Joe Biden's Blowup at TikToker Resurfaces as White House Tries to Set Limits on Questions: 'I Trust You As Far As I Can Throw Your Phone'
A now-viral video of President Joe Biden telling a TikToker "I trust you about as far as I can throw your phone" resurfaced this week as the 2024 hopeful fought to win over young online voters, RadarOnline.com has learned.
In late April, Jonathan M. Katz, an independent journalist with a little more than 72k followers, posted a video of his interaction with Biden during a White House reception filled with popular content creators and celebrities. He filmed as he approached the president and pressed him on America's support of Israel's "genocide" in Palestine.
Biden answered some of his questions, explaining that he was taking action by "putting extreme pressure on Israelis to back off and open up humanitarian access in Gaza," adding, "I think we're getting close."
After getting pulled away by people in the bustling crowd hoping for a meet-and-greet with the president, Biden turned back to Katz, who was still filming, and told him, "Look, I know you’re a typical press guy, you’re grabbing me in front of all this ... but I trust you about as far as I can throw your phone."
The commander-in-chief then added, "I have a good arm, man. I can throw a long way."
"But my point is this," Biden continued, "I have made very clear to the Israelis what they have to do in the near term, and if they don't, what's gonna happen."
When Katz asked, "What's gonna happen?" Biden simply answered, "a lot," and Katz followed up, "Is the U.S. gonna cut off funding?" but the president was pulled away before he could answer, and the TikToker walked off.
Katz wrote in an article on The Racket that he had been surprised to check his email and find an invitation to "a reception on the periphery of the White House Correspondent's Association dinner," writing, "This was odd, seeing as a) I'm not a White House correspondent and b) didn't have any plans to attend the dinner."
- Joe Biden's White House Smile Sparks Fevered Rumors He Secretly Voted for Trump and is 'Glad' Kamala Harris Lost Election
- Uri Geller Taps into 'Psychic Powers' to Urge Donald Trump: 'Bomb Iran Now!'
- Psychic Uri Geller Predicts Donald Trump Is Being Targeted For JFK-Style Assassination in 'Deep State Plot' — Involving Lee Harvey Oswald-Type 'Stooge' Hitman
DAILY. BREAKING. CELEBRITY NEWS. ALL FREE.
After opting to attend, he wrote in his account of the experience that he found Biden to be "an in-the-flesh confirmation of the Biden who has come across in leaks and comments from aides, a Biden who is fed up with Israel's shenanigans and this close to imposing some kind of consequence or other." However, he criticized the president's "avoidance of specifics."
In conclusion, he wrote,"a suggestion for my host: Focus less on courting influencers, and more on rapidly fixing the policies now threatening to sink one of history's most consequential re-election campaigns."
The New York Times brought the story back into the limelight in an article on Friday with the sub-headline, "The Biden campaign is trying to work its way into social media feeds. But it is struggling to win over the young, left-leaning influencers who control the conversation online."
The outlet argued that Biden's social media popularity paled in comparison to his 2024 election rival, Donald Trump, whose supporters create memes and constantly share complimentary posts, basically serving as free advertising.
The president's campaign team has been working tirelessly to play catchup, and said their efforts would materialize over the summer.
Never miss a story — sign up for the RadarOnline.com newsletter to get your daily dose of dope. Daily. Breaking. Celebrity news. All free.
"Our partnership program for 2024 has scaled significantly, starting earlier than ever before and with more staff dedicated to the work," Mia Ehrenberg, a Biden spox, told The Times.