Usually, Democrats are busy telling people “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.” Joe Biden, on the other hand, thinks there is no man or curtain.

We rarely get such proof that the president is a houseplant incapable of making decisions, much less running the country, but one simple question from (who else) Peter Doocy has ripped the curtain down to reveal an entire cast back there pulling the strings.

The story that the Biden Justice Department is busy negotiating settlements of around $450,000 paid to illegals who were separated from their family members during the Trump administration is beyond insane. We all know this is crazy. And you know who else thinks this is crazy talk? JOE BIDEN, who called the report “garbage.”

Representatives of the migrant families and government officials had discussed giving families $450,000 for each member affected by former President Donald J. Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy, which led to the separation of about 5,500 children from their parents, according to people familiar with the matter. But when asked on Wednesday about compensating the migrants, Mr. Biden denied the option was on the table.”

“$450,000 per person? Is that what you’re saying?” Mr. Biden said when asked by Fox News reporter Peter Doocy about the payments. “That’s not going to happen.”

This must have been one of those moments where the Biden staff said to themselves, “why did we let him take questions today???” as they realized what their alleged boss just said, out loud, on camera.

Good thing Jen Psaki is out sick, because she probably didn’t want to clean up after the old man AGAIN. And a clean-up job is needed, because the ACLU, who is driving this case, is plenty angry about it.

ICYMI, @AnthonyACLU said later Wednesday that the Justice Department had assured @ACLU that talks were continuing. “If we can’t achieve true restitution,” he added, “we’ll take our case on behalf of our clients to court.” W/ ⁦@aviswanatha⁩ https://t.co/7krsVSR6lR

— Sadie Gurman (@sgurman) November 4, 2021

Here is the ACLU’s official statement, which is essentially “check your email, old man” in legal terms.

ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero had the following response:

“President Biden may not have been fully briefed about the actions of his very own Justice Department as it carefully deliberated and considered the crimes committed against thousands of families separated from their children as an intentional governmental policy. But if he follows through on what he said, the president is abandoning a core campaign promise to do justice for the thousands of separated families. We respectfully remind President Biden that he called these actions ‘criminal’ in a debate with then-President Trump, and campaigned on remedying and rectifying the lawlessness of the Trump administration. We call on President Biden to right the wrongs of this national tragedy.”

But Joe Biden is totally in control of his administration and all the decisions being made and… you know, the thing!

Well now that’s a scandal.

If the White House IS paying $450,000 to illegal immigrant families and then the President lied about it in a national press conference that’s going to be a huge problem. https://t.co/52bkSnDF61

— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) November 3, 2021

And Biden saying this out loud has now put him in a pickle, as Ed Morrissey points out.

This leaves Biden in another jam entirely of his own making. What does he do now? He only has two choices, neither of them palatable. One: Biden explains why he actually is incentivizing more illegal immigrations (by his own statement to Doocy, no less!) by making these payouts and making the border crisis worse. Two: Biden tells the Department of Justice to drop the settlement, forcing the ACLU to go to court and end up defending Trump’s border-enforcement policy. Door #1 loses moderates and suburban votes, and Door #2 loses progressives and activists.”

Oh, and let’s not forget that Door #1 has an extra added bonus of becoming the centerpiece of a GOP campaign in the fall against vulnerable House Democrats. And there are a lot more of those than Biden thought before Tuesday’s elections.”

It also illustrates quite starkly that Biden is not in charge of his own administration. This is just the latest example of the obvious – the old man is no longer competent, and if it isn’t on a teleprompter or a index card in front of him, he can’t answer the questions because he no longer knows the answers. The people running the shop are Jill Biden, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, and Jen Psaki.

Which means the people running the shop had better decide what door they’re going to pick. Drumroll please… they’re going with Door #3, and hoping people buy the explanation! Biden is good with giving illegals money – just not THAT much!

A White House spokeswoman says Biden is "perfectly comfortable" giving cash payments to illegal immigrants for breaking the law. pic.twitter.com/dxDf3rFoyq

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) November 4, 2021

As many are saying on Twitter, the payout will be reduced to something like $50,000 and then promoted as a “bargain” that kept billions from being spent in court, and we will be told to be happy about it.

Also, don’t expect Joe Biden to be taking questions again for another couple of months. The staff behind the curtain just need a break right now.

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