From The White House

Por: Capitol Hill Cubans


From this afternoon's White House Press Gaggle aboard Air Force One -- en route to Miami, Florida -- with Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton:

Q: Would you say he really needs a vacation?

MR. BURTON: I would say that -- you guys have seen him out on the trail this week. I got a lot of questions this week on whether or not the President enjoys being out on the campaign trail. I think that seeing him at some of these fundraisers, you know the answer to the question. He's clearly having a good time talking directly with the American people about the choice that's before them this November when it comes to the midterm elections. And he's got a lot of hard work to do this year, but he does look forward to the time that he's going to be able to spend with his family.

Q: Brennan is going with him tomorrow?

MR. BURTON: Yes.

Q: Will there be more campaign trips like this one after his vacation?

MR. BURTON: Yes. (Laughter.)

Q: Anything locked in yet?

MR. BURTON: Nothing locked in that I know of. I know they're still putting together the schedule.

Q: I heard you say earlier nothing tomorrow morning before leaving?

MR. BURTON: Yes, there's no events tomorrow before leaving.

Q: In Florida, is the President going to sort of put to rest any of the questions about whether or not the White House is fully behind Kendrick Meek at this event? What kind of things are we going to hear from him there?

MR. BURTON: I can't control whether or not people ask questions about the President's strong and unwavering support for Kendrick Meak. He's said that he is his candidate. Florida Democrats know that he is his candidate. He's been down there. He's raised money for the Florida Democratic Party. He's introduced Meek at events as the next United States senator from the state. So given all that, I don't know that people will stop asking questions regardless of what he does.

But Kendrick Meek will be involved in the event today and you will hear from him.

Q: Do you guys envision this as the President's, like, full embrace of Kendrick Meek? I mean, he hasn't done something like this for him before.

MR. BURTON: I think that the President has fully embraced Kendrick Meek. We envision this as going down and helping out Florida Democrats.

Q: Can you say anything about the parent company to Fox News donating to the Republican Governors Association? I mean, the President is raising money for governors on this trip. You guys have obviously had back-and-forth with Fox News. And their reasoning for donating is -- insinuates that Democrats are anti-business, which is something that the President has been talking about.

MR. BURTON: Well, I'm sure it creates a lot of questions. I've seen the report, but I don't have any particular comment on it.

Q: Do you have anything on the fundraiser tonight? Is it all going to Sink, or is it being split --

MR. BURTON: I think it's being split by -- but you should check that with the contact I gave you for Florida.

Q: And there will be nothing on Cuba?

MR. BURTON: No.