CNN town hall with President Biden

President Biden took questions from Americans on the coronavirus pandemic, school reopenings, vaccines, the minimum wage and White supremacy at CNN’s town hall in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was his first town hall since becoming President.

In case you missed it, here’s what you need to know about Biden’s town hall:

He urged Americans to get the vaccines: Biden advised Americans to get any coronavirus vaccine they can, whenever they can. New variants may eventually reduce the efficacy of vaccines against coronavirus, he said. The more the virus circulates, the more likely it is to change into vaccine-resistant forms. So, people should not wait and see, he urged.

Biden said country may be back to normal by “next Christmas”: He said he is cautious of predicting a timeline, but pointed to “next Christmas” as a moment where the nation could be under a “very different circumstance.” Biden noted that with the current vaccinations, and the upcoming Johnson & Johnson vaccination, the ability to continue to spread the disease “is going to diminish considerably” due to herd immunity.

On why he wants to increase the minimum wage: Biden defended his administration’s call to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. “The vast majority of the economists and there are studies that show by increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour, it could have an impact on a number of businesses, but it would be de minimis, et cetera. Here’s the deal. It’s about doing it gradually,” Biden said.

He offered to help this mother tonight: Biden offered to personally help a mother worried about getting a coronavirus vaccine for her 19-year-old immunocompromised son with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). “If you’re willing, I’ll stay around after this is over and maybe we can talk a few minutes and see if I can get you some help,” Biden said.

Biden wants to stay away from anything related to Trump: Biden said any decision to prosecute former President Trump for anything he did while in office will be left up to the Department of Justice, and he will not interfere in a possible investigation. “Look, for four years all that’s been in the news is Trump. The next four years I want to make sure all the news is the American people,” he said. Biden added: “I’m tired of talking about Trump.”

On White supremacists: Biden said White supremacists are the greatest domestic terror threat in the US during a town hall event. “It’s complex, it’s wide ranging, and it’s real,” Biden added. “I would make sure that my Justice Department and the Civil Rights Division is focused heavily on those very folks, and I would make sure that we, in fact, focus on how to deal with the rise of White supremacy,” he said.

Biden thinks the nation is not divided: Biden said he takes issue with “everybody” stating that the US is a divided country. Biden explained that he believes most people in the country agree on issues like coronavirus aid. “The nation is not divided. You go out there and take a look and talk to people, you have fringes on both ends. But it’s not nearly as divided as we make it out to be and we have to bring it together,” Biden said.

President Biden said he has spoken to all former presidents, except for one.

Biden said he has also called former presidents, but wouldn’t say who.

Biden went on to add that he’s honored to be president, saying, “And I literally pray that I have the capacity to do for the country what you all deserve need be done.”

He reflected on the power of presidency by mentioning his experience working as vice president under former President Barack Obama.

“But one thing I learn after eight years with Barack is no matter how consequential the decision, I got to be the last person in the room with him literally on every decision. I can make a recommendation, but I walked out of the room and it was all him, man. Nobody else. Buck stops there. And that’s where you pray for making sure you’re looking at the impact on the country and a little bit of good luck at the judgment you’re making,” he said.

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01:28 - Source: CNN

President Biden defended his administration’s call to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour during tonight’s town hall.

Raising the federal hourly minimum wage to $15 would reduce poverty  — but would also cut employment by 1.4 million workers and increase the federal deficit by $54 billion over a decade, according to a Congressional Budget Office report released Monday.

Last week’s CBO report resurfaced longstanding arguments between Democrats and worker advocates on one side, who say that paying people a higher wage will have a positive impact on their lives, the federal budget and the economy, and Republicans and business owners on the other side, who warn that such a move will cost jobs. 

One recent study by the National Bureau of Economic Research concluded that 80% of economic research over the last 30 years found there are job losses associated with a higher minimum wage. The evidence of a negative impact is stronger for teens and young adults, as well as the less-educated.

But proponents argue that better-quality studies tend to show that increases in the minimum wage do not hurt employment. Supporters for raising the minimum wage also highlighted the CBO’s findings that raising the minimum wage would help many lower-income Americans, many of whom are essential workers, people of color and women.

