"The pandemic is over." Joe Biden affirmed with this strong response that covid had come to an end, although he later assured that "we still have a problem with the coronavirus and we are working on it".
"If you notice, no one is wearing masks, everyone seems to be in pretty good shape," Biden argued. "We lost a million people to covid. We thought about how everything changed." These statements come less than two months before the mid-term elections and at a time when his popularity is sinking in the polls.
One million dead
According to official data, 655 new deaths and 96,354 new cases were registered on September 15. In the last seven days there was an average of 391 deaths and 60,831 positives. Since the pandemic began, 1,047,741 people in the United States have lost their lives to covid and 95,412,766 people have been infected.
In an interview on CBS's 60 Minutes, the president reviewed several current issues such as his re-election, the situation in Taiwan and high inflation. This is the first interview he has given after seven months.
Inflation remains out of control
The country is going through a delicate economic situation. Inflation stood at 8.3% in August, down slightly from July (8.5%). Despite the high figure, Biden boasted that inflation has not soared in recent months:
I know it is the highest inflation in the last 40 years. But, in the last few months, we are in a situation where it did not shoot up. It was an even split.
2024 Elections
The president did not confirm his candidacy for the 2024 elections, despite his continuing intention to serve a second term as President of the United States:
Look, my intention as I said at the beginning is that I would run again," the president said. "But it's just an intention. But is it a firm decision for me to run again? That remains to be seen.
To those who say he is too old for the job and should not run, Biden said he is energetic and mentally sharp:
Watch me. And honest to God, that's all I think. Watch me. If you think I don't have the energy level or the mental acuity, then, you know, that's one thing. I respect the fact that people say, you know, "You're old," but I think it relates to how much energy you have and whether the work you're doing is one consistent with what anyone of any age would be capable of doing.
"We will defend Taiwan"
Following the controversy created after Nancy Pelosi's arrival in Taiwan, Biden assured that he would "defend the Taiwanese" in case China invaded the island:
We would defend Taiwan in the event of an unprecedented attack.
A few days ago, the State Department sold Taiwan a $1.1 billion defense package that includes anti-ship and air-to-air missiles.
