WEBVTT - Biden's Challenges Only Get Harder 0:00:01.800 --> 0:00:04.440 This is Bloomberg Business Week. I'm Karl Masser and I'm 0:00:04.480 --> 0:00:07.280 Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stanivik. We're here every day bringing 0:00:07.320 --> 0:00:09.840 you the latest news from the world to business and finance, 0:00:09.840 --> 0:00:13.640 plus technology, politics, economics, all partnising the power of Business 0:00:13.680 --> 0:00:17.160 Week reporters and editors, not to mention our journalists and 0:00:17.160 --> 0:00:20.000 analyst in more than one twenty countries. You can download 0:00:20.000 --> 0:00:23.239 Bloomberg Business Week and iTunes, SoundCloud, or Bloomberg dot Com. 0:00:23.400 --> 0:00:25.200 You can also listen to our radio show at two 0:00:25.200 --> 0:00:27.880 pm Eastern Time on Bloomberg Radio or watch us on 0:00:27.920 --> 0:00:31.400 YouTube search Bloomberg Global News. Every day, there are many 0:00:31.400 --> 0:00:33.960 stories about the virus and vaccine rollout. Tim and I 0:00:34.080 --> 0:00:37.960 just felt like brought you two disturbing ones about long 0:00:38.040 --> 0:00:41.800 haulers study showing COVID can kill months after the infection, 0:00:41.880 --> 0:00:44.960 and then Brazil how it's expanding out to younger people. 0:00:45.000 --> 0:00:46.800 The other thing Tim, you and I've talked a lot 0:00:46.840 --> 0:00:50.000 about is what's going on in India. Yeah, the rising 0:00:50.040 --> 0:00:53.920 cases dramatically. They're especially given that a year ago this 0:00:54.160 --> 0:00:57.280 was a country that was in lockdown. This is happening 0:00:57.320 --> 0:00:59.680 so quickly. Yeah, it's really tough to kind of watch. 0:01:00.040 --> 0:01:02.040 Let's get an update though on COVID nineteen and what 0:01:02.040 --> 0:01:04.480 we're seeing globally when it comes to the virus. Dr 0:01:04.520 --> 0:01:07.800 Amos Hidalga is an infectious disease physician Senior scholar at 0:01:07.880 --> 0:01:10.680 Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security at the Bloomberg School 0:01:10.720 --> 0:01:13.720 of Public Health, supported by Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg, 0:01:13.760 --> 0:01:16.760 Gulp and Bloomberg Philanthropies. Dr Dlja with us on the 0:01:16.760 --> 0:01:19.880 phone in Pittsburgh. DRDLJA, Nice to have you back here 0:01:19.880 --> 0:01:22.880 with Tim and myself. How are you? I'm good? Are 0:01:22.959 --> 0:01:25.520 you doing okay? Doing okay? Although a little bummed out 0:01:25.520 --> 0:01:28.720 by some of these long hauler stories and also just 0:01:28.760 --> 0:01:31.680 looking at what's going on in India. Everybody keeps reminding 0:01:31.760 --> 0:01:34.680 us that unless we get this globally under control, we 0:01:34.720 --> 0:01:37.360 will not get beyond COVID. How do you see it? 0:01:38.600 --> 0:01:40.959 I definitely think that's the case that we have a 0:01:40.959 --> 0:01:44.120 worldwide pandemic and the world will still be disrupted. The 0:01:44.160 --> 0:01:47.240 world will not be safe until this virus is controlled 0:01:47.240 --> 0:01:49.920 in all the countries around the globe, and it's going 0:01:49.960 --> 0:01:53.840 to take some time, probably well into two So there 0:01:53.880 --> 0:01:56.680 really needs to be a shift in priorities as we 0:01:56.760 --> 0:02:00.400 get most of our population vaccinated to trying to came 0:02:00.480 --> 0:02:02.840 this all over all over the globe, and it's going 0:02:02.920 --> 0:02:04.720 to be, you know, one of the biggest public health 0:02:04.760 --> 0:02:07.640 challenges that we face, because it is a really steep, 0:02:07.720 --> 0:02:10.079 uphill battle in places like India and Brazil and even 0:02:10.120 --> 0:02:12.800 Europe and even Canada. What's the right way to do 0:02:12.840 --> 0:02:14.560 that though? Is it is it with the mr Anda 0:02:14.720 --> 0:02:17.840 vaccines or is it is it really with these other vaccines, 0:02:17.840 --> 0:02:20.679 potentially the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, the astros ennica shot, 0:02:20.880 --> 0:02:23.320 ones that don't need to be stored in such cold conditions, 0:02:23.360 --> 0:02:27.000 one that