Biden Points to Scoreboard Despite Grilling From Reporters on Tough Covid Relief Fight: Says Next Four Years Are ‘Gonna Be Good’

President Joe Biden was determined to take a victory lap on Saturday after the Senate passed the $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill, and he wasn’t going to let reporters’ questions knock him off track, answering their inquiries with a stubbornly optimistic tone.

The bill passed on a 50-49 party-line vote, failing to get a single Republican to support, but during his remarks Biden cited the public opinion polls that showed strong bipartisan support for the relief package. The bill now heads back to the House, where it is expected to pass, before it lands on Biden’s desk for signature.

After his prepared speech, several reporters shouted questions at Biden.

“Why do you think you couldn’t get a single Republican vote, and what does the drama of the last 24 hours, including with Senator [Joe] Manchin, tell you about the next four years?” asked CNN’s Joe Johns.

“They’re gonna be good. I’m gonna succeed. We’re going to succeed moving forward,” Biden replied. “Look, the American people strongly support what we’re doing. That’s the key here. That’s going to continue to seep down through the public, including from our Republican friends. There’s a lot of Republicans that came very close, they’ve got a lot of pressure on them. I still haven’t given up on getting their support. Thank you.”

Another reporter asked Biden if he was frustrated about some of the last-minute compromises that were necessary to secure enough votes to pass the bill, and he again stayed positive in his response.

“We’re not frustrated. Bernie Sanders said this is the most Progressive legislation he’s ever seen passed since he’s been here. And the compromises were all compromises that didn’t affect the substance or the essence of the bill,” replied Biden, noting that the legislation’s unemployment benefits had gone back and forth from $300 to $400, eventually settling on the lower number but with an extension, so “the end result is essentially about the same.”

“And so I don’t think any compromises have in any way fundamentally altered the essence of the bill,” Biden concluded. “Thank you.”

Watch the video above, via ABC.

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