Biden pushed back against the CBO report, telling CNN’s Anderson Cooper Tuesday, “there are an equal number of studies that say it wouldn’t have that effect. And particularly in terms of how gradually you do it,” adding, “I think there is equally as much, if not more evidence to dictate that it would grow the economy and, long run and medium run, benefit small businesses as well as large businesses, and it would not have such a dilatory effect, but that’s a debatable issue.”

Still, Biden told Randy Lange, the co-owner of a Wisconsin Woodworking Company, “it’s not illegitimate as a small business person to worry about whether or not increasing it at one fell swoop would have that impact.”

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02:35 - Source: CNN

President Joe Biden described his life in the White House this evening, saying so far it still feels surprising every day. 

“I wake up in the morning and ask Jill, ‘Where the hell are we,” he said, earning laughs from the socially distanced audience. 

“It’s a little like a gilded cage in terms of being able to walk outside and do things,” he said, drawing a contrast to living in to the vice president’s residence, which is 80 acres and includes secluded lawns, and an outdoor swimming pool. 

Biden went on to say that in seeking the presidency, it was never his ambition to live in the White House itself, but to have the power to make decisions to guide the country.

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01:40 - Source: CNN

Asked about his call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, President Biden said that the US “must speak up on human rights” and that there will “be repercussions for China” over human rights abuses.

“There will be repercussions for China and [Xi Jinping] knows that,” Biden said

“What I’m doing is, making clear that, we, in fact, are going to continue to reassert our role as spokespersons for human rights at the UN and other agencies that have an impact on their attitude,” Biden told CNN’s Anderson Cooper during tonight’s town hall.

Biden went on to describe what he told the Chinese leader with regards to human rights and the United States’ stance.

“I point out to him no American president can be sustained as a president, if he doesn’t reflect the values of the United States. And so the idea is, that I am not going to speak out against what he’s doing in Hong Kong, what he’s doing with the Uyghurs in the western mountains of China and Taiwan trying to end the one China policy by making it forceful…he gets, it culturally there are different norms that each country and that leaders are expected to follow,” Biden said.

“China is trying very hard to become the world leader. And to get that moniker and be able to do that they have to gain the confidence of other countries. And as long as they are engaged in activity that is contrary to basic human rights, it’s going to be hard for them to do that,” Biden explained

Biden ended his answer by noting that the issue and China policy in general is “much more complicated than that, I shouldn’t try to talk China policy in 10 minutes on television.”

President Biden offered to personally help a mother worried about getting a coronavirus vaccine for her 19-year-old immunocompromised son with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). 

Kerri Engebrecht, the teen’s mom, told Biden that her son was diagnosed with COPD at the age of 14 and he has the lung functioning of a 60-year-old.

“He does all he can to protect himself. Last month, he even removed himself from the campus of UW Madison, as he feels it’s safer, and he has less exposure here at home. We’ve tried all we can to get him a vaccine. I hear of others who are less vulnerable, getting it based on far less,” Engebrecht said before asking if Biden had a plan to vaccinate those who are most vulnerable sooner. 

Biden explained that he can’t tell the states to prioritize certain group of people, that he can however make certain recommendations, but he would like to help her. 

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01:14 - Source: CNN

President Biden addressed racial disparities in enforcement of drug use this evening, saying he believed no one should be imprisoned for using an illegal drug.

He suggested funds used for enforcement should instead be repurposed for rehabilitation.

Biden was responding to a question from an audience member who wanted to know how police departments could be reformed while providing increased protection, particularly in minority communities. 

“How can we be sure that we don’t over legislate police officers so that they can do their job to protect the law-abiding citizens who live in these high crime neighborhoods and yet train officers to police with compassion?” asked Dannie Evans, a pastor and member of the Wisconsin Racial Disparity Task Force.

“By number one, not defunding the police,” replied Biden. 

“We should be in a position where we change the system of sentencing system,” he added.

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One of President Biden’s first acts was signing a series of executive actions that undo several Trump administration immigration policies.

The actions Biden signed early on in his presidency included preserving the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, halting border wall construction and reversing the travel ban from predominantly Muslim countries.

