President Joe Biden.
| Photo Credit: AP

The White House sparred with reporters on July 8 over a Parkinson’s specialist visiting the building eight times in eight months, as reflected in the visitors’ log.

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“I am feeling a little miffed around here about how information has been shared with the press corps by him,” a reporter asked White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre during her daily news conference.

The White House visitors’ log suggests that Parkinson’s specialist Dr. Kevin Cannard visited the building eight times in eight months.

The reporters wanted to know if President Joe Biden was seen by the Parkinson’s specialist.

“It does not matter how hard you push me, it does not matter how angry you get with me, I am not going to confirm a name. It does not matter if it is even in the log. I am not going to do that from here. What I can share with you is that the President has seen a neurologist for his physical three times,” Ms. Jean-Pierre told the reporters.

“It is more than what the last guy shared and it is in line with what George W. Bush did. It is in line with what (Barack) Obama did. And so it is comprehensive. It is out there….

“I am not going to devolve somebody’s name or confirm someone. I am not going to do that. That is— as a privacy for that person. I am not going to do that. It does not matter how hard you push me. It does not matter how angry you get with me from here. I am just not going to do that. It is inappropriate and it is not acceptable, so I am not going to do it,” Ms. Jean-Pierre said.

Mr. Biden, she said, has seen a neurologist three times.

“No findings, which would be consistent with any cerebellar or other central neurological disorders such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s or ascending lateral sclerosis that is coming from February,” she added.

“That is what the medical unit, the President’s doctor shared and I shared, I said to you it has happened three times each time. There is a physical that occurs and we put out a comprehensive report, that is when he has been able to see— to see a specialist. So that is what I can share,” Ms. Jean-Pierre said.

Men walk past debris in a heavily damaged room at a school run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) at the Shati camp for Palestinian refugees, west of Gaza City, on May 7, 2024 amid the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian territory between Israel and the militant group Hamas.
| Photo Credit: AFP

The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S., a senior administration official said on May 8.

The shipment was supposed to consist of 1,800 2,000-pound (900-kilogram) bombs and 1,700 500-pound (225-kilogram) bombs, according to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter, with the focus of U.S. concern being the larger explosives and how they could be used in a dense urban setting. More than 1 million civilians are sheltering in Rafah after evacuating other parts of Gaza amid Israel’s war on Hamas, which came after the militant group’s deadly attack on Israel on Oct. 7.

The U.S. has historically provided enormous amounts of military aid to Israel. That has only accelerated in the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that killed some 1,200 in Israel and led to about 250 being taken captive by militants. The pausing of the aid shipment is the most striking manifestation of the growing daylight between Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and the administration of President Joe Biden, which has called on Israel to do far more to protect the lives of innocent civilians in Gaza.

Mr. Biden’s administration in April began reviewing future transfers of military assistance as Mr. Netanyahu’s government appeared to move closer toward an invasion of Rafah, despite months of opposition from the White House. The official said the decision to pause the shipment was made last week and no final decision had been made yet on whether to proceed with the shipment at a later date.

U.S. officials had declined for days to comment on the halted transfer, word of which came as Mr. Biden on May 8 described U.S. support for Israel as “ironclad, even when we disagree.”

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to square the arms holdup with Mr. Biden’s rhetoric in support of Israel, saying only, “Two things could be true.”

Israeli troops on May 8 seized control of Gaza’s vital Rafah border crossing in what the White House described as a limited operation that stopped short of the full-on Israeli invasion of the city that Mr. Biden has repeatedly warned against on humanitarian grounds, most recently in a Monday call with Mr. Netanyahu.

Israel has ordered the evacuation of 100,000 Palestinians from the city. Israeli forces have also carried out what it describes as “targeted strikes” on the eastern part of Rafah and captured the Rafah crossing, a critical conduit for the flow of humanitarian aid along the Gaza-Egypt border.

Privately, concern has mounted inside the White House about what’s unfolding in Rafah, but publicly administration officials have stressed that they did not think the operations had defied Biden’s warnings against a widescale operation in the city.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Israel described the operation along the Gaza-Egypt border in eastern Rafah as “an operation of limited scale and duration” aimed at cutting off Hamas arms smuggling, but also said the U.S. would monitor the fighting.

Just last month, Congress passed a $95 billion national security bill that included funding for Ukraine, Israel and other allies. The package included more than $14 billion in military aid for Israel, though the stalled transfer was not related to that measure.

The State Department is separately considering whether to approve the continued transfer of Joint Direct Attack Munition kits, which place precision guidance systems onto bombs, to Israel, but the review didn’t pertain to imminent shipments.

The U.S. dropped the 2,000-pound bomb sparingly in its long war against the Islamic State militant group. Israel, by contrast, has used the bomb frequently in the seven-month Gaza war. Experts say the use of the weapon, in part, has helped drive the enormous Palestinian casualty count that the Hamas-run Health Ministry puts at more than 34,000 dead, though it doesn’t distinguish between militants and civilians.

