Transcript - Remarks: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Deliver Remarks - November 19, 2020 | Factba.se

Kamala Harris

00:00:00 - 00:00:24 ()

Good afternoon. President-elect Biden and I just met with a bipartisan group of Democratic and Republican governors. We talked about what we need to do to make free testing available for everyone, to make a free vaccine available for everyone, and to get this pandemic under control. Governors are elected by their states to take action in moments of crisis.

Kamala Harris

00:00:24 - 00:00:48 ()

They are the ones who go to the places and talk to the people who are hardest hit. And during this pandemic, they have been called on to make very difficult decisions about the health and safety of the people they represent about opening schools and about opening our economy responsibly. I have served in both state and local government, so I understand the critical role our governors play.

Kamala Harris

00:00:48 - 00:01:16 ()

And they will have partners in the White House starting on January 20th because, as Governor Herbert said in our meeting, when the states are successful, the country is successful. So, our message to our governors and to all of our nation's state and local leaders is simple. President-elect Biden and I will make sure you have the resources and support you need to save lives and help get our economy back on track.

Kamala Harris

00:01:16 - 00:01:39 ()

And we will also make sure that our federal, state, local, and tribal authorities are working closely together so we can tackle these challenges as effectively as possible, because when it comes to this pandemic and the economic recovery, we are not Democrats or Republicans. We are Americans and we will be there for one another.

Kamala Harris

00:01:39 - 00:02:15 ()

That's the kind of leadership the American people need and deserve, and it's the kind of leadership President-elect Biden and I will provide. And it is now my great honor to introduce President-elect Joe Biden.

Joe Biden

00:02:15 - 00:02:49 ()

Hello, folks. Good afternoon. Thanks for your patience. The vice president-elect and I, as was just pointed out, have just concluded a videoconference with the executive leadership of the National Governors Conference. That included Governor Cuomo, New York, Governor Hutchison, Governor Hogan, Governor Whitmer, Governor Ivey, Governor Polis, and Governor Baker, Governor Lujan Grisham, Governor Herbert, and Governor Carney.

Joe Biden

00:02:49 - 00:03:32 ()

And it was really a worthwhile undertaking. You know, they've had to make some really tough calls during this unprecedented crisis, and we're incredibly grateful for everything they've done and will keep doing to try to keep their communities safe. Unfortunately, because of the lack of ascertainment, as they say, which is -- that's a fancy word these days, but until the head of the GSA says that we in fact, our team, this Transition Team, our team, the -- the senator and I have -- in fact are the likely winners, until she does that we don't have access to all the information that we need to get from all the various agencies.

Joe Biden

00:03:32 - 00:03:51 ()

We're not able to deal with everything from testing to guidance to the all-important issue of vaccine distribution and, even more importantly, vaccination plan to actually get vaccinations. We haven't been able to get into Operation Warp Speed, but we will take what we've learned today and build it into our planning.

Joe Biden

00:03:51 - 00:04:17 ()

The country is still in a crisis and there's a dark winter still ahead. Yesterday, America reached another tragic milestone, 250,000 deaths. A quarter of a million people died due to COVID-19. And there are empty chairs and dining room tables just were -- were filled just days and weeks ago with loved ones, family, friends who laughed and talk together.

Joe Biden

00:04:17 - 00:04:41 ()

To those families and friends that are left behind, Jill and I send our -- our love and our prayers. We know, like many of you do, how tough it is to find purpose in the memory of a loved one you've just lost. It'll take time, but you'll find it. You'll find it. And we'll -- and you'll find your purpose as we are going to find our purpose for our nation as a nation now.

Joe Biden

00:04:41 - 00:05:03 ()

I promise you that, and I promise you that we'll work together. There's a -- there was a great meeting we had today. All the governors, no matter their political party, whether they're from -- whatever part of the country they represented, no matter their political philosophy, shared a strong and abiding sense of a common purpose.

Joe Biden

00:05:03 - 00:05:29 ()

There was a real desire for a real partnership between the states and the federal government. Each of the governors emphasized that we might be Democrats or Republicans, but we're all American first. They congratulated us heartily for the -- the -- our win. What really pleased me was the -- most was that the governors made clear that beating COVID-19 is going to require all of us working together as one country.

Joe Biden

00:05:29 - 00:05:59 ()

Kamala and I agree. We are -- we were deeply impressed with how much consensus there was, how to move forward among the governors. What we need to do now is how we need to do it. How are we going to do it? In what coordinated way can it be done? We discussed a number of critical ways we can work together and unify around a national approach to controlling COVID-19. First delivering economic relief to the cities, states, and tribal communities.