In the weeks after his swearing-in, the Biden administration proposed revising the number of refugees who can be admitted to the US this year to 62,500, a significant increase from the 15,000 cap put in place under Trump, and is preparing to admit migrants forced to remain in Mexico awaiting their US hearings under a controversial Trump-era policy.

The Biden administration, in concert with Hill Democrats, is also preparing to unveil legislation this week that seeks to provide a pathway to citizenship to the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States. But the administration, Biden has said, has a long way to go on immigration.

The President will need the approval of Congress to pass his administration’s immigration bill, which, among other investments in border security and foreign aid to Latin America, provides a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants living in the US.

President Biden said he takes issue with “everybody” stating that the US is a divided country.

Biden explained that he believes most people in the country agree on issues like coronavirus aid.

“You cannot function in our system without consensus other than abusing power at the executive level. So, I really think there’s so many things that we agree on that we don’t focus enough on… We have to be more decent and treat people with respect and just decency,” Biden said.

Biden went on to revisit and mention some of the reasons he decided to run for President, including restoring the “soul of the country” and rebuilding the “backbone of the country.”

President Biden said any decision to prosecute former President Trump for anything he did while in office will be left up to the Department of Justice, and he will not interfere in a possible investigation.

Asked by CNN’s Anderson Cooper if he would allow the Justice Department to proceed in an investigation into Trump, Biden said that decision lies with the Department of Justice. “One of the most serious pieces of damage done by the last administration was the politicizing of the Justice Department,” Biden said at a CNN Town Hall on Tuesday.

“I made a commitment, I will not ever tell my Justice Department, and it’s not mine, it’s the people’s Justice Department, who they should and should not prosecute. Their prosecutorial decisions will be left to the Justice Department, not me,” he continued.

President Biden said he does have some concerns about the online aspect of the coronavirus vaccine rollout, shining a spotlight on the digital divide in the United States. He also said some of that concern stems from time that was wasted by the previous administration.

Biden said that while he does have some concern about the online rollout of vaccines, every state now has some sort of mechanism where individuals can check to see if they’re qualified to receive a vaccine and where to get it.

In many states, elderly populations are among the first eligible for the vaccine, but with registration largely taking place online, some are forced to lean on family members and volunteers with high-speed internet and more digital know-how to register.

Biden also criticized the Trump administration in his answer, saying his administration inherited a poor vaccine distribution plan.

“We inherited a circumstance here where… a circumstance where, number one, there weren’t many vaccinators. You didn’t know where you could go get a vaccine administered to you because there was no one to put it in your arm, number one,” Biden said. “Number two, there was very little federal guidance, as to say what to look for, how to find out where, in fact, you could go.”

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01:39 - Source: CNN

President Biden said White supremacists are the greatest domestic terror threat in the US during a town hall event. “It’s complex, it’s wide ranging, and it’s real,” Biden added.

“I would make sure that my Justice Department and the Civil Rights Division is focused heavily on those very folks, and I would make sure that we, in fact, focus on how to deal with the rise of White supremacy,” he said.

Biden explained that his administration would also look into the impact of the rise of White supremacy in specific groups including, the military and former police officers.

He called people who support White supremacist ideals “demented” and “dangerous.”

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01:43 - Source: CNN

President Biden demurred this evening when asked by CNN’s Anderson Cooper if he agreed with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s comment that Republican senators who voted to acquit former President Trump were “cowards.”

“I’m tired of talking about Trump,” he added, receiving a round of applause from the social distanced audience. 

President Biden’s agenda to tackle the pandemic has taken center stage during tonight’s town hall.

The top item on Biden’s to-do list: getting a massive $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package through Congress and getting coronavirus vaccines into the arms of Americans.

With Democrats controlling both houses of Congress, Biden’s party has the upper hand for passing federal relief into law. Earlier in the negotiations process, Biden — who kicked off his presidency with calls for unity amid a time of division — indicated that he’d be willing to make some concessions to earn the support of some Republicans.

But now a process is underway that will allow Democrats to pass the relief through the Senate with only 51 votes.

