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Russia Tensions; President Biden Delivers Address at U.S. Conference of Mayors. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired January 21, 2022 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The folks who dug those wells when we needed them, they got paid well. Well, they're getting paid the same amount to plug those wells. It matters. It matters.

A new initiative to bolster our energy grid with stronger transmission lines and towers to keep the power flowing more reliably and, consequentially, a more secure energy supply.

I have flown all over the world, all over the country these last -- this last year, visiting sites that have been damaged by the consequences of environmental changes. You know, more forests, home, buildings, businesses have been burned to the ground than make up, if you take it in the square miles, than the entire state of New Jersey, from New York all the way down to Cape Henlopen.

That is how much has burned to the ground, a lot of it because of a lack of resilience in those towers that get blown over. The wires snap. We have a lot -- so much we can do with this legislation now. Last week, we rolled out historic investments in our nation's bridges, like the one I visited in New Hampshire, where restrictions would force school buses and fire trucks to go 10 miles out of the way just to get across a small river, or the I-10 bridge that I visited in Louisiana.

It was 20 years past its planned life. It doesn't have modern safety fissures -- features. And in its inspection, the bridge is deemed to be in poor condition. And now it has two lanes on the bridge, OK, that that four-lane interstate feeds into, creating and causing major backups.

We're going to upgrade thousands of bridges, creating good-paying jobs, cutting commute times, ensuring that, as we build back, no community gets left behind.

Folks, that mayor's view of the problem-solving is exactly what we brought to the American Rescue Plan. It is designed so that you would be able to have the resources and the flexibility to take both the short-term and long-term challenges created by this pandemic.

Ten months ago, that law is still carrying the nation forward on vaccines, on boosters, or keeping schools open. And it is still making a difference for communities across the country. And I might add, a lot of money in that to keep those schools open.

Some states have spent the money well, got it to you all, so you can in fact keep those schools open and change the ventilation system and change the busing and the whole works.

But some states haven't distributed the money. Everything I have done in my career when it comes to federal funding, I have tried to make sure that you don't have to go past go to get it. It goes directly to the mayors, directly to them.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: I mean it. It is not a joke.

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: A major part of the Rescue Plan was the $350 billion we allocated to state and local budgets.

And again because of you, over a million -- $100 billion of that went directly to cities and counties, not through anybody, $100 billion.

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: It was not easy to get done, but it is important to get done, because you know it is needed. You didn't have to go through your state legislature. And they're not bad folks. I don't mean that.

(LAUGHTER)

BIDEN: Or your governor, good folks, to get the money.

Today, communities are still putting the funds to work keeping people on the job, connecting people to better jobs.

In Seattle, the money is being used to give premium pay to local child care workers, so they can keep child care centers open and available for folks who need it. I'm not sure that would have happened if it had not gone directly to the states -- I mean, had gone directly to the states.

In Phoenix, partnering with community college, these funds are going to help workers find careers in regions and in the semiconductor industry, which is a big, big deal. In Milwaukee, you all are training workers to get rid of lead pipelines in 450,000 schools.

I mean, the idea that we have our kids drinking out of fountains that have lead pipes feeding the fountains, because everybody deserves clean water, everybody, no matter where you're -- city, suburban or rural areas.

Here in Washington, D.C., it's funding the expansion of an infrastructure academy, preparing local workers to take the good- paying jobs and manufacturing construction and utilities and that are going to be created as a consequence of the infrastructure law. Look, I urge every American to take a look at what you all are doing.

I urge every mayor in America to follow suit, to use the resources, the Rescue Plan, the resources that were intended, not just to stave off disaster, but to build for a future around the people who make communities run.

[14:05:19]

Use your funds to cover child care costs or temporary paid leave to help certain workers dealing with Omicron. Build pathways to better jobs through union-based apprenticeships and on-the-job training, and give people a chance to deal for themselves and deal them into this booming economy.

That also means building more affordable housing, so people can have safe places closer to their jobs, funding programs to fight violent crime. We shouldn't be cutting funding to police departments. I have proposed increasing funding.

Look, we ask cops to do everything, including be psychologists and social workers. Guess what? They need psychologists and social workers.

