President Joe Biden sat down with George Stephanopoulos on ABC News for a lengthy interview Tuesday in which he said his message to migrants was not to reach the border and that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo should resign if they are reported to have committed sexual harassment. confirmed.
Biden also told Stephanopoulos that he agreed that Russian President Vladimir Putin was a “murderer” and that he would “pay a price” for interfering in the US election.
And he said it would be “difficult” to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan before May 1, the deadline set in an agreement the administration of former President Donald Trump made with the Taliban.
“Honestly, to God, I thought we had” politics out of the vaccine discussion
Biden told Stephanopoulos that he was surprised that vaccines against COVID-19 were still so politicized.
“How do you get the policy of this talk on vaccines?” Stephanopoulos asked.
“Honestly, God thought we had it out,” Biden said. “Honestly, to God I thought that once we made sure we had enough vaccine for everyone, things would start to calm down. Well, they’ve calmed down a lot. But I don’t understand very well, you know, I don’t. I don’t understand this kind of sexist thing about, “I’m not going to get the vaccine. I have a right as an American, my freedom not to do that. “Well, why aren’t you a patriot? Protect others.”
Biden said vaccinating himself has allowed him to show Americans that doing so is safe – and has changed his life “because now I can hug my grandchildren.”
“They come home,” the president said, “I can see them. I can be with them.”
Putin will “pay”
The U.S. top intelligence office on Tuesday released an unclassified report on foreign meddling in the 2020 elections that concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin was overseeing deep efforts to “denigrate” the US candidacy. president Joe Biden.
Biden told Stephanopoulos that he had warned Putin about a possible answer during a call in late January.
“He’ll pay a price,” Biden said. “We had a long talk, him and me, when we knew him relatively well. And the conversation started and I said, ‘I know you and you know me. If I set it, you have to be prepared. “
Stephanopoulos asked, “So you know Vladimir Putin. Do you think he’s a murderer?”
“Mmm hmm, yes,” Biden replied.
Although the president said he would “see” Putin “pay,” he did not detail.
He said, however, that it was possible to “walk and chew gum at the same time for places where it is in our mutual interest to work together.” He noted his decision to extend an arms deal with Russia in January.
“It’s hard” to get troops out of Afghanistan before May
Biden also addressed his administration’s review of a deal that former President Donald Trump made with the Taliban under which the U.S. would withdraw all its troops from Afghanistan on May 1 if the Taliban complied. requirements.
“I am now in the process of making that decision on when they will leave,” Biden said. “The fact is that it was not a very solid negotiated agreement that the president, the former president, drew up. So we are in consultation with our allies and with the government, and this decision will be … – it is now in process “.
Biden said it would be “difficult” for all members of the service to leave before May 1.
“It could happen,” he said, “but it’s hard.”
He says Cuomo should resign if the allegations are confirmed
Biden told Stephanopoulos that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo should resign if an investigation confirms allegations he committed sexual harassment.
“I know you said you want me to continue the investigation,” Stephanopoulos told Biden, referring to a New York Attorney General’s investigation into allegations that Cuomo had harassed several women. “If the investigation confirms the women’s claims, should I give up?”
“Yes,” the president replied. “I think it will probably end up being processed as well.”
Seven charges have been filed in recent weeks against the Democratic governor, and one of the allegations he tried to make about a woman was referred to police in Albany, New York. Some of New York’s top Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, have called on Cuomo to step down.
Cuomo has denied the allegations.
So far, Biden has stopped supporting the immediate end of Cuomo’s government.
“I should do some research to determine if what he says is true,” Biden told Stephanopoulos during an extensive interview in Darby, Pennsylvania. “That’s what’s happening now.”
Things will change with Saudi Arabia after Khashoggi’s assassination
Stephanopoulos also insisted on Biden why he had not personally punished Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, after US intelligence concluded that the Crown Prince had approved an operation to capture or kill Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi. As a candidate, Biden had promised a strong response to Saudi leaders.
The president said “I’m the guy who published the report,” referring to the U.S. intelligence report that the Trump administration did not make public, but did. Biden also said he had “made it clear” to the King of Saudi Arabia “that things were going to change.”
“We demanded responsibility from all the people of this organization, but not from the Crown Prince, because we never know, when we have an alliance with a country, the acting head of state and we punished that person and” He ostracize, ”Biden said.
He said he “lowered the list of things we expected the Saudis to do,” including that he should “end the war in Yemen, end the famine there.”
Message to migrants: “Don’t come”
Amid a wave of unaccompanied migrants and minors on the southern U.S. border, Stephanopoulos asked the president, “You have to say clearly,‘ Don’t come? “
“Yeah, I can say very clearly, don’t come,” Biden said.
“Don’t leave your town, city or community,” he added.
The number of unaccompanied teens and children who have been taken into U.S. custody along the U.S.-Mexico border has risen in recent weeks as the number of migrants trying to cross the country increases.
Republicans have said Biden’s moves to rescind former President Donald Trump’s tough immigration policies have encouraged migrants to come to the United States, but Biden told ABC News that “we’re sending people back” who believe the border.
Stephanopoulos asked Biden, “Was it a mistake not to anticipate this wave?”
“First, there has been an increase in the last two years,” the president said. “On the 19th and 20th there was also an increase.”
Stephanopoulos pointed out, “Maybe this could be worse,” and Biden acknowledged, “Well, it could be.”
“The idea Joe Biden said,‘ Come on, ’because the other day I knew they were coming because they know I’m a nice guy,” Biden said.
“Here’s the deal, they’re not,” he said.
Thousands of unaccompanied minors are currently being held at U.S. customs and border protection facilities, many for longer than legally permitted, as Biden said his administration was striving to “provide beds for these children “.
“We’ll have, I think, for next month, enough of those beds to take care of those kids who have nowhere to go,” Biden said.
Biden said he “inherited” a “mess” and that it was important to address the root causes of migration from Central America.
“It’s not like someone is sitting in Guadalajara right now in Mexico – which isn’t the biggest problem right now – and saying,‘ I have a great idea. We sell everything we have, we give it to a coyote, we give it to our children, make them cross the border. Leave them in a desert where they don’t speak the language. Won’t it be fun? “
He added: “That’s not why people come. They come because their circumstance is so bad. Now, some come because they want a better opportunity, for economic reasons. They don’t qualify. And in the meantime, what we should be doing is making sure. -we offer beds for these children.
On a lighter note: Is Major out of the dog house?
At the end of the interview, the president also addressed his older dog, one of the two German shepherds he has, recently causing “a minor injury” – as the White House had said – to someone in the White House. Major was taken to Biden’s home in Delaware after the incident occurred, although the White House said it was because First Lady Jill Biden was out of town.
“Major is outside the dog house?” Stephanopoulos asked the president.
“The answer is yes,” Biden said with a laugh. “Look, Major was a rescue puppy. Major didn’t bite anyone and didn’t penetrate the skin. What happens is for … th– I guess what surprised me is the White House itself, which is there “Every door you turn on, there’s a boy in a black jacket.”
He said living in a new environment surprised Major.
“Turn a corner and there are two people you don’t know at all,” Biden said. “And he moves to protect himself. But he’s a sweet dog. Eighty-five percent of the people there love him. Just … all he does is lick them and eat his tail.”
Biden said “the dog is training now” in Delaware and planned to see him later that night when he stayed in Delaware.
“I was going home,” Biden said. “I didn’t banish him home. Jill would be out for four days. He would be out for two, so we took him home.”
Watch more of the interview with President Joe Biden on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Wednesday, March 17 at 7 a.m. EDT.