President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris decided to cosplay as leaders on Monday by giving a briefing on the devastating California wildfires. That’s the thing about pretending, though. It rarely ends well, and things went downhill very quickly. 

I don’t think wildfire victims who have lost their homes and are only being offered $770 should be expected to be “patient” while incompetent politicians such as Harris preen for the cameras from the Oval Office. The optics are awful enough, but the real-world results are far worse. Biden and Harris share the blame with California officials for this latest disaster. Federal lands are often the starting place for these fires, and before the 2024 election, the Biden administration canceled all controlled burns in California out of fear the White House would get blamed if something went wrong. 

Mercifully, the briefing ended fairly quickly, at which point America was treated to Biden making faces at members of the press as his handlers shouted at them to leave the room. 

Biden sits and makes faces at the press as his handlers SCREAM at them to leave the room following his wildfires briefing.

Fewer than seven days until Biden disgraces that room no longer. pic.twitter.com/12qbLfsV4s

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 14, 2025

He realizes over two dozen people have been confirmed dead, right? Likewise, does he realize that thousands of people have lost their homes and livelihoods with little hope of quickly rebuilding? I’ve never seen a president with such little sense of tone and timing. I suppose we can blame his senility, but it’s still jarring in these situations. 

The good news is that all this ends in a week. Biden and Harris will leave Washington, and a new presidential term will begin. Hopefully, it’ll be one that exhibits far more competence than the last.