0 skis. ambition is a good thing. aspiration is a good thing. that's how you motivate people. you should advance your policy agenda but the president was unable. not sure he could have in this social media age. unable to manage expectations in his party for how much they could do. and for americans who don't check their list every day they look at washington and say what the hell is going on there? >> and they look at the prices at the grocery store and they look at the prices at the gase station. we expect president biden to address a number of pressing challenges, including the standoff at the russian/ukrainian border. ginn joining us now, christiane amanpour. what can president biden say today to bring down the temperature of this standoff to convince vladimir putin that an invasion, again, is the wrong idea? >> well, jake, actually in the words of the state department official today, perhaps diplomacy is not dead. a very united and strong front led by the united states with the nato allies has, as you know, been confronting putin over these 100,000 troops. today, for me, the headline is their chief negotiator said publicly in a forum and he's the voice of putin on this issue, we do not want to and we will not strike, attack, invade, whatever, quote, unquote is what he said, ukraine. so that is pretty definitive. and he has putin's ear. and as you know, secretary of state blinken is back in the region. he'll meet with the foreign minister of russia on friday. so diplomacy is not dead. the russians said after the last round of talks we've got nothing else to talk about unless you, you know, exceed to our demands, we've got our troops here and we're not moving them. it appears there is still light at the end of this diplomatic tunnel. and i think that's really important at this time. >> president biden has been a presence in u.s. foreign policy literally for decades. how much do we know about what putin thinks of biden? >> look, it's hard to know what, you know, put yourself in somebody else's head but there are many analysts who have asked these questions and have done enough work. they believe that -- >> christiane, i'm sorry, i have to interrupt. here comes president biden. >> hello, folks. thanks for being here. good afternoon, everyone. tomorrow will mark one year since i took office. it's been a year of challenges, but it's also been a year of enormous progress. we went from 2 million people being vaccinated at the moment i was sworn in to 210 million americans being fully vaccinated today. we created 6 million new jobs. more jobs in one year than any time before. unemployment dropped. the unemployment rate dropped to 3.9%. child poverty dropped by nearly 40%. the biggest drop ever in american history. new business applications grew by 30%. the biggest increase ever. and for the first time in a long time, this country's working people actually got a raise. actually got a raise. people -- the bottom 40% saw their income go up the most of all of those that got a raise. we cut health insurance premiums for millions of american families and just made surprise medical bills illegal in this country. you know those bills you get that you don't expect that are $2,000 to $5,000 from a hospital beyond what you thought you were going to have to owe because of the consultation you weren't told was going to cost that much? no more. they're now illegal. thanks to the american rescue plan, and other actions we've taken we've seen record job creation, record economic growth in the past year. now, thanks to the bipartisan infrastructure bill, we're about to make a record investment in rebuilding america to take us to be the number one best infrastructure in the world. now we're way below that. we'll be creating better jobs for millions of people, modernizing our roads, bridges, highways, ports, airports. everything from making clean water, removing lead pipes, let every american -- that every american can turn on a faucet and drink clean water. rural and urban communities. make affordable high-speed internet available to every american in urban, rural and suburban areas. we've never done that before. now we are. we're in the process of getting that done. still for all this progress, i know there's a lot of frustration and fatigue in this country. and we know why. covid-19. omicron has now been challenging us in a way that it's the new enemy. but while it's caused -- it's cause for concern, it's not cause for panic. we've been doing everything we can, learning and adapting as fast as we can and preparing for future beyond the pandemic. all i know that after almost two years of physical, emotional and psychological weight of this pandemic and the impact it's had on everyone. for many of us, it's been too much to bear. we're in a very different place now, though. we have the tools. vaccines. boosters. masks. tests. pills to save lives and keep businesses and schools open. 75% of adults are fully vaccinated. we've gone from 90 million adults with no shots in arms last summer and down to 35 million with no shots as of today. and we're adding about 9 million more vaccinations each week. we're going to stick with our vaccination efforts because vaccinations work. so get vaccinated, please. and get your booster. look, we're also increasing testing. should we have done more testing earlier? yes. but we're doing more now. we've gone from zero at-home tests a year ago to 375 million tests on the market in just this month. if you buy a test at the store, your insurance will reimburse you. on top of that, we're making 1 billion -- 1 billion at-home tests available for you to order and be delivered to your home for free. just visit covidtests.gov to know how to get that free test kit to your home. in addition, there are 20,000 sites where you can get tested in person for free now. and now we have more treatments that people can -- for people -- to keep people out of the hospital than any other point in the pandemic, including life-saving antiviral pills. we've purchased 20 million of these new pfizer pills. more than any country in the world. the bottom line on covid-19 is that we're in a better