So we continue Joe Biden's second official press conference, picking it off up exactly where he left off, and it's still ongoing, and we'll continue our full coverage these these unconstitutional efforts, in our view on constus efforts on the part of the Republicans to stack the election and subvert the outcomes. We have began to organize in ways that we didn't before, the communities beyond the civil rights community, to make the case to the rest of the American people what's about to happen, what will happen if in fact these things move forward. If I had talked to you, not you, I'm using you in a toosin so, if I've 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 have looked at me like, WHOA I mean? I caught talk constitution law for twenty years, a three credit course in Separation of Powers and on Saturday mornings when I was editor, and I never thought we'd get a new place where where we were talking about being able to actually what they tried to do this last time out send different electors to the state legislative bodies to represent who won the election, saying that I didn't win but Republican candidate one. I doubt if anybody thought that would ever happen in America in the twenty first century. But it's happening, and so I think, I guess what I'm saying is, Nancy, is that I think that there are a number of things we can do. But I also think we will be able to get significant pieces of the legislation if we don't get it all now to build to get it so that we get a big chunk of the John Lewis legislation as well as the fair Elections pass on COVID. If you don't mind you tell to the number of Americans who are now fully vaccinated with two shots. But even some of your own medical advisors say that people aren't fully protected unless they have that third shot, a booster. Why hasn't this White House changed the definition of fully vaccinated to include that third booster shot? Is it because the numbers of fully vaccinated Americans would suddenly look a lot less. Oh, it's not that at all. This has become clear and clear. And every time I speak, if I say, if you've been vaccinated. Get your booster shot. Everybody, get the booster shot. It's the optimum protection you could have. You're protected very well with two shots. If it's the visor anyway, you're protected, but you are better protected with the booster shot. The definition right now, I'm following what the answer is. Yes, get the booster shot. It's fall part of the same thing. You're better protected. Okay, alex Alper Reuters, Thank you, mister President. I wanted to follow up briefly on a question asked by Bloomberg. You said that Russia would be held accountable if it invades, and it depends on what it does. It's one thing if it's a minor incursion and we end up having to fight about what to do and what not to do. 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 Putent permission to make a small incursion into the country. Good question. So I did chidn't the most important thing to do Big Nations camp bluff number one number two, the idea that we would do anything to split NATO, which would be a profound impact on one of I think from an impact on one of Putin's objectives, to weaken NATO would be a big mistake. So the question is if it's a something significantly short of a significant invasion or not even significant, a major military forces coming across, for example, it's one thing to determine that if they continue to use a cyber efference, well we can respond the same way a cyber They have fsp people in Ukraine now trying to undermine the solidarity within Ukraine about Russia and to try to promote Russian interest. But it's very important that that we keep everyone in NATO on the same page. And that's what I'm 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 the degree to which they were able to go. 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 a devastating impact on Russian And so I got to make sure everybody's in the same page as we move along. I think we will. If there's something that is that where there's Russian fu forces crossing the border killing Ukrainian fighters, etc. I think that changes everything. But it depends on what he does. Is the actually what extent we're going to be able to get total unity on the Russia on the NATO front. 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's possible to reach a deal for both sides to resume compliance with the Irun nuclear deal, or if it's time to give up on that. Thank you, in a reverse, it's not time to give up. There is some progress being made. The P five plus one is on the same page, but it remains me seen. Okay, Kristen NBC very quickly on Russia. I do have a number of domestic policy issues, but 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 said, look, the only thing I'm confident of is that decision is totally, solely, completely putin decision. Nobody else is going to make that decision. No one else is going to impact that decision. He's making that decision, and I suspect it matters which side of the bet he gets up on in the morning as to exactly what he's going to do. And I think it is not irrational if he wanted to to talk about dealing with strategic doctrine and dealing with four structures in Europe in the European parts of Russia. But I don't know whether he's decided he wants to do that or not so far, and the three meetings we've had ossee anyway, 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's a question of whether the people they're talking to know what he is going to do. So the answer is, but based on a number of criteria as to what he could do. For example, for him to move in and copy the whole country, particularly from the north from Belarus's, he's gonna have to wait a little bit to the grounds frozen, spaking Koff to move in a direction where he wants to talk about what's going we have. We're continuing to provide for defense capacities to the Ukrainians. We're talking about what's going on in both the Baltic and the Black Sea, etc. There's a whole range of things that I'm sure he's trying to calculate how quickly he can do what he wants to do and what does he want to do. But he's not He's an informed individual, and I'm sure, I'm sure I believe he's calculating what the immediate, short term and the near term and the long term consequences of Russia will be. And I don't think he's made up his mind it. I want to ask you about your domestic agenda. You've gotten a lot of questions about voting rights, mister President, but I want to ask you about black voters, one of your most loyal constituencies. I was in Congressman Clyburne's 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're 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. 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. I've had their back. I've had their back my entire career. I've never not had their back. And I started on the voting rights issues long long ago. This what got me involved in politics in the first place. And I think part of the problem is look significant disagreement in every community on whether or not the timing of assertions made by people has been in the most timely way. So I'm sure that there are those who are saying that why didn't Biden push John Lewis Bill as hard as he pushed it the last month, Why didn't he push it six months ago as hard as he did? Now? The fact is that there is there's a timing that is not of one's own choice. That's sort of what dictated by events that are happening in country and around the world as to what the focus is. But part of the problem is as well, I have not been out in the community nearly enough. I've been here. I'm awful lot. I find myself in a situation where I don't 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've 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. For example, I mean, as I pointed out in South Carolina, you know, last time when I was Chairman of Diciary Community, I got the Voting Rights Act extended for twenty five years, and I got strong thermon to vote for it. That's what I've been doing my whole career. And so the idea that I that I didn't either anticipate or because I didn't speak to it as fervently as they want me to. Earlier in the meantime, I was spending a lot of time, 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 anyway. So but I think that's that's 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. So it's like every community. I'm sure that there are those in the community, and I'm I'm a big labor guy. I'm sure there's people in labor saying, why haven't able him to do ABC or D. So it's just going to take a little bit of time. You're you put Vice President Harris in charge of voting rights. Are you satisfied with her work on this issue? And can you guarantee do you commit that she will be your running mate in twenty twenty four provided that you run again? Yes? And yes? Okay, you don't care to expand fin do you care to expand? Oh, there's no need to do. I mean I asked you quite she's gonna be my running mate number one and number two. I did put her in charge. I think she's doing a good job. Let me ask you big picture, particularly when you think about voting rights and the struggles you've 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 whole soul was in bringing America together, uniting our people. 