{"id":134919,"date":"2022-01-19T22:02:07","date_gmt":"2022-01-20T06:02:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=134919"},"modified":"2022-01-19T22:02:07","modified_gmt":"2022-01-20T06:02:07","slug":"president-joe-bidens-first-year-in-office-press-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=134919","title":{"rendered":"President Joe Biden&#8217;s First Year in Office Press Conference"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Hello, folks.  Thanks for being here.  Well, good afternoon, everyone.  Tomorrow will mark one year since I took office.  It\u2019s been a year of challenges, but it\u2019s also been a year of enormous progress.  We went from 2 million people being vaccinated at the moment I was sworn in to 210 million Americans being fully vaccinated today.  We created 6 million new jobs \u2014 more jobs in one year than at any time before.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TUNtRPv6wTc\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Unemployment dropped \u2014 the unemployment rate dropped to 3.9 percent.<\/p>\n<p>Child poverty dropped by nearly 40 percent \u2014 the biggest drop ever in American history.<\/p>\n<p>New business applications grew by 30 percent \u2014 the biggest increase ever.<\/p>\n<p>And for the first time in a long time, this country\u2019s working people actually got a raise \u2014 actually got a raise.  The people \u2014 the bottom 40 percent saw their income go up the most of all those that got a raise.<\/p>\n<p>We cut health insurance premiums for millions of American families. <\/p>\n<p>And we just made surprise medical bills illegal in this country.  You know those bills you get that you don\u2019t expect \u2014 up to $2,000 or $5,000 \u2014 from a hospital, beyond what you thought you were going to have to owe because of the consultation you weren\u2019t told was going to cost that much?  No more.  They\u2019re now illegal.<\/p>\n<p>Thanks to the American Rescue Plan and other actions we\u2019ve taken, we\u2019ve seen record job creation and record economic growth in the past year.<\/p>\n<p>Now, thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, we\u2019re about to make a record investment in rebuilding America to take us to be the number-one best infrastructure in the world.  Well, now we\u2019re way below that.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll be creating better jobs for millions of people modernizing our roads, our bridges, our highways, our ports, our airports \u2014 everything from making clean water; lead \u2014 removing lead pipes that every American can turn on \u2014 every American can turn on a faucet and drink clean water \u2014 urban and rural and suburban communities.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s going to make affordable high-speed Internet available to every American in urban, rural, and suburban areas.  We\u2019ve never done that before.  Now we are.  We\u2019re in the process of that getting that done.<\/p>\n<p>Still, for all this progress, I know there\u2019s a lot of frustration and fatigue in this country.<\/p>\n<p>And we know why: COVID-19.  Omicron has now been challenging us in a way that \u2014 it\u2019s the new enemy.<\/p>\n<p>But while it\u2019s cause for concern, it\u2019s not cause for panic.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve been doing everything we can, learning and adapting as fast as we can, and preparing for a future beyond the pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>While I know that after almost two years of physical, emotional, and psychological weight of this pandemic, and has \u2014 the impact it\u2019s had on everyone, for many of us, it\u2019s been too much to bear.  We\u2019re in a very different place now, though.<\/p>\n<p>We have the tools \u2014 vaccines, boosters, masks, tests, pills \u2014 to save lives and keep businesses and schools open.<\/p>\n<p>Seventy-five percent of adults are fully vaccinated.  We\u2019ve gone from 90 million adults with no shots in arms last summer down to 35 million with no shots as of today.  And we\u2019re adding about 9 million more vaccinations each week.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re going to stick with our vaccination efforts because vaccinations work.  So, get vaccinated, please.  And get your booster.<\/p>\n<p>Look, we\u2019re also increasing testing.  Should we have done more testing earlier?  Yes.  But we\u2019re doing more now.  We\u2019ve gone from zero at-home tests a year ago to 375 million tests on the market in just this month.  If you buy a test at a store, your insurance will reimburse you. <\/p>\n<p>On top of that, we\u2019re making 1 billion \u2014 1 billion at-home tests available for you to order and be delivered to your home for free.  Just visit COVIDTests.gov to know how to get that free test kit to your home.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, there are 20,000 sites where you can get tested in person for free, now. <\/p>\n<p>And now we have more treatments that people can \u2014 that \u2014 for people \u2014 to keep people out of the hospital than any other point in the pandemic, including lifesaving antiviral pills.  We purchased 20 million of these new Pfizer pills \u2014 more than any country in the world. <\/p>\n<p>The bottom line on COVID-19 is that we are in a better place than we\u2019ve been and have been thus far, clearly better than a year ago.  We\u2019re not going back \u2014 we\u2019re not going back to lockdowns.  We\u2019re not going back to closing schools.  Schools should stay open.<\/p>\n<p>Because of the American Rescue Plan, we provided the states $130 billion \u2014 $130 billion to keep our students and educators safe and schools open: funding for ventilation systems in schools, social distancing, hygiene for classrooms and the school buses.  In addition, we\u2019ve added another $10 billion for COVID-19 tests to be able to be administered at schools.<\/p>\n<p>And many states and school districts have spent this money very well.  Unfortunately, some haven\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>I encourage the states and school districts that use the funding to protect our children and keep their schools open: Use it. <\/p>\n<p>COVID-19 is not going to give up and accept things \u2014 you know, it\u2019s just \u2014 it\u2019s not going to go away immediately.  But I\u2019m not going to give up and accept things as they are now.<\/p>\n<p>Some people may call what\u2019s happening now the \u201cnew normal.\u201d  I call it a job not yet finished.  It will get better.  We\u2019re moving toward a time when COVID-19 won\u2019t disrupt our daily lives; where COVID 19 won\u2019t be a crisis but something to protect against and a threat [treat].<\/p>\n<p>Look, we\u2019re not there yet, but we will get there.<\/p>\n<p>Now, the second challenge we\u2019re facing are prices.  COVID-19 has created a lot of economic complications, including rapid price increases across the world economy.  People see it at the gas pumps, the grocery stores, and elsewhere. <\/p>\n<p>So, here\u2019s what we\u2019re going to do:<\/p>\n<p>A critical job in making sure that the elevated prices don\u2019t become entrenched rests with the Federal Reserve, which has a dual mandate: full employment and stable prices.<\/p>\n<p>The Federal Reserve provided extraordinary support during the crisis for the previous year and a half. <\/p>\n<p>Given the strength of our economy and the pace of recent price increases, it\u2019s appropriate, as the Federal Chairman, Chairman Powell \u2014 the Fed Chairman, Powell, has indicated \u2014 to recalibrate the support that is now necessary.<\/p>\n<p>I respect the Fed\u2019s \u2014 the Fed\u2019s independence.  And I\u2019ve nominated five superb individuals to serve on the Federal Board of Governors \u2014 men and women from a variety of ideological perspectives.  They\u2019re eminently qualified, historically diverse, and have earned bipartisan praise.  And I call on the United States Senate to confirm them without any further delay.<\/p>\n<p>And here at the White House and for my friends in Congress, the best thing to tackle high prices is a more productive economy with greater capacity to deliver goods and services to the American people, and a growing economy where folks have more choices and more small businesses can compete and where more goods can get to market faster and cheaper.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve laid out a three-part plan to do just that.<\/p>\n<p>First, fix the supply chain.  COVID-19 has had a global impact on the economy.  When a factory shuts down in one part of the world, shipments to shops and homes and businesses all over the world are disrupted.<\/p>\n<p>COVID-19 has compounded that many times over.<\/p>\n<p>A couple of months ago, in this very room, we talked \u2014 we heard dire warnings about how these supply chain problems could create a real crisis around the holidays.  So, we acted.  We brought together business and labor, and that much-predicted crisis did not occur.<\/p>\n<p>Ninety-nine percent of the packages were delivered on time, and shelves were stocked.  And notwithstanding the recent storms that have impacted many parts of our country, the share of goods in stock at stores is 89 percent now, which is barely changed from the 91 percent before the pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>I often see empty shelves being shown on television.  Eighty-nine percent are full, which is only a few points below what it was before the pandemic. <\/p>\n<p>But our work is not done.  My infrastructure law will supercharge our effort, upgrading everything from roads and bridges to ports and airports, railways and transit, to make our economy move faster and reduce prices for families.<\/p>\n<p>Second thing: My Build Back Better plan will address the biggest costs that working families face every day.  No other plan will do more to lower the costs for American families.  It cuts the cost of \u2014 for childcare.<\/p>\n<p>Many families, including the people sitting in this room, if they have children and they\u2019re working full-time \u2014 many families pay up to $14,000 a year for childcare in big cities, less than that in smaller ones.  My plan cuts that in half.<\/p>\n<p>That will not only be a gamechanger for so many families\u2019 budgets, but it will mean so much for the nearly 2 million women who \u2014 women who\u2019ve left the workforce during the pandemic because of things like childcare.<\/p>\n<p>My Build Back Better plan cuts the price of prescription drugs.  So, insulin that today costs some people as much as $1,000 a month will cost no more than $35 a month.<\/p>\n<p>It cuts the cost of eldercare.  It lowers energy costs.  And it will do all of this without raising a single penny in taxes on people making under $400,000 a year or raising the deficit.  In fact, my plan cuts the deficit and it boosts the economy by getting more people into the workforce.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why 17 Nobel prize winners for economics say it will ease long-term inflationary pressure.<\/p>\n<p>The bottom line: If price increases are what you\u2019re worried about, the best answer is my Build Back Better plan.<\/p>\n<p>Third thing we\u2019re going to do: promote competition.<\/p>\n<p>Look, in too many industries, a handful of giant companies dominate the market in sectors like meat processing, railroads, shipping, and other areas. <\/p>\n<p>This isn\u2019t a new issue.  It\u2019s not been the reason we\u2019ve have high inflation today.  It\u2019s not the only reason.  It\u2019s been happening for a decade.<\/p>\n<p>But over time, it has reduced competition; squeezed out small businesses and farmers, ranchers; and increased the price for consumers.<\/p>\n<p>We end up with an industry like the meat-processing industry where four big companies dominate the markets, pay ranchers less for their cattle they grow, charge consumers more for beef \u2014 hamburger meat, whatever they\u2019re buying.  Prices are up.<\/p>\n<p>Look, I\u2019m a capitalist.  But capitalism without competition<\/p>\n<p>is not capitalism, it\u2019s exploitation. <\/p>\n<p>So I signed an executive order to tackle unfair competition in our economy, and we\u2019re going to continue to enforce it, along with working with Congress where we can.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ll close with this: We have faced some of the biggest challenges that we\u2019ve ever faced in this country these past few years \u2014 challenges to our public health, challenges to our economy.  But we\u2019re getting through it.<\/p>\n<p>And not only are we getting through it, we\u2019re laying the foundation for a future where America wins the 21st century by creating jobs at a record pace.  Now we need to get inflation under control.<\/p>\n<p>We have developed ex- \u2014 an extraordinarily effective booster shots and antiviral pills.  Now we need to finish the job to get COVID-19 under control.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve long said it\u2019s never been a good bet to bet against the American people or America.  I believe that more than ever today.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve seen the grit and determination of the American people this past year.  But the best days of this country are still ahead of us, not behind us. <\/p>\n<p>Now I\u2019m happy to take questions.<\/p>\n<p>Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Thank you, Mr. President.  I know some of my colleagues will get into some specific issues, but I wanted to zoom out on your first year in office.<\/p>\n<p>Inflation is up.  Your signature domestic legislation is stalled in Congress.  In a few hours from now, the Senate \u2014 an effort in the Senate to deal with voting rights and voting \u2014 voting reform legislation is going to fail.  COVID-19 is taking the lives of 1,500 Americans every day.  And the nation\u2019s divisions are just as raw as they were a year ago.  Did you overpromise to the American public what you could achieve in your first year in office?  And how do you plan to course-correct going forward?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Why are you such an optimist?  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>Look, I didn\u2019t overpromise, but I have probably outperformed what anybody thought would happen.  The fact of the matter is that we\u2019re in a situation where we have made enormous progress.  You mentioned the number of deaths from COVID; well, it was three times that not long ago.  It\u2019s coming down.  