Biden says there won't be a recession

TODAY IN CHICAGO. FOR MORE ON THIS ED AND ROBERT JOIN US NOW. ED AS YOU KNOW CBS NEWS SENIOR WHITE HOUSE AND POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT. ROBERT IS THE CHIEF ELECTION AND CAMPAIGN CORRESPONDENT. ED I WANT TO START WITH YOU. WE HEARD IN THE OPEN OF THE SHOW THE PRESIDENT BEFORE HE GOT TO CHICAGO CONFIDENTLY SAYING THERE'S NOT GOING TO BE A RECESSION. THAT SEEMED TO BE AMONG

THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS HE SAID. NOT JUST ABOUT THE ECONOMY NOW BUT WHERE HE THINKS ITS HEADING. >> PERHAPS MORE IMPORTANTLY WHERE IT'S HEADED BECAUSE THAT TAPE WILL BE USED AGAINST HIM IN THE COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION IN THE COMING MONTHS SHOULD THERE BE A RECESSION. THIS WHITE HOUSE REMAINS CONFIDENT THAT ONE WILL BE AVOIDED AT LEAST IN THE COMING MONTHS AND CONTINUES TO BELIEVE THAT

THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE GOING TO COME TO UNDERSTAND WHY IT IS THAT THEY THINK THE ECONOMY IS DOING SO WELL AS ALL OF THE BIG LEGISLATION HE HAS PASSED IN THE LAST TWO YEARS STARTS TO BE DONE AS THE MONEY STARTS TO GET SPENT, AS THE AIRPORTS START TO GET BUILT, AS THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS ARE DONE. IT'S JUST THAT IT HASN'T QUITE SUNK IN YET. THEY

LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT SURE, ON THE QUESTION OF WHO IS -- IS HE HANDLING THE ECONOMY WELL? HE IS MIRED IN THE 30s. WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT OTHER MORE SPECIFIC ECONOMIC AGENDA ITEMS THAT HAVE BEEN DONE OR ARE BEING DONE OR THAT HE IS PUSHING FOR, THEY POLL WELL INDIVIDUALLY WITH THE AMERICAN PUBLIC SO IT'S NOW ON THEM TO SORT OF GET IT INTO THE

BLOODSTREAM AND THE MIND SET OF AMERICANS THAT IN FACT IT IS THE PRESIDENT AND HIS ADMINISTRATION THAT IS DOING THESE THINGS. MEMBER, THESE NUMBERS ARE BAD AS WE LOOK AT THEM HERE. WE ARE LOOKING AT A RECORD LOW UNEMPLOYMENT RATE RIGHT NOW. ECONOMIC FRUIT EVEN THOUGH IT MAY NOT BE AS BIG AS IT WAS AFTER THE PANDEMIC, IT IS GROWING. INFLATION, WHILE STILL UP ABOVE THE

2% THAT THE FED WOULD LIKE IS COMING OFF OF THE HIGHS THAT WE WERE SEEING AT VARIOUS POINTS LATE LAST YEAR AND EARLY THIS YEAR. THEY ARE LIKE THEY HAVE TO GET OUT THERE NOW AND SELL THIS, UNDERSTANDING THAT THE ECONOMY WILL BE ISSUE NUMBER ONE GOING INTO NEXT YEAR. >> RIGHT AND I WANT TO LOOK AT ANOTHER PART OF OUR POLLING DATA ABOUT HOW ASSESSMENTS

OF THE PRESIDENT'S HANDLING OF THE ECONOMY BREAK DOWN BY PARTY. I WANT TO FOCUS ON THE 69% DISAPPROVAL AMONG INDEPENDENTS. OF COURSE THERE'S A PARTISAN BREAK DOWN, REPUBLICANS, 89% ARE DISSATISFIED, 67% OF DEMOCRATS APPROVE. THAT'S WHAT WE WOULD EXPECT. THE THING THAT REALLY FASCINATES ME IS THAT 69% OF INDEPENDENTS AND YOU KNOW THE WHITE HOUSE KNOWS THEY HAVE GOT TO MOVE THAT NUMBER AND AS YOU

ALSO KNOW IN POLITICS THE IDEA IS DON'T TELL, SHOW. THAT'S WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE HAS TO FOCUS ON. >> AND THE PROBLEM IS THE FRUSTRATION THEY HAVE IS THAT THEY CAN'T QUITE SHOW IT JUST YET BECAUSE NOT ALL THE SHOVELS ARE IN THE GROUND, RIGHT? NOT ALL THE HIGHWAYS HAVE BEEN REBUILT BUT FOR THAT ONE IN PHILADELPHIA THAT FELL APART A FEW WEEKS AGO BECAUSE IT