don't necessarily need two shots. It's all of 0:02:27.000 --> 0:02:28.960 the above. It's whatever you can do. So if you 0:02:28.960 --> 0:02:31.200 have places that can handle the storage requirements of the 0:02:31.200 --> 0:02:35.240 astrosenica and fisor vaccines, you can use those. In other places, 0:02:35.320 --> 0:02:37.000 you're going to need to use the Johnson and Johnson, 0:02:37.000 --> 0:02:39.240 the mastros ennica vaccines, and there are other vaccines as 0:02:39.240 --> 0:02:42.160 well that we have some data from that are developed 0:02:42.160 --> 0:02:45.480 in other countries. But it really has to be anything 0:02:45.520 --> 0:02:47.680 that you can get into people's arms that has efficacy 0:02:47.680 --> 0:02:50.400 at preventing seriously, the hospitalization and death needs to be 0:02:50.840 --> 0:02:53.440 what what occurs. And there are MR and A vaccines 0:02:53.440 --> 0:02:55.959 that are in development and don't have those storage requirements. So, 0:02:56.000 --> 0:02:58.639 for example, there's a German company called cure Vac as 0:02:58.639 --> 0:03:01.120 an m R and A vaccine that doesn't require that 0:03:01.200 --> 0:03:03.560 cold temperature storage. That could also be an option. To remember, 0:03:03.600 --> 0:03:06.200 we've got Novavacs in the wings as well. Their Phase 0:03:06.240 --> 0:03:07.880 three data should be coming up, so there's likely to 0:03:07.880 --> 0:03:10.160 be multiple candidates. And I think we just basically have 0:03:10.280 --> 0:03:13.120 to blanket the world with whatever they can get in 0:03:13.200 --> 0:03:16.480 order to stamp out this infection. Well, I just want 0:03:16.480 --> 0:03:17.799 to push that a little bit further. Was talking to 0:03:17.800 --> 0:03:19.560 somebody who's from India, was just talking about all the 0:03:19.639 --> 0:03:22.040 vaccines that they are developing specifically. We don't really hear 0:03:22.080 --> 0:03:24.680 about it because we're focusing so much at least in 0:03:24.720 --> 0:03:26.880 the US and some of the vaccines that we directly 0:03:26.919 --> 0:03:30.240 have access to. But you know, ultimately, as you said, 0:03:30.400 --> 0:03:32.920 we're gonna need multiple tools. That's been kind of a 0:03:33.000 --> 0:03:36.120 story from day one on all of this. Or do 0:03:36.200 --> 0:03:38.280 you see in terms of getting it really under control 0:03:38.280 --> 0:03:41.160 globally that companies like Maderna Fiser are really going to 0:03:41.240 --> 0:03:45.320 have to step up big time Maderna adviser. Are you know? 0:03:45.440 --> 0:03:47.880 Their vaccines have been proven to be highly efficacious, they 0:03:47.920 --> 0:03:51.800 have manufacturing capacity, they have not had any major hiccups. 0:03:51.800 --> 0:03:53.440 They do think that they're going to be a component 0:03:53.560 --> 0:03:56.320 of how we vaccinate the world, whether or not they're 0:03:56.360 --> 0:03:59.760 the major component. With astros aneka and and Johnson and 0:03:59.840 --> 0:04:02.720 john Us and other vaccines as well as Chinese vaccines, 0:04:02.760 --> 0:04:05.240 Russian vaccines and other ones that we don't know about, 0:04:05.240 --> 0:04:07.160 it's likely to be a hodgepodge. But I do think 0:04:07.200 --> 0:04:10.360 that the vaccines that have the most proven track record 0:04:10.400 --> 0:04:13.920 tend to be the Fisermadurna vaccines, So those are obviously 0:04:13.960 --> 0:04:15.920 going to be the ones that people will try to 0:04:16.040 --> 0:04:18.080 use if they have the ability to to use them 0:04:18.080 --> 0:04:20.680 in those situations. But I don't think that astras nic 0:04:20.760 --> 0:04:22.920 and Johnson Johnsons should be dismissed. I think those are 0:04:23.000 --> 0:04:26.480 really great vaccines for and I would take those vaccines now. 0:04:26.520 --> 0:04:28.279 I think those vaccines should be used in the United 0:04:28.320 --> 0:04:31.680 States as well. But so I really think it's going 0:04:31.720 --> 0:04:34.160 to be a portfolio approach in each country is gonna 0:04:34.160 --> 0:04:38.680 have different requirements and different capacities to be able to vaccinate. 