Everything is changing.  It\u2019s getting better.<\/p>\n<p>Look, I didn\u2019t overpromise, but I think if you take a look at what we\u2019ve been able to do, you\u2019d have to acknowledge we made enormous progress. <\/p>\n<p>But one of the things that I think is something that \u2014 one thing I haven\u2019t been able to do so far is get my Republican friends to get in the game of making things better in this country.  For example, I was reading the other day \u2014 and I \u2014 I wrote the quote down so I don\u2019t misquote him \u2014 a quote from Senator Sununu, when he decided that he wasn\u2019t going to \u2014 excuse me, Governor Sununu \u2014 when he decided he wasn\u2019t going to run for the Senate in New Hampshire. <\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what he said: \u201cThey were all, for the most\u2026\u201d \u2014 quote \u2014 \u201cThey were all, for the most part, content with the speed at which they weren\u2019t doing anything.  It was very clear that we just had to hold the line for two years.  Okay, so I\u2019m just going to be a roadblock for the next two years?  That\u2019s not what I do,\u201d Sununu said. <\/p>\n<p>He went on to say, \u201cIt bothered me that they were okay with that.\u201d  And then he goes on to say, \u201cI said, okay, so we\u2019re not going to get stuff done if we win the White House back\u201d \u2014 \u201cif we win the White House back.\u201d  \u201cWhy didn\u2019t [we] do [anything] in 2017 and 2018?\u201d <\/p>\n<p>And then, he said \u2014 how did the Republicans Sununu spoke to answer the challenge?  He said, \u201cCrickets.  Yeah, crickets.  They had no answer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I did not anticipate that there\u2019d be such a stalwart effort to make sure that the most important thing was that President Biden didn\u2019t get anything done.  Think about this: What are Republicans for?  What are they for?  Name me one thing they\u2019re for. <\/p>\n<p>And so, the problem here is that I think what happens \u2014 what I have to do, and the change in tactic, if you will: I have to make clear to the American people what we are for.  We\u2019ve passed a lot.  We\u2019ve passed a lot of things that people don\u2019t even understand what\u2019s all that\u2019s in it, understandably.<\/p>\n<p>Remember when we passed the Affordable Care Act and everybody thought that \u2014 you know, and it really was getting pummeled and beaten?  And it wasn\u2019t until after you\u2019re out of office, and that next campaign when \u2014 that off-year campaign.  And I went into a whole \u2014 I wasn\u2019t in office anymore.  We were in a whole bunch of districts campaigning for Democrats in Republican districts who said they wanted to do away with \u2014 with healthcare, with Obamacare.<\/p>\n<p>And I started pointing out that if you did that, preexisting conditions would no longer be covered.  And they said, \u201cHuh?  We didn\u2019t know that.  We didn\u2019t know that.\u201d  And guess what?  We won over 38 seats because we explained to the people exactly what, in fact, had passed.<\/p>\n<p>And one of the things that I remember saying \u2014 and I\u2019ll end this \u2014 I remember saying to President Obama, when he passed the Affordable Care Act \u2014 I said, \u201cYou ought to take a victory lap.\u201d  And he said, \u201cThere\u2019s so many things going on, we have don\u2019t have time to take a victory lap.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As a consequence, no one knew what the detail of the legislation was.  They don\u2019t know a lot of the detail of what we passed.  So, the difference is, I\u2019m going to be out on the road a lot, making the case around the country, with my colleagues who are up for reelection and others, making the case of what we did do and what we want to do, what we need to do.<\/p>\n<p>And so, I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve overpromised at all.  And I\u2019m going to stay on this track.<\/p>\n<p>You know, one of the things that I remember \u2014 and I\u2019ll end this with \u2014 I was talking with, you know, Jim Clyburn, who was a great help to me in the campaign in South Carolina.  And Jim said \u2014 and when he would endorse me \u2014 and there was a clip on television the last couple days of Jim.  And it said that we want to make things accessible and affordable for all Americans.  That\u2019s healthcare, that\u2019s education, that\u2019s prescription drugs, that\u2019s making sure you have access \u2014 access to all the things that everybody else has.  We can afford to do that.  We can\u2019t afford not to do it.<\/p>\n<p>So, I tell my Republican friends: Here I come.  This is going to be about \u201cwhat are you for\u201d \u2014 \u201cwhat are you for\u201d \u2014 and lay out what we\u2019re for.<\/p>\n<p>Mary Bruce, ABC.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Thank you, Mr. President.  You mentioned your Republican colleagues.  But right now, your top two legislative priorities \u2014 your social spending package and voting rights legislation \u2014 are stalled, blocked by your own party, after months of negotiation.<\/p>\n<p>You are only guaranteed control of Washington for one more year before the midterms.  Do you need to be more realistic and scale down these priorities in order to get something passed?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  No, I don\u2019t think so.  When you say \u201cmore realistic,\u201d I think it\u2019s extremely realistic to say to people, because \u2014 let me back up.  You all really know the politics in this country, and your networks and others.  You\u2019ve spent a lot of time, which I\u2019m glad you do, polling this data, determining where the \u2014 what the American people\u2019s attitudes are, et cetera.<\/p>\n<p>The American people overwhelmingly agree with me on prescription drugs.  They overwhelmingly agree with me on the cost of education.  They overwhelmingly agree with me on early education.  They overwhel- \u2014 and go on the list \u2014 on \u2014 on childcare.<\/p>\n<p>And so, we just have to make the case what we\u2019re for and what the other team is not for.<\/p>\n<p>Look, we knew all along that a lot of this was going to be an uphill fight.  And one of the ways to do this is to make sure we make the contrast as clear as we can. <\/p>\n<p>And one of the things that I think is \u2014 we\u2019re going to have to do is just make the case.  I don\u2019t think there\u2019s anything unrealistic about what we\u2019re asking.  I\u2019m not trying to \u2014 I\u2019m not asking for castles in the sky; I\u2019m asking for practical things the American people have been asking for for a long time \u2014 a long time.  And I think we can get it done.<\/p>\n<p>Q    You say, though, that you\u2019re not going to scale down any of these priorities.  But, so far, that strategy isn\u2019t working.  You haven\u2019t been able to get some of these big legislative ticket items done.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Oh, I got two real big ones done.  Better than any president has ever gotten in the first year.  (Laughs.)<\/p>\n<p>Q    But currently, Mr. President, your spending package, voting rights legislation, they\u2019re not going anywhere.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  That\u2019s true.<\/p>\n<p>Q    So, is there anything that you are confident you can get signed into law before the midterm elections?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yes, I\u2019m confident we can get pieces \u2014 big chunks of the Build Back Better law signed into law.<\/p>\n<p>And I\u2019m confident that we can take the case to the American people that the people they should be voting for \u2014 who are going to oversee whether your elections, in fact, are legit or not \u2014 should not be those who are being put up by the Republicans to det- \u2014 to determine that they\u2019re going to be able to change the outcome of the election. <\/p>\n<p>So whether or not we can actually get election \u2014 and by the way, I haven\u2019t given up.  We haven\u2019t finished the vote yet on what\u2019s going on \u2014 on the \u2014 on voting rights and the John Lewis bill and others. <\/p>\n<p>But so, look, this is \u2014 I\u2019ve been engaged a long time in public policy.  And I don\u2019t know many things that have been done in one fell swoop.  And so, I think the be- \u2014 the most important thing to do is try to inform \u2014 not educate \u2014 inform the public of what\u2019s at stake, in stark terms, and let them make judgments and let them know who\u2019s for them and who\u2019s again [against] them, who\u2019s there and who\u2019s not there, and make that the case.  And that\u2019s what I\u2019m going to be spending my time doing in this off-year election.<\/p>\n<p>Q    And just very quickly, you mentioned Republicans and reaching out to them.  Some Republicans who may be open to major changes on voting rights \u2014 for instance, like Mitt Romney \u2014 he says he never even received a phone call from this White House.  Why not?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I like Mitt \u2014 look, Mitt Romney is a straight guy.  He\u2019s \u2014 and one of the things that we\u2019re doing, I was trying to make sure we got everybody on the same page in my party on this score.  And I didn\u2019t call many Republicans at all. <\/p>\n<p>The fact is that there \u2014 I do think that Mitt is a serious guy.  I think we can get things done.  I think \u2014 I predict to you they\u2019ll get something done on the electoral reform side of this. <\/p>\n<p>But rather than judge what\u2019s going to get done and not get done, all I can say is I\u2019m going to continue to make the case why it\u2019s so important to not turn the electoral process over to political persons who are set up deliberately to change the outcome of elections. <\/p>\n<p>The \u2014 Allison Harris, please.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Thank you, Mr. President.  Speaking of voting rights legislation, if this isn\u2019t passed, do you still believe the upcoming election will be fairly conducted and its results will be legitimate?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, it all depends on whether or not we\u2019re able to make the case to the American people that some of this is being set up to try to alter the outcome of the election.  And it\u2019s one thing \u2014 look, maybe I\u2019m just being too much of an optimist.  Remember how we thought not that many people were going to show up to vote in the middle of a pandemic?  We had the highest voter turnout in the history of the United States of America.<\/p>\n<p>Well, I think if, in fact \u2014 no matter how hard they make it for minorities to vote, I think you\u2019re going to see them willing to stand in line and \u2014 and defy the attempt to keep them from being able to vote.  I think you\u2019re going to see the people who they\u2019re trying to keep from being able to show up, showing up and making the sacrifice that needs to make in order to change the law back to what it should be. <\/p>\n<p>And \u2014 but it\u2019s going to be difficult.  I make no bones about that.  It\u2019s going to be difficult.  But we\u2019re not there yet.  We\u2019ve not run out of options yet.  And we\u2019ll see how this moves.<\/p>\n<p>Q    And on Omicron and education, teachers are in result in some \u2014 in revolt in so many places.  Parents are at odds over closing schools and remote learning.  You say we\u2019re not going to go back to closing schools \u2014 you said that just moments ago \u2014 yet they\u2019re closing in some areas.  What do you say to those teachers and principals and parents about school closings?  And what can your administration do to help make up for learning loss for students?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  First of all, I\u2019d put in perspective the question you asked.  Very few schools are closing.  Over 95 percent are still open. <\/p>\n<p>So, you all phrase the questions when people \u2014 I don\u2019t think it\u2019s deliberate on your part, but you phrase the question \u2014 if anyone watches this on television \u2014 \u201cMy God, there must be \u2014 all those schools must be closing.  What are we going to do?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ninety-five percent are still open, number one.  Number two, the idea that parents don\u2019t think it\u2019s important for their children to be in school, and teachers know it as well \u2014 that\u2019s why we made sure that we had the ability to provide the funding through the Recovery Act \u2014 through the act that we \u2014 the first act we passed \u2014 to be able to make sure schools were able to be safe. <\/p>\n<p>So, we have new ventilation systems available for them.  We have \u2014 the way they handle \u2014 they scrub down laboratories and \u2014 I mean, the lavatories kids go to, to go to the bathroom \u2014 cafeterias, buses, et cetera.  That \u2014 all that money is there.  There\u2019s billions of dollars made available.  That\u2019s there. <\/p>\n<p>Not every school district has used it as well as it should be used.  But it\u2019s there.  And so, in addition to that, there is now another $10 billion for testing of students in the schools. <\/p>\n<p>So I \u2014 I think, as time goes on, it\u2019s much more likely you\u2019re going to see that number go back up from 95 percent, back up to 98, 99 percent. <\/p>\n<p>But the \u2014 the outfit of the individuals of the district that says \u201cWe\u2019re not going to be open\u201d is always going to get \u2014 and I\u2019m not being critical of any of you \u2014 it\u2019s always going to get front page.  It\u2019s always going to be the top of the news.  But let\u2019s put it in perspective: 95 \u2014 as high as 98 percent of the schools in America are open, functioning, and capable doing the job. <\/p>\n<p>How about Jen Epstein, Bloomberg?<\/p>\n<p>Q    Thank you, Mr. President.  Thank you.  Your top foreign policy advisors have warned that Russia is now ready to attack Ukraine.  But there\u2019s still little unity among European allies about what a package of sanctions against Moscow would look like.  If the U.S. and NATO aren\u2019t willing to put troops on the line to defend Ukraine and American allies can\u2019t agree on a sanctions package, hasn\u2019t the U.S. and the West lost nearly all of its leverage over Vladimir Putin? <\/p>\n<p>And given how ineffective sanctions have been in deterring Putin in the past, why should the threat of new sanctions give him pause?