Gingrich: The 'Rip Van Winkle' presidency of Biden is embarrassing DC's elite

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told Fox News it is clear the establishment is embarrassed by President Biden, who almost seems like he's "already retired."

After Politico published an article bemoaning the "boredom" of the Biden presidency and his frequent eschewing of Washington for Delaware, Gingrich surmised the media and D.C. social scene doesn't find Biden boring, as stated, but rather embarrassing, especially in public appearances.

"It's an embarrassment to watch him in Warsaw blurt out things that … the State Department has to rush out and say aren't true," he said. "It's embarrassing to watch his vice president. It's embarrassing to realize that if you watched him hanging out with Barack Obama looking like he was the grandfather who'd been invited to the Thanksgiving dinner and everybody was ignoring him."

"Not only are his policies terrible and destructive, and people are suffering from gasoline prices and food prices, from the border — but in addition, you have a president who you're not sure is completely there."

Gingrich told "Jesse Watters Primetime" it is "frightening" to see that same man being the one tasked to deal with nefarious characters like Vladimir Putin — as the United States' leader is "doddering around looking like he's out of it."

"It's a little bit like having Rip Van Winkle as president. You sort of think he's probably asleep most of the time. You assume that somebody like [Ron] Klain is actually in charge if anybody's in charge," he said, referring to Biden's chief of staff and longtime confidant.

Biden seems less interested in being the leader of the free world than he does counting down to trips back to Delaware "to eat ice cream and ride his bicycle," Gingrich said.

"It's a little bit like watching somebody who's already retired, but they make him show up and pretend to be working," he said.