Q&A: Father Alex Karloutsos On His Close Connection With The President-Elect

In addition to leading the Dormition of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church, Father Alex Karloutsos has a key role in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, and standing internationally with the church.

As a result, his reach has gone well beyond the Shinnecock Hills community. Since the Jimmy Carter administration, he’s been a regular visitor to the White House and has met with every president, forming close bonds with some in the highest levels of power in Washington, D.C.

One of his closest connections has been with Joe Biden, now president-elect, whom Father Alex met 40 years ago when Mr. Biden was a U.S. Senator. He remains close with the entire Biden family, and his wife, Xanthi, serves on the board of the Beau Biden Foundation.

In 2016, the sitting vice president visited the church for a gala fundraiser for the foundation that netted $200,000. It was a sign of the close connection between Shinnecock Hills and the Bidens — and now directly to the White House.

On Friday, just before the race was officially called for Mr. Biden, Father Alex talked about his long relationship with the president-elect and his family, via Zoom.

Q: You have a close personal connection to Joe Biden and to his family, correct?

Yes, I do. I’ve known Joe Biden, geez, I would say, 40 years, and I knew him when he was at the Senate, and then over the years for different issues on religious freedom, the Greek-American issues. We’re very connected with the Beau Biden Foundation. My wife, Xanthi, is on the board of the Beau Biden Foundation.

… And we also, of course — sad times, we’ve been there. I was there at the funeral of Beau Biden, and I have been involved in some family matters out of just what you do as a priest. You’re there at times of great joy, and times of sorrow. So I’ve been very blessed to be there.

Q: What can you tell us about Joe Biden as a person?

Well, I think that what’s going to be great about Joe Biden is what everybody talks about: his great sense of suffering and pain. And because you go through suffering and pain, you can empathize, and you can listen a little bit better to the pain of the other.

And I think that at a time when our country’s as divided as it is now, and as it was in 2016, that you need someone who is a healer that does not judge the other. The other person is not the enemy. It might not be an opponent. You might have a different view, but it’s not the enemy. He’s a brother or sister that we must embrace.

And that’s Joe Biden.

… He’s a very tough guy, but he became very tender because of the suffering that he experienced. Sometimes those things happen to you in the providence of the Lord to make you a better servant.

… He will understand what it takes to bring back America. And, if you notice, all of his expressions and his emotions now, they have been one of unity. And when he says, “I’m going to be a president for all Americans,” that’s Joe Biden — because of the suffering, he understood all Americans, whether they’re Democrats or Republicans, whether they’re white, Black, whatever.

He, indeed, he’s, as such, unique. He’s not going to say, “I’m the smartest guy in the room,” but he can tell you one thing: “I’m the guy in the room that you can go to, because I understand you, I’m with you. I feel your pain.” That’s what makes Joe Biden great.

Q: Do you have any kind of insight that you can offer into his relationship with Hunter Biden? That’s been such a part of the conversation during this campaign, especially in the last six months. Do you have any insights into that relationship and what it might say about Joe Biden’s character?

Well, first of all, just like every other American, including my own family, to be honest, we had to have experiences with drugs or alcoholism. There have been that, and you know that your son is suffering from some kind of an addiction. What do you do? Do you reject your son? Or you do what the Lord did at what they call the Parable of the Prodigal Son. But in the Orthodox Church, we also call that the Parable of the Loving Father, a father who waits for the son to come to his senses, to come back home. I have experienced that as a father.

And so if you’re talking about Hunter Biden, Hunter is a great guy. Very bright, very intelligent, did go out to make deals, like every other child. He might’ve gone a little bit too far. I can tell you one thing: He never violated Joe Biden, never, never, never got involved in the business.

Did he know that Hunter Biden would be using the Biden name? Of course that happens, but he did not ever think he would abuse it. And I don’t think Hunter ever meant to abuse it.

But if you see them, he loves his son, Hunter, and Hunter loves Beau, and they’ve been through such great pain. But, at the end of the day, it’s a father-son relationship.

… [Hunter] has got great values. Had the addiction, has the addiction, but he’s addressing his demons. And we all have our weaknesses and demons, and we’ve got to deal with them. And I think that Hunter’s doing that now — he’s looking at the man in the mirror and he’s making the change, glory be to God for that.

Q: The Bidens have a connection to Southampton beyond just you and the church, correct? They’ve been here several times on vacation. They seem to have a certain affection for Southampton.

They love Southampton. I know that he has a friend here … they go golfing together. They relax together. He just thinks it’s beautiful — loves going to the church, Sacred Hearts. I know he enjoys Southampton Village and the people. It’s a nice, small, beautiful town.

… The Hamptons means a great deal to him and Jill, and it’s a blessing.

