President Biden and first lady Jill Biden shared a New Year’s message late Sunday, with the president touting U.S. job gains as he seeks reelection in 2024.
The president, asked during an interview with Ryan Seacrest on his hopes for 2024, said he hopes “everybody has a healthy, happy and safe New Year.”
“But beyond that, I hope that they understand that we’re in a better position than any country in the world to lead the world,” Biden said. “And we’re coming back, and it’s about time.”
Later when asked for his standout memories from 2023, Biden said, “People are in a position to be able to making a living now, and they’ve created a lot of jobs for over 14 million.”
“I just feel good, the American people got up. They’ve been through a rough time with the pandemic, but now we’re coming back, they’re back,” he added.
The pretaped interview was shown during ABC’s “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest,” just hours before the East Coast was set to ring in 2024. Seacrest has interviewed the Bidens the past four years for the New Year’s special.
Jill Biden shared a similarly upbeat message in the interview aired Sunday, telling Seacrest, “I think it’s what I would always tell my students — be positive, be optimistic and be kind to one another.”
The first couple was speaking from St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where the Biden family is celebrating New Year’s. The interview was recorded Saturday, according to the White House.
Biden and the first lady arrived at the Caribbean island last Wednesday, one day after the president returned to Washington after celebrating Christmas with family at Camp David.
The Bidens also spent New Year’s with family in St. Croix last year, as part of a family tradition dating back to 2008 to spend the holiday in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Bidens did not travel to the Virgin Islands when ringing in 2022, instead spending the holiday in Wilmington, Del.
This year’s trip has drawn criticism from some Republicans, who argued Biden’s trip shows how the White House has been absent for the situation at the U.S.-southern border.
The House Judiciary Committee mocked the president last week, calling him “beachfront Biden.” The committee shared an old photo of Biden on a beach in Delaware, claiming the president “doesn’t care about the southern border.”
Biden has faced repeated criticism from the right over his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border situation, with his approval rating on immigration dropping 8 points in December, according to a poll.
This isn’t the first time a president has come under fire for taking a holiday trip. Former Presidents George W. Bush, Obama and Trump all faced similar criticism for trips away from Washington.
The White House has declined to comment on the latest criticism.
Biden on Saturday took several questions from reporters when leaving dinner in St. Croix, and revealed his New Year’s resolution.
“To come back next year,” he said.
“That’s the biggest one right there,” he added when asked for anything else.