In total more than 276,000 americans lost so far. We have a Record Number of hospitalizations. Millions more out of work. And the u. S. Is facing other threats from abroad and deep political divisions here and a reckoning on race. Biden and harris will soon be partners on trying to lead the nation. Tasked with steering the United States of america during this unprecedented time. Now for the First Time Since they won they sat down together to answer some of our questions. Thank you so much for doing this. I appreciate it. What an honor to get the first joint interview, madam Vice President elect. Congratulations. Thank you. Mr. President elect, congratulations. Thank you. Before we get started, youre not wearing your big boot anymore but you have your well, i wear the big boot most of the time, but when coming out here its just kind of clumsy, so they gave me this little thing to work. How is your foot and what happened . What happened was i got out of the shower ive got a dog. And anybody thats been around my house knows, the little pup 2kr07d dropped the ball in front of me and for me to grab the ball. And im walking through this little alleyway to get to the bedroom and i grabbed the ball like this and he ran and i was joking running after him to grab his tail. And what happened was he slipped on a throw rug and i tripped on the rug he slid on. Thats what happened. Oh, man. Not very exciting story. No. But lets turn to a much more Serious Health matter, which is obviously the worsening pandemic. The u. S. Is entering the dark winter that you warned about with the highest death rate. We just reached a new horrible milestone of new cases. On a policy level whats going to be different starting on january 20th when you take office when it comes to dealing with the pandemic . Theres going to be a couple of things. Number one, its going to be important we set out National Standards to let the look, we met with governors, democrat and republican, as well as 15 democrat and republican mayors. They said they need guidance, they need guidance. And theyre going to need a fair amount of money. Its one thing for us to talk about being able to get help out there, but its not getting there. Were having these hospital stays are overwhelming hospitals right now. Theres a need for more Financial Assistance. Theres more Financial Assistance needed as well when the vaccine comes forward. Theres need for planning. And so now the administrations been cooperating with us of late, letting them know what their plans are for the covid virus. For how theyre going to deliver on the vaccine. But theres not any help getting out there. Look at all the businesses that are being hurt so badly. No money to help them. Come christmas time theres going to be millions of people seeing their unemployment run out. So theres a whole range of things that have to be done and we have to antee up im hoping and weve talked about this, im hoping the senate in this lame duck session will come up with some help to make sure we can keep people moving, keep people in their even if their jobs, even if they have to close restaurants and bars, theyre able to be able to maintain their business while theyre out. So theres a whole lot of things that have to be done quickly. Ill get to the legislative part of this in a second. But before i do madam Vice President elect, pfizer and moderna have applied for emergency use authorization for the vaccines. Are you confident that if and when the fda does give that approval it will be safe and effective and will you take it . Of course i will. And but we also want to make sure that the American People know that we are committed, the president elect and i talk about this all the time, that the people who need it most are going to be a priority. Weve talked a lot about the need to take care of our frontline workers as the president elect was talking about. He and i over the thanksgiving holiday, for example, made a number of calls to nurses who are describing horrendous conditions in terms of the risk to their own safety to do the work of saving the lives of others. So we want to make sure that the people who need to get it first are going to be there. But of course, of course well take it. And ill take it. Obviously those frontline workers are important. But you are too, sir. And you will be the oldest president ever inaugurated. Do you plan to get vaccinated before Inauguration Day . And will you do it in public the way president s obama, bush and clinton have suggested theyd ill be happy to do that. When dr. Fauci says we have a vaccine that is safe, thats the moment at which i will stand before the public and say that look, part of what has to happen, jake, you know as well as i do, people have lost faith in the ability of the vaccine to work. Already the numbers are very staggeringly low. And it matters what a president and Vice President do. So i think my three predecessors have set the model as to what should be done, saying once its declared to be safe, and i think barack said once fauci said its clear, thats my measure, then obviously we take it. And its important to communicate to the American People its safe. Its safe to do this. Speaking of fauci, have you spoken with him yet . If so have you asked him to stay on . Yes and yes. Yes and yes. Tell me about the conversation. Because he said what more needs to be done from his point of view . Well, look, my chief of staff has worked with him in the last crisis. Hed been talking to him all the time, ron klain. I talked to him today. We spoke today, 3 00. My covid team met with him. I asked him to stay on in the exact same role hes had for the past several president s. And i asked him to be a chief medical adviser for me as well and be part of the covid team. And so what has to be done is we have to make it clear to the American People that the vaccine is safe when it occurs, when that is determined, and number two, you have to make sure as he points out you dont have to close down the economy