346 --> 01:13:06,915 So was there insufficient evidence that would have 1565 01:13:06,915 --> 01:13:09,151 either -- that would have held up in U.S. courts? 1566 01:13:09,151 --> 01:13:10,786 Was that part of the reasoning? 1567 01:13:10,786 --> 01:13:12,755 Or was part of the reasoning additionally because the 1568 01:13:12,755 --> 01:13:15,991 Iraqi government opposed this, given it provisions in 1569 01:13:15,991 --> 01:13:19,695 their own constitution that they can't hand over their 1570 01:13:19,695 --> 01:13:21,697 citizens to foreign groups? 1571 01:13:21,697 --> 01:13:25,200 And then also, why was she given to the Kurds rather 1572 01:13:25,200 --> 01:13:30,072 than to Iraqi authorities? 1573 01:13:30,072 --> 01:13:31,840 Mr. Earnest: There's a lot there. 1574 01:13:31,840 --> 01:13:32,808 Let me see if I can get through -- 1575 01:13:32,808 --> 01:13:33,542 The Press: Sorry, that's -- 1576 01:13:33,542 --> 01:13:34,309 Mr. Earnest: That's okay. 1577 01:13:34,309 --> 01:13:34,943 That's okay. 1578 01:13:34,943 --> 01:13:37,446 Let's get through all of that. 1579 01:13:37,446 --> 01:13:42,351 Just in terms of why she will be put through the 1580 01:13:42,351 --> 01:13:47,822 Kurdish system is that while we obviously can't guarantee 1581 01:13:47,823 --> 01:13:50,893 a particular result, we do have a firm belief that she 1582 01:13:50,893 --> 01:13:55,364 will be held accountable for her crimes. 1583 01:13:55,364 --> 01:13:58,534 And the United States stands ready to cooperate with 1584 01:13:58,534 --> 01:14:02,670 authorities in Iraq to support a prosecution and 1585 01:14:02,671 --> 01:14:06,341 assist in ensuring that justice is served. 1586 01:14:06,341 --> 01:14:09,044 The other relevant facts here is that Umm Sayyaf has 1587 01:14:09,044 --> 01:14:14,782 been detained in Erbil for the last few months. 1588 01:14:14,783 --> 01:14:18,153 And in the course of that detention, we've worked 1589 01:14:18,153 --> 01:14:21,657 closely with the Kurdistan regional government and the 1590 01:14:21,657 --> 01:14:24,193 criminal justice authorities there. 1591 01:14:24,193 --> 01:14:27,896 And one of the other reasons that this makes sense in 1592 01:14:27,896 --> 01:14:33,669 terms of having her go through the Kurdish criminal 1593 01:14:33,669 --> 01:14:36,772 justice system relates to the location of potential 1594 01:14:36,772 --> 01:14:42,611 witnesses who would take part in these proceedings. 1595 01:14:42,611 --> 01:14:47,115 I'm not aware of any concern that the Department of 1596 01:14:47,115 --> 01:14:52,454 Justice expressed about the weakness of their case. 1597 01:14:52,454 --> 01:14:54,923 You can go speak to them more directly about this. 1598 01:14:54,923 --> 01:14:59,628 But I do think that you could conclude that we 1599 01:14:59,628 --> 01:15:03,565 believe this was the best course of action because, as 1600 01:15:03,565 --> 01:15:06,134 I referred to earlier, this is the conclusion of the 1601 01:15:06,134 --> 01:15:09,371 intelligence community, the diplomatic community, 1602 01:15:09,371 --> 01:15:11,373 certainly our national security and our law 1603 01:15:11,373 --> 01:15:13,875 enforcement officials, that this is the best 1604 01:15:13,876 --> 01:15:14,877 disposition. 