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Biden Lays Out Plain to Reopen Schools Amind Pandemic; Biden: Schools Need More Counselors to Help Kids Deal with Pandemic; Biden Takes Questions from Reporters in Delaware; Biden: Cops Who Shot Breonna Taylor "Should be Charged;" Biden on Kenosha Shooting, Death of Breonna Taylor; Biden on Claim that Pence Was Put on Alert During Trump DOC Visit; Biden on Tomorrow's Planned Visit to Kenosha Amid Tensions; Biden: "I Would Like to Get Out More," But Must Set An Example; Biden: "Vast Majority" of Police are "Good, Decent;" Biden on What He'd Do Differently When Violence Erupts in Cities; Biden Calls School Struggles to Open a "National Emergency." Aired 1:30-2p ET.

Aired September 02, 2020 - 13:30   ET

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

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: On top of that, I would be working with leaders in Congress -- now, today -- to pass an emergency packages for schools so they have all the resources they need in order to be able to open safely.

Money for ventilation - I heard that a lot when I had all those health care worker - those health care experts up on the Zoom.

[13:30:04]

Money for ventilation and other health measures -- but also more money to hire more teachers. Every recommendation we got was there's going to be - they should be dividing into pods, smaller classes. Smaller classes mean more educators are needed. Keeping classes socially distanced, small. Money for more psychologists and counselors.

I introduced legislation a long time ago calling for - I didn't introduce, I proposed legislation a long time ago. We have one school psychologist ever 1,507 (ph) in school. And the healthcare - the mental health that our children need now, the anxiety they're feeling at home, in going to school, not being able to go to school.

The nation's school superintendents have estimated that they'll need at least $200 billion to support K-12 schools throughout the year for safe reopening.

And we'll need money for higher education as well for our four-year colleges and universities, for our community colleges, and for our HBCUs and Minority-Serving Institutions.

The Democratic leaders are ready to get this done. They've already proposed (ph) legislation. Mr. President, where are you? Where are you? Why aren't you working on this? We need emergency support funding for our schools -- and we need it now. Mr. President, that is your job. That's your job. That's what you should be focused on now, getting our kids back to school safely. Keeping school safely able to remain open once they stay - once they open.

Not whipping up fear and division -- not inciting violence in our streets.

Get off Twitter and start talking to the congressional leaders of both parties. Invite them to the Oval Office and stop your boast about never (inaudible) that you can do anything. You always talk about your ability to negotiate. Negotiate a deal, a deal for somebody other than yourself. Now, I'm happy to take some questions you may have. I guess staff's going to call on whoever. Follow -- fire away.

STAFF: Great. M.J. (ph)?

QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. Vice President. Two quick questions for you, if I may.

First, ahead of your trip to Kenosha, Wisconsin, tomorrow, last week your running mate, Senator Harris, said that the officer who shot Jacob Blake, based on what she has seen, should be charged. Do you agree with her? And do you also believe the same for the officers who were involved in the death of Breonna Taylor?

BIDEN: I think we should let the -- the judicial system work its way.

I do think, there's a minimum need to be charged, the officers, and as well as Breonna Taylor. And I might add, by the way, I think what happened in Portland, where a -- one of the Trump guys riding along in vans inciting response is -- shooting rubber bullets, I guess, or paintballs, apparently there was someone shot by someone in the crowd with a bullet, killed. I think that person should meet the legal requirements of whatever that calls for.

Be -- should be investigated and they should follow through on what needs to be done. Let the judicial system work. Let's make sure justice is done.

QUESTION: And just quickly on a different topic, there is a new book by the New York Times' Michael Schmidt that says that when President Trump made an unannounced visit to Walter Reed Hospital in 2019, Vice President Pence was told to be on standby to take over in case President Trump had to receive anesthesia. Pence said last night that he doesn't recall being told that.

As vice president, were you ever told to be on standby or given, you know, a kind -- any kind of special alert when President Obama was going in for a medical appointment?

And I also just wonder whether you have any concerns about the fact that that Walter Reed visit that President Trump made -- it didn't follow, you know, prior protocol about presidential visits for medical examinations.

BIDEN: I'm not going to speculate on what it means, all this (ph).

What I can say is that nothing this administration does is normal. And so, I'm not being a facetious when I say that. So, who in God's name knows what it's all about it? I just don't know. I don't know. And I'm not going to speculate. I'll let the experts do that.

And so -- and the only time that I have been on notice is when the president's out of the country and I'm in the country.

[13:35:08]

That -- not that I should wait for something to be -- immediately be aware of anything, but that that's something that would -- might be called for. It wasn't called for.

