Biden takes defiant tone in press conference marking first year in office and says he didn't overpromise

Mr. Biden's press conference went on for nearly two hours, with about 99 minutes being devoted to questions from reporters. The epic press conference was his longest to date.

Mr. Biden told reporters that he worries that the situation with Russia along the Ukrainian border "could get out of hand" because Ukraine borders several NATO countries.

"The only war that's worse than one that's intended is one that's unintended," Mr. Biden said. 

The president said that he wants it to be clear to Putin that there will be "prices to pay that could in fact cost his country an awful lot." Mr. Biden said if Putin invades Ukraine, it would be the "most consequential thing that's happened in the world in terms of war and peace since World War II." 

Mr. Biden said he and Putin have previously talked about holding a summit "if there was reason to."

Mr. Biden was asked to clarify an earlier answer about the fairness of future elections if some states don't reform their voting laws, and whether they in any way could be illegitimate if they don't. 

"Oh yeah I think it could easily be illegitimate," Mr. Biden said, giving a hypothetical example of people saying the count was not legitimate and discarding votes after giving a hypothetical example from January 2021. 

The prospect of potentially being illegitimate is related to not being able to get reforms passed, he said.

Asked what he will do differently in 2022, the president listed three things:

1. Get out of the White House more to talk to the American people.

2. Seek out the advice of more outside experts and bring their expertise and criticism into the White House.

3. Be deeply involved in off-year elections.

Mr. Biden told reporters that if he runs in 2024, Vice President Kamala Harris will be on the ticket.

"She's going to be my running mate," Mr. Biden said. 

The Biden Administration has put Harris in charge of major initiatives, including addressing the root causes of migration and voting rights.

"I did put her in charge (of voting rights) and I think she's doing a good job," Mr. Biden said.

Mr. Biden was asked to clear up something he said earlier in the news conference, when he said there could be a difference in accountability if there was a "minor incursion" of Russia into Ukraine.

"Are you saying that a minor incursion by Russia into Ukrainian territory would not lead to the sanctions that you have threatened, or are you effectively giving Putin permission to make a small incursion into the country?" Alex Alper of Reuters asked. 

The president responded that it was a "good question," and admitted his comments did sound that way. Big nations can't bluff, he said. 

"So the question is if it's something significantly short of a significant invasion or not even significant, just major military forces coming across — for example, it's one thing to determine that if they continue to use cyber efforts. Well, we can respond the same way with cyber," Mr. Biden said. 

The president said it's "very important" to keep everyone in NATO on the same page, and there are differences within NATO. Mr. Biden said he needs to make sure everyone is on the "same page." He said if there are Russian forces crossing the border and killing Ukrainian fighters, that likely "changes everything." 

In response to a question from CBS News' Nancy Cordes about actions the president could take to protect voting rights at the executive level, Mr. Biden said wasn't prepared to discuss options like executive orders in detail. 

Mr. Biden pointed to moves over the past year that the Justice Department has made with respect to voting rights. 

In July, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the Justice Department would increase resources dedicated to enforcing voting rights protections. The Justice Department has also sued Georgia and Texas over sweeping election laws that were passed in 2021. 

The president also said the White House has engaged new communities to organize around the effort to protect voting rights. 

Two major pieces of voting rights legislation are poised for failure in Congress Wednesday evening. Still, Mr. Biden said that he believes Congress will be able to pass "significant pieces" of voting rights legislation to build towards passing a "big chunk" of Democrats' voting rights legislation. 

CBS News' Nancy Cordes mentioned Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's comments that the midterm elections will be a report card on the president's handling of the economy, immigration, and more. If that's the case, the president said the report card looks "pretty good." 

"Mitch has been very clear — he'd do anything to prevent Biden from being a success," Mr. Biden said. "And I get on with Mitch. I actually like Mitch McConnell. We like one another. But he has one straightforward objective — make sure that there's nothing I do that makes me look good in his mind with the public at large. And that's OK. I'm a big boy. I've been here before." 

The president said he's happy to have a "referendum" on how he's handled the economy and other challenges. 

Mr. Biden told reporters that he believes Congressional Democrats will need to break up his Build Back Better social spending plan into a smaller package. 

"It's clear to me that we're going to have to probably break it up," Mr. Biden said. 

Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia said in December that he couldn't support the nearly $2 trillion package as it was written. Mr. Biden told reporters that he believes there can be agreements on $500 billion in climate change spending and believes Manchin will support efforts to expand access to preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds. 

"I think we can break the package up, get as much as we can now, come back and fight for the rest later," Mr. Biden said. 