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. 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 Number one, anybody who listened to the speech, I did not say that they were going to be a George Wallace or a Bull Connor. I said, We're gonna have a decision in history that is going to be marked just like it was. Then you either voted on the side I did make you George Wallace or didn't make you Bull Connor. But if you did not vote for the voting right jack back, then you were voting with those who agreed with Connor, those who agreed with and so. And I think Mitch did a real good job of making it sound like I was attacking them. If you notice, I haven't attacked anybody publicly, any Senator, any any any any any Congressman publicly, and my disagreements with them have been made to them, communicate to them privately or in person with them. My desire still is. Look, I underestimated one very important thing. I never thought that the Republicans, like, for example, I said, they got very upset. I said verse sixteen members of the president United States Senate who voted to extend the Voting Rates Act. Now they got very offended by that. I would at an accusation to state, in effect, what has changed, what happened, what happened? Why is it not a single Republican, not one that's not the Republican Party, So that's not an attack the country. Is the country more unified than when you first took office? The answer is based on some of the stuff we've got done. I'd say yes, but it's not nearly unified as it should be. Look, I still contend, and I know you'll have a right to judge me by this, I still contend that unless you can reach consensus in a democracy, you cannot sustain the democracy. And so this is a real test whether or not. My counterpart in China is right or not when he says autocracies are the only thing that are going to prevail because democracies take too too long to make decisions and countries are too divided. I believe we're going through one of those inflection points in history that occurs every several generations. Are even more than that, even more time than that, where things are changing, almost regardless of any particular policy. The world's changing in big ways. We're going to see if you heard me say this before, we're going to see more change in the next ten years. We've signed the last fifty years because of technology, because of fundamental alterations and alliances that are occurring, not because of anyone individuals, just because of the nature of things. And so I think you're 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 on how to proceed. It's going to be hard. It's going to be hard, but it requires and requires leadership to do it. And I'm not giving up in the prospect of being able to do that. Thank you, Thank you, sir. There are deep questions among Americans about the competence of government, from the messy rollout of five G this week to the Afghanistan with draw to testing on COVID. What have you done to restore Americans faith in the competence of government? And are you satisfied by the view of the competence of your government? Look, I stake Afghanistan. I know you all would like to focus on that which is legitimate. We were spending trillion dollars a week, I mean a billion dollars a week in Afghanistan for twenty years. Raise your hand if you think anyone was going to be able to unify Afghanistan under one single government. It's been the graveyard of empires for a solid reason. It is not susceptible to unity number one. 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 other than sending more bodybags back home is highly, highly unusual. My dad used to have an expression and say, son, if everything's equally important to you, nothing's important to you. There is no way to get out of Afghanistan after twenty years easily not possible, no matter when you did it. And I make no apologies to what I did. 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, and I think you will, who know a lot about foreign policy, that had we stayed and I had not pull those troops out, we would be asked to put somewhere between twenty and fifty thousand more troops in because the only reason more Americans weren't being killed in others is because the last presidents signed an agreement to get out by May the first, and so everything was copathetic. Had we not gotten out, and the acknowledgement is we'd be putting a lot more forces in now. Am I do I feel badly what's happening to as a consequence of the incompetence of the Taliban, Yes, I do, But I feel badly also about the fishlists that are taking place in eastern Congo. I feel badly about a whole range of things around the world that we can't solve every problem, and so I don't view that as a competence issue, the issue of whether or not there's competence in terms of whether or not we're dealing with five G or nine. We don't deal with five G. The fact is that you had two enterprises, two private enterprises that had one promoting five G and the other winner airlines or private enterprises, they have government regulation busiedly, and so what I've done is pushed as hard as I can to have five DE folks hold up and abide by what was being requested by the airlines until they could more modernize over the years so that five G would not interfere with the potential of the landing. So any tower, any five G tower within certain number of miles in the airport should not be operative. And that's and so I understand. But anything that happens is consequential is viewed as the government's responsibility. I get that. Am I satisfied with the way in which we have dealt with COVID and all the things that go along with that? Yeah, I am satisfied. I think we've done remarkably well. You know, the idea that on testing we've done, we should have done it quicker, but we've done remarkable. Since then, what we have is we have more testing going on than anywhere in the world, and we're going to continue to increase that. 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 what everything else is going on. I don't view that as somehow a market incompetence. Look think of what we did on COVID when we were pushing on astro'sennikette to provide more vaccines. Who guess what, they didn't have the machine rey to be able to do it. So I physically went to Michigan, stood there in a factory with the head of the astrosennikette and said, we'll provide the machine before you. This is what we'll do. We'll help you do it so you can't produce this vaccine more rapidly. I think that's pretty hands on stuff. We also said, right now, when people of the hospitalizations are overrunning hospitals and you have docs and nurses out because of COVID, they have COVID, we put thousands of people back in those hospitals. Look at all then all the military personnel we have there. First responders. Nobody is ever organized, Nobody is ever organized a strategic operation to get as many shots and arms by opening clinics and keeping them being able to get so many people vaccinated. What I'm doing now is not just getting significant amounts of vaccines to the rest of the world, but they now need the mechanical way is how they get shots and arms. So we're providing them to know how to do that now. It should everybody in American know that. No, they don't necessarily know that. They're just trying to figure out how to put three squares on the table and stay safe. But so I do think the place where I was a little disappointed. I wish we could have written it differently 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. Some of them didn't do a very good job. Some are still holding the money. I don't have the authority do anything about that. I think that's not particularly competent. There's things that could and should have been done. It could have moved faster, So I understand the frustration, you know, I remember, I think it was forget what cabinet members saying to Barack Obama where something was going on, and he said, well, are you going to be sure, mister President, are the millions of employees you have out there? Somebody's screwing up right now, somebody's screwing up. So you know, it's just a 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? I don't know how we can say it's not. I understand the overwhelming frustration, fear, and concern with regard to inflation and COVID. I get it with the idea. If I told you and we started a totally gonna do first year, I'm going to create over six hundred or six million jobs. I'm going to get unemployment down to three point nine percent, I'm going to generate and I named it all. You look at me like you're nuts. Maybe I'm wrong President, at least in our recent memory, with as much Washington experience as you entered this office with. But yet after we sit here for more than an hour, I'm not sure I've heard you say if you would do anything differently in the second year of your term. Do you plan to do anything different? Look, the thing, I have to be satisfied with your team here at the White House. I'm satisfied with the team. There's three things that I'm going to do now that I will now that I've gotten the critical crises out of the way in the sense of that movement, knowing exactly where we're going. Number One, I'm going