WEBVTT 00:04.040 --> 00:05.984 Please , please Down . Thank you . 00:05.984 --> 00:09.710 Thank you . Good 00:09.710 --> 00:11.932 afternoon . Before I take questions , I 00:11.932 --> 00:14.390 want to give you a progress report to 00:14.390 --> 00:18.280 the nation on on where 00:18.280 --> 00:21.160 we stand . 65 days into office here 00:22.240 --> 00:24.280 on vaccinations and a few other top 00:24.280 --> 00:26.336 priorities for the American people . 00:26.840 --> 00:30.400 First on vaccinations on December 8th , 00:30.510 --> 00:33.990 I indicated that I hope to get 100 00:33.990 --> 00:36.960 million shots in people's arms in my 00:36.960 --> 00:40.740 1st 100 days . We met that goal last 00:40.740 --> 00:44.140 week by day 58 42 days ahead of 00:44.140 --> 00:46.540 schedule . Now , today I'm setting the 00:46.540 --> 00:49.700 second goal , and that is we will buy 00:49.700 --> 00:51.890 my 1/100 day in office . Have 00:51.890 --> 00:54.460 administered 200 million shots . 00:54.940 --> 00:57.510 People's arms . That's right . 200 00:57.510 --> 01:01.170 million shots in 100 days . Yeah , I 01:01.170 --> 01:03.800 know it's ambitious twice our original 01:03.800 --> 01:06.170 goal , but no other country in the 01:06.170 --> 01:08.380 world has even come close . Not even 01:08.380 --> 01:11.530 close to what we were doing . I believe 01:11.530 --> 01:14.640 we can do it . And today we made a 01:14.640 --> 01:16.640 historic investment in reaching the 01:16.640 --> 01:18.690 hardest hit and the most vulnerable 01:18.690 --> 01:20.301 communities the highest risk 01:20.301 --> 01:23.010 communities at as a consequence of the 01:23.010 --> 01:26.570 virus by investing additional $10 01:26.570 --> 01:29.680 billion and being able to reach them I 01:29.680 --> 01:32.790 also said a goal before I took office 01:32.790 --> 01:36.160 of getting a majority of schools and 01:36.540 --> 01:40.060 K through eight fully open in the 1st 01:40.060 --> 01:43.610 100 days . Now , thanks to the enormous 01:43.610 --> 01:45.280 amount of work done by our 01:45.280 --> 01:48.140 administration , educators , parents , 01:48.150 --> 01:50.900 local state education officials and 01:50.900 --> 01:52.990 leaders , recent Department of 01:52.990 --> 01:56.460 Education survey shows that nearly half 01:56.540 --> 01:58.780 of the K through eight schools are open 01:58.780 --> 02:01.550 now full time five days a week for in 02:01.550 --> 02:04.160 person learning , not yet a majority . 02:04.540 --> 02:06.707 But we're really close , and I believe 02:06.707 --> 02:08.873 in the 35 days left to go , we'll meet 02:08.873 --> 02:12.370 that goal as well . As of yesterday , 02:12.380 --> 02:15.650 more than 100 million payments 02:16.340 --> 02:20.320 of $1400 have gone into 02:20.320 --> 02:22.750 people's bank accounts . That's real 02:22.750 --> 02:24.806 money in people's pockets , bringing 02:24.806 --> 02:28.130 relief instantly almost and millions 02:28.130 --> 02:30.680 more will be getting their money very 02:30.680 --> 02:34.390 soon . One final note . Since we 02:34.390 --> 02:37.070 passed the American rescue plan , we're 02:37.070 --> 02:39.660 starting to see new signs of hope in 02:39.660 --> 02:43.590 our economy . Since it was passed , a 02:43.590 --> 02:46.330 majority majority of economic 02:46.330 --> 02:49.190 forecasters have significantly 02:49.190 --> 02:51.850 increased their projections on the 02:51.850 --> 02:53.906 economic growth . It's going to take 02:53.906 --> 02:56.200 place this year for now , projecting it 02:56.200 --> 02:59.900 will exceed 6% a 02:59.900 --> 03:03.410 6% growth in GDP . And just this 03:03.410 --> 03:06.010 morning we learned a number of people 03:06.010 --> 03:08.480 filing for weekly unemployment 03:08.480 --> 03:10.850 insurance fell by nearly 03:10.850 --> 03:14.770 100,000 persons . It's the 03:14.770 --> 03:17.720 first time in a year the number has 03:17.720 --> 03:21.260 fallen below the P pandemic high . 03:22.240 --> 03:24.351 So there are still too many Americans 03:24.351 --> 03:26.760 out of work , too many families hurting , 03:27.740 --> 03:29.907 and I still have a lot of work to do . 03:30.240 --> 03:32.240 But I can say to you , the American 03:32.240 --> 03:36.210 people help is here and hope is on the 03:36.210 --> 03:40.000 way . Now I'll be happy to take your 03:40.000 --> 03:40.750 questions . 03:44.540 --> 03:46.120 ZIKA , Associated Press 03:50.840 --> 03:52.562 Thank you , Mr President . You 03:52.562 --> 03:54.673 mentioned your progress on covid 19 . 03:54.673 --> 03:56.784 I'd like to ask you about some of the 03:56.784 --> 03:58.896 other issues facing your presidency . 03:58.896 --> 04:01.118 One of the defining challenges you face 04:01.118 --> 04:03.284 in the coming months is how to deliver 04:03.284 --> 04:05.451 on your promise to Americans on issues 04:05.451 --> 04:07.673 like immigration reform , gun control , 04:07.673 --> 04:09.896 voting rights , climate change . All of 04:09.896 --> 04:12.118 those right now are facing stiff united 04:12.118 --> 04:14.284 opposition from Republicans on Capitol 04:14.284 --> 04:16.507 Hill . How far are you willing to go to 04:16.507 --> 04:18.729 achieve those promises that you made to 04:18.729 --> 04:20.951 the American people ? Well , I'm good . 04:20.951 --> 04:24.670 Look , when when I took 04:24.670 --> 04:28.610 office , I decided that it 04:28.610 --> 04:31.260 was a fairly basic , simple proposition , 04:32.040 --> 04:34.510 and that is , I got elected to solve 04:34.510 --> 04:37.790 problems , and the most urgent problem 04:37.790 --> 04:39.846 faced the American people . I stated 04:39.846 --> 04:43.260 from the outset was Covid 19 04:43.640 --> 04:46.730 and the economic dislocation for 04:46.730 --> 04:48.786 millions and millions of Americans . 04:49.140 --> 04:52.010 And so that's why I put all my focus in 04:52.010 --> 04:53.954 the beginning . There are a lot of 04:53.954 --> 04:56.620 problems , but all my focus on dealing 04:56.820 --> 05:00.650 with those particular problems and the 05:00.650 --> 05:02.706 other problems we're talking about , 05:02.706 --> 05:04.872 from immigration to guns and the other 05:04.872 --> 05:08.060 things you mentioned , our long term 05:08.060 --> 05:10.282 problems have been around a long time , 05:10.440 --> 05:12.662 and what we're going to be able to do , 05:12.662 --> 05:15.640 God willing , is now began one of the 05:15.640 --> 05:18.910 time to focus on those as well and 05:18.910 --> 05:22.180 whether it's immigration or guns or a 05:22.180 --> 05:24.347 number of other problems that face the 05:24.347 --> 05:26.458 country . But the fundamental problem 05:27.240 --> 05:30.150 is getting people some peace of mind 05:31.140 --> 05:33.380 so they can go to bed at night and not 05:33.380 --> 05:35.380 stare at the ceiling , wonder where 05:35.380 --> 05:37.324 they lost their health insurance , 05:37.324 --> 05:39.491 Whether they're going to lose a family 05:39.491 --> 05:41.713 member , whether they're going to be in 05:41.713 --> 05:43.936 a position where they're not gonna be , 05:43.936 --> 05:46.047 they're gonna lose their home because 05:46.047 --> 05:48.102 they can't pay their mortgage or the 05:48.102 --> 05:50.324 millions of people are gonna get thrown 05:50.324 --> 05:52.213 out of their homes because of the 05:52.213 --> 05:54.324 inability to , uh , to pay the rent . 05:54.324 --> 05:57.280 So we're gonna move on these one at a 05:57.280 --> 05:59.810 time , try to do as many simultaneous 05:59.810 --> 06:03.340 as we can . But that's the reason why I 06:03.340 --> 06:05.960 focused as I have . And here's the deal . 06:06.740 --> 06:08.796 I think my Republican colleagues are 06:08.796 --> 06:10.907 going to have to determine whether or 06:10.907 --> 06:14.300 not we want to work together . Or they 06:14.310 --> 06:16.840 decide that the way in which they want 06:16.840 --> 06:20.020 to proceed is to is to 06:20.030 --> 06:23.270 just , um , decide to divide the 06:23.270 --> 06:25.430 country , continue the politics of 06:25.430 --> 06:27.763 division . But I'm not going to do that . 06:27.763 --> 06:29.986 I'm just going to move forward and take 06:29.986 --> 06:32.500 these things as they come . Call up . 06:32.500 --> 06:35.360 Mr President , Can your presidency be a 06:35.360 --> 06:37.530 success if you can't make progress on 06:37.540 --> 06:39.707 those four challenges Climate change , 06:39.707 --> 06:41.651 immigration reform , gun control , 06:41.651 --> 06:43.873 voting rights ? Well , I plan on making 06:43.873 --> 06:45.929 progress on all of them , but that's 06:45.929 --> 06:48.096 going to be for the American people to 06:48.096 --> 06:50.207 decide . I think you know , I I doubt 06:50.207 --> 06:52.373 whether maybe you did . Maybe others . 06:52.373 --> 06:54.484 Did I I I thought many of you thought 06:54.484 --> 06:56.651 there was no possibility of my getting 06:56.651 --> 06:58.920 the plan . I got past past without any 06:58.920 --> 07:02.590 Republican votes . Pretty big deal got 07:02.590 --> 07:06.200 past growing economy . People's lives 07:06.200 --> 07:08.200 are changing . So let's see what 07:08.200 --> 07:10.660 happens . All I know , I've been hired 07:10.660 --> 07:13.300 to solve problems to solve problems , 07:13.310 --> 07:14.532 not create division . 07:18.140 --> 07:21.850 Uh , okay . How about Hamish ? 07:25.240 --> 07:27.407 Thanks so much , Mr . President . Um , 07:27.407 --> 07:29.680 you've said over and over again that 07:29.690 --> 07:31.579 immigrants shouldn't come to this 07:31.579 --> 07:33.801 country right now . This isn't the time 07:33.801 --> 07:35.801 to come . That message is not being 07:35.801 --> 07:35.690 received . Instead , the perception of 07:35.690 --> 07:37.801 you that got you elected as a moral , 07:37.801 --> 07:40.240 decent man is the reason why a lot of 07:40.250 --> 07:42.361 immigrants are coming to this country 07:42.361 --> 07:44.361 and trusting you with unaccompanied 07:44.361 --> 07:46.194 minors . How do you resolve that 07:46.194 --> 07:48.139 tension ? And how are you choosing 07:48.139 --> 07:50.306 which families can stay in , which can 07:50.306 --> 07:52.472 can go given the fact that even though 07:52.472 --> 07:54.583 with Title 42 there are some families 07:54.583 --> 07:54.540 that are staying And is there a 07:54.540 --> 07:56.900 timeline for when we won't be seeing 07:56.900 --> 07:59.230 these overcrowded facilities with run 07:59.230 --> 08:01.860 by CPB when it comes to unaccompanied 08:01.860 --> 08:04.082 minors ? Well , look , I guess I should 08:04.082 --> 08:05.990 be flattered . People are coming 08:05.990 --> 08:08.101 because I'm the nice guy . That's the 08:08.101 --> 08:10.268 reason why it's happening , that I'm a 08:10.268 --> 08:12.212 decent man . Whoever's phrase that 08:12.212 --> 08:14.379 that's why they're coming because no , 08:14.379 --> 08:16.323 Biden is a good guy . Truth of the 08:16.323 --> 08:18.900 matter is , nothing has changed as many 08:18.900 --> 08:22.350 people came 28% increase in Children to 08:22.350 --> 08:25.860 the border in my administration , 31% 08:26.340 --> 08:29.470 in the last year of 2019 before the 08:29.470 --> 08:31.990 pandemic in the Trump administration , 08:32.640 --> 08:36.360 it happens every single solitary year . 