US President Joe Biden's visit to Britain comes ahead of a key NATO summit set to discuss Ukraine
AFP

KEY POINTS

  • Administration aides said Biden would grill his staff on various topics
  • Others said being yelled at by Biden has become an internal initiation ceremony
  • The revelation is in stark contrast to Biden's carefully-cultivated image

President Joe Biden is prone to outbursts and regularly yells at his staff, according to a report.

"No one is safe," whether low- or senior-level aides in Biden's line of fire, past and current administration officials told Axios in a report Monday.

Biden's admonitions to his staff include but are not limited to: "God dammit, how the f--k don't you know this?!", "Don't f--king bullsh-t me!" and "Get the f--k out of here!" per past and present administration aides who have witnessed and, at times, at the receiving end of the outbursts.

One aide even shared about a time when Biden got angry at White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, who at the time was the "COVID czar," when there was a shortage of testing kits in the midst of the spread of the highly-contagious Omicron variant.

But Zients' spokesperson, when asked to comment, did not confirm whether there had been a tussle between his boss and the president.

"I'm not going to speak to what internal convos may or may not have happened between Jeff and the president," the spokesperson said.

Administration aides also said that Biden, whose "tantrum" comes in the form of angry interrogations rather than erratic behavior, would grill his staff on topics until it's clear they don't know the answers to his questions – a reflection, some say, of his high expectations.

Others even said that being yelled at by the president has become an internal initiation ceremony in the Biden White House and that if an aide was never yelled at, it could mean he doesn't pay any respect to them.

"There is no question that the Biden temper is for real. It may not be as volcanic as Bill Clinton's, but it's definitely there," Chris Whipple, author of "The Fight of His Life: Inside Joe Biden's White House," said.

The book also shared a conversation between the president and former Press Secretary Jen Psaki, who reportedly said: "I said to [Biden] multiple times, 'I'll know we have a really good, trusting relationship when you yell at me the first time.'"

"Psaki wouldn't have to wait long" before she got yelled at by the 80-year-old commander-in-chief, Whipple said.

The White House declined to comment on the report.

The revelation is in stark contrast to Biden's carefully-cultivated image of a dad or an uncle "who loves Aviator sunglasses and ice cream."

Some aides even said that the president should publicize his temper to assure the public that he is at the top of his game and dissuade those claiming he is disengaged and too old.

US President Joe Biden made his remarks about Afghanistan at a press conference about the US Supreme Court's decision overruling student debt
AFP