this sunday -- what kind of president will joe biden be? >> faith in our institution is held the integrity of our elections remains intact. >> we take a look at what joe biden has said through the years and on the campaign trail on foreign policy. >> someone said to me, in another interview, do you want to own afghanistan i said no, but we got to rent it for a little while here. >> domestic policy. >> we have to grow as the nation does, when the poor grow, the wealthier get wealthier. >> when we beat donald trump, we will see it look back the other way. >> a look back at the man who's reason running for decades.

>> i announce my candidacy for president of the united states of america. >> are you running for president? >> yeah, i'm running for president. >> you don't want to become president? >> i didn't say that. also, saying good-bye. >> people ask me sometimes, when do you think it will be enough when will there be enough women on the court and my answer is, when there are nine >> our annual tribute to those we lost. finally an american tradition -- >> he will be our president and we'll work with him. >> whatever our differences, they're fellow americans. >> the concession, the one speech we did not get to hear from president trump this year welcome to sunday, and a special edition of "meet the press." >> announcer: from nbc news in washington, the longest-running show in television history, this is a special edition of "meet the press" with chuck todd

good sunday morning. and i hope you are all enjoying a safe and happy and healthy holiday break. joe biden has been preparing to be president for most of his adult life he was 29 years old when he was first elected in 1972 to the u.s. senate in delaware. he's run for president in 1988, in 2008 and, of course, again this year. at the beginning of the campaign, biden was largely dismissed as the past-his-prime centrist democrat, flailing in an increasingly progressive party. biden finished fourth in iowa, and an even more embarrassing fifth in new hampshire but roughly three weeks later he lapped the field in south carolina and all but swept the super tuesday contest en route to the nomination. he beat the democrats by running to their right, and then he beat president trump by running to his left winning more 81 million votes, by far the most ever by any candidate for president.

so what kind of president will this most prepared president make we brought together nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker and former republican senator john sununu of new hampshire and former democratic senator claire mccaskill of missouri, both of whom have served with biden. we're going to look back at many of the 50 times joe biden has been on "meet the press" and other nbc news broadcasts over the years, including 2020. we will hear his thoughts on domestic policy, foreign policy. and we will begin with what he said about governing a divided nation, including a "meet the press" appearance not long after george w. bush won the controversial 2000 election. >> the vote was certified. george w. bush will be the 43rd president. senator biden, let me start with you, if they had gotten a senator to join in the protest, they would have had a challenge, if you will, to the electoral college vote why wouldn't any democratic senator join with the democratic

congress people? >> to tell you the truth, i wouldn't have asked. number two, i wouldn't have signed it. the election is over and it's time to move on. but it reflects a reality, a reality george bush has to deal with. >> the president signaled from even before the election began that he thought -- implied it wasn't going to be fair, absentee ballots, mail-in ballots, things with the post office but i was confident the american people would speak i must tell you, i wasn't confident the president would accept the voice that they sounded. >> your other hat, chairman of the judiciary committee, have you found one of the new women senators to serve on your committee? >> i have found one for certain and i intend on having two on the committee come hell or high water, there will be women on that committee. >> how about the idea of appointing the first hispanic in history? >> i think that's a great idea but it should not be a limiting idea if he has someone he likes and

somebody he thinks will foot the bill, all things being equal, pick the hispanic because we should look like an american court but do not suggest you should will be a woman, black, hispanic, whatever i hear so often the president should get his picks and if that was the case, there wouldn't be advice and consent in the constitution there are several circumstances in which the president should not get his pick one is obviously if he picks someone for a job who says they want to do away with the job i'm not going to vote for anybody who says i want to be the head of a department my purpose is to get rid of the department number two, if you have somebody for the job that communicates to the public at large that they're not likely to in an even-handed way apply the law, whatever it happens to be, whatever department, that's the reason not to i don't speak to interest groups anymore. ever since the board where i sat down, met with the civil rights groups, told them how i was going to run the hear and they walked out and held a press conference and said we told joe biden how to run a hearing, which ruined by reputation, i don't meet with them anymore,