08:37.040 --> 08:40.130 There is a significant increase . The 08:40.130 --> 08:42.241 number of people coming to the border 08:42.241 --> 08:44.910 in the winter months of January , 08:44.910 --> 08:47.960 February March . It happens every year . 08:48.340 --> 08:51.910 In addition to that , there is a and 08:51.940 --> 08:54.250 nobody . And by the way , does anybody 08:54.250 --> 08:57.430 suggest that there was a 31% increase 08:57.430 --> 08:59.541 under Trump because he was a nice guy 08:59.740 --> 09:01.740 and he was doing good things at the 09:01.740 --> 09:03.907 border ? That's not the reason they're 09:03.907 --> 09:06.350 coming . The reason they're coming is 09:06.360 --> 09:08.582 that it's the time they can travel with 09:08.582 --> 09:10.638 the least likelihood of dying on the 09:10.638 --> 09:12.860 way because of the heat in the desert . 09:12.860 --> 09:15.240 Number one number two , they're coming 09:15.240 --> 09:18.560 because of the circumstances in country 09:19.340 --> 09:22.600 in country . The way to deal with this 09:22.600 --> 09:25.020 problem , and I started to deal with it 09:25.020 --> 09:27.353 back when I was a United States senator . 09:27.353 --> 09:29.464 I mean , vice president , for putting 09:29.464 --> 09:32.280 together a bipartisan plan of over $700 09:32.280 --> 09:34.500 million to do the root causes of why 09:34.500 --> 09:36.970 people are leaving . What did Trump do ? 09:37.030 --> 09:39.560 He eliminated that funding . He didn't 09:39.560 --> 09:42.620 use it . He didn't do it . In addition 09:42.620 --> 09:44.731 to that , what he did , he dismantled 09:44.731 --> 09:48.100 all the elements that exists to deal 09:48.100 --> 09:50.660 with what had been a problem and quick 09:50.660 --> 09:52.827 and has been continued to be a problem 09:52.827 --> 09:55.670 for a long time . He in fact , shut 09:55.670 --> 09:59.500 down the number of beds available . 09:59.510 --> 10:02.730 He did not fund HHS to get people to 10:02.740 --> 10:05.530 get the Children out of those those 10:05.530 --> 10:07.530 Border Patrol facilities where they 10:07.530 --> 10:09.586 should not be and not supposed to be 10:09.586 --> 10:11.697 more than a few days a little while . 10:12.040 --> 10:14.290 But he dismantled all of that . So what 10:14.290 --> 10:16.600 we're doing now is attempting to 10:16.600 --> 10:19.850 rebuild , rebuild the system that can 10:19.860 --> 10:22.740 accommodate , then what is happening 10:22.740 --> 10:25.120 today , And I'd like to think it's 10:25.120 --> 10:27.342 because I'm a nice guy , but it's not . 10:27.342 --> 10:29.453 It's because of what's happened every 10:29.453 --> 10:31.509 year . Let me say one other thing on 10:31.509 --> 10:34.450 this . If you take a look at the number 10:34.450 --> 10:36.990 of people are coming , the vast 10:36.990 --> 10:40.260 majority the overwhelming majority of 10:40.260 --> 10:42.316 people coming to the border crossing 10:42.316 --> 10:45.750 are being sent back are being sent back . 10:46.440 --> 10:49.950 Thousands , tens of thousands 10:50.340 --> 10:54.260 of people who are who are over 18 years 10:54.260 --> 10:57.270 of age and single people one at a time 10:57.270 --> 11:00.360 coming have been sent back . Sent home , 11:01.140 --> 11:03.362 we're sending back the vast majority of 11:03.362 --> 11:05.418 the families that are coming . We're 11:05.418 --> 11:07.473 trying to work out now with Mexico , 11:07.473 --> 11:09.696 their willingness to take more of those 11:09.696 --> 11:12.440 families back . But we that's what's 11:12.440 --> 11:14.607 happening . They're not getting across 11:14.607 --> 11:16.496 the border , and those are coming 11:16.496 --> 11:18.718 across the border who are unaccompanied 11:18.718 --> 11:20.884 Children . We're moving rapidly to try 11:20.884 --> 11:22.996 to put in place what was dismantled . 11:22.996 --> 11:25.051 As I said , for example , of all the 11:25.051 --> 11:27.273 Children are coming across the border , 11:27.273 --> 11:30.360 over 70% are either 16 or 17 years old . 11:31.340 --> 11:33.507 We're not talking about people ripping 11:33.507 --> 11:35.673 babies from mother's arms are a little 11:35.673 --> 11:37.896 three year old stand on the border less 11:37.896 --> 11:39.840 than I think it's 1.5% fall in the 11:39.840 --> 11:42.630 category of the very young . So what 11:42.630 --> 11:44.797 we're doing is we're providing for the 11:44.797 --> 11:47.590 space again to be able to get these 11:47.590 --> 11:49.360 kids out of the Border Patrol 11:49.360 --> 11:52.070 facilities , which no child no one 11:52.070 --> 11:55.370 should be in any longer than 72 hours 11:55.380 --> 11:58.060 and today I went to , for example , I 11:58.060 --> 12:00.338 used all the resources available to me , 12:00.338 --> 12:03.850 went into Defense Department , and the 12:03.860 --> 12:05.804 secretary of defense has just made 12:05.804 --> 12:09.260 available Fort Bliss 5000 beds 12:10.540 --> 12:13.730 be immediately available . 5000 beds in 12:13.730 --> 12:16.530 the Texas border . So we're building 12:16.530 --> 12:19.670 back up the capacity that should have 12:19.670 --> 12:22.380 been maintained and built upon that 12:22.380 --> 12:24.900 Trump dismantled . It's going to take 12:24.900 --> 12:27.460 time and the other thing we're doing , 12:27.460 --> 12:29.730 I might add , and I give me too long an 12:29.730 --> 12:31.786 answer because if you don't want the 12:31.786 --> 12:34.630 detail , no , no , But I mean , I I 12:34.630 --> 12:36.630 don't know how much detail you want 12:36.630 --> 12:38.630 about immigration . Maybe I'll stop 12:38.630 --> 12:40.686 there in for New York . My follow up 12:40.686 --> 12:42.930 question is , um , one . If you could 12:42.930 --> 12:45.152 talk a little bit about which family is 12:45.152 --> 12:47.263 why they're being allowed to say what 12:47.263 --> 12:49.430 the families that are being allowed to 12:49.430 --> 12:48.890 say why they're being allowed to say , 12:48.900 --> 12:50.956 in addition to that when it comes to 12:50.956 --> 12:53.178 the filibuster , which is what Zeke was 12:53.178 --> 12:55.400 asking about . There's immigration is a 12:55.400 --> 12:57.622 big issue , of course , when it related 12:57.622 --> 12:59.678 to the filibuster . But there's also 12:59.678 --> 13:01.678 Republicans were passing Bill after 13:01.678 --> 13:03.900 Bill trying to restrict voting rights . 13:04.340 --> 13:06.110 Chuck Schumer is calling it an 13:06.120 --> 13:08.440 existential threat to democracy . Why 13:08.440 --> 13:10.520 not back a filibuster rule that at 13:10.520 --> 13:13.070 least gets around issues including 13:13.070 --> 13:15.130 voting rights or immigration ? Jim 13:15.130 --> 13:17.352 Clyburn . Someone , of course , who you 13:17.352 --> 13:19.408 know very well . Um , has backed the 13:19.408 --> 13:21.352 idea of a filibuster rules when it 13:21.352 --> 13:23.686 comes to civil rights and voting rights . 13:23.686 --> 13:27.160 Well , look , um , I'm going to do with 13:27.160 --> 13:29.360 all those problems . The question is 13:29.940 --> 13:32.162 the priorities as they come and land on 13:32.162 --> 13:33.996 my plate . Let's go to the first 13:33.996 --> 13:36.107 question . You asked the first of the 13:36.107 --> 13:38.390 second questions , and that is , What 13:38.390 --> 13:40.920 about dealing with families ? Why are 13:40.920 --> 13:43.680 not some not going back ? Because 13:43.680 --> 13:46.350 Mexico is refusing to take them back . 13:47.640 --> 13:49.640 They're saying they won't take them 13:49.640 --> 13:51.529 back . Not all of them . We're in 13:51.529 --> 13:53.418 negotiations with the president . 13:53.418 --> 13:55.418 Mexico . I think we're going to see 13:55.418 --> 13:57.800 that change . They should all be going 13:57.800 --> 14:00.920 back . All be going back . The only 14:00.920 --> 14:03.031 people we're not going to let sitting 14:03.031 --> 14:04.976 there on the other side of the Rio 14:04.976 --> 14:07.087 Grande by themselves , with no help , 14:07.087 --> 14:10.080 our Children and what we're doing there . 14:10.080 --> 14:12.358 And it's important point to understand . 14:12.358 --> 14:14.580 I know you understand that I don't mean 14:14.580 --> 14:16.802 to say it that way . Important point to 14:16.802 --> 14:18.858 focus on the vast majority of people 14:18.858 --> 14:20.802 under the age of 18 company United 14:20.802 --> 14:23.970 States come with a telephone number on 14:23.970 --> 14:25.950 the on a wristband or come with a 14:25.950 --> 14:28.172 telephone number in their pocket in the 14:28.172 --> 14:30.394 United States . A mother , a father , a 14:30.400 --> 14:32.622 close relative of Grandma and grandpa . 