out of this place more often. I'm going to go out and talk to the public. I'm going to do public flora. I'm going to interface with them. I'm going to make the cases what we've already done, why it's important, and what we'll do if what will happen if they've support, what else I want to do. Number Two, I'm bringing in more and more now that they have time. I mean literally, like you, it's I'm not complaining, it's you know, twelve to fourteen hours a day, no complaints. I really mean it's necesarily. But now that certain of the big chunks have been put in place and we know the direction, I'm also going to be out there seeking the more advice of experts outside from academia to editorial writers to think tanks, and I'm bringing them in just like I did early on, bringing in presidents and 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't be doing. And the third thing that I'm going to be doing a lot more of is being in a situation where I'm able to bring I'm going to be deeply involved in these off your elections. We're going to be raising a lot of money. We're going to be out there making sure that we're helping all of those candidates and sports them. Will already asked me to commit and campaign with them, to go out and make the case in plain, simple language as to what it is we've done, what we want to do, and why we think it's important. How many more hours am I doing this? I'm happy to stick around. You will always ask me the nicest questions. I know you do, all right, none of them make a lot of sense to me, But I well, let's let's try away. Come on, new year. Why are you trying so hard in your first year to pull the country so far to the left. Well, I'm not. I don't know what you consider to be too far to the left, if in fact we're 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 working class people, but make them they have to continue to work hard. I don't know how that is pointed to the the left. If you may recall, you guys have been trying to convince me that I am Bernie Sanders. I'm not. I like them, but I'm not Bernie Sanders. I'm not a socialist. I'm a mainstream and I have been in mainstream. Democrats have overwhelmed. If you notice the forty eight of the fifty Republican Democrats supported me and a Senate I'm virtually everything I've asked, Yes, sir, I want to be play a moment ago, you were asked whether or not you believed that we would have free and fair elections in twenty twenty two if some of these state legislators reforms their voting protocols. You said that it depends. Do you do you think that they would in any way be illegitimate Oh yeah, I think it easy to be illegitimate. Imagine Imagine if, in fact, Trump has succeeded in convincing tends to not count the votes. Imagine if, in regards to twenty twenty two, sir, I mean, imagine if those attempts to say that the count was not legit, you have to recount it, and we're not going to account. We're going to discard the following votes. I mean, sure, I'm not saying it's going to be legits. The increase in the prospect of being illegitimate is a direct proportion that's not being able to get these these reforms passed. But I don't think you're going to see You're not going to see me, and I don't think you're going to see the Democratic Party give up on coming back at assuming that the attempt fails today. And then one more sir um. You know you talk, 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 Bull Conner or George Wallace, but you said that they would be sort of in the same camp. No, I didn't 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. And that is an interesting reading in English. I assume you got into into journals because you like to write. So did you expect that that would work with Senator's mansion or cinema. No, here's the thing. There's certain things that are so consequential. You have to speak from your heart as well as your head. I was speaking out forcefully on what I think to be at stake. That's what it is. And by the way, no one, no one forgets who was on the side of key or verse On or bull Connor. No one not done. The history books will note it. And when I was making the case, don't think this is a freebee. You don't get to vote this way and then somehow it goes the way. This will be stick with you the rest of your career and long after you're gone. And mister president, folks, I'm okay, whoa, whoa, hang on, guys, we've only gone an hour and twenty minutes. I'll keep going. But I got but I'm gonna go. Let me get let me get something straight here. How long are you guys ready to go? You want to go for another hour or two? Okay, I'm gonna go. I tell you what, folks, Uh, I'm gonna go another twenty minutes to a quarter of Okay, yes, sir President. I want to thank my communication staff for the great help here well, President Biden. On the coronavir we're tragically approaching nearly one million Americans who died, and I'd like to ask you why it is during your three and a half hour virtual summit in November with the Chinese president you didn't press for transparency and also whether that has anything to do with your son's involvement in an investment firm controlled by Chinese state owned entities. The answer is that we did. I did raise the question of transparency. I spent a lot of time with him, and the fact is that they're they're just not being transparent transparency on the coronavirus origins. Yes, and you did virtual summit. Is there a reason your press staff was unaware of that? And what did you say to the Chinese president? And they weren't with me? The entire time. Look, I made it clear, and 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. Yes, as a 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, the catastrophic war in Yemen. You appointed a special envoy. Today one of your allies you're not Arab Emirates, is asking your administration to put back the hoothy rebels or militias back on the terror list. Are you going to do that and how are you going to end the war in Yemen? Sir? The answer is it's under consideration, and any in the war in Yemen takes the two parties to be involved to do it, and it's going to be very difficult. Yes, thank you very much for this honor. James Rosen with NEWSMAX, I'd like to I'd 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 Political Morning Consult found forty nine percent of registered voters disagreeing with the statement Joe Biden is mentally fit. Not even a majority of Democrats who responded strongly affirmed that statement. We'll let you all make the judge more than the correct. Well, so the question I have for you, sir, if you'd let me finish, 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, no idea, Yes, sir, Thanks mister President. I appreciate it. I wanted to sort of address or ask about attention that's sways been 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've talked about sort of a different posture with Republicans, and I wonder if you still think it's possible to do both of those things. We have to we have to let me. I'm not good as long as that whole public office. I'm going to continue to attempt to do both things. More follow up around this time last year, when you were campaigning in Georgia. I think one of the things you told people was the power is literally in your hands. You know, if if voters give Democrats the House and the Senate and the presidency, that all these big things can get accomplished. And you know, we've seen stalemate, we've seen things being stymied. Um, why should folks believe you this time around? Can you think if any of their president has done as much in one year? I'm asking you, I'm serious. You guys talk about how nothing's happened. I don't think there's been much on any incoming president's plate. It's been a bigger menu than the plate I had given to me. Not complaining, do that running in And the fact of the matter is we've got an awful lot done, an awful lot done, and there's more to get done. But look, let's let me ask a rhetorical question. No, I won't anyway, Yeah, thank you, Yes, I do you careful? Don't get hurt me? No, No, I'm going to take a miss the president. Thank you. Sebastian Smith from AFP. Another question on Ukraine. Ukraine boarders four NATO member countries. How cans do you? Are you concerned that a real conflagration in Ukraine if the Russians really go in there, but it could suck in NATO countries that are on the border and you end up with an actual NATO Russia confrontation of some kind. And secondly, are you entertaining the thoughts of a summit with Vladimir Putin as a way to perhaps try and put this whole thing to bed, address that concerns and negotiate a way out of this. The last part, the last question. Yes, when we talked about whether or not we'd fixed the three meetings, we talked about and we talked about we would go from there if there was reason too 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. Number two, I am very concerned. I'm very concerned that this could end up being Look, the only ward that's worse than one that's intended is one that's unintended. And what I'm concerned about is this could get out of hand, very easily, get out of hand because of what you said the borders of the Ukraine and what Russian may or may not do. I am hoping that Vladimir Putin understands