QUESTION: Thank you.

STAFF: (OFF-MIKE)

QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. Vice President.

BIDEN: Yeah.

QUESTION: On this visit to Kenosha tomorrow, local Democratic officials, including the governor, had previously discouraged President Trump from visiting. And just yesterday, the president of the local NAACP said he didn't want to see either of the candidates, including yourself, visit; that this is such a sensitive situation in the city.

Why is now the right time for you to go to Kenosha? And what do you hope to accomplish tomorrow?

BIDEN: Well, I have -- we've spoken to all the leaders up there, and -- although I have an outstanding call with the governor, who -- we dealt with his staff. Because -- and there's been overwhelming requests that I do come, because what we want to do is we've got to heal, we've got to put things together, bring people together.

And so my purpose in going will be to do just that: to be a positive influence on what's going on, talk about what need be done and try to see if there's a beginning of a mechanism to bring the folks together. We have to heal. This is about making sure that -- that we move -- we move forward.

And so, I -- I've gotten advice from sitting members of the Congress, and the Senate as well, to go, and that I should go. I'm not going to do anything other than meet with the -- and meetings with community leaders as well as business people and other folks in law enforcement. And to see -- start to talk about what has to be done. Not -- I'm not going to tell Kenosha what they have to do, what we have to do together.

The idea that we are saying, you know, we've -- the president's encouraging (ph) people to retreat to their corners and keep this -- this moving is just a mistake. I spent my whole life, including in this city you're in right now, bringing people together, bringing the community and -- and police officers together, bringing business leaders and civic leaders together. And so that's my purpose in going.

QUESTION: And on the fact that you're traveling to Wisconsin at all, I believe this is only the third time in the last few months, since the onset of the pandemic, that you'll be on a plane.

You've talked about how you want to make sure you follow all of the advice of your doctors in terms of campaigning safely, but the question we keep hearing from voters, from others is why aren't you out there more?

You -- maybe where the president was calling into question your campaign schedule today. How far are you willing to push the envelope of what's safe in order to get your message out and to be among the voters, speak to them directly?

BIDEN: Well, I think my message is getting out, based on what the -- all the polling data shows, and the millions of people who have watched what I have to say and the circumstances in which I've said it.

But I would like to get out more. But I think a president has the responsibility to set examples, set the right example for how to get out; not go out and not wear a mask and not to have large crowds of people standing next where they're not wearing masks, not being a potential cauldron for significant outbreaks of COVID.

And so, what I've done is I've met with, via -- what I did this morning with the medical experts, and so we've worked out a protocol where how I get in the plane, what kind of plane I get on, how it's sanitized, where -- how I engage people.

It's like when I'm engaging all of you everywhere I go, it's always at a safe distance and everybody's wearing masks. And the vast majority of people that I'm meeting with have been -- have come into my home, and staff and the like, they're all tested as well.

So I'm just trying to set the example, wearing the protective gear, the -- a mask, which I have with me, I'm able at this distance to take it off, number one. Number two, making sure that we proceed in a way with adequate social distancing. And do it the right way.

QUESTION: And last, quickly, they announced the format and the moderators of the presidential debates today, NBC's Kristen (ph)--

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: -- batting clean-up for that last presidential debate. Is there anything -- you've said you'll participate. Is there anything that could dissuade you from participating, and how have you begun to prepare?

BIDEN: Well, I've begun to prepare by -- by going over what the president has said and the multiple lies he's -- he's told.

But I'd love to have is a crawler at the bottom of the screen, a fact- checker, you know, when we speak.

[13:40:03]

If we really wanted to do something, I think that would make a great, great debate if everything both of us said was instantly fact-checked by the -- by an agreed-to group of people out there that we -- we move forward. But that probably wouldn't get very far in the debate.

No, I'm looking forward to debating the president. And I -- and I'm going to lay out as clearly as I can what I think we have to do to bring this country back and build it back better. And I'm looking forward to the debate.

STAFF: (Inaudible)?

QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. Vice President.

One of the things that I've heard a lot from voters across the country is that a lot of them are worried and concerned about some of the ongoing violence we've seen in cities in this country, including the situation in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where you're headed.

I'm curious -- obviously you're not president now and Donald Trump is, but I'm curious, if you were president, what would you do to ensure that people are kept safe in situations like these?

BIDEN: First of all, I wouldn't incite violence. I'd condemn it when it occurred.

I would move to -- look, the vast majority of police officers are good, decent, honorable women and men. They pin on that shield every morning and they have a right to go home that night safely, The vast majority.

