On Thursday, during a rare instance in which Vice President Joe Biden actually accepted questions from the American people, he wound up making a very honest admission in response to a relatively harmless query.
Since Biden’s ascension to the White House, it’s possible that his aides have been working hard to avoid this, but it nonetheless provided much-needed clarity on the question on the minds of many Americans.
Biden was engaging with the public in a gathering outside the White House when he appeared to admit that his entire presidency to date has been dictated by his staff. A bystander with a smartphone filmed the interaction, and the resulting video has since gone viral on the Internet.
“The one thing I thought when I got to be president — I’d get to give orders,” the 80-year-old president said.
“But I take more orders than I ever did,” he added.
Americans’ reluctance to see Biden pursue a second term makes this increasingly apparent for the ailing president. In spite of his reelection announcement on Tuesday, according to a recent poll, 70% of respondents believe Biden should not seek a second term, as reported by the Daily Mail.
BIDEN: “The one thing I thought when I got to be President, I’d get to give orders, but I take more orders than I ever did.”
What? From who? pic.twitter.com/tDc1RePgwR
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) April 27, 2023
On Wednesday, Biden was observed carrying a postcard instruction document for fielding media inquiries.
According to The New York Post, the postcard enumerated the individuals President Biden would contact for inquiries authorized in advance by White House staff.
A question from Los Angeles Times reporter Courtney Subramanian read, “How are YOU squaring YOUR domestic priorities — like reshoring semiconductors manufacturing — with alliance-based foreign policy?”
To prevent Biden from speaking before his turn, another section of the reference sheet contained a list of administration officials and their speaking order.
Biden is validating what many Americans already believed about the octogenarian: that someone else is in control.