“There have always been two Joe Bidens,” Jon Lovett wrote on social media recently. Lovett, a podcast host and former speechwriter for President Barack Obama, explained that one Biden is a “decent, big-hearted leader” while the other is a “blowhard with a chip on his shoulder, stubborn, [with] something to prove.” At the July 11 press conference on NATO—both Bidens showed up.
The big-hearted leader displayed a deep knowledge on difficult topics including China aiding Russia in its aggression toward Ukraine and the need to defeat Hamas and establish a two-state solution in the region.
At the same time, blowhard Biden heaped praise on himself, refusing to share credit with others. When challenged to respond to calls that he should withdraw from the race, Biden staunchly defended himself. “Am I getting the job done?” he replied. “Can you name me somebody who’s got more major pieces of legislation passed in three-and-a-half years? I got–I created 2000 jobs just last week.”
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But the president didn’t score these achievements single-handedly. It seemed strange that Biden didn’t include a shoutout to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and past and present House Speakers Nancy Pelosi and Hakeem Jeffries who rallied Congress to get that legislation passed.
With the exception of one mention of “my team,” Biden kept the spotlight on himself for the entire hour. He only mentioned Vice President Kamala Harris when asked by a reporter about her accomplishments over the last four years. While Biden voiced enthusiasm for Harris–“In the Senate, she was really good”—he then turned the focus back on himself, reminding the audience, “I wouldn’t have picked her unless I thought she was qualified to be President.” That speaks to his good judgment, not hers.
Because the focus of the press conference was NATO and foreign policy, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin all attended. In answer after answer about conflicts around the globe, Biden never acknowledged the Herculean efforts of these three men sitting in the front row.
Biden passed over so many opportunities to spread praise. When talking about the rebounding economy, he could have mentioned the expertise of Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellin. Why not single out Pete Buttigieg’s impressive work in reopening the Port of Baltimore which was important to the economy? Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre probably would have deeply appreciated if Biden had commended her work with this group of journalists.
Instead, Biden clung to the notion that he was responsible for all the success. One reporter pointed out that Biden had once called himself “a bridge candidate” for a new generation of Democratic leaders but wasn’t following through. The reporter asked, “what changed?”
“What changed,” Biden responded, “was the gravity of the situation I inherited, in terms of the economy, our foreign policy and domestic division. And I think–I won’t put words in anybody’s mouth–most presidential historians give me credit for having accomplished more than most any president since Johnson and maybe before that.”
If he was watching at home, Obama might have raised an eyebrow at this statement. After all he signed the Affordable Care Act into law in his second year in office and that was “a big effing deal.” Biden’s puffery seemed ungenerous and potentially self-destructive for a politician who is facing cries from his own party to drop out of the race.
Instead of praising his inner circle, Biden actually took a swipe at them. “I love my staff,” he said when talking about his overloaded schedule. “But they add things. They add things all the time.”
Then Biden finished with a subtle dig at Dr. Jill Biden. “I’m catching hell from my wife,” he added. Ah, the old ball and chain.
At 81, Biden has admitted that his capacities have diminished so the press conference could have been used to remind people that the presidency is not just him. Jon Stewart has criticized Biden’s claims that he alone could hold NATO together. Stewart even categorized the president’s self-centered attitude as “Trumpian.” But self-aggrandizement is rampant among a lot of powerful white men. The problem for Biden is that he has recently shifted from the most privileged group to an -ism. And in the face of ageism, he must adjust his privilege.
Women who have faced sexism their whole lives learn early that they have to be a team player if they want to succeed. It’s a tactic supported by the work of Stanford sociologist Cecilia Ridgeway who found that “Females in male groups (low external status members) achieved fairly high influence and status when they appeared group-oriented, but very low status when self-oriented.”
Sadly for Biden, he is now part of a lower-status group. Ten years ago, he might have gotten away with a statement like, “We’ve never been here before. And that’s the other reason why I didn’t, you say, hand off to another generation. I gotta finish the job.”
But today, the President might want to consider changing pronouns. That may sound woke, but a simple switch from “I” to “We”—as in “We gotta finish the job”—could make Biden sound like more of a leader and less out for himself.
