Photo by Lisa Ferdinando via Flickr Creative Commons
On Thursday, the White House announced that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris plan to meet with Asian American and Pacific Islander community leaders and lawmakers in Atlanta, The New York Times reports.
The President and Vice President had already planned to travel to Atlanta on Friday for part of the White House’s “Help is Here” tour, which is meant to explain the benefits of the newest $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, according to POLITICO. The White House says they pushed the event to a later date so Biden and Harris could meet with AAPI leaders.
“Given the tragedy in Georgia on Tuesday night, President Biden and Vice President Harris will postpone the evening political event in Georgia for a future date,” officials said in a press release, according to The New York Times. “During their trip to Atlanta, they will instead meet with Asian-American leaders to discuss the ongoing attacks and threats against the community, meet with other local leaders, and also visit the Centers for Disease Control to receive an update from the team of health and medical experts helping lead the fight against the pandemic.”
Biden and Harris plan to talk with leaders about the violence and discrimination AAPIs have faced during the pandemic.
In a statement on Wednesday, President Biden addressed the Asian American community’s concerns. However, he stated that he was not prepared to state that the killings were racially motivated.
“Whatever the motivation here,” Biden said, according to The New York Times. “I know Asian Americans are very concerned. Because as you know I have been speaking about the brutality against Asian-Americans for the last couple months, and I think it’s very, very troubling. But I am making no connection at this moment to the motivation of the killer. I’m waiting for an answer from — as the investigation proceeds — from the F.B.I. and from the Justice Department. And I’ll have more to say when the investigation is completed.”
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