GIVE THEM A REASON TO WANT A
VACCINE.
A RETURN TO NORMALCY.
>> LETS MOVE TO POLITICS NOW,
WHICH IS ACTUALLY CONNECTED TO
THIS.
THE LATEST POLLING SHOWS
PRESIDENT BIDENS APPROVAL
RATING HOLDING STRONG AS HE
APPROACHES THE 100-DAY MARK.
HE IS AT 53% APPROVAL ON THE
LATEST NBC NEWS POLL.
52% APPROVAL ON THE NEW
"WASHINGTON POST"/ABC NEWS POLL.
AND 58% IN THE CBS U.GOV SURVEY.
ACCORDING TO NBC NEWS NUMBERS,
THAT PUTS HIM AHEAD OF PRESIDENT
TRUMPS FIRST 100 DAYS, BUT
BEHIND PRESIDENT OBAMASES AND
GEORGE W. BUSH.
PRESIDENT BIDEN ALSO RECEIVED
HIGH MARKS FOR HIS HANDLING OF
THE COUNTRYS MOST PRESSING
ISSUES.
ON THE PANDEMIC, HIS APPROVAL IS
AT 69% IN THE NBC NEWS POLL.
"THE WASHINGTON POST" SURVEY
PUTS HIM AT 64%, AND THE CBS
POLL AT 65%.
THE CBS NEWS POLL ALSO SHOWS 72%
OF AMERICANS APPROVE OF HOW HES
HANDLED THE VACCINE
DISTRIBUTION.
WHEN IT COMES TO THE ECONOMY,
BOTH NBC NEWS POLL AND
"WASHINGTON POST"/ABC POLL HAVE
HIM AT 52% APPROVAL.
THE CBS/U.GOV POLL IS AT 57%.
THE PRESIDENTS INFRASTRUCTURE
AND JOBS PLAN IS ALSO POPULAR
WITH MOST AMERICANS.
59% SUPPORT THE PROPOSAL IN THE
NBC NEWS POLL, 52% IN "THE
WASHINGTON POST" POLL, AND 58%
FROM CBS NEWS.
THE SITUATION AT THE SOUTHERN
BORDER CONTINUES TO TAKE A POLL
ON THE PRESIDENTS IMMIGRATION
RATINGS.
59% DISAPPROVE OF HOW HES
HANDLING IMMIGRATION, ACCORDING
TO THE NBC NEWS POLL.
"THE WASHINGTON POST" SHOWS 53%
DISAPPROVAL AND THE CBS POLL,
57% DISAPPROVAL.
>> JONATHAN LEMIRE, WE SAW 100
DAYS IN WITH PAST PRESIDENTS,
STILL, THESE NUMBERS ARE VERY
HIGH COMPARED TO WHAT WEVE SEEN
OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS. THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION DOING
THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION DOING
VERY WELL IT COMES TO THE
ECONOMY, ON INFRASTRUCTURE, BUT
100 DAYS, IN, I SUSPECT THEYRE
HAPPY WITH WHERE THEY ARE.
TELL US ABOUT IT AND WHAT YOU
PLAN TO HEAR FROM THE PRESIDENT
WHEN HE SPEAKS ABOUT HIS FIRST
100 DAYS THIS WEEK.
>> 100 DAY MARK HAS BECOME AN
ARTIFICIAL ARBITRARY, A MOMENT
TO TAKE STOCK OF A YOUNG
ADMINISTRATION.
AND THESE POLL NUMBERS ARE ONES
THAT HEARTEN THE WHITE HOUSE.
IVE BEEN TALKING TO PEOPLE
INSIDE THE WEST WING IN RECENT
DAYS LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS
WEEK.
WE KNOW THAT THE PRESIDENT IS
GOING TO ADDRESS CONGRESS TO
MARK THE HUNDRED DAYS.
HES GOING TO UNVEIL THE SECOND
PART OF HIS INFRASTRUCTURE AND
JOBS PLAN THAT NIGHT.
THIS IS MORE ABOUT THE PEOPLE
PIECE OF THIS, OF INFRASTRUCTURE
AND JOBS, RATHER THAN THE
TRADITIONAL HIGHWAYS, SUBWAYS,
BROADBAND, WHICH WE SAW HIM
UNVEIL A FEW WEEKS AGO.
AND BASICALLY, THE PRESIDENT AND
HIS ADVISERS BELIEVE THAT HE WAS
ELECTED AND HIS FIRST THREE PLUS
MONTHS IN OFFICE WERE ABOUT TWO
CENTRAL THINGS.
FIRST, TO SIMPLY NOT BE
PRESIDENT TRUMP ANYMORE, WHO WAS
SO DIVISIVE, WHOSE LEADERSHIP
DURING THE PANDEMIC WAS
SCATTERSHOT, TO PUT IT KINDLY.
TO SOMEONE WHO HAD REALLY TURNED
UP THE TEMPERATURE IN
WASHINGTON.
AND MY COLLEAGUES AND I AT THE
AP HAVE BEGUN LOOKING AT WHAT
THIS PRESIDENT HAS DONE IN THE
LAST THREE MONTHS, AND ITS
ABOUT TAKING THE TEMPERATURE
DOWN.