14:33.140 --> 14:35.300 What was happening before is just 14:35.300 --> 14:37.480 taking literally weeks and weeks and 14:37.480 --> 14:39.591 maybe even months before anybody pick 14:39.591 --> 14:41.702 up the phone and call to see if there 14:41.702 --> 14:44.050 really was someone there . Well , we've 14:44.050 --> 14:46.830 set up a system now where within 24 14:46.830 --> 14:49.290 hours there's a phone call made as that 14:49.290 --> 14:51.450 person that child crosses the border 14:52.240 --> 14:54.570 and then a verification system being 14:54.570 --> 14:57.510 put in place is , as of today , to 14:57.510 --> 15:00.050 determine quickly whether or not that 15:00.050 --> 15:02.550 is a trafficker being called or that is 15:02.550 --> 15:05.520 actually a mom , a dad and or a close 15:05.520 --> 15:08.230 relative . They're establishing that 15:08.240 --> 15:10.650 right off the bat . If it in fact , is 15:10.800 --> 15:13.740 mom or dad , Dad says to take the 15:13.740 --> 15:16.018 extreme case I got a birth certificate , 15:16.140 --> 15:18.196 then guess what ? We're getting that 15:18.196 --> 15:21.450 kid directly to that parent immediately , 15:22.040 --> 15:24.040 and so that's going to reduce 15:24.040 --> 15:26.180 significantly . There's two ways to 15:26.180 --> 15:28.600 reduce child populations in 15:28.600 --> 15:30.900 circumstances that are not acceptable , 15:30.900 --> 15:33.480 like being held at a Border Patrol 15:33.480 --> 15:36.710 station . One is to get them to the 15:36.710 --> 15:39.970 place where they have a relative and 15:39.970 --> 15:42.170 set a date as to when the hearing can 15:42.170 --> 15:44.940 be held . The second way to do it is 15:44.940 --> 15:48.260 put them in a Health and Human Services 15:48.260 --> 15:51.390 facility that were occupying now both 15:51.400 --> 15:53.570 licensed beds around the country that 15:53.570 --> 15:56.410 exist as well as , for example , 15:56.640 --> 16:00.070 federal resources like Fort Bliss to 16:00.070 --> 16:03.690 get them safely in a place where they 16:03.690 --> 16:06.130 can be taken care of while their fate 16:06.130 --> 16:09.480 is determined . Filibuster , 16:09.490 --> 16:13.460 Filibuster . You know , with regard to 16:13.460 --> 16:16.210 the filibuster , I believe we should go 16:16.210 --> 16:18.266 back to a position of the filibuster 16:18.266 --> 16:20.488 that existed just when I came to United 16:20.488 --> 16:23.440 States Senate 120 years ago . Um , and 16:23.440 --> 16:25.900 that is that it used to be required for 16:25.900 --> 16:28.490 the filibuster , and I had a card on 16:28.490 --> 16:30.434 this . I was going to give you the 16:30.434 --> 16:32.768 statistics , but you probably know them . 16:32.768 --> 16:36.150 That used to be that , uh , that well , 16:36.160 --> 16:39.100 from between 1917 and 1971 the 16:39.100 --> 16:41.600 filibuster existed . There were a total 16:41.600 --> 16:45.470 of 58 motions to break a filibuster 16:46.740 --> 16:49.860 that whole time last year alone 16:50.540 --> 16:52.970 there are five times that many , 16:54.240 --> 16:56.970 so it's being abused in a gigantic way . 16:57.540 --> 16:59.720 And , for example , it used to be you 16:59.720 --> 17:02.220 had to stand there and talk and talk 17:02.220 --> 17:04.460 and talk and talk until you collapsed . 17:05.040 --> 17:07.096 And guess what ? People got tired of 17:07.096 --> 17:08.984 talking and tired of collapsing . 17:08.984 --> 17:11.096 Filibusters broke down and we're able 17:11.096 --> 17:13.262 to break the filibuster , get a quorum 17:13.262 --> 17:15.750 and vote . So I strongly support moving 17:15.750 --> 17:17.694 in that direction . In addition to 17:17.694 --> 17:20.280 having an open mind about dealing with 17:20.280 --> 17:22.290 certain things that are are just 17:22.300 --> 17:24.133 elemental to the function of our 17:24.133 --> 17:27.580 democracy , like the right to vote like 17:27.580 --> 17:30.370 the basic right to vote . We've amended 17:30.370 --> 17:32.840 the filibuster in the past , But here's 17:32.840 --> 17:36.360 the deal . As you observe , I'm a 17:36.360 --> 17:39.410 fairly practical guy . I want to get 17:39.410 --> 17:42.670 things done . I want to get them done 17:43.640 --> 17:45.696 consistent with what we promised the 17:45.696 --> 17:48.100 American people . And in order to do 17:48.100 --> 17:51.320 that in a 50 50 Senate , we've got to 17:51.320 --> 17:53.700 get to the place where I get 50 votes 17:53.710 --> 17:55.932 so that the vice prez United States can 17:55.932 --> 17:58.610 break the tie or I get 51 votes without 17:58.610 --> 18:02.100 her , and so I'm gonna say something 18:02.100 --> 18:04.610 outrageous . I have never been 18:04.610 --> 18:06.721 particularly poor and calculating how 18:06.721 --> 18:08.943 to get things done in the United States 18:08.943 --> 18:10.920 Senate . So the best way to get 18:10.920 --> 18:13.830 something done if you if you hold near 18:13.830 --> 18:16.790 and dear to you that you , um , like to 18:16.790 --> 18:19.770 be able to Anyway , 18:22.140 --> 18:24.880 we're going to get a lot done . And if 18:24.880 --> 18:26.769 we have to , if there is complete 18:27.140 --> 18:29.430 lockdown and chaos as a consequence of 18:29.430 --> 18:31.597 the filibuster , then we'll have to go 18:31.597 --> 18:33.374 beyond what I'm talking about . 18:35.040 --> 18:37.860 Okay ? Hang on . 18:38.340 --> 18:42.050 Uh , sorry . Oh , 18:42.640 --> 18:44.260 sing me . It's Kim . 18:48.440 --> 18:50.440 Thank you , Mr President , Um , to 18:50.440 --> 18:52.662 follow up on the filibuster . So do you 18:52.662 --> 18:54.829 believe it should take 60 votes to end 18:54.829 --> 18:57.170 the filibuster on legislation or 51 ? 18:57.940 --> 19:00.750 If we get ended with 51 we have no 19:00.750 --> 19:03.020 problem . You're going to have to the 19:03.020 --> 19:06.460 existing rule . It's gonna be hard to 19:06.940 --> 19:09.260 get a parliamentary ruling that allows 19:11.140 --> 19:13.970 50 votes to end the filibuster the 19:13.970 --> 19:17.270 existence of a filibuster . But , 19:17.280 --> 19:21.210 um uh huh . It's not my 19:21.210 --> 19:23.266 expertise And what the parliamentary 19:23.266 --> 19:25.321 rules and how to get there are . But 19:25.321 --> 19:27.432 our preoccupation with the filibuster 19:27.432 --> 19:29.377 is totally legitimate . But in the 19:29.377 --> 19:31.599 meantime , we got a lot we can do while 19:31.599 --> 19:33.821 we're talking about what we're gonna do 19:33.821 --> 19:36.470 it about the filibuster . Um , let me 19:36.470 --> 19:39.950 get here . Okay . Um , 19:40.840 --> 19:42.060 Cecilia Vega , 19:45.540 --> 19:47.818 I'd like to circle back to immigration . 19:47.818 --> 19:50.490 Please . You just listed the reasons 19:50.490 --> 19:52.601 that people are coming , uh , talking 19:52.601 --> 19:54.712 about in country problems saying that 19:54.712 --> 19:56.879 it happens every year . You blamed the 19:56.879 --> 19:59.046 last administration , sir . I just got 19:59.046 --> 20:01.157 back last night from a reporting trip 20:01.157 --> 20:03.379 to the border where I met nine year old 20:03.379 --> 20:05.910 Joseph , who walked here from Honduras 20:05.920 --> 20:08.110 by himself , along with another little 20:08.110 --> 20:10.990 boy . He had that on him , and we were 20:10.990 --> 20:13.930 able to call his family . His mother 20:13.940 --> 20:15.884 says that she sent her son to this 20:15.884 --> 20:18.730 country because she believes that you 20:18.730 --> 20:21.570 are not deporting unaccompanied minors 20:21.570 --> 20:23.737 like her son . That's why she sent him 20:23.737 --> 20:25.950 alone from Honduras . So , sir , you 20:25.950 --> 20:28.117 blame the last administration , but is 20:28.117 --> 20:30.172 your messaging and saying that these 20:30.172 --> 20:32.172 Children are and will be allowed to 20:32.172 --> 20:34.394 stay in this country and work their way 20:34.394 --> 20:36.339 through this process ? Encouraging 20:36.339 --> 20:39.410 families like Joe says to come Well , 20:39.410 --> 20:42.440 look , uh huh . 20:45.210 --> 20:48.790 The idea that I'm going to say which I 20:48.790 --> 20:51.730 would never do an unaccompanied child 20:51.730 --> 20:53.674 ends up at the border . We're just 20:53.674 --> 20:55.897 gonna let them starve to death and stay 20:55.897 --> 20:58.670 on the other side . No previous 20:58.670 --> 21:00.726 administrations that either , except 21:00.726 --> 21:04.080 Trump . I'm not gonna do it . I'm not 21:04.080 --> 21:06.860 going to do it . That's why I've asked 21:07.240 --> 21:09.184 the vice president United States , 21:09.184 --> 21:12.630 yesterday to be the lead person I'm 21:12.630 --> 21:15.130 dealing with , focusing on the 21:15.130 --> 21:17.640 fundamental reasons why people leave 21:17.640 --> 21:20.070 Honduras , Guatemala , El Salvador in 21:20.070 --> 21:22.810 the first place . It's because of 21:22.820 --> 21:25.820 earthquakes , floods . It's because of 21:25.820 --> 21:28.340 lack of food . It's because of gang 21:28.340 --> 21:30.560 violence . It's because of a whole 21:30.560 --> 21:33.080 range of things that when I was vice 21:33.080 --> 21:35.247 president , had the same obligation to 21:35.247 --> 21:37.302 deal with unaccompanied Children . I 21:37.302 --> 21:38.913 was able to get it slowed up 21:38.913 --> 21:41.136 significantly by working with the heads 21:41.136 --> 21:43.136 of state of those communities to do 21:43.136 --> 21:45.413 things like in one of the major cities . 21:45.413 --> 21:47.302 Reason people are leaving as they 21:47.302 --> 21:47.160 couldn't walk in the street because 21:47.160 --> 21:49.049 they were getting their kids were 21:49.049 --> 21:50.827 getting beat up or shot or gang 21:50.827 --> 21:53.170 violence . Well , what I was able to do 21:53.170 --> 21:56.100 is not give money to the head of state 21:56.110 --> 21:58.230 because somebody are corrupt . But I 21:58.230 --> 22:00.119 was able to say , Okay , you need 22:00.119 --> 22:02.008 lighting in the streets to change 22:02.008 --> 22:04.220 things . I'll put the lighting in . We 22:04.220 --> 22:06.331 got a contractor . We got the type of 22:06.331 --> 22:08.164 lighting we paid directly to the 22:08.164 --> 22:10.053 contractor did not go through the 22:10.053 --> 22:11.831 government , and violent crimes 22:11.831 --> 22:14.109 significantly was reduced in that city . 22:14.109 --> 22:16.276 Fewer people sought to leave when this 22:16.276 --> 22:18.290 hurricane occurred to hurricanes 22:18.300 --> 22:21.160 instead of us going down and helping in 22:21.160 --> 22:23.680 a major way so that people would not 22:23.680 --> 22:26.470 have a reason to want to leave in the 22:26.470 --> 22:28.526 first place because they didn't have 22:28.526 --> 22:31.650 housing or water or sustenance . We did 22:31.650 --> 22:34.650 nothing . We're going to do a lot in 22:34.650 --> 22:36.730 our administration . We're gonna be 22:36.730 --> 22:39.420 spending that 700 plus million dollars 22:39.420 --> 22:41.610 a year to change the life and 22:41.610 --> 22:43.666 circumstances of why people leave in 22:43.666 --> 22:45.777 the first place . That mother did not 22:45.777 --> 22:48.600 sit around with on the kitchen table 22:48.600 --> 22:50.860 and say , You know , I got a great idea 22:51.440 --> 22:53.551 why I'm going to make sure my son get 22:53.551 --> 22:55.773 taken care of is I'm going to put a How 22:55.773 --> 22:59.640 old was he or she ? Nine . I also met a 22:59.640 --> 23:02.450 10 year old , a nine year old . I'm 23:02.450 --> 23:04.610 gonna send him on 1000 mile journey 23:04.610 --> 23:06.777 across the desert and up to the United 23:06.777 --> 23:09.080 States , because I know Joe Biden is a 23:09.080 --> 23:11.460 nice guy and he'll take care of him . 23:12.840 --> 23:15.760 What a desperate act to have to take 23:16.640 --> 23:19.620 the circumstances must be horrible , so 23:19.620 --> 23:21.842 we can do something about that . That's 23:21.842 --> 23:24.064 the vice president is going to be doing 23:24.064 --> 23:26.720 what I did when President Obama asked 23:26.720 --> 23:29.200 me to come and deal I was in , I was in , 23:29.210 --> 23:31.432 uh , Turkey at the time , he said . You 23:31.432 --> 23:33.710 got to come home and take care of this . 23:33.710 --> 23:35.932 So we put together a plan and it had an 23:35.932 --> 23:38.420 impact . And so the question here is 23:38.430 --> 23:41.670 whether how we go ahead and do this , 23:42.040 --> 23:45.270 what we do . There's no easy answer . 23:48.140 --> 23:50.251 Quick follow , if I may . Do you want 23:50.251 --> 23:52.390 to see these unaccompanied minors 23:52.400 --> 23:54.750 staying in this this country ? Or 23:54.760 --> 23:56.816 should they be deported eventually ? 23:57.240 --> 23:59.300 Well , the judgment has to be made 23:59.300 --> 24:01.633 whether or not in this young man's case , 24:01.633 --> 24:03.660 he has a mom at home . There's an 24:03.670 --> 24:05.730 overwhelming reason why he put on a 24:05.730 --> 24:07.619 plane and flown back to his mom . 24:12.340 --> 24:13.880 Follow sir , you mentioned 24:13.890 --> 24:16.170 circumstances that must be horrific . 24:16.540 --> 24:18.429 The Customs and Border Protection 24:18.429 --> 24:20.540 Facility in Donna , Texas I was there 24:20.540 --> 24:24.480 is that 1556% capacity right now with 24:24.480 --> 24:26.702 mostly unaccompanied minors . There are 24:26.702 --> 24:28.924 kids that are sleeping on floors . They 24:28.924 --> 24:30.813 are packed into these pods . I've 24:30.813 --> 24:32.924 spoken to lawyers who say that they , 24:32.924 --> 24:35.091 some of these Children , have not seen 24:35.091 --> 24:37.369 the sun in days . What's your reaction ? 24:37.369 --> 24:39.480 What is your reaction to these images 24:39.480 --> 24:41.702 that have come out from that particular 24:41.702 --> 24:43.924 facility ? Is what's happening inside , 24:43.924 --> 24:46.091 acceptable to you and when it is going 24:46.091 --> 24:48.510 to be fixed ? That's a serious question , 24:48.510 --> 24:50.870 right ? And that , except on me , Come 24:50.870 --> 24:53.170 on . That's why we're going to be 24:53.170 --> 24:55.970 moving 1000 of those kids out quickly . 24:55.980 --> 24:58.740 That's why I got Fort Bliss opened up . 24:58.750 --> 25:00.861 That's why I've been working from the 25:00.861 --> 25:03.028 moment this started to happen , to try 25:03.028 --> 25:05.800 to find additional access for Children 25:05.800 --> 25:08.310 to be able to safely not just Children , 25:08.310 --> 25:10.477 but particularly Children , to be able 25:10.477 --> 25:12.860 to safely be housed while we follow 25:12.860 --> 25:15.138 through on the rest of what's happened . 25:15.138 --> 25:16.860 That is totally unacceptable . 25:20.340 --> 25:21.770 Um , Ken , 25:24.440 --> 25:26.496 thank you , Mr President , I want to 25:26.496 --> 25:29.290 ask you about Afghanistan . You face a 25:29.290 --> 25:32.440 may 1st deadline for the withdrawal of 25:32.440 --> 25:35.630 US troops from that country as a 25:35.630 --> 25:37.800 candidate in foreign affairs . You 25:37.800 --> 25:41.390 wrote that it is past time to end these 25:41.390 --> 25:44.420 forever wars . Can you commit to the 25:44.420 --> 25:48.100 American people that by may 2nd , the U 25:48.100 --> 25:51.410 s will no longer have forces in 25:51.410 --> 25:55.350 Afghanistan . The answer is that it's 25:55.350 --> 25:57.128 gonna be hard to meet the May 1 25:57.128 --> 25:59.860 deadline . Yes , in terms of 26:01.240 --> 26:03.184 tactical reason , it's hard to get 26:03.184 --> 26:05.380 those troops out . So what we've been 26:05.380 --> 26:07.930 doing , what I've been doing and what 26:07.940 --> 26:11.050 Secretary Blinken has been doing has 26:11.050 --> 26:13.460 been we've been meeting with our allies , 26:13.940 --> 26:16.390 those other nations that have NATO 26:16.400 --> 26:18.990 allies who have troops in Afghanistan 26:18.990 --> 26:22.940 as well . And and if we leave , we're 26:22.940 --> 26:25.510 going to do so in a safe and orderly 26:25.510 --> 26:28.880 way . We're in consultation , I said , 26:28.880 --> 26:31.340 with our allies and partners and how to 26:31.340 --> 26:34.150 proceed and Secretary Blinken as 26:34.160 --> 26:36.327 meeting in Brussels this week with our 26:36.327 --> 26:39.830 NATO allies , particularly those who 26:39.830 --> 26:42.910 have forces there . And General Austin 26:42.920 --> 26:44.809 is just met with Kayani , and I'm 26:44.809 --> 26:46.920 waiting for the briefing on that . He 26:46.920 --> 26:49.820 is the the the leader quote in 26:49.820 --> 26:53.480 Afghanistan and Kabul , and there's a U . 26:53.480 --> 26:56.180 N led process is beginning , uh , 26:56.190 --> 26:59.580 shortly on how to mechanically get 26:59.590 --> 27:02.740 people how to end this war . But it is 27:02.740 --> 27:05.650 not my intention to stay there for a 27:05.650 --> 27:08.480 long time . But the question is how and 27:08.480 --> 27:11.590 in what circumstances do we meet that 27:11.590 --> 27:14.860 agreement that was made by President 27:15.540 --> 27:19.500 Trump to leave under a deal that looks 27:19.500 --> 27:21.611 like it's not being able to be worked 27:21.611 --> 27:23.833 out to begin with . How has that done ? 27:24.240 --> 27:27.450 But we're not staying a long time . Mm . 27:29.240 --> 27:31.462 Do you think it's possible that we will 27:31.462 --> 27:33.950 leave ? The question is when we leave . 27:34.740 --> 27:36.796 Sorry . Do you believe , though it's 27:36.796 --> 27:38.796 possible we could have troops there 27:38.796 --> 27:42.680 next year ? I can't picture that . 27:42.690 --> 27:43.560 Be the case . 27:48.640 --> 27:50.700 Okay , Kristen , 27:52.740 --> 27:55.080 thank you very much , Mr . President , 27:55.090 --> 27:57.870 Given the conditions that were just 27:57.880 --> 28:00.950 laid out at the migrant facilities at 28:00.960 --> 28:03.590 the US border , will you commit to 28:03.590 --> 28:06.820 allowing journalists to have access to 28:06.820 --> 28:09.020 the facilities that are overcrowded 28:09.030 --> 28:12.540 Moving forward ? I will commit when my 28:12.540 --> 28:16.200 plan very shortly is underway to let 28:16.200 --> 28:18.311 you have access to not just that much 28:18.311 --> 28:21.840 other facilities as well be able to 28:21.840 --> 28:23.951 have access to the facilities . We've 28:23.951 --> 28:26.460 obviously been allowed to be inside one , 28:26.840 --> 28:29.980 but we haven't seen the facilities in 28:29.980 --> 28:33.060 which Children are packed together to 28:33.060 --> 28:34.949 really give the American people a 28:34.949 --> 28:37.171 chance to see that . Will you commit to 28:37.171 --> 28:39.338 transparency on this issue will commit 28:39.338 --> 28:41.449 to transparency . And as soon as I am 28:41.449 --> 28:43.560 in a position to be able to implement 28:43.560 --> 28:46.340 what we're doing right now . I'm one of 28:46.340 --> 28:48.340 the reasons I haven't gone down . I 28:48.340 --> 28:50.860 have all my my chief folks have gone 28:50.860 --> 28:52.820 down as I don't want to become the 28:52.820 --> 28:55.140 issue . I don't want to be , you know , 28:55.140 --> 28:57.350 bringing all the Secret Service and 28:57.350 --> 28:59.461 everybody with me to get in the way . 28:59.461 --> 29:02.620 So this is being set up and you'll have 29:02.630 --> 29:05.510 full access to everything once we get 29:05.520 --> 29:07.631 this thing moving . Okay ? Just to be 29:07.631 --> 29:09.576 clear , how soon will that be , Mr 29:09.576 --> 29:12.360 President ? I don't know . To be clear 29:13.740 --> 29:15.796 responsibility for everything that's 29:15.796 --> 29:17.851 happening at the border . Now I hear 29:17.851 --> 29:19.684 you talking a lot about the past 29:19.684 --> 29:21.740 administration . You decided to roll 29:21.740 --> 29:23.851 back some of those policies . Did you 29:23.851 --> 29:25.851 move too quickly to roll back ? I'm 29:25.851 --> 29:28.450 sorry , Policies . Did you move too 29:28.460 --> 29:30.760 quickly to roll back some of the 29:30.760 --> 29:32.927 executive orders of your predecessor ? 29:32.940 --> 29:35.000 First of all , all the policies are 29:35.000 --> 29:37.111 underway . We're not helping at all . 29:37.140 --> 29:39.030 Did not slow up the amount of 29:39.030 --> 29:41.360 immigration and as many people coming 29:41.940 --> 29:44.680 and rolling back the policies of 29:44.680 --> 29:47.190 separating Children from their from 29:47.190 --> 29:49.190 their mothers . Make no apology for 29:49.190 --> 29:51.720 that . Rolling back the policies of 29:51.730 --> 29:54.840 remained in Mexico sitting on the edge 29:54.840 --> 29:56.618 of the Rio Grande and the muddy 29:56.618 --> 29:58.729 circumstance with not enough to eat . 29:58.729 --> 30:00.860 But I make no apologies for that . I 30:00.860 --> 30:02.980 make no apologies for ending programs 30:02.980 --> 30:06.310 that did not exist before Trump 30:06.320 --> 30:09.310 became president . That have an 30:09.310 --> 30:12.360 incredibly negative impact on the law , 30:13.040 --> 30:16.450 international law , as well as on human 30:16.450 --> 30:18.850 dignity . And so I make no apologies 30:18.850 --> 30:21.610 for to ask you about foreign policy , 30:21.610 --> 30:23.960 Mr President . Overnight we learned 30:23.970 --> 30:27.370 that North Korea tested two ballistic 30:27.380 --> 30:30.110 missiles . What if any actions will you 30:30.110 --> 30:32.980 take ? And what is your red line on 30:32.980 --> 30:36.900 North Korea ? Let me say 30:36.900 --> 30:39.860 that Number one . Uh huh . 