like a lot of folks are talking about now, if in fact you have clear guidance and youre able to say to businesses okay, for example, bars and restaurants are going to close, were going to provide you the wherewithal to not lose your business like the house had passed and were going to be able to reopen. Were going to be able to reopen in time. And not to close down for long periods of time. We talked about masking. It is important that we in fact the president and the Vice President , we set the pattern by wearing masks. But beyond that, the federal government has authority im going to issue a Standing Order that in federal buildings you have to be masked, in transportation, interstate transportation you have to be masked, in airplanes and buses, et cetera. So its a matter of and i think my inclination, jake, is in the first day im inaugurated im going to ask the public for 100 days to mask. Just 100 days to mask. Not forever. 100 days. And i think well see a significant reduction, if that occurs with vaccinations and masking, to drive down the numbers considerably. Considerably. Operation warp speed seems to have been a big success to get the vaccine going. I know theres a lot to criticize about how President Trump handled the crisis of the pandemic. But do you give him credit for operation warp speed . Well, look, the fact we got the vaccine is a good idea. I mean, its important. Critically important. But as you know, jake, one of the vaccines requires two shots, one one shot. And the fact is that its one thing to get the vaccine delivered in cases, some frozen, some not, and another thing to get the vaccine to move from the case to a vaccination in someones arm. Thats the really complicated piece. When i met with the republican and democratic governors and mayors they said we need help on how to do that. One was certain they were able to do it in their state, just get me the vaccine, i can do it. But its an incredibly expensive proposition. Incredibly expensive proposition. Thats why were continuing to hope that the senate does something and responds to the immediate need to provide dollars. But were going to need a lot more. Its going to cost literally billions of dollars to get this done. We could keep schools open. We could keep businesses open. But you have to be able to get the vaccine distributed. And jake, the last thing, i think they started off with, based on my team thats met with them, with focusing on first responders, meaning doctors, nurses, focusing on Nursing Homes and nursing personnel, but we also have to make sure that when the vaccine is distributed its accessible to people who have been hurt the most. The brown and black communities. Which are not likely to be able to access, for example, walmarts or access i mean, we have to get to their neighborhoods. So its a really difficult but doable project. But it has to be well planned. And thats what were in the process of beginning to do now. And i know you just appointed it was just reported that youre appointing somebody in the white house to be in charge of inequities in the health care system, which i assume yes. This will be one of their thats one of the primary responsibilities. Look, folks who are africanamericans and latinos are the first ones hurt when something happens, the last one to recover. And you saw the statistics. Somewhere, depending on which report you get and where youre talking about, from four to five times three to four times more likely to die if they get covid. So they need the help and they need to get it in immediately. Madam Vice President elect, most Health Experts including dr. Fauci agree that Elementary Schools should be the last thing to close. Bars should close. Restaurants should close. But Elementary Schools should be the very last one because the risk is minimal but whats happening in terms of whats happening to kids. And i know youve talked about this earlier. Has been disastrous in terms of education, in terms of psychology. But there are many teachers and teachers unions who are advocating for remoteonly education to stick around because they are afraid, understandably, of getting the virus. Will the Bidenharris Administration defer to the Health Experts or to the teachers unions when it comes to Elementary Schools . Look, honestly, jake, i think its a false choice. Both. Both. The public Health Experts of course must be leaders in this conversation because were having the conversation because of a Public Health epidemic, a pandemic. So they must help inform the decisions but our educators are educators. They are on the front line. They are most knowledgeable about the Educational Needs of our children. So both have to be participating in that conversation. But lets start from this place. Everyone wants our kids to go back to school. Every parent wants their kids to go back to school. Every teacher wants to educate those children. Every Community Benefits from those children getting an education. So there is wide consensus about the priority and the goal, and then we have to bring everyone together around how we achieve that in a way that is smart. And smart is about being prioritizing the safety of our children and their teachers and their families and their communities and prioritizing the education of our children. Jake, i would argue that i agree with everything the Vice President said. But ive spoken with the leaders of the unions, and ive there is a clear plan thats been laid out. We can safely those Elementary Schools where the highest risk of people transmitting the disease, number one. Number two, we can make it safe for teachers if we invest in what needs to be done. Number one, sanitizing the schools. Number two, making sure that they have ventilation. Number three, making sure there are smaller pods of children, meaning you need more teachers. Youve got to pay for this stuff. It was estimated we could open those schools for somewhere around 100 billion nationwide. That would be the cost for a year. We know how to do