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Biden Makes Several Headlines During First Town Hall as President; Biden Clarifies Elementary Schools Will be Open by End of First 100 Days. Aired 9-9:30a ET
Aired February 17, 2021 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00]
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Shot to get one. The caveat, things still might not get back to normal in terms of mask wearing, going out, and so on, until Christmastime. And a big promise to parents struggling with children trying to learn at home instead of in classrooms, the president suggests that a majority of children will be back in school for in-person instruction five days a week by, listen to this, the end of April. Imagine that, Poppy.
POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. And Biden's strategy for economic relief, he once again last night pressed the need to go big.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In order to grow the economy a year, two, three and four down the line, we can't spend too much. Now is the time we should be spending. Now is the time to go big.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: So let's begin with our Jeremy Diamond. He joins us at the White House.
Good morning, Jeremy. It was quite a night last night.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
HARLOW: I mean, Biden made a lot of headlines on a lot of topics but let's start with you on the COVID relief plan. And he really tried to persuade people saying we went too small when I led this effort in the Obama administration. Let's not make the same mistake again.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And that has really been the crux of the messaging from the president and from the White House on this nearly $2 trillion package. Emphasizing that the risk here is in going too small, not in going too big, as this administration is now trying to do. And this was the president's first opportunity to really pitch this nearly $2 trillion plan directly to Americans in this town hall, making his first official trip outside of Washington, appearing in this town hall in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was also interesting to hear from the president as he laid out the
timeline for some of the key questions that Americans have. When will every American who wants a vaccine be able to get one? And when will we finally be able to return to normal? Here were his answers on those questions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: By the end of July, we'll have over 600 million doses. Enough to vaccinate every single American. As my mother would say, with the grace of God and the good will of the neighbors that by next Christmas, I think we'll be in a very different circumstance, God willing, than we are today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DIAMOND: And the president also making clear on that question of those 600 million vaccine doses. While they will be available to Americans by the end of July, he made clear it's also a question of having enough vaccinators, people who can actually put those shots in arms. And that is going to take some time. Hence the return to normal not until Christmas or a year from now which is what he said at another point in his answer.
The president also doing some cleanup, as you mentioned, on the school reopenings, making clear that he would like to see most schools open by -- in his first 100 days. Five days a week. Not just one day a week as the White House press secretary has suggested. And finally some moments of empathy as well from the president. You heard him talking to an 8-year-old girl trying to reassure her about her fears of the coronavirus.
Those are some of the moments that really come out from this president. One of his biggest political qualities that perhaps helped get him in the office in which he now sits -- Poppy, Jim.
HARLOW: Yes.
SCIUTTO: Big test now will be what he can deliver on Capitol Hill. Jeremy Diamond, thanks very much.
Well, President Biden did attempt to clear up what Jeremy mentioned there. That is some confusion from messaging from his own administration about exactly how many kids go back to school for how many days a week and how soon. Listen to his answer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: 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: No, that's not true. That's what was reported. That's not true. It was a mistake in the communication. What I have -- what I'm talking about is, I said opening a majority of schools in K through eighth grade. COOPER: So when do you think that will be K through eighth grade --
BIDEN: I think we'll be --
COOPER: -- at least five days a week if possible?
BIDEN: I think we'll be close to that at the end of the first 100 days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: That's a really big distinction. It's really good news I think for a lot of parents. It probably has some educators nervous and hoping their schools are equipped and safe.