that he is short of a full blown nuclear war, he's not a very good position to dominate the world, and so I don't think he thinks that. But it is a concern, and that's why we have to be very careful about how we move forward and make it clear to him that there are there are praises to pay that could in fact cost his country an awful lot. But I of course you have to be concerned when you have, you know, nuclear power invaded if he invades. It hasn't happened since World War Two. This is the most consequential things happened in the world in terms of war and peace since Wear two. Yes, nearly two years have passed since the beginning of the global coronavirus outbreak. And you again today acknowledge that Americans are frustrated and they're 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, Well, the answer is I hope the new normal will be that we don't have still have thirty somebody and people not vaccinated. I hope the new normal is people have seen in what their own interest is and have taken advantage of the of what we have available to us. Number two, with the pill, that is a problem that appears to be as efficacious as it seems to be, that they're 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't get self, you don't get very sick. Number Three. I would hope that what happens is the rest of the world does what I'm doing and provides significant amounts of the vaccine to the rest of the world, because it's not sufficient that we just have this country not have the virus or be able to control the virus, but that you can't pull the wall high enough to keep a new variant out. So it requires one of the things that I want to do, and we're contemplating figuring out how to do. Not we are contemplating how to get done, and that is how do we move in a direction where the world itself is vaccinated. It's not enough just to vaccinate three hundred and forty million fully vaccinate three hundred forty million people in the United States. That's not enough. It's not enough to do it new we have to do it, and we have to do a lot more that we're doing now. And that's why we have continued to keep the commitment of providing vaccines and available tours for the rest of the world as well. And if I could, sir, and I should have said this before. Francesca Chambers McClatchy, how do you plan to win back moderates and independence who cast a ballot for you in twenty twenty, but Poles indicate aren't happy with the way you're doing your job now. I don't believe the polls. Well, why don't you just go down? Thank you, mister President. To follow up on some of the questions about the vaccination program, You've given dozens of speeches this year urging Americans to get vaccinated. You've talked to reluctant Republicans, You've said it's people's patriotic duty. 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't have access to the vaccine. Can you speak to frustrated parents a little bit about why that continues to be the case and win that might change because the science hasn't reached the point where they convinced that, in fact, it is safe. So that's what they're doing now. You could have asked me that I got asked that question about three months ago about people between the ages of you know, seven and twelve. Well, it's finally they've got to the point where they felt secure in the number of tests they had done and the test they had run that it was safe. So it will come. It will come, but I can't I'm not a scientist. I can't tell you when. But it is really very important that we get down that next piece. One more follow up on billback better. When you said it's going to likely be broken up into chunks, you mentioned that the climate pieces seem to have broad support. You mentioned the Center Mansion as a supporter of early childcare. You left out the child tax credit, and I wonder if it's fair to read between the lines and assume that that is a piece, given Center Mansion's opposition to it, that the extension of that is likely one of those components that may have to wait until sometime. Really big components that I feel strongly about that I'm not sure I can get in the package. One is the childcare tax credit. The other is help for cost of community colleges. They are massive things that I've run on, I care a great deal about, and I'm going to keep coming back at whatever for I get to be able to try to get chunks or all of that done. Yes, sir, next man, next year left. Thank you, mister President. My name is Perro about Univisional National News. This is actually my first press conference here. As good to meet you in person. We always have long, awesome, awesome. 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're planning on traveling also to South America and all countries in the in the Western hemisphere, given the fact that China has has gained a lot of influence in the region. And the second question is what will be your message for residents in this country that are struggling every time they go to the gas station and every time they go to the grocery store and see the prices going high and the pharmacy. I happen to come from South Texas. What I saw a lot of a lot of people struggling financially in the last few months, and so I think you, I wonder what is the message you want to spread to them? Well, I try to express I've asked trying to answer that seven different ways today about how to deal with inflation. But let me answer the first question. I spent a lot of time in South America and in Latin America. When I was Vice president. I spent the bulk of my years basically in Europe and or in Latin America. I'm in contact with the leaders of the countries in South America. We're working closely with making sure that we do everything, for example, to deal with helping the countries in questions, particularly those in Central America, to be able to help them with their ability to deal with the people. Don't sit around and bottom all and say I got a great idea. Let's sell everything we have, give them money to a coyote, take us across a terribly dangerous trip up through Central America and up through Mexico, and drop us to speak us across the border, drop us in the desert. Won't that be fun? People lead because they have real problems. And one of the things I've done when I was a vice president got support with although I don't have much Republican support anymore, has provide billions of dollars to be able to say to those countries, why are people leaving and how are you going to reform your own system? And that's we've worked on a long time. It still needs a lot more work, and we're focusing on that. I also believe I've spent a lot of time talking about and dealing with policy having to do with Mudua, who is a little more than a dictator right now, and the same thing in Chile and and not the same thing, but with Chile as well as Argentina. 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 not united, a democratic chemisphere. And we were moving in the right direction under the last administration, the Obama Biden administration, but so much damage was done as a consequence to the foreign policy decisions the last president made in Latin America, Central American, South America, that we now have. When I call for some of the democracies, I call that, and a number of nations showed up for this, some of the democration. What is it that's going to allow us to generate We've actually had a reduction in the number of democracies in the world, and it seems to me there's nothing more important. We used to talk about when I was a kid in college about America's backyard. It's not America's backyard, said, everything south of the Mexican border is America's front yard. And we're equal people. We don't dictate what happens in any other part of this convent or the South American content. We have to work very hard on it. But the trouble is we're having great difficulty making up for the mistakes and we made the last four years, and it's going to take some time. Yes, so down on the back and then I'll go to this side. Okay, thank you, mister President, Alexander and Azaria and Yahoo News, and thank you for holding this press conference. I hope there's more of them. Anytime you have extra three hours we can do. We'll stay for a couple more. You said you were surprised by Republican instruction of your agenda, but didn't the gew if you 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? First of all, right, the president. Uh, well, is about five minutes left that we're not going to get to because we took a break at the top of the final hour of the program today. Um, this is the longest, most painful interview I have ever seen or press conference in my life. It is beyond humiliating, it is embarrassing. UM, I am just I don't even want my mind to go where world leaders are watching this and what they're thinking about this. And there's so much, so many details that I will deal with. James Rosen's questions about, yeah, majority don't think you're mentally fit? Why do people feel this way? Just watch a press conference and listen to it, And he got cognitively worse as it went on throughout the two hours. Well at full coverage tonight, ninety Eastern on Hannity. Full coverage here tomorrow. Thank you for being with us, and wow, we have a lot to talk about