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, because he\u2019s never seen sanctions like the ones I promised will be imposed if he moves, number one. <\/p>\n<p>Number two, we\u2019re in a situation where Vladimir Putin is about to \u2014 we\u2019ve had very frank discussions, Vladimir Putin and I.  And the idea that NATO is not going to be united, I don\u2019t buy.  I\u2019ve spoken to every major NATO leader.  We\u2019ve had the NATO-Russian summit.  We\u2019ve had other \u2014 the OSCE has met, et cetera. <\/p>\n<p>And so, I think what you\u2019re going to see is that Russia will be held accountable if it invades.  And it depends on what it does.  It\u2019s one thing if it\u2019s a minor incursion and then we end up having a fight about what to do and not do, et cetera. <\/p>\n<p>But if they actually do what they\u2019re capable of doing with the forces amassed on the border, it is going to be a disaster for Russia if they further ingra- \u2014 invade Ukraine, and that our allies and partners are ready to impose severe costs and significant harm on Russia and the Russian economy. <\/p>\n<p>And, you know, we\u2019re going to fortify our NATO Allies, I told him, on the eastern flank \u2014 if, in fact, he does invade.  We\u2019re going to \u2014 I\u2019ve already shipped over $600 million worth of sophisticated equipment, defensive equipment to the Ukrainians.<\/p>\n<p>The cost of going into Ukraine, in terms of physical loss of life, for the Russians, they\u2019ll \u2014 they\u2019ll be able to prevail over time, but it\u2019s going to be heavy, it\u2019s going to be real, and it\u2019s going to be consequential. <\/p>\n<p>In addition to that, Putin has \u2014 you know, has a stark choice: He \u2014 either de-escalation or diplomacy; confrontation or the consequences.<\/p>\n<p>And, look, I think you\u2019re going to see \u2014 for example, everybody talks about how Russia has control over the energy supply that Europe absorbs.  Well, guess what?  That \u2014 that money that they earn from that makes about 45 percent of the economy.  I don\u2019t see that as a one-way street.  They go ahead and cut it off \u2014 it\u2019s like my mother used to say: \u201cYou bite your nose off to spite your face.\u201d  It\u2019s not like they have all these wonderful choices out there. <\/p>\n<p>I spoke with the Prime Minister of Finland.  And, you know, we\u2019re talking about concern on the part of Finland and Sweden about what Russia is doing.  The last thing that Russia needs is Finland deciding to change its status.  They didn\u2019t say they\u2019re going to do that, but they\u2019re talking about what, in fact, is going on and how outrageous Russia is being. <\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re finding ourselves in a position where I believe you will see that there\u2019ll be severe economic consequences.  For example, anything that involves dollar denominations, if they make \u2014 if they invade, they\u2019re going to pay; they\u2019re not going \u2014 their banks will not be able to deal in dollars. <\/p>\n<p>So there\u2019s \u2014 a lot is going to happen. <\/p>\n<p>But here\u2019s the thing: My conversation with Putin \u2014 and we\u2019ve been \u2014 how can we say it?  We have no problem understanding one another.  He has no problem understanding me, nor me him.  And the direct conversations where I pointed out \u2014 I said, \u201cYou know, you\u2019ve occupied, before, other countries.  But the price has been extremely high.  How long?  You can go in and, over time, at great loss and economic loss, go in and occupy Ukraine.  But how many years?  One?  Three?  Five?  Ten?  What is that going to take?  What toll does that take?\u201d  It\u2019s real.  It\u2019s consequential. <\/p>\n<p>So, this is not all just a cakewalk for Russia.<\/p>\n<p>Militarily, they have overwhelming superiority, and on \u2014 as it relates to Ukraine.  But they\u2019ll pay a stiff price \u2014 immediately, near term, medium term, and long term \u2014 if they do it.<\/p>\n<p>Umm \u2014 I\u2019m sorry.  Okay.  David Sanger, New York Times.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Thank you, Mr. President.  I wanted to follow up on your answer there about Russia and Ukraine.  When you were in Geneva in June, you said to us, about President Putin, \u201cI think the last thing\u2026he wants now is a Cold War.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now, since then, of course, you\u2019ve seen him gather these troops \u2014 100,000 troops \u2014 around Ukraine.  Your Secretary of State said today he thought he could invade at any moment.  You\u2019ve seen the cyberattacks.  And you\u2019ve seen the demand that he have a sphere of influence in which you would withdraw all American troops and nuclear weapons from what used to be the Soviet bloc. <\/p>\n<p>So, I\u2019m wondering if you still think that the last thing he wants is a Cold War.  And has your view of him changed in the past few months?  And if it has and he does invade, would your posture be to really move back to the kind of containment policy that you saw so often when you were still in the Senate? <\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  The answer is that I think he still does not want any full-blown war, number one. <\/p>\n<p>Number two, do I think he\u2019ll test the West, test the United States and NATO as significantly as he can?  Yes, I think he will.  But I think he\u2019ll pay a serious and dear price for it that he doesn\u2019t think now will cost him what it\u2019s going to cost him.  And I think he will regret having done it. <\/p>\n<p>Now, whether or not \u2014 I think that \u2014 how can I say this in a public forum?  I think that he is dealing with what I believe he thinks is the most tragic thing that\u2019s happened to Mother Russia \u2014 in that the Berlin Wall came down, the Empire has been lost, the Near Abroad is gone, et cetera.  The Soviet Union has been split.<\/p>\n<p>But think about what he has.  He has eight time zones, a burning tundra that will not freeze again naturally, a situation where he has a lot of oil and gas, but he is trying to find his place in the world between China and the West.<\/p>\n<p>And so, I\u2019m not so sure that he has \u2014 David, I\u2019m not so sure he has \u2014 is certain what he\u2019s going to do.  My guess is he will move in.  He has to do something. <\/p>\n<p>And, by the way, I\u2019ve indicated to him \u2014 the two things he said to me that he wants guarantees of it: One is, Ukraine will never be part of NATO.  And two, that NATO, or the \u2014 there will not be strategic weapons stationed in Ukraine.  Well, we could work out something on the second piece (inaudible) what he does along the Russian line as well \u2014 or the Russian border, in the European area of Russia.<\/p>\n<p>On the first piece, we have a number of treaties internationally and in Europe that suggest that you get to choose who you want to be with.  But the likelihood that Ukraine is going to join NATO in the near term is not very likely, based on much more work they have to do in terms of democracy and a few other things going on there, and whether or not the major allies in the West would vote to bring Ukraine in right now. <\/p>\n<p>So there\u2019s room to work if he wants to do that.  But I think, as usual, he\u2019s going to \u2014 well, I probably shouldn\u2019t go any further.  But I think it will hurt him badly.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Mr. President, it sounds like you\u2019re offering some way out here \u2014 some off-ramp.  And it sounds like what it is, is \u2014 at least in the informal assurance \u2014 that NATO is not going to take in Ukraine anytime in the next few decades.  And it sounds like you\u2019re saying we would never put nuclear weapons there.  He also wants us to move all of our nuclear weapons out of Europe and not have troops rotating through the old Soviet Bloc.<\/p>\n<p>Do you think there\u2019s space for there as well?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  No.  No, there\u2019s not space for that.  We won\u2019t permanently station.  But the idea we\u2019re not going to \u2014 we\u2019re going to actually increase troop presence in Poland, in Romania, et cetera, if in fact he moves because we have a sacred obligation in Article 5 to defend those countries.  They are part of NATO.  We don\u2019t have that obligation relative to Ukraine, although we have great concern about what happens in Ukraine. <\/p>\n<p>Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>Maureen, USA Today.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Thank you, Mr. President.  I wanted to follow up on your comment on Build Back Better and also ask you a question about the pandemic. <\/p>\n<p>You said that you\u2019re confident you can pass \u201cbig chunks\u201d of Build Back Better this year.  Does that wording mean that you are thinking about \u2014 you\u2019re looking at breaking the package up into individual portions? <\/p>\n<p>And then, on the pandemic: Now that the Supreme Court has blocked the vaccination-or-test rule for larger businesses, are you reconsidering whether to require vaccines for domestic flights as a way to boost vaccination rates?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  No, look, first of all, on the last part of the question: The Supreme Court decision, I think, was a mistake.  But you still see thousands and thousands of people who work for major corporations having to be tested as a consequence of the decision made by the corporation and not by the standard I set that is there.  I think you\u2019ll see that increase, not decrease \u2014 number one. <\/p>\n<p>What was the first part of your question?<\/p>\n<p>Q    On your comment that you made that you\u2019re confident \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Q    \u2014 that major chunks of Build Back Better \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Q    \u2014 can pass.  Are you breaking it up?  Does that mean \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yes.  Well, it\u2019s clear to me that \u2014 that we\u2019re going to have to probably break it up.  I think that we can get \u2014 and I\u2019ve been talking to a number of my colleagues on the Hill \u2014 I think it\u2019s clear that we would be able to get support for the \u2014 for the 500-plus billion dollars for energy and the environmental issues that are there \u2014 number one.<\/p>\n<p>Number two, I know that the two people who\u2019ve opposed, on the Democratic side at least, support a number of the things that are in there.  For example, Joe Manchin strongly supports early education, three and four years of age.  Strongly supports that.  There is strong support for, I think, a number of the way in which to pay for these \u2014 pay for this proposal.<\/p>\n<p>So, I think there is \u2014 and I\u2019m not going to \u2014 I\u2019m not going to negotiate against myself as to what should and shouldn\u2019t be in it, but I think we can break the package up, get as much as we can now, and come back and fight for the rest later. <\/p>\n<p>Ken, the Wall Street Journal.  Ken Thomas. <\/p>\n<p>Q    Thank you, Mr. President.  I wanted to ask you about the economy.  As you said earlier, Americans are feeling the squeeze \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.<\/p>\n<p>Q    \u2014 of inflation.  Oil prices have been at about a seven-year high recently.  How long should Americans expect to face higher prices when they\u2019re at the grocery store or when they\u2019re at the gas pump?  Is this something that they\u2019re going to see into the summer, into next fall? <\/p>\n<p>And separately, you know, you talk about the importance of the Fed, but isn\u2019t that an acknowledgment that you\u2019re limited in what you can do if you \u2014 if you\u2019re relying on the Fed to make decisions and you\u2019re unable to get a Build Back Better proposal through, aren\u2019t you simply limited in what you can do to deal with inflation?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, look, as you know, Ken, the inflation has everything to do with the supply chain.  And I think what you\u2019re seeing is that we\u2019ve been able to make progress on speeding up the access to materials.  For example, one third of the co- \u2014 of the increase in cost of living is the cost of automobiles.<\/p>\n<p>The reason automobiles have skyrocketed in price is because of the lack of computer chips.  So we have the capacity, and we\u2019re going to do everything in our power to do it to become self-reliant on the computer chips that we need in order to be able to produce more automobiles.  That\u2019s underway. <\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve already passed, within the context of another bill, money for that in the \u2014 in the House of Representatives.  It\u2019s before the House of Representatives now.  But I think there\u2019s a way we can move to \u2014 if we can move to get, for example, that one thing done, it can make a big difference in terms of the cost of \u2014 the total cost of living.<\/p>\n<p>Now, with regard to the whole issue of energy prices, that gets a little more complicated.  But you saw what happened when I was able to convince everyone from \u2014 including China, India \u2014 a number of other countries \u2014 to agree with us to go into their version of the \u2014 of their petroleum reserve to release more into the market so that \u2014 that brought down the price about 12, 15 cents a gallon in some places, some places more. <\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s going to be \u2014 there\u2019s going to be a reckoning along the line here as to whether or not we\u2019re going to continue to see oil prices continue to go up in ways that are going up now, relative to what is going to \u2014 what impact that\u2019s going to have on the producers. <\/p>\n<p>And so, it\u2019s going to be hard.  I think that\u2019s the place where most middle-class people, working-class people get hit the most.  They pull up to a pump and, all of a sudden, instead of paying $2.40 a gallon, they\u2019re paying $5.00 a gallon.  And that\u2019s going to be really difficult.<\/p>\n<p>But \u2014 so we\u2019re going to continue to work on trying to increase oil supplies that are available.  And I think there\u2019s ways in which we can be of some value added in terms of the price of gas \u2014 natural gas and the like \u2014 to take the burden off of European countries that are now totally dependent on Russia.  But it\u2019s going to be hard.  