Biden Meets the Press [Updated]

Joe Biden did his first press conference as president today. I haven’t had time to watch it yet, but based on the clips that are circulating he showed once again that he is not capable of discharging the duties of his office. For instance:


I think the over/under on the length of Joe’s term is dropping. More to come.

UPDATE: OK, here’s the thing. I went on YouTube and saw that the press conference was over an hour long. Sorry, I’m not gonna watch it. I’ve only got so many good years left. I think Steve may have endured it, and maybe he will weigh in. You can read the transcript of the press conference here.

Meanwhile, from generally following the news I have gleaned the following:

1) Biden read out of a briefing book, which press secretaries sometimes do, but presidents, as far as I know, never.

2) The press was adoring. A reporter from PBS prefaced a question about the border with the observation that the problems there result from the fact that Biden is a “moral, decent man.” He’s putting kids in cages the decent way, evidently. Shockingly, that reporter never said anything of the sort to President Trump.

3) An eerie silence prevailed during the press conference. Reporters held their breath as Biden weaved for minutes at a time through bizarre chains of association, hoping they would have some idea what he was talking about. This is in sharp contrast with President Trump’s press conferences, where he would get 10 seconds into an answer and the air would be filled with reporters trying to interrupt.

4) Biden blatantly lied about the border. I think this is why the press conference was called on short notice: the border is a disaster and the administration is starting to bleed politically. So Biden resorted to the typical expedient of the Democratic Party politician. He lied, absurdly claiming that the large majority of illegal immigrants are being turned back at the border, contrary to all news reports and video documentation.

5) There is some reason to think that the questions were all planted. When Democratic Party reporters were called on and asked questions–outlets that might not be with the program were not called on–Biden would flip to the appropriate place in his briefing book to remind himself what to say. At the end, he deferred to the Univision reporter for a long series of questions and answers.

6) Biden looks weird. Scott has referred to him as the gentleman from Madame Tussaud’s, and that is certainly what he looked like today. Plastic surgery has smoothed his wax-life face to a degree that, for a 78-year-old man, could be considered troubling. But reporters look at him and see nothing amiss. Or, more realistically, they see it but they wouldn’t dream of mentioning it. They are on his team.

That is the main takeaway from today’s news conference. It was an intimate affair, and Joe Biden was among friends.

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