So we continue Joe Biden's second official press conference, picking it off up exactly where he left off, and it's still ongoing, and we'll continue our full coverage these these unconstitutional efforts, in our view on constus efforts on the part of the Republicans to stack the election and subvert the outcomes. We have began to organize in ways that we didn't before, the communities beyond the civil rights community, to make the case to the rest of the American people what's about to happen, what will happen if in fact these things move forward. If I had talked to you, not you, I'm using you in a toosin so, if I've 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 have looked at me like, WHOA I mean? I caught talk constitution law for twenty years, a three credit course in Separation of Powers and on Saturday mornings when I was editor, and I never thought we'd get a new place where where we were talking about being able to actually what they tried to do this last time out send different electors to the state legislative bodies to represent who won the election, saying that I didn't win but Republican candidate one. I doubt if anybody thought that would ever happen in America in the twenty first century. But it's happening, and so I think, I guess what I'm saying is, Nancy, is that I think that there are a number of things we can do. But I also think we will be able to get significant pieces of the legislation if we don't get it all now to build to get it so that we get a big chunk of the John Lewis legislation as well as the fair Elections pass on COVID. If you don't mind you tell to the number of Americans who are now fully vaccinated with two shots. But even some of your own medical advisors say that people aren't fully protected unless they have that third shot, a booster. Why hasn't this White House changed the definition of fully vaccinated to include that third booster shot? Is it because the numbers of fully vaccinated Americans would suddenly look a lot less. Oh, it's not that at all. This has become clear and clear. And every time I speak, if I say, if you've been vaccinated. Get your booster shot. Everybody, get the booster shot. It's the optimum protection you could have. You're protected very well with two shots. If it's the visor anyway, you're protected, but you are better protected with the booster shot. The definition right now, I'm following what the answer is. Yes, get the booster shot. It's fall part of the same thing. You're better protected. Okay, alex Alper Reuters, Thank you, mister President. I wanted to follow up briefly on a question asked by Bloomberg. You said that Russia would be held accountable if it invades, and it depends on what it does. It's one thing if it's a minor incursion and we end up having to fight about what to do and what not to do. 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 Putent permission to make a small incursion into the country. Good question. So I did chidn't the most important thing to do Big Nations camp bluff number one number two, the idea that we would do anything to split NATO, which would be a profound impact on one of I think from an impact on one of Putin's objectives, to weaken NATO would be a big mistake. So the question is if it's a something significantly short of a significant invasion or not even significant, a major military forces coming across, for example, it's one thing to determine that if they continue to use a cyber efference, well we can respond the same way a cyber They have fsp people in Ukraine now trying to undermine the solidarity within Ukraine about Russia and to try to promote Russian interest. But it's very important that that we keep everyone in NATO on the same page. And that's what I'm 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 the degree to which they were able to go. 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 a devastating impact on Russian And so I got to make sure everybody's in the same page as we move along. I think we will. If there's something that is that where there's Russian fu forces crossing the border killing Ukrainian fighters, etc. I think that changes everything. But it depends on what he does. Is the actually what extent we're going to be able to get total unity on the Russia on the NATO front. 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's possible to reach a deal for both sides to resume compliance with the Irun nuclear deal, or if it's time to give up on that. Thank you, in a reverse, it's not time to give up. There is some progress being made. The P five plus one is on the same page, but it remains me seen. Okay, Kristen NBC very quickly on Russia. I do have a number of domestic policy issues, but 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 said, look, the only thing I'm confident of is that decision is totally, solely, completely putin decision. Nobody else is going to make that decision. No one else is going to impact that decision. He's making that decision, and I suspect it matters which side of the bet he gets up on in the morning as to exactly what he's going to do. And I think it is not irrational if he wanted to to talk about dealing with strategic doctrine and dealing with four structures in Europe in the European parts of Russia. But I don't know whether he's decided he wants to do that or not so far, and the three meetings we've had ossee anyway, 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's a question of whether the people they're talking to know what he is going to do. So the answer is, but based on a number of criteria as to what he could do. For example, for him to move in and copy the whole country, particularly from the north from Belarus's, he's gonna have to wait a little bit to the grounds frozen, spaking Koff to move in a direction where he wants to talk about what's going we have. We're continuing to provide for defense capacities to the Ukrainians. We're talking about what's going on in both the Baltic and the Black Sea, etc. There's a whole range of things that I'm sure he's trying to calculate how quickly he can do what he wants to do and what does he want to do. But he's not He's an informed individual, and I'm sure, I'm sure I believe he's calculating what the immediate, short term and the near term and the long term consequences of Russia will be. And I don't think he's made up his mind it. I want to ask you about your domestic agenda. You've gotten a lot of questions about voting rights, mister President, but I want to ask you about black voters, one of your most loyal constituencies. I was in Congressman Clyburne's 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're 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. 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. I've had their back. I've had their back my entire career. I've never not had their back. And I started on the voting rights issues long long ago. This what got me involved in politics in the first place. And I think part of the problem is look significant disagreement in every community on whether or not the timing of assertions made by people has been in the most timely way. So I'm sure that there are those who are saying that why didn't Biden push John Lewis Bill as hard as he pushed it the last month, Why didn't he push it six months ago as hard as he did? Now? The fact is that there is there's a timing that is not of one's own choice. That's sort of what dictated by events that are happening in country and around the world as to what the focus is. But part of the problem is as well, I have not been out in the community nearly enough. I've been here. I'm awful lot. I find myself in a situation where I don't 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've 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. For example, I mean, as I pointed out in South Carolina, you know, last time when I was Chairman of Diciary Community, I got the Voting Rights Act extended for twenty five years, and I got strong thermon to vote for it. That's what I've been doing my whole career. And so the idea that I that I didn't either anticipate or because I didn't speak to it as fervently as they want me to. Earlier in the meantime, I was spending a lot of time, 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 anyway. So but I think that's that's 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. So it's like every community. I'm sure that there are those in the community, and I'm I'm a big labor guy. I'm sure there's people in labor saying, why haven't able him to do ABC or D. So it's just going to take a little bit of time. You're you put Vice President Harris in charge of voting rights. Are you satisfied with her work on this issue? And can you guarantee do you commit that she will be your running mate in twenty twenty four provided that you run again? Yes? And yes? Okay, you don't care to expand fin do you care to expand? Oh, there's no need to do. I mean I asked you quite she's gonna be my running mate number one and number two. I did put her in charge. I think she's doing a good job. Let me ask you big picture, particularly when you think about voting rights and the struggles you've 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 whole soul was in bringing America together, uniting our people. 