White House on Trump’s Florida Rally: “We Are Not Focused on the Former President at All”

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Last updated on July 3rd, 2021 at 04:12 pm

The White House, via deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, said it is “not focused” on former President Donald Trump, who is holding a rally in Sarasota, Florida at the same time that President Joe Biden is in the state to visit the families who have been affected by last week’s partial collapse of a condo building in Surfside, Florida.

“We are not focused on the former president at all,” Jean-Pierre said in response to a reporter aboard Air Force One. “We are focused primarily on the American people, what can the president do. This is what the president’s focused on, what can he continue to do to make their lives better. Right now, today, is all about the community at Surfside, making sure we’re offering up our condolences, making sure we’re offering up all the help that we can provide to them at this time.”

“And also lifting up our first responders who have been working tirelessly around the clock, doing the work that they’re doing in their search and rescue,” she added.

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"We are not focused on the former president at all. We are focused primarily on the American people," Karine Jean-Pierre tells reporters aboard AF1 when asked whether the WH has a position on Trump rally in Florida on Saturday.

— Morgan Chalfant (@mchalfant16) July 1, 2021

Jean-Pierre also responded to a question concerning the recent news that Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg has surrendered to authorities as the Manhattan district attorney’s office prepares to charge the company and its top executive with tax-related crimes, saying that while the White House has followed the “past 12 hours or so,” there would be no further comment.

“We’re not going to comment on any specific case at this time,” she said. “And, generally, the president believes and has made clear that it’s long past due for wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share and he’s announced a number of initiatives to crack down on tax evasion by high-income individuals and big corporations.”