JUST SO HAPPENS TO BE LIKE THE SWING ZIP CODE IN THE SWING CITY IN THE SWING STATE THAT ALSO HAPPENS TO BE A PLACE THAT THE PRESIDENT KNOWS WELL. YOU KNOW AND ALL THE OTHER MONEY THAT'S GOING OUT NOW FOR BROAD BAND EXPANSION HE WAS TALKED ABOUT. YOU AREN'T GOING TO FEEL THAT. YOU AREN'T GOING TO SEE IT OR KNOW SOMEONE WORKING ON THAT PROJECT OR

THAT HAS WIFI WHO DIDN'T BEFORE FOR ANOTHER YEAR OR TWO. BY THEN IT MAY BE TOO LATE. THEY ARE HAVE TO GET OUT AND TALK ABOUT THIS AS MUCH AS HE CAN BUT LOOK FOR THEM TO FIND EXAMPLES OF THE SHOWING, NOT THE TELLING IN THE COMING MONTHS. THEY WILL NEED THEM IF THEY ARE GOING TO CLOSE THAT GAP. >> ROBERT, YOU TALKED TO A LOT

OF REPUBLICANS. YOU ARE A BIT OUT ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL IN ADDITION TO CONTINUING TO MONITOR THE MANY LEGAL ISSUES AROUND FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP. WHEN YOU TALK TO REPUBLICANS HOW DO THEY FEEL ABOUT THE COMING ECONOMIC DEBATE WITH BIDEN AND RE-ELECTION? >> THEY FEEL PRETTY GOOD ABOUT WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE IN A GENERAL ELECTION. IT'S HARD TO PREDICT HOW THE ECONOMY WILL BE A YEAR

FROM NOW. AT THIS POINT THERE IS A TENSION A BIT BETWEEN THOSE ON -- IN THE REPUBLICAN PARTY WHO WANT TO WORK FOR WHOLE SALE CHANGE TO LONG TERM FEDERAL SPENDING AND THOSE WHO DO NOT. TRUMP SAID HE DIDN'T WANT TO TACKLE MEDICARE AND SOCIAL SECURITY IN THE SAME WAY FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER PAUL RYAN DID WHEN HE WAS IN POWER. YOU SEE NOW FORMER VICE PRESIDENT

MIKE PENCE IS ARGUING THAT ON THE ECONOMIC FRONT AND FISCAL FRONT AMERICA NEEDS TO TACKLE THESE ISSUES TO MAYBE WORK OUT THE AGE OF RETIREMENT, HOW THE PROGRAMS ARE SET ASIDE WITH FEDERAL DOLLARS, HOW THEY ARE SPENDING AND HOW BIG THEY ARE AS FEDERAL INSTITUTIONS AND TRUMP IS SAYING WE DON'T WANT TO TOUCH THEM. THAT'S REALLY I THINK MORE ON A FISCAL FRONT THAN ECONOMIC FRONT.

THERE'S STILL GENERALLY THIS KIND OF REGAN TYPE GROWTH, FOCUSED RHETORIC INSIDE THE GOP REPUBLICAN PRIMARY RACE AND THAT'S NOT CHANGING. >> I KNOW YOU SPENT A LOT OF TIME GOING OVER WHAT TRUMP'S LEGAL TEAM IS DOING BUT ALSO WHAT THE FORMER PRESIDENT SAID ABOUT VARIOUS LEGAL MATTERS AND YESTERDAY'S IT STRUCK ME SOME NEW HAMPSHIRE AND IN FLYING BACK TO FLORIDA HE GAVE IN ONE DAY THREE

DIFFERENT ANSWERS ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED IN NEW JERSEY WHICH IS NOT A CHARGE TO PART OF THE FEDERAL INDICTMENT BUT IT GOES TO HIS QUESTIONING OR THE QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW SERIOUSLY HE TAKES THE HANDLING OF A SENSITIVE OR CLASSIFIED INFORMATION. THEN I SAID THERE WERE DOCUMENTS BUT THERE WEREN'T CLASSIFIED AND THEN THE OTHER TIME HE SAID IT WAS BRAVADO TO THE DEGREE THAT YOU CAN ASSESS HOW

ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT ANSWERS FROM THE FORMER PRESIDENT EITHER HELPED OR HURT THE DEFENSE HE AND HIS TEAM ARE GOING TO HAVE TO MOUNT. >> SPEAKING OF HIS TEAM IT'S EVIDENT THAT HIS TEAM DOESN'T HAVE MUCH CONTROL OVER THEIR CLIENT. IS HE SPEAKING AN AN ONGOING CASE WHERE HE COULD FACE A TRIAL IN THE COMING MONTHS AS HE RUNS FOR PRESIDENT AND HE IS DECIDING TO

SPEAK OUT IN A WINDINGWAY ABOUT HIS INTENT AND WHAT HE DID AND SO MUCH OF THIS CASE IS ABOUT WHETHER TRUMP HAD CRIMINAL INTENT TO ILLEGALLY HOLD RECORDS THAT WERE CLASSIFIED, TO OBSTRUCT AN INVESTIGATION AND BY GIVING ALL THESE ANSWERS IN NEWS MEDIA INTERVIEWS IS HE PROVIDING FODDER TO INCLUDE THEM IN A TRIAL. JUST BECAUSE YOU SAY SOMETHING THAT'S NOT UNDER OATH DOESN'T MEAN IT CAN'T

BE INTRODUCED AS EVIDENCE. >> FROM THE WHITE HOUSE WHEN YOU SAW THE PRESIDENT BEFORE HE BOARDED MARINE ONE FOR CHICAGO YOU NOTICED SOMETHING ABOUT HIM. TELL OUR AUDIENCE WHAT YOU NOTICED. >> I TONIGHT KNOW IF WE HAVE AN IMAGE BUT OUR COLLEAGUES WERE OUT THERE THIS MORNING WHEN HE WENT TO MARINE ONE AND THEY NOTICE THERE'S WERE THESE ALMOST LIKE STRAP MARKS RIGHT HERE ON HIS

CHEEKS. WE WENT -- YOU COULD SEE IT THERE. WE WENT BACK AND LOOKED THERE HAD BEEN SIMILAR MARKINGS ON MONDAY WHEN HE DID AN EVENT HERE. CLEARLY HE HAD BEEN WEARING SOMETHING. WE ASKED THE WHITE HOUSE WHAT IS UP HERE? WE HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT BACK IN 2008 WHEN HE WAS PICKED AS OBAMA'S RUNNING MATE HE DISCLOSED HE HAD BEEN TREATED FOR SLEEP APNEA. SOMETHING THAT

AFFECTS ABOUT 30 MILLION AMERICANS. COMMON SLEEP DISORDER THAT BASICALLY CAN AFFECT YOUR BREATHING AT NIGHT AND CAN CAUSE YOU TO WAKE UP IF YOU STOP BREATHING BUT YOU CAN USE A MECHANISM CALLED A CPAP THAT YOU PUT OVER YOUR MOUTH TO CONTINUE GIVING YOU OXYGEN NO MATTER WHAT. YOU JUST HAVE TO WEAR IT REALLY TIGHT IS WHAT I HAVE BEEN TOLD. I'M NO DOCTOR OR USER

OF SUCH A DEVICE. THIS IS WHAT I HAVE BEEN TOLD SO THAT'S WHAT THAT MARKING WAS. IN HE IS SENSE THEY CONFIRMED THAT HE HAS BEEN USING ONE OVER THE LAST FEW WEEKS. THIS IS A COMMON THING FOR SOMEONE WHO HAS IS. THE SLEEP APNEA WAS REVEALED IN HIS RECORDS IN 2008. THERE WAS NOTHING ABOUT IT IN HIS MOST RECENT MEDICAL REPORT OTHER THAN TO SAY

HE HAD SINUS SURGERY BACK IN THE DAY TO DEAL WITH CONGESTION. HE LIKE MANY OTHERS, INCLUDING THIS REPORTER, MAYBE YOU TAKES MEDICATION DURING ALLERGY SEASON TO DEAL WITH THAT STUFF, COMMON THING. OF COURSE ALL OF THIS AGAINST THE BACKDROP OF VOTER CONCERN, WELL DOCUMENTED, NOT US, THE VOTERS, CONCERNED ABOUT HIS AGE AND WHETHER HE WILL BE FIT TO SERVE. THEY WERE QUICK TO DISCLOSE THAT WHEN

IT WAS CLEAR SOMETHING WAS UP. >> THIS ISN'T A MEDICAL COMPLICATION. IT'S A TREATMENT FOR A COMMON ISSUE THAT MANY AMERICANS HAVE. >> IT'S WHY PRESIDENTS ARE SUBJECT TO SUCH GREAT