As his term comes to an end, President Joe Biden has had a habit lately of saying the quiet part out loud. Just earlier this month he made quite the admission about the woefully misnamed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), for instance. On Monday, the president welcomed little giels he acknowledged were "young kids" to the stage, saying he was going to "do it anyway" despite being told not to by his staff. Biden was in the East Room honoring Gotham FC, the 2023 National Women's Soccer League champions.
"You know, I thought when I got to be president, I’d get to do things that I want to do. But my staff tells me what I can’t do," Biden shared, adding "but I'm going to do it anyway." The audience could be heard laughing at such remarks. "All the young women, young kids out there--that are out there, come on up and do this one. Stand behind me, would do. Just come on," he continued, "And the guys." As The New York Post mentioned, he came to the podium with Ali Krieger, the team's 40-year-old star player.
A clip then shows Biden shaking the hands of young girls who are welcomed to the stage to join older women and men. He spends a few minutes with one girl in particular, with their remarks inaudible.
BIDEN: "All the young women, young kids out there, come on up here and stand behind me when we do this. And the guys."
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 23, 2024
He says his staff used to tell him he "can't do" that. pic.twitter.com/gI5j6fJN66
Biden inviting "young kids" to join him has since become a trending topic over X, with our sister sites of Twitchy and RedState also covering such a moment.
This is something of a habit from the president on a few fronts. As Biden appears to be less and less in control of his faculties, he's making such admissions. But, he's also talked about his staff in such ways before. Especially since his fellow Democrats forced him out of the race less than a month after the disastrous June 27 debate against former and potentially future President Donald Trump, comments about staff directives certainly lead to some raised eyebrows.
Those weeks in between Biden's debate performance and when he actually did exit the race on July 21 were indeed a harried time for staff.
Then there's how Biden has had a habit of making people uncomfortable with how he approaches women, including young women, thus earning him the nickname "Creepy Joe."
"The president did not say why his staff barred such interactions, but Republicans in the past have circulated footage of Biden appearing to make both children and adult women uncomfortable by touching or sniffing them at public events — with his political adversaries dubbing him 'Creepy Joe,'" the Post also mentioned.