It\u2019s going to be very hard. <\/p>\n<p>But I think that we have to deal with \u2014 for example, like I said, you have a circumstance where people are paying more for a pound of hamburger meat than they ever paid.  Well, one of the reasons for that is you don\u2019t have that many folks out there that are ones that are \u2014 we\u2019ve got the Big Four controlling it all.<\/p>\n<p>And so you\u2019re going to see, more and more, we\u2019re going to move on this competition piece to allow more and more smaller operations to come in and be able to engage in providing \u2014 buying and providing the access to much cheaper meat than \u2014 than exists now.  But it\u2019s going to be a haul. <\/p>\n<p>Now, and as you \u2014 I assume the reason you said if I can\u2019t get Build Back Better is it relates to what those 17 Nobel laureate economists said: that if, in fact, we could pass it, it would actually lower the impact on inflation, reduce inflation over time, et cetera. <\/p>\n<p>So, there\u2019s a lot we have to do.  It\u2019s not going to be easy, but I think we can get it done.  But it\u2019s going to be painful for a lot of people in the meantime.  That\u2019s why the single best way \u2014 the single best way to take the burden off middle-class and working-class folks is to pass the Build Back Better piece that are things that they\u2019re paying a lot of money for it now. <\/p>\n<p>If you get to trade off higher gas as \u2014 you\u2019re putting up with a higher price of hamburgers and gas, versus whether or not you\u2019re going to have to \u2014 you\u2019re going to be able to pay for education and\/or childcare and the like, I think most people would make the trade.  Their bottom line would be better in middle-class households. <\/p>\n<p>But it\u2019s going to be hard.  And it\u2019s going to take a lot of work.<\/p>\n<p>Q    If I may follow, sir: You mentioned China.  Do you think the time has come to begin lifting some of the tariffs on Chinese imports?  Or is there a need for China to make due on some of its commitments in the Phase One agreement?  Some business groups would like you to begin raising \u2014 lifting up those tariffs on China.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I know that, and that\u2019s why my Trade Rep is working on that right now.  The answer is uncertain.  It\u2019s uncertain. <\/p>\n<p>I\u2019d like to be able to be in a position where I can say they\u2019re meeting the commitments, or more of their commitments, and be able to lift some of it.  But we\u2019re not there yet.<\/p>\n<p>Nancy, CBS. <\/p>\n<p>Q    Thank you so much, Mr. President.  This afternoon, the Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell, said that the midterms elections are going to be a report card on your progress on inflation, border security, and standing up to Russia.  Do you think that that\u2019s a fair way to look at it?  And if so, how do you think that report card looks right now?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I think the report card is going to look pretty good, if that\u2019s where we\u2019re at.  But look, the idea that \u2014 Mitch has been very clear he\u2019s going to do anything to prevent Biden from being a success. <\/p>\n<p>And I get on with Mitch.  I actually like Mitch McConnell.  We like one another.  But he has one straightforward objective: make sure that there\u2019s nothing I do that makes me look good in the mind \u2014 in his mind with the public at large.  And that\u2019s okay.  I\u2019m a big boy.  I\u2019ve been here before. <\/p>\n<p>But the fact is that I think that the \u2014 I\u2019m happy to debate and have a referendum on how I handle the economy, whether or not I\u2019ve made progress on when \u2014 look, again \u2014 how can I \u2014 I\u2019m taking too long answering your questions.  I apologize.<\/p>\n<p>I think that the fundamental question is: What\u2019s Mitch for?  What\u2019s he for on immigration?  What\u2019s he for?  What\u2019s he proposing to make anything better?  What\u2019s he for dealing with Russia that\u2019s different than I\u2019m proposing and many of his Republican friends or his colleagues are supporting as well?  What\u2019s he for on these things?  What are they for?<\/p>\n<p>So, everything is a choice \u2014 a choice.<\/p>\n<p>I think they \u2014 look, I\u2019ve laid out a proposal on immigration that if we passed it, we\u2019d be in a totally different place right now.  But we\u2019re not there because we don\u2019t have a single Republican vote.  My buddy John McCain is gone.<\/p>\n<p>So, I mean, it\u2019s just \u2014 it\u2019s going to take time.  And again, I go back to \u2014 I go back to Governor Sununu\u2019s quote.<\/p>\n<p>How long \u2014 I mean \u2014 a rhetorical question.  I don\u2019t \u2014 I know this is not fair to ask the press a question; I\u2019m not asking you.  But think about \u2014 did you ever think that one man out of office could intimidate an entire party where they\u2019re unwilling to take any vote contrary to what he thinks should be taken for fear of being defeated in a primary?<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve had five Republican senators talk to me, \u201cbump into me\u201d \u2014 quote, unquote \u2014 or sit with me, who\u2019ve told me that they agree with whatever I\u2019m talking about for them to do.  \u201cBut, Joe, if I do it, I\u2019m going to get defeated in a primary.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We got to break that.  That\u2019s got to change.<\/p>\n<p>And I doubt \u2014 you\u2019re all \u2014 I\u2019m not be- \u2014 it sounds like I\u2019m being solicitous \u2014 you\u2019re all bright as hell, well informed \u2014 more informed than any group of people in America.  But did any of you think that you\u2019d get to a point where not a single Republican would diverge on a major issue?  Not one?<\/p>\n<p>Anyway.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Can you tell us who those five Republican senators are?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Sure.  No.  (Laughs.)  Are you kidding me?<\/p>\n<p>I maintain confidentiality. <\/p>\n<p>Q    On voting rights \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  But I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve spoken to some.  (Laughs.)<\/p>\n<p>Q    On voting rights, sir \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Q    At your first press conference, 10 months ago, I asked you if there was anything you could do beyond legislation to protect voting rights.  And at that time, you said, \u201cYes, but I\u2019m not going to lay out a strategy before you and the world now.\u201d  Now that legislation appears to be hopelessly stalled, can you now lay out your strategy to protect voting rights?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I\u2019m not prepared to do that in detail, in terms of the executive orders I may be able to engage in and other things I can do.  But one of \u2014 the things we have done: We have significantly beefed up a number of enforcers in the Justice Department, who are there to challenge these unconstitutional efforts, in our view \u2014 unconstitutional efforts on the part of the Republicans to stack the election and subvert the outcome. <\/p>\n<p>We have begun to organize in ways that we didn\u2019t before in communities beyond the civil rights community to make the case to the rest of American people what\u2019s about to happen, what will happen if, in fact, these things move forward.<\/p>\n<p>If I had talked to you \u2014 not you; I\u2019m using \u201cyou\u201d in a total sense.  If I had talked to the public about the whole idea of subversion of elections by deciding who the electors are after the fact, I think people would\u2019ve looked at me like, \u201cWhoa.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>I mean, I caugh- \u2014 taught constitutional law for 20 years \u2014 a three-credit course on the separation of powers.  And \u2014 on Saturday mornings, when I was a senator.  And I never thought we\u2019d get into a place where \u2014 where we were talking about being able to actually \u2014<\/p>\n<p>What they tried to do this last time out is send different electors to the state legislative bodies to represent who won the election, saying that I didn\u2019t win but a Republican candidate won. <\/p>\n<p>I doubt that anybody thought that would ever happen in America in the 21st century, but it\u2019s happening. <\/p>\n<p>And so, I think \u2014 I guess what I\u2019m saying is, Nancy \u2014 is that I think there are a number of things we can do, but I also think we will be able to get significant pieces of the legislation \u2014 if we don\u2019t get it all now \u2014 to build to get it so that we get a big chunk of the John Lewis legislation, as well as the fair elections (inaudible).<\/p>\n<p>Q    Sir, on COVID, if you don\u2019t mind: You touted the number of Americans who are now fully vaccinated with two shots.  But even some of your own medical advisors say that people aren\u2019t fully protected unless they have that third shot \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.<\/p>\n<p>Q    \u2014 a booster.  Why hasn\u2019t this White House changed the definition of \u201cfully vaccinated\u201d to include that third booster shot?  Is it because the numbers of fully vaccinated Americans would suddenly look a lot less impressive?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  No, it\u2019s not that at all.  It\u2019s just \u2014 it\u2019s just \u2014 this has become clearer and clearer, and every time I speak of it, I say: If you\u2019ve been vaccinated, get your booster shot.  Everybody get the booster shot.  It\u2019s the obl- \u2014 the optimum protection you could have.  You\u2019re protected very well with two shots, if it\u2019s the Pfizer \u2014 anyway, you\u2019re protected.  But you are better protected with the booster shot. <\/p>\n<p>Q    But you won\u2019t change the definition right now?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I\u2019m following what the \u2014 the answer is, yes.  Get the booster shot.  It\u2019s all part of the same thing.  You\u2019re better protected.<\/p>\n<p>Okay.  Alex Alper, Reuters.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Thank you, Mr. President.  I wanted to follow up briefly on a question asked by Bloomberg.  You said that Russia would be \u201cheld accountable if it invades\u201d and \u201cit depends on what it does\u201d; \u201cit\u2019s one thing if it\u2019s a minor incursion and\u2026 we end up having to fight about what to do and what not to do.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Are you saying that a minor incursion by Russia into Ukrainian territory would not lead to the sanctions that you have threatened?  Or are you effectively giving Putin permission to make a small incursion into the country?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  (Laughs.)  Good question.  That\u2019s how it did sound like, didn\u2019t it? <\/p>\n<p>The most important thing to do: Big nations can\u2019t bluff, number one.<\/p>\n<p>And number two, the idea that we would do anything to split NATO, which would be a \u2014 have a profound impact on one of \u2014 I think prominent impact \u2014 on one of Putin\u2019s objectives is to weaken NATO \u2014 would be a big mistake. <\/p>\n<p>So, the question is: If it\u2019s a \u2014 something significantly short of a significant invasion \u2014 or not even significant, just major military forces coming across \u2014 for example, it\u2019s one thing to determine that if they continue to use cyber efforts, well, we can respond the same way, with cyber. <\/p>\n<p>They have FSB people in Ukraine now trying to undermine the solidarity within Ukraine about Russia and to try to promote Russian interest.  But it\u2019s very important that we keep everyone in NATO on the same page.  And that\u2019s what I\u2019m spending a lot of time doing.  And there are differences.  There are differences in NATO as to what countries are willing to do depending on what happens \u2014 the degree to which they\u2019re able to go.<\/p>\n<p>And I want to be clear with you: The serious imposition of sanctions relative to dollar transactions and other things are things that are going to have a negative impact on the United States, as well as a negative impact on the economies of Europe as well, and a devastating impact on Russia.  And so, I got to make sure everybody is on the same page as we move along.<\/p>\n<p>I think we will, if there\u2019s something that is \u2014 that \u2014 where there\u2019s Russian forces crossing the border, killing Ukrainian fighters, et cetera \u2014 I think that changes everything.  But it depends on what he does, as to the exact \u2014 to what extent we\u2019re going to be able to get total unity on the Rus- \u2014 on the NATO front.<\/p>\n<p>Q    If I may ask a quick one on Iran, I just wanted to get your sense of whether the Vienna talks are making any progress, if you still think it\u2019s possible to reach a deal for both sides to resume compliance with the Iran nuclear deal, or if it\u2019s time to give up on that.  Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I\u2019ll do it in reverse.  It\u2019s not time to give up.  There is some progress being made.  The P5+1 is on the same page.  But it remains to be seen.<\/p>\n<p>Okay.  Kristen, NBC.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Thank you, Mr. President.  Very quickly on Russia \u2014 I do have a number of domestic policy issues, but I\u2019m \u2014 on Russia very quickly: It seemed like you said that you have assessed, you feel as though he will move in.  Has this administration, have you determined whether President Putin plans to invade or move into Ukraine, as you\u2019ve said?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Look, the only thing I\u2019m confident of is that decision is totally, solely, completely a Putin decision.  Nobody else is going to make that decision; no one else is going to impact that decision.  He\u2019s making that decision. <\/p>\n<p>And I suspect it matters which side of the bed he gets up on in the morning as to exactly what he\u2019s going to do.  And I think it is not irrational, if he wanted to, to talk about dealing with strategic doctrine and dealing with force structures in Europe and in \u2014 in the European parts of Russia.<\/p>\n<p>But I don\u2019t know if he\u2019s decided he wants to do that or not.  