COMMON PEOPLE
The White House released a video of the two of them eating a hamburger lunch, served by waiters.
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are marking two years since being sworn into office.
The White House released a video of the two of them eating a hamburger lunch, served by waiters.
The two spend the nearly two-minute video rattling off their accomplishments in office.
The White House released an unusual video of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to mark two years since they were sworn into office. It includes waiters, hamburgers, and a heaping serving of self-promotion.
Released from the @POTUS and @VP Twitter accounts, the video shows the two leaders sitting across from each other at a table in the White House, marveling at their own accomplishments over the last two years.
"I think we're off to a pretty good start," says Biden, as he sits down for lunch.
Harris counters that the start has been "great." She gives a nod to "the resilience, the determination" of Americans as motivation and then launches into praise for Biden.
"I wish people could see what I see sometimes," she says, as the video displays photos of them over the last two years. "I've been in the Oval Office with you when the cameras are there and mostly when the cameras are not. And what you have singularly done, based on who you are — and I mean this in all sincerity — to bring together nations, allies in the world, and you bring folks together in a bipartisan way, uniquely.
"You have been an incredible leader these last year," she says as Biden calls her "very gracious."
The two-year mark is coming at a difficult time for the administration as Biden is forced to deal with a newly-formed special counsel investigation of his handling of classified material as well as a Republican-led House, that is determined to investigate Biden and his family.
In the video, they rattle through their highlights reel, which includes job creation, capping the cost of insulin, more female appellate court judges and the appointment of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman to sit on the Supreme Court.
Harris calls it "groundbreaking" and Biden says there's a lot more to do. "We've got momentum," they both say as waiters hand them their boxed burger lunches.
The video is being both celebrated and panned on Twitter, likely depending on users' political affiliation.
"This is weird," tweeted Kyle Martinsen, deputy rapid response director for the Republican National Committee.
Chris D. Jackson, a Democrat and county commissioner in Tennessee, however offered additional praise for the administration.
DID THEY TIP
JILL LAWLESS
Fri, January 20, 2023
LONDON (AP) — U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was fined by police on Friday for taking off his seat belt to film a social media video in a moving car.
Sunak, 42, has apologized for making an “error of judgment” while recording a message for Instagram from the back of an official government car during a visit to northwest England on Thursday.
The Lancashire Police force said it had looked into video “circulating on social media showing an individual failing to wear a seat belt while a passenger in a moving car in Lancashire.” The force said, without naming Sunak, that it had “issued a 42-year-old man from London with a conditional offer of fixed penalty.”
Failing to wear a seat belt is punishable by a penalty of up to 500 pounds ($620), though fixed penalty notices for such offenses are usually 100 pounds ($124) if paid promptly.
The conditional offer means that the person fined accepts guilt but doesn't have to go to court. Police didn't say how much Sunak was fined.
Sunak's office said in a statement that "the prime minister fully accepts this was a mistake and has apologized. He will of course comply with the fixed penalty.”
It’s the second time Sunak has been fined during his political career. Last year, when he was Treasury chief, he was fined 50 pounds for breaching pandemic lockdown rules by briefly attending a party inside government offices. He was one of dozens of officials fined over the “partygate” scandal, including then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Sunak took office as U.K. leader in October, promising “integrity, professionalism and accountability" after a tumultuous few years that saw Johnson ousted by multiple scandals and his successor Liz Truss toppled after her policies rocked the U.K. economy.
Nikki Main
Fri, January 20, 2023
Rishi Sunak was fined for not wearing a seatbelt in a moving vehicle
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been fined for not wearing his seatbelt while filming a social media video in a moving car. Sunak was visiting three towns in the north of England when he posted the video promoting his ‘leveling up’ program on Instagram. The video has since been taken down but can be seen in a YouTube video posted by The Guardian.
The program Sunak was promoting aims to reduce regional inequality by improving education, broadband, and transportation services to bridge the gap between wealthy and poor areas of England. In the video, Sunak addresses the camera as the car is moving and police motorbikes appear in the background.
The fine for not wearing a seatbelt in the UK is £100, or $123, when pulled over, but can increase to a maximum of £500, or $620 if the case proceeds to court. Sunak was in Lancashire when he was pulled over, and local police are currently “looking into” the violation, but have not made any moves to bring Sunak to court.
When asked if Lancashire police had been in touch with the prime minister, a spokesperson stated, “Not that I’m aware of,” the BBC reported.
Sunak, who was fined less than two years ago for participating in ‘Partygate,’ called the decision an “error in judgment” and said he doesn’t believe he is above the law. His spokesperson told reporters that Sunak “fully accepts this was a mistake and apologizes,” adding that the prime minister “believes everyone should wear a seatbelt.”
In the UK, the law requires all passengers to wear a seatbelt, with drivers ensuring those 14 years of age and younger are wearing a seatbelt, while those 14 years and older are responsible for themselves.
There are few exemptions to the law including a passenger having a certificate from a doctor citing a medical reason, or if they’re a passenger in a vehicle used for police, fire, or other rescue services.
A spokesperson for Labour, an alliance of democratic socialists, told the outlet if Sunak is fined, it will be “very serious” due to the fixed penalty he was required to pay following the Partygate scandal when he was a chancellor. Sunak had attended a party at then-Prime Minister Borris Johnson’s home in April 2021, which violated covid-19 lockdown rules.
Conservative members of parliament have criticized the investigation, and Blackpool South MP told the BBC, “The vast majority of people would think that politically motivated complaints about a seatbelt are not a good use of frontline resources.” He added, “Their time is better spent investigating serious crime which impacts on my constituents.”
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