Joe Biden was back at the White House briefly after his vacation at Camp David over the weekend before he headed back out to his Wilmington home for the rest of his Memorial Day vacation.
Before he took off in the helicopter, he took the time to mock reporters who asked questions about the debt negotiation deal. It’s a big question as to whether it’s going to pass, with people on both the right and the left unhappy with it. But Biden dismissed any budget questions from the reporters, mocking them and saying they weren’t living in the “real world.”
Reporter: Will this get done by June 5th?
Biden: Yes
Reporter: No question?
Biden: You guys realize you’re not in the real world. There is no reason why it shouldn’t get done by the 5th.. pic.twitter.com/Fg4nbybDeV— Acyn (@Acyn) May 29, 2023
Biden said it was a “bipartisan deal.”
Reporter: Will this get done by June 5th?
Biden: Oh, yes.
Reporter: No question?
Biden: You guys, you guys realize you’re not in the real world. “There’s no question.” There is no reason why it shouldn’t get done by the 5th. I’m confident we’ll get a vote in both Houses and we’ll see.
He also mocked their understanding of negotiations and said he would be foolish to talk about it before the vote was taken.
Asked what he would tell them, Biden said: ‘I’m not going to tell you.’ Then he said it would be absurd to try to cast the deal as a win now. Some House progressives have ripped it, saying it would lock in cuts pushed by Republicans.
‘How about if this was a 100 percent deal for the Democrats. You think that’d help me get it passed? Come on,’ Biden said.
He expanded: ‘One of the things that I hear some of you saying is why doesn’t Biden say what a good deal it is? Why would Biden say what a good deal it is before the vote? You think that’s going to help me get it passed? No. That’s why you guys don’t bargain very well. Anyway …’
That’s an admission that he knows how fragile this deal is if he thinks anything he might say to the reporters could shake it. That’s also so Biden — whenever he’s challenged, he has to attack and try to diminish the people asking the questions, even if they’re relatively straightforward ones like these. He’s such a petty human being. Yet, most of the reporters go along with being treated like dirt and still don’t call him out on his behavior.
Biden also got a question from Fox’s Peter Doocy about Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ remarks regarding pardoning former President Donald Trump or other people if he, DeSantis, were to become president. DeSantis said he would look at people who “are victims of weaponization or political targeting, and we will be aggressive at issuing pardons,” indicating he would be open to the idea. He said he would look at it on a “case by case” basis.
Doocy asked Biden what he thought about that. Biden being Biden, he did what he always does when he doesn’t want to answer a question — laughs, then either deflects or flees.
Watch: Fox’s Peter Doocy asks Joe Biden where he is “on the idea of a President pardoning Trump”
after earlier Ron DeSantis comments. pic.twitter.com/XFEj0jICbW— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) May 29, 2023
Now, I’m not sure exactly what he says here. Reports have said that Biden’s response was, “I’ll see you guys,” and then, “That’s a great question.” I don’t hear it. But he didn’t want to respond to the “great question,” and I can think of a good reason why. First, he doesn’t want to acknowledge the possibility that either DeSantis or Trump could beat him, and polls are showing both of them ahead, which he would again regard as a serious challenge.
Further, he doesn’t want to be saying anything about pardons now because of his situation and that of his son Hunter. That’s where the real questions are, not weaponized efforts to take down Trump. Some believe Biden is setting the stage to at some point pardon the first son if he has to and that would not go over very well. He’s already deep in the doghouse in popularity and that would do him in even more with independents.