Apparently, Joe Biden – the kind, ice cream-eating, kid loving, grandfather-type the media likes to portray – has a dark side.
A recent article in Axios contrasted Biden’s carefully cultivated public persona with one that is saved for those closest to him and more closely resembles an angry, surly, often downright nasty old man.
The damning piece includes several personal testimonies of former and current staff including former White House Press Secretary, Jen Psaki who reportedly said to Biden multiple times, “I’ll know we have a really good, trusting relationship when you yell at me the first time.”
Sounds like an awesome boss.
Chris Whipple, author of the book that quotes Psaki, “The Fight of His Life: Inside Joe Biden’s White House,” notes that “Psaki wouldn’t have to wait too long.”
The Egomaniacal Autocrat
Jeff Connaughton, a former Biden campaign and Senate aide who was chief of staff to Ted Kaufman when he filled Biden’s seat in the Senate, wrote about Biden’s temper in his 2012 book on Washington corruption, “The Payoff: Why Wall Street Wins.”
Connaughton wrote that as a senator, Biden was an “egomaniacal autocrat … determined to manage his staff through fear.”
To be fair, what high-level politician isn’t an egomaniacal autocrat?
It’s hard to deny it takes a unique personality to claw oneself into the inner sanctums of the D.C. rotunda. A humble desire to serve your fellow man may take you as far as the House, but it takes next-level hubris to think you are the right person to run one of the most powerful countries on the planet, even if coupled with a noble desire to serve the nation.
One has to be a special kind of psychotic to make it to the pole position of the greatest nation in the free world.
Besides, you’d have to have a heart like Jesus to not let a job in politics, much less the role of president, transform you into a bitter old man. Just look at the toll four – or eight–years takes on any incumbent leader. Most presidents age a disproportionate number of years to the time they actually serve.
Joe Biden hasn’t left D.C. in 51 years.
A Life Marred by Tragedy for Joe Biden
Not to mention that Joe Biden has suffered enough personal tragedy that would shake anyone’s faith.
I’m no fan of our current leader; however, I am sympathetic to a life filled with unthinkable tragedy.
In 1972, just weeks after being elected senator, Biden lost his wife, Neilia, and one-year-old daughter, Naomi, in a devastating automobile accident while Christmas shopping in Delaware.
The accident filled Biden with anger and religious doubt. In his 2008 memoir entitled “Promises to Keep,” the president wrote that he “felt God had played a horrible trick” on him and he had trouble focusing on work.
That’s enough trauma to trouble one person for one lifetime.
Add to that life-threatening cranial aneurysms (1988), a son dead from cancer at age 46 (2015), another drug and sex addicted son who likely brings you nothing but heartache, and a myriad of scandals, and you’ve got work adequate to keep an army of shrinks busy for a very long time.
It’s enough to make one wonder whether or not God has a personal vendetta or is indeed, delivering some sort of justice Old Testament style for unknown reprehensible deeds.
The Upside of Angry?
It has been argued that exposure to this surly side of Biden could prove to bolster voters’ confidence in him, given his history of weekly gaffes and frequent incoherence.
Apparently yelling “God dammit, how the **** don’t you know this?!,” “Don’t ******** ******** me!” and “Get the **** out of here!” demonstrates a feisty personality belonging to a man who still has a fire in his belly, at the ready to face global tyrants in China and Russia, along with domestic bullies, like Trump.
I’m not convinced. Now more than ever, dealing with adversaries in politics requires much more than angry outbursts and vitriolic command. It takes strategic thinking, prudence, and the ability to decipher and reflect upon a consistent influx of intel quickly and adeptly. I’m not so sure our current president is up to the task.
Jennifer Galardi is the politics and culture editor and opinion writer for 19FortyFive.com. She has a Master’s in Public Policy from Pepperdine University and produces and hosts the podcast Connection with conversations that address health, culture, politics, and policy. In a previous life, she wrote for publications in the health, fitness, and nutrition space. In addition, her pieces have been published in the Epoch Times and Pepperdine Policy Review. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter.
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