Joe Biden

00:05:59 - 00:06:18 ()

The lost revenue from COVID and the cost of COVID recovery is devastating to state and local budgets. As governors -- as all of them indicated, we've got to come together. The federal government has to deliver this release sooner rather than later, and with flexibility for the states to meet their needs.

Joe Biden

00:06:18 - 00:06:36 ()

This includes helping businesses, schools, working families from unemployment benefits to early education, continued access to affordable healthcare. All of that's needed during this pandemic. States and communities shouldn't have to lay off teachers, cops, firefighters, cut vital services for families and businesses.

Joe Biden

00:06:36 - 00:07:04 ()

The second thing there was uniform agreement on, delivering a safe and equitable and free vaccine. The governors all acknowledged that this will be a massive undertaking, one of the greatest operational challenges we will have faced as a nation. One statistic that was raised by the governors, it took eight months to provide 100 million COVID tests, eight months to provide COVID tests.

Joe Biden

00:07:04 - 00:07:31 ()

Just imagine how much more difficult it will be, they pointed out, if we don't find a more efficient and effective way to provide 330 million vaccinations. Put it in perspective. They made the point we can't wait. That's what the governors are raising. In the meeting, we discussed the challenges that lie ahead in distributing and administering the vaccine.

Joe Biden

00:07:31 - 00:07:51 ()

The governors talked about how getting doses of vaccine distributed is just one step. We have to actually get vaccinations into the arms of 330 million Americans. That takes enormous resources, people, product. We discussed the difficulty of that task. It's going to take time. It's going to take coordination.

Joe Biden

00:07:51 - 00:08:12 ()

It's going to take the federal government and state governments working hand in glove, working together. Governors -- the governors all emphasized we need to be clear with the American people about what to expect, no false expectations. Let them know what we anticipate. They all acknowledge that this is going to take a massive public education campaign.

Joe Biden

00:08:12 - 00:08:33 ()

And we also need to reach traditionally underserved communities that are being hardest hit by the pandemic, black, brown, Latino, Latin American community, Native American communities, small towns, rural communities. They talked about that in some detail. Thirdly, we discussed the need to help states with the Title 32 funding for the National Guard.

Joe Biden

00:08:33 - 00:08:57 ()

That's a fancy way of saying governors -- governors need to be able to get funding when they dis -- when they dis -- they need to -- bringing -- bringing their National Guard into play. And National Guards are going to have to play this. It costs a lot of money and governors need that paid for. Governors discussed the need for funding when waving certain FEMA fees.

Joe Biden

00:08:57 - 00:09:21 ()

The fact is that this is a national emergency. That's what FEMA is supposed to deal with. Our view is that should be done when it comes to deploying the National Guard or COVID or real relief. That should be paid for. You know, that's something Kamala and I would be very focused on. And fourthly, we discussed the implementation of a national mask mandate.

Joe Biden

00:09:21 - 00:09:46 ()

Ten governors, Democrat and Republican, have imposed masking requirements and recognized the need for universal masking. North, South, East, and West. It's not a political statement. It's a patriotic duty. And fifth, we discussed making testing more available and accessible. Anyone who wants a test should be able to get one, period.

Joe Biden

00:09:46 - 00:10:18 ()

And finally, while we focused on the immediate needs to control the virus, the governors also raised and talked about how much we have to build back better, especially on infrastructure and education and so much more. This was not a one-off meeting. I committed -- we committed, we agreed that we will continue to work and meet with the governor's on a regular basis, continue to seek their input and that our COVID teams will follow up and coordinate on the issues coming out of that call.

Joe Biden

00:10:18 - 00:10:39 ()

Because some of them have very competent people on their COVID teams in their states. The bottom line, we can do this. There's nothing beyond our capacity. But we have to come together as a country. What this meeting along with others we've had reinforces in my view is the unity that country is looking for.

Joe Biden

00:10:39 - 00:11:00 ()

They're looking for us to come together and deal with problems, most of which have no ideological basis for disagreement. That's what we have to do. That's what the governors talked about. It really was pleasing to hear them. We want to thank you all and may God bless you all and those who lost someone.

Joe Biden

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

You're in our prayers. May God protect our troops. I'm happy to take a few questions and my boss is going to tell me who that is.

