Biden says US will be 'close to normal' by July 4, every adult will be eligible for a vaccine by May 1, slams Trump for 'letting COVID spread' and takes credit for Operation Warp Speed in first prime-time speech
President Joe Biden asked Americans to stay the course fighting the coronavirus while offering hope that life could begin to return to ‘normal’ later this summer.
In a prime time address to the nation, given from the East Room of the White House, Biden outlined the steps his administration has taken to combat the deadly disease, and said the 'goal' was to have Americans enjoy July 4th with their loved ones.
‘July 4th with your loved one is the goal,’ he said.
‘If we do all this, if we do our part, if we do this together by July Fourth there's a good chance you and families and friends will be able to get together in your backyard or in your neighborhood and have a cookout or barbecue and celebrate Independence Day. That doesn't mean large events, with lots of people together but it does mean small groups will be able to get together,’ he said.
‘After this long hard year that will make this Independence Day something truly special where we not only mark our independence as a nation but we begin to mark our independence from this virus.’
In his 24-minute speech, Biden offered a renewed sense of hope. And, in his first prime time address as president, he focused solely on the coronavirus, the one issue his presidency will likely be judged upon.
He outlined the steps his administration has taken to combat the deadly disease, claiming he would meet his original goal of 100 million shots in 100 days by his 16th day in office.
‘No other country in the world has done this. None,’ he said.
He said because of the work his administration has done in securing more doses of the vaccine – including brokering a partnership between Merck and Johnson & Johnson – he would make all adults eligible to receive the vaccine by May.
‘I want to talk about the next steps we're thinking about first tonight. I'm announcing that will direct all states, tribes and territories to make all adults, people 18 and over eligible to be vaccinated, no later than May 1,’ he said. ‘That's much earlier than expected.’
He also said the nation was going from 1 million shots a day to 2 million shots a day, outpacing the rest of the world.
After bragging about the goals he was breaking, he announced an ambitious goal to have small gatherings by July 4th.
But, for that to happen, ‘I need you,’ he said. ‘I need every American to do their part.’
He urged people to get vaccinated, socially distance and wear face masks so the country wouldn’t have to reinstate restrictions in order to get the virus back under control.
'If we don't stay vigilant and the conditions change, than we may have to reinstate restrictions to get back on track. Please, we don't want to have to do that again,' he said.
'We've made so much progress, this is not the time to let up. Just as we were emerging from a dark winter into a hopeful spring and summer is not the time to not stick with the rules,' he added.
And he ended his speech with a simple request: Keep the faith.
'You know there's something else that we lost. We lost faith in whether our government and our democracy can deliver on really hard things for the American people. But as I stand here tonight, we are proving once again something that I've said time and time again, so you're probably tired of hearing me say it - I say to foreign leaders and domestic alike - it's never, ever a good bet to bet against the American people. America is coming back,' he said.
President Joe Biden said July 4th with loved ones was the 'goal' in his address to the nation
President Biden called for all Americans to be eligible for the COVID vaccine no later than May 1 as part of his plan to reopen the country
First lady Jill Biden stood in the back of the East Room to listen to President Biden as he gave his address to the nation
In his speech, Biden did not mention President Donald Trump, his predecessor, by name when he marked the one year anniversary of the country shutting down. But he slammed how the virus was handled at its start.
‘A year ago we were hit with a virus that was met with silence. And spread unchecked. Denials for days, weeks than month. That lead to more deaths, more infection, more stress and more loneliness. Photos and videos in 2019 feel like they were taken in another era,’ he said.
His speech also offered a message of hope, saying ‘finding the light’ is what Americans do during a crisis.
‘But in the loss we saw how much there was to gain an appreciation, respect and gratitude. Finding light in the darkness is a very American thing to do. In fact, it may be the most American thing we do,’ he said.
He acknowledged the hardships people have faced.
‘It's the details of life we miss the most and we miss those details. The big details and the small moments, weddings, birthdays, graduations, all the things that needed to happen, but didn't. The first date, the family reunions, the Sunday night rituals. It's all exacted a terrible cost on the psyche of so many of us. For we are fundamentally a people who want to be with others. To talk, to laugh, to hug, to hold one another. But this virus has kept us apart,’ he said.
And he offered the heart breaking observation that ‘the things we used to do that always fill us with joy had become things we couldn't do.’
And he forcefully denounced the increase in hate crime against Asians.
