Remarks by President Biden In Press Gaggle

Gordon’s Pond Trail
Lewes, Delaware

11:12 A.M. EDT

Q    Good morning, Mr. President.

Q    Good morning!

THE PRESIDENT:  I want you to know an important thing: I took off the clamps on my (inaudible).  (Laughter.) 

Q    How you feeling?

THE PRESIDENT:  I’m feeling good. 

Q    Good.  That’s great.

THE PRESIDENT:  I’m looking for the sun though. 

Q    Have you made a decision on tariffs, sir?  I know you had a meeting about that on Friday. 

THE PRESIDENT:  Oh, we’re having further discussions on that.  And —

Q    And do you have a — do you have a message, Mr. President, for women who were protesting outside the White House yesterday?

THE PRESIDENT:  Yes.  Keep protesting.  Because — keep making your point.  It’s critically important. 

We can do a lot of things to accommodate the rights of women in the meantime.  But, fundamentally, the only thing that’s going to change this is if we have a national law that reinstates Roe v. Wade.  That’s the bottom line.

Everything else, we can get pieces of it, and I’m trying to do that.  Some things that some of the groups want —

I’m going to look like a fool here in this interview, but — (points to his bike helmet).  (Laughter.)  

Q    You look good.

Q    You look great.  

THE PRESIDENT:  I put a helmet on because this is a tough interview.  (Laughter.) 

But all kidding aside, I think that there’s things we can do to accommodate particular abuses beyond like not being able to cross state lines, those kinds of things, and being able to access women’s private information, and so on.  That — we can work on that. 

But as President, I don’t have the authority to say that we’re going to, you know, instate Roe v. Wade as the law of the land.  The only way we do that is through an election in the United States Congress.  In the meantime, states can make those judgments. 

But — so my ultimate goal is to reinstate Roe v. Wade as the national law by passing it in the United States Congress.  And I’ll sign it the moment that happens. 

But I’m going to go on my ride.  Okay?

Q    Yes, yes, Mr. President.  One quick follow-up.  One of the things they are asking for is a public health emergency.  Is that something you’re considering?  Or —

THE PRESIDENT:  That’s something I’ve asked the folks to — the medical people in the administration to look at, whether that is — whether I have the authority to do that and what impact that would have. 

Okay?

Q    Thanks so much.

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much. 

11:14 A.M. EDT