place than we've been and have been thus far. clearly better than a year ago. we're not going back -- we're not going back to lockdowns. we're not going back to closing schools. schools should stay open. because the american rescue plan, we provided the states $130 billion. $130 billion to keep our students and educators safe and schools open. funding for ventilation systems in schools, social distancing, hygiene for classrooms and the school buses. in addition, we've added another $10 billion for covid-19 tests to be able to be administered at schools. and many states and school districts have spent this money very well. unfortunately, some haven't. i encourage the states and school districts that use the funding to protect our children and keep our schools open, use it. the covid-19 is not going to give up and accept things -- it's not going to go away immediately. but i'm not going to give up and accept things as they are now. some people may call what's happening now the new normal. i call it a job not yet finished. it will get better. we're moving toward a time when covid-19 won't disrupt our daily lives. where covid-19 won't be a crisis but something to protect against and a threat look. we're not there yet but we will get there p. now the second challenge we're facing is prices. covid is creating complications, including rapid price increases across the world economy. people see it at the gas pump, the grocery stores and elsewhere. so here's what we're going to do. a critical job in making sure that the elevated prices don't become entrenched rest with the federal reserve which has a dual mandate. full employment and stable prices. the federal reserve provided extraordinary support during the crisis for the previous year and a half. given the strength of our economy and the pace of recent price increases, it's appropriate as the federal chairman, chairman powell, the fed chairman powell has indicated, to recalibrate the support that is now necessary. i respect the fed's independence and i've nominated five superb individuals to serve on the federal board of governors. men and women from a variety of ideological perspectives. they are eminently qualified, historically diverse and have earned bipartisan praise. i call on the senate to confirm them without any delay. here at the white house, and for my friends in congress, the best thing to tackle high prices is a more productive economy with greater capacity to deliver goods and services to the american people. and a growing economy where folks have more choices and more small businesses compete and where more goods can get to market faster and cheaper. i've laid out a three-part plan to do just that. first, fix the supply chain. covid-19 has had a global impact on the economy. when a factory shuts down in one part of the world, shipments to shops and homes and businesses all over the world are disrupted. covid-19 has compounded that many times over. a couple of months ago, in this very room, we heard dire warnings about how the supply chain problems would create a real crisis around the holidays so we acted. we brought together business and labor and that much-predicted crisis did not occur. 99% of the packages were delivered on time. and shelves were stocked. and notwithstanding the recent storms that have impacted many parts of our country, the share of goods in stock at stores is 89% now, which is barely changed from the 91% before the pandemic. i often see empty shelves being shown on television. 89% are full, which is only a few points below what it was before the pandemic. but our work is not done. my infrastructure law will supercharge your effort, upgrading everything from roads and bridges to ports and airports. railways and transit. to make the economy move faster and reduce prices for families. second thing, my build back better plan will address the biggest cost of working families face every day. no other plan will do more to lower the cost for american families. it cuts the cost for child care. many families, including the people sitting in this room if they have children and they're working full time, many families pay up to $14,000 a year for child care in big cities. less than that in smaller ones. my plan cuts that in half. that will not only be a game changer for so many families' budgets but it will mean so much for the nearly 2 million women who have left the workforce through the pandemic because of things like child care. my build back better plan cuts the price of prescription drugs so insulin, that today costs some people as much as $1,000 a month will cost no more than $35 a month. it cuts the cost of elder care. it lowers energy costs. and it will do all of this without raising a single penny in taxes on people making under $400,000 a year, or raising the deficit. in fact, my plan cuts the deficit and boosts the economy by getting more people into the workforce. that's why 17 nobel prize winners for economics say it will ease long-term inflationary pressure. the bottom line, if price increases are what you're worried about, the best answer is my build back better plan. third thing we're going to do, promote competition. look, in too many industries, a handful of giant companies dominate the market in sectors like meat processing, railroads, shipping and other areas. this isn't a new issue. it's not been the reason we've had high inflation today. it's not the only reason. it's been happening for a decade. but over time, it has reduced competition, squeezed out small businesses and farmers, ranchers and increased the price for consumers. we end up with an industry like the meat processing industry where four big companies dominate the markets. pay ranchers less for their cattle they grow, charge consumers more for beef, hamburger meat, whatever they are buying. prices are up. look, i am a capitalist. but capitalism without competition is not capitalism. it's exploitation. so i signed an executive order to tackle unfair competition in our economy. and we're going to continue to enforce it. along with working with congress where we can. i'll close with this. we have faced some of the biggest