Will Taylor Swift endorse Joe Biden for 2024? He jokes that it’s ‘classified’
President Joe Biden joked on Monday (local time) that a potential 2024 endorsement by Taylor Swift is a “classified” matter as he made a rare media appearance to mark the 10th anniversary of “Late Night with Seth Meyers.” Was.
Biden’s arrival was a nominal surprise to the audience. He came on stage after the announced guest – comedian and actor Amy Poehler – said he was Meyers’ first guest on the show when Biden was vice president. Poehler said she could convince him to bring her back, prompting Biden to say “Hail to the chief.”
“It’s good to be back,” Biden told Meyers. “Why didn’t you call me earlier?”
Heading into this year’s presidential election, Biden has been looking for additional ways to reach out to voters, having largely avoided White House press conferences and on-the-record meetings with text reporters. Biden also did not participate in the traditional pre-Super Bowl presidential interview.
Meyers questioned Biden about a conspiracy theory spread among some conservatives on social media that Swift and Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs running back Travis Kelce are part of an elaborate plot to help Democrats win the November election.
“I have you here at the hotspot,” Meyers asked. “Can you confirm or deny that there is an active conspiracy between you and Miss Swift?”
“Where you’re getting this information from, it’s classified,” Biden responded, adding that Swift had endorsed him for president in 2020. Asked by Meyers if she would endorse Biden again, the president laughed and said, “I told you it’s classified.”
Meyers also asked Biden what he thought about the “Dark Brandon” meme, which depicts Biden with lasers for eyes. “I’m deeply offended by this,” Biden quipped, then donned his signature aviator sunglasses. The meme, which first surfaced in conservative circles, has been adopted by Biden’s campaign and supporters, and is a top driver of sales in his campaign merchandise.
Biden, 81, America’s oldest-ever leader, also addressed concerns about his age, saying, “You’ve got to take a look at the other guy, he’s almost as old as me, but he’s got his wife’s age.” Don’t remember the name.”
It was an apparent reference to former President Donald Trump’s appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington last weekend, when the former president praised his wife, Melania, and “Mercedes” — Mercedes Schlapp, his former aide who helps run the group. Also made reference to. And was in the audience. Some people on social media, as well as Meyers in his monologue, suggested that Trump had used the wrong name for his wife.
Biden said what really matters is “how old your ideas are” and criticized Trump and Republicans for supporting rollbacks of abortion access and other policies that have for decades been “destroying solid American… “Stance”.
The president also criticized Trump for praising those who participated in the Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2021, and for promising to pardon those who attacked police officers and tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
“This is what happens in Eastern European countries,” Biden said. “That doesn’t happen in America.”
Meyers has repeatedly taken digs at Trump, and devoted much of his show before Biden’s appearance to criticizing the former president and Republicans over a controversial court decision in Alabama that barred in vitro fertilization treatments in the state. Was overturned.
He also criticized some Democrats who have tried to shield Biden from any criticism, playing a clip of Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman saying that people who criticize Biden may also support Trump.
“It’s a healthy thing in a democracy to criticize or make fun of our leaders,” Meyers said. “I mean, Joe Biden seems to be able to take a joke. We make jokes about him all the time here on ‘Late Night.’
During his first three years as president, Biden has given 33 news conferences, the fewest in that time period since Ronald Reagan, according to Martha Kumar, emeritus professor at Towson University and an expert on presidents and the press. Biden has given only 86 interviews, far fewer than the 422 given by Barack Obama during his first three years.
After recording the interview, Biden stopped by Van Leeuwen for some mint chip ice cream, with Meyers joining him and getting a taste of Honeycomb. Earlier, he attended an event with donors at a midtown hotel.