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. 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 Number one, anybody who listened to the speech, I did not say that they were going to be a George Wallace or a Bull Connor. I said, We're gonna have a decision in history that is going to be marked just like it was. Then you either voted on the side I did make you George Wallace or didn't make you Bull Connor. But if you did not vote for the voting right jack back, then you were voting with those who agreed with Connor, those who agreed with and so. And I think Mitch did a real good job of making it sound like I was attacking them. If you notice, I haven't attacked anybody publicly, any Senator, any any any any any Congressman publicly, and my disagreements with them have been made to them, communicate to them privately or in person with them. My desire still is. Look, I underestimated one very important thing. I never thought that the Republicans, like, for example, I said, they got very upset. I said verse sixteen members of the president United States Senate who voted to extend the Voting Rates Act. Now they got very offended by that. I would at an accusation to state, in effect, what has changed, what happened, what happened? Why is it not a single Republican, not one that's not the Republican Party, So that's not an attack the country. Is the country more unified than when you first took office? The answer is based on some of the stuff we've got done. I'd say yes, but it's not nearly unified as it should be. Look, I still contend, and I know you'll have a right to judge me by this, I still contend that unless you can reach consensus in a democracy, you cannot sustain the democracy. And so this is a real test whether or not. My counterpart in China is right or not when he says autocracies are the only thing that are going to prevail because democracies take too too long to make decisions and countries are too divided. I believe we're going through one of those inflection points in history that occurs every several generations. Are even more than that, even more time than that, where things are changing, almost regardless of any particular policy. The world's changing in big ways. We're going to see if you heard me say this before, we're going to see more change in the next ten years. We've signed the last fifty years because of technology, because of fundamental alterations and alliances that are occurring, not because of anyone individuals, just because of the nature of things. And so I think you're 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 on how to proceed. It's going to be hard. It's going to be hard, but it requires and requires leadership to do it. And I'm not giving up in the prospect of being able to do that. Thank you, Thank you, sir. There are deep questions among Americans about the competence of government, from the messy rollout of five G this week to the Afghanistan with draw to testing on COVID. What have you done to restore Americans faith in the competence of government? And are you satisfied by the view of the competence of your government? Look, I stake Afghanistan. I know you all would like to focus on that which is legitimate. We were spending trillion dollars a week, I mean a billion dollars a week in Afghanistan for twenty years. Raise your hand if you think anyone was going to be able to unify Afghanistan under one single government. It's been the graveyard of empires for a solid reason. It is not susceptible to unity number one. 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 other than sending more bodybags back home is highly, highly unusual. My dad used to have an expression and say, son, if everything's equally important to you, nothing's important to you. There is no way to get out of Afghanistan after twenty years easily not possible, no matter when you did it. And I make no apologies to what I did. 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, and I think you will, who know a lot about foreign policy, that had we stayed and I had not pull those troops out, we would be asked to put somewhere between twenty and fifty thousand more troops in because the only reason more Americans weren't being killed in others is because the last presidents signed an agreement to get out by May the first, and so everything was copathetic. Had we not gotten out, and the acknowledgement is we'd be putting a lot more forces in now. Am I do I feel badly what's happening to as a consequence of the incompetence of the Taliban, Yes, I do, But I feel badly also about the fishlists that are taking place in eastern Congo. I feel badly about a whole range of things around the world that we can't solve every problem, and so I don't view that as a competence issue, the issue of whether or not there's competence in terms of whether or not we're dealing with five G or nine. We don't deal with five G. The fact is that you had two enterprises, two private enterprises that had one promoting five G and the other winner airlines or private enterprises, they have government regulation busiedly, and so what I've done is pushed as hard as I can to have five DE folks hold up and abide by what was being requested by the airlines until they could more modernize over the years so that five G would not interfere with the potential of the landing. So any tower, any five G tower within certain number of miles in the airport should not be operative. And that's and so I understand. But anything that happens is consequential is viewed as the government's responsibility. I get that. Am I satisfied with the way in which we have dealt with COVID and all the things that go along with that? Yeah, I am satisfied. I think we've done remarkably well. You know, the idea that on testing we've done, we should have done it quicker, but we've done remarkable. Since then, what we have is we have more testing going on than anywhere in the world, and we're going to continue to increase that. 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 what everything else is going on. I don't view that as somehow a market incompetence. Look think of what we did on COVID when we were pushing on astro'sennikette to provide more vaccines. Who guess what, they didn't have the machine rey to be able to do it. So I physically went to Michigan, stood there in a factory with the head of the astrosennikette and said, we'll provide the machine before you. This is what we'll do. We'll help you do it so you can't produce this vaccine more rapidly. I think that's pretty hands on stuff. We also said, right now, when people of the hospitalizations are overrunning hospitals and you have docs and nurses out because of COVID, they have COVID, we put thousands of people back in those hospitals. Look at all then all the military personnel we have there. First responders. Nobody is ever organized, Nobody is ever organized a strategic operation to get as many shots and arms by opening clinics and keeping them being able to get so many people vaccinated. What I'm doing now is not just getting significant amounts of vaccines to the rest of the world, but they now need the mechanical way is how they get shots and arms. So we're providing them to know how to do that now. It should everybody in American know that. No, they don't necessarily know that. They're just trying to figure out how to put three squares on the table and stay safe. But so I do think the place where I was a little disappointed. I wish we could have written it differently 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. Some of them didn't do a very good job. Some are still holding the money. I don't have the authority do anything about that. I think that's not particularly competent. There's things that could and should have been done. It could have moved faster, So I understand the frustration, you know, I remember, I think it was forget what cabinet members saying to Barack Obama where something was going on, and he said, well, are you going to be sure, mister President, are the millions of employees you have out there? Somebody's screwing up right now, somebody's screwing up. So you know, it's just a 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? I don't know how we can say it's not. I understand the overwhelming frustration, fear, and concern with regard to inflation and COVID. I get it with the idea. If I told you and we started a totally gonna do first year, I'm going to create over six hundred or six million jobs. I'm going to get unemployment down to three point nine percent, I'm going to generate and I named it all. You look at me like you're nuts. Maybe I'm wrong President, at least in our recent memory, with as much Washington experience as you entered this office with. But yet after we sit here for more than an hour, I'm not sure I've heard you say if you would do anything differently in the second year of your term. Do you plan to do anything different? Look, the thing, I have to be satisfied with your team here at the White House. I'm satisfied with the team. There's three things that I'm going to do now that I will now that I've gotten the critical crises out of the way in the sense of that movement, knowing exactly where we're going. Number One, I'm going