Biden weighs in on pandemic, Trump, China
Washington — In his first network television interview since taking office, President Joe Biden acknowledged that it will be “very difficult” for the United States to reach herd immunity at the current rate coronavirus vaccines are being administered in the country and that his administration would utilize all 32 National Football League stadiums as mass vaccination centers to help in the effort.
“It is a national emergency,” Biden said on “CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell,” referring to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and its effect on schoolchildren and the workforce.
Biden indicated that the Trump administration’s handling of the pandemic was “even more dire than we thought.” Biden has used the Defense Production Act to direct companies to ramp up manufacturing of vaccines and protective equipment. On Thursday, National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell told Biden that all 32 stadiums would be made available as mass vaccination sites.
The president also told O’Donnell that he thinks about “the price so many of my grandkids and your kids are going to pay” for not being able to attend school in person.
“I think it’s time for schools to reopen safely. Safely,” Biden added, noting that officials with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would be releasing guidelines in the coming week about minimum requirements for schools to reopen. “You have to have fewer people in the classroom. You have to have ventilation systems that have been reworked.”
In portions of the wide-ranging interview, which aired Friday and Sunday before the Super Bowl, Biden discussed the pandemic, foreign policy and why he believed former President Donald Trump should not have continued access to intelligence briefings.
Biden said that he would not handle relations between the United States and China “the way Trump did,” and that he would refuse to lift sanctions against Iran until its leaders committed to stop enriching uranium.
Biden acknowledged that he had not yet called Chinese President Xi Jinping but added that “there was no reason not to call him.” He offered Xi praise but warned that things would be different under the Biden administration.
“He’s very bright. He’s very tough. He doesn’t have — and I don’t mean it as a criticism, just the reality — he doesn’t have a democratic, small D, bone in his body,” Biden said. “I’ve said to him all along that we need not have a conflict. But there’s going to be extreme competition. And I’m not going to do it the way that he knows. And that’s because he’s sending signals, as well. I’m not going to do it the way Trump did. We’re going to focus on international rules of the road.”