0:04:39.320 --> 0:04:41.960 When do you think J and J that shot could 0:04:42.000 --> 0:04:46.679 be approved again Friday. I suspect and Friday the puzzle 0:04:46.800 --> 0:04:49.320 be lift. You'll see lifted. They'll see something similar probably 0:04:49.360 --> 0:04:51.080 what the E m A did. There'll be a warning 0:04:51.160 --> 0:04:53.040 label on it saying that there is this side effect 0:04:53.120 --> 0:04:56.080 risk of clots and that if you are at higher 0:04:56.160 --> 0:04:58.160 risk for those clots, if you're in that age group 0:04:58.200 --> 0:05:00.480 that we saw the signal, int haveing to dicussion with 0:05:00.520 --> 0:05:03.479 your doctors. I suspect Friday, um, and hopefully this will 0:05:03.480 --> 0:05:05.720 be something that we can resume at the same pace 0:05:05.760 --> 0:05:07.880 as before. I don't know if that's going to be 0:05:07.920 --> 0:05:10.440 the case, because some polling does show vaccine hesitancy has 0:05:10.520 --> 0:05:12.880 increased with Johnson and Johnson. But it is important that 0:05:12.920 --> 0:05:15.559 now Johnson and Johnson has unpaused what's going on in Europe, 0:05:15.560 --> 0:05:17.839 They're going to continue to roll out in Europe, which 0:05:17.839 --> 0:05:20.919 is really important. Uh, and hopefully we'll see this vaccine 0:05:20.920 --> 0:05:23.200 return to kind of its place of prominence, I think 0:05:23.200 --> 0:05:25.560 where it belongs. Hey, Dr geal Joanes, just the last 0:05:25.560 --> 0:05:27.080 minute that we have and then we'll come back with you. 0:05:27.600 --> 0:05:30.840 I'm wondering about what happens if the virus goes uncontained 0:05:30.920 --> 0:05:32.960 in other parts of the world when the United States 0:05:33.000 --> 0:05:35.159 does get to so called herd immunity. I know the 0:05:35.160 --> 0:05:39.120 worst case scenarios that variations developed or variance develop, excuse me, 0:05:39.400 --> 0:05:43.080 that can penetrate vaccinations. But does anything indicate to you 0:05:43.200 --> 0:05:46.880 that that could be a real possibility right now, because 0:05:47.080 --> 0:05:49.719 these vaccines thus far have have proven really resilient to 0:05:49.800 --> 0:05:54.159 these variant variations, right these variants exactly. So, I do 0:05:54.200 --> 0:05:56.920 think variances will continue to occur as the virus french 0:05:56.960 --> 0:06:00.240 from person to person. But I'm I'm confident that our 0:06:00.279 --> 0:06:03.960 vaccines will be able to stop what matters, serious disease, hospitalization, 0:06:04.000 --> 0:06:06.200 and death, even when it comes to problematic variance. That's 0:06:06.200 --> 0:06:08.240 what we've seen so far. But but it will be 0:06:08.360 --> 0:06:10.520 challenging if the world is not if the world is 0:06:10.520 --> 0:06:14.520 still not containing this virus, because international travel, international trade, 0:06:14.520 --> 0:06:16.599 all of that is still going to be disrupted for 0:06:16.680 --> 0:06:18.520 some period of time. Let's get right back to Dr 0:06:18.520 --> 0:06:21.480 Ames Adulge, a senior scholar an infectious disease physician at 0:06:21.480 --> 0:06:23.719 the Center for Health Security, I think JOHNS. Hopkins Bloomberg 0:06:23.800 --> 0:06:26.640 School of Health. He joins us on the phone from Pittsburgh. 0:06:26.720 --> 0:06:29.120 Dr adulge. I want to talk with you again about 0:06:29.200 --> 0:06:32.880 messaging and what a difference a vaccine makes, because we 0:06:32.920 --> 0:06:36.280 are getting mixed messages from different people about what is 0:06:36.320 --> 0:06:38.880 safe and what is not safe to do after you 0:06:38.920 --> 0:06:42.599 get completely vaccinated, tell me what you do now that 0:06:42.680 --> 0:06:47.080 you've received both of your shots. I'm basically as close 0:06:47.160 --> 0:06:49.520 to my normal like as as I can be, and 0:06:49.600 --> 0:06:51.640 I tend to be a very risk tolerant person, and 0:06:51.640 --> 0:06:55.119 I was taking calculated risks the entire pandemic even before 0:06:55.120 --> 0:06:57.200 I was vaccinated. So I may be a bit of 0:06:57.200 --> 0:06:59.919 an abarition in my field, but I think it's important 0:07:00.040 --> 0:07:03.760 remember that once you're fully vaccinated, the whole risk calculation 0:07:04.040 --> 