Biden, 81, says Speaker Mike Johnson ‘dead on arrival’ in bizarre comment … after uncomfortable meeting with first Democrat who demanded he withdraw
- Biden was greeted by Rep. Lloyd Doggett, the first Democrat to call on him to run
- He was asked why Speaker Johnson called his plan for the court “dead on arrival”
President Joe Biden responded in bizarre fashion Monday when asked about criticism of Speaker Mike Johnson, who has trashed his new Supreme Court plan, calling the House Speaker “dead on arrival.”
Biden, back in the country after stepping down and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as his party’s presumptive nominee, made the comments during a trip to Texas to tout his plan to limit Supreme Court terms to 18 years.
That role put him back in the spotlight with the press, a week after his performance at the debate and subsequent interviews led to leading Democrats pressuring him to step back as his party’s standard-bearer.
Johnson had previously called his plan for the Supreme Court, which has virtually no chance of breaking a Senate filibuster or passing a Republican Congress, “dead on arrival.”
“He is,” he said when a reporter asked him a question. The reporter asked for clarification of the comment.
“He is. Dead on arrival,” Biden repeated.
President Joe Biden flew to Texas to pitch his plan to overhaul the Supreme Court. Asked about Speaker Mike Johnson calling his plan “dead on arrival,” Biden called Johnson “dead on arrival”
Johnson also called it an attempt to “delegitimize the Court” and said the Republican House of Representatives would not take it up.
He responded to Biden’s comment on Monday afternoon by places a clip from Biden’s debate against Donald Trump, when Trump improvised: ‘I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don’t think so.’
Biden cleaned up the remark during his speech at the LBJ Library, where he echoed the speaker’s comment. “Well, I think his thinking is dead on arrival,” Biden said.
Biden’s odd comment came moments after Biden smiled during an awkward on-tarragon greeting with Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas, who became the first House member to call on him to withdraw from his re-election bid after his disastrous debate.
Biden ultimately followed this advice after being pressured by many lawmakers who feared he would lose and potentially cost Democrats seats in the House and Senate.
His comments came as the White House is still considering how to handle a sitting president who is stepping back from some of his political duties while Vice President Kamala Harris takes the reins. On Monday, Harris acknowledged that it will “recalibrate.”
“There’s been a big change in the last week. So we need to recalibrate and figure out what the next six months are going to be. I mean, it’s only fair, right, that we figure all that out,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One.
“You’ll see the president. He’ll be there … we need to recalibrate and get a sense of what the next few months are going to be,” she said.
On Monday, Biden cemented his role as president by presenting a far-reaching policy idea in an op-ed and serving as the public face of his own administration.
Biden consulted with Harris on his plan to overhaul the Supreme Court — his first major policy announcement since stepping down before Harris became the party’s presumptive nominee, the White House said, after Harris publicly backed the plan.
“He is. Dead on arrival,” Biden said of Chairman Mike Johnson, who called his own plan to impose a code of conduct and term limits on the court “DOA.”
“She was indeed involved in this. The president consulted her, she said. “Her expertise in this area was certainly listened to,” Jean-Pierre said.
Jean-Pierre spoke to Biden and Harris’ ongoing contacts, though she offered little information about how Biden’s role might change in the coming months, now that he’s a cripple finishing out his term and Harris is taking on increasing responsibility as her party’s presumptive nominee.
“They have a very close relationship. They keep in touch regularly. They have lunch. They talk on the phone,” she said.
As for what role Biden might play at his party’s convention next month in Chicago, Jean-Pierre offered little information. “I’ll let the convention talk about that,” she said. And she said the campaign would talk about Biden’s travels — in a week in which he has announced nothing beyond a speech on Monday and attendance at a service for the late Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee in Houston.
Biden also spoke to the press on Monday afternoon as he left the White House.
He was responding to a heated question about how the Supreme Court should be reformed.
“Reform the Supreme Court because it needs reform,” was his circular response.