At the top of Friday's NBC Today, co-host Matt Lauer gushed
over Vice President Biden doing a series of photo-ops while swearing in
newly elected senators on Thursday: "Joe Biden welcomes lawmakers and
their families to Washington like only he can." In a later report,
correspondent Kelly O'Donnell glossed over several awkward moments [1] caused by Biden: "There was certainly a lot of charm being poured on by the Vice President." [Listen to the audio [2]]
A few minutes later, fill-in news reader Willie Geist played a brief
montage of some of the especially odd comments by Biden, including the
Vice President telling the husband of one senator, "Spread your legs;
you're going to be frisked," and declaring after looking a woman up and
down, "holy mackerel."
Laughing off the strange behavior, Geist told viewers: "It went on like
that all day, that is just the tip of the iceberg. If you've got a few
minutes, later today go online and watch the clip....someone tweeted to
me, 'If it doesn't work out for Joe Biden becoming president some day,
he's got a future as a host of the Family Feud.'"
Co-host Matt Lauer remarked: "My favorite one was 'Holy mackerel.'"
Weatherman Al Roker went further, joking about Biden gawking at the
woman's chest: "Mr. Vice President, get a load of these."
CNN's Starting Point on Friday applauded Biden's "one-man comedy act," [3] while not mentioning some his most eyebrow-raising moments.
Here is a full transcript of Geist's January 4 news brief:
7:08AM ET
WILLIE
GEIST: And when you've got to spend the whole day doing photo-ops and
swearing in new Senate members, you've got to find a way to keep
yourself entertained. And Vice President Joe Biden, as you may know, is a
master at that.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: You've got a million dollar smile.
JOE BIDEN: There's a lot to smile about today....Spread your legs,
you're gonna be frisked....I want you next to me. I want you next to
me....As they say in Southern Delaware: 'You done good, Ma.'
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Watch where you're walking!
BIDEN: Need any help working on your pecs, let me know....Holy mackerel.
[LAUGHTER]
GEIST: It went on like that all day, that is just the tip of the
iceberg. If you've got a few minutes, later today go online and watch
the clip. It is now 7:09, back to Matt, Erica, and Al. Guys, someone
tweeted to me, "If it doesn't work out for Joe Biden becoming president
some day, he's got a future as a host of the Family Feud."
MATT LAUER: My favorite one was "Holy mackerel."
AL ROKER: "Holy Mackerel."
ERICA HILL: How do you really feel?
ROKER: "Mr. Vice President, get a load of these."
[LAUGHTER]
LAUER: Okay, as usual, here was the line.
ROKER: Oh wait a minute, come on, really?
LAUER: We never stayed on the right side of it before, so why today?