Lies and Blame Shifting: Joe Biden’s CNN Interview With Jake Tapper

On Tuesday night, President Biden did something extraordinary. He sat down for an interview with Jake Tapper, a so-called journalist on CNN.

Among all recent Presidents, Biden has done the fewest interviews and spent the least amount of time compared to his peers interacting with the media. It’s not because they don’t have questions but more because Biden doesn’t have answers. At least, answers that are honest and not filled with stories about Cornpop or windshield oil cancer.

The dozen-minute interview that aired on CNN Tuesday was a mish-mash of topics and questions. The answers were a mish-mash of blame-shifting, buck-passing, and outright lies or distortions. Here are some highlight clips and topics from Biden’s interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper.

Recession

If Biden was a Republican President, the media would’ve firmly declared the economy as being in a recession already. They’d highlight the financial plight of people trying to put gas in their cars and food on their tables. They’d spend time exploring the baby formula shortage and how Biden’s administration played a role in making it worse. But, Biden says there’s no recession and it’s all fine and good.

Hunter Biden

The gun charge issue is a longer story than this question allows and most people would be stunned at the details. Hunter Biden apparently purchase a handgun, lying on the background check form when he claimed he wasn’t a drug user when he clearly was. Somehow, Hallie Biden, Joe Biden’s daughter-in-law, married to his late son, Beau, got involved in the story from there. Hallie took the gun from Hunter and threw it in a trash can behind a convenience store. Eventually, she returned to pick it up but the gun was gone. The Secret Service was also involved apparently visiting the gun store where Hunter made the purchase and demanded to see the paperwork. Eventually, the gun turned up days later after being found by a random guy who sometimes rummages through the trash cans behind the store. Politico has a write-up on the bizarre Secret Service involvement in covering up Hunter Biden’s indiscretions.

A truly strange and alarming story that if one of the Trump kids was involved with, lying on a background check form, throwing guns behind convenience stores, and asking the Secret Service to cover it up, would be the scandal of the decade. Biden shrugs it off, “I’m proud of my son.”

The party of gun control and background checks is laughing off the son of the President lying on a background check form to illegally purchase a handgun. In the same breath, they want background checks expanded despite how apparently easy it is to lie and provide false information resulting in little to no penalty.

Accomplishments

Really, Joe? The “vast majority of the American people” like what you’ve got done? Is that why your approval rating is so gosh darn high? Is that why Democratic candidates running for House and Senate don’t want to be seen with you?

This kind of denial is endemic to Biden’s tenure in the White House. He tells himself, and everyone else, that he’s doing a fantastic job and everyone loves his policies. Perhaps he doesn’t know the truth or is just saying what he wants to hear. If we are to actually look at what Biden has gotten done, where do we start? Inflation continues to rage at record levels and the United States is more dependent on foreign adversaries for energy than we were during the Trump administration.

The economy is teetering along on the brink of a worse recession than the one we’re already in. Other “accomplishments” like issuing a Covid-19 vaccine mandate that left people choosing between getting a shot and having a paycheck were eventually shot down in court. The student loan forgiveness scheme might see the same eventuality as well.

Afghanistan, was that an accomplishment? The way the Taliban took over and now terrorists are once again finding a safe haven in the country, is that another thing Biden has gotten done?

Energy

Wait, global warming? What happened to climate change? Sometime during Hurricane Ian, a switch flipped in Biden’s head and he started talking about “global warming” rather than the politically preferred term of “climate change”. What energy problem has Biden dealt with other than trying to put oil and gas out of business in favor of expensive “green” energy that can’t provide enough juice to power all these new electric vehicles being pushed by the White House? Where’s the accomplishment?

Is this how Biden planned to “deal” with energy but put the country in debt to Saudi Arabia and Venezuela?

“The Inflation Act”

“Look, Jake, we passed the American rescue inflation do something act,” that’s the gist of what Biden is saying. We passed stuff and people like it and that’s all there is to it. No further questions are needed.

What other choice does Biden have, though? Admit that he got it all wrong on inflation, Afghanistan, and energy. On every major crisis facing the White House, the Biden administration has taken several wrong turns, often making matters worse, when trying to tackle and improve the situation.

This is why Biden doesn’t do long sit-down interviews.


Nate Ashworth

The Founder and Editor-In-Chief of Election Central. He's been blogging elections and politics for over a decade. He started covering the 2008 Presidential Election which turned into a full-time political blog in 2012 and 2016 that continues today.

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