On the final weekend before the 2024 U.S. presidential election, a video clip circulated widely on social media, capturing a candid moment from Democratic President Joe Biden's "Get Out the Vote" event at the Carpenters & Joiners of America Local Union 445 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Filmed on Nov. 2, Biden's remarks during his speech drew attention as he discussed working-class values and his long-standing opposition to Republican policies.
In the clip, Biden used casual, colloquial language to discuss individuals he described as "macho" guys, and noted they were "the kind of guys you'd like to smack in the a**." An account on X posted the brief clip, receiving 1 million views, as of this writing:
In context, Biden — whose term ends in January 2025 — could have been reflecting on past experiences in his hometown Scranton, rather than addressing Republicans or presidential candidate Donald Trump specifically, although he was discussing Trump and the GOP's policies up to that point in the speech.
Biden's talk in Scranton featured an aside on his childhood growing up in the local neighborhoods. The remark in question came after he discussed Republicans' support for outsourcing jobs and tax cuts, describing a certain "macho guy" attitude he associated with the past.
According to the official White House Briefing Room transcript, Biden continued, "I'm serious. Think about it," then shifted to mentioning his late son, Beau Biden. Here is a longer transcript of that portion of his speech (emphasis our own):
I'll give you an example. An example is Micron [Technology] up in Syracuse, where they're building one of those fabs. In fa- — and they're building, they're investing — Micron — investing $100 billion to build them. It's a kind of investment that won't just lift up labor. It's gonna lift up everybody. It's going to grow the economy. They [the Republican Party] want to get rid of it. They wanted to get rid of it. They wanted to get rid of that.
Look, why? Cheaper labor overseas, man, cheaper labor.
There's one more thing Trump and his Republican friends want to do: They want another giant tax cut for the wealthy.
Now, I know some of you guys are tempted to think it's macho guy — I — I'll tell you what, man, when I was in Scranton, I used to — we used to have a little trouble going down the Plot once in a while, from Green Ridge. But I'm serious, these are the kind of guys you'd like to smack in the a**.
By the way, I'm serious. Think about it. My son gave his life for this country. He was attorney general of the state of Delaware. He volunteered to go to Iraq for a year. Came back with Stage 4 glioblastoma.
Media responses to Biden's comment during the Nov. 2 campaign event offered mixed interpretations of his purported target.
Some outlets, such as The New York Times, Reuters and CNN, appeared to downplay Biden's comment about "macho" guys being the "kind of guys" he'd like to "smack in the a**," suggesting they could be a reference to his younger years growing up in Scranton, rather than reflect his frustration with Republican figures and their supporters, as he spent much of the speech prior to that comment criticizing Trump and GOP policies.
However, Biden's overarching critique of Republican economic and social policies earlier in the speech led some outlets to conclude that he was likely directing his comment toward modern political figures rather than Scranton locals from his youth.
Sources including the New York Post and ABC News suggested that Biden's phrasing was indeed a low-grade attack on Trump and his Republican supporters. HuffPost also leaned toward an interpretation that Biden's comment was aimed at Republicans, as the outlet observed the speech's overall critical tone toward the GOP and its policies.
Both interpretations considered Biden's frequent tangents into nostalgic territory whenever he goes off script.
This split in media interpretations once again called attention to the president's off-the-cuff speaking style, where personal memories meld with current critiques, often resulting in confusing narratives that can be interpreted in multiple ways.
For instance, in late-October 2024, Biden stirred controversy by seeming to describe Trump supporters as "garbage" during a video call with Voto Latino, a Democratic-leaning civic engagement organization that aims to increase the political participation of Latinos. This remark came in response to comedian Tony Hinchcliffe's roast of Puerto Rico as "a floating island of garbage" during the Oct. 27 Trump rally in New York City.