After the political firestorm from President Joe Biden calling Trump supporters “garbage,” the White House and its allies in the media are scrambling. But no matter how they try to contextualize or downplay his words, it’s difficult to obscure the uncomfortable truth: This was no slip of the tongue. Biden’s comment reflects a broader and deeper contempt that the political Left has shown toward working families and anyone who challenges its agenda. The evidence goes well beyond this one inflammatory statement.
When running for president in 2020, Biden aggressively pushed a radical energy agenda that would devastate industries such as coal mining and oil production, endangering thousands of jobs. When questioned about the consequences, Biden’s response was dismissive: Those coal miners and energy workers should just “learn to code.”
His message was if the Biden-Harris agenda upends your life and robs you of your livelihood, that’s a price he and his vice president are willing to pay. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are focused on their “green” revolution and not the survival of working-class families losing jobs. “Learn to code” wasn’t just a careless remark. It was a preview of their administration’s priorities.
Since taking office, Biden and Harris have often seemed more concerned with implementing their policies, whatever the cost to regular Americans, than adapting to the real needs of the people they serve. Consider the border policy failures, inflation, and record-high gas prices that have battered everyday people. Biden and Harris’s response? They point to minor achievements and expect applause for things as trivial as a 2-cent drop in gas prices, seemingly unaware of the frustration boiling over in struggling households.
Meanwhile, Harris’s time in office has been marred by frequent reports of her own disconnect from the people she serves — and even from her own staff. News reports have portrayed a vice president who is not only ineffective but also dismissive and difficult to work with. Headlines such as “Exasperation and Dysfunction: Inside Kamala Harris’s Frustrating Start as Vice President” were commonplace in the early months of the administration, painting a picture of a leader disconnected from her own team and the broader public. As her poll numbers began to plummet, the White House rushed to protect her image, but the public had already seen behind the curtain.
The Biden-Harris administration’s treatment of the border crisis has also highlighted its cavalier attitude. America has witnessed a surge in illegal immigration, leading to increased crime and even tragic deaths among Americans and migrants alike. The administration has been largely silent. This lack of concern for the impact of border policies on people’s lives is yet another indication of our leaders’ contempt for those whose lives are affected by their decisions.
This attitude of “it’s our agenda first, and you come second” has never been more glaring than in Biden’s infamous check of his watch during a memorial for fallen service members. As families mourned their loved ones, Biden’s casual glance revealed an attitude of impatience and lack of respect for their loss, a disturbing gesture Biden’s supporters still deny. This moment cemented for many people that Biden’s priorities are often at odds with the empathy and attentiveness they expect from their leader.
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And then, a week from the election, Biden denigrated half the country’s voters as “garbage.” This isn’t just a minor misstep. It’s another moment of unfiltered honesty that exposes the disdain this administration harbors toward people who dare to disagree with it. This fits neatly into a larger pattern: the callousness toward energy workers, the indifference to border crisis victims, and the disrespect to grieving families. This pattern underscores an administration more aligned with its agenda than the people it purports to serve.
It’s time for Biden and Harris to recognize the consequences of their words and actions. Working families aren’t expendable. A presidency that treats them as such is on borrowed time, and voters are taking note.
Larry Behrens is the communications director for Power The Future. He has appeared on Fox News, ZeroHedge, and NewsMax, speaking in defense of energy workers. You can follow him on X @larrybehrens.