Superb interview with President Joe Biden, who REALLY lays out what’s at stake in this country right now. Check out the video and transcript, below – and, as President Biden says, make sure you VOTE!
John Harwood: “Mr. President, thanks for doing this.”
President Biden: “Happy to do it.”
John Harwood: “And I can’t start without acknowledging how wrong I was the last time we sat down nearly four years ago. I did not expect the 2020 campaign to go well, and here we are.”
President Biden: “Well, you know, I’m optimistic. And I thought we could do that well. And I remember in 2022, I thought we’re gonna do well, too. I think the means in which people are tracking polls now, they’ve kind of lost their focus. And it’s hard to get it done. Secondly, I think that, you know, the media has changed a lot.”
John Harwood: “Since you gave your democracy speech in Philadelphia a year ago, we’ve had orderly midterm elections, no violence and the beginning of legal accountability for former
President Trump and other Jan. 6 defendants, no civil unrest.
Could the threat to democracy be smaller than you think?”
President Biden: “Well, I think the opposite thing’s happened, John. I think that this is the last gasp or maybe the first big gasp of the MAGA Republicans, and I think Trump has concluded that he has to win. And they’ll pull out all the stops. I mean, the quotes he uses are just, I never thought I’d hear a president say some of the stuff he says. And so I think that and you see what’s happening in terms of what the MAGA Republicans are doing in the House, they don’t make up a majority of the House. But they’re bringing everything to a screeching halt.”
John Harwood: “As you think about the threat to democracy, do you think of it specifically as the refusal to accept election defeats and peaceful transfer of power? Or is it more broadly encompassing some of the long-standing features of democracy, like the Electoral College, the nature of the Senate, the gerrymandering process, that sometimes thwart the will of the majority?”
President Biden: “We should never, ever condone violence in a democracy. But I think it’s well beyond that, for example, the idea, when I talk about democracy, democracy is sort of the, what surrounds, the underpinning democracy and the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, all those things that provide for the certainty that everybody gets a shot. And so you know, ‘We the people’ is, I know, it sounds corny, but that’s what we’re talking about. And everything that’s happening now is designed to prevent that from happening, from the people’s voice. For example, he wants to change the way the civil service works, he wants a whole new category that is not answerable to the civil service rules, but only answerable to the president, those kinds of things.”
John Harwood: “Let me ask you about one specific issue. You’ve, in your campaign and as president, supported a variety of tax increases for corporations and wealthy individuals to pay for some of your programs. They’re very popular in the polls, but few of them passed even when your party controlled the Congress. Is that a failure of democracy or just politics?”
President Biden: “It’s more, it’s more politics. Look, when I got elected, remember everybody told me that I would never get anything bipartisan, not going to get it done. Well, we surprised some people. With a one vote majority, we were able to get a number of things passed. And about half of it was bipartisan. So I don’t think it was a consequence of the parties. It was a consequence, the things I’m worried about are the institutional changes that are attempted to be made.”
John Harwood: “Well, speaking of that, Speaker McCarthy has advanced an impeachment inquiry on the basis of innuendo about your son but not evidence of wrongdoing by you. He’s done that partly to try to keep his job, partly to persuade some of his most
extreme members not to shut the government down. It so far has not worked. It looks like they are going to shut the government down this weekend. What does that say about the current Republican Party’s ability to govern in our constitutional democracy?”
President Biden: “I think this is two things. The speaker’s made a terrible bargain. In order to keep the speakership he’s willing to do things that he, I think he knows are inconsistent with the constitutional processes. No. 1. No. 2, I think it says that there is a group of MAGA Republicans who genuinely want to have a fundamental change in the way that the system works. And that’s what worries me the most is the change in what constitutes, for example, the idea that we’d be in a position where they’re willing to say that it’s OK for the president to talk about— He said, I am your retribution. I mean, these all these weird things that are
being said, and they seem to be encouraging it.”
John Harwood: “You’ve said that most Republicans are not MAGA. I agree. But they’re being driven and intimidated by the smaller number who are. If Jan. 6, a new presidential campaign and a government shutdown does not motivate that majority to regain control of the party, what can?”
President Biden: “I’m really worried if that’s the case, and that’s why I think that I want to change, increase the focus on the fundamentals here, that democracy, literally our democracy, is at stake. And it’s by altering the institutional structures to protect it. And I think that I think we’re in real trouble, if that’s not the case, but I’m convinced that part of it is communicating to the American people. This is bigger than political disagreement. It’s beyond that. And when you you talk to people, like, for example, the speech I recently made on democracy, I made about four major speeches on democracy. Initially, with notable exceptions, people thought, what’s Biden talking about here? Well, you know, the data showed that over 60% of the American people, they were worried too. And that’s one of the reasons why 2020 turned out the way it did. 2022 turned out the way it did. And so I think
it’s important that for it to give people some hope, that we can get through this. Look, we’re on the cusp of being able to do — not because of me, not because of my presidency — the cusp of being able to do some really big things in America.”
