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Biden Pitches Country On COVID Relief Deal At CNN Town Hall; United States Averaging Vaccinating 1.7 Million Americans Per Day; Joe Biden: COVID Rescue Package Will Create 7 Million Jobs; Joe Biden: "I'm Tired Of Talking About Trump"; Trump Rips Into McConnell Exposing Rift Over GOP's Future. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired February 17, 2021 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[12:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN KING, CNN HOST: Hello to our viewers in the United States and around the world and welcome to Inside Politics. I'm John King in Washington. Thank you for sharing your day with us.

The Biden COVID response team just wrapped a new briefing, new infections, hospitalizations and deaths all trending down and significantly so let's supply issues. And now punishing winter weather is complicating the urgent goal of accelerating the COVID vaccine rollout.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF ZIENTS, WHITE HOUSE COVID-19 RESPONSE COORDINATOR: The weather is having an impact. It's having an impact on distribution and deliveries of certain parts of the country, Texas being one of them where vaccination sites are understandably closed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Getting more COVID vaccine shots into arms ASAP is just one of many important promises the new president made at a CNN Town Hall last night. Go big on stimulus was the Biden mantra yes to supporting a $15 minimum wage.

But the new president says he's open to listening to small business worries no to defending the police and no to telling his justice department who it should and should not prosecute. Yes the president says to a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

Four weeks in last night was a telling look at the new president's communication style. Not long before Joe Biden took the Milwaukee stage. His bellicose predecessor unleashed a trademark rant insulting the Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell as weak and as inept.

Biden made clear that to him Trump is he who shall not be named and definitely who he - who must not be emulated. Decency and respect are back in the West Wing. Back in West Wing style the new president promised and he drew approval from the audience when he said the American people deserve more attention than their president.

One of the Town Hall was to sell his big COVID relief package. The president repeatedly touted its pieces, unemployment aid, and small business health grace for those behind on their rent or their mortgage. But it was noteworthy that he rarely made specific appeals for votes in congress or for Americans to pick up the phone or get on email and nudge their lawmakers.

The president's empathy took center stage including when he calmed the nerves of an adorable eight year old girl worried about the virus. Calming a nation on edge is now part of his big first test. And last night the president gave new benchmarks on three pressing pandemic questions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: By the end of July we'll have over 600 million doses enough to vaccinate every single American.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: So when do you think that would be k through eight days a week, five days a week if possible?

BIDEN: I think we'll be close to that at the end of the first 100 days a year from now. I think that there be significantly fewer people having to be socially distance have to wear a mask has said but we don't know. So I don't want to over promise anything here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: You heard the president right there says he doesn't want to over promise. But he is a bit more optimistic because the numbers are getting better with some important caveats. Let's walk through some of the numbers. Number one, you look at the state by state trend.

We talked for months about how orange and red were horrible. Well green is good. Green means trending in the right direction. 45 states now trending down fewer COVID infections now compared to the data one week ago, green is what you want on this map.

45 states heading down two steady three heading in the wrong direction. Forgive me for tapping on that there. You come across here now and you look at this. This red line diving down that is exactly what you want again diving from a horrific starting point of way up here the winter peak.

But coming down now 62,398 new infections reported across the United States yesterday you see it up at the top five straight days now five straight days of being below 100,000 new infections. The case count heading in the right direction when the case count heads down, hospitalizations head down it's a lagging indicator.

But finally the death trend also trending down 17,056 Americans dying of COVID yesterday, every one of them one too many but you see from 3000 and 4000 finally, this number starting to head in the right direction. The challenge is to keep it going that way. This still it is numbing to see.

We ended yesterday at 488,000 American deaths 500,000 in the not too distant future. Think about that. That's Raleigh, North Carolina, Kansas City, Missouri, wiped out by the COVID pandemic horrific even as the numbers continue to get a little bit better now.

If you look at the vaccine map right now, this is the percentages you see here is the percent of the population that is fully vaccinated. Remember it takes two doses of the vaccine to be fully vaccinated. 71 almost 72 million doses distributed 55.2 million administered.

You see Alaska 8.3 percent fully vaccinated West Virginia 8 percent fully vaccinated in most states in the three and 4 percent some pushing up toward five and six. As we watched the vaccine rollout plays out. This is incredible.

