It is demeaning for the president of the United States to challenge a journalist interviewing him to a physical fight. But President Joe Biden 's schoolyard taunt wasn't even the lowest point in his recent sit-down with Time magazine.
The interviewer asked if he was too old, and Biden responded, "You're looking at me, I can take you, too." The president then also confused Russia for China, accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of prolonging the war in Gaza — when, in truth, Israel has been prevented from moving faster by Biden himself — falsely claimed wages have outpaced inflation during his term in office, and said his only regret on immigration was not opening the border sooner.
Throughout the interview, Biden seemed insecure and defensive. He repeatedly complained about the press not giving him enough positive coverage. "You probably haven't read it," Biden complained about his efforts to coordinate NATO's response to Russia. "Most people haven't read it."
Biden made fantastic claims in the interview, including that the Russian military has been "decimated." He used it in its loose modern sense of being cripplingly damaged rather than its strict meaning of losing 1 in 10 ships, but credit for that belongs to the Ukrainian military.
Ukraine's resistance to Russia is a worthy fight important to U.S. national security, but it has dwindled into a stalemate. Russia has proven more resilient to Ukrainian military attacks and U.S. economic sanctions. To suggest it is on the brink of collapse undermines the reality and the need for continued effort.
Biden also seems to think the laws of economics apply differently to him and his policies. After Biden attacked former President Donald Trump for raising tariffs on China, which hiked prices for Americans, the interviewer noted that Biden has also announced tariffs on China. Biden attempted to explain that his tariffs would work differently than Trump's, but in the process, he confused Russia for China, leaving an incoherent answer from which the interviewer simply moved on.
Biden also falsely claimed that "wage increases have exceeded the cost of inflation" during his presidency. The opposite is true. Wages outpaced inflation in the last calendar year but not for Biden's full term in office. Under Trump, inflation averaged under 2%, and real wages grew 8.9%. But under Biden, inflation has averaged 6%, and real wages have fallen 4.7%. Workers are poorer today under Biden than they were under Trump.
Finally turning to immigration, Biden was defiant, denying responsibility for the border disaster that began immediately after he ended Trump's "Remain in Mexico" program and suspended deportations. When asked if any of his executive actions weakened border security, Biden responded, "If I was wrong, it's because I took too long." That is impossible because Biden dismantled Trump's border security policies on his first day on the job.
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Like the audio of Biden's interview with then-special counsel Robert Hur, in which Hur determined that Biden was too old and forgetful to stand trial for illegally handling classified documents, the public is not permitted to hear the audio of the Time interview. It is not allowed to hear how dazed and confused Biden really is.
But the first presidential debate is coming on June 27. Biden will be asked about inflation again and will perhaps lie again. He will also undoubtedly deny that his policies created the border crisis, a position no one other than Democratic Party partisans are prepared to believe. Most importantly, voters will see Biden thinking or failing to think on his feet, responding to arguments in real time. That may be the most damaging bit of information of all.
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