Elizabeth Cohen, our senior medical correspondent, is with us. So what is that plan then?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Poppy, I think teachers will tell you that that plan should be to vaccinate them. Teachers are nervous about going into classrooms with children who can be infected and asymptomatic so they wouldn't even know that the child is sick and getting sick from those children, even with masks. Even with social distancing. All of those things technically on paper should work but they don't always work. So what the teachers want is to be vaccinated. And so President Biden spoke to this at CNN's town hall last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: So it's about needing to be able to socially distance, smaller classes, more protection, and I think that teachers and the folks who work in the school, the cafeteria workers and others should be on the list of preferred to get a vaccination.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[09:05:03]
COHEN: But here's the problem. Almost half of all states, not only do they not prioritize teachers, they don't even let them get vaccinated. Let's take a look at the U.S. and what we're seeing is here is that in 22 states, teachers are still not eligible to get the vaccine. And then even if they were to be made eligible, according to CDC guidelines, which the states don't have to follow but according to national guidelines, teachers are in the same priority group as millions and millions of other people.
They're in the same group with firefighters and police officers, manufacturing workers, public transit workers. I mean, the list goes on and on. So this is quite a puzzle to figure this out. First they have to tell states, look, you need to make, you know, teachers eligible. And secondly, they have to put teachers at the top of that eligibility list. And as you know, President Biden has said, he can't tell the states to do anything. All he really has is the power of persuasion -- Jim, Poppy. HARLOW: Elizabeth, before you go, I just have a question on -- because
Fauci said and reiterated in the last, you know, 12 hours, teachers should move up on that list. And Biden says teachers should move up on that list. And I'm looking at those states. I saw New York is one of them, where I am, where teachers are not, you know, more elevated for vaccine. Does that mean the governors have to decide solely to move them up?
COHEN: Well, first they have to decide to make them eligible. And as we saw on that map --
HARLOW: That's what I mean. Yes.
COHEN: -- almost half of all states don't even allow them to be eligible. Right. So governors or public health departments have to say all right, you're eligible even if you're 25 years old and perfectly healthy. You're a teacher. You're eligible.
HARLOW: Right.
COHEN: And then the second step is they have to give them high priority because if you're competing with millions and millions of other people as a teacher, you may not get access to that vaccine.
HARLOW: Right. Yes.
SCIUTTO: What do you say to cops and firefighters? Right? I mean, the other folks on that list. A lot of folks who want to move up the line.
Elizabeth Cohen, thanks very much.
SCIUTTO: Joining me now to discuss, Dr. William Schaffner, professor of medicine in the infectious diseases division at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Dr. Schaffner, good to have you on. I want to get your view on the question of teachers because the data is actually pretty good on schools. They have not proven with mitigation to be super spreaders. And this was Dr. Fauci's answer to me yesterday about teachers specifically because, of course, yes, we want to get them vaccinated but they do not necessarily have to be vaccinated for schools to open safely. Have a listen. I want to get your view.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, BIDEN'S CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER ON CORONAVIRUS: And it's become clear that that's not a sine qua non. I mean, you can say we're not going to open any schools unless all the teachers get vaccinated when it comes to essential personnel. But we think we can move forward as we vaccinate teachers but that doesn't have to be that if they're not vaccinated, then you don't open the school.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Do you agree with that, Dr. Schaffner? DR. WILLIAM SCHAFFNER, PROFESSOR OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE DIVISION,
VANDERBILT MEDICAL CENTER: You can hold two ideas in your mind at the same time, Jim. It is absolutely true. Schools have, in general, not been a major focus with the transmission of this virus. Nonetheless, we have a big epidemic of anxiety, even fear among the adults who work in the schools. So Bill Schaffner thinks teachers and indeed all adults who have anything to do with schools, the food service workers, the custodians, the administrators, the school bus drivers, they should be advanced as frontline essential workers.
That would relieve a terrific amount of anxiety, would allow us to open up schools much more rapidly. Parents would all cheer and they could re-enter in a much more coherent fashion, the workplace stimulating the economy. It's win, win, win, all the way around.
SCIUTTO: I get that. But does it have to happen first? Right? Because if you make the standard, all the staff has to be vaccinated first, schools are not going to open in April. Right? Most will not because there's just not the supply yet.
SCHAFFNER: Exactly. And I wouldn't make it the standard, but I would put the emphasis on it.
SCIUTTO: That's right.
