Marking the end of his first year in office with a long, extensive formal press conference, President Biden cited statistics on vaccinations, job creation and cuts, saying it was "a year of challenges, but a year of enormous progress." also". to child poverty.
"For all this progress still, I know there is a lot of despair and fatigue in this country," Biden said during lengthy opening remarks, referring to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation .
He acknowledged that his administration could have been faster to boost testing for the virus. "Should we have done more testing earlier? Yes. But we are doing more now," he said.
And while he emphasized that the nation has endured "two years of physical, emotional, psychological burden" of the pandemic, he said America still has a bright future.
"Some people call it a new normal. I call it a job not finished yet," Biden said.
On the thorny, fast-moving political issue about how schools should manage the interests of students, teachers and parents amid the pandemic, Biden said schools are trying to help schools better mitigate the threat of the virus. The districts should remain open citing the funds and supplies made available. ,
In all, Biden talked for nearly two hours about everything from the pandemic and his administration's response to his legislative priorities and plans to move forward on the country's foreign policy agenda.
Biden Suggests Breaking the Build Back Better into Smaller Pieces
While Biden touted his progress on the coronavirus as a victory for the administration, several key legislative priorities, including the Build Back Better Plan and voting rights changes, remain blocked in the Senate.
On Wednesday, Senate Democrats pressed on two voting rights bills backed by Biden -- the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act -- that are all guaranteed to fail.
And the president's signature $2 trillion Build Back Better package -- which will expand spending on the nation's security programs, including addressing prescription drug costs, childcare and paid family leave -- has been criticized by Republicans and his own party. The members have faced opposition from both.
Biden said the holdup on Build Back Better was not only slowing America's progress on social spending, but was also addressing inflation and ongoing supply chain disturbances, resulting in costly backups and product shortages across the country. happened.
"It's clear to me that we probably have to break it," Biden said.
The president said he was talking to Democratic senators about trying to get it passed as soon as possible, with the intention of fighting for the rest later.
Biden said it appears there is enough support for the energy and environment portion of the bill to pass. He mentioned two senators who opposed the large package-backed pieces, but did not give further details.
Biden says McConnell and Trump are intent on stalling their agenda
On Republicans, Biden said that "a man out of office" - meaning former President Donald Trump - was threatening senators from supporting any of Biden's policies. He said he had spoken to five unnamed Republican senators who said they agreed with him privately on some issues but were worried they would lose in the primaries if they were public.
"We have to break it. It has to change," Biden said.
On Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, he said: "I really like Mitch McConnell," but his main aim is to try to block Biden's policies. "Well, I'm a big boy, I've been here before," said Biden, a 36-year-old Senate veteran.
'Russia will be held accountable'
Biden was asked about Russia's increasingly hostile posture toward Ukraine and what the United States and its allies were prepared to do if Russia launched an invasion.
Biden said of Russian President Vladimir Putin, "My guess is he will walk in. He has to do something."
"Putin has never seen sanctions that I promise will be imposed if he goes ahead," he said. And he vowed it would be a "disaster for Russia" if the country chose to attack its former Soviet neighbor.
He said NATO leaders are united in their resolve.
"If Russia does attack it will be held accountable," Biden said, but additional consequences will depend on whether Russia made "minor incursions" or made more serious progress.
His description of possible Russia action against Ukraine as "minor" drew immediate scrutiny from Republicans, including Republican Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, who recently visited Ukraine.
In a statement, Portman said: "Any incursion by the Russian military into Ukraine should be viewed as a major incursion because it would destabilize Ukraine and freedom-loving countries in Eastern Europe."
Later, the White House sought to clarify its position, saying that any Russian aggression would be met with "decisive, reciprocal and united" action.
In a statement, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said, "If any Russian military force moves across the border with Ukraine, it is a renewed offensive, and should be met with a swift, serious and urgent call from the United States and our allies." Will face a united response." , noting Russia's frequent deployment of "aggression less than military action" such as cyberattacks and paramilitary attacks.
Biden said in his remarks that there are "differences" within NATO as to what to do if Russia does take action, adding that it is "somewhat significantly less" of a military offensive, given what kind of financial sanctions European sanctions are on. economies, and insisting that he "make sure everyone is on the same page as we move forward."
In his Wednesday remarks, the president said there could be "serious economic consequences" such as limiting Russia's ability to conduct financial transactions: "their banks will not be able to deal with dollars," he said.
"I think he still doesn't want any kind of full-blown war," Biden said, adding that he thinks Putin wants to test the West - and he will regret it. "I think he's dealing with what I think is the saddest thing to happen to Mother Russia," Biden said of his thinking about Putin's motivation.
Biden also said it was unlikely Ukraine could join NATO in the near term because it still needs to work on democratic reforms.
Biden's popularity continues to grow over the midterm
For Biden, Wednesday's presser was a chance to try to focus on some of the highlights of his time in office, such as the massive COVID-19 aid package and infrastructure bill - even as the vote Key legislative priorities such as the right to the U.S., reform of the social safety net and climate incentives have stalled.
When Biden took over from former President Donald Trump, the coronavirus pandemic was in full force, ravaging the national economy and education system, as well as hospital emergency rooms and funeral homes.
Now, rising inflation and supply-chain shocks have hit Americans in the wallet and grocery store. What's more, the Omicron version of the coronavirus is raging and the Supreme Court has ruled against Biden's vaccine-or-testing mandate.
He ended 2021 with the lowest approval rating of his presidency, according to an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll.
And while Biden has a personal stake in the success of his first year, America's perception of his job performance will have a massive impact on the upcoming midterm race, with Democrats facing an uphill battle to maintain their slim majority in both chambers. We do.