(Fwrd Axis) — President Joe Biden sat down with Jimmy Kimmel on Wednesday for his first in-studio late-night appearance since taking office and nothing was off limits from gun control to the upcoming midterm elections.
Kimmel and Biden talked for around 23 minutes and despite this being a comedy show, the late-night host pressed Biden on several issues, raising questions that many Americans have.
Here are three key moments from President Joe Biden’s interview with Jimmy Kimmel:
Let’s talk guns
Kimmel started off the interview with the biggest topic currently in Washington: guns. In the wake of a series of mass shootings in America, lawmakers in Washington are debating on how to pass common sense gun reform without upsetting either side.
When the President said something needs to get done and fast, remembering the families he spoke to for over four hours, the late-night host pressed Biden why he can’t sign an executive order like former President Donald Trump did countless times.
“Trump passed those out like Halloween candy,” Kimmel said of executive orders.
.@jimmykimmel got emotional, asking President Biden why he can't issue an executive order re guns. Biden says he has but adds "what I don’t want to do, and I’m not being facetious, is emulate Trump’s abuse of the constitution and constitutional authority.” #Kimmel pic.twitter.com/REdN3XAsd7
— Stephen Michael (@stephenreports) June 9, 2022
Biden explained that he did sign executive orders “within the power of the presidency” regarding guns.
“But what I don’t want to do, and I’m not being facetious, I don’t want to emulate Trump’s abuse of the constitution,” Biden said. “I often get asked, ‘look the Republicans don’t play it square, why do you play it square?’ Well, guess what? If we do the same thing they do, our democracy will literally be in jeopardy.”
Making the case his legislative shortcomings
Biden and the White House used the interview to reach out to the American people about the accomplishments of his administration but also to have people understand why it appears little has been on several key issues such as climate change and voting rights.
Kimmel pressed Biden, saying Democrats are frustrated because it feels “as if we are going backward on a number of issues” despite the Democrats holding all three branches of government.
“I got 81 million votes, more than anyone has ever gotten,” he began. “But what happens is we only have 50 senators — which means we have 50 presidents.”
“And two of them are kind of iffy at best,” Kimmel said, referring to Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema.
“The problem is 48 out of the 50 senators vote with me 95 percent of the time,” Biden replied. “But we only have 50 and you can’t even get two of three Republicans to vote… They agree on a lot of these proposals but Joe is not there on climate and the environment and Kyrsten is not there on tax policies.”
Balanced and fair
The President also seemed to suggest the White House has not been able to properly communicate its message due to the media covering inflation, the baby formula shortage, and more. He would rather them focus on the historic unemployment rate that his administration has brought down.
Politico reported late Wednesday that Joe Biden spoke with reporters aboard Air Force One during a recent trip to the West coast, criticizing their reporting on his administration.
Biden says there's a lot of things the Democrats have done but hints the media has 'changed' how they report on him: "Look how the press has changed. Even the really good reporters have to get a number of clicks on nightly news…everything gets sensationalized." #Kimmel pic.twitter.com/0uQF7UeufD
— Stephen Michael (@stephenreports) June 9, 2022
“Look how the press has changed,” Biden told Kimmel. “Even the really good reporters have to get a number of clicks on the nightly news…everything gets sensationalized.”