But just those who are not good cops, I'm -- all the police I've dealt with my whole life, and I've been dealing with -- I've gotten overwhelming support from law enforcement through my whole career. They're the ones that want to get rid of the bad cops even more than anybody else does, because it reflects on them, number one.

Number two, I would make sure everybody understood, if I were president, that any violence -- any violence -- protesting is a right and free speech is a right, but to engage in violence -- burning, looting and the rest -- in the name of protesting is wrong, and that persons should be held accountable for their actions.

And so what I'd be doing is I'd be bringing people together in the White House right now. I'd be having that police commission set up, I'd have law enforcement at the table, I'd have the community at the table, I'd have people -- and saying "How do we get through this? What do we do to deal with this?"

Because I believe the vast majority of the community at -- writ large, as well as law enforcement want to straighten things out, not inflame things. But this president keeps throwing gasoline on the fire every place he goes.

I noticed -- now, I didn't watch much of it but I watched the reports from all of you -- not all of -- I -- from the press, and, you know, when he was asked about what should be done with regard to a young man shot in the back seven times in front of his children, I didn't hear much of anything come from him. What should we be doing about -- and he went down -- down the line.

So I wish he'd take responsibility. As much as he'd like to be running against somebody else, he's running against me, Joe Biden, and the fact is that he is not acting very responsibly.

STAFF: (OFF-MIKE)

QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. Vice President.

You've -- you've outlined--

BIDEN: I'm sorry. Where am I? Over here? OK.

QUESTION: You've outlined your school -- your plan to reopen schools safely, but what about what happens in the interim? Right now, millions of parents across the country are facing this very impossible task of trying to work full-time--

BIDEN: That's right.

QUESTION: -- and help their children full-time to learn virtually.

What is your message to these parents? And what can you do to help them while you work to reopen schools?

BIDEN: Help is on the way. I've laid out a clear plan for childcare, a clear plan for starting early education, as well, so 3- and 4- and 5- year-olds are in school and like. But I'm not president right now.

What we should be doing is we should be providing for more help for people who, in fact, are trying to juggle the choice between, "Do I stay home with my 3-, 4- or 5-year-old and take care of them in the middle of this COVID problem or do I go to work and earn a salary? What do I do?"

And so that's why we have -- I have a major initiative to deal with childcare and eldercare, so people can be adequately paid to come and take care of folks, children, as well as the elderly that you may be taking care of -- a parent a -- a -- a husband or wife may be taking care of, as well as making sure that those folks are able to get back to work.

BIDEN: And that's why focusing on daycare centers and making sure they're safe and healthy now is equally as important as dealing with -- almost as equally as important as dealing with schools.

[13:45:00] And we should be providing all of the PPE and all of the safety that is necessary and sanitary capacity to allow them to open.

Hundreds of them have been opened because some states have gone in and done that. There should be universal guidance coming from the president of the United States of America. There should be basic standards to how, in fact, in what circumstances you can safely open a daycare center, you can safely -- safely open a childcare center.

In addition to that, in the future, the idea -- this has brought home a number of glaring problems we have in America, this whole pandemic and what's happened in terms of jobs.

The idea that we're in a situation where you have so many parents who have to make the difficult choice as a single parent or both working parents to decide whether one gives up their salary and stays home with a child under the age of 5 or 6, and/or somehow leaves them with somebody that there's (ph) not particularly qualified and goes to work so they can earn a living is a choice that is not -- we shouldn't be making. We're the only industrialized country in the world that forces people to make that kind of choice.

So there should be -- no one should have to pay more than 7 percent of their income -- any income to provide for childcare and be able to go to work. This is something that is a major element of my Build Back Better program.

But in the meantime -- in the meantime, the most important thing that can be done is have CDC issue really straightforward guidelines on when what circumstances you should be able to open up a -- your daycare center or your childcare center now. And there should be clear standards. And states should have the wherewithal to be able to go out and inspect those facilities now.

But you know, one thing I haven't mentioned, and I think it warrants mentioning, you know, one of the things we did -- remember -- well -- when we inherited the Great Recession and we were going into the tank, heading off the cliff for a -- heading to a depression, I was able to convince three Republicans to change their vote, and we ended up with a so-called Recovery Act. We spent over $800 billion in 18 months; kept us from going into depression.

But what'd we do? We spent almost -- we spent billions of dollars making sure that states were able to maintain their essential workers, everyone from their fire departments, their schoolteachers, their doctors, their nurses, their public hospitals.

Now what's happening? This Republican administration will not support that, and the Republican leadership in the United States Senate will not support it. So what's happening? We don't have that help. It's not out there. And states are in real trouble. And to quote my good friend, Mitch McConnell, he says, "Let the states go bankrupt."