And if you look at the pace of it the Biden team is making progress, no doubt. Is it enough the public health experts have a debate. But if you go back to beginning of January when the president took office, it was about 900,000 doses a day.

[12:05:00]

KING: They are now past 1.7 million daily doses here in the United States. But if you listen to the experts, one thing they're cautious about right now is they say yes, this number is getting better. More Americans are getting a vaccine or no they will get one and the days and weeks for some to a couple of months ahead.

Dr. Walensky, the Head of the CDC saying, do not bet on a vaccine to keep driving the case count down, wear your mask and keep your distance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: We're not at the place where we believe that the current level of vaccination is what is driving down the current level of disease. We believe that much of the surge of disease happened related to the holidays related to travel. If you're relying on our current level of vaccination rather than the other mitigation efforts to get us to remain low that we shouldn't rest in our comfort.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: One thing to come out of that new COVID briefing from the Biden team is a new big investment in testing. Let's bring in our CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen for the details. Elizabeth walks us through it.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: John this money really will hopefully make a difference in two different ways. The Biden Administration saying that they are giving hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars for two different kinds of testing and we want to talk about these separately, so we don't confuse them. So the first kind of testing is the COVID testing that we've all

known, I would say no and love that that's probably too strong that we've all known for the better part of a year now. And that is to tell you whether or not you have to have COVID or not.

So $650 million to schools and underserved population to improve testing there and 800 million about for manufacturing and supplies of these tests and then there's the second kind of testing. And that is once you know you have COVID; do you have one of these new variants?

Or do you have sort of the older type of COVID? Do you have a variant or do you not have a variant and that's about 200 million? And here's why they're doing this. Let's take a look at where we are right now with genomic testing.

Right now the U.S. ranks 33rd in the world in the amount of genomic testing that we're doing with genomic testing, you want to do as much as pretty much as much as you can. And we ranked 33rd, we ranked behind Rwanda, Uganda, Sierra Leone places with far fewer resources and there is no reason for that.

So hopefully this $200 million will work. And the hope is, is that instead of doing about 7000 genomic sequencing samples a week in the U.S. it'll get up to something like 25,000. John?

KING: Let's just hope you see - just to see that graphic is stunning if this why is United States of America so far behind on these important testing .Elizabeth Cohen grateful for the reporting and important insights.

The top White House goal for last night's CNN Town Hall was turning questions from everyday Americans into answers that made the case for the president's big Coronavirus relief package. But it took 23 minutes for the president to specifically mention the legislation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: It is estimated that if we pass this bill alone will create 7 million jobs this year. Look at all the people you have over 10 million people unemployed. We need unemployment insurance. We need to make sure that you know you have 40 percent of the children in America talk about food shortage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: With us to share her reporting and our insights, our Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash. It was interesting, fascinating to watch. It's a new president's the first time he's going out in the country first official trip as president completely different from his predecessor and how he communicates. And it was interesting to watch.

I took note that he didn't specifically mention the bill until Anderson asked him about it. 23 minutes in. I found that odd because I remember Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, you go on the road and you're asking people call your Congressman; I need congress to do this. Biden the longtime Senator, see that seems an afterthought to him more

like I'm going to do that on the phone with Senators. My deal here is to talk to you.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes I mean, look I mean, it's not as if his administration, his top aides and he didn't want to sell it. But he clearly went out with a goal first and foremost to connect to the people he was talking to and to genuinely answer the questions that they have.

I mean one woman asked a question about her personal story. And in classic Biden form. She started - he started to answer and then said I'll see you afterwards. I'm going to see if I can, if I can help you. I mean that his constituent services.

But Senator Biden style which is now carrying on to President Biden style but you know, you're absolutely right that it is noteworthy that he didn't hit people over the head with the sales pitch for the legislation. I think that's also in large part because it's quite delicate right now within the Democratic Party.

He's not I mean, certainly he would love to get Republican votes but they're not banking on it by any stretch of the imagination. Now it's about negotiations with moderate Democrats, mostly in the Senate and progressive Democrats mostly in the house.

[12:10:00]

KING: I want to come back to some of the details on that the internal democratic maneuvering he has to do. With the biggest question out there in America one of the biggest questions out there in America, certainly a question we could say comes up at this table is when can my kids go back to school? When will it be safe to kids to go back to school fully? The president made his case last night and the vice president this morning trying to echo that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They are not vaccinated. Is it safe for them?

