Administration of Joseph R. Biden, Jr., 2022

October 29, 2022

The President. I want to make a brief statement about Nancy and Paul Pelosi. You know, I talked to them. He seems to be doing a lot better. It looks like he's going to recover fully.

Andâbut it also, don't know for certain, but it looks like this was intended for Nancy. He kept asking: "Where's Nancy? Where's Nancy?"

And the generic point I want to make is that, you know, it's one thing to condemn the violence. But you can't condemn the violence unless you condemn those people who continue to argue the election was not real, that it's being stolen, that all the malarkey that's being put out there to undermine democracy.

You can't just apologize and say, "The violence"âit affects people's mentality. It affects how people think, particularly people who are not, maybe, as stable as other people.

So the talk has to stop. That's the problem. That's the problem. You can't just say, "I feel badly about the violence; we condemn it." Condemn what produces the violence, and this talk produces the violence.

Thank you.

Crowd Surge Incident in Seoul, South Korea

Q. Mr. President, can you say a few words about the stampede in South Korea?

The President. You know, I justâI was down watching her game down at school, and I didn't hear about it until on the way in the car. I know nothing about it exceptâSouth Korea, correct?

Q. One hundred and forty-six people, up to now, were killed in a stampede for Halloweenâ [inaudible].

The President. Oh. I will make a statement when I find out more about it. Iâbut Iâjust literally heard about it from staff on the way down in the car.

2022 Congressional Elections

Q. How are you feeling about the midterms with 9 days to go? And how are you going about deciding where to go and where not to go down the stretch?

The President. I'm feeling good. I mean, I've been into, I guess, now 36 constituencies, either campaigning for a specific candidate or going in with a candidate who is doing someâlike out at the bridge in Pittsburgh.

And I'm going toâI'm going to be going toâthe remainder of the week, I'm going to be engaged. And I'm going to be back in Pennsylvania. I'm going to be in Maryland. Going to be, I believe, inâI'm going to be New Mexico, California. So I'm going to be all around the country. My wife Jill is up New Hampshire right now.

So I'm going to be spending the rest of the time making the case that this is not a referendum. It's a choiceâa fundamental choiceâa choice between two very different visions for the country. And that's what it's about.

Russia/Ukraine

Q. Mr. President, do you have a reaction to Russia moving to suspend the U.N. grain deal with Ukraine?

The President. Yes, I do. It's just pureâpurely outrageous. It's going to increase starvation.

There's no reason for them to do that.

Andâbut they're always looking for some rationale to be able to say the reason they're doing something outrageous is because the West made them do it. And it's just notâthere's no merit to what they're doing. The U.N. negotiated that deal, and that should be the end of it.

Thank you.

Pennsylvania Democratic Senatorial Candidate Lieutenant Governor John K. Fetterman

Q. You were with Fetterman yesterday. Are you confident about hisâabout the way it looks there?

The President. Yes, I thought he was really good. I thought he knew was doing. I thought he was strong.

And look, Fetterman is Pennsylvania. I mean, Fetterman is everything that he appears to be.

You know where he stands. He has great courage. He has no reluctance to say what he thinks. He's my kind of guy. And I think he's going to be fine. And he's just getting better and better.

He had a stroke; he's recovering. Thank you all very much.

NOTE: The President spoke at 4:21 p.m. outside a polling center at the Shipyard Shops Wilmington, after casting an early vote in the Delaware congressional elections, along with his granddaughter Natalie P. Biden. In his remarks, he referred to David DePape, the alleged assailant in the attack on Mr. Pelosi, husband of Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, in their San Francisco, CA, residence on October 28. The transcript was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on October 30.

Categories: Addresses and Remarks : Assault on Paul F. Pelosi, Sr; Interviews With the News Media : Exchanges with reporters :: Wilmington, DE.

Locations: Wilmington, DE.

Names: Biden, Natalie P.; DePape, David; Fetterman, John K.; Pelosi, Nancy; Pelosi, Paul F., Sr.

Subjects: Agriculture : Food shortages due to conflict in Ukraine, mitigation efforts; California : Attack on Paul F. Pelosi, Sr., husband of Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi in their San Francisco residence; Congress : House of Representatives :: Speaker; Delaware : President's visits; Elections : 2022 congressional elections; Pennsylvania : Lieutenant Governor; South Korea : Crowd surge incident in Seoul.

DCPD Number: DCPD202200974.