President Joe Biden has maintained a carefully crafted Grandpa Joe demeanor, a folksy and approachable public persona. But the president’s public persona seems at odds with his private nature, according to Axios, for in private, Biden is prone to yelling.
“Behind closed doors, Biden has such a quick-trigger temper that some aides try to avoid meeting alone with him. Some take a colleague, almost as a shield against a solo blast,” Axios reported.
Apparently, Biden has a handful of go-to, expletive-laced admonitions.
“God dammit, how the **** don’t you know this?!” is one.
“Don’t ******* ******** me!” is another.
And when Biden’s ready to dismiss the admonished staffer: “Get the **** out of here!”
Right, so quite a contrast between Biden’s public persona.
Chris Whipple, a journalist who has written about several presidential administrations said that “There’s no question that the Biden temper is for real. It may not be as volcanic as Bill Clinton’s, but it’s definitely there.”
Whipple’s latest book was about the Biden White House, in which he quotes former White House press secretary Jen Psaki as saying, “I said to [Biden] multiple times, ‘I’ll know we have a really good, trusting relationship when you yell at me the first time.” Whipple pointed out that “Psaki wouldn’t have to wait long.”
The bigger picture on Joe Biden
“Why it matters,” according to Axios. “The private eruptions paint a more complicated picture of Biden as a manager and president than his carefully cultivated image as a kindly uncle who loves Aviator sunglasses and ice cream.”
Some aides believe Biden shouldn’t be so careful about shielding his temper. Rather, some aides believe Bien should let his temper fly, on occasion, in public as a way to show that Biden is still engaged and still vigorous. Basically, aides believe a little bit of temper could help counter the Sleepy Joe image that has voters concerned that an octogenarian probably shouldn’t be seeking a second term as president.
With regards to his temper, Biden appears to be consistent, which I suppose is commendable. He berates senior staff and lower-level aides like. “No one is safe,” one member of the administration said. One notable target for Biden was apparently Jeff Zients, who is now Biden’s Chief of Staff, but was formerly the administrations “COVID Czar.” The dispute arose in 2021 when there was a shortage of Covid testing kits, and was allegedly dramatic enough that aides are still talking about it.
Biden’s temper is so far-ranging that being yelled at is something of an initiation ceremony amongst staffers. Some staffers worry that if Biden doesn’t yell at you, it’s because he doesn’t respect you.
Biden’s anger is directed into something like a Socratic interrogation, rather than just a spastic meltdown. So at least it’s productive. Biden has a tendency to ask questions until he finds an answer the interrogee doesn’t know. Staffers call the routine “stump the chump” or “stump the dummy.” And anyone who’s ever been to law school will recognize the method as standard operating procedure for a lot of law professors.
“If there is something that’s not in the brief, he’s going to find it,” said Ted Kaufman, who served as Biden’s Chief of Staff while Biden was in the Senate. “It’s not to embarrass people, it’s because he wants to get to the right decision. Most people who have worked for him like the fact that he challenges them and gets them to a better decision.”
Harrison Kass is the Senior Editor and opinion writer at 19FortyFive. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.