Q: Through your position in the church, you have a great connection to the White House as an institution. And you’ve been there through so many different administrations, Republican, Democrat. I wonder if you might have some special insight: Joe Biden, the White House won’t be new to him. He’s been vice president. But it’s a very different thing to live in the White House and be president, isn’t it?

I was thinking of that. I had been in what they call the vice president’s mansion with about all of the vice presidents from, I would say, [the] Ronald Reagan [administration]. So it had to be George Bush. And then I was there with [Dan] Quayle, and I was there with others — and I was there with Biden when he was the vice president.

But, all of a sudden, when you have that awesome responsibility to shoulder — you have the world on your shoulders as the commander in chief, not only of the United States but of the free world — it’s an awesome responsibility. And you’ve got to be very humbled by it.

Biden, for some reason, always felt that he would be president. And then that time in 2016, when he decided not to run, because others convinced him that this was not his time, he was also struggling with the loss of his son. It was a very painful time. This was five years ago — on May 30, actually.

And so that went by, but then he was haunted by the thoughts [of when his son Beau said]: “Dad, promise me, you’re going to run.” And he thought that was a promise he could not keep.

And then Charlottesville came. And, all of a sudden, what he thought was an impossible dream … he was going to run to the best of America. And I think that’s what he’s taking into this office.

… And I think that God provided Joe Biden for this moment, because we need a healer. And we needed healing from four years ago and need healing now. And we’ve got to constantly move toward a better union, a more perfect country. And so I think that Biden, when he goes on to that desk is going to think about that legacy.

Q: How often have you talked with him in the last four years, and during this time when he made the decision to run?

Yes. I talked with him. I’ve talked to him — he’s called me out of the blue.

… My brother Nick died in March. We buried him on March 10, I think. And I’m driving home, with my wife, Xanthi, after my brother’s funeral in Connecticut, and the phone rings, and I pick it up, and he goes, “Father Alex?” “Mr. Vice Pre- ... Joe, is that you?” He says, “I heard your brother died. I had to talk to you about all of this.”

And he talked to me about loss. And he says, “I lost my wife and my daughter, and then my son.” He said, “I never lost a brother or a sister. I want to just share with you at this moment.”

… He was in the middle of one of the great races of his life. He was running for president of the United States. I don’t know where in the hell he was.

… I’m a simple priest in the Hamptons, and he knew I needed comfort, too. That’s what I’m saying. He just has a way of understanding your pain. When they say, “I feel your pain” — if Joe Biden says he feels your pain, he feels your pain. That’s the real deal.

Q: Do you plan to make a phone call to him soon?

I plan on it, but I would imagine the entire world is going to try to reach him, so I’m not going to do that. … I think I’ll wait and go to the inauguration.

But if I do have an opportunity to say a few words, I will. And I’ll say, “You’ve got to come back to the Hamptons. Now we’re looking forward to welcoming you. And we’re very excited to have President Biden in our midst.”

He’s he’s a real, real good friend.

Q: What was your take on Donald Trump as president?

I just saw President Trump in August, and we were in the Oval Office, and we talked about religious freedom, and he was very good. His friends were talking about the Hamptons — Donald Trump, of course, with Howard Lorber and John Cassimatis, who are very close friends, and they always made sure we were at the White House at the right time with the president.

… I think his policies were extraordinary. I think that sometimes if you look at what he did in regard to the prison reforms, for example, that was very strong. He came out for religious freedom around the world. And that was very important for us.

I think that his policies were different from the way he expressed himself. So, this kind of arrogance, which he really didn’t need to do, and this getting people all upset. But I have seen him where he was very warm and very gracious at the White House … he was very hospitable, very sensitive, and very down to earth. But unfortunately, his tweets and whatever else …

But he was, overall, a person who served four years and did not go to war. We did not invade anybody. It was very scary hearing him about North Korea and all that. (Laughs.) But, ultimately, he kept at peace.

I’m not a person of great finances or economy, but it seems to me that the country, financially, or the wealthy people, I guess, got wealthier. The middle class didn’t suffer much. The poor might’ve gotten poorer. I don’t know all of that. It’s a big debate that goes on with my friends all the time.

But it has been a turbulent four years, emotionally for the nation. I think that that’s why, ultimately, if he did lose, it was more about the division that was being created in the pain, rather than just simply the policy. It was more inflicted the pain inflicted by the tongue rather than by the policy.

Q: I’m curious: Did he ever seek counsel from you?

Who?

Q: President Trump.

Trump? (Pause.) Nope. He did not seek counsel. I know some of the pastors that he has a relationship with that are friends of mine, but, no, we were never … And, by the way, he’s not Joe Biden in a religious sense. He might be a believer, but Joe Biden can quote the scriptures to you, and he’ll speak about the providence of God. But, no, I never counseled. I never had an opportunity to speak about.