President Joe Biden urged Donald Trump to rethink his tariff war with Canada and Mexico, fretted about the state of the mainstream media and offered what he was thankful for during a visit with firefighters on Thursday.
The president kicked off his Thanksgiving holiday by delivering pumpkin pies to Nantucket firefighters. He was accompanied by first lady Jill Biden and their grandson Baby Beau.
He paused to take questions from reporters to reflect on the holiday season and discuss the actions of his successor in the Oval Office.
He said he hopes Trump rethinks his plan to impose tariffs on Mexico and Canada, saying it could ‘screw up’ relationships with close allies.
‘I hope he rethinks it. I think it’s a counterproductive thing to do,’ he said.
‘We’re surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and two allies: Mexico and Canada. The last thing we need to do is begin to screw up those relationships.’
President Joe Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, and grandson Beau arrive for a visit at the Nantucket Fire Department
Trump threatened to impose tariffs on products from Canada, Mexico and China as soon as he takes office in January as part of efforts to crack down on illegal immigration and drugs.
He said he would impose a 25% tax on all products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico as one of his first executive orders.
Trump said that he would also seek to impose additional tariffs on China, an additional 10% on all tariffs until they stop fentanyl from being sent into the United States.
Canadian officials blasted Trump’s proposal and said the country will have no choice but to retaliate.
Read More
EXCLUSIVE
Jill Biden makes a very naughty pitstop on holiday shopping trip with daughter Ashley
And Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum fired back: ‘Seventy percent of the illegal weapons seized from criminals in Mexico come from your country.’
Biden said he thinks Chinese President Jinping Xi will be more measured in his response. Chinese officials have said they don’t want a trade war.
‘We have reached a relationship with a status quo regarding China,’ Biden noted. ‘We set up a hotline between President Xi and myself, as well as a military – a direct line. One thing I’m confident about Xi is he doesn’t want to make a mistake. I mean it sincerely.
Biden also said he thinks Trump will have an ‘internal reckoning’ when it comes to some of his plans as president.
‘I want to make sure this transition goes smoothly. I want to make sure it goes smoothly. All the talk about what (Trump) may do or not do – I think there may be an internal reckoning on his part .. so it remains to be seen.’
Jill Biden and Baby Beau talk to firefighters on Nantucket
President Joe Biden talks to the press about what he is thankful for: ‘My family, the peaceful transition of the presidency, and I’m thankful by the grace of God we were able to make more progress in the Middle East, I’m really thankful for being able to get the first peace done in Lebanon’
And, when asked about people worried about the state of the country, Biden went into a riff on the media: ‘You turn on the television you don’t see a lot of good news. Even if something is good news it doesn’t seem to to sell very well. If you turn on TV everything looks bad. Exceedingly small number of people watching mainstream television and reading newspapers.’
But he also offered what he was thankful for: ‘My family, the peaceful transition of the presidency, and I’m thankful by the grace of God we were able to make more progress in the Middle East, I’m really thankful for being able to get the first peace done in Lebanon.’
Biden announced a peace deal between Israel and Lebanon on Tuesday, shortly before he left for his Thanksgiving holiday.
Before they visited the firefighters, the president and first lady called units from each branch of the military, stationed around the world, to thank them and their families for their service to the country.
This is Biden’s last Thanksgiving as president.
He and his family are on Nantucket, where they traditionally spend the Thanksgiving holiday.
Jill Biden told firefighters the family is celebrating its 49th Thanksgiving on the island off the coast of Massachusetts.
‘This is 49 years for us we’ve been coming to Nantucket,’ she said.
Baby Beau asked Nantucket Fire Chief Michael Cranson for NFD hat for his father Hunter Biden. The chief obligated with two hats – one he handed to Beau and one he handed to the president.
Biden took off his baseball cap with the seal of the president, handed it to Cranson and put on his NFD hat.
‘It’s a union hat,’ Cranson told him.
‘I’m a union guy,’ Biden replied.
Baby Beau asked Nantucket Fire Chief Michael Cranson for NFD hat
President Joe Biden brought pumpkin pies to firefighters
The first family spend about 20 minutes chatting with the fireman before they decamped to their Thanksgiving stay for their own dinner. Hunter Biden and wife Melissa joined the Bidens for the holiday although they did not come to the firestation.
Ashley Biden, the Bidens’ daughter, is also on the island. She and Jill Biden went shopping in downtown Nantucket on Wednesday.
The Bidens are staying at the $34 million luxurious compound owned by billionaire businessman turned philanthropist David Rubenstein.
The 13-acre compound has a 13,000 square foot house, a private beach, and private dock.
It’s a sprawling property that sits on the island’s secluded inner harbor with gorgeous views of the water as the sun sets in the background.
Rubenstein bought the waterfront property in 2000 for his now ex-wife Alice and their three children. He tore down the existing house and put up a 13,000-square-foot home which features a tennis court, swimming pool, hot tub and private dock.
Zillow estimates it would cost $30,000 a month to rent.
The Bidens have been going to Nantucket for 49 years, dating back to when Biden was a U.S. senator.
In his 2017 memoir ‘Promise me Dad,’ Biden wrote that Thanksgiving in 1975 was the first holiday he and his now-wife Jill spent together, going to Nantucket with his young sons Beau and Hunter for a little bonding time.
They rarely have missed a holiday on Nantucket since.
One of the few Thanksgivings the Bidens missed there was in 2015, which took place about six months after Beau Biden died.
The family went to Rome instead. They also skipped going in 2020 because of the pandemic.