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Biden Touts Manufacturing Boom After Strong Jobs Report; Biden Warns of Russian Nuclear Threat, Invokes "Armageddon"; Biden Pardons Thousands Convicted of Federal Weed Possession. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired October 07, 2022 - 13:30   ET

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

[13:30:00]

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A major article in a major publication yesterday from industry. That's generating $1.7 billion in investment.

Because, guess what, we give a tax credit to somebody and, guess what? Companies want to build that product. Build that product, $1.7 billion, meaning, literally, hundreds of thousands of new jobs. Not a joke. Not a joke.

All across America, we're proving Made in America isn't just a slogan. It's a reality. We're proving that our best days are ahead of us, not behind us.

Just look at today's job report. Our economy created 263,000 jobs last month. That's 10 million jobs since I've come into office. That's the fastest jobs growth at any point of any president in all of American history. Historic progress.

The unemployment rate remains at historic low, 3.5 percent unemployment. That includes the lowest unemployment among Hispanic- Americans ever in the history of this country, the second-lowest for black teenagers.

And this recovery has been the fastest increase of people re-entering the workforce of any modern economy recovery.

But there's something else. Our job market continues to show resilience as we navigate through this economy transition.

For some time, I've been saying what we need to do in this transition, we have to move from a historic economic recovery to a more steady, stable economy.

We need to bring inflation down without giving up all of the historic economic progress that working-class and middle-class people have made. And that's exactly what we're seeing.

Over the past four months, we've created an average of 350,000 jobs a month. That's down from the 450,000 jobs a month prior to the prior four months and down from the 600,000 jobs a month to the four months before that. The pace of jobs growth is cooling while still powering our recovery

forward. Wage growth for workers remain solid, down from the historic high pace months ago, but still growing for workers who deserve a raise. This is the progress we need to see.

In the short term, a transition to more stable growth that delivers for workers and families while bringing inflation down. In the long term, the economy built on a firmer foundation.

We still have a lot of work to do, but we're building a different economy than before. A better one, a stronger one, not a trickle-down economy. That never helped my family very much, trickle down.

This is an economy built from the middle out and the bottom up, not from the top down. When that happens, everyone does well. Poor have a ladder up. The middle class do well. And the wealthy do very well. They're not hurt at all.

That's an economic vision I offer to America when I ran and I'm pushing on.

That's what I want to talk about today and how we have our Republican colleagues have a very different view. I know some of you are Republicans.

Many of my Republicans friends are basically arguing that good news for the economy is bad news for America. As if they're rooting for fewer jobs and lower wages.

It all part of this trickle-down mentality that says it doesn't matter what's happening on Main Street. What really matters is what's happening on Wall Street. If Wall Street is doing well, everybody is doing well.

I noticed the previous four years we're not doing that well. Wall Street was doing well. That took a tumble.

It's not my plan. We continue to grow our economy in a stable and sustainable way. We can build on an economy that works for everyone.

Today, we're going to do something that our Republican colleagues in the Congress don't want, don't want us to do. They love to attack the Democrats. They say we -- for what we've done.

What they don't really want to see is what their plan is. I doubt any of you can tell me what the Republican re-election plan is this time out. What's their platform if they take control of Congress?

Let's start with inflation. Let me tell you how I think about it. I think about it the way my dad used to talk about it.

My dad was a well-read guy. His greatest regret was he never went to college. Had to leave Scranton because, when coal died, everything died with it. And we moved down to Claymont, Delaware, a steel town at the time. And that's the way most people at home feel. They talk about it around

the kitchen table. Do we have enough money to cover all the bills for the month and all the necessities that aren't regular bills? If we do that, do we have a little bit of breathing room? Just a little bit of breathing room after that's done? We don't have to worry.

That's what we're trying to do, give families a little bit of breathing room. And that's what we've done.

We passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which the name doesn't matter to a lot of people, but it is give Medicare, a lot of people fighting for, the power to negotiate lower prescription drug prices.

[13:35:07]

We pay the highest prices of any developed nation in the world. It will limit out-of-pocket costs for people on Medicare, no matter what the drug.

