Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, in a recent interview with Fox News host Jesse Watters, recounted an unusual and somewhat bewildering experience with President Joe Biden that involved an impromptu tour of the presidential swimming pool—in the middle of winter.
During the conversation, McCarthy detailed his observations from his private negotiations with Biden at the White House, emphasizing how the president heavily relies on prepared notes. “He’d always go with the cards, right? So what I learned early on, is he has to read from them, and once he starts reading, I would interject, and then he didn’t know what to do and he would stumble, and then he would close it and just stop, and then Kamala would have to start talking. So it was a play I used every time,” McCarthy explained.
The discussion took a surreal turn when Biden, seemingly out of the blue, suggested a visit to the swimming pool. “There was one time we were sitting there and he’s taking us on a tour, then all of a sudden he goes, ‘You wanna go out to the pool?’ Jill’s on the other side of the table and she went, ‘No! They don’t wanna go out!’ He goes, ‘You don’t wanna go out?’ Then he opens the door, it’s winter time, and he walks us down to the swimming pool, into the changing room,” McCarthy recalled, clearly puzzled by the proposal.
Watters, reacting with surprise, echoed the sentiment shared by many listeners: “What?!”
McCarthy continued to describe the oddities of the tour, including a visit to a small makeshift office just outside the Oval Office, previously used differently by past presidents. “Now, President Trump had it as a gift shop. Clinton used it for something else. But he’s made it a little office for himself like ten feet away from the Oval Office. Why?!” McCarthy said. He further noted the casual disorder within the room, including a wrinkled blue dress shirt, which left him hoping such a scene would never be shown to any world leader.
As the tour concluded with more awkward moments, including a locked door that needed to be opened by the Secret Service, Watters jested about Biden’s disorientation, saying, “Go for a dip. Do some laps,” to which McCarthy quipped, “Alright, you’re doing laps around him is what you’re doing.”
The interview provided a rare and candid glimpse into the interactions and personal quirks within the highest levels of government, painting a picture of informal and sometimes confusing moments behind closed doors.