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: No, I mean, it. Not a joke, so they can hire more social workers, folks trained in mental health, so they can partner with trusted community leaders, like the programs the Rescue Plan is funding in Atlanta and Louisville and other cities across the country.

The truth is, we have an incredible opportunity ahead of us this year. We still have a lot of work to do to defeat COVID, to bring down costs for families. But just look at what we have accomplished together so far, even in the face of those headwinds.

In 2021, more jobs were created in America than ever in a single year in American history, more jobs, over six million. Unemployment rate dropped more than any year in American history. Income...

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: Income for working front-line jobs and service industries rose more than any year in history, the folks at the bottom of the economic rung. We lowered child poverty in this country by nearly 40 percent, more than any time in the U.S. history.

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: You all know this. Business applications grew by nearly 30 percent last year, more than any year in history.

And if everything is so bad, why people fighting to open up businesses? More Americans gained health insurance than any year in history. These are facts.

To confront the climate crisis, we deployed more solar, wind, batteries and electric vehicles than ever, ever before. And we're teaming up with mayors, labor and industry to save families and businesses money by improving energy efficiency in our buildings.

And in the battle against the deadly virus, we have gone from putting two million shots and vaccinations in people's arms to 210 million Americans fully vaccinated.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: And you mayors have been critical partners. I'm not trying to it be nice to you. It is just a fact.

(LAUGHTER)

BIDEN: You have been critical partners in the fight from day one, from masking to testing to vaccinations. We partnered with you.

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: We partnered with you on the Mayors Challenge last summer, 115 cities working together to get Americans vaccinated.

In Richmond, Mayor Stoney, you created vaccination clinics that doubled the job fairs -- doubled the job fairs. Get your shot and it is also a job fair, encouraging people to come in.

In Detroit, Mayor Duggan -- are you here, Mr. Mayor? I will tell you what. I worked with him for a long time. There is a man who knows what he's doing. Mayor Duggan partnered with solar -- salons and barber shots to get shots in people's arms.

In St. Louis, Mayor Jones worked with churches and local food program to reach neighborhoods with low vaccination rates. All of these efforts, you have saved lives. Not a joke. You have saved lives.

Now, to keep up that fight against Omicron, we have launched dozens of forward testing sites in New York, Philadelphia, Henderson, Nevada, and elsewhere throughout sites that we're launching every week. We have devoted medical teams made up of military, first responders, National Guard to bring relief to the hardest-hit hospitals who need additional personnel just to keep it moving because they are so overrun.

We're purchasing and distributing free one billion at-home tests, so the people can test themselves and their communities. And we still face tremendous challenges, though.

[14:10:00]

But, together, we have proven that we can get big things done in this country.

Last year, you helped me lay the groundwork. This year, we have to build it. The biggest weapon in our arsenal is the Build Back Better Act. Nothing is going to do more to ease pressure on families. As my friend Jim Clyburn says, it is all about making everything more

affordable and more accessible to people. Every mayor knows, if people can't find affordable child care, they they can't work.

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: Some of your cities, it is 14,000, 15,000 bucks a year for child care.

That is why we have nearly 1.2 million extremely qualified women who haven't been able to return to the work force. We can cut the cost of child care in half and fix that problem. Health insurance, we can reduce the cost for families. It would will down for $600 per year.

On climate, extreme weather, disaster costs, communities, $145 billion last year, that is how many we spend because of weather-related crisis, $145 billion. By investing in resilience and clean energy technology, we can do something about that.

To give relief to families, in the American Rescue Plan, we had the child care tax credit. That did reduce child poverty by 40 percent. There is no reason it shouldn't continue.

And on education...

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: On education, today, about half of the 3- and 4-year-olds are enrolled in early childhood education. In German, France, U.K., Latvia, the number is more than 90 percent.

Where the hell are -- heck are we?

BIDEN: No, I'm serious. We're falling further and further behind the curve.

But we can fix that problem. We can do this and more on health care, nutrition and a host of other issues. And, folks, here is the point. We can do it without increasing inflation or the deficit; 17 Nobel laureates in economics wrote a letter to me recently affirming that this bill would reduce inflationary pressures on the economy, not increase, reduce it.

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: And, by the way, by the way, it is entirely paid for, every single penny.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: And not a single person making less than $400,000 a year will pay a single additional penny in federal taxes, not a single penny.