this. But the fact is theres no money to do it. And you know better than anyone because youve been reporting on it, the states are running out of money. They cannot continue to deficit spend. They cant deficit spend. And thats a federal government responsibility short term which will have longterm positive impact on growth and on the Mental Health and the educational capacity of our children. Well, lets talk about this expense because there is a lot of desire out there, i dont need to tell you, among the American People who are hurting, who are facing evictions, who are not able to put food on the table, the unemployment number still remains very high. And there is a desire for a relief package, another relief package. Not just a desire, a need, a desperate need. And yet theres been gridlock in washington. This week a Bipartisan Group of senators unveiled a compromise bill that is more than Mitch Mcconnell wants but less than nancy pelosi wants. Do you support that bill . Do you think that should go to the floor of the senate . I think if they could get the 900 what theyre talking about, the number i think it was 900 billion. 900 billion. That that would be a good start. Its not enough. They should focus on the things that are immediately needed, and whats immediately needed is relief for people in their unemployment checks, relief for people that are going to get thrown out of their apartments after christmas because they cant afford to pay the rent anymore, relief on mortgage payments, relief on all the things that are in the original bill the house passed. But it may have changed again today. I dont know. Maybe you know, senator. But the fact the president said he wouldnt sign any such legislation. And then im told, i may be mistaken, because im not there not only every day, ever in the senate anymore, but im told that theres somewhere between 20 and 22 republican senators who say they wont even they wont vote for anything. Yeah. But heres the deal. If Mitch Mcconnell just brought the bill up, just put it on the floor, i believe, the senator believes, or former senator soon to be former senator believes, that it would pass. But its a start. But look, people are really hurting. Theyre scared to death. And whats happening and teachers are prepared to go back if they know theres something where theres masking, testing, theyre available to them, theyre able to be in smaller pods, they need more help. But its just not coming forward. And we know the answer. When you say its a start, the bill, the compromise bill, do you mean its a start for negotiations . Its just an outline no, no. You think they should pass it. I think it should be passed and i think in fact were going to need more im going to have to ask for more help. When you get there 37. When i get there. To get things done. Now, again, i have faith in chuck and nancy. Im not doing the detailed negotiation. As a matter of fact, one of the people deeply involved is the guy who took my spot in the United States senate, chris coons is a brilliant guy. Im relying on their judgment of the most basic things that are needed now. Coons supports the compromise legislation. Yeah. Madam Vice President , Vice President pence right now is leading the covid19 task force. Are you going to continue that position . What will your specific portfolio be . And how do you plan on working with your new boss . Will you have weekly lunches . Will you be the last one he speaks to before he makes a decision as then Vice President biden did with then president obama . How do you see your role . Yes. Yes to all of that . So Covid Task Force, weekly lunches. Ill take the last point first. Which is if the future is determined in any way based on what has been happening. We are full partners in this process. And i will tell you that the president elect has been since the first day he asked me to join him on the ticket been very clear with me. That he wants me to be the first and the last in the room. So on every issue that impacts the American People i will be a fill full partner to the president elect and the president and whatever the priorities are i will be there to support him. Do you have a portfolio you see yourself he was in charge of the recovery act during the great recession. Will you head up the Covid Task Force . Is there an issue that you really want to focus on . Jake, let me take a shot at that. Sure. I headed the recovery act. Not because thats what i wanted to do. The deal is the same thing im asking the Vice President to do. And that is there are so many things that are going to land on this president s desk, me in this case, everything i said about barack, everything but locusts is going to land on this. We have significant problems. Whatever the most urgent needs is that im not able to attend to, i have confidence of turning to her. It wasnt that barack said well, you know, joe, were going to have a stimulus and i want you to handle it. It was weve got to get this stimulus passed, im working on this. But joe, you take it. Okay . This is what i want you to do. So unlike the previous portfolio where al gore said look, let me take a let me do environment. When i was asked the question, when i asked her the question, ill do whatever the urgent need is at the moment. And thats how its going to work. Look, theres not a single decision ive made yet about personnel or about how to proceed that i havent discussed it with kamala first. Thats true. What has been she was one of your fiercest competitors in the early days of the primary, and now she and doug emhoff which by the way, is he the second gentleman . Is he the second dude . What should we be calling him . Well, i think that the term has evolved into the second gentleman. The second gentleman. I like second dude, but i will defer. I think some of his friends are inclined to say that. But youll call him the second gentleman. No, ill call him honey. Youll call him honey. Okay p b okay. But now theyre part of the team. Yes. Theyre no longer competitors. Whats