out of this place more often. I'm going to go out and talk to the public. I'm going to do public flora. I'm going to interface with them. I'm going to make the cases what we've already done, why it's important, and what we'll do if what will happen if they've support, what else I want to do. Number Two, I'm bringing in more and more now that they have time. I mean literally, like you, it's I'm not complaining, it's you know, twelve to fourteen hours a day, no complaints. I really mean it's necesarily. But now that certain of the big chunks have been put in place and we know the direction, I'm also going to be out there seeking the more advice of experts outside from academia to editorial writers to think tanks, and I'm bringing them in just like I did early on, bringing in presidents and 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't be doing. And the third thing that I'm going to be doing a lot more of is being in a situation where I'm able to bring I'm going to be deeply involved in these off your elections. We're going to be raising a lot of money. We're going to be out there making sure that we're helping all of those candidates and sports them. Will already asked me to commit and campaign with them, to go out and make the case in plain, simple language as to what it is we've done, what we want to do, and why we think it's important. How many more hours am I doing this? I'm happy to stick around. You will always ask me the nicest questions. I know you do, all right, none of them make a lot of sense to me, But I well, let's let's try away. Come on, new year. Why are you trying so hard in your first year to pull the country so far to the left. Well, I'm not. I don't know what you consider to be too far to the left, if in fact we're 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 working class people, but make them they have to continue to work hard. I don't know how that is pointed to the the left. If you may recall, you guys have been trying to convince me that I am Bernie Sanders. I'm not. I like them, but I'm not Bernie Sanders. I'm not a socialist. I'm a mainstream and I have been in mainstream. Democrats have overwhelmed. If you notice the forty eight of the fifty Republican Democrats supported me and a Senate I'm virtually everything I've asked, Yes, sir, I want to be play a moment ago, you were asked whether or not you believed that we would have free and fair elections in twenty twenty two if some of these state legislators reforms their voting protocols. You said that it depends. Do you do you think that they would in any way be illegitimate Oh yeah, I think it easy to be illegitimate. Imagine Imagine if, in fact, Trump has succeeded in convincing tends to not count the votes. Imagine if, in regards to twenty twenty two, sir, I mean, imagine if those attempts to say that the count was not legit, you have to recount it, and we're not going to account. We're going to discard the following votes. I mean, sure, I'm not saying it's going to be legits. The increase in the prospect of being illegitimate is a direct proportion that's not being able to get these these reforms passed. But I don't think you're going to see You're not going to see me, and I don't think you're going to see the Democratic Party give up on coming back at assuming that the attempt fails today. And then one more sir um. You know you talk, 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 Bull Conner or George Wallace, but you said that they would be sort of in the same camp. No, I didn't 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. And that is an interesting reading in English. I assume you got into into journals because you like to write. So did you expect that that would work with Senator's mansion or cinema. No, here's the thing. There's certain things that are so consequential. You have to speak from your heart as well as your head. I was speaking out forcefully on what I think to be at stake. That's what it is. And by the way, no one, no one forgets who was on the side of key or verse On or bull Connor. No one not done. The history books will note it. And when I was making the case, don't think this is a freebee. You don't get to vote this way and then somehow it goes the way. This will be stick with you the rest of your career and long after you're gone. And mister president, folks, I'm okay, whoa, whoa, hang on, guys, we've only gone an hour and twenty minutes. I'll keep going. But I got but I'm gonna go. Let me get let me get something straight here. How long are you guys ready to go? You want to go for another hour or two? Okay, I'm gonna go. I tell you what, folks, Uh, I'm gonna go another twenty minutes to a quarter of Okay, yes, sir President. I want to thank my communication staff for the great help here well, President Biden. On the coronavir we're tragically approaching nearly one million Americans who died, and I'd like to ask you why it is during your three and a half hour virtual summit in November with the Chinese president you didn't press for transparency and also whether that has anything to do with your son's involvement in an investment firm controlled by Chinese state owned entities. The answer is that we did. I did raise the question of transparency. I spent a lot of time with him, and the fact is that they're they're just not being transparent transparency on the coronavirus origins. Yes, and you did virtual summit. Is there a reason your press staff was unaware of that? And what did you say to the Chinese president? And they weren't with me? The entire time. Look, I made it clear, and 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. Yes, as a 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, the catastrophic war in Yemen. You appointed a special envoy. Today one of your allies you're not Arab Emirates, is asking your administration to put back the hoothy rebels or militias back on the terror list. Are you going to do that and how are you going to end the war in Yemen? Sir? The answer is it's under consideration, and any in the war in Yemen takes the two parties to be involved to do it, and it's going to be very difficult. Yes, thank you very much for this honor. James Rosen with NEWSMAX, I'd like to I'd 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 Political Morning Consult found forty nine percent of registered voters disagreeing with the statement Joe Biden is mentally fit. Not even a majority of Democrats who responded strongly affirmed that statement. We'll let you all make the judge more than the correct. Well, so the question I have for you, sir, if you'd let me finish, 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, no idea, Yes, sir, Thanks mister President. I appreciate it. I wanted to sort of address or ask about attention that's sways been 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've talked about sort of a different posture with Republicans, and I wonder if you still think it's possible to do both of those things. We have to we have to let me. I'm not good as long as that whole public office. I'm going to continue to attempt to do both things. More follow up around this time last year, when you were campaigning in Georgia. I think one of the things you told people was the power is literally in your hands. You know, if if voters give Democrats the House and the Senate and the presidency, that all these big things can get accomplished. And you know, we've seen stalemate, we've seen things being stymied. Um, why should folks believe you this time around? Can you think if any of their president has done as much in one year? I'm asking you, I'm serious. You guys talk about how nothing's happened. I don't think there's been much on any incoming president's plate. It's been a bigger menu than the plate I had given to me. Not complaining, do that running in And the fact of the matter is we've got an awful lot done, an awful lot done, and there's more to get done. But look, let's let me ask a rhetorical question. No, I won't anyway, Yeah, thank you, Yes, I do you careful? Don't get hurt me? No, No, I'm going to take a miss the president. Thank you. Sebastian Smith from AFP. Another question on Ukraine. Ukraine boarders four NATO member countries. How cans do you? Are you concerned that a real conflagration in Ukraine if the Russians really go in there, but it could suck in NATO countries that are on the border and you end up with an actual NATO Russia confrontation of some kind. And secondly, are you entertaining the thoughts of a summit with Vladimir Putin as a way to perhaps try and put this whole thing to bed, address that concerns and negotiate a way out of this. The last part, the last question. Yes, when we talked about whether or not we'd fixed the three meetings, we talked about and we talked about we would go from there if there was reason too 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. Number two, I am very concerned. I'm very concerned that this could end up being Look, the only ward that's worse than one that's intended is one that's unintended. And what I'm concerned about is this could get out of hand, very easily, get out of hand because of what you said the borders of the Ukraine and what Russian may or may not do. I am hoping that Vladimir Putin