i don't have give a damn about those groups >> it's important my administration will look like america, both from vice president to the supreme court to cabinet positions to every major position in the white house, it's going to look like america. whether i'm the absolute person, i can't guarantee you that, but i know that i'm one of the last people who gets an opportunity to make the case to him, and when he has a tough decision and he's abroad, and i'm here or vice versa, he picks up the phone and he calls i think the american people are sick of the president's self-indulgent acts and sexual acts they're also sick of our self-indulgent acts in washington of liking this process so much, we're keeping it going there's nothing you can do in history. this guy is condemned in history for the acts he committed. everyone know what's they are. they're there. they will be in the history books. >> watching president trump the last couple of weeks, what lessons do you think he learned from impeachment >> that in fact he's been

released of any shackles around him called the constitution. i have never seen anyone -- and i have about the chair of the judiciary committee for years and years. no one, no one, including richard nixon, and i was there at the end of his term, no one weaponized the department of justice. >> some democrats want investigations to go forward against president trump after he leaves office. do you support that? >> i will not do what this president does and use the justice department as my vehicle to insist that something happen. there are a number of investigations that i have read about that are at a state level. there's nothing at all i can or cannot do about that. >> i got here and a lot of old segregationists were still here. we did not engage in arguments about motive we engaged in arguments about policy and all of a sudden in the

mid-90s, it became, if you're not with us, you're not a good christian, if you're not with us, you aren't moral, the whole nature of the debate changed you had senators talking about the president of the united states from the floor called him bubba. and we wonder why that doesn't percolate through the entire society. there's not a single democrat or republican who's ever worked with me who will not look you in the eye and say biden has never, ever, ever broken his word so that's why i'm able to go up there. i don't always succeed, but i like these guys, they're my friends. a lot of these republicans are my friends. >> do you think there's a modern right wing conspiracy that has aligned against this president >> no, i don't think there's a modern right wing. i think the republican party has been taken over by the tea party. it happens those things happen. my party was taken over by the far left when i got elected in 1972

we need a strong party, when there's two, three, four people in office or a president who is in office can speak for the party, can make agreements that's what we need. when wee beat donald trump, you're going to see a great impediment taken out of the way. we need to heal the red and blue here, man. red states and blue states. >> i want to begin with the hits on your family, the attacks on the president, from members of congress, the fact that's what we spent three months publicly having to deal with this how has that impacted you? >> well, you know, first of all, initially they made me angry but i realized whomever was likely to be -- whomever he feared would be the victim of his affection. no manafor and secondly the term, i know how it sound to say it, but a president can't just fight a president has to be able to forgive.

i got to focus on the future i got to focus on how do we end this era of -- how do we literally restore the soul of this country it's just being eaten out, eaten away the cruelty, viciousness, the way he pits people from one another, the way he goes after people of color. my entire career i have been able to bring democrats and republicans together people say that was the old days, joe. things changed the only thing that changed is the way the politics that have been moved by some in the party just has gotten really ugly. >> give me a line from your inauguration speech. what do you tell the people on the far right, people on the far left >> i don't tell them very much i tell the 80% of the people in the middle that in fact we have to pull the country together, and we can. >> kristen welker, claire mccaskill and john sununu, welcome to all three of you. just so you know, we're going to have three chances to talk here, so i want to focus this part of our conversation on sort of joe

biden's governing style. kristen welker, here's what barack obama wrote about meeting with congressional leaders in his recent memoir. i became accustomed to the ritualistic quality of our joint meeting. the four of them would take care not to show their cards or make firm commitments their comments often sprinkled with thinly veiled recommendations. their comment only a desire to be somewhere else. he's writing about four people at one time. one can't help but wonder if president obama himself did not enjoy those meetings that is the exact opposite tact of joe biden. >> i think that's a great point, chuck, that is the exact opposite of joe biden. he enjoys those meetings and enjoys reaching across the aisle. he talks about the good working relationship he has with senator majority leader mitch mcconnell. that, of course, is going to be critical mitch mcconnell and joe biden have now acknowledged that they have spoken and that they are