0:07:05.880 that we've had to go through for so long is 0:07:05.880 --> 0:07:10.480 completely altered because you are now basically protected from serious 0:07:10.520 --> 0:07:14.160 disease and hospitalization or death. You're also very unlikely to 0:07:14.200 --> 0:07:16.920 even develop symptomatic infection, and you're very unlikely to be 0:07:16.960 --> 0:07:19.800 a spreader of infection. So I do think that while 0:07:19.840 --> 0:07:22.440 the risk is not zero, it is very close to zero, 0:07:22.520 --> 0:07:25.040 and it is something to me that I find acceptable, 0:07:25.280 --> 0:07:26.960 and I think that's what we need to be telling 0:07:27.000 --> 0:07:29.400 people that, based on your risk tolerance, start to re 0:07:29.520 --> 0:07:32.880 engage with the world, and that's going to move the needle. 0:07:32.920 --> 0:07:35.520 I think on vaccine hesitancy, because there's many people who 0:07:35.520 --> 0:07:37.920 think that, you know, if the vaccine doesn't change anything, 0:07:37.920 --> 0:07:39.400 why am I going through all of us? And I 0:07:39.440 --> 0:07:41.600 think there's been a lot of underselling of this vaccine 0:07:41.600 --> 0:07:44.480 and we're paying the consequence for it. So what does 0:07:44.520 --> 0:07:46.880 that mean though for people who have kids? Because kids 0:07:46.880 --> 0:07:49.000 are still a group that that can't be vaccinated. And 0:07:49.000 --> 0:07:51.119 this is something I know I'm going through. My friends 0:07:51.120 --> 0:07:54.400 are going through. Okay, so we're vaccinated, they're vaccinated, but 0:07:54.440 --> 0:07:56.760 our kids aren't. So you know, what's safe for for 0:07:56.800 --> 0:07:59.040 what safe behavior for us? Can we all get together? 0:07:59.120 --> 0:08:02.120 We don't know. So there's a great article in the 0:08:02.160 --> 0:08:04.160 New York Times to me by David Leonhardt said, I 0:08:04.240 --> 0:08:06.280 was quoted in some other colleagues that hockeyes were quoted 0:08:06.280 --> 0:08:08.560 in the talk directly on this issue. So I recommend that. 0:08:08.600 --> 0:08:10.560 But in general, this is all going to depend on 0:08:10.600 --> 0:08:12.840 your risk tolerance. Children tend to be spared from the 0:08:12.840 --> 0:08:15.720 severe consequences of disease, children that tend not to be 0:08:16.080 --> 0:08:18.560 major spreaders of infection, So I think that you can 0:08:18.600 --> 0:08:21.320 be much more flexible with children. Remember what you did 0:08:21.400 --> 0:08:23.600 during flu season? What did you do with your children 0:08:23.680 --> 0:08:27.840 during flu season? Probably not that much different. But every year, 0:08:28.880 --> 0:08:31.240 right even with the flu see even with the flu shot, 0:08:31.480 --> 0:08:34.280 the number of deaths that occur in children, you know 0:08:34.280 --> 0:08:36.920 in the hundreds every year from influenza, even with the 0:08:36.920 --> 0:08:39.439 ability of the vaccine. So just remember, just try to 0:08:39.559 --> 0:08:42.160 risk calibrate. And I'm not trying to minimize what COVID 0:08:42.240 --> 0:08:45.760 nineteen is overall, but in children, influenza has a more 0:08:45.840 --> 0:08:49.000 dangerous illness than than COVID nineteen is. And I think 0:08:49.040 --> 0:08:51.360 that's that's not the case in adults, but it's not 0:08:51.440 --> 0:08:53.280 the case overall, But in children, I think you have 0:08:53.320 --> 0:08:55.720 a lot more flexibility. So I do think that you 0:08:55.800 --> 0:08:59.520 can as much as your risk tolerance allows do this 0:08:59.720 --> 0:09:02.080 obvious seem a child that's asmatic, that's a different story, 0:09:02.160 --> 0:09:04.400 or a child that has special needs or medical problems 0:09:04.480 --> 0:09:06.840 or lung disease or immunit suppressed, you have to be 0:09:06.960 --> 0:09:09.320 much more careful. But if you've got a healthy child 0:09:09.320 --> 0:09:11.000 that doesn't have those conditions, I think you could be 0:09:11.040 --> 0:09:14.400 a lot more free with with how you interact once 0:09:14.440 --> 0:09:17.080 your family is vaccinator, or even before, because many children 0:09:17.120 --> 0:09:20.320 have been interacting throughout this pandemic. Remember, we've had schools open, 0:09:20.320 --> 0:09:22.959 we've had daycare centers open, we've had Little League sports, 0:09:22.960 --> 0:09:26.360 and we haven't really seen major negative effects and children. 