States have to balance their budgets under the law. Communities, counties, cities, they have to balance their budget. There's a reason why the federal government is able to run a deficit: to compensate in times of real economic crisis. And what's happening? Nothing, nothing.

And guess what? We came out of that recession with a -- the -- the longest spurt of economic growth of any administration in American history. But these guys don't -- I don't (inaudible), and I could go on -- businesses.

Look at the money that was passed under the CARES Act for businesses, small businesses to be able to stay open. You've got tens of thousands of them going out of business, many of them permanently. Why? Because the money didn't get to small businesses. They're not -- they're not open.

We should be dealing with those -- those businesses that have been burned out and those -- and damaged. We should be providing federal help for those businesses to get back on their feet.

But this administration seems to think it's all -- all of a sudden going to go away, like angel dust is going to be sprayed around. Everything's going to be OK. I just don't get it. They have to know better. They have to know better.

And we had an example, just the last administration, of how much good you can do and how much growth you can generate. I just don't get these guys. I really don't. Not a joke.

I -- I've been doing this a long time, but I have never seen a president lack as much leadership, unwilling -- un -- inability to make a deal. And you've got about -- I'm told the reason why they can't get anything done in the Republican Congress is 20 members of the United States Senate say under no circumstances will they raise the deficit at all. Well, that's wonderful and we're in the position we're in now.

BIDEN: Look at other countries. They're doing one hell of a lot better, and yet we still have over -- it's -- what, it's up to 186,000 people dead? Over 6 million -- was is it? -- 6,300,000, whatever the number is, that have contracted the disease and no end in sight? It's just irresponsible.

[13:50:02]

Talk about a know-nothing Congress on the Republican side, a know- nothing president. I mean, I don't get it. I really don't get it. But it's gonna change come January, God willing.

STAFF: (OFF-MIKE)

QUESTION: Sir, what do you say to the teachers who are afraid to return to the classroom even if the safety protocols that you've proposed are in place?

BIDEN: Well, I say that I understand their concern, because so many of the teachers also have other pre-existing conditions that lend itself to the fact that if they were to contract the COVID crisis -- the COVID disease -- COVID-19, that they would be very susceptible to be in real trouble. So it's understandable why they're doing it. But the first thing to do is make sure that all the protective capacity that we have available to us is made available, and then make choices about whether or not -- let the districts make the choice about whether or not they open fully, whether they rotate, and whether or not those teachers are able to be able to teach from home and remote learning.

But I -- it's -- it's really understandable why they would -- look -- look what's happened in -- in this COVID crisis so far. 100 million -- I mean 100,000 people have died who were above the age of 65; 100,000 out of the 200 and some that have died -- or not 200 and some yet, it's 189 or whatever it is now.

Estimated -- I heard today the estimates range from two -- two significant universities, one is going to be as many as 239, I think, and another one said by December, 312. I don't know that but that's -- you know, it's going to go higher.

And so, I -- I just don't -- I don't understand why it's a political problem. What is the politics about not being willing to go in and help provide the protective capacity for people to be able to go back to work and go to school? I -- I -- I just don't -- I can't fathom it.

STAFF: And the last question, (inaudible)? (Inaudible).

QUESTION: (Inaudible).

(LAUGHTER)

Thank you, Mr. Vice President.

You talked today about reopening schools. I wanted to ask you about something you said last week, about reopen -- the potential of having to shut down the economy again. You were asked if -- if you'd be willing to shut it down if your health experts advised you to do so and you said, quote, "I will be prepared to do whatever it takes," and that you would listen to the scientists.

But I'm curious how you would do that at a federal level, and how you would balance that call to shut down potentially if you had economic advisors saying, "You do this again, you could plunge the country into an even deeper economic crisis."

BIDEN: Well, look, I know you're tired of hearing me say this. I've been saying it since last January. The idea that you're going to be able to get the economy back on track without getting COVID under control is completely counter-intuitive.

It's not there, it can't happen. So unless we're able to deal with the disease and drastically cut its impact on people's confidence of being able to either go to work or walk into a business or do business, then it doesn't matter a lot.

There's going to be no need, in my view, to be able to shut down the whole economy. I got asked by David Muir a question, if I was asked to shut everything down -- I took that as a generic question, if -- am I going to follow the science?

I am going to insist -- and I insist now without any authority -- that every responsible person in this country, when they're out in public or not in a cohort that they have lived with because they know they haven't spread any to their husband, wife, et cetera, that they wear a mask -- that they wear a mask and keep socially distanced. You can take a mask off when you're 12, 15 feet away.

