President Joe Biden recently found himself in a heated exchange with popular TikTok influencer and independent journalist, Jonathan M. Katz, during a White House gathering of social media personalities. The confrontation escalated to a point where President Biden threatened to throw Katz’s phone across the room.
The conflict arose when Katz began filming the President while asking for his views on U.S. support for Israel amid the Gaza conflict. Specifically, Katz questioned Biden’s plan to halt the alleged genocide being fueled by American-funded weapons.
Although the President attempted to sidestep the question by emphasizing his commitment to reducing casualties in Gaza, Katz persisted. This persistence irritated Biden, leading him to tell Katz, “I know you’re a typical press guy, you’re grabbing me in front of all this … but I trust you about as far as I can throw your phone. I have a good arm, man. I can throw a long way.” After this exchange, Katz was escorted away from the President by aides.
Katz, who has approximately 70,000 TikTok followers, posted the recorded video of the incident on his platform. On his independent news website, Katz voiced his surprise at being invited to the White House, especially considering Biden’s previous enactment of a TikTok ban.
Cranky old man! Biden was involved in an incident at a White House influencer party where he threatened to throw the phone of TikTok influencer Jonathan Katz. The event was captured on video and has been widely shared on social media. pic.twitter.com/7WJ5jpo1OP
— David Pollack (@ThePollackShow) June 15, 2024
Other well-known personalities present at the White House gathering included actors David Cross, Fran Drescher, Yvette Nicole Brown, Diedrich Bader, Jon Cryer, and Jordan Klepper.
This incident with Katz reiteraites that Biden is losing his young base that he claims to have.
A recent report revealed that Biden and his Democrat allies are investing significant efforts to build a dedicated following of social media supporters. To this end, the Biden campaign has spent $2 million on the services of Village Marketing, a firm specializing in social media outreach. Moreover, the Democratic National Committee plans to invite numerous influencers to future events, though it aims to avoid any more uncomfortable videos of the President.
Despite these efforts, Biden’s social media popularity continues to lag compared to that of former President Donald Trump. Biden’s campaign account has 376,000 followers, far fewer than Trump’s 6.3 million.
