Biden aides want his 'quick-trigger temper' showcased in public: report

10 July 2023

Right-wing media often portray President Joe Biden as senile, conflating his gaffes — the result of a speech impairment he fought hard to overcome — with mental impairment. In reality, Biden, at 80, is very sharp mentally.

If anything, Biden, according to Axios' Alex Thompson, can be overly demanding and impatient behind closed doors — the opposite of the "Sleepy Joe" image that former President Donald Trump promotes.

Published on July 10, Thompson's article describes Biden to be very focused and in-control. The president, according to Thompson, is careful to project a folksy image publicly; in the White House, he expects results — or demands them.

"In public, President Biden likes to whisper to make a point," Thompson explains. "In private, he's 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."

Thompson adds that Biden's "admonitions" to White House staff include "Goddammit, how the f**k don't you know this?!" as well as "Don't f***ing bull***t me!" and "Get the f**k out of here!"

Some of Biden's aides, according to Thompson, wish he would show more of that side of himself on the campaign trail and publicly display his "temper" in order to "assuage voter concerns that the 80-year-old president is disengaged and too old for the office."

"Biden's temper comes in the form of angry interrogations rather than erratic tantrums," Thompson reports. "He'll grill aides on topics until it's clear they don’t know the answer to a question — a routine that some see as meticulous and others call 'stump the chump' or 'stump the dummy.' Being yelled at by the president has become an internal initiation ceremony in this White House, aides say — if Biden doesn't yell at you, it could be a sign he doesn't respect you."

READ MORE: Why Joe Biden excels at vanquishing malarkey

Journalist Chris Whipple, author of the book "The Fight of His Life: Inside Joe Biden’s White House," told Axios, "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."

Find Axios' full report at this link.

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