MSNBC host of The 11th Hour and Joe Biden fan Stephanie Ruhle sat down with Biden on Friday for an interview where she wondered why “despite all these wins,” his poll numbers remain terrible and defended him on the controversies surrounding son Hunter.
On the economy, Ruhle told Biden that “You're talking about real, practical solutions,” and after Biden interrupted to add “absolutely,” Ruhle continued, “When you reference insulin, that you've come up with. Why do you think you don't get more credit for it? Why do you think your polling is where it is?”
After Biden dismissed the polls, Ruhle tried again, “Put polling aside then, right? Sentiment in this country, despite all these wins, it's not very good.”
It’s a song Ruhle has sung before, but as for Biden he by blaming the media while saying he wasn’t, “I think all they’ve heard is negative news for three years. Everything is negative. I'm not being critical of the press, you turn on the television, the only way you’re going to get a hit is if there’s something negative.”
That too is something Ruhle agrees with, so she naturally avoided asking questions about inflation and gas prices.
Later, Ruhle wrapped up the interview by asking about Hunter, almost being apologetic for even bringing it up, “Sir, there is something personal that's affecting you. Your son, while there's no ties to you, could be charged by your Department of Justice. How would that impact your presidency?”
Biden defended Hunter, “First of all, my son’s done nothing wrong. I trust him, I have faith in him, and it impacts my presidency by making me feel proud of him.”
After the interview, during the panel discussion recap, Ruhle added “And that son is not part of the administration, he doesn’t have a job in government, he's a private citizen. That is a contrast to family members of President Trump who were senior advisers in the White House.”
That ignores the recent whistleblower report Republicans claim exists in an FBI form alleging a bribe between then-Vice President Biden and a foreign national that came up during their investigations into the Biden family. As for Trump, at least his family members managed to broker some Middle East peace deals during their tenures.
This segment was sponsored by Flonase.
Here is a transcript for the May 5 show:
MSNBC The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle
10:08 PM ET
STEPHANIE RUHLE: You're talking about real, practical solutions.
JOE BIDEN: Absolutely.
RUHLE: When you reference insulin, that you've come up with. Why do you think you don't get more credit for it? Why do you think your polling is where it is?
JOE BIDEN: Well, I don’t think people—by the way every major one who won re-election, their polling numbers were where mine are now.
RUHLE: Put polling aside then, right? Sentiment in this country, despite all these wins, it's not very good.
BIDEN: I think all they’ve heard is negative news for three years. Everything is negative. I'm not being critical of the press, you turn on the television, the only way you’re going to get a hit is if there’s something negative.
…
10:14
RUHLE: Sir, there is something personal that's affecting you. Your son, while there's no ties to you, could be charged by your Department of Justice. How would that impact your presidency?
BIDEN: First of all, my son’s done nothing wrong. I trust him, I have faith in him, and it impacts my presidency by making me feel proud of him.
…
10:19
RUHLE: And that son is not part of the administration, he doesn’t have a job in government, he's a private citizen. That is a contrast to family members of President Trump who were senior advisers in the White House.
