After spending his flight to Los Angeles criticizing the "quality and tenor" of media coverage of his crisis-ridden administration, President Joe Biden did his first sit-down interview in more than 100 days with liberal late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel as Biden's mounting crises make it difficult to find anything left to laugh about. But that didn't stop Kimmel and his LA audience from clapping like seals when Kimmel kicked off Wednesday's show with an attack on conservative media and President Trump.
Biden, whose approval is now more than 15 points underwater and worse than what former President Donald Trump's was at this point, walked onto Kimmel's set while performatively removing a face mask that he awkwardly gripped in his hand while slouching in his seat throughout the interview.
Subsequently, Biden refused to take accountability for...anything throughout the supposedly hard-hitting interview. The president repeated many of what he probably thinks are his greatest hits, invoking "ultra-MAGA," blaming the NRA for tragic shootings, and accusing Republicans of being the radical party.
Biden touted his work on the assault weapons ban, and again repeated the falsehood that it reduced gun violence — a Biden lie Katie debunked here.
Biden called on Americans to make a candidate's stance on gun control the determining factor in who wins their vote, invoking "assault weapons" that will maybe have "300 rounds in a magazine." When asked why he wasn't doing more in response to the left's calls for stricter firearm restrictions, he suddenly embraced constitutional limits on his power as an excuse.
Biden also bragged about his efforts to address climate change, and said it would be possible to move to alternative — read: more expensive, less reliable — energy even more quickly than his administration has managed to kill off American energy independence and double gas prices since taking office.
But again, Biden blamed his party's slim majorities in Congress when Kimmel asked why more hadn't been done to pass a federal takeover of elections, extreme abortion policies, and other leftist priorities.
The president tried to brag about what he and his administration say is proof that the "build back better" agenda is creating jobs and growing the economy — neither are true — before again claiming that he was reducing the deficit, another Biden lie that Mia recently debunked here.
Later, Biden again spun his yarn about how much time he spent with China's Xi Jinping and how he "traveled with him 17,000 miles." That story, however, was given three Pinocchios by The Washington Post.
As everyone expected, Kimmel was unserious and responded to Biden's repeated misleading statements and flat-out lies by saying at one juncture that it "all makes perfect sense." Sure, Jimmy.
In a moment when classic confusing Biden showed up in his attempt to make some sort of point about the rising generation, Biden said:
"You turn on the TV, look at the ads, when's the last time you saw biracial couples on TV? When's the last time you saw the way- I mean- people are selling products- they do ads to sell products, and they sell products when people- when they appeal to people — this generation is going to change everything." Huh?
What Biden didn't do in his first sit-down opportunity in more than 100 days? Condemn the attempted assassination of Justice Brett Kavanaugh on Wednesday morning, even though he had time and the opening to do so when insisting that Roe v. Wade must not be overturned.
Biden also didn't mention the formula shortage, broken supply chain, or current and looming energy crises. Instead, Biden quoted his mother to claim that "the reduction on the use of oil" is a "good thing."
Even though Biden finally sat down for an interview on Wednesday — and not one with a journalist — after some 120 days, Biden's California trip, including his Kimmel appearance, was still lacking access for the White House press corps as they grow increasingly frustrated with the lack of access and information from Biden and new Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
Fox News' Jacqui Heinrich — who was among the press traveling with President Biden in Los Angeles on Wednesday — explained on Twitter that only still cameras were allowed into an earlier event in Los Angeles, as was the case in Kimmel's studio for Biden's pre-taped interview, and for a meeting at the White House earlier this week.
Watch Biden's full interview with Jimmy Kimmel below:
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