sandra: heard it a few moments ago. president biden was speaking life from the white house saying that the economy has made, incredible core progress. touting partnerships of private retailers and shipping companies. those costs could last, certainly through the middle of next year. time to retire transitory. let s bring in larry kudlow. where does that leave us? thank you for having me. biden sounds disjointed. biden loves to blame trump. either explicitly or implicitly. we looked at numbers for last night on the show.
we re taking in the economy, and how those actions are already starting to pay off for american families. first, however, i want to quickly reiterate what i spoke about on monday concerning omicron, the variant, and the steps we re taking to combat it. as i said, this new variant is a cause for concern, but not a cause for panic. we have the best vaccines in the world, the best medicines, the best scientists. we re learning more every single day, and we ll fight this variant with science and speed, not chaos and confusion. let me repeat what the doctors and scientists have affirmed. the best protection against omicron is getting a booster shot. right now about 135 million americans are eligible for a booster. but only about 40 million have gotten one thus far. if you re over 18 years of age, you got vaccinated before january excuse me, june 1, go get your booster shot today.
about covid and the economy continues to have twists and turns. thank you, matt, for being there for us to bring us the facts as we talk now about omicron and the impact it could have on you at home. the cdc is now looking to strengthen testing requirements for international arrivals as well as demanding the names of certain passengers. we ll talk more about that. plus, a shocking revelation from former president trump s chief of staff mark meadows. an excerpt from his new book says trump tested positive for covid three days before a debate with biden. you re in the cnn newsroom. stay right there. it worked! happy holidays from lexus. get 1.9% apr financing on the 2022 es 350. with quality that s guaranteed for life, bath fitter doesn t just fit your bath, it fits your high standards. why have over two million people welcomed bath fitter into their homes?
mansions can be lower. let me tell you something. nothing will be more expensive for american families than a no vote on the build back better plan. i feel we simply can t afford to do nothing and wait and see what happens. in the moments we face today, that just isn t a responsible course. we live in uncertain times. families are anxious about covid, the economy, the cost of living. and the way to relieve that anxiety is with consistent, determined, focused action. i started my presidency with the american rescue plan. now that law is carrying our nation forward on vaccinations, boosters, keeping our schools open and so much more. i designed it as a year-long plan because i knew we would have a lot of obstacles to overcome. next we pass the bipartisan infrastructure law because a lot of the infrastructure is crumbling. we have to prepare ourselves to compete and win the 21st century
year, two years, almost, of the impacts of a terrible virus that has caused real damage to the world economy. so i think people are in a different state of mind than they may have been during the carter years as well as the nixon years. it s just a different world. mark meadows has written a book revealing that president trump tested positive for covid three days before your first debate. do you think the former president put you at risk? i don t think about the former president, thank you. we just heard from president biden giving a speech more or less about the economy and focusing really on supply chain issues with christmas just a few weeks away. i want to bring in reporter matt egan. matt, the president tried to reassure americans that he has everything under control, saying shelves will be stocked for the holidays. is the supply chain problem