Biden tells the reporter to “shut up” while he tries to allay debt border concerns in the G7

News

by Mary Kay Ling

May 20, 2023 | 2:09 p.m

An exasperated President Biden told a reporter to “shut up” on Saturday as he tried to assuage jittery allies’ fears that the White House’s failure to reach a debt-reduction deal could plunge the United States and the world into economic crisis.

“I still think we’ll be able to avoid default and we’ll do something decent,” Biden told the media while sitting in a bilateral meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during the G7 economic summit in Hiroshima. , Japan.

“This — this is in stages,” he said of negotiations between House Republicans and the White House — hours after Friday’s talks collapsed sharply, dashing hopes of a smooth resolution to the budget impasse.

But Biden snapped when an Australian reporter tried to interject an enquiry.

“Shut up, okay?” He scolded, before proceeding to a rambling explanation of the deal-making process.

“I’ve been involved in these negotiations before,” Biden said.

“What happened is the first meetings weren’t that progressive. The second was. The third was. And then, what happens is — carriers go back to principles and say, ‘Here’s what we think.’ And then, people make new claims.”

Meanwhile, negotiators remained deadlocked in Washington, with no plans to continue talks on Saturday. According to Punchbowl News.

Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have just days to strike a deal to raise the debt ceiling — the government borrowing limit set by Congress — before the potentially catastrophic consequences of a debt default.

The Treasury has warned that it will run out of money to pay off incurred debt – currently at $31 trillion – on June 1.

House Republicans last month passed a law that would allow another $1.5 trillion in borrowing — in return for a combination of spending cuts and a 10-year limit on federal budget increases.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan acknowledged that the US debt dispute was a “topic of interest” in the president’s summit meetings with other world leaders.

“It’s nothing to worry about,” Sullivan insisted at a news conference on Saturday. I would just say that countries are very interested in what is, you know, an important story. And the president was able to tell them, you know, he thinks we can get to a good conclusion here.”