White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki admitted on Friday that President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate does not include migrants at the U.S. southern border, and she refused to answer why.
“Why is it that you’re trying to require anybody with a job or anybody who goes to school to get the COVID-19 vaccine, but you’re not requiring that of migrants that continue walking across the southern border into the country?” Fox News reporter Peter Doocy asked.
“Well, look, our objective is to get as many people vaccinated across the country as humanly possible,” Psaki responded. “And so the President’s announcement yesterday was an effort to empower businesses, to give businesses the tools to protect their workforces. That’s exactly what we did. But certainly we want everybody to get vaccinated. And more people who are vaccinated, whether they are migrants or whether they are workers, protects more people in the United States.”
“But it’s a requirement for people at a business with more than 100 people, but it’s not a requirement for migrants at the southern border,” Doocy responded. “Why?”
“That’s correct,” Psaki answered before quickly calling on another reporter.
WATCH:
DOOCY: Vaccines are required for "people at a business with more than 100 people. It is not a requirement for migrants at the border. Why?"@PressSec: "That's correct"
*moves to the next question* pic.twitter.com/GK7YQraDS5
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 10, 2021
TRANSCRIPT:
REPORTER: Thank you, Jen. To follow up on the call with President Xi last night, exactly two weeks ago, when the intel community came up empty trying to figure out the origins of COVID, the President said “critical information” about the origins of this pandemic exists in the People’s Republic of China. When he talked to the President of China last night, did he press him like he said he was going to?
PSAKI: Well, I’m not going to go into a list — (alarm sounds) — of every topic discussed. That was a very dramatic entry to that answer, but I’ll start again. I’m not going to go into every list of every topic discussed. They did discuss a range of transnational issues, including COVID-19. And understanding its origins is, of course, a primary concern for this administration. We continue to support phase two of the WHO’s investigation in China, and call on China to allow further studies of COVID-19 origins in China.
I will also note that, you know, one of the topics the presidents also discussed is the importance of being able to have private discussions between the two leaders. This is in contrast to some of the other interactions we’ve had at lower levels with the PRC. And so, yes, it was a topic raised, but I’m not going to go into further detail.
REPORTER: So we should understand that to mean that the President did ask him to let international investigators in to get this information that he says China has?
PSAKI: We’ve conveyed that many times publicly. I think they know that that’s our position and view.
REPORTER: But not publicly. On this 90-minute phone call, did they talk about —
PSAKI: Again, Peter, this is a topic that we have said — conveyed many times, at many levels. I’m just not going to have more in the call to read out for you.
REPORTER: Okay. And then why is it that you’re trying to require anybody with a job or anybody who goes to school to get the COVID-19 vaccine, but you’re not requiring that of migrants that continue walking across the southern border into the country?
PSAKI: Well, look, our objective is to get as many people vaccinated across the country as humanly possible. And so the President’s announcement yesterday was an effort to empower businesses, to give businesses the tools to protect their workforces. That’s exactly what we did. But certainly we want everybody to get vaccinated. And more people who are vaccinated, whether they are migrants or whether they are workers, protects more people in the United States.
REPORTER: But it’s a requirement for people at a business with more than 100 people, but it’s not a requirement for migrants at the southern border. Why?
MS. PSAKI: That’s correct.