"跟以往几次一样，白宫 [National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan today, said to be at a press briefing held inside White House, but I can no find anything ay Whitehouse.ogov as of now (4:30 pm EDT)] 这次也发表评论坚称美国对台政策并没有出现变化。
Note: There is only one news report in ENGLISH about this talk, which is short and not helpful. Department of Air Force (DAF) website does not mention this talk, not to mention a transcript.
(3) Neither White House nor 60 Minutes supplies transcript of the 60 Minutes interview. There is a video clip in youtube.com for the interview, though. Here is an official transcript from CBS 60 Minutes (explained below) from Factba.se.
The .se is the domain name of Sweden, whose name in its native language (Swedish) is Sverige. But it is transparent that the URL means Factbase in English.
Words are attributed to Biden but with the reporter's photo -- and vice versa. Regarding the speaker: name is correct; photo is not.
(a) "[The following interview was recorded on Thursday, September 15, 2022 and aired in two parts on CBS News' 60 Minutes on Sunday, September 18, 2022. We have removed intros and voiceovers and focused specifically on the interview between Scott Pelley and Joe Biden. The interview and official transcript are available here: https://f2.link/60-minutes-20220918. All video and the interview are courtesy and copyright CBS News.]" (brackets original; https://f2.link/60-minutes-20220918 provides portion of transcript interspersed with editor's note.
(b) Scott Pelley: "Mr. President, you are the oldest president ever.
Joe Biden: "Pretty good shape, huh?
Scott Pelley: "Which leads to my next question. You are more aware of this than anyone. Some people ask whether you are fit for the job. And when you hear that, I wonder what you think.
Joe Biden: "Watch me. And ma -- honest to God, that's all I think. Watch me. If you think I don't have the energy level or the mental acuity, then -- then, you know, that's one thing. It's another thing, you just watch and -- and, you know, keep my schedule. Do what I'm doing. I -- I think that -- you know -- I don't -- when I sit down with our NATO allies and keep 'em together, I don't have 'em saying, 'Wait a minute, w -- how -- how old are you? 'What are you -- what say?' You know, I mean, it's a matter of, you know, that old expression: The proof of the pudding's in the eating. I mean, I -- I -- I respect the fact that people would say, you know, 'You're old.' And -- but I think it relates to h -- how much energy you have, and whether or not the job you're doing is one consistent with what any person of any age would be able to do.
Scott Pelley: "How would you say your mental focus is?
Joe Biden: "Oh, it's focused. I'd say it's -- I think it's -- I -- I haven't -- look, I have trouble even mentioning, even saying to myself, my own head, the number of years. I no more think of myself as being as old as I am than fly. I mean, it's just not -- I haven't -- observed anything in terms of -- there's not things I don't do now that I did before, whether it's physical, or mental, or anything else.
(c) Scott Pelley: "Vladimir Putin is going to try to break your will on Ukraine and use energy prices to do it.
Joe Biden: "Sure he is. But, you know, we, the United States, are in much better shape than -- than anyone else is, and relative to Russia particularly. But -- he's been trying that for a while. He's not gonna succeed.
Scott Pelley: "Is Ukraine winning the war?
Joe Biden: "Ukraine, through their -- the significant help we and our allies are giving them and the incredible bravery and the incredible determination of the Ukrainian people, are not losing a war, and they're making gains in certain areas. Winning the war in Ukraine is to get Russia out of Ukraine completely and recognizing the sovereignty. They're defeating Russia. Russia's turning out not to be as competent and capable as many people thought they were gonna be. But winning the war? the damage it's doing, and the -- and the citizens, and the innocent people are being killed, it's awful hard to count that as winning. It has been barbaric, what he's done. His attacks on civilian -- everything from civilian hospitals to -- to, you know, people -- old-age homes, to neighborhoods where just ordinary people live -- Schools -- to schools, it's -- it's just outrageous. And -- so the -- the price Ukrainian people are paying for this war is extremely high. But we're gonna stay with 'em as long as they need our help.
Scott Pelley: "You're already north of $15 billion in terms of those commitments. How far do you go?
Joe Biden: "As long as it takes.
Scott Pelley: "Ironclad commitment?
Joe Biden: "Yes.
Scott Pelley: "As Ukraine succeeds on the battlefield, Vladimir Putin is becoming embarrassed and pushed into a corner. And I wonder, Mr. President, what you would say to him if he is considering using chemical or tactical nuclear weapons.
Joe Biden: "Don't. Don't. Don't. You will change the face of war unlike anything since World War II.
Scott Pelley: "And the consequences of that would be what?
Joe Biden: "I am not going to speculate --
Scott Pelley: "What would the U.S. response be?
Joe Biden: "You think I would tell you if I knew exactly what it would be? Of course, I'm not gonna tell you. It'll be consequential. They'll become more of a pariah in the world than they ever have been. And depending on the extent of what they do will determine what response would occur.
Scott Pelley: "What should Chinese President Xi know about your commitment to Taiwan?
Joe Biden: "We agree with what we signed onto a long time ago. And that there's one China policy, and Taiwan makes their own judgments about their independence. We are not moving -- we're not encouraging their being independent. We're not -- that -- that's their decision.
Scott Pelley: "But would U.S. Forces defend the island?
Joe Biden: "Yes, if in fact there was an unprecedented attack.
Scott Pelley: "So unlike Ukraine, to be clear, sir, U.S. Forces, U.S. men and women would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion?