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It Turns Out Biden Isn't Such a Nice Guy After All. Will That Make Any Difference?

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  July 10, 2023 8:15 PM

In his 2020 run for president, Joe Biden claimed that he was running "to restore the soul of this country, a sense of decency and honor." Liberals have often praised or been drawn to his sense as a family man. However, the president's recent comments, behaviors, and scandals would suggest that he is anything but. And now, even those who have supported him, including the normally friendly mainstream media, are noticing it. 

As Spencer covered earlier on Monday, Axios released a report this morning referring to Biden as "Old Yeller." That report, from Alex Thompson, has earned considerable attention, with "Axios" trending on Twitter. "Dark Brandon" has similarly been trending, as well. 

The report is full of some key details, not just regarding the president's outbursts, but how this appears to be a pattern and how the White House and their allies are looking to spin it:

  • The president's admonitions include: "God dammit, how the f**k don't you know this?!," "Don't f**king bullsh*t me!" and "Get the f**k out of here!" — according to current and former Biden aides who have witnessed and been on the receiving end of such outbursts.

Why it matters: The private eruptions paint a more complicated picture of Biden as a manager and president than his carefully cultivated image as a kindly uncle who loves Aviator sunglasses and ice cream.

  • Some Biden aides think the president would be better off occasionally displaying his temper in public as a way to assuage voter concerns that the 80-year-old president is disengaged and too old for the office.

Zoom in: Senior and lower-level aides alike can be in Biden's line of fire. "No one is safe," said one administration official.

...

"There's no question that the Biden temper is for real. It may not be as volcanic as Bill Clinton’s, but it's definitely there," said Chris Whipple, author of "The Fight of His Life: Inside Joe Biden’s White House."

...

Zoom out: Biden's temper comes in the form of angry interrogations rather than erratic tantrums.

  • He'll grill aides on topics until it's clear they don’t know the answer to a question — a routine that some see as meticulous and others call "stump the chump" or "stump the dummy."
  • Being yelled at by the president has become an internal initiation ceremony in this White House, aides say — if Biden doesn't yell at you, it could be a sign he doesn't respect you.

Some Biden aides argue that the president's rages reflect his high expectations for his staff.

  • "Speaking Biden" is a particular skill, they said. It can take years to learn to navigate his moodiness, and anticipate what information he's going to ask for in a briefing.

...

  • Biden's defenders acknowledge he can be tough. But they also say he can be more generous and compassionate than many powerful politicians and can make them feel like family. That's partly why so many aides have worked with Biden for decades, and go in and out of his orbit, they say.

This is the same Biden who said as he swore in staff, "If you're ever working with me and I hear you treat another with disrespect... I promise you I will fire you on the spot." 

This story and more were noticed by our friends at Twitchy, including one from Eliot A. Cohen of The Atlantic last Friday, "Step Aside, Joe Biden." Then again, the piece does begin in part by laughably claiming that, in contrast to Trump, "Biden presented himself, correctly, as a decent, experienced, and entirely normal politician." We certainly can't say that today, if we even could in the context of the 2020 campaign. 

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Cohen goes on to raise concerns about Biden's age, though, as well as his temperament. Emphasis added:

A lot of the clichés about growing older are, unfortunately, entirely correct. Age comes with fewer filters, less patience for fools (or for mere contradiction), and a great deal more “Listen to me, kid, I was doing this before you were born.” If this sounds a bit like Biden, it should. Particularly in the ego- and adrenaline-saturated business of politics, the chances of maturing into sweet-old-grandfatherdom strike me as minimal. One rarely becomes a senator, much less a president, without an unhealthily large ego, which is why Dianne Feinstein and Chuck Grassley find leaving the stage so hard. And even if one started with a certain level of humility, holding on to it is difficult, which is why those who voluntarily step down (think, for example, of Supreme Court Justice David Souter) deserve our respect.

Elsewhere Cohen writes how Biden "has no business running for president at age 80" and that "[c]linging to office in old age is selfish, too."

