defiant defense of the operation denying it could have been handled better, insisting, and i m quoting him now, i don t think it was a failure. this as the taliban is now using gunfire and whips to block potential evacuees from reaching the kabul airport. the pentagon is acknowledging security has rapidly degraded, but america s top general insists nothing indicated the country would collapse in only 11 days. our correspondents are standing by in afghanistan, here in the united states. first, let s go to chief national affairs correspondent jeff zeleny over at the white house. first of all, tell us about this new biden interview. what is the president saying? president biden is saying for the first time that he is going to be slightly flexible on that august 31st self-imposed deadline. if all americans are not evacuated from afghanistan. but he was less clear what the time frame would be for the afghan nationals. all of the afghanistan citizens who helped the u.s. forces ov
saying he wouldn t trust them just a few weeks ago. watch. we re in contact with the taliban to insure the safe passage of people to the airport. we are monitoring for any potential terrorist threats. we intend to continue these operations over the coming days before completing our drawdown. do you trust the taliban, sir? president biden: is that a serious question? absolutely. do you trust the taliban? president biden: no, i do not. harris: however, reports on the ground are pointing to increased extreme violence in and around that airport where so many of our americans are trying to get to. this as we get horrific new images of militants reportedly beating people along the way to the airport. what we are about to show you taken by los angeles times photographers. it is disturbing, an early part of the day. i want to give you a chance to pull away. despite assurances of a kinder and gentler taliban, or one that could even be a little different, it looks the sam
plan to evacuate americans from afghanistan by the end of the month is in question. in fact, president biden just moments ago said in an interview that american troops will stay beyond the deadline until all americans are out of afghanistan. that is new. the president insisting all in that interview that he was clear-eyed about the chaos that would ensue following the u.s. departure. you don t think this auto could have been handled, this actually could have been handled better in any way? no mistakes? no. i, i have, i don t think it could have been handled in a way that we we are going to go back in hindsight and look, but the idea that somehow there is a way to have gotten out without chaos ensuing, i don t know how that happens. i don t know how that happens. so for you that was always priced into the decision. yes. bret: today, joint chiefs of staff chairman general mark milley disputed reports that u.s. intelligence predicted a swift taliban takeover in a m
it s the same one we have been getting as new data shows vaccine protection does wane over time as cases and hospitalizations keep going in the wrong direction. breakthrough cases come. welcome to meet the press daily. i m chuck todd. for the first time since the taliban took control of afghanistan military and civilian leaders will brief reporters in person this afternoon. the silence from lloyd austin and joints chief chairman milley has been notable. as we get more warnings that the white house reportedly received ahead of the troop withdrawal. many military planners were not in favor of any of this. still, multiple officials tell nbc news that top military officials are furious at biden s national security team because they wanted to start evacuating vulnerable afghans as early as may but were not allowed to do so. here at nbc, as well as other news outlets new reporting that the intelligence community warned the white house of a potential collapse and that those warn
and a scramble to find survivors after the earthquake in haiti. a live report ahead. we do begin with breaking news on two big stories, the pandemic and the response to the crisis in afghanistan. let s start with coronavirus. top health officials in the biden administration are expected to recommend that most americans get a coronavirus booster shot eight months after being fully vaccinated. for those who got the one dose johnson & johnson vaccine experts are still gathering data but it is expected that you will also need a booster. an official announcement could come this week and boosters could be started next month. health care and elderly are first in line. this is coming as new cases and hospitalizations and deaths are surging in the united states because of the delta variant. especially among the unvaccinated. let s get to this news and get some context around it. joining me now cnn chief medical correspondent sanjay gupta. how should people be thinking about these bo