WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) – President Joe Biden gave a talk with a California woman who was fired because of the coronavirus pandemic. .
The White House released a two-and-a-half-minute video of Biden’s long-distance phone conversation with Michele Voelkert on Saturday, identifying him only as Michele.
After losing his job at an initial clothing company in July, he wrote a letter to Biden. He read it and then called her.
The Roseville, Calif. Woman told Biden that “it’s been a tough time” trying to find work.
Biden, who spoke from his Oval Office office, responded that his father used to say that a job is about both dignity and respect as well as pay. He described his $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan, which requires payments of $ 1,400 to people like Voelkert and other financial aid to individuals and small businesses. There is also money to help distribute coronavirus vaccines.
“I’ve been saying for a long time that the idea that we believe we can keep businesses open, moving and thriving without dealing with this pandemic is just a beginning,” Biden said.
The Sacramento Bee said it spoke with Voelkert, 47, after the call. “It was a lifelong opportunity,” he said. “I’m still on horseback.”
The conversation is part of an effort to help Biden, who has largely limited his travels due to the pandemic, to communicate directly with Americans, the White House said. Biden flew to Wilmington, Delaware on Friday to spend the weekend at home with his family.
“There is an honest tradition in the country to hear the president this way,” press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday in the video preview. He referred to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “chats on fire” and the establishment of a weekly radio address by Ronald Reagan.
The address of the radio eventually grew to include a video version seen on the Internet. The practice, however, expired under former President Donald Trump.
Biden’s weekly address will come in several forms, Psaki said.
Saturday later, Biden left his home for a regularly scheduled x-ray of his right foot, which he broke in late November while playing with his older dog.
Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the president’s doctor, said in a statement issued by the White House that the “10-week x-ray after injury” to make sure Biden had regained ligament stability.