Tipsheet

Biden Snaps at Press to Do His Bidding at Event for 'Creators,' Appears to Deny Existence of Grandchild

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  August 14, 2024 6:00 PM

President Joe Biden held an event at the White House on Wednesday, for the "White House Creator Economy Conference." From the very beginning, the president's remarks were problematic.

As he addressed the press, he wanted to know "is that the real press or the fake press back there," drawing laughter from the crowd as he assured them, "that was a joke, that was a joke." Biden also made comments about his grandchildren, during which he appeared to fail to acknowledge Hunter's daughter, Navy Joan Roberts, completely, and at such a public event. 

In referring to how "I have a bunch of grandchildren," Biden spoke to those present being "the future" and "the source of [his grandchildren's] news." He mentioned that his grandchildren "range in age from 30 down to--well, the little one isn’t watching yet, but--to 14."

While Biden said "little one," as in singular, he actually has multiple grandchildren younger than 14: Beau Jr., and Navy Joan, who are both Hunter’s children. 

Biden also went on to lament that "we've divided into competing camps." This is a president who claimed to run on claims of decency and unity, who wanted to "heal" the nation. And yet politics has gotten less civil during his time in office. 

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"Now, I know I only look like I’m 40. You can smile," Biden, who was forced out of the race because he's considered too old and infirm, joked. "But I’ve been around a long time, and it’s never been this bad before." He clarified he didn't mean the press, but "the way we treat each other in politics." Especially since Biden is the one in office, that would be on him. 

"It’s literally getting incredibly difficult to count the number of lies people hear. They don’t know what to believe. They don’t know what to count on," Biden also  complained. 

Later on, towards the end of his remarks, Biden went for a similar point when he mentioned, "I guess the way to end what I’m about to--what I was--came to say to you is there’s been such a decline in trust in America. I mean across the board--I don’t mean just in politics--in trust." Whose fault is that, especially when Biden is in the White House and his party also controls the Senate?

To laugher and applause, the soon to be former, but still current president joked, "and that’s why I invited you to the White House, because I’m looking for a job."

One of the reasons Biden claimed to run was based on a lie that he and now the Harris-Walz ticket keep repeating. Despite how Snopes finally fact-checked the "very fine people on both sides" hoax, Biden and other top Democrats claim that former and potentially future President Donald Trump referred to neo-Nazis in Charlottesville as "very fine people." In reality, the full context of his remarks show that Trump was speaking specifically about the debate to tear down statues.

While Biden discussed the coverage his bill on "fair drug pricing" during his remarks, he started making even more bizarre points about the press as he went on.

"And I think what you guys are doing--and it’s not the--the national press. They’re good people. They don’t--they’re not that crazy about me, but I like them," Biden claimed. While the press did start asking questions and raising concerns about Biden's capabilities to carry out his duties as commander-in-chief, that is a rather recent development. He's gotten a free pass, especially compared to Trump and Republicans in general. 

"But they’ll tell you--I’m putting words in their mouth, and they’re going to write about how I’m wrong--but they’ll tell you how things are changed--how things have changed," Biden continued.

In other relevant news about creators, Brandon Morse at our sister site of RedState reported earlier on Wednesday that the Harris-Walz campaign is trying to pay influencers for positive content. 

After his remarks, Biden laid out what directions his staff had given him about where to go from there.

"Now, my staff always tells me this: Any of the--any of the non-press... want to ask me a question. You can ask me. I might--may not answer it. I’d like to stay on topic. I don’t want to get into talking about what’s going on in foreign policy and the like right now," he explained. 

A staff member could be heard chasing the press out. 

As one member of the press did manage to ask a question, specifically about inflation and if "the U.S. beat inflation," Biden insisted, "yes, yes, yes. I told you they’re going to have a soft landing--we’re going to have a soft landing. My policies are working. Start writing that way. Okay?"

Meanwhile, prices are still too high, especially under this administration, thanks to Bidenomics and Kamalanomics. 

A reporter also tried to ask a question about Hunter Biden's business deals. On Tuesday night, The New York Times reported that Hunter requested help from the U.S. Embassy in Rome to secure a deal for Burisma, whose board he sat on, and that such a request came in 2016, when his father served as vice president.

It wasn't just the president who failed to answer such a question, though. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre repeated the same talking points we've heard before during Wednesday’s briefing. 

In response to if the president was "bothered" by such findings, Jean-Pierre stumbled out her response. "Uh--I--look, what I can say is--um--uh--what I've said before--uh--he's not--he was not in business with his son. Uh--he's certainly not aware of--of--uh--aware of this, and this is something that Hunter Biden has to speak to. He's a private citizen. It is something for him to focus on, and I'm just going to have to leave it--leave it there," she offered. 

As the reporter asked more questions about the report, Jean-Pierre kept claiming she "can't speak to" it further.