Monday was a difficult day for CNN’s conception of President Biden. First, the network struggled with the idea that he may night be the perfect family man and then on CNN Primetime, struggled that he may not be the most caring and empathic man they have built him up to be.
Speaking with Axios national political reporter Alex Thompson, who recently wrote an article about Biden’s private profanity-laced temper tantrums, host Laura Coates wondered, “This runs really counter to the image that most people I think would have of President Biden. How are we knowing this? I mean, how do you get the reporting? Who is complaining about this? Is it current, former staff? Who?”
Maybe if the media took a more honest look at Biden, that wouldn’t be so. Still, after Thompson affirmed that he is talking about current and former White House staff as well as Senate staff form the early 2000s, he added “And he already had that, as he calls, you know, get his Irish up. He already had that Irish temper, you know, really lay into people and in some cases, you know, make them feel humiliated, make them feel embarrassed, and really feel like and truly be cussed out.”
Coates still had a hard time believing that Biden could do such things, “Many might be surprised by this because you might recall when he spoke about respect and dignity and the idea that if you're working with him, if you act in that way, you get fired. Well, listen to what he had to say.”
After playing a clip of Biden promising “I will fire you on the spot” if you treat “another colleague with disrespect,” Coates also played the infamous “stupid son of a bitch” clip with Fox’s Peter Doocy. This led Coates to wonder, “Okay, so there has been different sides we have certainly seen. Why are we just hearing this now though? If you're talking about this reputation or the idea of more than 50 years’ worth of staffing. Has this been known throughout Washington and it's just not been covered, or this is something that's now become an issue?”
If it hasn’t been covered, whose fault would that be? And in any other circumstance, having a public persona that varies greatly from your private persona will lead to charges of phoniness, but Thompson tried to spin it as a sign of Biden’s political genius, “So, there's a few different pieces to this. One is that Joe Biden, because he's been in the public life 50 years, he knows the difference between a public persona and a private persona. And he's a very, you know, he didn't become president by accident, right? I mean, that requires a level of public persona skill that sometimes is different than your private persona.”
After reporting that, “I can tell you some former Biden administration aides don't think that he's lived up even to his own standard.” Thompson tried to ensure that viewers would not come away with a negative impression of Biden:
Now, the other thing I would point out as well is that a lot of, you know, Biden does have a side of him that is incredibly generous, that is incredibly compassionate. It's why, despite being a really tough boss, he has had this very similar, same inner core of advisors for sometimes going back several decades… So, it's a little bit public persona versus private persona, and also the fact that he does actually have that compassionate, generous side.
A compassionate and generous side that yells at subordinates and denies his granddaughter exists.
This segment was sponsored by Crest.
Here is a transcript for the July 10 show:
CNN Primetime
7/10/2023
10:34 PM ET
LAURA COATES: This runs really counter to the image that most people I think would have of President Biden. How are we knowing this? I mean, how do you get the reporting? Who is complaining about this? Is it current, former staff? Who?
ALEX THOMPSON: Both. Current, former, and by former I mean former White House staff, current White House and administration staff. Plus, you even have people going back, you know, we had a headline today, we called it Old Yeller. But I can confirm to you that Joe Biden was a young yeller, too. And so, we even talked to staff that went back to the early 2000s. And the fact is that this is a guy that has been professionally staffed for more than half of his life, and he's had a long life. So, it's been over 50 years where he's had people staffing him. And as a result, there's a generational difference, too. Yup, he's really, really tough on staff.
And he already had that, as he calls, you know, get his Irish up. He already had that Irish temper, you know, really lay into people and in some cases, you know, make them feel humiliated, make them feel embarrassed, and really feel like and truly be cussed out.
COATES: Many might be surprised by this because you might recall when he spoke about respect and dignity and the idea that if you're working with him, if you act in that way, you get fired. Well, listen to what he had to say.
JOE BIDEN: I'm not joking when I say this. If you're ever working with me and I hear you treat another colleague with disrespect, talk down to someone, I promise you I will fire you on the spot. On the spot. No ifs, ands, or buts. Everybody, everybody is entitled to be treated with decency and dignity. That's been missing in a big way the last four years.
COATES: So, you hear that and then there's the moment when he was calling a Fox reporter a stupid SOB. Not my words. You know what? Let me play it. You know, it's not Laura Coates' words. Listen to this.
PETER DOOCY: Will you take questions on inflation then?
UNKNOWN: Thank you. Thank you all.
DOOCY: Do you think inflation is a political liability ahead of the midterms?
BIDEN: That's a great asset. More inflation. What a stupid son of a (BEEP).
COATES: Okay, so there has been different sides we have certainly seen. Why are we just hearing this now though? If you're talking about this reputation or the idea of more than 50 years’ worth of staffing. Has this been known throughout Washington and it's just not been covered, or this is something that's now become an issue?
THOMPSON: So, there's a few different pieces to this. One is that Joe Biden, because he's been in the public life 50 years, he knows the difference between a public persona and a private persona. And he's a very, you know, he didn't become president by accident, right? I mean, that requires a level of public persona skill that sometimes is different than your private persona. In this case, why it's so interesting is that his public persona leans so much on him being civil, on his civility. And that clip you just showed about, you know, the standard he was setting for his White House, I can tell you some former Biden administration aides don't think that he's lived up even to his own standard.
Now, the other thing I would point out as well is that a lot of, you know, Biden does have a side of him that is incredibly generous, that is incredibly compassionate. It's why, despite being a really tough boss, he has had this very similar, same inner core of advisors for sometimes going back several decades.
You know, they go, they realize what they've gone into, and they can sort of go with the highs and lows. And I think that's part of the reason why he's actually had a relatively stable staff. So, it's a little bit public persona versus private persona, and also the fact that he does actually have that compassionate, generous side.