challenges that we've ever faced in this country. these past few years. challenges to our public health. challenges to our economy. but we're getting through it. and not only are we getting through it, we're laying the foundation for a future where america wins the 21st century by creating jobs at a record pace. now we need to get inflation under control. we have developed an extraordinarily effective booster shots and antiviral pills. now i need to finish the job to get covid-19 under control. i've long said it's never been a good bet to bet against the american people or america. i believe that more than ever today. we've seen the grit and determination of the american people this past year. but the best days of this country are still ahead of us, not behind us. i'm happy to take questions. yes. >> thank you, mr. president. some of my colleagues will get into specific issues but i wanted to zoom out on your first year in office. inflation is up. your signature domestic legislation is stalled in congress. and in a few hours from now the senate -- an effort in the senate to deal with voting rights and vote regform legislation is going to fail. covid-19 is still taking the lives of 1500 americans every day. and the nation's divisions are just as raw as they were a year ago. did you overpromise to the american public what you could achieve in your first year in office and how do you plan to course correct going forward? >> why are you such an optimist? look. i didn't overpromise. what i have probably outperformed what anybody thought would happen. the fact of the matter is that we're in a situation where we have made enormous progress. you mentioned the number of deaths from covid. well, it was three times that not long ago. it's coming down. everything is changing. it's getting better. look, i didn't overpromise, but i think if you take a look at what we've been able to do, you'd have to acknowledge we made enormous progress. but one of the things that i think is something that -- one thing i haven't been able to do so far is get my republican friends to get in the game at making things better in this country. i was reading the other day and i wrote the quote down so i don't misquote him. a quote from senator sununuu when he decided that he wasn't -- excuse me, governor sununu when he decided he wasn't going to run for the senate in new hampshire. here's what he said. there are all -- quote, there are all, for the most part, content with the speed at which they weren't doing anything. it was very clear that we just had to hold the line for two years. okay. so i'm just going to be a road block for the next two years? that's not what i do, sununu said. he went on to say it bothered me that they were okay with that. and then he said, i said, okay, so we're not going to get stuff done if we win the white house back. why didn't we do anything in 2017 and 2018? and then he said, how the republicans sununu spoke to answered the challenge? he said crickets, yeah, crickets. they had no answer. i did not anticipate that there would be such a stallwart effort to make sure that the most important thing was that president biden didn't get anything done. think about this. what are republicans for? what are they for? name me one thing they're for. so the problem here -- what i have to do and the change in tactic, if you will, i have to make clear to the american people what we are for. we passed a lot. we passed a lot of things that people don't even understand all that's in it, understandably. remember when we passed the affordable care act and everybody thought that, you know, it really was getting pummeled and beaten and it wasn't until after we were out of office and that next campaign, that off-year campaign and -- i wasn't in office anymore. a whole bunch of districts campaigning for democrats and republican districts said they wanted to do away with health care, with obamacare? and i started pointing out that if you did that, pre-existing conditions was no longer covered. and they said huh? we didn't know that. we didn't know that. and guess what? we won over 38 seats because we had explained to the people exactly what had passed. now one of the things that i remember saying and i'll end this. i remember saying to president obama when he passed the affordable care act, i said you ought to take a victory lap. he said there's so many things going on we don't have time to take a victory lap. as a consequence, no one knew what the detail of the legislation was. they don't know a lot of the detail of what we pass. so the difference is, i'm going to be out on the road a lot making the case around the country with my colleagues up for re-election and others making the case of what we did do and what we want to do. what we need to do. and so i don't think i have overpromised at all and i'm going to stay on this track. you know, one of the things that i remember and i'll end this with, i was talking with, you know, jim clyburn who was a great help to me in the campaign in south carolina. and jim said, when he endorsed me, and there was a clip on television the last couple of days of jim. and it said that we want to make things accessible and affordable for all americans. that's health care. that's education. that's prescription drugs. that's making sure you have access. access to all the things everybody else has. we can afford to do that. we can't afford not to do it. so i tell my republican friends, here i come. this is going to be about what are you for? what are you for? and lay out what we're for. mary bruce, abc. >> thank you, mr. president. you mentioned your republican colleagues but your top two legislative priorities, social spending package and voting rights legislation are stalled, blocked by your own party after months of negotiation. you are only guaranteed control of washington for one more year before the midterms. do you need to be more realistic and scale down these priorities in order to get something passed? >> no. i don't think so. when you say more realistic, i think it's extremely realistic to say to people, because -- let me back up. you all really know the politics of