Despite the White House's efforts to tailor an ice cream-loving grandfather public image for him, President Joe Biden reportedly has a short temper and often lashes out at officials of all ranks in his administration behind the scenes.
Current and former aides to the president recalled him saying, "God dammit, how the f*** don't you know this?!" "Don't fing bulls me!" and "Get the f*** out of here!" at various points, according to a report from Axios.
US ALLIES AND PEERS MOVE TOWARD REGULATING 'MISINFORMATION' ON BIG TECH
The report detailed that the 80-year-old president's interrogations of staff are so common and indiscriminate that they've become known as "stump the chump" or "stump the dummy."
But many aides have come to view these outbursts as a sign of respect.
Biden's former Senate chief of staff Ted Kaufman told Axios, "If there is something that's not in the brief, he's going to find it." However, "It's not to embarrass people. It's because he wants to get to the right decision. Most people who have worked for him like the fact that he challenges them and gets them to a better decision."
The president's apparent temper is relatively unknown to the public. However, some of his aides believe it might be to his benefit to show this side of himself. This, in their opinion, might fend off criticism that he is too old and isn't pulling the strings in the White House.
One occasion recalled by staffers is a particularly fiery outburst at then-COVID-19 czar Jeff Zients in 2021 when testing kits began to run out during the spread of the omicron variant. Zients is now Biden's chief of staff.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE IN THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The tales of Biden's anger behind closed doors shed light on incidents in public that seemed rather out of character for the chief executive. For example, in January of 2022, a microphone picked up the president calling Fox News's Peter Doocy a "stupid son of a b****" after being asked about inflation.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the White House for comment.