WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) – President Joe Biden held a pep talk with a California woman fired over the coronavirus pandemic. The White House said in a conversation that it was part of an effort to help him connect more consistently with ordinary Americans. .
The White House released a two-and-a-half-minute video of Biden’s long-distance phone conversation with Michele Voelkert on Saturday, identifying her only as Michele.
After losing her job at a clothing company in July, she wrote a letter to Biden. He read it and then called her.
The woman in Roseville, California, told Biden it was a difficult time trying to find work.
Biden, who spoke from his Oval Office desk, replied that his father usually said that a job is only about dignity and respect rather than for a salary. He described his $ 1.9 billion coronavirus relief plan, which requires $ 1,400 payments to people like Voelkert, and other economic aid to individuals and small businesses. There is also money to distribute coronavirus vaccines.
“I have long said that the idea that we think we can keep our businesses open and moving and thriving without dealing with this pandemic is just a no-brainer,” Biden said.
The Sacramento Bee said he spoke to Voelkert, 47, after the call. “It was the opportunity of a lifetime,” she said. “I’m still driving high.”
The conversation is part of an effort to help Biden, who greatly limited his trip due to the pandemic, communicate directly with Americans, the White House said. Biden did fly to Wilmington, Delaware, on Friday to spend the weekend with his family at home.
“There is a tradition in the country that has traditionally been heard in this way by the president,” press secretary Jen Psaki said on Friday as he previewed the video. She refers to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s ‘fireside chats’ and Ronald Reagan’s setting of a weekly radio address.
The radio address eventually increased to a video version seen on the internet. However, the practice lapsed under former President Donald Trump.
Biden’s weekly address will be produced in various forms, Psaki said.
Later Saturday, Biden left his home for a regularly scheduled x-ray of his right foot, which he broke in late November while playing with his dog Major.
Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the president’s doctor, said in a statement by the White House that the weight-bearing X-ray of a week of ten weeks should ensure that Biden regains stability in his ligaments.