this country and your networks and others, you spend a lot of time, which i'm glad you do, polling this data, determining what the american people's attitudes are, et cetera. the american people overwhelmingly agree with me on prescription drugs. they overwhelmingly agree with me on the cost of education. they overwhelmingly agree with me on early education. they overwhelming -- i can go on the list on child care. and so we just have to make the case of what we're for and what the other team is not for. look, we knew all along that a lot of this was going to be an uphill fight and one of the ways to do this is to make sure we make the contrast as clear as we can. and one of the things that i think is -- we're going to have to do is just make the case -- i don't think there's anything unrealistic about what we're asking for. i'm not asking for castles in the sky. i'm asking for practical things the american people have been asking for for a long time. a long time. and i think we can get it done. >> you're not going to scale down any of these priorities, but so far that strategy isn't working. you haven't been able to get some of these big legislative -- >> i got two real big ones done. bigger than any president has ever gotten in the first year. >> but currently, mr. president, your spending package, voting rights legislation, they're not going anywhere. is there anything that you are confident you can get signed into law thfr the midterm elections? >> yes, i'm confident we can get pieces, big chunks of the build back better law signed into law and i'm confident that we can take the case to the american people that the people they should be voting for who are going to oversee whether your elections are legit or not should not be those who are being put up by the republicans to determine that they're going to be able to change the outcome of the election. so whether or not we can get -- and by the way, i haven't given up. we haven't finished the vote yet on what's going on, on the -- on voting rights and the john lewis bill and others. but -- so, look, this is -- i have been engaged a long time in public policy. and i don't know many things that have been done in one fell swoop. and so i think the most important thing to do is try to inform, not educate, inform the public what's at stake in stark terms and let them make judgments and let them know who is for them and who is against them. who is there and who is not there and make that the case. that's what i'm going to be spending my time doing in this off-year election. >> you mentioned republicans and reaching out to them. some republicans who may be open to major changes on voting rights like mitt romney, he says he never even received a phone call from this white house. why not? >> i -- look, mitt romney is a straight guy and one of the things that we're doing, i was trying to make sure we got everybody on the same page in my party on this score. and i didn't call many republicans at all. the fact is that i do think that mitt is a serious guy. i think we can get things done. i predict that we'll get something done on the electoral reform side of this. but rather than judge what is going to get done and not get done, all i can say is i'm going to continue to make the case why it's so important to not turn the electoral process over to political persons who are set up deliberately to change the outcome of elections. the -- allison harris, please. >> thank you, mr. president. speaking of voting rights legislation, if this isn't passed, do you still believe the upcoming election will be fairly conducted and its results will be legitimate? >> well, it all depends on whether or not we're able to make the case to the american people that some of this is being set up to try to alter the outcome of the election. and it's one thing -- look. maybe i'm just being too much of an optimist. remember how we thought, not that many people were going to show up to vote in the middle of a pandemic? we had the highest voter turnout in the history of the united states of america. well, i think if, in fact, no matter how hard they make it for minorities to vote, i think you'll find them willing to stand in line and defy the attempt to keep them from being able to vote. i think you'll see the people we're trying to keep from showing up, showing up and making the sacrifice that needs to be made in order to change the law back to what it should be. and -- but it's going to be difficult. i make no bones about that. it's going to be difficult. but we're not there yet. we've not run out of options yet. and we'll see how this moves. >> on omicron and education, teachers are in revolt in so many places. parents are at odds over closing schools and remote learning. you say we're not going back to closing schools. you said that moments ago. yet they're closing in some areas. what do you say to those teachers and principals and parents about school closings, and what can your administration do to help make up for learning loss? >> first of all, i'd put in perspective the question you asked. very few schools are closing. over 95% are still open. so you all phrase the questions when -- i don't think it's deliberate on your part but you phrase the question, when everyone watches this on television. all those schools must be closing. what are we going to do? 95% are still open. number one. number two, the idea that parents don't think it's important for their children to be in school and teachers know it as well, that's why we made sure that we had the ability to provide the funding through the recovery act, through the act that -- the first act we passed to be able to make sure schools were able to be safe. so we have new ventilation systems available for them. we have the way they handle a scrub down laboratories and i mean, the laboratories kid goes to, to go to the bathroom. cafeterias, buses, et cetera. all that money is there. there's billions of dollars made available that's there. not every school district has used it as well as it should be used. but it's there. so in addition to that, there is now another $10 billion for testing of students in the schools. so i think, as time goes on, it's much more likely you'll see that number go back up from 95% back up to 98%, 99%. but the outfit the individuals of the district that says we're not going to be open is always going to get -- i'm not being critical of any of you. it's always going to get front page. it's always good-bye to be the top of the news. let's put it in perspective. 