Unidentified

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

Question

00:11:16 - 00:11:53 ()

Thank you, Mr. President-elect. I know you mentioned the economic impact and talked a bit about the relief package you wanted, but I was wondering if we could talk about things that you will be able to do just as president or what will sort of govern your decision in terms of the economy? So I was wondering if I could ask what kind of framework you're thinking about as you decide about a Treasury secretary going forward whether you would consider -- you had said during the debates that you wanted to punish China over the way that they've been acting comment whether that it could include economic sanctions or tariffs towards China.

Question

00:11:53 - 00:12:00 ()

And finally, do you think a strong dollar helps or hurts the U.S. as we are grappling with historic unemployment?

Joe Biden

00:12:00 - 00:12:27 ()

Well, look, let me try to take it one at a time. You'll soon hear my choice for Treasury. I've made that decision. We've made that decision and you'll hear that either just before or just after Thanksgiving, number one. And you'll find it is someone who I think is -- will be accepted by all elements of the Democratic Party from progressive to the moderate coalitions.

Joe Biden

00:12:27 - 00:12:48 ()

Secondly, it's not so much about punishing China, it's about making sure China understands they've got to play by the rules. It's a simple proposition. And so that's one of the reasons why we're going to rejoin the World Health Organization. We're going to rejoin on day one as well and it needs reform, acknowledge, and rejoin the Paris Climate Accord.

Joe Biden

00:12:48 - 00:13:14 ()

And we have to make sure that the rest of the world and we get together and make sure there are certain right lines the Chinese understand. We have to not only do deal with this pandemic, but we have to plan for the next one. The idea that viruses are going to go away is just not rational. We're going to re -- we're going to re-calibrate and set up the -- the institute we -- the institutional structures we had in our administration, Obama-Biden, and build on.

Joe Biden

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

Those what was your third question?

Question

00:13:15 - 00:13:29 ()

It was about the dollar, sir, whether you think a strong dollar will help or hurt with unemployment or generally, just how you'd like the Federal Reserve to sort of approach the --

Joe Biden

00:13:29 - 00:13:57 ()

-- Well quite frankly, the way the Federal Reserve has been approaching the dealing with the dollar has, I think, has been in a positive direction. Our interest rates are as low as they have been in modern history. And I think that is a positive thing. It lends credence to the possibility of us being able to expend the money and deficit to spend in order to be able to generate economic growth right off the bat.

Joe Biden

00:13:57 - 00:14:05 ()

And so I think it's been positive so far.

Unidentified

00:14:05 - 00:14:05 ()

Question

00:14:05 - 00:14:06 ()

Thank you, Mr. President-elect.

Joe Biden

00:14:06 - 00:14:07 ()

Question

00:14:07 - 00:14:18 ()

You have said that if this transition doesn't get going, especially coordination on vaccine distribution, that lines will be lost. How many lines do you think are at risk here if this transmission remains stalled?

Joe Biden

00:14:18 - 00:14:41 ()

Well look, you -- you've heard the projections. The projections are that if nothing fundamentally changes between now and the beginning of February, we are likely to lose up to 400 -- total of 400,000 lives, another 150,000 lives. And so it's real. Whether it's that, it gets to 360, whatever it is, it's real.

Joe Biden

00:14:41 - 00:15:08 ()

And there is no excuse not to share the data and let us begin to plan. Because on day one, it's going to take his time if we don't have access to all this data. It's going to put us behind the 8 ball by a matter of a month or more. And that's lives. How many would be lost as a consequence? That I can't tell you, but the purpose here is to get -- we talked a lot about with the governors about what the immediate needs are.

Joe Biden

00:15:08 - 00:15:40 ()

I'm going to -- we're going to impose the -- we're going to enforce the -- excuse me, employ the Defense Reconstruct Act to be able to go out there and dictate companies build and do the following things. We need much more testing, we need much more masking, we need much more -- we need gloves. I asked them each to -- and I asked the National Governors Association through the Governor Cuomo and the ones on the line I said let us know what the shortages are, what they anticipate because we're going to move on day one period that should be moved on now.

Joe Biden

00:15:40 - 00:15:44 ()

Now. But if it waits, it takes a long time to get this thing going

Question

00:15:44 - 00:15:56 ()

And when you take a step back and you look at the way the president has handled is handling this, his refusal to concede, what do you think is really going on here? In your view, Mr. President-elect, what do you think the president is doing? What are Americans witnessing here?

Joe Biden

00:15:56 - 00:16:27 ()

Let me choose my words here. I think they were witnessing incredible irresponsibility, incredibly damaging messages being sent to the rest of the world about how democracy functions, and I think it is -- well, I don't know his motive, but I just think it's totally irresponsible.

