Remember back in October, when a reporter tried to ask now-President-elect Joe Biden a straight-forward question about a story in the NY Post about his son Hunter and Burisma, as Biden was about to get on a campaign plane?

In case you’ve forgotten, here was Biden’s irate response to CBS News’ Bo Erickson’s polite query: (emphasis added)

I asked Joe Biden: What is your response to the NYPost story about your son, sir? He called it a “smear campaign” and then went after me. “I know you’d ask it. I have no response, it’s another smear campaign, right up your alley, those are the questions you always ask.”

I asked Joe Biden: What is your response to the NYPost story about your son, sir?

He called it a “smear campaign” and then went after me. “I know you’d ask it. I have no response, it’s another smear campaign, right up your alley, those are the questions you always ask.” pic.twitter.com/Eo6VD4TqxD

— Bo Erickson CBS (@BoKnowsNews) October 17, 2020

On Stephen Colbert’s late night talk show Thursday night, both Joe and his wife, who you might have heard insists on being called “Dr.” Jill Biden, stopped in for a softball interview. In fact, the topic of the nontroversy about people calling her out for the “Dr.” in front of her name was one of the topics Colbert brought up.

Mrs. Biden, with a look of astonishment on her face, said:

“It was such a surprise!

You know, it was really the tone of it, that I think that, you know, he called me ‘kiddo.’

One of the things I’m most proud of is my doctorate. I mean, I worked so hard for it.

She continued, talking about her thesis paper, which Tucker Carlson ably dispatched, as my colleague Nick Arama wrote about on Thursday:

You know, Joe came when I defended my thesis, but, you know —

Then a giddy Joe Biden, motioning with his hand like he’s passing off the baton at the Olympics, interjects, cutting her off several times:

I got to hand her her doctorate, on the stage, at the University of Delaware.

She had two Masters degrees, she kept going to school, all the time, while teaching at night.

And then what happens is, I tell Jill to get a doctorate and make us some real money.

She gets the doctorate and gets a $2,000 raise!”

For some unknown reason, they both at this point dissolve into raucous laughter. Truly bizarre. After some warm and fuzzy stuff about how much everyone loves Jill, Colbert turns to Biden and asks him about the critics of the “Dr.” title, referring back to one of the more memorable (and strange) moments of the 2020 primary campaign.

He asked:

What about you, as a husband who loves this person, did you ever want to get out a length of pool chain and go full ‘Corn Pop’ on these people?

Biden started to give one of his “winking” answers, but watchful guardian Jill is there to direct him to answer “no.” But Biden manages to say, “I’ve been suppressing my Irishness for a long time,” which borders on reinforcing a harmful stereotype, in my book.

TONIGHT! @StephenAtHome sits down with President-elect @JoeBiden and @DrBiden and they respond to the attacks on her doctorate degree. #LSSC pic.twitter.com/HMDGxoaq27

— A Late Show (@colbertlateshow) December 18, 2020

Of course, the main event of the interview was when they got around to talking about the federal investigation into Hunter Biden’s taxes, and the answer Joe Biden gave seems to be his standard answer on Hunter…and anything that would implicate himself or his family in illegal activity involving the Ukraine or (fill-in-the-blank country name).

One clip of the answer, released by CBS News before the “Late Show” aired, cut off the question to Biden, which hack progressive Jen Psaki frowned upon. She griped on Twitter that “Colbert’s question, which unfortunately the CBS Evening News omitted from their clip, was about people who ‘use your adult son as a cudgel against you’ – not the investigation.”

But Newsbusters caught the full answer, which contained the context she demanded, and I think it’s just as troubling. Watch for yourself:

“It’s used to get to me. I think it’s kind of foul play, but, look, it is what it is. And he’s a grown man. He is the smartest man I know. I mean, in a pure intellectual capacity.”

Joe Biden on the accusations against his son Hunter:

“It’s used to get to me. I think it's kind of foul play, but, look, it is what it is. And he's a grown man. He is the smartest man I know. I mean, in a pure intellectual capacity.”pic.twitter.com/8HI5snQKRV

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) December 17, 2020

h/t Daily Caller