30:40.960 --> 30:44.710 UN Resolution 17 18 was violated by 30:44.710 --> 30:46.710 those particular missiles that were 30:46.710 --> 30:49.740 tested . Number one , We're consulting 30:49.740 --> 30:53.670 with our allies and partners , and 30:54.440 --> 30:57.630 there will be responses if they choose 30:57.630 --> 31:01.580 to escalate . Um , we will respond 31:01.580 --> 31:05.170 accordingly . But I'm also prepared , 31:05.740 --> 31:09.640 um , for some form of diplomacy . Um , 31:09.650 --> 31:13.300 but it has to be conditioned upon the 31:13.300 --> 31:17.270 end result of denuclearization . So , 31:17.740 --> 31:20.650 um , that's what we're doing right now . 31:20.650 --> 31:22.970 Consult with our allies just very 31:22.970 --> 31:26.180 quickly . Got another our diplomacy . 31:26.190 --> 31:28.134 Can you define what you mean ? And 31:28.134 --> 31:30.280 former President Obama warned the 31:30.290 --> 31:33.260 incoming president trump that North 31:33.260 --> 31:37.210 Korea was the top foreign policy issue 31:37.210 --> 31:39.321 that he was washing . Is that how you 31:39.321 --> 31:41.599 assess the crisis in North Korea ? Yes . 31:45.740 --> 31:47.780 Okay , hang on a second here . 31:47.790 --> 31:50.450 Christian , Nancy , CBS . 31:53.040 --> 31:55.207 Thank you very much , Mr President . I 31:55.207 --> 31:57.373 want to go back to voting rights . And 31:57.373 --> 31:59.262 as yamiche mentioned , Republican 31:59.262 --> 32:01.262 legislatures across the country are 32:01.262 --> 32:03.230 working to pass bills that would 32:03.230 --> 32:05.130 restrict voting , particularly 32:05.140 --> 32:07.500 Democrats fear impacting minority 32:07.500 --> 32:09.444 voters and young voters . The very 32:09.444 --> 32:11.530 people who helped get you elected in 32:11.540 --> 32:15.480 November . Are you worried that if you 32:15.490 --> 32:17.810 don't manage to pass voting rights 32:17.810 --> 32:20.660 legislation , that your party is going 32:20.660 --> 32:23.340 to lose seats and possibly lose control 32:23.350 --> 32:26.460 of the House and the Senate in 2022 ? 32:26.840 --> 32:28.673 What I'm worried about is how un 32:28.673 --> 32:31.760 American this whole initiative is . 32:32.140 --> 32:34.860 It's sick . It's sick . 32:35.740 --> 32:38.790 Deciding in some states that you cannot 32:38.800 --> 32:42.170 bring water , two people standing in 32:42.170 --> 32:46.050 line waiting to vote , deciding that 32:46.060 --> 32:48.310 you're gonna end voting at five o'clock 32:48.320 --> 32:50.376 when working people are just getting 32:50.376 --> 32:53.270 off work , deciding that there will be 32:53.270 --> 32:55.750 no absentee ballots under the most 32:55.760 --> 32:59.540 rigid circumstances . It's all designed , 32:59.540 --> 33:01.620 and I'm going to spend my time doing 33:01.620 --> 33:04.730 three things . One trying to figure out 33:04.730 --> 33:07.670 how to pass the legislation passed by 33:07.670 --> 33:10.900 the House number one number two 33:10.910 --> 33:13.660 educating the American public . The 33:13.660 --> 33:17.190 Republican voters I know find this 33:17.190 --> 33:20.270 despicable Republican voters 33:21.730 --> 33:25.090 folks out and the outside this White 33:25.090 --> 33:27.970 House . I'm not talking about the 33:27.970 --> 33:30.081 elected officials . I'm talking about 33:30.081 --> 33:33.850 voters , voters . And so I'm 33:33.850 --> 33:36.450 convinced that will be able to stop 33:36.450 --> 33:38.640 this because it is the most pernicious 33:38.640 --> 33:41.430 thing . This makes Jim Crow look like 33:41.440 --> 33:44.990 Jim Eagle . I mean , this is gigantic 33:45.210 --> 33:47.450 what they're trying to do , and it 33:47.450 --> 33:49.720 cannot be sustained and do everything 33:49.720 --> 33:51.776 in my power along with my friends in 33:51.776 --> 33:53.887 the house and the Senate to keep that 33:53.887 --> 33:56.510 from , uh , from becoming the law . Is 33:56.510 --> 33:58.843 there anything else you can do about it ? 33:58.843 --> 34:01.140 Besides passing legislation ? The 34:01.140 --> 34:03.196 answer is yes . But I'm not going to 34:03.196 --> 34:05.140 lay out a strategy in front of the 34:05.140 --> 34:07.860 whole world . And you Now , then , on a 34:07.860 --> 34:10.082 related note , have you decided whether 34:10.082 --> 34:12.304 you are going to run for re election in 34:12.304 --> 34:14.249 2020 ? For you haven't set up a re 34:14.249 --> 34:16.027 election campaign yet , as your 34:16.027 --> 34:17.916 predecessor had By this time , my 34:17.916 --> 34:20.400 predecessor need to needed to my 34:20.400 --> 34:23.830 predecessor . Oh , God , I miss it . Um , 34:23.840 --> 34:26.240 no answer is yes . My plan is to run 34:26.240 --> 34:28.573 for re election . That's my expectation . 34:28.573 --> 34:31.620 On one other note on bipartisanship , 34:31.630 --> 34:34.030 your old friend Mitch McConnell says 34:34.030 --> 34:36.510 You have only spoken to each other once 34:36.520 --> 34:39.040 since you took office and that you have 34:39.040 --> 34:42.490 moved far left since taking office . Do 34:42.490 --> 34:44.657 you see it the same way he does ? Have 34:44.657 --> 34:47.170 you rejected bipartisanship ? No , I 34:47.170 --> 34:49.260 haven't at all been meeting . When's 34:49.260 --> 34:51.371 the last time a president invited the 34:51.371 --> 34:53.482 opposite party down at least a half a 34:53.482 --> 34:55.427 dozen times to talk about issues ? 34:55.427 --> 34:58.390 Everything from how we work . We're 34:58.390 --> 35:00.501 working in the group of 20 members of 35:00.501 --> 35:03.080 the Senate right now in house on how we 35:03.090 --> 35:05.810 re establish our ability to make 35:05.810 --> 35:07.980 computer chips and how we get ahead of 35:07.980 --> 35:10.202 the game , how we can work together and 35:10.202 --> 35:12.258 we're working together on a bunch of 35:12.258 --> 35:14.480 things . But look , I know Mitch Well , 35:14.480 --> 35:16.630 Mitch knows me well . I would expect 35:16.630 --> 35:19.050 much to say exactly what he said , but 35:19.050 --> 35:21.720 this is a matter of making sure that I 35:21.720 --> 35:24.120 would like Republican elected 35:24.130 --> 35:26.870 Republican support . But what I know I 35:26.870 --> 35:30.380 have now is I have electoral support 35:30.380 --> 35:33.380 from Republican voters , Republican 35:33.380 --> 35:36.860 voters . I agree with what I'm doing , 35:37.440 --> 35:40.410 and so unless Mitch says the last thing 35:40.410 --> 35:42.620 I did . This last piece of legislation 35:42.620 --> 35:44.842 is so far left . Well , then you got to 35:44.842 --> 35:47.980 take a look at his party . Over 50% of 35:47.980 --> 35:50.350 them must be over that edge as well , 35:50.840 --> 35:54.300 because they support what I did . Uh , 35:54.300 --> 35:57.940 okay , um , where am I ? Here . Let me 35:57.940 --> 36:00.960 see . Caitlyn . 36:03.030 --> 36:05.197 Thank you very much . Mr President , I 36:05.197 --> 36:07.308 have a question for you , but first , 36:07.308 --> 36:09.308 I'd like to follow up on a question 36:09.308 --> 36:11.308 from , um ish . And that's all that 36:11.308 --> 36:13.641 counts , is the question . But go ahead . 36:13.641 --> 36:13.240 Okay . I'll make it quick . You know 36:13.240 --> 36:16.880 you can . Regarding the filibuster at 36:16.880 --> 36:19.102 John Lewis's funeral , President Barack 36:19.102 --> 36:21.213 Obama said he believed the filibuster 36:21.213 --> 36:23.620 was a relic of the Jim Crow era . Do 36:23.620 --> 36:26.740 you agree ? Yes . If not , why not 36:26.740 --> 36:28.962 abolish it ? If it's a relic of the Jim 36:28.962 --> 36:29.962 Crow era , 36:35.630 --> 36:37.686 successful electoral politics is the 36:37.686 --> 36:41.320 art of the possible . Let's figure 36:41.320 --> 36:44.490 out how we can get this done and move 36:44.490 --> 36:47.230 in the direction of significantly 36:47.230 --> 36:48.970 changing the abuse of even the 36:48.970 --> 36:52.800 filibuster rule . First , it's been 36:52.800 --> 36:55.022 abused from the time it came into being 36:55.430 --> 36:59.220 by an extreme way in the last 20 36:59.220 --> 37:01.330 years , let's deal with the abuse . 37:01.330 --> 37:05.160 First , you're moving closer to 37:05.170 --> 37:07.226 eliminating the filibuster . Is that 37:07.226 --> 37:09.840 correct ? I answered your question . 37:10.730 --> 37:12.897 You also just made some news by saying 37:12.897 --> 37:14.730 that you are going to run for re 37:14.730 --> 37:16.452 election . I said , That is my 37:16.452 --> 37:18.674 expectation . So is that a yes that you 37:18.674 --> 37:20.820 are running for reelection ? Look , I 37:20.830 --> 37:22.941 don't know where you guys come from , 37:22.941 --> 37:25.108 man . I've never been able to travel . 37:25.108 --> 37:27.163 I'm a great respecter of fate . I've 37:27.163 --> 37:29.274 never been able to plan 4.5 3.5 years 37:29.274 --> 37:31.441 ahead for certain . And if you do , if 37:31.441 --> 37:33.663 you do run , will Vice President Harris 37:33.663 --> 37:35.552 be on your ticket ? I would fully 37:35.552 --> 37:35.250 expect that to be the case . She's 37:35.250 --> 37:37.139 doing a great job . She's a great 37:37.139 --> 37:39.460 partner . She's a great partner . And 37:39.460 --> 37:41.293 do you believe you'll be running 37:41.293 --> 37:43.404 against former President Trump ? Oh , 37:43.404 --> 37:45.460 come on , I don't even think about I 37:45.460 --> 37:48.530 don't I have no idea . I have no idea 37:48.530 --> 37:50.770 what will be a Republican party . Do 37:50.770 --> 37:52.881 you ? I know you don't have to answer 37:52.881 --> 37:55.180 my question , but I mean now , do you ? 37:55.190 --> 37:58.100 I mean , look , this is the way I view 37:58.100 --> 38:00.267 things . I become a great respecter of 38:00.267 --> 38:03.140 fate in my life I set a goal of this is 38:03.140 --> 38:05.540 in front of me to get things done for 38:05.540 --> 38:08.120 the people I care most about which 38:08.120 --> 38:10.176 you're hardworking , Decent American 38:10.176 --> 38:12.176 people are getting really having it 38:12.176 --> 38:14.231 stuck to them . I want to change the 38:14.231 --> 38:16.420 paradigm . I want to change the 38:16.420 --> 38:19.450 paradigm . We start to reward work , 38:19.450 --> 38:21.660 not just wealth . I want to change the 38:21.660 --> 38:23.710 paradigm . If you notice , then you 38:23.710 --> 38:25.970 find it kind of interesting that my 38:25.970 --> 38:28.150 Republican friends were worried about 38:28.520 --> 38:31.300 that . The cost and the taxes that had 38:31.300 --> 38:33.760 to be had if there is any tax to be had 38:33.760 --> 38:35.760 as they talk about it , and dealing 38:35.760 --> 38:38.950 with the the act that we just passed , 38:39.620 --> 38:41.787 which puts money in people's pockets . 