HYGO News Biden: Americans Confused, Conservative Folks, McAuliffe 600K More Votes, Immigrants $450K Garbage
Biden Says Americans Are “Confused,” Blames Election Losses on “Conservative Folks,” Calls $450K Immigrant Payments “Garbage”
On November 3, 2021, the day after Democrats suffered a devastating loss in the Virginia governor’s race, President Biden took questions from reporters and delivered a series of statements that drew immediate scrutiny. Biden described Americans as “confused,” blamed the Virginia election loss on “very conservative folks” in red districts rather than his own agenda, claimed Terry McAuliffe had received 600,000 more votes than any previous Democratic gubernatorial candidate, and dismissed reports that his administration was preparing to pay separated illegal immigrant families up to $450,000 per person as “garbage.” The ACLU responded by suggesting the president “may not have been fully briefed” on the actions of his own Justice Department.
Biden Deflects Responsibility for Virginia Loss
When asked directly how much responsibility he took for the “dismal results” in Virginia, Biden did not accept blame. Instead, he offered a statistical defense of McAuliffe’s performance and an explanation rooted in the structural disadvantage of the party in power.
“I was talking to Terry to congratulate him today. He got 600,000 more votes than any Democrat ever has gotten,” Biden said. He added: “No governor in Virginia has won when he or she is the same party as a sitting president.”
The framing positioned the loss as historically inevitable rather than a referendum on Biden’s agenda. But the 10-point swing from Biden’s own margin in Virginia just one year earlier made the structural argument harder to sustain. Biden had carried Virginia by 10 points in November 2020; Republican Glenn Youngkin won the governorship by approximately 2 points in November 2021.
When a reporter asked whether McAuliffe would have won if Biden’s legislative agenda had passed before Election Day, Biden conceded the timing: “I think we should have passed before Election Day.” But he hedged on whether it would have changed the outcome: “I’m not sure that I would be able to have changed the number of very conservative folks who turned out in the red districts who were Trump voters. But maybe, maybe.”
Americans Are “Confused” and “Uncertain”
Biden offered a broader explanation for the political climate that went beyond Virginia. He described the country as being in a state of widespread anxiety and confusion.
“People are at a point, and it’s understandable, where there’s a whole lot of confusion,” Biden said. “People are upset and uncertain about a lot of things, from COVID to school to jobs to a whole range of things and the cost of a gallon of gasoline.”
The “confusion” framing suggested the problem was not with the administration’s policies but with the public’s ability to understand them. Biden reinforced this interpretation by arguing that his individual policy proposals were popular even if his overall approval was not: “All the things that I have and what I’ve been pushing in legislation, each of the elements are overwhelmingly popular. We have to speak to them. We have to speak to them and explain them.”
Critics argued that Biden was making the classic political mistake of telling voters they simply did not understand what was good for them, rather than acknowledging that the policies themselves might be causing the dissatisfaction voters had expressed at the ballot box.
The $450,000 “Garbage” Exchange
The most contentious moment came when a reporter confronted Biden with reports that his administration was negotiating settlements of up to $450,000 per person — potentially $1 million per family — for illegal immigrants who had been separated at the border under the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance policy.
The reporter asked: “Do you think that that might incentivize more people to come over illegally?”
Biden’s response was blunt: “If you guys keep sending that garbage out, yeah. But it’s not true.”
The reporter pressed: “So this is a garbage report?”
“Yeah,” Biden confirmed.
“$450,000 per person, is that what you’re saying? That was separated from a family member at the border under the last administration — that’s not going to happen?” the reporter asked.
“That’s not going to happen,” Biden said.
The denial created an immediate problem. The ACLU, which was involved in the litigation on behalf of the separated families, issued a press release within hours suggesting that Biden “may not have been fully briefed about the actions of his very own Justice Department.” The statement implied either that the president was unaware of ongoing settlement negotiations or that he had misspoken.
The following day, the White House press secretary would effectively reverse Biden’s denial, saying the president was “perfectly comfortable” with DOJ settling the cases and that his objection had been specifically to the $450,000 figure, not to the concept of payments. The contradiction between Biden’s emphatic “garbage” dismissal and his press secretary’s clarification became a flashpoint for critics who questioned whether the president was fully informed about his own administration’s actions.
The Trump Strategy That Backfired
A reporter raised another element of the Virginia loss: Biden’s reliance on tying Youngkin to former President Trump during the campaign. During a rally for McAuliffe weeks before the election, Biden had mentioned Trump 24 times, according to media tallies.
“When you went to try to help Terry McAuliffe a couple of weeks ago, you mentioned Trump 24 times. Do you still think that voters really want to hear you talking about Trump more than the issues affecting them every day?” the reporter asked.
Biden defended the approach: “The reason I mentioned Trump is because the issues he supports are affecting their lives every day and have a negative impact on their lives.” He also attacked Youngkin for refusing to campaign alongside Trump despite pledging loyalty to him in private: “He won’t stand next to Donald Trump now that the campaign’s on. What’s he trying to hide?”
The strategy of making the Virginia race a referendum on Trump rather than a contest over education, the economy, and parental rights was widely viewed as having backfired. Youngkin successfully distanced himself from Trump’s most polarizing aspects while capturing the energy of parents who were frustrated with school closures, curriculum controversies, and what they perceived as dismissive attitudes from school officials and political leaders.
Key Takeaways
- Biden described Americans as experiencing “a whole lot of confusion” and blamed the Virginia gubernatorial loss on “very conservative folks” in red districts and historical patterns rather than accepting responsibility, while claiming McAuliffe received “600,000 more votes than any Democrat ever has gotten.”
- He called reports of $450,000 settlements for separated illegal immigrant families “garbage” and said “that’s not going to happen,” prompting the ACLU to respond that the president “may not have been fully briefed” on his own DOJ’s settlement negotiations.
- Biden defended mentioning Trump 24 times at a McAuliffe rally, arguing Trump’s policies were “affecting their lives every day,” but the Trump-centric strategy was widely viewed as having backfired as Youngkin won by running on education and parental rights.