As you know, some who have cancer, the drug costs $14,000 or $15,000 a year. Well, prescription drugs for seniors cannot exceed $2,000 a year even if it's $10,000, $20,000, $30,000 that they owe. Can't exceed $2,000 a year.

It's going to cap the cost of insulin for seniors on Medicare to $35 a month instead of 30 times that.

How many of you know somebody who has type 2 diabetes and needs that insulin? Guess what? It costs a whole hell of a lot. A lot of money.

It cost a lot of money for children. I was in Virginia not long ago and a woman stood up and said, I have two kids with type 2 diabetes and we have to split them -- we have to break up what we have. We don't have enough money. Because they didn't have the insurance. They weren't covered.

Guess what? How do you look at your child knowing that they have type 2 diabetes and there's nothing you can do about it? Not a joke. This is the United States of America for God's sake.

The bill I produced, introduced said we will reduce the cost of insulin. By the way, that cost to make that insulin, it costs $10 to make it and to package it. Ten, T-E-N, $10. They're charging as high as $650, $700 a month for it.

Well, the original bill I introduced said we're going to take care of everybody on insulin. My friends and the other team we're able to get enough votes to knock out that for anybody but for the seniors.

You know, we've locked in savings and health care premiums for millions of people on the Affordable Care Act.

One of the things people forget, without the Affordable Care Act, anybody who had a pre-existing condition could not get insurance. Let me say it again, could not get insurance. You didn't have a whole hell of money to buy a private policy. It guarantees people with pre-existing conditions can have insurance or make it possible for families to save thousands of dollars in energy savings. It's going to bring a trillion, seven off the market, investing in other jobs.

And, folks, for the first time in a long time, we'll make sure the biggest corporations begin to pay their fair share of federal taxes with a minimum tax rate of 15 percent.

In 2020, of the Fortune 500 companies, 52 made $40 billion and didn't pay a single penny in taxes.

I come from the corporate state of the world across the border in Delaware. I know corporations. I got elected six times there. Everybody should be paying something. Everybody should be paying

something.

And we're doing all this while reducing the deficit. My friends talk, on the other team, about how we're big spenders. Well, guess what? They passed a $2 trillion tax cut for the top 1 percent in corporate America and didn't pay for a penny of it.

My first year in office, we reduced the federal debt by $350 billion, 350. And this year, we're reducing it by more than $1 trillion while we're doing all the things we're doing.

And while Medicare will negotiate drug prices, going to reduce it over the next years another $300 billion over the next decade.

Every single Democrat voted for the Inflation Reduction Act, and every single Republican voted against it.

Not only that. They're telling us the number-one priority is to repeal -- if they win, they're saying they're going to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act. They'll yank it in front of Congress.

Let's be crystal clear what that means. The Republicans taking control of Congress means the power we gave Medicare to negotiate drug prices goes away. Gone. Prices go back up.

If the Republicans take control of the Congress, the $2000 on prescription drug costs we just passed goes away. Gone.

If they take back the control of the Congress, the $35 a month cap on insulin for folks on Medicare we just passed goes away. Gone.

Savings on health care premiums we just got for millions of Americans for the Affordable Care Act, gone.

And, of course, it's not just an Inflation Reduction Act. They still want to get rid of the Affordable Care act. That means an end of protection for millions of people with pre-existing conditions who rely on the Affordable Care Act. Gone.

[13:40:01] Now when it comes to taxes, if Republicans get their way, they will get rid of the corporate minimum tax. Not talking about getting rid of your taxes. The corporate minimum tax. The biggest corporations can go back to paying zero on federal income tax. These are facts. Check them out.

Folks, it's not just the Inflation Reduction Act. They're coming after your Social Security and Medicare as well. I know that sounds bizarre. Look it up.

The Senator in charge of electing Republicans to the U.S. Senate this year has proposed a plan to put Social Security and Medicare on the chopping block every five years.

That means, every five years, Congress is going to have to vote to either cut, reduce, completely eliminate or vote for Medicare and Social Security again.

What do you think will happen? What do you think?

But that's not enough. You've been paying Social Security and Medicare since you started working when you were 16 years old.

