WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Saturday took his pledge to help Americans struggling with the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic to a personal level.
The effort to directly communicate with Americans affected by the pandemic will be a regular opportunity for the president to make his case for the American Rescue Plan, the White House said.
“I’ve been saying a long time, the idea that we think we can keep businesses open and moving and thriving without dealing with this pandemic is just a non-starter,” Biden told Michele from Roseville, California, who lost her job at a startup clothing company due to the pandemic.
The chat was posted on the White House Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube accounts, and on the president’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram feeds.
The call, captured in a two-and-a-half-minute video released by the White House, followed a letter Michele sent to Biden, in which she said it was the first time she’d been laid off in her life and that she connected on social media with others who share her fate.
“We’re so glad that we have you focusing on that,” Michele, who’s last name wasn’t given, said in response to Biden rattling off the components of his stimulus package.
Biden’s second full week in office ended with a pivotal procedural vote in the ‘ that would allow Democrats to move ahead with his $1.9 trillion stimulus package without any support from Republicans, who are opposed to the size of the plan and some of its components.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a Feb. 2 briefing that Biden, whose social media footprint is much smaller than that of his predecessor, keeps in touch with regular Americans in various ways.
“He receives correspondence letters in his briefing book every night,” Psaki said. “He also regularly connects with Americans on the phone.” Biden typically attends a public Roman Catholic mass each weekend, she added.
The president is spending the weekend at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, to spend time with his family and watch Sunday’s Super Bowl with them.