been the Biggest Surprise about working with sner i know you knew her before through beau well, look, there hasnt been any surprise because we had the discussion about this beforehand. Beforehand. First of all, i understand how campaigns can sometimes get a little out of whack a little bit. And as i told her, because you asked the question, i dont hold grudges. Thats why Richard Ben Kramer questioned whether i was really irish. But all kidding aside the first ladytobe told me she holds them for you. Yes, she does. But she and kamala have become friends. But all kidding aside, its a matter of the thing we are simpatico on our philosophy of government and simpatico on how we want to approach these issues that were facing. So i dont have when we disagree, it will be just like so far its been just like barack and i did. Its in private. Shell say i think we should do a, b, c, or d. And ill say i like a, dont like b or c. Okay. And like i told barack, if i read something where theres a fundamental disagreement we have based on a moral principle, ill develop some disease and say i have to resign. We dont have and we discussed at length our views on foreign policy, on domestic policy, on intelligence. And the great thing is she has a background in the senate, on intelligence, the intelligence committee. She has a background in the senate on a whole range of things that are going to be pertinent to what we have to do. But its going to be i think so much is going to be incoming, jaim jake. Its a matter whof takes what when. I dont need to tell you, mr. President elect, that the naacp is suggesting that they are diss pointing so far that there havent been more black americans named to highprofile positions, present company excepted, and that jim clyburn said hes watching your cabinet picks and i can think of at least ten black folks that qualify for every single one. One position you have yet to announce is attorney general. Do you think given george floyd, black lives matter, the social justice issues, criminal Justice Reform issues, that a black attorney general would be the right direction . Look, im going to be announcing the remaining 15 members of the cabinet. The first eight members are the most diverse cabinet anyone in American History has ever announced. There are three white men. There are excuse me. There are three men. There are five women. There are five people of color, three white people. I mean, this is going to be an incredibly diverse im going to keep my commitment. That the administration both in the white house and outside in the cabinet is going to look like the country. Im going to be meeting with the naac pch naa naacp board i guess tuesday. Tuesday. Yeah. My job their job is to push me. Every special interest and i dont say that in a negative way. Every Advocacy Group out there is pushing for more and more of what they want. Thats their job. My job is to keep my commitment. To make the decisions. And when its all over people will take a look and say i promise you, youll see the most diverse cabinet, representative of all folks, asianamericans, africanamericans, latinos, lgbtq, across the board. And i think theyre all forthcoming in the next month or so. Last month senator Bernie Sanders told the Associated Press it would be enormously insulting if your cabinet, the bidenharris cabinet, ignored progressive voices. Who would you point to now as a leading progressive voice in the cabinet . Were not done yet, jake. Were not even halfway there. So i think we should have this conversation when were done. Thats another interview offer youre making because ill take it. Do you consider yourself a progressive . No. Department of Homeland Security. Department of Homeland Security . Yeah. Im serious. Hes a progressive . Yeah. And theres a number of progressives that are what i think people are saying is a lot of people are saying, am i going to pick some very, very prominent and wellknown progressive who sits in the house or the senate right now . As close as everything is in terms of the house and the senate, they are tough decisions to make. To pull somebody im going to badly need out of the senate and we now dont reelect or have an appointment of somebody who is a democrat. It is i think people are going to see not only at the cabinet level but the subcabinet level theres already people weve appointed and we will appoint many more. But it is not again, i understand the push. I truly understand the push. When you take office, the senate will either be 5050 thats best case for you or controls by republicans. Many republican senators including Senate Majority leader Mitch Mcconnell have not even yet called you to congratulate you or said publicly that you are the president elect, just acknowledge basic reality. You have retained and remained optimistic about your ability to work with mcconnell. Why have you not yet spoken with mcconnell, and how can you be optimistic about working with a group of individuals who have not even yet acknowledged that youre the president elect . Ill say this tactfully. You dont have to be tactful. No, i do, because i dont want there have been more than several sitting republican senators whove privately called me and congratulated me. And i understand the situation they find themselves in. And until the election is clearly decided in the minds of the Electoral College votes they get put in a very tough position. So thats number one. Number two so you think the fever on that will break after the Electoral College meets . Well, at least a significant portion of the leadership. I dont know that its going to break across the board. Im not saying that. Its not the same senate i dont mean in terms of their philosophy. Its not the same Senate Personnel that i knew when i left the senate. There are only about 35 or 30 , 40 that are there when i was in the senate. But im confident. Im confident that theres a number of things ive already spoken to several about. For example, theres an overwhelming consensus we have to do the things to work on to deal with infrastructure. Cancer. The things like remember at the end of the last our last two months in office. You know, you heard senator alexander on the floor saying that referencing me in his Farewell Speech saying i felt like a butler standing outside the white house with a tray that would do a lot on dealing with cancer and along came joe, we worked it out, we got something done. We only had i think Something Like 43 Democratic Senators for the biden moon shot approach. R we ended up with 96 or 95, 94. We started off with about 100 and a few members of the house, 385 ended up or 95 voted for it. Youre still confident . Look, its going to be hard. Im not suggesting its going to be easy. Its going to be hard. But im confident that on the things that affect the National Security and the fundamental economic necessity to keep people employed, to get people employed, to bring the economy back theres plenty of room we can work. Vice president elect harris, you too have proposed an ambitious climate agenda. Youve named john kerry as your climate envoy. Realistically, any significant change is going to be an uphill battle. With such a closely divided house and senate. No matter how the georgia runoffs go. What can you do that will both genuinely address the issue and wont just get reversed by the next republican president , will actually be legislative . No, i agree with you. Our agendas pretty progressive. And some might call it ambitious. But the American People and frankly the world cant afford anything less. The clock is ticking rapidly on this issue, and the president elect has made it very clear that we are going to approach this in a way that we know the vast majority have so much more in common than what separates us. We brought together through the policy but also in practice convened everyone from labor groups to fortune 500 folks who there was a consensus among on what needs to happen. The president elect was talking with the head of gm and days later we see that theyre going to drop their resistance to californias rules on electric vehicles. So we have reason to be optimistic about what is possible. It will not be easy. It will require convening. But as the president elect always says, this as much as anything is also about jobs. Its about investing in research and development. Its about investing in the American Worker with jobs that are wellpaying jobs, good union wellpaying jobs. And i think that there is more consensus than one might think toward jake, if i can give you an example. The irony is we have four crises. The first crisis is covid. Second is the economic close to recession and maybe worse. The third crisis is the inequity that exists, the racial inequity that exists. And the fourth crisis is climate. Ironically, they all work for one another. The first time the American People looked out there and said my lord, i guess all those things i heard about and even though i dont live in neighborhoods that have large populations i didnt realize police do those kinds of things like i saw with george floyd, or before i announced my climate plan i went to the major unions saying guys this is what im going to do but let me tell you why its in your interests. So what happens . We have labor and ceos on the big board up here in a zoom. And i said were going to build 550,000 charging stations. And what happens . You have General Motors saying we want to own that market and its going to reduce Greenhouse Gases gigantically. And you hear labor say we want that. We want jobs. Were going to make money making the country green. So its not so much people when they stop and everybody told me even my own team told me ten months ago youre not going to get unions to go along with you. Yes they are because they realize theyre going to get left out. And they are the way to grow the economy. And you had folks like moody and is wall street saying my plan i put together would create 18. 6 million jobs. And a trillion dollars. A trillion dollars additional growth in the gdp. Ive always argued that if you help the people like a 15 minimum wage nationally, it raises everybody. It raises the entire community. The wealthy do better, the middle class do better, and the poor have a way up. Up next our exclusive conversation continues. I asked the president elect whether he wants outgoing President Trump at his inauguration. His response and much more after this quick break. Come on over here coto build a house, you need ary ststrong foundation. [music playing throughout] the same is true for building a business. Blackowned businesses are an integral part of americas foundation. They lay the groundwork for other black businesses like mine that turns concrete into something beautiful. Im kimberley robles, and im the owner and founder of robles concrete design. The Citi Foundation is helping our Community Partners facilitate more loans to blackowned businesses. Youre all, youre all i need youre all, youre all i need as long as i got you then baby you know that youve got me, oh yea. Its shiori. What . Shi or i adam, emily and then. Suh um. Its shiori. Shori. Thank you, thats great. Shiori in japanese there you go. Yeah. in japanese wow, it looks beautiful in japanese really . i really like it. [whats this . ] oh, are we kicking karly out . We live with at t. It was a lapse in judgment. At t, we called this house meeting because you advertise gigspeed internet, but we cant sign up for that here. Yeah, but im just like warming up to those speeds. Youve lived here two years. The personal attacks arent helping, karly. Dont you have like a hot pilates class to get to or something . [ muffled scream ] stop living with at t. Xfinity can deliver gig to the most homes. Welcome back to this cnn special event. The first joint interview. The incoming Bidenharris Administration is not only confronting a deadly pandemic but also divided government and a Gridlocked Congress here in washington, not to mention an outgoing president who will not acknowledge reality and concede. But i continued our conversation first with just a couple of the threats the u. S. Is facing from abroad. Youre set to inherit a very complicated situation with iran. Irans Top Nuclear Scientist was just assassinated in an attack that a senior u. S. Official told cnn that is being attributed to israel. How does that assassination complicate your efforts to have the nuclear deal be rejoined . Quite frankly, jake, its hard to tell how much its complicating. The first thing that i will attempt to do, and ive spoken with now over 20 heads of state, ive made it clear to our friends in nato, the first calls that came in, that we have a rule of one president at a time. So i cant make policy. But i want to reestablish the close, close, close Alliance Relations we had both in europe and in the pacific. And part of that relates to the ability to get your back in on our side. Europe now has basically stiffarmed the United States based on the president s embrace of autocrats and poking his finger in their eyes. And so i think its going to depend a lot on what will change the circumstance if europe comes along with the United States. But its going to be a hard, hard negotiation. I have no illusions about that. And the bottom line is that we cant allow iran to get nuclear weapons. And look how damaging this policy the president has gone for. He has pulled out to get something tougher, and what have they done . Theyve increased the ability for them to have nuclear material. Theyre moving closer to the ability to have enough material for a nuclear weapon. Theres the missile issues. All those things i think are going to be very difficult. But i know one thing. We cannot do this alone. And thats why we have to be part of a larger group dealing not only with iran but with russia, with china and a whole range of other issues. Let me ask you about china if i can, madam Vice President elect. The president elect said he would not immediately remove the trump tariffs on china. Should the Chinese Government in your view be further punished for mishandling and hiding the truth about the Novel Coronavirus that began there . Well, as the president elect said, theres one president at a time. And we are not in the position of stating policy about our relationship with any of these countries at this moment. And frankly, we are early in the process sadly of getting information that is classified information, our Intelligence Briefings just started. So were not in a position to respond to that specifically. But certainly one of the things that is very clear is this is going to be an administration that puts the Public Health professionals first and not politics first and the discussion about cause, the reason and the effect of covid covid19. Jake, the president s approach to china has been backwards. My concern from the beginning, i spoke about it, and i met with xi more times than anybody had up until the time we left office that im aware of, is to make it real clear to china, there are International Rules that if you want to play by well play with you. If you dont were not going to play. Number one. Number two, its not about punishing them for the covid virus. Its about insisting that there be International Norms that are accomplished that they play by. For example, the idea that we make up about you know, 15 20 of the worlds economy, 25 . And they are and were not going along with the rest of our allies to make sure that in europe and in asia we insist that, for example, stopping the stealing of national secrets, stopping the stealing of Artificial Intelligence capacities. We have to make it clear that we will respond. For example, when youre in a situation where if you want to do business in china and youre a hightech firm youve got to have a 51 chinese partner so they have access to your thats not going to happen in our administration. Thats not going to happen. President trump is reportedly considering a wave of preemptive pardons for his Adult Children and for rudy giuliani. Hes also floated the idea in private conversations according to our reporting of possibly pardoning himself, which he insists he has the power to do though that has never been litigated. Does this concern you . All these preemptive pardons. Well, it concerns me in terms of what kind of precedent it sets and how the rest of the world looks at us as a nation of laws and justice. But look, our Justice Department is going to operate independently on those issues, how to respond to any of that. Im not going to be telling them what they have to do and dont have to do. Im not going to be saying go prosecute a, b, or c. Im not going to be telling them thats not thats not my Justice Department. Its the peoples Justice Department. So the persons or persons i pick to run that department are going to be people who are going to have the independent capacity to decide who gets prosecuted, who doesnt. Now, in terms of the pardons, youre not going to see in our administration that kind of approach to pardons. Nor are you going to see in our administration the approach to making policy by tweets. You know, its just going to be a totally different way in which we approach the justice system. During the primary last year, madam Vice President elect, you told npr that the Justice Department would have no choice but to prosecute President Trump and that there has to be accountability. How does that square with what the president elect just said about not telling the Justice Department to go after individuals . We will not tell the Justice Department how to do its job. And we are going to assume, and i say this as a former attorney general, elected in california, and i ran the second Largest Department of justice in the United States. That any decision coming out of the Justice Department, in particular the United States department of justice, should be based on facts, it should be based on the law, it should not be influenced by politics, period. I guarantee you