Biden Says 'Pandemic Is Over'

President Biden appeared on 60 Minutes Sunday night in what the AP refers to as a "rare" interview, discussing the COVID-19 pandemic and the raid on former President Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence, among other things. His declaration on the state of the pandemic in the US was fairly bold: "The pandemic is over. We still have a problem with COVID. We're still doing a lot of work on it. ... But the pandemic is over," he said, per CNN. While the WHO has not yet declared an end to the pandemic, the director-general did say last week that the end is "in sight." More from the interview:

• The Mar-a-Lago raid: Biden confirmed he was not given a heads-up before the raid. His reaction when he heard about classified documents being taken from the White House, he said, was to wonder how "anyone could be that irresponsible." He added, "And I thought, what data was in there that may compromise sources and methods?”

• Election 2024: "My intention, as I said to begin with, is that I would run again," he said, skirting any firm answer on the question of whether he will run for re-election. "But it’s just an intention. But is it a firm decision that I run again? That remains to be seen. I'm a great respecter of fate. And so, what I'm doing is I'm doing my job. I'm gonna do that job. And within the time frame that makes sense after this next election cycle here, going into next year, make a judgment on what to do."
• Inflation: Per Bloomberg, Biden sounded an optimistic note when asked about the economy. "I’m telling the American people that we’re gonna get control of inflation," he said. "Their prescription drug prices are gonna be a hell of a lot lower. Their health care costs are gonna be a lot lower. Their basic costs for everybody, their energy prices are gonna be lower. They’re gonna be in a situation where they begin to gain control again. I’m more optimistic than I’ve been in a long time.”

(Click for more from the interview, including a take on Taiwan that went beyond the official US policy.)