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Joe Biden made a surprise appearance at the White House briefing — his first as president — to mark the unexpectedly good jobs report today, but in taking questions from reporters, he also expressed concerns over the upcoming election.
“I’m confident it will be free and fair. I don’t know if it will be peaceful,” Biden said.
He noted that Donald Trump‘s running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), has refused to say whether he would accept the results, and also refused to say that Trump lost in 2020.
“I’m concerned what they’re going to do.”
The president also said that he was in regular contact with Kamala Harris as she campaigns to succeed him.
The U.S. added 254,000 jobs in September, exceeding analysts expectations, and showing that the economy has remained resilient despite predictions that there would be a recession as the Federal Reserve attempted to tame inflation.
Trump has slammed the administration for inflation during the past three years, while casting the economy in free fall.
But Biden pointed out that his tenure has seen 16 million new jobs, while inflation has dropped significantly.
One of Trump’s allies, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), accused the Bureau of Labor Statistics of creating “another fake jobs report” and the media with helping them with their “fake headlines.” Rubio did not cite any evidence that the bureau was making up the numbers.
Asked about Rubio’s comments, Biden appeared to withhold what he wanted to say, and remarked, “The jobs numbers are what the jobs numbers are.”
Biden also was asked about the situation in the Middle East. He indicated that he has not talked to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently, but said, “No administration has helped Israel more than I have. Bibi should remember that.”