thats how it will be run. The second gentlemantobe resigned from his law firm to avoid even the appearance of impropriety. When your son hunter came under scrutiny during the campaign you vowed, no one in my family or associated with me will be involved in any foreign operation whatsoever, period, end of story. Will your brothers . Will your son take leave from any business interests . Not just foreign but any business interests that might create any even appearance of impropriety. My son, my family will not be involved in any business, any enterprise that is in conflict with or appears to be in conflict with where theres appropriate distance from the president and government. President trump has not said whether hes going to attend your inauguration yet. Do you think its important that hes there . Youre laughing. I think it would important only in one sense. Not in a personal sense. Important in the sense that we are able to demonstrate at the end of this chaos that hes created that there is peaceful transfer of power with the competing parties standing there shaking hands and moving on. I think thats important. What i worry about, jake, more than the impact on the domestic politics, i really worry about the image were presenting to the rest of the world. You know, the rest of the worlds looked at us, and youve heard me say this a number of times, and i apologize for repeating it. They followed us not just because of the example of our power. The power of our example. And look we are we are now in the world. Look how were viewed. Theyre wondering my lord, these things happen in tinhorn dictatorships. This is not the United States. In that sense the protocol of the transfer of power i think is important but it is totally his decision and its of no personal consequence to me but i do think it is for the country. Youve been in public life for more than half a century. This is your third run for president. And you made it. You made it. What does it feel like . Especially at this moment when this nation is in any number of crises including the covid crisis. What does it feel like . Are you daunted . Are you worried . Are you fearful . Are you exhilarated . Whats the emotion that goes through you . Im determined. And im confident that what ive said from the outset, ive never changed my view this whole campaign for almost going on 600 days, exactly what had to be done. We have to restore the soul of this country, meaning honor, decency, honesty, basic, basic fundamental decency. The second thing we have to rebuild the backbone of this country, the middle class, and this time bring everybody along. And thirdly, we have to unite the country. Theyre all going to be difficult to do, but ive never veered from those three principles. And so i look at it as an opportunity to make an incredible contribution to the country. But i am not as i said to you on other interviews, ill take responsibility. When i fail, ill acknowledge it. And i will not deny that i made a mistake. And ill move on. This is a little bit not unlike what happened in 1932. Theres a fundamental change not only taking place here in the United States but around the world. Were in the middle of the Fourth Industrial Revolution where theres a real question of whether or not all that changed is technology. What will be the middle class . What will people be doing . And theres genuine, genuine anxiety. Thats why youre going to see me reaching out, continue to reach out not just to the communities that supported me. Im going to reach out to those who didnt support me. I mean, for real. Because i think a lot of people are just scared and think theyve been left behind and forgotten. Were not going to forget anybody in this effort. What goes through your mind as he prepares to take on the most important job in the world and the outgoing president is lying about fraud, spreading spending his time really focused entirely on trying to undermine him, whether thats the result of what hes doing or the purpose, i dont know, when he says that its possible when its reported that its possible hell announce that hes running for office to run in 2024 on Inauguration Day. What goes through your mind . I believe that we are all very fortunate that joe biden is going to be the next president of the United States. The American People deserve in their president to have someone who is truly patriotic, who loves our country, who puts the people of the country first, not themselves. Thats joe biden. Joe biden is truly a kind human being. Joe biden is someone who has endured real struggle and sacrifice and pain. He also is someone who knows love. He is someone who has dedicated his life to public service. And there couldnt be a more extreme exercise in stark contrast between the current occupant of the white house and the next ok pantd of the white house. And i do believe our country is going to be better for the outcome of this election and the election of joe biden as president. Madam Vice President elect, mr. President elect, thank you so much for this interview. Thank you, jake. Obviously im sure everybody watching wishes you the best of luck in terms of beating back covid, getting the economy back on track. So best of luck to both of you. And thanks again. Thank you. Thank you. Im sure were going to see a lot of one another. Our cnn special event continues. What happened after our interview . Stay with us. Were all finding ways to keep moving. But how do we make sure the direction were headed is forward . At fidelity, youll get the planning and advice to prepare you for the future, without sacrificing the things that are important to you today. 