Even as a lame duck “president,” Joe Biden sure does have a knack for shoving his webbed foot squarely into his gaping bill.
Normally, when a subordinate messes up so badly that they are forced to tender a resignation, a simple acceptance and acknowledgement should be all that’s required.
As you’ve surely noticed, these aren’t normal times, and this isn’t a normal presidency.
Biden, as he is wont to do, took the overly-wordy route when it came to accepting the resignation of now-former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle on Tuesday — and people were none too thrilled about the tone of it all.
“Jill and I are grateful to Director Kim Cheatle for her decades of public service,” Biden’s statement began. “She has selflessly dedicated and risked her life to protect our nation throughout her career in the United States Secret Service. We especially thank her for answering the call to lead the Secret Service during our Administration and we are grateful for her service to our family.”
It should be noted that Cheatle presided over an epic blunder of a response from the Secret Service on July 13, when an amateurish, would-be assassin came within seeming inches of killing former President Donald Trump.
That blunder was so colossal that even had she not resigned, Cheatle was facing calls for impeachment.
But sure, let’s gush over her, Joe.
“As a leader, it takes honor, courage, and incredible integrity to take full responsibility for an organization tasked with one of the most challenging jobs in public service,” Biden’s statement continued.
Should Biden resign?
That particular statement — perhaps a reflection of the incumbent’s own withdrawal — caught the attention of Real Clear Politics contributor Philip Wegmann.
And when others saw Wegmann’s post on social media platform X, they chimed in with their own thoughts on Biden’s statement:
I’m sorry, but this is ridiculous. He should’ve put out a statement saying he excepted her resignation. Period. This fawning is repulsive.
— Kathryn Butterly (@kbutterly) July 23, 2024
“I’m sorry, but this is ridiculous,” one scathing response to Wegmann read. “He should’ve put out a statement saying he [accepted] her resignation. Period.
“This fawning is repulsive.”
“Her organization failed abjectly yet she didn’t immediately tender her resignation, and she still claimed she was the best person for the job during her abysmal hearing performance,” another incredulous response to Wegmann read.
One X user even went so far as to muse that this was actually a last-ditch grasp for whatever power Biden can snatch on his way out:
He should answer why it took over a week and still no answers. Seems like he wanted to be able to pick the successor before Trump does.
— Andrew Rappaport (@Andrew_SFE) July 23, 2024
“He should answer why it took over a week and still no answers,” the post read. “Seems like he wanted to be able to pick the successor before Trump does.”
The Biden statement does ends in a way that almost reinforces the above X post: “The independent review to get to the bottom of what happened on July 13 continues, and I look forward to assessing its conclusions. We all know what happened that day can never happen again.
“As we move forward, I wish Kim all the best, and I will plan to appoint a new Director soon.”
Look, even without any of the conspiratorial bits, this statement just comes off as way too warm and fond of a woman who almost oversaw the assassination of your chief political rival.
That being said, perhaps this is the one silver lining to Democratic elites installing their candidate of choice over the (failing) choice of the people: Joe Biden doesn’t need to put up any pretense of trying to “reach across the aisle” or even pretend to care about unity, anymore.
In other words, the mask is off, and the world can all see Biden for the angry, despicable, habitual plagiarizer that he truly is.
All the flowery language in the world can’t hide that fact.