John Harwood: “Speaking of institutions, rule of law is an essential feature for a democracy. Do you personally have confidence that this current Supreme Court is upholding and will uphold the rule of law?”
President Biden: “I worry. Because I know that if the other team, the MAGA Republicans, win, they don’t want to uphold the rule of law, or they want to get rid of the FBI, I mean, the things they say, and I think that somehow we got to communicate to the American people, this is for real. This is real, if they were to take over, if they were to have their way. And but I do think at the end of the day, this court, which has been one of the most extreme courts, I still think in the basic fundamentals of rule of law, that they would sustain the rule of law.”
John Harwood: “My colleagues at ProPublica have documented undisclosed gifts for justices from friendly billionaires. And in the case of Justice Thomas, appearances at events for donors of the Koch network, which wants reduced regulation of business in a
pending court case. Justice Alito has said that calls for stricter regulation in Congress don’t work because the Constitution gives no authority to the Congress to regulate Supreme Court ethics. Is he right?”
President Biden: “It’s a tough call whether we can, I think we can. But let’s skip over that. What does the Constitution call on, expect of the court, of the court? And the idea that the Constitution would in any way prohibit or not encourage the Court to have basic rules of ethics that are just, on their face, reasonable.”
John Harwood: “Do it themselves.”
President Biden: “Do it themselves…is just not the case.”
John Harwood: “Another constitutional question. There are some legal experts who say that regardless of the outcome of any criminal case, that former President Trump’s efforts to overturn the election in 2020 disqualify him from running again under the”
President Biden: “That’s… You get a lot of serious constitutional scholars disagreeing on either side of that. As you can understand, I’m not going to opine on that right now.”
John Harwood: “Richard Haass, the foreign policy adviser….past Republican presidents says that Trump wants Budapest on the Potomac in his efforts to get greater personal control of the government and pursue retribution. I think you spoke
about yesterday. He says, like you, that the voters should make protecting democracy the paramount issue, which is another way of saying the only way that voters can protect democracy is to vote for the Democratic nominee, you. Are voters going to be comfortable hearing that argument?”
President Biden: “I don’t think if it’s phrased that way. But I think if it says, if it is phrased as, if the president, If the former president, were to become president again, the things he says he will do are a threat to American democracy. And by the way, it’s not just here, as I travel the world, I have heads of state asking me, I mean, conservative heads of state, look, what’s going to happen, because democracy is in jeopardy in other parts of the world as well. And you know, Madeleine Albright was right, we are the essential nation. If it fails here, Katy, bar the door.”
John Harwood: “Given the concerns that many voters have about your age, among other things, why are you the only Democrat who can protect democracy next year?”
President Biden: “I’m not the only Democrat that can protect it. I just happen to be the Democrat who I think is best positioned to see to it that the guy I was worried about taking on democracy is not president.”
John Harwood: “You yesterday in your speech said that voters should put partisanship aside for the larger cause, Republicans,
Democrats, independents. What Democratic priorities are you
prepared to set aside to attract the largest possible coalition?”
President Biden: “Look, if you take a look at all that I proposed, they’re overwhelmingly popular with the American people. Nothing I’ve proposed is extreme. For example, dealing with investing in America and increasing manufacturing, creating jobs,
creating a position where we put more money into education, where we just make everybody pay their fair share, those things as measured, broadly, they’re popular across the board. So the thing that I have trouble trying to figure out is, what it is that, other than protecting the Constitution, what is it that these MAGA Republicans think is extreme about what I’m doing? They haven’t been, I mean, I haven’t heard, seen any articulation of any of that.”
John Harwood: “Your former Senate colleague Joe Lieberman says he is upholding democracy by working with an organization called No Labels to pursue a potential third-party candidacy. Is he?”
President Biden: “Well, he has a democratic right to do, there’s no reason not to do that. Now it’s going to help the other guy. And he knows. So that doesn’t mean, that’s a political decision he’s making that I obviously think is a mistake. But he has a right to do that.”
John Harwood: “There are millions of Americans who think the country is changing in ways that are harmful to whites, men, social conservatives, small-town blue-collar America. A poll by
the Public Religion Research Institute showed that 40% of the
people who call themselves Christian nationalists think that patriots may need to use violence to save the country. Is that fear of change where the threat to democracy comes from?”
