Joe Biden appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on Friday night. It was his first late-night show appearance since becoming president. To say it was a softball interview is an understatement. It was a slobbering lovefest between two Democrats who are trying to convince the audience that everything is going well in Biden’s America.

It’s not, of course, and there is a reason Joe Biden chose to do his first late-night show instead of holding a real press conference or sitting down for a less friendly interview on a day when it was reported that inflation is at a 39 year high – no tough questions. He didn’t even do the interview in person, his was a virtual interview.

Even the liberal Hollywood website Deadline notes the overly gentle interview with the president. Its write-up on Biden’s appearance suggests that Fallon was trying to overcompensate to make up for the criticism he received after his interview with Trump in 2016. Democrats went ballistic on Fallon with claims he was too nice to Trump.

“You are bringing class back to the office,” Fallon told the president, making pretty clear where his affinity lies, having endured criticism for his light-hearted interview with Donald Trump in the midst of the divisive 2016 presidential campaign.

Perhaps Jimmy Fallon has a different definition of “class” than others of us do. He is largely absent from cameras, only surfacing to talk about vaccines or spending bills that will add trillions of dollars to America’s debt. The Build Back Better Act was the main topic of conversation in this interview and Fallon allowed Biden to stay with the talking points someone else wrote for him. Fallon didn’t bother to ask any kind of follow-up questions. That is likely the reason Fallon’s show was chosen. The White House probably coordinated in advance how the interview was to go and what would be discussed. If Biden went on with Colbert or Kimmel, both liberal Democrats and Biden supporters, there might have been at least an attempt to slip in a real question on policy or legislation.

Jimmy Fallon did a song and video with Ariana Grande and Megan Thee Stallion about COVID-19 vaccines and boosters. Biden referenced it in his interview and he tweeted the video on his Twitter account. Fallon was happy to do the administration’s work by putting a musical twist to encouraging people to get vaccinated. When Fallon asked Biden what else he can do to help, Biden suggested that more people should listen to that song. And, he said getting vaccinated is the patriotic thing to do. I know.

Biden replied, “I think what we ought to do is have more people listen to your song.” He was referring to A Masked Christmas, with Ariana Grande and Megan Thee Stallion. Biden tweeted it out.

Biden brought up some of the furor over vaccine mandates, as he told Fallon, “This stuff about ‘Biden’s mandating these things happening, and it is un-American. Look at it this way. It is patriotic to get this done. Not a joke. It is patriotic to get it done.”

That is what Democrats do, they tell Americans that something that may be getting resistance is the patriotic thing to do. How many times have we been told by tax and spend Democrats that higher taxes are patriotic? Paying higher taxes is the patriotic thing to do, you know.

When Biden was asked about his low poll numbers he pretended that he no longer looks at those numbers. He tried to make a joke that he used to look at polling numbers when he was in the 60s but not now. He thinks you’re dumb, America. There is no way that a career politician does not look at polls every day, no matter the numbers. Fallon played along. Biden launched into his talking points that everything is going great.

Biden was asked by “The Tonight Show” host during their virtual chat how much he paid attention to his approval ratings, which have sunk since the summer.

“Well, not anymore,” Biden deadpanned in response.

“No, I’m joking,” the president continued. “I paid attention when they’re in the mid-60s, not when they’re in the mid-40s.”

“I appreciate the honesty,” said Fallon. “You came in hot and then you got to medium and now you’re at a low.”

“A lot has happened” since he took office, said Biden, with people “being told that Armageddon’s on the way” when “the truth is the economy’s grown more than it has any time in close to 60 years, the unemployment rate is down to 4.2%” and “it’s going to go lower, in my view.”

Yes, a lot has happened. It is hard to find any good that has happened, though. Biden’s policies have exacerbated a worker shortage because his administration kept authorizing supplements that allowed low-wage workers – the backbone of the workforce – to stay home instead of going back to their jobs. The jobs that Biden likes to claim that “he” created are not new jobs, they are the millions of jobs affected by the pandemic that was shut down and now are coming back. Inflation is hurting everyone, especially lower and middle-class people. Seniors on fixed incomes, young families, minimum wage workers, as well as those who earn more, are feeling the pinch every time they fill up their car or load a grocery cart. It adds up quickly. People are rightly nervous about what is happening in everyday life. Crime is up, too, so personal safety is an issue. Where are the bright spots, Joe? Biden blames it on “inaccurate information” being given to them but it’s just people noticing what is going on in their lives. It’s easy for Biden to look the other way in his little bubble but everyday Americans see what is happening. That is exactly why his polling numbers are tanking.

Fallon asked a very Barbara Walters-style question to point out that the job of a president is, well, hard. Barbara Walters used to ask people what kind of tree they would be. Fallon asked Biden, “Does anyone really understand how hard your job is?…”

Fallon: “Does anyone really understand how hard your job is?…Just being in D.C. the other day and driving around and you see all these giant buildings and you feel kind of nervous. I feel important when I am there but you are the leader of our country. The pressure. And then you have to do 20 events during the day that we don’t even see.”

Biden: “Well look. I was vice president for eight years. I knew what the job was. No one should feel sorry for me. It is the greatest honor anyone could have in their whole life, in my view, is to be president of the United States.”

Yes, Biden knew what the job would be. He became president on the third try, he’s been running since 1988. The White House is coordinating with the media to boost him up to the American voters through their coverage of him. This is what they did during the Obama administration, too. This is the return to normal that Democrats say Biden is bringing back. Fallon played along like a good Democrat.

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