It's not just the president's indecency that is in the news as of late, either. Hunter Biden has a 4-year-old daughter, who he had with former stripper Lunden Roberts, who the president and First Lady Jill Biden refuse to acknowledge. While news outlets, like The New York Times, are coming around to notice, it's too little, too late. Townhall has been following the story for years. A recent settlement between Hunter and Roberts involves lowering child support payments. The little girl also won't be able to use the Biden last name, though she will get some of her father's paintings. This is just one scandal, as Hunter is also in the news surrounding chatter about cocaine being found at the White House. There's also plenty of coverage about the shady plea deal he received for gun and tax charges that allows him to avoid jail time. 

Biden's administration has also been marred by incompetent members, including and especially White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. 

Could all of this recognition from the mainstream media mean something? Perhaps. It's not just that The New York Times published Maureen Dowd's column mentioned above, "It's Seven Grandkids, Mr. President." They also published stories about Biden's lack of availability to the press and about voters' concerns with his old age and mental competency right before he made his reelection campaign official. 

In May of last year, NBC News also published damning reports about the Biden White House, specifically how his aides were always having to step in. 

Last November's disappointing midterm election results, though, could serve as a reminder that these concerns may not have enough of an effect. The New York Times has also published pieces raising concerns about Biden running again in 2024, including ahead of last year's midterms. Biden and his fellow Democrats certainly took notice of the party exceeding expectations. DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison mentioned such successes in his MSNBC interview with Jen Psaki. 

Sure enough, Biden is still running again.

Regardless of if Biden wins the nomination, the polls show that Americans, including fellow Democrats and Biden voters, have concerns. Due to catastrophic primary scheduling plans, Biden may not even win key early states like New Hampshire and Iowa. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been looking to give Biden a run for his money by jumping into the presidential race.

RealClearPolitics (RCP) has Biden with an average of 64 percent support in the Democratic presidential primary. If that support continues, and he makes it far enough to be on the ballot for the general election, his most likely opponent looks to be former and potentially future President Donald Trump. RCP currently shows Trump with a +0.6 spread. Against Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), who is currently at a distant second in the Republican primary, Biden only has a spread of +1.0. 

If RFK Jr. proves to be enough of a challenger to Biden, the president could still win the nomination but lose the presidency. Ronald Reagan challenged Gerald Ford for the nomination in 1976, and Ford lost to Jimmy Carter in the general election. When Carter ran for reelection, he was challenged by Ted Kennedy. Carter ultimately lost to Reagan in the 1980 election. Pat Buchanan challenged George H.W. Bush in 1992, who lost to Bill Clinton. 

It's no secret that not everybody is a fan of Trump's personality, but at least there's no pretending about it like there is with Biden whenever anyone tries to talk about what a great family man he is. People were more happy with how the country was being run under Trump, too. This is especially the case with how the economy was being run, which remains a crucial issue for voters. 

While some recent polls have shown Biden's numbers going up, those numbers are still really bad. And Biden is still down in other polls, as is the case with the July IBD/TIPP poll. According to that poll, just 38 percent of Americans approve of Biden's handling of the presidency, while 51 percent disapprove, as Biden faces lower approval from fellow Democrats, with 69 percent approving. 

Sure enough, Biden's also facing low leadership marks, with his IBD/TIPP Presidential Leadership Index now at 41.6, the lowest point since last August. "Readings above 50 are net positive, while below-50 readings are negative," the poll's write-up explained. His favorability index of 42.3 matched the lowest level of his presidency as well, with his job approval at 42.5 and his leadership level at a dismal level of 39.9. 

"The Presidential Leadership Index combines survey readings on how American adults feel about Biden's personal qualities, presidential performance, and leadership attributes. Biden's favorability slid to 2.6 points to 42.3, matching the lowest level of his presidency," the write-up explained.

RCP currently has Biden's job approval at 42.2%.