So far, in the three meetings we\u2019ve had \u2014 OSCE and \u2013anyway \u2014 have not produced anything because the impression I get from my Secretary of State, my National Security Advisor, and my other senior officials that are doing these meetings is that there\u2019s a question of whether the people they\u2019re talking to know what he\u2019s going to do. <\/p>\n<p>So, the answer is \u2014 but based on a number of criteria as to what he could do \u2014 for example, for him to move in and occupy the whole country, particularly from the north, from Belarus, it\u2019s \u2014 he\u2019s going to have to wait a little bit until the ground is frozen so he can cross.<\/p>\n<p>To move in a direction where he wants to talk about what\u2019s going \u2014 we \u2014 we have \u2014 we\u2019re continuing to provide for defense capacities to the \u2014 to the Ukrainians.  We\u2019re talking about what\u2019s going on in both the Baltic and the Black Sea, et cetera.  There\u2019s a whole range of things that I\u2019m sure he\u2019s trying to calculate how quickly he can do what he wants to do and what does he want to do. <\/p>\n<p>But I \u2014 he\u2019s not \u2014 he\u2019s an informed individual.  And I\u2019m sure \u2014 I\u2019m not sure \u2014 I believe he\u2019s calculating what the immediate, short-term, and the near-term, and the long-term consequences of Russia will be.  And I don\u2019t think he\u2019s made up his mind yet. <\/p>\n<p>Q    I want to ask you about your domestic agenda.  You\u2019ve gotten a lot of questions about voting rights, Mr. President. But I want to ask you about Black voters \u2014 one of your most loyal constituencies.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yep.<\/p>\n<p>Q    I was in Congressman Clyburn\u2019s district yesterday in South Carolina.  You opened this news conference talking about him.  I spoke to a number of Black voters who fought to get you elected, and now they feel as though you are not fighting hard enough for them and their priorities.  And they told me they see this push on voting rights more as a last-minute PR push than it is a legitimate effort to get legislation passed. <\/p>\n<p>So what do you say to these Black voters who say that you do not have their backs, as you promised on the campaign trail?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I\u2019ve had their back.  I\u2019ve had their back my entire career.  I\u2019ve never not had their back.  And I started on the voting rights issues long, long ago.  That\u2019s what got me involved in politics in the first place. <\/p>\n<p>And I think part of the problem is \u2014 look, there\u2019s \u2014 there\u2019s significant disagreement in every community on whether or not the timing of assertions made by people has been in a most timely way.  So I\u2019m sure that there are those who are saying that, \u201cWhy didn\u2019t Biden push the John Lewis bill as hard as he pushed it the last month?  Why didn\u2019t he push it six months ago as hard as he did now?<\/p>\n<p>The fact is that there is \u2014 there\u2019s a timing that is not of one\u2019s own choice; it\u2019s somewhat dictated by events that are happening in country and around the world as to what the focus is. <\/p>\n<p>But part of the problem is, as well: I have not been out in the community nearly enough.  I\u2019ve been here an awful lot.  I find myself in a situation where I don\u2019t get a chance to look people in the eye, because of both COVID and things that are happening in Washington, to be able to go out and do the things that I\u2019ve always been able to do pretty well: connect with people, let them take a measure of my sincerity, let them take a measure of who I am.<\/p>\n<p>For example \u2014 I mean, as I pointed out in South Carolina, you know, last time, when I was chairman of the Judiciary Committee, I got the Voting Rights Act extended for 25 years, and I got Strom Thurmond to vote for it.  That\u2019s what I\u2019ve been doing my whole career.  And so, the idea that I \u2014 that I didn\u2019t either anticipate or because I didn\u2019t speak to it as fervently as they want me to earlier.<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, I was spending a lot of time \u2014 spent hours and hours and hours talking with my colleagues on the Democratic side, trying to get them to agree that if, in fact, this occurred, if this push continued, that they would be there for John Lewis and \u2014 anyway. <\/p>\n<p>So \u2014 but I think that\u2019s \u2014 that\u2019s a problem that is my own making by not communicating as much as I should have.  Yet, you find that when you deal with members of the Black Caucus and others in the United States Congress, I still have very close working relationships. <\/p>\n<p>So it\u2019s like every community.  I\u2019m sure that there are those in the community, in \u2014 I\u2019m a \u2014 I\u2019m a big labor guy.  I\u2019m sure there\u2019s people in labor saying, \u201cWhy haven\u2019t they been able to do A, B, C, or D?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So, it\u2019s just going to take a little bit of time. <\/p>\n<p>Q    You put your \u2014 you put Vice President Harris in charge of voting rights.  Are you satisfied with her work on this issue?  And can you guarantee \u2014 do you commit that she will be your running mate in 2024, provided that you run again? <\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yes and yes.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Okay.  You don\u2019t care to expand?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Pardon me?<\/p>\n<p>Q    Do you care to expand \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  No, there\u2019s no need to.<\/p>\n<p>Q    \u2014 on voting?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I mean, I asked the \u2014 he \u2014 she is going to be my running mate \u2014 number one.  And number two, I did put her in charge.  I think she\u2019s doing a good job. <\/p>\n<p>Q    Let me ask you \u2014 big picture: Particularly when you think about voting rights and the struggles you\u2019ve had to unify your own party around voting rights, unity was one of your key campaign promises.  In fact, in your inaugural address, you said your \u201cwhole soul\u201d was in \u201cbringing America together, uniting our people\u2026\u201d  People heard the speech that you gave on voting rights in Georgia recently in which you described those who are opposed to you to George Wallace and Jefferson Davis, and some people took exception to that. <\/p>\n<p>What do you say to those who are offended by your speech?  And is this country more unified than it was when you first took office? <\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Number one: Anybody who listened to the speech \u2014 I did not say that they were going to be a George Wallace or a Bull Connor.  I said we\u2019re going to have a decision in history that is going to be marked just like it was then.  You either voted on the side \u2014 that didn\u2019t make you a George Wallace or didn\u2019t make you a Bull Connor.  But if you did not vote for the Voting Rights Act back then, you were voting with those who agreed with Connor, those who agreed with \u2014 with \u2014<\/p>\n<p>And so \u2014 and I think Mitch did a real good job of making it sound like I was attacking them.  If you\u2019ve noticed, I haven\u2019t attacked anybody publicly \u2014 any senator, any \u2014 any congressman publicly.  And my disagreements with them have been made to them \u2014 communicated to them privately or in person with them. <\/p>\n<p>My desire still is \u2014 look, I underestimated one very important thing: I never thought that the Republicans \u2014 like, for example, I said \u2014 they got very upset \u2014 I said there are 16 members of the present United States Senate who voted to extend the Voting Rights Act.<\/p>\n<p>Now, they got very offended by that.  That wasn\u2019t an accusation; I was just stating a fact.  What has changed?  What happened?  What happened?  Why is there not a single Republican \u2014 not one?  That\u2019s not the Republican Party. <\/p>\n<p>Q    But, Mr. President \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  So, that\u2019s not an attack.<\/p>\n<p>Q    \u2014 is the country more unif- \u2014 is the country more unified than when you first took office?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  The answer is: Based on some of the stuff we\u2019ve got done, I\u2019d say yes, but it\u2019s not nearly unified as it should be.<\/p>\n<p>Look, I still contend \u2014 and I know you\u2019ll have a right to judge me by this \u2014 I still contend that unless you can reach consensus in a democracy, you cannot sustain the democracy.<\/p>\n<p>And so this is a real test \u2014 whether or not my \u2014 my \u2014 my counterpart in China is right or not when he says autocracies are the only thing that could prevail because democracies take too long to make decisions and countries are too divided.<\/p>\n<p>I believe we\u2019re going through one of those inflection points in history that occurs every several generations or even more than that \u2014 even more time than that, where things are changing almost regardless of any particular policy.<\/p>\n<p>The world is changing in big ways.  We\u2019re going to see \u2014 you\u2019ve heard me say this before \u2014 we\u2019re going to see more change in the next 10 years than we saw in the last 50 years because of technology, because of fundamental alterations and alliances that are occurring not because of any one individual, just because of the nature of things.<\/p>\n<p>And so I think you\u2019re going to see an awful lot of transition.  And the question is: Can we keep up with it?  Can we maintain the democratic institutions that we have, not just here but around the world, to be able to generate democratic consensus of how to proceed? <\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s going to be hard.  It\u2019s going to be hard, but it requires \u2014 it requires leadership to do it.  And I\u2019m not giving up on the prospect of being able to do that. <\/p>\n<p>Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Mr. President, thank you, sir.  There are deep questions among Americans about the competence of government, from the messy rollout of 5G this week, to the Afghanistan withdraw, to testing on COVID.  What have you done to restore Americans\u2019 faith in the competence of government?  And are you satisfied by the view of the competence of your government?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Look, let\u2019s take Afghanistan.  I know you all would like to focus on that, which is legitimate. <\/p>\n<p>We were spending a trillion dollars a week \u2014 I mean, a billion dollars a week in Afghanistan for 20 years. <\/p>\n<p>Raise your hand if you think anyone was going to be able to unify Afghanistan under one single government.  It\u2019s been the graveyard of empires for a solid reason: It is not susceptible to unity, number one.<\/p>\n<p>So, the question was: Do I continue to spend that much money per week in the state of Afghanistan, knowing that the idea that being able to succeed \u2014 other than sending more body bags back home \u2014 is highly, highly unusual?<\/p>\n<p>My dad used to have an expression.  He\u2019d say, \u201cSon, if everything is equally important to you, nothing is important to you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There was no way to get out of Afghanistan, after 20 years, easily.  Not possible no matter when you did it.  And I make no apologies for what I did. <\/p>\n<p>I have a great concern for the women and men who were blown up on the line at the airport by a terrorist attack against them.  But the military will acknowledge \u2014 and I think you will, who know a lot about foreign policy \u2014 that had we stayed and I had not pull those troops out, we would be asked to put somewhere between 20- and 50,000 more troops back in. <\/p>\n<p>Because the only reason more Americans weren\u2019t being killed \u2014 and others \u2014 is because the last president signed an agreement to get out by May the 1st, and so everything was copacetic.<\/p>\n<p>Had we not gotten out \u2014 and the acknowledgement is we\u2019d be putting a lot more forces in.  You know, am I \u2014 do I feel badly what\u2019s happening to \u2014 as a consequence of the incompetence of the Taliban?  Yes, I do.<\/p>\n<p>But I feel badly also about the fistulas that are taking place in the Eastern Congo.  I feel badly about a whole range of things around the world \u2014 that we can\u2019t solve every problem.<\/p>\n<p>And so I don\u2019t view that as a competence issue. <\/p>\n<p>The issue of whether or not there\u2019s competence, in terms of whether or not we\u2019re dealing with 5G or not: We don\u2019t deal with 5G. <\/p>\n<p>The fact is that you had two enterprises \u2014 two private enterprises \u2014 that had one promoting 5G and the other one are airlines.  They\u2019re private enterprises.  They have government regulation, admittedly. <\/p>\n<p>And so, what I\u2019ve done is pushed as hard as I can to have 5G folks hold up and abide by what was being requested by the airlines until they could more modernize over the years so that 5G would not interfere with the potential of the landing.  So, any tower \u2014 any 5G tower within a certain number of miles from the airport should not be operative. <\/p>\n<p>And that\u2019s \u2014 and so I understand.  But anything that happens that\u2019s consequential is viewed as the government\u2019s responsibility.  I get that.<\/p>\n<p>Am I satisfied with the way in which we have dealt with COVID and all the things that \u2014 that go along with it?  Yeah, I am satisfied.  I think we\u2019ve done remarkably well.<\/p>\n<p>You know, the idea that \u2014<\/p>\n<p>Q    On testing, sir.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  On testing, we\u2019ve done \u2014 we should have done it quicker, but we\u2019ve done remarkable since then.  What we have is: We have more testing going on than anywhere in the world.  And we\u2019re going to continue to increase that.<\/p>\n<p>Did we have it at the moment exactly when we should have moved, and could we have moved a month earlier?  Yeah, we could have.  But with everything else that was going on, I don\u2019t view that as somehow a mark of incompetence.<\/p>\n<p>Look, think of what we did on COVID.  When \u2014 when we were pushing on AstraZeneca [Pfizer] to provide more vaccines \u2014 well, guess what?  They didn\u2019t have the machinery to be able to do it.  So I physically went to Michigan, stood there in a factory with the head of the \u2014 of AstraZeneca [Pfizer], and said, \u201cWe\u2019ll provide the machinery for you.  This is what we\u2019ll do.  We\u2019ll help you do it so that you can produce this vaccine more rapidly.