President Biden’s marathon two-hour press conference Wednesday was an exercise in self-delusion.
The reality of American voters’ lived experience of his presidency is evident in his plummeting polls after a hellish first year of self-inflicted crises, from Afghanistan to inflation to illegal migration.
And yet the president declared to the world that he is doing a tremendous job and has “achieved more than any president in history.”
He blamed Republicans for any stumbles, despite the fact that his party controls the White House, the House and the Senate.
Only a couple of things would he do differently, he said. He would seek advice from “academia, editorial writers and think tanks.” That will really give him the pulse of the American people.
And he said he would get out of Washington, DC, more often, although he has spent more than a quarter of his time as president goofing off in one or the other of his Delaware homes.
“I have not been out in the community nearly enough … I don’t get the chance to look people in the eye … let them take a measure of my sincerity.”
Well, let’s see how well he did on the sincerity-versus-delusion scale in his first press conference in 78 days.
1. Biden has “outperformed” all expectations in his first year.
“I didn’t overpromise, but I did outperform what anyone thought would happen … You have to acknowledge we made enormous progress … Can you think of any other president that has done as much in one year?”
This is delusional in the sense Biden means, congratulating himself for “achievements” such as presiding over an economy trying to heal itself in fits and starts if only he would get out of the way, and continuing the vaccine rollout bequeathed to him by his predecessor.
But if you look at the statement another way, he’s absolutely right.
In the lasting damage his polices have wrought, he has outperformed even the lowest expectations set by his former boss, Barack Obama, who reportedly warned Democrats: “Don’t underestimate Joe’s ability to f–k things up.”
2. Inflation has nothing to do with him. It’s the fault of the supply chain crisis, which is the fault of COVID-19.
Actually, the primary cause of current inflation is out-of-control federal government spending that has flooded the US economy with trillions of dollars.
He said it’s the Federal Reserve’s job to fix the problem and to that end he has appointed five “historically diverse” men and women to serve on the board of governors, as if identity politics ever solved anything. He also said it is a myth that store shelves are empty. Tell that to anyone who goes to the supermarket.
3. He’s brought down gas prices.
Umm, no. America was energy-independent until he placed restrictions on the US market on Day One. He cut off pipelines and restricted drilling. A gallon of gas the day he took office last Jan. 20 was $2.38. Today it is $3.31.
4. Kamala Harris is doing a “good job” on “voting rights.”
His VP has become increasingly invisible as her approval numbers plunge, but he explicitly chained himself to Harris in 2024, in the face of rumors that Hillary Clinton could replace her.
“She’s going to be my running mate, number one … I did put her in charge and she’s doing a good job.”
You can probably take from that answer that he has no intention of running for a second term.
5. He did not liken opponents of his “voting rights” bills to racists and segregationists during his Georgia speech last week.
When asked what he had to say to those offended by his rhetoric, he lost his temper. “I did not say they were going to be a George Wallace or Bull Connor.”
“Go back and read what I said,” he snarled at one reporter.
6. “Look, I’m a capitalist.”
We can mark this as only half-delusional. While he has dragged America to the left under the thrall of the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez-Bernie Sanders wing of his party, when it comes to Biden family grift, tens of millions of dollars from China, Russia, Ukraine and elsewhere show that the “Big Guy” has indeed been an energetic capitalist in his personal life.
7. It’s all the Republicans’ fault.
This was Biden’s main theme. Every time he was gently asked to reflect on the car crash of his first year, he refused to acknowledge error other than to say: “I didn’t anticipate there would be such a stalwart effort to make sure President Biden didn’t get anything done.”
He also accused Republicans of undermining the “legitimacy” of elections by refusing to pass his “voting rights” bills to entrench permanent Democratic rule and refused to say whether the 2022 midterms would be legitimate.
8. It’s really all Trump’s fault.
He whined often about Donald Trump, while struggling not to mention his name, Voldemort style. At one point he asked the 30 assembled journalists: “Did you ever think that one man out of office could intimate an entire party where they are unwilling to take any vote contrary to what he thinks for fear of being defeated in a primary?”
Then he claimed five GOP senators have come to him and confessed that “they agree with whatever I’m talking about, ‘But, Joe, if I do it, I’m going to be defeated in a primary.’”
He refused to say who these mythical senators are. Biden made “no apology” for the debacle of his Afghanistan withdrawal. That, too, was Trump’s fault, and the “incompetence of the Taliban.”
9. Russia.
The delusion was not so much in his answers to questions about Russian aggression in Ukraine, but in his posturing as a wise, experienced statesman confidently striding the global stage, when his foreign affairs record really is a series of blunders.
For instance, he talked tough about Russia yesterday before saying it would not be held accountable for a “minor incursion” into Ukrainian territory.
10. Cognitive health.
There was a moment during the two-hour ordeal when reality crept into the East Room. James Rosen from Newsmax asked a polite question about a Politico poll that found a majority of voters don’t think Biden is “mentally fit.”
Biden’s face creased into a broad grin and he gruffly interrupted. “You all make the judgment that they’re correct.”
Rosen plowed on: “If you’d let me finish … why do you suppose such large segments of the American electorate have come to harbor such profound concerns about your cognitive fitness?”
“I have no idea,” was Biden’s response.
It was the truest thing he said in two hours.
