PRESIDENT BIDEN’S UPCOMING PRESS CONFERENCE

– By E. P. Unum

SOME QUESTIONS I’D LIKE TO ASK

Having spent most of my adult life in the publishing and communications industry, and having taught various courses in journalism at prestigious universities around the nation, here are some questions I would like to hear the media ask our new president next Thursday, March 25, 2021, his first press conference where he is to field questions from the media:

1. Mr. President, regarding what many feel is a crisis at our southern border, particularly with the significant increase in unaccompanied children attempting to cross into the United States, are you still comfortable that opening our borders at this time was a good idea? Why did you take such unilateral action including abandoning the completion of the Southern Wall started by your predecessor? Clearly, the Wall was working, and we had far fewer illegal immigrants than there are now?
2. Regarding the vast numbers of migrants trying to come to America, was it a wise decision to encourage them to come when we are still dealing with the Chinese virus and have approximately 10 million people unemployed in the United States? Also, was it wise to allow so many migrant workers entry to the U.S. untested for Covid and approximately one in ten migrants testing positive for Covid?

Isn’t that a great risk for America?

3. You just signed one of the largest stimulus bills in American history, some $1.9 Trillion Dollars. 90% of this spending appears to be unrelated to Covid Relief, and it did not receive a single vote from the Republicans. First, are you comfortable with such a large commitment of funding not being bi-partisan and, secondly, is this a wise and prudent decision at this time given the fact that our nation’s economy seems to be growing nicely at this time and should improve as we re-open businesses as is happening around the nation?
4. Regarding the American Rescue Plan, Mr. President, you and several members of your administration have stated that this stimulus will reduce poverty by a third this year and ultimately will cut child poverty in half. Sir, can you explain how this will occur?
5. Mr. President, do you regret that none of your legislative actions have been bi-partisan to date?
6. Sir, many of the migrant children are being housed in cages built during the Obama Administration when you served as Vice President. Yet, they are not called cages by the White House now. But they were when Donald Trump was President. How do you account for that?
7. Mr. President, why did you feel it necessary to repeal the Trump Mexican Accord, and make available taxpayer-funded abortions whether done here in the United States or in foreign countries?

How does this square with your Roman Catholic faith?

8. Sir, what prompted you to unilaterally issue an executive order to permit transgender boys to compete against girls in athletic events? Will you explain the necessity for taking this action, and how do you feel about it?
9. Mr. President, it took our nation several decades to achieve energy independence in terms of oil and gas. During the Trump Administration, the United States became an oil-exporting country for the first time in its history. The pipeline is secure and safe and it is also an efficient way to deliver oil from Alberta Canada to the gulf states for refining and delivery to states where it is needed. Pipeline delivery would cost $10 per barrel while transporting oil via rail or truck will cost over $36 per barrel and is very risky in terms of safety and efficiency. Why did you cancel the Keystone XL Pipeline unilaterally in your first half day in office on January 20th?

Will you explain your decision, please?

10. As a follow-up question to the Keystone XL Pipeline, former Secretary of State John Kerry has stated that “cancelling the Keystone XL Pipeline was the right decision and those workers who lost their job can find positions making solar panels” isn’t that a bit cavalier Mr. President? Most of the solar jobs pay significantly less than jobs on the Pipeline and, more importantly, most of the solar panel production is done in China. Do you care to comment on Mr. Kerry’s remarks?
11. Mr. President, turning our attention to the Middle East, what are your plans for the continuation of the Peace Accords which your predecessor negotiated there? Do you intend to meet in Israel with Prime Minister Netanyahu anytime soon?
12. Mr. President, why are you seeking a new deal with Iran, the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world? You have unilaterally removed the terrorist designation President trump slapped on the Houthis, an Iranian proxy group who continually attacks Saudi Arabian oil fields with missiles fired from Yemen. Do you regret this concession to Iran?
13. Mr. President, what is the current status of the FBI investigation of your son, Hunter Biden, who is a subject in an ongoing criminal tax case, and perhaps more? We empathize with you sir, but this seems to be an extraordinary situation growing out of what appears to be some questionable foreign business arrangement Hunter allegedly set up with the Chinese Communists and Burisma Energy in Ukraine, all while you were Vice President of the United States. While you may not care to comment on an ongoing investigation, are you willing to confirm that you do know and have met Tony Bobulinski, a former business partner of your son Hunter? Do you in fact have a ten percent minority interest in a Chinese Communist-owned business as has been reported in the media?
14. Mr. President, how are you feeling? Certainly, the stress of the job you hold can bring a person to his or her knees and is filled with stress. We know you have had two subarachnoid seizures. The bleeding in the brain alone can cause severe damage to motor reflexes, speech, and balance. Are you taking medication for this and have you yet had your annual physical at Bethesda Naval Hospital?
15. Sir, what if anything do you intend to do about the “cancel culture” syndrome that impacts our daily lives. A few years ago you said “You can’t go to a Seven-Eleven or a Dunkin Donuts for coffee unless you have an Indian accent”. During your Presidential campaign last year you addressed an African American by saying to him “if you don’t vote for me, you ain’t black”. And, again, during your campaign, you once said that you “would like to take Trump out behind the gym and give him a Biden wallopin” Were these just false bravado, or did you actually mean those things? Sir, you have challenged people openly to push-up contests….is this something you regret or do you feel strongly about the kind of image these things paint for you?
16. During January, our National Guard Soldiers guarding the Capitol were forced to sleep on concrete floors in garages. Now, with the crisis at our border, you have authorized approximately $86 million to be spent on hotel rooms for the thousands of illegal immigrants entering our nation at your invitation. Will you explain the rationale behind this Mr. Pesident?

I am about halfway through my list of questions and so I will stop at this point because I doubt that any of these will be asked by the media on Thursday. But they should be. Our country needs answers to them and we certainly will not be getting them anytime soon from Jen Psaki who will undoubtedly need to circle back to us as some undetermined date in the future when she might have some answers for us.

March 18th, 2021