President Joe Biden Has Never Been More Optimistic About America | Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend

I wanted to read you a quote it's a. quote that I I love uh it's by Vladimir. Lenin I don't think he gets quoted a lot. here at the White House but I'm going to. go for it there are decades where. nothing happens and weeks where. everything happens you are living. through an extraordinary time as. president it feels like the world is. turning on its axis every 36 hours are. there times when you wake up on the in. the morning and think I wish it was a.

little bit duller right now I wish. things would just settle down well yes. and no look yes when I had that cranial. anism the doc was trying to explain to. me whether it was congenital or. environmental and I said doc I don't. care just fix it yeah this is back in is. this 88 this is 88 and he looked at me. said you know what your problem is. Senator and I said no doc I said you're. a congenital Optimist well seriously I. was a quote here here's the deal though.

one of the things that I've never been. more optimistic about America's chances. in my whole life I wasn't going to run. again because I just lost my son he. should be sitting being interviewed not. me he was the Attorney General bronze. star winner Major in the USR anyway yeah. when I wasn't going to run because I was. going to write a book on an inflection. point in American history I think we're. at one of those points that every 7even. or eight Generations occurs yeah where. the not because of any one leader but. the world is changing everything's in.

motion and what we do in the last couple. years the next three or four years is. going to determine the course of the. country and the world for the next five. or six decades I believe that with every. fiber of my being yeah if we prevent. Ukraine from collapsing if we continue. I've worked like hell not just me to. hold NATO together tightly it's never. been this tight expand it we have an. opportunity to change the dynamic in. Europe for Generations yeah my mother. God lover I remember going to identify. my family they actually Joey out of.

everything terrible something good will. happen if you look hard enough for it I. thought it was the cruelest thing she. ever said to me but look what's going on. in the Middle East now yeah you know I. was able to get a resolution passed. through the G20 the 20 leaders of the 20. largest nations to build a railroad from. Riad all the way through into Saudi. Arabia Jordan up through Israel all the. way all the way up until into Europe. because there's much more reason for. them to be together than to be aart I'm. not a journalist so I'm allowed to give. my opin opion and uh I as a again.

amateur historian I think it's. absolutely crucial that Ukraine Prevail. and uh it's it's something that I'm very. passionate about I get. confused you know as you know the. Washington UK came to in the. 1973 uh Republicans were always tough on. foreign policy tough on Russia and now. mag Republicans they've kind of flipped. the script and uh they're saying well we. can let Ukraine go it's not really uh in.

our interest and I don't understand it. it's confusing to me also say the other. guy says and we can work with Putin he's. smart the other guy I like that he's the. other. guy he's like Voldemort now his name. shall not be mentioned. well good point yeah I plead guilty yeah. but look I mean just if nothing but. global warming it's changing the world. yeah ice caps are melting that's true. but guess what brings that along with. now you got China and Russia and the.

north pole trying to circumvent the. globe change the dynamic in the region I. mean it's the things that are happening. for example the idea that we're having. to rebuild infrastructure but some. countries don't have the capacity to do. it I've been met now twice I've had the. leaders of the Pacific Nations come and. be with me here because they're worried. about going underwater not making it. just go down the list but I think maybe. because I'm that congen Optimist when I. told told my staff a couple years ago I.

was going to bring South Korea and Japan. together they looked at me like now look. I know a fair amount about foreign. policy I have more experience than any. president's ever had doesn't mean I'm. good or bad just I I know these excuse. me heads of state it is it's a small. world it's getting smaller and smaller. yeah for example in the you know China. China's a competitor but I have a. relationship with xingping I've spent. more time with them than any world. leader ever has just because when I was.

vice president Barack wanted me to get. to know him because a pres wasn't. appropriate for a president to spend. time with him because but we knew he was. going to be the president he's a very. tough smart guy but he's got enormous. problems and so for example when I put. together the quad India Japan austral. the United States he said you're trying. to surround me I'm not trying to. surround you I said we're just not going. to let you change the dynamic of world. rules so whether it's International. airspace or whether it's sea space they. said well I didn't write them I said. well that's what they are we're not.

going to change them so many parts are. moving that there's an opportunity to. realign the world in a way that is less. likely to result in war less likely to. result in human suffering now I know. people look at me and say well you're. just too optimistic I think it takes. some real planning and there's ways to. step up and lead and look one of the. things is again I want to make it clear. it's not because Joe Biden's president. it's the moment mine Albright said. America is the essential Nation Conan.

that's not a joke who leads the world if. the United States. doesn't who who no one else can and we. have an obligation and an enormous. opportunity to leave our kids and our. grandkids a better world well I like. that you describe yourself as an. optimist congenital Optimist I would say. I'm a I've always tell people I'm a 52%. Optimist meaning I'm I'm there's a good. healthy dose of me that is very worried. and very concerned but I always lean.

towards optimism it's the more. challenging standpoint to take well. don't get me wrong I I have written. about and I think I know pretty. intimately the downside yeah but look we. got to remember we're the United States. of America for God's sake nothing. nothing nothing is beyond our capacity. when we work together I mean it really. isn't think if we're the only nation of. the world in my view as a student of. history that has come out of every. crisis stronger than we went in I didn't. want to end on I've been doing this for.

a long time and so it was a big honor. when I got the call that day the the. president of the United States uh was. going to speak to me in the White House. and uh it's um you know it's a it's it's. an honor and uh I'm rooting for you and. as the Irish say God bless you you know. thank you thank you for taking the time. to do this do you guys have a chance to. come over and see the oval I'd love to. see the oval come on let's go do it all. right let's do.

it.