95%, as high as 98% of the schools in america are open. functioning. and capable of doing the job. how about jenna epstein, bloomberg. >> thank you, mr. president. thank you. your top foreign policy advisers have warned that russia is now ready to attack ukraine but there's still little unity among european allies about what a paction of sanctions against moscow would look like. if the u.s. and nato aren't willing to put troops on the line to defend ukraine and american allies can't agree on a sanctions package, hasn't the u.s. and west lost nearly all of its leverage over vladimir putin? and given how ineffective sanctions have been in deterring putin in the past, why should the threat of new sanctions give him pause? >> well, because he's never seen sanctions like the ones i promised will be imposed if he moves, number one. number two, we're in a situation where vladimir putin is about to -- we've had very frank discussions, vladimir putin and i. and the idea that nato is not going to be united, i don't buy. i've spoken to every major nato leader. we've had the nato/russian summit, the osce has met, et cetera. so i think what you're going to see is that russia will be held accountable if it invades. and it depends on what it does. it's one thing if it's a minor incursion and we end up having to fight about what to do and not do, et cetera. but if they actually do what they're capable of doing with the forces amassed on the border, it is going to be a disaster for russia if they further invade ukraine. and that our allies and partners are ready to impose severe cost and significant harm on russia and the russian economy. we're going to fortify our nato allies. if he does invade, we're going to -- i've already shipped over $600 million worth of sophisticated equipment, defensive equipment to the ukrainians. the cost of going into ukraine in terms of physical loss of life for the russians, they'll be able to prevail over time but it's going to be heavy. it's going to be real. it's going to be consequential. putin has a stark choice. either de-escalation or diplomacy. confrontation and consequences. i think you're going to see, for example, everybody talks about how russia has control over the energy supply that europe absorbs. well, guess what. that money that they earn from that makes about 45% of the economy. i don't see that as a one-way street. they go ahead and cut it off. it's like my mother used to say. you're biting your nose off to spite your face. it's not like they have all these wonderful choices out there. i spoke with the prime minister of finland. we are talking about concern on the part of finland and sweden about what russia is doing. the last thing that russia needs is finland deciding to change its status. they didn't say they're going to do that, but they're talking about what, in fact, is going on and how outrageous russia is being. we're finding ourselves in a position where i believe you'll see that there will be severe economic consequences. for example, anything that involves dollar denominations if they invade, they're going to pay. they're not -- their banks will not be able to deal in dollars. so there's a lot going to happen. here's the thing. my conversation with putin, and we've been -- how can we say it. we have no problem understanding one another. no problem understanding me. nor me him. and the direct conversations were, i pointed out, i said you've occupied before other countries but the price has been extremely high. how long? you can go in and over time at great loss and economic loss go in and occupy ukraine. but how many years? one? three? five? ten? what is that going to take? what tolls does that take? it's real. it's consequential. so this is not all just a cake walk for russia. militarily, they have overwhelming superiority. and as it relates to ukraine. but they'll pay a stiff price immediately, near term, medium term and long term if they do it. i'm sorry. okay. david sanger, "new york times." >> thank you, mr. president. i wanted to follow up on your answer there about russia and ukraine. when you were in geneva in june, you said to us about president putin, i think the last thing he wants now is a cold war. since then, of course, you've seen him gather these troops, 100,000 troops around ukraine. the secretary of state said today he thought he could invade at any moment. you've seen the cyberattacks. and you've seen the demand that he have a sphere of influence in which you would withdraw all american troops and nuclear weapons from what used to be the soviet bloc. so i'm wondering if you still think that the last thing he wants is a cold war and has your view of him changed in the past few months? and if it has, and he does invade, would your posture be to really move back to the kind of containment policy that you saw so often when you were still in the senate? >> the answer is that -- i think he still does not want any full-blown war, number one. number two, do i think he'll test the west? test the united states and nato as significantly as he can? yes, i think he will. but i think he'll pay a serious and dear price for it that he doesn't think now will cost him what it's going to cost him. and i think he'll regret having done it. now whether or not i think t that -- how can i say this in a public forum. i think that he is dealing with what i believe he thinks is the most tragic thing that's happened to mother russia in that berlin wall came down. the empire has been lost. the soviet union has been split. but think about what he has. he has eight time zones. burning tundra that will not freeze again naturally. a situation where he has a lot of oil and gas, but he is trying to find his place in the world between china and the west. and so i'm