It must have been shocking for many to see the president of the United States, the man who campaigned on a return to empathetic and stable politics, dismiss the crisis in Afghanistan so cavalierly during his interview with ABC News this week. But for those familiar with Biden’s career, his indifferent attitude wasn’t a surprise at all.

This is always who Biden has been: a stubborn and defensive man who lashes out when confronted and refuses to admit when he’s wrong. We saw hints of this on the campaign trail, when he called a New Hampshire woman a “lying, dog-faced pony soldier” after she asked him a question at a campaign rally, or when he snapped at an Iowa voter, calling him a “damn liar,” or when he told a Michigan factory worker that he was “full of s***.” But no one wanted to believe that good ol’ Middle-Class Joe could be just as cruel as the guy he was running against.