going to move forward and try to get things done. that's going to be a real challenge. and biden knows his first and biggest challenge is going to be unity. so i think you're going to see him try to focus on trying to get some legislation passed that will have bipartisan support, like a stimulus bill, chuck. >> you know, claire mccaskill, going back to our recent president, there's not been one in my lifetime that actually likes congress they love -- every one of them complained about it. you have to go back to lbj, who seemed to love working with congress, right? knew how to love the senate. biden is like an lbj in his love for the senate can he use that to actually get things done? >> well, he knows how it works, and he enjoys the personal relationships. keep in mind, chuck, there are going to be three democratic senators from states that trump won handily, and there's going to be somewhere between three

and five republican senators from states that biden won handily. that group of senators is going to be where joe biden has his opportunity to put together a 51 margin that can go around mitch mcconnell if he is leader in terms of getting things to the floor and actually getting a bipartisan deal done that's what he will be focused on >> john sununu, we've seen it already, washington's favorite new odd couple is going to be joe and mitch. you can see these headlines. here it is, going to be the most important relationship in washington it's interesting, here's what mcconnell put in his book about why he preferred working with biden over obama and he wrote this, "the reason we could get a deal done and i could work with joe was that we could talk to each other i could tell him how far i could go and how he could reciprocate. unlike obama, joe made no effort to convince me that i was wrong or i held an incorrect view of the world. he simply took my politics as a

given and i did the same." i heard this critique before from many senators, even democratic ones, involving president obama, regarding president bush senators want to be taken at face value, do they not? >> well, if they are going to be effective, their word does have to mean something. you've seen in your personal experience how much it means to joe biden. love him or hate him, he's committed to that. it's not enough just to know the senate, but he's actually chaired important hearings he's negotiated important deals. he really has participated in the process and done so effectively because of the characteristics you described. and you cannot overemphasize the importance of this relationship between mcconnell and the president-elect. because the only way anything will get done is if the president-elect -- president joe

biden negotiated with mitch mcconnell, comes to an agreement, that agreement moves through the senate and then it's accepted by the house. it's 51 votes means nothing in the senate to disagree a little bit with claire, it will take an agreement with mitch mcconnell, majority of republican and majority of democrat votes more than 60 votes to beat any potential filibuster that's the agreement that has a chance of getting signed into law. nothing else. >> kristen welker, what does the incoming biden administration, how do they view -- obviously the georgia runoffs could change the trajectory but are they assuming that no matter what, mcconnell is going to be a hurdle so they have to figure out how to work with him? >> they are, chuck, i think that's absolutely right no matter what happens in georgia, obviously. biden's been campaigning in georgia. he would like to win those two senate seats there but he's banking on the fact that that might not happen

how is he going to move forward with his agenda? how is he going to get it passed look, there's going to be pressure on mcconnell too. this is obviously country that needs economic relief so that could be a pressure point for mcconnell. their relationship though, chuck, does go back as we've been discussing, mcconnell talking about the fact that he trusts joe biden but the question is, how do you move beyond the areas of bipartisanship okay, if they can get a stimulus deal done, how do they get infrastructure done? is that a potential other opportunity? i think that biden is going to be looking for those openings, particularly in the first 100 days that he is in office, chuck, to try to set the tone. remember, he's got to also answer to his progressive base as well and there could be complications with legislation there. >> i was just going to say, claire, he got criticism for giving mcconnell too much back when you were in the senate during one of the deals that he cut. how does he strike that balance without getting progressives

coming after him >> well, first of all, progressives are going to want to get something done. they're going to want to get something done on infrastructure they're going to want to get something done on a stimulus, serious economic package moving forward past the pandemic. and the reason i talked about 51 votes is just look what happened on this last covid aid, a group of bipartisan senators got together and mcconnell got worried there were 51 that could force a vote on the floor around him, and then he finally moved i'm talking about 51 senators as leverage to force mcconnell to allow something to get on the calendar and get on the floor for an actual debate and vote. >> i'm going to pause the conversation there don't worry, john, you'll get a chance to respond as well. and we will also take a look at what joe biden has said over the years about domestic policy, starting most importantly with health care. >> will the president sign a bill that does not include a public plan as an alternative to private insurance?

