With just over 22 weeks left in charge of the country, President Joe Biden is looking for work.
Or so he told a room of dozens of online content creators whom he referred to as “the future” and his grandchildren’s preferred news source during a meeting at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on Wednesday, trying on a new face as a statesman enjoying the twilight of his career.
“You break through in ways that I think are going to change the entire dynamic of the way in which we communicate, and that’s why I invited you to the White House, because I’m looking for a job,” he told the crowd, drawing big laughs.
At least outwardly, in recent days the president has shown a noticeably unencumbered and easygoing demeanor, filling up his calendar with events after a brief lull following his decision to drop his reelection campaign.
On a trip to New Orleans on Tuesday to announce investments in developing new cancer treatments, a deeply personal project, Biden made clear he was still actively involved in the most serious matters of state, getting briefed on the conflicts in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip every five hours.
But he also made time to engage, twice walking over to speak to assembled reporters whom he would often rush by during tenser times, and sticking around after the official visit for dinner at a seafood restaurant along with his wife and around a dozen staff members.
Since ending his campaign, the president has alternated between reminding people that he is still working on the weightiest of priorities even while turning to legacy projects, and embracing a more laid-back public events schedule.
When asked by a reporter this month if the multinational prisoner exchange he had helped negotiate had special significance given his looming retirement, Biden fired back that it was business as usual.
“I’d still get it done even if I was seeking a second term,” he said after the deal resulted in the freeing of 16 people held by Russia. “You’re stuck with me as president for a while, kid.”
Mingling with the younger generation Wednesday, Biden imagined an unlikely future — as an online content creator.
“You think — when I retire, where do you think I’m going?” he said. “I got contacts, man, you all think I’m kidding.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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