At the White House, President Biden held his first solo press conference since taking office Thursday, where he blasted Georgia’s Republican-led voter suppression efforts.
President Joe Biden: “What I’m worried about is how un-American this whole initiative is. It’s sick. It’s sick. … I mean, this is gigantic, what they’re trying to do. And it cannot be sustained. I’m going to do everything in my power, along with my friends in the House and the Senate, to keep that from becoming the law.”
Also at his Thursday press conference, President Biden said he “can’t picture” U.S. troops in Afghanistan by next year. Biden responded to a question about the May 1 deadline for withdrawal, set under the Trump administration.
President Joe Biden: “The answer is that it’s going to be hard to meet the May 1 deadline, just in terms of tactical reasons. … We’ve been meeting with our allies, those other nations that have — NATO allies who have troops in Afghanistan, as well. And if we leave, we’re going to do so in a safe and orderly way.”
About 3,500 U.S. troops and another 6,500 NATO soldiers remain in Afghanistan — nearly 20 years after the U.S.-led invasion.