And then there's a Senator from Wisconsin, Ron Johnson. He thinks waiting five years is too long. And he says Social Security and Medicare should be on the chopping block every single year.

If Congress doesn't vote to keep it, it goes away. You know the game they play in Congress and everything from dealing with the 60 votes in the Senate and so on.

It's not just Social Security and Medicare. He wants to put everything on the federal budget. Veterans benefits would have to come up every single year.

It's not just this morning. I saw there's a report -- you can, as they say, as my grandkids say, Google it.

A report that came out on CNN says, "Republicans call Biden infrastructure program Socialism. And then they ask for the money."

And it goes through all of the Republicans, the most conservative Republicans who call it Socialism, and how they're asking.

A guy named Paul Gosar has written three separate letters to the administration asking for projects in his district. He says, "It enhanced the quality of life, eased congestion, boosted the economy." Voted against it, says it's all Socialism.

Go down the list. Kentucky Representative Andy Barr, "The biggest Socialist agenda." Three different projects he wants, citing the importance of safety and growth of his district.

Rand Paul -- I can go down the list. Look it up. Socialism. I didn't know there were that many Socialist Republicans.

Think about it. I'm serious. Let's get serious about taking care of ordinary people, regular people like I grew up.

Folks, look, you can't make this stuff up. You have to say, I have to say, I was surprised to see so many Socialists in the Republican caucus.

Folks, here's the bottom line. If Republicans take control of the Congress, these historic victories we just won for the American people are going to be taken away. Every kitchen-table cost will go up, not down.

I realize costs are going up on food. And I was able to bring gasoline down well over $1.60. But it's inching up because of what the Russians and the Saudis just did. I'm not finished with that yet.

The costs of prescription drugs, health care, energy, they're all up. If protection of pre-existing conditions are taking away, Social Security and Medicare will be on the chopping block.

But they don't want you to know that. They're not campaigning on it. That's what they are saying. That's the documents they're sending out.

Folks, when it comes to the next Congress, this isn't a referendum. It's a choice. It's a choice. Between two very different ways of looking at the economy.

Over 200-some people in the Congress who still think the last election wasn't fair, that it was stolen. I stole the election. You know, every major Republican judge in the Supreme Court said, no, no, there's no evidence of any of that, none. But I stole the election.

Folks, we talk about democracy, whether it's at risk. Democracy is at risk in most places when the only definition of whether you win, you either have to win the election or it's been stolen.

When, in fact, you have -- when you have, in fact, a situation where a group of people attack the capital like we've never seen, smash down the doors, go after people, have three cops end up dying, so on and so forth, and they're referred to as patriots. Patriots? That's democracy?

Look, there are different ways of looking at our country. One is the view from Park Avenue, which says -- helps the very wealthy and maybe it will trickle down to everyone else. Park Avenue is doing well then we're all doing well.

[13:45:08]

The other view is from Scranton, Pennsylvania, where I grew up, or our view here in Hagerstown, who believe the backbone of America, that people get up every single morning and go to work and break their necks making a living, the working class and the middle class, that's who built this country.

And, by the way, that the middle class built in America, and unions built the middle class.

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: For real.

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: Folks, that's who our economy should work for.

Let me close with this. The last few years, we've faced some of the most difficult challenges in our history. We're making real progress. Helping folks more and giving them more breathing room. We just have to keep going. And I know we can.

For everything we've been through, I've never been more optimistic about America's prospects in my entire career. And, my word, I've never been more optimistic.

Just remember who we are. We're the United States of America. There's nothing, nothing we've ever set our mind to we've not been able to do, nothing. And, folks, nothing is beyond the capacity if we work together.

And so that's my hope is that after this election that there will be a little return to sanity and we'll stop this bitterness that exists between the parties and have people working together.

I tell you what, we can own the 21st century. Not a joke. We can own. There's not another single nation in the world, not a single other nation is the world that's as well positioned as the United States of America is. It's because of you all.

Thank you very much. May God bless you all. May God protect our troops.

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: Thank you, thank you, thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

(MUSIC)

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: The president delivering those remarks on the economy in Hagerstown, Maryland, at a Volvo facility there.