SCHAFFNER: Make it as accessible as possible to every adult who works in the school.
SCIUTTO: Understood. OK. So let's talk about supply then because President Biden promised that 600 million vaccine doses will be available in the U.S. by the end of July. Now of course delivery is another question here, but based on what you know, reasonable goal?
SCHAFFNER: It's a reach, right? It's a great goal. I hope we get there. We need -- you can't vaccinate without the vaccine. So we need the vaccine. That's the current bottleneck. And then, of course, as you all have said, we need more vaccinators, too. Open up those clinics. More people vaccinating, getting that vaccine into the arms of folks.
SCIUTTO: OK. So we've got a couple out there already, Pfizer and Moderna.
[09:10:02]
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is interesting. Dr. Fauci, he's not alone here, said to me yesterday, disappointed with the supply chain so far on J&J. And we're hearing that, you know, a lot of folks, I think yourself included, don't believe they're getting the details, right, and the information they need is to why that is.
Can you tell us what's going on with the J&J vaccine and how concerning should this be?
SCHAFFNER: Well, the J&J vaccine will go to the Food and Drug Administration's External Advisory Committee on February 26th. And we all hope that they will get an Emergency Use Authorization. I'm not entirely clear about how much vaccine they have ready to go, but how so ever much it is, we sure could use it. A lot of people will be excited about a one and done vaccine. That's a single dose vaccine.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
SCHAFFNER: And you know -- as you know, we can handle it with refrigerators, normal refrigerators, so we can get it out to many populations. We're not reaching yet.
SCIUTTO: It has a lot of advantages over the others. Just quickly before we go, President Biden said we as a country could return to some level of normalcy by Christmas. You have most of the country vaccinated, et cetera. Is that, do you believe, a realistic goal? People, as you know, they're waiting for it.
SCHAFFNER: I do believe it's realistic. In fact, I've been saying, and hoping, Thanksgiving. So we're looking forward to that. But everybody has to then come out and be vaccinated.
SCIUTTO: Yes. Exactly. They've got to look at the data and the data is promising.
Dr. William Schaffner, thanks so much.
SCHAFFNER: Thank you.
HARLOW: Thanksgiving would be great.
All right, still to come, President Biden's message on stimulus, go big. But big questions still remain on how much Congress will actually agree to? So will Democrat goes it alone? What does this mean for you at home waiting? Next.
And so much for uniting the Republican Party. Former President Trump goes after the most powerful Republican-ish in Washington right now.
SCIUTTO: Plus, dangerously frigid temperatures and power outages across the state of Texas leaving much of that state in the dark and extreme cold. In some cases, it's been deadly. We're going to have a live report from there ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:15:00]
SCIUTTO: It is time to go big. That is President Biden's message on stimulus in the pandemic as he tries to get Washington on board with his $1.9 trillion plan.
HARLOW: And even though the president concedes that $15 federal minimum wage may not make it through in this bill, he does support getting to $15 eventually. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Here's the deal. It's about doing it gradually. We're at $7.25 an hour. No one should work 40 hours a week and live in poverty. I do support a $15 minimum wage. I think there is equally as much, if not more evidence to dictate that it would grow the economy and long-run and medium-run benefit small businesses as well as large businesses.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: Let's bring in our chief business correspondent Christine Romans. Good morning Christine.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning --
HARLOW: It was -- it was interesting, and I think important to hear the debate on stage last night when Anderson pushed him on, look, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says --
ROMANS: Yes --
HARLOW: This to jobs and lose 1.4 million jobs. And he said, well, there are other studies on the other side, and that's actually true. It's kind of both.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
ROMANS: We've been debating this for a long time. And let's be honest. This is a democratic priority and that's Joe Biden saying this continues to be a priority even if it doesn't get into this rescue bill. What they were talking about, the Congressional Budget Office found that, you would get 900,000 people lifted out of poverty if you -- if you raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour, and it works out to something like 27 million people getting a pay raise. Critical for, you know, low-wage workers here. But it would cut jobs maybe by 1.4 million jobs. So, there's a trade-off here. There's a tradeoff we have been arguing about for decades.
