Transcript - Interview: Jimmy Fallon Interviews Joe Biden Via Remote on The Tonight Show - December 10, 2021 | Factba.se

Jimmy Fallon

00:00:00 - 00:00:22 ()

We are honored to have our first guest with us tonight. He served for 36 years as a senator from Delaware. He was Vice President under the Obama administration. And now he serves as the 46th President of the United States. This is his first time in a late-night program as the sitting president. Please, welcome President Joe Biden.

Joe Biden

00:00:22 - 00:00:33 ()

Hey, Jimmy, how are you man?

Jimmy Fallon

00:00:33 - 00:00:39 ()

President Biden, I appreciate you being here. It's your first time on our show as President Biden, and I'm honored.

Joe Biden

00:00:39 - 00:00:41 ()

I'm honored to be on. Thanks for inviting me.

Jimmy Fallon

00:00:41 - 00:00:57 ()

We have a lot to talk about. Let's start with some good news here. You pass your infrastructure bill. This is a big deal passed. What are some changes that Americans can expect from passing the bill?

Joe Biden

00:00:57 - 00:01:14 ()

Well, you know, we used to be the number one to have the best infrastructure in the world, highways, bridges, the whole works. And now we ranked number 13th in the world. And we just -- and makes, it has a lot to do with quality of life. It has a lot to do with whether or not we're going to be competitive.

Joe Biden

00:01:14 - 00:01:36 ()

And for example, one thing it does, we're going to replace all the lead pipes in America that are causing people to get sick, get cancer and kids being able to drink clean water. We're going to make sure that we have everywhere in the country, rural and urban and suburban. We have internet connections because the world is changing and we're so far behind the curve.

Joe Biden

00:01:36 - 00:01:43 ()

But the big thing is going to do, is going to create millions of jobs. And it's going to change the quality of life for an awful lot of people around the country.

Jimmy Fallon

00:01:43 - 00:01:51 ()

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Great. And I know you've been working hard on the Build Back Better plan.

Joe Biden

00:01:51 - 00:01:52 ()

Jimmy Fallon

00:01:52 - 00:01:57 ()

And some people may not fully understand what's actually in this plan. Is there simple way to break it down?

Joe Biden

00:01:57 - 00:02:21 ()

Yeah, what's in it is the ability for working class and middle-class people to have their cost of living cut significantly. For example, there is money in there to make sure that there's the ability to care for childcare right now, if you're in New York, and you're a man or woman, having childcare for your children, your fund $21,000 and $25,000 a year to be able to do that.

Joe Biden

00:02:21 - 00:02:44 ()

Well, most people can't do that. So, people leave the workforce. This will mean you don't have to pay more than 7% of your income saving tens of thousands of dollars over time. We also provided in a bill the Build Back Better initiative. We're going to make sure you're able to send your three and four and five-year-olds to school, which will increase exponentially their chances of succeeding.

Joe Biden

00:02:44 - 00:02:59 ()

All the studies show, Jimmy, that 47% better chance of graduating from high school, no matter what the background you come from, no matter what home you come from, and be able to go on to get to school. What better can happen for America then have a better educated population.

Jimmy Fallon

00:02:59 - 00:02:59 ()

Joe Biden

00:02:59 - 00:03:25 ()

So, there's a whole range of things that are in there, that are going to really reduce essentially, the cost of living for people in a reasonable rational way. And by the way, every single bit of that bill is paid for. No one making less than 400,000 bucks you will pay and then an additional set in taxes, as well as it will not increase the deficit one penny.

Jimmy Fallon

00:03:25 - 00:03:29 ()

Do you think that this will pass the Senate before the year?

Joe Biden

00:03:29 - 00:03:34 ()

Well, I hope it will, though, you know, I don't have a single Republican vote right now to pass it.

Jimmy Fallon

00:03:34 - 00:03:34 ()

Joe Biden

00:03:34 - 00:03:42 ()

And so, it's going to be tough, but I think we can get it done. And if we don't get, we'll keep adding until we get it done.

Jimmy Fallon

00:03:42 - 00:03:58 ()

I was at the Kennedy Center, and I saw Republicans and Democrats in the crowd. Everyone's laughing at jokes and listening to great music, and everyone seemed cordial and nice. And I go, oh, this seems like this should be much easier to get along with everybody.

Joe Biden

00:03:58 - 00:04:20 ()

Jimmy, look, the truth is that before COVID hit the Trump arm of the Republican Party, which seems to be the Republican Party now, did not even show up at the Kennedy Center. They wouldn't go to the awards.