He highlighted a strong jobs report today and talked about his record on job creation. He highlighted investments in manufacturing here in the U.S. He touted his legislative achievements when it comes to the CHIPS bill and infrastructure law, and said America is reasserting its power.

Now in nearby Washington, D.C., timing is everything. Consider this. And the president brought this up. Many of the same Republican lawmakers who attacked the Biden infrastructure plan are now asking for a cut of the $3 billion in funding.

Here is a sampling based on a CNN public records request. Senator Rand Paul called it wasteful spending. He has since sent 10

letters asking for money.

Arizona Congressman Paul Gosar said it was part of a Socialist agenda. He has sent three letters requesting funds.

And Congressman Tom Emmer of Minnesota called it a Socialist wish list. He is now asking for money to improve a highway in his district. And he even says it would, quote, "serve as a social justice measure."

Meantime, a grave warning from the president last night that should give pause to every person on the planet. We are all living under the threat of nuclear Armageddon. "Armageddon" -- his word.

President Biden says the recent threats by Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials to use nuclear weapons amid humiliating losses in Ukraine is pushing the world to the brink.

Here is more of what the president said at a Democratic fundraiser. I quote:

"We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis. I don't think there's any such thing as the ability to easily use a tactical nuclear weapon and not end up with Armageddon."

I want to bring in William Cohen, who served as defense secretary in the Clinton administration.

Mr. Secretary, thank you for staying with us and joining us today.

President Biden made these comments that I just referred to at a Democratic fundraiser last night. It wasn't scripted. Multiple officials say the comments are not based on any new intelligence of Russia's nuclear posture.

What do you make of this?

WILLIAM COHEN, FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY: Well, as the president likes to say, he was not joking. No joke, folks.

I think he was basically telling the truth that we're at a very dangerous point in terms of global affairs because President Putin and his spokesman continue to say they may be forced to use nuclear weapons.

All weapons are horrible. Whether it's nuclear -- well, first, chemical, biological, they're terrible. Nuclear is the worst because you can kill tens of thousands of millions in a single strike. So this is the nightmare we've always had to live with.

[13:50:03]

But once you start to talk regularly about using nuclear weapons, it becomes normalized. I think that's what President Biden was speaking out in this language of Armageddon is to put a stop to it. We shouldn't allow Putin or anyone else to start talking about using

nuclear weapons as a regular thing, just another bigger bomb. No, it's a much bigger risk to humanity.

So I think the president was right to say that there's a possibility here that once you use nuclear weapons, you don't know what we will do.

We're the United States, will we respond in kind? Will we land a devastating blow to Russia, which then puts Putin in a sense of responding to it?

You start climbing up to this ladder or some who say this escalator, how do you get off? I think he's right to call it out now.

And also tell the world, tell the Chinese, tell the Indians, tell everyone, you're all potentially involved in this.

If there's ever a nuclear exchange, it's what Churchill said, the Stone Age will return on the gleaming world of science. That was his warning back in 1948.

President Kennedy did the same thing in the Cuban Missile Crisis talking about the danger of that. And President Biden is calling for the danger we all face now. So I salute him for that.

So I think he should be called out for saying -- it doesn't matter if it's a fundraiser. There's nothing off the record in Washington politics. Everything is on the record wherever you are. And I think it's the reason no one has contradicted it. No one has called it back.

I think the president made a serious statement and it's no joke.

CABRERA: But they have couched it saying that nothing has changed in terms of the intel to suggest that Russia is planning to use a nuclear weapon imminently.

The president did also say he's trying to figure out a potential off ramp for Putin. Do you see an off ramp in the current situation?

COHEN: At the moment, I don't, because Putin is losing. And because Putin is losing, he's being humiliated.

You recall a few weeks or months ago, Putin said he'd take charge on the management of the battle. And most of the people said, well, that's -- that's an empty threat because you don't want a president involved in making day-to-day battlefield decisions.

But now they are trying to shift the blame to the military in Russia. So you can expect some heads to roll.

But Putin is the one responsible for initiating the war. He's the one responsible for putting his military in charge.

And by the way, when they say the emperor has no clothes, in this particular case, the emperor's military has no clothes. We're finding out that the Russian military, they are fighting with no

shoes. They are fighting with flip flops on in cold weather. So Putin has a real problem.