President Biden: “When I left the Senate, I was able to convince Strom Thurmond to vote for the Voting Rights Act. Strom Thurmond. And I thought, you know, you can defeat hate, you can bury it, you can kill it. But I learned you can’t, all you can do is you can drive it underground. And when you breathe oxygen under the rock, it comes roaring back out again. And I think one of the things that I see, you may recall, in the 2020 campaign, I said, I speak to you not from Wall Street, I speak to you from
Scranton, Pennsylvania. That was a bit of a populist point but it
was a genuine point, that in fact, I represent all those people. I will represent all those people, but there is a real play, the world’s changing, John. And we’re going to be, the fact is we’re going to be very shortly a minority-white-European country. And sometimes my colleagues don’t speak enough to make it clear that that is not going to change how we operate. That’s not going to change them.”
John Harwood: “You focused on delivering economic benefits to some of those voters who are afraid of change. What is the evidence that in this current moment, it’s economic benefits that will diminish their grievances?”
President Biden: “It’s not so much of the economic benefits, it’s treating them with respect. Treating them with respect. You may remember, because you’re barely old enough, but you may remember back in ’72, we ran a campaign and Nixon won overwhelmingly in ’72, he won over 60% of the vote in my state, and I won by we weren’t paying attention to the problems of ordinary families and speaking to their immediate needs. Well, I’ve never not done that. And I think the Democratic Party in the past has, on occasion, spoken less to the needs and fears and concerns. And so I think, you know, a lot of the guys that I grew up with in Claymont, Delaware, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, they
feel like they’re not being respected, not so much by policy, just by the failure to talk about their needs. And that’s why, John, I think the reason why I was able to get my economic programs passed is because I talked about building a country from the middle out and the bottom up, not the top down, and that includes everybody. And embracing, embracing the blue-collar workers.”
John Harwood: “As you noted in your speech yesterday, the specter of violence has become increasingly visible in Republican politics. What can you, law enforcement, decent Republicans do to prevent incitement to violence, another Jan. 6 or something worse than that?”
President Biden: “Not legitimize it, not talk about it like it’s appropriate. Not talk about that there’s never, never, never, never a rationale for political violence in America. That’s not who we are. And speak to it, speak up. It matters. It matters.”
John Harwood: “Do you think that right-wing media outlets, Fox News and others, that have spread lies about the 2020 election, do they drive the threat that you’re concerned about? Are they simply reflecting a sentiment that already exists in the country?”
President Biden: “They do both. Look, there are no editors anymore. That’s one of the big problems. There’s nobody telling… And I’ve, I gave my word I’d never wouldn’t reveal them. But I’ve spoken to at least half a dozen serious reporters over the last six,
eight years who say to me, I’m worried. If I do not say and do
something that gets me, raises the issue up, I’m not going to get a hit. And if I don’t get a hit on television, I don’t… My pay, my, I mean, the whole dynamic has changed. I’m no expert in the press, but it’s changed.”
John Harwood: “What about what Elon Musk has done to Twitter, lowering guardrails against misinformation? Does that
contribute to it?”
President Biden: “Yeah, it does. Look, one of the things that I said to you when I thought I wasn’t going to run, I was going to write a book about the changes taking place. And most of this directed over the years were these fundamental changes in society by changing technology, Gutenberg, printing and the printing press changed the way Europeans could talk to one another, all the way to today. Where do people get their news? They go on the internet, they go online and you have no notion whether it’s true or not.”
John Harwood: “You said in your speech yesterday, you want average Americans who share your concerns to engage, to stand up for American values. How would you advise those people who do share your concerns, but may be wary about talking to a MAGA parent, neighbor, co-worker? How would you advise them to do that?”
President Biden: “Vote. Vote. Look. I was saying to my staff I never thought I’d see a time when someone was worried about being on a jury because there may be physical violence against them if they voted the wrong way. I never thought that would happen. Maybe a mobster case. I mean, think about that. But a lot of average people think those are really difficult conversations to have with people and may be reluctant to engage. Well, they are, and I think if you don’t want to engage you just act, you just do what you think is right. And part of that is just showing up, showing up. But I also think that we should be engaging people more and not be worried about our neighbor, talk to him, sit down and say, “What do you think?” and not get into arguments, but say you say this, but how about this, and force people to get in a two-way conversation. But it’s hard, John. But the biggest thing is, look, I really do believe that the vast majority of the American people are decent, honorable, straightforward. I mean, I think it’s a minority minority. And I think we have to, though, understand what the danger is if they don’t participate, and two, show up,
show up, show up.”
John Harwood: “Mr. President, thank you very much for sitting down.”
President Biden: “Thanks for having me.”
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