Biden lands back at WH talking on his iPhone with Presidential seal
Is this the world’s most secure phone? Biden lands back at the White House talking on his iPhone with a case with the Presidential seal with the US warning Putin is on the brink of invasion
- President Joe Biden arrived back at the White House on Thursday from a trip to Ohio where he took a call on his iPhone on the South Lawn
- He held another cell phone in his other hand
- The cellphone he took the call on was covered with a case displaying a golden presidential seal, suggesting it is his government issued phone
- It’s not immediately clear what Biden was speaking with to who, but important calls are usually kept on secure lines in the White House or Camp David
- Comes after a report emerged this week that Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff can’t even text wife, VP Kamala Harris, due to security concerns
- Instead, the two correspond through their aides
- Biden traveled to the Cleveland area to tout $1 billion flowing from the bipartisan infrastructure law to cleaning up Great Lakes waterways
- As Biden left Washington he gave a dire warning about the prospects of a Russian invasion of Ukraine
- The president dispatched Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the United Nations Thursday to address the Russia threat
President Joe Biden landed back at the White House on Thursday speaking on an iPhone phone with a golden presidential seal on the case as he warned earlier in the day there is a ‘high risk’ of Russia invading Ukraine in ‘several days.’
It’s not immediately clear who Biden was speaking with on his cell when he landed on the South Lawn following his trip to Ohio, but calls with world leaders are usually kept on secure lines in the White House or Camp David.
The smart phone was covered with what appeared to be a navy blue or black case with a golden seal reading: ‘Seal of the President of the United States of America.’
The call comes after a report emerged this week that Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff can’t even text his wife, Vice President Kamala Harris, due to security concerns. Instead, the two correspond through their aides.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies and the Biden White House have dismissed Russian claims that they are drawing down troops from the Ukrainian border and insist threat is still imminent.
President Joe Biden arrived back at the White House on Thursday from a trip to Ohio where he took a call on his iPhone on the South Lawn as he held another cell phone in his other hand
The president stepped off Marine One with two cellphones in his left hand and saluted the Marine outside the chopper with his right following a trip to a Cleveland suburb where he touted $1 billion flowing from the bipartisan infrastructure law to cleaning up Great Lakes waterways
The cellphone he took the call on was covered with a case displaying a golden presidential seal, suggesting it is his government issued phone
Biden traveled to the Cleveland area on Thursday to tout $1 billion flowing from the bipartisan infrastructure law to cleaning up Great Lakes waterways.
The trip came amidst a worsening situation in Eastern Europe as the world braces for war along the Ukrainian border with Russia.
Speaking at the Shipyards in Lorain, Ohio, a newer waterfront development, Biden was met with cheers and applause when he dropped the ‘one billion’ dollar amount.
‘Places like Lorain have a lot of proud yesterdays, now they’re going to have some bright tomorrows – because of all of you,’ the president told the crowd, riffing off a quote from Toni Morrison, who was born in Lorain.
As Biden left Washington he gave a dire warning about the prospects of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, telling reporters that chances are ‘very high’ and affirmed it could happen ‘within the next several days.’
‘We have reason to believe they are engaged in a false flag operation. Every indication we have is they’re prepared to go into Ukraine to attack Ukraine,’ he said, adding that he believed there was stlll a diplomatic exit ramp.
The president dispatched Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the United Nations to address the Russia threat.
Biden spoke Thursday in Lorain, Ohio about the $1 billion investment from the bipartisan infrastructure law going to Great Lakes restoration. Lorain sits on Lake Erie
Also looming, a potential government shutdown, if the U.S. Senate didn’t get a spending bill across the line by Friday night.
Biden only spoke for 20 minutes, blaming his hasty exit on the weather and ‘there’s a little thing going on in Europe right now,’ he joked.
He said he was talking with HUD Director Marcia Fudge backstage before the speech. Before being tapped to join the administration Fudge represented parts of Cleveland in the House.
‘She said something that reminded me of what I miss as well, she said it’s so good to be home in Ohio. And I said you’re probably the only one here who understands that everytime I get a chance I go home to Delaware,’ Biden said.
‘And just like most Congressional districts, the good news and the bad news, everybody knows you,’ the president added, garnering laughs.
As he did last week in Virginia, Biden’s trip is to the current Congressional district of an endangered Democrat: Rep. Marcy Kaptur, a 40-year veteran of the House of Representatives. Kaptur and Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb greeted Biden on the tarmac.
‘She has been looking forward to welcoming President Biden to Ohio to highlight how the Jobs & Infrastructure Bill will invest in good-paying jobs throughout the region,’ Kaptur’s spokesperson told DailyMail.com.
The White House announced the dollar figure early Thursday morning, saying the money would be given to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the government entity charged with cleanup.
