President Joe Biden appeared on CBS' 60 Minutes and made some news with his remarks regarding the escalation between China and Taiwan, the economy, and the pandemic.

Biden has some late momentum as the midterm elections due to the successful passage of the Inflation Reduction Act and a bipartisan, infrastructure bill. Additionally, Democrats have been energized by the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision, and there is some relief with gas prices more than 30% lower from the recent peak.

A few months ago, the expectation was that Republicans would romp in the midterms, taking decisive control of both Houses of Congress and nullifying the remainder of Biden's agenda. Now, odds indicate a narrow victory in the House, and Democrats maintaining control in the Senate.

With that context in mind, let's examine some of Biden's most interesting comments:

China-Taiwan

When asked about the possibility of China retaking Taiwan and the U.S. response, President Biden reaffirmed his commitment to a 'One China Policy' and that Taiwan gets to decide its fate as a nation.

He also drew attention when he said that U.S. forces would defend Taiwan if the island was unprovoked attacked. However, White House officials were quick to emphasize after the interview that there had been no change in its China policy.

Economy

Most of the interview centered on inflation. CBS' Scott Pelley asked President Biden about the latest reading, and President Biden chose to focus on the slowing gains in monthly inflation rather than the other, more concerning signs that inflation is too high.

He also focused on the 10 million jobs that had been added during his Administration, and the unemployment rate that was below pre-pandemic levels. And, that battling inflation would be a process, but the overall economy was in a good place.

Pandemic

Maybe the most eyebrows were raised by President Biden's comments that the "pandemic was over". Of course, while the world has normalized in many ways, this is inconsistent with nearly 400 deaths a day from the coronavirus and many rules and regulations that remain in place in many areas.