ITS ABOUT BEING QUIETER, ABOUT
BEING A LITTLE BIT LESS OF A
PRESENCE IN AMERICANS EVERYDAY
LIVES.
THEREFORE WE DO HEAR FROM HIM IN
BIG MOMENTS, LIKE WHEN HE MARKED
THE HALF MILLION DEAD FROM
COVID, OR THE ONE-YEAR
ANNIVERSARY OF THE LOCKDOWN AND
AGAIN WEDNESDAY NIGHT, HIS WORDS
CARRY MORE MEANING.
HES ABLE TO TALK ABOUT THE
GRIEF AND THE STRUGGLES THAT
AMERICANS HAVE HAD OVER THE LAST
YEAR, BECAUSE HIS OWN LIFE HAS
BEEN EFUSED WITH MUCH STRATEGY
AND THE ROAD AHEAD.
AND THE SECOND PIECE IS THE
VACCINES AND THE HANDLING OF THE
PANDEMIC.
AND HOW THE DISTRIBUTION HAS
REALLY RAMPED UP.
AND HOW NOW MY AMERICAN ADULT
WHO WANTS ONE CAN GET ONE.
THEY STILL, THEY KNOW THAT THERE
ARE POPULATIONS THAT NEED TO BE
CONVINCED TO TAKE IT, BUT THE
PRESIDENT HAS RECEIVED STRONG
MARKS FOR HIS LEADERSHIP OF THE
PANDEMIC SO FAR, AND THEY
BELIEVE THEY CAN BUILD OFF THIS
FOR THE NEXT HUNDRED DAYS.
>> ANNE APPLEBAUM.
HE HAS BEEN TRYING TO BE MORE
MODERATE TEMPERAMENTALLY, TO
LOWER THE TEMPERATURE, BUT YOU
DIG INTO THESE NUMBERS AND YOU
SEE THE KIND OF TRIBALISM THAT
YOUVE TALKED ABOUT, THAT HAS
LED TO LIBERAL FORCES GLOBALLY
OVER THE PAST FIVE TO TEN YEARS
AND YOU SEE JOE BIDEN HAVE LOWER
APPROVAL RATINGS AMONG
REPUBLICANS AND HIGHER
DISAPPROVAL RATINGS AMONG
REPUBLICANS IN SOME OF THESE
POLLS THAN EVEN BARACK OBAMA.
THE TRIBALISM HERE, JUST AS
FIERCE OR PERHAPS EVEN MORE
FIERCE, DESPITE HIS HIGHER
NUMBERS.
>> IM AFRAID THATS SOMETHING
THAT WILL BE WITH US FOR SOME
TIME.
THE POLARIZATION THAT EXISTED
BEFORE PRESIDENT TRUMP DEEPENED
DURING HIS PROTEST.
AND THERES A LARGE PART OF THE
REPUBLICAN PART THAT SEES THIS
AS AN ADVANTAGE.
THEY THINK THAT THEY CAN WIN
OFFICE OR WIN VIEWERS OR WIN
ATTENTION BY DEEPENING IT, BY
FOCUSING ON CULTURE WAR ISSUES,
BY KEEPING PEOPLE IN A STATE OF
ANGER AND FRUSTRATION AND
KEEPING EMOTIONS RAISED.
AND AS LONG AS THATS THE WAY
THEYRE DOING POLITICS, IM
AFRAID THOSE DIVISIONS WILL
CONTINUE.
ONE OF THE BEST ANTEANECDOTEECDO
THAT KIND OF DIVISIVE CULTURE
WAR POLITICS IS THE FOCUS ON
REAL THINGS, WHETHER ITS
INFRASTRUCTURE, WHETHER ITS
BUILDING ROADS AND BRIDGES,
WHETHER ITS GETTING PEOPLE
VACCINES, WHETHER ITS, YOU
KNOW, ANYTHING THAT PEOPLE FEEL
IN THEIR REAL LIVES.
THE MORE BIDEN CAN GET PEOPLE TO
LOOK AT THOSE THINGS AND THINK
ABOUT THEM AND TALK ABOUT THEM,
THE BETTER OFF WELL ALL BE.
I THINK HES DONE A PRETTY GOOD
JOB SO FAR, BUT, AGAIN, KEEPING
THE FOCUS, KEEPING THE
CONVERSATION ABOUT REALITY AND
NOT ABOUT EMOTION, NOT ABOUT,
YOU KNOW SYMBOLS, THIS IS A WAY
IN WHICH HE CAN BEGIN TO PULL
THE NATION TOGETHER.
>> IF SOMEBODY HAD ACTUALLY JUST
COME OUT OF THE WOODS AFTER
SLEEPING LIKE RIP VAN WINKEL FOR
TEN YEARS, THEY MIGHT HEAR YOU
SAY, TALK ABOUT REAL THINGS,
WHAT ELSE WOULD THEY BE TALKING
ABOUT?