\u201d  I think that\u2019s pretty hands-on stuff.<\/p>\n<p>We also said, right now, when people \u2014 the hospitalizations are \u2014 are overrunning hospitals and you have docs and nurses out because of COVID \u2014 they have COVID \u2014 we put thousands of people back in those hospitals.  Look at all the mari- \u2014 all the military personnel we have there, first responders.<\/p>\n<p>Nobody has ever organized \u2014 nobody has ever organized a strategic operation to get as many shots in arms by opening clinics and keeping \u2014 and being able to get so many people vaccinated.<\/p>\n<p>What I\u2019m doing now is not just getting significant amounts of vaccines to the rest of the world, but they now need \u2014 the mechanical way is how they get shots in arms.  So we\u2019re providing them the know-how to do that.<\/p>\n<p>Now, should everybody in America know that?  No, they don\u2019t necessarily know that; they\u2019re just trying to figure how to put three squares on the table and stay safe. <\/p>\n<p>But \u2014 so I \u2014 I do think the place where I was a little disappointed \u2014 I wish we could have written it differently \u2014 is when we did the legislation to provide the funding for COVID and the money we provided for the states to be able to deal with keeping schools open. <\/p>\n<p>Some of them didn\u2019t do a very good job.  Some are still holding the money.  I don\u2019t have the authority to do anything about that.  I think that\u2019s not particularly competent.  There\u2019s things that could and should have been done, that could have moved faster.<\/p>\n<p>So I \u2014 I understand the frustration.  You know, I remember \u2014 I think it was \u2014 I forget which Cabinet member was saying to Barack Obama \u2014 something was going on, and he said, \u201cWell, you can be sure, Mr. President, of the millions of employees you have out there, somebody is screwing up right now.  Somebody is screwing up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So, it\u2019s \u2014 you know, it\u2019s just a \u2014 but I think you have to look at things that we used to look at it on balance.  What is the trajectory of the country?  Is it moving in the right direction now?<\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t know how we can say it\u2019s not.  I understand the overwhelming frustration, fear, and concern with regard to inflation and COVID.  I get it.  But the idea \u2014 if I told you, when we started, I told you what I\u2019m going to do \u2014 \u201cThe first year, I\u2019m going to create over 600 \u2014 or 6 million jobs.  I\u2019m going to get unemployment down to 3.9 percent.  I\u2019m going to generate\u2026\u201d \u2014 and I named it all, you\u2019d look at me like, \u201cYou\u2019re nuts.\u201d  Maybe I\u2019m wrong.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Sir, there\u2019s never been a President, at least in our recent memory, with this much Washington experience as you have entered this office with, but yet, after we sit here for more than an hour, I\u2019m not sure I\u2019ve heard you say if you would do anything differently in the second year of your term.  Do you plan to do anything differently?  It could be \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah, look, the thing I have to do \u2014<\/p>\n<p>Q    \u2014 are you satisfied with your team here at the White House, sir?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I\u2019m satisfied with the team. <\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s three things I\u2019m going to do differently now that I will \u2014 now that I\u2019ve gotten the critical crises out of the way, in the sense of it moving \u2014 knowing exactly where we\u2019re going.<\/p>\n<p>Number one, I\u2019m going to get out of this place more often.  I\u2019m going to go out and talk to the public.  I\u2019m going to do public fora.  I\u2019m going to interface with them.  I\u2019m going to make the case of what we\u2019ve already done, why it\u2019s important, and what we\u2019ll do if \u2014 what will happen if they support what else I want to do.<\/p>\n<p>Number two, I\u2019m bringing in more and more \u2014 now that I have time \u2014 I mean, literally, like you, it\u2019s \u2014 I\u2019m not complaining.  It\u2019s, you know, 12, 14 hours a day.  No complaints.  I really mean that sincerely. <\/p>\n<p>But now that certain of the big chunks have been put in place and we know the direction, I\u2019m also going to be out there seeking the \u2014 more advice of experts outside, from academia, to editorial writers, to think tanks.  And I\u2019m bringing them in, just like I did early on, bringing in presidential historians to get their perspective on what we should be doing.  Seeking more input, more information, more constructive criticism about what I should and shouldn\u2019t be doing.<\/p>\n<p>And the third thing I\u2019m going to be doing a lot more of is being in a situation where I am able to bring \u2014 I\u2019m going to be deeply involved in the off- \u2014 these off-year elections.  We\u2019re going to be raising a lot of money.  We\u2019re going to be out there making sure that we\u2019re helping all of those candidates. <\/p>\n<p>And scores of them have already asked me to come in and campaign with them, to go out and make the case in plain, simple language as to what it is we\u2019ve done, what we want to do, and why we think it\u2019s important.<\/p>\n<p>(Cross-talk by reporters.)<\/p>\n<p>How \u2014 how many more hours am I doing this?  I\u2019m happy to stick around.<\/p>\n<p>(Cross-talk by reporters.)<\/p>\n<p>You always ask me the nicest questions. <\/p>\n<p>Q    All right, I got a whole binder full.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I know you do.<\/p>\n<p>Q    All right \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  None of them make a lot of sense to me, but I \u2014<\/p>\n<p>Q    Well, let\u2019s \u2014 let\u2019s try \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Fire away.  Come on.<\/p>\n<p>Q    A new year.<\/p>\n<p>Why are you trying so hard in your first year to pull the country so far to the left?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I\u2019m not.  I don\u2019t know what you consider to be too far to the left if, in fact, we\u2019re talking about making sure that we had the money for COVID, making sure we had the money to put together the Bipartisan Infrastructure, and making sure we were able to provide for those things that, in fact, would significantly reduce the burden on the working-class people but make them \u2014 they have to continue to work hard.  I don\u2019t know how that is pointed to the left.<\/p>\n<p>If you may recall, I \u2014 you guys have been trying to convince me that I am Bernie Sanders.  I\u2019m not.  I like him, but I\u2019m not Bernie Sanders.  I\u2019m not a socialist.  I\u2019m a mainstream Democrat, and I have been.  And mainstream Democrats have overwhelmingly \u2014 if you notice, the 48 of the 50 Republi- \u2014 Democrats supported me in the Senate on virtually everything I\u2019ve asked.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, sir.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Thank you, sir.  I just wanted to clarify: A moment ago, you were asked whether or not you believed that we would have free and fair elections in 2022 if some of these state legislatures reformed their voting protocols.  You said that it depends.  Do you \u2014 do you think that they would in any way be illegitimate?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Oh, yeah, I think it easily could be \u2014 be illegitimate. <\/p>\n<p>Imagine \u2014 imagine if, in fact, Trump has succeeded in convincing Pence to not count the votes. <\/p>\n<p>Q    Well, I \u2014 <\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Imagine if \u2014<\/p>\n<p>Go on.<\/p>\n<p>Q    In regard to 2022, sir \u2014 the midterm elections.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Oh, 2022.  I mean, imagine if those attempts to say that the count was not legit.  \u201cYou have to recount it and we\u2019re not going to count \u2014 we\u2019re going to discard the following votes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I mean, sure, but \u2014 I\u2019m not going to say it\u2019s going to be legit.  It\u2019s \u2014 the increase and the prospect of being illegitimate is in direct proportion to us not being able to get these \u2014 these reforms passed.<\/p>\n<p>But I don\u2019t think you\u2019re going to see \u2014 you\u2019re not going to see me and I don\u2019t think you\u2019re going to see the Democratic Party give up on \u2014 coming back and assuming that the attempt fails today.<\/p>\n<p>Q    And then, one more, sir.  You know, you campaigned and you ran on a return to civility.  And I know that you dispute the characterization that you called folks who would oppose those voting bills as being \u201cBull Connor\u201d or \u201cGeorge Wallace,\u201d but you said that they would be sort of in the same camp.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  No, I didn\u2019t say that.  Look what I said.  Go back and read what I said and tell me if you think I called anyone who voted on the side of the position taken by Bull Connor that they were Bull Connor.<\/p>\n<p>Q    And \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  That is an interesting reading of English.  You \u2014 I assume you got into journalism because you liked to write.<\/p>\n<p>Q    So did you expect that that would work with Senators Manchin or Sinema \u2014 that argument?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  No, here\u2019s the thing: There\u2019s certain things that are so consequential you have to speak from your heart as well as your head.<\/p>\n<p>I was speaking out forcefully on what I think to be at stake.  That\u2019s what it is.<\/p>\n<p>And, by the way, no one \u2014 no one forgets who was on the side of King or \u2014 versus on \u2014 or Bull Connor.  No one not \u2014 does not.  The history books will note it. <\/p>\n<p>And what \u2014 I was making the case, \u201cDon\u2019t think this is a freebie.  You don\u2019t get to vote this way, and then somehow it goes away.  This will be \u2014 stick with you the rest of your career and long after you\u2019re gone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Q    And, Mr. President, if \u2014<\/p>\n<p>(Cross-talk by reporters.)<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Folks, I\u2019m \u2014<\/p>\n<p>Q    Sir, what does the new normal look like?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Okay.  Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.  Hang on, guys.  We\u2019ve only gone an hour and 20 minutes.  I\u2019ll keep going.<\/p>\n<p>But I\u2019m \u2014 but I\u2019m going to go \u2014 let me get \u2014 let get something straight here: How long are you guys ready to go?  You want to go for another hour or two?<\/p>\n<p>Q    Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Until we all get called on, sir.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Until we all get a chance.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Okay.  I\u2019m going to go \u2014 I\u2019ll tell you what, folks: I am going to go another 20 minutes, until a quarter of.  Okay?<\/p>\n<p>Yes, sir.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Thank you, President Biden.  President Biden, on the \u2014 thank you.  On \u2014 I\u2019ll wait for the microphone.<\/p>\n<p>President Biden, on the  \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I want to thank my Communications staff for their great help here.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>Q    Well, President Biden, on the coronavirus, we\u2019re tragically approaching nearly 1 million Americans who died.  And I\u2019d like to ask you why it is during your three-and-a-half-hour virtual summit in November with the Chinese President you didn\u2019t press for transparency and also whether that has anything to do with your son\u2019s involvement in an investment firm controlled by Chinese state-owned entities.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  The answer is that we did \u2014 I did raise the question of transparency.  I spent a lot of time with him.  And he \u2014 the fact is that they\u2019re just not \u2014 they\u2019re just not being transparent.<\/p>\n<p>Q    You raised this: transparency on the coronavirus origins?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Q    And \u2014 you did, during the virtual summit?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Is there a reason your press staff was unaware of that?  And what did you say to the Chinese President?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well \u2014 and they weren\u2019t with me the entire time.  Look, I made it clear that I thought that China had an obligation to be more forthcoming on exactly what the source of the virus was and where it came from.<\/p>\n<p>Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Mr. President, I would like to ask you about foreign policy: One of the first priority that you declared when you came to office was to end the war in Yemen \u2014 the catastrophic war in Yemen.  You appointed a special envoy. <\/p>\n<p>Today, one of your allies \u2014 the United Arab Emirates \u2014 is asking your administration to put back the Houthi rebels or militias back on the terror list.  Are you going to do that? <\/p>\n<p>And how are you going to end the war in Yemen, sir?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  The answer is: It\u2019s under consideration.  And ending the war in Yemen takes the two parties to be involved to do it.  And it\u2019s going to be very difficult.<\/p>\n<p>Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Thank you very much for this honor.  James Rosen with Newsmax.  I\u2019d like to \u2014 I\u2019d like to raise a delicate subject but with utmost respect for your life accomplishments and the high office you hold: A poll released, this morning, by Politico\/Morning Consult found 49 percent of registered voters disagreeing with the statement, \u201cJoe Biden is mentally fit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  (Laughs.)  Well \u2014<\/p>\n<p>Q    Not even a majority of Democrats who responded strongly affirmed that statement.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I\u2019ll let you all make the judgment whether they\u2019re correct.  Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Well, so, the question I have for you, sir, before \u2014 if you\u2019d let me finish \u2014 is: Why do you suppose such large segments of the American electorate have come to harbor such profound concerns about your cognitive fitness?  