Biden refuses to back down on Build Back Better, believes most of the country supports it

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Biden defends presidency, blames Republicans for stalled agenda

Congressional correspondent Jacqui Heinrich breaks down Biden's press conference on 'Special Report.'

President Biden said he will not give up on much of what is laid out in his Build Back Better legislation, expressing optimism that most Americans share the priorities laid out in the bill.

"The American people overwhelmingly agree with me on prescription drugs. They overwhelmingly agree with me on the cost of education. They overwhelmingly agree with me on early education," Biden responded during Wednesday's press conference when asked if he may have to scale back his agenda in order to pass legislation through Congress.

President Joe Biden. ( Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

BIDEN EXPRESSES OPTIMISM THAT 'PIECES' OF HIS BUILD BACK BETTER PLAN CAN STILL PASS

The president argued that his ideas remain politically popular, saying that it was a matter of him speaking to Americans to "make the case" for what Democrats are for and what "the other team's not for" ahead of this year's midterm elections.

Biden said that he would go out to the public to "make the contrast as clear as we can," between his and the Republican agenda, arguing that there isn't "anything unrealistic about what we're asking."

But the president also acknowledged that he may have to accept defeat on at least some parts of his ambitious plan, noting the opposition some members of his own party have to parts of the legislation while expressing optimism that lawmakers could pass "pieces" of Build Back Better individually.

Sen. Joe Manchin. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

"I'm confident we can get pieces, big chunks, of the Build Back Better law signed into law," Biden said.

Biden's legislative agenda has been derailed by not only unified Republican opposition. but also from pushback from moderate Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., delivers remarks on the Senate floor in support of the legislative filibuster, on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022. 

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Manchin has expressed concerns over the overall cost of Biden's Build Back Better legislation, announcing last month that he would not vote for the package.

"I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation," Manchin said at the time. "There’s a lot of good, but that bill is a mammoth piece of legislation."