>> again, we've made it clear that we think there should be a public plan. the question is, what is the public plan? is the public plan just medicare, is that the public plan do you add everybody on to medicare who is going to need help or is the public plan something further down the continuum >> this idea i'm not the progressive in the race. my lord, if i get elected president of the united states with my position on health care, my position on global warming, my position on foreign policy, my position on the middle class, this will go down as one of the most progressive administrations in american history. but what you're up against are things that are almost fanciful, like medicare for all. part of being president is not just the idea you have, can you get it done? have you ever done anything big? have you ever been able to put together coalitions? >> the american public is really strong and tough first thing we should do is listen to the scientists secondly, we should tell them the truth, unvarnished truth the american people have never shied away from being able to deal with the truth.

the worst thing you can do is raise false expectations and watch them get dashed. and then they begin to lose confidence in their leadership we should tell the truth as best we know it, as best the scientists know it we should let them speak and we should do all in our power to confine the spread of this disease. for example, we need significantly more testing kits across america. >> the attorney general and i sat down and actually wrote the crime bill we got them to sign line by line i think quite frankly, there were a lot of meetings in the white house and oval office in november with me and senator mitchell and others indicating that the president said unless he got personally involved in it, it was not likely to move through the house. we passed this crime bill, so-called underlying biden crime bill, we passed this last year and still don't have a bill to his desk part of what the president put in place are working he had 100,000 cops and started to put them in the streets, the

prisons, he's done that. all of the parts that deal with adult populations are working. the vast, vast majority of police are honorable decent men and women who risk their lives every single day when they put on that badge and walk out that door they have a right to come home safely but there's bad apples profession there's lousy commentators, presidents, senators, and they should be -- i don't know of any police department around who isn't happy to get rid of a lousy cop because it just reflects on them by the way, the same with the protesters there's a right to protest peacefully but once you pick up a bat and start smashing windows, once you light something on fire, once you engage in violence, you should be addressable and held accountable. we have to start by addressing the excessive use of force by police, banning choke holds and no-knock warrants. we will bring in police and the community to talk about what we

have to do we have this whole thesis it seems it me from the other side if you concentrate more wealth and wealth and wealth and success in the very top, somehow something positive's going to happen we always moved forward as a nation when the middle class grows. when they grow, the poor have access and wealthy get wealthier. >> i'm going to make a commitment in the next 100 days. i will send an immigration bill to the united states senate with a pathway to citizenship for over 11 million undocumented people the chairman of the board of general motors when i told her my climate plan said i'm all in. i'm in as did the ibw and other folks there because they figured out it's a way to create jobs. >> what's your message to other businesses >> across the board, this is the way we can create significant economic growth for people. >> when you came to the senate, you believed that roe v. wade

was not correctly decided and that you also believe that the right of abortion was not secured by the constitution. why did you change your mind >> i was 29 years old when i came to the united states senate, and i have learned a lot. look, tim, i'm a practicing catholic and it is the biggest dilemma for me in terms of comporting my -- my religious and cultural views with my political responsibility and the decision that i have come to is roe v. wade is as close to what we're going to be able to get as a society that incorporates the general lines of debate within christian and judaism and other faiths, where it basically says, there is a sliding scale relating to viability of the fetus. >> considering the new supreme court nomination of amy coney barrett, what are your plan plans to protect women's reproductive rights in the u.s.? >> number one, we don't know exactly what she will do although the expectation is she

may very well overrule roe but the only responsible response that would be to pass legislation making roe the law of the land. we already have a law, defense of marriage act. we voted, or others voted in the senate, marriage is between main and woman and states must respect that nobody's violated that law there's been no challenge to that law why do we need a constitutional amendment? who do you love and will you be loyal to the person you love and that's what people are finding out is what all marriages at their root are about, whether they are marriage of lesbians or day men or heterosexuals. >> you're comfortable with same-sex marriage now? >> look, i am vice president of the united states of america the president sets the policy. i am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men,