OF COURSE, THERE WE GO AGAIN TO
THE POLITICS OF GESTURE THAT
WEVE SEEN, AS YOUVE WRITTEN
ABOUT SO ELOQUENTLY IN POLAND
AND HUNGARY AND WHAT WE SAW HERE
WITH DONALD TRUMP, WHETHER IT
WAS BUILDING A WALL, WHICH HE
NEVER EVEN WHEN REPUBLICANS WERE
IN CHARGE, THEY REALLY DIDNT
EVEN WANT TO FUND THAT WALL.
WHETHER IT WAS THAT HEALTH CARE
PLAN THAT WAS ALWAYS TWO WEEKS
AWAY FROM BEING LAUNCHED.
WHETHER IT WAS ATTACKS AGAINST
THESE NEFARIOUS FORCES THAT
DIDNT REALLY EXIST.
THIS IS, AGAIN, THERE IS SUCH A
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE POLITICS
AND THE GOVERNING BY GESTURE
VERSUS GETTING TO 200 MILLION
SHOTS INTO PEOPLES ARMS AND
BUILDING -- YOU KNOW, GETTING
PLANS TO BUILD INFRASTRUCTURE,
SO BUILD A NEW ELECTRIC GRID.
SO MANY THINGS DIFFERENTLY
DOMESTICALLY HAPPENING.
ED LUCE, IM JUST WONDERING,
THOUGH, LETS GO FROM HIS FIRST
HUNDRED DAYS DOMESTICALLY TO HIS
FIRST ONE HUNDRED DAYS ON THE
FOREIGN POLICY SIDE.
YES, YOU SEE CONFRONTATIONS WITH
CHINA, YOU SEE CONFRONTATIONS
WITH RUSSIA, YOU SEE HIM DRAWING
THE LINES IN SOME AREAS.
AT THE SAME TIME, YOU ALSO HEAR
OF OVERTURES QUIETLY TO RUSSIA,
POSSIBILITIES, OVERTURES TO
CHINA.
AND OVER THE PAST WEEK OR SO,
WEVE SEEN BOTH OF THESE
COUNTRIES, BOTH OF THESE RIVALS,
RUSSIA MORE OF AN ADVERSARY, WE
SEE BOTH OF THEM RESPONDING IN A
WAY THAT MAY PRESENT AN OPENING.
>> YEAH, THATS RIGHT.
THE RUSSIA ONE IS PARTICULARLY
PROBLEMATIC, AS YOU KNOW, PUTIN
HAD 100,000 TROOPS ON UKRAINES
BORDER UP UNTIL THE END OF LAST
WEEK AND THANKFULLY HAS CALLED
THEM BACK.
ALEXEI NAVALNY, THE DISSIDENT
WHO WAS ON HUNGER STRIKE HAS
ALSO CALLED OFF HIS HUNGER
STRIKE, SO THE TEMPERATURE HAS
DOWN A LITTLE BIT THERE AND
PUTIN MAY BE IN MORE OF A
POSITION TO ACCEPT BIDENS
INVITATION FOR A SUMMIT WITH
HIM.
I DONT THINK THERES GOING TO
BE ANY SORT OF TALK OF A RESET
OF RELATIONS WITH RUSSIA UNDER
BIDEN.
HE HAS CALLED PUTIN A KILLER.
HES MADE THAT VERY PLAIN.
HES SAID EARLIER THAT HES
LOOKED INTO PUTINS SOUL AND
DISCOVERED HE DOESNT HAVE A
SOUL, IN CONTRAST TO WHAT GEORGE
W. BUSH SAID MANY YEARS AGO.
THIS IS GOING TO BE A VERY
DIFFICULT, PROBABLY INSOLUBLE
PROBLEM, ONE THAT BIDEN JUST HAS
TO MANAGE.
THE BIGGER ONE, THOUGH, IS
CHINA.
AND AGAIN, THE TENSIONS THERE
HAVE BEEN EXTREMELY HIGH.
THEYVE BEEN RATCHETING UP.
THE VULNERABILITY OF TAIWAN IS,
I THINK, THE MOST POTENTIALLY
EXPLOSIVE PROBLEM OF THE BIDEN
YEARS, BUT THEY CAN TALK ON
OTHER STUFF, LIKE CLIMATE
CHANGE, WHICH THEY DID AGAIN AT
THE END OF LAST WEEK, BIDEN HELD
A VIRTUAL CLIMATE CHANGE MEETING
THAT XI JINPING, CHINAS LEADER
ATTENDED.
JOHN KERRY, BIDENS GLOBAL
WARMING CZAR, ENVOY, HAS VISITED
CHINA.
ITS GOING TO BE A MUCH MORE
FRUSTRATING AND BACK AND FORTH
YO-YOING KIND OF FOREIGN POLICY
THAN WERE SEEING IN TERMS OF
BIDENS MUCH MORE RADICAL, MUCH
MORE AMBITIOUS DOMESTIC POLICY.
SO WERE NOT GOING TO GET TO THE
BIG HUNDRED-DAY MOMENT HERE.
BUT IT MARKS A PRETTY DRAMATIC
CONTRAST TO THE FOREIGN POLICY