0:09:26.400 --> 0:09:28.560 Nothing on the scale of what would worry me or 0:09:28.559 --> 0:09:30.840 what I think is an unacceptable risk if that's difficirom 0:09:30.840 --> 0:09:34.200 person to person. So we have a great story in 0:09:34.200 --> 0:09:36.880 Bloemberg Business Week magazine this week. It's the Remarks and 0:09:36.920 --> 0:09:39.439 it talks about how, since the beginning of the pandemic, 0:09:39.559 --> 0:09:42.120 exactly when the US might reach her immunity for COVID 0:09:42.200 --> 0:09:45.440 nineteen has been furiously debated in congressional hearings. Kind of 0:09:45.480 --> 0:09:49.440 shorthand for the end of the pandemic dr adage, is 0:09:49.600 --> 0:09:53.400 herd immunity truly kind of shorthand for the end of 0:09:53.400 --> 0:09:55.720 the pandemic? Is that the case that if if we 0:09:55.760 --> 0:09:58.760 get to her immunity, we could stop this virus or 0:09:58.800 --> 0:10:01.920 it's not so simple. I don't think it's so simple. 0:10:01.960 --> 0:10:04.280 I think her immunity is an important threshold to think 0:10:04.280 --> 0:10:06.199 about it, but it's not the holy grail to me. 0:10:06.840 --> 0:10:09.240 We get to the end of the pandemic, we get 0:10:09.280 --> 0:10:11.600 to the end of the public health emergency when we 0:10:11.640 --> 0:10:14.640 no longer have to fear for hospital capacity concerns, when 0:10:14.840 --> 0:10:17.080 we've taken away the ability of the virus to cause 0:10:17.080 --> 0:10:19.720 serious disease, hospitalization, death. And we're going to get there 0:10:20.080 --> 0:10:22.599 long before we get to her immunity because for for 0:10:22.679 --> 0:10:25.680 her community, we have to think about vaccinating every person. 0:10:25.800 --> 0:10:28.599 And remember this vaccine is only emergency a proof for 0:10:28.720 --> 0:10:31.440 children or people about the age of sixteen. You don't 0:10:31.600 --> 0:10:34.560 even include children there. So that's gonna be sometimes what 0:10:34.720 --> 0:10:36.920 I think it needs to be dispelled, as this notion 0:10:36.960 --> 0:10:38.719 that COVID nineteen is going to go away, that it's 0:10:38.760 --> 0:10:41.560 not going to be anything anybody talks about three years 0:10:41.559 --> 0:10:43.880 from now. That's not the case. Remember there are four 0:10:43.920 --> 0:10:48.240 other coronaviruses that cause of our common coals. This coronavirus 0:10:48.280 --> 0:10:50.559 stars kvie two is going to establish itself and has 0:10:50.640 --> 0:10:54.360 established itself in the human population. It's already infected other animals. 0:10:54.600 --> 0:10:56.880 We can't eradicate it or eliminate it. What we're going 0:10:56.920 --> 0:10:58.600 to have to do is live with it, but live 0:10:58.679 --> 0:11:00.640 with it in a in a tam or form. Because 0:11:00.679 --> 0:11:03.000 so many of our high risk individuals will be vaccinated, 0:11:03.200 --> 0:11:05.120 but we're still going to have cases. We're still gonna 0:11:05.160 --> 0:11:06.719 have disruption from what We're still going to have to 0:11:06.760 --> 0:11:09.240 think about it, but it's not going to be something 0:11:09.600 --> 0:11:12.600 that's very different from many of the other respiratory viruses 0:11:12.600 --> 0:11:13.960 that we deal with on a day in and day 0:11:13.960 --> 0:11:17.199 out basis every year, because the vaccine will have really 0:11:17.480 --> 0:11:20.720 just changed what this virus is capable of. All right, 0:11:20.800 --> 0:11:23.160 Gonna leave it on that note, Dr amish Adaga, thank 0:11:23.200 --> 0:11:26.280 you so much, Infectious disease Physicians, Senior Scholar at Johns 0:11:26.320 --> 0:11:28.520 Hopkins Center for Health Security at the Bloomberg School of 0:11:28.559 --> 0:11:31.040 Public Health. Supported by Michael R. Bloomberg, Founder of Bloomberg 0:11:31.160 --> 0:11:35.600 LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies. This is Bloomberg Business Week with 0:11:35.679 --> 0:11:40.400 Carol Masser and Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stinovich from Bloomberg Radio. 