During a campaign event in Scranton, PA, President Joe Biden rambled about the state of “our democracy” and told a story that was meant to be distressing but was actually hilarious about a little kid flipping him off, claiming that such things happen “all the time.” Instead of admitting that he’s just unpopular, President Biden attempted to use the story to show that “our democracy” is in a dire state.

During that portion of the speech, Biden said, “And so, what’s at stake now, folks, is our democracy. It’s not hyperbole. You may remember, when I got the nomination, the first thing I did, I made a speech at the — at the — in Convention Hall — excuse me, in — in Philadelphia. And I made a speech on democracy. And a lot of people said, “What’s he doing that for?” Because it is at stake. We’ve never had this kind of a campaign before.”

Continuing, he claimed that everyone needs to have “a sense of decency,” telling the crowd, “And so, for me, it’s not about whether or not you’re left, right, or center — although it matters to my — my philosophy of government — but it matters about whether or not you’re going to abide by the basic rules, you’re going to have a sense of decency.”

That’s when he got to the part about the kid shooting him the bird, saying, “You — I’ve never thought I’d see a time when I’m going through a — a neighborhood or a rural town that’s in the west and see big signs that s- — have a Trump sign in the middle that says “F Biden” and having a little kid standing with his middle finger — seven years old, eight years old. Well, I promise, it happens all the time. It’s not who we are.”

Biden then bizarrely tried to connect the story about the rural kid flipping him off to American leadership on the world stage, saying, “So, the point I’m making is this. We are — think of — think of it this way: If the United States wasn’t leading the world, who could step up to do it? No, not a — not a joke. What other country? What other country?”

Continuing, he then patted himself on the back for being around for decades in a rambling discussion of America being “the essential nation,” saying, “I’ve known every major world leader for the last 35 years. I know them all by their first names — not a joke — not because I’m important; because of the nature of my job when I was Foreign Relations Committee and a senior senator. And, you know, the rest of the world looks to us. I walk in a room — no matter whether it’s the G7 or the G20, whatever it is — and they all look to me — not me, Joe Biden; America — because they know we are the essential nation. And, you know, Madeleine Albright wrote about us being the essen- — she was absolute- — absolutely right. Absolutely right.”