President Joe Biden likes to present himself to the public as a kind, ice cream-loving uncle.
Yet, an Axios report published on Monday details his “private fury” that gets directed at his staff.
According to the outlet, 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.”
“The president’s admonitions include: ‘God dammit, how the f**k don’t you know this?!,’ ‘Don’t f**king bullsh*t me!’ and ‘Get the f**k out of here!’ — according to current and former Biden aides who have witnessed and been on the receiving end of such outbursts,” it added.
The outlet notes the private outbursts run contrary to the public image he likes to present of being a “kindly uncle who loves Aviator sunglasses and ice cream.”
One administration official said “no one is safe” from his outbursts.
Although it appears the anger can be temporary. Axios noted White House aides still recall a moment when the president lashed out at Jeff Zients in 2021, who was then the administration’s COVID-19 “czar.”
Zients is now the White House chief of staff.
Chris Whipple, author of “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.”
In 2021, Biden told staffers, “I’m not joking when I say this: If you’re ever working with me and I hear you treat another colleague with disrespect, talk down to someone, I promise you I will fire you on the spot.”
“On the spot. No ifs or buts,” he added.
Still, Axios reports White House aides see the president’s fury as a sign of respect for them, and believe a lack of an outburst could be a sign of a lack of respect for someone.
The outlet also explained his outbursts come “in the form of angry interrogations rather than erratic tantrums.”
“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,” it added.
Ted Kaufman, Biden’s chief of staff when he was a senator, told Axios, “If there is something that’s not in the brief, he’s going to find it.”
“It’s not to embarrass people, it’s because he wants to get to the right decision. Most people who have worked for him like the fact that he challenges them and gets them to a better decision,” he added.