‘Specifically, the bulk of the funds will be used for the accelerated cleanup of critical waterways and designated areas of concern by [the Environmental Protection Agency] in the Great Lakes region,’ a senior administration official said. ‘Unfortunately, pollution and degredation to the Great Lakes and their surrounding waterways dates back decades.’
President Joe Biden (center) hugs Ohio Democratic Rep. Karcy Kaptur (left) who’s facing a potentially tough re-election fight as her Lake Erie district becomes more conservative. Biden also greeted Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb (right) on the tarmac in Cleveland
President Joe Biden arrived in Cleveland after giving a dire warning at the White House about brewing Ukrainian and Russian tensions. Biden also left Washington as the Senate was trying to avoid a Friday night government shutdown
President Joe Biden departed the White House Thursday morning to visit the Cleveland area to tout $1 billion flowing from the bipartisan infrastructure law to cleaning up Great Lakes waterways
President Joe Biden’s trip to Ohio will be to Lake Erie’s coastline, where he’ll discuss Greak Lakes cleanup funds included in the bipartisan infrastructure law. This January 2019 picture shows Lake Erie frozen with the Cleveland skyline in the background
EPA Administrator Michael Regan also made the trip.
Regan warmed up the crowd for Biden, reminding the small crowd that the Black River was once nicknamed ‘the river of fish tumors.’
Biden spoke at The Shipyards in Lorain, Ohio, situated just inland from Lake Erie on the Black River.
The warehouse-turned-events center – which, in Biden fashion, used to have train tracks running through it – was to serve as an example of what’s possible.
‘This accelerated cleanup and restoration effort will deliver environmental, health and recreational benefits for communities throughout the region,’ the official said. ‘It will also help revitalize the economy in these communities, like it’s doing in Lorain’s Black River waterfront.’
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan warmed up the crowd for President Joe Biden in Lorain, Ohio Thursday, noting how the Black River was once nicknamed ‘the river of fish tumors’
The Great Lakes region stretches from Duluth, Minnesota to the west to Buffalo, New York in the northeast.
‘One study found that every dollar we spend cleaning up the Great Lakes generates between three to four dollars of economic activity,’ the White House official added.
The Shipyards complex has a restaurant, cocktail lounge and coffee shop, as well as event space.
About half of Ohio’s Lake Erie coastline is part of Kaptur’s district.
Her chances of being re-elected haven’t been quantified yet due to Ohio not concluding its redistricting.
The Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the Ohio Redistricting Committee’s first two proposed legislative maps were unconstitutional, as Ohio voters had approved anti-gerrymandering reforms several years ago.
Kaptur’s district in the initial maps was made more rural, allowing it to tilt Republican.
While the committee is supposed to produce a new map by the end of the week, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is already offering Kaptur assistance, adding her to the list of ‘Frontline’ vulnerable incumbents in late January, NBC News said.
Overall, Ohio has become more politically difficult terrain for Democrats in recent years.
After Ohio played a pivotal role in the re-election of Republican President George W. Bush in 2004, Democrat Barack Obama, with Biden on the ticket, flipped the state in 2008 – and won it again over now Sen. Mitt Romney in 2012.
However, support for the Democrats was slipping, with Obama and Biden winning in 2008 by 4.6 points, which changed to less than 3 points four years later.
Then, in 2016, former President Donald Trump won the state over Democrat Hillary Clinton by 8 points.
Four years later, Trump won the state over Biden by almost exactly the same percentage.
Ohio hasn’t had a Democratic governor since 2011 – though Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown has held onto his seat since 2007.
The other Senate seat is up for grabs, with Republican Sen. Rob Portman retiring after this year.
While the Cook Political Report puts the seat as a ‘lean Republican,’ the GOP is poised to have a far messier primary than Democrats, who likely will pick moderate Rep. Tim Ryan as their choice, who has a national profile due to a brief presidential run.
This week, Politico reported that former President Donald Trump wants to take out one of the Republican candidates – state Sen. Matt Dolan, whose billionaire family owns the recently renamed Cleveland Guardians.
Dolan was critical of Trump on January 6, during the Capitol attack.
Trump mocked Dolan’s family for changing the baseball team’s name in order to be politically correct.
The ex-president’s problem is there are four other Republican candidates vying for his affection.
The most well known, Hillbilly Elegy author J.D. Vance, was critical of Trump during the 2016 cycle.
Another candidate, former Ohio Republican Party Chair Jane Timken, was initially supportive of Republican Ohio Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, who voted in favor of Trump’s second impeachment.
Trump was so angry about Gonzalez’s vote that his first rally of 2021 was to the congressman’s district outside of Cleveland to endorse a former aide, Max Miller, to take the Republican lawmaker’s place.
Gonzalez has decided against running for re-election.
Former state treasurer Josh Mandel and investment banker Mike Gibbons are also pursuing the GOP Senate nomination.
Ohio’s primary is May 3.
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