Jimmy Fallon

00:04:20 - 00:04:21 ()

Joe Biden

00:04:21 - 00:04:45 ()

So, all the people you have, as we saw at that event, which was a very fulsome event, or people who in fact, the Republicans, but they're the kind of like for example, a lot of Republicans and Democrats do so get really on well together. For example, one of the reasons that a little bit late coming on is because -- not coming on with to do the taping here, is because I did Bob Dole's eulogy today.

Joe Biden

00:04:45 - 00:05:08 ()

He asked me on his deathbed, whether I would do his eulogy. We're friends, we disagree but we're friends. We used to have an awful lot of that relationship, and they're still exist, except that the AQnon and the extreme elements, the Republican Party and what Donald Trump keeps sort of seems to me feeding the, you know, the big lie.

Joe Biden

00:05:08 - 00:05:16 ()

It makes it awful hard. There's -- and I think most Republicans, there's an awful lot of Republicans in Congress, I think would agree.

Joe Biden

00:05:16 - 00:05:29 ()

Yeah, I thought it was great to see you there. And I thought -- I said, I was -- we gave you a standing ovation because I go, here he is. He's bringing class back. He's a classy guy. And you're brining class back to the office and I thought it was --

Joe Biden

00:05:29 - 00:05:30 ()

Very kind, Jimmy, thank you.

Jimmy Fallon

00:05:30 - 00:05:51 ()

-- amazing that you did that. The COVID problem. I don't know what else to do and how to tell people to get the vaccine. At this point just, I think people are going to do what they will, I guess. I don't know what to say. But is it the youth that we have to just hope that the kids get us out of this? Because I mean, I got vaccine, I got boosted.

Jimmy Fallon

00:05:51 - 00:05:58 ()

I got whatever you got. I got -- if you want me to wear red pants, I wear red pants, I want this thing to go away.

Joe Biden

00:05:58 - 00:06:01 ()

Well, I think what I do is have more people listen to your song.

Jimmy Fallon

00:06:01 - 00:06:05 ()

Yeah. That's I'm talking, yeah.

Joe Biden

00:06:05 - 00:06:06 ()

I think that will get moved.

Jimmy Fallon

00:06:06 - 00:06:27 ()

I got to say I missed -- I got to tell you, so I had the song come out. It's called, "It Was A Masked Christmas" this week with Ariana Grande and Megan Thee Stallion. And thank you. You were nice enough. You were nice enough to tweet about it. Tis the season to get boosted. This is amazing that the President did this.

Jimmy Fallon

00:06:27 - 00:06:42 ()

I'm so excited that you did this. It changed everything. All these radio stations want to sell another plane song. But you said that, at another comment, you said, the message is very important. Get your booster.

Joe Biden

00:06:42 - 00:07:13 ()

Well, it is. It's really important, Jimmy. Look the death -- look, we're so far ahead of the rest of the world in terms of the science and technology to produce the vaccines. And now we found out that, that the -- if you have your two shots from Moderna, or from Pfizer, or the one shot from J&J, what happens is this booster shot not only brings the levels back up of immunity, I mean to deal with the fighting off the virus, any of the viruses, but it brings it up exponentially.

Joe Biden

00:07:13 - 00:07:23 ()

And so, if you want to be sure, you're going to be OK. And the other good news, Jimmy, is that we now have five, six and seven-year-olds are able to be vaccinated.

Jimmy Fallon

00:07:23 - 00:07:23 ()

Joe Biden

00:07:23 - 00:07:39 ()

As well as teenagers. And so, we're moving, we're moving. Now. I don't know, the politicization of this, making it become a political statement if you get the shot and somehow, I don't know what that, anyway.

Jimmy Fallon

00:07:39 - 00:07:40 ()

Joe Biden

00:07:40 - 00:08:11 ()

Here's the deal, Jimmy, it's -- the bottom line is that the way to avoid this virus is to get two shots, and then get the booster shot. It's available. We have the medicines available. It will make a gigantic difference. And even if you don't care so much about yourself, think about your kids, your brother, your sister, your co-worker that make -- and this stuff about, you know, Biden's mandating these things happening, and it's un-American.

Joe Biden

00:08:11 - 00:08:16 ()

Look at this way, it's patriotic to get this done. Not a joke.

Jimmy Fallon

00:08:16 - 00:08:17 ()

Joe Biden

00:08:17 - 00:08:19 ()

It's patriotic to get it done.