Thank you. <\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I have no idea. <\/p>\n<p>Yes, sir.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Thanks, Mr. President.  I appreciate it.  I wanted to sort of address \u2014 or ask about a tension that has sort of been in this \u2014 in this press conference on unifying the country, because you campaigned on two things.  One of them is being able to accomplish big things, and the other is the ability to unify the country.  And even today, you\u2019ve talked about sort of a different posture with Republicans.  And I \u2014 I wonder if you still think it\u2019s possible to do both of those things?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  We have to.  We have to.  And let me \u2014 I\u2019m not \u2014 as long as I hold public office, I\u2019m going to continue to attempt to do both things.<\/p>\n<p>Q    One more follow-up.  Last \u2014 around this time last year when you were campaigning in Georgia, I think one of the things you told people was, \u201cThe power is literally in your hands.\u201d  You know, if voters give Democrats the House and the Senate and the presidency that all these big things can get accomplished.  And, you know, we\u2019ve seen stalemate.  We\u2019ve seen things being stymied.  Why should folks believe you this time around?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Can you think of any other President that has done as much in one year?  Name one for me. <\/p>\n<p>Q    I\u2019m asking you.  I mean \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I\u2019m serious.  You guys talk about how nothing has happened.  I don\u2019t think there\u2019s been much on any incoming President\u2019s plate that\u2019s been a bigger menu than the plate I had given to me.  I\u2019m not complaining.  I knew that running in.<\/p>\n<p>And the fact of the matter is, we got an awful lot done \u2014 an awful lot done, and there\u2019s more to get done. <\/p>\n<p>But, look, let\u2019s \u2014 let me ask you a rhetorical question.<\/p>\n<p>No, I won\u2019t.  Anyway.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>Thank you. <\/p>\n<p>Q    (Inaudible.)<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Thank you very much, Mr. President. <\/p>\n<p>Do I need the \u2014 the \u2014<\/p>\n<p>(White House aide trips.)<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Be careful.  Don\u2019t get hurt, man.<\/p>\n<p>Q    No, no, I\u2019m \u2014 I\u2019m going to take care.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. President, thank you.  Sebastian Smith from AFP.  Another question on Ukraine.  Ukraine borders four NATO member countries.  How concerned are you?  Are you concerned that a real conflagration in Ukraine \u2014 if the Russians really go in there \u2014 that it could suck in NATO countries that are on the border and you end up with an actual NATO-Russia confrontation of some kind?<\/p>\n<p>And, secondly, are you entertaining the thought of a summit with Vladimir Putin as a way to perhaps try and put this whole thing to bed, address their concerns, and negotiate a way out of this?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  The last part \u2014 to the last question, yes.  When we talked about whether or not we\u2019d (inaudible) the three meetings we talked about.  And we talked about: We would go from there, if there was reason to, to go to a summit.  We talked about a summit as being before the Ukraine item came up in terms of strategic doctrine and what the strategic relationship would be.  So, I still think that is a possibility, number one.<\/p>\n<p>Number two, I am very concerned.  I\u2019m very concerned that this could end up being \u2014 look, the only war that\u2019s worse than one that\u2019s intended is one that\u2019s unintended.  And what I\u2019m concerned about is this could get out of hand \u2014 very easily get out of hand because of what you said: the borders of the \u2014 of Ukraine and what Russia may or may not do. <\/p>\n<p>I am hoping that Vladimir Putin understands that he is \u2014 short of a full-blown nuclear war, he\u2019s not in a very good position to dominate the world.  And so, I don\u2019t think he thinks that, but it is a concern.  And that\u2019s why we have to be very careful about how we move forward and make it clear to him that there are prices to pay that could, in fact, cost his country an awful lot. <\/p>\n<p>But I \u2014 of course, you have to be concerned when you have, you know, a nuclear power invade \u2014 this has \u2014 if he invades \u2014 it hasn\u2019t happened since World War Two.  This will be the most consequential thing that\u2019s happened in the world, in terms of war and peace, since World War Two.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Mr. President?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Thank you, Mr. President.  Thank you.  Nearly two years have passed since the beginning of the global coronavirus outbreak.  And you again today acknowledged that Americans are frustrated and they\u2019re tired.  Based on your conversations with your health advisors, what type of restrictions do you imagine being on Americans this time next year?  And what does the new normal look like for social gatherings and travel to you?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, the answer is: I hope the new normal will be that we don\u2019t have \u2014 still have 30-some million people not vaccinated.  I hope the new normal is people have seen \u2014 and what their own interest is \u2014 and have taken advantage of \u2014 of what we have available to us. <\/p>\n<p>Number two, with the pill that is prob- \u2014 that appears to be as efficacious as it seems to be \u2014 that you\u2019re going to be able to deal with this virus in a way that, after the fact, you have the ability to make sure you don\u2019t get sel- \u2014 you don\u2019t get very sick. <\/p>\n<p>Number three, I would hope that what happens is, the rest of the world does what I\u2019m doing and provides significant amounts of the vaccine to the rest of the world.  Because it\u2019s not sufficient that we just have this country not have the virus or be able to control the virus, but that \u2014 you can\u2019t build a wall high enough to keep a new variant out. <\/p>\n<p>So, it requires \u2014 one of the things that I want to do and we\u2019re contemplating \u2014 figuring out how to do \u2014 not \u2014 we are contemplating how to get done \u2014 and that is: How do we move in a direction where the world itself is vaccinated? <\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not enough just to vaccinate 340 million \u2014 fully vaccinate 340 million people in the United States.  That\u2019s not enough.  It\u2019s not enough to do it here.  We have to do it, and we have to do a lot more than we\u2019re doing now. <\/p>\n<p>And that\u2019s why we have continued to keep the commitment of providing vaccines and available cures for the rest of the world as well.<\/p>\n<p>Q    And if I could, sir \u2014 and I should have said this before: Francesca Chambers, McClatchy \u2014 how do you plan to win back moderates and independents who cast a ballot for you in 2020 but, polls indicate, aren\u2019t happy with the way you\u2019re doing your job now?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I don\u2019t believe the polls. <\/p>\n<p>Q    Mr. President?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, why don\u2019t you just go down the row there.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Thank you, Mr. President.  To follow up on some of the questions about the vaccination program \u2014 you\u2019ve given dozens of speeches this year urging Americans to get vaccinated.  You\u2019ve talked to reluctant Republicans.  You\u2019ve said it\u2019s people\u2019s patriotic duty. <\/p>\n<p>There have been very few mentions of the fact that young children under the age of five still, in the third year of this pandemic in this country, don\u2019t have access to the vaccine.  Can you speak to frustrated parents a little bit about why that continues to be the case and when that might change?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Because the science hasn\u2019t reached a point where they\u2019re convinced that, in fact, it is safe.  So that\u2019s what they\u2019re doing now.  You could have asked me that \u2014 I got asked that question about three months ago, about people between the ages of, you know, 7 and 12.  Well, they finally \u2014 they\u2019ve got to the point where they felt secure in the number of tests they had done and the tests they had run that it was safe. <\/p>\n<p>So it will come.  It will come.  But I can\u2019t \u2014 I\u2019m not a scientist; I can\u2019t tell you when.  But it is really very important that we get to that \u2014 that next piece.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Just one more follow-up on Build Back Better: When you said it\u2019s going to likely be broken up into chunks \u2014 you mentioned that the climate pieces seem to have broad support, you mentioned Senator Manchin is a supporter of early childcare \u2014 you left out the Child Tax Credit.  And I wonder if it\u2019s fair to read between the lines and assume that that is a piece, given Senator Manchin\u2019s opposition to it, that the extension of that is likely one of those components that may have to wait until sometime down the line.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  There\u2019s two really big components that I feel strongly about that I\u2019m not sure I can get in the package: one is the Child Care Tax Credit and the other is help for cost of community colleges.  They are massive things that I\u2019ve run on, I care a great deal about, and I\u2019m going to keep coming back at in whatever fora I get to be able to try to get chunks or all of that done. <\/p>\n<p>Yes, sir.  Next man \u2014 next to your left.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Thank you, Mr. President.  My name is Pedro Rojas.  I\u2019m with Univision National News.  This is actually my first press conference here.  It is good to meet you in person.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  We always have long press conferences like this.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>Q    Awesome.  Awesome.<\/p>\n<p>I got a couple of questions for you.  Number one, you said that you want to convey your message by getting out there in the country.  I wonder if you\u2019re planning on traveling also to South America and other countries in the Western Hemisphere, given the fact that China has gained a lot of influence in the region? <\/p>\n<p>And the second question is: What would be your message for residents in this country that are struggling every time they go to the gas station, every time they go to the grocery store and see the prices going high in the pharmacy?  I happen to come from South Texas.  What I saw a lot of \u2014 a lot of people struggling financially in the last few months.  And so I think you \u2014 I wonder what is the message you want to spread to them?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I try to express \u2014 I\u2019ve asked \u2014 I\u2019ve tried to answer that seven different ways today about how to deal with inflation.  But let me answer the first question. <\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve spent a lot of time in South America and in Latin America.  When I was Vice President, I spent the bulk of my eight years basically in Europe and\/or in Latin America.  I\u2019m in contact with the leaders of the countries in South America, and we\u2019re working closely with making sure that we do everything \u2014 for example, with the \u2014 to deal with helping the countries in question, particularly those in Central America, to be able to help them with their ability to deal with the inter- \u2014<\/p>\n<p>People don\u2019t sit around in Guatemala and say, \u201cI got a great idea: Let\u2019s sell everything we have, give the money to a \u2014 to a coyote, take us across a terribly dangerous trip up through Central America and up through Mexico, and drop us \u2014 sneak us across the border, drop us in the desert.  Won\u2019t that be fun?\u201d <\/p>\n<p>People leave because they have real problems.  And one of the things that I\u2019ve done, when I was a Vice President, and got support with \u2014 although I don\u2019t have much Republican support anymore \u2014 is provide billions of dollars to be able to say to those countries, \u201cWhy are people leaving?  And how are you going to reform your own system?\u201d  And that\u2019s what we\u2019ve worked on a long time.  It still needs a lot more work.  And we\u2019re focusing on that. <\/p>\n<p>I also believe \u2014 I\u2019ve spent a lot of time talking about and dealing with policy having to do with Maduro, who is little more than a dictator right now, and the same thing in Chile and Af- \u2014 not the same thing, but with Chile, as well as Argentina. <\/p>\n<p>So, look, I made a speech a while ago, when I was Vice President, saying that if we were smart, we have an opportunity to make the Western Hemisphere a united \u2014 not united \u2014 a democratic hemisphere.  And we were moving in the right direction under our \u2014 under the last administration \u2014 the Obama-Biden administration. <\/p>\n<p>But so much damage was done as a consequence of the foreign policy decisions the last president made in Latin America, Central America, and South America that we now have \u2014 when I call for a summit of the democracies \u2014 I called that, and a number of nations showed up for this Summit of Democracy \u2014 what is it that\u2019s going to allow us to generate \u2014 we\u2019ve actually had a reduction in the number of democracies in the world.  And it seems to me there\u2019s nothing more important.<\/p>\n<p>We used to talk about, when I was a kid in college, about \u201cAmerica\u2019s backyard.\u201d  It\u2019s not America\u2019s backyard.  Everything south of the Mexican border is America\u2019s front yard.  And we\u2019re equal people.  We don\u2019t dictate what happens in any other part of that \u2014 of this continent or the South American continent.  We have to work very hard on it. <\/p>\n<p>But the trouble is: We\u2019re having great difficulty making up for the mistakes that were made the last four years, and it\u2019s going to take some time.<\/p>\n<p>Yes.  Gentleman in the back.  And then I\u2019ll go to this side, okay?