0:11:40.800 --> 0:11:43.480 President Biden Tim getting ready to mark his one day 0:11:43.880 --> 0:11:45.960 in office that will happen this coming week, and with 0:11:46.040 --> 0:11:48.640 that in mind, this week's cover story in Bloomberg Business 0:11:48.679 --> 0:11:51.120 Week magazine takes really kind of a look back, reminding 0:11:51.240 --> 0:11:53.480 us of all the things that President Biden had to 0:11:53.520 --> 0:11:55.760 deal with when he took office. The health pandemic, a 0:11:55.840 --> 0:11:59.360 sacking economy, are reckoning with centuries of racial injustice and 0:11:59.400 --> 0:12:02.760 the existent threat of climate change. But it ain't over. Yeah, 0:12:02.840 --> 0:12:05.040 now comes the hard part. Nancy Cook is white House 0:12:05.080 --> 0:12:08.440 reporter at Bloomberg News, joining us on the phone from Washington, 0:12:08.720 --> 0:12:12.079 d C. Nancy, I'm really happy that we're getting to 0:12:12.120 --> 0:12:15.120 speak with you about this cover story in the latest 0:12:15.120 --> 0:12:18.240 issue of Bloomberg Business Week. When you think about the 0:12:18.280 --> 0:12:22.480 first one hundred days, Um, how has Biden done? Like, 0:12:22.520 --> 0:12:25.880 how has he been able to do this? I think 0:12:25.880 --> 0:12:28.520 most people would say that Biden has done a pretty 0:12:28.520 --> 0:12:32.240 good job. You know, he has a majority of Americans 0:12:32.280 --> 0:12:36.520 support him and pulling Democrats, even people who wish the 0:12:36.840 --> 0:12:39.720 Senator Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders had won the nomination. 0:12:40.160 --> 0:12:43.360 They're really happy with him. Um, And he's even pulling 0:12:43.400 --> 0:12:46.439 well with Republicans who feel like, you know, he's done 0:12:46.440 --> 0:12:49.120 a pretty good job handling COVID and so what he 0:12:49.200 --> 0:12:53.720 walked into chiefly were, you know, a pandemic and low 0:12:53.800 --> 0:12:58.280 vaccination rates and schools closed and the economy really in 0:12:58.360 --> 0:13:01.960 a swamp. And the hundred days has really been about 0:13:02.240 --> 0:13:05.200 trying to solve those two crises. And they've gotten a 0:13:05.200 --> 0:13:08.760 lot of that by ramping up the vaccine distribution by 0:13:08.760 --> 0:13:12.360 getting more people vaccinated, and then passing this sweeping one 0:13:12.360 --> 0:13:16.040 point nine trillion dollar COVID relief bill which gives money 0:13:16.040 --> 0:13:18.640 for things like testing and school reopening and so so 0:13:18.760 --> 0:13:20.880 much of the first one days have just been dealing 0:13:20.960 --> 0:13:23.920 with crisis and now becomes the hard part where he's 0:13:23.920 --> 0:13:26.600 really trying to do something to cement his legacy. Right. Listen, 0:13:26.600 --> 0:13:28.760 he came into office, I mean, the whole pandemic, nobody 0:13:28.760 --> 0:13:30.520 had a playbook, but it did feel like they hit 0:13:30.559 --> 0:13:32.840 the ground running with a playbook in terms of dealing, 0:13:33.280 --> 0:13:35.920 you know, with the vaccine rollout, in dealing with economic 0:13:35.960 --> 0:13:39.480 stimulus and a lot of things. What is the playbook 0:13:39.520 --> 0:13:41.400 for the next one days? What does it need to be? 0:13:41.440 --> 0:13:44.360 What do people say it needs to be? Well, I 0:13:44.400 --> 0:13:46.600 think the playbook that they're trying to do is now 0:13:46.640 --> 0:13:48.960 that they have I mean, they still have to deal 0:13:49.040 --> 0:13:51.440 with the pandemic, and there's still a lot of fallout 0:13:51.520 --> 0:13:53.520 from the economic downturn, so no one in the White 0:13:53.559 --> 0:13:55.640 House is discounting that. But what they're trying to do 0:13:55.720 --> 0:13:59.880 now is sort of reshape the economy and propose the 0:14:00.080 --> 0:14:03.080 big ideas that Democrats have long wanted to do. And 0:14:03.120 --> 0:14:06.360 so that includes everything from infrastructure to more money for 0:14:06.520 --> 0:14:10.680 childcare and elder care. And that's the sweeping set of packages. 