Question

00:16:27 - 00:16:32 ()

Are you concerned he may succeed, that people may question the legitimacy of your administration?

Joe Biden

00:16:32 - 00:16:55 ()

No, I'm not concerned. The vast majority of the American people, they've already -- all the polling data has indicated all the Republicans who worry about it is higher, but you know, over 78 percent of the American people believe it's without question, it's legitimate. And I just think it's -- and I think most of the Republicans I've spoken to, including some governors think this is debilitating.

Joe Biden

00:16:55 - 00:16:59 ()

It's not a -- it sends a horrible message about who we are as a country.

Unidentified

00:16:59 - 00:17:05 ()

Question

00:17:05 - 00:17:10 ()

Thank you, Mr. President-elect. Thank you, Vice President-elect Harris. Appreciate it.

Joe Biden

00:17:10 - 00:17:13 ()

Nice to see you in person, not on television.

Question

00:17:13 - 00:17:36 ()

Nice to see you as well. Yes. Appreciate it. You have said that lives could be lost if you don't start getting briefings from the Trump administration. And now here we are come up more than 250,000 lives could be lost. Given that, how do you justify not taking legal action to get the briefings that you say or critical, that you say you need?

Joe Biden

00:17:36 - 00:17:59 ()

It would take a lot of time. It would take -- it would take time. It's not going to speed it up considerably, in my view. And in the meantime, I -- I am hopeful that I'm going to be able to get cooperation from our Republican colleagues in the Senate and the House as well as the governors to build a consensus as to how we proceed when we do.

Question

00:17:59 - 00:18:08 ()

But why not use every tool in your toolbox to get the information that you say you need to do your job and to do it effectively on day one?

Joe Biden

00:18:08 - 00:18:14 ()

I am making a judgment based on many years of experience on how to get things done with the opposition.

Question

00:18:14 - 00:18:15 ()

Do you think you would win?

Joe Biden

00:18:15 - 00:18:41 ()

And my judgment is -- my judgment is that it is we will get further along by actually working with our Republican colleagues now and because the time in which we would win would not materially change necessarily, but it is still an open question. It's an open question that could change.

Question

00:18:41 - 00:18:46 ()

So you haven't ruled it out? You haven't ruled out legal action against Trump administration against the GSA?

Joe Biden

00:18:46 - 00:18:47 ()

We haven't ruled it out.

Question

00:18:47 - 00:19:01 ()

Okay. And given the death toll now more than 250,000 Americans who have now lost their lives, you have said that you would support a nationwide shutdown if scientists recommended it --

Joe Biden

00:19:01 - 00:19:02 ()

No -- I know --

Question

00:19:02 - 00:19:03 ()

You have spoken to scientists now --

Joe Biden

00:19:03 - 00:19:19 ()

You keep -- everybody asks that question every single time I stand here. It was a hypothetical question. The answer was I would follow the science. I am not going to shut down the economy period. I'm going to shut down the virus; that's what I'm going to shut down.

Question

00:19:19 - 00:19:20 ()

So that's ruled out --

Joe Biden

00:19:20 - 00:19:48 ()

I will say it again. No national shutdown. No national shutdown because every region, every area, every community is -- can be different. And so there's no circumstance which I can see that would require a total national shutdown. I think that would be counterproductive, but there are constraints in which the degree to which businesses can be open.

Joe Biden

00:19:48 - 00:20:10 ()

For example, it's one thing to say that you can have in a state that -- where their infection rate is not as high you can have a gymnasium open. It's another thing to say it can be only open four hours a day with X number of people. The church I go to, my Catholic Church they don't allow more than 40 percent of the people to come into the church.

Joe Biden

00:20:10 - 00:20:16 ()

Those are rational decisions. It's not shutting down everything; it's calibrating based on what -- what the threat is.

Question

00:20:16 - 00:20:20 ()

Thank you, Mr. President-elect.

Joe Biden

00:20:20 - 00:20:25 ()

Unidentified

00:20:25 - 00:20:25 ()

Question

00:20:25 - 00:20:51 ()

Thank you, Mr. Vice President-elect and vice -- thank you, Mr. President-elect, and Vice President-elect Harris. A question for you first which is what do you make of the fact that the president is having these calls with Michigan County officials amid his bid to overturn the election? He is going to be having also Michigan Republican legislators at the White House tomorrow.

