This Week with George Stephanopoulos: Sen. Chris Coons
Interview
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Well, the great news is that President Biden has a very strong record to run on, that what we've got accomplished in Congress and what he's done here at home and abroad on the world stage has made us stronger, has built a strong and recovering economy, and has put us on a great path forward -- whether it's signing into law bipartisan bills that strengthened infrastructure and manufacturing that have brought 13.5 million new high quality jobs to our economy. Or it's signing into law and now implementing the first reduction in prescription drug prices in a generation. Whether it's closing background check loopholes for guns to improve gun safety in this country or investing in community mental health, he's got a great record to run on. And, Jon, I'll just mention, we're 14 months away from the election. At the same point in 2007, similar head-to-head polls would have predicted Mitt Romney as our next president, and in 2011, would have predicted Rudy Giuliani as our next president. I may have gotten that backwards.
But the larger point was that --
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-- this far out, it doesn't actually matter what a head-to-head poll says, what matters is what your record.
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Well, Jon, as you know, our President Joe Biden says all the time: Don't compare me to the Almighty. Compare me to the alternative.
And in the Republican primary field, the alternative seems clearly to be Donald Trump. And if not Donald Trump, someone who will hold the same policies that he does, that are anti-choice, that are racing to embrace the extremism that cause January 6, and that are choosing things like the NRA over the safety of our children.
So, I think as this campaign comes into focus in the coming year, the very strong record President Biden has to run on will move those polls in a very positive direction.
There's a lot of Americans who have seen that President Biden is a seasoned, capable leader on the world stage. He's just left India where at the G-20, he demonstrated how he's masterfully pulled together 47 countries in support of Ukraine and the defense of Ukraine. Those other countries have contributed as much as we have. They are sustaining Ukraine's brave fight against Russian aggression.
Today, he's in Vietnam, taking another step in strengthening our alliances in the Indo-Pacific, where he's already shown great leadership with Australia, with Japan, with South Korea, and he's continuing in that direction.
Here at home, we have record low unemployment. Fifty years, we haven't had this low of unemployment for this long. Inflation has come down, jobs are being created. Manufacturing is being brought back to the United States and I, frankly, Jon, think all of this point in a positive direction for our president's reelection next year.
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Jon, there's no news here. This is the same charge that U.S. Attorney Weiss was preparing to go to a resolution here in the court in Delaware. He was deep in addiction, Hunter was, when he misrepresented that on a background check form. That's been publicly known for a long time. He was late on paying his taxes twice.
And in a "Reuters" poll last week, a majority of Americans, two-thirds of Americans, made it clear that they know the difference between Hunter Biden and his legal challenges and Donald Trump. Hunter Biden is not going to be on the election polls, is not standing for election next November. Donald Trump likely is, and the four different legal matters where Donald Trump has been charged with 83 counts stand in stark contrast.
As the reporter who asked that question you just played recognized, there's no ties between President Biden and his conduct as president, and these regrettable matters with Hunter Biden. Hunter is looking forward to resolving this, to moving forward with his life and his recovery.
And I frankly admire the fact that President Biden stands by his son.
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But it doesn't implicate his leadership as president, and I don't believe it will have an impact on his reelection.
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Well, I won't speak for him on that matter, but he is committed to staying out of this, to allowing the Department of Justice to conduct what has now been a five-year investigation --
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-- and to move forward with this matter as they should. And I think that stands in sharp contrast to his predecessor who interfered in lots of matters at the Department of Justice.
Joe Biden knows about the importance of the rule of law and of staying out of this particular matter and of having a hands-off approach to how the Department of Justice conducts its inquiries and its ongoing business.
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So, I would expect that about President Biden.
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