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Wire, weve had to rethink our whole approach. Were going to give togetherness. Logistically, its been a nightmare. Im not sure its going to work. Itll work. I didnt know you were listening. And welcome back to the cnn special event, the first joint interview. We covered a lot of ground in our exclusive interview with president elect joe biden and Vice President elect Kamala Harris. Let me bring in don lemon whos going to pick up our coverage now. What stood out to you the most . There was a lot, jake. I think and you can relate to this, im sure it feels like we are watching interviews or president elect and a president who are on earth one and earth two. And at this particular earth that is in reality was very normal, very safe, very sedate. And it was welcoming news. It was good to watch. It was good to actually get content. We heard no fake news. We heard no conspiracy theories. We heard no personal grievances. We heard a president elect and a Vice President who want to work with the other side. And when you asked him i thought this was a very important question and a great answer from him. When you said, is it important that the current president is at your inauguration, and he laughed and everyone knew what he was thinking. And then he went on to give i thought was a great answer. He said, its important to the country that the country sees a smooth transition. That is what we need, jake. Yeah, i mean there certainly was a lot of the right answers in terms of the Justice Department is not mine, its the peoples Justice Department. And im not going to do this. Im not going to do that. And obviously well see. The proof will be in the pudding. But yeah, it was also, i have to say, interviewing him, its different. You dont have to really steel yourself for the potential reaction when you bring up uncomfortable subjects such as when i asked Vice President elect harris about something she had said that contradicted president elect biden. When i president elect about his brothers and his son. You asked about his family, was beau going to be, any of his family members. You brought hunter up excuse me, hunter, not beau. You brought him up. He answered it plainly and distinctly. Nobodys going to do any business deals that create the appearance of inpropriety. Well see what happens, but there wasnt the, you know, attack that we in the forth estate have been used to. So, that was unusual. Look, he has a lot of ambitions and hopes, and hes very optimistic. He acknowledges its going to be tough, but hes optimistic about being able to get something done with the senate. He did acknowledge i said you think the fever he said it will be different after the electors vote. I said, do you think the fever is going to break in terms of so Many Republican senators havent acknowledged the basic reality that he is the president elect. He said it will with some. Even some have called and congratulated him but many wont do it in public, which we have seen over the last four years. They just wont say anything they think this president may be opposed to. Jake, when youre sitting down, we get a sense of who people are. I thought their interaction and their relationship with each other. He seemed to and correct me if im wrong rely on her a lot to sometimes complete a sentence or to get information from her. That indicates to me he will be relying on her during the presidency, during his administration. It was interesting. For instance when i noted that the naacp has been disappointed with some of his picks for the cabinet and that they want to meet with him. And he said, i am sitting down with them, and Vice President elect harris was like, yeah, tuesday. She knew she knew that. And obviously her role is not his scheduler. Shes going to be a partner with him as she says. But it was interesting and it does suggest that they are in the room together discussing these things. Also, there was an interesting moment after the interview i know you know what its like, don. You prepare all these questions and you hope to get to as many of them as you can. But obviously you dont want to get to all the things you want to. There were a number of things i wanted to ask about that i didnt get to. One of them was Veterans Issues because i care about them deeply and i know the president elect cares about them deeply. His son beau was awe veteran. And obviously his soon to be first lady jill, his wife, worked on these Veterans Issues. And we talked a lot about that after the interview. And he said to me that who they picked to be the secretary of Veterans Affairs is going to be important. Its such a difficult job. These men and women go away, and they really need an advocate. And its such a difficult job. And then the Vice President elect Kamala Harris said, and their families too. She just joined the conversation, picked their families too. A lot of spouses and kids, they dont know what to expect when their loved one gets home from war, from the theater. And, i mean, we just had a nice conversation about those issues, and it was, as you noted, normal, a normal conversation. But then also it was interesting watching them interplay in that respect. Don, thank you so much. Don, thank you so much. I throw it now over to you. Captions by vitac www. Vitac. Com great interview jake. He said hes going to be seeing more of you. I hope thats all of us here. Just me, just me. Congratulations, jake. It was a great interview. By the way, is that music . Are you at a party . What is going on . There is a music thing going on here outside the white house. Theyre blasting a lot of hip hop and rap. Thankfully the song that theyre playing right now these are protesters against President Trump. Thankfully the song theyre playing right now is g rated. They havent all been. They did it just for us. Jake, thank you. Congratulations. Ill see you soon. This is cnn tonight, im don lemon. I hope you enjoyed that interview with jake and the president elect and the Vice President elect. I certainly did. That was an exclusive interview, by the way. Lets talk about that interview and what jake and i didnt mention. We didnt talk about dr. Fauci and the coronavirus. It is raging right now tonight. And the Vice President excuse me, the president elect promising that hes going
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