Subject: RE: White House Press Briefing 05-12-16
From: "Debose, Levi" <[email-masked]>
To: Comm_D <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 12 May 2016 11:32:07 -0700

Full Briefing Notes. Flags are the response that he gave about the Ryan-Trump meeting / Ryan's policy agenda and DWS mention

WHITE HOUSE PRESS BRIEFING 05-12-16

Affordable Care Act

US District Court agreed with House GOP. How problematic is this?

*         Not the first time that people have tried to stop ACA

*         First time that House GOP has sued US government

*         They will lose it again

Will the administration appeal? What are the ramifications?

*         DOJ will announce appeal, but we are confident about our arguments

*         No analysis about potential impact. That will come down the road.

SCOTUS

CJ Garland will be at a commencement address at a high school? Will he talk about SCOTUS?

*         No, he will not

*         Good opportunity to return home to alma mater to impart wisdom

Administration Questions

Is Ben Rhodes a good part of the administration?

*         Rhodes has served this country with distinction

*         From Cuba to Burma to Education, Ben Rhodes has been really good

*         He got authorization by WH staff

What is POTUS doing today, because schedule seems light?

*         Easier today, because long tomorrow

*         Also, writing speech for Sunday

*         Lighter, just because he is doing more on Friday and Sunday then he normally would

2016 Election

Does a day where the GOP seems in order scare leaders overseas?

*         Chose moments carefully to talk about race, this is not one.

*         POTUS wants a successful Democratic President for the next four years

*         Not unusual for world leaders to ask about American campaign

It seems like the GOP is trying to coalesce. Is that bad for Dems?

*         Even a novice knows that they aren't uniting

*         The joint release was funny, and you could tell the tension

*         Should already use responsibility for Speaker of the House to work on agenda

*         Should be focused on Zika, Puerto Rico, or even a budget....

*         They should implement their agenda now. If they thought it was the right thing to do, then they would do it!

*         We want them to act, but they haven't.

Are you taking Donald Trump seriously?

*         You should ask that to the Democrats

*         There is an energetic primary happening on the Dems side

*         POTUS stood here Friday and said that there is a clear difference

*         Competitors in election should take this more seriously

"Yesterday, DWS said that there wouldn't be as big of a problem with uniting the party as it is with the GOP and there wouldn't be divisiveness after convention. Sen. Sanders supporters have said they won't support HRC and they claim that it is not his responsibility to get his supporters to vote for HRC. POTUS, as the head of the party, what will he do when the primary is over?"

POTUS will make a case to everyone about electing the democratic nominee. He wants to continue to expand opportunity for the middle class. Every step of the way, Republicans try to block it. Voters all across the country will hear that message from POTUS.

"The GOP found themselves in this position because they were unprepared to deal with Trump as the nominee. What will POTUS do to bring the nominees together?"

Perhaps. I'm not an analyst, but this isn't a small thing for the Republican Party. I feel confident that POTUS will have a strong argument for the Democratic nominee based off the progress that we have seen since he took office. There is more that we can do, but POTUS is committed to supporting a candidate who is committed to that process, which will be the Democratic Nominee.

Are parties that are in the TPP deal concerned about the rhetoric from both front-runners?

*         Not a surprising development

*         Other countries understand that there is bi-partisan support in Congress

*         Members of congress who support TPP should get congress working and take action

Trump said that he would have Giuliani head a committee that will figure out a better process for entering the United States. Is that logical?

*         No, because we have a well-established process

*         Our process is better than just religion

Zika

Is Zika in Brazil going to impact POTUS decision to go to Summer Olympics?

*         WH doesn't want to move Summer Olympics

*         We will continue to fight Zika overseas

*         We will help Brazil in any way. We are rooting for Brazil to succeed.

*         We need congressional action

*         It is an emergency and it needs to be seen as one

From: Debose, Levi
Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2016 2:16 PM
To: Comm_D
Subject: White House Press Briefing 05-12-16

Early flag due to DWS mention over Dem Nominating Process. Rough Transcript below.

"Yesterday, DWS said that there wouldn't be as big of a problem with uniting the party as it is with the GOP and there wouldn't be divisiveness after convention. Sen. Sanders supporters have said they won't support HRC and they claim that it is not his responsibility to get his supporters to vote for HRC. POTUS, as the head of the party, what will he do when the primary is over?"

JE: POTUS will make a case to everyone about electing the democratic nominee. He wants to continue to expand opportunity for the middle class. Every step of the way, Republicans try to block it. Voters all across the country will hear that message from POTUS.

"The GOP found themselves in this position because they were unprepared to deal with Trump as the nominee. What will POTUS do to bring the nominees together?"

JE: Perhaps. I'm not an analyst, but this isn't a small thing for the Republican Party. I feel confident that POTUS will have a strong argument for the Democratic nominee based off the progress that we have seen since he took office. There is more that we can do, but POTUS is committed to supporting a candidate who is committed to that process, which will be the Democratic Nominee.