understands that he is short of a full blown nuclear war, he's not a very good position to dominate the world, and so I don't think he thinks that. But it is a concern, and that's why we have to be very careful about how we move forward and make it clear to him that there are there are praises to pay that could in fact cost his country an awful lot. But I of course you have to be concerned when you have, you know, nuclear power invaded if he invades. It hasn't happened since World War Two. This is the most consequential things happened in the world in terms of war and peace since Wear two. Yes, nearly two years have passed since the beginning of the global coronavirus outbreak. And you again today acknowledge that Americans are frustrated and they're 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, Well, the answer is I hope the new normal will be that we don't have still have thirty somebody and people not vaccinated. I hope the new normal is people have seen in what their own interest is and have taken advantage of the of what we have available to us. Number two, with the pill, that is a problem that appears to be as efficacious as it seems to be, that they're 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't get self, you don't get very sick. Number Three. I would hope that what happens is the rest of the world does what I'm doing and provides significant amounts of the vaccine to the rest of the world, because it's not sufficient that we just have this country not have the virus or be able to control the virus, but that you can't pull the wall high enough to keep a new variant out. So it requires one of the things that I want to do, and we're contemplating figuring out how to do. Not we are contemplating how to get done, and that is how do we move in a direction where the world itself is vaccinated. It's not enough just to vaccinate three hundred and forty million fully vaccinate three hundred forty million people in the United States. That's not enough. It's not enough to do it new we have to do it, and we have to do a lot more that we're doing now. And that's why we have continued to keep the commitment of providing vaccines and available tours for the rest of the world as well. And if I could, sir, and I should have said this before. Francesca Chambers McClatchy, how do you plan to win back moderates and independence who cast a ballot for you in twenty twenty, but Poles indicate aren't happy with the way you're doing your job now. I don't believe the polls. Well, why don't you just go down? Thank you, mister President. To follow up on some of the questions about the vaccination program, You've given dozens of speeches this year urging Americans to get vaccinated. You've talked to reluctant Republicans, You've said it's people's patriotic duty. 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't have access to the vaccine. Can you speak to frustrated parents a little bit about why that continues to be the case and win that might change because the science hasn't reached the point where they convinced that, in fact, it is safe. So that's what they're doing now. You could have asked me that I got asked that question about three months ago about people between the ages of you know, seven and twelve. Well, it's finally they've got to the point where they felt secure in the number of tests they had done and the test they had run that it was safe. So it will come. It will come, but I can't I'm not a scientist. I can't tell you when. But it is really very important that we get down that next piece. One more follow up on billback better. When you said it's going to likely be broken up into chunks, you mentioned that the climate pieces seem to have broad support. You mentioned the Center Mansion as a supporter of early childcare. You left out the child tax credit, and I wonder if it's fair to read between the lines and assume that that is a piece, given Center Mansion's opposition to it, that the extension of that is likely one of those components that may have to wait until sometime. Really big components that I feel strongly about that I'm not sure I can get in the package. One is the childcare tax credit. The other is help for cost of community colleges. They are massive things that I've run on, I care a great deal about, and I'm going to keep coming back at whatever for I get to be able to try to get chunks or all of that done. Yes, sir, next man, next year left. Thank you, mister President. My name is Perro about Univisional National News. This is actually my first press conference here. As good to meet you in person. We always have long, awesome, awesome. 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're planning on traveling also to South America and all countries in the in the Western hemisphere, given the fact that China has has gained a lot of influence in the region. And the second question is what will be your message for residents in this country that are struggling every time they go to the gas station and every time they go to the grocery store and see the prices going high and the pharmacy. I happen to come from South Texas. What I saw a lot of a lot of people struggling financially in the last few months, and so I think you, I wonder what is the message you want to spread to them? Well, I try to express I've asked trying to answer that seven different ways today about how to deal with inflation. But let me answer the first question. I spent a lot of time in South America and in Latin America. When I was Vice president. I spent the bulk of my years basically in Europe and or in Latin America. I'm in contact with the leaders of the countries in South America. We're working closely with making sure that we do everything, for example, to deal with helping the countries in questions, particularly those in Central America, to be able to help them with their ability to deal with the people. Don't sit around and bottom all and say I got a great idea. Let's sell everything we have, give them money to a coyote, take us across a terribly dangerous trip up through Central America and up through Mexico, and drop us to speak us across the border, drop us in the desert. Won't that be fun? People lead because they have real problems. And one of the things I've done when I was a vice president got support with although I don't have much Republican support anymore, has provide billions of dollars to be able to say to those countries, why are people leaving and how are you going to reform your own system? And that's we've worked on a long time. It still needs a lot more work, and we're focusing on that. I also believe I've spent a lot of time talking about and dealing with policy having to do with Mudua, who is a little more than a dictator right now, and the same thing in Chile and and not the same thing, but with Chile as well as Argentina. 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 not united, a democratic chemisphere. And we were moving in the right direction under the last administration, the Obama Biden administration, but so much damage was done as a consequence to the foreign policy decisions the last president made in Latin America, Central American, South America, that we now have. When I call for some of the democracies, I call that, and a number of nations showed up for this, some of the democration. What is it that's going to allow us to generate We've actually had a reduction in the number of democracies in the world, and it seems to me there's nothing more important. We used to talk about when I was a kid in college about America's backyard. It's not America's backyard, said, everything south of the Mexican border is America's front yard. And we're equal people. We don't dictate what happens in any other part of this convent or the South American content. We have to work very hard on it. But the trouble is we're having great difficulty making up for the mistakes and we made the last four years, and it's going to take some time. Yes, so down on the back and then I'll go to this side. Okay, thank you, mister President, Alexander and Azaria and Yahoo News, and thank you for holding this press conference. I hope there's more of them. Anytime you have extra three hours we can do. We'll stay for a couple more. You said you were surprised by Republican instruction of your agenda, but didn't the gew if you 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? First of all, right, the president. Uh, well, is about five minutes left that we're not going to get to because we took a break at the top of the final hour of the program today. Um, this is the longest, most painful interview I have ever seen or press conference in my life. It is beyond humiliating, it is embarrassing. UM, I am just I don't even want my mind to go where world leaders are watching this and what they're thinking about this. And there's so much, so many details that I will deal with. James Rosen's questions about, yeah, majority don't think you're mentally fit? Why do people feel this way? Just watch a press conference and listen to it, And he got cognitively worse as it went on throughout the two hours. Well at full coverage tonight, ninety Eastern on Hannity. Full coverage here tomorrow. Thank you for being with us, and wow, we have a lot to talk about