You would help the poorest-earning workers, but you might dampen job growth a little bit. And that's a trade-off the Democrats say that they're willing to make.
SCIUTTO: And by the way, you have some Republicans pushing for a raise in the minimum wage, too. I mean, Romney --
ROMANS: Yes --
SCIUTTO: Even Tom Cotton. So, it's not all a one-party issue. On the other question, student loan forgiveness, you do have progressives in the Democratic Party who were proposing $50,000 of debt forgiveness. President Biden said last night that's way too big, I might go to $10,000. Tell us the significance of that.
ROMANS: And let's listen to him in that moment because this was centrist Joe Biden. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need student loan forgiveness beyond the
potential $10,000 your administration has proposed. We need at least a $50,000 minimum. What will you do to make that happen?
BIDEN: I will not make that happen. It depends on whether or not you go to a private university or a public university. Here's what I think. I think everyone -- and I've been proposing this for four years. Everyone should be able to go to community college for free. For free.
(APPLAUSE)
That costs $9 billion, and we should pay for it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: So that's Joe Biden sticking to his proposal, not caving to the progressive wing of his party. Look, he knows there are a lot of people in the center who realize there is a big problem with student loan debt in this country. One in eight Americans has student loan debt.
[09:20:00]
But half of the student loan debt is in graduate school degrees, right? And there's a lot of other things that they'd like to be doing with that money on education and equity in education. So, yes, student loan debt is a problem, but that's Joe Biden not caving to the progressives in his party, at least not now.
SCIUTTO: And by the way, very clear words. I will not --
HARLOW: Yes!
SCIUTTO: Do it. Those are not words you often hear --
ROMANS: I totally agree, Jim.
SCIUTTO: From politicians of either party, I was like well --
ROMANS: That was not political speak, that was --
SCIUTTO: Yes --
ROMANS: Plain spoken right there.
SCIUTTO: Yes --
HARLOW: They're usually like let me back up and answer the question I really want to answer --
SCIUTTO: Yes --
HARLOW: I really wanted you to ask me. But it's hard to do that when a voter is asking the question, and not one of us, and that's a great thing about these town halls. So, I'm glad we're back at him. Thank you, Christine.
ROMANS: You're welcome.
HARLOW: We are joined now by former Obama campaign manager Jim Messina; he is the CEO of the Messina Group. Hi, good to see you.
JIM MESSINA, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, MESSINA GROUP: Good to see you too.
HARLOW: As you can tell, we appreciated that straight talk from the president. He also said the nation is not divided. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: The nation is not divided. You go out there and take a look and talk to people, you have fringes on both ends. But it's not nearly as divided as we make it out to be, and we have to bring it together.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: What is the most important thing, Jim, you think the president accomplished last night?
MESSINA: Going back to facts. Talking exactly about decisions in front of us and kind of -- you know, being very clear about what he thinks you two were just talking about this. Like he was incredibly direct. He wasn't worried about pissing off the base of his party. He was just being the Joe Biden that we all love. Very frank, very honest, and then talking about some of these really tough decisions. You know, the decisions about the school. These are really hard things that there aren't clear answers to. And you saw a president who is going to continue to be very honest with the country even if some people don't want to hear it.
HARLOW: I mean, what did you make of -- if you're sitting in the progressive wing of the party right now, and you heard that answer on student debt, like no way, no how -- something that even by the way, it's not just, you know, the progressives Elizabeth Warren. It's Chuck Schumer is behind the $50,000 debt forgiveness. What are you thinking right now?