The Biden administration has also pressed forward with deploying a national coronavirus vaccine rollout strategy. The President and members of his administration have repeatedly claimed that their predecessors in the Trump administration had no plan.

The goal, the President and administration officials now say, is having enough doses to vaccinate 300 million Americans by the end of July.

Another priority related to the pandemic: reopening schools. But so far, Biden’s plan to open schools safely amid the pandemic has been met by a messy reality, with pushback from teachers unions and conflicting messages between public health officials and the administration.

Asked when he thinks the country will get back to normal, President Biden said he is cautious of predicting a timeline, but pointed to “next Christmas” as a moment where the nation could be under a “very different circumstance.”

Biden noted that with the current vaccinations, and the upcoming Johnson & Johnson vaccination, the ability to continue to spread the disease “is going to diminish considerably” due to herd immunity.

“A year from now, I think that there will be significantly fewer people having to be socially distanced, have to wear a mask, but we don’t know,” Biden said.

Once again, Biden cautioned that he did not want to “over promise anything here.”

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President Biden addressed how his administration plans on combatting the racial disparities in Covid-19 vaccine distribution.

“The biggest part of this is physical access,” Biden said during tonight’s town hall.

Biden outlined three specific ways his administration aims to help reach a larger population in areas that are tough to get vaccines:

Biden also mentioned creating mass vaccination centers at stadiums.

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President Joe Biden addressed a second grader who asked him, through her mother, when she might be able to get the vaccine. 

Biden started off by pointing out that the vaccine had not yet been cleared for children. 

“We haven’t even done tests yet on children as to whether or not the certain vaccines would work or not work or what is needed,” he said.

He went on to reassure her, “you’re the safest group of people in the whole world”

“I wouldn’t worry about it, baby. I promise you,” he said. “But I know it’s kind of worrisome.”

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President Biden advised Americans to get any coronavirus vaccine they can, whenever they can.

New variants may eventually reduce the efficacy of vaccines against coronavirus, Biden told CNN’s Anderson Cooper at a CNN Presidential Town Hall in Milwaukee Tuesday. The more the virus circulates, the more likely it is to change into vaccine-resistant forms. So, people should not wait and see, he urged.

“It may be that a certain vaccination for a certain strain may reduce from 95% to a lower percentage of certainty that it will keep you from getting it,” Biden added. “But it will still be effective. So the clear notion is, if you’re eligible, if it’s available, get the vaccine. Get the vaccine,” he continued.

Bigger stimulus checks. More aid for the unemployed, the hungry and those facing eviction. Additional support for small businesses, states and local governments. Increased funding for vaccinations and testing. These are key parts of a $1.9 trillion proposal that President Biden is aiming for Congress to pass.

Billed as the American Rescue Plan, the package augments many of the measures in Congress’ historic $3 trillion coronavirus relief bill from March and in the $900 billion legislation from December, which was scaled back to garner support from Senate Republicans.

Here’s a look at some key things in the American Rescue Plan:

Read more about Biden’s proposal here and the House Democrats’ stimulus relief plan here.

President Biden said teachers should move ahead in the line to receive shots in order to reopen schools, attempting to clarify an administration stance that he acknowledged had become muddled over the last week.

Speaking at a CNN town hall from Milwaukee during his first trip outside Washington since taking office, Biden said he wanted kindergarten through eighth grade schools open five days a week, and suggested some schools should remain open over the summer to make up for lost time.

Biden touted a ramping-up of a vaccination program he claimed was woefully inadequate when he entered the White House.

“There was nothing in the refrigerator, literally and figuratively,” Biden said.

Pressed on how he would return students to classrooms, Biden said he would emphasize getting vaccines to teachers.

“I think we should be vaccinating teachers. We should move them up in the hierarchy,” he said.

What we know: At least 28 states plus Washington, DC, have started allowing all or some teachers and school staff to receive the Covid-19 vaccine.

Though some states have announced they are prioritizing teachers, vaccine availability remains a concern across the country.

There are 22 states where teachers are still not eligible to receive the vaccine as a specific group — although some educators might fall into the current age group that state is vaccinating.