women marrying women and hetro sexual men and women are entitled to the same exact right, all of the civil rights, all of the civil liberties and, quite frankly, i don't see much of a distinction beyond that. >> well let's bring back our panel. kristen, i want to start with you. you're covering the biden team very closely i know they won't say this publicly but, look, you get one shot at doing something big in that first term and other than covid being i think priority one, covid and the vaccinations, what is the one big thing they hope to get done this administration >> i think you have to look at health care, chuck, first. i think that's one of the big reasons why he got elected, his promise to build on obama care his promise to lower mediums and his promise to have a public option that people could buy into of course, that's going to be think a big battleground, that area progressives are going to

want that in any big piece of legislation, and you're going to have conservates wiv are going to fight against that. so i tnk thit's one of the things he will be pushing for. if i could have two, chuck, i will would say climate change. he has a $2 trillion climate change bill he wants to get through. it's big he has a climate czar in john kerry. i think that's the other piece of information he's looking for. >> you stole my thunder a little bit there, that was basically the second big piece i wanted go john sununu, where are republicans in your mind obligated to work with biden on the domestic side of things? >> i don't think it's a question of whether they're obligated, i think it's where the opportunities are. and the opportunities are on executing and completing the work that needs to be done on the pandemic, infrastructure was mentioned, taxes are mentioned because there are tax provisions that are going to expire and result in significant tax increases in the next couple of years, if they're not extended those are opportunities and they are actually quite important economically

quite frankly, if he decides to spend all of his time on health care or try to legislate climate change, they're going to waste time, they're going to instill division and all of that talk about unity is going to go right down the drain because that is simply not the way to do it. the good news is, as your clip showed, joe biden has never really been bound by any rigid, ideological principles one senator's flip-flops are another senator's evolution. and that can be strange. that provides real opportunity for the kinds of negotiations led by mitch mcconnell through the senate and enables you to get things that you can send to the house that can get to the president's desk the biggest challenge for him is going to be the hard left of his own party because he needs to distance himself from the crazy ideas of defund the police and medicare for all and the green new deal if he's unsuccessful, if the left and the house feels

empowered, they can prevent anything from happening because they're going to have to accept a lot of compromise. and i was a republican in the house when we had the majority at a time when we had to suck up a lot of compromise that came our way from the senate. but it's the only way to get things done. >> claire mccaskill, respond to john sununu there. he said look, if he goes and targets health care and climate, it's going to be a fight and it's going to be hard. i'm sitting there going, okay, let's say joe biden's running for re-election and the convention in atlanta in 2024, what is the accomplishment he's got to have both on health care and climate, to feel good about having a successful, domestic agenda >> i think it's to be determined but let's keep in mind one thing, chuck, that is we've just had a president who used executive powers beyond all

realm of one's imagination before the days of donald trump. and i don't think that joe biden will ever go as far as donald trump went with executive power. but trump has shown that you can do things as radical as taking money from the pentagon to build a domestic project without congressional approval he tried to wipe out all kinds of immigration law just with the stroke of a pen. so that is in joe biden's back pocket and i know the republicans will scream executive power abuse just like they're probably going to scream deficit, even though they were quiet as a mouse about deficits and executive power over the last four years. >> no, i do think that a lot of people are going to have to change their outrage talking points on different channels we shall see let me pause here. we're going to do a little

foreign policy for the next round here when we come back, what we might expect from joe biden on foreign policy stick with us. are here for. i asked dale if walmart would partner with us and he said, "absolutely, let's figure out how to get this done." when you start working in an area and you're out in the stores, and in the community, you see the need. it was just the right thing to do. ♪ ♪