Mr. Biden's press conference coincided with remarks on the Senate floor by Senator  Manchin, one of the two Democrats blocking the legislation, although Manchin was speaking about his objection to a rules change that would allow Democrats to pass voting rights legislation with only 50 votes. 

Mr. Biden told reporters his "guess" is that Russian President Vladimir Putin will move into Ukraine, as tensions in the region remain extremely high. 

"My guess is he will move in, he has to do something," the president said. 

Mr. Biden said he "probably shouldn't go any further" into comments about Russia's designs on Ukraine. 

The president said Putin has "never seen" sanctions like the ones that would come if Russia further invades Ukraine. 

Mr. Biden said the loss of life for Russians would be "consequential" if they further invade Ukraine. The president said he doesn't think Putin wants a "full-blown war," but said the Russian leader will test the U.S. and NATO as much as he can. 

Mr. Biden, when asked if he believes the results of the upcoming midterm elections will be fair and have legitimate results, said it "depends" on circumstances related to counting and certifying election results. 

"It all depends on whether or not we're able to make the case to the American people that some of this is being set up to try to alter the outcome of the election," Mr. Biden said. 

Republicans in some states have removed local election officials who certified the 2020 results. Election experts have also expressed concerns about the ability for state legislatures to remove officials from local election boards. 

While Democrats' voting rights legislation is likely to fail on Wednesday evening, a bipartisan group of Senators have been in discussions about reforming the Electoral Count Act, which governs the way Congress certifies Electoral College votes. 

Mr. Biden said he believes Congress will get something passed "on the electoral reform side of this." Either way, he said he plans to continue to make the case of why it's important to not "turn the electoral process over to political persons who were set up deliberately to change the outcome of elections."

Mr. Biden, asked what he can do to prevent school closures, said "very few schools are closing" now and 95% are open.

Mr. Biden said he thinks the number of open schools will increase as more tests become available. 

The president said school districts in the D.C. area that close will get more attention from the national media. 

When a reporter noted that it's members of the president's own party blocking key pieces of his agenda from passing, and asked if he needs to scale down his legislative priorities and leave things out, he said, "No."

Mr. Biden said he doesn't think there's anything unrealistic with what he's asking Congress. 

"I'm not asking for castles in the sky," he said. 

But even though the president said he doesn't need to scale down his legislative priorities, Mr. Biden said he's "confident" Democrats can pass "chunks" of the Build Back Better agenda as the midterms approach. 

 Confronted in the first question by the reality of inflation, stalled legislation in Congress and record-high COVID-19 cases, Mr. Biden said he "didn't overpromise" on what he could accomplish. 

"I didn't over-promise, but I think if you take a look at what we've been able to do, you have to acknowledge we made enormous progress," he said. 

The president said he hasn't been able to change Republicans' minds so they "get in the game" of making things better for the American people.

Mr. Biden presented much of his administration's public perception as a communications failure. People don't know the details of the legislative changes that have already taken place, he claimed. 

As 7% inflation haunts Americans' car purchases, grocery bills and rent, the president said the responsibility of ensuring price increases stabilize rests with the Federal Reserve. 

Mr. Biden recently selected three new nominees to the Federal Reserve Board. 

A more productive economy is the way to combat higher prices, he said.

Mr. Biden also said his Build Back Better agenda, which is stalled in the Senate with no resolution in sight, will affect families' budgets because they will spend much less on child care and prescription drugs. 

But according to recent CBS News polling, Americans are much more likely to say their opinion of the president would improve if he gets inflation down, than if he makes his "Build Back Better" agenda pass. 

Beginning his remarks — on time — Mr. Biden said the last year has been filled with "challenges" and "progress." He touted income increases among the lowest 40% of earners, millions of Americans vaccinated, and a "record" investment in infrastructure.

"Still for all this progress I know there's a lot of frustration and fatigue in this country. And we know why — COVID-19," Mr. Biden said, calling the Omicron variant a new "enemy."

The variant isn't a cause for panic, he added. Mr. Biden touted that 75% of adults are fully vaccinated, and the U.S. is adding about 9 million more vaccinations each week. 

The president also highlighted his administration's efforts to increase at-home COVID-19 tests, while admitting they could have come sooner. 

"Should we have done more testing earlier? Yes. But we're doing more now," he said. 

Senator Joe Manchin, who has vocally opposed changes to Senate rules, is slated to speak on the Senate floor at 4:30 p.m. about voting rights legislation and the filibuster. It's unclear whether Mr. Biden will wait for Manchin's remarks to conclude to avoid a split-screen moment, as the president touts his accomplishments and what he still wants to achieve.