0:14:10.800 --> 0:14:13.439 President Biden is going to unveil this the third one 0:14:13.480 --> 0:14:17.240 that he's talking about um on Wednesday, this coming Wednesday 0:14:17.280 --> 0:14:19.680 at the State of the Union. And and those those 0:14:19.880 --> 0:14:23.240 the most recent two packages, the infrastructure and this upcoming 0:14:23.360 --> 0:14:26.320 families one. You know, that's more than three trillion dollars 0:14:26.320 --> 0:14:29.360 in spending that they are proposing. They want to offset 0:14:29.360 --> 0:14:32.040 it with tax increases, but again, it's a huge amount 0:14:32.040 --> 0:14:34.800 of money, and their goal is to really not just 0:14:34.920 --> 0:14:37.120 bring the economy back to where it was, but also 0:14:37.160 --> 0:14:39.040 sort of try to make some tweaks to it and 0:14:39.080 --> 0:14:42.560 reshape it. So obviously it's really ambitious. And the Biden 0:14:42.560 --> 0:14:46.360 administration and Democrats, well Biden administration, you know, is the 0:14:46.400 --> 0:14:49.040 Biden Biden's president. Democrats control the House and Senate, but 0:14:49.480 --> 0:14:52.920 barely uh and there are some modern modern Democrats who 0:14:53.000 --> 0:14:56.120 don't support these plans as they are right now. How 0:14:56.160 --> 0:14:58.280 does Biden sell this and and to what extent does 0:14:58.320 --> 0:15:00.280 it involve selling the plan to the American pe pole 0:15:00.560 --> 0:15:03.040 in a way that President Obama didn't do when it 0:15:03.080 --> 0:15:06.800 came to Obamacare. That's a great question. So the way 0:15:06.840 --> 0:15:09.120 that they sold the COVID relief bill, which is the 0:15:09.160 --> 0:15:10.920 way they're going to try to sell these two bills, 0:15:10.960 --> 0:15:14.119 was really to try to build public support outside of Washington. 0:15:14.600 --> 0:15:16.440 So what they have tried to do is to find 0:15:16.640 --> 0:15:21.280 unity or bipartisanship, not really as Democratic lawmakers and Republican 0:15:21.360 --> 0:15:24.760 lawmakers on Capitol Hill a green but more to try 0:15:24.760 --> 0:15:28.240 to promote policies and and put forward ideas that appealed 0:15:28.240 --> 0:15:32.240 to the majority of Americans. And so with the infrastructure package, 0:15:32.280 --> 0:15:36.000 for instance, you know, sevent of Republican voters are in 0:15:36.080 --> 0:15:39.960 favor of rebuilding roads and bridges, more job training, increasing 0:15:40.000 --> 0:15:42.680 broad brand access, and those are the things that the 0:15:42.680 --> 0:15:45.120 Biden White House is going to keep focusing on. These 0:15:45.120 --> 0:15:49.280 plans that appeal to Democratic and Republican voters, not necessarily 0:15:49.360 --> 0:15:52.960 just lawmakers on Capitol Hill. That's really the political strategy. 0:15:53.080 --> 0:15:55.400 Is it a smart strategy? Does it work? Will it work? 0:15:56.560 --> 0:15:59.240 It works with a COVID release bill it worked very well, 0:15:59.760 --> 0:16:02.040 And and I think that they feel like based on 0:16:02.160 --> 0:16:05.400 what they saw during the Obama administration and how much 0:16:06.000 --> 0:16:09.200 Obama was tied up with trying to go with after 0:16:09.280 --> 0:16:12.080 Republicans and WU Republicans who didn't really want to work 0:16:12.080 --> 0:16:14.840 with him. I think that the Biden administration learned some 0:16:15.000 --> 0:16:17.240 lessons and felt like they had to go another way 0:16:17.720 --> 0:16:19.400 and it was a gamble, but it worked for the 0:16:19.440 --> 0:16:21.360 COVID relief bill, and I think they're going to try 0:16:21.400 --> 0:16:24.280 the same thing with these next two packages. So enter 0:16:24.320 --> 0:16:28.880 two and that's when you know, the mid terms are 0:16:29.240 --> 0:16:32.480 and I'm wondering how the ambitious goals of the Biden 0:16:32.480 --> 0:16:36.640 administration has right now I have to get done before 0:16:37.760 --> 0:16:42.480 and how that can change the landscape in Washington. Well, really, 0:16:42.520 --> 0:16:46.240 they feel like they, you know, the midterm elections, the 0:16:46.280 --> 0:16:49.360 party in power typically loses, and so I think the 0:16:49.400 --> 0:16:51.520 White House is very focused on the mid terms and 0:16:51.560 --> 0:16:53.280 they feel like, you know, they have a window of 0:16:53.360 --> 0:16:55.760 time to try to get these major things done and 0:16:55.800 --> 0:16:57.920 they're going to go for it. And I think so 0:16:58.000 --> 0:17:00.400 much of the argument heading into the mid terms for 0:17:00.440 --> 0:17:02.880 the Biden administration is going to be an economic one. 0:17:03.400 --> 0:17:06.120 Are you better off financially than you were two years ago? 0:17:06.440 --> 0:17:08.920 You know, are you making more money? Um? Is the 0:17:09.000 --> 0:17:12.080 stock market in a good place where the kids schools reopening? 0:17:12.480 --> 0:17:14.880 Are there more people in the middle class, and so 0:17:15.359 --> 0:17:18.240 it's really it's interesting because it's a it's an area 0:17:18.240 --> 0:17:23.439 where Republicans have so dominated. Typically Republican politicians get higher 0:17:23.480 --> 0:17:26.160 polling for their handling of the economy. But what we've 0:17:26.160 --> 0:17:28.880 seen in recent polling is Biden is getting very high 0:17:28.960 --> 0:17:31.520 marks for a handling the economy, and so so much 0:17:31.520 --> 0:17:33.879 of that political argument in two is going to be 0:17:33.880 --> 0:17:37.720 around that. Nancy, what about though taxes and higher corporate 0:17:37.760 --> 0:17:41.200 taxes are capital gains taxes, which obviously are skewed towards 0:17:41.280 --> 0:17:44.320 the wealthy and corporations. But I do wonder how that 0:17:44.400 --> 0:17:47.199 might impact you know, you need to pay for what 0:17:47.280 --> 0:17:49.520 he's trying to do, I get that right, But I 0:17:49.520 --> 0:17:51.879 mean I do wonder how that might impact something like 0:17:51.960 --> 0:17:55.280 the mid terms. Ultimately, well, I think it, you know, 0:17:55.359 --> 0:17:58.359 depends what they can pass through corporus. Um. You know that. 0:17:58.520 --> 0:18:00.959 That's why I feel like the by An administration is 0:18:00.960 --> 0:18:03.399 thinking big and proposing what they want and then what 0:18:03.560 --> 0:18:07.000 asked to Congress is like a whole other reality check, 0:18:07.520 --> 0:18:11.840 but also raising taxes on corporations and wealthy people. Right now, 0:18:12.000 --> 0:18:14.680 polls really well, I think that there's a feeling during 0:18:14.720 --> 0:18:18.719 the pandemic that wealthy people worked from home, you know, 0:18:18.760 --> 0:18:22.280 they held onto their houses. They sort of they managed 0:18:22.320 --> 0:18:24.720 to ride it and they were okay, whereas a lot 0:18:24.760 --> 0:18:27.680 of other frontline workers, you know, we're put in dangerous 0:18:27.680 --> 0:18:30.200 positions having to go to work or lost their jobs. 0:18:30.240 --> 0:18:34.360 And so the idea of, like in polling, raising taxes 0:18:34.400 --> 0:18:38.760 on corporations and wealthy people is is overwhelmingly popular now 0:18:38.840 --> 0:18:40.959 and I think the Biden administration is trying to take 0:18:41.000 --> 0:18:43.280 advantage of that. What's the key metric for us to 0:18:43.359 --> 0:18:45.760 keep an eye on when we're thinking about the President 0:18:45.840 --> 0:18:49.720 Biden's effectiveness as a leader? Right, I mean, public polling 0:18:49.760 --> 0:18:54.159 is important, certainly, but but what do you look for? Well, 0:18:54.200 --> 0:18:56.239 I think that some of the key metrics when I 0:18:56.280 --> 0:19:00.560 talk to administration officials, like the things that they're watching are, um, 0:19:00.560 --> 0:19:03.800 what does the unemployment rate look like in two years? Um? 0:19:03.800 --> 0:19:07.000 You know, what does the GDP look like? Um? You know? 0:19:07.040 --> 0:19:09.919 These are what is when how soon does the country 0:19:09.960 --> 0:19:13.359 get back to full employment? When does the unemployment rate go? Um, 0:19:13.400 --> 0:19:16.120 you know, down to the fours again? And I think 0:19:16.160 --> 0:19:18.520 that that is something Those are some of the benchmarks 0:19:18.520 --> 0:19:21.000 that they're looking for in addition to just trying to 0:19:21.040 --> 0:19:23.479 control the corona very briefly, what a targy sectory, yell 0:19:23.560 --> 0:19:26.680