1605 01:15:14,877 --> 01:15:18,680 And this is a conclusion that we reached in agreement 1606 01:15:18,680 --> 01:15:21,683 with Iraqi officials as well. 1607 01:15:21,683 --> 01:15:24,853 The Press: But did Baghdad ask for her? 1608 01:15:24,853 --> 01:15:26,922 Did Baghdad request that the U.S. 1609 01:15:26,922 --> 01:15:27,923 hand her over? 1610 01:15:27,923 --> 01:15:29,925 Mr. Earnest: I can tell you that the central government 1611 01:15:29,925 --> 01:15:31,927 in Baghdad certainly agreed with the decision. 1612 01:15:31,927 --> 01:15:33,929 The Press: And, sorry, just one more. 1613 01:15:33,929 --> 01:15:36,899 Tomorrow is the year anniversary of the military 1614 01:15:36,899 --> 01:15:39,534 operation begun against the Islamic State. 1615 01:15:39,534 --> 01:15:42,404 You had mentioned earlier to Justin that expanded 1616 01:15:42,404 --> 01:15:47,042 military options in Syria might be counterproductive 1617 01:15:47,042 --> 01:15:49,978 to efforts to come to a political transition. 1618 01:15:49,978 --> 01:15:52,681 There's been some hesitance to discuss 1619 01:15:52,681 --> 01:15:54,549 what authorities the U.S. might have 1620 01:15:54,549 --> 01:15:56,251 when it comes to protecting the 1621 01:15:56,251 --> 01:15:59,154 train-and-equip fighters against anyone -- whether 1622 01:15:59,154 --> 01:16:01,990 al-Nusra, ISIS, or the Syrian government. 1623 01:16:01,990 --> 01:16:05,928 Is that reluctance due in part to seeing that 1624 01:16:05,928 --> 01:16:07,930 discussion as counterproductive to a 1625 01:16:07,930 --> 01:16:09,097 political transition? 1626 01:16:09,097 --> 01:16:11,133 Mr. Earnest: No, because I have been willing, in the 1627 01:16:11,133 --> 01:16:13,702 context of this briefing, earlier this week, to 1628 01:16:13,702 --> 01:16:16,305 discuss the legal justification for actions 1629 01:16:16,305 --> 01:16:18,307 that the United States and our coalition partners have 1630 01:16:18,307 --> 01:16:21,576 already taken to defend those Department of Defense 1631 01:16:21,576 --> 01:16:24,346 trained and equipped soldiers that are -- or 1632 01:16:24,346 --> 01:16:27,316 forces that are fighting ISIL in Syria. 1633 01:16:27,316 --> 01:16:30,786 The administration has concluded that it is 1634 01:16:30,786 --> 01:16:34,723 appropriate under the 2001 AUMF for the United States 1635 01:16:34,723 --> 01:16:37,192 and our coalition partners to take strikes against 1636 01:16:37,192 --> 01:16:40,996 extremists that are threatening U.S. 1637 01:16:40,996 --> 01:16:43,565 or coalition-trained Syrian forces that operating on the 1638 01:16:43,565 --> 01:16:45,067 ground against ISIL. 1639 01:16:45,067 --> 01:16:48,270 So that is a policy decision that's been made and a legal 1640 01:16:48,270 --> 01:16:50,439 justification that we've already made public. 1641 01:16:50,439 --> 01:16:51,106 The Press: Sorry. 1642 01:16:51,106 --> 01:16:52,273 Absolutely last one, I promise. 1643 01:16:52,274 --> 01:16:56,011 But does the 2001 AUMF apply to strikes against Syrian 1644 01:16:56,011 --> 01:16:59,214 government forces if they were to attack the troops 1645 01:16:59,214 --> 01:17:01,049 that we're training and equipping and reinserting 1646 01:17:01,049 --> 01:17:02,417 into Syria? 