But I would follow -- I would really, really make the case -- and by the way, when I find these folks talking about "My freedom," I talk about patriotism. Why do you wear a mask? To protect your neighbor, to keep someone else from getting sick and maybe dying. I call that patriotic. This is the United States of America. Every generation's made sacrifices to help others in moments of crises.

QUESTION: But -- so you don't see -- you -- you had suggested there would be some kind of a federal mandate about masks, so now you're saying--

BIDEN: No, no.

QUESTION: -- you would (ph) encourage people?

[13:55:01]

BIDEN: No, no -- here's -- what I suggested was I would ask every person in authority -- there was a question whether or not a president under the Constitution could mandate--

QUESTION: Right.

BIDEN: -- everyone wear a mask. And remember all during the primary, I'd have a lot of people telling me "I would by executive order deal with it." I'm a constitutionalist. You know, you can't do things the Constitution doesn't allow you the power to do.

What I would be doing is putting as much pressure as I could on every governor, every senator -- I mean, excuse me -- every mayor, every county executive, every local official, and everyone in business, putting pressure on them to say, "What you're doing is irresponsible. Make sure you wear a mask and maintain social distancing." And the vast majority of the American people accept that notion.

QUESTION: One more quick campaign question. You raised $364.5 million, your campaign and the DNC, last month. Record for a monthly haul, apparently. How are you going to spend it?

BIDEN: Well, you want to go to dinner?

(LAUGHTER)

No.

I tell you what, look, what I'm having to spend a lot of it on is to counter the lies that are being told by my -- by Trump's campaign and -- and Swift Boaters out there, a new PAC. But what I'm trying to do is spend most of that -- and by the way, I think the average contribution was, like, $40. We have over 1,600,000 people who contributed in the middle of this economic crisis somewhere between $5, $10, $15. I'd say that shows some genuine enthusiasm about wanting to make sure that we have a chance at becoming president of the United States.

And so, what I will spend most of it doing is trying to explain to the American people how I want to unite the country, what I want to do to make the country better, why I'm so confident we can do it, why I'm so confident that we can bring the country together and be in a better position than before this crisis occurred.

Because there's been so many fissures exposed as a consequence of what's happened, that people are now realizing, "My Lord, I didn't know that people in that circumstance didn't have that kind of help. I didn't know" whatever.

And so, I think we have an enormous opportunity to bring the country together and once again lead the world -- and you've heard me say it a hundred times -- not just by the example of our power, but the power of our example.

Thank you all so very much for taking the time. Thank you.

STAFF: Thank you, guys. Thank you so much.

QUESTION: One more question. (Inaudible) question.

STAFF: Thank you.

QUESTION: One more. (Inaudible).

STAFF: Thank you, guys.

BIDEN: I know you always ask a hostile question, but go ahead.

QUESTION: A hostile question?

BIDEN: (Inaudible).

QUESTION: All right, thank you so much.

So, you said, and you (inaudible) recently that you've warned -- I'll step up to the mic so he can hear (inaudible).

You said that you warned President Trump in January that there was going to be a pandemic and what needed to be done. If you knew then, then why were you still hosting crowded campaign rallies in March?

BIDEN: Now, what I talked about was not what had to be done. What I said, "You got to take this seriously. You've got to insist that we have access to Wuhan, insist that we have access in China to find out for ourselves." We had 44 people from CDC there. "You cannot continue to talk about the president of China saying he's done a marvelous job, he's doing a great job." When it got up to March, I kept saying, "Look, you've got to invoke" -- and you remember, I think I was the first, I may be mistaken, person calling about the Defense Production Act. "We don't have enough of the" -- I -- I -- it's amazing we use a phrase like PPE and the public knows what that is now, but -- "protective equipment and gear and ventilators.

Use that authority. Use it to go out there now and don't wait. And don't wait to talk about the need for us to have masks. And don't wait to talk about" -- that's when I -- what I talked about.

And then I began to lay out from him, he -- we actually had a conversation. I can't remember when it was; I think it was March. Maybe it was April. In that range. And I said -- he said, "If Biden wants to help, I'd want to talk to him," so I talked to him. I laid out what I thought should be done to be able to reopen safely and the things we should do. And he was very polite. He listened and he said he'd think about it and that was the end of it.

BIDEN: And so what I -- what began to become really clear is that as the science began to show that this was able to spread much more easily than people thought, two -- two issues. Was a pandemic coming? And how did it most -- how -- what's the most -- way it did the most damage? And as that became clearer and clearer, we concluded that we just can't continue to have these large rallies.