Monday’s Lester Holt interview with President Biden shows that Joe’s damage-control press tour just keeps on doing more damage — it went far worse than his heart-to-heart with George Stephanopoulos.
For starters, Biden couldn’t even bring himself to fully apologize for saying Dems should put Donald Trump in a “bull’s-eye,” instead lamely insisting, “I didn’t say crosshairs.”
Cold comfort (and bad taste) indeed, after Trump was nearly felled by an assassin’s bullet.
And the president again echoed the “end of democracy” nonsense that got us here in the first place, with a mangled rush of words: “We have to stop the whole notion that there are certain things that are contrary to our democracy that we’re for. The idea of saying that you, that I didn’t win the election when every court in the land … including the conservative Supreme Court said we won, the idea of having a loyalty pledge from all of the folks.”
Decode the stumbles, and he’s repeating the canard that Trump’s an aspiring dictator.
Amazingly, those aren’t the only ways the president came off as a snappish, cranky old man with nothing to say beyond a litany of familiar complaints.
He scolded Holt again and again for asking (extremely softball) questions.
When Holt mildly pushed Biden on his presidential debate performance, Biden fired off a sulky “Lester, look, why don’t you guys ever talk about the 18, the 28 lies [Trump] told? Where are you on this? Why didn’t the press ever talk about that?”
Never mind that Trump has nothing to do with Biden’s epic debate meltdown.
Nor that the press corps spent most of the last decade obsessively combing through Trump’s words while giving Biden a mega-pass (including on his multiple whoppers at the debate).
When Holt noted that the media have hit Trump over lies, Biden got even more childish: “No you haven’t! No you haven’t!”
Pathetic in anyone, let alone a sitting US president.
Asked about his on-air diatribes against Trump after previously calling to “lower the temperature” of political rhetoric, Biden lashed out at Holt.
When Holt cited a JD Vance criticism of Biden, the prez responded: “What’s up with you guys? C’mon, man.”
Nor was petulance the only worrying Biden quality on full display.
His shaky grasp on reality was also apparent.
Biden asserted that special counsel Robert Hur’s investigation of his document crimes had “concluded I didn’t do a damn thing wrong” — when in fact Hur came to a very different conclusion, namely that Biden did plenty wrong, but wasn’t worth prosecuting because of his obvious senility.
Lester Holt’s basically as friendly to Biden as George Stephanopoulos, but Joe’s too far gone even to take advantage of the shot at redemption this easy setup offered.
For that, blame his age, his cognitive decline and the fact that, now as ever, he has nothing of substance to say on the real issues.
So as ugly as this media tour has been so far, Americans everywhere should be grateful.
They can finally, truly see Biden for what he is.