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Biden defensive in rare solo news conference ahead of 1-year mark in office - ABC News

Biden defensive in rare solo news conference ahead of 1-year mark in office - ABC News

Biden defensive in rare solo news conference ahead of 1-year mark in office - ABC News
Jan 20, 2022 1 min, 59 secs

On the eve of the one-year anniversary of his inauguration, President Joe Biden held a formal news conference at the White House Wednesday, fielding reporter questions on his handling of the pandemic, the economy and his legislative agenda, characterizing the country as unified -- but not as much as it could be -- and raising eyebrows by saying Russia was likely to invade Ukraine.

Questioned at one point on the falling numbers indicating Americans are unhappy with his job performance, Biden replied bluntly, "I don't believe the polls."?

The president touted wins over the last year to kick off the news conference, including administering more than 200 million COVID-19 vaccine doses and hitting record-low unemployment rates in many states.

I call it a job not yet finished," Biden said with confidence.

In an answer to ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Mary Bruce, Biden said, at first, there's no need to scale back his agenda despite the appearance that Democrats aren't getting their priorities through -- before conceding he'd be willing to break up policy items in order to pass provisions that do have bipartisan support.

On foreign policy, Biden said for the first publicly that he thinks Russian President Vladimir Putin will likely invade Ukraine -- but warned that he would "pay a serious and dear price for it.".

Not long after Biden finished speaking, White House press secretary Jen Psaki issued a statement attempting to clarify Biden's assertion that a "minor incursion" might not elicit such a severe NATO response.

"President Biden has been clear with the Russian President: If any Russian military forces move across the Ukrainian border, that’s a renewed invasion, and it will be met with a swift, severe, and united response from the United States and our Allies.

President Biden also knows from long experience that the Russians have an extensive playbook of aggression short of military action, including cyberattacks and paramilitary tactics.

Questioned later on 2024 ambitions, Biden said Vice President Kamala Harris would be his running mate.

Wednesday's session marks just the second time Biden has held a solo formal press conference at the White House

The first such news conference was held March 25, 2021

While Biden often answers questions shouted by the press at other events, his tally of formal news conferences is the lowest for any president since Ronald Reagan, according to data from University of California Santa Barbara's American Presidency Project

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