The interview took place as Biden announced a slew of cabinet candidates, including many former Obama administration officials.
“What do you say to those who wonder if you are trying to create a third Obama term? Holt asked.
“This is not Obama’s third term. We are facing a whole different world from the one we faced in the Obama-Biden administration, ”Biden replied. “President Trump has changed the landscape.”His administration aimed to represent “the spectrum of the American people as well as the spectrum of the Democratic Party,” Biden added, agreeing that he would even consider appointing a Republican who voted for Trump.
“I want this country to be united,” Biden said.
He also said he would not use the Justice Department as my vehicle to investigate Donald Trump and his allies, despite pressure from some Democrats to secure the president’s financial dealings, and allegations he was seeking a foreign interference in the elections are still being investigated. When Trump steps down in January, he will lose the constitutional protection from prosecution afforded to a sitting president.
But Biden has said he prefers his administration to stay out of the fray. “I have read a number of state level surveys. I can’t or can’t do anything about it at all, ”Biden said.
Biden has expressed his wish to pursue a “progressive” agenda. When asked if he had consulted with progressive Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders on cabinet appointments, the president-elect said that “there is nothing really off the table” when he does. it is about knowing who he will call on to join his administration. But, he said, “taking someone out of the Senate, getting someone out of the House… is a really tough decision that will have to be made.”
While progressives hailed Biden’s decision to appoint Janet Yellen as Treasury secretary and appoint Ron Klain as chief of staff, prominent left voices including Reps Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, expressed their weariness that Biden would choose Bruce Reed, a former Biden boss. staff, to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). “We are extremely concerned about reports that Reed was one of the pioneers in leading the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Biden administration, given his history of antipathy to security programs. economy that workers rely on, ”the MP said in a statement. petition she co-signed, along with other progressive leaders.
With more announcements from back office staff on hold, Biden told Holt the team is focused on coordinating a transition, noting that the Trump administration’s outreach “was sincere.”
“They’re already working on my ability to get daily presidential briefs,” he told Holt. “We are already working on meeting the Covid team at the White House. And how to not only distribute, but also get a vaccine distributed to a person who can be vaccinated. ”
Biden will give a Thanksgiving speech from Wilmington, Delaware on Wednesday and “discuss the shared sacrifices Americans are making this holiday season and say we can and will get through the current crisis together,” according to the transition team.
This will likely be in stark contrast to Donald Trump’s turkey forgiveness today. Trump thanked healthcare workers and celebrated the progress of vaccine development, but did not offer condolences to the families of the quarter million who have died from the coronavirus.
The president-elect has taken the trouble to paint himself and his administration as foils for the Trump administration and Trump. As the president tweeted, all caps, “America First,” on Tuesday, Biden laid out at a Wilmington press conference his vision for a country “ready to rule the world, not walk away.”
He told Holt he was happy to have spoken to “over 20 world leaders”, and said: “They are really excited”.
