We are ruled by malevolent clowns.

On Tuesday of this week, with the specter of a potentially devasting rail strike looming over the Christmas season and a fragile U.S. economy, a reporter at a White House press conference asked Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre a simple, direct question.

“Is there an update on the potential rail strike? Is the President talking to any of the parties?”

After rifling through her binder – video at the link – she gave one of her patented, convoluted answers, which DID contain one assertive, repeated, unequivocal nugget.

…White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Tuesday President Biden is “directly involved” in rail union negotiations to avert a strike but wouldn’t name who he has talked to.

“The best option still is for both parties to resolve their differences themselves and that is what the president is going to continue to call on,” Jean-Pierre told reporters.

“The president is indeed involved directly. I don’t want to get into the details at this time, but he has been involved. He remains focused on protecting America’s families,” she continued.

Pressed by a reporter for clarification on how the president has been involved, citing claims from SMART Transportation President Jeremy Ferguson that Biden has been largely absent from negotiations, Jean-Pierre dismissed the questions.

“This is the third time I’m saying he’s been directly involved,”

Jean-Pierre said. “You’re talking about one union president. There are twelve. You’re talking about one. I said I’m not going to provide any details at this time.”

Apparently, she wasn’t going “to provide any details” at the time because…there weren’t any to provide, and the binder is a fairy tale resource.

These are the facts as they stand, according to her boss, who cut the legs out from under the French lady not two days later. In the face of this looming national disaster, he has yet to personally be bothered to do anything because?

…”My team has been in touch with all the parties, in rooms with the parties,” said Biden. “I have not directly engaged yet because they’re still talking.”

Good. Lord.”Been in touch”? How OUT OF TOUCH can you be?!

It’s almost as if he resents the fact that he threw a Rose Garden victory party in September – however prematurely (as I noted just Wednesday, the four unions not signed then are the same ones going out NOW, hello)…

…and here these ingrates are trying to ruin it. So far it looks as if he’s just going to ignore them. Or is it that he’s so beholden to unions he doesn’t want to be seen as the big heavy, stepping in to shake an agreement out of them? Nor does he want to be seen pressuring the railroads for the concessions unions are asking for in quality-of-life issues.

I could also indulge my natural cynicism and postulate that Team Biden doesn’t have a frickin’ clue what to do next. That the combination of their natural arrogance, inherent ignorance, and herd mentality will not allow them to climb down from their inopportune and completely inappropriate September victory to-do. Not ONE of them speaks either “worker” or “business.”

Whatever the reason for the insouciance, there’s no excuse, but…here are with this president. Who, again, is so little concerned that the ad hoc interview where this revelation emerged took place was Nantucket. He’s not at the White House working the phones, calling people in, keeping tabs on things bursting into flames. Biden is at a beach, again.

For crying out loud – even Pete Buttigieg emerged from under his rock this week with the words “rail strike” finally issuing from his lips. If that isn’t a portent of potential #doom, I don’t know what would be.

They are looking like complete dotards and doing nothing to stave this off. Maria Bartiromo points out the disconnect in her lead-in for this report, using a clip of Labor Secretary Marty Walsh talking “about the economic impact after declaring victory back in September.”

For a bunch so quick to throw a victory party, and spike footballs before refs’ arms go up, it’s as if they’re frozen by every single wrench. They haven’t a clue what contingency planning is, and have never once engaged to see what the opposing sides are saying, from Afghanistan to energy to agriculture to rail, ad nauseum – life is one yuge, nasty surprise when it doesn’t go the way they wrote the script inside the White House, which is damned near every time. And they cannot cope. They are the very illustration of floundering.

The homework is never done, and consequently neither is the legwork, because it’s all too much like real “work.” I swear these cats are just in it for the gig and the power trip.

Malevolent clowns.

What a disgrace.