The oldest US president of all time reflects on new communication worlds at a meeting with influencers. He acts hip, cracks jokes, but cannot hide some bitterness.
US President Joe Biden has praised social media influencers as the future of communication and news. “They are the future,” Biden said at a meeting with a group of influencers in Washington. The grandfather of seven said his grandchildren no longer consume news in the traditional way with newspapers or television, but via social media. “They are the source of their news,” he said, addressing the influencers. The 81-year-old praised digital content creators for changing the “entire dynamic of how we communicate.” That’s why he invited the group to the White House, he joked. “Because I’m looking for a job.”
Biden dropped out of the race for a second term a few weeks ago and will therefore be without a job from January 2025. The Democrat had come under massive pressure from his own party because of his age and doubts about his mental fitness. Vice President Kamala Harris (59) will now take his place as the Democratic candidate in the election in November.
More and more people today want to get into the digital content business and become influencers, Biden continued. “What do you think when I retire?” he said to laughter. “I have contacts.” The industry now generates billions in sales. “I’d love to talk about borrowing money from you,” he joked. “I may look like I’m only 40, but I’ve been in this for a while.” And the division in the country and the way people treat each other in politics have never been worse.
There are so many lies being spread, Biden complained. People no longer know what to believe and what they can rely on. “There is such a loss of trust.” But influencers on social media can still get their messages across in a way that has never happened before, “at least in the 800 years that I’ve been in this.” The biggest plus for influencers is that they are trusted. Biden also said: “You all understand that you have an obligation (…) to say what you believe to be true.”
Biden took several swipes at traditional media. A lot has changed there. It’s all about clicks, he criticized. And if you want to appear in the news, you can’t do that by doing something positive, he added with some bitterness. The national press isn’t particularly crazy about him, “but I like them.”
