President Joe Biden hosted corporate CEOs at the White House on Wednesday to promote coronavirus vaccine mandates.
“The vaccine requirements work,” Biden said to reporters at the top of the meeting at the White House. “More companies are instituting them.”
Joe Biden met with the CEOs of Kaiser Permanente, Walgreens, Walt Disney, Columbia Sportswear – who attended the meeting in-person – and the president of Microsoft, who joined virtually.
The founder and CEO of Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream also attended the meeting at Biden’s invitation.
Former White House Chief of Staff for George W. Bush Josh Bolten, now leading the Business Roundtable, a lobbying group for businesses, also attended, as well as the president and CEO of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Biden praised the group for “leading the way” on vaccine mandates and encouraged other businesses to follow suit.
During the event, Biden touted Goldman Sachs and Fox News for their endorsement of vaccine mandates.
“Even Fox News is requiring it,” Biden said. “I am not being facetious when I say that, but it’s interesting that they’ve stepped forward and done that as well.”
The President of Louisiana State University, who also enacted vaccine mandates for students, attended the meeting and earned praise from the president for increasing vaccination rates from 63 percent to 81 percent.
“It’s about beating a virus and it’s about saving lives —that’s what this is all about,” he said.
The White House escorted reporters out of the room before any of the CEOs spoke.
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