welcome back we can expect president-elect biden to reverse many policies president trump put in place which themselves were reversals of obama/biden administration policies but he has promised to rejoin the paris climate treaty, the nuclear deal and put an end to coziness with russia let's look at what he had to say. >> ted kennedy said voting against the war in iraq was the best vote he ever last in the 40 years in the u.s. senate is voting for the war the worst vote you ever cast in your mind? >> i don't think so. i think misunderstanding this administration is the worst miscalculation i ever made in my career

i acknowledge it was a mistake to trust he wasn't going to go to war. >> was that on him or was that on you >> well, i -- i took his word for it and i acknowledged for a long, long time it was a mistake to have given him that authority and that he abused, he wasn't supposed to do that. so that was my fault for trusting his word. >> one lesson out of my generation, and i'm 36 -- now 37 years old, so-called vietnam generation, is that we cannot conduct foreign policy in a belligerent manner without the full, total backing of the domestic population of this country. >> he's in kabul, afghanistan, spent the last four days in the war zone. >> someone said to me in another interview do you want to own afghanistan? i said no, but we've got to rent it for a little while here this government needs at least two years in order to be able to put together an afghan army. >> ten years, mr. vice president, can't you just say straight if we're winning or losing don't the american people deserve to know something about where we stand

>> one thing i have never been accused of is not being straight we are making progress are we making significant progress fast enough the answer remains to be seen. >> the answer is that i think as it goes on week after week, the prospects increase, not diminish, we will successfully gain the release of the hostages i think the president is acting precisely the way he should. i think there's a logical progression and i think it will result in the release of the hostages but i have no crystal ball god only knows. >> is this president going to be the one who allows iran to go nuclear or be the one who stopped it >> he's going to be the one who stopped it god willing we're not going to allow iran to go nuclear any more than the rest of the world will allow iran to go nuclear what we're going to do is bring together the rest of the world to see to it iran will not be able to get a nuclear weapon period we had the most intrusiv specter in the nuclear arms

agreement and specter in all of the places where they could process or do anything to move towards a nuclear weapon. >> what i'm worried about is this totally isolated regime with a guy who doesn't seem to understand anything is going to do something very, very stupid that ends up in a shooting war in the korean peninsula where they have 10,000 pieces of artillery that can take out a significant chunk of south korea. john kennedy, quoting a muscular democrat, john kennedy said we should never negotiate out of fear, we should never fear negotiation. we're so big and strong, the idea we're not sitting around and having an all-or-call with the leader of north korea in a private meeting and saying, jack, let's tell you what the deal is. >> one on one? >> one on one. i called for that three years ago. that's not borne out of weakness >> i spent more time with the soon-to-be president of china, vice president xi. i have never failed, including when we hosted the state department, to say human rights, human rights is critical.

>> do you think russia president putin is trustworthy >> the answer is no, no, i don't. >> it's like high ball what do you throw a high ball or send a message out to putin? >> we're sending a message we have the capacity to do it and -- >> he'll know it >> he'll know it and it will be at the time of our choosing and under the circumstances that have the greatest impact. i have taken on the castros of the world. i have taken on the putins of the world. i have taken on all of these dictators. i haven't cozied up to them. i'm the guy who's been straightforward with them. i'm the guy who lets them know it stops here, it stops with me. it stops with me as president. >> we're going to get our panel's take on all of that plus what the biden administration foreign policy is likely to look like right after this break. 1000s of miles from family.

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why is it too early to announce to the side >> you'll have to ask my wife, who's here in the audience. >> you told roll call, the capitol newspaper, you're thinking about running for president. >> i'm not running. >> are you going to run for president? >> i have not made that decision. >> but you're thinking about it? >> yes. >> which way are you leaning >> if i had to make it today with my family i would say no. if i could raise the money and there's somebody out there besides me who thinks i should be president, i'm going to run for president. if not, i'm not running for president. i am running for president. >> you're not running for president? >> i didn't say that. >> your goal to be the presumptive front-runner in march? >> yes. >> and joe biden running and not running over the course of the last 32 years. let me bring back the panel. i want to first start with foreign policy i do want to ask everybody's opinion about how does he handle