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Well I think that we have to decide if we can put in place safe measures. This is why it's so important. We pass the American rescue plan.

Why does this connect with what we're talking about right now? It's going to be safer for our schools to reopen when we can get our schools the infrastructure needs like helping them with their ventilation systems, helping them create social distancing with barriers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: It is fast and again the new team to watch them go through how complicated this is. That started with Vice President Harris talking about trying to move teachers up the priority list when it comes to vaccinations. Then you hear a talk about the president's relief package and money for ventilation and spacing kids out in school.

There's nothing that congress can pass in March, there's going to affect schools in April and May. When Joe Biden says get back to school, it just takes a while for the money to get to the pipeline that is much more a next school year question. But they are wrestling with this idea of more federal engagement on the issues. Yes.

But you can't tell a governor to pressure schools, you can't make a mayor cut a deal with the teachers union if that's the issue or whatever. The other issue is to get kids back to school. So they can push and nudge, but they don't have as much control as they might like.

BASH: They don't. And that's one issue that you know, the proposed budget within the new plan that the Biden Administration wants to make law has such a huge amount of money for schools. It's even bigger I believe than the department of education budget.

And the reason for that is many fold. But one of the primary ones is that schools are funded in this country generally locally. And you know by state local taxes by and that way, not by the federal government. And that is also the case largely with policy.

In this particular situation what the Biden Administration is bumping into is their promise throughout the whole campaign and then now to let science lead the way. Well if science, science is not you know affirmative on this. But for the most part studies say that it is safe for these kids to go back to school.

So if you're going to let science lead the way, then you have to really do it even if it means you're going to make some people uncomfortable with regard to opening schools.

KING: That let's come back to the Washington conversation. He was asked last night to support a $15 minimum wage which we know is a source of contention in the bill on Capitol Hill. He said yes. He also said he understands the concerns of small businesses and we should talk this out.

And if it happens it should be gradual. The other issue was he was asked directly by a young woman, would you use your executive power to erase up to $50,000 in student debt. And its rare politicians like to please people. He said no, he said he would do up to $10,000 and believe the rest of that money is better spent on other things already.

Some blowback here in Washington this you can see a tweet from Senator Elizabeth Warren who says that she and the Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have a plan that the president has the authority to do this and he should do it.

So you mentioned this is difficult because they have such four votes despair, five votes despair in the House, no votes despair in the Senate little blowback.

BASH: A little blowback. But this to me is one of the most fascinating political stories that came out of our Town Hall last night. And it is because everybody in this equation is doing something that could actually benefit them politically.

Joe Biden benefits from pushing back against progressives every once in a while if he's trying to make headway across the aisle on other issues and Chuck Schumer who is now you know has put out a statement just an hour ago or not even with Elizabeth Warren, it benefits him to say I want to give the $50,000 forgiveness in debt.

He is worried about a primary challenge in his home state of New York. And one of the people who have talked most about for that is AOC. She is on the forefront of pushing for this student loan forgiveness. So there's so many different dynamics here that this is actually a fight that helps each of them. Even though it looks messy, it helps each of them in their own way.

KING: Well internal Democratic Party chest. Dana is going to stay with us. We'll continue the conversation. Up next the president says he's tired of talking about his predecessor. He attempts now to pivot a conversation away from Trump. First though President Biden tries the personal touch at last night's Town Hall.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: My mother would say god bless you so no purgatory for you. For kids home I really mean it. What do you teach?

COOPER: I teach English, high school English.

BIDEN: --Teacher's god love. There are any angels in the heaven. Are all nurses are you - are you in first grade, second grade?

COOPER: Second.

BIDEN: Are you getting old by the way, I understand a little bit of -- .

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[12:15:00]

KING: The former guy. That is one term President Biden use last night to talk about the predecessor he clearly prefers not to talk about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: For four years all that's been in the news is Trump. The next four years I want to make sure all the news is the American people. I'm tired.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Now the president was not entirely successful. There were a few specific mentions of his predecessor Mr. Trump. And then there was this when asked if he is in contact with the former presidents.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: All of them have with one exception tricks with phone call me as well.

COOPER: I know you don't want to talk about him.

