Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Narrator: Welcome to the West Wing Week,
your guide to everything that's happening
at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and beyond.
The President: Tomorrow I'm going to do a student
loan Q&A with Tumblr to help spread the word.
You're laughing, because you think,
what does he know about Tumblr?
(laughter)
Narrator: It's June 6th to June 12th.
The President: But you don't recall that
I have two teenage daughters --
Narrator: "I'm hip to all these things."
The President: -- so that I am hip
to all these things.
(laughter)
The Narrator: Our story begins
in Normandy where the President began
his West Wing Week by commemorating
the 70th anniversary of D-Day.
The President: And in their memory,
those who returned home from war were driven to live
their lives the best they could, raising families
and helping build the American century.
Today a new generation of troops,
the 9/11 generation, carries on that tradition.
Some of them have come to Normandy today,
and as this time of war comes to an end,
and our troops come home, I hope every American will join
me in honoring their service, just
as we do the generations before.
The Narrator: That event was the capstone
of the President's week-long visit to Europe.
Our Monday began with the President making
his way to the Blue Room to meet with students before
signing a presidential memorandum to reduce
the burden of student loan debt.
The President: Yeah, I get a little nervous
before these things, but hopefully I'll be okay.
The Narrator: In the East Room the President
laid out his latest initiative to help young
Americans pay off their student loan debt.
After signing the memo, the President then took
some time in the Blue Room to meet with
the University of Connecticut men's and women's
basketball teams, who'd been invited
to the White House to celebrate their national championships.
The President: All right,
let's go talk to your fans.
The Narrator: The last time both the men's
and women's basketball program from the same university
were invited to the White House was back in 2004.
The school?
UConn.
On Tuesday, the President and Vice President Biden
started the day by meeting with members
of Congress before signing the Water Resources Reform
and Development Act of 2014.
WRRDA, as the act is referred to, authorizes
the construction of 34 Army Corps of Engineers
water resources projects, including maintaining
our waterways and expanding our major ports.
Immediately after signing that bill,
the President authorized the Congressional Gold Medal
to be awarded to Puerto Rico's
65th Infantry Regiment for its pioneering military
service, devotion to duty, and many acts of valor.
(applause)
The Narrator: Afterwards, the President
sat down with former first daughter
Jenna Bush Hager for a Father's Day interview for NBC.
The two talked about a wide range of issues
dealing with fathers and their role
in the American family.
The President also took the opportunity to wish
a very happy 90th birthday
to her grandfather, former president George H. W. Bush.
The busy morning prompted the President to head
out across the river to grab lunch
with Education Secretary Arne Duncan.
The President: You got cheddar cheese?
Male Speaker: We do.
The President: Let me have a cheddar cheese burger --
The President: Good to see you.
How are you?
(inaudible)
Hey, how you doing?
She's perfect.
Good job.
You can't beat daughters.
The Narrator: The President then headed
back to the White House to take part in that Tumblr
event he was hip to.
He met with Tumblr CEO David Karp before
the event for a brief chat.
The President: A GIF.
I'm all on top of it.
The Narrator: With that, the two took to the stage
in the State Dining Room to answer
questions submitted through Tumblr.
The nearly hour-long discussion focused
on education, student loans, and some personal
anecdotes from the President.
(laughter)
The President: All right,
where do you want me?
Right here?
Is this my spot?
The Narrator: Wednesday was Worcester Tech Day,
where the President delivered the commencement
address and congratulated the graduates
at Worcester Technical High School, which implemented
cutting edge vocational programs in just the last
few years to transform itself from one of the lowest
performing schools in the state
to a Department of Education Blue Ribbon School.
Thursday was Harvest Day when the First Lady
joined local students and school nutrition directors
from across the country to make and enjoy salads made
from this year's summer crop
from the White House kitchen garden.
Meanwhile, inside the Oval Office, the President
was meeting with Prime Minister Tony Abbott
of Australia, and then with the WNBA champion
Minnesota Lynx to honor the team in their
victory in the WNBA finals.
You can find out more information about
any of these topics or see complete videos
of these events at whitehouse.gov.
Thanks, and stay tuned for next week's
West Wing Week when the VP goes to the World Cup.
David Karp: Oh, did you see the GIF?
It went up?
First of all, there was an executive order;
it's a GIF now, so he made the decision,
just so you know.
The President: A GIF.
I'm all on top of it.
David Karp: There is.
So you've made up your mind?
It's GIF?
The President: That is my official position.
(laughter)
David Karp: All right, it's done.
We're going with it.
The President: I mean, I pondered it a long time.
I think that one's going to work.
David Karp: Yes.
Thank you, Mr. President.
The President: All right.
(music playing)