<\/p>\n<p>Q    Thank you, Mr. President.  Alexander Nazaryan, Yahoo News.  And thank you for holding this press conference.  I hope there\u2019s more of them.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Anytime you have an extra three hours, we can do it.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>Q    We\u2019ll stay for a couple more. <\/p>\n<p>You said you were surprised by Republican obstruction of your agenda.  But didn\u2019t the GOP take exactly the same tactic when you were Vice President to Barack Obama?  So why did you think they would treat you any differently than they treated him?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, first of all, they weren\u2019t nearly as obstructionist as they are now, number one.  They stated that, but you had a number of Republicans we worked with closely, from John McCain \u2014 I mean, a number of Republicans we worked closely with.  Even, back in those days, Lindsey Graham. <\/p>\n<p>And so the difference here is there seems to be a desire to work \u2014 and I didn\u2019t say \u201cmy\u201d agenda; I\u2019m saying, what are they for?  What \u2014 what is their agenda?  They had an agenda back in the administration when \u2014 the eight years we were president and vice president, but I don\u2019t know what their agenda is now.  What is it?<\/p>\n<p>The American public is outraged about the tax structure we have in America.  What are they proposing to do about it?  Anything?  Have you heard anything?  I mean, anything.  I haven\u2019t heard anything. <\/p>\n<p>The American public is outraged about the fact that we\u2019re the \u2014 the state of the environment \u2014 the vast majority of the public.  What have they done to do anything to ameliorate the climate change that\u2019s occurring, other than to deny it exists? <\/p>\n<p>So, what I\u2019m saying is the difference between then and now is not only the announcement that was made: \u201cAnything to stop Barack Obama.\u201d  I get that part.  But what eventually happened?  We were able to get some things done.  We were able to work through some things.  On the stuff that was really consequential, in terms of ideologically divisive, it was a real fight. <\/p>\n<p>But so \u2014 but I don\u2019t think there\u2019s a time when I \u2014 I mean, I wonder what would be the Republican platform right now. What do you think?  What do you think their position on taxes are?  What do you think their position on \u2014 on human rights is?  What do you think their position is on whether or not we should \u2014 on what we should do about the cost of prescription drugs?  What do you think?<\/p>\n<p>I mean, I just \u2014 I, honest to God, don\u2019t know what they\u2019re for, yet I know a lot of these senators and congressmen, and I know they do have things they want to support, whether they\u2019re things I want or not.  But you don\u2019t hear much about that.<\/p>\n<p>And every once in a while, when you hear something where there\u2019s a consensus \u2014 it\u2019s important, but a small item, and it doesn\u2019t get much coverage at all where it occurs.  I\u2019m not meaning \u201ccoverage.\u201d  I mean, there\u2019s not much discussion about it.<\/p>\n<p>So I just think it\u2019s a different \u2014 and I don\u2019t know that no matter how strongly one supports, as a Republican, and\/or supports the president \u2014 the former president of the United States \u2014 I don\u2019t know how we can\u2019t look at what happened on January 6th and think, \u201cThat\u2019s \u2014 that\u2019s a problem.  That\u2019s a real problem.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Q    One more question, Mr. President.  There\u2019s been a \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  By the way, it\u2019s a quarter of, guys, so I\u2019m going to do this \u2014 just let\u2019s \u2014 if you manage to make easy questions, then I\u2019ll give you quick answers. <\/p>\n<p>Q    There\u2019s an increasing concern, I think among some Democrats, that even if schools do continue to open \u2014 and I get that most of them are now open \u2014 Republicans will weaponize this narrative of you \u2014 of you and other leading Democrats allowing them to stay closed in the midterms next year and that \u2014 you know, obviously, that issue has a lot of traction with suburban parents, as I think you saw in Virginia \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  What do you mean \u201callowing\u201d?  I\u2019m confused by the question.  I\u2019m sorry.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Well, that \u2014 could school reopenings or closures become a potent midterm issue for Republicans to win back the suburbs?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Oh, I think it could be, but I hope to God that they\u2019re \u2014 that \u2014 look, maybe I\u2019m kidding myself, but as time goes on, the voter who is just trying to figure out, as I said, how to take care of their family, put three squares on the table, stay safe, able to pay their mortgage or their rent, et cetera, has \u2014 is becoming much more informed on the motives of some of the political players and some of the \u2014 and the political parties.  And I think that they are not going to be as susceptible to believing some of the outlandish things that have been said and continue to be said.<\/p>\n<p>You know, every \u2014 every president, not necessarily in the first 12 months, but every president in the first couple of years \u2014 almost every president, excuse me, of the last presidents \u2014 at least four of them \u2014 have had polling numbers that are 44 percent favorable.<\/p>\n<p>So, it\u2019s this idea that \u2014 but you all \u2014 not you all \u2014 but now it is, \u201cWell, Biden is at \u2014 one poll showed him at 33 percent.  The average is 44 \u2014 44, 45 percent.  One polled him at 49 percent.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>I mean, the idea that \u2014 the American public are trying to sift their way through what\u2019s real and what\u2019s fake.  And I don\u2019t think as \u2014 I\u2019ve never seen a time when the political coverage \u2014 the choice of what political coverage a voter looks to has as much impact on as what they believe; they go to get reinforced in their views, whether it\u2019s MSNBC or whether it\u2019s Fox or whatever. <\/p>\n<p>I mean \u2014 and one of the things I find fascinating that\u2019s happening \u2014 and you all are dealing with it every day \u2014 and it will impact on how things move \u2014 is that a lot of the speculation in the polling data shows that the \u2014 that the cables are heading south; they\u2019re losing viewership.  You know? <\/p>\n<p>Well, Fox is okay for a while, but it\u2019s not gated.  And a lot of the rest are predicted to be not very much in the mix in the next four to five years.  I don\u2019t know whether that\u2019s true or not. <\/p>\n<p>But I do know that we have sort of put everybody in \u2014 put themselves in certain alleys.  And they\u2019ve decided that, you know, how many people who watch MSNBC also watch Fox, other than a politician trying to find out what\u2019s going on in both places?  How many people \u2014<\/p>\n<p>Again, I\u2019m no expert in any of this.  But the fact is, I think you have to acknowledge that what gets covered now is necessarily a little bit different than what gets covered in the past. <\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve had a couple \u2014 well, I shouldn\u2019t get into this. <\/p>\n<p>But the nature not \u2014 the nature of the way things get covered \u2014 and this is my observation over the years I\u2019ve been involved in public life \u2014 changed.  And it\u2019s changed because of everything from a thing called the Internet.  It\u2019s changed because of the way in which we have self-identified perspectives based on what channel you turn on, what \u2014 what network you look at \u2014 not network, but what cable you look at.  And it\u2019s \u2014 it\u2019s never quite been like that.<\/p>\n<p>Anyway.<\/p>\n<p>Q    On behalf of the Correspondents\u2019 Association, thank you very much for \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  And then I\u2019ll go to you.<\/p>\n<p>Q    \u2014 for standing for our questions.  We hope the public has found it as enlightening as those of us in the room have.<\/p>\n<p>I want to ask you, sir, about one of the \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  You mean, I can still stand?  It\u2019s amazing. <\/p>\n<p>Q    Right.  We appreciate it.  We very much do.<\/p>\n<p>So, the question I want to ask you gets to accountability, sir, on one of the top public concerns, of course, which is the coronavirus and the government\u2019s response to it. <\/p>\n<p>Whether it\u2019s confusion over what style of mask to wear, when to test, how to test, where to test \u2014 you know, the public is confused, sir, and you see that in the drop-off in the polling on this question. <\/p>\n<p>Why did you tell Jeff that you were satisfied with your team?  Why are you not willing to make or interested in making any changes, either at the CDC or other agencies, given the fact that the messages have been so confusing?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, first of all, the messages, to the extent they\u2019ve been confusing, is because the scientists \u2014 they\u2019re learning more.  They\u2019re learning more about what\u2019s needed and what\u2019s not needed. <\/p>\n<p>And so, the fact is that the one piece that has gotten a lot of attention is the communications capacity of the CDC. <\/p>\n<p>Well, she came along and said, \u201cLook, I\u2019m not a\u2026\u201d \u2014 I mean, \u201cI\u2019m a scientist.  And I\u2019m learning.  I\u2019m learning how to deal with stating what is the case that we\u2019ve observed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But, look, I think that it\u2019s a little bit like saying \u2014 when we went through the whole issue of how to deal with polio and the polio shots, what was said in the beginning was, \u201cOh, no, it\u2019s changed a little bit.  We moved this way and that way.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Or when we dealt with anything else. <\/p>\n<p>I mean, it\u2019s \u2014 this was a brand new virus, a brand-new phenomenon.  Some of it was deadly, other was more communicable. <\/p>\n<p>This is this is an unfolding story.  It\u2019s the nature of the way diseases spread.  We\u2019re going to learn about it in a lot of other areas, not just COVID-19.<\/p>\n<p>And so, I think \u2014 you know, I look at it this way: Think about how astounding it was within the timeframe that it took to be able to come up with a vaccine.  You used to write about that.  Pretty amazing how rapidly they came up with a vaccine that saved hundreds of thousands of lives.<\/p>\n<p>Did everything get right?  No. <\/p>\n<p>And, by the way, the idea whether we \u2014 anyway.  I\u2019m talking too much.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Thank you, Mr. President.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yes, ma\u2019am.<\/p>\n<p>Q    I have two really simple questions.  I promise.  You campaigned on canceling $10,000 in student loans.  Do you still plan to do so, and when?<\/p>\n<p>And then, my second question is: Now that you\u2019ve clarified the Bull Connor comments, do you plan to reach out to Republicans like Mitt Romney to talk about reforming the Electoral Count Act?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yes, I\u2019m happy to speak out.  I\u2019ve \u2014 I\u2019ve met with \u2014 I\u2019ve talked to Mitt on other occasions. <\/p>\n<p>And, by the way, I reached out to the Minority Leader as well at the time that he made his speech.<\/p>\n<p>And so, I have no reluctance to reach out to any Republican and anyone who \u2014 and I\u2019ve made it clear.<\/p>\n<p>Look, I\u2019ve now had the opportunity to travel because of funerals and eulogies I\u2019ve made and attended \u2014 and congressmen and senators who have come along with me.  I don\u2019t \u2014 don\u2019t hold me to the number, but somewhere between 20 and 25 senators and congresspersons have traveled with me.<\/p>\n<p>And I find you should get the list of them and ask what \u2014 how we, you know, sat for the two, three, four, five hours that we\u2019ve flown together \u2014 sit back in the \u2014 in that conference table and talk to them, ask them questions; they ask me questions.  I learned a heck of a lot.<\/p>\n<p>But as President, you don\u2019t quite have that ability to do that as often as I\u2019d like to be able to do it.<\/p>\n<p>And one of the things that I do think that has been made clear to me \u2014 speaking of polling \u2014 is the public doesn\u2019t want me to be the \u201cPresident Senator.\u201d  They want me to be the President and let senators be senators.<\/p>\n<p>And so, if I\u2019ve made \u2014 and I\u2019ve made many mistakes, I\u2019m sure.  If I made a mistake, I\u2019m used to negotiating to get things done, and I\u2019ve been, in the past, relatively successful at it in the United States Senate, even as Vice President.  But I think that role as President is \u2014 is a different role.<\/p>\n<p>Folks, it is now almost 6:00.  With all due respect, I\u2019m going to see you at the next conference.  Okay?  Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>5:53 P.M. EST<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Hello, folks. Thanks for being here. Well, good afternoon, everyone. Tomorrow will mark one year since I took office. It\u2019s been a year of challenges, but it\u2019s also been a year of enormous progress. We went from 2 million people being vaccinated at the moment I was sworn in to 210 million Americans being [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":134920,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-134919","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-government","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Chrome-Legacy-Window-1192022-95946-PM.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134919","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=134919"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134919\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":134921,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134919\/revisions\/134921"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/134920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=134919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=134919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=134919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}