Seacrest chats with Biden, Cooper interviews Renner for New Year's specials

Jan. 1 (UPI) -- Ryan Seacrest chatted with U.S. President Joe Biden, while Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen interviewed actor-musician Jeremy Renner for Sunday night's New Year's Eve specials.

On ABC's New Year's Rockin' Eve, Biden appeared by satellite from St. Croix and told Seacrest, who was in New York's Times Square, that he has been eating "everything that's put in front of me," especially pasta, chicken parmigiana and chocolate chip ice cream over the holidays.

Asked what he regarded as highlights for 2023, Biden said: "We've brought back a lot of jobs back to the United States. People are in a position to be able to make a living now. ...

"I just feel good that the American people got up," he added. "They've been through a rough time with the pandemic, but now they're coming back. We're back."

Seacrest co-hosted the event with Rita Orr. The show also featured performances by L.L. Cool J, Megan Thee Stallion, Jelly Roll, Sabrina Carpenter, Tyla and Green Day.

Native New Yorker Cardi B wasn't feeling 100 percent when she took the stage during a party for the ABC special in Miami.

"I am literally fighting for my life right now. I am so sick," the rapper said in an Instagram Story before the show Sunday, explaining she has been fighting a cough and tight chest for several days. "I am allergic to Miami. I am allergic to Florida."

Cohen and Cooper drank shots of tequila during CNN's coverage of the festivities in Times Square, which included a Zoom interview with Renner on the eve of the one-year anniversary of a snowplow accident that left him seriously injured.

"I'm just so blessed that I have so many things to live for, brother. I have a giant family, I have a 10-year-old daughter. I would've disappointed and really messed up a lot of people's lives if I would've passed, and so there's a lot for me to get better for," Renner said.

"Recovery was just a one-way road in my mind. My recovery became relief for me, because I knew I could give relief to my family, my daughter and all those that I really affected. And my poor nephew, who was there with me on that day, I gave him images that he can never unsee, but I know that my healing would be healing for him."

Renner's latest album, Love and Titanium is coming out this month. The first single, Wait, was released on Monday.