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: And, by the way, I'm a capitalist. I'm not a socialist. If you could make a billion dollars, you have $10 million, good for you. Just begin to pay your fair share. Pay a little bit.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: We can pay for all of this by just making sure that the wealthy, making sure that the wealthy and the biggest corporations pay their fair share.

Case in point, last two years, 55 of the Fortune 500 companies -- and I come from the corporate capital of the world, Delaware. Not a joke, more corporations incorporated in my state than every other state in the union, OK? I get it. And I represented it for 36 years.

But guess what? You got 55 corporations last year that made $40 billion in profits and didn't pay a single penny in taxes. That is not right. That is not right.

Look, we can tackle all of these challenges, just like we did with the Rescue Plan, the infrastructure law and the fight against COVID. But we can't do it without you. I'm not trying to be nice to you. We can't do it without you.

(LAUGHTER)

BIDEN: No, no, really. It is the God's truth.

You understand the challenges people are facing. And you understand the solutions. You know this isn't -- when it gets down to whether the garbage gets collected or someone is safe in the street, this isn't partisan. It is practical. You understand the cost if we fail to act.

We need the voice of mayors telling the stories of what your communities need and the impact we're making on people's lives or not making. If we can get this done -- I believe this with every fiber in my being. If we can get this done, there is no limit what Americans can achieve.

So let's continue to give working families a fighting chance. I wasn't kidding when I said when I announced for president that I am so tired of the working class and middle class carrying the burden. It is about time we grow the economy from the bottom up and the middle out.

[14:15:00]

And, by the way, when the middle class does well, the wealthy do very, very, very well. I'm not joking. This isn't about punishing anybody. It is about getting everybody in the game.

Raise your hand if you think the present tax structure is fair, and we will take a picture of you and send it home.

(LAUGHTER)

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: Seriously, guys, you know. The thing I like about mayors is, you're straight. You know what I

mean? You just -- you shoot from the shoulder. So let's keep investing in the future of every city and town in America.

Let's face these challenges head on and keep building. We can build back better. Folks, I really believe it. There is not a damn thing we can't do if we set our minds to it.

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: And every single time -- think about this now.

It is not hyperbole. No other country than America has come through every crisis we have faced and ended up stronger than we were before we got into the crisis. Think about that. Think about that.

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: So don't give up on the American people.

You know, I have said many, many times to world leaders, particularly, when they ask me about America, it has never been a good bet to bet against the American people, never, never, never been a good bet to bet against the American people.

And when we stand together, there is not a damn thing we can't do, Democrat and Republican.

Thank you all. May God bless you. And may God protect our troops.

Keep it going, folks. We need you badly. We need you badly.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: All right, we have been listening there to President Biden.

He was speaking at the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

And, Victor, he seemed to be in his element.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Yes.

CAMEROTA: He was quite comfortable and making some jokes, or at least what the audience perceived as jokes. And he got a lot of laugh lines there.

BLACKWELL: Yes, got a lot of laugh lines there, and also came with the good news that the money from that bipartisan infrastructure bill, that's going to those cities represented by those mayors.

So he certainly had a case to sell. Now, we know that mayors have challenges with the pandemic and crime going up in some communities, so a lot to talk about.

Let's bring in CNN's Phil Mattingly from the White House. So what were your main takeaways, Phil?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You know, an unofficial metric of gauging the president's comfort with an audience is how many times he says not a joke.

(LAUGHTER)

MATTINGLY: My photojournalist, Bill Alberter, counted seven. That usually connotes a lot of comfort with that audience. And, look, there's a good reason for that.

I think the president has made clear in his first year in office that, when it comes to mayors, when it comes to local officials, whether having them at the White House or meeting them when he's out on the road, it's something that he tends to enjoy doing.

And I think one of the interesting elements of this speech, obviously, the comfort with the audience, but also you get a sense of the message the president wants to send as he enters that second year in the wake of a very difficult couple of months.

And that's focusing not so much on the in-the-weeds legislative fights that have transpired or what he's still trying to accomplish, particularly when it comes to Congress, but instead what they did do right.

And I think really at the top of the speech, for a good chunk of that speech was a focus on that bipartisan infrastructure proposal and how that is taking effect now, a couple months into its implementation, on the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which for state and local officials was critical as they tried to fight COVID wave after wave after wave in that first year in office.

He did talk about the Build Back Better agenda that he's trying to get back into play with Democrats right now on Capitol Hill. But so much of the focus was, as he put it, how the administration laid the groundwork in the first year.

When you talk to administration officials, guys, even when they look at the polling and they recognize the exhaustion of the American people, they feel like the building blocks are there for a turnaround in the first couple of months, first couple of quarters of this year. I think the president was trying to get it that in these remarks today.

Obviously, there's a significant amount of work to do and no shortage of issues that the president is dealing with right now, both domestically and in foreign policy, but I think trying to really focus on the areas where they believe there's positive growth and positive opportunity in the weeks and months ahead.

BLACKWELL: All right, Phil Mattingly, thank you.

CAMEROTA: OK, turning to another crucial meeting today. Secretary of State Tony Blinken met with his Russian counterpart for 90 minutes in Geneva, Switzerland. This is just the latest step in trying to prevent a Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Russians again claimed that they are not planning to invade Ukraine and accused the West of -- quote -- "hysterics."

BLACKWELL: Blinken said there would be a swift and severe response from the U.S. and from NATO to any form of aggression by Russia toward Ukraine. He added, the U.S. and NATO are watching this buildup of 100,000 Russian troops along the Ukraine border.

[14:20:07]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: That would give Russia the capacity, if President Putin so chooses, to attack Ukraine from the south, from the east, from the north.

We're looking at what is visible to all. And it is deeds and actions, not words that make the difference. I suggested to Mr. Lavrov, as we have repeatedly, that if Russia wants to begin to convince the world that it has no aggressive intent toward Ukraine, a very good place to start would be by de-escalating, by bringing back, removing its forces from Ukraine's borders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: And this just in to CNN.

Defense sources tell CNN the Pentagon is developing options for the president to bolster the U.S. military presence in Eastern Europe if Russia invades.

CAMEROTA: The officials say that could involve repositioning troops and assets already in Europe or bringing more from outside the region.

CNN's Clarissa Ward is live in Kiev, Ukraine, for us.

So, Clarissa, I understand that we're getting new insight into how today's meeting was viewed in Ukraine.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right.

Well, we definitely hear a very different tone than we had before. Yesterday, President Zelensky was tweeting rather angrily, it seemed, at the U.S. president, Joe Biden, that there's no such thing as a minor incursion. Today, we saw another tweet from the president thanking the U.S. president for his steadfast support of Ukraine.

We know the foreign minister has also said that they are pleased that negotiations and conversations are continuing, because, as long as the diplomatic efforts still have a chance, there is perhaps a slightly smaller risk of an invasion ensuing.

I think you heard both sides saying, Alisyn, going into this, both Lavrov and Blinken, that they didn't expect any breakthroughs. And there certainly were not any breakthroughs today. But what the real fear had been was the possibility that they were going to come out of that meeting and say, honestly, there's nothing left to say, the two sides are so entrenched that this is the end of the diplomatic road.

At least now it appears that there is what Blinken called a clearer path ahead. And that path essentially entails the American side coming back formally to the Russians with a written response to their list of demands.

The Russians have been quite insistent that it be a written response. Blinken had said that potentially, afterwards, there could be another ministerial level meeting between, one would assume, Blinken and Lavrov, and even potentially another meeting between President Putin and President Biden.

Not clear when that would happen, whether it would be virtual or in person. But, certainly, at least there's an inkling or a small smidgen of hope that there is still a potential diplomatic solution for all this.

At the same time, neither side is changing its tune. The U.S. still stands by its previous assertions that some of Russia's demands are nonstarters. Russia is also not changing its tune at all. So it's difficult to see how this can be resolved diplomatically.

And, of course, you continue to see that ratcheting up of tensions, more Russian S-400 deployed to the Belarusian-Ukrainian border. And this is just contributing to the sense that, the longer it takes to find a diplomatic solution, the more chance there is of things escalating and of a potential military conflagration, which it does seem that both sides are committed to at least trying to put a stop to, but difficult to know whether the Russians are entering into those negotiations or diplomatic efforts in good faith or whether they're simply a diversion.