the second term question and when does he do it claire mccaskill, how would you describe what kind of foreign policy you expect joe biden to enact? how would you describe it and is there a model president to compare it to? >> he's inheriting a crisis. this hack that has occurred from russia that has filtrated a number of federal agencies and even indications into some of our most secure systems as it relates to nuclear power, he's got a crisis on his hands and it will be a opportunity to send a strong message to russia, either front street or behind the curtain where they can feel the impact of a new sheriff in town when it comes to putin and russia he will no longer coddle bad guys, and he will immediately try to strengthen our alliances around the world, those democracies that believe in the same values we believe in.

because that's really the national security of our country, how strong that alliance has been and it's been frayed over trump's irresponsibility over the last four years that's what he will get to right away and i think that will be the cornerstone of his foreign policy. >> john sununu, i expect there is a lot of opportunity here for bipartisan work by joe biden, at least when it comes to china, russia, alliance building, nato, things like that i separate out iran from that. is that a fair way to describe it >> yeah, i think that's fair i think the model is george h.w. bush i think he wants to have a foreign policy ideally that's tough but engaged, tough put consistent and honestly consistency has been a shortcoming of the trump administration i do think he has really strong frameworks to work from. setting aside trump's personality, i think the framework he has in china,

strong regime, strong enforcement regime, a china that knows we're serious about enforcement of intellectual properties and other issues, we're willing to engage on human rights, that's a good starting point for this administration. free-trade agreement for mexico that's been renegotiated includes labor and environmental provisions for the first time, has veteran force economic nixes, that's really a good framework for this administration to build on in russia you suggested it's been too cozy with russia. but the facts are we have sanctions on the north stream gas project in russia that we pushed back against assad in syria constantly we've sold armaments to ukraine to defend themselves, armaments the obama/biden administration wouldn't sell to ukraine so i think, again, even with russia, there's a strong pushback and strong framework

and even sanctions in place that they can build on. you're right, the iran nuclear agreement, i think many people, certainly many republicans and many other people who aren't republicans think it was a failure. iran continues to develop its program. the only thing that held it back has been incredible espionage and daring effort on part of israelis and others to hold back that program so i think there are too many other opportunities to get bogged down in taking sanctions off iran suddenly and trying to re-establish or renegotiate that agreement. >> kristen welker, how much political capital do you think biden is going to be willing to expend on iran >> oh, i think he sees iran as one of the top threats, so he's going to be willing to spend quite a bit. and i do think it's an area where he can find bipartisan agreement and has made it very clear he wants to re-enter the iran nuclear deal.

and the question will be what are the details? how does he do it? when you think more broadly about his foreign policy and that relationship building, really reversing the america first foreign policy, look, i think that's going to be a challenge. he knows he will have to rebuild some of the bridges that have been broken. when you think about russia, for example, what claire mccaskill was just saying i think is absolutely right i think what will be different from the start is going to be the tone yes, there have been tough sanctions against russia, but i'm told in speaking to transition officials that the tone is going to be very different from the top from the start, and they think that's going to make a difference. >> okay. >> it's impossible for the tone not to be different. and that's a good thing but it's impossible. >> on the issue of running for re-election. i hear you

on the issue of the re-election, how does joe biden avoid the constant, will he or won't he and also avoid being a lame duck >> he'll probably avoid doing a lot of shows where people will be focused on that i think he's going to really just refuse to even go there i don't think it would be very smart for him to even discuss it he's got two years of work ahead of him where he's going to get stuff done there's plenty of time for that later. by the way, chuck, the american people this year of all years are really sick of politics. >> oh, yes, that i get i won't be asking the question for two years, that i promise you. thank you to all of you. i hope you have a happy and healthy new year to my panel when we come back, some of those we lost in 2020. >> you must find a way to get in the way. you must find a way to get in trouble, good trouble, necessary trouble! needles. essential for sewing, but maybe not for people with certain inflammatory conditions. because there are options. like an "unjection™". xeljanz. the first and only pill of its kind