1647 01:17:02,417 --> 01:17:05,020 Mr. Earnest: Well, what we have indicated -- I'm not 1648 01:17:05,020 --> 01:17:07,289 aware of a firm legal analysis that's been 1649 01:17:07,289 --> 01:17:08,223 done on this. 1650 01:17:08,223 --> 01:17:10,792 Maybe there has -- I have not been briefed on it. 1651 01:17:10,792 --> 01:17:13,562 What we have made clear is that this is not an 1652 01:17:13,562 --> 01:17:17,132 eventuality that we've had to encounter at this point. 1653 01:17:17,132 --> 01:17:23,138 Prior to the initiation of U.S. and coalition 1654 01:17:23,138 --> 01:17:27,142 airstrikes inside of Syria, the United States 1655 01:17:27,142 --> 01:17:30,245 government admonished the Assad regime against 1656 01:17:30,245 --> 01:17:32,981 interfering in those operations. 1657 01:17:32,981 --> 01:17:35,817 And that admonishment that we delivered to the Assad 1658 01:17:35,817 --> 01:17:40,422 regime also applies to any temptation that the Assad 1659 01:17:40,422 --> 01:17:45,227 regime may have to interfering with the efforts 1660 01:17:45,227 --> 01:17:48,063 -- the anti-ISIL efforts on the ground of Syrian 1661 01:17:48,063 --> 01:17:50,065 opposition fighters that have been trained by the 1662 01:17:50,065 --> 01:17:51,799 United States and our coalition partners. 1663 01:17:51,800 --> 01:17:52,701 Okay. 1664 01:17:52,701 --> 01:17:53,835 Goyal, I'll give you the last one. 1665 01:17:53,835 --> 01:17:54,770 The Press: Thanks very much. 1666 01:17:54,770 --> 01:17:56,071 Two questions. 1667 01:17:56,071 --> 01:18:00,575 One, there are so many engagements going on between 1668 01:18:00,575 --> 01:18:03,445 U.S.-India relations and including Assistant 1669 01:18:03,445 --> 01:18:06,815 Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs Nisha Desai 1670 01:18:06,815 --> 01:18:10,285 made statements in New York, and also I got email from 1671 01:18:10,285 --> 01:18:12,654 Ambassador Richard Verma from the U.S. 1672 01:18:12,654 --> 01:18:15,323 Embassy in Delhi where he said that under his 1673 01:18:15,323 --> 01:18:18,560 administration, during his six months in India, the 1674 01:18:18,560 --> 01:18:22,164 embassy staff has done so much as far as U.S.-India 1675 01:18:22,164 --> 01:18:25,032 relations are concerned in space and trade 1676 01:18:25,033 --> 01:18:27,469 and other matters. 1677 01:18:27,469 --> 01:18:31,573 My question is here, now, Silicon Valley is ready to 1678 01:18:31,573 --> 01:18:35,677 welcome Prime Minister Modi next month in a huge 1679 01:18:35,677 --> 01:18:38,980 celebration and function like in New York he 1680 01:18:38,980 --> 01:18:40,315 received a welcome. 1681 01:18:40,315 --> 01:18:43,818 Has the Prime Minister has been invited to the White 1682 01:18:43,819 --> 01:18:47,422 House by President Obama before he leaves for the 1683 01:18:47,422 --> 01:18:48,924 celebration of the U.N. 1684 01:18:48,924 --> 01:18:51,193 70th anniversary in New York? 1685 01:18:51,193 --> 01:18:54,496 Mr. Earnest: Goyal, I'm not aware of any planned visits 1686 01:18:54,496 --> 01:18:57,499 by Prime Minister Modi to the White House in 1687 01:18:57,499 --> 01:19:00,367 conjunction with his travel to the United States for the 1688 01:19:00,368 --> 01:19:01,369 U.N. 1689 01:19:01,369 --> 01:19:02,370 General Assembly. 1690 01:19:02,370 --> 01:19:05,373 The Press: Second, this week marks the third anniversary 1691 01:19:05,373 --> 01:19:07,942 of the hate crimes at the Oak Creek, 1692 01:19:07,943 --> 01:19:10,178 Wisconsin Sikh gurdwara. 