not so sure that he has -- david, i'm not so sure he -- is certain what he is going to do. my guess is he will move in. he has to do something. and by the way, i've indicated to him, the two things he said to me that he wants, guarantees, is one is ukraine will never be part of nato and, two, that nato or the -- there will not be strategic weapons stationed in ukraine. we can work out something on the second piece. depending what he does along the russian line as well, the russian border in the european area of russia. on the first piece, we have a number of treaties internationally and in europe that suggest you get to choose who you want to be with. but the likelihood that ukraine is going to join nato in the near term is not very likely based on much more work they have to do in terms of democracy and a few other things going on there. and whether or not major allies in the west would vote to bring ukraine in right now. so there's room to work if he wants to do that. but i think, as usual, he's going to -- probably shouldn't go any further. but i think it will hurt him badly. >> sounds like you are offering some way out here. off ramp and it sounds like what it is, is at least an informal assurance that nato is not going to take in ukraine any time in the next few decades. and it sounds like you're saying we would never put nuclear weapons there. he also wants us to move all of our nuclear weapons out of europe and not have troops rotating through the old soviet bloc. do you think there's space -- >> no. no, there's not space for that.. we're going to increase troop presence in poland or romania, et cetera if he moves. we have a sacred obligation to defend those countries. they are part of nato. we don't have that obligation relative to ukraine, although we have great concern what happens to ukraine. thank you. maureen, "usa today." >> thank you, mr. president. i wanted to follow up on your comment on build back better and also ask you a question about the pandemic. you said that you're confident you can pass big chunks of build back better this year. does that wording mean that you are thinking about -- you are looking at breaking the package up into individual portions? and on the pandemic, now that the supreme court blocked the vaccination or test rule for larger businesses, are you reconsidering whether to require vaccines for domestic flights as a way to boost vaccination rates? >> now, look, first of all, on the last part of the question, the supreme court decision, i think, was a mistake, but you still see thousands and thousands of people wowho work for major corporations having to be tested as a consequence of the decision made by the corporation, not by the standard i set that is there. i think you'll see that increase not decrease, number one. what was the first part of the question? >> on your comment that you made that you're confident that major chunks of build back better can pass. are you breaking it up? >> yes, it's clear to me that we're going to have to probably break it up. i think that we can get, and i've been talking to a number of my colleagues on the hill. i think it's clear that we would be able to get support for the 500 plus billion dollars for energy and the environment issues that are there, number one. number two, i know that the two people who have opposed on the democratic side at least, support a number of the things that are in there. joe manchin strongly supports early education. 3-year and 4 years of age. there is strong support for, i think, a number of the way in which to pay for these -- pay for this proposal. so i think there is, i'm not going to -- i'm not going to negotiate myself as to what should and shouldn't be in it, but i think we can break the package up, get as much as we can now and come back and fight for the rest later. ken, "wall street journal." >> thank you, mr. president. i wanted to ask you about the economy. as you said earlier, americans are feeling the squeeze of inflation. oil prices have been at about a seven-year high recently. how long should americans expect to face higher prices when they're at the grocery store, at the gas pump? is this something they're going to see into the summer, into next fall? and separately, you talk about the importance of the fed, but isn't that an acknowledgment that you're limited in what you can do if -- if you're relying on the fed to make decisions and you are unable to get a build back better proposal through, aren't you simply limited in what you can do to deal with inflation? >> well, look. as you know, ken, the inflation has everything to do with the supply chain. and i think what you're seeing is that we've been able to make progress on speeding up the access to materials. for example, one-third of the increase in cost of living is cost of automobiles. the reason automobiles have skyrocketed in price is because of lack of computer chips. so we have the capacity and we're going to do everything in our power to do it to become self-reliant on the computer chips that we need in order to be able to produce more automobiles. that's under way. we've already passed within the context of another bill money for that in the house of representatives before the house of representatives now. but i think there's a way we can move to, if we can move to get, for example, that one thing done, it can make a big difference in terms of the cost of -- total cost of living. now with regard to the whole issue of energy prices, that gets a little more complicated. but you saw what happened when i was able to convince everyone from including china, india, number of other countries to agree with us to go into their version of the petroleum reserve, to release more into the market so that that brought down the price about 12, 15 cents a gallon some places. some places more. there's going to be -- there's going to be a reckoning along the line as to whether or not we're going to continue to see oil prices continue to go up in ways that are going up now relative to what is going to -- what impact that's going to have on the producers. and so it's going to be hard. i think that's the place where