Last night, my wife Lynn and I sat glued to the television, watching the return of the hostages to Joint Base Andrews, once known as Andrews Air Force Base. 

We were eager to see the victims of Putin’s Cold War-like use of hostages.  Frankly, we were hoping that the president and the vice president would play by the rules they laid out, primarily, “this is all about the families,” and, “we won’t be talking to the press,” or words to that effect.

However, just as every soldier quickly learns that in the name Meals, Ready to Eat (MRE), “there are three lies there in one name,” we quickly learned that the word of the president and the vice president were worth exactly what we knew would be the case.  As media whores, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris found it an unnatural act to ignore reporters with cameras and live microphones.  More on this in a moment.

As an aside, I spent most of my career working with employers or clients … or presidential political candidates – going all the way back to 1976.

Here’s what I’m sure I could pass a lie detector exam on:

1. The plane with the ex-hostages was forced to circle the federal airfield while the president got his, ahem, “act” together.  At 11:00 p.m. EDT, the press was advised that the plane would land within ten minutes, and the presidential motorcade would arrive in eight minutes. They were also told that this was all about the families.  Like MREs, that was three lies in one statement.  The plane was made to orbit the airbase until the president arrived, about 30 minutes late.  So much for putting the families first – this was to be a media photo op for a retiring president still eager to appear relevant, and a presidential candidate desperate to look presidential.

2. A presidential spokesperson said this was not a political event.  Neither the president nor the veep would make a statement or answer questions.  Remember, this was all about the families. Except that it wasn’t.  Before those three hostages could hug or kiss their spouses and kids and other family members, they had first to run a presidential gauntlet.  Then, just moments after the families were allowed to come forward to welcome their loved ones, the once and future president made a beeline to the press scrum, making statements and answering questions not once, but twice.  Each one of them spoke to the press twice.  It’s all but unprecedented for a VP to speak to the media at all after the president has spoken.  But tradition be damned, the media was there, and the questions were mostly about their political relevance. It would be an unnatural act for Biden and Harris to ignore the media when they could take credit for what others had done.

Would President Trump be so closed-minded, callous and “it’s all about me?” Nah!

3. As we’ve seen, the plane wasn’t allowed to land until the presidential motorcade whisked Biden onto the base. POTUS was parked strategically where three former hostages would deplane. It was an ambush.  Clearly, since the plane could have landed at 11:00 p.m. instead of 11:30 p.m., the families had to wait on the convenience of the president.  Perhaps with more at stake, Candidate Harris arrived twenty minutes earlier than POTUS.  I guess being relevant means making everybody wait.  Then, the families had to wait on the convenience of the president.  He wanted to be seen greeting them, without the inconvenience of pesky families, eager to “steal the show” by showering the two freed men and one woman with love and affection.  Then, when POTUS and veep flocked toward the reporters’ scrum, they talked about how great their negotiating skills were, instead of the anguish the family felt while being made to wait an unnecessary half-hour – at least.

4. Another kick in the teeth to the families – as soon as the ceremony was completed, the three ex-hostages were set to be winged away from Andrews for a flight to San Antonio Texas, where a competent military hospital – the Brooke Army Medical Center – was available.  Of course, Washington has an excellent military medical center, a combination of what had once been Bethesda Naval Hospital – where Presidents typically go to be treated – and Walter Reed National Military Hospital.  Here, the families could be with their returned heroes, extending their reunion.

5. Yet another kick in the teeth – the victims flew home from Europe on a private jet – some benefactor sent their own plane or rented one for the event.  But if there’s one thing the U.S. Air Force has, it’s VIP aircraft, large enough to hold both three ex-hostages and their families.  Knowing when everything would come together, the president could have sent one of the luxurious fleet of VIP jets used by the secretaries of State and Defense … with the family members onboard.  But that would have denied the president and the veep a great media op, so the freed hostages had to fly home without the help of an Air Force VIP passenger jet.

6. Just as I was leaving the T.V. to write this article, I heard the host announce that because “debriefing” was part of the process, one the family could not participate in, it looked like the returnees would have to forego their reunion while they were checked out medically while being debriefed.  So, yeah, “this was all about the families,” as the president told America, even as the families were being prepped to have to say goodbye for, well, for who knows how long.  I can’t confirm this, but it fits the pattern of families last, except when the cameras were rolling.

7. Finally, after everybody had moved away from the jet, President Biden left the gaggle and walked up to the plane, then – without a pause, he entered the plane.  The camera cut away after an uncomfortable minute or two, then long moments later, it zooms in as President Biden walked back out of the plane … apparently preceded by candidate Harris.  How or when she boarded the empty plane wasn’t commented on, suggesting that the anchor desk at Fox had no clue.  Based on how the reporters there all ignored this Bidenesque faux pas, the other networks didn’t know, either.  Though I’m guessing that the more politically aligned rushed to suggest that Biden had gone to greet the flight crew.  Why?  Who knows.

8. That wasn’t the only presidential gaffe.  He hugged a young girl, his nostrils coming dangerously close to her hair. 

9. Later, when asked by a reporter what message he would send to Putin, instead of relying on the notoriously good negotiating skills he’d just bragged about, he instead said, “Stop!”  That’s it, just “Stop!”  Given how world leaders have reacted to similar messages, such as “Don’t!” he blew a chance to send a real message to Putin.  There were other gaffes, but he was only on camera for less than a half hour, so there weren’t many.  Just enough.

The important things to remember are these:

1. Biden can’t be on time when press events are involved.

2. When Biden says he won’t speak to the press, he’s lying.  Instead of speaking to them once, he speaks to them twice, answering or ducking questions as the mood hits them.

3. When Biden says it’s all about the families, it’s really all about Biden.  Families come in last.

We can thank God that even such an inept man as President Biden can deliver hostages from Russia – as long as he gives in to every one of Putin’s demands.  Compare this to President Trump.  In his first term, he repatriated fifty hostages, without giving up everyone we have locked up, in America or in the jails of one of our allies.  What can he do in his second term, when he’s already had four years of effective years negotiating with foreign despots for American journalists and others taken by the caprice of those eager to test Trump … men and women who, after one staredown with Trump, didn’t want to face the man again.

Ned Barnett is a long-time author – 40 of his books have been published to date, with more on the way – and political operative.  He was at the state-level the head of media and strategy for presidential elections, having also worked with Senate and House candidates, governors and other elected officials.  As founder and CEO of Barnett Marketing Communications in Las Vegas, he works with authors, publishers, start-up and high-tech companies, focusing on marketing and promotion tactics that work where they count the most.  He can be reached at 702-561-1167, or nedbarnett51@gmail.com.  His website is currently down for a major overhaul, and his webmaster – Jube Dankworth –  is a highly-successful conservative political consultant in Texas.

Image: Screen shot from CNN-News18 Reuters video, via YouTube