38:41.787 --> 38:43.564 Ordinary people , you hear them 38:43.564 --> 38:46.930 complain when they passed close to $2 38:46.930 --> 38:50.120 trillion trump tax cut , 83% going to 38:50.120 --> 38:53.550 the top 1% ? Darren talk about that at 38:53.550 --> 38:57.190 all . I love the fact that I found this 38:57.190 --> 39:00.860 whole idea of concern about the federal 39:00.860 --> 39:04.640 budget . It's kind of amazing , and the 39:04.640 --> 39:07.150 federal budget is saving people's lives . 39:08.020 --> 39:10.187 They don't think it's such a good idea 39:10.920 --> 39:13.031 when the federal budget is feathering 39:13.031 --> 39:16.340 the nest of the wealthiest Americans 90 39:16.340 --> 39:18.340 of the Fortune 500 companies making 39:18.340 --> 39:20.451 billions of dollars not paying a cent 39:20.451 --> 39:24.080 in taxes , reducing taxes to the point 39:24.080 --> 39:26.610 that people who are making you know if 39:26.610 --> 39:28.180 you're a husband and wife , 39:28.190 --> 39:31.630 schoolteacher and a cop , you're paying 39:31.630 --> 39:33.519 at a higher rate than the average 39:33.519 --> 39:35.797 person making a billion dollars a year . 39:35.797 --> 39:39.080 Is something wrong ? Their 39:39.080 --> 39:42.750 newfound concern ? I'm concerned . Look , 39:43.320 --> 39:45.487 I meant what I said when I ran , and a 39:45.487 --> 39:47.653 lot of you still think I'm wrong and I 39:47.653 --> 39:49.876 respect that . So I'm running for three 39:49.876 --> 39:52.300 reasons . To restore the soul , dignity , 39:52.300 --> 39:55.740 honor , honesty , transparency to the 39:55.740 --> 39:59.150 American political system . Two . 39:59.820 --> 40:02.153 To rebuild the backbone of this country , 40:02.610 --> 40:05.780 the middle class , hard working people , 40:05.780 --> 40:08.002 people struggling in the middle class , 40:08.002 --> 40:11.290 they build America , and unions built 40:11.290 --> 40:14.620 them . The third reason I said I was 40:14.620 --> 40:18.510 running was to unite the country . And 40:18.510 --> 40:20.788 generically speaking , all of you said , 40:20.788 --> 40:23.020 No , you can't do that . Well , I've 40:23.020 --> 40:25.131 not been able to unite the Congress , 40:25.131 --> 40:27.353 but I've been uniting the country based 40:27.353 --> 40:30.450 on the polling data . We have to come 40:30.450 --> 40:34.220 together . We have to . So from my 40:34.220 --> 40:37.520 perspective , you know , it's to me . 40:38.210 --> 40:40.930 It's about just , you know , getting 40:40.930 --> 40:42.986 out there , putting 1 ft in front of 40:42.986 --> 40:44.874 the other and just trying to make 40:44.874 --> 40:46.819 things better for people just hard 40:46.819 --> 40:48.874 working people . People get up every 40:48.874 --> 40:51.100 morning and just want to figure out how 40:51.100 --> 40:53.322 to put food on the table for their kids 40:53.322 --> 40:55.267 to be able to have a little bit of 40:55.267 --> 40:57.267 breathing room , being able to have 40:57.267 --> 40:59.156 make sure that they go to bed not 40:59.156 --> 41:01.044 staring to see like my dad didn't 41:01.044 --> 41:03.156 wonder whether he says he didn't have 41:03.156 --> 41:05.322 health insurance . What happens if Mom 41:05.322 --> 41:07.378 gets sick or he got sick ? These are 41:07.378 --> 41:10.230 basic things , basic things . And I'm 41:10.230 --> 41:12.820 of the view that the vast majority of 41:12.820 --> 41:15.750 people , including registered 41:15.750 --> 41:18.810 Republicans by and large sure that 41:19.100 --> 41:21.930 that same , that same view , that same 41:21.930 --> 41:25.160 sense of what is , uh , you know what's 41:25.160 --> 41:26.160 appropriate . 41:28.910 --> 41:32.030 Justin , That's a sink , Bloomberg . 41:33.810 --> 41:35.921 Thanks , Mr President . I want to ask 41:35.921 --> 41:37.977 about your relationship with China , 41:37.977 --> 41:40.143 and now that you've been on the office 41:40.143 --> 41:42.366 for a couple months , there's obviously 41:42.366 --> 41:44.532 the meeting in Alaska that with all of 41:44.532 --> 41:46.588 theatrical and there's the continued 41:46.588 --> 41:48.532 human rights abuses , so today I'm 41:48.532 --> 41:50.588 wondering , are you more likely then 41:50.588 --> 41:52.699 you were when you came into office to 41:52.699 --> 41:54.699 maintain tariffs on China . Are you 41:54.699 --> 41:56.930 considering banning imports of forced 41:56.940 --> 42:00.270 labor products ? And would you consider 42:00.270 --> 42:02.326 cutting off US investment or Chinese 42:02.326 --> 42:05.520 access to international payment systems ? 42:06.100 --> 42:07.510 Look , uh , 42:10.460 --> 42:13.800 each specifically legitimate 42:13.800 --> 42:16.520 questions . But the only 42:17.000 --> 42:20.930 touch a smidgen of 42:20.930 --> 42:23.152 what the relationship with China really 42:23.152 --> 42:25.550 is about . I've known Xi Jinping for a 42:25.550 --> 42:28.320 long time , allegedly 42:29.300 --> 42:31.189 by the time I left office as vice 42:31.189 --> 42:33.411 president , I'd spent more time with Xi 42:33.411 --> 42:35.300 Jinping than any world leader had 42:35.300 --> 42:38.860 because President Obama and the Chinese 42:38.860 --> 42:41.850 president , Hu decided we should get to 42:41.850 --> 42:43.680 know one another , since it is 42:43.680 --> 42:45.569 inappropriate for the president , 42:45.569 --> 42:47.736 United States , to spend time with the 42:47.736 --> 42:49.902 vice president , another country . But 42:49.902 --> 42:52.013 it was obvious he was going to become 42:52.013 --> 42:55.620 the new leader of China . So I spent 42:55.630 --> 42:58.200 hours upon hours with him alone with an 42:58.200 --> 43:00.810 interpreter , My interpreter in his 43:01.700 --> 43:04.450 going into great detail , very , very 43:04.460 --> 43:07.270 straightforward , doesn't have a 43:07.270 --> 43:09.450 democratic with a small D bone in his 43:09.450 --> 43:12.430 body . But he's a smart , smart guy . 43:13.100 --> 43:15.920 He's one of the guys like Putin , who 43:15.920 --> 43:18.350 thinks that autocracy is the wave of 43:18.350 --> 43:20.461 the future . Democracy can't function 43:20.461 --> 43:23.420 in an ever and ever complex world . 43:24.500 --> 43:27.610 So when I was elected and he called to 43:27.610 --> 43:30.120 congratulate me , I think , to the 43:30.120 --> 43:32.320 surprise of the China experts who were 43:32.700 --> 43:34.950 his people on the call as well as mine 43:34.960 --> 43:38.060 listening . We had a two hour 43:38.070 --> 43:41.010 conversation for two hours 43:42.400 --> 43:44.840 and we made several things clear to one 43:44.840 --> 43:47.860 another . Yes , I made it clear to him 43:47.860 --> 43:50.870 again when I told him in person on 43:50.870 --> 43:53.310 several occasions that we're not 43:53.310 --> 43:56.920 looking for confrontation , although we 43:56.920 --> 43:59.120 know there will be a steep , steep 43:59.120 --> 44:00.020 competition 44:02.190 --> 44:05.890 to that will have strong competition 44:05.890 --> 44:07.946 but will insist that China played by 44:07.946 --> 44:10.070 the international rules Fair 44:10.070 --> 44:13.720 competition fair practices , fair trade . 44:14.790 --> 44:16.710 Thirdly , in order to compete 44:16.710 --> 44:20.450 effectively , I indicated that we're 44:20.450 --> 44:23.500 going to do with China effectively , 44:24.770 --> 44:26.992 and we're gonna need three things to do 44:26.992 --> 44:30.110 that telling our people first we're 44:30.110 --> 44:32.332 going to invest in American workers and 44:32.332 --> 44:34.900 American science . I said that all 44:34.900 --> 44:37.011 through the campaign . I say it again 44:37.011 --> 44:38.567 and we're I'm setting up my 44:38.567 --> 44:40.733 administration to be able to do that , 44:40.733 --> 44:42.900 which is that , you know , back in the 44:42.900 --> 44:44.956 sixties , we used to invest a little 44:44.956 --> 44:47.220 over 2% of our entire entire GDP and 44:47.220 --> 44:50.100 pure research and investment in science . 44:50.990 --> 44:54.400 Today it's 0.7% . I'm going to change 44:54.400 --> 44:57.230 that we're going to change that . The 44:57.230 --> 44:59.920 future lies in who can in fact 45:00.890 --> 45:03.250 own the future as a relationship 45:03.250 --> 45:05.306 technology , quantum computing , the 45:05.306 --> 45:07.417 whole range of things , including the 45:07.417 --> 45:10.910 medical fields . And so what I'm gonna 45:10.910 --> 45:14.300 do is make sure we invest closer to 45:14.300 --> 45:18.130 2% . One of the reasons why I've 45:18.140 --> 45:21.130 set up the the P ab , the president's 45:21.130 --> 45:24.900 board with scientists and like again is 45:24.910 --> 45:27.188 we're gonna invest in medical research , 45:27.690 --> 45:30.410 cancer , Alzheimer's , diabetes , the 45:30.410 --> 45:32.299 things industries of the future , 45:32.790 --> 45:34.710 artificial intelligence , quantum 45:34.710 --> 45:37.770 computing , biotech . And we're going 45:37.770 --> 45:39.992 to make real investments . China is out 45:39.992 --> 45:43.330 investing us by a long shot because 45:43.330 --> 45:45.274 their plan is to own that future . 45:46.190 --> 45:48.301 Third , the second thing we can do is 45:48.301 --> 45:50.412 going to re establish our alliances , 45:50.412 --> 45:52.412 and I've been very clear with him . 45:52.412 --> 45:54.590 It's not anti Chinese , and we've 45:54.590 --> 45:57.040 talked about it . I want to make sure 45:57.040 --> 45:58.984 that , for example , later today , 45:58.984 --> 46:01.207 after this , a matter of fact , shortly 46:01.207 --> 46:04.020 after this , which is fine going close 46:04.020 --> 46:07.430 to an hour . I'm happy go go longer . 