CAMEROTA: Understood, but, as you say, talking is better than the alternative at the moment.

So, Clarissa Ward, thank you very much for the reporting.

BLACKWELL: Let's turn now to retired Army Brigadier General Peter Zwack. He served as the senior defense attache to the Russian Federation from 2012 to 2014, when Russia invaded Crimea. He's now a Wilson Center global fellow at the Kennedy Institute.

General, welcome back.

Let's start where Clarissa left off. The conversations are continuing, better than the alternative. Is it clear to you that a diplomatic resolution is any more probable at the end of the week than it was at the start?

BRIG. GEN. PETER ZWACK (RET.), U.S. ARMY: Thank you for having me.

I think all of us and maybe even some of the Russians didn't expect this to go this far and become this dangerous. And the fact that the diplomats, with guidance, are talking is important. There is an old line, better to do jaw, jaw, jaw, rather than war, war, war.

[14:25:05]

But this is not resolved. There are deep underlying issues.

And the bottom line in all of this -- and we get accused of hysterics by the Kremlin -- these are unprecedented forces that have stayed in place. They have had their exercises in the past in the West. But this is madness. This is provocation. It doesn't need to happen this way.

It's almost 1930s in scope with the demands and the -- just the just use of force.

(CROSSTALK)

ZWACK: Yes.

BLACKWELL: Let's talk about that, because you say that maybe the Russians did not expect it to go this far, and that this is menace.

And so do you believe that Putin deployed these 100,000 troops toward the border, now the exercises initiated with the Belarusians, and did not calculate for every geopolitical, every diplomatic step thus far, and he has not decided what is next?

ZWACK: I think there's an aspect of this.

I think that the that the Kremlin may have, in -- certainly trying to assert itself in what it considers its privileged sphere, and we see as an independent nation, in Ukraine is certainly a piece of that. And the history and the narrative is there.

They also, I think, wanted to put pressure on NATO, the European Union, the North Atlantic alliance. And I think they have been surprised, and this may have backfired. Instead of weakening and dissembling, it has shown spine.

And now there's discussions of reinforcements. I don't think that was part of the Russian plan, and nor do we want to go to that, but they have pushed us and we have hardened. And now it's up to them primarily, though we in a dialogue, to find a way to credibly lower the temperature.

BLACKWELL: So do you have an idea of what that could be? I mean, we know that the responses that are coming, we know from the White House, next week that the State Department will respond to the questions from the Russians, will put their concerns in writing, as requested by Lavrov today.

They won't agree to pull forces out of Bulgaria, out of Romania. They won't agree to not admitting Ukraine to NATO, although there was no discussion to do that soon. So what are the face-saving options that maybe the U.S. can offer that pushes this further away from becoming an invasion? ZWACK: Yes, Victor, and you're exactly right.

There's no discussion, or will be, of pulling back to '99-'97 borders. These are NATO allies. These are allies and countries that want to be part of NATO. And that's a very important part. You talk about expansion.

No. I think now there are the nuts and bolts of, where -- how do we lower the temperature? And then how does Moscow, how does the Kremlin work a credible way out of what looks to be a diplomatic cul-de-sac that they may have been -- they pushed themselves to.

One, going back to the Vienna document, meaning troops and exercises, reworking the reporting, and agreeing to find a way to lower, if you will, the troop levels and all that.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

ZWACK: Part of the problem is, we're talking Russian borders, Victor, and the Baltics, where we do things, these are our allies, and we exercise.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

ZWACK: But both have just got to find a way to be less threatening.

Of course, you have heard all about the intermediate-range missiles.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

ZWACK: There's got to be leverage within missiles.

And then you find ways somehow to start working on things that are actually cooperative and positive, rather than in your face and dangerous.

BLACKWELL: We will have to see if that is included in this document, these written responses that are going from the State Department back over to the Kremlin.

General Peter Zwack, thank you so much for your insights, sir.

ZWACK: Always a pleasure. Let's just stay the course.

BLACKWELL: All right, thank you, sir.

New reporting about the lengths that Trump allies tried to go to, to overturn the 2020 election. Up next: Rudy Giuliani's secret plot to send fake electors to Washington, D.C.

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