Jimmy Fallon

00:08:19 - 00:08:23 ()

Yeah. Do you -- how much do you pay attention to approval ratings?

Joe Biden

00:08:23 - 00:08:32 ()

Well, not anymore. I'm joking. I'll pay attention in mid-60

Jimmy Fallon

00:08:32 - 00:08:46 ()

I appreciate the honesty, yeah. I mean because you came in, you came in hot, and then you got to medium and now you're at a low, but you just kind of keep your head down, right? And just keep doing the right thing.

Joe Biden

00:08:46 - 00:09:12 ()

Well, look, here's the deal. I think that it's -- we banana less than a year, a lot has happened. Look, people are afraid, people are worried, and people are getting so much inaccurate information to them. I don't mean about me, but about their situation. And so they're, you know, they're being told that, you know, Armageddon is on the way.

Jimmy Fallon

00:09:12 - 00:09:12 ()

Joe Biden

00:09:12 - 00:09:42 ()

But truth is the economy is growing more than it has any time and close to 60 years. The unemployment rates down to 4.2% is going to go lower in my view. We do have inflation on things that, in fact, matter to people's lives. You know, when you show up at a gas station and it's $3.50 at your pump, although now because I took 50 billion barrels -- million barrels, the other call the Oil Petroleum Reserve, the gasoline is down below $3 in many places.

Joe Biden

00:09:42 - 00:10:10 ()

It's going to come down, it's going to move. But in the meantime, people are worried, and they're worried about whether or not, you know, they have a brother, sister, uncle, aunt, who has gotten COVID. And they don't know what to do about. I mean, so there's a lot of anxiety. And my job is to be straightforward shoot from the shoulder, but people know exactly what the truth is, and lay out how I'm going to try to make life better for them.

Jimmy Fallon

00:10:10 - 00:10:20 ()

Yeah. Does anyone really understand how hard your job is? Like who -- I mean, besides my uncle, apparently, who knows everything. He knows everything. But I mean --

Joe Biden

00:10:20 - 00:10:22 ()

Well, send him over.

Jimmy Fallon

00:10:22 - 00:10:45 ()

Yeah, no, you don't want to talk to this guy. But I mean, even just being in D.C. the other day and driving around and you go see all these giant buildings. And it just, you feel kind of nervous. And you feel like, I'm feel important when I'm there. But you're the leader of our country. I mean, the pressure and then you have to do 20 events during the day that we don't even see.

Joe Biden

00:10:45 - 00:11:09 ()

Look, I was Vice President for eight years. I knew what the job was. And I don't -- no one should feel sorry for me. It's a greatest honor anybody can have in their whole life in my view to be president of the United States. But what the difference is, the difference is that, when you're in -- when you're in the Congress, and I had important jobs in the Congress, as a senator, I was chairman of important committees.

Joe Biden

00:11:09 - 00:11:34 ()

But being presidents like being chairman of every single committee, nothing gets to my desk, unless it hasn't been able to be solved before it got to my desk. So, by definition, it's more difficult. Harry Truman had a great line. He said about being friends. He said, "The buck stops here." I used to be -- I kid Barack -- President Obama, who was a good friend, and we served with eight years as friends together.

Joe Biden

00:11:34 - 00:11:47 ()

And I used to say to him, instead of him thanking me for, I got to be the last guy in the room to give him advice. That was the deal we had. And I get to -- he thanked me, and I get to walk out and say, look, I give you the advice, you got to make the decision.

Jimmy Fallon

00:11:47 - 00:11:47 ()

Joe Biden

00:11:47 - 00:12:09 ()

You know, and what happens is going to be on you, but that's part of the deal. But look, I have enormous confidence. You're going to think I'm going to realize how -- what a naive guy I am. But I really have faith the end of the day, the American people are going to get it. They understand. They understand, given half a shot.

Joe Biden

00:12:09 - 00:12:14 ()

They've never ever, ever, ever, ever let the country down. You just got to give them a shot.

Jimmy Fallon

00:12:14 - 00:12:21 ()

That's right. More with President Joe Biden when we come back, everybody. [Applause]

Note

00:12:21 - 00:12:21 ()

[Commercial Break]

Jimmy Fallon

00:12:21 - 00:12:33 ()

Welcome back. President Joe Biden is joining us. President Biden, what -- what did it feel like the first time you walk into the White House as president? What was the first thing you noticed?