46:07.430 --> 46:10.080 But one of the things that I'm going to 46:10.080 --> 46:12.247 be doing I'm going to be speaking with 46:12.247 --> 46:15.830 27 heads of state in Europe and very 46:15.830 --> 46:17.997 shortly I think in the next hour or so 46:17.997 --> 46:21.210 I don't know the exact time and earlier 46:21.210 --> 46:23.800 this month and apparently it got the 46:23.810 --> 46:25.866 Chinese attention . That's not why I 46:25.866 --> 46:28.790 did it . I met with our allies and how 46:28.790 --> 46:30.901 we're going to hold China accountable 46:30.901 --> 46:33.160 in the region . Australia , India , 46:33.160 --> 46:35.104 Japan , the United States , the so 46:35.104 --> 46:39.050 called quad because we have 46:39.050 --> 46:42.410 to have democracies working together 46:43.180 --> 46:46.090 before too long I'm going to have . I'm 46:46.090 --> 46:47.812 going to invite an alliance of 46:47.812 --> 46:50.034 democracies to come here to discuss the 46:50.034 --> 46:53.220 future . And so we're going to make it 46:53.220 --> 46:57.110 clear that in order to deal with these 46:57.110 --> 47:00.960 things , we are going to hold 47:00.960 --> 47:03.182 China accountable to follow the rules , 47:04.280 --> 47:07.040 follow the rules , whether it relates 47:07.040 --> 47:09.700 to the South China Sea , the North 47:09.700 --> 47:11.644 China Sea or the agreement made on 47:11.644 --> 47:13.978 Taiwan or a whole range of other things . 47:14.780 --> 47:18.510 And the third thing and the thing that 47:18.510 --> 47:21.510 I I admire about dealing with she , as 47:21.510 --> 47:24.340 he understands , he makes no pretense 47:24.340 --> 47:26.562 about not understanding what I'm saying 47:26.562 --> 47:28.673 anymore and to him , I pointed out to 47:28.673 --> 47:30.860 him no leader can be sustained in his 47:30.860 --> 47:33.260 position of her position . Must they 47:33.270 --> 47:36.220 represent the values of the country and 47:36.220 --> 47:39.260 I said . As and Mr President , as I've 47:39.260 --> 47:42.480 told you before , Americans value the 47:42.480 --> 47:46.440 notion of freedom , American 47:46.450 --> 47:48.672 values , human rights . We don't always 47:48.672 --> 47:50.839 live up to our expectations , but it's 47:50.839 --> 47:52.880 a value system were founded on that 47:52.880 --> 47:56.540 principle . And as long as you and your 47:56.540 --> 47:58.560 country continues to so blatantly 47:58.560 --> 48:01.100 violate human rights , we're going to 48:01.100 --> 48:04.270 continue in an unrelenting way to call 48:04.270 --> 48:07.060 to the attention of the world and make 48:07.060 --> 48:09.290 it clear , make it clear what's 48:09.290 --> 48:12.590 happening . And he understood that 48:13.270 --> 48:15.710 I made it clear that no American 48:15.710 --> 48:19.100 president at least one did . But no 48:19.100 --> 48:22.220 American president ever back down from 48:22.220 --> 48:24.442 speaking out of what's happening in the 48:24.442 --> 48:26.776 Wickers . What's happening in Hong Kong ? 48:27.170 --> 48:29.500 What's happening in in in country . 48:30.270 --> 48:33.150 That's who we are . The moment of 48:33.150 --> 48:35.520 president walks away from that , as the 48:35.520 --> 48:38.530 last one did , is the moment we begin 48:38.530 --> 48:40.863 to lose our legitimacy around the world . 48:41.270 --> 48:45.230 That's who we are . So I see stiff 48:45.230 --> 48:48.290 competition with China . 48:48.970 --> 48:52.520 China has an overall goal , and I don't 48:52.520 --> 48:54.740 criticize him for the goal , but they 48:54.740 --> 48:56.684 have an overall goal to become the 48:56.684 --> 48:58.629 leading country in the world , the 48:58.629 --> 49:00.851 wealthiest country in the world and the 49:00.851 --> 49:02.907 most powerful country in the world . 49:02.907 --> 49:05.018 That's not gonna happen on my watch , 49:05.018 --> 49:06.907 because United States is going to 49:06.907 --> 49:09.240 continue to grow and expand . All right , 49:09.240 --> 49:11.240 just to follow up on the meeting of 49:11.240 --> 49:13.351 democracy is Is that where you expect 49:13.351 --> 49:15.351 in a multilateral way to make these 49:15.351 --> 49:17.518 decisions about , uh , sanctions or or 49:17.518 --> 49:19.740 no , that's not gonna make a decision . 49:19.740 --> 49:21.851 That's where I make sure we're all on 49:21.851 --> 49:23.851 the same page . All the same page . 49:23.851 --> 49:26.950 Look , I predict to you , your Children 49:26.950 --> 49:29.580 or grandchildren are going to be doing 49:29.580 --> 49:33.090 their doctoral thesis on issue of 49:33.870 --> 49:37.500 who succeeded autocracy or democracy . 49:38.170 --> 49:41.580 Because that is what is at stake , not 49:41.580 --> 49:44.790 just with China . Look around the world . 49:45.670 --> 49:47.503 We're in the midst of the Fourth 49:47.503 --> 49:49.590 Industrial Revolution of enormous 49:49.590 --> 49:51.910 consequence . Will there be middle 49:51.910 --> 49:55.400 class ? How will people adjust 49:55.870 --> 49:59.530 to these significant changes 50:00.060 --> 50:02.790 in science and technology ? The 50:02.790 --> 50:04.901 environment ? How will they do that ? 50:05.660 --> 50:08.680 And our democracy is equipped because 50:08.680 --> 50:11.480 all the people get to speak to compete . 50:13.760 --> 50:17.110 It is clear , absolutely clear . And 50:17.110 --> 50:19.332 most of the scholars I dealt with a pen 50:19.332 --> 50:22.280 agree with me around the country that 50:22.280 --> 50:25.790 this is a battle between the utility of 50:25.790 --> 50:28.600 democracies in the 21st century and 50:28.610 --> 50:31.830 autocracies if you notice you don't 50:31.830 --> 50:34.170 have Russia talking about communism 50:34.170 --> 50:37.070 anymore , it's about an autocracy . 50:39.160 --> 50:43.130 Demand decisions made by a 50:43.130 --> 50:45.620 leader of a country . That's what's at 50:45.620 --> 50:47.398 stake here . We've got to prove 50:47.398 --> 50:49.342 democracy works . Mr . President . 50:49.342 --> 50:51.509 Sorry . I know you have another chance 50:51.509 --> 50:54.690 to address the tragedies in Georgia and 50:55.160 --> 50:57.760 Colorado . You had said to stay tuned 50:57.760 --> 50:59.927 for actions that you might take on gun 50:59.927 --> 51:01.982 control , wondering if you've made a 51:01.982 --> 51:03.871 decision either about sending the 51:03.871 --> 51:05.927 manufacturer liability bill that you 51:05.927 --> 51:08.610 promised on day one to Capitol Hill or 51:08.610 --> 51:10.554 executive actions like going after 51:10.554 --> 51:13.270 ghost guns or giving money the cities 51:13.270 --> 51:15.950 and states to battle gun control . All 51:15.950 --> 51:18.070 the above . It's a matter of timing , 51:19.760 --> 51:21.580 as you've all observed . 51:24.660 --> 51:27.390 Successful presidents better than me 51:29.260 --> 51:31.316 have been successful , in large part 51:31.316 --> 51:33.260 because they know how to time what 51:33.260 --> 51:35.280 they're doing . Order it , 51:36.760 --> 51:39.700 deciding priorities , what needs to be 51:39.700 --> 51:43.580 done . The next major initiative is , 51:44.760 --> 51:46.871 and I'll be announcing that Friday in 51:46.871 --> 51:49.770 Pittsburgh in detail is 51:50.260 --> 51:53.650 to rebuild the 51:53.650 --> 51:56.710 infrastructure , both physical and 51:56.710 --> 51:58.766 technological infrastructure in this 51:58.766 --> 52:01.990 country so that we can compete and 52:01.990 --> 52:05.980 create significant numbers of 52:05.980 --> 52:08.770 really good paying jobs , 52:10.250 --> 52:14.120 really good paying jobs , and some of 52:14.120 --> 52:16.120 you have been around long enough to 52:16.120 --> 52:18.760 know that used to be a great Republican 52:18.760 --> 52:19.880 goal initiative . 52:22.850 --> 52:24.739 I still think the majority of the 52:24.739 --> 52:27.870 American people don't like the fact 52:27.870 --> 52:30.160 that we are now ranked , what , 85th in 52:30.160 --> 52:32.382 the world and infrastructure . I mean , 52:32.382 --> 52:34.570 look , the future restaurant , whether 52:34.570 --> 52:37.740 or not we have the best airports that 52:37.740 --> 52:41.550 can accommodate air travel ports that 52:41.550 --> 52:43.494 you can get it out of quickly . So 52:43.494 --> 52:46.020 businesses decide some of you . And if 52:46.020 --> 52:48.630 you're ever local reporters and you 52:48.630 --> 52:50.797 found your governor or mayor trying to 52:50.797 --> 52:52.852 attract business to your community , 52:52.852 --> 52:54.908 what's the first thing that business 52:54.908 --> 52:56.797 asked ? That's the closest access 52:56.797 --> 52:58.908 access to an interstate highway . How 52:58.908 --> 53:02.590 far am I from , uh , freight rail is 53:02.590 --> 53:05.200 the water . Is the water available ? Is 53:05.200 --> 53:07.033 enough water available for me to 53:07.033 --> 53:09.460 conduct my business ? All the things 53:09.460 --> 53:12.020 relate to infrastructure . We have 53:12.020 --> 53:14.760 somewhere I asked the staff to write it 53:14.760 --> 53:17.093 down for me , and they did not for this , 53:17.093 --> 53:20.340 but for a longer discussion . We have 53:20.340 --> 53:23.290 somewhere , uh , in terms of 53:23.290 --> 53:26.610 infrastructure . We have we ranked 13th 53:26.610 --> 53:30.540 globally in infrastructure . China is 53:30.540 --> 53:32.207 investing three times more in 53:32.207 --> 53:34.318 infrastructure than the United States 53:34.318 --> 53:36.700 is . Bridge is more than one third of 53:36.700 --> 53:40.450 our bridges . 231,000 of them need 53:40.450 --> 53:43.440 repairs . Some our physical safety 53:43.440 --> 53:47.420 risks or preservation work . One in 53:47.420 --> 53:49.600 five miles of our highways and major 53:49.600 --> 53:51.680 roads are in poor condition . That's 53:51.680 --> 53:54.980 186,000 miles of highway 53:56.150 --> 54:00.030 aviation , 20% of all flights . 20% of 54:00.030 --> 54:02.310 all flights weren't on time , resulting 54:02.310 --> 54:06.080 in 1.5 million hours lost in 54:06.080 --> 54:09.960 production . 6 to 10 million homes in 54:09.960 --> 54:13.860 America still have lead pipes servicing 54:13.860 --> 54:17.110 their water lines . We have over 54:17.110 --> 54:20.170 100,000 wellheads that are not capped . 54:21.140 --> 54:22.250 Leaky methane . 54:24.940 --> 54:28.760 What are we doing ? And by the way , we 54:28.760 --> 54:32.740 can put as many pipe fitters and minors 54:32.740 --> 54:36.370 unless to work , capping those wells at 54:36.370 --> 54:39.590 the same price that they were charged 54:39.600 --> 54:40.860 to dig those wells . 