‘Too often we have turned against one another. A mask, the easiest thing to do to save live, sometimes it divides us. States pitted against one another instead of working with one another. Vicious hate crimes against Asian-Americans who have been attacked, harassed, blamed and scapegoated,’ he said.
‘At this very moment, so many of them, our fellow Americans are on the front lines of this pandemic trying to save lives and still, still they are forced to live in fear for their lives just walking down streets in America,’ he noted.
And he declared: ‘It's wrong, it's un-American and it must stop.’
Biden's comments defending Asian-Americans come one day after Trump, again, used the racist phrase 'China virus' in a statement taking credit for the swift development of COVID-19 vaccines.
'I hope everyone remembers when they're getting the COVID-19 (often referred to as the China virus) vaccine, that if I wasn't president, you wouldn't be getting that beautiful "shot" for five years, at best, and probably wouldn't be getting it at all,' the ex-president wrote.
Biden previously made moves to stop usage of the term by signing an executive order titled 'Memorandum Condemning and Combating Racism, Xenophobia, and Intolerance Against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States' on day No. 6 of his presidency.
'The Federal Government must recognize that it has played a role in furthering these xenophobic sentiments through the actions of political leaders, including references to the COVID-19 pandemic by the geographic location of its origin,' the order said. 'Such statements have stoked unfounded fears and perpetuated stigma about Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and have contributed to increasing rates of bullying, harassment, and hate crimes against AAPI persons.'
President Biden, wearing his face mask, walks into the East Room to deliver his speech
President Biden spoke with the flags from the 50 states behind him
His administration also outlined the next steps in the battle against COVID, which has killed more than 530,000 Americans.
That will include:
- Deliver vaccines directly to up to an additional 700 community health centers that reach underserved communities, increasing the total number of participating centers to 950.
- Double the number of pharmacies in the federal pharmacy program to more than 20,000.
- Expand mobile operations in hard-hit communities.
- Deploy 4,000 activity duty troops to help with vaccine efforts, bringing total to 6,000. Double the number of federally run mass vaccination centers.
- Expand vaccinators to dentists, paramedics, physician assistants, veterinarians, and medical and healthcare students.
- Launch a new federally supported Find a Vaccination website by May 1.
- Launch a call center with a 1-800 number by May 1 to help people find vaccinations.
- Deploy technology teams to states that need help improving their websites.
- Direct the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue additional guidance on what people can do after being fully vaccinated, addressing travel, gatherings, work and houses of worship.
- Supply federal financing to help expand testing in schools.
- Have the Department of Education host a national Safe School Reopening Summit this month.
Biden's speech marked the one-year anniversary of Trump's Oval Office address on the coronavirus pandemic, in which typos in his copy led to Americans in Europe believing they'd be cut off from coming back to the U.S.
Trump's travel ban from Europe wasn't supposed to include American citizens, permanent residents and their family members.
U.S. stock futures fell more than 600 points during his 10-minute remarks.
President Joe Biden signs the American Rescue Plan, a coronavirus relief package, in the Oval Office
Biden said in his remarks that if Americans get vaccinated, social distance and wear face masks, there could be small gatherings for July 4th
Biden encouraged all Americans to get vaccinated as so as they are eligible
Biden's speech came after he signed his $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan into law Thursday afternoon.
'This historic legislation is about rebuilding the backbone of this country and giving people in this nation, working people, middle class folks, people who built the country a fighting chance. That's what the essence of this is,' Biden said at the signing ceremony.
'Done,' he said upon fixing his signature to the legislation. He signed it in the Oval Office with Vice President Kamala Harris at his side.
'Democrats and Republican friends have made it clear, people out there, made it clear they strongly support the American Rescue Plan,' he said in brief remarks, adding that he would have more to say in his prime time address Thursday night.
He did not respond to questions.
'We're going to be on the road not only talking about - what I'm talking about tonight is the impact on the virus, how we're going to end this pandemic,' he said of the law, which will provide stimulus checks to many Americans, money for COVID vaccines and funding to help schools reopen.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the first round of stimulus checks will hit people's bank accounts this weekend.
'People can expect to start seeing direct deposits hit their bank accounts as early as this weekend. This is, of course, just the first wave,' she said at her press briefing on Thursday. 'And payments to eligible Americans will continue throughout the course of the next several weeks.'
President Biden was joined by Vice President Kamala Harris for the signing the American Rescue Plan into law
The president will hold a signing celebration at the White House on Friday with congressional leaders. Only Democrats are expected to attend with members from the House and Senate to be in attendance.