most middle class people, working class people get hit the most. they pull up to a pump and instead of paying $2.40 a gallon, they're paying $5 a gallon. that's going to be really difficult. but so we're going to continue to work on trying to increase oil supplies that are available, and i think there's ways in which we can be of some value add in terms of price of gas, natural gas and the like, to take the burden off european countries that are now totally dependent on russia. but it's going to be hard. it's going to be very hard. but i think that we have to deal with, for example, like i said, you have a circumstance where people are paying more for a pound of hamburger meat than they ever paid. well, one of the reasons for that is you don't have that many folks out there that are ones that got the big four controlling it all. so you're going to see more and more, we're going to move on this competition piece, to allow more and more smaller operations to come in and be able to engage in providing buying and providing the access to much cheaper meat than exists now. but it's going to be a haul. and as you, i assume the reason you said if i can't get build back better, as it relates to what those 17 nobel laureate commits said that if we can pass it, it would actually lower the impact inflation over time. so there's a lot we have to do. it's not going to be easy but i think we can get it done, but it's going to be painful for a lot of people in the meantime. that's why the single best way, single best way to take the burden off the middle class and working class folks is to pass the build back better piece that are things that they are paying a lot of money for now. if you get the tradeoff higher gases, putting up with higher price of hamburgers and gas, versus whether or not you're going to have to -- you're going to be able to pay for education and/or child care, i think most people would make the trade. their bottom line would be better in middle class households. ue but it's going to be hard and take a lot of work. >> you mentioned china. do you think the time has come to begin lifting some of the tariffs on chinese imports or is there a need for china to make due on some of its commitments in the phase one agreement? some business groups would like you to begin raising -- lifting up those tariffs. >> i know that. that's why my trade rep is working on that right now. the answer is uncertain. it's uncertain. i'd like to be in a position where i can say they're meeting the commitments, more of their commitments and be able to lift some of it. but we're not there yet. nancy, cbs. >> thank you, mr. president. this afternoon, the senate minority leader mitch mcconnell said that the midterm elections are going to be a report card on your progress, on inflation, border security and standing up to russia. do you think that that's a fair way to look at it? and, if so, how do you think that report card looks right now? >> i think the report card is going to look pretty good. but the idea that mitch has been very clear. he's going to do anything to prevent biden from being a success. and i get on with mitch. i actually like mitch mcconnell. we like one another but he has one straightforward objective. make sure that there's nothing i do that makes me look good in the mind -- in his mind with the public at large. and that's okay. i'm a big boy. i've been here before. but the fact is that i think the -- i'm happy to debate and have a referendum on how i handled the economy. whether or not i have made progress on -- look. again, how can i -- i'm taking too long to answer your questions. i apologize. i think that the fundamental question is, what's mitch for? what's he for on immigration? what's he for? what's he proposing? what's he for dealing with russia? it's different than i'm proposing, than many of his republican colleagues are supporting as well. what's he for on these things? what are they for? so everything is a choice. a choice. i think -- look. i've laid out a proposal on immigration that if we passed it, we'd be in a totally different place right now. we're not there. because we don't have a single republican vote. my buddy john mccain is gone. so, i mean, it's just going to take time. and again, i go back to -- i go back to governor sununu's quote. how long -- i mean, rhetorical question, i know this is not fair to ask the press a question. i'm not asking you. but think about, did you ever think that one man out of office could intimidate an entire party where they are unwilling to take any vote contrary to what he thinks should be taken for fear of being defeated in a primary? i've had five republican senators talk to me, bump into me quote, unquote, or sit with me who have told me that they agree with whatever i'm talking about. but, joe, if i do it, i'm going to get defeated in a primary. we've got to break that. it's got to change. and i doubt -- this sounds like i'm being solicitous. you're well informed, more informed than any group of people in america. but did any of you think that you'd get to a point where not a single republican would diverge on a major issue? not one? anyway. >> can you tell us who those five republican senators are? >> sure. no, are you kidding me? i maintain confidentiality. but i'm sure you've spoken to some. >> on voting rights, sir, at your first press conference ten months ago, i asked you if there was anything you could do beyond legislation to protect voting rights. at that time you said yes but i'm not going to lay out a strategy before you and the world now. now that legislation appears to be hopelessly stalled, can you now lay out your strategy to protect voting rights? >> well, i'm not prepared to do that in detail in terms of the executive orders i may be able to engage in and other things i can do. but the things we have done. we have significantly beefed up the number of enforcers in the justice department who are there to challenge the -- these unconstitutional efforts in our view. unconstitutional efforts on the part of the republicans to stack the election and subvert the outcome. we have begun to organize in ways that we