MESSINA: Well, you think that you knew this was coming. He's been very clear for the entire campaign about where he is and what he wants. And this is just continuing. You know, we're all talking about this amazed, but you have a politician who is doing exactly what he said he was going to do. Everything he said last night is what he said in the campaign. He stood up to defunding the police, saying he wasn't going to do that. He was very honest with the young woman about, he wasn't going to do a $50,000 student loan forgiveness because that's what he said in the campaign. And you're seeing a politician who is actually following through with what he said.
HARLOW: So, let's talk about stimulus in this $1.9 trillion plan that is just notable that it remains $1.9 trillion despite all of these objections and counter-proposals from Republicans. You were the deputy chief of staff in the Obama White House when Biden was helping lead the effort to get us out of the great recession. And they -- there were four senators, three Republicans and one Democrat, they wanted on board, and so you guys went smaller with the bill that now even Biden says, look $800 billion wasn't enough. It -- you know, prolonged the recovery. We could have gotten out of it quicker. I wonder if you now think that was a mistake, and if there's a lesson in it for Biden in this fight.
MESSINA: Look, I helped negotiate that package. And I think it was a mistake. We bent over backwards for three Republican votes. What is the single most important thing Joe Biden has to do? He has to get his arms around this coronavirus and he has to help the economy rebound. And they should just do exactly what the smart people around them, the experts are saying they have to do. If that means going it alone and passing a $1.9 trillion bill, that's exactly what we should do. We had growth that wasn't as robust as --
HARLOW: But --
MESSINA: it could have been had we gone big. And so he's not going to make that mistake again.
HARLOW: So, I hear you, but he breaks the pledge then. I mean, the key promise of elect me, I will unite us and then standing there on January 20th, saying, you know, I am the uniter-in-chief. Trust me on this. How does doing what you are suggesting, although economically may be wiser, although I think it should be more targeted. How does that not break a really important promise for the country?
MESSINA: He didn't promise to work with the Republicans on every single bill. He said he was going to pull the country together and go forward. And if the Republicans don't want to be there on this bill, he'll work with them on the next one. It's not about partisanship. It's not about politics. You know, unity doesn't mean cutting deals on every single bill. Unity means doing what he did last night and being very clear about where he's going to go. There's a bunch of Republican ideas in that bill, and the bill is better for it. But the one thing he's got to do is get this recovery right, and if it --
HARLOW: Yes --
[09:25:00]
MESSINA: Takes $1.9 trillion, then go do it.
HARLOW: Can you just weigh in finally, Jim, on the humility? I mean, when he talked at the end of the town hall about, like I wake up in the White House and I ask Jill, where are we? And I'm uncomfortable with them putting my suit jacket on and having all this help. I mean, what a breath of fresh air.
MESSINA: Well, it's true, Poppy. I teared up at that. That's Scranton Joe. That's the kid who watched his dad go to work every day and struggled, and then one day he got to grow up and be the president of the United States of America. And it really is an amazing moment. I remember the first days of the Obama administration, the president coming down to me and saying, we want the girls to do the dishes and the White House --
HARLOW: Right --
MESSINA: Staff seemed to be a little concerned about that. You know, each president figures out how to live in that place, but it was amazing to see Scranton Joe kind of be honest about --
HARLOW: Yes --
MESSINA: Saying, wow, this is my life.
HARLOW: Yes. I'm taking a page from the first lady Michelle Obama when she said, don't clean the girls' room. They're cleaning their own room. That's what goes in my house too.
MESSINA: Exactly.
HARLOW: Joe Messina, thank you, we'll have you back soon.
MESSINA: Thanks.
HARLOW: Well, there is just a tragedy going on right now across much of the country. More ice, low temperatures expected in states reeling from this rough Winter weather. Millions still without power. We're going to give you a live update, next.
SCIUTTO: And we're just moments away from the opening bell on Wall Street. Futures are lower today. Investors waiting for a report on American retail sales. Stocks finished mixed yesterday with the Dow, though, climbing to a new, one more, all-time high. We're keeping a close eye on the markets.
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[09:30:00]
