In his first sit-down interview as the President of the United States, Joe Biden says he doesn’t think Donald Trump should receive intelligence briefings –– even though the courtesy has been extended to other former Presidents–– due to his “erratic behavior unrelated to the insurrection.” Deadline reports Biden joined CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell to discuss the first few weeks of his administration –– which some might describe as a hectic transitioning period given the Jan. 6 invasion on the Capitol building, an ongoing pandemic, and Trump’s upcoming impeachment hearings. A brief clip of the conversation was broadcast Friday evening (Feb. 5), and the rest will air on Face the Nation on Sunday, as well as later that day at 4 PM in advance of the Super Bowl coverage.
“You’ve called him an existential threat. You’ve called him dangerous. You’ve called him reckless,” O’Donnell told Biden. “Yeah, I have. And I believe it,” he responded. When asked what he feared most about sharing intelligence with Trump, the 78-year-old responded saying, “I’d rather not speculate out loud,” Biden said. “I just think that there is no need for him to have the intelligence briefings. What value is giving him an intelligence briefing? What impact does he have at all, other than the fact he might slip and say something?”
Videos by PopCulture.com
It’s no secret the two men’s feelings about each other. They certainly showed their true feelings once they confronted each other on the campaign trail and in the Presidential debates leading up to the recent election. Biden doesn’t seem to be backing down on his previous stance about Trump, admitting he still doesn’t think the former Apprentice host was cut out for the Oval office. He remained quiet on if he thought Trump should be found guilty in his upcoming Senate trial, which is scheduled to begin on Tuesday. “I ran like hell to defeat him because I thought he was unfit to be president,” Biden said in the interview. “I’ve watched what everybody else watched, what happened when that– that crew invaded the United States Congress. But– I’m not in the Senate now. I’ll let the Senate make that decision.”
The new President also made further comments on the upcoming round of stimulus checks. While he says the figures for qualifying individuals are still up in the air until Congress comes to an agreement, “it’s somewhere between an individual making up to $75,000 and phasing out, and a couple making up to $150,000 and then phasing out.”