didn't before. the communities beyond the civil rights community to make the case to the rest of the american people what's about to happen. what will happen if, in fact, these things move forward. if i had talked to you -- not you. i'm using -- if i talked to the public about the whole idea of subversion of elections by deciding who the electors are after the fact, i think people would have looked at me like, whoa, i taught constitutional law for 20 years, courses on separation of powers when i was a senator. i never thought we'd get into a place where we're talking about being able to actually -- what they tried to do this last time out, send different electors to the state legislative bodies to represent who won the election. saying that i didn't win, but republican candidate won. i doubt anybody thought that would ever happen in america in the 21st century. but it's happening. and so i think -- i guess what i'm saying is, nancy, i think that there are a number of things we can do, but i also think we will be able to get significant pieces of the legislation if we don't get it all now to build to get it so that we get a big chunk of the john lewis legislation as well as the fair elections. >> on covid, you touted the number of americans who are now fully vaccinated with two shots. but even some of your own medical advisers say that people aren't fully protected unless they have that third shot. >> yeah. >> a booster. why hasn't this white house changed the definition of fully vaccinated to include that third booster shot? is it because the numbers of fully vaccinated americans would suddenly look a lot less impressive? >> no, it's not that at all. this has become clearer and clearer. and every time i speak of it i say, if you have been vaccinated, get your booster shot. everybody, get the booster shot. it's the optimum protection you can have. you're protected very well with two shots. if it's the pfizer. anyway, you're protected. but you are better protected with the booster shot. >> the definition right now. >> i am following what the -- the answer is yes. get the booster shot. it's all part of the same thing. you're better protected. okay. alex, reuters. >> thank you, mr. president. i wanted to follow up briefly on a question asked by bloomberg. you said that russia would be held accountable if it invades and it depends on what it does. it's one thing if it's a minor incursion and we end up having to fight about what to do and what not to do. are you saying that a minor incursion by russia into ukrainian territory would not lead to the sanctions that you have threatened or are you effectively giving putin permission to make a small incursion into the country? >> good question. the most important thing to do, big nations can't bluff, number one. number two, the idea that we would do anything to split nato, which would be -- have a profound impact on one of, i think, probably on one of putin's objectives to weakeweak en nato would be a big mistake. so the question is, if it's something significantly short of a significant invasion or not -- major military forces coming -- for example, it's one thing to determine that if they continue to use cyber efforts, we can respond the same way with cyber. they have fsb people in ukraine now trying to undermine the solidarity within ukraine about russia and to try to promote russian interest. but it's very important that we keep everyone in nato on the same page. that's what i'm spending a lot of time doing and there are differences. there are differences in nato as to what countries are willing to do, depending on what happens. the degree to which they are able to go. and i want to be clear with you. the serious imposition of sanctions relative to dollar transactions and other things are things that are going to have a negative impact on the united states, as well as a negative impact on the economies of europe as well. and devastating impact on russia. and so i got to make sure everybody is on the same page as we move along. i think we will, if there is something that is -- where there's russian forces crossing the border, killing ukrainian fighters, et cetera, i think that changes everything. but it depends on what he does, to what extent we'll get total unity on the nato front. >> if i may ask a quick one on iran. i want to get your sense of whether the vienna talks are making any progress, if you still think it's possible to reach a deal for both sides to resume compliance with the iran nuclear deal or if it's time to give up on that? thank you. >> doing it in reverse. it's not time to give up. there is some progress being made. p5+1 is on the same page but it remains to be seen. okay. kristen, nbc. >> very quickly on russia. i do have a number of domestic policy issues, but on russia very quickly, it seemed like you said that you have assessed, you feel as though he will move in. has this administration, have you determined whether president putin plans to invade or move into ukraine as you said? >> look, the only thing i am confident of is that decision is totally, solely, completely putin's decision. nobody else is going to make that decision. no one else is going to impact that decision. he's making that decision. and i suspect it matters which side of the bed he gets up on in the morning as to exactly what he's going to do. and i think it is not irrational if you wanted to, to talk about dealing with strategic doctrine and deal with force structures in europe in the european parts of russia. but i don't know if he's decided he wants to do that. in the three meetings we've had have not produced anything because the impression i get from my secretary of state, my national security adviser and my other senior officials that are doing these meetings is that there's a question of whether the people they're talking to know what he is going to do. so the answer is, but based on a number of criteria as to what he could do -- for example, for him to move in and occupy the whole country, particularly from the north from belarus, it's he's going to have to wait a little bit because the ground is frozen. to move in a direction he wants