Joe Biden

00:12:33 - 00:12:55 ()

What I did notice is that it is -- there is a sense that you realize it's not your house, it's the people's house. And that sounds corny -- it's the people's house. But you realize that that's the case. And one of the things that I find, Jimmy, and I think you really would associate with this, I -- Jill and I feel, we come from middle class backgrounds.

Joe Biden

00:12:55 - 00:13:05 ()

We both are college graduates. We worked like how we have fathers who didn't go what -- anyway, the end result was that we're not used to people waiting on us.

Jimmy Fallon

00:13:05 - 00:13:05 ()

Joe Biden

00:13:05 - 00:13:25 ()

And so, in the White House, there -- you know, there's somebody to, you know, make your breakfast, or someone to pack your clothes, or someone to carry your bag. We now have a deal, and they're great, the guys who run the kitchen on the second floor is -- we don't have them come in for -- do breakfast for us, because there's no need for them to have to do breakfast for us.

Joe Biden

00:13:25 - 00:13:31 ()

We can make our own eggs or, you know, pour a bowl of a --

Jimmy Fallon

00:13:31 - 00:13:32 ()

You make your own eggs?

Joe Biden

00:13:32 - 00:13:35 ()

-- cereal. Well, I don't. Jill does. [Laughter]

Joe Biden

00:13:35 - 00:13:40 ()

I tell you what? I'll tell you a true story.

Jimmy Fallon

00:13:40 - 00:13:41 ()

Joe Biden

00:13:41 - 00:13:46 ()

When I was -- when Jill was going to graduate school, which was her life it seems --

Jimmy Fallon

00:13:46 - 00:13:46 ()

Joe Biden

00:13:46 - 00:14:06 ()

-- when I was a senator, I get home really quickly and she -- we trade off, and I -- and my daughter will be there. And I'd -- and she'd take off for school, night school. Anyway, to make a long story short, my daughter was being interviewed when she was about, I don't know, 9, 10 years old, and said, can your daddy cook for you?

Joe Biden

00:14:06 - 00:14:13 ()

And said, my daddy can't do much. He can boil water, make biscotti, but he can't do much else. [Laughter]

Jimmy Fallon

00:14:13 - 00:14:15 ()

Yeah. Exactly right.

Joe Biden

00:14:15 - 00:14:16 ()

And guess what? She's right. She's right.

Jimmy Fallon

00:14:16 - 00:14:22 ()

Well, if we talk again -- I check in with you this time next year, what do you hope we're going to be talking about?

Joe Biden

00:14:22 - 00:14:44 ()

I hope we're going to be talking about how we've gotten COVID more under control. I hope we're going to be talking about how we have actually reduced the burden on middle class folks financially, that salaries continue to go up. I hope we're going to talk about unemployment still going down. I hope we're going to be talking about inflation being under control.

Joe Biden

00:14:44 - 00:15:09 ()

And -- but the other thing, Jimmy, I really hope that we're going to be able to demonstrate that we made worldwide progress on the environment, because I think it's a critical thing, and I pray to God, pray God, we will have passed the John Lewis Act and the Voting Rights Act because what's going on now in about 30 states is literally un-American.

Joe Biden

00:15:09 - 00:15:45 ()

It's about trying to prevent people from voting rather than allow them to vote. So, there's -- there's a full plate, but I think we can do it. I'm optimistic about the future. And I'm optimistic about this country. We are -- as I told everybody, including everyone from the leader to China, to Russia and everyone else, that I don't know anybody who wouldn't trade places -- world leader who wouldn't trade places with my job versus theirs, because we have more available to us, we have more capacity, we have more science and technology and decency I think than any country in the world.

Joe Biden

00:15:45 - 00:15:51 ()

And so, I think -- I think the sky is the limit is what we can do in this -- in this second quarter of the 21st century.

Jimmy Fallon

00:15:51 - 00:15:52 ()

Before you go -- [Applause]

Jimmy Fallon

00:15:52 - 00:16:09 ()

I hope -- I hope that as well. I just want to tell you what an honor it is to have you on the show tonight. I'm a very proud American. Thank you so much for being here. And if you ever need me for anything, don't hesitate. I am there for you. I am there for you, man.

Joe Biden

00:16:09 - 00:16:12 ()

Well, Jimmy -- Jimmy, maybe you ought to come down and have dinner with me. [Laughter]

Jimmy Fallon

00:16:12 - 00:16:12 ()

Yeah, I will -- [Applause]

Jimmy Fallon

00:16:12 - 00:16:24 ()

I'm coming. I'm going there now. All right. President Biden, everybody. More of the Tonight Show after the break. Stick around. We'll be right there.