The original plan was for him to sign the legislation on Friday but it was moved up after the 'enrollment' process finished. That is the process legislation goes through after it is approved by Congress but before it can be signed into law.
Republicans had accused Biden of trying to hold a PR stunt by stringing out the process and holding the signing on Friday instead of when the bill was ready. Biden had vowed to sign the legislation as soon as it passed Congress.
'The enrolled bill arrived last night -- so @POTUS is signing it today -- we want to move as fast as possible. We will hold our celebration of the signing on Friday, as planned, with Congressional leaders!,' White House chief of staff Ron Klain tweeted Thursday morning.
The House passed the American Rescue Plan on Wednesday after the Senate approved it over the weekend. Not one Republican lawmaker crossed the aisle to vote on passing the final version of the legislation.
Biden also will make his first prime time address to the nation on Thursday night to mark the one year since the lock down began in the United States, to outline next steps in combating the pandemic and to talk about the sacrifices Americans have made.
Psaki said Wednesday that President Biden will appoint someone to oversee implementation of the law but declined to say who. Biden oversaw implementation of the 2009 Recovery Act when he was vice president but Psaki declined to answer when asked if Harris would play that role in the Biden administration.
President Biden said the American Rescue Plan will give Americans a 'fighting chance'
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the first round of stimulus checks would hit people's bank accounts this weekend
Additionally, the president, first lady Jill Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff are planning a travel and media blitz next week to sell the $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan to the American people.
The White House has called it the 'Help is Here' tour.
President Biden will be in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, his first trip to the state as president. Pennsylvania helped him win the White House and he considers it a second home as he was born in Scranton.
He and Vice President Kamala Harris will be in Atlanta on Friday. The Democrats win in two Georgia special Senate elections gave the party control of the Senate. And the votes of Democratic Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock from that state helped make the legislation law.
First lady Jill Biden will travel to New Jersey on Monday. And Harris and Emhoff head to Nevada on Monday and Colorado on Tuesday. Emhoff will be in New Mexico on Wednesday.
Psaki said there is more travel to be announced.
'This is just the beginning,' she said. 'It was important to the president to visit, not just blue states, but also red states, purple states.'
Cabinet secretaries also are expected to make a travel blitz to help sell the plan.
Biden has said over and over again he doesn't want to repeat what he believes was a mistake by the Obama administration in not selling its 2009 stimulus to the public.
'We didn't adequately explain what we had done. Barack was so modest,' Biden told House Democrats last week. 'I kept saying, 'Tell people what we did.' He said, 'We don't have time. I'm not going to take a victory lap.' And we paid a price for it, ironically, for that humility.'
A new CNN poll found that 61% support the COVID relief plan, which includes $1,400 direct payments to most Americans, $350 billion in aid to state and local governments, an expansion of the child tax credit and increased funding for vaccine distribution.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump is demanding the credit for the coronavirus vaccine shots that are now making their way into Americans' arms at an accelerated clip – claiming there would be no vaccine for another five years without him.
'I hope everyone remembers when they're getting the COVID-19 (often referred to as the China Virus) vaccine, that if I wasn't president, you wouldn't be getting that beautiful 'shot' for five years, at best, and probably wouldn't be getting it at all,' he wrote in a statement that came out Wednesday evening.
Donald Trump, pictured, sought to take credit for America's vaccine success after some of the available jabs were developed under his presidency
Trump issued the statement under the letterhead of The Office of Donald J. Trump but it read like one of the tweets he has been unable to send since his social media ban
The statement was carried on his official 45th President letterhead – though it took on the tone of one of his famous tweets before getting banned from Twitter after the Jan. 6th MAGA riot.
Trump's plea comes as credit for the vaccine that could soon transform the daily lives of millions of Americans was already taking shape.
The Pfizer vaccine, which was first out of the gate, was developed privately. But the Moderna vaccine, which like Pfizer is extremely effective, got assistance from Trump's 'Operation Warp Speed.'
Biden on Thursday announced plans to purchase an additional 100 million Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses.
Since taking office, the Biden team has taken to blasting the state of the vaccine program they inherited, particularly on the distribution side – despite its vaccine development efforts getting credit during the transition.
Additionally, Biden and his coronavirus advisor Andy Slavitt were put on the defensive when the AP reported in a fact check that both had overstated the 'record' 2.9 million doses given Saturday. The real number was 1.6 million. The earlier CDC figure had included doses from other days.