Question

00:20:51 - 00:21:07 ()

Is anything that he is doing making you rethink your strategy? I know you say that you don't want to have legal action right now and what do you say about Americans, especially immigrant Americans who came to the United States looking for political stability and seeing all of the things that the president is doing?

Joe Biden

00:21:07 - 00:21:40 ()

Hang on, I'm on my way. That's what I say to them. Not a joke. And what the president is doing now is really -- is going to be another incident where he will go down in history as being one of the most irresponsible presidents in American history. It's -- it's just out of the -- not even within the norm at all.

Joe Biden

00:21:40 - 00:22:14 ()

There's questions whether it's even legal, but it's going to be interesting to see who shows up in this call to meet with the leadership, and this is going to -- we have won Michigan. It's going to be certified. We are going to end up making clear that they are making it clear that we won, and but it just I -- I just -- it's hard to fathom how this man thinks.

Joe Biden

00:22:14 - 00:22:34 ()

It's hard to fathom. I -- I am confident he knows he hasn't won and is not going to be able to win, and we are going to be sworn in on January 20, and I just you know but far for me to question his motives. It's -- it's just outrageous what he's doing.

Question

00:22:34 - 00:22:51 ()

As he ups the things that he's doing calling officials, is it making you rethink your strategy at all? Is there anything that he would be doing that would make you say, okay, we really have to go to court now, or are you still watching what he is doing and saying we can still kind of wait and see what happens?

Joe Biden

00:22:51 - 00:22:59 ()

I am not going to rule anything out or anything in, but at the moment, the strategy is not going -- is not changing.

Question

00:22:59 - 00:23:02 ()

And if I could ask a question to the vice president-elect, would that be okay?

Joe Biden

00:23:02 - 00:23:03 ()

Question

00:23:03 - 00:23:23 ()

Vice President-elect Harris, you talked about your state, your state experience. My question is, is there anything that you heard from governors today that made you specifically concerned about vulnerable populations, especially as I talk to Americans who say I don't have the privilege to work from home, I don't have the privilege to social distance if I'm living in a house with multi-generations.

Question

00:23:23 - 00:23:30 ()

Are you -- are you -- did you hear anything that concerns you specifically, and what can we do for that as a country?

Kamala Harris

00:23:30 - 00:24:08 ()

Well, as the president-elect shared with everyone, we heard a lot from the governors including that, including the concern that African-Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, people who live in rural communities, people as groups of people have historically been under-resourced and underserved and so there was consensus among the governors -- bipartisan consensus that our federal strategy should reflect those concerns in a way that we support the states with the resources they will need to get to the folks who have been often overlooked or ignored.

Kamala Harris

00:24:08 - 00:24:33 ()

And the president-elect, I think, has made it very clear that it's one of our highest priorities to support that. As you may know, in the Senate, I actually led what we called a Racial Disparities Task Force, and that approach is something that we will be incorporating in our administration to ensure that all people have equal access to resources but also taking into account equitable distribution of resources based on need.

Question

00:24:33 - 00:24:35 ()

Thank you, President-elect Biden --

Joe Biden

00:24:35 - 00:25:01 ()

Let me add to that. One important thing to understand is there is a, and we have talked a lot about this, and we have talked about it, and we talked about it when I was running seeking the nomination as well, and that is that the idea of the brown, black, Asian-American, Native American communities are always the first ones hit the hardest and the last ones who are brought back.

Joe Biden

00:25:01 - 00:25:29 ()

We are going to flip that around. It's going to be really important to determine priorities based upon access to the information that is available, access to everything from the vaccine to other opportunities to be able to deal with helping the country, part of the country that has been hurt the worst. You know, three times as many African-Americans have died than white Americans died from COVID.

Joe Biden

00:25:29 - 00:25:51 ()

So there has to be a prioritization, that is why I would like to know exactly what this administration has in mind in terms of their Operation Warp Speed and how they plan it, and that is what we talked about with the governors today. They all mentioned the need to focus on communities that have been left behind, particularly Governor Cuomo.

Joe Biden

00:25:51 - 00:26:17 ()

It is one thing if, for example, vaccines are distributed to all of the Walgreens of America, I'm not -- no criticism of Walgreens, but you know there's a lot of those facilities that aren't in rural communities and are not in poor communities, African-American, Latino communities. So we have got to make sure there is access for them.

Question

00:26:17 - 00:26:18 ()

Thank you so much.

Joe Biden

00:26:18 - 00:26:21 ()

Okay. Thank you.