President Biden has granted his first interview as president to a national newspaper – USA Today on January 5, with just two weeks to go before his term ends. Naturally, reporter Susan Page was as gentle as a family member. [Down to the alert-Biden photo.] It was syrupy-soft, or soft as a baby butt.
This is how the newspaper story began:
WASHINGTON ― President Joe Biden, both reflective and defensive as he discussed his legacy, told USA TODAY he believes he could have won his reelection bid − but isn't sure he would have had the vigor to complete four more years in the Oval Office.
"So far, so good," he said. "But who knows what I'm going to be when I'm 86 years old?"
So far, so good???? Page gently waited nine paragraphs to return to that issue: “Concerns about the age and acuity of America's oldest president flared with his faltering performance in a televised debate with Trump in June."
This line was more comical: "Biden warned that Trump risked upending the economic good times if he enacts some of the policies he advocates." Oh sure, the voters really backed your take on the "economic good times."
The same gush came in the print edition. See this headline/photo combo:
"EXIT TONGUEBATH" https://t.co/5NtJmWc4xz
— Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) January 8, 2025
Page tried to paint Biden as “engaged and loquacious” during their time together:
Through an interview that stretched for nearly an hour, Biden was engaged and loquacious, though at times he spoke so softly that it was difficult to hear him. On his desk were index cards that seemed to have talking points and statistics, but he glanced at them only once, at the end, as if to make sure he had mentioned the items most important to him.
That's code for "thanks for the interview, I upheld my part to pretend you're totally on top of it."
Page also let him make wild claims, such as: "His long experience has been an asset in handling foreign affairs, Biden said." And there was this:
That the White House agreed to this interview is a sign that, while Biden is still in a position to command the world’s attention, he wants to make the case that he has forged a robust and positive legacy. The underlying message: The impact of his presidency cannot be fairly judged primarily by controversies over his health, his on-again-off-again presidential bid and his decision to grant a sweeping pardon for his son.
“I hope that history says that I came in and I had a plan how to restore the economy and reestablish America’s leadership in the world,” Biden said. “That was my hope. I mean, you know, who knows? And I hope it records that I did it with honesty and integrity, that I said what was on my mind.”
That's where the "honesty and integrity" headline gush oozed from.
And to wrap it up: "His biggest disappointment, Biden said, was his failure to effectively counter misinformation, including that from Trump." That means Democrats failed to win.
In an interview about the interview, Page described getting a cookie from Biden. She earned that. Below is a transcript of most of Page's questions, which establishes the sweet gentleness [hit expand]:
It's a natural time to think about your legacy as you're preparing to leave, and that is of course a very big topic. I wanted to ask you, when history assesses your tenure here, what do you think will most endure?
When you think about your legacy, is there an element that you think has been overlooked? That's not getting the attention it deserves?
You talk about your economic successes on jobs and on growth on avoiding a recession which, a lot of people thought that wasn't possible. But one reason that Donald Trump won in November was the support he managed to get from working class voters, voters without a college education, voters who have been part of the Democratic coalition, voters who you as Scranton Joe have long identified with. Why do you think Democrats lost so much of their support in November?
There's many things of your legacy been such big successes, but part of the economy that has proved I think to be more troublesome is inflation. And I wonder if you think you were paid too little attention early on to warnings about inflation with the American Rescue Plan or failed to recognize soon enough how much this was affecting so many Americans' lives.
Are you concerned that when Trump's in office, he's going to try to reverse [Biden policies]?
Is there a single thing that does your greatest fear about what President-elect Trump will do when he's in office?
You've talked about these quite significant major pieces of legislation and other things that you've done. I wonder, is there a thing that's been the most disappointing to you, the single thing that's been most disappointing that you've been unable to do?
You said something generic and something specific. So generically, the inability to combat mistruths. Was there something specific that you wanted to mention as well?
….Mr. President, your term is not over yet. You're still doing things every day. Some of your supporters have encouraged you to issue preemptive pardons to people like Liz Cheney and Anthony Fauci, who Trump has threatened to target. Will you do that?
Speaking of pardons, every parent can understand why you would want to protect your son. Do you have any concerns that your pardon of Hunter sets a precedent for future presidents? One that might be open to abuse?
...'
PAGE: Three quick questions. You could answer them in a single word.
BIDEN: Sure.
PAGE: Do you believe you could have won in November?
BIDEN: It's presumptuous to say that, but I think yes, based on the polling that...
PAGE: Do you think you would've had the vigor to serve another four years in office?
BIDEN: I don't know. That's why I thought when I first announced, talking to Barack about it, I said I thought I was the person. I had no intention of running after Beau died – for real, not a joke. And then when Trump was running again for reelection, I really thought I had the best chance of beating him. But I also wasn't looking to be president when I was 85 years old, 86 years old. And so I did talk about passing the baton. But I don't know. Who the hell knows? So far, so good. But who knows what I'm going to be when I'm 86 years old?
