A CBS News correspondent asked the White House Wednesday if President Joe Biden's trip to Ireland amounts to "a taxpayer-funded family reunion."
Ed O'Keefe posed the question to Amanda Sloat, the National Security Council's senior director for Europe, during a press conference in Belfast, Northern Ireland, just before Biden spoke at Ulster University.
"After today's pretty meaty and sensitive interactions with political leaders here, I think there's a perception that the rest of this week is essentially, you know, tree planting, bell ringing, and a taxpayer-funded family reunion," O'Keefe observed.
He then asked: "What would the White House say to that charge, that this is essentially the President coming to rediscover his roots and that there may not be much substance beyond that?"
Sloat did not dispute the characterization but noted that Biden "feels very strongly" that his speech marking the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement sends a "powerful signal of support by the United States for the progress that's been made."
The agreement was signed in the 1990s by the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, ending years of hostilities between Catholic nationalist and Protestant unionist factions.
The spokeswoman stressed that Biden's meetings with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Irish President Michael D. Higgins, and Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar would include discussions on foreign policy.
"I think there's going to be a lot of conversations in both of those about Ukraine, ... as well as the large number of other areas we're working together around the world," Sloat stated, noting Irish-U.S. cooperation on food security.
Issues relating to immigration and the economy will also likely be addressed, Sloat said.
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