Does Biden Herald a Return to Civility?

Aggressively stammering our way back to decorum

Many people are ecstatically proclaiming that Joe Biden's inauguration heralds the return of presidential civility. This seems an odd expectation given Biden's track record of belittling and berating voters and media members.

“I’m not working for you,” Biden told Jerry Wayne, a Michigan voter and union worker, during a heated exchange at a Detroit auto factory.

To illustrate this point, here is a quick list of examples evincing this behavior even in cases where the interactions initially seemed completely innocuous. (Click description to view exchange.)

• Tells a union worker he is "full of shit," rails against 1st and 2nd amendment rights, and commands young, female staffer to “shush”

• Yells at voter, calls him a liar, and appears to insult his weight

• Stammers aggressively (Biden's signature move) when asked a simple question about Sanders conversation

• Assaults likely supporter and angrily tells him to "vote for someone else" when he brings up pipelines

• Instructs an immigrant rights activist to “vote for Trump," then turns his back when pressed on deportations

• Appears to ask reporter if he is a cocaine "junkie" when asked about cognitive tests

• Launches into infamous "you ain't black" tirade after request for policy clarifications

• Former four-term Democratic congressman calls out Biden's inflammatory "put ya'll back in chains" comment to black voters

• Brusquely dismisses question about Covid vaccine rollout

• Female college student Biden branded “lying, dog-faced, pony soldier” recounts leaving in tears and fearing being “canceled”

This list was cobbled together from a bit of time and a few keyword searches. I suspect there are more examples that could be added from recent exchanges, to say nothing of stories concerning Biden’s concerning history with women and girls or the number of problematic cases (including on foreign policy and civil rights) that might arise if we go further back in time.

EPILOGUE (4/11/22):

This aged very well. I always wanted to revisit this article after Biden had had some time in the Ovaltine Office, and sure enough on those rare moments when Biden emerges from the fog of doddering dementia, veers off the teleprompter, and starts freestylin’, he consistently shows himself to be a recidivistic, abusive, demeaning, condescending, foul-mouthed bully. I have lost track of how many times this has happened since the advent of the Asterisk Administration, so I will simply leave you with a few of his more recent hits before I close the book on this one.

• Calls reporter Peter Doocy a “stupid son of a bitch”

• Threatens Americans forgoing Covid-19 “vaccinations” that: “Our patience is wearing thin”

• Snaps at a female reporter asking (quite presciently, in retrospect) about Putin

What a relief to see the grown-ups back in charge. At least there are no more mean tweets.¹

1. “B-b-B-bUt TrUmP!@!!1!”