54:43.940 --> 54:46.780 So I I just find it 54:49.740 --> 54:53.060 frustrated , frustrated and talk about 54:55.040 --> 54:56.707 the last point . I'll make an 54:56.707 --> 54:58.762 infrastructure , and I apologize for 54:58.762 --> 55:01.470 spending more time on it . But is that 55:02.840 --> 55:06.760 if you think about it , um , 55:08.840 --> 55:12.480 it's the place where we will be able to 55:12.480 --> 55:14.258 significantly increase American 55:14.258 --> 55:17.670 productivity the same time , providing 55:19.040 --> 55:21.860 really good jobs for people , 55:23.140 --> 55:25.580 but we can't build back to what they 55:25.580 --> 55:28.970 used to be . We have to build the 55:28.970 --> 55:31.026 environments are global . Warming is 55:31.026 --> 55:34.810 already done . Significant damage . The 55:34.810 --> 55:38.400 roads that used to be above the water 55:38.400 --> 55:42.210 level didn't have to worry about where 55:42.210 --> 55:44.780 the drainage just was . Now you've got 55:44.780 --> 55:47.330 to rebuild them 3 ft higher because 55:47.330 --> 55:49.386 it's not going to go back to what it 55:49.386 --> 55:51.497 was before . Only get worse unless we 55:51.497 --> 55:55.320 stop it . There's so much we can 55:55.320 --> 55:58.470 do . Look at all the schools in America . 55:59.940 --> 56:02.162 Most of you live in the Washington area 56:02.162 --> 56:04.162 now , but in your hometowns I don't 56:04.162 --> 56:06.830 know where you're all from . How many 56:06.830 --> 56:08.997 schools where the kids can't drink the 56:08.997 --> 56:11.660 water out of the fountain . How many 56:11.660 --> 56:13.771 schools are still in a position where 56:14.130 --> 56:18.080 there's asbestos ? How many schools in 56:18.080 --> 56:20.080 America we're sending our kids to ? 56:20.430 --> 56:23.610 Don't have adequate ventilation ? How 56:23.610 --> 56:27.120 many homes buildings ? Office 56:27.120 --> 56:30.000 complexes are wasting 56:30.010 --> 56:32.610 billions of barrels of oil over time 56:32.620 --> 56:36.440 because they can't hold in the heat or 56:36.440 --> 56:38.570 the air conditioning ? Because this 56:38.570 --> 56:40.681 leaks through the windows that are so 56:40.681 --> 56:44.510 porous and the connections it's 56:44.510 --> 56:47.280 amazing . So there's so much we can do 56:47.280 --> 56:50.480 that's good stuff , makes people 56:50.480 --> 56:53.750 healthier and creates good jobs . 56:54.630 --> 56:57.280 And , uh , I think that I got one more 56:57.280 --> 57:00.210 question here . And Janet from 57:00.210 --> 57:03.500 Univision . Thank you , Mr President . 57:03.500 --> 57:05.500 We too , have been reporting at the 57:05.500 --> 57:07.722 border . And just like Cecilia , we run 57:07.722 --> 57:09.889 into a pair of siblings who came in on 57:09.889 --> 57:12.111 Monday , were detained by CBP , had the 57:12.111 --> 57:14.111 phone number for their mother , who 57:14.111 --> 57:16.278 lives in the U . S . We have contacted 57:16.278 --> 57:18.389 the mother . That's the only way they 57:18.389 --> 57:20.444 know her kids are here because C B P 57:20.444 --> 57:22.556 today Thursday has not contacted that 57:22.556 --> 57:24.556 mother . So when can we expect your 57:24.556 --> 57:26.667 promise of things getting better with 57:26.667 --> 57:28.667 contacting and experience ? They're 57:28.667 --> 57:30.722 already getting better , but they're 57:30.722 --> 57:32.944 going to get real . They've got a whole 57:32.944 --> 57:32.310 hell of a lot better real quick . We're 57:32.310 --> 57:34.850 gonna hear some people leaving . Okay , 57:35.230 --> 57:37.870 we can get this done . We're going to 57:37.870 --> 57:40.092 get it done . I had a long meeting with 57:40.092 --> 57:42.530 the entire team and several cabinet 57:42.530 --> 57:45.180 level officers the other night . We're 57:45.180 --> 57:47.124 going to be moving within the next 57:48.130 --> 57:49.686 within the next week , over 57:49.686 --> 57:53.550 101,000 people out of , 57:54.230 --> 57:57.830 uh , the Border Patrol into safe secure 57:57.830 --> 58:01.030 beds and facilities . We're gonna 58:01.040 --> 58:03.151 significantly ramp up . We're already 58:03.151 --> 58:05.650 out there contacting everyone from 58:05.650 --> 58:08.630 getting some of the employees at HHS . 58:08.630 --> 58:10.519 There's a lot of them doing other 58:10.519 --> 58:12.686 things and move them into making those 58:12.686 --> 58:14.574 calls were were in the process of 58:14.574 --> 58:16.463 rearranging and providing for the 58:16.463 --> 58:19.420 personnel needed to get that done . But 58:19.420 --> 58:21.960 I admire the fact that you were down 58:21.960 --> 58:23.738 there . You're making the calls 58:23.738 --> 58:25.849 yourself . It's real . The next thing 58:25.849 --> 58:27.904 has to happen , though , as you well 58:27.904 --> 58:30.071 know has to happen and have to be some 58:30.071 --> 58:32.490 certitude that this is the actually mom , 58:32.490 --> 58:35.340 dad or whomever . And there's ways to 58:35.350 --> 58:37.350 do that . There's ways to do that a 58:37.350 --> 58:39.406 little bit like determine whether or 58:39.406 --> 58:41.406 not you got the right code for your 58:41.406 --> 58:44.440 credit card . You know ? Well , what 58:44.440 --> 58:46.662 was your dog's name kind of thing ? I'm 58:46.662 --> 58:48.940 being a bit facetious , but not really , 58:48.940 --> 58:51.690 and also seeking harder data from D N A . 58:51.700 --> 58:54.230 To , uh to birth certificates , which 58:54.230 --> 58:57.950 takes longer . So I want to do this as 58:58.820 --> 59:02.080 quickly as humanly possible and as 59:02.080 --> 59:04.440 safely as possible . Well , no . 59:04.440 --> 59:06.570 Treating the root causes in Latin 59:06.570 --> 59:09.030 America doesn't change things overnight . 59:09.040 --> 59:11.410 How do you realistically and physically 59:11.410 --> 59:13.577 keep these families from coming to the 59:13.577 --> 59:16.010 US when things will not get better in 59:16.010 --> 59:19.710 their countries right away ? Well , I 59:19.720 --> 59:22.400 can't guarantee that . But I know you 59:22.400 --> 59:24.456 know that old thing . The journey of 59:24.456 --> 59:26.678 1000 miles starts with the first step . 59:26.920 --> 59:29.340 You know as well as I do , you cover it . 59:30.220 --> 59:32.053 You have serious . It's not like 59:32.053 --> 59:34.610 somebody is sitting on a hand hewn 59:34.610 --> 59:37.840 table in Guatemala . I mean , uh , 59:38.220 --> 59:41.990 somewhere in Mexico or in 59:42.000 --> 59:44.540 Guadalupe said , I got a great idea . 59:44.920 --> 59:48.000 Let's sell everything we have . Give it 59:48.000 --> 59:50.660 to a coyote . Hadn't take our kids 59:50.660 --> 59:52.882 across the border into the desert where 59:52.882 --> 59:54.993 they don't speak the language . Won't 59:54.993 --> 59:58.000 that be fun ? Let's go . That's not how 59:58.000 --> 01:00:00.930 it happens . People don't want to leave . 01:00:02.110 --> 01:00:04.054 When my great grandfather got in a 01:00:04.054 --> 01:00:05.777 coffin ship in the Irish Sea , 01:00:06.510 --> 01:00:08.677 expectation wasn't was he was going to 01:00:08.677 --> 01:00:11.260 live long enough on that ship to get to 01:00:11.260 --> 01:00:13.316 the United States America . But they 01:00:13.316 --> 01:00:15.427 left because what the Brits have been 01:00:15.427 --> 01:00:17.649 doing , they are in real real trouble . 01:00:17.649 --> 01:00:20.020 They don't want to leave , but they had 01:00:20.020 --> 01:00:23.820 no choice . So you got . We can't . I 01:00:23.820 --> 01:00:25.709 can't guarantee we're gonna solve 01:00:25.709 --> 01:00:27.931 everything . But I can guarantee we can 01:00:27.931 --> 01:00:30.320 make everything better . We can make it 01:00:30.320 --> 01:00:33.030 better . You can change the lives of so 01:00:33.030 --> 01:00:35.030 many people and the other thing , I 01:00:35.030 --> 01:00:37.141 want to point out to you , and I hope 01:00:37.141 --> 01:00:39.141 you point out . I realize it's much 01:00:39.141 --> 01:00:41.620 more heart wrenching than it is to deal 01:00:41.620 --> 01:00:43.676 with the five and six and seven year 01:00:43.676 --> 01:00:45.787 old . But you went down there and you 01:00:45.787 --> 01:00:48.120 saw the vast majority of these Children . 01:00:48.510 --> 01:00:51.720 70% are 16 years old , 17 years old . 01:00:51.720 --> 01:00:55.210 Mostly males don't make it make it good , 01:00:55.210 --> 01:00:57.530 better and different . But the idea 01:00:57.540 --> 01:01:00.440 that we have tens of thousands of kids 01:01:00.870 --> 01:01:04.080 in these God off of facilities that are 01:01:04.080 --> 01:01:06.302 really little babies crying all night , 01:01:06.302 --> 01:01:08.620 there's some that's true . That's why 01:01:08.620 --> 01:01:11.600 we gotta act . And yesterday I asked my 01:01:11.600 --> 01:01:14.160 team both the director of the two 01:01:14.160 --> 01:01:16.520 agencies , as well as others . I asked 01:01:16.520 --> 01:01:19.000 them what would they in fact and I 01:01:19.000 --> 01:01:21.222 asked their opinion because they're the 01:01:21.222 --> 01:01:23.690 experts . But I said Focus on the most 01:01:23.690 --> 01:01:26.540 vulnerable immediately , but there's no 01:01:26.540 --> 01:01:28.762 reason why . The next month , as people 01:01:28.762 --> 01:01:30.929 cross the border , that phone call can 01:01:30.929 --> 01:01:33.620 be made in the 1st 48 hours and began . 01:01:33.640 --> 01:01:35.751 If I may ask one last question , have 01:01:35.751 --> 01:01:37.490 you had any talks with Senate 01:01:37.490 --> 01:01:39.740 Republicans who are threatening this 01:01:39.740 --> 01:01:42.100 administration with not considering the 01:01:42.100 --> 01:01:44.322 immigration legislation that was passed 01:01:44.322 --> 01:01:46.544 in the house until the situation at the 01:01:46.544 --> 01:01:49.010 border has been resolved ? No , because 01:01:49.010 --> 01:01:51.343 I know they have to posture for a while . 01:01:52.010 --> 01:01:53.954 They sort of got to get out of the 01:01:53.954 --> 01:01:57.830 system . This is a , um 01:02:00.910 --> 01:02:03.080 but I I'm ready to work with any 01:02:03.080 --> 01:02:06.430 Republican who wants to help 01:02:07.610 --> 01:02:10.540 solve the problem or make the situation 01:02:10.540 --> 01:02:13.220 better . But , folks , I'm going . 01:02:13.230 --> 01:02:14.952 Thank you very , very much . I 01:02:14.952 --> 01:02:17.320 appreciate it . Thank you . What 01:02:19.410 --> 01:02:19.640 mhm .