And I don't know at this particular point whether he sees the need to back down, find a way out, or anyone can help him do this.

But his friends, the Chinese, the Indians, even the Israelis should be talking to him about saying you have to find a way to come to the table and really make some serious, serious compromises.

And -- and restitution to the Ukrainian people who have been devastated. Thousands have been killed. Millions have been displaced or turned into refugees.

CABRERA: Yes.

COHEN: So I think that he needs the help of his friends to help him find a way off.

CABRERA: Such a tragic situation what's happening in Ukraine.

Former Defense Secretary William Cohen, thank you very much for offering your insight --

COHEN: Thank you.

CABRERA: -- and expertise today.

COHEN: Thank you.

CABRERA: Now to President Biden's October Surprise. For thousands of people with pot convictions, the president issuing pardons to anyone convicted of simple marijuana possession under federal law since it became a crime in the 1970s.

Sorry, pot dealers, this does not apply to you.

And while no one is currently serving time in federal prison for simply possessing weed, this does clear a big hurdle for people who are trying to get a job, for housing, to apply to college or to get federal benefits.

The president is also calling on the Department of Health and Human Services and the DOJ to look into why marijuana is still a schedule- one drug, putting it in the same category as LSD and even heroin.

Despite the fact that the National Institute on Drug Abuse states there are no reports of teens or adults dying from marijuana alone. While nearly 143,000 people died from overdoses involving heroin. And that's just from 1999 to 2020, according to the CDC.

Right now, recreational marijuana is already legal on the state level in 19 states. Five more will vote on legalizing recreational cannabis in November. And 38 states have also legalized marijuana for medicinal use. CNN legal analyst and civil rights attorney, Areva Martin, is joining us now.

Areva, this isn't about releasing people from prison, as we explained. This is an attempt to remove some barriers.

[13:55:00]

How do you see this changing lives?

AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: This is a major step in righting the wrongs of our criminal justice system as it is a relates to marijuana possession.

We know thousands of African-Americans, in particular, were incarcerated for the possession of marijuana, and it did disrupt their lives, it disrupted communities. And this is the first step in trying to address that.

And hopefully, states will follow suit as Biden has asked them to do, to look at their convictions because we know the majority of marijuana convictions happen at the state level, Ana, not a federal level.

And the president said no one should be serving time or be incarcerated because of possession of marijuana. Particularly, as you noted, when 19 states have legalized recreational marijuana, others are moving in that direction.

And overwhelmingly, Ana, 68 percent of Americans believe that marijuana should be legal.

CABRERA: Areva Martin, we're tight on time today because we're up against the top of the hour. Got to wrap there for now.

Thanks for offering that perspective for us. Great to have you here. And happy Friday

MARTIN: Thank you.

CABRERA: All right, Nintendo fans, the trailer has arrived, but a lot are asking, what's up with Mario's voice?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

CHRIS PLATT, ACTOR: What is this place?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: It's me, Chris Pratt. That's just one of the jabs out there as fans share their thoughts on the actor's rendition of the iconic video game character. Many expressing disappointment at the character's classic high-pitched Italian squeak. And I can't do it either. It just isn't there. And don't get me wrong. There's still a lot of excitement by the same

fans who are still seeing the film. My producer, Robert, may be the first in line, I think.

The Super Mario Brothers movie hits theaters in April. See what you think about the voice.

First fishing, and then chess and today more cheating. This time Irish dancing. Here's a quick recap for you.

On Monday, we started the week off with news of weights found in fish. The move casting two fishermen out of a walleye tournament in Ohio.

Then came chess. Chess.com revealed on Wednesday that American grandmaster, Hans Niemann, likely cheated more than 100 times when he said check mate and pocketed cash.

And now the Irish dancing commission has launched an investigation after being hit by allegations of competition-fixing. They are asking was the scoring of certain dances rigged during the Sports World Championships?

The commission is not revealing much right now but does say they are looking into, quote, "unethical behavior that won't be tolerated."

That does it for us. Happy Friday. Have a great weekend.

We're back after this.

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