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politics, culture and media whom we lost in the past 12 months. >> people ask me sometimes when do you think it will be enough will there be enough women on the court? and my answer is, when there are nine ♪ ♪ >> we do not have one problem we can't solve. there's nothing too big for us they're all solvable ♪

>> i liked what i was doing. i liked work i liked stars. it was telling, and it was a joy. >> i'm jim lehrer of the "pbs newshour" and i welcome you to the first of the 2012 presidential debates ♪ >> sometimes you need to get knocked down before you can really figure out what your fight is ♪

>> i'm running for president of the united states, and i'm not running for second ♪ >> here is the host of "jeopardy!" alex trebek. ♪ >> we do not want our freedom gradually but we want to be free now! >> you must find a way to get in the way. you must find a way to get in trouble, good trouble, necessary trouble! ♪

we all have seasons in our lives where something takes us to a place where we need to ask for help; and that's what food banks are here for. i asked dale if walmart would partner with us and he said, "absolutely, let's figure out how to get this done." when you start working in an area and you're out in the stores, and in the community, you see the need. it was just the right thing to do. ♪

♪

welcome back when we look back on the trump presidency, one of the things we see for better or for worse is a trail of shattered norms, among them, the president's refusal to even make a concession speech. it's a shame because concession speeches can begin to heal our wounds and remind everyone that what unites us is greater than what divides us. concession speeches have become a staple of american democracy, dating back to 1896 when william jennings bryan sent the first known concession telegram to william mckinley over the years they have morphed from private poltie courtesies to public displays of peaceful transitions of power the first televised presidential concession speech was in 1952. >> it is traditionally american to fight hard before an election it is equally traditional to

close ranks as soon as the people have spoken. >> since then every losing major party nominee has delivered some sort of televised remarks. >> we didn't win, but we made history and that fight has just begun. >> america must always come first, so we will get behind this new president and wish him -- wish him well. >> i so wish i had been able to fulfill your hopes to lead the country in a different direction but the nation chose another leader. >> some have done it early on election night, before some polls even closed. >> i promised you four years ago that i would never lie to you, so i can't stand here tonight and say it doesn't hurt. >> in close races, they happen the day after election day. >> i would not give up this fight if there was a chance that we would prevail. >> this loss hurts, but, please, never stop believing that fighting for what's right is worth it.

>> or even over a month later, after the 2000 florida recount. >> let there be no doubt while i strongly disagree with the court's decision, i accept it. >> the speeches usually preach unity. >> we've got a president-elect he's going to have my help. >> he will be our president, and we will work with him. >> whatever our differences, we are fellow americans and please believe me when i say no association has ever meant more to me than that. >> with occasional comedy. >> tomorrow will be the first time in my life i don't have anything to do >> gerald ford suffering from laryngitis had his wife give most of the speech on his behalf. >> the president asked me to tell you that he telephoned president-elect carter a short time ago and graduated him on his victory. >> the speeches are not limited to general elections. >> the work goes on.

the cause endures. the hope still lives and the dream shall never die. >> and can even be used to set up a losing candidate's future. >> i'm as inspired and hopeful as i have ever been in my life. >> or to attack one's perceived enemies. >> you don't have nixon to kick around anymore. >> although not required by any law, the speeches represent the end of a campaign. >> we now bring it to an end tonight. >> and often a career. >> as for what i will do next, i don't know the answer to that yet. >> i plan to get very active in the grandchild business. >> i have been blessed as only a few people ever have, to help shape the destiny of this nation. >> it's not yet january 20th, so president trump still has time. that's all for today thanks for watching. we'll be back next week -- next year actually, because if it's sunday, it's "meet the press."

signed and sealed, but when will it be delivered? after a weekend of golf, president trump reversed his course and signed the covid relief bill late sunday evening. details ahead. police name a suspect in the christmas day explosion that rocked downtown nashville. new details this morning. she's been in prison since november 19th. later today lori loughlin is set to be released. worst month to date. the vaccines trickle out here