The U.S.-Israel relationship has been close through both Democratic and Republican administrations. But there have been other moments of deep tension since the founding in which U.S. leaders have threatened to hold up aid in attempt to sway Israeli leadership.

President Dwight Eisenhower pressured Israel with the threat of sanctions into withdrawing from the Sinai in 1957 in the midst of the Suez Crisis. Ronald Reagan delayed the delivery of F16 fighter jets to Israel at a time of escalating violence in the Middle East. President George H.W. Bush held up $10 billion in loan guarantees to force the cessation of Israeli settlement activity in the occupied territories.

President Joe Biden called Japan and India “xenophobic” countries that do not welcome immigrants, lumping the two with adversaries China and Russia as he tried to explain the four countries’ economic circumstances and contrasted them with the U.S. on immigration at a campaign fundraiser on May 2 evening at the start of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Wednesday, May 1, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

The United States is a country of immigrants, the White House has said, defending President Joe Biden’s remarks calling two of his QUAD partners— India and Japan— as well as Russia and China “xenophobic” nations, asserting that none of these countries, unlike the U.S., welcome immigrants.

Responding to a question about the remarks made by Mr. Biden at an election fundraiser on May 2, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the president was making a “broader point”.

“He was making a broader point. Our allies and partners know very well that — how much this president respects them,” Ms. Jean-Pierre told reporters at her daily news conference on Thursday.

“As you know, in regard to Japan, they were just here for the state visit. The U.S.-Japan relationship is an important relationship. It’s a deep, enduring alliance,” she said.

“He (Mr. Biden) was making a more broad comment, speaking about this country and speaking about how important it is to be a country of immigrants and how it makes our country stronger. And so, that’s what he was talking about,” she said.

“It relates to our relationship with our allies, that continues. We have a strong relationship with India (and) with Japan. And the President, if you just look at the last three years, has certainly focused on those diplomatic relationships,” Ms. Jean-Pierre said.

“He was talking about who we are as a country. He was talking about the importance of being in a country of immigrants, especially as you see the attacks that we have seen very recently, in the last couple of years, those attacks on immigrants, in particular,” the White House Press Secretary said, defending the president.

“The President is always going to be really clear on speaking to issues that matter to the American people. We are a country of immigrants. That matters. And we’ve seen these attacks. And so, the President is never going to shy away from that,” Ms. Jean-Pierre said.

“It is important for us to remember that we are a country of immigrants. I’m explaining what he was talking about and what he was focusing on in those comments: a country of immigrants makes us stronger. It is important to be very clear about that,” she said.

While addressing his supporters at the Democratic Party fundraiser here on May 2 evening, Mr. Biden said, “This election is about freedom, America and democracy. That’s why I badly need you. You know, one of the reasons why our economy is growing is because of you and many others. Why? Because we welcome immigrants.” “We look to — the reason — look, think about it. Why is China stalling so badly economically? Why is Japan having trouble? Why is Russia? Why is India? Because they’re xenophobic. They don’t want immigrants,” Mr. Biden, the presumptive candidate of the Democratic Party, said.

India and Japan are members of QUAD— a four-member strategic security dialogue that includes the U.S. and Australia.

Mr. Biden hosted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a State Visit last year, while Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited the White House in April for an official visit.

Mr. Biden has been under attack from his opponents and the Republican Party for his immigration policies, as hundreds and thousands of illegal immigrants enter the United States every month.

Immigration is a hot topic in the November 5 presidential election in which Mr. Biden will face former President Donald Trump, the presumptive candidate from the Republican Party.

U.S. President Joe Biden and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The U.S. is committed to ensuring that India hosts a successful G20 Summit, the White House has said ahead of Mr. Biden’s departure for New Delhi to attend the global summit and a bilateral meeting with Mr. Modi.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The U.S. is committed to ensuring that India hosts a successful G20 Summit, the White House has said ahead of President Joe Biden’s departure for New Delhi to attend the global summit and a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

India is hosting the annual G20 Summit in New Delhi on September 9 and 10. Mr. Biden, 80, will travel to New Delhi on September 7 to attend the G20 Leaders’ Summit.

On September 8, the President will participate in a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi and on September 8 and September 9, he will participate in the official sessions of the G20 Summit.

“We commend Prime Minister Modi for his leadership of the G20 this year and we are committed to helping ensure that India has a successful G20 host as they host (the summit) this year,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at her daily news conference on September 6.

“So, that’s going to continue to be our commitment. During Prime Minister Modi’s visit here in June, the President (Biden) and the Prime Minister shared their determination to deliver on shared priorities at the summit,” she said in response to a question.

“The President is very much looking forward to continuing that work with the Prime Minister and other leaders later this week as we head out tomorrow,” Ms. Jean-Pierre said.

On Mr. Biden’s bilateral meeting with Mr. Modi, she said, “We are going to have more to share as we get closer to tomorrow…We are committed to making this a successful summit. We’ll certainly have more information to share, certainly on the bilateral with the Prime Minister.”