BIDEN: No, look, it's a it's a greatest honor I think an American can be given from my perspective. And I literally pray that I have the capacity to do for the country. What you all deserve need be done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[12:20:00]

KING: Dana Bash is still with us again right there. Just the striking contrast, the humility at the end from President Biden, something we didn't see for four years. It was predecessor just about how, how honored he was to serve at the White House.

How, how he felt self conscious when the stewards and other people work at the White House tried to help him with his jacket or bringing something. And the approach to Trump you know, in Biden's way he - preferably he who shall not be named, but you can't do it all the time.

BASH: You can't do it all the time. And you know there were certainly a lot of very lengthy rambling answers that he gave last night. This is the sound bite he was prepared to give. Whether you know it was something that he came up with or his aides or both.

He was prepared to give this when the inevitable questions started coming about his predecessor, especially impeachment. And it also has the benefit of you know being true and being a multi layered response because a) it just allows him to pivot but b) he's speaking to people including Jeff Zeleny is reporting from Wisconsin yesterday was so fascinating.

Apparently people there and elsewhere who voted for Trump and are willing to give Joe Biden time to shine and time to do what he promised to do.

KING: And so whatever things we did see and count me as one of the people early on the democratic primary skeptic that this was Biden's time right that this is Biden's time. But he proved that to your point that people were looking for something different.

People in the middle of a pandemic, we're looking for somebody maybe a little grandfatherly at times a steady hand as someone who has experience in government. The one thing we did see throughout the primaries and we saw again last night in the Town Hall from Biden was empathy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BIDEN: If you're willing, I'll stay around after this is over. And maybe we can talk a few minutes and see if I can get you some help. If there are any angels in the heaven, they are all nurses, male and female. You're wonderful. Thank you for what you do. But don't be scared honey; don't be scared, you're going to be fine. And we're going to make sure mommy's fine too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: You're right. You touched on this a bit earlier, that stuff resonates with real people. We have conversations in Washington, he gave a few answers like he was back in a Senate committee hearing or he went off in some policy thing. And it wasn't quite sure if and when he was ever going to come out of some policy explanation.

But that stuff matters. When you tell a little girl with her mom standing right there or you tell a mom who's having trouble getting a vaccine for her kid who has health issues. Stay, I'll get you some help that matters.

BASH: It does matter. And it is so completely different in approach and in every way than what we saw over the past four years. And look I mean, those moments whether you - as you said voted for Joe Biden or didn't they're relatable, especially for parents and for children.

There was a nine year old we both know who was up past his bedtime watching that moment last night. And actually looked up and felt reassured because he like so many other kids across the country is really freaked out about COVID.

KING: One other thing that came up is that you know look, he had a lot of empathy. They have had some hiccups. It's a new team taking over as I have always said it's hard to turn an aircraft carrier around and the aircraft carrier was the Trump approach to COVID.

There have been some missteps miss our confusion of when will kids get back in school? When will all the vaccines be out there? When will kids come back and school issue came up, the president made clear, the staff made a mistake. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Your administration had set a goal to open the majority of schools in your first 100 days. You're now saying that means those schools may only be open for at least one day a week.

BIDEN: That's not true. That's what was reported. That's not true. And was a mistake in the communication.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: A mistake in the communication, so not singling anybody out by name. But they do need to understand number one, we have to give them some grace. Its 29 days. But number two, they ran saying the Trump people don't know how to run a government we do. The Trump people are not competent. We are on issues of when can you

back to school, when can you get a vaccine? Again we don't need to be gratuitous about it. But they need to be steadier in how they communicate information.

BASH: They screwed up. And he pretty much admitted that which is another thing that we didn't hear for four years admitting mistakes. That doesn't answer the question of what exactly is their policy right now which is so important to people everywhere. We don't really know that yet.

KING: Some of that they're still working on. Dana Bash, grateful for the reporting and insight. Coming up for us former President Trump hits back ripping into Senator Mitch McConnell and exposing a real divide inside the Republican Party.

And as we go to break the end of the Trump era of a different sort his Atlantic city, the Trump plaza hotel casino demolished today 3000 sticks of dynamite. It's been closed for seven years.

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[12:25:00]

KING: Donald trump is lashing out at the Senate's top Republican reminding us personal insults are his weapon of choice. And that the Republican Party is now entering a strange and uncertain test of wills and of power. Senator Mitch McConnell voted to acquit Trump at the impeachment trial.