1693 01:19:10,178 --> 01:19:12,581 Tomorrow, the members of the Sikh community is going to 1694 01:19:12,581 --> 01:19:15,117 march from the Lincoln Memorial to the U.S. 1695 01:19:15,117 --> 01:19:17,486 Capitol and the White House. 1696 01:19:17,486 --> 01:19:20,722 And several lawmakers also registered, including 1697 01:19:20,722 --> 01:19:24,492 Congressman Joe Crowley, against hate crimes against 1698 01:19:24,493 --> 01:19:26,328 the Sikh community. 1699 01:19:26,328 --> 01:19:28,330 Any statement from the President? 1700 01:19:28,330 --> 01:19:29,998 Also if anything has been done? 1701 01:19:29,998 --> 01:19:34,436 Because they are asking anything for their safety 1702 01:19:34,436 --> 01:19:35,437 because of their look. 1703 01:19:35,437 --> 01:19:40,375 Mr. Earnest: Well, Goyal, when this event -- when this 1704 01:19:40,375 --> 01:19:43,879 tragic event originally occurred, we expressed our 1705 01:19:43,879 --> 01:19:47,415 profound sorry at the innocent loss of life and 1706 01:19:47,415 --> 01:19:52,120 offered our sincere condolences to the families 1707 01:19:52,120 --> 01:19:54,923 of those who have loved ones that were killed in this 1708 01:19:54,923 --> 01:19:56,791 vicious attack. 1709 01:19:56,791 --> 01:19:59,661 And I think what I would remind you of is that this 1710 01:19:59,661 --> 01:20:03,932 administration has made countering violent extremism 1711 01:20:03,932 --> 01:20:06,535 like the violent extremism that we saw in Oak Creek, 1712 01:20:06,535 --> 01:20:09,704 Wisconsin a top priority. 1713 01:20:09,704 --> 01:20:14,843 And this kind of extremism manifests itself in a 1714 01:20:14,843 --> 01:20:16,178 variety of ways. 1715 01:20:16,178 --> 01:20:18,813 And this administration is determined to work 1716 01:20:18,813 --> 01:20:21,416 effectively with local elected officials and local 1717 01:20:21,416 --> 01:20:24,819 law enforcement and with community leaders across the 1718 01:20:24,819 --> 01:20:28,490 country in communities large and small to counter it. 1719 01:20:28,490 --> 01:20:34,161 And this is a challenge and a risk that the 1720 01:20:34,162 --> 01:20:36,264 administration doesn't take lightly. 1721 01:20:36,264 --> 01:20:39,000 And our efforts, thanks to the good, hard work of our 1722 01:20:39,000 --> 01:20:41,770 national security professionals continue 24 1723 01:20:41,770 --> 01:20:43,838 hours a day, seven days a week, to try to protect the 1724 01:20:43,838 --> 01:20:44,839 American people. 1725 01:20:44,839 --> 01:20:47,242 The Press: And finally, my personal greetings and happy 1726 01:20:47,242 --> 01:20:49,444 birthday to the President and I wish him all the best 1727 01:20:49,444 --> 01:20:50,745 and God bless him. 1728 01:20:50,745 --> 01:20:51,947 Mr. Earnest: Thank you, Goyal. 1729 01:20:51,947 --> 01:20:54,416 With that, everybody, I hope that all of you will get the 1730 01:20:54,416 --> 01:20:56,218 chance to take a little vacation while the President 1731 01:20:56,218 --> 01:20:58,186 himself is enjoying a vacation. 1732 01:20:58,186 --> 01:20:59,487 So while the President is out, we will not be 1733 01:20:59,487 --> 01:21:01,356 convening these briefing settings. 1734 01:21:01,356 --> 01:21:03,525 So you got a couple of weeks off, enjoy it. 1735 01:21:03,525 --> 01:21:04,659 Take care, guys.