Human Events editor Jason Mattera asked Vice President Joe Biden a legitimate question on Capitol Hill yesterday and got a threatening response: “Don’t screw with me.”
Biden on Tuesday said murder and rape rates would increase if Republicans defeat President Obama’s $447 billion second stimulus “jobs” bill. But on Wednesday when Mattera asked him if he regretted using the rape allusion, Biden instantly got beligerent.
“I didn’t use, no no no…Let’s get it straight, guy. Don’t screw around with me,” Biden said, as he jabbed an index finger at Mattera’s chest.
But the Human Events editor pressed, asking “and if the Republicans don’t pass this bill, then rape will continue to rise?”
Biden’s response? “Murder will continue to rise, rape will continue to rise, all crimes will continue to rise.”
Then Mattera asked Biden: “Do you think it’s appropriate for the vice president to use language in such a way?”
At that point, Biden walked away as one of his staff handlers pushed past Mattera, saying “We gotta go, I’m sorry we gotta go.”
As outrageous as was Biden’s threatening stance towards a journalist asking a direct question, perhaps the most revealing part of this encounter is the question flung back at Mattera by one of Biden’s handlers:
“Excuse me, who are you with?”
The most likely reason for such a query from the Biden aide was that she couldn’t believe a “real” journalist would ask such a question. See, “real” journalists, in the view of Biden and his boss, President Obama, don’t ask tough questions, they simply write what they’re told by the White House.
You can watch the entire encounter in this video:
